Saturday, July 25, 2015

Mixology 101.2

Mixology 101

This series of pop-up posts will focus on sharing ways in which I combine hand made art with commercial products. Since becoming a blogger for Spellbinders in 2013, I have had the opportunity to explore many supplies coming from the craft industry and to learn how to put my own twist on them as I add them into my artwork. The posts in this series may focus on completed art, process, product, and/or any other aspect of mixed media. So put the mix in the media and let's get creative...


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This project started as a demo I made in May at a collaborative workshop I taught with Mary Beth Shaw at her studio in St. Louis, Missouri. 


The cover felt unfinished so I decided to create more dimension by adding some die cuts. People often use die cutting as a way to add focal images to a project but I often integrate them into the background. I used Spellbinders new Sapphire Mini Die Cutting Machine and their line of Sapphire dies - currently exclusive to Joann. To all those peeps out there who are curious about die cutting but haven't yet taken the plunge, this machine is affordable, portable and a good fit for a beginner. 

I used my own hand painted paper to die cut as a way to add my own style to a commercial product. I love text as much for the design element as I do for the message, so I started with the Sapphire Numbers and Letters Two die set. After the letters were added to the book cover, I outlined them with a white gel pen to make them pop.


I had already stenciled the word inside when I first made the book and decided to highlight it by using a die cut from one of the 6 dies in the Sapphire Simply Tags set. The industrial look of this blends well with the background design. To finish it off, I added a section of a postage stamp and two nail head brads to the ends.


Next I used dies from the Sapphire Basic Circles set. When you nest two different sized circle dies before you run them through the machine, you end up with a loop. I made two loops and added them, along with some additional letter die cuts, to the background. A white gel pen was used to add some shading and dimension.


I repeated this process using dies from the Sapphire Basic Rectangles and some hand cut paper as well.


In the end, I think the addition of the die cuts was the perfect touch to add layers, textures, design and dimension to the cover. 


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For those of you what want to explore products directly from Spellbinders, they have generously provided my blog readers with a special code that can be used to save 20% off items in their online shop (doesn't include shipping, tax, or machines). Head to their store and use code 20OFFSA.

10 comments:

Caterina Giglio said...

Beautiful work, Seth... and I really enjoyed your Buried Treasure post, lovely and heartfelt...

Brian Kasstle said...

Wonderful layered Sethtastic work! Of coarse I would have questions. This is a cover. Can we see a side view. I would like to see how thick it is.

Sue Marrazzo Fine Art said...

NICE colors!

Unknown said...

What a transformation... wow. I just love seeing your work Seth. Thanks for the tutorial too. j.

Jo Murray said...

Great use of those die-cuts. Love your 'ageing' of surfaces.

Unknown said...

Great use of due cuts. I love creating textures and die cuts can be fab for creating fun backgrounds.. Gesso on top, add colours and embellishments.. I love the way you use the on your background yet incorporated them in the design. It looks awesome!
Ingrid :)

Kathleen Harrington said...

Love the look of using die cuts to add texture to the background. I took a peek at Joann's website. They are having a big sale on the Sapphire machine (which includes all the sandwich plates including embossing mat)and dies. I was pleasantly surprised at the price of the dies. Even the regular price is much less expensive than dies for bigger machines. A very cost effective way for folks new to die cutting to give it a try.

Alison said...

Wonderful depth to this piece Seth! Very inspiring.

elle said...

gee, I have a big machine but your little guy and those inexpensive dies make me pause in my job of digging her 'out from under'! Our dollar is toast so no trip to MN with a drive by at Joanne's. Therefore I'm digging the big girl out and telling her all about TEXTURE!!! :)

Unknown said...

Thnx for showing us how you did make this awesome piece.
I use diecuts often in my backgounds and also often use handpainted paper.Ilearned so much by reading your blogs and looking at your work. Thanks