Mixed Media Class with Studio Calico

As I mentioned before, I am taking the mixed media class with Studio Calico this month. Céline Navarro and Anna-Maria Wolniak are the teachers and they are immensely talented ladies. It has been fun but it is not easy. I wanted to post some of the layouts I have been making with what I learnt from this class.

Here is one of my layouts...

I made this layout with a photo of one of my friend's daughter. I love the photo but I am not 100% satisfied with how it turned out. I first started off with a plain white cardstock and covered it with gesso. I let it dry completely overnight. I then mixed some pink mist in modeling pasted and used a Teresa Collins stencil to add the hearts in the background. The big lesson learnt here, is to stick down the stencil with washi tape or masking tape before starting the process. I didn't and my hearts didn't turn out as crisp as I wanted them to be. I was disappointed but I kept going :) I then added the pink triangular piece of paper behind the photo and matted my photo and added the other embellishments. I then added drops of mist and painted the edges of the paper with neocolor II crayons. I also scribbled with some mist at the edges of the photo. I then matted my white cardstock with another patterned paper to hold it down and provide some interest around the edges.

Here is another one....

For this I used a black and white photo of my son that was taken by his drama teacher. It was taken for the cast introduction of Wizard of Oz. Arjun was Merlin the monkey in the drama. All the kids did such a wonderful job in the drama. They are unbelievably talented. They had all been practicing for the last 5 months. 

Here I colored the background of the black and white photo with neocolor II crayons. This was one of the techniques taught by Céline in the class .... except hers looked much better. I added a layer of gesso to the busy background paper. I then colored most of the words with necolors and inktense pencils. The coloring part is really fun. I then added some colorful layers behind the photo and added some enamel dots for a little more pop of color.

I really want to get my technique of using the modeling paste right. I need to practice a little more. It creates a really fun texture on the layout. I will try this technique again and will keep you posted. Do leave me comments of your experience with mixed media. I would love to hear it.

Have a great day!
~Neela