A New Best Friend, Besides Hot Chocolate - Decoupage with Helmar

This week for Helmar, I have been playing around with Decoupage and Craft Paste, and created a pencil/brush holder from an empty Hot Chocolate container.  I look at items around the house with a new light of re-purposing the empty containers, or packages.

Firstly, I painted my container, as I knew I was going to use tissue paper, which is quite transparent.  I applied the Decoupage and Craft Paste with a paintbrush to the actual container, having previously cut the tissue paper to size.  The process of adding the paper was simple, and a wipe with a damp cloth afterwards, eliminated any wrinkles or creases... you cannot even tell where the join is!

The printed image, I sprayed with Crystal Kote Fixative, just to seal the image - especially as I had printed it myself, and was not sure of the inks stability.  Spraying with the fixative, seals the paper and is a fast process with quick drying time.  I applied the Decoupage and Craft Paste to the area where I wanted the image and added the image, wiping any excess adhesive away with a damp cloth.  No wrinkles, no creases, and no lengthy time to dry.  I did have the help with a heat gun though!

The embellishing of my container was completed using the 450 Quick Dry adhesive.  I also added lace to the inside of the container, so the items sitting inside would not be damaged by the metal rim. 

Also, his month you have a chance to win a great prize with the Helmar Challenge, just upload your challenge entry into the Helmar Flickr Group before the end of the month.  So get creative and come and join in with the fun!

Happy Creating!

Products List:
Helmar: Decoupage and Craft Paste, Crystal Kote Fixative, and 450 Quick Dry
Hot Chocolate Tin
Hand-Made Hat Pins
Tim Holtz Tissue Paper
Braid, Hand-Dyed Laces, Flowers, Ribbon
Computer Generated Image

The New Venture with Helmar and Faber Castell - Canvas

This week Helmar is partnering with Faber-Castell and what a fantastic journey it has been playing with both products! I was not sure where I was going with this canvas, but I certainly enjoyed the journey of 'exploration' of Faber-Castell - the beautiful product ranges and the glorious colour ranges.

My background was created using Texture Paste, Gesso and The Crafters Workshop template called 'Mini Halequin'.  Each diamond was coloured using a variety of products from Faber-Castell, including the Mixed Media Sets in Blue, Green and Red. A time consuming process, but one well worth the effort!  A light brush with a wet paintbrush brings the product to 'water colour' consistency, and highlights the colours perfectly.  To set the background, a light spray with Helmar's Crystal Kote 'Fixative'. I am not a bright person, so I toned the colours down by spraying lightly with Taupe Glimmer Mist.

The boxboard frame was coloured using the Aquarelle Water Colour Pencils from the 'Blue' Mixed Media Set.  I applied a light wash of water from the brush that came in the set, gently giving the colour a variegated appearance - then a light spray of  Helmar's Crystal Kote 'Fixative to set the colour.  This particular set also comes with a Stamper's Big Brush Pen and a decorative stamp, which I applied to the frame in a haphazard manner. A little 'Walnut' Distress Ink was applied to the frame, particularly around the edges to mute the colours somewhat. When fully dry, another light coat of Helmar's Crystal Kote Fixative was applied to seal with colours.

The frame was adhered to the canvas using Liquid Scrap Dots and left to dry fully.

The flowers are from Prima, and each was coloured with Gesso previous to adding any colour - this was a feat on its own, as the main larger flower was pink!  I left these dry completely overnight, and coloured using the PITT Pastel Pencils and various pencils from the Mixed Media Sets, using water as a medium to 'paint'.  To do this, I actually used the shiny side of the packaging and scribbled heavily, applied the water from the brush to create my own paint.

Each of the die-cuts was coloured lightly using the water colour pencils from the Green Mixed Media Set, and the butterflies from the Blue.  The vintage image was coloured using the PITT Pastel Pencils from the Red/Yellow Set.

The fabric beneath the flowers was adhered using the Decoupage and Craft Paste.  Flowers and butterflies were applied for a 3D affect using Liquid Scrap Dots, and all foliage was affixed using either 450 Quick Dry or Premium Craft Glue.

The whole project was sprayed with Helmar's Crystal Kote Fixative to complete.

.....AND, don't forget the Helmar Challenge for July, to be in the running for a great prize pack!

 This one will be a fun one....Open to interpretation- all you have to do is find something within the image which inspires you with your choice of project.....maybe its the fonts used, or the colours, maybe its the title or the topic, maybe its the design which gets you thinking about something creative.....just let the image speak to you and see what happens!

Just load your completed project to the Helmar Facebook page and tag it with your details before the end of the month, (Be sure to tell us what Helmar glue featured predominately in your creation) for your chance to win a fabulous Helmar goodie pack! "You gotta be in it to win it".....so get creating!!!!

Till next time...
Sandie

Supplies:
Helmar: Liquid Scrap Dots, 450 Quick Dry, Premium Craft Glu , Decoupage and Craft Paste, Crystal Kote Fixative.
Faber-Castell: Mixed Media Sets in Blue, Green and Red, PITT Pastel Pencils Red/Yellow.
The Crafters Workshop 'Mini Harlequin'
Martha Stewart Leaf Punch
Prima Marketing Flowers: Laraine 'Pearl White' and Love Letter Rose Quartz
Meg's Garden Boxboard Frame
Glimmer Mist 'Taupe'
Distress Ink 'Walnut'
Dies: Die-Namics 'Vintage Flourish' and 'Leafy Flourish'.  Spellbinders 'Foliage'.
Gesso and Texture Paste
Vintage Image