Mystere Curio Kit Part 2- Texture & Paint

Mystere Curio Kit 

Part 2: Texture & Painting

  Gather the following supplies from your kit or studio:

            

  - Completed Mystere Vessel ( see Part 1)

-Foam Brush

-Popsicle Stick

-Modeling Paste

-Multi Medium/ Matte

-Black Acrylic Paint

-Copper Acrylic Paint

-Sanding Tool
-Leaky Shed Studio Ornate Chipboard Corner
    -Black Resin Oval Frame

We will begin with adding modeling paste to your vessel.

Think of it like frosting a cake. The goal is to disguise the tin and ceiling mount.

Make the vessel appear more organic with added interest.

We will also try to hide the hinge flap holes on the side of your tin.

 The thicker the layer the longer you will need to let it dry.

 Optional: Some people have great success stamping into the

modeling paste after it starts to set up.

 As you work start with a light cover and then if you so desire build it up.

Once it has fully dried. You will need to find a sanding tool.

Sanding sponge or emery board will work perfectly.

Lightly sand the modeling paste removing any unwanted points and areas. 

After sanding wipe your piece off with a slightly damp

cloth to remove the dust created from sanding.

Then be sure to clear the hole in the back.

 

It’s time to paint your piece.

Start with a base coat of black acrylic paint.

We want to cover the entire outside of the tin and base.

 Once your base coat is dry we will introduce a second color.

We prefer Turquoise. With painting remember you can always add more. 
But you can’t always take away.

What we want to do with these next layers 
of paint is use a dry brush technique. 
Use a brush with a "light hand" and almost nothing on it.
When we say “light hand,” we mean don’t insert a lot 
of pressure when first making contact with the surface. 
We want to just gently hit the high points on your tin. 
We want to catch all that great texture
 we made with the modeling paste.

You will repeat this process with a secondary color. 
Be sure to give dry time to each layer of color, so as not to blend.

We like to use a metallic color for the next layer. 
In our sample we used copper acrylic paint.

You will now use the same dry brush technique on your other elements.

In our kit it will be the ornate chipboard corner

 from Leaky Shed Studio and your black resin oval frame. 

 

Now it’s time to let it all dry.
 Part 3 coming soon. 

Have a great Monday everyone!
- Jack & Cat Curio
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Mystere Curio Kit / Part 1:

  "Creating Your Vessel"

Gather the following supplies from your kit or studio:

-Metal Top Hinged Tin (Altoid Tin)

-Ceiling Mount with nut and bolt

-Foam Brushes

-Ephemera- Vintage Dictionary Sheet

-Modeling Paste

-Matte Multi-Medium
-Black Acrylic Paint

We will begin with the Metal Top Hinged Tin. 

We spray painted the tins found in our kits to
 help create texture, shadow and bite. 

When using your own tin or if the one you got from us
 has a few scratches or markings, don’t worry about a perfect 
spray paint job. We are going to build several layers on this tin.

If you are using pieces from our kit you will notice that we have
 created two holes of various sizes. 

These will help you in adding elements at different stages.
If you are using your own tin you can drill your own holes,
or use a strong adhesive to help add elements.



 What we will do next is remove the hinged lid. 
To do so, just bend the lid back the opposite way.

This will cause the metal fold hinges to release. 
Then pull the top lid off and save for another project.

Push the fold hinges back into the side of your tin 
to cover the gaps created by removing the top.

Now it’s time to add some texture and color inside of your tin.

To do this you will need: 
 -Foam brush
- C.H. Studio Matte Multi-Medium, 
-Vintage ephemera

You will first coat the back panel of the inside of
 your tin using the multi-medium. 

Then press pieces of your vintage ephemera to adhere to the multi-medium. 

Then you can coat a layer of multi-medium on top of the first layer. 

Adding more medium and pages as needed. 

Also work the inside panels of your tin.

When working with your ephemera feel free to center

your text, put it in tilted, apply big pieces, or various small pieces.

It’s about your preference.

Once completed remember to clear the hole in the backside.

Use the silver smaller bolt from your kit to do this.

Once dry we will attach the base to your tin.

You will do this with your ceiling mount, large nut and bolt.

If you are doing this without our kit  you may use a strong adhesive. 

If  you cannot find a ceiling mount. 

A mason jar lid works as a fine substitute. 

 

Be sure to center your piece before you tighten the nut all the way.

 

You are now done with Part 1. You now have a free standing vessel!

Part 2 & more coming soon. 

Very soon.

All the best,

- Jack & Cat Curio

Moving, Birthday and Kits.

I love change. 

I love organized chaos. 

I love to move.

Sure with any move comes the mess, the cleaning, the filtering of items.

But you get the chance to start again.

 A new environment. A new look.

Adopt a new style.

The last two weeks Lesley and I have moved our living location. 

Moved back across town.

We also are currently in the process of setting up the

 studio and workspace outside of the home.

Something we have been looking forward to for quite a while.

Also this last weekend we celebrated my 40th birthday.

Another marker for change. 

With a move and a birthday comes a time of reflection. 

We are looking forward to what new 

changes and challenges may come our way.

 The move is almost over. 

We have parts of the studio parceled between a new home and storage.

 All the pieces will be brought together in another week

 at a new studio space in Phoenix. 

All the April kits have gone out as of today.

The "Mystere Kits" went out later than expected.

Today we were to start posting a video tutorial for the kit on the blog.

 We have decided to postpone the video

 post until next week . So the "Mystere" video tutorials will 

begin on Monday, May 7th. Also we have decided 

to run a full set of video tutorials for

 the Oz kit starting on Monday, May 14th here on the blog.

Thanks everyone!

If you have any questions please contact us.

Monday Kick off! Freebie Collage Sheets!

 Happy Spring everyone!

What a weekend!

Saturday's Ranger Studio Day was fantastic!

What an inspiring and passionate group we had.

Thank you all for coming! 

We would share pics with everyone. 

But we hit the ground running and it never slowed down

 long enough for us to get the camera out. 

We had a great time sharing, creating  and laughing with you all. 

It was an incredibly fun and creative workshop for us to teach

 and we hope that it was just as much for you to experience.

Thank you also Craftfusion for being such a great host for this event.

So after such a great workshop... 

We thought that we would continue the positive vibes 

and put out a few collage sheet freebies. 

So here are two that we worked up for ya.

We hope that you enjoy them and put them to good use.

Just click on the image and it will take you to the freebie section in our shop.

Where you can download each sheet for free.

All the best everyone.

Happy Monday!

- Jack & Cat Curio

Bees & Sunflowers ATC Cards / Tags

 

Bunnies & Chick ATC Cards / Tags

April Kits! A Return to Oz!

When I was a kid.....

About once a year on a major television network.

I could always get my freak on. 

It usually happened in the spring.

Always sometime between March thru May.

Every year it would catch me. 

As I got older, in my head I associated the event with spring.

Every year it stumped me... I could never

 remember if it was in black & white or in color.

But as it progressed I would always find myself 

quite happy to find that I was indeed correct.

It starts slow... black and white... a slow song...

a farm girl and her dog. A mean lady on a bike.

Then a big storm.

Then wham. You get hit with full color.

From that point on its off to the races.

Its easy to become less infatuated with the effects of this movie today.

But back in the day. We had no DVD player with a copy of it. 

No iPod with a small screen. No portable phone with a screen. 

When the movie was on television. 

You sat and enjoyed it while you could.

Its one of those movies you

 either love it or it creeps you out.

I'm talking about the "Wizard of Oz".

So its only true to form that we would bring this kit out for April. 

We have had so many requests for this kit. 

So here we go. Its back for a limited run.

Also attached are two other fine kits

 for your enjoyment and crafting pleasure.

The last of Match's kits are leaving the building as we speak.

Thanks everyone for your support and comments.

Happy Spring!

- Jack & Cat Curio

Journey To Oz Kit

"Mystere" Altered Altoid Tin Shrine

We have had so many requests for this next project

 that we made it into a kit. This kit will have a set of video 

tutorials that will begin on Monday, April 30th that will 

be shared on our blog and Youtube channel. 

April's Curio Treasure Box

This kit is all about what you can fit in a tin. 

This month we decided to see just how many 

curio items we could pack into an altoid tin.

This is a mini selection of our favorite treasure items that

we use in our mixed media/ altered art/ assemblage projects.