Let’s do a mixed media cover today!
I recently got a Jane Davenport Butterfly Effect book which allows you to easily add paper inserts, just like in a Midori…
Now of course you can buy a beautiful mixed media cover with Jane’s artwork already on it but, being an artist, I went for the blank cover so I could put my own art on it. I know you understand me so I won’t explain further 😉
The cover is made of blank canvas fabric and is very easy to paint so I decided to go with the flow and see where it would take me…
Tutorial steps
Jane Davenport mixed media cover, here I come!
Inside Cover
- First, I applied a thick layer of white gesso on the front and back to make sure everything was nicely sealed and ready to take paint and whatever I wanted to throw at it 🙂 I was careful to avoid painting the elastics at first but you will see by the end of this video that there is just no point hahaha
- Once everything was thoroughly dry, I started finger painting, spreading lovely colours around and blending them together: turquoise, lime green, mauve, magenta…
- I added some interest with gold paint and a pretty stencil by Tim Holtz…
- Then, off camera (batteries always die half way through!), a few turquoise stems…
And that’s it, I’m loving it just the way it is now!
Outside Cover
- I decided to create my background with FW pearlescent inks… They are liquid acrylics so easy to apply and very vibrant! I started with yellow, orange, some red, turquoise for contrast then silver pearl to tone down some parts and make the background look uniform.
- I used black and ink and a Punchanella stamp to add texture…
- Then dripped more ink, spraying water as I went along… FUN!
- Once everything was nice and dry, I stamped pretty textured circles with white ink then added smaller circles with yellow paint and a border stencil. And that’s all it needed!
To unify everything I rubbed a little gold paint with my finger on all the edges, also creating a thin border on the front and back.
And finally, off camera, I added a nice of gloss varnish everywhere to protect my hard work 🙂
Watch the video tutorial…
And let me know your thoughts on this with a comment below (scroll down to the bottom of the page) as I always love to hear from you!
With love and sunshine,
Mimi Bondi
Art supplies used
(click on blue links if you want to buy the same ones)
- Jo Sonja acrylic paints
- Makeup sponges
- Tim Holtz Scribbles stencil
- The Crafter’s Workshop Vine stencil
- Pebeo Iridescent Gold
- FW Pearlescent Acrylic Inks: Hot Cool Yellow, Hot Mamma Red, Sun Orange & Silver Pearl
- FW Acrylic Ink: Turquoise
- Carabelle Studio Stamp Punchanella
- Stazon inkpad Jet Black
- MMS Pretty Borders stencil
- Dylusions Acrylic Lemon Zest
- Carabelle Studio Circles & Text stamp
- Memento Luxe inkpad Wedding Dress
- Liquitex Gloss Varnish & Medium
Photos of my mixed media cover Butterfly Effect Book
Want to learn mixed media effortlessly?
My book 'No Shenanigans! Mixed Media Painting' is full of step-by-step tutorials from start to finish!
A book to tear up and use in your own art!
My book 'Secret Stash' is a collection of mixed media backgrounds for you to make more art with!
Hi Mimi, I am new to your blog (but not to your mixed media store) I am spending the kids inheritance there, I am loving your tutorials, I have watched many tutorials on you tube, No one uses Bling & Sparkle, I love your use of pearls and iridescents, I have tons of them and have been hesitant to use them. I am new to art journalling. I used to paint in trained in acrylic and watercolour, which I still love but after an almost fatal illness that left me with brain damage I have no short term memory , I have forgotten a lot of my teaching and I wanted something New, I too Love vibrant rich colours, ( what was that green that you used on the Jane Davenport cover?) I do backgrounds in my journal then get stuck on how to finish it. I look forward to more tutorials
Howdy Colleen!! I’m so glad to hear you haven’t forgotten about art though 🙂 Don’t think of ‘backgrounds’ as backgrounds. They are just abstract art, not every page needs a focal point. I have many in my journal that don’t have one if you check the video again 😉 Here’s the link to the Butterfly Effect cover, the list of supplies is in there http://mimibondi.com/mixed-media-cover-jane-davenport 🙂 Mimi – PS: I love glitter and sparkle too, if they make you happy, use them!
Love the way this turned out. I am also happy to see a new post, I missed you and your happy voice and art.
You are so sweet Debbie thank you 🙂 xxx
Love your work Do you have link or name of the Canvas book you created this art in
The name is in the title and post/video, it’s a butterfly effect canvas journal by Jane Davenport 😉
Again I say, “you make it look easy”. This makes us feel like we can do it too, so we shall try and even when it doesn’t come out as good as yours, at least we had fun. Thanks so much Mimi. You are an inspiration to us all.
It really is easy when you don’t focus too much on the outcome Anna and I’m glad to see you understand that! The more you do it, the more natural it becomes 🙂 Keep having fun with it, nothing else matters! xx mimi
Bonjour,
Quelles sont les premières peintures fluides (en flacon) que vous utilisez pour commencer la couverture de”mixed media cover butterfly”
Merci pour v/réponse.
Cordialement
Ghislaine
Bonjour! These are just my usual Jo Sonja and Liquitex Basics paints that I put in bottles so I could carry small amounts when I travel, nothing special 🙂
Wow, what wonderful colors as usual. So bright and cheerful. Glad to hear you sounding like yourself again. What do you consider when you choose which brand of acrylics to use for specific projects?
Thank you Hazel! The main thing I look at is opacity so… If I want to create softer colours and layers I’ll go with Liquitex Basics. If I want to cover up something or make opaque marks, I’ll use Dylusions or Jo Sonja 😉
I totally love how this turned out Mimi! You always do great work and you inspire so much! It is because of you that I know do art journaling to begin with!!!! I am not an expert like you but I am at least getting messy and making art!
Hugs,
Jo
Awww you are so sweet Jo! I’m so honoured to hear I’ve inspired to do art journalling and getting messy!! Thank you so much 🙂 XX mimi (PS: nobody can ever be an expert in Art so let’s just do our thing ;-))