Why buy it, when you can make it yourself?

This was the title of one of the workshops in one of the UKSN Retreats I went on last year -

 I am looking forward to what this year brings!!

Find out more about this year's retreats on facebook

UK Stampers Network Retreats

and the things we did on my blog here

Anyway to get back to the workshop...it was led by Mickey

 'Why buy it, when you can make it yourself'.

The brief was 'prepare to get messy - Mickey will show you how to make a texture paste that you can't tell from the real stuff

 and then some interesting things to create with it using paint and stencils'.

Thanks must go to PaperArtsy

 who donated some Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic Paints for this workshop!

Anyway as you know I love getting messy -

 and making things with everyday ingredients -

(just how many times have I used shaving foam and food colouring backgrounds - or used beetroot juice to make a spray?)

Anyway the recipe for the homemade texture paste

Mix together

• 1 cup acrylic paint
• 1 cup talcum powder
• 1/2 cup pva

The talcum powder can be replaced with plumber's grout...

This makes a great texture paste...we used it in the making of this mixed media tag... 

The tag involved various techniques

• Using the rubber stamp to stamp into the texture paste and with ink - love this 'Yesterday is History, Tomorrow a Mystery, Today is a gift, That's why it's the present'
• Using chalk acrylics
• Using a stencil, then slightly offset it to form a shadow
• Distressing
• Making a homemade chipboard by layering up honeycomb die cuts 

Another fun thing Mickey showed us was making stencils from hot glue gun glue, sprayed with Distress Ink...see how I used this here

and also suggesting making a spraying box out of a recycled box...

here's the one I made at home...

 All great fun - learnt lots - can't wait until the residential one in March!!