If you have never done mixed media before, it can seem intimidating. Fortunately, there are some mediums out there that make it really easy to dip your toe into the art form. 

Mixed media is my favorite paper crafting art form. It gives you a chance to play, experiment and really have fun. But it can seem complicated to those who have never tried it out before. And I totally get that! There are some “rules” to mixed media that those of us who have been doing it for some time now, just know by heart, such as glossy acrylic paints act like a resist to other mediums like Distress Sprays. 

It can be a lot to remember and think about. And in my early days, I will freely admit I made many, many “mistakes.” I tried to think of those missteps as opportunities, particularly for learning. But if you are hesitant to really get in there and experiment, fear not! There are lots of colorful mediums out there that are perfect for painting with or just applying through a stencil. And one of those are the creamy, dreamy stencil butters from The Crafters Workshop. 

You don’t have to worry about mixing other mediums in to turn these pastes colorful, and the fear that goes along with it—like making your medium too thin to apply well through a stencil. These stencil butters are fool proof. And if you want to experiment with mixing, you can mix the various stencil butters to create your own custom color, worry free. 

And that is the technique for today—applying TCW’s stencil butters through stencils over patterned paper! There is no prep work that you have to do and you don’t have to worry about finding other mediums to pair with them to create a full color background. Simply pick out a coordinating paper and stencil butter, apply the butters through a stencil, lift the stencil off, and voilà, you have a perfect mixed media background without the fuss.

And because there are no rules to mixed media, you don’t have to add any more mediums than that. After adding that texture to your patterned paper, you can simply call it a day on the art mediums and move to adding other things you are more comfortable with—like die cutting!

Now if like me you like to create your own custom colors of stencil butters and you find yourself with excess, don’t throw the excess paste down the sink or in the trash. Grab a piece of smooth white cardstock and apply the stencil butter to that piece of cardstock with a palette knife or craft scraper (the craft scraper will give you a smoother application if that is what you want). You’ve just created some custom cardstock that matches your project. Once that butter is dry, you can die cut it! I mixed the Pearl White and Turquoise stencil butters for a softer color and die cut some leaves from my customized piece of cardstock. 

To watch my full process for creating these little mixed media floral medallions, be sure to check out my tutorial video on YouTube! And until next time, happy crafting!

Adrienne 

Shop the Supplies:

Scrapbook.com & Spellbinders

I am an affiliate with Scrapbook.com and Spellbinders. When you shop the links below, I receive a small commission from the affiliate, at no additional cost to you. This helps me balance the costs of the time and love I put into my projects and blog so I can continue to share my ideas with you for FREE. If you shop the links, thank you! I greatly appreciate it.

Below are products that I used or similar products.