• Gesso: This is the most basic of mixed media art supplies and serves as a primer. Gesso has "tooth" in it, allows you to apply other mediums on top of it so they don't peel or flake off. You can use it to prime un-primed canvases and non-porous surfaces such as resin and metal as well as to protect paper from wrinkling and warping. Gesso comes in white, black and clear. Clear is best for applying over paper. 
• Soft Gels: Soft refers to the "structure" of the gel. Soft gels don't have as much structure or body, making them perfect for applying things such glitter, glitter glass and art stone, or it can be used as an adhesive to glue paper to other surfaces. These come in matte and gloss. (I mixed glitter into Prima's Soft Gloss Gel to create my own dimensional raindrop medium.) 
• Heavy Gels: These gels have a lot more body or structure to them--in other words, when you apply them through a stencil, it holds its shape after you remove the stencil. You can mix paints, sprays or mica into these gels to create your own custom medium or they can be used to adhere heavier or metal objects to your project. These gels are often labeled as 3D Matte/Gloss or Heavy Body Gel. 

• Modeling Paste: This opaque matte paste can have texture or be texture free. Examples include Scrapbook.com's Cloud Whip (with grit) and Prima's Modeling Paste (no grit). 
• Paper Paste: This is a slightly pulpy paste is matte and opaque, with a hint of texture. 
• Crackle Paste: This paste cracks as it dries. The thicker you apply it, the bigger the cracks. 
• Other Pastes with Grit or Glitter: These "effect pastes" can be clear or opaque and often contain gritty material like sand, glitter, mica or iridescent flakes. Some examples are the Prima's Jewel Pastes, Effect Pastes, and Sand Texture. 

• Resin: Resin should always be used with caution. Mixing the 2 parts causes an exothermic reaction (a process that releases heat as a byproduct of a chemical reaction) as well as chemical smells. You should always wear gloves and a mask and work in a well ventilated area. That being said, resin is my favorite moulding material! It provides excellent detail and my favorite sets up in 10 minutes. I release the casts from the mould then set them on a flat surface to fully cure (30 minutes to an hour), or place it back into the mould to finish curing. 
• Casting Powders: Casting powders can be things like paster of Paris or resin-like powders. These powders are mixed with water and then can be poured into moulds and set up in 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how humid your climate is. These aren't as toxic as resin, however I still recommend wearing gloves while working with this as those with sensitive skin may find the powders irritating. 
• Paper Clay and Air Dry Clay: This type of material dries a little slower but can be easily molded around curved objects. It also provides a slightly "shabby chic" appearance as it will often crack as it dries and shows less detail than resin or powders. Apply cornstarch or other powder to your mould and then press the clay into the mould, scraping off the excess, de-mould your cast and let it dry flat, or glue it to a curved surface with a bit of soft gel.
• Modeling Material: This is like air dry clay but has a very smooth finish and shows less imperfections. It has a little bit of a learning curve and can crack if not applied into the mould as one solid piece, so I recommend this one for a bit more of an experienced hand. 

• Mica powders
• Glitters
• Foil Flakes
• Beads
• Glitter Glass
• Fibers like sisal, trim or lace
• Pearls and gems
• Found objects like twigs, lightbulbs and other "junk" 
• Metal embellishments (such as Finnabair Mechanicals) 
• Chipboard (I personally love the printed and plain Beautiful Board at Reneabouquets!)
• Stencils
• Paper flowers--no Prima lover can go without these on their projects! 

• Multiple water cups to wash brushes in. 
• A brush rinsing system, such as the Masterson Rinse Well, which gives you clean water to was brushes in, then drains the dirty water into a reservoir below at the touch of a button. 
• A stencil bath--this is just a plastic tub (like you would put leftovers in) filled with water and soap. Soak your stencils in there and gently scrub off the medium before rinsing in your sink.
• A nail brush to clean stencils off. 
• Paper towels and a water spray bottle to clean my hands, my work surface, brushes and stencils on.
• A mesh strainer to pour off dirty liquids through.

• Start by creating your mould casts using your preferred moulding material, letting the moulds set completely.
• On a 5x7 inch stretched canvas, apply Prima's Modeling Paste through a stencil and set aside to let it dry.
• Once dry, paint half the canvas with the Wild Iris Impasto and the other half with the Dusty Rose Impasto. Spray with water as you work to help the color move and to mix the two colors in the center to create an ombre effect. You'll notice the paint will mostly pool around the modeling paste texture when you apply water to your paints, creating a sort of resist effect. Set this aside to dry.
• Paint your mould casts with the Opal Magic Acrylic Paint in Violet Gold. You shouldn't need to prime with gesso for this shabby chic look, but you can if you want to.

• Use the Snow White Impasto to dry brush the highlights of your mould casts and the texture on the canvas. Dry brushing means applying paint to your brush, wiping off the majority of the paint so the brush is "nearly dry" then brushing over the surface of your project. 
• Glue your elements to your canvas, stacking up your flowers and mould casts. I like to use hot glue for embellishments that are supporting other embellishments and Heavy Body Gel for other embellishments. Tuck in the lace as you go. (If you want to get a long-form tutorial on my floating frame effect, check out this video on my YouTube channel!) 

• Using white gesso or the Snow White Impasto Paint, dab or brush the white medium onto the edges of the petals of your paper flowers. 
• With a paintbrush, apply Soft Matte Gel to the flowers and sprinkle on glitter or glitter glass. Tap off the excess glitter/glitter glass. 
• Add pearls with some liquid glue or Soft Matte Gel then pop on some crystals. 

Shop the Supplies:

Scrapbook.com, A Cherry On Top, Spellbinders, Sizzix & Amazon

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Below are products that I used for this project, or similar ones.