~ July 2025 Friends of Unity Blog Hop ~ Mixed Media/Grunge

Welcome to the July 2025 Friends of Unity Blog Hop!! Hard to believe that July is already here and the year is half over!! Mixed media and grunge is the theme this month. To be honest, I didn't really think that I could pull off this theme so I did some research! LOL 

Mixed media art refers to artwork that combines more than one artistic medium or material. It can include elements such as painting, drawing, sculpture, and non-traditional materials like cloth, paper, wood, and found objects. Artists use mixed media to create intricate, layered pieces that break the boundaries between different art forms. 

This is the definition from Google, so I went with it! Layered pieces, different design elements, more than one artistic medium or material. Literally had no idea where to even begin. I found a card on Pinterest that was beautiful so I loosely followed it!

One thing that I did discover, is that pictures are hard to take and get all the elements to show at the same time! Sorry this first one is so dark, but I wanted to see everything! The background started as a piece of white cardstock, to which I ink smooshed some distress oxides in stormy sky, cracked pistachio, faded jeans, speckled egg, peeled paint and distress ink in evergreen bough. Then I sprayed some (new to me) dylusions ink sprays in periwinkle blue and vibrant turquoise. Once those were dry I started stamping! I used multiple stamp sets to create the background including Soul Mail, Numbers, etc. (retired), Winter Shakeup, Paper Wings and Extended celebration. I also used the stencil from the 10/2023 Whit Kit and some lunar paste in midnight snack in a few spots. I just kept adding stuff!! The lace is from stash, the flowers I have had forever! The butterflies, from Paper Wings, were stamped, colored and fussy cut. Added with liquid adhesive and foam tape on the wings for lift. Brads and clear sequins to finish it off!

WHEW that was a lot of work but also fun to just keep adding and adding until I liked the outcome!! LOL Onto the next one!!

I made a few sprayed backgrounds to start and then went back and figured out which one I would use. This is one of those. Ink smooshed with distress oxides in peeled paint, stormy sky and speckled egg. Then I sprayed on dylusions spray ink in vibrant turquoise and periwinkle blue. I stamped on a bunch of different background type stamps from Small Details, Rectified Poppies, Dinged Dots (appears to be retired), then added some of the elements from Soul Mail. The flower vase and sentiment came from that set as well. 

Something I wanted to try was stamping onto tissue paper and adding that. I stamped the script writing from Soul Mail to a piece of tissue paper, tore some pieces off and then used mod podge and glued the tissue on in several places. I think one of the hardest parts of mixed media is giving time to let all the layers dry! LOL I stamped, colored and then fussy cut the flower vase. Cut the sentiment into pieces and mounted everything with foam adhesive.

This is a fun technique that I do not do very often. In fact, may be the second time that I've done mixed media to this extent. I love the outcome, definitely not in my comfort zone but I dove in and took hold of it! It's fun giving new techniques a try! That's what this is all about! Stretching your creative brain! Give it a try!

I am the second on the hop, so if you came here from Crystal, you started at the beginning, next will be Toni. Please follow along and enjoy! 

See you in August!