Believe Every Day

Hi there crafty friends!  Kim here today to share a quick Pan Pastel project I worked on last week.  I still need to work on using this product but this was a bunch of fun to create...and easy!!

 A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending a Donna Downey class (call me EXCITED!)  It was an amazing class and I got to attend with Donna Marie, which made it even more fun!  The class was the Big 40 and including a book with 40 (yes, 40!) techniques!  One of the products we played with were Pan Pastels.  I've had the Pan Pastels in my stash for awhile but confess that I haven't used them much.  Donna Downey had a few canvases with her in class and they were stunning.  She said they were so easy to create and could be made it just about a half hour so...when I got home I decided to break out my new 5x8 Dylusions journal and my Pan Pastels to try to make some tress of my own!  (On a side note...I've decided to use my small Dylusions journal as my test journal.  It's the perfect size for practicing and then I can move on to my larger journal and a larger project when I'm comfortable with a certain technique).

So...to start I grabbed my Mixed Media I and II Pan Pastels, some sponges (they come with the pastels and we sell them separately) and my small journal.

The first step was super easy...just apply a color!  (After the fact I realized that I should have applied Gesso to the page first as the pastels need something to "grab" onto.  Leaving off the gesso meant that my pastels remain a bit too transparent for my liking...live and learn!)  You do need to apply a fixative in between each layer of pastels.  My favorite fixative?  Hair spray!  It seems to work and seems quite nice...LOL!

Next I added a few layers of ground...these colors were a bit too bright for me so you'll see that by the end of the project I had managed to tone them down a bit and blended everything together a bit better.

 I then used the white to lightly add the tree trunks and created the basic tree shape with the lightest green shade.

I outline the tree trunks with my "magic pencil"...this is a pencil that reacts with water and one that I'll be bringing into the store because you need one of these pencils...you might need two or three or...(I LOVE my pencil...a recommendation from Dina Wakley!)  I also added more color to my trees and more blending in the ground.  See how my trees are a bit too light?  I think that's because I left off the gesso...don't forget the gesso!!

 

Since everything needs "splotty dots" I had to add some to this piece.  This is just some watered down paint that I picked up with a paint brush to flick the paint on to the page.

 

 Then i just added a sentiment (from Sweet 'n Sassy) and the date.  Since this is more of a "practice" page for me, I didn't add a ton of layers. I more wanted to see how I did at laying down colors, created the tree shape, etc.  Next step is to try another page with the gesso as I think I'll get more depth of color.  Did you know that you can also create your own pastel colors by mixing in white for lighter shades and black for darker?  This was a tip Donna shared in her class.  This means that you can do a ton of work with just her Mixed Media I and II packages without needing to purchase a bunch of extra pastels.  I love those kinds of tips...helps you get more out of what you already have!

I hope you enjoyed today's project and you're encouraged to get out there and try some new products and new technique!!  Something wonderful does happen every day...especially when it comes to making ART!

Supplies:

Mixed Media I 

Mixed Media II

Dylusions 5x8 Journal

Archival Ink - Jet Black