Try Ferro Special Effects Paste!

Ferro Special Effects Paste by Viva Colour is a unique paint that delivers a realistic, 3-dimensional metallic finish. It applies much like molding pastes, but one key difference is the color and wonderfully subtle sparkle already built in. Quick-drying, this water-based, nontoxic product can be used on virtually any indoor and outdoor surface: canvas, cardstock, ceramic, chipboard, clay, glass, paper, plastic, stone, terra cotta, wood and more. Apply through stencils, as Judy did on the altered tags shown here (click for a larger view), or use with rubber stamps to create a beautifully raised texture with a metallic sparkle. Visit Judy’s blog for more on using Viva products!

Other Surface Design Products from Viva

Precious Metal Paints are highly pigmented, vibrant metallic paints, available in 12 colors that will not fade or tarnish over time. Suitable for a wide variety of surfaces, these paints feature a strong opaque finish — just one brush stroke is enough to create a remarkable shimmering effect. Take a look at these buttons Judy colored using Precious Metal Paint!

Other Viva Colour products include Modeling Creams (create dimensional pearl or metallic effects on a wide variety of surfaces), Crackle Paint (create extravagant 3D crackle effects on a wide variety of surfaces), German Glitter Pens (formulated with a high concentration of premium double-sided German-made glitter and crystal binder) and much more. Shop all Viva products »

Hot off the Press: New Books!

Artistic Artifacts frequently adds new titles to its extensive selection of instructional and inspirational art books. The Beauty of Zentangle®: Inspirational Examples from 137 Tangle Artists Worldwide by Suzanne McNeill, CZT and Cindy Shepard, CZT is an amazing collection of Zentangle-inspired masterpieces. Zentangles have been one of the hottest art trends in recent years and you will be amazed at the wide variety of ZIAs (Zentangle Inspired Art) that are out there. In New Ideas in Fusing Fabric: Creative Cutting, Bonding and Mark-Making with the Soldering Iron, author Margaret Beal experiments with a variety of synthetic fabrics to develop new surface textures and three-dimensional pieces. Shop all books now »

Register Now for Art & Soul 2014 and Save!

Registration is now open for each of the Art & Soul creative retreats taking place next year: Kansas City, MO, March 19-23; Portland, OR, April 7-14 and Virginia Beach, VA, September 29-October 5. Register for the Portland event prior to November 15 and take advantage of class prices rolled back to 2004 — the fee for an all-day class is just $135. Registration for the Virginia Beach retreat opened last week; register between now and December 15 to take advantage of reduced prices. (View a thumbnail gallery of every sample photograph!) Many popular classes and instructors fill up quickly, so plan ahead to ensure your seat!

Mixed Media Metallics Challenge Open to All — Join Us!

We hope you are planning to participate in our Mixed Media Metallics Challenge! Maybe the Viva products described above have inspired you to try something new...or instead you prefer to work in your favorite tried and true medium. All, and everything, are welcome! Our simple requirements are featuring metal or metallic finishes in some way and finished size of 8" x 10". The deadline for your submissions is November 23. Visit our website to learn more about this challenge and our designated charity, Food for Others, who will be the beneficiary of proceeds from a silent auction of those challenge entries donated by participating artists.

Fiber & Mixed Media Classes at Artistic Artifacts

Learn new techniques and stretch your creativity! We have been hard at work organizing and posting a wide variety of classes for the remainder of this year and into the first months of 2014 — view full list. Upcoming classes include:

• Saturday, October 19: Printing with Thermofax Screens with PG Fiber2Art — this popular class covers a variety of thermofax screen printing techniques; you’ll go home with a huge stash of printed fabric (and paper, if desired).
• Saturday, October 26: From Board Game to Book with Stacy Rausch — All supplies provided! Create a hand-bound notebook or art journal using traditional book binding methods and materials, recycling a game board for covers.
• Saturday, November 2: Tin Critters and Creatures with Laura Hummel — Create your own one of a kind art sculpture using new or vintage food tins, drawer pulls, knobs, rusty items, wire and so much more!
• Also on Saturday, November 2: Turn Your Photos into Thermofax Screens with PG Fiber2Art — Use Photoshop Elements (software and laptop required) to turn your own photos into images that can be used to make thermofax screens.
• Saturday, November 9: Studio Tech Basics: 6 Edge Finishes with Cyndi Souder — In this technique class you’ll create a sampler of binding methods to finish art and traditional quilts.
• Tuesday, November 12: Upcycled Textile Shirt with Leslie Brier — Using simple sewing skills, suitable even for beginners, you will piece together your own one of a kind altered art to wear.
• Saturday, November 16: Crazy Quilted Pins & Pendants with Diane Herbort — Start with simple hand piecing and then concentrate on the fun of learning traditional embroidery, beading and embellishment skills with a contemporary twist.
• Also on Saturday, November 16: Gelli Printing with Susan Gantz — Learn to print on a Gelli Arts™ Gel Printing Plate, a process that offers you spontaneity and creates wonderful painterly effects on both fabric and paper.