Mixed media fairy house – inspired by Ireland!

mixed media fairy house-ursula-markgraf

How did I end up creating a fairy house … ?

Every day is a bit longer. The sun shines more and more often. Birds are chirping. I can find new sprouts shooting up in the garden every time I visit. It’s spring!

To be honest, I’m not a “spring girly”. My favourite time of year is fall or autumn. But after the long weeks of grey and it getting dark early and getting light late … I’m just happy that spring is here!

I enjoy working in the garden, going for walks, going hiking … and of course, riding my bike (cause that really isn’t much fun in winter!)

While tidying out some shelves I found some tiny wooden birdhouses and instantly had an idea! But the idea wasn’t just sparked by spring, but also by our last vacation. Out of the ordinary, we didn’t travel to Scotland last year, but we visited Ireland!

And one thing that I loved about Ireland was the fact that their houses are often painted in the most vibrant colours! You find houses in dark pink, bright yellow, a combination of red and blue (which I thought would never work – but it does!!!), purple …

I found it so inspiring and couldn’t get enough of those colours and colour combinations. Also, in Ireland, you often find fairy houses or fairy doors in the gardens. Sometimes it’s just one door … sometimes it’s a tree full of many different doors. It looked so enchanting and magical!

I really wanted to create my own fairy door for my garden. So far I haven’t done that yet. I will and you’ll be the first one to know. But I created …

A mixed media fairy house!

mixed media fairyhouse-ursula-markgraf

What do you think?

I tried a combination of dark purple, dark pink and yellow … and am super happy about how it turned out!
All the shingles and stones were a lot of work, but it really paid off.

mixed media fairyhouse-ursula-markgraf

And the little sign that can be hung on the house can be switched out. So you could have little messages for someone that you’re gifting the house to. Or just sweet reminders for yourself.

mixed media fairyhouse-ursula-markgraf

And this was the wooden birdhouse before I used acrylic paints, cardboard, wire, and lots of love (and time!) to create the fairy house:

mixed media fairyhouse-ursula-markgraf

Would you like to have your own fairy house for your apartment or your balcony?

There are two options for you :-)

Order your very own mixed media fairy house

For 29€ (plus shipping) you can order your very own fairy house. If you’re quick, I will personalize it for you. All you have to do is just send me an email at ursula@ursulamarkgraf.com and let me know which 2-3 colours you would like and tell me 5 little messages for the signs for the house.
Alternatively, you can of course also just order them once they are in my etsy-shop (without personalization). I only offer the personalization until all my wooden birdhouses are gone. Once all are painted, you can only buy them as they are.

mixed media fairyhouse-ursula-markgraf

Create your very own mixed media fairy house with my online workshop

Would you like to create your very own fairy house? Or even better – a whole village of fairy houses?

I’d love to show you how I made mine. I’m planning to create an online video workshop. So, if you’re interested in that one, please let me know either by commenting or sending me an email.

At the moment I have a few options of online workshops that I’m planning to create. So if there is a lot of interest in the fairy house one, then I will create this one first.

Also, if you do send me an email and let me know that you’re interested, I will send you a coupon code to buy the finished workshop at a reduced price, once it’s done. Just as a little show of appreciation that you took the time to email me.

And if you’d like to be among the first ones to know when my online-workshop is finished, then just sign up to my newsletter!

Sign up to my newsletter and try my free mixed media workshop!

 

P.S. Of course, you don’t only find colourful houses in Ireland. There is also gorgeous nature and breathtaking scenery. Here are just a few impressions:

Mixed Media Easter Egg Tutorial

Mixed Media Easter Egg Tutorial

Easter is just around the corner … and I’m really looking forward to it. A few years ago on a whim, I created these Easter eggs with faux calligraphy. Back then I used ink and a nib on them, which was a pain. Even though I really LOVED the result, I was not really willing to create more of them, as it simply was super hard for me to write with the nib on such an awkward surface. (Rounded, small, bit bumpy from the collage … ) I had an idea in my head that would eliminate that faux calligraphy/hand-lettering bit, but never really got around to trying it. This year I finally did it. This is the result:

Mixed Media Easter Eggs

mixed-media-easter-egg-tutorial-ursula-markgraf

What do you think?

Here are some more with cute images instead of words:

mixed-media-easter-egg-tutorial-ursula-markgrafThe cute images are free to download from The Graphics Fairy.

I love how they turned out! But I do love the ones with the words most!

What words would you put on your DIY-Easter eggs?

mixed-media-easter-egg-tutorial-ursula-markgrafAnd if you want to create our own Mixed Media Easter Eggs and would love a bit of help – I created an easy-to-follow step-by-step PDF-tutorial for you.  It has 13 pages and guides you through the process.  Super beginner-friendly! No tutorial videos (yet!) unfortunately, but I think it’s still easy to follow along with the photos and descriptions. Also, as it’s not a video workshop the price is of course much more affordable!

Easy-to-follow beginner-friendly PDF-tutorial in my etsy-shop

Until the 24th of March, 2024, you can buy the tutorial e-book (PDF) for an introductory price in my etsy-shop.

So hop on over … and start creating some fun Easter eggs to decorate with or give away as gifts!

How to make a cute recycled gingerbread house tag – tutorial

gingerbread house gift tag tutorial by ursula markgraf

To be completely honest, I have a bit of a divided opinion on wrapping gifts. Of course, I do love beautifully wrapped gifts. But I also always am super conscious about the fact that I’m using up resources just to wrap a gift up pretty, that is going to be unwrapped within seconds and then the wrapping is most likely going to be thrown out.

(I personally actually often use wrapping paper or tiny decorations from wrapped gifts in my art journaling and mixed media stash. But of course, I can’t use everything … and not everyone does that, either.)

So, I’m always happy when I find a way to make gift wrapping a bit more ressource- and environment- conscious. Recycling is one of the ways that you can do that. And as I had quite a few cardboard boxes standing around from past orders, I was thinking … why not make some cute recycled gingerbread house gift tags for Christmas?

I enjoyed this so much. It’s a low-key and super relaxing activity. No measuring. No being exact and precise. Just some loose drawing. You can do it while listening to an audiobook or just while relaxing after a stressful day. Light a few candles, brew a nice tea, and just sit down and doodle.

What you need:

– cardboard
– scissors
– white acrylic pen (I love POSCA-pens!)
– hole punch
– some sort of ribbon

gingerbread-house-tag-ursula-markgraf

Steps:

1. Cut the cardboard into a house shape. This doesn’t have to be perfect. I did not measure anything and it’s not exact at all. I think if the house is a bit wonky, that makes it even more adorable! To make the house look more like actual gingerbread, make sure that the edges are all rounded.

2. With the white acrylic pen add “sugar icing”. You can draw anything you like. Just doodle! Windows, door, hearts, fun lines, and flourishes… Lots of dots! Here’s a little video, if you need some inspiration:

3. Add a hole with the hole punch and add some cute ribbon!

That’s it! You’re done. Quick and easy!

Do you have some ideas for other easy-to-make gift tags? Leave them in the comments!

In a rush and don’t have time to create your own Christmas gift tags? Then check out the printable reindeer gift tags in my etsy-shop.

 

Tealights with a secret message – tutorial

Tealights with a secret message - tutorial by Ursula Markgraf

Today I have a little tutorial for your for a very sweet gift idea. It’s not my typical “thing” as it doesn’t involve any paints or such … but it’s quick and easy, you can send it via mail and even kids can help. So I just thought I had to share.

As you can see in the photo above I made a little tealight Advent calendar with this idea and mailed it out. But you can also easily create candles with your wishes for a new year for New Years Eve or candles with secret messages, wishes or even gifts for birthdays or just because … I love that the tealights look like ordinary tealights … until you light them and they burn for a while and reveal the secret message.

You have to let the tealights burn for quite some time until all the wax has melted. Then the white wax becomes translucent and you can see the secret message underneath. (Just a little warning – it takes quite some time until all the wax melts. It’s not done in 30 minutes!)

You need:

-tealights
-paper and a dark pen
-scissors
-optional a Candle-Liner

How it’s done:

First you cut out the message. You can print out the pdf below if you like and write your message into the circles. But of course you can also simply draw some circles (a bit smaller than your tealights) on some paper and write down your message on those.

Hint:
I wouldn’t recommend writing your message in the middle of the circles as that’s where the flame of your tealight will be and that might make it hard to read. Also, you should use a darker color to write down your message so it will be easy to read it through the liquid wax. A light pencil does not work too well.
;-)

Once you cut out the message, take the candle out of the metal tealight capsule. Put your paper into the capsule and put the candle back on top. Done!

Hint:
With some tealights you can very easily take the candle out of the metal capsule. With some it takes a bit more persuading. If possible already check when buying them whether you can disassemble them easily. I had some that were quite persistent not to be parted …. so I actually needed some metal pliers to persuade the candle to come out of the metal …

If you wanna make an Advent calendar then you need to make 24 (or 25) tealights with secret messages. Once you’re finished you can write the numbers on top of the tealights with a Candle-Liner. I had a glittery one, which I really liked. But you can of course also use any other color. I think red would also be very pretty for example.

If you just wanna give them as a gift, obviously you can make any number you want. And you can either draw little symbols or such on top – or just leave them as they are. I would however recommend to add some sort of instruction to them when giving them as a gift as they really look just like ordinary tealights and really takes some time until they reveal their hidden secret. And it would be rather sad if the person you gave them to missed their secret message just because they didn’t expect it … and didn’t look.

What do you think of this idea?

Write me a comment and let me know who’d you like to give a tealight with a secret message to?

Or tell me what little gifts that are easy and quit to make you like to give?

P.S. Here’s the pdf – just right-click and choose “save as”. Have fun creating!

Blanc circles PDF

40 free mixed media art tutorials for you!

40 free mixed media art tutorials for you!

To celebrate my 40th birthday I collected 40 free mixed media art tutorials for you! Yeah!

40 free mixed media art tutorials collected by Ursula Markgraf

I turned 40 in September! *yeah*

And yes, I was totally happy about that. Which is odd, as I usually don’t really care about the actual number of my age. But this birthday – I was really looking forward to it. For the first time in my life it kinda felt like a milestone. :-)

And since it’s always more fun to celebrate with others and spread the joy I was thinking about how I could do that. I was mulling this over for quite some time …
But then it was easy. If you’re here and reading my blog you probably love to be creative. And you might even have tried the mixed media technique. So I spend some time and searched the internet for you and put together 40 free mixed media art tutorials. So here you get 40 times fun and creativity – art tutorials! – for free! I really hope you enjoy it!

And here they are! *tadaaaaa*

40 free mixed media art tutorials:

1.A super inspiring video about the importance of keeping a sketchbook by the lovely Tam from www.willowing.org

2.A lovely video about being crative on the go by Jeane from www.jeaneoliver.com

3.And a little creativity quickie ;-) A tutorial about how to create postcards with watercolors.

4.Free inspiration by Danielle from www.danielledonaldson.com – I haven’t tried her free workshop yet, but some of her paid ones. I love her art!

5.A tutorial for abstract flowert – so you can create your very own “Secret garden”. Awesome!

6.A process-video, that shows how a portrait develops – by the lovely Kara from www.karabullockart.com

7.Another video by Jeanne from www.jeanneoliver.com: Documented Life Project – Creating with Ephemera

8.A video-tutorial showing how you can create a lovey mixed media background with gesso. I LOVE gesso!!!!

9.A gorgeous art-journaling video by Roben-Marie.

10.And of course you’d need something where you can do art journaling in … so here’s a post with 10 ideas for handmade art journals.

11.A picture tutorial showing how to create a mixed media storm or hurricane.

12.An inspiring video by Toni Burt, showing how she creates an art journaling page with a mixed media background and a portrait.

13.And another tutorial for a handmade art journal.

14.Also a tutorial for a junk journal. Sounds fun!

15.A video showing the creation of an art journaling page (you  have to scroll down in the blogpost).

16.And another art journaling page video – called “Carefree” by Mimi Bondi.

17.A tutorial showing different image transfer methods.

18.This one is not really a mixed media tutorial, but a little adorable sketch video on the “Yes and Amen blog”. Just love it and find it totally inspiring. (You have to scroll a bit down in the blogpost).

19.Another video on what you can do with gesso. Did I mention I love gesso?

20.A tutorial for a cool technique with alcohol ink.

21.A tutorial showing you how to create gorgeous feathers with watercolor. Also not a “true” mixed media tutorial – but hey, I LOVE feathers. And watercolor! ;-)

22.A tutorial on how to age paper.

23.And if the tutorial under 22. is not enough for you, here are 6 ways, you can use to distress or age paper.

24.Inspiring mixed media video by Christy Campbell Tomlinson.

25.Wanna use handlettering in your mixed media work? Here’s an introduction to handlettering.

26.And if you wanna learn more about handlettering, HERE you can find lots of ressources to dig deeper.

27.Inspiring video by Ady Almanzac showing how she creates a magical fairy. It is truly magical watching her!

28.Wanna try your hand at mail art? Here are three tutorials by The Postman’s Knock. (She has LOADS of more awesome tutorials on her site!)

29.More mail art – a little video tutorial to create a mixed media postcard.

30.And another photo tutorial showing how to create a mixed media postcard.

31.An inspirational art journal video by the lovely Suzi Blu.

32.An inspirational video by Iris, where she shows how she creates an art journal page.

33.A lovely free mixed media workshop by Ivy Newport, where you can also work with encaustics.

34.A tutorial on how to create your own mixed media stickers.

35.If you rather wanna create something a bit smaller – how about some mixed media “message” or affirmation cards.

36.If you wanna give your mixed media creations a “distressed” look, then this tutorial doesn’t give you ONE but FOUR ideas how to do it.

37.A video tutorial to create mixed media ATCs. (Artist trading cards)

38.And another video tutorial for an art journaling page.

39.A wonderful mixed media workshop with little birdies by Brandi Dayton.

40.Last but not least  – a  video-tutorial by me how to create a mixed media star.

Also, feel free to check out this pinterest board by me. It has all the tutorials from this blogpost on it … and more.

Now I’m wishing you lots of joy creating!

Let me know in the comments which of the free mixed media art tutorials you wanna try first.

P.S. As the internet changes all the time – if you come across a link to an art tutorial that doesn’t work, please let me know and I’ll fix it. Just write me a comment or drop me an email.

P.P.S. Yes, there will be a new Christmas card design this year. I will show it probably next week. So watch this space! Or sign up for my newsletter to be the first to know. :-)

Gifting love (including DIY tutorial)

Gifting love (including DIY tutorial)

 

The cards read “You are my angel” in German.

Are you wondering what to give – gift – someone you love? Maybe your kids? Or a dear friend?

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This card reads “You are my sunshine” in German.

How about telling them what you really want them to know? How you feel about them?

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This card reads “You are strong” in German.

In a way that they can always read what you want to tell them.

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This card reads “Follow your heart” in German.

Or maybe gifting them your “truths”. Or simply little messages you want to share with them?

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This card reads “You are my star” in German.

For Christmas I made both my kids some “message cards”, basically cards with little messages I want them to always remember.

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This card reads “You are my treasure/ my dearest” in German.

I thought I share a few of them – maybe it inspires you to create something similar for your kids or another loved one.

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This card reads “You are my star” in German.

I made these cards similarly as I made my affirmation cards. If you want to you can find a free online-mini-workshop for my mixed media affirmation cards HERE.
The process is pretty much the same. Just instead of adding affirmations I added little messages personalized for my kids.

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This card reads “You have a special gift” in German.

You can gift these anytime – for a birthday, Easter, Christmas, Valentine’s day … or just a regular Monday. ;-)

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This card reads “Let your inner light shine” in German.

You can make one card. Or you can make MANY!

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This card reads “I love you” in German.

You can make them in a color scheme, or all in the same color – or in a rainbow of colors. Whichever you like most!

 

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This card reads “You are a miracle” in German.

You can make a big batch all at once … or spend a few weeks making one card a week.

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This card reads “I’m so happy that you exist” in German.

Which message would you want to create for a loved one?

P.S. And of course it’s perfectly okay to make such “message cards” for yourself as well. We all have some messages that we need to hear again and again, don’t we?

You’re a star – mixed media star tutorial

A little while ago I made a bunch of origami stars out of old book pages.

origami-stars-ursula-markgraf_MG_2961

Even though I really liked those stars I couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if I add a bit of paint, a few stitches with my sewing machine and some words. ;-) So I finally tried it ….

mixed-media-star_MG_2958-2

… and loved it so much, that I made some more.

mixed-media-star-ursula-markgraf_MG_2976

I’m planning to use some of them as tags on Christmas gifts, some will go on a little Christmas tree and the rest will probably looks sweet in a window.

mixed-media-stern-ursula-markgraf_MG_2973d

If you wanna create your own mixed-media stars, you can. Just for you I filmed how I made them.

mixe-media--star-tutorial-E

But first, here’s a list of what I used. Of course, please feel free to swap out stuff or simply use what you have on hand. This is meant just as an inspiration.

List of materials:

-origami star made out of old book pages, instructions on how to fold the star can be found HERE
-gesso (alternatively white acrylic paint)
-sewing machine
-silver acrylic marker or acrylic paint
-white acrylic paint
-materials for mark making like old credit card, little tube cap, piece of drinking straw or similar
-decoupage glue or matte medium (if you don’t have either you can use any clear drying glue)
-printed out words or similar, scraps of fabric
-little silver stars or similar decoration
-button
-wire
-little glass bead(s)

mixed-media-star_MG_2958-close

And this is how I made the stars:

I’m wishing you lots of fun making stars! If you make some, I’d love to see them! :-)

And if you have any questions, just ask in the comments!

How to create mixed media postcards (Video)

Mixed-media postcard tutorial video with Ursula Markgraf

I finally managed to film and edit my first ever video. I wanted to show you how to create mixed media postcards. And here it is:

Video on how to create mixed media postcards

I hope it inspires you to get creative and create some mixed media postcards yourself! It’s so fun!

If you have any questions or would like to show me your creations, just leave a comment! :-)

And of course, I’d be thrilled to get any feedback!

And if you enjoyed this – why not create your own affirmation cards with mixed media techniques?

free-affirmation-card-workshop-ursula-markgraf

Celebrate life everyday – mixed media step-by-step photo tutorial

Today I have a mini-photo-tutorial for you on how to make a mixed-media postcard. I hope you enjoy it. :-)

Quite some time ago I participated in a postcard swap which I really enjoyed. The theme for the swap was “Celebrate”. As I loved creating my card back then so much I decided to create a similar card and share the process of making it. This is the finished card:

finished-MG_2533 Kopie

As you see, this time with a tea cup. I LOVE tea. And to me a good cup of tea is a perfect way to celebrate my life. Every day. :-) Wanna make your own? This is what you need:

ursula-markgraf-step1_MG_2526 Kopie Kopie

Of course you can use any other art supplies you have around. And you certainly do not have to use everything I put in the picture. This is an awesome project for playing with what you have and like. Anything goes. :-) When you have all your supplies ready, you create a background. (I created two. I love creating backgrounds.)

For the backgrounds I just added some collage bits, used water color crayons, my chalks some white acrylic paint, some distress ink and some spray tint. When you have your backgrounds ready you need to print out some words. (Or write them down with a permanent pen.) I printed the words “Celebrate life every day”.
You will also need a cutout of a cup. You can either use paper scraps or old book pages – which I LOVE. You could also paint one onto some thick paper and cut that out. If you make several cups, play around until you find the one that you like best on your background.

ursula-markgraf-mixed-media-step2_MG_2527 Kopie Kopie

Then arrange your words and your cup on your background and – glue them down.

ursula-markgraf-mixed-media-step3_MG_2531 Kopie Kopie

In the next step color your word paper strips with some water color crayons or chalks. Outline them to make them stand out more. Also outline your cup and add a shadow around your cup.

step4_MG_2533 KopieLast step is to add some steam – if you like – and maybe some fun embellishments. I added a tiny little polymer clay heart to my cup. Cause I LOOOOOOVE my tea. :-)

ursula-markgraf-mixed-media-step5_MG_2536 Kopie KopieHave fun making your own “Celebrate” card!

And if you show off your card, comment and leave a link to it in the comments. I’d love to stop by and take a peek.

P.S. I’m planning to post more mixed-media tutorials in the future, so if you enjoy them, hop on the list for my lovely emails so you don’t miss any:

Want to know how to make the tiniest crochet hearts? (free pattern/ tutorial)

Want to know how to make the tiniest crochet hearts? (free pattern/ tutorial)

Long awaited – but finally here *drum-roll* the tutorial to make the tiny mini-hearts that I used for my crocheted gingerbread house tags. (Free pattern for those HERE.)

 

When I made the gingerbread house tags I was searching the internet for a pattern for tiny hearts. And there are many patterns for small crocheted hearts out there. But none was quite tiny enough. So I made up my own. And now you can make them, too. :-)

 

Tutorial for making teeny tiny crocheted hearts

You need yarn – the thinner the yarn, the smaller the hearts – and a matching crochet hook.

1. Start with a magic ring:

Crochet beginning with magic ring

Just make a loop

Crochet beginning with magic ring

and pull your yarn through. Then crochet a chain stitch.

 

2. Work 5 single crochets into the loop you just created/ the magic circle.

How to crochet a tiny heart

 

3. Pull tight and finish the round with a slip stitch into the first chain stitch you have made.
It should look like a small circle.

Crochet tiny heart

 

4. Start the second round with a chain stitch.
Then you work 3 single crochets into the first single crochet from the last round.

tiny-crochet-heart-tutorial-ursula-markgraf_MG_8370

 

5. Work a slip stitch into the second single crochet.

Crochet tiny heart

 

6. Into the third single crochet work 1 slip stitch, 1 chain stitch, 1 slip stitch. This will be the tip of your heart.

Crochet tiny heart

 

7. Into the fourth single crochet work 1 slip stitch.

Crochet tiny heart

 

8. Into the fifth single crochet work 3 single crochet stitches. Finish the round with 1 slip stitch into the middle of your heart.

Crochet tiny heart

It should end up looking like this:

tiny-heart-crochet-tutorial-ursula-markgraf_MG_8376

 

I always tie a knot with the tail and the thread that I started with. I think it gives the heart a nice shape.

Crochet tiny heart

And done! :-)

Now you can use your tiny heart to embellish your crocheted gingerbread tags ;-) or tie it around a candle, decorate a card, make a mini-bunting out of tiny hearts or …

 

If you liked the tutorial, please leave me a comment! Makes my day! :-)