Secrets of the Sea with Prima!

Hello all you lovelies!

Today I have a bit of a lengthy but OH SO FUN project for you, using some gorgeous Prima products.  Come along to my little under-the-sea vignette!


SUPPLIES:
Prima flowers - various styles
Prima Relics and Artifacts
Prima Art Alchemy Metallique Paints - Dark Forest and Dragon's Eye
Assorted acrylic paints
Dew Drops
Adhesive
Altered Pages collage sheet
Ephemera and paper - I used from my stash, shells, shell glitter buttons, gold stickers, colored mosses, gold micro glass balls, Dew Drops, pearl beads, etc.
Substrate -  paper mache book from my stash. You could use any sort of box or shadow box too.

DAY ONE - My supplies at the ready. I never use everything and sometimes I use things that aren't pictured here, but I like a variety to start with and then I just use my imagination.

First, I picked out a shell shape and a figurine from the Prima Relics and Artifacts resin pack. I painted both of them with Prima Gold metallic paint.

 



I let that dry then I used a bit of white on a dry brush and went over the surface. Letting that dry, I followed up with a bit of brown color in places and blended it in. This combination, allows shadows and high lights so you can see more detail on the shell.  I used a glossy aqua blue glaze on the figurine to make it look aged.

 



Now I cover the inside of the box with my paper. Here I have a cool water themed paper with raised flocked bubbles. I use matte medium to adhere it.



Next, I used a dimensional product, similar to moulding paste but with some sandy texture added in. This made a great sea-bed floor. That takes awhile to dry too. Make sure you do let it dry overnight or at least for 6-8 hours before painting or adding any embellishments. If you do not let it dry, you can get cracking, which isn't a big deal, you just don't want it to happen after you have added a bunch of stuff and then have to fix it after. Patience is a trait I have had to learn the hard way - LOL

DAY TWO - After letting things dry overnight, I painted the edges of the book cover with Prima green metallic paint.

 While the paint is drying, I add the figurine to the shell, add some gold micro balls and some teal mica flakes. I am loving how this looks!

 On a trip to Vancouver, I stopped at an art supply store, they had scads of stuff, but I rummaged through a bin of shells and came out with this cool little guy. I think it looks perfect with the resin shell and figurine!

 Paint dry now, I use some unusual ribbon I had on hand and cut some kelpy looking shapes to glue to the inside.

 I painted the bottom of the sea floor with some tan and dark brown watered down acrylic paint. Then I cover the inside of the box with some more ocean themed paper. I used a strip of the same paper (from inside cover) and added it to the "pages" edge of the box, sorry, no good pic of that.

 Ice cream break - Butter brickle! Hey it's still Summer here in Arizona.

 Time to put the dried shell/figurine combo into the box.

 Adding more embellishments! Pearls, colored moss to look like coral and seaweed, more shells - I'm going crazy!

 Even MORE embellishments!  I also used some glossy medium on the bubbles printed on the paper to make them stand out.

 Added a colorful fish from Altered Pages collage sheet and I think I'm done with the inside! YAY

 Now for the outside of the box.. I found this great paper in my stash, glued it on, cut off excess and then used the same green metallic Prima paint I used to paint the edges and ran some around the edge of the paper to give it a worn look and hide the white edges of the paper.

 Now for the front cover - here I used several Prima flowers, some stick on gems and a real encrusted shell, which I just dusted with the gold Prima paint to give it some shimmer.

 Since I wanted this to sit firmly when the cover was open, I had to find something to place at the front corner of the book, this little spiral shell does the trick. Added a few gold corner stickers inside and outside of the cover for more shine. Here is the best picture I got of the outside "pages" edge which has a strip of the same paper as the inside cover, glued to the top and side. The bottom of the "pages" painted with the same green Prima paint as the rest.

 Put my book title on the spine and DONE!

Hope you enjoyed this fun project. As always, if you have any questions, please comment below and I will be happy to answer!

 

Ahoy!

 

Jen