Tres Jolie Kit Club–Mixed Media Bat-October 2022 Mixed Media Kit

Hey, y’all! Is everyone ready for Halloween? I am because I don’t have anything to get ready for! The kids are all 21+, so Halloween has been their business for a while.

I love making Halloween-themed decorations! I don’t know why exactly, I think it must speak to the GenX “goth” side of me! Anyhow, the Mixed Media Kit this month from Tres Jolie Kit Club has just what you need to get going on your next Halloween (or goth!) décor piece – a bat base, foil transfer sheets, purple glitter paint, “Black Hole Black” Magical Powder, and some Distress Crackle! You could easily use just the mediums from the kit to decorate the bat base, or you can start with the bat and see what you can build up on it.

Oct2022MMKit-MMBat-01

I have lots of layers – and had loads of dry time to go with them all – but I had fun and love the end result! Watch my video to see how this bat came together!



The first thing I did was give my bat base a coat of heavy black gesso, and after that had dried, I added some sand texture paste – in a random, patchy fashion – then coated that with more of the heavy black gesso. You can easily add the sand texture paste on the bat base first, then coat everything with the gesso – I just didn’t think of the sand texture paste until after I had the first coat of gesso on!

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The next layer to go on was some of the FolkArt Purple Glitter Paint from the kit this month. It is a rather thick medium, so to make sure I got it between all of the rough spots of the sand texture paste, I watered it down some and spread it out.

After the FolkArt paint had dried, I started adding patches of the foil transfer to the base. As I mentioned in the video, if there wasn’t an extra tip in the package for the glue pen, I probably would have made a puddle of the glue on my media mat and then brushed it on; but, since there was a spare tip in the package, I used the glue straight from the pen! I really liked doing it this way just because it wouldn’t go on smoothly!

Oct2022MMKit-MMBat-06

Once that glue had dried, I used a palette knife to drizzle on a layer of the Distress Crackle Paint and to just smooth it out across the surface. I didn’t want a thin, brushed layer, so I drizzled just enough to make a nice coat but without overflowing off the sides.

After the crackle paint had completely airdried and those cracks had formed, I gave a surface a light spritz of water, sprinkled on some of the Black Hole Black Magical Powder, and spritzed on more water. It doesn’t take a lot of powder! That Lindy’s Black Hole Black really deepens as soon as the water gets to it! I kept it watered down and let it flow into all of the cracks, then just dabbed off any areas that I didn’t want it – like on top of where the foil spots were.

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While I let the Lindy’s dry, I started prepping all of my resin pieces. All of the bones started with a layer of white gesso, followed by a layer of Finnabair “Linen” Impasto Heavy Body Acrylic Paint. All of the other mould pieces started with a layer of black gesso and then were coated with a mix of “Ink Black” Liquid Acrylic Paint, FolkArt Purple Glitter Paint, and some Cosmic Shimmer “Fireworks Burst” Pixie Powder. I just mixed everything together to darken the pieces while giving them some shine at the same time. I also took this opportunity to give my bat a spray of some Finnabair Pixie Dust to hold the Black Hole Black Magical Powder in place.

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With my bat set off to dry again, I started working on adding some dimension and color to my bone pieces. I started by adding some Burnt Sienna Liquid Acrylic Paint, watering it down, and just letting it catch in the textured areas of the mould pieces. After that paint had dried, I started adding more layers of color and some shine using the “Decayed” Distress Crayon and spreading it on my bones.

Because the Amun skull with the little bird skull I added on has so much detail on it, I came back with the Burnt Sienna, darkening some of those detail points – such as the nose ridge, nostrils, and eye sockets. Since it was going to be a little easier to work on before adhering to the base, I added a couple of waxes to Amun. I used some Sepia Antiquing Wax on the horns and added some Old White Matte Wax to create some highlights on the skulls. Then, because I had the Distress Crayon on my bones, I coated them with some MicroGlaze so the Crayon wouldn’t reactivate with water, and added everything to my base using some 3D Matte Gel. And, since I would be waiting for the 3D Gel to dry, I grabbed up my (regular) matte gel and some art stones and spread them on to add more texture.

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With the gels dry, it was time to add more layers of color while I worked toward what I had been picturing in my head! I used more of the Purple Glitter Paint, the Black Hole Black Magical Powder, some of the Cosmic Shimmer Powder, and more Burnt Sienna to create the darker shadows around the bones.

After all of those mediums had dried, I came back in with some more of the Distress Crackle, mixed in some purple mica powder, and spread it out across the bat. Next up, more foil!

I was on a mission to try and lighten the area behind the resin pieces so they would pop more, so I added some White Pearl Metallic paint, then I had to fix some of the shadow areas with more Burnt Sienna!

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I finally reached the end of this project! All of my wet mediums were dry, and it was time to grab my waxes and add the finishing details. I started with some Old White Matte Wax, then built up on it with some French Lavender Matte Wax, Electric Violet Metallique Wax, Royal Robes Opal Magic Wax, and some Ash Grey Antiquing Wax to finish it up.

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Thank you for joining me here in my corner! I hope that you enjoyed this Mixed Media bat and it gave you some ideas of what you can do with this month’s Mixed Media Kit! Don’t forget to get yourself a kit if you don’t have one already – or get yourself another while supplies are still available – and HAVE FUN!

Stay Crafty, Friends!


Did you get a kit? Share what you made in our Facebook Group!

Thank you for joining us here at Tres Jolie Kits!


Tres Jolie can also be found at:

Tres Jolie Facebook

Tres Jolie Instagram

Tres Jolie Website

Tres Jolie Subscriptions

Tres Jolie Blog

Tres Jolie YouTube

Tres Jolie Pinterest


Tres Jolie Insta Square Frame

In addition to the items in this month’s Mixed Media Kit (*from previous Tres Jolie Kits), I used:

**Disclaimer: Some [non-Tres Jolie] items may contain an affiliate link, allowing me to earn a small commission at no extra cost to you!**

*Finnabair Heavy Black Gesso , *Finnabair “Ink Black” Liquid Acrylic Paint , *Finnabair “Burnt Sienna” Liquid Acrylic Paint , *Finnabair “Linen” Impasto Heavy Body Acrylic Paint , *Finnabair “White Pearl” Metallique Paint , *Finnabair “Pixie Dust” Fixative , Finnabair “Sepia” Antiquing Wax , Finnabair “Ash Grey” Antiquing Wax , Finnabair “Royal Robes” Opal Magic Wax , Finnabair “Electric Violet” Metallique Wax , Finnabair “French Lavender” Matte Wax , *Finnabair “Old White” Matte Wax , *Finnabair “Pearls & Crystals” Mica Set , Finnabair Art Stones , Finnabair 3D Matte Gel , Finnabair “Pieces of Underworld” Mould , Finnabair “Locks & Keys” Mould , Finnabair “Skull & Bones” Mould , Finnabair “Amun & Bast” Mould , Finnabair “Nocturnal Insects” Mould , Distress Crayon “Decayed” , *Cosmic Shimmer “Fireworks Burst” Pixie Powder , *DecoArt “Neutral” Texture Sand Paste , Liquitex Matte Gel , JudiKins MicroGlaze , Daler Rowney White Gesso , Amazing Casting Resin , Amazing Clear Cast Epoxy , *spray bottle

Reveal Day! Check out the October 2022 Tres Jolie Kits!

Hey, y’all! Welcome to (hopefully!) the crisp, cool days of October and the reveal of this month’s kits!! Make sure to get yours before they’re gone!

Be sure you are following us on all social media platforms (Tres Jolie Kit Club links at end of post; Corner Scraps links to the right) and have joined the Tres Jolie Kit Club Facebook Café so you won’t miss a single announcement or project created with these kits.

Kit Reveal Banner

The October 2022 Scrapbooking Kit is filled with the Rustic Dreams collection pack from the new-to-us company Memory Place. These papers are perfect for building up all of your projects! Fantastic floral, distressed wood, and grungy walls – you’ll find it all in this month’s Scrapbooking Kit! You will find a lovely assortment of patterned papers and perfectly coordinated embellishments.

Who’s ready to get spooky? This month’s Mixed Media Kit has a fabulous Tres Jolie MDF Bat Base ready for you to build your Halloween – or year-round! – décor piece! You’ll find a bottle of FolkArt Purple Glitter Paint, Tim Holtz Crackle Paint, DecoFoil glue pen and foil sheets, and some Lindy’s “Black Hole Black” Magical powder that is perfect for creating a beautiful, deep (DEEP!) black. And the best part? The kits can be used with each other!

In this month’s Cards, Tags, & More Kit, you’ll find a fabulous pumpkin-shaped Tres Jolie Chipboard mini album ready for you to decorate and personalize using the beautiful autumn papers and cut-apart sheets from Craft o’ Clock. There is so much you can do with this kit! After you’ve put your album together, you will still have plenty of material to make some cards, tags, or whatever you can think of! Who doesn’t like being able to create a variety of projects from one kit?

These kits are for the beginner to the advanced; from clean and simple – to mixed media maven. No matter your style, there is something for everyone. We know you are going to love it!


And now (drumroll, please) the October 2022 Kits from Tres Jolie:

Tres Jolie Insta Square Frame

Scrapbooking Kit

Tres Jolie Insta Square Frame

Mixed Media Kit

Tres Jolie Insta Square Frame

Cards, Tags, & More Kit


Don’t forget to stop by the Tres Jolie YouTube channel and see our video reveal for all our kits.

Love them, right?!?! You can still get one of your own (some kits are in very limited quantities). Become a subscriber and you will never miss out on our gorgeous, coordinated kits. Just visit Tres Jolie Subscribe.


The designers at Tres Jolie have created some amazing layouts and projects with this kit. Here is a little tease from me using the Cards, Tags, & More Kit:

Oct-PumpkinAlbum-Sneak

AutumnCards-Sneak

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Please stop by the other designer’s blogs (listed below) and check out their sneak peeks:


We have a new mood board challenge for the month, with the following rules and guidelines:

Tres Jolie Mood Board

Tres Jolie Insta Square Frame

Place your entries in the October 2022 challenge folder on the Tres Jolie Kit Club Café Facebook page. This challenge ends on October 31st, 2022 at 11:59 pm CST. All entries must be in this folder to be eligible for the prize (to have everyone eligible to win, we are limiting the same winner to once every 3 months).


Did you get a kit? Share what you made in our Facebook Group!

Thank you for joining us here at Tres Jolie Kits!


Tres Jolie can also be found at:

Tres Jolie Facebook

Tres Jolie Instagram

Tres Jolie Website

Tres Jolie Subscriptions

Tres Jolie Blog

Tres Jolie YouTube

Tres Jolie Pinterest


All the designers will be revealing their projects on the Tres Jolie Blog all month long. Make sure you join us for tons of inspiration, including video and photo tutorials. Also, make sure you check out the newest Tres Jolie Chipboard designs that were just added to the store.

Bad Chemistry!

I saw test tubes in the mood board, I was felling like I should get ready for Halloween and I came across the test tube set at Michael’s one Sunday. The above photo was taken in a “tent” made of a blanket and jackets while using a black light to show some glow. I need to take a photo of it’s “natural” glow, but I’ll have to wait until tonight. But I really wanted to get this in the Creative Embellishments Challenge!! 

The September, Creative Embellishments, Mood Board

Video: I have the parts, I just need to get it edited.

Close Ups:

Products:

  • Creative Embellishments
  • Distressed Harlequin Pieces
  • 13 @rts
    • Ayeeda Mist
    • Pearl Turquoise Light
  • Ayeeda Paint
    • Red Bronze
  • Ayeeda Powder
    • Rusty Bronze
  • Prima
    • Finnabair
    • Heavy Gesso
    • Black
  • Ranger
    • Tim Holtz
    • Distress Paint
    • Hickory Smoke
    • Ground Espresso
  • Recollection
    • Ephemera Insects
  • Ashland
    • Decorative Filler
    • Halloween
  • Test Tube Set
  • Art & Glow
    • Casting & Coating Epoxy Resin
  • Foam-It! 5
    • Rigid Polyurethane Foam
  • Glow In The Dark Pigment Powder (NOT an affiliate link, just a link to the ones I used)
    • Kelly
    • Gold
    • Teal
    • Violet
    • Lemon
    • Red
    • Orange
  • HXDZFX Glow in The Dark Pigment Powder (NOT an affiliate link, just a link to the ones I used)
    • Pink
    • Blue
  • Unknown/Unbranded
    • the “webbing”

    Happy Halloween!

    Happy Halloween!

    Over at Creative Embellishments’ October Challenge a wonderful image was post at the beginning of the month to be used as inspiration for a project. The directions say to “Simply be inspired by 1 element from the picture below and the twist is to make your project black and white. I will let a very teeny tiny bit of color slip on by” I don’t know if being inspired by the WHOLE photo counts as “1 element” or if it would be the skull … mainly … or if it qualifies at all, but I HAD to use that image somehow!!

    Anyhow, I saved the image to my computer, did a bit of editing to it, then used the stippling feature on my Silhouette Curio. For eight hours. It took eight hours to stipple the image out, and it wasn’t even the “whole” image! Good thing I had other things to occupy myself with!

    I’ll also be entering this into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday “Anything Goes” Challenge!

    Product List:

  • Ranger
    • “Emboss It” Pen
    • Water Pen – Nib
    • Embossing Powder
    • Enchanted Gold
    • Antiquities Frosted Crystal
  • Multi Medium Matte
  • Perfect Pearls
    • Forever Green
    • Pewter
    • Heirloom Gold
    • Blue Patina
    • Green Patina
  • Tim Holtz
    • Distress Oxides:
    • Fired Brick
    • Antique Linen
  • Distress Ink
    • Dusty Concord
  • Distress Markers
    • Black Soot
    • Wilted Violet
    • Lucky Clover
    • Tumbled Glass
    • Wild Honey
    • Forest Moss
    • Abandoned Coral
  • Thinlits
    • Cobweb
  • Prima
    • Metallique Wax
    • Vintage Gold
    • Bronze Age
  • 3D Gloss Gel
  • Sizzix
    • Big Shot Plus
  • a la mode clear embossing powder
  • homemade alcohol inks
  • 99¢ Store finds
    • Green Mesh
    • Orange Mesh
    • Purple Lace
    • Pumpkins
    • Skulls
    • Gold Lace
    • String “web” (that became flowers – sorta)
    • Purple Spider
  • Received in a PocketLetter
    • Bird/Birdcage
    • Small black spiders
    • Wood Skull Key
    • the string “web” at the bottom
  • unknown
    • bluish-black glitter

    Halloween Pocketletter!

    Halloween PocketLetter!

    Close-up of the top row

    Close-up of the middle row
    Close-up of the bottom row
    Close-up of the Julie Nutting Doll

    **The mask on the Julie Nutting Doll came from the Silhouette Store! I sized it, printed it on photo paper, then fussy cut it out since I wanted it to be extra precise!**

    Product List:

  • Thickers Foam Phrase Stickers: “Dream”
  • Fancy Pants Designs: “Oct 31” sticker sheet & glitter cuts
  • Echo Park Paper Co: 
    • “The Apothecary Emporium” Alpha Stickers
    • “Arsenic & Lace” paper
  • My Mind’s Eye: “Frightful” paper
  • Sizzix –
    • Big Shot Plus
    • Thinlit dies from Big Shot Plus stater
    • Thinlit dies from Big Shot stater
    • “Banners & Hearts”
    • “Basic Shapes”
    • Susan’s Garden 
    • “Sunflower” (just the leaves)
  • Ranger
    • Tim Holtz
    • Distress Markers: Black Soot & Wilted Violet
    • Distress Oxides: Black Soot & Wilted Violet
    • Distress Embossing Ink
    • Distress Stains: Carved Pumpkin & Wilted Violet
    • Distress Stickles: Milled Lavender
    • Thinlit “Cobweb”
    • “Crazy Things” stamp set (witch’s hat)
  • Stickles: Orange Slice
  • Super Fine Black Embossing Powder
  • Black Archival Ink
  • Water Pen: Nib
  • Glossy Accents
  • We R Memory Keepers
    • “Bewitched” paper
    • Crop A Dile
  • Shimmerz
    • Paints: Coal, Orange Sherbet, & Celery
    • Vibez: Sunset Strip
    • Little B Stickers: Black Cat
    • KaiserCraft: Clear Stickers: “Antiques” 
    • “Mulberry type” flowers
    • Prima 
      • “E-line” flowers
      • Julie Nutting “Dita”
    • WOW Embossing Powder “Cloud 9”
    • Elmer’s Glue Spots
    • 99¢ finds: purple lace, spider, “twigs”
    • Scraps: silver glitter paper, black glitter paper, black & grey floral paper, and black print transparency.
    • Halloween Tag!

      The photo behind the claw marks is holographic! There is a close-up further down the post.

      Over at scrapbook.com Donna (bonprof) hosted a September tag swap! There were two categories, Autumn and Halloween. You didn’t have to do both, but I did, and this is my Halloween tag that was sent down to Kathy in Australia! (Here’s where you can see the Autumn tag!)

      And, thanks to perfect timing, I’ll be entering this tag in the Simon Says Stamp, “A Walk On The Darkside,” Monday Challenge, and the Simon Says Stamp, “Anything Goes,” Wednesday Challenge!

      I actually did a lot of mixed media work on the background when I started because I wasn’t entirely sure what direction I’d be going. I knew I wanted to use a photo behind the claw marks, but I didn’t know what kind of photo or how big … then I just happened to turn around in the Halloween isle when I saw the package of holographic “photographs” hanging up! Now, you can only really see the Prima White Crackle Paste coated in ink along the edges!

      The lace along the edge also didn’t start out as an orangish-rust color, it was white, but with some help from Tim Holtz’s Distress Spray Stains in Carved Pumpkin and Rusty Hinge, I made the lace match my theme!

      After all that it was just placing and gluing the items in place! Although I did use some black craft foam to pop up the purple paper above the photo after using the Claw Thinlits to cut matching marks!

      The full tag at the top of the post shows the color best. The colors here are a little distorted because of the lighting change needed for a close-up of the holographic images!

      Products Used:

      • The holographic photo, wired burlap ribbon, black & gold rose, “twigs,” purple lace, and purple spider I found in the Halloween and/or Autumn decor sections of my local 99¢ store!
      • The orange lace on the edge I received in a lot of ‘vintage’ lace off eBay.
      • ‘Mulberry’ flowers (orange roses)
      • Joelle’s Halloween Fabric Flowers: the black burlap flowers.
      • Tim Holtz: Thinlits – Claw Marks, Distress Spray Stains – Hickory Smoke, Carved Pumpkin, and Rusty Hinge, Distress Oxide – Black Soot
      • Sizzix Big Shot Plus
      • Heidi Swapp Color Shine: Bronze
      • Prima Texture Paste: White Crackle
      • Ranger Glossy Accents
      • Echo Park Arsenic and Lace patterened paper
      • The small, black spider was actually a cheap, orange, plastic ring used as party favors! I just added a lot of Glossy Accents and Martha Stewart Onyx glitter!

      Halloween ATCs!

      Halloween ATC set!

      Over at scrapbook.com MarciB hosts a monthly ATC swap! One of the categories for September was Halloween, and this is what came out of my mind!

      For the background I used Amazing Cast Resin on my Tim Holtz, “Cracked” Embossing folder. I painted the resin with ordinary, black arcylic paint then added the Prima waxes!

      I actually found the lace and skulls at the 99¢ store when I went in looking for a package of those plastic spider rings that come out this time of year!

      The ‘mulberry type’ roses I bought off eBay a while ago and used Heidi Swapp Color Shine: Tinsel on a set to turn them from light purple to, well, tinsel!

      Product List:

      • 99¢ Store lace, skulls, and spiders
      • “Mulberry Type” roses from eBay
      • Tim Holtz “Cracked” Embossing Folder
      • Amazing Cast Resin
      • Ranger Glossy Accents
      • Prima Metallique Wax – Old Silver; Opal Magic Wax – Royal Robes
      • Heidi Swapp Color Shine – Tinsel