Artworks by Abigail Chaloupka and Michelle Payne - The Artist Tree - Tamborine

For me the VW Kombi Van is the epitome of a very laid-back life… capturing all good things that happen on an adventure. I was extremely excited to start creating this wonderful memory box and had a lot of ideas! I thought the Kombi is such a classic flashback to the past that I decided to make a Vintage Kombi.
This is how I created my Vintage Kombi Memory box… ready for my next adventure!

Powertex Products:
MDF Kombi Kit, Powertex Ultimate Medium Bronze, Transparent, White, Yellow and Red, Stone Art, Easy Structure, Bister Yellow, Postcard Silk Paper and Easycoat Glossy,
Other Materials of your choice:
Hinges & Latches, Paper Flowers, Stencils, Styrofoam, Masking Tape, 4 Bottle Caps, Pearl Strips, Bling for the lights, Cardboard,
Tools:
Paint brushes/rollers, Stanley knife, Sandpaper, Container for Powertex, Spatula or Palette knife.

Step 1.

​Unpack your Kombi MDF kit. I used Powertex Bronze to paint one side off all bits and pieces and left it to dry completely.   

​Step 2.

​I then used some Powertex Transparent to put the box together. I also painted the edges to make sure that the box is completely sealed on the inside. I than used masking tape to hold the box together while it dried.
​
​Step 4.

​Meanwhile, I started my embellishments. For the windows I also traced them onto the Silk postcard paper to get the effect of looking through the windows to the inside of the Kombi. I thought it would look great if the Kombi had front and back windows, so I used a piece of card box and cut out 2 windows. I mixed Powertex Red and Yellow together to get this lovely orange colour, then I painted the windows and the chippie flowers that I was going to use. I also painted the bottle caps and the Pearl strings in this lovely orange colour. I then poured Powertex White into a container and painted all my flowers with it. When all the flowers were nearly touch dry, I used Powertex Natural Bister and sprayed some on the to get a vintage effect. Once everything was dry, I gave all the flowers a little splash of the orange colour with a paintbrush.

Step 8.

​I used Orange Pearl peel off strips and stuck them onto the sides front and back. I also used the rest of the Powertex Orange colour that I mixed and paint both Bumpers of my Kombi Van. Suddenly everything just worked so well together.

Step 9.

​I was super excited to see how everything was just falling into place. I used Powertex Transparent to glue the windows on and then Embellished the Kombi with all the bits and pieces that were left. For the wheels I used the large and medium round MDF circles and then glued them together in the position of the wheel space and added the bottle cups last.

I also decorated the roof of the Kombi. I used smaller pearl strips to create the VW badge of my Kombi and painted it with black paint. I stood back and new there was something missing and I thought how you can go on a road trip without lights, so I looked in my stash and found some bling, to use for my lights. 

Interesting facts about the Brighton Beach Bathing Boxes
One of the most frequently asked questions, perhaps, is this; what is the true purpose of these bathing boxes?
According to internet sources, the bathing boxes were built over a century ago in response to the very Victorian idea that women should only change in and out of swimming costumes in a well-protected and fully covered private area. These small little huts with timber framing, weatherboards and corrugated iron roofs, hence, serve their respective purpose of providing excellent shelter to the classy ladies who wanted to enjoy the sunshine in public, but at the same time, preserve their modesty. 
I was so excited to start my Beach Houses! I decided not to make a colourful design, but instead go for a Victorian vintage look, because of their history. This classic MDF Beach Houses kit is now available from Powertex Australia so jump online to order yours and start creating with us.

Materials:
MDF Beach House Kit, Powertex Ultimate Medium Transparent, White, Yellow Ochre, Easycoat Glossy, corrugated paper, any board paper of your choice, Masking tape, 3D Sand and Balls, Shells, Grassy fibre, Craft fences, Craft sticks & Fabric
Tools:
Scissors, Pencil, Ruler, Paint brush, Water in a cup, Containers for Powertex colours, Gloves Plastic tablecloth to work on.
Step 1.

Step 1
​Unpack all the bits of your MDF Beach Houses and then use Powertex White to paint the front and Back and let it dry.

​I then put all the pieces together by using Easycoat Glossy and placed the houses on the stands. I then put everything else in place (see picture above) and used a pencil to mark off the spacing between the Houses.

​To finish off the Beach Houses I added all the pieces that I had left. Wording on the Houses, saying BEACH LIFE, WELCOME, BEACH HOUSE. Flip flops in a shell 3D sand on the doorstep what more do you want ready to sail away with…

I had so much fun designing this project for the MDF Beach Houses. This is an opportunity that you do not want to miss out on so, get your creative hands and minds on one of these lovely kits today!!!.
ENJOY THE RIDE
BY
ERIKA VENTER DESIGNS QLD

​Hi to all our Powertex Addicts, the July Inspirational Theme was Rusty Wisdom!!! When I opened my Designer Kit my heart skipped a beat… there were 2 big eyes staring up at me… Well hello there little one… Right away he had personality and I needed to bring him to life…. Here’s my Journey with Dabby the Dabbing Owl…!!!
Materials used:

• Owl MDF kit Cogs
• Dusty Attic Chippies – Cogs, Barbed Wire, Hinges, Birds on a Branch & Leaves
• Powertex – Green
• Powertex Easy Structure
• Powertex Stoneart (Made into clay)
• Easy Coat Glossy
• Powercolours – Titanium White / Turquoise / Red Ochre / Mars Orange / Dark Brown
• Colourtrix – White Silver  / Rich Gold
• Dusty Attic stencils – River Stones & cogs

Note: All these items are available through Powertex Australia


Tools required  

• Paint Brushes
• Pallet knife
• Shopping card for stencilling
• Scissors / Stanley knife
• Gloves / apron
• Hairdryer
• Sandpaper
• Ziploc plastic bag and a piece of damp Chux (for storing made up stone art clay}
• Container to wash brushes in
• Cloth to dry brushes on
• Piece of alfoil (use as a mixing pallet for dry brushing)
• Work bench or mat covered in plastic
• A wash basin with warm soapy water & towel

Let the Fun Begin
WOW… What fun I had in creating Dabby!!!!My grandson’s Jake & Ashley were my inspiration behind his name and quirky nature…
The boys loved the owl kit and were super excited hoping that this might be an activity they will do over the upcoming school holidays… Looks like Funky Nanna is going to have some fun with her boys!  So, when I had my kit out with all the bits to design my owl one of the things that I had a bit of fun with were his wings… I love quirky… so of course his wings were going to be doing something quite different! Firstly, I had him playing hide and seek with us all… then I did it!!!  The house erupted with noises of Yes Nanny that’s it leave him like that … So I knew I had a hit… Yes a winner for sure!!! Who knew my Owl was Dabbing and so were the boys by this time all over the house… That set the mood for the remainder of the arvo, the boys picked the tunes so that Dabby the Dabbing Owl could come to life…
So let’s get you all started…
Prep your work area by covering your surface and any work mats with plastic. Get all your bits and bobs needed out and lastly don’t forget your warm soapy water and a jar or something with water to rinse your paintbrushes into, unless of course you would like to add these to your art work (remember Powertex will harden anything when dried including your brushes).… Could be pretty cool!

1. Shake and stir your Powertex and pour a small amount of Green Powertex into a plastic cup (cover with plastic wrap till ready to use). If you don’t already have some Stoneart Clay made, please do so, then wrap the clay into the damp chux and store it in the Ziplock bag for use later. You’ll only need a small quantity for his beak and assembling your pieces to the surface.
2. Ok now it’s time to carefully push out all your Owl MDF bits and your Dusty Attic Chippies. A little word of advice, if you are having trouble getting these pieces out of the framework carefully use the blade of the Craft knife to loosen some of the joints. Lay your pieces out and plan the design for the top of your Owl. You’ll see that the Owl has a top layer for his eyes and separate wings, feet and a beak to layer up in your design. I did cut my Birds on a Branch into 2 pieces to lay around my owl (look at his pic you’ll see where) and one of the larger cogs in 1/2 that I placed under his wings and also my barbed wire piece to resemble a branch and a dangly piece near his ear…

Tip– taking a picture at this stage on your phone helps for later.

​3. Prep your MDF pieces first by gently sanding both the top and back of all your mdf pieces, then wipe all the dust off. Using your DA Riverstone stencil and easy structure and your shopping card wipe some texture paste over the stencil to the body of your owl. Take care when lifting your stencil that you do not smudge your structure paste…  Dry this using a hair dryer then use your cog stencil around in area of his belly. Again dry this layer with a hair dryer. Ensure that you wash both your stencils and shopping card. Put his body to one side & coat all your other mdf pieces and chippies with a layer of Powertex taking care to get into all the cracks and crevices. Paint Powertex onto the top of the owl’s body when the easy structure paste is dried

4. Now before we turn him over, we’ll attach his MDF beak pieces to his face… Using Powertex paint the back of the 2 beak pieces and place them one on top of the other where the marking is for them to go on the main body piece of MDF 
5. Once this layer of Powertex has dried, if it’s looking a little translucent, it may need a second coat if not turn all your pieces over onto a clean piece of glad wrap and paint all the backs with Powertex.
6. Now we are going to prep our area to colour our pieces up, so do a quick tidy up around you and let’s get our colours out…  
7. The owl’s body I dried brush with Powercolours of Dark Brown and Titanium White… So, using the tip of a clean pallet knife get a small amount of your dark brown and place onto your piece of folded alfoil then do the same with the titanium white placing it onto the pallet but not on top of the brown… You’ll now put a small drop of easycoat glossy onto this pallet but away from the pigments… ​

​8. Using the tip of your brush pick up a little Easycoat Glossy then pick up a little dark brown rub this on the pallet on a clean area to make a dryish paste (not too wet or dry) then pick up a little titanium white and mix this into the brown paste. Now you’re ready to dry brush this over his body, wings and feet… Keep repeating this step until you get the desired look… If you want to get lighter areas add more white to your mix and more brown if you want an area darker… Put a little brown onto your birds and the branches too…
9. Now let’s get down and dirty with our ‘Faux Rust Technique…’  So, on your palette if you still have some easycoat glossy left great if not add a little more…   Now add a little of the following Powercolours to your pallet – red ochre, titanium white, either mars orange if you have it or mocha and omg my all-time favourite turquoise (don’t forget the turquoise)… YAY … are you ready??? Yes, well let’s get rusting our pieces up…

12. Now for the Assemblage… (Clean your area & clean your brushes well with warm soapy water. Hope that you’re having fun and not feeling like Sadie the Cleaning Lady). You will need your Powertex, brush, water, readymade stoneart clay for the next steps so get them ready… ​

15. Remember you will have time to amend and move pieces as the Powertex is a slow drying adhesive but be careful as we are using green and we have pre coloured our pieces so having a damp cloth to wipe any excess Powertex that be visible on your embellished surface due to you relocating a piece. If you are lucky enough to have transparent Powertex in your collection then I advise to use this to alleviate this problem. 
16. Wings Assemblage – the 2 large halves of the cogs I stuck to the underneath of my wings. How I did this was by painting a little green Powertex onto the ends of the cogs placed a little stone art clay applied a little more Powertex onto the top of this clay then pushed my wings into position on top of these exposing the bottom of the cogs (please refer to pic). Stick your hinges into place. Then stick your wings into position. Depending on how you are positioning the wings you may need a little stone art clay to assist with this process… ​

17. Barbed wire assemblage – you guessed it again this is where stone art clay is a much needed to hold your 2 pieces together, that is if you want it how I have placed them together… Review all your pieces and where you have put them if any of these don’t have much surface area of Powertex being used as your glue then gently lift and add stoneart. ​

o what have you called your Owl? Did he or she talk to you along the way??? Remember all the products & pieces I have used are available now at Powertex Australia. I thank you for taking the time to read my blog for the Australian Powertex Design Team
 ​

​The theme for September is Spring Birdhouse and this amazing kit is now available from Powertex Australia. I was very excited to start this project. I knew exactly what I had in mind for this little birdhouse long before I started with it. There are all sorts of interesting chippie shapes that you can use in this kit. But before I get too carried away let me tell you how I created this Spring Birdhouse.

​Materials:

• Birdhouse MDF Kit
• Powertex Bronze
• Powertex Transparent
• Powertex Easycoat Glossy
• Powercolour Yellow Ochre, Mocha & Red Ochre
• Colortrix Bronze Gold
• Masking tape, Stencils of your choice, Texture paste & spatula
• Bits and pieces to decorate the Spring Birdhouse
• I used flowers, ornament birds, MDF Clock, photo frame & some hooks

Step 1.

Take the MDF Birdhouse & chippie pieces out of the packaging. Use masking tape and stick all panels of the house together to get an idea of your end result. If you are happy with your design take all pieces and put them aside until you want to use them.
 Place your stencil over the panels and create some texture. I used this beautiful tree bark stencil available from Powertex Australia. When I received this stencil, I immediately knew that I was going to use it for my Spring Birdhouse project, and I must say it’s very effective! You can paint all the panels before you create the texture, but I tried something different this time. (I made a little mistake and went too close to the gaps and when I put the house together, I struggled to slot all the pieces in and had to cut it off to make it fit again!) Leave it to dry… if you are in a hurry use a hair dryer to speed up the process.  

​Step 2.

​Use Bronze Powertex and paint the chippie shapes and all the pieces that you want to add onto the Birdhouse except the flowers. Paint the Birdhouse panels on both sides and leave to dry. I must say this stencil did came out very well!!!
Step 3.

​Put the birdhouse together and use Powertex Bronze to make the panels stick. I had to give mine another coat of Powertex because of all the carving I had to do to make it fit into the slots! Leave to dry completely
Step 4.

Adding colour to my Birdhouse to give it an actual wood look was the most fun part of this project. I used Powercolour Yellow Ochre & Easycoat Glossy as my first colour. Using a dry-brush technique is very effective. I first applied the colour gently but then I went over it to get a much darker yellow. The second colour that I used was Powercolour Mocha also mixed with Easycoat Glossy. I used the same technique and first went over it lightly and then touched-up some places with a darker layer of Mocha. My third colour was Powercolour Red Ochre mixed with Easy oat glossy. With thicker brush stroke I created some definite highlights so that it stands out. I was happy with the end result.
I also used Colortrix Bronze Gold mixed with Easycoat glossy to add some colour onto the eaves, balcony Chippie shape, birds & Butterflies, Welcome sign, metal frame over the house opening and the MDF clock.
​
Step 5.

​Add all your embellishments as you designed in the beginning. I used Powertex transparent to stick everything on.
I liked the colour of the flowers, so I decided to dip them in Powertex Transparent to keep the colour. I gently brushed the excess Powertex off the flowers and stuck them on as well. If you struggle to get them to stick use a skewer to hold them down and let it dry before you pick the birdhouse up.
I thought I would like to make my birdhouse functional by adding some hooks on so it can be used as a key holder at my front door. I added the hooks on with Powertex Transparent.

This Spring Birdhouse project will enable you to make use of a variety of techniques using Powertex colours, Easy Structure, Stencilling, Easycoat Glossy and Colourtrix & Powercolour Pigments… enjoy!
Join me on my creative journey with Powertex
Enjoy the ride……
​Erika

​The Owl & the Pussycat
Monthly Challenge – June 2020
By Natalie Parish - Bag End Studio - Powertex QLD
Australian Powertex Design Team
 
The first verse of Edward Lear’s Nonsense Poem was the inspiration for this month’s challenge. Edward Lear was also a wonderful painter. Perhaps that is why he could conjure up such beautiful imagery and that is what I attempted to pay homage to with this months lovely kit.
​
 
The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea
   In a beautiful pea-green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
   Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
   And sang to a small guitar,
"O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,
    What a beautiful Pussy you are,
         You are,
         You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!"

Materials:

•  Owl & the Pussycat MDF Cut Outs, Designer Chipboard Mats,
• Designer Flower Stencil
• Powertex Universal Medium. Colour of your choice. I used black Stone Art
• Easy Coat Varnish - Glossy
• Powercolours of your choice to embellish your work. I used titanium white, lilac and Phthalo Green
• Bister Blue
• Natural Paper Decoration
• Easy Structure
• Doll Eyes
• Modge Podge

Materials Optional:

• Styrofoam Circle
• Boom Gel – colours of your choice.  I used Pearlescent – white, charcoal, mauve and Metallic Silver.
• Triangle hooks

From your useful box:

• Cardboard cut into a sail shape
• Masking Tape and waste photocopying paper.
• Chopsticks
• String
• Fake money, medal anything medallion shape
• Wooden canvas stretchers.
• Styrofoam

​Equipment:

• Plastic covered workspace
• Mixing Bowls
• Paint brushes (one for Powertex and one or two for pigment colours)
• Lids for Palette (or alfoil).
• Palette Knife, skewers, flat spatula,
• Clay modelling tool
• Washing up Container for cleaning
• Gloves, Chux Cloth, Paper towel
• Gladwrap (to wrap Stone Art clay and to cover opened Powertex bottles)
• Air-tight container to store clay. 

Inspired by an Italian trip to a Leonardo Da Vinci Invention Museum I wanted to create a Mythical Steampunk Machine.  Imagine my delight when I found Leonardo Napkins at Tamara’s Paper Napkins on Etsy!  I also wanted to create a Sci-Fi vibe, so I did a bit research on fireflies. Firstly, I discovered Fireflies are not really flies but beetles from the Order Coleoptera.  The light is from the compound Luciferin which is the most efficient light in the world and used in a growing field of medical research as well as gene manipulation in plants so they light up in our homes potentially reducing the consumption of fossil fuel based lighting. Now my imagination was set alight and a whole story lit up in my head of world where humans could harness that light and energy.  Would it be fabulous world – maybe not?
Human Impact Report Lampyridae - (lightning-beetles).
Giant light emitting beetles from the Lampyridae family produce the most efficient form of light.  Since mechanization and the ability to intensify oxygen concentrations, we harness beetles as a renewable source of light and energy including luciferase plant gene manipulation for creating indoor plants that service our internal décor needs. Additionally, luciferin extraction is now essential for gene technology, medical research, food safety, and forensic testing.  As such the living Magnificent Luciferin Machines are now an important source of employment accounting for 80% of work in Machine Pasture Counties. 
The expansion of human territories has caused habitat destruction for these necessary creatures and as we are still unable to force reproduction we rely on a natural source for capture and herding.   Environmental Protection Zones have become a necessary norm. Visitors will be allowed to use the zones for recreational purposes within guided areas as the carnivorous larvae of these beetles are dangerous to humans.  Therefore, the Luciferin machine industry by its very use of these creatures is protecting this species and large tracts of environmental parks for future generations to come.

​ Materials:

• MDF Firefly & Steampunk Pieces & Cog Chipboard Mats, (I kept stencils for another project)
• Box of Cogs from Bag End Studio Store - optional
• Bulbs & Gauges (Dusty Attic) from Bag End Studio Store - optional.
• Little People from Bag End Studio Store - optional
• Powertex Universal Medium-colours of your choice. I used Terracotta, Yellow Ochre, Bronze/Black PTX
• Stone Art – mixed with Terracotta and Bronze
• Easy Coat Varnish - Glossy
• Powercolours of your choice to embellish your work. I used titanium white, orange, and brown
• Colourtrix colours of your choice to highlight powercolours. I used bronze, clear, and rich gold
• Medium Balls
• Triangle Hooks for hanging.

From your useful box:

• Alfoil and Masking Tape
• Masking Tape, waste photocopying paper, alfoil for form building
• Wire or string
• Skewers, toothpicks to fit through cog pieces
• Masking Tape
• Tonic Plastic Bottle – requires emptying first through the mixing with Gin and Lime followed by human consumption.

Equipment:

• Plastic covered workspace and mixing bowls
• Paint brushes (one for Powertex and one or two for pigment colours)
• Lids for Palette (or alfoil).
• Palette Knife, flat spatula
• Craft knife
• Clay modelling tool
• Washing up Container for cleaning
• Gloves, Chux Cloth, Paper towel
• Gladwrap (to wrap Stone Art clay and to cover opened Powertex bottles)
• Air-tight container to store clay. 

Artwork & Blogpost by Erika Venter, Mareeba, QLDThe inspiration theme for this month is Steampunk and the kit is a Dragonfly which is now available from powertex…
I was super excited to get started!

​Step 1:
Stir & shake Powertex Bronze well before use, assemble and paint the MDF Dragonfly. Use bigger gears and stick them with Powertex onto the middle of the body to hold everyting together. To create some texture measure and fit Paper deco onto the wings and tail. Spray mist the Paper Deco with water and tease it apart – don’t make it too wet.

​Step 2:
It’s now time to use your imagination and play around with all the bits and pieces. My idea for the Dragonfly was to make it look like the whole body is driven by gears, chains, a compass for direction and the clock faces represent it flying in time. I imagined how the whole component would work – lighting up with gemstones and sparkly eyes.

​Step 3:
I draped the chain in between and around the gears on the wings and also on the tail. Using Powertex Bronze to secure every piece on the wings and the tail. Then left it to dry completley.

​Step 4:
I enjoy the Colourtrix metallic pigments so much and it’s always really hard to decide what colour scheme to use… I love the Colourtrix Magic Blue and used that as my base colour mixed with Easycoat mat and covered the whole Dragonfly with it. I then used Colourtrix Magic Purple to highligt some areas on the wings and tail. Colourtrix Bronze Gold and Clear Gold were used for the final ​touches.

​Step 5:
Use Easycoat mat to glue the gemstones, eyes and clocks onto the wings and tail. Your Steampunk Dragonfly is now ready to hang it up where everybody will admire it.