Altered 7″ Vinyl Record

This is an ordinary vinyl 7″ record which I decided to do a bit of altering with using fantasy film & fibers. Cant you tell Im addicted to this stuff 🙂

Heres a run down on how I created it:

1. First of all I painted the 7″ with a layer of gesso because I wanted to paint it first.

2. Once the gesso was dry I painted it using dark green and black acrylics, I dappled the 2 colours onto the surface to create a kind of mottled background effect.

3. Next I used ordinary PVA glue, I dolloped it across the middle of the record and used my fingers to smear it across so it wasnt so thick.

4. Working quickly I pushed layers of fantasy film into the wet glue, overlapping them so that they created a strip across the record. I wasnt fussed how they looked, I just concentrated on getting from one side of the record to the other.

5. I didnt bother waiting for the glue to dry, by the time Id finished sticking down the film it wasnt as gloopy anyway so I put a sheet of non stick paper over the top and ironed the film till it all fused and melted together.

6. Next I added some more film and also added some of the thin angel hair fibers on one side, and then melted it again using a cooking liner and craft iron. I didnt think too much about how it looked, I just concentracted on fusing the layers at this point.

7. I decided it needed some thicker strips of film and I didnt have any, so I cut off a small section from the film and rolled it up and then using scissors I snipped it to make jagged strips of film and then fused a couple of them onto the record to finish it off.

8. Using pure gold Stewart Gill paint – its lovely and thick and gooey 🙂 I dipped my fingers into it and used it to edge the record to give it a nice gilt border.

9. Next I glued on a mould of a sun face I had, I decided it needed 2 different shades of gold to accent it.

10. To finished I glued on the chipboard letters to spell ART, these letters where already printed with a pattern but I decided I didnt like how they looked after Id glued them on and it was too late to remove them! So instead of having a breakdown over it (like you do!) I decided to accent the letters by dipping my finger in the gold paint I used to edge the record and smudged the paint on the letters to give them a gilded coat.

Once the letters were dry I decided I like it afterall! We are so finicky us artist types!

Heres some more photos, I decided to take a couple of shots because you can see the record differently in each shot and it shows the film in a different light, you can click on the picks to see the original sizes if you want more detail:

I also took a close up so you can see the detail below:

Altered Formica Tile With Fantasy Film

This my very first time using Fantasy Film and I have to say its VERY addictive! Ive only got 1 colour at the moment which is Peacock, I was lucky to get some from my good friend Adrienne for my birthday:) It was just what I needed to kickstart me into thinking about making art again.

Anyway I decided to use the fantasy film to alter an ordinary large formica tile, just to see what it looked like as Ive never used it before, I was a total fantasy film newbie!

Heres how I did it:

1. First of all I prepared the fantasy film by cutting off some jagged random pieces from the sheet in various sizes and shapes.

2. Next I took a hot glue stick and cut it up into little chips with scissors and then sprinkled the chips over the middle of the formica tile.

3. Then using a hot craft iron and 2 sheets of non stick cooking paper I ironed over the top of the tile to melt and smear the glue over the surface of the tile.

Its best to use disposable parchment cooking paper for this as you’ll make the teflon go all gooey otherwise.

4. While the glue was still sticky I quickly stuck down various random layers of fantasy film across the tile.

5. Next I put the cooking liner back over the top of the tile and ironed it till the film had fused and stuck down onto it.

You can actually feel the film crackling under the iron as you smooth it over, you dont need to do it for long, I just did it till I liked how it looked.

6. Next I added some more layers of fantasy film and some little strands of the fantasy fibers and ironed them down and just played till I liked how it looked.

7. Then I added a thin line of glue to the left hand side of the tile and then poured on some of those itty bitty microbeads in a complementing colour.

8. To finish I added a strip of golden scrap stars as a border, I also added a clay face which I painted with 2 tones of gold acrylic paint. With the same paint I used my fingers to add a border round the entire edge of the tile and then left it all to dry.

You cant really see the film and fibers properly in the photo as its impossible to photograph but it literally shines and moves in the light and changes colour like a chameleon!

Heres a close up shot of the the top part of the tile so you can see some of the detail:

Im gonna have to get some more colours because Im addicted!!