Mixed Media Medallion I

I have been spending a lot of studio time exploring the new releases from Spellbinders. Among my favorite are the items from their collection A Gilded Life. Created in conjunction with Debbie Murray and Shea Fragoso, the line consists of bezels, pendants, dies, texture plates, and relics. Filled with European flair, these items seem at first glance to be ready-made for jewelry projects and home decor. For me though, they scream mixed media.

I am preparing for an exhibition in NYC in April and have decided to create what I am calling Mixed Media Medallions to use as components of my artwork. But as you will see, if you attach a chain to these pieces they would actually make some pretty cool jewelry -- which would be a first for me.

This is the first in the series...

There are so many stunning bezels to choose from in this collection and for this piece I started with the bronze, small Crown Bezel. I snipped off the loop at the tip of the crown as I would not be using it as a connector.

For an old world look, I used a patina solution to alter the surface of a small piece of copper sheeting. I cut this to size using die #1 from the matching Crown Circle Dies to create the background inset for the bezel.

Wanting to add a bit of edginess to the piece, I cut a piece of decorative paper into a jagged gear using a die from the Sprightly Sprocket die set.

For me, combining the elegant bezel with a grouping of found metal objects is the perfect mix.

Once I had all the components prepared, it was time to stack and glue. In the end, a mixed media medallion was born. 

I look forward to showing you in a few months how I will use this in a mixed media artwork for the exhibition.

Supply List

Spellbinders Paper Art Supplies:

MMM-001 Spellbinders^TM Artisan X-plorer 

GLSB-003 Spellbinders^TM A Gilded Life Crown Bezel Bronze - Small

GLD-003 Spellbinders^TM A Gilded Life Crown Circle Die

S5-048 Spellbinders^TM Shapeabilities® Sprightly Sprockets

Other: found objects, decorative paper, copper sheeting, patina solution, adhesive, tinner snips