Playing with new paints

I have been playing with some new purchases and experimenting.  The first was a little lid:

Pebeo Dark Blue Vitrail with gilding flakes added when wet

One of my garden fairies was looking a bit down (I did paint her last year, but wasn't that happy with the effect.  However I used my new Pebeo Dyna Iridescent Studio Acrylics on her, and then a coat of varnish.  Pleased with her now!

re-vamped garden fairy

Do you remembers this from earlier this month? ..........

MDF Pencil holder

.... well I got around to finishing it now that my new iridescent paints arrived, and used my new stamps from Sheena Douglass

the humming bird and hibiscus stamped and embossed                         

Had a little problem stamping the image to start - it wouldn't emboss - obviously my powder was past its use by date - lol!   as it is ages since I did any stamping and embossing!  so I found some really, really old Inca powder from about 1993-ish. when my daughter was demonstrating for Inca - worked a treat - shame they went out of business their products were ace!  

First side stamped and painted, and varnished

2nd side stamped and painted and varnished

I am lo loving these new paints.

Mixed Media and .....

.... a little play with the youngest granddaughters.

Miniature Mixed Media Canvas

On Saturday my youngest granddaughters popped in to see me, and after an impromptu bacon butty lunch, they wanted to "raid" my Den.   It seems in future I must learn to buy 3 of everything as they all wanted to use the same things!

Having shown them the "HOME" letters that I painted with Pebeo Ceramic and Fantasy paints, they wanted to know how to do it

They all took turns in dropping some red vitrail paint onto the canvas and then choosing the Fantasy paints that they wanted to drop into the centre as well as some of the glitter vitrail.   They were fascinated by the reaction of the paints.   Needless to say it required 24 hours to dry so they didn't see the effect of their finished "splodges".

As I wasn't sure when I would see them next, I hadded a couple of splodges of my own, and when dry I carefully filled in the background with black ceramic paint, and when that was dry I added some squiggles with Pebeo Mixion and when that was tacky I added a few gilding flakes.  The edge of the board was finished off by applying two shades of gold Pebeo gilding wax.

It may only be tiny, but when the sun catches it ......... fantastic effect.

Amazing what you can do with a few kebab sticks and some paint - i.e. no brush was applied to the canvas at all.

Garden Toadstool

I decided to give one of my garden ornaments a make-over.

The whole thing was painted with gesso and then over-painted with varoius acrylic paints.

close-up

The original, sad looking toadstool plain teracotta albeit it id at one time have white spots on it

Now what else can I find to paint ........

Work in progress pen holder

faux metal heart.

I love this little ornate heart, which fortunately matched up fairly well with a plain mdf heart.  (wish I could remember where I got it)

The both hearts were painted with black pebeo gesso, and the plain heart then over painted with black acrylic, and edge with silver gilding wax.

The ornate heart was painted with patches of mixed blue and green metallic paints (Studio 3).  and then rubbed over with Pebeo silver gilding wax, polished up, and the two hearts stuck together and then sprayed with spray and shine.

Just needs some pretty ribbon to hang it up - I think some nice turquoise.

Fairy Door

close up

I have had fun over the past couple of days.  At last I got round to painting the fairy door that I bought at Make It Farnborough.

I wanted to keep the details on the mdf, so instead of applying gesso, which would have obliterated the darker scored lines,  I used Pebeo Gloss gel as a primer.  I then used Pebeo Deco Matt paints to paint the various sections.

The stonework was done with a double loaded brush a la Paint Fusion/one stroke painting style, using various combinations of grey, white, antique white and black with a little greengold to represent moss.

The fark surround to the door was ccreated using the same paints in brown, black and antique white, but before I painted it I added some peel-off chain of flowers.

The door was also painted using a gold metallic paint, with a red matt Pebeo over the top and a smigen og pebeo gilding wax.  I created the "scratches" on the door using some "sculpting" tools for paint and clay.  (These are like paint brushed, but solid rubber).

The window was painted with a mix of studio 3 metallic acrylic in a mix of blue and green.  The centre was liquid gold leaf as was the door knocker, and finally some more off the string of peel-off floweers added individually.

The flowers on the stonework were also peel-offs, which I put on a non-stick mar and panted in red and green.   I then stuck them on the stonework and painted  the inside detail in a metallic red - again Studio 3.  Finally I free-hand painted some leaves.   

The kit was then all glued together and given a coat of spray varnish,

I could get hooked on painting these - think I might have to buy some more doors!

 I am very lucky, that I have a beautiful oak tree in my garden.   It is an unusual shape as the end of the garden was originally a ditch, so the trunk grows along and then up, creating a natural seat, and I have a couple of faux steps at the base which were the perfect setting for the door.

Decorated Letters

 I made these decorated letters for my granddaughters.

The eldest one "E" chose her colours - as black and white are her favourite.  I thought this was going to be the hardest one to do - but turned out to be the easiest.

I painted the letter with black gesso and then black paint.  When dry I used a stencil and using a make-up sponge sponged on white gesso and white acrylic mixed together.  I added various black and white ribbons and flowers and some gems.  the flowers were stiffened with pva glue and water.

As it turned out, these three for the younger girls turned out to be a bit harder.  As you will see further on I had trouble getting the background colour as I wanted it.

They are decorated with Hearty Clay flowers and animals etc, which have been painted with acrylic, also some wooden bits, some stick-ons, fabric floers and some sqiggles with Pebeo Mixion relief and mirror leaf, and a few droops of Pebeo Fantasy Moon and Prisme paints.  (You will probably have to click on the photo to see it more clearly).   I couldn't remembe what animal B wanted, I seem to remember it was something I couldn't make, so she got a rabbit as they have rabbits as pets.   C wanted a monkey - managed that one; and little T has just started ballet - so that was supposed to be a ballet dancer - but think it has turned out more like a doll!

initial first colours of the letters - wasn't quite the effect I wanted .....

...... decided to start again and applied gesso  .... and happy accident got the effect I wanted

Enamelled Letters

Been having fun over the past few days painting these little letters.

I covered them in black gesso, and then applied Pebeo black ceramic paint.  Whilst it was still wet I trailed Some Fantasy paints and some red Vitrail paint along the letters.

I then painted the inner and out edges, and finally the reverse side, and repeated what I did on the front side but with different colours.

So I can now have a red set or a green set or mix and match them.  It is of course fortunate that the letters that spell HOME are reversible!

of course should you wish you can pile them up!

Really, really pleased with the way these have turned out - the enamelled effect in real life is fantastic.

A few cards

card for a blind aunt 

Happy Easter

Happy Easter to all my followers.

A couple of quick photos today.  The first being a quick cake I made.

Simnel Cake

Beautiful Primroses

I couldn't resist taking this second photo.  We passed them on the way to Easter lunch at a hotel with one half of the family, and I made my husband slow down on the way home so that I could take this photo as I really thought it summer up Springtime and Easter.

So this was all by chance really, as for once I actually had my camera with me!   When we got home I decided to share the photo on a group I belong to on Facebook, and who should comment on it but a friend, whom we had not seen for 46 years.   So a very Happy Easter bunny here!

Easter Egg Tree

 A little arrangement for Easter.   Would have preferred pussy willow, but had to make do with hazel twigs from the garden,  albeit there is only one catkin !    I may add some forsythia later in the week.

Painted with pebeo black ceramic paint and gilding flakes added whilst wet.  and a little flower
added with pebeo relief and Fantasy paint.

Felted Egg (last year's make)

Felted Egg ( also last year's make)

Fabric covered egg

and another

and another.

This is first time I have tried to do an Easter Egg tree - Can see I shall have to make/buy something bigger next year, if I keep adding to the eggs.

Cards for Easter and more

Ester Card Toppers:

(All done in CAP using my new Victoria Nelson cds

Birthday Cards using the Victoria Nelson cds.

Birthday Card using various cds.

Thanks for dropping by.