MDF Guitar

I have had this MDF guitar kit sitting on my desk for at least a month, telling me it needs something done to it.  I bought it some time ago.  I think it was part of a kit for Powertex, but I forgot about it and then didn't have any inspiration to decorate it.

I put the main parts together with clear Powertex.  I then painted it with various acrylic paints to try and give the impression of a "curve" to the piece.

I originally wanted clear "strings" using beading thread, but I just couldn't get them to stick (even using red liner tape) so I ended up using twine, although it was thicker than I wanted - but hey ho go with the flow - as they say.

The kit came with two pink paper roses, but they were so squashed in the packaging they weren't really good enough to use, and anyway I needed 3 ( I always work in odd numbers). so I made some from air dry clay.

There was also am mdf "flower" type embellishment in the kit with hearts on, so I cut this up and used some of the heart for the keys at the top of the guitar, and then cut some more up and used them as a random embellishment.

I used a guitar stamp and a scribbled heart and a swirl on the guitar, and embossed it.   The Guitar stamp was painted with posca pens, as were the little heart decorations, and the three larger heart shapes that came with the kit.

Finally I added a little dried gypsophila in with the roses and and added some pebeo gold gilding creme and glitter to the twine.

another view

I wasn't to sure about this whilst I was working on it, or even when I finished it - but it is growing on me!

"Wicker" Trug/Basket

I wasn't quite sure how I wanted to decorate this little basket shape.  I then had the idea of trying to make it look like  wicker basket.   I decided to use a technique used in cake decorating of a basket weave.  Now in cake decorating this is done with icing and a nozzle.  Erm maybe not a good idea to use a nozzle and ruin it - so I experimented with Golden Fiber Paste and a fork. (I think it has worked!)

It was then painted with Pebeo Yellow Ochre and when dry overbrushed with Pebeo Dyna Irredescent Precious Gold.

The centre handle and the insides were painted with  various shades of brown, yellow and cream colours to create a wood effect.

I was originally going to decorate it with some flowers, but had the idea of making some straps as "hinges" for the lids.  I created these from Hearty Soft air dry clay and used the Katy Sue strap mould  painted in various browns and the metal parts highlighted with Pebeo Guiding Wax  

The top

a couple more views

Roses

After a week of catastrophes - a flooded kitchen and flooded carpets (don't go there!) and the ensuing clear up and drying out, together with some much needed catch up on some gardening, I found time today to catch up with a project I started a couple of weeks ago.

For ages I had meant to replace the roses in a rather pretty vase I have bought at the glass factory on the Isle of Wight some years ago.   The roses were made with Hearty Soft clay in white and then airbrushed.  The leaves and calyx had a little green cake decorating colour added to the clay, and then they too were airbrushed.  I didn't use any cutters for the rose -  the petals were just modeled by hand. However, I used a cutter for the calyx and for the leaves

Really pleased with the results.   

I made the original yellow roses from cold porcelain probably back in the early 90s when I went on a course with my father.   I never really liked the yellow roses, so am pleased that I have last given the "vase" a make-over.

before - the old roses