Mixed Media Fall

Well I've been trying to conceptualize some new projects for Fall. I was stuck on creating something with eggshell mosaic. I tried cutting out large leaf shapes but somehow the leaf shape got lost in the craziness of the mosaic. I tried something smaller and this is the result.












You need some rinsed and dried eggshell which you then paint with some acrylic paint in Fall colors.

Let dry.











I decided to use black cardstock which is slightly thinner than posterboard...you can use posterboard if you wish.

You need some mod podge...I'm using glossy because I like that shiny finish...you could also use acrylic medium or plain white glue.







Brush some on and take a piece of shell about the size of a quarter.








Place on top of the mod podge and then using you finger smoosh down.







Keep going with different colors...add a top coat as you go working in small sections at a time as the mod podge will begin to dry on you.








I did a full sheet of black cardstock going right over the edges...my cardstock is on top of wax paper.








This is how it looks when dry...now you could cheat and just print this image off and use it.





Click on picture for larger image.








Here I was trying to figure out a better looking design.







I painted some branches onto some wc paper.









I then decided I wanted a series of 3...I wish I had thought of this sooner as I could of painted it first and then made my cuts....oh well








Here I decided to make a tall narrow tree.....I'm painting in a stormy grey background.





I then placed a piece of plastic wrap on top and made some wrinkles with my fingers.





I then left it to dry with the plastic in place.









Paint in your branches.






I cut out a variety of leaves leaving them quite circular like a popular leaf.





Before gluing play around with them a bit until you like the arrangement.

Glue on with some tacky glue.

see you later

How to Make a Miniature Garden

So these are the mini gardens I finished up today for the kids to give to their teachers tomorrow....on the last day of school...FINALLY!!!

I can't wait for some extra time to do some painting and great tutorials for this blog.

I promised to show you how to make these gardens so here we go.......

Materials Required:

a house...now I purchase houses at Christmas time specifically to make these gardens but you can find some at garage sales or make one out of a fence post like I described in this post. If you house has snow on it you can easily paint it to be moss.

paint

paintbrushes

sealer, I use Duraclear glossy

planter

soil

flowers

large pebbles

small decorative rock

twigs

Here are the houses I buy at Christmas. These are from Walmart and I think I paid $3.00 a piece.

There are some craft stores that sell these all year round so keep an eye out. Otherwise you can make a wood one or modify a secondhand house from a Christmas village.

If you are painting a plain one the first thing you want to do is brush it with an old paintbrush. This gets off the excess dust as well as some of the extra plaster bits that shouldn't be there.

Start painting...I use Folk Art acrylic paints. Now when you start to paint you want to work with the largest areas first and then work your way up to the trim. This saves in the touch ups.

Due to the white chalky nature of the plaster you will find your colors appear somewhat garish. If you try to keep to traditional house colors you will be OK once the final antiquing coat goes on at the end.

If you water your paints down a little you will get better coverage as the plaster soaks up the paint very fast.

When you reach the snow bits on the roof and the ground you want to paint these green like moss. I usually paint it a dark green first like "thicket" and then pounce on some light Hauser green and a little bit of yellow. This adds depth to your trees and moss.


Paint the inner sills of the windows black. This hides them a bit.

If you can't get all the little spaces don't worry the glaze will take care of it.

The glaze also hides any imperfections in your painting.

Now it's time for the antiquing glaze. You want a little bit of paint, I usually use Brunt Umber...add some float medium just to the side of your paint....next add a few drops of water....mix together in a small amount to make your glaze.

You then want to paint the entire house with this watery glaze. It will fill in all the little spaces and add depth to shingles, stone etc. It also covers all the little mistakes.

It tones down the colors to make them look more realistic.

Here is red roof getting the antiquing treatment.

For stone work you may want to use a bit of black paint for the glaze. It fills in all the grout lines and make it look like real stone or tile.

When finished let dry and cure. You are supposed to wait 24 hrs but sometimes I cheat if I am in a rush. I just have to be careful that the paint doesn't start to lift.

When dry cover in a coat of Duraclear glossy and set aside to dry.

While your house is drying find some nice flat pebbles. This will be your address marker.

Paint with a few coats of a light acrylic color.


Let dry.

Using a fine paintbrush make up an address for your house.....something like Lilliput Lane, Dragonfly Manor, Barnacle Bay.

The secret to using a fine liner paintbrush is to have very thin paint. Add water to black or brown to letter your sign. I then add some flowers or a vine.


Let dry and cover with a coat of Duraclear as well.

Now you need a nice planter for your garden....something with a low profile but large enough to plant a few flowers and have space for your house. I use these terracotta planters...they are 16.5" in diameter and are about 8 inches high.

Put some large pebbles in the bottom for drainage.

Plant some flowers and herbs in a semicircle around the back of your planter. You are leaving space for your house and pathway in the front.


Try to choose plants that will stay small...only about 12" high at the max. Look for ones with small leaves and flowers to fit with the theme.

I usually pick up some extra park benches at Christmas time to go with the houses but neglected to do so this time.

I decided to add a fence to the pathway. I found a bunch of sticks on the thinner side and cut them all to about 4 ".

I place decorative rock in the back of the planter where the house will sit and then add a pathway.

This time I added my twig fence as well.

Put your address marker near the front.

And that's it a cute little mini garden that makes a great gift. My kids like to set up little mini scenes in the regular flower bed as well. It's amazing what you can come up with!

Take care and I'll see you next time.

gail

How to do Batik with Kids

During the school year I needed to find a kid friendly batik idea. I had done wax batik with kids before but it can be a bit difficult using hot wax. It also is not much fun having to iron away the wax with lots of newspaper. I had heard about glue batik with white glue but the results were disappointing. I stumbled on this blue glue idea and I LOVE IT!!!


It is now the talk of the school because it is so user friendly. So lets get started:


You need this type of glue..Elmer's Galactic Glue. They also sell a non glitter version which I think will work as well just make sure it is the washable blue gel. I got mine at Micheals but I know they also carry it at Wal mart. Right now is a good time to stock up with the school supply sales on. UPDATE Sept 09/08 I tried the Elmer's Washable School Gel Glue (it's still blue) and it works even better, finer nozzle, easier to squeeze, washes out faster.

I used 5 bottles for 24 kids and we were able to do 3 projects with it.





I cut my fabric to size and I have a layer of wax paper underneath.

Draw your image straight on to your fabric with your glue bottle. For the butterfly I lightly pencilled in my design first. The pencil marks come off in the wash stage.







When finished let dry completely about 12 hours.










Now you get to add color. Instead of using fabric dye which could wash out the glue prematurely I use watered down acrylic craft paint. You can almost achieve a watercolor like effect with it. I don't use fabric paint because it costs more and it only has a bit of softener in it. This works better.
















Having fun painting (Jeff age 5).

Make sure you use an art shirt to protect your clothes.






When finished painting let dry completely. Depending on the weight of your fabric this might take a few hours.










When dry you need to soak your fabric in a warm (almost hot) water bath. Depending on the fabric's weight this soak can be anywhere from 10 minutes to 1/2 an hour, (heavier fabrics take longer). I use the bathtub because it works best for a large number of pieces. Don't worry about the paint coming off you will only get a few flakes of dried color in the water.
To help it along you can also scrub it a bit with a nailbrush.

When the glue is all off the fabric wring out your piece and dry. I use the dryer because I'm impatient and with 24 pieces I wanted it done.



Sew up into your finished project. In this case Jeff wanted a pillow for his room.








This is one of the projects I did with the school for Father's Day, homemade windsocks. I used very light fabric (polyester lining material) for this one.

We also did a name sign out of heavy canvas for all the kids.

In both cases the blue glue batik worked terrific!!

Give it a try the possibilities are endless. You could make flags, banners,tote bags,custom shirts or just a nice wall hanging.

see ya later
gail