Until next time...HAPPY CRAFTING!
Monday, December 28, 2015
Friday, December 25, 2015
Potted Flowers
Hello and Merry Christmas!
The project I am sharing with you today is a "vase" for your holiday table. It can be used as is for artificial flowers or with a glass cup or bottle inside to hold water if you prefer real cut flowers.
I started with a large aluminum can from beef stew. I wanted a container large enough to hold a full glass or small vase of water. Using the Activa Rigid Wrap, I cut a long strip to go all the way around the can from top to bottom on two sides. This starter strip gave all of the other pieces something solid to adhere to.
The Rigid Wrap is super easy to use. Simply dip the strips into water and press into place. Gently rub each piece, adding a drop of water to your finger when necessary, until the clay smoothes out and the canvas backing doesn't show. At this early stage you can still see the lines of the can through the wrap.
I started adding squares and strips in various directions to build up the texture and hide the can's lines. When I was happy with the patterns and textures I set the can aside to dry. I left it about 24 hours.
When dry, I painted the can with a shiny bronze acrylic paint...then a little more drying time.
Afterwards, I rubbed Chocolate Gelato on the ridges and bumps to give it a little aged look. Green StazOn in was sponged on top for a little holiday color.
At this point I should have sprayed it with a fixative, but I didn't. I know this, because when I went on to the next step some of the green bled through! Oops!
Anyway, I used some of the ribbon I received in an Altered Pages kit (this year's Christmas kit...I think) and plucked out the gold Dew Drops from the Golden Berry set.
I wrapped strips of double sided adhesive tape at the top and bottom and pressed the ribbon in place. Then I glued the Dew Drops in place with Jewel-It glue. This is where my mistake became apparent. Everywhere the glue soaked into the ribbon there is a green tint.
To make this project more festive, I added an Altered Pages collage image of Vintage Santa Claus and a Christmas wreath, attached with Tacky Glue.
I opted for artificial flowers because my dining room doesn't get enough natural light to keep real flowers alive for very long.
Best wishes to everyone for a happy holiday! Please stop by the Altered Pages Artsociates blog to see another fun project using Activa products.
Until next time...HAPPY CRAFTING!
The project I am sharing with you today is a "vase" for your holiday table. It can be used as is for artificial flowers or with a glass cup or bottle inside to hold water if you prefer real cut flowers.
I started with a large aluminum can from beef stew. I wanted a container large enough to hold a full glass or small vase of water. Using the Activa Rigid Wrap, I cut a long strip to go all the way around the can from top to bottom on two sides. This starter strip gave all of the other pieces something solid to adhere to.
The Rigid Wrap is super easy to use. Simply dip the strips into water and press into place. Gently rub each piece, adding a drop of water to your finger when necessary, until the clay smoothes out and the canvas backing doesn't show. At this early stage you can still see the lines of the can through the wrap.
I started adding squares and strips in various directions to build up the texture and hide the can's lines. When I was happy with the patterns and textures I set the can aside to dry. I left it about 24 hours.
When dry, I painted the can with a shiny bronze acrylic paint...then a little more drying time.
Afterwards, I rubbed Chocolate Gelato on the ridges and bumps to give it a little aged look. Green StazOn in was sponged on top for a little holiday color.
At this point I should have sprayed it with a fixative, but I didn't. I know this, because when I went on to the next step some of the green bled through! Oops!
Anyway, I used some of the ribbon I received in an Altered Pages kit (this year's Christmas kit...I think) and plucked out the gold Dew Drops from the Golden Berry set.
I wrapped strips of double sided adhesive tape at the top and bottom and pressed the ribbon in place. Then I glued the Dew Drops in place with Jewel-It glue. This is where my mistake became apparent. Everywhere the glue soaked into the ribbon there is a green tint.
To make this project more festive, I added an Altered Pages collage image of Vintage Santa Claus and a Christmas wreath, attached with Tacky Glue.
I opted for artificial flowers because my dining room doesn't get enough natural light to keep real flowers alive for very long.
Best wishes to everyone for a happy holiday! Please stop by the Altered Pages Artsociates blog to see another fun project using Activa products.
Until next time...HAPPY CRAFTING!
Saturday, December 12, 2015
Here there be DRAGONS!
I love dragons. I love the stories as well as the artwork that abounds around these winged wonders of old. When I first found the Altered Pages website and saw the wonderful collage images that were available, DRAGON was one of my first searches. I found this page and fell in love with this guy. I've used him on another project last year. He was featured on a gift box on that post.
This time, he is much, MUCH bigger!
But, I'm getting ahead of myself. First I had to make the canvas to hold him. For that, I chose an 8x10 canvas board and added layer after layer of Activa Rigid Wrap for texture. It was very easy to apply! And it's always fun to get in and work a project with your hands. I stamped in a fine diamond shape while the plaster was still wet in a couple of places. Because it was very wet from all of those layers, I set it off to the side to dry for about 24 hours.
Then I added a layer of gesso and after that, I began to add color. Art Anthology shamrock green is the base color. It goes on smooth and has a light sheen to it. When that was dry, I added pigment from my green, brown and gold Steampunk Gelatos. The entire canvas board was sealed with a spray to prevent the Gelatos from smearing or rubbing off. A touch of Irresistible spray was added for more texture.
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| Art Anthology green paint as the base color |
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| With highlights |
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| Dried - without color |
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| Dried - with color |
The dragon was resized in my print program to a full page size and printed on heavy card stock. I applied Gelato pigment to my fingertip and then rubbed it on the image to avoid streaks. I also chose a background that had a dragon image on it and cut them both out.
The images were glued down with gel medium and the coins, gears and tokens were attached with Tacky Glue.
I hope you like him as much as I do. Thanks for stopping by. Please come back again to see what other projects the Altered Pages Design Team has to share with and inspire you!
December giveaway at Altered Pages Artsociates
Until Next time, Happy Crafting!
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