Fave Crafts Blog Hop- February 15th , already???

Finished on the 15th, Fave Crafts Blog hop happens on the 15th of every month. Like clock work.

Click to go to all the other Hoppers.

I was not prepared for it all to happen on the 15th of this month, I mean everything that is happening is happening on this day!! LOL.
Not quite, but it seems like it to me right now.
So I have really finished nothing this month.
SO........... I decided to show you a quick acrylic paint wash easy background for a collage.
Thank you for stopping by. Have a great time crafting.

Clean canvas- I used a stretch canvas
Lumiere gold-true gold #550
Ne-Opaque Brown-#592
flat soft 1/2" brush
Cotton printable paper
Silk printable paper
Flowable extender- just ask Howard for it, we have it.

This was for a friend for Christmas. It is my friend Jodi's hubby, he is something of a wild west fan and historian.
He tells great stories and studies profusely.
I had the chance to blow this every step of the way (finding the wrong information or pictures) and I am making this on the 23rd of December.
I look for trivia and anything I could find on Wyatt Earp and Nelson Story two of his favorites in old west history.
Now this was fun and I took a chance with the stuff I used it could have all big propaganda and lies, but I went with it and I loved reading about these guys the myth, legend, and the lies. I wasn't there, it is all propaganda to me. I know how stories get twisted in families. Everybody does it.

I printed the pictures I was going to use on the cotton paper. It is sheet of paper with fabric attached to it so you can run it through your Ink Jet Printer (I am having so much fun with this stuff).

I printed the dates and words on a sheet of the silk paper. I used the silk for this because when I used the flowable extender the silk tends to fade away and the words are just left. This works with encaustic collage too!
I do these first to give the ink a chance to dry before I use it. Otherwise it gets on my hands and comes off in my brush too!

Flowable extender is a gel medium and if you want a thicker one you can use the Jacquard Silk screen flowable extender. The one for the Lumiere and the Ne-opaque is thinner and is nice for thinning the Ne-opaque and Lumiere and for using as a stand alone product too. I like this as a thinner more than water, even though water does work also.

I took the canvas and thinned the Brown Ne-opaque with the flowable extender and slapped it haphazardly on to the canvas. That means quickly and with no deliberation, Just do it.

Roughly looks best and you can scrub it on in places and add it on like painting a coat of paint too.

I even painted the sides of the canvas too!
That way they can be hung right away while looking for the perfect frames.

Some one should really clean up my area. LOL!

While the brown was still wet and workable and added the Gold Lumiere. In patches according to taste. I did not want the whole thing goldy, but for it to have highlights of gold in different light.


I took these pictures about midnight. Sorry for the bad lighting. You kind of see the gold in there. It is really yummy though.

Can you see it yet?

How about now?

I messed around with the placement of the pictures before I started "gluing" them on with the flowable extender.

Here is another look at it.
You can see he was a very good looking man. I am getting a pretty good idea of what I want to go where now.

I had some scraps of the fabric paper left over so I thought I would use a fine point Tee-juice pen and see if I could draw on the paper fairly well and you can and I am probably going to pursue this one later on.
Just think Zentangle quilts, wall hangings, or fabric collage!!! I am thinking too I could draw my own stuff heat set it and then use it in the encaustic. yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!
It was so easy because of the paper backing and the tee-juice pen is juicy and keeps on flowing, I loved that. It was just like drawing on a piece of paper. Sorry, side tracked. Pretty, shiny thing.

First thing you want to do when starting to use the paper is get the backing off of the fabric.

I use my scissors for this and stick the end under the fabric and pull it back from the paper. Sorry for the black nails ;-D
I lift it up around it and then get a big piece of it and pull away! If your scissors are really sharp be careful of cutting yourself and the fabric.

I paint the back and the front of the fabric with flowable extender and then paint the canvas where I want my fabric to go. I then lay the fabric picture on the canvas. I then brush more extender on and brush out any air bubbles underneath the fabric picture.

Add more pictures overlapping them, this same way.
I don't have the finished piece pictures I will have to get you one next time I am up at Jodi's. I did a good job on these and when I gave them to her husband I found out that I didn't do too bad in my choice of pictures.
I added the dates of his birth and death and Wyatt's name in a great font and also added some more scrolly painting and highlighting with the gold paint, I have to admit I really like them and may even do some more of these.
I can also see how some of the techniques I used here could carry over in to other aspects of my art play.
Thanks for visiting.
Have a great blog hop!




My friend Anne at El Milagro studios has just done a bang up series in Gel mediums and I think you would really enjoy them you can find them here.

1. http://elmilagrostudio.blogspot.com/2011/02/gel-mediums-secret-desire-of-artists-or.html

2. http://elmilagrostudio.blogspot.com/2011/02/are-you-gellin-uuuuuuuggghhhh.html

3. http://elmilagrostudio.blogspot.com/2011/02/shiny-happy-gelling-with-my-apologies.html

4. http://elmilagrostudio.blogspot.com/2011/02/more-art-making-on-distant-shores.html

5. http://elmilagrostudio.blogspot.com/2011/02/one-last-splash-of-glitter.html

6. http://elmilagrostudio.blogspot.com/2011/02/divas-and-their-stories.html

7. http://elmilagrostudio.blogspot.com/2011/02/valentine-unlike-convential-hearts.html



For January's Fave Crafts Blog Hop: video's with complete tutorial for Cernit polymer clay hearts 
http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2011/01/fave-crafts-blog-hop-i-heart-you.html


For December's Fave Crafts Blog Hop: there are some great links here if you are interested and a complete tutorial.
http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2010/12/fave-crafts-blog-hop-today-december.html

From Plain to Fabulous- a step by step story, part 2

This is continued from Part 1 here http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2010/10/from-plain-to-fabulous-step-by-step.html




We are making this box



Stamp in to the surface of the clay with a rubber stamp. I place my hand on the underside of the lid and then press the stamp against my hand to make a deep impression. If you have put too much glue on at this point you will know. The clay will start sliding around. Let it sit for a bit and the continue. Press the stamp straight down.

Stamp the whole surface of the clay.

Place the believe banner on the surface and arc it up a little.

Roll out some more black clay on the thickest setting and cut out 3 of the oak like leaves in the cutter set. With the back of your clay slicing blade make the center vein in the leaves and then mark the outside veins. I have placed one leaf right under each side of the banner and then I placed one in the bottom point of the heart which will show in the next picture.

Take 2- 1/8" balls of clay and place one on each side of the banner. Using the handle of a paint brush or the end of a small crochet hook make a indent right in the middle of the balls.

Place a smaller ball in each indented ball.

 

Make a mark in the center of the smaller ball to make it look like a screw.

Cut out 5 of the petal shape you see here. The one that sort of looks like heart.
Bend the petal over your finger like this. This will put a little curve in the petal.

Make lines with a dull knife or the back of the blade on each petal in a fan shape to the point of the petal.

I used a 1/2 ball of clay for the center and it shows that I used the screen piece to make texture in the center after I placed it in the flower, but it is much easier to press the 1/2" ball in to the screen and then place it in the center of the flower.









Paint the powders on with a soft, soft brush or your finger on the lid and bake in a 275 degree pre-heated over for 30 minutes and shut off and let cool in oven.
Once cool paint the lid and the box inside and out with several coats of True Gold Lumiere, letting each coat dry before applying the next one.

Tah- dah!!

From Plain to Fabulous- a step by step story, part 1

I have these cardboard paper mache boxes. I love them, they are inexpensive, they are hearts, and I love brown paper covered things for some reason.


I have had these for a long time; I was going to do something with them but never did.
That is the opening to this post http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2010/09/from-plain-to-fabulous.html
where I briefly tell how to make the heart boxes and turn them into gifts, storage, or wish boxes (God boxes).
I thought it would be nice to have a step by step to follow. So I made and photographed the step by steps for you to see how I did it.

You will need:

Cernit black
Paper mache heart boxes
Crafter’s pick “Ultimate” glue
Pearl-ex pigments I used sparkle gold, brilliant gold, spring green, silver and rose gold
Lumiere paint in True gold
Flower/leaves cutter set
Clay Machine
Plastic Handle Scalpel-SCP
Clay Slicing Blade SB
small piece of copper screen
Plumeria Border Rubber Stamp from Rubber Stamp Plantation

Condition the black Cernit until it is smooth and pliable. Cernit works best when conditioned by hand. Flattened with the fingers or pancaked and then run through the clay machine.
Roll the flattened Cernit through the thickest setting on the clay machine.

Take the top of the heart box and place it on top of the rolled out Cernit. Trace around the top with the scalpel to cut out a heart.

Place some of the ultimate glue on the cut out heart.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Spread the glue over the surface of the cut out clay heart with your finger.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Place the heart and center it on the top of the cardboard heart lid.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Press the cut out black heart to the cardboard box lid starting on one side and press down to the other side. The clay will want to slide if you go too fast so go slow and press firmly.
It is best if you press it down well and make sure you press everywhere. If there is a place that you have not pressed it down it might bubble up there.
 
 
 
 
I made and used a "Believe" word mold, you can find the instructions here. http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2008/09/making-word-molds.html I also found some larger letters that are just wonderful and used them here. They are made by De Boles and can be found in good health food stores.

Push some black clay in to the mold. I do this by rolling a coil of clay that is as long and as wide as the mold and then pressing it in.
 

 
 

I also hold the mold in my hand and press with my thumb in to the mold with my fingers on the back of the mold.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I slice off the excess of clay to level with the top (some would call it the bottom though ;-D) of the mold.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Stay tuned for Part 2...
http://mariesegal.blogspot.com/2010/10/from-plain-to-fabulous-step-by-step_23.html

Speaking of Buddha...

 I have been working on this for awhile. I love little shrines and I have a set of stamps that cut them out of the clay. Yesterday my sisterfriend Bella Sinclair http://bellasinclair.blogspot.com/ mentioned that the last face cab I did had a Buddha face. I have always wanted a segue way like that and there it was. So, today speaking of Buddha... here it is.

I am still working on a way to hang this piece. It is meant to be a wall shrine.

Textured foil background mounted on a 4 1/4" x 3 1/4" wood panel. The foil is painted with Super Russet Lumiere acrylic paint.

The shrine itself is made from Gold, Copper, and Verdigris Cernit that is stamped with Pearl-ex ink in Black and Copper.

There are Copper metal leaves hand cut and tooled with small flowers from Black and Opaque White Cernit, Copper metal beads, and Flowers that are made in various shades of black white copper gold and brown Cernit. I have also added triangular silver filigree metal pieces and a couple of different sizes of vintage swarovski crystal flat back stones. The hinges on the shrine doors are 20 gauge copper handmade jump rings.

I know now, by doing the work,+ some of things I will do differently with the next shrine. It was fun to experiment and to find the things that worked and that didn't. I may have to make a couple more of these.

Uh oh, another tangent??