PAINTING THYME NEEDFULS

Wednesday, November 2, 2016

Thyme to show you a Citrus Snickle

Today

I wanted to show you

how to make

CITRUS SNICKLE

The design for this project is by Cynthia Erekson

Let's head inside the STUDIO and get started!

My Palette

DecoArt Americana Acrylics

Medium Flesh, Light Buttermilk, Payne's Grey, Antique Gold Deep, Spiced Pumpkin, Burnt Orange, Traditional Burnt Umber, Gingerbread, Navy Blue, Burnt Sienna, Brandywine, Milk Chocolate, Mustard Seed, Antique White, Camel, Uniform Blue, Antique Green, Autumn Red, Plantation Pine, Buttermilk, Lamp Black

LET'S PAINT

I used an 18" square unprimed heavy floor cloth canvas for this project

I used a 2" foam brush to apply GESSO

I let the first coat of GESSO dry well then I applied a second coat .

Let dry completely!

I used a sponge brush to base coat over the GESSO with Navy Blue

Let the first coat of Navy Blue dry then apply a second coat.

Trace your pattern and transfer the outer line defining Santa's shape.

Add details as needed.

I began by painting the face then adding the eyes.

Base coat the beard.

I am now base coating the stocking and mittens.

I have painted the arms and dry brushed the highlighted areas.

Adding detail to the stocking.

I have now added detail to the hat and cuffs.

I have base coated the oranges and started to shade between them to separate them.

I often dry brush highlights in for a softer look

Traditions Dome Blenders

are perfect for this!

I have started painting the lemon garland.

I am painting the leaves and nutmeg on the garland.

I have painted the additional detail on the lemons.

I like to use Silver Brush Ltd. Ultra mini's for detail work.

I have also started adding the beard hairs and facial detail.

When painting a beard be patient!

Layer your values so there is some contrast.

I began by undercoating the beard with Antique White. I then added Camel hairs sparsely to determine direction of hair growth. This also adds contrast. I then began adding Buttermilk hairs followed by Light Buttermilk hairs. I left some background and Camel hairs showing for contrast.

I have added the cloves to the oranges and started to paint the leaves and berries.

I obtain the subtle shading on the mittens, arms, stocking and cheeks by dry brushing with my

Traditions Dome Blenders

The brushes are very soft and make it very easy to almost "dust on" color where you need it for highlights.

Thyme to SPATTER!

I covered Santa's face when I spattered.

*** To easily spatter pour out about a dime size puddle of paint on your palette. Dip a large stencil brush in water, blot it on your paper towel lightly. Then circle your brush in the paint on your palette. Use your palette knife to gently pull thru the bristles of your brush. ***

The end result should be a nice fine spatter!

Now to glue the Santa together.

I use Arlene's Thick Designer Tacky Glue ( in the jar)

I spread the glue evenly in the space to the left of my design. The glue should meet but not go over the glue line.

I then roll the canvas into a cone shape overlapping the right side of the canvas so the cut shape just meets the glue line. This step is important so that your wooden base will fit the bottom of the cone!

Lay the cone down with the glued area on the bottom. Press the canvas together securely by rubbing inside the cone along the glued line. You can secure the cone with clamps or elastics till your glue sets.

Once your glue has set stuff the interior of the cone well to give it a heftiness. Leave a 1/2" space at the bottom of the cone for the wood base. Spread a thin layer of glue onto the inner 1/2" space of canvas. Press on the outside of the cone to securely adhere the base to the canvas.

To hide the unfinished top of cone I attached 2 rusty stars. You can clamp them together until the glue sets.

I applied 2 light coats of

Dura Clear Ultra Matte Varnish

to my Santa.

The varnishes come in many finishes so the choice is yours for the look you want.

Let the varnish dry completely between coats to avoid clouding!

Here is my finished

CITRUS SANTA

DecoArt

provided me with the paints to complete this project as part of their

Helping Artist and Blogger Outreach Programs

Thank you DecoArt for all the wonderful products to create with!

I hope you have enjoyed watching me paint

Citrus Santa!

Happy Painting!

Lynn

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

It's thyme for Halloween My Pretties!

Who needs

COSTUME

if you have

"The HAT"

Today my pretties I am going to show you how to have the

most

SPOOKtacular

Witch Hat Box

for

HALLOWEEEN

"A girl should be two things. Fabulous and Classy " ~ Coco Chanel

Park your BROOMS ......and

Lets head inside the STUDIO!

Welcome to my studio My Pretties!

Grab a hat, some brushes and paint and lets get started!

My Palette

DecoArt Americana Acrylics

Lamp Black

First base coat your hat with Lamp Black.

I mix some Multi Purpose Sealer 1:1 with my paint for better coverage.

I always keep a supply of grunged tags on hand.

If you don't have a recipe to do this you can use mine.....My Pretty!

Click on the link for the RECIPE

HERE

I printed out on a piece of paper the words

" Custom outfits for your next Covern Meeting"

I tore around the edges of my printed sheets of paper.

***** Or use your imagination......you can have your tag say anything! *****

Another idea!

Next I used a brush to spread DecoArt Decoupage onto the back of the sayings I had printed out.

I then smoothed the sayings on my grungy tags.

Let them dry well!

This next step is very important so your tags don't smear.

Spray them with Krylon Workable Fixative!

Once the fixative has dried completely brush the tops of your tags with DecoArt Decopage.

Let dry completely......again!

You know what My Pretties????

So lets add some!

I brushed on ORANGE DecoArt Craft Twinkles

Let Dry!

Then I brushed on some Gold DecoArt Craft Twinkles

Eeeek! My Pretties!

Let's add some flowers and BLING!

Next I painted the outside of a paper mache box with a 1:1 ratio

Lamp Black and Multi Purpose Sealer

Mix well with your palette knife

I painted the inside of the box and cover with DecoArt Bronze Dazzling Metallic

Let the inside of the box and cover dry completely!

I then painted over the Orange Dazzling Mettalic with DecoArt Orange Craft Twinkles

I printed out the word HAT BOX on my computer.

Spray it with Krylon Fixative to set the lettering!

Spread glue on the back then center it on your box and smooth it out.

I then attached some brads to the four corners of the hat box sign.

( you can usually find the brads in the scrapbook section of your craft store.)

I used my Traditions Dome Blender to dry brush the sign to age it.

I then lightly brushed on some Orange Craft Twinkles here and there on the sign.

Did I tell you how much I like GLITTER?

AND

I LIKE BLING!

I found these sheets of "jewels" at Michaels.

I glued the "jewels" all around the rim of the box.

I tore 2 coordinating strips of fabric about 5" wide.

The length would depend on the size of your hat and how big a bow you want.

I drilled 2 small holes in the center of the hat one on top of the other.

I folded each of my strips of fabric in 1/2.

Keep the frayed edges of the fabric facing UP.

Cinch the fabric in the center with your fingers,

then

take a small piece of wire

and

thread it thru the holes you drilled gathering up the fabric.

Twist the wire tightly on the inside of the hat to hold your fabric in place.

Now take the ends of the fabric and tie a bow in the back of your hat

I found the larger "jewel" at Michaels as well. It just so happened that the smaller "jewels " fit perfectly inside. I put one inside the other and glued them together.

I glued the "jewel" to the center front of the hat to hide the wire.

Next I glued the HAT to the TOP of the box.

Let that set completely before proceeding to the next step!

I added some black silk flowers, black feathers and some glittered balls to the side of the hat. Tuck them behind the fabric sash and glue in place.

Tie on your tag!!