Thyme to show you a Holly Snow Lady

When I was shopping at

 NET 

this fall

 I was immediately fascinated by some new ornament patterns 

that my good friend 

Jane Allen 

had in her booth.

Jane explained to me 

that she and her good friend Shara Reiner got together to play

and 

before you knew it they were sculpting Shara's whimsical characters using QuickWood. 

With some playing and brainstorming "SharaJane" was born.

SharaJane is a line of designs that is a little bit Shara and a little bit Jane.

I just KNEW I had to try making some of these ornaments!

The problem was deciding which ones I wanted to try!

I wanted them ALL!

Lets step inside my STUDIO and see what I chose!

Let's get started!

My Palette

Country Red, Deep Burgundy, Foliage Green, Hauser Medium Green, Lamp Black Plantation Pine, Tangelo Orange, Warm White, Zinc, Blue harbor, Bright Salmon, Evergreen, Indian Turquoise, Raw Sienna, Snow White, Soft Black Spiced Pumpkin.

I decided on the Holly Snow Lady as my first project.

I did it Shara's Way & Jane's Way!
You will need some 100mm plastic disk ornaments.
These measure about 4" wide.

I began by first removing the top of the ornaments.
I then poured Snow White paint into the ornament.
I swirled the paint around until the inside of the ornament was covered.
I then tipped the ornaments over to let the excess paint flow out.
I used cups to hold each ornament.

I let my ornaments dry this way overnight.

It's now time to play with some QuickWood!

Some basics to remember when working with QuickWood

1. QuickWood is a 2 part resin. When mixed together you have about 20 minutes of open time before it begins to cure. It will full cure in 24 hours.
2. Only cut off as much as you need at a time.
3. Make sure it is thoroughly mixed together ( no swirls of color) or it will not cure.
4. Do not wear jewelry , especially rings when working with QW.
5. Apply Silicone Glove before starting and as needed when working with QW. It helps keep it from sticking to your hands!
6. Use DecoArt Extender to blend QW being careful not to use too much or it will make your QW gummy.

To help with the sculpting process the pattern includes a link to 7 brief videos.

You can watch a video , do the step and then move on to the next step.

This was very useful if you are new to sculpting with QW!

I began with sculpting my Holly Snow Lady Shara's Way first.

There is a little learning curve with playing with QW.....but it is fun and relaxing!

I followed Jane Allen's quick tutorials for each step which makes this project easy peasy!

Adorable!

I then made some Holly Snow Ladies Jane'sWay!

It was fun seeing my Holly Snow Ladies come to life with paint!

Aren't they adorable? I know you want to try some!

The feeling you're being watched!

After I had all my ornaments painted I added some BLING.

You can do this by brushing some

Decou-Page

on the leaves

Then sprinkle on some

DIAMOND DUST

for 

sPaRkLe

If you do not want to cover the entire background of your ornament 

with GLITTER you can give your ornament a light spray of  

DecoArt Matte Sealer

Holly Snow Lady

Janes Way

Holly Snow Lady

Shara's Way

Rosemary Reynolds and DecoArt 
provided me with the products to complete this project as part of their
Helping Artist and Blogger Outreach programs.

Thank you DecoArt!

My Elves

 Hinkley and Elfin 

are busy in the STUDIO now 

wrapping all my Snow Ladies!

The MAGIC of Christmas is happening!

Remember ......there is room for everyone on the NICE list!

I hope you have enjoyed watching me make my
Holly Snow Ladies!

Happy Painting!

Lynn

It's thyme to show you a birdhouse wreath.

Sometimes it is hard to stay focused in

 the 

STUDIO 

when a sunny day and the gardens are calling your name!

The palette of color in the gardens can be as beautiful as any in my STUDIO!

It can also be the source of great inspiration!

Let's head into the STUDIO to see what I have been painting.

I purchased this small birdhouse at a craft store. 

It had a perch on it but I cut it off. 

I sanded the area

 and then

added some

wood filler.

I then sealed my surface with 

Multi Purpose Sealer

I lightly sanded again and wiped the dust with a damp paper towel.

I used my good friend 

Jane Allen 's

Home For The Holidays

Ornament Pattern 

as inspiration for this project.

You can find the pattern

HERE

LETS PAINT!

My Palette

DecoArt Americana Acrylics

Antique Teal, Antique White, Arbor Green, Burnt Umber, Colonial Green, Deep Burgundy, Evergreen, Golden Straw, Light Cinnamon, Raw Sienna, Silver Sage Green, Slate Grey, Soft Black, Warm White, Mulberry

I began by base coating the front back and sides of birdhouse. 

I then painted the "shingle " details.

I then applied a THICK coat of One Step Crackle

I let the crackle medium dry over night.

In order for the crackle finish to show I use an Americana Gel Stain over it.

I use an scruffy old brush to do this!

I first brushed on the Gel Stain then wiped with a clean white soft cloth.

I found some 

vintage 

SHEET MUSIC 

with 

birds

HERE

I applied Decou-Page to the sheet music so it would adhere to birdhouse.

I applied it to the BACK of the paper first and let it dry over night.

 I then applied to to the FRONT of the paper.

I let that dry overnight.

I used a sanding stick carefully along the edges of the sheet music to fray it some.

I transferred the main lines to the surface and started painting the bird.

I added a branch and some leaves to paint.

I love everything that SPARKLES

So I decided to make the ROOF of my house do just that!

I gathered some

old white buttons

and 

some 

Dimensional Effects

I used a

  plastic palette knife to "frost" the roof

 with the 

Dimensional Effects.

I quickly pressed in the buttons.

I covered the entire roof in this manner.

I let the roof dry for several days until hardened.

When the roof had hardened I took Elmer's Glue and thinned it with water.

I used an old brush to "paint" the roof with the glue mixture.

I then SpRiNkLeD the roof with Diamond Dust to make it sPaRkLe. 

For more design inspiration and 

GLITTER HOUSES

be sure to visit

Jane Allen's BLOG

HERE

I purchased some florals.

I gathered a small drill, pliers and some thin rusty wire.

I used a small hand drill to drill 2 tiny holes in the BACK of the birdhouse.

I drilled the holes even with the opening in the FRONT of the house.

I then positioned the birdhouse on the wreath.

I used a thin wire

and 

strung it through the opening on the FRONT of the bird house

 through the holes I had drilled in the BACK of the house. 

I wired the house to the wreath

I began arranging the floral on my wreath without gluing it YET!

Once I am pleased with the placement I take one piece out at a time and glue it.

Next I painted a wood tag with Silver Sage Green.

I typed out the definition of NEST on my computer and printed it.

I sprayed the printing a couple of times very lightly with Krylon FIXATIVE.

This will keep the lettering from smearing in the next step when we decoupage.

Let Dry!

I carefully tore all around the edges of the paper .

I found the inspiration for this tag on 

Jane Allen's BLOG

HERE

I added a crackle finish to the tag in the same manner as I did the bird house.

I applied Deco-Page with an old brush to the BACK of my paper and positioned it on my tag. 

I let that dry well before applying Deco-Page to the FRONT of the paper.

I did not apply the Deco-Page to the whole tag, just where I had positioned the paper.

I applied a finish coat on the tag with GlossVarnish

NEST

Nest (n) the place where a bird lays its eggs and takes care of its young: a place of rest, retreat or lodging: a home

I continued gluing on my florals. 

I added a piece of twine to the tag to attach it to the wreath.

I added a piece of wire to the back of wreath for hanging.

I glued some moss and twigs in the opening of the bird house.

I tied the tag on the wreath.

Close up of tag.

Rosemary Reynolds and DecoArt 

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

Helping Artist and Blogger Outreach Programs

Thank you DecoArt!

I hope you have enjoyed watching me make this wreath!

Until next time,

Always paint with a happy heart!

Lynn