It is thyme to send a post card to the North Pole

Today 

I want to show you a design 

by

Kim Hogue 

that I have painted

It is called

POST CARD TO THE NORTH POLE

You can find the pattern 

to

 this design 

in 

the book

TOLE FAIRIES 

Let's step inside 

my

STUDIO

and

 I will show you how I painted this project

My Pallette

DecoArt Americana Acrylics

Camel , Honey Brown, Sand, Antique Gold, Buttermilk, Lamp Black, Heritage Brick, Espresso, Graphite, Avacado Dip, Titanium White, Burnt Orange, Black Plum, Marigold, Slate Grey, Plantation Pine, Light Avacado, Paynes Grey

Speciality Products

Americana Multi Purpose Sealer, DecoArt Acrylic Matte Spray Varnish, Decopage Medium, DecoArt Snow-Tex, Flora Craft Diamond Dust, graphite paper, sanding sticks, sponge roller brush, sea sponge

Let's Paint!!!!

Before painting it is very important to prepare your surface properly

so you the end result is perfect!

I first sanded then sealed my pieces using 

Americana Multi Purpose Sealer

I initially used a spong roller to roll on the following values

Honey Brown, Camel and Sand

This gave my surface 

a 

"tea dyed" look

I then used

 a 

SEA SPONGE

and

additional values

 to add 

texture

 to 

my surface

After my surface was completely dry

 I used graphite paper 

to 

transfer the main pattern lines

( I keep a small travel blow dryer on my paint table for drying paint quickly)

Base coating the main elements of the design

Kim Hogue's projects are always full of wonderful

 techniques

 and 

details!

In this project you do a lot of "scumbling" to create shaded areas

Working on the pine tree

 and 

details on the snowman

A closer look!

The flag "banner" 

is 

actually cardstock 

that you paint!

When the paint was dry

 I painted over the cardstock banners

 with

Matte Decou-Page

I then glued the banners to my surface

Painting the postmark and stamp

Close up 

of the 

POSTMARK

The "embellishment kit"

 contains 

a tiny star that you paint 

for 

the tree and glue on

I used 

DecoArt  Glittering Snow-Tex 

for the snow

I also added 

DIAMOND DUST

to make the snow 

SPARKLE

Painting the stocking ornament

Who knew that you could KNIT with your paint brush!

Finished stocking ornament

My completed project!

DecoArt provided me with the paints 

to 

complete this project as part

 of the

Helping Artist Program

and 

Blogger Outreach Program

Thank you DecoArt for all your wonderful products to create with

You can view my 

DecoArt Profile

HERE

I hope you have enjoyed watching me paint

POST CARD TO THE NORTH POLE

HAPPY PAINTING!

Lynn

It's THYME for some WINTER TIME MAGIC

Living 

in 

New England 

I have to say that we have been very 

LUCKY 

so far this winter 

because we have not seen much of the 

WHITE stuff 

yet!

Listening to the weather forecast

 for

the next few days there is a possibility 

that 

could change!

We could be in for some

WINTER TIME MAGIC!

Even 

IF 

the weathermen 

are wrong 

I have decided to paint some winter MAGIC!

I love to paint on ice skates!

They can usually be found at yard sales thrift shops or even in your own basement!

I use grey metal primer to prep skates 

after cleaning them well

 and 

taping off the heel and runner.

I used a design from 

Viki Sherman's 

Kindred Hearts Book

called

WINTER TIME MAGIC

My Pallette

DecoArt Americana Acrylic

Burnt Umber, Soft Black, Mississippi Mud, Titanium White, Paynes Grey, Black Green, Evergreen, Antique White, Burnt Orange, Light French Blue, Black Plum, Avacado, Lamp Black, Light Buttermilk, Heritage Brick, Deep Midnight Blue, Cherry Red

After the primer had dried well I basecoated my skates with 2 good coats 

of

Mississippi Mud

Ice Skates 

are 

a fun surface to paint on!

Just paint right over the existing stitching.

After painting my design I painted the eyelets Lamp Black for contrast. 

I added some

GLITTER SNOW

along the sole of the skate.

I varnished my skate with 2 coats of

Americana Dura Clear Matte Varnish

When dry 

I lightly sprayed my skate with a spray glue for glitter

I then sprinkled my skate 

with

DIAMOND DUST 

to

 make it sparkle!

Add some 

DIAMOND DUST

 to the blade also 

so it will look like there is

 ICE 

on the blade.

I like to fill my skates with a mix of 

"winter thyme" greenery

I secure a piece of floral styrofoam inside the skate with hot glue

I make some "snowballs" using various size styrofoam balls.

Spray the styrofoam balls

 with 

spray glue for glitter

 then sprinkle them 

with 

DIAMOND DUST

I use wooden skewers to make my snowballs into picks to stick in my arrangement.

Use green floral tape to cover the wooden stick

I tore strips of homespun to use as laces 

and 

added a large bell

I attached a small tag that 

said

BELIEVE

Attach a piece of wire in the back for hanging

Or

if you prefer to use your skate as a table centerpiece

cut a block of wood, paint it , cut a groove down the center of the wood

 and 

insert the blade of your skate!

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

Helping Artist and Blogger Outreach Programs.

Thank you DecoArt for the opportunity to use your products!

You can visit my DecoArt Profile

HERE

I hope you have enjoyed watching me paint 

WINTER TIME MAGIC!

Happy Painting!

Lynn

"Each day is a new canvas to paint upon. Make sure your picture is full of life and happiness, and at the end of the day you don't look at it and wish you had painted something different." ~Author Unknown

It's thyme to TAKE CARE OF MY HEART

TAKE CARE OF MY HEART

is

 a new design

 that I have painted 

for 

Painting With Friends

I painted this design on a wood pizza peel

BUT

it would look great on many surfaces!

this design was inspired 

by 

Terrye French

The snowmen were painted using

 a 

"dry brush".

Layers of drying brushing 

added a nice contour to the snowmen

Adding facial details

I kept my colors soft.

This was a fun pattern to paint!!!

You can purchase this 

E-PATTERN

HERE

Happy Painting!

Lynn