Thyme to show you a Chestnut Ridge Rope Bed.

I have gotten a little behind on my blogging!

Today I wanted to show you a project that I completed for 

Christmas 

called

Chestnut Ridge Rope Bed.

Design

 by 

Cynthia Erekson

If you know a little girl

 or

 have grand daughters 

who love dolls

 then this is a project you must try!

I also painted a couple small dressers to complete this project.

Lets step inside the STUDIO !

My Palette

DecoArt Americana Acrylics

Sand, Traditional Raw Umber, Wedgewood Blue, Rookwood Red, Blue Haze, Milk Chocolate, Deep Burgundy

I used Wood Filler to fill any nail holes

I then sanded my pieces and removed the dust with a damp paper towel.

I mixed Multi Purpose Sealer (1) : (1) with Rookwood Red

I applied one coat of the sealer mixed with paint to all the surfaces with a brush.

I let the paint dry well then applied a second coat of just Rookwood Red to all my surfaces.

I often use a blow dryer to speed up drying times.

I then transferred the oval design to the inside of the headboard.

I painted inside the oval area with Sand leaving it slightly mottled.

Once the oval area was dry I transferred the horizon line on.

I shaded around the oval with Wedgewood Blue plus Blue Haze.

I pulled the shading towards the center of the sky.

I painted the ground area a streaky Milk Chocolate.

I shaded the ground area with Traditional Raw Umber.

I transferred the remainder of the design onto the oval 

and

 onto the outside of the footboard.

Working on the headboard.

I stenciled a doily to the top of each of the bureaus

using

a

DecoArt Stencil

called

Doily

it measures

 6" x 8" 

I had to adjust the stencil some to fit the bureau tops.

dresser and bed

I have completed the the path and large flower,

 I am now working on

 other small details 

including the berries and leaves on the outer edge of the design.

I am working on the vines and berries on the outer edges of the design.

I have also added the foliage to the tress.

I have a variety of sponges in the STUDIO which are great for tree foliage.

I used a dampened silk sponge for the tree foliage on the bed.

I dampen my sponge and squeeze out the excess water.

 I then dipped the sponge in Milk Chocolate.

I pounce the sponge several times on my palette to work the paint into the sponge.

I then tap sponge on surface to create distinct but light and airy foliage.

Touch down only ONCE so as not to "muddy" up your foliage! 

I dampened a paper towel and dipped it in a bit of Milk Chocolate.

I worked the paint into the towel by pressing it on the palette several times.

I then scrunched the towel and pressed it lightly onto the sky to add mottled color here and there.

The effect should look "tea stained".

Let dry completely.

I sanded areas of the beds and dressers to give them an aged look.

I applied several coats of Dura Clear Ultra Matte Varnish

I let the pieces dry completely for a few days before proceeding.

I used awl to clear any debris from all the holes in the bed

 and

 to enlarge them.

I began by cutting a 4 1/2 yd. piece of jute.

I then began stringing the jute through the holes to create the rope bed.

The stringing of the bed was a somewhat tedious task.......but wait until you see the end result!

The first bed is strung!

I had some old curtains that had faded.

 I was no longer going to use them.

BUT

I saved them as they come in handy for projects like this!

Talk about a perfect match of color!

I cut out 2 mattress's and 2 quilts.

A stitch in thyme!

Just before Christmas Time!

Rosemary Reynolds 

and 

DecoArt 

provided me with the paints and products

 to complete this project as part of their

 Helping Artist and Blogger Outreach Programs.

Thank you DecoArt!

I hope you have enjoyed watching me create these

Chestnut Ridge Rope Beds

and

dressers.

My grand Daughter Princess Natalie sure loved them!

Happy Painting !

Lynn

Thyme to show you a Sweet Snowman Angel

The New Year has brought us some frigid temps here on Ole Cape Cod!

We thankfully have only received a dusting of SNOW.

BUT that doesn't mean you can't have SNOWMEN!

Let's step inside the STUDIO to see what I have been painting!

Today I am working on a project 

called 

Sweet Snowman Angel

The design for this project 

is by

Amy Mogish

You can find the pattern in the book

Jane And Amy Create Christmas

My Palette

DecoArtAmericana Acrylics

Antique White, Autumn Red, Black Forest Green, Dark Chocolate, Graphite, Hot Shots Fiery Red, Lamp Black, Leaf Green, Light Buttermilk, Mistletoe, Neutral Grey, Slate Grey, Soft Black, Warm White, Black Chalkboard Paint

Lets paint!

The surface I used is a Mini cheese box. (3 3/4" x 6" D)

I prepped my surface by rolling on 2 coats 

of 

Black Chalkboard Paint

I painted both the inside and outside.

I let that dry well.

I prepared

 a 

Duster Stippler Brush 

with 

Graphite 

as you would for dry brushing.

Make sure it is very dry! 

You should not see paint moving around on your surface!

I dry brushed over the entire surface in a circular motion with the Graphite.

When dry I repeated the process with Neutral Grey.

I transferred the main elements of the design to the surface with white graphite paper.

I used my Moon Brush loaded with Slate Grey to outline the snowman.

*** Your brush should be VERY DRY! ***

I used a Stain It Brush to base coat the area with Slate Grey, then Light Buttermilk.

I added highlights using Warm White thru the belly and front of face.

I prefer to

layer my highlights and shadows

and 

not try to achieve it in one stroke of the brush!

I used Neutral Grey , then Graphite

 to add shading under the hat, left side of head, under chin, and the arms.

Working on the face and additional shading.

I am now working on the hat.

I have base coated the holly leaves on hat.

Isn't he SWEET?

I am now working on the berries.

I have added the homespun "angel wings" and of course bakers twine!

I did not have a White Prisma Color Pencil as suggested in the pattern.

Instead I used a Generals Charcoal White Pencil for the lettering.

When using a chalk pencil no matter how careful you are there will be some smudges.

Clean up is important!

I use a Point Blend Brush dipped in water to clean up any smudges.

It is essential

to use

  Workable Fixative

to 

affix the chalk pencil 

to the surface 

BEFORE you varnish!!

The lettering around the bottom of the box 

says

WARM HEART COLD NOSE

I will now work on the rim of the box.

I used my

  Micron Mini Detail and Lettering Brushes

to  add the 

Autumn Red 

border on the rim of cover.

I used a small snowflake stencil to add snowflakes around the box.

I also painted the under side of the cover!

Under side of cover!

I dry brushed some snow on the rim of the box with Warm White.

I varnished the box with several coats of Dura Clear Matte Varnish.

I lined the inside of my box with scrapbook paper.

Once I had cut and measured my pieces

 I used an old brush to apply

 Decou -Page 

to the back side of each paper

I applied once piece at a time carefully smoothing out any air bubbles.

HINT (You can use the edge of an old credit card for this)

Lining the inside of your box adds so much to your project!

You can use your box for a small candle

or 

gift it with some fresh baked goodies

Or better yet keep it for yourself!

This was a fun project to paint!

Thank you Amy!

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 paint

Sweet Snowman Angel

Happy Painting !

Lynn