Not boxed out yet!

Hi all

Many thanks for stopping by.

I am still playing and loving the new Chalk paints by DecoArt. Today I also used a fabulous stencil by the very talented and funny Carolyn Dube.  Do look her up on Youtube.

I started with a box I found, which was rather battered and cracked.

It had a big crack across the lid, but don't think you can see it from this photo.

I ripped out the insides (cruel I know) covered it with gesso to, hopefully, fill in the holes left where I had taken the insides out and to cover the crack on the top. Sanded when it was dry. 

Using Carolyn's stencil and a palette knife, I scraped DecoArt Modeling Paste through the stencil all over the top roughly. The roughly part wasn't on purpose, it was just my cack- handedness! 

Painted with a mixture of the Chalk paints on the outside,

then on the inside too!

Do hope you liked it.

Getting obsessed with letters and paint.

Hi thanks for stopping by.

Is it just me, or are baby girls popping out all over, where are the boys? Are these girls ever going to have boyfriends when they grow up?
Anyway a sweet little girl has arrived to a good friend of my daughter, so seeing as my last little girl gift went well (well I thought it did) I thought I would do another one, but this time I did the full name.

AND NO it isn't pink again! Sorry pink lovers everywhere, I just couldn't do it!

Started with some wooden letters.

And a wooden board I found that had two holes in it. Randomly stroked some Americana relic chalky paint on the board.

Followed by Everlasting, let it dry then sanded it a bit.

Painted the letters with relic (forgetting to take any photos, sorry) let it dry. Then I mixed two colours of chalk paint together, New life (very apt) and Escape to make a teal-ish type colour, painting it on leaving a few odd places showing the relic  through. When it was  dry, I added some DecoArt one step crackle. Left it for a few hours while I cooked dinner, then rubbed on some New life paint on the top and rubbed off with some wet wipes (squeezed out) after a few moments, leaving just a small amount in the cracks. Happy with that, I glued them on the board.

Not sure this pictures show the cracks, but they are there honestly!

It needed something else, so I added one of my waxed butterfly's (sorry but I love them) and also I added a piece of  rope (which had Everlasting chalk paint just lightly rubbed over it)  through the holes so it could hang up, and I think it is done. Almost forgot to seal it all with  DecoArt crème wax.

What do you think? Hope she likes it, if not her Mum and dad can stick it in a cupboard can't they.  Anyone know of any boys being born!

Been playing with new paints

Evening all,

This is post is all about my getting my sticky mitts at last, on some New DecoArt Chalk paints and yes it is well worth the wait! It just slides on and I didn't even prep the wood first!

I started with a draw/selfy time thing, which was cheap as chips at the Craft Barn, some time ago. I have been using it in the raw, so too speak, waiting for inspiration as to how to decorate it. The paints came on the market and I thought yes, this is what I am going to use.

Gave it one coat of the lovely colour of escape, thought I would need more coats, but no. Excuse the fragile tape around the sides of the draws, but my low tack tape was in the car and it was pouring outside and I am very lazy.

Next I added a great stencil, by stencil girl, using a stiff brush I pounced through the stencil some Everlasting paint and left again to dry.

Next, using a cloth I coated the unit with Americana Decor Creme wax. Left until it was dry, then buffed up.  It looked a bit to fresh so I carried on playing.
Ruffed it up with some course sand paper, especially around the edges, wiped the dust off and  then gave it a coat of a dark wax. Buffed again and finally went over the whole piece again with the clear wax.

Hope you like it. 

Hubby say's it matches everything else in our house, old and worn.

Thanks for calling by and looking. x

Been waxing my daughters face!

Hi from sunny Kent

I am so excited about my latest painting mixed media piece, it is what happens when you mix ideas from Andy Skinner together with ideas of  Dina Wakley  and add a bit of me!

A short while ago my lovely mate Julia painted a wonderful picture of her daughter, a very talented lady (Julia I mean, don't know about her daughter, but I am sure she is pretty clever too!). Do pop over to her blog and take a look at her beautiful picture http://julialsw.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/,  I thought what a lovely idea to paint your daughter, so here is my lovely daughter Kara.

It is huge 50 x 62 and is full of cracks and texture

A close up of some of the texture

Poor Kara looks as though she has been shoot in the head!

And that's it,
I used Americana DecoArt paints Warm white,True red, Marigold and Deep Midnight and lots of wax!

Thanks for calling by

And just a quick look at what my naughty ducks have done to our lawn with all the rain we have had!

xxx

Trying to forgive myself for things not being perfect!

Hi there thanks for dropping by.

Today in the UK we have lovely sunshine, followed by very heavy hails stones and then gorgeous sunshine again, all in the space of 10 mins. It is the weirdest winter ever here, I have only worn a coat 4 times, so far!!!!! Fingers crossed that is. It is lovely to see the spring flowers in bloom again and although it hasn't been cold the weeks of heavy rain has got me down. So Spring is so welcome and with any luck maybe it will soon dry out the lawn, which in turn will stop my pet ducks digging it up!

My lovely daughter gave me this sign at the weekend, isn't it great! Is she dropping hints at the state of my garden I wonder!

Anyway onto some art. The title of this post is referring to the fact, that my writing is pants, big pants really and it rather messed up my piece here. But ho hum I am trying to forgive myself about it and just laugh! 
I needed a sign for the front door, as if I am in the back garden I often don't hear people knocking at the door.
I started with a wooden blank

Gave it a coat of DecoArt sealer and when dry I gave it a coat of various colours of Americana paints, trying to make it look a bit gardeny! Gave it a bit of a sanding then using of DecoArt crackle paste through stencil by Creative Expressions.

So far so good! Then it all went wrong!

I didn't have room for the writing and the writing was as I say PANTS! Still I carried on and grunged it up a bit with some wiping on and off of black paint!

I decided to try again on the other side and Lol, that turned out worse!

Still it will serve a purpose won't it!

Just wanted to finish with a couple of photos of a lovely weekend (a Christmas gift from my lovely kids and there partners) we had last weekend.

We went to a fab restaurant in London with puppets hanging form the ceiling!

Our son is the second on the left and hubby in the middle, the pretty blonde is my son's girlfriend Emma and the guy on the left is my daughters partner Ed.

And before you fall asleep, this is me and my lovely daughter Kara.

Do things for baby girls have to be pink?

I was so inspired by  http://theyorkshirefox.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/shabby-chic-altering.html blog about altering a letter to cerebrate a birth of a baby girl, that when my son's boss/friend had a baby girl a day later I thought I would have a go too.
I bought a large wooden M (The baby's name does begin with the letter M, so that is OK)

I started by sealing the wood with DecoArt Faux finishing Medium (which was just as well as later I ended up putting it under the tap as I didn't like what I had done!) When it was dry, I painted it with gesso, to give it some tooth and extra protection.  Later after it was dry I added molding paste, crackle paste, little beads, letting it dry a bit with aid of a heat gun and stamping the heck out of it with lots of girly stamps. I wasn't trying to get an exact clear stamp on it, but just texture.

I then painted it white to give it a base to start with. When that was dry I painting it, as the Yorkhire Fox a baby pink Decoart Pink chiffron, but then I decided, I just don't do pink! Sorry but I can't, so when it was dry I put a wash of Traditions Aquamarine with a smige of  Traditions Phthalo Blue over the pink, but it was still too pink, so washed over it again with the same mix. Now it was too blue, Worried I may upset people with blue for a girl, when it was dry I dried brushed it with the pink! Still too blue, so dry brushed it again!

I took a little mouse, covered it in sticky silver foil metal tape. (No real mice were hurt in this piece of art work)

 Gessoed her

 Painted her grey (mixing the paint) then when she was dry, I dry brushed her with brown then white and a touch of black. Oh and gave her two eyes and pink ears! (a little pink is OK)

Added some touches of DecoArt Metallic Lustre Silver Spark (lovely stuff) and bob's your Uncle or in this case the baby.

And because I felt bad about the lack of pink for a girl, I painted the back (that no-one will ever see) Pink!

So all that is left to do is to varnish it and to add a couple of hooks on the back.  

So if they don't like blue for a girl, they can put it in the bin, I will never know. But I had fun making it for their baby.

Thanks for passing by.

It is getting to that time of year again

Today I thought I would use the lovely stencil by Carolyn Dube called open buildings. I had watched a video of hers and was very inspired by her use of it. Do look her up on utube she is lots of fun. As well as using the stencil,  I mixed it up with some Dina Wakely methods which, I adore using household items.  

So here is my card.

A bit of a wonky photo sorry, but that is me folks!

Thanks for taking a look xx
Used items sacking
Americana paint
Stencil
and other secret items 

New tissue box

Morning all, 

Hope you have some sunshine where ever you are in the world. Today so far here in Kent, UK we have at last a short break between rain down pours!  But I can't complain, as it has been so mild this year. Just feel so sorry for people that have lost their homes due to the many flooded areas. 

Just to show you today what I have been up too. Whilst the Nathalie Kalbachs                 (www. nathaliesstudio.com ) Creative Jumpstart has finished, today is the last day of entering their giveaways. So this is my entry, using household produces just lying around our house.
I was greatly  inspired by the tutorial done by Dina Wakely using sacking, she showed us how to make embellishments for cards, journals etc .
I took it one step further and covered an old tissue box with her method.
Hope you like it, I love it! (hope that doesn't sound big headed) 

  
I love crackle, so this is just up my street

Thanks for dropping by x