Closing eyes, dreaming big...

Today I created for you a joyful tag with mixed media painting and drawing.







 It’s created on the cardboard piece which was left over from one of Finnabair products (maybe mechanicals?). So instead of throwing it away I started with thick layer of Dina Wakley Media Line white gesso and then applied some random papers and bits of newspapers using gel medium from Dina’s range again. I love that gel medium as it also creates a very good surface for application of inks, sprays and any wet mediums. Here is work in progress photo just to confirm that there is nothing like clean desk when creativity hits!

This tag was a gift for a work friend who was leaving due to end of the contract and asked me to do something for her. I decided to make a dreamy girl with closed eyes so it’s all left to interpretation.
















Drawing was done by using combination of Neocolors II and Inktense pencils and again white gesso. To manage smaller elements and all details I used my beloved Posca pens in white and black.
I imagined her hair in some sort of chaos but still in shape and after building small buns with Noecolors I used Bombay India Inks in Aqua and Teal to draw same sort of snail shapes. By adding a little bit of water spray, then letting it dry and then repeating process I built layers of her funky hair. In this project I used Neocolors in two ways- wet and dry. Wet for more full background result (full colour on hair) and dry for volume effect (thick lines on her hair). Playing with Neocolors is such fun!:)

Finishing touches were stamps and distressing edges with Adirondack Dye Ink Pad in black. I also added bits of jewellery for her earings and wrote some thought in my messy handwriting style.
My girl left me now but will stay happy with my friend - so she is in good hands…

Hope you like her too!

Big hugs...

Honorata

Art Doll : Freedom

Hello!
Oh look...I've made an Art Doll! Never saw that coming did you lol!
Even if the theme is a bit 'same old, same old', I've used a few brand new products , just to freshen things up a little!
Here she is...

She's not small, around about 30cm in height!
Her body is thick card, with a smeared paint background (for those who may have missed it, I shared a video tutorial on how I create my smeary backgrounds HERE)
I added some stamping and stencilling...

The stamps are from a Natalie Kalbach set , and the large white stencilled dots were created with the free stencil that comes with the stamps!
The detail on the body is created with 4 Finnabair bottle caps...

I covered them in gesso, then coloured them with the same paints used for the body. The circles inside the caps, and the quote are all from the brand new Finnabair stamp range, these are from the 'don't forget to fly' set.
I also used the plain butterfly from the same set as the wings for my Art Doll. Simply stamped onto painted cardstock, cut out and adhered behind the shoulders...

My Doll face is an image from Vera Lane Studios, coloured with pencils. I glued it to some card, then extended the hair a little!

The face plus all that hair was then glued to a painted 'pendant' (looks like a large bottle cap to me!) from the 961091 set from Prima Mechanicals , and then added to the body.

 I was aiming for a halo type effect behind the head, and the large bottle cap/pendant was the perfect size. Using a digital image for the face means you can manipulate it to be the perfect size for whatever your project needs!
I hope you like her, I had great fun making her!
See you soon,
Trish xxxxxxx

Art Doll part 3 (only 3?!!)

Hello!
This is kind of a follow on project to the first Art Doll tutorial I shared this summer (THIS one!)
Todays Art Doll looks like this....

Oh yes...getting weirder..... :)
One of my step by step pictures for the first doll looked like this:

Which gave me an idea for a shape.....and todays doll was born!
My 'peculiar genius' doll is much smaller than the hanging doll of a few weeks ago, I wanted the face to fill the entire head part this time....

The shape is basically the same though, with the crown part included in the initial chipboard piece. As before, I painted the chipboard, stuck book pages to it, then added the face by gluing on stamped tissue. Doodled lines and painty dots to finish it off.
The body is also roughly the same shape as before...

Again, covered  with book pages and stamped tissue. This time, I stamped this fab dotty image by Stampotique onto the tissue to give the body a nice design. Painty dots and doodled lines again, then the body was finished off by the heart embellishment...

This is the smallest pendant from the Prima Mechanicals range, turned over, painted white with a punched out heart stuck to it!
Adding the head to the body requires a neck, of course! This neck will be visible, so I painted stripes on it....

No legs this time, I've used chipboard circles. I think they look a little wheel like....

I edged them with blue paint, and carried on with the dots/doodling theme! I always add a phrase or title to my work, this time I've added it to one of the 'wheels'....

The Art Doll is basically a flat item, so if we want it to stand up, we need to add things to the back! Even if you have no intention of ever making jewellery, I would thoroughly recommend large cube beads as a stash essential.... they are brilliant for jobs like this!

Apologies for the unsightly glue picture!!
So.... Art Doll part three!

Hope you like her!
See you soon,
Trish xxxxxx

'To Dream Of A Fairy' Art Doll

Hello!
Yep, me again! Bet you're getting sick of me this summer eh?!
I did warn you... Art Dolls are my favourite thing right now....so here's another one!

Art Dolls can be constructed in as many ways as your imagination can dream up, and with this one, the body is a clear glass vial. I used the largest bottle from the Craft Medley Bottle Set as the body for this one!
I added tiny scrunched up bits of text paper to the bottom of the bottle, along with a sprinkling of turquoise glitter...

I suspended a punched out heart in the bottle, easily done by gluing thread to the heart, then using a needle to thread the other end through the cork. The 'wings' are also easy to construct, I created a triple bow using waxed cord, then simply tied the bow onto the bottle neck. As it's waxed, the cord holds it shape and the loop shapes don't go all droopy!
No apologies for using another Prima Mechanicals Pendant.... these are fast becoming a must have in every project! The medium sized pendant is exactly the right size for the bottle to sit in...

The pendant is great on lots of levels, fab petal shape, very easy to colour with paint, but best of all, it has a hole in the middle! This means its a doddle to use to create the base. I used a thick strand of wire to join the disc of the base and the pendant together. One end of the wire was glued into a hole drilled in the base, the other end was threaded through the hole in the pendant, bent over at right angles and then glued. The glitter/paper layer in the bottle help to disguise the wire, but I did give everything a coat of white gesso under the bottle as well!
The legs are painted paper...

Glued onto the front of the wire holding up the bottle!
The Art Doll face is a Stampotique favourite, the crown is a Stampotique design too!

Stamped onto text paper, glued onto card then cut out. I glued a short pin onto the back of the face, then simply pushed the pin into the cork to secure!
Hope you like her, a few ideas for you to try out maybe?!

See you soon!
Trish xxx

'To Be Happy' Shrine : A Tutorial

Hello!
Me again, back with another tutorial! I've gone for another 3D assemblage type affair today, a shrine. Here is the finished piece...

No pre cut shrine kits used, all done from scratch which means you can make them any size and shape you want! Easy too, really! I'll show you......
Firstly, you need to decide on a shape and size for your shrine. I knew I wanted a house with a pointy roof, so that bit was easy, but I wasn't sure about size. The size can depend on various things, maybe you have something specific you want to put in the niche, so obviously you need to create something that will be big enough for your chosen object. I knew I wanted to use a specific set of wings behind the roof, so that was the detail I needed to take account of. I roughly stamped out the wings, and sketched out a shape to fit...

Once you have a shape, you can trace it onto chipboard and cut out....

Next we need to cut the pieces for the niche. The back part is easy as it is exactly the same as the hole the the front part, so simply draw around the hole onto more chipboard. The sides will depend on how deep you want your niche. I chose a 2cm deep niche, so cut my sides accordingly...

As you can see, the sides are the length of each side of the back, and all 2cm wide. Next, tape the niche together with masking tape....

You could use sellotape if you have no masking tape! At this point, when you fold up the sides, you can see the box like niche appearing!

Tape up the corners so the box stays in shape...

Now, at this point I should say that you are not to worry about gaps, sturdiness or neatness! We will be covering the whole thing inside and out with gel medium and book pages, which will cover up and gaps or unsightly tape. Gel medium dries rock solid, so will give added strength to your niche. The only thing you need to do at this point is trim away any difference in height of your sides!
The general idea is that the pieces will look like this...

Again, don't worry if the niche looks too small! The book pages will add extra width to the chipboard, and you can add as many layers of pages as you need if the gaps are still in evidence!
 So, cover with book pages....

Decorating the inside of a box is tricky at the best of times, and trying to decorate once the box is attached to the front piece will just make things harder! Decorate the niche at this point....
I painted everything with Lime Dina Wakley paint, then added a touch of Sky over the top to give a gentle turquoise look in places. I then added a cut out figure with a magic wand and a star behind her head. As you do....

 I then put it behind the front piece to see how it looked, and decided it needed a pop of colour. Red to be precise! I made the border by painting some copy paper...

And then doodling a border pattern...

This can then be cut out and glued into the niche. Copy paper is way more flexible than card stock, so I always use the thinner base if I'm wanting to glue it into tricky places!
The finished niche can then be attached to the front...

This is done very simply by glueing on more book pages across the join. Two or three layers for a strong bond!
The shrine stand is made from a small wooden candlestick, and one of my new favourite things...a Prima Mechanicals Pendant!

These were thoroughly gessoed (is that a word?) and then had more Lime and Sky paint added!
Glue everything together, and you have....

Your shrine!
The Prima pendant adds a fabulous shape to the stand...

The candlestick was splatted with black paint, then had red cord wrapped around it for that colour pop!

The front of the house was simply decorated using a circle stamp, and a house number. The butterfly wings were stamped onto red painted card before cutting out....

All stamps are Darkroom Door.
In the end, I added some red moss into my niche....

I liked the way it spilled out, creating more depth.
So, another tutorial, and I hope it has given you a few ideas....go make a niche!!!
Love Trish xxxxx