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

Super Speedy Paint Backgrounds: A Tutorial

Hello!
After my last tutorial using ink to make a background, I thought that today I would go back to my 'go to' medium, paint! 99% of my backgrounds are made using paint, and I'm going to share a very quick and easy technique that will get you a fab background in a couple of minutes!
First up, the finished project.....

Right...the background! The main thing to remember is speed. Don't stop to think, just do it! We want a little blending/mixing going on, so no drying between colours with this one!
Get all your paint squeezed out onto a palette (or a bit of acetate!!), so you don't need to stop to change colour. Add your first with broad strokes of the brush..

My 'brush of choice' is a make up brush! A foundation brush to be precise. Love the feel of them, they're cheap as anything and the bristles don't fall out and stick to your work!
White is great to add in between colours to blend....

I don't stop to clean the brush either, just keep going! Pale purple next...

To stop it looking too 'blocky', add in more purple over the blue...

Plenty of white to bring the colours together! Up to now, I have used vertical strokes. Add in a few horizontal too...

I use less horizontal strokes when applying wet colour over wet colour because these tend to mix up the colours and make things a little too muddy for my taste. Up to you though! Now I add in my dark 'pop' colour...

Still wet over wet, and still not cleaned the brush as you can see! Less of the darker colour as it will obliterate everything otherwise. Colour needs to be a bit balanced though, so add a little more dark on the other edge of the piece...

I love the blue/white/purple scheme, but decided to add in a bit of pink for a change!

By now, the paint is starting to dry off, so you get nice texture as well as colour as the wet paint drags over the drier paint underneath..

That is the base layer finished...and should have taken about a minute and a half!

Now we need to add the details, so clean your brush and dry off the wet paint on the background!
This next set of pictures look very similar.... Each layer of detail is subtle, but it all adds up!
I stencilled a little through some sequin waste..

Next, print a few lines here and there..

Dots and circles...

Stamping...

And the final touch, sewing the background to a bit of black card! I also did some stitching over the paint to add more detail..

This is now very nearly done, just focal images/embellishments to add, and then text. Sometimes I add more to the painty details too, if I feel the end look is missing something! In this case I added red accents to tie in with the red hearts.
I created a flower look from some rather awesome Prima mechanicals pendants...

I covered the metal with gesso, then just flicked purple paint at them! The hearts are Fimo clay, painted red and with tiny blue dots added. Wire stems, with coils around them to make them a little more substantial! The deep pendants make wonderful 3D flowers..

Final touch, words cut from a book..

Phew...are you still with me?!!
I hope you have a go at the speedy painty backgrounds....great fun and a great base for any page!

Love Trish xxx

Festive Merriment!

Hello!
I have a Christmassy painty panel to share today.....

Do you remember a hanging 'thing' I showed you way back in the middle of September?
This one....

Well, it's hanging on my wall, and as I was just daydreaming into space, it suddenly occurred to me that if the rolls of paper were trimmed, it could be Christmas tree shaped! So, the idea for my panel was born!!!!
I used a chipboard sheet as my base, and Claudine Hellmuth paints as my colour (Classic Teal, Landscape Green and Dash of Red). The paints were simply  brushed messily and quickly over a layer of ( still wet) white. This way, a little colour blending occurred here and there. Once the paint was dry, I did a little stamping using Archival Ink...

Prima dots and checkerboard designs. Red and teal ink to complement the paint colours! I then punched out some circles from text paper, then glued them on with matt gel medium. A little medium both under and over the paper makes sure no edges will lift up, and the 'matt' finish means you won't see the glue at all!
Once the gel medium was dry I started with the doodling. Around the circles and a border around the edge.....

The tree was then constructed from rolled up French text paper...

A punched star to adorn the top...

(and at this point I realise some of the text is upside down!!! oops!)
So, this goes to prove you can carry on with all the messy paintyness, and still turn it into a Christmas themed make!!!
Have a great week everyone!
Trish xxx

Follow The Star: A Christmas Fairy!

Hello!
Today I want to share a little seasonal assemblage.....an Art Doll Christmas Fairy!

Now this may look a bit complicated.....but it really isn't! To prove it, I'll take you through the whole process, so grab a cuppa and get comfy, there are a lot of pictures to share!

The main body of my art doll is a Tando chipboard arch. Great shape for a body, and a nice sized niche to put things in! We need to use the arch as a guide to sketch out the legs for the fairy...

Nothing fancy, just a rough sketch on a bit of thick card. Cut the legs out, and paint them. The legs for my fairy are stripy, with turquoise glitter shoes! The legs need to be attached to the arch in the first stages of this make. There are five layers in the completed arch, so glue two together, then glue the legs on top...

Now glue the on the other three layers, making a leg sandwich!

Don't worry about messy glue at this point, its about to get covered! Now, we need to turn our attention to the inside of the arch, as this will be near on impossible to get at properly once the back is on! Cover the inside with torn up music paper...

Then decorate. I have given the paper a wash of white paint, smeared on a little turquoise paint then sprinkled with white UTEE. Once melted, this looks like snow showers!

We can now concentrate on the back of the arch. This is much easier to decorate before you glue it together! I have covered the arch with music paper and given it a wash of white paint....

Then smeared on a little turquoise....

I then silver embossed a flourish, roughly stamped a few snowflakes and added more UTEE 'snow'!

This can now be glued onto the arch frame....

The outside of the arch now needs our attention! Cover the lot with more music paper, making sure to go right around onto the reverse, as this will also make the back of the arch more secure...

Decorate this as well......

We can add in all the bits and bobs to the niche at this point! I've used a small Idea-ology tree (with the round base removed) along with a couple of tiny vintage trees I had in my stash. The twinkly stars are also Idea-ology...

We can work on the wings next. Bend and shape some wire into oval wing shapes..

Glue these to music paper using Glossy Accents....

Once dry, cut out....

Next, carefully fill in the oval frames with more Glossy Accents, sprinkling a little distress glitter over them too....

You will need six of these if you follow my design....but two can be just as effective! Once dry, group the wings together and twist the wire 'tails' so they are joined....

Whilst you have the wire out, you need to make arms too! Bend and twist the wire to do this, you may need to practice a few times to get the length and shape just right!

Once you have the wings and arms ready, you can glue them to the back of the arch body....

We also need to glue the support 'post' to the back of the arch whilst we're at it! This will help the fairy stand upright on her plinth. I've used a wooden chopstick for this. Cover with music paper and a wash of white paint..... (do the same to the driftwood plinth whilst you're at it!)

Once dry, it can be glued to the back along with the arms and wings...

Now, this is clearly a huge mess of hot glue and untidy edges! To rectify this, decorate the back just as we did the front and sides! Music paper, paint and melted white UTEE...

Much better!
Next, stamp a head (Stampotique) and colour her face...

Colour a large Idea-ology star with alcohol ink....

Glue the star to the head, and add to the fairy body...

Now we can glue the whole thing to the base. This needs lots of hot glue, and don't forget you'll need to hold it in place until it sets hard!

The falling stars being held by the fairy are more Idea-ology mirror stars, simply stuck to a strip of acetate.

The acetate is glued around the fairy hand at one end...

and to the base at the other end....

All the hot glue mess on the base needs some attention....so cover it up with large flaked white glitter, and a few polystyrene balls (from an old beanbag!) to look like snowballs!
The starry base...

The fairy now looks like she is standing in a small snowdrift....

The fairy is all finished!!!!
Lots of little details to draw the eye..... Christmas songs on the musical wings....

Turquoise glitter on the trees...

The clear acetate making the falling stars look suspended in mid air...

and a little typed phrase to finish it all off nicely...

Phew...that was a photo marathon and a half!
I had a ball making her, and I hope you like her too!

Love Trish xxx