June Blog Hop - Picnic Theme

Summer is here ... and the

Designer Connection Blog Hop topic

for June is picnics!!

While I love the traditional red and white

checkered table cloths and the

cute black ant characters as much as

the next artist,

I decided to do something

a little different with my picnic theme.

Drinks!!  You can't have a picnic without 'em!!

Read on for step by step instructions

for this project;

and click the DCC blinkie at the top

right side of my blog to hop on through the

loop and check out all the picnic projects

our amazing group of designers has created!

I started with an oval wash tub from my

local farm supply store.

I cleaned the tub thoroughly with

vinegar and water, and I used a sanding

block to rough up the entire front

side of the tub so the paint would have

a nice tooth to adhere to.

Okay, here's where my unfortunate

love/hate relationship with electronics becomes

more or less inconvenient:

I made my own template.

I want very much to be able to upload

this pattern somehow for you to

print out and use,

but I have been unsuccessful in each

of my attempts to do so.

Using graph paper as a guide,

I sketched out the letters and then

covered the tops with "frost"

I chose two shades of blue and a white

for my background color.

Squeeze the paints out randomly

onto your palette.  I used a sea sponge

to apply the colors randomly

for texture and interest.

Use a pouncing motion to apply the paint.

Allow the paint to dry thoroughly before

you apply your pattern lines.

(Or don't ... it was a muggy, rainy day

when I painted this and I got very impatient

as it was not drying quickly enough,

and I tried taping my pattern to the wet paint.

My pattern got splotches of paint on it

and I had to touch up the tub

before I could continue).

So ... ... ... I touched it up and allowed

the paint to dry thoroughly

before I proceeded.  It just seemed like

a much better idea.  :)

Center the pattern onto your tub

and secure with blue masking tape.

(The blue masking tape has less tackiness

than regular masking tape,

and won't take off the paint when it's removed).

Slip a sheet of chaco paper underneath

your pattern.  Carefully outline each letter with

a stylus; this transfers the lines to your

tub and they'll be easy to see.

Hm.  I thought the pattern lines were visible

when I edited this pic.

At any rate, you'll be able to see the lines

and paint over them.  Be sure to erase

any lines left unpainted so it doesn't take

away from your finished design.

Use the darker shade of the blue

background paint to shade around the left

and lower side of each letter.
This will make your letters pop off the tub.

I used two coats of red paint for each letter.

The "frost" on the letters is white.

I'm pretty sure it took two coats of white,

as well.  Nah, more like three.

Anyway, I wasn't completely pleased with

the way the design looked, so I used

a burnt umber to shade under the frost,

and I used a liner brush dipped in burnt umber

to outline the left and lower side of each letter.

Then I used the liner brush and white

paint to outline the right side of each letter.

Much better.

Then I coated the entire thing
with Mod Podge as a sealer.

I apologize for not filling the tub with real ice,

and a super cute and fun assortment

of beverages.  I think that would have made

a much more amazing photograph -

but I'm not really planning to use this until

next weekend ... ... ... so ...

can I have partial credit for at least

having the idea??  Ha, ha!!

Actually, and not solely because I have

an obsessive compulsive streak, I will be

taking a much more suitable photograph and

adding it to this post this weekend.

That's just how I roll.

Peace and Icy Cold Beverages!!!