Mini Canvas Ornament

Wordless Wednesday

~ Peace Out ~

Personalized Canvas

Now that I'm comfortable painting

Cardinals, it's time to switch it up and

leap outside my comfort zone ...

to Hornets!

I painted this personalized canvas for a

teenager - I wanted to make it big and bold

(since my last hornet was only 2" tall!)

 

 

 

Let's pretend I still have a photo

of the blank 12" x 24" canvas ... and that

I took pictures while I base coated it.

uh - hm.

Visualize a paper plate with a large puddle

of dark gray acrylic paint and a large

overlapping puddle of white acrylic paint on it.

Now visualize rolling a sponge paint

roller randomly through the paint and

applying it to the canvas.

 

Does your vision look something like this?

 

 

I made a pattern of the boy's name and

the oversized hornet and used

transfer paper and a stylus to get the

main pattern lines onto the canvas.

 

 

 

Then I took a flat brush and wet it,

blotted it on a paper towel, and dipped one

corner of the brush in a small puddle

of the dark gray paint.

 

 

 

 

 

Next I went around the left and lower

sides of each main pattern line,

reapplying paint to the brush as necessary

(usually after every long stroke).

 

 

You're just going for some quick dimension here,

don't focus too much on perfection.

I always shade again after the base-coating

has been completed.

 

 

Next, I added some short, quick highlights

on the top and right sides of the letters

with white acrylic paint loaded the

same way; on a clean blotted flat brush

with the paint only on one corner.

I base coated the main design.

(using school colors and more than

one coat for opaque coverage)

 

 

Yikes!  Scary eyes!

More fitting for a demon than an

aggressive little Hornet.  We'll fix 'em!

 

 

I added a basketball for this Hornet.

Grant is our basketball star, after all!

I used a darker shade of my base color

to go over the bottom third or so of each of

my letters.  This adds a bit of interest.

 

 

Now its time to repeat the shading around

the left and lower sides of the

letters and the hornet design.  Once the

shading has dried, I apply highlights in the same

manner, but to the top and right sides

of each design element.

 

I added some highlights to those scary eyes,

and to the parts of the hornet I

wanted to appear more dimensional.

 

 

I used a very thin liner brush dipped in black

paint to outline the hornet and the letters.

I used a 1/4" flat brush to add some

border lines around the edges of the canvas.

My paint supply at the house was limited,

so in order to paint the top third

of the letters with a lighter shade of blue,

I mixed a tiny bit of white in with my original

blue base coat color.

I thought the border outline was a little

boring, so I added a thin white

line to the top and right sides of the

main black border line, and a little gray

to the left and lower sides.

Still didn't pop, so I used the liner brush

dipped in black again and sort of

outlined each design element

(letters, border, and some of the hornet)

I added some highlight lines

with the liner brush and white paint.

Once the paint was completely dry,

I used an emery board (limited supplies here)

and sanded a bit off the basketball

and the right sides of the letters.

I brushed two coats of sealer onto the

top and edges of the canvas.

I used Mod Podge in matte finish as

my sealer.  I let it dry overnight and it looks

pretty great!  I hope Grant likes it!

~ Peace and Personalized Canvas ~

DCC Blog Hop - Fishing Bucket

~ Fishing Bucket ~

I have been trying to blog for days now.

Something is wrong with my internet.  Or maybe

it's my laptop.  I suppose I should just

admit it's user-error.

It's definitely FrUsTraTiNg!!! !!! !!!

That word could use some extra

exclamation points.  

Better late than never, I guess, here

are some step by step pics

of the big plastic bucket I painted for

my dad to put on his boat dock.

I started with a tall plastic bucket I

found at Wal-Mart.

I wanted my design centered over the logo,

 so I taped off an area with painters tape.

I used spray paint for plastic in Black,

and then I sprayed over the Black with Yellow.

I removed all the tape and transferred my design.

 

Transfer the main pattern lines by

sliding a piece of chaco paper underneath

your pattern.

I squeezed several shades of green onto

my palette and applied them randomly to the bucket.

Then I transferred the details

and added darker greens to shade and

lighter green to highlight.

I added some text and some Extreme Glitter!

Several coats of Mod Podge to seal my design.

I added a little bucket-topper ...

it's like a little tackle box or organizer

that fits perfectly inside the bucket.  I found

it in the fishing aisle.

It's fun.  It's functional.  It's sparkly!!

Who doesn't love sparkly fish??
~It also makes a great gift for Dad!~

Peace and Glittery Fishing Buckets

2x4 Hallween Characters

This is a quick and inexpensive Halloween craft!

You can make one of these projects

with just a 2 foot length of 2x4!!
(and a few wood shapes)

 Doc and I spent one day last weekend in the

barn playing with his new saw and

the pile of wood leftover from our barn build-out:

 You are looking at sawed, sanded, and

ready-to-paint projects-to-be right thar!!
I. Am. So. Happy.!

So here are the pieces I planned to use for this

Halloween Character Project.
It doesn't look like much yet, I know.
But can you see the potential??

Cut one each in the following lengths:

3", 5", 7", and 9" - you should

be able to get one complete set from each

2 foot length of 2x4 board.

I love it when a plan comes together

in such nice, round numbers.

:D

There were a few sharp splintery edges,

so I used my palm sander to

smooth those down.  Also, there were

some numbers scratched on a few of these

boards, and my palm sander

made those disappear, as well.

LOVE my sander!!

 I have learned from experience that you

absolutely, positively must seal

your wood before you paint it.

Trust me.

There's nothing worse than completing a piece

and finding a day or two later that every

knot hole has "bled" through your paint.

Well, a shortage of Lemon Bars would be

worse.  But only slightly.

I used Mod Podge as my sealer.

~ I actually plan to make a dozen sets,

so I decided to purchase a gallon of 

water-based sealer from the lumber yard.

Much cheaper when painting,

uh-hem, sealing, large quantities of wood. ~

I brushed the Mod Podge onto

the fronts of each of the three shorter pieces,

and onto the front and sides of the larger

base piece.  I think some bleeding through

would enhance the rustic look,

I just don't want a big knot hole to

suddenly appear on Frankenmonster's face,

ya know what I mean??

Once the sealer had dried completely,

I painted (according to the photo)

purple (base), green (Frank), white (Mummy),

and orange (Jack-o-Lantern).

Then I used my palm sander to lightly

sand the front and sides of each

piece of wood.  I like to remove some
of the paint from the edges
so the stain will absorb into the wood.

Also, in my opinion, a project has a more "polished"
look when every side (including the back
or the bottom) is either painted or stained.

I used a sponge applicator to apply

an oil-based wood stain.

Wearing vinyl gloves, I brushed the front,

back, and all the sides of each

wood piece with the stain.

I immediately used a clean cloth to

wipe off the excess stain.
The longer you leave the stain without
wiping, the darker the stain will be.

Here's where painting multiple projects

comes in handy: drying time!
I like to stay busy, so all that time I
spend "waiting for the paint to dry"
is spent "painting something else" !!

I like to let my stained pieces dry overnight

before I begin handling them and

painting details.

The stain stays tacky for a few

hours, and I don't like getting the

oil-based stain on my bare fingers,

nor do I like leaving sticky fingerprints

in the surface of my paint.
Been there, done that, it isn't great.

So.  I wait.

For the base, I made a quick

pattern of the words HAPPY FALL!

and then centered them on the

side of the base and transferred the main

pattern lines with a stylus and transfer paper.

My eight year old asked me why
I wrote "Happy Fall" and not "Happy Halloween".

 Good question, Little Man.
The answer is simple:
 "Happy Halloween" just wouldn't fit on the board.

I outlined the main pattern lines with black

acrylic paint and a round brush.

Then, to give the letters some oomph, I used

my liner brush and white acrylic paint to

highlight the right and lower sides of each letter.

For the Frankenmonster, I painted the hairline

with black paint, and added scars and

small stitches with my liner brush.

The eyes are dip dots of black
(I used a paintbrush handle), the smile

is a curved line made with the liner brush.

I blushed the cheeks with

pink powder blush and a cotton swab.
 I painted two 1/2" button plugs gray,

and attached them to either side of Frank's neck
to serve as bolts holding his head on.

Poor guy!!  Still cute, though.

TIP: I'm actually making multiple sets of these
Halloween characters, so in order to paint
all the button plugs at once
(gray for the bolts, green for the noses)
I used masking tape:

For the Mummy, I used gray acrylic paint

to apply the wrap lines with a liner brush.

The eyes, eyebrows, and smile are black.

For the Jack-o-Lantern,

I painted a small wooden spool

for the pumpkin stem, and a heart-shaped

cut-out for the leaf.
(Ignore the unpainted triangles in
the photo ... I had a better idea!) 

I was trimming the points

off a wooden star, and realized they

were the right size and shape

to be candy corn ...

... I thought that would make for a

much more fun nose!  And noses should

be fun, as a rule.

After painting the candy corn shapes,

I used a sanding block to sand the edges

of each piece of candy.

I just like the sanded-edge look ...

here's a photo of some

un-sanded candy corn and some sanded

candy corn, side by side:

   

See??  The sanded corn is more interesting.

And noses should be interesting, as a rule.

So now we agree noses

should be fun and interesting.

Cool.

I blushed his cheeks with pink powder

blush and a cotton swab,
dotted his eyes with a paintbrush handle,
and gave him eyebrows and a
big smile with a liner brush.

Now to secure your characters
securely to the base ... you'll need
a power drill, a dowel, and something to
trim your dowel with.
I used Midwest Products Easy Cutter
Ultimate.  It's amazing.
 
 Using a 1/4" drill bit,
drill a hole into the bottom center
of each block character.

 Determine where on the base you want
the Jack-o-Lantern to sit;

(Sorry - this pic is for the mummy,
but I got so excited about this technique, 
I completely forgot to take a pic)

Once you have Jack centered on the
base, tip the block back and
place a screw with a large head into the hole -
(the screw will be flat against the
base, and the screw head will be 1/2 in
the hole you've drilled, and the
other half will make an impression when
you tap the block with a mallet).

Press Jack back down into
place, over the screw, and use a
rubber mallet to tap gently on Jack,
leaving an impression in the base.

Did ya get that??
Easier done than said, really.

Drill a hole into the base,
using the impression as your mark.

Put a drop of Tacky Glue into the
hole you've made in the base.  Insert
a 1/4" diameter dowel into the hole
and tap the dowel with the rubber mallet
to make sure it's secure.

Trim the dowel.

Add a few more drops of glue
before tapping each piece in place.

Repeat for each character.

There!  Quick and easy, right??

~ Peace and Happy Halloweenies ~