Waxy 2

After leaving it a couple of hours, I've now buffed it up, wow! what a sheen, love it

Waxy

Well, I melted my wax and away I went. I was a little over generous at the beginning as when it dried I couldn't actually see the pic anymore! still, I guess you have to do it to know it

I used my mini quilting iron to smooth out the wax, I really enjoyed this part, revealing the picture and the paint underneath

I love the depth it gives to the canvas

Photographic evidence that it looked ok before I 'waxed' it!

Winter Sports

Here is my entry for Gothic Arches. This week's theme is "Winter Sport".

Raw materials

I buy the canvases already prepared, fairly cheap and not really anything special but perfect as a base. These frames are just glued together which is useful if you want to hammer in any tacks as decoration, I discovered the really tiny canvases often have metal pins in the corners which makes this kind of decoration almost impossible. Here you can buy them in any craft shop in loads of different sizes. I've also used old toy blocks which I quite like as it makes a nice 'weighty' piece

I like to make a surface to work on by using loads of Gesso and various papers, tissue or whatever happens to be around. When it's completly dry I use a few watercolour crayons to get me started, then I add whatever takes my fancy, paper, photos, fabrics and various texture gels. I saw an interesting YouTube vid (no I don't spend all night on that thing, really not...) this is Part 1 of 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxO5_-NKnN8 fascinating to see how the work progresses

Yay, surprisingly I found the beeswax locally and I managed to pick up an old pot in the second hand store, now I just need to make another canvas to try it out on!

As for the lace, well I stumbled upon an interesting stand at the outdoor market in Zürich during the summer. It was packed full of antique French lace as well as some newer pieces. The initials were beautiful and they remind me of my father's handkerchiefs, I really can't remember the last time I saw these, it's all boxes of tissues in our house!

Mesmerised

On Saturday I thought I'd have at quick look on YouTube for a tutorial about using wax, approx 3 hours later I resurfaced full of bright ideas and not necessarily all of them about wax! Unbelievable what's out there, tutorial after tutorial about everything, which is very handy when you're sitting around wanting to learn but not really knowing where to begin. I haven't got a clue where I ended up but I picked up all sorts of tips about creating backgrounds for journaling and canvases.

This is a 4x4 canvas which I prepped with water colour crayons, washed some water over it and let it run. I then added scraps of paper and fabric with gel medium and a splash of acrylic. The poison apple has nothing whatsoever to do with Marie, I just liked the colour and the writing. The initial is a hideously expensive piece of French lace which I coloured with antique ink.

I added a couple of layers of texture gel, I love the way it takes on the look of an iced cake rather like my earlier mini canvases. I don't know what the white hole in the corner is (a bite perhaps??) funny how you only notice these things when you've photographed them.
In lieu of the beeswax I added a final layer of tinted texture gel which gives it a glossy finish. I really want to have a go with the wax but am lacking one or two essential items, namely the melting pot and the wax!

Inspired interlude

As I said in the post below I thought I'd probably get distracted from the task in hand and well, here's the evidence! I just had to have a go at making some magnets from Jodi Ohl (Cloth Paper Scissors Jan /Feb 09)http://sweetrepeats.blogspot.com/

I couldn't find any wood blocks as recommended for the base so I just glued some pieces of heavy weight card together, covered it with various gels and paint, added a backing paper and a scrap. Each magnet is approx 3x5cm.

A perfect little gift

And will you look at that?? up on the board and staying there, unlike the time I glued all the magnets on the wrong way and they all slid off the wall!

Exciting packli

I recieved this wonderful 'goodie bag' full of surprises from Linda over at http://lindajos.blogspot.com/ Such a treat to have so many things that will fit right into my art and I'm now the proud owner of some Dresden band!! I've looked for this German scrap here thinking it would be easy to find given that Germany's just next door, but no! I asked Linda for the latest CPS as I so desperately wanted to read the article by Viv of http://hensteethart.blogspot.com/and there it was, ah, just wish I could embroider! I particularly like this mag as it's always packed full of ideas and totally doable projects such as the little magnets by Jodi Ohl http://sweetrepeats.blogspot.com/ I'm trying not to get distracted and finish what I've started but to be honest I'm not really trying that hard! wonder if there are any bits of wood lying around ...

Dream

This is one of my art cards from last year. I used some wrapping paper as the background, covered it with gesso then splattered some acrylic around. I also used a background stamp which reacted with the wet paint and turned aubergine, fab!

Originally there was a piece of lace under the buttons but having painted it the effect wasn't quite right so off it came!

I particularly like this image

Grandma

I covered a beer mat (coaster!) with gesso then used my new gel medium to attach the backing paper, surprisingly when I painted over it no bubbles appeared which has always been a problem I've had before with various glues. The photo is of my Grandmother and brother when he was young

I think the photo was attached to something else and is a bit damaged but I rather like it's character

I prepped a few of these thinking I might eventually put them together with a couple of rings. I'll be doing some mini canvases soon Linda, I've also missed them and was surprised just how many I found during my tidy up!!

Ringbinder rave

DH has flu, J's ear problem is ongoing and I feel knackered. My Swiss friends will see all is not well as I've posted a picture of a ringbinder on my Blog. My aversion to ringbinders has become a bit of a standing joke which all started when a good friend of mine excitedly bought a huge box of them as she loves to file EVERYTHING! she's the only person I know to have punched holes in a Pottery Barn catalogue, now if you know how thick those things are then you'll know that's what's called commitment to filing. Anyway I've posted this pic for a reason, I found this link the other day http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYuFWdLWCS4 I absolutely love what Marion does with this card, just when you think she's finished she adds a bit more, brilliant techniques to create loads of layers. I was also fascinated by her binder full of stamps, I suppose this is what everyone does already but how clever is that? why didn't I think of it before? (Hera mate, stop laughing I can hear you on the other side of the lake...)

Consequently, I took out all my stamps and made vague subject pages and I love it, totally inspiring! I also discovered the odd stamp I'd bought twice (in different sizes of course) and low and behold I found the TEAPOT!! I swear I looked in that box, really I did...

A week

I've spent the entire week at home trying to entertain J and distract him from his sore ears, consequently I've done very little art and have very much missed my time. I did however set myself a small challenge which I called 'Upright Art' based on super efficient Nathalie at http://nathaliethompson.blogspot.com/ being able to make art and cook at the same time! The rules were simple: the entire work was to be completed within a combined total of one hour, at no stage was I allowed to sit down and doing extra unscheduled tasks during the piece earnt an extra pat on the back!

I picked up these post labels at the local flea market, just rather hope it's nothing rude

Always good to rely on old faithfuls when time is short

What can you create in an hour??

May 2008

This is one of the cards from my box dated 30.05.08 on the back of which I've written, receipts, acrylic, tissue, bit of a mess, should be Strassburg!

Actually I quite like it with it's calming colours and salute to good friends

Tidy

I got up today all keen to get on with my rediscovered quilting abilities but halfway through the morning the Kindsky phoned and his nibs is now home with an ear infection. So in the meantime I've decided to do what half of Blogland seems to be doing and that is tidy up! so here it is, my teeny tiny no space at all really (won't mention the other cupboards, the boxes under the bed and the endless stacks of books...)

Love Ikea! great wooden filing systems that are so much fun to paint and decorate

Hideously expensive beaten up old box for my paints

And last but not least, Daphne Doorstop on paper roll patrol

Eeeek!

Blimey! I go off to sleep and wake up to find merry havoc on my blog, the responsibility for which I lay entirely at the feet of Nathalie!! ok ok I take it all back, I heart sewing machine, nothing wrong with my eyesight, I erm... anyway, my daughter has snaffled the quilt and appears to have hidden it so I can't send it away while she's at school! I do however feel a bit of a giveaway coming up in the near future and being the hoarder that I am I have of course got enough stuff to make many more of these glorious quilts, and yes I have just Gesso-ed some canvas ha! and tea -dyed the other bit ha! and and...

You can say what you like about spontaneous art but see, there was a reason I used this bit of text yesterday, it all makes perfect sense now, can you hear me muttering, I mean tut tutting...