Spellbinders Love

...I saw the angel in the marble and carved till I set him free...

- Michaelangelo -

...hello peeps...just a quick lil posting from me...after many months away I have managed to find some time to play with the new Media Line from DecoArt and what a joy...

...I had been given faux book as a gift which was perfect for altering with these amazing high pigment paints and mediums...

...it felt nice to get my hands dirty again...

...this beautiful pendant is called 'Love Wings' from Spellbinders...their stunning range of products are exquisite and the Fluid Acrylics adhere beautifully to this product...

...the book was coated in Gesso allowed dry then layered with colour...

...one step crackle was applied, thickly for deeper cracks and thinly in places for smaller cracks...

...the back of the book was given greater texture by using Modeling Paste through a stencil (Burning Rubber) designed by Andy Skinner...

...love the effect these paints can achieve...

...shimmer mist in white was spritzed at random...love this delicate opaque milky white liquid...

...that's it from me...hope as always you like this piece, it was a joy to create..

XXX

PEOPLE PAINT & PEOPLE POWER

...we cannot all do great things in the world but we can do small things with great love...

 ...hello everyone, today I'd like to share with you something rather special...

...in the photo below is an amazing lady called Jane, she has been a dear friend of mine for the past 25years and this year she will be running the London Marathon in aid of SeeAbility...living in Eastbourne, SeeAbility is right on our door step, with a base a few miles along the coast at Seaford...

...at present SeeAbility covers most of Southern England...they are a specialist registered charity supporting people who have multiple disabilities, including visual impairment, learning and physical disabilities, mental health difficulties, acquired brain injury and life limiting conditions...

...we held a fundraising weekend (22nd/23rd March) at Favaloso our local Ice Cream Parlour...a wealth of local businesses gave generously to the prize fund for the raffle,  we made cupcakes galore and a spot of face painting for the kids!...

...also running the Marathon alongside Jane will be Poppy, she is pictured below...

...Poppy's parents who own Favaloso were more than delighted to host the charity event... 

...yes Simon Cowell had to get in on the act too! courtesy of Steve Hewlett who was a Britain's Got Talent contender in 2013 and got as far as the semi finales! he popped down to lend his support for an hour or two with some of his best loved puppets!...

...we'd painted some plain white beads with the SeeAbility logo, to be used as friendship bands or necklaces...

...for this we used DecoArt tradition paints and sealed them with triple thick (not shown)...

...then the fun began with the face painting, when DecoArt heard of the charity event they very generously sent from America a box full of people paints in a whole array of bright colours to play with...

...the people paints are just like markers pens and allow for greater precision and are a lot simpler than a brush...

 

...Sally and Sandy in action...

...the kids loved this, and for those who didn't have the time to stay for a face paint, a hand paint was just the ticket...

...such concentration!...

...from monsters and ogre's to hello kitty...

...the kids loved the paint pens, a cool and mess free time was had by all, thank you DecoArt for making this happen...

...it was a wonderful, fun filled two days...peoples kindness and generosity were in abundance...from the sale of the raffle tickets, the cup cakes and the face painting we  raised £1700.00 ...an amazing amount which will help ease the lives of others less fortunate than ourselves, people power makes it happen :) it doesn't matter how great or small, it ALL counts...

...many thanks to local amateur photographer Darren Waller who captured the event with some cool piccy's...

...thank you for stopping by today...

XXX

SOME DECOART LOVE

...its your light that lights the world...

- Rumi -

...hello everyone, just a quick post to share some Valentine crackle with you...

...I had a couple of natural rattan hearts, that were crying out for some DecoArt magic...

...I randomly coated the heart with Gesso, then when dry, I dry brushed over the top with Americana Sea glass (this is an amazing soft subtle green, the camera hasn't picked it up very well)...

...the same with the small one, a coating of Gesso, then a coating of Traditions Naphthol Red (a wonderful true red with high density pigment)...both hearts had One Step Crackle drizzled unevenly back and forth and left to dry over night...then I dry brushed over the lot with Gesso and wiped back...

...the plain wooden frame was covered in Texture Fierro (love this stuff) it has a wonderful course iron texture...

...this too was Gesso'd all over and rubbed back, when dry, Sea Glass was dry bushed all over and rubbed back...

...I then dabbed on some One Step Crackle, not all over just here and there and left again over night...a mixture of Gesso and Antiquing Medium was painted over the entire frame and wiped back and into all the crevices...

...out came the fine grade sanding paper and a good rub down all over paying attention to areas of natural wear...

...I love the washed out shabby look and the Texture Fierro has given the frame a rough/courseness...  

...a fun and easy project all made possible by the DecoArt beauties below...

...spread a little DecoArt love...

XXX

SHOW A LITTLE LOVE

...I saw an angel in the marble and carved until I set him free...

- Michelangelo -

...hello everyone, just a quick posting, thought I'd share some wooden hearts I'd altered...

...I bought these chunky wooden hearts for one of my little Christmas trees and was going to pack them away with the decorations, but thought I'd keep a few back for an idea I had... 

....instead of writing thank you cards I thought it would be nice to make thank you gifts for the girls in our crafting group (we meet once a month and share our makes and ideas) they had made some wonderful Christmas presents for me...

...just choose some left over papers from your stash, glue down, when thoroughly dried sand the outer edge with fine grade paper, add some definition and a sentiment and transformation is complete...shabby chic lovelies...

...why not show a little love this Valentine's and give friends and family something from your heart to theirs...

...thank you for dropping by today...

XXX

SHABBY CHIC ALTERING

...Creativity takes courage...

- Henri Matisse -

...hello everyone, here in England it seems to be doing nothing but rain and rain and rain...well, I've come to the conclusion the best way to beat the Winter blues is to get your paint out!...on a recent rummage through an antique store I found a large hideously painted letter E, just crying out for some DecoArt magic...

...a quick prime with two coats of DecoArt's wonderfully thick quick drying Gesso...

...big improvement already, next a coat of Americana in Pink Chiffon (a wonderfully pale & delicate shade) then a layer of one step crackle all over, applied extra thick in random places (I left this to completely dry over night)...then the next step was to mix some Traditions in Quinacridone Violet (a beautiful vibrant pink) with some staining/antiquing medium and rub this all over the gorgeous crackle, wiping back with a soft cloth to vary the depth of colour...

...when applying the one step crackle medium you can see from the picture the different sizes of crackle that you can achieve with the thickness of your coating...

...I had also wanted to achieve a very flat finish so gave the whole letter a rub down with a fine grade sanding paper...

...in the places of natural wear I used a higher grade of sand paper and you can also see the gorgeous depth of colour in the smaller crackles...

...some black shimmer Metallic Lustre was rubbed around the edges and buffed for definition, a few stars and a heart to complete this piece for my little Granddaughter Emmie's nursery...

...a few simple steps with quality ingredients have transformed this once ugly letter into something beautiful...

...look around and see what you have waiting for some DecoArt magic...

...thank you for dropping by today, I hope you feel inspired...

XXX