Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Baby Duckies and Creative Paperclay Delight®

I have been having fun making little duckies today! I also created a small gift/memory box for a baby boy. I happen to have a great-grandson on the way and thought now would be a good time to start making things for him. Smile…… I started out with an ice cube mold that had lots of duckies and filled each one with Delight Clay.
Paperclay post 3-28-12 001
Pretty neat little duckies aren’t they? I covered several of the ducks with yellow paint and they really looked cute. I then took a paper mache’ box and decoupaged some tissue on it. Hmm, didn’t like the way it was looking so I pulled out the trusty Crystal Lacquer and Terri Sproul Mixers and painted the bottom with Aquamarine. The top of the box was painted around the outside with Extreme Glitter Paint and the top had a piece of scrapbooking paper decoupaged on it. I then used some letters to spell out “baby boy” and glued some of my ducks onto the top of the box. I love how it turned out! I think I’m going to use some of the other duckies in my Easter decorating!
Paperclay post 3-28-12 002    Paperclay post 3-28-12 008

Creative Paperclay and the Delight Clay are just so easy to use and they are so versatile. What do you think? Do ya think you need to get you some? Hmmm? I think so and give it a try.

barbara

Sunday, March 25, 2012

All of the Artsy Bloggers Links for the Week!

 

Each week we share the newest posts for the Artsy Bloggers and here are all of the links for this week. Please check out each blog and leave some love:

 

Beading Arts
Cyndi has gotten inspired by Spring Fever! Has that ever happened to you? Do you have some work you'd like to share?
http://www.beading-arts.com/2012/03/join-me-for-spring-fever-month-on.html/

 

Creative Dreamer
Spring is definitely in the air... and June has gone a little "green" to celebrate... come see!
http://acreativedreamer.blogspot.com/2012/03/going-green.html

 

Easter Bunny Cupcake Craft
With Nutter Butter "bunny" ears. This would be a fun Easter treat to make with the kids!
http://kidsfunreviewed.com/nutter-butter-easter-bunny-cupcake-craft-idea/

 

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Sew a cute pin cushion bracelet to keep your pins (literally) on hand.
http://the-artful-crafter.blogspot.com/2011/10/sew-pin-cushion-bracelet-to-keep-your.html

 

Green Glass Garden Sculptures
It's Spring! Which means Cherie is gluing glass together again! This time she's got green glass (in honor of St. Patty's Day).
http://cherieblogs.com/2012/03/19/green-garden-sculptures/

 

Mo(o)re Whimsies
Trying New Techniques with Sakura Crystal Lacquer and Terri Sproul Mixers
http://www.barbara-moorewhimsies.blogspot.com/2012/03/trying-new-techniques-with-sakura.html

 

The Uncommon Artist-Laura Thykeson
Laura describes two new workshops and gives you a look at one of her other blogs!
http://theuncommonartist.blogspot.com/2012/03/art-journals-collage-and-sping.html

 

You’re going to love some of the projects and inspirations that these bloggers bring to you this week. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of them.

 

Barbara

Thursday, March 22, 2012

Trying New Techniques with Sakura Crystal Lacquer and Terri Sproul Mixers!

 

My post today is going to revolve around one Art medium that I love to work with. Oh now, you know what it is, why it’s gourds of course! I’ve had several classes recently that I’ve been using the Crystal Lacquer and Terri Sproul mixers on. Today I tried the Bronze mixer, Crystal Lacquer and the Extra fine glitter on a gourd with a student. We took an extra long dipper gourd and cut off most of the handle to make it look like a bud vase.

class and sakura with mixers 025_edited-1

Can you see all of the mottling in the gourd? That is where the mold was, but once it was cleaned it left some beautiful mottling behind. I then mixed up the Bronze powder with the Crystal Lacquer and added a little of the fine glitter(pixie dust). We really didn’t want to lose the mottling on the gourd so we put two coats of the lacquer/powder/glitter on the outside of the gourd, allowing for the first layer to dry before adding the second. We also used a part of a gourd as the base and coated it the same way.

class and sakura with mixers 026_edited-1 Do you see the handle of the gourd next to it there? Can you tell the difference between the before (the handle) and the after (the bud vase)?

            class and sakura with mixers 028                           class and sakura with mixers 028_edited-1  I’m telling you that this bud vase really looked gorgeous when that lacquer dried! You can still see all of the mottling and yet the gourd itself has a shimmer and sheen to it that you just don’t normally see. Of course the inside of the gourd is not waterproof so the only flowers you can place inside of the gourd would have to be artificial. Both the student and myself said at the same time, “That would look good with an artificial orchid in it”. Wise minds think alike I think. wink Another wonderful bonus of using the Sakura Crystal Lacquer is that you don’t have to use a sealer on your gourd because the Lacquer itself is the sealer. Isn’t that neat? What do you think of the project today? I would love to hear from you, please leave me a comment.

Barbara

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Mold Putty and Resin Embellishments for My Gourds!

 

Most of the projects that I’ve posted on my blog using the Amazing Mold Putty and the Amazing Casting Resin have been for something other than Gourd Art. Today is going to be different. You know once I became a member of the Amazing Mold Putty design team it was like the world was open to endless possibilities to create molds from. I started picking up things everywhere that could be molded. In this project I had picked up this drawer pull to create embellishments from for putting on gourds, so I mixed up Part A and Part B of the putty and pushed my drawer pull into it to create the mold:

Mold Putty Embellishments 027 In about five minutes or less the mold set up and I removed the drawer pull. This is what the mold looked like;

Mold Putty Embellishments 029 That’s a better picture of the drawer pull and this is a better picture of the mold:

Mold Putty Embellishments 034 I hope you can see how the mold putty picks up all of the little details that are on the drawer pull. Once I had created the mold, I mixed up some of the Amazing Casting Resin (equal parts of A and B) and poured it into the mold. This stuff is amazing also in that it sets up very quickly.:

Mold Putty Embellishments 037 And once it set up it turns white like the picture above and all you have to do is pop it out cause the mold you just made stays flexible. I then mixed up some Crystal Lacquer with Terri Sproul mixers and painted two of the embellishments I had created;

Mold Putty Embellishments 042 I used silver mixers on the two on the bottom of the picture and may add a little black to highlight the creases. I’m going to use these as embellishments on my gourds. I think it’s going to look outstanding plus I now have a mold that I can make embellishments from anytime I want. Endless uses for this embellishment!! Gourds, papercrafts, scrapbooking, mixed media, the applications are endless I tell you, endless!!

 

Barbara

The Artsy Bloggers Link-Ups for the Week!

 Hi folks!! Here's your wonderful Artsy Bloggers Line Up for the week:

Beading Arts

Every March, Cyndi celebrates "Seed Bead Month". Do you have some seed bead work you'd like to share?
http://www.beading-arts.com/2012/03/march-is-celebrate-seed-bead-month.html


Eileen - The Artful Crafter

Come join the Card Party at The Artful Crafter and create cards for people with cancer.
http://the-artful-crafter.blogspot.com/2012/03/lets-have-card-party-link-and-display.html


Mixed Media: Superhero Glasses

Cherie paints a girl that looks like a secret superhero.
http://cherieblogs.com/2012/03/05/mixed-media-superhero-glasses/


Mo(o)re Whimsies

My First Post with Sakura Hobby Craft and Terri Sproul Mixers!
http://www.barbara-moorewhimsies.blogspot.com/2012/03/my-first-crystal-lacquer-and-terri.html


Check them all out!!!

Thursday, March 8, 2012

My first Crystal Lacquer and Terri Sproul Mixers Post!

 

Hello all of my blog lovin’ friends! I truly hope that you all enjoy this project today. I was recently chosen as a member of the Sakura Hobby Craft design team and this is my first post as a member of that team. As I’m sure the majority of my followers know, I love to create Gourd Art. So it’s really no surprise that I’ve incorporated a gourd into this first project.  To start with though I made a mold using my Amazing Mold Putty. I used a clay lizard that I had and created a mold using equal parts of A and B putty which was well mixed together:

Mold Putty Lizard 001              Mold Putty Lizard 003 

Mold Putty Lizard 004

Once I got the lizard molded, I filled the mold with Creative Paperclay®. While the clay was still semi wet, I popped it out of the mold and applied it to the gourd because the clay could still be bent at this point. See?

Mold Putty Lizard 006 The lizard shows up pretty bright in this picture! But now the really fun part starts! I poured some Crystal Lacquer in a small plastic cup and added just a little Terri Sproul Mixers in it (Bronze) and stirred it up with a small wooden popsicle stick. Using a paint brush I applied the bronze mixer/crystal lacquer to the gourd itself. I did apply more than one coat but did it in very light coats, letting each layer dry before the next one was added. You don’t have to do that though. I think it dried faster in the long run doing it this way plus I put it in front of a fan to dry. I next painted my lizard with green mixer/crystal lacquer mixed up.  The color was more turquoise than green I thought but just the right color for this lizard. What do you think of this beautiful gourd? This was a fairly small gourd but it didn’t take a lot of the crystal lacquer/mixer combination to cover it.

         Sakura Hobby Craft & Terri Sproul Mixers 1st 010        Sakura Hobby Craft & Terri Sproul Mixers 1st 004

Sakura Hobby Craft & Terri Sproul Mixers 1st 006

That little lizard is going to climb right inside that gourd isn’t he?  Didn’t you just Ooooo and Ahhhhh over the colors? They are even more beautiful in person. There are just so many uses for the Sakura Crystal Lacquer and the Terri Sproul Mixers !!  You’ve just got to get you some of both! They can be purchased from www.sakurahobbycraft.com  and also at www.stampo.com .  I can’t wait to try even more projects with this stuff!

Barbara

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Artsy Bloggers Link-Ups for this week:

 

Here’s what’s going on with the Artsy Bloggers this week. Please check them all out and leave them some love.

 

Beading Arts
Antique keys and lampwork beads are a natural combination...come see how!

http://www.beading-arts.com/2012/02/antique-key-and-lampwork-necklace-part_27.html

 

Creative Dreamer

A first attempt at a folk art style face...

http://acreativedreamer.blogspot.com/2012/02/something-new.html

 

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
You can make any size envelope with the Crafter's Companion Ultimate crafting tool. Look at how easy it is to "push the envelope".

http://the-artful-crafter.blogspot.com/2011/11/you-can-create-any-size-envelope-with.html

 

Mixed Media: Beautifully Unique
Cherie layers and layers until she gets a result she likes.

http://cherieblogs.com/2012/02/29/mixed-media-beautifully-unique/

 

Mo(o)re Whimsies
A wonderful Art Book made with Creative Paperclay and Mixed Media Paper!

http://www.barbara-moorewhimsies.blogspot.com/2012/02/wonderful-art-book-made-with-creative.html

 

Taz's Corner
A Look at the Past - Poems and Pictures - Laura takes a look back and shares two original poems

http://tazscorner1.blogspot.com/2012/02/look-at-pastpoems-and-pictures.html

I hope you’ve enjoyed all of the Artsy Bloggers this week. So much inspiration isn’t it?

Barbara