How to create an original gift - by Lottie

Have you seen these fabulous aprons on the Happy Daze website?

 I was looking for some ideas for birthday and Christmas presents and found this apron.

Just the thing for an adult - male or female - who's into crafting or baking etc.  I bought one and was absolutely amazed at the super quality - really thick and strong and very well made.

Apologies for having to photograph this on a blanket but it was the best way to get a photo.

Looking down on it, I thought how nice it would be to decorate it in some way and turn it into an original!   I hunted through my old books and came across a large paper back which I have  had for over 40 years.  It's a book on how to paint Chinese Style, and has some wonderful step by step images in it.  "Ping" a lightbulb moment - instead of painting on the apron I decided to do an image transfer.  Image transfer papers are easy to find on the web.  You need one for transferring an image onto material that you can wash.

 I chose this example of one of the paintings - printed it onto the A4 transfer paper, then trimmed out the parts I wanted.

 You print on the plain side of the paper (obviously) then choose where on the apron you want the image and then iron on the hot setting for a short time  (you will get the exact timing instructions with the paper) over the back of it.  In this case just a minute, then peel off the backing paper.  (I have peeled back a corner to show you.)

 

Voila!

 I chose to have the image across the pocket - so the little bird in peeking into it.

 The apron is just brilliant -  there are no chunky seams where the apron strings are attached - just one long strip that is threaded through either side and right around the neck - so you can adjust the length to fit every height!

Sorry about the model, she hung the apron loose so that you can see what it looks like on!

The texture of the image is smooth feeling, like those you get on tee shirts - so you get a perfect reproduction of the image you choose.

Think of all the possibilities.  You could personalise it, by stamping on the image transfer paper directly, or why not scan some of your artwork you've made and print it out on the paper.

Go on  - give it a try and create a totally original gift for someone special.

Thank  you so very much for visiting and commenting on my 'efforts' for this months' theme.
I thoroughly enjoyed participating in the challenge.

I have been looking at your blogs seeing your brilliant 'Brighten up the month' entries, and apologise for not leaving comments as I would normally do - due to a family health emergency - but rest assured I'll keep visiting.


Good luck in the draw!

Picture Star Canvas

I made this colourful canvas for the 'Brighten Your Month' challenge - hope you will join in! I used the Picture Star and Whimsical Melange plates from Artistic Outpost. I covered the canvas with tissue wrap - you can buy similar here - using gel medium, and then went over it with gesso and distress inks. I stamped some background images in black. I covered a piece of glossy card with distress inks in shades of blue and stamped the main images in Cobalt Blue archival ink, and added the words, 'You Outta Be in Pictures' behind a piece of Tim Holtz film strip, curling the end of it. I finished off with some embellishments and mica flakes.

Bee Happy... By Carol Fox

For my 2nd DT Piece this month for Happy Daze I have use Stampotique Rubber stamps to alter a wooden box. I have had a couple of these boxes hanging around for ages since I brought them as a back up plan for something I was doing. Being a hexagon shape I think they work really well with the Bee Stamp.

The box was given a crackle finish and then all the stamping was done directly onto the box. The bee was coloured with Alcohol inks and stickles were added to the wings.

I used

Bee Stamp
Hexagon Stamp
Alcohol ink,  Alcohol Ink Pen,
Stickles

Carol, x

'' You're A Star ''

Hi, am back again using the new Artistic Outpost stamps - Picture Star.

Using Distress Inks and watercolours, diluted Inka Gold, Stickles and the rest from stash.

The little girl is a real cutie pie and she obviously loves her new dress doesn't she !

Wishing you all a great week ahead.  Take care of yourselves, hugs Annette x

Tag! You're it!

On this tag I've used some Zetti legs... cannot resist these beauties! I've also used some element stamps from the zetti range. The little triangles on the sides of the tag are the roof of the mini houses.

Have a great weekend!
TFL
Mandy x

Artistic Outpost Tags...By Carol Fox

I have used the Artistic Outpost stamp set Picture Star on my  DT piece this month.
I have done two larger sized tags. I used Claudine Hellmuth paint for the background, mixing  Dash of Red and Painterly pink to get my shade. I them dragged a Pink Sherbert Dabber down it. The background was stamped directly using Black archival ink. The main image's and quotes were stamped onto card, coloured with diestress markers and then glued into place. The stamped stars were painted with Dab of Yellow.

I used

Claudine Hellmuth Paints
Artistic Outpost Rubber Stamps
Paint Dabber

Carol x

I'm brightening up the month with Verday - by Lottie

Going with this month's Happy Daze theme of 'Brighten up the month', I decided to do it with Verday paints and Patina which you can buy here.

I have Paula Whittaker to thank for the inspiration which I took from a card I received from her which is featured in the frame.  It is Roman inspired.  Unfortunately I couldn't get a frame to fit the   6"x6" card which was a bit wider - but I could fit most of it in this frame.  I loved her vintage colouring and tried to replicate it.

I made my own mould of Roman relics from polymer clay which you can buy here.  I don't think air dry polymer clay will work for this - purely for the durability you need for this project.

As you can see (I hope) this is a fragment showing a Roman ladies head looking coyly down.  (She wasn't dressed so I only did her head and shoulders!)

After baking the moulded fragments, they had a coat of Verday paint (I'll just show you one)

 I painted one coat of Verday paint on the outer fragment

 Then the next day I painted another and whilst wet added the Verday patina coat to the outside.

Then painted the roman head.

I left the heads to dry for a couple of days, then buffed them up, glueing them to the frame once I had finished decorating it.

A plain wooden picture frame was first painted with texture paint.  When dry I painted a layer of pale blues.  The darker blues are Verday paint that has had the patina treatment, and of course the metallic colours not only mirror those of the 'metal fragments' but also the colour of Paula's framed card.

Sorry for the differences in the lighting and colours - it's my photography.  I bought a photo tent to try and get a better picture - the bottom image - but it really didn't work as it bleached out the colours somewhat.  The true colours are those of the other photos.  This looks so much better in 'real life' and daylight.  The metal Verday really shimers and glistens and when I walk into my craft shed it truly shines with the light on it - looking solid like a chunk of precious metal rather than a wooden picture frame.

I hope that I have inspired you to have a go with the magical Verday paints - they are great fun and you can let your imagination run riot and create truly one off original works of art.

When I received Paula's card - I never dreamt for one minute that it would send me off to Roman ruins and give me the imagination to use Verday Paints and Patina like this.

Why not have a 'play' because that's just what I did.  I'm  not clever enough to design or plan anything.  I just had a rummage around and found the wooden frame amongst my 'junk' and just sat and played.  It's really enjoyable - trust me.

Let me know how you get on and I'll come and 'visit' you.