2015 #14 Garden Slate Panel {by Lauren Hatwell}

 2015 Topic 14: Flowers

Hi everyone, Lauren Hatwell here from Marvelous Mechanical Mouse Organ, joining you this evening with a post about painting on slate.  It's a nice porous surface, which holds onto paint really nicely. As long as you seal your tile correctly you can use it pretty much anywhere you like. 

I've used EDY09 for my project.

As you all know by now, I do take a slightly quirky view on things so I love the way Darcy has worked her magic on these beautiful flowers. There was nothing to be done with them but play. Perfect!

I found a piece of slate behind our shed recently and thought it would make a lovely wall hanging for the seating area on our patio. I cleaned it up with some warm water and washing up liquid, ready to take some paint. As you can see, it had a hole in it so I filled the hole with all purpose filler and sponged over a couple of layers of black gesso to give a nice even surface.

I stamped and embossed the flowers and grasses from EDY09 in white before colouring with Fresco Paints in opaque shades, which I painted straight onto the tile. The colours I used were Tinned Peas, Haystack, Wisteria, Lavender and Snowflake.

I painted some chipboard letters with Lavender Fresco Paint and stamped the sentiment from the stamp set randomly over them in white, before sealing them carefully, front and back, with two coats of Mod Podge Dishwasher Safe glue/sealant. Alternatively you could use Ranger's Glue and Seal, or a gel medium, or a varnish, but do check if it is suitable for outdoor use. As you are probably already aware, the Fresco paint range is suitable for outdoor use.

I decided I wanted to add a bit of sparkle to some of the flowers so I stamped and embossed the star flower image onto some heatproof acetate. I added some glitter glue and left it to dry thoroughly before fussy cutting the individual flowers and using them to overlay some of the painted flowers on the tile. 

I used glossy accents to stick them down. I'm hoping they will twinkle in the sunshine and when the lights come on at night.

A couple of lovely JOFY bees added the finishing touch and I'm ready to hang my slate in the garden. Let's hope it encourages some sunny weather.

So, as you can see, nothing difficult about that and I hope it has given you some ideas for your own projects. I've used Mod Podge Dishwasher Safe Glue/Sealant throughout for this project as a sort of experiment to see how it holds up against their Outdoor product. You could also try a spray on silicone or polyurethane varnish if you prefer. Try your hardware store.

I am happy with the finish I got from the Mod Podge but I think a spray on waterproof sealer might be easier and would reduce the risk of smearing your design. You could back your slate with felt and make table mats, trivets and coasters, or make a number/name plate for your house. If you're not lucky enough to find a lump of slate behind your shed (!?) it's easy enough to get a slate tile from your local DIY store. A nice square tile will cost you about £3. If you're not confident about painting directly onto the slate you could put your design on tissue, before gluing and sealing.

Lauren Hatwell
Marvelous Mechanical Mouse Organ

What a simple but very effective idea Lauren! I know one of our PA twits a few years back painted a terracotta pot for her patio with Frescos, and despite the sun, snow and everything in between, it still is looks fantastic now! Thrilled that Frescos have this indoor-outdoor versatility! Thanks for your lovely idea and inspiration today! ~Leandra

We would love you to join in with challenge #14: Flowers.

If you are inspired by any of our guests who blog with us over the fortnight (July 26 - Aug 9th), or perhaps you want to just do your own thing with flowers...then please join in and link up your creativity HERE. 

All links go in the draw to win a voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. The Flowers link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, Aug 9th winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.