Painted Bow {with Eclectica³ Ellen Vargo Stamps by Darcy UK}

Hi everyone, Darcy here. I recently demoed a painted bow at Doncaster, and a few of you asked to see the instructions in a video. This is a great way to coordinate your gift card,tag and bow, it really does look effective. 

Be warned this video is 30 minutes long, so make a cuppa and get comfy. 

If you prefer photos, then here are a few reminders of the steps. 

Take some regular printer paper, and scrape your first layer of paint across. I used Mermaid, Inky Pool and Cheesecake. Dry this side, then turn over your paper and colour the reverse in the same way. 

Next, using the scratchy rectangle stamp from EEV02 and blue archival ink, cover the whole of one side of the paper. Make sure to alternate the direction of the stamp. 

 EEV02 

Now add a layer of random stamping using the gridded washer stamp from EEV06. I did this with watering can archival ink. 

EEV06

This was followed by a layer of stamping using Orchid paint. Make sure the paint layer slightly overlaps the inked layer. 

Now for stencilling. I used PS001 and Sherbet paint. 

Once dry, I repositioned the stencil and using Spanish Mulberry I stamped again, this time through the holes of the stencil. I dried this layer, then added a thin wash of Metallic glaze. 

Cut your painted page into strips, see the video for how I did this. You will end up with 9 strips. Each will be approx 7/8 inch wide (23mm). You will need 3 at 10inches long( 254mm) another 3 at 9 inches long (228mm) and 3 at 8 inches long (202mm)

Fold each of these in half. Once of the offcuts will be approx 5.5 inches long, cut the ends of this to make ribbon tails. 

Bring the ends of each strip into the middle, securing them using a glue stick. 

Begin to build up the bow, starting with the 3 longest strips. 

Continue to build up the layers, and finish with the smallest offcut glued into the middle. 

These bows can be used for any occasion, use traditional reds and greens for a Christmas bow, or go wintery with blues and purples. 

I hope that was helpful, have fun creating lots of painty bows. 

Darcy x

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