2017 #8 In The Garden {by Carol Fox}

2017 Topic 8: Assemblage

A whiff of summer arrives up here in the Northern hemisphere, and Carol is putting out a cheerful sign in her garden, just as everything starts to bloom....Perfect!

Hi everyone Carol here.

Lovely to be here on the PA blog tonight. I've chosen to share with you a garden sign I made for my front door in the summer, using an arrow that a neighbour made for me from wood I found on the beach and some soft drink cans. I spend a lot of time in the garden in the summer and I usually have a post it note stuck on my front door to direct people to the side gate when they call, this year I will be posh and have a sign pointing them in the right direction. Of course given the Chez Fox look with Fresco paints and lovely Zinski stamps to give it a bright garden feel.

Metal is a great way to add 3D to projects and metal cans are great to use, you can hand cut them as I have here, or die cut them and best of all they are free.

I love how my basic crackle using Fresco Finish Paints in Zucchini and Antarctic, gives a lovely back ground to my Stenciling done with Emma Godfrey's mini PM008 

and Bougainvillea. Sealed with a coat of Satin Glaze before I stenciled onto it.

When I stenciled my words using Little Black Dress I put a piece of masking tape along the arrow to keep my words straight, but when I pulled it off it took quite a bit of my crackle with it, but I just redid the crackle on the ruined bit, patched the stenciling and it looks ok, phew project saved; the wonder of crackle paint cannot be underestimated !!

I stamped all my images from Zinski Art 10 onto a piece of flattened drink can which I painted with Snowflake paint prior to stamping on, as you can see I taped this to the desk with masking tape to stop it curling up.

I now gave my images colour using various Fresco Paints and anything else bright laying around my desk, Gel Pens, pencils anything works on Fresco paints. I cut them out using a pair of small metal shears but do be careful of the sharp edges on the tin when you cut them out.

I just wanted to show this photo of them all sunbathing on my sunny window sill getting nice and dry before I assemble my item. As you can see I have added a couple of quotes from Zinski Art Set 08 onto my arrow. I sealed the quotes and words with glossy accents to make them pop off the arrow a little bit.

I assembled my sign using a hot glue gun as I wanted instant grab to get the look I wanted with my metal parts. I wanted to use the natural spring of the metal to add a 3D element to my item, which is why I choose to use metal and not card. I was very torn with the project between making this or some small metal lanterns from the drink cans, but I decided that these particular stamps were too large to work well on the cans as lanterns, that is a project for different stamps on a different day.

Carol x

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You have really pulled a lot of recent blog topics together perfectly Carol, re-purposing, found objects and re-configuring them to make something totally new. Thanks for showing us how to stamp onto the metal, and as Frescos are a UV stable outdoor paint, I am sure this item will look bright and cheerful for many summers to come! ~ Leandra

We always hope that you  learn something interesting from our blog. Our bloggers deeply appreciate your comments so much, so please take time to let them know you've been inspired! Why not join our challenge by blogging your interpretation of the current topic and link it here?

The current topic link Topic 8 (Assemblage/ 3D Crafting) will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, May 21st 2017, and the winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.

All links go in the draw to win a £50 voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store.

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.