So I decided to make a few Christmas presents this year. I have been very busy to say the least. I did get to a point where I was questioning my motives for doing so - is it so I can save money, show off my skills or just purely because I enjoy giving my creations away to a deserving home? Honestly, these statements couldn't be further from the truth. I actually find: I spend more time making presents (which ='s money); most of the time my skills (unfortunately) aren't appreciated; and, it very difficult to part with the creations I make (as I believe they are almost an extension of my very being). I'm still not sure why I wanted to make Christmas presents - and will definitely be reminding myself of this fact next year.
Despite my rant - it gives me further opportunity to show you what I've been up to. These two projects are "hot off the press" - and will be given to my nieces on Christmas day. Hopefully they will treasure these for some years to come!
I seem to be all about Kaisercraft products at the moment (which will be true for the next couple of blog entries). This is only because I bought up big during the latest sales at both Kaisercraft and Spotlight and my craft cupboard is overflowing with stuff!!
Kaisercraft has brought out a new product range - wall decoration shapes - that come in all different sizes. I chose to decorate a butterfly and a teddy bear - one for each of my nieces.
Prepping the surface:
Butterfly: I started on this wall decoration first. Decided to paint two coats of
gesso primer on the front, and one on the back.
It was fun having to also paint the sides of this shape! (Not!!)
Teddy Bear: Similar to the butterfly. I noticed the shape was a little bit more
rough around the edges. I took extra care sanding him once the gesso primer was dry.
Painting the base coat:
First attempt: I decided to paint Derivan Matisse Structure paint "Purple Dioxide" straight from the tube onto the front surface. Turned out black, flat and lifeless. Not something you'd want to decorate a 4-year-old's bedroom with. Even my husband agreed!
Second attempt: Happy this time around. Added Iridescent Medium to the purple dioxide paint, which just lifted the colour immensely! You can see the difference here between the plain and the iridescent sides.
Final result: An iridescent, purple butterfly!
First and final result: I didn't even try to attempt to paint straight from the tube for the teddy bear (given the initial results of the butterfly). I added iridescent medium to Derivan Matisse Structure paint "Crimson Red". I think the results speak for themselves!
Decorating:
I actually managed to not take any photos of the butterfly as I was decorating it. I used Jo Sonya's Opal Dust - painted this on the front only. I know kids just love things that sparkle!
For the teddy bear, I took a different approach - and used "rub-ons" (stickers that are pressed onto an object, usually by using a paddle pop stick or something similar). This was because there was a lot of empty space on the legs, and I also found these really cute, bright and bubbly rub-ons.
Work in progress: Half done here. The right leg has already had its rub-on stickers applied. On the left side, you can see that I'm in the middle of making sure the stickers are in the right spot.
Final result: I did a fair bit of trial and error prior to adhering these stickers to the teddy bear. I found that rub-ons can be applied to MDF (wooden) surfaces. However, if the surface has been primed and painted this produces much better results, particularly as the stickers remain in place!
Applying patterned paper to the gaps:
Animal paper: Applied to the teddy bear. I thought it would be a great idea to "feature" some of the animals in the cut out holes that were left for the tummy, nose, mouth, ears and eyes. I even made the eye shape out of the octopus head (far top left corner). (See final results below.)
Polka dot paper: This paper is just gorgeous! Worked really well with
the iridescent purple and opal dusted butterfly!
Work in progress: The way in which I attached the paper to the backs of the animal shapes
- using double sided tape!!
The final product:
Back: To be attached to the wall using double-sided tape or something similar.
Front: Once finished, I added jewels to the middle of the butterfly. It's my Mum's favourite.
Back: Doesn't necessarily have to be neat as the back will be pinned to the wall.
The other thing that made it tricky to have it neat was the fact that I aimed
to feature different animals in the cut out holes.
Front: Oh look there's a Giraffe! And an elephant! And if you look harder
you might be able to spot a lion, crocodile, turtle, whale...
All in all, I'm glad these have been finished in plenty of time before Christmas!
Crafty Rach xo
