Decorating

I am a sucker for color. Although my favorite or "comfort color" changes like a kaleidoscope, I always surround myself with color... no beiges or whites for me! Since last winter, I've embraced a brighter colorway than usual. I have been accenting my spring green and golden walls with reds and oranges. It really has stirred up my creative juices. It's hard to be passive when your house is alert and energetic. So, it wasn't surprising to Michelle, when she came over the other day, and saw 1 new placemat and 2 new napkins, and ask, "What are you doing with those?" and I replied, "I have no clue, but aren't the colors spectacular?"

Of course, she agreed. And after just a few sips of coffee, and about 2 minutes of discussion, we had come up with a whole list of things I could do with the placemat and napkins. As a matter of fact, I went back to Pier One the next day, and bought several more of each. We are extremely busy right now, with the holidays coming up and working on our shop, so my one stipulation was that any project I made had to be fast and easy :) I will be sharing a few of the projects with you over the next couple of weeks, but for now, I just want to share the explosion of color. Inspiring, right?  

When I was working on the Paperclay Leaves last week, I was absent-mindedly rolling some of the cut-away clay in my hands. Before I knew it, the blob was shaped into a peg form. Well, it took me about 3 seconds to decide to make some gnomes. What a shocker, right?

Anyway... I ran a copy of Wee Folk Art's Waldorf Style Gnomes, both the adult and the child patterns, pulled a couple wooden pegs out for sizing, and before I knew it, I had me a gaggle of gnomes. Well, actually, I had 2 gnomes with plans to create a gaggle :)

So, here are the directions to make your own Paperclay Gnomes. Note: I would not consider these to be children's toys. Although all the materials are non-toxic and child safe, they will break if played with in an exuberant manner... and I ask you... what child DOES NOT play exuberantly? BTW: You can use other clays to make this project, too.

It took a couple ounces of paperclay for each gnome.

Materials:

• paperclay
• water colors
• sealer Liquitex Gloss Medium and Varnish from Dick Blick
• copies of Waldorf Style Adult Gnome and Child Gnome patterns

To Shape:

Make copies of the adult gnome and child gnome. Cut out the hat and cloak for each gnome. When cutting out the hat, cut the hat so you leave only a 1/4" beyond the overlap line. You will not need the body wrap.

If you have wooden pegs, you can use them as models. If not, you can use the illustrations on pattern pages for sizing. Roll out a body and a head.

Break a toothpick in half. Rub water on the top of the tube where the head will rest. Insert the half of a toothpick half way down into the center of the tube top.

Place the head on top, pushing gently and turning slightly back and forth to help the two surfaces of the clay to bind. Stand the gnome up, making sure the bottom is flat so the gnome is not leaning. Note: both of my gnomes lean a bit and that is fine! Just make sure it stands without falling.

Pat a piece of clay in your hand and roll like a pie crust. Lay the cloak pattern piece on the clay, and cut around the edge with a sharp knife.

Put the cloak on the gnome, overlapping the neck a bit. Put water on your finger and smooth the front making sure the cloak has stuck to itself and the gnome.

Cut the hat out of clay in the same manner. You will need to cut away a little bit of the 1/4" overlap near the top or you won't be able to fold the hat near the point.

Run a wet finger along the 1/4" overlap. Wrap the clay forming the hat. Smooth the seam inside and out. You can give a jaunty bend to hat if you'd like.

Run a wet finger in the inside rim of the hat and position on the gnome's head. Push gently along the rim to make sure it is secure.

Let the gnomes dry thoroughly. It took 3 days for mine. When dried, you can leave white and seal, or paint.

To Paint:

To begin with, I collected all the supplies I would be needing. Although you can use any paint on these, I wanted a translucent quality to the colors, so I used my Stockmar Watercolor Paints.

BTW... It is a good idea when working with the clay, to make a flat cookie that you can try paint colors on. Make sure you let it dry completely.

I began by painting the face.

Then I painted the hat and coat the same color, including the inside of the cloak. Like the leaves, I started with watered down color, and added more intense color for shading. I then painted the body and accented in the same manner.

Finally, I made a strong coffee... some for me and some for the gnomies :) I wanted to give the gnomes an aged looked so I brush coffee over the whole gnome.

When the gnome was dried, I seal it.

All done! You know you want to try this, right? Can't you imagine them tucked hither and yon in your house? Enjoy!

Last week I shared Paperclay Leaves - Part 1. Today, we are going to finish the project by painting and sealing the leaves. After that, you'll just have to decide where they should fall! I made 12 leaves, and put them on my Harvest Cupboard. They look so beautiful I want to make more for here and there around the house. Also, I want to make some with the wee ones. I can only imagine how beautiful theirs will be!

To begin with, I collected all the supplies I would be needing. Although you can use any paint on these, I wanted a translucent quality to the colors, so I used my Stockmar Watercolor Paints.

To replicate the coloring of the autumn leaves, head outdoors and collect a handful. Unfortunately, a number of our trees haven't turned yet, so I collect some photos online and printed them for a reference.

I began by using a very thinned yellow "whitewash". I covered the front and back.

Then, I started adding other colors, mimicking the photos of leaves, but mostly just putting colors together in a pleasing fashion. I started by adding watered down colors, working my way up to deeper tones. I tried to varying the colors on each leaf. Then, I let the leaves dried and finally used a "dry brush" method to add accents. To dry brush, use your watercolors full strengths, dabbing your brush on a cloth before starting, then brush very small amounts of paint on the leaf for shading. Finally, I turned my brush over and adding dots here and there on some leaves to show imperfections.

Finally, I used Liquitex Gloss Medium and Varnish from Dick Blick as a sealer, but you could also use a product like Mod Podge.

When the leaves are dried, add them to your seasonal decorations.

NOTE: Although all the materials I used are non-toxic, these aren't meant to be played with. The clay is thin and can break if over handled. Of course they are plenty sturdy to have the wee ones help you decorate with them.  

Tim often looks at me with this incredulous look on his face and asks, "How DOES your mind work?" I like to think he asks when he's awed by my creative energy... chances are he asks when he's considering having me committed! Anyway... when "creating", there are 2 different approaches I take. First, there is deliberate creating. There will be something I want to make... say, beds for the gnome house. So, I think about it and come up with a plan. Sometimes, if uninspired, I might wander the aisles of my local craft shop, or surf the web, then "bam", an idea surfaces, and I'm off and running.

The other way I create is, at best, merry happenstance. I'll just be fiddling with something, and all of a sudden, my random bending, folding, and mutilating produces an end product that actually looks like something, and the project is born. My hay bundles were the result of mindless shredding of burlap.

I had a big roll of garden burlap to wrap a few plants with for the winter. I had cut off too much, and had a long strip left over. I am a shredder, what can I say? My mom was always fearful that we had a mouse in the house, when she would discover one of my little piles. Might be a Kleenex, might be a page out of a magazine, might be unraveled yarn. I'm a pro at shredding! Well, much to my delight, burlap unravels very easily, and before I knew it, I had unraveled threads from both long sides of the strip, leaving a narrow band of fabric in the center. Then, for no apparent reason, I rolled the strip, and tah dah, it looked like corn stalks or hay bundles. I tied it off, and put it in the gnome autumn forest and it looked great.

So there you have it. I'm including the exact directions below. Trust me, these are so easy, you'll find you are tucking them all over the house!

Materials:  
6" x 36" strip of burlap, cut on the straight of the grain... very important! (To see how to cut along the straight of the grain, check out the tute found HERE. Each strip makes 1 hay bundle.

Cut out a strip of burlap 6" X 36" Most garden burlap, used for wrapping outdoor plants comes 36" wide. Cut off the 2 end selvages. (The tightly woven ends on the 6" sides.)

Unravel 2" off each long side, leaving 2" intact down the middle of the strip.

Using a pencil or other thin smooth rod, begin at one short end, and tightly roll the entire strip around your pencil, keeping the ends even. NOTE: When the burlap comes off the roll, it will curl. When wrapping, you want to make sure the curl is down, so when you are done, the curl causes the burlap to bend outward.



Using 1 of the threads that you unraveled from the burlap, overlap and end of the thread, and tightly wrap the 2" center woven section.

Using a large needle, tie off the end by weaving the end all the way through the center section 2 times. Cut off the remainder of the thread near the bundle.


Your hay bundle is now ready to add autumn flair to your gnome or doll house.

NOTE: The pattern for the mini pumpkins can be found HERE, and the Old World Gnomes can be found HERE.

Just 2 short weeks ago I shared my plans to turn a give-away chair into a "funky" master piece. I had a vision, but knew I tend to procrastinate on these types of projects. I decided if I announced my intentions here, I'd feel compelled to complete the project in a timely fashion. And, tah dah, it worked! Tim and I got it done.

I suspect this is going to be a chair that you are either going to love or hate! Don't think you can go middle ground on this one! Yes, it is wild and crazy. Yes, it is funky. And, yes, it is different than anything else I have in the house, BUT I LOVE IT!

Last week I shared our Getting Started. We took off the seat, cleaned the chair, filled holes, and sanded. We then primed the wood, getting it ready for painting. Then, the HARD part... reupholstering the chair. Yikes! THAT was a project. You can read more about that HERE.

This week, I painted the chair. I began by painting 2 coats of the red. Then, basically, I treated each surface like it was its own canvas, and just had fun! Here are some close-ups.

I started by painting the 3 back slates. On the top slate I painted blue stripes, with green dots on the blue stripes. Anywhere you see the small dots, I made them by dipping the wooden end of my paintbrush in paint, and making small dabs. I put more paint on the brush after each dab. I call these my "dotted Swiss" after the fabric of the same name.

In the middle slate, I lightly drew circles, than used green paint to fill in the circle, leaving the center open. I used blue paint to partially outline the circles, then add a yellow dot to the center of each circle, and then adding dots in a random fashion around the circles.

For the bottom slate, I started by painting a yellow circle in the middle, adding diagonal blue lines, with a blue dot in the center of each diamond that was created. I then added the large blue swirl and the 2 little green swirls. I finished by adding green dots around the circle and 2 blue swirls, and blue dots around the green swirls.

Next, I painted assorted blue swirls on the front apron. I painted yellow dots at the tip of the swirls and in the centers of the figure eight. I also painted 3 green dots on the swirls.

I then painted the 2 horizontal bars blue. (The back bar is not visible in this photo.) I then made green dots on the blue.

On 3 sides of the front legs, I painted striped "socks" on them. I added green dots to the yellow stripes and yellow squiggles to the green stripes.

Finally, on the side and back aprons (side aprons not pictured), and the back slates, I added blue dots.

And there you have it. The paint job IS NOT perfect... but it does not need to be. If you are painting your own "funky furniture", just look for designs you like, and incorporate them into your project.

After the chair was dried, we applied 2 coats of a sealer. Finally, we screwed the seat on, and our funky chair is now ready to be used and enjoyed.

So, here it is... side by side... the before and after. How fun :) I've learned a lot, and you can be sure I'll be doing more of this. As a matter of fact, when Fairy was over yesterday, she asked me if I'll make another one for them. You can be sure I will :)