Fun afternoons

I have had more fun with this new look that I have found. It started out as an experiment but now, I am finding myself looking for scraps of wood around the house to do another picture on. I had about 8 little square pieces of wood that I had actually gotten from Home Depot one day, in the garbage!! I am not above asking for trash if it is something that I can use.. So, I brought them home, did a few paintings on them last year then tucked the rest of them in a box for later. As I was playing with these paintings on larger pieces of wood, I happen to remember that I had these tucked away on the shelf. So I brought them out, gave them all a quick sanding and a fresh white coat of paint, let them dry a bit then they were ready for the designs. I first used spackle paste, I got a gallon size for about $16 at Home Depot and it goes a long way!

I used a putty knife to spread out my designs like I wanted...

After that dries, which usually takes over night to be sure it is all dry, I add my colors that I want to use. Then let that dry..... next, I use a stain to cover it all and then wipe off the excess stain. That sits for a while and completely dries, next I used a triple glaze to paint over the top. You can put a thick coat on or do several thin coats. But the over all look, is really a clear glaze, almost thin glass. I had tried epoxy on another one and loved that look of that but it is a lot more trouble to do, mixing the two liquids together and then using a scrapper to go over the top and then worry about bubbles. I have to admit that I LOVE that epoxy look and if I can figure out what to use to make the process easier, I am open for that for sure!!

As I finished them up, I got some burlap and frayed the edges to use for the straw at the bottom of the picture and for the little manger.

This is the finished one and is actually going to be given away on my facebook page, when we reach 4000 fans. 70 more to go. Take a look over there if you would like to be in the drawing. Follow the link on my page here and that will take you to the facebook page, where you can find the status of the give away... You have to share the status about it and comment under the picture.

and...that should do it for a while... Have a great week!! Love,