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I hope you enjoy reading my posts, and please leave me a comment. I always enjoy reading them, and will try to visit you in return.

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You are welcome to copy any of my designs, as long as you do not take credit for them yourself. I am very happy for you to sell them. If I have used anyone else's design, I always try to give credit where it is due. If I have missed anything, please let me know and I will put things right.


This is intended to be mainly about my crafting stories, as a personal record of what I do. However, I interpret crafting quite widely, not just paper crafting but other things too. I have a butterfly mind and like to change from one thing to another depending on what I feel like on a given day - knitting, crochet, cross-stitch, cards, baking and several others, including my favourite right now, parchment, both traditional skills and Groovi, very relaxing and calming to do.

I have decided to put some structure into my blog so that each day will have something of a theme.
Monday- for Mindfulness; Tuesday - Tidy Up Day; Wednesday - What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday; Thursday - Technique and Tips; Friday - Finish Off Day; Saturday - Start Something New; Sunday - Anything Goes
These themes are not hard and fast and will be changed if I feel the need.

Wednesday 31 December 2014

WOYWW 291 - A Very Happy New Year to all of you.

I am making one resolution for the coming year, which is to do better at blogging, especially on our wonderful WOYWW meetings with Julia, and even more to visit and comment on other people's posts.

I am a bit late again this week, but it is still Wednesday and I have been playing today, so I hope you will forgive me.  I finally found my missing Open acrylics which meant that I could have my very first go at painting the grunge paste image that has been waiting for nearly two weeks.

In fact, there are two canvases, roughly the opposite of each other.   I used the Houses stencil from Clarity, and pushed Grunge paste through it to give the texture.  The next step was with  the gold acrylic, brushing it across the houses,

 following up with Magenta

and then the Blue.  The Open acrylics stay wetter for longer which means you can blend them together  which gives some interesting colours.

You can rewet the paint in areas where you think you have overdone it, using a baby wipe and a piece of kitchen roll and remove some of the excess.
As the paint dries, you can then use a craft blade to scratch paint away to create highlights.
These canvases are not entirely how I intended and I may do some more playing with other media to see what happens.
This is the tidiest I have been for a long time.  However, I have to admit that the floor is not quite so tidy as I sit surrounded by my folders of stamps and stencils all waiting to be properly catalogued, but I am not showing that lot today.

Right, it is time, I went and washed those stencil brushes ready for next time and then you can go off and meet up with everyone else at Julia's place.  I wish you all a very Happy New Year for 2015.
Lots of hugs to you all.  xxx

PS if you decide to use grunge paste on your stencils, make sure you put the stencils straight into a bowl of warm soapy water otherwise the grunge sticks like concrete - it is worse than Weetabix (you could probably make that up into a paste and use it in the same way) .

PPS I forgot to say that the inspiration and directions for these stencils came from a YouTube video by Barbara Gray.  Sorry, Barb.

12 comments:

My name is Cindy said...

Oh Maggie these look lovely!! I have been a very bad blogger thislast month - will try to do better LOL! Happy New Year Cindy #32

Sharon Madson said...

Beautiful canvasses! I might try this! I have some pretty stencils for Gelli printing, so I could use them. Thanks for sharing. Happy New Year! #43

Unknown said...

I really like those. Have a Happy New Year. #37

Helen said...

I think your canvasses look great, Maggie! Hope you have a very happy New Year. Helen #13

Artatag said...

The canvases look very nice! Very good inspiration!
I wish you and your family a very happy and successful New Year!
Hugs
Gabriele 25

Lunch Lady Jan said...

Well, that's a clever technique with a great outcome! Bet you had fun doing these :-)
Thanks for your support this past year....hope all good things come your way in 2015,
Hugs, LLJ 14 xx

Hettie said...

Hmmmmmn! Not ever thought of using wheetabix for grunge paste!! I wonder if porridge would work too!!
Those canvases look great.
Happy New Year to you.
Hugs
xx

Anne said...

Super work. Happy New Year Maggie Anne x #28

Kyla said...

Oh these are looking lovely and what a tidy desk (puts mine to shame!).

Happy New Year
Kyla #5

fairy thoughts said...

love the canvases they look like etchings but are very effective especially when they have been painted.
happy new year to you and yours
janet#11

Cazzy said...

Happy New Year Maggie!

Love the canvases, that is a really great effect although I think the Weetabix might go mouldy lol.

Cazzy (now suffering with a cold) #61

Shaz in Oz.CalligraphyCards said...

Dear dear Maggie so glad you popped over am so behind with everything these days.. so good to see some crafty delights at your place well done and love the tags below you are very proficient with the blending can see am going to have to look into that with the making of ink pads ..

.. if I remember rightly saw it and dont know where to get the product she made the ink-pads out of .. will have to revisit the posts below ..

Every blessing of LORD upon you for 2015.love, Shaz in Oz.x #15