WOYWW 115

Well, another week has gone by (I can’t think where the time goes these days!!). Again, I haven’t done a lot this week, because my energy levels have been low, but I have managed to finish my latest big project, the altered box frame for our nephew’s wedding present (see separate post also on today’s date).

Today I have started something new. My hubby is away in Estonia for our nephew’s wedding on 20th August, and volunteers from amongst our friends are coming in for an hour or two each day, to be my carers in my hubby’s absence. They are so kind, giving up their time to come and do the odd jobs for me that I find hard to do, and as I usually do in these circumstances, I am making each one a special card to say thank you.

The “Create and Craft” show on TV has been featuring Sheena Douglass and her “Paint Fusion” technique and products as their “pick of the week” this week, and I’ve been enjoying watching her again. I’ve decided to use this painting technique to decorate a collection of ATC-sized cards, and then matting and layering them to form greeting cards.

So far I’ve cut the pieces and primed them with a thin layer of gesso, and then painted the base coat in blue fluid acrylic paint.

When this is dry, I am going to apply some crackle glaze, and finally some cream-coloured acrylic paint, and then use this background as the base for some floral and leaf painting using these same fluid acrylic paints. (I shan’t need Sheena’s stamps for this as I can draw my own shapes,)

I have done a bit of this before – you may remember this mirror that I painted for Wonderwoman’s 50th birthday back in April:

The painting of the flowers and leaves takes very little time; it’s preparing the background that’s so time-consuming because you’ve got to let each layer dry before applying the next. The painting is really fun to do, and so simple and effective – by loading 2 or 3 different shades of paint onto the brush, you can achieve instant shaded effects with a single brush-stroke.

I’m preparing nearly 30 of the ATCs and won’t make them all into cards at this stage – they will go in my stash to be used either for ATC swaps, further cards, or other uses. Watch this space!