Friday 21 June 2013

What I've been up to

What have I been up to????.........Not a lot really!! Some of you who know me personally know that I had a touch of surgery ten days ago in an attempt to fix my dodgy shoulder. I am very happy to report that it has been nowhere near as painful as I had anticipated and so I am thinking lots of positive thoughts and have everything crossed for a successful outcome. The downside to this is that I am unable to drive for a while and I have discovered that I am not good at doing nothing. Daytime TV sucks and I found reading nearly impossible as I couldn't concentrate on anything.......boredom is not something that I can cope with at all. Having said that, a lovely friend of mine has a nasty broken arm at the moment and she is out of action for a much longer period of time than me so I really shouldn't be complaining at all.

Anyways, a couple of days ago, I discovered that I can actually hold a paintbrush again and thought I would try and spend a bit of time in my studio to create something. Well, I can manage an hour or two at a time then I have to give it a bit of a rest so it has taken me two days to make this piece but I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I found out that after stamping one image, I realised that I'm not quite ready to be stamping yet so I was limited to painting and assembling stuff......but that's OK, I actually quite like the finished project.


I thought it might be fun to make something with really neutral colours so selected Stone and Mud Splat Fresco Finish to start with. I painted my corrugated card and edges of the frame with Stone and then the Mud Plat on the front of the frame as I knew I wanted to apply some crackle glaze to the frame and I would need a dark, contrasting colour underneath..


Once I had finished with the Mud Splat, I applied a small amount of the Crackle glaze in just two of the corners, I thought this would be more interesting than crackling the whole thing. At this point I decide to change the colours a bit and opted for more grey tones so I painted some Concrete paint over some of the Stone for a more variegated look, taking this colour over the top of the Crackle Glaze and Mud Splat. It is very important to either let the Crackle Glaze dry thoroughly or dry it with your heat gun before applying the top layer of paint. I am glad I changed colours now as I really like the grey shades. I also dry brushed some Mud Splat and French Roast around the edges.


I painted a mini canvas with the Concrete paint and then sponged some Snowflake through one of my Green Pepper Press stencils. I stamped a phrase from PaperArtsy HP1204 on some tissue paper with an Archival ink pad and glued it to the canvas with Claudine Hellmuth's Matt Multi Medium. You have to make sure that you heat set the ink first though, otherwise it will smudge. I love this technique, the tissue just becomes part of the canvas, you can't see any of the edges at all. It is a good idea to tear the tissue quite close to the image though.


The next thing I did was to water down some of the Concrete paint and and apply a thin layer over a page torn from a book. I allowed this to dry naturally before scraping a layer of Grunge Paste through one of Donna Downey's stencils.


Then it was a case of rummaging around to find appropriate embellishments. I found a pack of window shutters which I think are by Prima and the butterfly is by Melissa Francis. With a touch of White Fire Treasure Gold brushed on the edges, the items were just perfect for my shabby project.



Then it was just a case of gluing everything together. Here are a few close up shots of the finished piece.






Who would have thought that grey could be so pretty??
I hope you have a fun and creative weekend.
Lin




26 comments:

sam21ski said...

This is gorgeous Lin. Glad you are feeling able to do stuff, I know how boring it can be too and really sympathise with you!!! Hopefully now you've started you'll be able to do a little more each day on your way to recovery!!!

Sam xxx

Helen said...

I agree, the greys are fabulous, it is muted in colour but so pretty in execution! I love it; especially the little bit of cracking around the corners. Hope your shoulder continues to improve. xx

ria gall said...

Hi Lin
this is stunning and to know you did it with one arm recovering from surgery I am staggered. It is really beautiful and very elegant I love it.
I hope you continue to improve and look forward to seeing what is to come next
Ria

Mark said...

Hi Lin, we are glad your shoulder surgery went well! This canvas is very beautiful. The sentiment must be very true for you at this moment. Get well soon! Mark and Ineke

snazzyoriginal said...

Love the colours in this, it's simply stunning. Glad you are on the mend xx

Minxy said...

Glad your shoulder is healing well and you're able to have a wee play with your stash, Your piece is beautiful, i'm on a real shabby chic kick just now so this is right up my street xo

finnella03 said...

Lin it's fantastic that you are doing so well. Can we have this as a class please? I'll bring my own shutters!! Seriously I love the piece, it's really my colours, I will come & stamp for you! Rachel xxx

Trish said...

Such neutral colours, and it looks so stunning (well, of course it does!)
Beautiful piece Lin, so glad you are healing well.

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous frame Lin ! So pleased you're able to relieve some of your boredom with some crafting time. Let's hope you're back to full strength soon. Sue C x

diane said...

Fantastic work!!!!
I really need to get into this .. I've got all the supplies so now I need to force myself ;-) to find the time to do it.

Carol Q said...

what a wonderful delicate piece of artwork Lin. the neutral colours are so classy and understated. love that colour of Treasure Gold that you've used too.

Brenda Brown said...

Beautiful Lin, very elegantly shabby and a wonderful colour palette.
Take care of yourself and your shoulder and lots more positive vibes coming your way for a speedy recovery.
Enjoy the weekend.
hugs {brenda} x0x

Hels Sheridan said...

Hi Lin ... sorry to hear you had to have surgery and hoping it will fix the problem long term... as ever - LOVE your art, those neutral tones are stunning. Hope you continue to improve and you are back to fighting fit soon x

Elaine said...

Glad to hear you are recovering well from your shoulder surgery. This is a really gorgeous project, it may be neutral colours, but it pops with all sorts of delightful elements. Love, love, love it! Elaine x

sally said...

Wow, that butterfly is just amazing! Not bad given the shoulder surgery, my husband has rotator cuff surgery last June - reading on a kindle or other electronic device seems to be a good solution when your concentration comes back (he broke the same arm up high +dislocation in december whilst on hols, no kindle! He was miserable :-(

Sally

Unknown said...

So beautiful!!!
Glad to see you're on the mend.
Anita x

Rebecca said...

Well done, lovely work. Hope your recovery continues quickly
Happy craftin
Rebecca

Linda M. Cain said...

So glad you're on the mend my friend. LOVE your project!

Jo said...

Ha, you won't believe what colour scheme I'm working with at the moment - yep grey as well! Love all the texture on this, gorgeous

Lin said...

Hi Lin
I absolutely love this!!! the colours are so pretty and that is one of my fav stamps..(can't see anything wrong with the stamping either).. so glad you are well and truley on the mend xxx

JoFY said...

beautiful ... really lovely!
x

Rose said...

Hi Lin,

Glad you are recovering from your surgery. Love the soft colours, very calming.

Scrapthat said...

A stunningly beautiful piece of art!
LOVELY TFS

Sandy said...

Gorgeous artwork - truly wonderful. Can you tell I love it!
sandy

Anonymous said...

Hi Lin, I hope you're having a great weekend & the shoulder's not too sore.
I can't believe I missed seeing this on Friday. It is so beautiful, a truly wonderful piece of art.

Daniele said...

this is soooooo pretty Lin, amazing that you are still crafting whilst you are on the mend, love the shabby chic colours you have used
hugs and best wishes
Daniele xx