Iron Craft #7: Gold, Gold, Gold

copyright 2011 Moira Richardson

When I heard that the challenge for this week's Iron Craft was gold, I wasn't sure what I'd make. Sure, I could easily make some jewelry using gold-plated findings, but I've been into painting lately, so I wanted to stick with that. An image of a crown popped in my head and I knew just what I'd do: create a royal painting complete with gold-leaf. I did a quick sketch on the canvas in pencil, outlined it with waterproof ink, then worked on the shading for the face and skin. I used Stewart Gill Alchemy paint in Afterglow for her eyes. You can't tell from this picture, but her eyes really sparkle in the light. The green gems were colored with Stewart Gill Byzantia in Acanthus. To make the gold on her crown, scepter, and throne, I used an 18k. gold leafing pen from Krylon. This pen has been in my "box of tricks" for years, but I never use it! I love how this painting turned out.  What do you think?

Winter Sneak Peek

Winter Sneak Peek

Originally uploaded by literarytease

Here's a sneak peek of my completed project for the "Winter" challenge of Iron Craft (http://theironcraft.blogspot.com). Check back on Wednesday to see the full painting!

Iron Craft #5: Simple, Cute Valentine Card Tutorial

Originally uploaded by literarytease

I followed this wonderful tutorial by Kelli Nina Perkins to create dyed non-fusible interfacing, even though I didn't know what I was going to do with the interfacing once it was done. So far, I've used it to make super cute fabric beads (tutorial coming soon!) and this fun Valentine's Day heart.


It's simple, but sweet, and, best of all, only took about 10 minutes to finish. (Don't worry, I put a lot more time into the accompanying gift!)

It's very simple to make your own.

You'll need:
dyed interfacing, or, if you don't want to try that, any scrapbooking paper or fabric
needle and thread
scissors
blank card
buttons

Simply cut the shape of your choice out of the fabric/paper. I did a heart, but you could do a star, a bell, a ship, or something else entirely.

Sew the shape to the card. You could, if you wanted, use your needle and a cutting mat to punch holes around the perimeter before you start to sew, which would probably make things much easier, but I just held the card up to a sunny window in order to see where to bring the needle up from the back.

I didn't knot the end of the string either. I left a long tail, did the first couple stitches carefully so as to not pull it through. When I finished, I tied the ends together in a double knot.

Sew on buttons or other decorations. (Ideas: sequins, charms, shrinky dink pieces)

You can make this card look finished on the inside by cutting a piece of paper to fit and using gel medium to coat the back of the stitching and covering them with the paper. Another thing that would be cute would be to cut a piece of vellum the same size as the card and sewing it in with a pamphlet stitch.

Candy is Certain

Have you heard of Iron Craft? Each week, a challenge is issued and crafters around the globe step up to answer that challenge. This is week three, and the challenge is Just Bunt. I've been working on mixed media artwork this month (for Fun-A-Day Providence), so I decided to incorporate bunting into my work. I actually made two pieces with bunting, but this is the one I am sending to the Iron Craft flickr group:

Candy is Certain
copyright 2011
Moira Anne Richardson

I used scrap pages from a vintage dictionary to create the bunting, doll parts, and text using this paper flower technique from Alma Stoller's AMAZING blog. The background is made using a mix of watercolor paint and white gouache, which gives it a creamy cotton-candy look. I used recycled fabric paper scraps to create the dresses and embedded real candy sprinkles into the hills using gel medium and Golden self-leveling gel. The hills look kind of murky because the candy melted a little bit from the gel, but I still like how it looks. I probably won't be embedding any more candy any time soon though, haha!

I finished the piece by using a Sharpie Poster-Paint marker (my favorite!) in black. I'm really proud of how this piece turned out! I've never really done a lot of work on canvas, so it's a new thing for me. The first canvas I did turned out kinda crappy, but I decided that I needed to approach the canvases the same way I approach a journal page and just have fun with it. If I mess up, oh well, I'll just make another one. Also, I decided to keep this simple. I could have added more details, maybe some outlines around the dolls or some more doodles, but I decided to stop and see what I thought about it later. And I love it. So it's staying as is.

I'll post pictures of my other bunting painting and some other work this weekend. Here's hoping the snow holds off, too!