"For I know that I am fearfully and wonderfully made in You...You make it Beautiful Somehow"

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Making A Mess With Some Paint!

Wow, it has been a while since I last blogged. Now, tt's not that I have been doing any thing that is not worth posting, but rather, I can't seem to find the time to finish even one of the five or six projects I am currently in the middle of.

Lets see...

I am currently working on a few birthday presents for my littlest sister Emma...she is going to get two special homemade books (details to come).

I am making a bean bag toss game for Jack.

I found two small wooden baskets...crates...I cannot think of what to call them....at the thrift store the other day that I am going to repaint for Jack's toys.

I am making a homemade "I Spy" book for Jack, and also have an awesome new quiet book that I finally finished the pages of and now just need to assemble it.

There are a few more odds and ends things I have been working on as well that I will hopefully be able to post soon.

The last two weeks have basically been non stop... we had our VBS Sports blast, then our church revival, then went to visit hubby's parents for a few days. So now that things have slowed down a lot, I will hopefully been able to finish most of the projects.

Tonight however, instead of using my free time after little man went to sleep to finish up one of the many projects listed above, I decided to paint.

I am not sure why, but I seem to go through these phases of wanting to paint a lot, and then I don't paint again for a few months.

But since I am my mother's daughter I have become a little bored with the pictures I have had up for the last four years and need a change!

So after just 3 hours here is the finished product...





I just love projects that only take a few hours to complete!!!! It is already framed and hanging on my wall :-) (I wish the picture quality was better, but picnik is not working (UGH!) and that is what you get when you take pictures with an iphone!)

This kind of painting technique is called under painting (my friends from Mrs. Beuchley's class will remember this)...and it is so much fun!

To make your own under painting you will need...

Watercolor paper
Wipe off board, cardboard, or anything to paint on that can get messy (VERY messy)
Pencil/Crayon
Acrylic Paints
Paint Brush
Spray Bottle
Damp Paper towel
Inspiration Picture

Okay so here is how you can paint your own Under Painting

1. Grab your inspiration picture and get to drawing on your watercolor paper. Use a pencil or crayon to do this since it will disappear a little better when you get to the real painting part (pen is harder to cover up)

2. Now Take your damp paper towel or wash cloth and thoroughly dampen both sides of your water color paper then lay your paper on your wipe off board (card board, etc)

3. Next choose three colors of paint (I usually go with primary colors-red, blue, and yellow but for this one I did red, blue, and green since my flowers were going to be yellow)

4. Take your paint brush, dip it into one of the colors and then very messy like make about three "blobs" of color randomly on your picture slightly rubbing them in with your paint brush. Do the same thing with your other two colors.

5. Now comes the fun part- fill your spray bottle with water and get to spraying your picture. Try to use the mist setting...it works better. You can spray as much or as little as you want...
I like for my picture to still look a little "globby" (probably not a word). But if you want the under painting to not be so harsh use lots of water. Spray up, down, sideways.
Warning- This part is messy!!!! You might want to put an old towels under the board to catch the dripping paint water.

5. Next let your picture dry standing up.

6. Once it is dry you can start painting. The key to an under painting is to not completely cover up the first layer of paint but to let it show through in different areas.

7. Let it dry, frame it, hang it up, and then brag to all your friends that 'yah, you made it'!

That is it!

What is great about an under painting is that you really can't go wrong with it! It doesn't have to be perfect since you make a mess of it to begin with.

So GO!...get a little messy and make your own under painting! Don't worry about making it just right... have fun, relax, and in the words of my wise mother, go for
'Completion Not Perfection'.
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