Painting Grandkitty Chuck Norris Using Wood Icing® Glazes And Stencil

We are sharing this post on MyPatchOfBlueSky.com by Debbie Dion Hayes

 

Lately, I have been enjoying getting out of my comfort zone creatively. Though I studied painting in college, back then we learned to paint with oils. I hated using oils then, and still do. After graduation, as an illustrator, I graduated to acrylics. But I was scared to death of watercolors and ignored them, and the possibilities, until a few weeks ago.

I began painting simple little kitty and doggie caricatures. What a fun, simple pleasure.

For quite some time I have been creating textured finishes and project for Wood Icing®, mostly with Textura Paste. Today, as I was looking through my supplies, I realized that the Wood Icing® Glazes would make the perfect medium to paint my Grandkitty Chuck Norris – or anything really.


I am not into perfectly-painted pet portraits. I love semi-caricatures that capture the essence of personality with lots of squiggles made with black pens and a Sharpie. While I hone my watercolor skills, it’s fun and easy to do.

I know, I know, I can hear some readers saying, “I’m not an artist and I could NEVER do that.” I promise, you can! Here are my steps. If you look closely, nothing is perfect.

WOOD ICING SUPPLIES  Licorice, Rusty Nails, Dijon, Really White Furniture Glazes, Grid stencil
ART SUPPLIES  Watercolor paper, watercolor brushes, pencil, black pins, black Sharpie, paint palette, water, paper towels

ENLARGE A PET PHOTO AND SKETCH WITH PENCIL

 

I prefer close-up pictures for these little drawings, so I enlarged a cropped photo on my printer, at 8 1/2″ by 11″. It’s perfect for an 8″ by 10″ frame. I used a sheet of 9″ by 12″ watercolor paper, so before beginning, I measured an 8″ by 10″ crop area to cut later.

Draw in a few basic areas to lay out your picture. Pay close attention to proportion, and getting the eyes and mouth pretty close. To me, they are the most important.

MAKE A WASH OF LICORICE AND START!

 

Without worrying about perfection, just wash in a few general strokes. I start lighter and gradually go darker. Let dry.

ADD A FEW SQUIGGLES WITH BLACK PENS

 

You can see how simple my loose squiggles are. I added a touch of Rusty Nails for the nose, and Dijon for the eyes.

 

I start with a few squiggles, then go back and forth between using the Licorice and the ink, drying in between.

 

I never sit down and do a drawing at once. I paint a little, draw a little, then walk away for 10 minutes or even an hour. Slowly, Nore’s adorable personality started evolving. Usually, I save using white until last, for accents like whiskers. The best part is when my hubby walks in and says, “That’s Nore!”

 

To make a simple background for Nore, I used the Wood Icing® Grid stencil to create a little pattern. Normally, I would lay it down and trowel the Texture Paste across it, then peel it up to make a heavy textured pattern. But here I loosely penciled in the pattern.

 

Then, I just added a wash of Rusty Nails, starting darker in the front, and graduating to lighter at the back. Let dry, and your masterpiece is finished!

 

You can frame it, or, I decided to add it to my funky collection of rusty boxes with an old, crusty Jeep right on top of the ancient post office organizer on my desk.

 

What do you think? This technique would work nicely to make gift and holiday cards, too!
Find a Wood Icing® retailer near you to get started!

{This post is sponsored by my wonderful client, Wood Icing®. They allow me to experiment with their cool products, and the ideas and comments are my own.}

Create An Aged, Leather-Like Finish Using Wood Icing®, Decorative Napkins And A Stencil

We are sharing this post by blogger Debbie Dion Hayes of MyPatchOfBlueSky.com

 

You may have already discovered that using pretty, patterned, dinner napkins as a background can become lovely and aged after découpage and glazing. But have you ever gone one more step by adding an overall raised stencil with Wood Icing®?

I just experimented with this process as a new idea for walls, cabinet door inserts, book covers and canvas art. Use different napkin patterns and stencils for ever-changing effects. To see more of the background pattern, use less glaze or a smaller stencil design.


SUPPLIES
 

• WOOD ICING®  Textura Paste, Tree Bark and Tomato Furniture Glazes
• Royal Design Studio Indian Floral Wall Stencil
• Large decorative napkins
• Mod Podge, Elmer’s Glue, or any type of découpage medium. I used Elmer’s
• tin foil for a palette, color shaper tool, rags, containers

DECOUPAGE THE NAPKINS ONTO THE SURFACE
 

Open up as many napkins as you need for your project.

 

If you use a white glue, water it down about 20 to 30%. Use a wide brush to coat the surface with a generous amount of glue.

 

Crunch up the napkins, then lay one down into the glue, beginning at one end. Press gently to marry the paper to the glued surface. Brush a coat of glue on top. Let dry.

ADD A RAISED PATTERN WITH TEXTURA PASTE AND A STENCIL

 

Mix some Textura Paste with about 30% water to thin it some. But don’t let it become soupy. You don’t want it to run under the stencil.

 

Position the stencil on top of the surface. Put some of the mixture on tin foil. Load some up on the color shaper and gently pull it across the stencil. Try not to push it underneath. Mine ran under a bit, but I liked the way it looked. Let dry.

GLAZE

 

Pour some Tomato Furniture Glazing Color into a container and add about 20% water, then mix well. Using a large brush, cover the surface with the glaze.

 

Wipe with a damp cloth to soften. Let dry.



Repeat using Tree Bark.

 

Soften with a damp towel. Let dry.

 

What you get is a soft, aged, expensive-looking finish. Sort of contemporary antique. I added piles of old family and found books to my vignette. It feels like fall, don’t you think?

 

Do you need to protect the finish? It depends upon traffic and use. As artwork, no topcoat is necessary unless you want to add some sheen. For protection, you could add Wood Icing® Poly Acrylic Top Coat in Dull, Satin, or Gloss.

Ready to try your hand at this look?

Find your local Wood Icing retailer here. Often you will find that Wood Icing retailers also sell Chalk Paint® and Royal Design Studio stencils. How convenient is that?

{This post is sponsored by my wonderful client, Wood Icing®. They allow me to experiment with their cool products, and the ideas and comments are my own.}

6 Stunning Wood Icing® Projects!

We are sharing a post on Royal Design Studio's digital magazine Paint + Pattern, written about our blogger Debbie Hayes. It features projects that feature several Wood Icing products, plus Royal Design Studio stencils.

Debbie Hayes is an extremely talented P+P contributor who regularly shares beautiful DIY craft and furniture stencil projects on our blog. She is a marketer, photographer and a professional faux finisher with a degree in fine art. Debbie shares her love for design and creativity through her lovely blog ‘My Patch of Blue Sky’.

When it comes to Wood Icing and a beautiful Royal Design Studio stencil, Debbie never falls short of imagination and creativity. Here are a few beautiful projects from her blog that could not wait to be shared! Let’s take a look.

Picture Perfect Stone Effect


A gorgeous stone effect is just one of the several looks Wood Icing can give your projects. Debbie turned this ordinary frame into an extraordinary work of art in 4 easy steps using our Peacock Fancy Stencil by Royal Design Studio. Her blog post Getting Stone Effect Using Wood Icing gives a step-by-step tutorial.

A Dandy Dough Bowl


Debbie has a knack for up-cycling old, previously unused things and transforming them into something beautiful! For this project she scouted an old dough bowl from her attic that desperately needed some paint and pattern love. By using our French Numbers Typography Stencil by Royal Design Studio, Wood Icing and Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint she gave it a brand new look! Learn more about this easy breezy project on her DIY blog post An Old Dough Bowl Gets Gorgeous.

Get Floored by This Door


A beautiful Royal Design Studio Stencil like the Stargazer Medallion Christmas Stencil by Royal Design Studio, Wood Icing and some Chalk Paint® is all you need to brighten up plain and boring cabinet doors. Learn how in A Lovely Fabric-like Cabinet Finish tutorial.

‘L'ace an Industrial Look


Are you a fan of both, the industrial look as well as lace at the same time? Well, so is Debbie! In 6 easy steps she created this lovely Industrial Lace Canvas Wall Art with a metal-like finish to adorn her dresser. She used our Fleur de Lace Stencil by Royal Design Studio with Wood Icing and simply layered the pattern with silver leaf and Licorice Furniture Glaze.

Voila! An art piece that is both graceful and bold at the same time. Check out our Lace Stencils Collection by Royal Design Studio to find several lace designs and sizes to suit your specific project needs.

Served Up With Pattern


Debbie loves to experiment and loves everything verre eglomise. Her Glamorize Your Table Top with Verre Eglomise DIY tutorial on P+P is one of our favorites! When it came to trying out Wood Icing on glass, she ended up using it with our one-time use Modello Stencils. She finished with a layer of furniture glaze to give the raised pattern a beautiful wooden look. Find a quick three-step tutorial on how to create this Gorgeous Lacy-Wood Look Glass Tray on her blog.

An Antique Look for your Book


If you like the look of old books, this DIY is for you. Debbie shows how you can transform your favorite read into an antique keepsake in How to Create a Gorgeous Antique-Looking Book. For this project Debbie used our Moorish Fleur de Lis Moroccan Stencil by Royal Design Studio, Antique Gold Stencil Crème by Royal Design Studio, gold leaf and Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan. You can also pick any pattern and color of your choice from our Moroccan Stencil Collection by Royal Design Studio and Royal Stencil Cremes’ Collection.

Enjoy! How are YOU using Wood Icing with stencils? We'd love to see. Share your projects on our Facebook Page.

Get A Stone Effect Using Wood Icing®, Artisan Enhancements And A Royal Design Studio Stencil!

 We are sharing a post by Debbie Dion Hayes from her blog MyPatchOfBlueSky.com

{Although this post is sponsored by Wood Icing™, the idea, experimentation, and comments are my own.}

 
Are you always looking for these two things: a cool new furniture finish AND another picture frame to showcase your evolving family, friends and accomplishments? Me too!

You may know that I have the unique opportunity to work with several wonderful DIY products. Yes, I admit it, it’s a little slice of creative heaven for me.

Rose Wilde, co-owner of Wood Icing Co. had a great idea for a stone finish – let’s try some Artisan Enhancements Fine Stone on top of Wood Icing products to get the look of stone. So naturally I added a perfect Royal Design Studio stencil to enhance it all on this flat picture frame I unearthed in my clutter of “great stuff to use for blog posts.”


SUPPLIES




FROM WOOD ICING Licorice & Tree Bark Furniture Glazing Colors, offset palette knife, Graphite Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan

FROM ARTISAN ENHANCEMENTS Fine Stone

FROM ROYAL DESIGN STUDIO Peacock Fancy Stencil

OTHER ITEMS rags, paint brushes, painters tape, sand paper


 
 STEP ONE
Paint one coat of Graphite Chalk Paint® and let dry. Knock off any points with sandpaper if needed.

STEP TWO
Lay the stencil over the frame in a pleasing position. Tape if you like. I chose an off-center placement since this is a frame and I wanted the look a bit artsy.

Put some Textura Paste on your palette knife or color shaper tool and pull it over the stencil openings. When the entire frame is covered, level out the paste. Let dry about 15 minutes.

 
 STEP THREE
Brush on one coat of Graphite and let dry.

Stipple or pounce a coat of Fine Stone on the entire surface of the frame and let dry. Due to the base coat of Graphite you will see some mottling of color. Sand the tops of the design to expose some of the white Sand Stone.


 STEP FOUR
Brush on a wash of Tree Bark Glaze. Let dry. Brush on a coat of Licorice. Before the Licorice drys, wipe the surface with a rag to expose some texture and pattern. When you like the effect, let dry for an hour.

Brush on one or two coats of Dull PolyAcrylic. Let dry.

 
 Fill with a favorite photo or momento. I left off the glass and found this old script in French on TheGraphicsFairy.com which I printed on soft brown card stock. Find it here.

 


 Time to enjoy! Lacey Jane just woke up and she insists that I use her photo in the frame. Who can resist those eyes?

Use Wood Icing™, A Stencil And Silver Leaf To Create This Industrial Lace Canvas Art

We are sharing this post by Debbie Dion Hayes, from her blog MyPatchOfBlueSky.com


{Although this post is sponsored by Wood Icing™, the idea, experimentation, and comments are my own.}

Are you a fan of the industrial look? Do you love lace? Let’s put the two together and create this metal-look patterned artwork with lots of depth. It almost looks like a chunk of heavy solid embossed steel! My favorite thing to do with artwork it to layer it with other pieces. Everywhere. This pretty vignette is on my dresser.

Can you just imagine an entire wall of these in several metal finishes. Love it!


My inspiration pieces for this project were my treasured Moroccan bracelet and perfume bottles, purchased on an artsy trip to Marrakech. I’ve been studying them for ages and it finally came to me that Wood Icing™, a stencil, silver leaf and some glaze would be perfect to recreate the look.

Let’s do it! Normally I recommend inviting kiddos of all ages join in on projects, but since the silver leaf tends to billow everywhere, I can only imagine little fingers putting the pretty things in their mouths. So this time, older children only, please.

 

SUPPLIES



• Any size gallery wrap canvas with a wide edge. Mine is from Michaels

FROM WOOD ICING™ Textura Paste, off-set knife, Furniture Glaze in Licorice, Satin PolyAcrylic Top Coat, Graphite Chalk Paint® by Annie Sloan

FROM ROYAL DESIGN STUDIO Small Fleur de Lace stencil, or any stencil

• Any Leaf Size product like Wunda Size, imitation silver leaf in sheets or pieces called shaibin. All are available from Michaels or from online sources

• brush, foam brush, cheap throw-away brush for leaf size, 220-grit sandpaper, rags, wax paper

 

 

STEP ONE above

Paint two coats of Graphite Chalk Paint® and let dry.

 

STEP TWO

Lay the stencil in a pleasing position over the canvas. Tape in position if possible. If not, hold in place with one hand. Using the off-set knife, “butter” some Texture Paste over the stencil pattern, taking care not to push it under the stencil. When the pattern is complete, carefully peel off the stencil and wash it. Let the paste dry for about 10 minutes or so. If you need to reposition the stencil to complete the pattern, just find the design edge and add more Textura Paste. Sand lightly.

 

 

STEP THREE above

Wipe after sanding. Paint one coat of Graphite and let dry.

 

STEP FOUR

Brush on a THIN coat of leaf size. More in this case is not better. Let come to tack for 10 or 15 minutes. My photo shows too much size so you can see it. Definitely wipe away puddles of size.

 

 

STEP FIVE

Lay the leaf sheets or broken leaf pieces over the canvas and press down with your fingers. Use a soft brush to push the leaf into all of the crevasses until the entire canvas, including the edges are covered. If you missed a spot when applying the size, just add some more, let come to tack and add leaf. When finished, grab the dust buster or vacuum and get rid of all of the little bits of silver leaf.

 

STEP SIX

Brush on some Licorice Furniture Glaze and gently wipe off the excess with a rag. Pull a foam brush over the top in all directions to remove more glaze until you like the look. Do the sides as well. 

Let dry.

 

OPTIONAL STEP SEVEN

Brush on Wood Icing™ PolyAcrylic Top Coat, following directions.

Add hanging hardware, or simply prop in a niche, in a bookcase, on the mantel or on your dresser to show off artwork, special jewelry pieces and pottery like I did.

 

 

{Disclosure: This is a paid featured post in conjunction with Wood Icing™. All opinions, projects, and ideas are based on my own experience.}

Falling For This Seasonal Candle Holder Made With Wood Icing™ Textura Paste And A Glass Vase!

Shared by Debbie Dion Hayes of MyPatchOfBlueSky.com

Posted on October 2, 2014

{Although this post is sponsored by Wood Icing™, the idea and comments are my own.}
It’s finally fall! What a relief from our ultra-steamy heat and humidity here in North Carolina! Over the weekend I planted pansies and mums and added gorgeous funky non-traditional pumpkins, so my mind is on fall decorating. But you probably know that I am not a passionate, overly crazy seasonal decorator. A few carefully chosen accessories and I am happily DONE.


So, while I am thinking fall leading up to Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday), my mind is conjuring up ideas for using Wood Icing™ products in new, inexpensive, easy and fun ways. One item I do enjoy using daily is a candle. And with three very fuzzy rescue kitties, a must in our home is a glass container.

Let me tell you a quick, crazy story. Years ago, our sweet kitty Lacey Jane jumped over an open flame candle and, yes, caught on fire. When she jumped down, she literally put herself out and sustained only a bit of singed fur. A heart-stopping moment for her, me and Steve! We had only had her for a week and one of her nine lives was already gone!

That candle was way up on top of the television cabinet, but in a goofy feline moment she jumped to the speakers, then on top of the cabinet.

That said, let’s use a dollar store vase to make a glass candle holder that we can use for the entire fall season. Safe for pets and kiddos.

SUPPLIES



• One or more glass vases and an equal number of candles. My vase is about 4″ wide and I suggest that yours be at least as wide to keep the Textura Paste from cracking from the candle heat. (And, as always, never leave a candle unattended.)
• Wood Icing™ Textura Paste, Baby’s Breath stencil and Furniture Glazes in Mud Pie and Rusty Nails Furniture Glazing Color. (For the stencil, call Wood Icing to order at 1-866-966-3423)
• brushes, tape and rags

STEP ONE



Tape the stencil in place on the vase and using a vertical motion, “butter” on some Textura Paste. Hold the stencil details down with a finger as you go. Complete the entire piece and let dry completely. It may take 30 to 45 minutes.



When dry, gently sand off the peaks.

STEP TWO



Brush on some Rusty Nails glaze, wipe back with a rag and let dry. Then brush on some Mud Pie and let dry.



Done!

I like the crusty, rustic color and texture that can take this candle holder from dinner to Halloween to the Thanksgiving table with ease. It truly glows. I chose not to seal this project because it won’t get handled much, but if you are concerned that yours needs protection, just add a coat of Wood Icing™ Dull Polyacrylic sealer.

If you like texture, don’t miss my previous post on creating a tree bark-look finish here.

{Disclosure: This is a paid featured post in conjunction with Wood Icing™. All opinions, projects, and ideas are based on my own experience.}