Paper Napkin and other paper crafts.

I found a fabulous craft magazine in the newsagent recently.  It is an English publication called More Home Crafts, and although expensive at $25, it is worth every cent as it has a large variety of crafts in it.
Today I decided to do some of the fun projects using paper napkins and gift wrapping paper.  I used Gesso to paint two masonite clip boards, the broom handle and broom, dustpan and brush.

Then I used Modge Podge to glue wrapping paper to the broom head and handle, dustpan and brush, and the smaller clipboard.

I painted around the edge of the chicken napkin, but it will need a second coat, and I think I will use a lighter colour, as this is a bit dark.  Didn't decorate the other clipboard of the same size, but I'd painted a larger clipboard with Gesso, and haven't gone any further with that.

The next thing I did was use a paper napkin to decorate a plain glass vase.  Here is the vase, napkin glue, brush and napkin.  I only used the smaller row of holly leaves from the napkin.

Completed in less than five minutes!  Here it is with a tea light inside.

My first serious Calligraphy project.

I recently put myself down to participate in an online swap.  We had to make something using a newly learned skill, or an old skill that we hadn't done for a while.  I decided to write out a quotation in calligraphic lettering, and laminate it, to send to my swap partner in France.
I chose a quote by a French writer, and for the background I used one of the sheets I'd coloured in water colour when I did the CSV workshop back in February.  It is at the top of the first photo on that post.
Here is my quotation.  I did all the preparation, but messed up the second line when I forgot that the 'm' needed more space than the other letters, so I squashed it in, thinking I would run out of room at the end of the line, but I wouldn't have.  To me it spoils the whole thing, but everyone I've shown it to think it is wonderful!   (But they are not calligraphers, lol)

I had fun with the embellished 'F'.  I copied the letter from one of my books, and filled it in with gold leaf.  Then I copied another idea - a vine leaf to wind around the letter, and painted it with acrylic paint so it would cover the watercolour background and the gold leaf where the vine goes over it.
I glued pale pink lace around the edge of the paper before laminating it, to give it a nice girl finish.

Janet Matthews wildlife drawing workshops.

Two years ago I posted photos here of the workshops I did with Janet back then - the first one on drawing owls, and the second on Rainbow Lorikeets.  I did another one last year, but as I hadn't finished the drawing when the workshop ended, I didn't bother posting anything here.
Today I took my fourth workshop with Janet, and we learned how to draw Superb Blue Wrens.  I managed to finish my drawing, and was so chuffed that when I got home, I pulled out last year's drawing of a Green Tree Frog and finished it!  Here they are, complete with the photos we based our drawings on.  The frog looks like it is done on pink paper.  It isn't - I don't know what happened when I took that photo tonight - I took the other one a minute later, and it isn't tinted pink!
  If you want to see the exquisite work that Janet herself does, you can see it on her website here.

Another CSV workshop, February 2014

I did another workshop at the Calligraphy Society of Vic. with my friend Val. This one was a lot of fun, and greatly enjoyed by the dozen people who participated. To start off, the tutor showed us how to tint watercolour paper using diluted acrylic inks. To add interesting effects, we did things to the paper while the ink wash was still wet. Dropping salt crystals on the page. Putting gladwrap over it and leaving it until it dried, creates lovely marks. Pressing bubble wrap on the paint and lifting it off. Sprinkling drops of water over the painted area. Here are a few of my example (the gold leaf is explained below):

The page below had salt rock crystals dropped into the wet green paint, and when it was dry I wrote the alphabet at random with a calligraphy pen.

 The blue page here (which was one page later cut into sections) had gold leaf adhered to it, and when dry, this was sandpapered to allow the blue paint to show through.  I wrote the word in calligraphy pen over the gold.

 

The above page was the first attempt at adding colour to the paper.  I was going to leave the gold capital R on its own, but went over the top and added the other writing and slashes of colour.  The gold R was done by painting the inside of the outline with acrylic gold size and laying gold leaf over it.  When it was dry, the excess gold leaf is brushed away to leave the letter.