Altered Seahorse with Flying Unicorn and Prima/Frank Garcia

MAY Your Passion Your Art - May Kit from the Flying Unicorns

It's finally here...the May kit from the Flying Unicorns.  

***********If you missed out on the kit ( it does sell out monthly and quite quickly too!) - then consider our  "never fail" option of pre-ordering on the 20th of every month.  ***************

The wonderful amazing jammed packed kit.  Filled with Prima products, Prima's French Riviera Collection by Frank Garcia, and a heaping big box of embellishments. I love when my favorite kit is filled with wonderful papers from Frank Garcia. 

This month featured the coolest Off the Page piece I've seen is a while.  It's a large  paper mache Seahorse from Bare Naked Crafts.  

Below is the transformation from unfinished to framed.  Once I was done with it, I decided it needed more of a showcase type base,  so I bought a frame and took the glass out.  

I took the glass out of the frame and instead lined the photo mat with Prima paper from the French Riviera collection by Frank Garcia.  The paper is from the kit as well.  

I used the leftover paper pieces from the sheet and cut tiny sections of paper to use in the spine of the seahorse.  I glued each piece down with Prima's soft matte gel medium.  This gel medium is perfect for the paper mache project.  

WARNING:  It's really important to read the instructions that come with this paper mache piece.  

The instructions say not to saturate with a lot of moisture....that means limited misting, water colors, paints and spritzing.  This particular style of paper mache will indeed warp and rip with a lot of moisture.  

I stuck with products with low moisture - Tim Holtz Distress Ink and Prima's Soft Matte Gel Medium.

My finishing touches on the piece were  Prima Memory Hardware Pearls by Frank Garcia as well as Prima's Glass Beads and MicroBeads.   The larger gold and burgundy pearl beads are the Memory Hardware pearls.  I love them.

I adhered them also by using "gobs" of Prima's Soft Matte Gel Medium as glue.
OK gonna get technical here for a moment..... Do this by globbing dabs of gel medium into the seahorse using my finger ( or a paint brush if you prefer) - then dropping the pearl , glass beads or microballs into place.    Let air dry.  Works like a champ BUT you need to "gob" the gel on.  No worries because it does dry clear.

This is what it looked like before being set onto the frame. 

Time is precious.  I value the time you spent here.  Thanks so much for stopping.  I value your feedback. 

If you missed out on the kit ( it does sell out monthly and quite quickly too!) - then consider our  "never fail" option of pre-ordering on the 20th of every month.  





Products Used:
Flying Unicorns May Kit for the Month - Your Passion Your Art
Bare Naked Crafts - Paper Mache Seahorse
990787 P rima12x12 French Riviera-Journees De Rives et Aventures 990787
990381 Prima Memory Hardware - Pearls 
961428 Prima Soft Matte Gel Medium
962579 Prima Micro Beads - Copper 
963934 Art Ingredients Glass Bead Set 963934
584269 Prima Confection Watercolor Pan - Tropicals
Tim Holtz Distress Inks - Vintage Photo

Bunny Home Decor

Prima's collection,  "Tales of You & Me", created by Frank Garcia, is one of those collections that is totally sensational and a "must have" for your stash.   ( You can see the original post for my bunny at Prima's blog, right here)

I made this sweet little  patchwork bunny with Easter in mind.  It will look great on the table with some flowers.  

I shared my instructions and some photos of the process which you'll find  if you scroll down.  This bunny is remarkably easy to make.  This is a simple process, but I cannot lie - a messy one.  First though, here are a few more close ups.   

Here is a head shot.  You can see his sweet little face.  To be honest,  it looks like he has an eye and a darker nose.  Totally unintentional.  It's really where the papers ended up but they do look perfectly placed.  I promise I'm NOT that detail oriented. 

I used the Memory Hardware by Frank Garcia - Petite Rosette Trim for the bunny's neck.  It's tiny and delicate and just what an Easter Bunny would wear.  

Here is his side profile. 

...and his darling puff bunny tail  made by using Memory Hardware by Frank Garcia - Grand Rosette Trim.

How did I make this?  

This is the plain paper mache bunny that I started with.  

I painted the paper mache with some gesso.  I used Heavy White gesso  and added a bit of water to thin it out.  After I painted it,  I mixed some Prima Chalk Board paints together to make a blush pink color.  

I did this because I wanted to create the patchwork bunny.  I knew there would be some bare uncovered spots and I didn't want gesso to show.  I thought the blush pink would be prettier as a base color and would blend with the papers better. 

I ripped a bunch of thin strips from the "Tales of You & Me" collection.  I kept  them very small. As I started the project, I noticed that big wide pieces of paper would not form nicely around the  paper mache and lie flat.  

The key to this project is to mist the papers with water and get them wet enough to bend - yet not dripping.  The paper needs to be flexible in order to drape smoothly over the bunny shape.  

 The second step is to coat each paper strip with  Finnabair's Art Basic Soft Matte Gel Medium.  Using matte  medium is important to me because I'm not a glossy gal.  I do not want my final project to shine.  I want it to be a nice subtle table decoration.    The Matte Gel Medium acts as a glue and securely adheres the papers as long as you coat each piece of paper with gel.  

Pay special attention to the ears and the direction you want your paper pieces to set.  I wanted my ears to be long  so I made sure my paper strips were adhered  length wise.

 Working in small sections one piece of paper at a time:

• cover little spots on the bunny with Soft Matte Gel
• add a small piece of paper
• Cover the paper with soft matte gel

Yes I did this with my finger tips, though the foam brush works well.  I just get into a zone and forget the foam brush is sitting next to me.  But this is exactly why I say this project is messy!  Far less messy with the foam brush I imagine...though I guess I wouldn't know.  

 After the bunny is covered with strips and gel, let dry before you start top embellish.  The paper rips and tears easily when wet - so it's better to be safe. 

See how easy?  Embellishing is left up to your wonderful imagination.  

Thanks so much for stopping. 

Products:

990824 Prima Tales of You & Me paper - Belles Melodies d Amour

990817 Prima Tales of You & Me paper - Contes de Toi et Moi
529338 Prima SIIC
990466 Prima Memory Hardware by Frank Garcia - Grand Rosette Trim
961428 Prima Finnabair Art Basics -Soft Matte Gel.
990459 Prima Memory Hardware by Frank Garcia - Petite Rosette Trim
564452 Prima Flowers - Lyric
575311 Prima Flowers - Something Blue
580667 Prima Flowers -Butterfly - Bette

Other:
Ribbon