Wednesday, 2 April 2014

Sea shells and mermaids woyww

collaging paper on top of gesso


What's on my work desk today?
I found two small shell shaped wooden hangings. I am always on the look-out for objects to collage or re-paint.
 They originally were just plain and  said 'I do like to be beside the seaside'
I thought they needed some prettying up. So I had a look inside my 'sea' paper box.


I sort my paper into colour themes and put them in box files, it makes sorting easier. I collect paper of all kinds. Birthdays and Christmas create endless inspiration! These types of paper are not acid free and would deteriorate with time so I always use liberal amounts of  acrylic medium to stabilise them.



building up layers of paper, but what else shall I add?


Remember a few weeks ago my assortment of clay body parts? :)


Just what it needed, a mermaid!

 A coat of gesso....



and some modelling paste stencilled through some netting, the sort you buy oranges in.


I'm still painting her with acrylics and hopefully she will be free to swim with the fishes very soon.
(As you can see I don't use fancy paint palettes, old plastic container lids do just as well )


It was Mothers day on Sunday here in the UK so I hope all the Mums reading this had a super day. My youngest daughter took me out for a lovely meal.....If you are reading B, thank you again, that banana cheesecake was GorGeous! :)

Linking up to WOYWW

17 comments:

  1. What a very interesting process! Your first picture looked like you were making a mosaic! Thank you for sharing!!! patsy

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  2. Looking forward to seeing the completed mermaid! I enjoyed looking at your photos and reading your process as you go along.

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  3. Loving the peek at your creative process. Beautiful work!

    ~Elaine #71 http://quixoticcards.com/

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  4. Well now I do like that! I like that you sort your papers by theme, must make finding what you need a lot easier - although cure you , double sided papers! One side sea, other side snow, what to do, what to do? Tear it in HALF?? :)

    Look forward to seeing the end result. Oh and mugs, LOL! DD gave me one (not this year) that says MOTHER SUPERIOR on it. Always makes me smile...

    Happy WOYWW!

    Mary Anne (11)

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  5. Ha! I knew there was going to be a mermaid on there somewhere :-) And the thought of having a Sea Box fills me with happiness for some reason!!
    Love your stuff, going to be your next follower!
    Hugs, LLJ 8 xx

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  6. Your chipboard is looking good especially with the clay parts and so outside the box art too, love it. Sounds like you had a great mothers day, we don't celebrate it until May here in Australia.

    Happy WOYWW
    Eliza & Yoda 36

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  7. Can't wait to see it when it's finished. Looks great so far.

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  8. Hello my dear, thanks for stopping by my nest, eekkkss I love your mosaic, I love to make them too, adding the bady party to create your mermaid, BRILLIANT, it's a gorgeous make, thanks for sharing, have a wonderful week, going to snoop around you blog for a bit :)..

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  9. Like the others, I can't wait to see her in all her glory. Have a great week xx

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  10. Am looking forward to seeing this piece complete as am sure it is going to be fabulous. Annette x

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  11. Love collaging and making new things from something else. Creative Blessings! Kelly #97

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  12. Wow, I love this piece. I love anything to do with the sea and the colours are perfect. Had a giggle at your body parts box. I also had a look at your previous post to see the landscape finished, it's really fabulous.
    Have a great week,
    Von #48

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  13. Ohh that looks so pretty and I love the choice of colours and papers.
    Sandra @79

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  14. Looking great already ! So cute, those bodyparts :-)

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  15. Your blog is so inspiring, I love the idea of sorting scraps into colours, mine are just in a big drawer...not for much longer though. I love the idea of mixing papers, gesso and 3D pieces, thanks for stopping by my blog.
    Dawn #3

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  16. Oh this is a lovely idea, and of course, you're up cycling again, great way to go. I bet a box full of colour types is inspiring enough, what a good way to sort them.

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  17. Oh this looks very beautiful and promising. Love the idea very much. Thanks so much for stopping by my desk on Wednesday and I apologize for being so late. Love what you're doing there and would like to see the finished work. Suzanne x

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