Keeping Watch
by Debby Forshey-Choma
SURFACE:
2 – Ornament, 6 Scallop Dome (6-1/2” x 3-1/2”) #SKU: 207-0959
6 – Snowflake, Mini Tahoe (3/4”) #SKU: 207-0157
available through www.vikingwoodcrafts.com.
PALETTE:
DecoArt® Americana Acrylics:
DA257 Bleached Sand
DA178 Blue Mist
DA391 Cinnamon Stick
DA331 Desert Cactus
DA133 Hauser Dark Green
DA297 Sea Glass
DA01 Snow White
DA385 Warm Sunset
DA06 Yellow Ochre
DecoArt® Sealers/Finishes:
DuraClear Matte Varnish DS60
Media Gesso – White DMM18
Metallic Lustre – Silver Spark ML03C
Multi-Purpose Sealer DS17
BRUSHES:
Royal Langnickel®
#1360 – sm, med Debby’s Texture brushes
#1114 – med Royal stencil brush
#3080 – 1 Oval Wash Combo
#4150 – 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12 Majestic shaders
#4160 – 5/8 Majestic angle
#4170 – 12 Majestic filbert
#4585 – 5/0, 10/0 Majestic liners
#4700 – ¾ Majestic glaze wash
#M770M – ¾ Moderna oval mop
#K-4 – Langnickel palette knife
MISCELLANEOUS SUPPLIES:
Acrylic block (for stamping)
Baby Wipes/rubbing alcohol
Blue Shop Towels
Cosmetic Wedge/brayer
Frog Tape®
Krylon Finishing Matte Spray
Ribbon, wire, thread (of choice, to hang)
Oval Wash Combo Brush (for varnishing) and Clear Graph Ruler
Tim Holtz Layering Stencil – Harlequin Layering Stencil #THS016
Santa’s Sleigh Stencil #ILC114035 www.echoparkpaper.com
Intricate Snowflakes Stamp Set #SKU: 46-23616
*or use stamps/stencils of choice
Quick Grip All-Purpose Permanent Adhesive www.BeaconAdhesives.com
*Suggestion - always try a new technique on a piece of poster board; which has been basecoated with a coat of acrylics.
With this particular design and surface, you could first try the different techniques on the backside.
Preparation:
Seal the entire ornaments with Multi-Purpose Sealer; using the glaze wash brush.
Sand and wipe off with a lint-free cloth.
With the graph ruler, mark off a 1” border across the front surface bottoms of the ornaments, and cover with Frog Tape.
Gesso Application:
Randomly apply gesso to both sides of the ornaments; using the palette knife (except where the Frog Tape has been applied).
Place some gesso on your palette.
Pick up a small quantity of gesso with the edge of the palette knife and begin applying it to the surface.
Work with small amounts at a time to give you more control. Your application should be very thin, paper thin. Lay the knife flat to apply the medium, then stand it up on the edge to lightly scrape away excess.
Apply randomly in small overlapping patches to avoid developing a set pattern.
Randomly allow areas of the wood surface to remain free from the gesso application; these areas will take the basecoat color differently and add more interest.
Basecoating Ornaments:
Basecoat the entire ornaments with a Green mixture (Blue Mist + Desert Cactus 2:1); using the glaze wash brush, achieve an opaque coverage.
Stamping Snowflake Background:
Both sides of the ornaments (but not in the bottom border area) are randomly stamped with a snowflake stamp from the Intricate Snowflake Stamp Set (or stamp of choice); using two different colors. First with Medium Green mixture (Hauser Dark Green + Blue Mist 2:1).
Second with Sea Glass.
Place the stamp on the acrylic block.
When using paint on stamps it is important that you do not overload the image. Pounce the wedge sponge into the Medium Green mixture and then dance off on a clean area on your palette. When you look at the bottom of the sponge it should be covered in paint, but you should still be able to see the texture of the sponge.
Now quickly pounce the loaded sponge over parts of the image and stamp it on the surface; refer to photo for placement.
You can also use a brayer to apply paint to the stamp image. To load the brayer, roll the brayer through the paint on your palette, continue rolling on your palette to work the color across the roller, then roll across the image.
Repeat the steps and continue randomly stamping over the surface, but leave a few open spaces for the Sea Glass colored snowflake. When stamping is completed, clean the stamp with a baby wipe.
Now repeat the steps randomly stamping snowflakes with Sea Glass.
When dry, lightly mist with the matte spray.
TIP: Lightly misting with matte spray will allow for easier clean-up.
You can lock down acrylic paint with matte acrylic spray at any time during the painting process to preserve previous work. This allows for fearless painting of the next steps, as any unwanted results may be wiped off without harming the underlying work.
Backsides of Ornaments:
Lightly wash over the backside of each ornament with Hauser Dark Green; using the glaze wash brush. With the #8 shader and Hauser Dark Green, walk over the side edges of each ornament.
Stenciling Diamonds:
With the Harlequin Layering Stencil (or stencil of choice), the med stencil brush, and Metallic Lustre, White Frost, stencil the top corner areas of each ornament; refer to photo for placement. Position the stencil on the surface. Secure it with the Frog Tape or hold it with your fingers. Load the med stencil brush with a bit of White Frost, and swirl the brush on a blue shop towel to remove excess.
Apply color in a circular motion in one direction and then in a circular motion in the other direction (changing directions frequently) over the stencil.
Fill in some of the design fully and leave other areas incomplete.
Carefully remove the stencil by holding one end with your fingers and lifting the opposite end. Clean the stencil and brush immediately; using a baby wipe or rubbing alcohol.
When dry, lightly mist with the matte spray.
Transferring Design:
Transfer the designs to the appropriate surfaces; refer to the photo for placement.
Use the graph ruler to aid in the transfer of any straight lines, by dragging the stylus along the ruler’s edge.
Background Pines:
With a pencil and graph ruler, transfer the center top line for each pine. Work only on a couple of pines at a time. Slightly pre-dampen the surface area with clean water. This will help the paint bleed; giving the boughs a softer effect and help with the illusion of placing them in the background.
Load the #12 filbert with Hauser Dark Green across the chisel edge.
Vertically up on the chisel edge, slightly pull the top of the pine.
Horizontally tapping from left to right for the boughs, slowly and slightly widening as you work towards the base of the pine.
Allow a bit of the background to show through; so the pine doesn’t look like a triangle.
Repeat the same steps, randomly dancing on a few boughs; to deepen.
When dry, randomly repeat the step with Snow White over the boughs, for snow.
Background Shrubs:
With the appropriate size texture brush and Hauser Dark Green, dance in the background shrubs. Lightly and randomly repeat the step over the shrubs with Snow White, for snow and separation.
For the proper use of the texture brush, use the following method.
Dampen the bristles with water to start the separation of bristles. Tap bristles into the paint on your palette, hold it perpendicular to your palette, and pounce it up and down to get some of the paint off – keeping the paint sparse on the brush. Note – this brush can be used on the whole foot or just the toe. Tap lightly on the surface, dance with the brush-up and down, rolling the brush in different directions in between your fingers when it is up in the air (like dancing the twist, light on your feet). Allow some drying time in between dances so the paint sets up and you don’t end up with a globby or muddy look.
Basecoating:
Use the appropriate size shaders to basecoat –
Snow White – snowman
Bleached Sand – lighthouse watch room, tower
Hauser Dark Green – lighthouse roof
Yellow Ochre – lens
Detailing Lighthouse:
Corner load the angle with Hauser Dark Green, and lightly float a wide shade down the left side of the watch room and tower. Mop to soften.
Corner load the angle with thinned Yellow Ochre, and lightly float tints down the right side of the roof, watch room, and tower. Mop to soften. Corner load the angle with Cinnamon Stick, and float a shade down the left side of the lens. Lightly wash over the lens room area with thinned Yellow Ochre, using the #6 shader.
With the #5/0 liner and Hauser Dark Green, outline the bottom of the roof and pull both walkway bases. With the #10/0 liner and Hauser Dark Green, pull the lens room panes, walkway rails, and supports. Place a Hauser Dark Green dip dot at the top of the roof, for the ventilator ball. With the #10/0 liner and Hauser Dark Green, pull a line up from the ball, for the lightning rod.
With the #2 shader and Hauser Dark Green, pull the window.
With the small texture brush and Snow White, randomly dance snow piles on the lighthouse; refer to the photo for placement.
Frosty Forshey Snowman:
Corner load the angle with Hauser Dark Green, lightly float a wide shade down the right side of the snowman and the ‘c’ stroke for the arm inset. Mop to soften.
Corner load the angle with thinned Yellow Ochre, and lightly float a highlight tint down the left side of the snowman. Mop to soften. With the #10/0 liner and Warm Sunset, pull the carrot nose. Double load the #5/0 liner with Cinnamon Stick + Yellow Ochre, pull the twig arm.
Stenciling Santa’s Sleigh:
With the Santa’s Sleigh Stencil (or stencil of choice), medium stencil brush, and Hauser Dark Green, stencil to the surface of both ornaments; refer to photo for placement.
Following the stenciling steps in #6 Stenciling Diamonds, stencil a portion of Santa and reindeer across the top of the lighthouse ornament. Then stencil a portion of the reindeer across the top of the snowman ornament.
Snowflake Embellishments:
To make basecoating the snowflake embellishments easier, place them on a strip of Frog Tape. Basecoat surface and side edges with Hauser Dark Green; using the #8 shader.
Finishing:
To protect your finished pieces, varnish both ornaments with the matte varnish; using the oval wash combo brush. This brush doesn’t leave any visible brushstroke marks after the varnish has dried.
Finishing Touches:
With the Quick Grip Adhesive, glue the snowflakes on the surfaces of the ornaments, in the bottom border area; refer to photo for placement.
Use ribbon, thread, wire, etc. (of choice) to hang the ornaments.
Download Original Word File Here.
For questions concerning this project, you can contact Debby at debbyforshey@gmail.com, or visit her website at www.DebbysTouch.com, Facebook, or Instagram.
Copyright 2023, Debby Forshey-Choma. All rights reserved under Pan American and international copyright conventions. Photocopying or any type of mechanical electronic reproduction of any part of this pattern packet or the designs herein are prohibited, except purchaser may mechanically electronically enlarge or reduce patterns for their personal use. If this pattern packet is purchased as an e-Pattern or CD, you may not re-sell the pdf file, nor make copies of the pdf files for re-sale or to give away. The projects created from the patterns in this pattern packet may be personally painted by purchaser for fun or for sale (i.e., at local craft shows, on internet auctions such as eBay, and on their own websites or photo sites), although if shown on the internet I do ask that you please give me credit for the design in your description. The designs cannot be used to create web graphics. The product created from or any derivative product made from the designs in this pattern packet cannot be mass produced in any form without a licensing agreement from Debby Forshey-Choma. Note to Teachers/Shop Owners…You may not teach this design or your adaptation of it unless a pattern is purchased for each student. I will be happy to sell patterns (print or digital) for each student at a wholesale discount so they can be included with the class supplies at a nominal cost. Disclaimer: The information in this pattern packet is presented to you in good faith. Since the author/designer has no control over the physical conditions surrounding the application of information presented, I cannot guarantee results, nor will I be liable for any charges against the user for claims of copyright or patent infringement. Please note that with printing differences it is difficult to match the images in this pattern packet to the original pieces, although every effort has been made to do so. Therefore, your finished project may look a little different in color than the images in this pattern packet. The colors used in the project instructions are the ones used by me to paint the finished projects. Also with all E-Packets there is no way to guarantee the color, as all monitors and printers are different. For best results, use a high-grade paper or photo paper.