Poinsettia Table Runner by Pamela Cassidy
Poinsettia Table Runner
By Pamela Cassidy
With the holiday season right around the corner, this festive runner will surely compliment any holiday table. Enjoy making it for yourself or for someone special.
SUPPLIES
Surface:
Cotton Table Runner, Multi-Ligne Collection, color natural, 16x72
I purchased mine on Amazon. You can use any 100% cotton table runner; I suggest using a light color for this design.
Paints:
DecoArt Americana
Antique Gold DA09
Black Plum DA172
Cad Yellow DA010
Cherry Red DA159
Hauser Dark Green DA133
Hauser Light Green DA131
Hauser Medium Green DA132
Scarlet DA345
Tangerine DA012
Brushes:
Loew-Cornell 7500 Filbert #8
Loew-Corner 7500 Filbert #6
Artist Loft Vienna 10/0 Liner
Artist Loft Scumbler #6
Miscellaneous Supplies:
Freezer Paper
Tracing Paper
Black Graphite Paper
Pencil
Paper Towels
Stylus
Palette Paper
Iron
Hair Dryer (optional)
Practice Cloth (optional)
HELPFUL HINTS:
I recommend using a practice surface to try techniques before painting on your project piece. Use a piece of cotton fabric to practice applying paint before painting your runner. Painting on fabric is fun and easy, but it’s important to remember that if you get paint on an unwanted area, it will be difficult to remove. Also, less is more! You can always apply more paint, but if you use too much initially, it may run. Last, do not use a lot of water in your brush, this will cause the paint to run. Pinch out all excess water with a paper towel.
PREPARATION:
Cut freezer paper the width of the runner and enough for the size of the design. Iron the freezer paper onto the back of your runner on each end, shiny side facing the fabric. This will stabilize the fabric and also prevent paint from running through.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Trace pattern onto tracing paper. Line drawing is at the bottom of the pattern. Transfer pattern onto runner. Do not transfer vein lines initially as they will be done after base coating the leaves.
Using your #8 and #6 filberts, base the petals of the poinsettia with Cherry Red. Do not rinse your brush. Shade petals with Black Plum as indicated on the line drawing (xxxxx). To shade, pick up some Black Plum on a dirty brush, apply to shade areas, then add some Cherry Red to your brush and blend out into the petal. You do not want to see a hard line where the two colors meet on the petal, so blending out is important.
When you’re satisfied with your shading, clean your brushes and pinch out the excess water. Pick up some Scarlet on your brush, and highlight the opposite side of your petals as indicated on the line drawing. Using the same technique, add some Cherry Red to blend the colors where they meet in the middle. Allow the paint to dry thoroughly. You can use a hair dryer to speed up the process.
When petals are dry, using a dry #6 scumbler, pick up some Tangerine on your brush. Off load onto a paper towel, so there is minimal wet paint remaining on your brush. Lightly brush on a highlight on the area where you just applied Scarlet. Highlights are subtle.
Using the same two brushes, base in the leaves with Hauser Medium Green. Use the 10/0 liner to add the stems going into the petals. Shade the leaves the same way you shaded the petals, using Hauser Dark Green as the base of each leaf, then blend by picking up some Hauser Medium on your dirty brush. Highlight the tips of the leaves with Hauser Light Green, blending with Hauser Medium.
When leaves are dry, use the 10/0 liner and Hauser Light Green to add the vein lines. This can be done free hand or if you need to, transfer on from the pattern. Keep the vein lines thin by adding a small amount of water to your paint to improve flow.
Add the center with a series of dots. I used the end of my brush and a stylus for size variation. I started with dots of Hauser Dark, then Hauser Light, then Cherry, Antique Gold, and lastly Cad Yellow here and there. Allow dots to dry before adding the next color.
FINISHING:
When runner is thoroughly dry, remove the freezer paper and heat set your work. Do this by placing a piece of cotton fabric over the design. Using a hot, dry iron, move over the fabric back and forth until the fabric is hot. Do this a few times to set.
I hope you enjoyed this project! Thank you for painting with me!
LINE DRAWING
Pattern & Photos ©2021 Pamela Cassidy