So Scary, So Sweet!
by Elaina Appleby
Introduction:
These cute little scarecrow paintbrush dolls would be fun to pin to your fall jacket or to your painting apron and show that you are in the mood for autumn. Put a magnet on the backsides and they would make a wonderful hostess gift to put on the fridge. Whatever you decide they make a little fun for Fall!
About Elaina...
Being outdoors in early Fall gathering in the fruits from our garden makes me happy. I enjoy the color change of the seasons. As an artist and teacher, I see things vividly and hope I help others see and experience the art felt joys. I love sharing and have been in the industry for over 35 years. You may have a little fun googling my name and see a few things I've been up to over the many years. Art felt smiles!
SUPPLIES:
Surface-
Two each, 1" Chip Brush from most hardware or craft stores.
Small wooden bird cut-out
Small wooden pumpkin cut-out
Two small wooden sign cut-outs
You may find the small wooden cutouts on Etsy, craft stores, one of your favorite wood sources or you can cut them out of a ridged thin piece of cardboard.
DecoArt® Americana Paint:
Coral Blush DA292
Golden Straw DA168
Lamp Black DA067
Milk Chocolate DA174
Peaches'n Cream DA023
Periwinkle DA366
Saffron Yellow DA273
Scarlet DA345
Snow White DA01
Soft Black DA155
Tangerine DA012
Ultramarine Blue DA225
Warm Beige DA078
DecoArt® Americana Multi-Surface Metallic:
Yellow Gold DA551
Mediums by DecoArt®:
Dimensional Effects DS109C
Decou-Page Matte DS106
Sealer/Finisher Matte spray DAS13
Brushes by Dynasty®, Black Gold 206 Series:
3/8 Angle
5/0 Liner
#8 Shader
Mezzaluna Small, for dry brushing
Miscellaneous Supplies:
Small black string bow
Small wicker hat cut out, see pattern. I used a recycled wicker placemat.
Bits of raffia
Red, blue, and green rhinestones, size variety
Drywall Mesh Tape that has a check design from www.justfinedesign.com
Drywall Joint Tape that has a cutout dots design from www.justfinedesigns.com
Hot Glue
Scissor
1 1/2" Pin-Backs or Magnet Buttons
Tracing Paper
Transfer Paper Grey
Pencil
Styles
Water bin
Paper towels
Palette
Stiff Toothbrush for splattering
Wedge Sponge for stenciling or your favorite stencil brush
Old flat small brush for Decou-Page
Tweezer
Palette Knife
Heat Tool
Bobbie Pin
Tip:
I like to gather all the supplies before I get started. When selecting the embellishments use what you have on hand. You might be surprised at the outcome. Maybe use little buttons instead of rhinestones. You can paint their hair a different color, make them your own little scarecrows!
*Don’t forget to dry between all steps throughout the process of creating these paintbrush dolls.
PREPARATION:
No real prep for the wooden part of the brush, maybe a little sanding if needed.
Face on the Ferrule:
To prep for these use the palette knife and apply a small amount of Dimensional Effects over the brush ferrules. Smooth it out over the engraving the best you can with the palette knife then use a wet finger to finishing smoothing them out. It’s okay to get some of the medium smoothed over part of the handle.
See images #1 and #2
Hair:
Use the palette knife and push some Dimensional Effects down into the hair bristles. Use the palette knife roughly and smash the bristles well. Try not to touch the ferrule while you are styling the hair. If you do; smooth it again with your wet finger. As the hair bristles dry it’s easier to manipulate. Let the hair and the ferrules dry well. You can use the heat tool to style with. I used a Bobbie Pin on the wet bristles and dried with a heat tool to make the bangs curl. See product manufacturer directions.
See images #3, #4 and #5.
INSTRUCTIONS:
Paint on!
Hair:
Use an old brush and paint the hair bristles with Golden Straw for the boy and use a light wash of Milk Chocolate in the girl's hair. The girls should look just a little light reddish. Push the color down into the hair bristles and let it dry.
Rake through the hair with tweezers and use scissors to cut back some of the hair to make room for embellishments.
See images #6 , #7 and #8.
Skin:
Basecoat both of their faces with Warm Beige. Paint down past the ferrule’s onto the wood over the chin area.
Use the Mezzaluna brush to dry brush the cheeks and chins with Coral Blush. Brighten the cheeks on the girl a little more.
Use the toothbrush and splatter lightly over their skin with Milk Chocolate.
On the girl; paint a very light wash of Peaches'n Cream over her skin. Just so it looks all glazed together. If you see her face is too bright, tone down with a (very) light wash of Milk Chocolate.
On the boy; paint a very light wash of Milk Chocolate over his skin. Then float a little on his forehead under the bangs. This is all to create a very subtle undertone of freckles.
When all is dry; transfer the line drawings or freehand the facile features on.
See images #9, #10 and #11.
Eyes:
Basecoat the eyes with Lamp Black.
Paint in the blue area with Periwinkle.
Paint in the white area with Snow White.
Line in the Metallic Yellow Gold.
Line in the lashes and eyebrows with Soft Black.
Dip-dot the pupil with Snow White
See images #12, #13 and #14.
Nose:
Basecoat them with Coral Blush.
On the girl; wash in a little Scarlet at the bottom.
Highlight both with Metallic Yellow Gold down the left side.
Paint a very thin outline with Soft Black.
Dip-dot a few freckles on the high part of their cheeks with Milk Chocolate.
Mouth:
Dip-dot the corners of each mouth with Coral Blush.
Make tiny dots again on top of the other dots with Snow White.
Line the lips and the stitching on with Soft Black.
Paint the tongues with Coral Blush and finish with a tiny highlight of Metallic Yellow Gold.
On the boy; paint a very light float under his mouth, nose, and eyes with watery Milk Chocolate.
See image #15
Boys Clothing:
Draw the line around his waist and at his chin. Basecoat the shirt with Scarlet.
Basecoat his overalls with Periwinkle.
Tape off the straps and paint them as well. Remove the tape as soon as you can so that you don’t take off the paint under it.
Use the drywall mesh tape and stencil checks on the overalls first with Ultramarine Blue then lightly stencil randomly with a little Milk Chocolate and finish stenciling with Snow White.
Paint the belt with Tangerine and line it with Soft Black. Height with Golden Straw.
Shade with a float of Ultramarine Blue along all of the edges of the blue including the straps and around the belt.
Line the neck trim with Tangerine and float a shade under it with Milk Chocolate.
Dip-dot the buttons with Milk Chocolate. Outline them with Lamp Black than with Snow White.
See images #16, #17 and #18.
Girls Clothing:
Draw the guideline at her chin and basecoat her dress with Scarlet.
Use the drywall joint tape and stencil the polka-dots starting at the bottom of the handle with Ultramarine Blue then on the top of the dress stencil with Periwinkle.
Outline the neckline with Tangerine.
Float a shade with Milk Chocolate on all of the edges.
See image #19.
Signs:
Basecoat the signs with Warm Beige.
Tear out the wording and Decou-Page them to the signs. Let this dry.
Wash over them and shade the ends with Milk Chocolate.
Use the toothbrush and splatter them with Milk Chocolate.
Line the left side of the lettering with Snow White.
Dip-dot the (So Scary) one with Scarlet and the other with Tangerine to create the nails.
Shade the dip-dot nails and touch the inside of them with Soft Black.
See images #20 and #21.
Pumpkin:
Basecoat it with Tangerine then wash in some Scarlet streaks.
Splatter it with Scarlet.
Shade it with Milk Chocolate to make sections and all around the edges.
Paint the stem with Milk Chocolate then line it with Golden Straw and again Soft Black.
Red Wing Black Bird:
Basecoat with Lamp Black
Pull some streaks through the body and tail with Milk Chocolate.
Paint the wing with Scarlet, pull some streaks through the wing with Lamp Black, and paint the tips with Saffron Yellow.
Paint the beak and dip-dot the eye with Soft Black, finish with a tiny touch of Snow White to highlight them both.
See image #22.
Hat:
Cut the hat out of a piece of a recycled wicker placemat.
Paint the edges with Milk Chocolate pull some paint over the edges as well.
Line the brim and paint the patch with Periwinkle.
Paint a little Metallic Yellow Gold in the center of the patch, tip that center with Snow White.
Line in the stitching with Periwinkle, Soft Black and finish with Snow White.
See images #23, #24 and #25.
Let’s put ”So Scary Scarecrow” together.
Glue a small patch of raffia onto the handle. Paint a little Saffron Yellow on the raffia to brighten it. Glue the sign down on top of the raffia.
Glue another small patch of raffia to the hat and brighten it up with Saffron Yellow as well. Glue the bird on top of the raffia.
Cut back some of his hair if need to accommodate for the hat and glue in place.
Finish up by gluing the rhinestones in place.
See images #26 and #27.
Let's put “So Sweet Scarecrow” together.
Glue a small patch of raffia in place on the handle and brighten it with Saffron Yellow, then glue the sign on top.
Cut back her hair to accommodate for the pumpkin if needed and glue it in.
Tie a small bow; trim the ends and dip them in Scarlet. Let that dry well and glue it in place above her bangs.
Finish by gluing her rhinestones in place.
See image #28.
FINISHING:
Now’s the time to touch up or adjust anything that your dolls may need.
Glue the pin-backs or if you choose the magnets on the backside of your Paintbrush Doll's
Give them a spray coat of Sealer/Finisher, let them dry and enjoy showing them off!
See image #29.
DOWNLOAD ORIGINAL WORD FILE HERE!
Pattern & Photos ©2021 Elaina Appleby