Pen Pot

I picked a kiddies pair of footy boots up for 50p from the car boot a few weeks ago.

With a view to making my sister something for Christmas.

I cut the tube with the intention of using the taller one, but in the end I used the shorter one.

Then I gathered everything I thought I might need.

I covered the boot in plain t-shirt fabric to start with just to get a base on to cover everything, including the inside. Next I placed the tube in the hole and covered it too.

I covered the polystyrene ball with a couple of coats of white powertex and cut some black pentagon shapes from black t-shirt fabric.

I covered the pentagons with transparent powertex and placed them on the ball to try and replicate a football. It looks cloudy as the transparent doesn't go on clear, but dries clear.

Once the first layer of the boot fabric was dry I added more fabrics and paper decoration and also some clay pieces. 

Once everything was dry I made sure the ball would sit on the boot. 

I started to add the colouring, I was going for a very red, red. So I started with a very light layer and just kept layering and layering a bit at a time until I got the depth I wanted. I also added a layer of the red metallic lustre which really brought it to life.

Just love how the colours bring out the fabulous textures.

I used festive red dazzling metallics on the flowers which has given them a hint of gold too.

And a view from the front.

I haven't actually glued the ball onto the front yet, but I'll use transparent powertex for that.

And a view of the other side of the boot.

And a view from the top. I kept checking that the ball sits okay on the boot.

And here it is finally with pens in it.

I've made this for my sister for Christmas. She loves football and is a teacher so is always using pens when marking her classes work, and it's totally unique and different. I know she will love it as she has already pinched on of my angels and another statue!

Couple of Cats

I cut a couple of pieces of wire, bent them into a flat U shape and taped the top. The right one I covered with a layer of bubble before I added tinfoil and the one on the left I covered just in tinfoil.

Once I'd built them up into the shape I wanted using tinfoil, I covered them in masking tape. I left the top exposed so I could use the wire to hold a polystyrene ball.

Next I mixed up some clay. I used black Powertex and kept feeding StoneArt powder into it. 

Until I got something like this, a clay.

I painted an area of the masking tape with Powertex.

I rolled out the clay using my hands and pushed it onto the masking tape. Putting the Powertex on beforehand helps it to stick.

I covered everything but the ball with clay and left it to dry.

I'd made extra clay to cover the head the following day. As long as you seal it tight, you can keep it up to a couple of weeks before you use it.

This is how it looked the next day after it had dried. All the way through the process I made sure it stood on its own.

The one on the right was the frame with the bubble wrap and tinfoil and the one on the left was just the tinfoil. I wanted to experiment to see if there was much difference in how the clay worked on each one.

They have both been in the airing cupboard for a few days and are now rock solid. The one on the right fell over and the ear bent and is set solid, happy accident. The white that you can see is where I didn't totally mix the Stoneart in 100%, but it doesn't bother me as it just adds to the look and I'm going to paint it anyway.

So here I have painted the one on the left in pewter and the one on the right is still the raw clay.

Right one is now painted too, I used bronze.

And from the side so you can see their tails and the right one I also angled the head.

And here they are from a slightly different angle. It's amazing how much texture you get from your hands when applying the clay and how this comes out in the dry brushing.

Close up of the textures.

The base of the pewter one.

And the base of the bronze one.

Hope you found this useful and if you want to, don't be shy, leave me a quick comment.

A Rectangular Glass Bottle

I found this great shaped empty glass bottle in a recycling box. I covered it in masking / paper tape and painted it with black Powertex.

Once it was dry, I added some stencilling to all the sides using black modelling paste.

Front

Back

 

Once the stencilling was dry, I added a skull, gluing it on with the black Powertex.

Using iridescent pigments, I dry brushed the bottle.

The back, where you can now see the skull stencil.

The side with more skulls.

I used acrylic paint to paint the skull on the front.

Tilted so you can see the colour wave better.

And this side has numbers stencilled on it.

I just need to find a candle to stick in the top and it'll be ready for Halloween.

A Boot Pour

Remember my £1 pair of boots I picked up at the car boot? Well I decided to play with one of them today. (BH Monday).

I had/have no idea what I was doing but I decided I wanted to do a paint pour over the boot! I mixed about 8 colours of paint, including black and white and took the lace out of the boot.

Once I'd mixed all the paints I poured them all into one big coke cup. This is what I ended up with.

And this is how much the cup was filled up. I had no idea how much I would need!

Before I got to this stage I needed assistance. Once I'd poured the paint and covered the boot I was stuck. I never thought about what I was going to do with it or how it would dry. So I shouted Martin who put a carrier bag over a cooling rack for me and I stood it on that. I took it outside and paint is still dripping off it three hours later. That tells me I used far too much paint, but hey ho.

The only problem is, with the paint still moving, the pattern is changing all the time and it's difficult to 'save' something that you like. This is still soaking wet and the paint is still sinking down.

From the zip side, but again still very wet and the paint is still moving.

I was asked the other day if there is much wastage, and the answer is yes, lots! I'm not sure if you can see from this photo as the excess paint is caught on a piece of thick cellophane in a tray and it's quite deep. It may be my fault as I may have used too much, but I've been caught out before not having enough. I did contemplate tipping it onto a canvas, but as I wasn't too far away from making mud with all the colours, I decided just to leave it to get a skin on it before I dispose of it, as I reckon it will take weeks to dry! 

Three days later, totally dried, this is what I've ended up with and I love it.

View from the non zip side.

Close up of the front of the boot. Here it's held the colours and shape better because it was a flatter surface and didn't have far to drip.

Close up of the outside of the boot, some great colour combos going on.

Love this section here where the yellow has come through.

Another close up, love how it's come out.

And how the paint has continued and dripped over the sole of the boot.

And this is the zip side of the boot.

I really love it and not bad for a first boot pour.

All paint products are from the DecoArt range.