We Danced by Guest Designer Barb Black

Hello! Barb Black here again with my second Guest Designer post.

 

I am often asked where my inspiration comes from. My answer never changes; it is always “from everywhere and everything.” In this case, the inspiration for this piece came from a dream I had.

For this piece, I began by coating my canvas board with gesso and while it was still wet, used the paint to adhere scraps of old sheet music. Once dry, I coated it with Liquitex gloss gel and let it dry overnight.

I sponged some watered down blue acrylic paint around the canvas, then stamped extra musical notes all around. I then stamped the feathers and butterflies. For the metal leafing, I smeared a little more of the gloss gel across onto the canvas with my finger and set the leafing in place. I left it alone for a few minutes and then went over it with a stiff brush to remove any excess.

Okay… background all set. Bring on the dancing girl! I started by coating the limbs in white acrylic paint. Once that was dry, I brushed on the Distress crackle paint - I wanted to give it an antique look. After the crackle paint dried, I smeared some brass-toned acrylic paint into the cracks and wiped of any excess with a slightly damp cloth.

I painted the body with a green acrylic paint and once dry stamped the harlequin pattern on it with StazOn black ink. I added a bit of gold ribbon for the belt and some green rhinestones for the collar.

For the doll’s face, I began by painting it with white acrylic paint. Once that had dried, I stamped on the face image. I completed it by adding a couple of small feathers and a green rhinestone to match the collar.

From there, all I had to do was assemble everything. I poked holes where I wanted to put the brads for the arms and legs, and then attached those. The head is simply glued on. I used mounting tape on the head and body to attached the doll to my background. That kept her arms and legs free to dance.

I’m really happy with the whimsy of this piece and how well it captured the feeling I had in my dream. There’s just no telling what will inspire you or where it can take you!

‘Til next week, Happy Crafting!

Gina’s Designs Products Used

Art Doll Female -Small

Rubber Stamps Used

Feather by Fred B. Mullett

Prediction No. 31 by Leave Memories

Girl face by Limited Edition

All other stamps by Tim Holtz

Other Products Used

Canvas board

White gesso

Acrylic paint - various colors

Mona Lisa variegated metal leaf

StazOn inks

Tsukineko Delicata Gold Ink

Liquitex gloss gel

Ranger Distress Crackle Paint - Clear Rock Candy

Brass brads

Feathers

Rhinstones

Mounting tape