Pixelated Palette December 2020 Issue by Pixelated Palette

December 2020 Kotami Tanaka

Pam Bock

My Sweet Santa

Candy Garland Ornament

4-10

35-38

Tami Carmody

Elisabetta de Maria,CDA

Glass Christmas Ornaments

11-15

Giuly

39-52

Judy WestegaardJenkins Frosty Winter Greetings

Elaina Appleby Sissy’s Seasons

83-98

Deb Mishima Warm Winter Friends

100-107

Sandy Kelsey

Bev Davis

I’ll Start the Diet After Christmas

White Christmas

54-63

108-113

17-24

Susan Cochrane

Sharon Bond

Calla

Snow Removal

25-28

64-73

Linda Hollander

Marika Moretti

Copycat to Creative Genius

Sweet Snowman Trio

30-33

Merry Christmas And Happy Painting in 2021!

January Preview

75-82

116

Owner/Founder: Chris Haughey Editor in Chief: Lindsey Applegate, palettepixels@gmail.com Copyright Notice: ©2020 Pixelated Palette. The Pixelated Palette is produced 12 times per year by Cupboard Distributing, 1463 S US Highway 68, Urbana, Ohio 43078. All rights reserved on entire contents of this digital magazine. The information contained within this publication is presented in good faith. As the author(s) and publisher have no control over the application of the information presented, the results are not guaranteed. Reproduction of editorial content is strictly prohibited without written permission of the Publisher. 2

As 2020 draws to a close, I know I am not the only one who is excited to see what 2021 brings. COVID changed our lives for the time being and as an escape from the day-to-day stresses of our current way of life, many of us find peace and comfort in decorative painting. We continue to want to be a source of escape for our subscribers and we hope that getting lost in our pages helps you forget about the world, even if just for a moment. This month, we are pleased to welcome two new designers to the Pixelated Palette family: cover artist Kotami Tanaka and Pam Bock. Kotami’s My Sweet Santa features the jolly guy as he completes tasks assigned by Mrs. Claus, preparing for the family Christmas. Pam’s Candy Garland Ornament features a darling design for the tree. Pam also provides her hard candy recipe, so you can fill those ornaments for your loved ones! Speaking of ornaments, Tami Carmody’s Glass Christmas Ornaments offers three designs for floral glass ornaments to adorn the tree. Take a trip with a gnome and his pooch on their way to the next job in Sharon Bond’s Snow Removal. And I know Sandy Kelsey’s I’ll Start My Diet After Christmas is sure to bring out the chuckles. I know that I myself have postponed the diet until after the holidays. Who wants to miss out on all those delicious holiday goodies?! We are thrilled to have Linda Hollander in our magazine again this month with her article How to Go from Copycat to Creative Genius. Follow Linda along as she guides you on how to go from following other designer’s patterns to creating your own unique designs. Of course, when you design your project, we hope we are the first publication you submit too! Do not forget, we LOVE to launch new designers!! I hope you enjoy the final issue of 2020. We have lots of wonderful things planned for 2021, our 7th year!! WOW!! The Pixelated Palette family wishes you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! ~Happy Painting!! Lindsey

Original Design by Kotami Tanaka tanaka-k@mx5.canvas.ne.jp

I love painting Santa, just because I love him!

This Santa is helping his wife by serving

sweets to their family on Christmas. He is the first in a three- part series that will be in the Pixelated Palette. Look for him again in January and February of next year. Santa is everywhere close to you. I do hope you enjoy painting your own Sweet Santa. Surface: cutting board, 6 inches width,11 inches height. Surface of Choice Wood Source in Japan: Daiso, Higashihiroshima City, Japan Tel 082 420 0100 Supplies: Usual Acrylic Supplies #400,600 sandpaper Paints: JoSonja Artist’s Colors Aqua

Red Earth

Black Burnt Umber

Sapphire Storm Blue

Cadmium Yellow Light

Teal Green

Gold Oxide Green Light

Turner’s Yellow Vermillion

Napthol Red Light

Warm White

Pine Green Raw Sienna

Yellow Oxide

Mediums: JoSonja Clear Glazing Medium Retarder Satin Varnish Brushes: Use the brand of your choice #4,6 filbert #2,3 round #10/0 liner 1 inch flat stipple or very old round brush Tips and Technique: Use retarder for highlighting and shading. It helps makes it easier to walk the colors out.

Preparation: Sand lightly with #400,600 sandpaper. Wipe away the dust. Apply basecoat color + Clear Glazing Medium (1:1) to seal the wood and basecoat in one step. Painting Instructions:

Refer to enlarged photo as necessary

Background Measure in 1/4” from all the edges and mark with a pencil dot at intervals. Connect the dots. Tape along the outside of the pencil line, protecting the border of raw wood before basecoating. Greyish Blue Mix: Sapphire + Warm White + Vermillion(1:1:touch) Using a 1” Flat, apply first basecoat with a (1:1) mix of Greyish Blue Mix + Clear Glazing Medium. When dry, base again with just the Greyish Blue mix until you are pleased with the appearance. Gently remove tape and dry well. Border: Liner Define the edge between the background and unpainted wood with a border of Red Earth. Position the pattern and transfer the main outlines. Tree: Use #2 and 3 Round Brush Create each of the four sections by stroking from the bottom of the section upward with water thinned Pine Green + Warm White(1:1). Repeat for each layer of the tree. Highlight with Pine Green + Light Green + Warm White(1:1:1) Add more Warm White for second highlight. Shade with Teal Green strokes from up to bottom. M & M’s Tree Decorations: Use #2 Round,#4 Filbert Red: Base Red Earth; highlight with Naphthol Red Light and shade with Indian Red Oxide. Green: Base Pine Green; highlight with Light Green and shade with Teal Green. Yellow: Base Yellow Oxide: highlight with Turner’s Yellow + Warm White and shade with Burnt Umber. Tree Top Heart: Base Red Earth; highlight with Naphthol Red Light and shade with Indian Red Oxide. Santa’s Face and Hands: #4,6 Filbert, Liner Basecoat: Gold Oxide + Warm White (1:3) Dry well. Apply thin coat of retarder on to face area evenly. Highlight with Gold Oxide +Warm White (1:4).

Shade with Indian Red Oxide. 6

Eyes: #2 Round, Liner Faintly outline eyes, nose and wrinkles with Indian Red Oxide. Basecoat pupil with Sapphire. White area is Warm White + Sapphire(touch) On the bottom part of pupil, highlight with Warm White. Upper Part of Pupil: Use the liner to pull slightly curved lines with Black, approximately halfway down. Add Warm White highlight dots as shown.

Blush his cheeks and nose with Warm White + Vermillion + Napthol Red Light (touch). Lips: Napthol Red Light + Warm White(1:1) Highlight with Light Pink mixture of Napthol Red Light + Warm White (2:1); apply it onto center part of his lip softly. Inside of the Mouth:

Indian Red Oxide.

Santa’s Coat and Hat: #4,6 Filbert Base in with Red Earth. Dry. Apply thin coat of retarder. Highlight with a mix of Naphthol Red Light + Cadmium Yellow Light + Warm White (2:1:1) Important Note: You are creating an orangey-red highlight, NOT pink. Mix ratio is an approximate. Brighten highlight by adding more Cadmium Yellow Light and a touch of Warm White into the first highlight mix. Shade with Indian Red Oxide. Boots and Belt: #4 Filbert,#2 Round, Liner Base in Black. Dry well and highlight with Aqua. Buckle is a light grey mix of Black and Warm White (1:2). Highlight with Warm White.

Fur: #stipple Base by stippling in Raw Sienna. First highlight, stipple with Yellow Oxide. Second highlight is Turner’s Yellow + Cadmium Yellow Light + Warm White (1:1:1). Beard, Moustache, Hair: #2,3 Round, Liner Base with Dark Grey mix of Black + Warm White (1:1). Create curly strokes with light grey by adding Warm White little by little. Repeat this process several times. Finish up with Warm White lines. Sweets;#4,6 Filbert,#2 Round and Liner Cupcake in his right hand: Base Raw Sienna; ,highlight with Turner’s Yellow. Whipped cream is Warm White. Cake on Left Hand: Warm White and Red Earth strawberries. Cake in the Basket: Basecoat with Warm White +Vermillion. Chocolate Frosting: Burnt Umber. Basket: Base Raw Sienna.

Highlight with Turner’s Yellow, brighten with Warm White.

Decorate all sweets as you like. Dishes are Black, highlighted with light grey mix. Floor: #6 Filbert Water thinned Burnt Umber. Wine Bottles: #2 Round, #4 Filbert One bottle is based in water thinned Black; the other in water thinned Warm White. The labels are Yellow Oxide and Red Earth+ Warm White mix. Finishing: Dry well. Erase the tracing lines. Apply one coat of Clear Glazing Medium. Dry.

Antiquing: 1 inch Flat Apply thin coat of retarder all over the surface evenly. Apply retarder thinned Burnt Umber everywhere except onto Santa. Darken edge of the board. Wipe away as much or as little as you like. Allow to dry. Glazing;#4 Filbert Glaze accents of retarder thinned Cadmium Yellow Light onto the lightest part of the beard, moustache and hair. Dry well Apply 2 coats of Satin Varnish. Done!!! Enlarge this line drawing as necessary to best fit your surface.

Original Design by Tami Carmody wisteriapainting@aol.com

These delicate glass ornaments are Quick and Easy gifts to make using a limited palette of enamel paint. All the designs are created with simple stroke work and no pattern is needed. These will make lovely holiday gifts for those special people on your list.

Surface: * Glass Ornaments ( Hobby Lobby or any craft store) Supplies: * Usual painting supplies * Alcohol * Paper towels Paints: Folk Art Enamels * Berry Wine * Fresh Foliage Burst * Hauser Med Green * Lemon Custard * Licorice

* * * * *

Lipstick Red Thicket Umber Coffee Bean Warm White Wicker White

Brushes: * Dynasty, #1 Round, available through Jillybean.net * Angle wave brush By Dynasty. available thru Jillybean.net * 10/0 Liner, * #2 Filbert, * 2 Round Tips and Techniques: * When painting on glass, remember that water is your worst enemy. * Your brush can be damp but do NOT carry any water in the bristles. Always blot brush onto paper towel before loading into paint. * Paint with a very light touch. * Use no pressure or the paint will dissipate on the glass. Preparation: Wipe ornaments with rubbing alcohol to clean the surface. Painting Instructions: Refer to work sheet. All painting is done free-hand Ornament #1 Daisies and Roses: Using your #1 round brush, place a sit down in Lemon custard in the center of your ornament. Using the same brush, paint two circles to the right of your daisy center in Lipstick Red to establish roses. With the #2 Filbert, load the brush into Wicker White. To position the daisy petals, place them like numbers on a clock: the first comma stroke at 12 o'clock that is to the left side of your center.

Place two more strokes on at 3 & 9 0'clock. Reload your brush and use the side of the brush to put 2 comma strokes in between the ones you just put on. This should give you a half daisy. The 2 strokes along the bottom of the daisy are painted side to side. When center is dry, shade bottom of daisy with Berry Wine. Tap on Licorice dots with your liner around the center and add small Lemon Custard dots on top of the Licorice. Detailing the Roses Put a sit-down in Berry Wine at the top of your roses using your #1 round. These sit downs are facing sideways to the right of your ornament. Load a 2 round in Lipstick Red and tip into Wicker White; add comma strokes left and right around your center, continue painting comma strokes left and right to fill in your rose. Reload brush every two strokes. Evergreens: Line 2 lines top and bottom between your daisy and roses. Using your Angle Wave Brush, load the heal of the brush into Thicket and the tip of the brush into Fresh Foliage. Tap the brush onto palette paper twice so color meets in the middle. Tap on strokes starting at the tip and going left to right to form these evergreens.

Holly: Using a #2 filbert load into Hauser medium Green and add filbert leaves above daisy and roses. Line leaves with Fresh Foliage to look like holly. Add small White Filler flowers wherever needed. Pinecones and Berries Ornament: Base coat Pinecones in Coffee Bean using your #1 round glass brush. With Burnt Umber, add sit downs to top of pinecones. To achieve color variations in the pinecones, use a #2 Round loaded in combinations of the following colors: Use Warm White, Coffee Bean & Burnt Umber. Load your brush and put a comma stroke around the center sit down one on the left and one on the right, continue adding comma strokes thru out the oval shape pinecone using different color combinations. 13

Evergreens: Paint a line in between each pinecone and load the Wave Angle heel into Thicket and the tip in Fresh Foliage. Tap twice on your palette. Starting at tip, tap on strokes going left to right to form evergreens. Pine Greens line Ticket first and then Fresh Foliage to make pine needles. Holly: Load #2 filbert in Hauser Med Green and paint filbert leaves and liner in Fresh Foliage around outside of leaf and veins lines thru middle to look like holly. Berries: Use the handle end of a brush and dot in Lipstick Red. When dry Shade bottom of berries in Berry Wine and highlight with a White comma. With Lipstick Red, randomly add 3 dots around the ornament. Using the #1 Round Glass Brush, basecoat holly in Hauser Medium Green. When dry, shade down one side and up the middle with Thicket. Highlight other side and down middle with Fresh Foliage. Line vein lines in middle of holly with Fresh Foliage. Evergreens: Place a line between each holly with Fresh Foliage. Load your Angle heel into Thicket and the tip in Fresh Foliage; tap on the palette twice so color blends in the middle. Start g at tip and pounce twice and then move left to right pouncing on evergreens. Pine Greens: Line a center with Thicket, putting one between each holly leaf. Line thicket left and right and then line Fresh Foliage on top to form pine greens. Berries: Dot with Lipstick Red; use the end of a handle brush. Let dry. When dry, shade bottom with Berry Wine and add a White comma for a shine. Using your liner brush tap on little baby's breath using Wicker White. Finishing: Allow ornaments to dry. Enamels take 21 days to totally cure. But the paint will be dry to the touch after an hour. Because they are decorative, they do not need to be bake.

Original Design by Judy Westegaard-Jenkins jkwestegaard@aol.com

Falling in love with a wood piece is not unusual for me. When I saw this online, I immediately envisioned a project that was elegant and vintage but fun. The snowman postcard has lots of interesting textures and techniques for you to try. Winter greetings to all of you! Surface * Wood leafy frame from Southern Ridge Trading Company https://chipboard.ca/products/wood-leafy-frame Project Supplies: * Usual Acrylic Tools * Binder clamps, 4, small * Grey transfer paper * Kneaded eraser * Krylon Kamar Spray Finish * Palette cup for extender * Palette knife * Pencil and Ruler * Sandpaper, fine-grit * Tape * Toothbrush for spattering * Waxy disposable palette * Wood glue Paints: DecoArt Americana Acrylics * Antique White * Aqua Sky * Burnt Umber * Cadmium Orange * Cadmium Yellow * Celery Green * Dioxazine Purple * Lamp Black

* * * * * * * *

Light Buttermilk Payne's Grey Primary Red Sand Slate Grey Snow White Ultra Blue Deep Winter Blue

Mediums: DecoArt Traditions * Glazing Medium * Extender and Blending Medium * Multi-Surface Sealer Brushes: Good quality brushes in excellent condition including: * #3 round * #2 round blender * ¼", ½" & ¾" angles * #6 & #8 filberts * #10/0 & #1 liners * Medium mop, l" * Large scruffy filbert to be used for extender application only

Tips and Techniques When using extender, apply a thin film of extender using a brush reserved for extender use only. Stretch extender smoothly to just beyond the area to be painted. The area should not be flooded with extender but should look shiny. To test for the proper amount, touch the area with a fingertip. Your finger should have a bit of a sheen but should not be wet. Use full strength extender. Shading is accomplished by floating or corner loading with an appropriate-sized angle brush. Highlights are usually applied using an appropriated-sized filbert brush. Fine line work is completed using a #10/0 liner brush with thinned paint. Use a kneaded eraser to remove any tracing marks after the painting is completed. Preparation Apply a coat of Multi-Surface Sealer to the overlay and back piece. Allow to dry. Sand lightly and remove the sanding dust with a soft cloth. Apply a coat of Sand to the front and back of each wood piece. Allow to dry. For opaque coverage re-apply if necessary. Use a pencil to lightly mark and connect the scrolls where they cross over the frame overlay. Trace and transfer the basic lines of the post cards to the back surface using a stylus, ruler and graphite paper. Transfer the basic outlines of the snowman card only. Base coat the following areas using multiple coats to achieve opaque coverage. Always allow paint to dry between coats. Top card: Antique White Carte Postale card: Light Buttermilk Striped card: Antique White Snowman card: Sky – Winter Blue Hat – Lamp Black Hatband – Aqua Sky Face and chest – Light Buttermilk Carrot – Cadmium Orange Scarf – Primary Red Mitten – Aqua Sky Candy Cane – Alternate Primary Red and Snow-White stripes Cardinal: Head and body – Primary Red Eye patch – Lamp Black Beak – Cadmium Orange Chickadee: Crown, Beak, and Throat Patch – Lamp Black Face Patch and Breast – Antique White Back and Wing – Snow White + Lamp Black (6:1) Tail – Burnt Umber Fountain Pen: Body – Lamp Black 19

Fountain Pen: Nib and Rings – Slate Grey Snowman: Eyes, Eyebrows, and Lip Lines - Lamp Black Slip slap the sky area with Winter Blue + Snow White varying the mixture to achieve a mottled look. Dry brush or use a large scruffy filbert to loosely slip slap the remaining postcards: Top card and striped card– Light Buttermilk + Antique White, Antique White Carte Postale Card – Snow White + Light Buttermilk, Snow White Transfer remaining details. Painting Instructions Hat Highlight the brim of the hat with Snow White + Lamp Black (6:1). Shade each outside third of the hatband with Payne's Grey. Highlight the center of the band with Snow White. Use a #10/0 liner to add Snow White stripes to the hatband. Cardinal Use a 1/4" angle to add Payne's Grey shading beneath the wing on the back of the head and on the breast and tail where it falls behind the hatband. Outline the eye using a #10/0 liner and thinned Snow White. Highlight the lower edge of the wing with Cadmium Orange. Face and chest Float Payne's Grey shading under the brim, along the right side of the carrot, above and below the scarf and around the upper left and right sides of the tie. Deepen shading under the brim and above the scarf with Dioxazine Purple. Stipple the face and body using the #2 round blender and Snow White. Allow the base coat cover to show through here and there. Tap the brush lightly along the outer edges to give a soft, fluffy appearance. Transfer the facial features and buttons with gray transfer paper. Paint the eyes and buttons with Lamp Black using a #3 round brush. Use a #10/0 liner to add the eyebrows and lip lines. Float Snow White along the lower edge of each eyebrow, along the lower rim of the eye and along the lower edge of the lip. Add a thin wash of Primary Red to the lip and place a SnowWhite shine on the lip center. Extend the cheeks and pat in a small amount of Primary Red for blush. Mop. Float Primary Red shading along the lower edge of the carrot. Deepen with Dioxazine Purple. Float a Cadmium Yellow highlight across the top of the carrot with Cadmium Yellow. Strengthen with Snow White. Add a few vertical curved lines across the carrot using both Burnt Umber and Snow White. Deepen the shading on the chest under the scarf with Dioxazine Purple and strengthen shading with Lamp Black. Add 2 washy Snow-White dots as holes on the buttons. Outline each button near the outer edge with a thin line of Snow White + Lamp Black. 20

Chickadee Outline the eye using a 10/0 liner and thinned Snow White. Highlight the face patch and breast with Snow White and float Burnt Umber shading on the left as well as where the breast meets the carrot. Add Snow White highlights on the wing and tail. Candy Cane Shade the inside edge of the cane with Payne's Grey. Place the same shading on the cane where it falls behind the mitten. Add Snow White shines curving along the length of the cane. Mitten Float Payne's Grey shading along the thumb and lower edge. Dry, then float curved Payne's Grey stripes the full length and width of the mitten to form a grid pattern. Extend the mitten and add faint Snow White “v's” in each of the squares to represent a knitted stitch. When dry, add Dioxazine Purple accents to the shadowed areas. Scarf Highlight the center of the portion of the scarf that wraps around the neck with Cadmium Orange; strengthen with Cadmium Yellow. Float Payne's Grey shading along each side of the scarf that falls behind the knot of the tail, along the right side of the neck. Float Payne's Grey shading lengthwise on the scarf following the contour of the scarf. Deepen shading with Dioxazine Purple. Extend the scarf and add faint Cadmium Yellow + Snow White (1: touch) “v's” in a vertical row to represent a knitted stitch. When dry, add accents of Cadmium Orange to highlighted areas and Dioxazine Purple to shadow areas. Use a 10/0 liner to add Primary red fringe on each end of the scarf.

Sky Add different-sized, randomly spaced dots to the sky using Snow White. Float Ultra Blue Deep across the top and bottom of the sky areas. Fountain pen Coat the pen with extender. Use a #1 liner to add a Slate Grey highlight in the left center of the black area of the pen. Highlight the rings and nib with Snow White. Add the line and dot on the nib with Lamp Black. Top postcard Paint alternating, curving stripes of Snow White and Primary Red on the border using a small round brush. Base the holly leaves with Celery Green. Shade with Celery Green + Payne's Grey (5:1). Dry brush Celery Green + Light Buttermilk (2:1) above the curve on the larger side of each leaf. Add veins and stems using a liner and thinned Celery Green + Payne's Grey (1: touch). Highlight the vein with Snow White. Add holly berries with stylus dots of Primary Red. Touch a small Snow-White reflection dot on each berry with a stylus. Carte Postale postcard Add the lettering lines and design using a #10/0 and a #1 liner using thinned Burnt Umber. Base the arched stamp center with Winter Blue, the surrounding area with Ultra Blue Deep + Snow White (1: touch), and the border with Snow White. Use the #10/0 liner to add the tree with Payne's Grey + Snow White (1: touch). Use Snow White to add snow on the ground, outline the arch, add stripes and 5¢ in the upper left corner. Float Snow White + Lamp Black (1: touch) around the edges of the stamp. Add Snow White stylus dots around the edge of the white border. Striped postcard Base the large stripes with Celery Green. Outline either side of the green strip with thinned Primary Red. Background When all areas are dried, remove any visible tracing lines with the kneaded eraser. Coat the background with extender. Use a ¼" or ½" angle to float Burnt Umber shading around the pen, postcards and along the areas where one postcard shades another card. Mop. 22

Use the 3/4" angle to shade around the outer edge of the panel with Burnt Umber + Dioxazine Purple (1:1). This shading is very transparent and should be gradual. When dry, spatter the background using thinned Burnt Umber + Antique White (1: touch). Overlay & Scrolls Use the ¼" and ½" angles to shade the areas where the scrolls overlap the frame. Paint the scrolls with Aqua Sky.

Finishing Glue overlay to the back surface with wood glue. Binder clamps are useful to hold the two surfaces in position. Remove any glue seepage thoroughly with a wet brush and towel. Allow to dry. Following manufacturer’s instructions, apply several coats of Kamar Spray Varnish to finish the project.

Line art is at 100%

Original design by Susan V. Cochrane suecochrane@sympatico.ca I do find calla lilies so regal, a simple bloom with smooth, clean lines and drama. 25

Surface Ú 6 x 6 Deep Edge Gallerywrap Canvas, Item No. CNVD-66, www.royalbrush.com Project Supplies: Ú Usual Acrylic Tools Ú Miracle Compressed Sponges, 2 cut to 1” x 1” approx., www.dickblick.com Ú Removable Scotch Tape by 3M Paints: DecoArt Americana Acrylics Ú Laguna Ú Lamp Black Ú Mistletoe Green Ú Neutral Grey Ú Olive Green Ú Pistachio Mint Ú Royal Purple Ú Warm White

Specialty Products: DecoArt Ú Galaxy Glitter, Aqua Meteor Mediums: DecoArt Americana Ú Sealer/Finisher (Matte)

Brushes: Royal & Langnickel, Royal Majestic Paintbrushes Ú ½”, 5/8”, 1” Angular Shaders (Series R4160) Ú 5/0, 0 Liners (Series R4595) Ú 4,8,10,12 Shaders (Series R4150) General Instructions Erase transfer lines as you go. Dry thoroughly between all painting steps. Use separate water containers, one for acrylic paint and one for metallic paint. Use the tape for all straight lines. Seal the edges well. Wet the sponge using clean water, squeeze out all the water and blot it onto a tissue. Dab the sponge into the desired color and pounce it onto the palette to remove most, but not all, of the paint. Pounce onto the surface varying the pressure and direction. Clean the sponge between color changes or use fresh sponges. All floats are double loaded. When shading or highlighting, start with very sheer floats and gradually build up the color and intensity. Painting Instructions Apply one opaque coat of Pistachio Mint onto the front. Transfer the outline for the bloom and leaves. Leaves: Refer to Value Placement Guide on the Line Art Paint once with Mistletoe Green. Paint the veins with thin lines of Pistachio Mint. Float a blend of Mistletoe Green + touch of Lamp Black to shade (see 000 on the pattern) going in about ¼” to ½” in from the edges. Float once more in the same area. For the third float, float Mistletoe Green + Navy Blue (50/50 approx.) in the same area. For the fourth and fifth floats, float plain Navy Blue in the same areas. 26

To highlight, float a blend of Mistletoe Green + Olive Green (70/30 approx.) along the unshaded edges of leaves 1 and 2 and along the center vein of leaf 3. Extend a line of Mistletoe Green on the tip of leaves 1 and 2. Calla: Apply one light coat of Neutral Grey. Transfer the folds. Float Warm White to highlight the bottom of the bowl, the stem and on the curved edges of the folds. Repeat 3-4-5 times for good color. Extend the tip of the bloom with a line of Warm White. Float Royal Purple on the inside of the bowl, next to the folds and on the outer area of the bowl and tip. Repeat as necessary depending upon the intensity of the first float. Fade out the floats well. Float a very tiny hit of Lamp Black into the deepest area (see x on the pattern). Dry brush Warm White into the areas marked v v v on the pattern. This will help blend where the two colors meet. With thinned Lamp Black, faintly and partially line the edges of the flower and stem (see photo). Pistol: Dab with Olive Green once, dab again on the tip only. Float a very tiny hint of Lamp Black next to either side (see x on the pattern). Float Olive Green on the bottom of the bowl and down the stem. Float Mistletoe Green on the left side edge over the previous float. Border Sponge Laguna starting on the right side near the edge going a bit left, a bit right, up and down and diagonally moving the sponging gradually towards almost the middle area feathering it off. I make sure most of the paint is sponged off before I head to the middle area. Also, if helpful, lightly sponge Pistachio Mint into the edge where you left off with Laguna, overlapping the color to soften the transition. Your eye has to tell you when the blend is soft enough. Apply 2-3 floats of Navy Blue on the outside, right edge using the 5/8” or 1” Angular Shader or brush of choice. Apply one coat of Galaxy Glitter feathering it off. Transfer the letters and paint with Lamp Black. Dry brush the widest part of the letter with a touch of Warm White. Transfer and paint the swirl using Lamp Black. Finishing Following manufacturer’s instructions, spray with the Sealer/Finisher 2-3 times.

Line Art is at 100%

How to Go from Copycat to Creative Genius! By Linda Hollander Research has shown creative endeavors have calming effects on the brain and body. The brain releases dopamine, a natural antidepressant, and drives our motivation to explore and further boost creativity. Creativity reduces anxiety, stress, and lowers blood pressure. But what exactly IS creativity and how do I increase it? cre·a·tiv·i·ty (krŋŅ‫ޖ‬tivԥdŋ) noun: the use of the imagination or original ideas, especially in the production of an artistic work. Talent Vs. Creativity Some lucky souls are born with a God given natural ability …but creativity is something everyone has in varying quantities. Think back to your childhood and how a cardboard box magically became a fort or a castle. Two tin cans and a string became a telephone. Play and using your imagination came naturally. As you grew you up you realized that box couldn’t possibly be a castle and you began to lose the freedom to imagine. Adult thinking gets in the way of creativity. My Story As an artist, one of the most common questions I get is “where do you get all your ideas?” Painters and non-painters alike remark about how creative I am. There was a time many years ago that I did not think I had an ounce of creativity. In my early twenties I was bitten by the painting bug and used painting booklets written by Walter Foster to learn from. I did my best to copy the painting lessons in the books. It was at that time I had an opportunity to take private lessons from a wonderful artist, Natalie Solomon. When Natalie saw my paintings and the lesson books she remarked “my dear, you are a born copier!” My dreams were dashed. My excitement vanished. Natalie had confirmed what I feared all along…I did not have a creative brain cell in my head! I would be nothing more than a copycat painter! I soon lost interest in painting and other creative ventures that required imagination. Decades later I stumbled across decorative painting and fell madly in love! Here is an art that was made for a copycat I thought! Little did I know the journey I was embarking upon would take me full circle. As my painting skills improved, I began making small changes to magazine projects and pattern packets. I changed the color palettes, rearranged the design elements, and added my own touches here and there. Something wonderful began to happen! My creativity had sparked, and my imagination was blossoming. It started slowly at first. Confidence in myself grew which gave way to new ideas. I saw inspiration everywhere! I sold my painted wares at craft and began teaching decorative painting

Eventually I found myself taking the big step….I designed my own project from start to finish. It wasn’t exactly a masterpiece, but it was mine through and through and something to be proud of! You have the painting skills and probably more tools that you know what to do with…paints, brushes, stencils, gadgets, etc. Here are some tips to reawakening your creative mind: Get Inspired! Don’t wait for inspiration to strike…make it happen. Inspiration is everywhere! Nature, magazines, wallpaper, fabrics, vacation photos, fashion and more. Start an “idea folder” and fill it with photos, magazine clippings, wallpaper swatches, etc. Include your list of potential projects and review it now and then. Often inspiration strikes us at inconvenient times. Have you ever stirred in the middle of the night and had a brilliant idea only to have forgotten it by morning? Keep a notepad on your night table to jot it down. Brainstorming is an effective tool to get your creative juices flowing. Sit with paper and pen and let your mind wander on a topic. Make a list of every idea that comes into your head. Evaluate them and narrow down the list to what will work. Try something new. Research has shown that new experiences increase our creative capacity. Take a new route to work or try a new restaurant. Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/ is a great place to get ideas and keep them for future reference. Once you have an idea for a project Google Images is a great site to research it further. Relax Insight and ideas come easier when we are daydreaming, showering, taking a stroll, wakening from a dream, or watching a sunset. Capitalize on those creative flashes by jotting them down and keep a list. Refer to the list when you are stumped for a new idea. Accentuate the Positive If you think you can’t or you think you can…you are right! Ditch the negative self-statements. Change the narrative in your head from “I can’t” to “I can learn” or “I can try””. Your inner critic is your worst enemy! Negative self-statements lead to decreased motivation. Be objective about your work but not critical. Nothing kills creativity faster than negativity! Focus on the positive aspects of your project and analyze what you aren’t thrilled with. Ask a positive person to help you see where we need to make changes. Sometimes we are too close to our work and cannot see the forest for the trees. Can’t draw a stick figure???

Most people cannot draw a straight line or a perfect circle. Use tools like rulers, T-squares, and compasses. Consider taking a drawing class or buy an instructional book and teach yourself the basics. It’s not rocket science! Websites such as Shutterstock offers copyright free photos and images of just about any subject you can imagine. Some are free to download, and others are just a few dollars. Print them off and make a tracing of the design. Choosing a Color Palette Invest in a color wheel and grey scale value finder. Learn how to use them. There are You Tube videos and books to help you understand color theory. Learning some basics will have a positive effect on your designing.

If you are using Americana acrylics, DecoArt.com offers very helpful color charts such as https://decoart.com/resources/Americana_Shading_And_Highlighting_Chart.pdf and charts to mix obsolete colors. These charts are wonderful tools to help take some of the guesswork out of designing and shopping for paint. Start Small and Simple Choose a subject matter you love and that you have had success painting in the past. Use techniques that you have mastered. Choose a limited color palette and a simple design to increase the chance you will be happy with your results. Paint on scrap wood or heavy paper at first to take the worry out of messing up on a special surface. Art pads are available for all types of mediums from watercolor, to oil, to acrylic, and more! They great to have on hand when inspiration strikes! As a bonus they are generally acid free and can be framed. Just dive into it and throw some paint around…think with your hands! You might just surprise yourself! Once you have built self confidence move onto more complicated designs. Small successes will help build your confidence and open the floodgates to your creativity. Before you know it, you’ll be showing friends and family your projects and saying “look at what I made”!

Consider collaborating with a creative friend. Two heads are better than one! 32

Accept that frustration is inevitable! You will undoubtedly experience a stumbling block in creating a new design. Take a step back and return to the project later. Later can be in a few minutes or weeks…don’t force the creative process. Often you will figure out a solution while you are not focused on the project. Research has shown walking is important to creative thinking. Perhaps this is why many of us pace when we are trying to solve a problem? Share your work! Don’t hide your work out of fear that others won’t appreciate it. Remember you are your own worst critic. Take that big step and show your creation off. Focus on the positive feedback you receive. Nothing encourages you to keep creating more than genuine compliments. Try selling your art at a craft show or online. Entering it in the county fair for an additional boost of self-confidence. You will be floating on air after selling your first piece or see that blue ribbon on your creation! Want a serious dose of dopamine? Submit your project to a painting or craft magazine for consideration! Editors are always looking for new artists to contribute to their publications. Consult the magazine’s website for their submission guidelines and follow then closely. Give the editor a week or more to reply. Do not be discouraged by a no…it happens to all designers. Some editors will give you constructive feedback as to why your project wasn’t chosen. Perhaps they have already accepted a similar project, or your project doesn’t fit into their theme. Checking the magazines website for the editorial calendar will give you a framework to design by. What if the answer is a resounding YES!!! Just imagine how exciting it would be to know your project will grace the pages of a magazine or ezine! Contact Linda at paintingfool@live.com

Two designs that previously appeared in the 2020 Pixelated Palette

Original Design by Pam Bock When I was 12 years old my church youth group decided to make hard mint candy to raise money for needy children in our community. Making this candy quickly became an annual tradition. Years later, I continued the tradition with my children. I fondly remember how my dearest friend Roxanne would come over on a Saturday. She and I would spend the day making candy and sharing laughter. I lost this dear friend when she was only 35. Thankfully, my precious daughter stepped in to help me cut up the candy. Now my daughter is married with three children of her own and they make the candy every year too! We have family and friends who look forward to receiving this delicious candy every year. It’s hard to believe that I have been making this candy for over 50 years. 35

Surface Art Minds Glass Ornament (3 in a package) diameter approx. 4” Supplies: Usual Acrylic Tools Blue Painter’s Tape Laurie Speltz Stencil BCS235 Gingerbread X-Acto knife or single edge razor blade Make-up sponges Cotton Swabs Window cleaner Alcohol Paints: DecoArt: Americana Gloss Enamels DAG230 Festive Green DAG265 Tuscan Red DAG01 White DAG36 True Blue Specialty Paints: DecoArt Glamour Dust Ultra Fine Glitter Paint DGD09 Ice Crystal Brushes and Tools: Royal & Langnickel: Embossing and Stylus set Moderna All Media Chisel Blend 2 (M77CB-2), 10/0 liner (M77L) Preparation Tape pattern on back of ornament so that you can see it through the glass. To remove any oils or fingerprints, wipe front of glass piece with a bit of alcohol on a lint free cloth. Gumdrops I cut the stencil so that it was easier to work with. Position stencil using blue painter’s tape. Load a makeup sponge with a mix 1:3 of Tuscan Red and True Blue. Tap off excess off on wax palette and gently dab sponge on cut out of stencil. Do not continue to dab while paint is wet or you will lift the paint. Dry with a hair dryer, let cool to room temperature. If necessary, to achieve opaque coverage, apply a second coat using the same method. Dry again and the proceed. Load chisel blender with Ice Crystal and paint over the purple gumdrop. Load the liner brush with white and add the icing on the top of each gumdrop. Candy Canes I cut the stencil so that it was easier to work with. Position stencil using blue painters’ tape and sponge in White. You may need two coats. Load the liner brush with Tuscan Red and paint in stripes. Corner load the blender brush with Tuscan Red and shade the candy cane. Load liner with white and add highlight in middle of candy cane.

Spearmint Chews Position circle stencil and using the same loading and dabbing technique, sponge in Festive Green. May need to do it twice. Load liner brush with White and fill in tree and then make circle around tree. Load the small stylus with Festive Green and dot all around the circle. Garland Load medium ball stylus with White and make “polliwog” strokes between each of the candies. Final Touches Since you are working on clear glass you can clean up any unwanted paint by spraying window cleaner on a Q-tip. You can also remove any paint oops by gently scratching the paint away with the small end of the ball stylus.

Happy Painting! Contact Pam Bock at pam.bock99@yahoo.com

Pam Bock’s HARD CANDY RECIPE Ingredients 1 Cup 1/3 Cup ½ Cup ¼ teaspoon Powdered sugar

granulated sugar Light corn syrup COLD water LorAnn oil (www.LorAnnoils.com) (Optional)

Miscellaneous supplies Small Saucepan Candy Thermometer Assorted Food colorings Scissors Pam Spray Platter Candy Colors Red Cinnamon Blue Peppermint Green Wintergreen Yellow Clove Purple Spearmint

Combine sugar, corn syrup and water in saucepan. Stir over medium heat until sugar dissolves. Insert candy thermometer and bring mixture to Soft Crack (280 degrees). Remove from heat and immediately add oil and 4 drops of food coloring. Mix thoroughly and avoid rising steam when stirring. Pour syrup on to greased platter. Wait approximately 2 minutes (it will be very warm) and start to lift the edge and cut into bite size pieces. Keep cutting around the outside edges until you have finished. You will need to work quickly. Store in an airtight container. Optional: Dust with powdered sugar.

Giuly Original Design by Elisabetta De Maria, CDA elidemaria67@tiscali.it

Dearest painting friends, I introduce you to Giuly, a small mixed breed dog. I am very fond of Giuly's owners and it was a great joy for me to paint her. In the photos you can see my bandaged hand .. yes .. I underwent an operation on my right hand but ... I didn't stop! I hope you like it!….Happy Painting my friends!

Surface Sheet pastelmat 30 x 40 Brown Supplies: Enlarged Picture Of Dog For Reference Color Photo Graphite Paper Hb2 Pencil Eraser Pencil Sharpener for Crayons Paper Napkins, Blending Stump (Smudge) Pastel Pencils: All are aavailable at DickBlick.com Stabilo CarbOthello Pastel Pencils 100 Titanium White 105 Ivory 210 Orange Yellow 215 Indian Yellow 585 Olive Green 610 Raw Umber 615 Dark Ochre 620 Burnt Ochre 625 Burnt Umber 635 Bister 642 Caput Mortuum Violet Light Caran d’ache Pastel Pencils 009 Blackx 036 Raw Sienna 042 Fleshx 044 Terracotta 046 Cassel Earthx 047 Bistrex 068 Herculanum Redx 093 Violet Gray 408 Dark Sepiax 541 Light Flesh 5 542 Light Flesh 10x 741 Dark flesh 5x 745 Dark Flesh 40x 746 Dark Flesh 50 748 Dark Flesh 802 French Gray 10 901 Chinese Whitex

655 670 675 680 681 704 706 708 720 726 750

English Red Deep Burnt Sienna French Red Ochre Dark Flesh Tint Flesh Tint Light Gray 3 Gray 4 Gray 5 Cold Gray 1 Cold Gray 4 Neutral Black

Bruynzeel Design Colored Pencils 27 Yellow Ochre Pastelli Derwent TC18 Peat TC07 Lavender Pastelli Contè a Paris 617 Sepia 618 Sanguine Medicis Soft

Pastel Rembrant 409,8 Burnt Umber Pastelli Blockx 761 Reddish Grey

Tips For each job always start on the left side and continue to the right: (left-handed people will work on the contrary) This is to avoid dirtying the work with the hand. Use paper towels to protect an area in case you have to work on a part already painted. This will prevent removing the color or dirtying with your hand. Always follow the growth direction of the fur. You can use your fingers to blend the colors. Always have sharp pencils. Let’s Paint After placing the photo on the pastelmat, place the sheet of graphite paper in the middle, graphite side down. With a pencil or stylus trace over all the guidelines, contours and details. Place the colored photo next to your sheet so you can check all the step by step details. Eyes As I explained earlier, it is preferable to start with the left eye (looking at the front photo). With the Carbothello n 750 (Black) crayon draw the shape of the pupil and fill the interior with the same color. With the same color, outline the shape of the eye. Work the inside of the eye with Derwent TC07 crayon and overlay Carbothello no. 585. Darken with Caran D’ache 046 and 408 and light with 615. Blend with the smudge. Make the highlight with Carbothello 100. Outline the black part around the eye with Carbothello 708. 704, 720 and Caran D’ache 093. Fur Remember to always follow the direction of the fur. I always use many colors to create shades so you should keep the colors listed below in your hand or at hand.

Fig 1

Work the fur in the dark corner of the left eye with Derwent TC18, Carbothello 625 and 635. Paint dark lines with Caran D’ache 408 and light lines with 093. See Fig 1 Work the light part under the eye with Caran D’ache 745, 746 and 542. 41

Work the orange spot over the eye with Carbothello 620, 680 and lighten with Caran D’ache 741 and 542. Paint the black hairs above the eye with Carbothello 750. Continue with Caran D’ache 745 and light with Carbothello 105. Shade with Carbothello 708 and Caran D’ache 093. Paint light hair with Caran D’ache 542, Carbothello 105 and 100. Darken the orange spot with Carbothello 675, 670 and 625. Illuminate with Carbothello 105. Now work the light part in the order of the listed colors: Caran D’ache 542, Carbothello 680, 620, Caran D’ache 541, Carbothello 105, Caran D’ache 542, 541 and Carbothello 100. Blend with your fingers. Illuminate with Caran D’ache n 042 and Chinese White. Fig 2 Paint the dark spot on the forehead with Carbothello 620, 680, Caran D’ache 741 and 542. Darken with Carbothello 670 and lighten with Caran D’ache 042. Now illuminate more with Caran D’ache 542 and continue towards the top. See Fig 2 Now overlap Carbothello 105, 620, 675, 680, Caran D’ache 541 and Carbothello 100. Continue until you get the desired result. Give a touch of Bruynzeel 27 and finish with Caran D’ache Chinese White. Ear Start from the left ear by painting the dark hairs first with Carbothello 625. Continue with Bruynzeel 27, Carbothello 675, 620 and Caran D’ache 741. Work the dark hairs with Carbothello 610 and brighten the light hairs with Caran D’ache 741. Give a touch of Carbothello 215, 210, Caran D’ache 542 and 541. Work the dark parts again with Contè a Paris 618 and 617. Blend with your fingers. Make dark hairs with Caran D’ache 748 and light hairs with Carbothello 680. Give a touch of Carbothello 655. 42

Start painting the background with Caran D’ache 802. Now, using the same colors, paint the right eye. Work the upper part with Carbothello 620, 680 and Caran D’ache 741. Darken with Carbothello 670 and continue working with Caran D’ache 745, 748 and Derwent TC18. Illuminate with Carbothello 105 and Caran D’ache 542. Blend with your fingers. Continue to work with Caran D’ache 541 and Carbothello 100. See Fig 3

Fig 3 Paint the dark spots on the right side of the head in the following sequence: Carbothello 620, 680, Caran D’ache 741, 542, 047, Carbothello 675, 670, 625. Illuminate with Carbothello 105, Caran D’ache 042 and finish with Carbothello 100. Work again with Carbothello 670, 655 and 620. Illuminate further with Carbothello 215. Work the inner corner of the eye with Caran D’ache 408 and Carbothello 750. Illuminate with Caran D’ache 042 and Chinese White. (See Fig 4)

Fig 4 Paint the outer edge of the muzzle with Carbothello 620, 680, Caran D’ache 741 and Carbothello 670. Nose Paint the nostrils and the center line with Carbothello 750. Working the nose with Caran D’ache 046 and 093. The pink part is painted with Caran D’Ache n 044, 068 and Carbothello n 642. The part under the nostrils is painted with Caran D’Ache n 746 and shaded with Carbothello n 635.

Fig 5

Highlight the nose with Caran D’Ache n 036. Continue to work over the nose with Fig 5 Carbothello no. 635. Highlight under the nostrils with Carbothello n 726. Now, very lightly and with little touches, work with Caran D’Ache n 408 and 009, create the veins. Highlight with Caran D’Ache Chinese White. Work with touches of Caran D’ache 036, Carbothello 670 and 625. See Fig 5

Paint the blemish on the nose in the following sequence: Carbothello 642, Caran D’ache 093, 047, Carbothello 625, 726. Light with Carbothello 100 and darken with Caran D’ache 009. Give a few more touches with Carbothello 642. Paint the fur on the muzzle using Caran D’ache 542, Carbothello 680, 620, Caran D’ache 541, Carbothello 105, Caran D’ache 542, 541, Carbothello 100 and Caran D’ache 042. Blend with your fingers.

Fig 6

Paint dark hair with Carbothello 670. Work again with Carbothello 680 and finish with Caran D’ache Chinese White. Work the part under the nose with Carbothello 708.

Paint the hair with Carbothello 100 and 750. With Carbothello 750 paint the spots on the mustache and illuminate with Caran D’ache Chinese White. See Fig 6 Paint the hair under the eye with the following sequence: Carbothello 620, 680, Caran D’ache 741, Carbothello 625, Caran D’ache 542, 042 and Carbothello 670. Darken with Caran D’ache 046 and 408. Pick up the hair under the right eye with Caran D’ache 009. Right ear Work the first inner part of the ear with Carbothello 625, 620, 680 and Caran D’ache 741. Illuminate with Caran D’ache 542. Reinforce the dark parts with Caran D’ache 046 and Contè a Paris 617. Work the outer part of the right ear by painting the dark hairs first with Carbothello 625. Continue with Bruynzeel 27, Carbothello 675, 620 and Caran D’ache 741. Work dark hair with Carbothello 610 and brighten light hair with Caran D’ache 741 and 042. Give a touch of Carbothello 215, 210, Caran D’ache 542 and 541. Work the dark parts again with Contè a Paris 618 and 617. Fig 7 and 8

Fig 7

Fig 8

Blend with your fingers. Make dark hairs with Caran D’ache 748 and light hairs with Carbothello 680. Give a touch of Carbothello 655. Body Paint the hair under the mouth with Carbothello 620 and the light hair with Caran D’ache 542. Continue with Carbothello 680, Caran D’ache 741, Carbothello 625, Caran D’ache 542 and 042. Blend with your fingers. Continue with Caran D’ache 047 and Carbothello 615. Darken with Contè a Paris 618, Caran D’ache 748 r 408. 47

Lighten with Caran D’ache 068, 745, 042 and 541. Paint the mustache with Carbothello 726. Continue to paint the dog's body using Caran D’ache 542 and continue with Bruynzeel 27, Carbothello 625, 620, 680, Caran D’ache 741 and Carbothello 625.

Fig 9

Illuminate with Caran D’ache 542, Carbothello 681, Caran D’ache 542 and 541. Paint some dark hair with Carbothello 625. Paint the light tufts of the back with Caran D’ache 542 and continue with Carbothello 620 and 680. Continue using Caran D’ache 542 again and reinforce with Carbothello 620, 675, 670 and 625. (See Fig 9) Illuminate with Caran D’ache 541. Work the lower back with Carbothello 100, 620 and 105. Blend with your fingers. Continue to work with Carbothello 620, 625 and 105. Pick up the dark parts with Carbothello 680, Caran D’ache 047, 068, 542, 042 and Carbothello 670. Background Work the background with Caran D’ache 802, Rembrandt 409.8 and Blockx 761. Blend with your fingers. To protect your work, place it in a glass frame. Have fun! Elisabetta

Enlarge as necessary for your surface

53 10

I’ll Start My Diet After Christmas! Original Design by Sandy Kelsey sk51263@aol.com Holidays and sweet treats seem to go (dare I say it??) hand to mouth! Inspiration for this goodies lovin’ Teddy Bear comes from the adorable, mohair bears created by Roxanne Prop, artist extraordinaire!! Find her latest creation at Bearpawsbyroxanne.bigcartel.com. Surface: x 7x14” Dome Plaque SKU #31-L452 from Cupboard Distributing Supplies: x Standard Acrylic Tools x Ornate Layering Stencil, Tim Holtz #THS076 x Chris’s Painter’s Pal #29-24747, from Cupboard Distributing Paints: DecoArt Americana x Baby Blue x Blue Harbor x Desert Cactus x Sweet Mint x Black Forest Green x Antique Gold x Slate Grey x Payne’s Grey x Trad. Burnt Sienna x Lamp Black x Alizarin Crimson x Royal Fuchsia x Light Orchid

x x x x x x x

Bleached Sand Titanium White Frosted Plum Sable Brown Khaki Tan Asphaltum Bittersweet Chocolate

Dazzling Metallics x Rich Espresso Galaxy Glitter x Clear Ice Comet

Mediums: DecoArt x Glazing Medium x All Purpose Sealer x Dura-Clear Matte Varnish Brushes: x ¼ and ½ inch angled shader x #1 and #5 Round x 10/0 Liner

x x x

½ inch flat or filbert for base coating Small and medium drybrush Medium Mop

The Background Basecoat the outside edges of the front of the plaque with Desert Cactus and the center with Baby Blue. Use a mop brush to blend the edges of the two colors together. Allow to dry completely before stenciling. Position the stencil over the Baby Blue area, using Desert Cactus, stencil over the Baby Blue areas. Toward the edges, line up the pattern and stencil randomly over the Desert Cactus with Blue Harbor. Line up the stencil and do the same with Black Forest Green. Drybrush sheer patches of Baby Blue, Blue Harbor, Sweet Mint and Black Forest Green all over the background. The stencil pattern will fade away in areas, which is what you want it to do. If you are not happy with an area, drybrush Baby Blue over the area, then restencil with Desert Cactus. When completely dry, load a ½ angle shader with Blue Harbor and float randomly around the edge. Then do the same with Black Forest Green. Lightly transfer the horizon line. Moving from left to right, use a ½” angle shader to float Black Forest Green above horizon line. Mop to soften. Overall, the background should be soft and colorful. Transfer only the main pattern lines - leave out face details, sweater and shirt detail, cookie frosting, and lollipop pattern. Trace the letters as shown. With the ½ inch angle, float around the design, (excluding the lollipop) with random, sheer floats of Black Forrest Green and Harbor Blue. Basecoats: I use a large round brush (largest possible for the space) and a solid paint color. To prevent ridges, always start in the middle of an area and feather the paint towards the edges. Basecoat areas as follows: Bear Head, Paws and Feet – Sable Brown Sweater – Blue Harbor Striped Shirt – Bleached Sand Cookie – Sable Brown Cupcake (not frosting or wrapper) – Traditional Burnt Sienna Frosting – Bleached Sand Cupcake Wrapper – Light Orchid Cherries – Royal Fuchsia Penguin – Dark Area- Lamp Black, Light Area – Slate Grey, Feet- Antique Gold Scarf – Dark Area – Blue Harbor, Light Area – Baby Blue Wrapped Chocolate Candy – Paint in sections of Slate Grey Transfer the remainder of the pattern excluding the Lollipop, cherries and penguin and bear facial features. Washes: Achieve washes by using Glazing Medium. The way I use this medium is to dip my shader in Glazing Medium, swish it a couple times in water, blot on a paper towel than load the brush for a float. 56

Floated Highlights and Shading: Sideload an angle shader on the toe end of the brush and stroke onto your palette until an ombre blend is achieved. Paint against the edge as instructed. The Cupcake Frosting: Shade the layers of frosting 2 times with Khaki Tan. You want the shaded floats to be strong, so they show through the glitter added later. Highlight with Bleached Sand. Where the highlights are in the middle of a frosting row, pat the highlight in. Cherries: Base with Royal Fuchsia. Add a tiny Alizarin Crimson “cup” for the base of the cherry stems. Shade the left bottoms with Alizarin Crimson and highlight on the right with Light Orchid. Add a shine spot with Titanium White.

Details: With Bittersweet Chocolate, add chocolate chips and cherry stems. Use a small drybrush to add a strip of Antique Gold in the middle. Drybrush until the Antique gold looks bright and the Traditional Burnt Sienna looks like shading. Use Titanium White to highlight the points on the cupcake wrapper. Use the chisel edge of a ¼ inch shader to add Titanium White lines to represent the folds. Use the ¼ shader to float along the bottom and sides with Frosted Plum. Add a few small soft lines of Frosted Plum between some of the white folds on the cupcake wrapper. Glitter will be added later. Beary Happy Bear Striped Shirt: Add water to Slate Grey to make an inky puddle. Using a liner brush paint the stripes. (Tip: to create the thicker lines, paint the outside stripes and fill them in) Shade with Slate Grey under the bear’s head, the cuffs, along both sides of the right sleeve and in a “V” area on the left and above the forearm bend. Also shade the along the bottom below the sweater. Shade cuffs with Khaki Tan. Use a dry brush to add Titanium White between the stripes. Float Titanium White on the right forearm below the bend and at the top of both cuffs. Float Titanium White along the

bottom edge of the shirt (under the sweater). Take Payne’s Grey and darken the shade under the bear’s head and along the inside of the left arm (against the sweater) Vest Add approximately 2 drops of water to a dime sized puddle of Baby Blue. Use a liner brush to paint sheer lines on the sweater and fill them in. Use Titanium White to add the saying to his sweater. Use a drybrush lightly loaded with Titanium to add highlights above the 1st “F”, above the cookie, and in a line below the word “Fabulous”. Paint a border to of Harbor Blue across the entire bottom of the sweater. Float Payne’s Grey along the top of that border. Add a thin float of Payne’s Grey under the bear’s head, along the inside right arm, around the cookie – excluding the area that meets with the writing. Pants: Float a shade along the edges and then outline with Burnt Umber. Let dry then drybrush lightly above the knees with Bleached Sand. Let dry then reapply till the preferred level of brightness is achieved. His Sugar Cookie: Use a small drybrush and add Antique Gold in the middle of the cookie edges. Paint the frosting with Sweet Mint. Use Bleached Sand to add a contoured line around the outside of the frosting. Water down Black Forest Green and add tiny spots to the frosting. Now use the stylus to add Royal Fuchsia dots on top of the dark green. Glitter will be added later. Beary Happy Bear: Be sure and refer to the direction guide when painting fur Note, his face, paws and feet are all painted using the same method and colors. Using the chisel edge of a ¼ angle shader and Bittersweet Chocolate, pull fur from the inside out around the head, starting on the right side to underneath the left cheek. Do the same inside the right ear and on the left ear where the ear meets the head. Add dark fur around the outside of the muzzle and around the eyes. Add Khaki Tan fur lines over the Sable Brown basecoat. When dry, add a wash of Asphaltum over the painted area. Reapply Khaki Tan fur lines in the area where the fur is lighter in the photo. Wash the Khaki Lines with Sable Brown. Switch to a liner brush and add short Khaki Tan lines between the eyes. Using the liner pull accent fur in Bleached Sand in the lightest areas. Use the same steps on the muzzle. Be sure to pull some fur lines over the dark shaded areas. 58

Facial Details: Transfer and basecoat the nose, pupils, and bear’s lip with Lamp Black. Base the whites of the eyes with Slate Grey. Add a Titanium White shine across the center (like a smile). Paint the Iris with Traditional Burnt Sienna. Add a “smile” to that area with Antique Gold. Paint around the entire eye with Lamp Black. Using a ¼ angled shader brush, add a narrow float around the eye excluding the cheek area. Do the same around the Black nose. Use the liner to add thin Titanium White highlights in the areas shown. Then use the stylus to add the shine spots. Add a shine line to the bear’s bottom lip. Paint the Teeth with Slate Grey then add Titanium White to the center of each tooth. To add a shine to the nose, lightly dampen an area near the top of the nose. Dry your liner brush, then lightly dip into the Titanium White paint. Run the brush over a paper towel a couple of times to remove most the paint, then add a translucent line across the nose. Use the stylus to add a shine spot. Paint the inside of the bear’s mouth with Royal Fuchsia. While the paint is wet, add a tiny bit of Light Orchid to lighten the center. Use the same technique on the paws and feet. Float Bittersweet chocolate to indicate the separation between the toes. Paint the toe pads with Lamp Black and float a highlight with Titanium White.

The Penguin: Use your larger dry brush to create a large soft Titanium White highlight in the center of his belly. Continue to drybrush a smaller and smaller circle until the very center is totally white. Now use your ¼ inch shader to create a narrow shadow around the outside of the belly and under his scarf. Load the same shader and add a highlight of Blue Harbor around the outside left side of his little body, where his flipper turns up, and along the top of his head. Add large Titanium White dots to all 4 sections of the scarf. Use the stylus to add small Antique Gold Spots. Outline the light blue section with Harbor Blue. Shade the dark blue sections with Payne’s Grey where it touches the Bear’s pants, under the light blue section of the scarf and the triangle between the two light blue sections. The head is created the same way as the belly. Re-shade around the face keeping the right side a little darker (it is shadowed by the bear) Carefully transfer the facial features. If your transfer isn’t correctly placed, gently erase, and reapply. Paint the eyes Lamp Black and add a Titanium shine spot with your stylus. The beak is Antique Gold on the top and Sable Brown on the bottom. Shade underneath with a light wash of Slate Grey. The left leg is Antique Gold with Sable Brown shading under the body and along the right side. The tiny right leg is Sable Brown. The Lollipop circle is stenciled in using the Painter’s Tool. Add the red stripes using Alizarin Crimson. Apply as many coats needed to make it solid. Use a liner with Titanium White to add the shine line as shown. Use your Painter’s Tool to draw a line with your pencil from the center of the bottom of the Lollipop to the bend in the flipper and a little beyond. Paint that with Burnt Umber. Add a dot at the end with your stylus. Wrapped Candy Highlight the sections with Titanium White as shown. Repeat until the float is a sheer bright white. Use a liner to make a solid Titanium White line down each highlighted section. Float a soft shade of Payne’s Grey along the bottom. The flag is Royal Fuchsia shaded with Alizarin Crimson. Glitter is added at the end.

Letters Use a liner brush and Rich Espresso to paint over the letters. Use the Painter’s Tool and a pencil if your lines are not straight. When finished use the liner to add a Lamp Black shadow to the underside of the letters (as shown on the pattern) Glitter accents Use a small round brush to add a thick layer of glitter to the cupcake and cookie frosting. I use a patting method. Add glitter to the left side of each section of candy, over the white highlight. Let dry and add additional glitter until the desired level of pizzazz is achieved! Finishing Using a sponge brush apply a layer of Matt or Semi-Gloss varnish. Tip: rock the bottle do not shake to avoid air bubbles. Varnish around the glittered areas. A shiny varnished project doesn’t photograph well so take your pictures first! Paint the back and sides of the plaque with Black Forrest Green. You can also add glitter to the back over the green. I added a glittery silver ribbon to hang and it’s finished.

Line Art is at 100%

By Sharon Bond “In preparation for this month’s project, I was thinking about things that were trending right now! I also wanted a ‘winter’ type project as well, so what’s better than Gnomes AND red trucks?! (And a cute Gnome Puppy too, of course!) They could come to my house to remove snow anytime! Haha! - I tried to limit the amount of colors used and with the help of a couple of stencils; this was really a fun project to do!” Copyright © 2020 Painted by Me, Sharon B - Photocopying or mechanical reproduction is strictly prohibited. May be painted for fun or profit, but no mass production . 64

Surface: x Mid Gas Pump Sign – Available from www.cdwood.com – Item # 31-L584 Project Supplies: x Ultra-fine Permanent Black Marker – (Such as an Ultra-fine Sharpie, available at most stores!) ----OR-----x Black PITT Artist Pen, Superfine and/or an Extra Superfine by Faber-Castell (for even finer lines.) (I would suggest two sizes for this project, such as an Ultra-fine Sharpie and also a finer lined marker.) x Scotch’s Magic Tape or Painters Tape (Optional but helpful!) x Tim Holtz’s Speckles Layering Stencil – Available from www.cdwood.com – Item # 0960741 x Tim Holtz’s Woodland Stencil – Available from www.cdwood.com – Item # 09-05281 x Ordinary Ruler (Optional but helpful!) x Miscellaneous wire or ribbon to create a hanger (Optional) All Paints are Americana Acrylics from DecoArt: x Antique Maroon x x Blue Haven x x Cocoa x x Espresso x x Evergreen x x Lamp Black x x Leaf Green x x Moody Blue x

Neutral Grey Primary Red Rookwood Red Sand Grey Snow White Victorian Blue Warm Beige Warm White

Specialty Items by DecoArt: x Americana’s Matte Spray Finisher x Americana DuraClear Gloss Varnish (optional) x DecoArt Glamour Dust Glitter Paint – Ice Crystal (optional) Brushes: x Angle Shader ¼” x Angle Shader 3/8” x Flat Shader #6 x Glaze/Wash Brush ¾” x Round # 2 x Script Liner 10/0 Other Brushes from Cupboard Distributing: x #4 Oval Drybrush – Jo Sonja’s Sure Touch – Item # 03-2010-4 x #6 Oval Drybrush – Jo Sonja’s Sure Touch – Item # 03-2010-6 x #8 Oval Drybrush – Jo Sonja’s Sure Touch – Item # 03-2010-8 x Chris’s SPECTACULAR Stencil Brush – Item # 03-926-4 Tip: Anytime during the instructions if I mention to “finely outline” something in Black you can choose whether you want to thin your Black paint and use a liner brush to outline or simply use 65

a Black marker! Also keep in mind when I mention basecoating something with ‘two coats’ of one particular color, it’s always best to let the first coat dry before adding the second coat! This helps tremendously with your coverage! Preparation: Basecoat the entire plaque with two coats of Blue Haven and let dry. Lightly trace (just the) basic main outline of the design (no details at all yet, at this point, this is more for our background and placement!) Painting Instructions: Snow – Basecoat all the Snow areas with two coats of Warm White. Let dry. I wanted to deepen the ‘look’ of the snow and give it a bit of texture, so once the basecoats had dried, I took an old stencil brush (or an old drybrush would work too) and ‘pounced’ on a layer of Warm White on top of the snow areas that had dried. Let this completely dry, then randomly drybrush Snow White here and there to work more as a bit of a highlight. Shade across the top of the snow (against the sky) and the hill’s crease in the snow with Blue Haven. Clouds – Float/shade a few clouds across the sky background with Sand Grey and let dry. Brighten by shading again across the top of your first grey float with Warm White. y Road – Basecoat the road with two coats of Neutral Grey and let dry. Randomly pounce on the following colors to give your road a bit of texture and the look of a gravel or dirtt road! x Start by pouncing Espresso x Then pounce on Cocoa x Also pounce with Sand Grey x Use Neutral Grey at any time to help blend (before or after any color) Let this dry. At that point you can touch up any snow areas (if needed) with Warm White. Once this has dried, you may wish to tape off a bit around your road before we proceed with stenciling. ly Position your Speckles stencil (very) randomly here and there over the road area and stencil with Sand Grey. You can stencil as little or as much as you like. Using this stencil makes thee road ed with look like it has little gravel pieces lightly dusted snow! 66

Shade along the inside edges of the road with Neutral Grey. Shade along the outside edges of the road with Sand Grey (a bit of that ‘dirty snow look’!) Pine Trees – Locate your placement to start stenciling your trees and secure your stencil in place. Do one tree at a time, (they are done exactly in the same manner), going from left to right. (Large tree, small tree, large tree.) Stencil your first layer with Evergreen. You will most likely need to let this coat dry and then stencil again with Evergreen for the best coverage. Once you have your Evergreen applied and dried; randomly stencil (or lightly pounce) a bit of Leaf Green here and there and let dry. If this color appears too bold, simply add a bit of Evergreen back into your brush and stencil over it a bit to help blend. Stencil the one tree trunk with Espresso. Once your green area has dried, reposition your stencil and line up the overlay of the snow part of the stencil. Stencil the snow with Warm White. You may also need to apply a couple of coats for complete coverage but remember to let one coat dry before stenciling on another! Red Truck – Before you start basecoating your truck, you may want to use your tape to tape off some of the straighter-lined areas of the truck (such as, across the top of the bed, the step-board, around the far fender, etc…) This is just a quick step to help ease your mind while basecoating (knowing you don’t have to worry about getting any red into your snow areas or sky!) Basecoat your truck with two coats of an equal mix of Rookwood Red and Primary Red. Please don’t worry about this needing to be an “exact” mix or that mixing additional paint that you may need matches ‘perfectly’! This is just our basecoat and we will be drybrushing over it. Besides, it’s an old truck, have you ever seen one where the paint was exact?! Haha! - Once this has dried, you can trace on the truck’s details (although, do not trace on the truck’s mirror, the lettering on the fender or the door’s snow sign just yet!) Now that you can see the truck’s lines for the fenders, etc…, drybrush around those areas with Primary Red (alone). Let that dry. Continue to use the same brush and add a bit of Honey Brown. Drybrush with this just as a highlight. I decided to tone mine down, so I added a bit of Primary Red back into my brush and drybrushed again to help it blend. Let dry. Shade around certain sections of the truck with Antique Maroon (behind the headlights, above the fender lines, around the door, etc…) We will continue by painting the tires. Start by basecoating the tread part of the tires first with two coats of Neutral Grey. Shade around the right side of the tread with Black. Basecoat the main part of the tires with Black. Once these have dried, drybrush lightly with Neutral Grey. Once that has dried, trace on the rims/hubcaps. The main ‘rim’ is based with two coats of an equal 50/50 mix of Rookwood Red and Primary Red. Once these have dried, highlight the top right-hand side with Primary Red. 67

Center hubcap is based with two coats of Neutral Grey. Once dry, drybrush with Sand Grey to highlight. “Curved shadow” behind the rims are painted in Black. The ‘tire well’ – the area under the truck’s fenders – is basecoated solidly in Antique Maroon. Finishing up other areas on the truck! Basecoat the headlights, front bumper and side step-board solidly in Sand Grey. Once dry, drybrush with Warm White. The oval trim around the headlights are done with Neutral Grey. Once dry, outline them finely in Black. Name plate across the front of the hood is based solidly in Neutral Grey. The tiny area (small section) between the front bumper and the truck’s grill is based solidly in Neutral Grey. For the grill on the front of the truck – the area behind the grill’s bars is based in Black. Once dry, drybrush lightly with Neutral Grey. The grill’s bars are based solidly with Neutral Grey. Once dry, wet brush a few strokes of thinned Sand Grey across the bars to highlight. Finely outline all in Black. The wood strip across the top of the truck’s bed and the wooden bumpers on the back of the truck are all basecoated with Espresso. Let dry. Highlight these same areas by wet-brushing with a few strokes of thinned Cocoa. Finely outline all in Black when dry. Taillight is finely outlined in Black first then filled in (or ‘dip-dotted’) with Primary Red. The steering wheel is done in Black. Sign (for the truck’s door) – Once you have outlined your door sign (a ruler is a big help for this!) I suggest taping off around it so you can keep your edges nice and neat! Basecoat the sign with two coats of Honey Brown and let dry. Drybrush with Warm Beige. Drybrush again to highlight (mainly in the center) with Warm White. Shade around the inside edges of the sign with Espresso and let dry. Lettering on the sign is done in Black (I used a Black marker). I added the ‘dots’ on the sign with Black paint. Lettering (on the fender) – If you happen to have a White Gel Pen you could do the lettering with this, if you wish. I thinned Warm White paint and used my liner brush to add the lettering. I did not intend to finely outline it in Black, but once I had finished, I realized I had spelled ‘Gnome’ wrong (it was late!) Without starting over, I was able to correct it with the help of outlining it.

This is not necessary to do, but of course you can finely outline it with your Black marker if you wish! Shovels – Both of the shovels are done almost exactly the same. If you wish, you can always tape off around the handles of the shovels to keep them nice and straight. In reality, I painted the shovel in the back of the truck first and did not paint the shovel in the Gnome’s hand until AFTER I had painted the Gnome. The choice is yours. The handles for both shovels are basecoated with two coats of Espresso. Once dry, wet brush a few lines of thinned Honey Brown for more variation. The shovels (blades) are both based in two coats of Neutral Grey. Once dry, drybrush with Sand Grey to highlight. Finishing the Large Snow Shovel (in the back of the truck) – I taped off a strip across the bottom edge of the shovel’s blade and painted this with two coats of Primary Red. The little square piece between the shovel blade and the handle is done in Black. Finely outline the entire shovel in Black and add details with this as well. Finishing the shovel (or spade) that the Gnome is holding – the bottom part of the handle (that goes into the shovel blade) is painted in Black. The ‘curved’ part of the handle’s grip is based in two coats of Neutral Grey. Once dry, wet brush a few thinned strokes of Sand Grey to highlight. The center area of the grip is based with an equal mix of Rookwood Red and Primary Red. Highlight across the top of that area with Primary Red (alone). I also added a fine stroke of thinned Warm White down the right side of the shovel blade. Finely outline all in Black and add any details with Black as well. Gnome – Basecoat his face with two coats of Warm Beige and let dry. Drybrush the cheeks and the top of his nose with Primary Red. Tone this down and help it blend by adding Warm Beige back into your brush and drybrushing again. Basecoat his beard in Sand Grey. Once dry, drybrush with Warm White. **I understand it’s more difficult to try and drybrush small/narrow areas such as the narrow strands of his beard ~ this is what I do! In this case, lightly thin your Warm White and wetbrush the small areas; while they are still wet/damp, take a dry-drybrush and blend them into the rest of the area that has already been drybrushed! (You can also lightly ‘pounce’ these damp areas with a small drybrush as well!) Either way will work!** Basecoat his mustache solidly with Warm White. Basecoat the main part of his hat with Victorian Blue. Once dry, drybrush with Blue Haven. Tone this down a bit by adding Victorian Blue back into your brush and drybrushing over it again. Once this has completely dried, trace on the details of the hat’s designs. These details/designs are all done with thinned Warm White. 69

The trim around his hat, as well as his mittens are all basecoated with two coats of Moody Blue. Drybrush all of these areas with a touch of Warm White added to your brush to highlight. If it’s too bold, simply add a bit more of Moody Blue into your brush. The fur trim around his mitten is based in Honey Brown. Let dry. With both Honey Brown and Warm White handy, proceed to dab both colors onto the original Honey Brown basecoat. This will give the fur trim a bit of texture as well! Puppy – Basecoat the puppy with two coats of Espresso. Let dry. Drybrush with Cocoa. Once this has dried, trace on the puppy’s details. Basecoat the strip down his face and his cheeks with Honey Brown and let dry. Wet-brush a bit of thinned Warm Beige around his cheeks and down the middle of the strip on his face. Again, if this looks to bold, tone it down with a bit of Honey Brown. Finely outline the puppy in Black, as well as adding his eyes in Black and finely outlining his nose and tongue in Black. Fill his nose in with Black. Fill in his tongue solidly with Primary Red. Basecoat his hat with two coats of Moody Blue and let dry. Add a bit of Warm White to your Moody Blue and use this color to highlight the hat. Trim on the hat is based with two coats of Victorian Blue. Drybrush to highlight with Blue Haven. Tone it down with a bit more Victorian Blue if necessary. The stripes on his hat are painted solidly in Primary Red. Add the dots with Warm White. Finely outline everything with Black. Lettering on The Bottom of the Plaque – Trace on the lettering on the bottom of the plaque if you haven’t already done so. Basecoat the letters in Victorian Blue. Add an additional coat if needed. Let dry, then drybrush with Blue Haven. Tone this down with a bit of Victorian Blue added back into your brush, if necessary. Finely outline all letters in Black, as well as the little piles of snow on the letters. Fill in the little piles of snow by dabbing thickly with Snow White. TRUCK MIRROR – Before we finish our plaque, we need to go back and trace on the truck’s mirror. (We needed to complete our Gnome first before doing the mirror.) The main part of the mirror and the bracket holding the mirror are both painted solidly with our 50/50 mix of Rookwood Red and Primary Red. Let dry. Highlight with a bit of Primary Red around the top right of the mirror. The ‘mirror’ part is based solidly in Neutral Grey and highlighted with a fine stroke of thinned Sand Grey. The base of the mirror (on the truck) and the ‘circle’ on the back of the mirror are both done solidly in Black. Finely outline the rest of the mirror in Black as well. Finishing Touches: We have just a few more things to add before we seal our plaque! I added a couple of snowflakes to the front fender by using thinned Snow-White paint. I also added random dots of Snow White across the sky area to represent snow. Once all of this has dried, we will be ready to seal! I simply spray sealed mine with Americana’s Matte Spray Finisher per instructions and let dry.

Once our plaque has dried, I used Americana DuraClear Gloss Varnish to add a little extra shine to the following: the puppy’s eyes, nose and tongue. I also added this to the hubcaps and the grey part of the mirror. I also applied DecoArt’s Glamour Dust Glitter Paint – Ice Crystal, to the headlights, the name plate across the hood of the truck as well as all the little piles of snow on the large lettering at the bottom! If you wish, you can also add wire, ribbon, etc… to the top to create a hanger! This was such a fun project! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Thank you! Sharon B

sharonb

Original Design by Marika Moretti marika@marikamorettidesigns.com www.marikamorettidesigns.com YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDrmdpar4G4x_mSKlP3V8Yg

Dear Pixelated Palette’s readers, thank you for painting this design with me! Our imagination has no limit and we have endless ways to be creative! This is the main concept of this design: you have one drawing and three different ways to paint it, so you can practice with three different techniques… stencils, stamps and paper! If you like this idea, check out my website because there are more “3-Time” designs! Have fun!

Surface: * These are three square surfaces that I personally designed (approx. 6.5”x6.5”). You can find them at Pinecraft Inc. (https://pinecraftinc.com/collections/marika-moretti), but the design can also be easily adapted to another surface. Supplies: * Usual Acrylic tools * Stencil Tim Holtz – Mini Stencil Set N.18 * Carta Tim Holtz Ideaology - Tissue Wrap Postale (or similar) * Stampendous Stamp 6”X6”, Winter Blizzard * Tracing Paper * White/Black Graphite Paper * Ball Stylus * Paper Palette * Fine and Medium Sanding Paper * Super Film, * Sanding Stick Paints: DecoArt Americana Acrylics * Antique Rose (optional) * Avocado Dip (or Olive Green) * Black Plum * Burnt Sienna * Burnt Umber * Canyon Orange (optional) * Cobblestone * Coral * Country Red * Deep Midnight Blue * Hauser Dark Green * Hauser Medium Green Glitters & Metallics: * Glamour Dust Copper * Metallics Champagne Gold

* * * * * * * * * * *

Heritage Brick Honey Brown Lamp Black Light Buttermilk Marigold Neons Fiery Red Neutral Grey Paynes Grey Soft Black Williamsburg Blue Winter Blue

Sealers and Mediums: * DecoArt Multi-Purpose Sealer * DecoArt Decoupage Glue.

Brushes * An Old Flat Brush to lay down the glue * A really worn brush… flat, filbert or angular… it doesn’t matter, but it must have natural hair and be a little stiff * Princeton Stippler 1/8” * Loew Cornell Maxine Mop: ½”, ¼” * Flat 1” 76

Brushes: FM Dynasty Black Gold * 206 FW Shader: ¾”, ½”, ¼” * Round 206L: #1 * Filbert 206FIL (for basecoating): #4, 6, 8 * Mini Liner 20/0 * Stencil brush Pro: 1/2 (or make-up sponge) * Dynasty Mezzaluna: Medium * Dynasty Faux Squirrel 1827 Flat #2 Surface preparation Sand all the surfaces, lay down a coat of Multi-Purpose Sealer. When dry, sand again until smooth. Basecoat all the surfaces with Winter Blue. Transfer the main guidelines of all snowmen and shade on background around the main design with Deep Midnight Blue The final detail painting instructions for all three designs will appear at the end of the instructions. Snowman on Stencil Background: Apply the stencil decoration with Williamsburg Blue. Note: if it gets too dark, just tone it down with a wash of Williamsburg Blue. Although in Italian, you can watch the stencil process on my YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vIosq3SC2g স ঻ ঺ হ Hat: Basecoat first with Light Buttermilk. Then cover with one coat of Lamp Black. Highlight by distressing using your sanding stick: right side of hat, upper right and lower left of brim. Basecoat the band with Heritage Brick. Drybrush the center with Neons Fiery Red and shade on the sides with Black Plum. Add stitches on the upper edge with Marigold.

Snowman: Basecoat body and head with Cobblestone. When dry, take the “worn brush” and drag some Light Buttermilk to make the barn board effect. Then, look at the picture of the finished piece and trace board guidelines. Shade on the right side to separate them with Soft Black.

Shade with Neutral Grey, then deepen with Soft Black: under hat and lightly on left side of face (only first color here), bottom of face to separate from scarf (very thin float here), under scarf, behind tree and lightly on sides of body. Add woodgrains to separate boards (thicker) and some on them (thinner) with Lamp Black. Scarf: Basecoat with Marigold. (Tip: Since Marigold is very transparent, you may want to undercoat with Light Buttermilk, or any other light color you have স ঻). ঺ হ Look at the picture of the finished piece and trace guidelines of the thick lines with a fine pencil. Add the thick lines with Honey Brown (I use a flat #2 for this) and the dots on top with Light Buttermilk; add the thin lines with Heritage Brick. Shade with Burnt Sienna: left side of wrap, behind overlap and near the fringes. Add fringes using your liner and these colors: Honey Brown, Marigold, Heritage Brick and if you want a sparkle effect, add some with Glamour Dust Copper. Optional: float over the Burnt Sienna shadings with Glamour Dust Copper. Add dots on the fringes with Heritage Brick. Tree: Basecoat with Hauser Medium Green. Shade left side and bottom with Hauser Dark Green. Highlight on right side with Avocado Dip. Add the decoration with thin lines of Cobblestone, when dry add Champagne Gold to make them sparkle. Trunk: Basecoat with Burnt Umber. Shade under tree with Soft Black. Highlight bottom with Honey Brown. Cardinal: Basecoat body and head with Country Red. Shade with Black Plum: to separate wings from body, bottom of head and (lightly) bottom of body. Highlight by drybrushing with Neons Fiery Red. Snowman on Stamp: Apply the stamp to the basecoated surface with Deep Midnight Blue + Champagne Gold Please see my video on my YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIw8p_F5rg Hat: Basecoat Lamp Black. Highlight by drybrushing with Light Buttermilk: right side of hat, upper right and lower left of brim. Basecoat the band with Avocado Dip. Shade on the sides with Hauser Dark Green. Add stitches on the upper edge with Heritage Brick. Snowman: Basecoat body and head by stippling with Light Buttermilk. Shade with Cobblestone, then deepen with Neutral Grey: under hat and lightly on left side of face (only first color here), bottom of face to separate from scarf (very thin float here), under scarf, behind tree and lightly on sides of body. Deepen in the very darkest areas with Soft Black: under hat, under scarf and behind tree. Highlight center of face and body by stippling some Snow White.

Scarf: Basecoat with Coral. Look at the picture of the finished piece and trace guidelines of the thick lines with a fine pencil. Add the thick lines with thinned Heritage Brick (flat brush #2) and the thin lines with Black Plum. Shade with Heritage Brick, then deepen with Black Plum: left side of wrap, behind overlap and near the fringes. Add fringes using your liner and Black Plum; make sure to press a little on the brush so that you can have thicker lines. Optional: float over the Heritage Brick shadings with Glamour Dust Copper. Overcoat the fringes with the same color. Add dots on the fringes with Marigold. Tree: Basecoat with Hauser Medium Green. Shade left side and bottom with Hauser Dark Green. Highlight on right side with Avocado Dip. Add the woodgrains with Lamp Black using your liner. Trunk: Basecoat with Burnt Umber. Shade under tree with Soft Black. Highlight bottom with Honey Brown. Add the woodgrains with Lamp Black using your liner. Cardinal: Basecoat body and head with Heritage Brick. Shade with Soft Black: to separate wings from body, bottom of head and (lightly) bottom of body. Highlight by drybrushing with Neons Fiery Red. Snowman on Paper Preparation: Cut the paper according to the size of your surface and following manufacturer directions, glue it on using the DecouPage glue and an old brush. When dry, apply one or two coats of glue on the paper. This step creates a kind of barrier on the paper allowing you to paint on it without damaging it. Just make sure to have a little less water on your brush than the usual. Tip: When I paint on paper, I prefer not to basecoat in the traditional way, because I would lose the decoration that’s on the paper itself. So, I prefer basecoating with large floats or with a wash, because I still can see the paper decoration underneath. Look at the pictures of the finished piece, so that you can understand where the highlights must be; in those areas, 79

since the paper is white, you barely need to add any color. Start basecoating by floating on the opposite side, where the shades will be, because we want to have more color there. Hat: Basecoat by floating with Lamp Black. Basecoat the band with Marigold (standard basecoat here), shade he sides with Burnt Sienna. Add stitches on the top edge with Avocado Dip. Snowman: Basecoat with wide floats of Cobblestone, starting from the edges and leaving the very center of face and body without paint (only white paper). Shade with Neutral Grey, then deepen with Soft Black: under hat and lightly on left side of face (only first color here), bottom of face to separate from scarf (very thin float here), under scarf, behind tree and lightly on sides of body.

Scarf: Basecoat by floating with Country Red. Shade with Black Plum: left side of wrap, behind overlap and near the fringes. Add fringes with many dots using your stylus and Coral. Optional: float over the Black Plum shadings with Glamour Dust Copper. Overcoat the Coral dots with Copper as well. Tree: Basecoat with a wide float of Houser Medium Green on left side and bottom. Shade on left side and bottom with Hauser Dark Green. Highlight right side with a float of Avocado Dip. Trunk: Float under tree with Burnt Umber. Shade under tree with a thin float of Soft Black. Cardinal: Basecoat body and head by floating with Country Red. Shade with Black Plum: to separate wings from body, bottom of head and (lightly) bottom of body.

Details of all snowmen Faces: Lamp Black eyes, Light Buttermilk highlight line and dot. Lamp Black eyebrows. Mouth with Lamp Black dots. Cheeks are dry brushed with Antique Rose (if you don’t have it, just mix Heritage Brick and Light Buttermilk). The nose is Canyon Orange (or any other orange you have), shaded at the bottom and on left side with Heritage Brick, highlight dashes of Marigold. Twig Arms are lines of Burnt Umber. Shaded close to snowman’s body with Soft Black, highlight with Honey Brown. Cardinal: Beak and legs are base coated with Honey Brown, shaded with Burnt Sienna and highlighted with Marigold. Mask on face is Lamp Black, Light Buttermilk eye and Lamp Black pupil. Make the feathers on head with the color used for the basecoat and highlight with Neons Fiery Red (stencil: wavy lines; paper: small dots; stamp: straight lines). Final touches If you haven’t already done so, float shade on background around the main designs with Deep Midnight Blue, then deepen with Payne’s Grey. Shade also at the bottom of the snowmen to make them set on the ground. Outline where needed with Lamp Black. Optional: I love antiquing my pieces!!! You don’t have to if you don’t like it, but I think antiquing gives a warmer touch to the whole project and makes it more uniform. I take a piece of old fabric (a piece of an old T-Shirt is perfect), take some linseed oil and touch it in some Burnt Umber oil paint. Then I start rubbing on the surface until I get the effect that I like.

I hope you liked painting this design and wish you a wonderful winter season! Marika

All rights reserved. This pattern has been created for personal use and fun. This design cannot be reproduced in any part without previous agreement. You can enlarge or reduce the line drawing in order to fit the design to the selected surface, after purchase of the pattern itself. Photocopying, scanning or other types of reproductions of this design for personal or business use are forbidden. It will be appreciated, if you will mention the designer of this pattern among social networks or personal blogs.

Line Art is at 100%

Sissy's Seasons Original design by Elaina Appleby

I fell in love with the tag surfaces and have seen them hinged together with wire. I thought “Wow, you could attach many of them together and make a really long picture story page!” However, I decided that a four seasons collection a highlighted short story of this little Sissy girl's year. Then, I attached the pages together with pretty ribbon; now they stand up so everyone can read her darling story! Surface h Grooved Tag Sign 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" x 1/8" birch; four each. I painted the non-grooved side. Project Supplies h Usual Acrylic Tools h Doily Stencil ASMM18 by www.DecoArt.com h Snowflake Stencil by www.tracymoreau.net h Painter’s Pal to make all sizes of polka-dots by www.cdwood.com h Organdy Ribbon, Ivory 1 1/2" wide h Scrapbook Paper; your choice with light gray color. I found some with a canvas look. But you can opt to paint the surfaces; see instructions below under (Background Option). 83

h h h h h h h h h h h

Dry Wall Mesh Tape a small piece for stenciling 5/16" Round Hole Punch, for scrapbooking Hot-glue Gun and Glue or your favorite glue Masking Tape or Sticky Notes Wedge Sponge or Stencil Brush Scissors Cotton Swabs Tracing Paper Transfer Paper, white and gray Palette Paper Towels

Paints: DecoArt Americana Acrylics h Bright Blue 351 h Bright Yellow 227 h Burnt Umber 064 h Peaches’n Cream 023 h Cotton Candy 347 h Desert Sand 077 h Dove Grey 069 h Evergreen 082 h Georgia Clay 017 h Irish Moss 312 h Lamp Black 067 h Leaf Green 051

h h h h h h h h h h h

Light Buttermilk 164 Mocha 060 Natural Grey 095 Pebble 303 Raw Sienna 093 Sand 04 Sea Glass 297 True Blue 036 Warm White 239 Wild Berry 362 Yellow Green 134

Mediums: DecoArt Brushes: Dynasty Black Gold h Decou-Page Matt DS106 h 1/4", 3/8”, 3/4" Angular, 206 Series h Sealer/Finisher DAS13 h #1, #4 Round 206 Series h Glazing Medium DS18 h 10/0, 5/0 liner, 206 Series Specialty Brushes h 1/4" Angular Bristle, or Foliage by Loew-Cornell h Small to Medium Rake h 1/2" Old Scruffy Flat Preparation 1. Transfer the patterns to tracing paper. 2. Trace the tags four times with the grooved side facing down onto the front side of the scrapbook paper. 3. Cut them out just inside of the traced line so that the paper does not lap over the edges when they are glued down. 4. Trace the hole placement onto the paper tags and punch them out with the hole puncher. 5. Work on one tag at a time. Following the manufacturer’s instructions,

apply a thin, even coat of Decou-Page to the wood and to the back of the paper. Position the paper and smooth out any wrinkles working from the middle towards the edges. Allow to dry completely.

Painting Instructions Background Option If you want to paint your backgrounds instead of Decou-Page. Start with a basecoat of Pebble and let it dry. Lightly sand it just a little to remove any raised grain. Wash over the Pebble with Warm White and let it dry. Put out some Neutral Grey and water it down just a little. Use the rake brush and paint going from left to right; fill in the whole surface. Paint going from top to bottom creating hash marks. Fill in the whole surface. Let this dry. Coat the entire surface with undiluted Glazing Medium as a protective barrier. Let it dry again. Tip: Use Glazing Medium as a protective Barrier. When you want to keep a section of the painting safe before you continue, apply a coat of Glazing Medium. For example, to protect a pretty float.

Sissy's Winter Clothing Transfer the outside guidelines for Sissy and the fur trees. Basecoat her hat and coat with Sea Glass. Float a shade on the inside edges with True Blue. Mask off around the edges of her coat and hat; stencil 1/16" size polkadots with Neutral Grey. Choose a few of the polka-dots and stencil on top of them with True Blue. Cut out the hat and coat from the traced pattern. Lay the cutout tracing paper over the tag to use as a mask for splattering. When in place use the toothbrush and splatter with True Blue. Let it dry and remove the paper.

Basecoat her skates, hat and coat trim with Light Buttermilk and shade with Neutral Grey. Basecoat her gloves Neutral Grey and shade it with a very little bit of Lamp Black. Greenery Place a little of Leaf Green, Irish Moss and Evergreen on your palette; use the round brush to pull the tree boughs out. Start with Leaf Green and then alternate with all of the greens without cleaning your brush and fill in the trees. Use more Evergreen on the center tree. Float the top edges of the tag above the trees and around the hole with True Blue.

Snow and Ice Transfer the snow and ice guidelines on with white graphite. Wash a little bit of Sea Glass over the skating rink area. Shade the rink with light floats of True Blue Remember to use the photos as your guide and float the snow drifts in with Warm White. Stipple in the edges around the skating rink, under the tree line and on the tree boughs. With Neutral Grey, float shading in the snow drifts and a bit on the edge of the skating rink. Boots Transfer the blades to the skates and line them with Lamp Black. Also, line and dot the shoestrings. When using a liner brush use a little water and mix the paint to an ink like consistency; this will help the brush flow. Use a cotton swab and dip the tip into True Blue then dot the skates to create pom-poms. Dip a smaller amount of Warm White and dot again inside the blue, when that is dry dip-dot the centers of the pom-poms with True Blue. Let them dry. Finish Winter Stencil the snowflakes and splatter the full surface with Warm White. Set this one aside to dry.

Sissy's Spring Background We will be painting a series of washes to create this background. Let’s start with Leaf Green and use the old scruffy brush with water to wash streaks going up and down. This is the undertone. We want to be able to see the gray coming through. Let it dry. Next wash over the green with Yellow Green. This gives the streaks contrast. Now we are going to calm the green tones down quite a bit with a wash of Pebble. To finish the background and bring some light back we will wash over it again very lightly with Bright Yellow. Let this dry very well. Coat the entire surface with undiluted Glazing Medium and let this dry.

Garden Transfer guidelines for the garden. Pounce in Leaf Green with the foliage brush; making somewhat of a trail or rows. Pounce a smaller amount of Burnt Umber along the bottom of the green trail. Lastly, pounce in a little Irish Moss. If it looks too dark go back and pounce in a little Pebble. On your palette put out some Yellow Green and Wild Berry. Use a stylus to make some dip-dots along the trails. Dot more green ones then pink. Let them dry. Transfer all of the remaining pattern lines to the project.

Clothing Basecoat her dress and hatband with Warm White. Basecoat her hat with Pebble. Use the rake brush and a little water with Cotton Candy to paint Horizontal and vertical lines to create straw hat texture. Float the shade with Wild Berry. Paint wide floats; this will take a few coats. Use a wide brush and dry between coats. Basecoat her apron with Pebble. Cut the apron out of the tracing paper. 87

Lay the paper over the tag be sure that everything is covered except the apron. Put out some Burnt Umber and use the toothbrush to splatter the apron. I covered it well with splatters. Let it dry and take off the paper. Float a shade with Burnt Umber on the inside edges of her apron and around her arm. Mask off around her dress and hat in preparation for stenciling the polka-dots. Use a / " size dots and stencil and Wild Berry.

Use the same size dot and stencil the remaining dots with Burnt Umber. Float a shade around the inside edges of her dress and the bottom of her hat band first with Pebble and then float again to deepen the value with a little Burnt Umber. Let this dry. Line thin wiggly stiches around the apron, around the hat and on the hem of her dress with Warm White. Paint a little row of dip-dots around the apron edges and sleeve with Wild Berry. Let them dry. Be careful not to smear them. Dip-dots take a bit longer to dry. Basecoat her shoe with Burnt Umber. Dip-dot the eyelets and line the highlights on her shoes with Warm White. Let this dry. Outline her shoe with Lamp Black. Arm Basecoat her arm with Mocha. Shade a tiny bit on her hand and crease at the bend with Pebble. Dry-brush her hand and shoulder with Warm White. Float a very tiny amount of Peaches'n Cream around the edges of her arm. Watering Can Basecoat the watering can with Pebble. Paint inside the can, the two front stripes and the handle with Neutral Grey. Wash the inside of the can with Bright Blue. Shade around the spout and all of the other parts of the can with Burnt Umber. Dip-dot the top front stripe and line the can with Warm White. Dip-dot the bottom stripe with Pebble.

Butterflies Basecoat the butterfly wings Bright Blue. Shade and line them with True Blue. Highlight the wingtips, line and dip-dot them with Warm White. Paint the bodies and the finish line work with Lamp Black. Pull some light trail streaks from behind the butterflies with Wild Berry using the wet rake. Float around the wings and pull out more streaks with Bright Yellow Float around the top edge of the tag with Bright Yellow to brighten the sky. Flower Coat the flower with a very light wash of Warm White. Let it dry and float the tips of the petals with full strength Warm White. Basecoat the leaves and line the stem with Irish Moss. Highlight the top of the leaves with a float of Yellow Green. Line the stem and bottom of the leaves with Leaf Green. Line the stem and the leaves again with Warm White. Float inside the flower with Yellow Green Dip-dot and line the petals with Cotton Candy. Finish with lining and a few little dip-dots of Wild Berry.

Sissy's Summer Background Make a wash with Bright Blue and coat the whole surface making streaks going up and down. Let that dry well. Wash a very little bit of Bright Yellow over the blue and let it dry. Coat the entire surface with undiluted Glazing Medium as a protective barrier. Let It dry again. Transfer the outside guidelines on. None of the details. Basecoating Basecoat her swimsuit and hat with Sand. Transfer the trim and basecoat it with Light Buttermilk. Basecoat the ball's first stripe with Bright Blue, second with Georgia Clay and third with Irish Moss. Basecoat the bucket and shovel with Irish Moss. Basecoat the sun with Sand. Basecoat her arm and foot with Mocha. Sandy Beach Transfer on all of the remaining details. The sand is not basecoated, it is all done with dark and light floats. Be sure to use the photos (next page) for reference. 89

Float all of the top bumps of the sand with Raw Sienna. Let this dry. Float the dips of the sand with Desert Sand. Finish the sand by floating random places with a little Georgia Clay. Cut out the bucket, shovel, the ball with Sissy and the sky. Place the cut-outs over the matching parts and splatter the sand, first with Raw Sienna and finish with Sand. When it’s dry take the paper off. Sun Float the bottom rim with Georgia Clay and let it dry. This will be very bright but we are going to tone it down a little. Lay the Doily stencil in place over the sun and tape it down. Put some Georgia Clay, Bright Yellow and Sand on your palette. Starting with Georgia Clay stencil the rim in about 4 rows, switch to Bright Yellow and stencil in 4 or 5 more rows and finish with Light Buttermilk. Let It dry for a minute. Now stencil over the whole sun again with Bright Yellow. This tone’s it down and blends the lines. If you feel it's still too bright wash some more Bright Yellow with your brush. Finish by painting the suns rim with a wiggly line of Georgia Clay.

Clothing Float a highlight on the inside edges her swimsuit and hat with Bright Yellow. There are two sizes of polka-dots on her swimsuit 3/16" and 1/16". Mask around Sissy and stencil the polka-dots in with Bright Yellow. Line around the small polka-dots with Warm White. Let them dry. Stencil the larger ones again with Georgia Clay just on the lower half and line around them as well. Let them dry. Float her hat rim and above her hat, around the dress sleeve and trim with Georgia Clay. Line around the sleeve and hat trim with Georgia Clay. Line her hat rim with Warm White. Dip-dot on the front trim to create the buttons and line with Lamp Black.

Basecoat her hat bow with Georgia Clay. Line it with Lamp Black and then Light Buttermilk. Arm and Foot Paint her sandal with Lamp Black and line it with Georgia Clay. Float a shade with Raw Sienna on both arm and foot. Shade under her foot with Burnt Umber . Bucket and Shovel Shade the bucket around and under the rim; shade the shovel on the inside rim with Leaf Green. Paint the bucket handle with Georgia Clay and dip-dot the ends with Bright Blue. Line around them both with Black then Warm White and end with a touch of Georgia Clay. Paint the sand inside of the bucket with Desert Sand shade it with Raw Sienna. Use the stylus and speckle it with Burnt Umber, Raw Sienna and Sand. Finish with a shade of Burnt Umber under the bucket and shovel. Ball Shade the blue stripe with True Blue the red stripe with Burnt Umber and the green strip with Leaf Green. Line the seam stiches with Warm White. Seagulls Loosely paint on the seagulls with Warm White using the round brush. Let them dry. Line them with Lamp Black. Finish with a float under the wings with Bright Blue.

Sissy’s Autumn Background Wash a streaky background with Peaches'n Cream. Let that dry. Coat the entire surface with Glazing Medium as a protective barrier. Let this dry again. Transfer the tree and Sissy. No details needed yet.

Basecoating Basecoat the tree and her sweater with Warm White. Basecoat her hat, glove and dress with Burnt Umber. Basecoat her hat ribbon and collar with Dove Grey. Basecoat her boots with Pebble. Transfer the remaining pattern guidelines except the leaves. Clothing Wash a very light amount of Mocha over the white on her sweater. Cut the sweater out of the tracing paper and lay it over the whole surface leaving the sweater exposed. Splatter it with Warm White clean the brush and splatter it again with Georgia Clay. Let this dry then remove the paper. Float across the bottom of her sweater with Warm White, then dip-dot to create the two buttons. Let them dry. Paint wiggly lines around the sweater, collar and buttons with Georgia Clay. Mask off around the dress and hat in preparation for stenciling the polka-dots. Use a / " circle and stencil the polka-dots with Georgia Clay. Let them dry. Float a shade under the sweater and behind the ribbon on her hat with Lamp Black. Mask off the rim of her hat and glove. Use the drywall tape and stencil those areas with Georgia Clay. Line the checks with Dove Grey. Let this dry. Float a shade on the glove and hat trim with Lamp Black.

Paint wiggly lines along the dress hem, hat trim and glove with Warm White. Line the long ribbon with Warm White. Her boots are shaded with Burnt Umber. Dry-brushed with Warm White to highlight. Line the boot lace, boot tip, and dot the eyelets with Warm White. Finish with tiny dots of Lamp Black on the eyelets as well.

Birch Tree Put out some of each color; Warm White, Lamp Black, Neutral Grey and Pebble. Use a wet round brush and start laying in some Pebble spots, washing over the entire tree. Paint washy back and forth, flat strokes with Neutral Grey, then alternate all colors working over the entire tree trunk and branches. This step looks rather flat. Let this dry. Now use more full-strength Lamp Black and Warm White paint strokes with the tip of your brush. Make more defined lines and marks in the direction of tree growth. Let this dry. Float a highlight on the left side of the trunk with Warm White. Float a shade on the right side and bottom with Lamp Black. Finish by lightly outlining some of the limbs and trunk areas with Lamp Black. Leaves Transfer the placement for the leaves. On your palette, put some Bright Yellow, Irish Moss, Georgia Clay and Bright Blue. Use your liner brush with water and mix the colors as you go to an ink like consistency. These leaves are very abstract. Paint all of them in with Bright Yellow; pull short loose comma strokes to form a leaf shape. Paint right over the yellow in the same way with Yellow Green and continue with Georgia Clay. Let this dry. Lastly pull the comma strokes and a stem on each leaf with Bright Blue. Finish the leaves with a small float of Bright Blue around the side of each one.

Nest The nest is made with a mix of randomly selected colors. Place tiny amounts of the browns, yellow, black, white and blue on the palette. Float a shade with a little Raw Sienna in the crook of the tree branch where the nest belongs. Dip the tip of your liner brush in a brown and start building the nest. Wash your brush and change colors; keep pulling thin curved lines in a circle, changing colors at random. Finish the nest with a couple of strokes of Bright Blue and float a shade under the nest. Wispy Wind Use a wet rake brush with Peaches'n Cream and pull some streaks through the open spaces in the background to creating wispy trails. Pull a few strokes again over the same trails with a very little bit of Bright Blue and finish them up with just a little bit of Georgia Clay. Finishing Clean up the tag edges with a coat of Pebble. Following manufacturer’s instructions, give all of them a coat of Matte Sealer/Finisher and allow to dry. Putting your project all together. Cut two strips of the ribbon 18" long. First Ribbon: Lay the finished tags face down in order about 1/4" apart. Glue the ribbon across the back, beginning approximately 1/2" in from the edge and 1 1/4" down from the top. Continue gluing the ribbon right across each tag. Keep the tags 1/4" apart so the group will fold up like an accordion for storage. Second Ribbon: Glue the second piece of ribbon 1/2" from the edge and 1" from the bottom; continue to finish. If you would like to have a finished backside and hide the glued ribbon; cut four tags out of scrapbook paper and punch the hole. Decou-Page the paper over the back. Let it dry. Cut four pieces of ribbon 8" each. Tie a knot in each tag hole and trim it. To keep the ribbon from fraying dip a cotton swab into some Decou-Page medium and run it across the cut edges.

Now this was quite a project. I hope you enjoyed the process, that’s where the fun is!

Winter

Spring

Summer

Fall

Original Design by Debbie Mishima Here are 5 of the cutest friends, all decked out for Winter fun, from the tip of there fluffy Pom Poms to the warmth of their furry mittens.

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Surface: x Jumbo Tall Teardrop Ornament Plaque #31-L639, 8” x 17 ½” available from Cupboard Distributing, www.cdwood.com Supplies x Stamp: Cling Intricate Snowflakes #CRS5107 available from www.stampendous.com x Transfer Paper x Ball Stylus x Paper Towels. Paints: DecoArt Americana Acrylics x Antique White x Asphaltum x Black Plum x Bleached Sand x Blue Mist x Canyon Orange x Coral Blush x Desert Sand x Fawn x Heritage Brick

x x x x x x x x x

Light Buttermilk Lamp Black Snow White Spa Blue Sugared Peach Thicket Warm White Watermelon Slice Wild Berry

Mediums: DecoArt x Matte Medium x Chalky Finish, Yesteryear x All Purpose Sealer Brushes: JoSonja x 1/2” Sure Touch Oval Wash #1318 x 3/8”, 1/2” Sure Touch angle #1345 x 18/0 Sure Touch Liner, #4015 x Assorted Sure Touch White Mops #1317 x Assorted Oval Dry Brushes #2010 Painting Instructions: Background: Brush Matte Medium on the surface to cover. Allow to dry completely. Basecoat the background with Chalky Finish, Yesteryear. Drybrush Warm White all over to soften. Using the snowflake stamp and Snow White, stamp all over the background. Take a piece of dry paper towel and lightly rub over the surface, this will smooth the surface and soften the look. Transfer on the main pattern. Basecoat the stripes with Desert Sand. Trace on the details Shade along the top and bottom and around all other design elements with Fawn. Drybrush Warm White. 101

All Patches: All Blue Patches: ng the Basecoat with Blue Mist. Shade with Thicket along edges. Line the stripes with Heritage Brick. All Red Patches: th Basecoat with Heritage Brick. Shade all edges with Black Plum. Dot with Blue Mist All Beige Patches: Basecoat with Bleached Sand. Shade with Antiquee White. Dot Heritage Brick. When dry, take a slightly dampened piece of paper towel and rub some of the paint off of each patch. This will give it a worn, distressed look. Stripes: In Order from Top to Bottom: 1. Dot with Wild Berry. 2. Line and dot snowflakes with Snow White. 3. Basecoat the holly leaves with Aloe. Shade with Hauser Medium Green. Highlight Light Sage. Dot the berries with Wild Berry and Sugared Peach. Float around the berries with Wild Berry. Add some more dots (different sizes) with Sugared Peach and Wild Berry in the stripe. 4. Dot with Blue Mist. Line all stitching and lines with Lamp Black. owie and If you haven’t already done so, trace on all the Snowie Reindeer details. All Snowies: de Antique Basecoat the Snowies with Light Buttermilk. Shade d under the eye). White under all hat brims; around the eyes (avoid d where the Around the sides of the noses; above the scarf and Snowies touch the stripes. Drybrush between the eyes and along the forehead with Warm White. Deepen the shading around the eyes with Fawn. (This will make them stand out more). Drybrush the cheeks with Coral Blush. Basecoat the noses with Coral Blush. Shade down the left side with Heritage Brick. Highlight down the right side with Canyon Orange. Line with Heritage Brick for definition.

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Basecoat the eyes with Lamp Black. Float a curved line on the outer side of the eyes with Warm White. Line and dot with Snow White. Line the lashes with Lamp Black. Line hair with Snow White (Line the hair at the end) Snowies In Order: Snowie #1: Basecoat the toque with Lamp Black. Drybrush Warm White to soften. Line the knitted pattern with Bleached Sand. Basecoat the Pom Pom with Warm White. Line the fur on the Pom Pom with Snow White. Line the bow with Lamp Black. Basecoat the scarf with Blue Mist. Shade with Thicket between the scarf tails, along the ends and along the bottom of the lower tail; between the tails and the scarf; along the sides walking the color inwards and in the middle of the bottom edge of the scarf. Highlight Spa Blue along the top of the tails; the top of the scarf and along the bottom except where it is shaded. Drybrush Spa Blue in the middle of the scarf and along the tails. (Avoiding the shaded areas). Shade with a little Thicket to form the folds. Line the scarf and fringe with Wild Berry. Basecoat the mittens with Sugared Peach. Shade with Wild Berry. Highlight along the top edge of the mitten with Warm White. Deepen the shading with a small amount of Heritage Brick. Drybrush with Warm White. Dot Lamp Black. Snowie #2: Basecoat the toque brim and Pom Pom with Warm White. Shade lightly with Fawn along the top and down the sides. Basecoat the toque top with Sugared Peach. Shade lightly with Wild Berry along the bottom where it touches the brim and down the sides. (See picture). Highlight Warm White along the top. Deepen the shading lightly with Heritage Brick. Drybrush Warm White in the middle. Shade Wild Berry to form the folds in the toque. Highlight Warm White along the opposite side of the shaded fold lines and along the sides here and there (see picture). Dot Lamp Black. Using the rake brush and Snow White, line the fur. Add more defined lines with Snow White and your liner. Line the bow on the pom pom with Lamp Black. Basecoat the mittens Heritage Brick. Shade Black Plum down the outside edge and bottom and between the hand and mitten area. Drybrush with Watermelon Slice. Drybrush again with a little Warm White. Line the bows with Snow White.

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Snowie #3: Basecoat the toque brim with Warm White. Shade lightly with Fawn along the top and down the sides. Basecoat the toque top with Blue Mist. Shade Thicket above the brim, down the left side, down the right side and to shape the folds. Highlight Spa Blue along the shaded fold lines. Drybrush a little Warm White here and there, avoiding the shaded areas. Line the x’s with Bleached Sand. Using the rake brush and Snow White, line the fur. Add more defined lines with Snow White and your liner. Basecoat the bow with Sugared Peach. Shade around the knot with Wild Berry, walking the color outward. Highlight Warm White along the top. Drybrush with a little Warm White. Deepen the shading lightly around the knot with Heritage Brick. Basecoat the knot with Wild Berry. Shade Heritage Brick. Dot the bow with Lamp Black. Line the creases and ribbon with Lamp Black. Basecoat the coat arms with Heritage Brick. Shade Black Plum along the bottom and where they touch the cuffs or toque. Highlight along the top edges with Sugared Peach. Basecoat the mittens with Lamp Black. Drybrush with Warm White. Dot Sugared Peach. Basecoat the cuffs with Warm White. Using the rake brush and Snow White, line the fur. Add some defined lines with Snow White and your liner. Stipple the Pom Pom with Warm White and line the fur with Snow White. Both Reindeers: Basecoat both reindeer with Desert Sand. Shade Raw Sienna along the outside edge of the ears; between the ears; between the neck and head, around the eyes (avoiding underneath the eyes); down the inner neck, between the nose and the nose band and along the top of the head by where the eyes are. Highlight Warm White along the top of the ears, along the bottom edge of the head, underneath the eyes and down the outside edge of the neck. Drybrush with a little Warm White. Drybrush the cheeks with Wild Berry. Basecoat the eyes with Lamp Black. Line and dot with Snow White. Line the lashes with Lamp Black. Line the antlers with Asphaltum. Line the hair with Snow White. Top Reindeer: Basecoat the nose band with Blue Mist. Shade Thicket. Drybrush Warm White. Line with Bleached Sand. Basecoat the button with Sugared Peach. Shade Wild Berry. Highlight the opposite side with 104

Warm White. Deepen the shading with Heritage Brick. Drybrush in the middle with Warm White. Line and dot the threads with Lamp Black. Bottom Reindeer: Basecoat the nose band and bow with Blue Mist. Shade Thicket along the top and down both sides of the nose band and around the knot on the bow. Highlight Spa Blue along the bottom of the nose band; around the top of the knot where it touches the bow and along the outer edge of the bow. Drybrush a little Warm White along the nose band and in the bow. Line the nose band and around the bow with Snow White. Dot with Heritage Brick.

Top Piece. Basecoat with DecoArt Dazzling Metallics Acrylic Paint, Rose Gold. Allow to dry. Brush on Galaxy Glitter, Pink Cosmos.

Finishing Touches: Line the vines with Thicket. Dot with Sugared Peach and a little Wild Berry. Line the reins from the second Snowie to the reindeer with Lamp Black. Glue the top piece on. Splatter the background and the darker areas with Snow White.

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White Christmas Original Design by Bev Davis www.PaintingwithBev.com

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I hope you enjoy painting on matted sheet music. I find it enhances the beauty of the song. Surface x 8 1/2 x 11 Card Stock in White x 11 x 14 Black Mat Supplies: x Usual Acrylic tools x White Transfer Paper x Dark Transfer Paper x Easy Release Tape for Delicate Surfaces Paint: DecoArt Americana Acrylics x Antique Green x Olive Green x Plantation Pine x Terra Coral x True Red x Warm White Brushes: Dynasty Black Gold x 1/4-inch angle x 10/10 fine liner

Preparation The first thing you're going to do is align your sheet music to the back of your mat board and tape it off. Next, you are going to tape the line drawing of the white poinsettias to the front of your mat board and paper. Then you will tuck underneath your line drawing your dark transfer paper and only transfer the poinsettias that are on the white paper of the sheet music. Next, you will use your white transfer paper and tuck it underneath your line drawing and transfer the lines on top of the black mat board. Then you will remove the line drawing and tape gently. This way you will be able to see the line drawing on the white paper and the dark board. Let's Paint! You are going to use your 1/4 angle brush for 99% of this whole painting, so you want one with a nice crisp chisel edge to it. To begin, you're going to paint each petal of the poinsettia Warm White. Not a heavy coat, a nice sheer coat of Warm White. When you were painting on the white paper of the sheet music you want to paint over your transfer lines. The goal is not for the transfer lines to jump out, they will show a little bit and that is fine. Floating We will be “floating” quite a bit. When you float you want a moist brush, not necessarily a wet brush. We are going to put just a tad of Terra Coral on the toe of your brush. Work the brush on top of your palette so you don't have just a blob on the end of your brush. The paint should

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only be in the upper third of your angle brush. You do not want to have your brush fully loaded with paint; however, you do want a soft gradation of paint on your brush. Load the tip of your angle shader with Terra Coral. You are going to give a nice little float or wash on the tip of each petal. These flowers are supposed to be white with just the tips showing a bit of color - we want them to be nice and sheer. Take your time while doing each petal, move your paper around if you need to. Sometimes it's easier to just keep turning your paper while doing each petal. Next, we are going to work on the centers of each petal. Using a moist brush and your 1/4 angle brush use Antique Green. It is going to be deepest at the very center and ever so softly as you come out you can float in a vein, again keep this soft. For the very center you are going to use the back end of your brush and dip it into fresh Antique Green and place circles randomly in the centers of your flowers. Then you are going to dip into Plantation Pine and dot in the center of the Antique Green. Next, you will add a small amount of Warm White in the center of each of those dots and finally with the tip of your liner brush, put a dab of True Red on top of the white dots. Greenery: Get out your fine liner brush and load it with Plantation Pine and pull out some random stems. You have three greens to work with: Plantation Pine, Antique Green and Olive Green. Use all three colors to create the greenery. Randomly, keep pulling out each of the pine needles, color on top of color (try not to make soldiers, or rigid straight lines). Some can cross over the others they can even touch, be loose. No two should look alike.

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Lastly, put some fresh True Red on your palette. Use the back end of the brush, dip into the True Red and dot one to three berries in a cluster, then dip fresh paint again and do another cluster. Never do more than three at a time, you want to keep a round circle coming off the end of your brush. If you try to do too many, they will lose the round shape. Using the tip of your fine liner brush, put a tiny dot of Warm White on top of each red berry. Another thought... On the note of painting on paper and sheet music, think outside of the box. You can search online for free sheet music. You really can find most any theme that will complement the design you have in mind. My nephews played a lot of baseball, I found the sheet music 'Take Me Out to The Ball Game' and I painted a baseball bat and glove. A nice wedding gift would be the 'Wedding March' with a church background. It could really be anything.

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Bev Davis

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Marlene Kreutz Ma Cathy Nestroyl C Beth Wagner Deb Welty Elisabetta De Maria, CDA Effie Carayannis Susan V. Cochrane Kotami Tanaka Cindy Mann Vitale Debbie Mishima Sharon Bond Deb Antonick Joyce Stegeman

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