Moulding Moments

Molding or Moulding? Mold or Mould? That depends on where you live. I live here in Australia, so I am going with “mould, mouldy, moulding”. Just thought I should clear that up.

I am hoping that I haven’t posted these before….I could check before I spend time typing this up but I am lazy. Also, I am pretty sure I made these in the period where I wasn’t posting at all so I should be safe. So I shall proceed with abandon!

It seems that anyone who is anyone is hopping on the moulds bandwagon lately. Thrift-flippers and DIY-ers and everyone in between. I was probably a bit late to the party, but I turned up nevertheless (possibly under-dressed and forgetting to bring a plate, but still…).

I am not at the furniture flipping stage (unless you mean literally flipping furniture, like clumsily walking into a side table and knocking it over – THAT I can do with surprising regularity) so my foray into the world of clay and moulds has mostly been focused on small items.

I found these delightful little faux succulents in my local hardware shop and thought I could do something with them. They were surprisingly cheap (is it just me or are succulents – both real and fake – are ridiculously expensive?) and just begging to be made-over, so I grabbed a few. They already had a really solid, concrete-like pot with no glaze which made them perfect for painting and sticking stuff to! I always forget to take “before” photos, so you’ll just have to take my word for it.

Using an ancient mould (I think I got it in the 90s….) that featured a variety of faces, I used air-dry clay to create some suitable moulded shapes for each pot. Some had just one large face, others had multiple. They varied from moon-like to somewhat alien in nature but I just went with what I had. I glued them on with wood glue (I use Liquid Nails) while they were still wet, so I could shape them around each pot. They were then left to dry/cure overnight.

The next day, I painted them all over with a base colour, choosing tones that looked like concrete, sandstone or terracotta. Then, using a slightly lighter colour, I dabbed all over the pot and mould with a rag, adding more highlights to the facial features. They were allowed to dry completely before sealing with a matte varnish. I’m quite pleased with how they turned out and they were so simple to do.

I also had a larger faux cactus that was in an ugly, plain pot that needed a makeover. I decided on a mould from Prima Redesign (I believe this one is from the “Regal Emblems” set). I trimmed the clay piece slightly to fit the pot and glued it on with the same wood glue as before. Once cured, I painted the pot a pretty duck-egg blue (just a sample pot of colour I picked up at Bunnings – make sure you check out their “mis-tint” shelf – lots of bargain paint there!) and let it dry completely. I then dabbed on some metallic copper acrylic paint to highlight the mould and edges of the pot so it had a rustic look. Please excuse bird cannister and tongs in the background – I really need to learn to stage my photos properly!

Next up, it was time to tackle a larger project. I wanted to make a piece of wall art that would look like a clay tile or relief plaque / sculpture (you can tell I have no idea what to call it!). I started off with a small-ish piece, roughly 20cm x 30cm in size. The base was a cruddy old wooden plaque I had found at the op-shop. I think it had one of those very 80s unicorn pictures on it – tres chic! Again using the Regal Emblems set from Prima Redesign, I created the clay shapes and glued them to the board in a pleasing, uniform pattern, trimming them as needed to fit.

A smart person would have sanded off the existing picture, to give the clay and paint something to hang on to (rather than a shiny surface). But I am not so smart. The clay adhered fine with Liquid Nails, but once I started adding paint, the paper of the image started bubbling and peeling. Sigh. Not to be thwarted, I added a fine layer of tissue to those areas, using Mod-Podge, crumpling the tissue as I went. It ended up giving the piece a really great texture and didn’t detract from the overall look, thankfully. I dabbed over with a lighter colour paint as per the pots, to highlight and define the details of the moulds and textured background. I love how this one turned out and it sold almost immediately.

This next piece of wall art was similar in technique and style, just on a larger piece (measuring around 50cm x 50cm). I was worried I wouldn’t be able to keep it straight and balanced as I glued on the various moulded sections, but it’s pretty even 🙂 A little bit of wonkiness adds to the organic feel, right? This one also sold and is now proudly displayed in a friend’s covered courtyard.

So, lots of projects that are easy to do and can take as little or as much time to complete as you like. The moulds are a great way to jazz up a simple piece or completely transform another. They look great on wooden items too and I will show you in an upcoming post how they can transform simple wooden frames into vintage-inspired lovelies 🙂

Thank you for reading – stay safe and well. The world is a little crazy right now.

x

Oh Baby!

Yikes! It is nearly August and I have yet again neglected to post ANYTHING for nearly two months. Pathetic attempt at blogging. I have no excuse…other than I write the blog posts for my work so, y’know, I am doing something with my time. Stop yelling at me!

I still get asked to make cards for people from time to time and I am always happy to do so. It can be helpful to have a definite project in mind and be “limited” to that brief. Otherwise I can take hours to figure out what I want to do.

Baby cards are always fun to do. They’re generally pretty simple and have a basic theme going on. I try to avoid doing the cliched blue or pink colour scheme, but a lot of people still like that so I go with whatever is required.

My friend asked me to make a baby card for her, for her niece who was expecting a boy. I always think it’s a weird term, “expecting”. Like, I was expecting a baby boy…but I ended up with a giraffe! At any rate, she did indeed have a bouncing baby (human) boy and I was happy to create a couple of cards for my friend to choose from.

Both little bubbas are drawn on X-Press It Blending Card with a Pigma Micron Pen and coloured in using a variety of alcohol markers. The first card featured a cosy little baby with a beanie (complete with pom-pom) and a tiny nappy fastened with a safety pin. Apparently he is an amputee because there are no arms or legs….but maybe his parents were just really thorough with their nappy technique and his appendages are tucked in there too. Don’t ask me – I just work here.

I stamped out “Little Man” on a hand-drawn banner and adhered it all to a blue-and-white polka dot backing paper on white card.

The second card was a head-only baby (I had obviously dispensed with limbs AND body by this stage). A very simple card with hand-drawn images, stamped words, and the addition of a big green bow. Again mounted on polka dot paper. Voila!

My friend decided to take the first card (that was my favourite too). I hope her niece liked it.

That’s all for today. I hope to post again soon but let’s not hold out breath….I think I have already proven I’m a little slack in the posting department.

Have a delightful day – thank you for stopping by 🙂

Bug Hotel

Bugs! Who doesn’t love bugs? Well, ok, lots of people HATE bugs. But I guess it depends on the bugs we’re talking about, right? I’m pretty sure we can all agree cockroaches are kinda disgusting and no one is a big fan of mosquitoes, but there are some critters that are less creepy-crawly and more cutie-patootie. I mean, look at this Blue-Banded Bee :

So frikkin’ cute, right? Such a beautiful blue colour – they are solitary, non-aggressive and don’t get me started on those adorable antennae! They do have a sting but, due to their non-aggressive nature, prefer not to use them unless they absolutely have to . Luckily, their stings are not barbed, so they do not die if they do sting you. Hooray! They are important pollinators and a delight to have in the garden, if you are lucky enough to attract them (plant lots of blue/purple flowers if you want to encourage BBBs into your garden). They are super fascinating to watch if you can spot them (they’re quite shy and because they don’t swarm together, sometimes it can be hard to find them). The females build little burrow nests and the males hang out together at night, roosting on twigs and grass stems, to help keep each other warm until the early morning sunshine comes around again.

If you are interested, you can download a guide all about the BBB here.

For some reason, on the weekend, I decided to make a bug hotel. I got a bee in my bonnet (no pun intended) the night before and just suddenly felt that I NEEDED a bug hotel in my life. Did I do the proper research with regard to appropriate materials, sizing and other matters? Pah! No, I did not. I did my usual “Let’s just bung one together” type of thing. Which is fine for a first go, but probably won’t encourage any critters to trust my project as prime real estate. Nevertheless, behold my masterpiece!

Aside from some dodgy angles where the roof joins (or, rather, doesn’t join), it’s not so bad. I particularly like the little chimney and the fact none of it wobbles. My jigsaw-using skills need a lot of work, but my drilling is getting better and I didn’t injure myself so that is a bonus. I used old sticks and bits of wood mulch, plus bamboo stakes that I drilled holes in, for the nesting materials. The rest is just pine blocks cut to size and drilled with holes where appropriate. I should have made it deeper, included mud or clay, made the roof wider to protect from the elements and also put a back on the structure. I failed at insect accommodation but I hope it will inspire you to try your own version (and do a better job than me!).

You can find instructions for making a proper Bug Hotel here