Today I am continuing to highlight some of the projects I have worked on over the past three years.

 A couple of years ago there was a movement going on to paint rocks and then leave them anonymously for people to find. Local groups sprang up on Facebook, including in England.

 As an artist this was right up my alley.  We even had some classes at the shop where I work to teach people how to paint the rocks. The participants did a great job.

 To paint the rocks I washed them with soap and water and scraped off anything that would make them rough. Then I painted them with acrylic matte medium to provide a base for the paint to adhere to. Some people use a paint primer or gesso. All will work. When I finished the painting I added another coat of the matte medium, or gloss medium to protect the paint.

 If the rock was to be left outside I used spray varnish that would stand up to the elements (spar varnish usually). A polymer acrylic varnish also works. Here in central Arizona nothing protects the rocks from the elements. Rocks that I painted and varnished began to peel after two years. The sun bakes the paint and it just cannot stand up to it. If you have extreme temperatures I would avoid leaving the painted pieces outside.

 These first two are designs we used in one of the classes. I found some fun art online and utilized them because they were fairly simple and quick to complete.

 

This next one is a dragonfly design I created. I saw examples online and then did my own thing.

Here is a rock with a desert landscape and one with a pair of cowboy boots. I live in Wickenburg, a very western town, and this is a perfect theme.

 

The next pictures below are one of the fairy houses I did. 

I used wood filler to create the little log ends and the texture on the side where I painted the bushes. 

Wood filler dries hard and adheres well to the rocks. I did some rocks with actual shaped roofs. 

To do the roofs on some of the other fairy houses I had to do them in layers. I let each layer dry for at least 24 hours before adding another. That way I could build up the roof until I got the shape and size I wanted.  

This house is a southwestern adobe style with your typical desert plants and cactus around it.

Below is one more design that we used in the classes.

 

The elephant was fairly easy because I created templates to make it easy for the participants to draw the design.

 Then they painted the rock in the colors they liked. They didn’t have to follow my color scheme. It turned out awesome.

 

I hope these photos might inspire you to try your hand at something new.

My next post will highlight some of the wire wrap jewelry I have been working on.

 Til next time. J

Terri

Stop by my Etsy shop for new arrivals. www.etsy.com/shop/magikalstoneemporium

 2022-02 Painted Wood Projects

 So today I’m going to share some photos of some wood slices and frames that I have painted.

 My boss’ husband is a talented woodworker. He usually has leftover pieces of wood and last year gave me a box full of wood slices from some of the trees on their property. I began painting desert scenes on them and we put them into the shop on consignment. Many of them have sold.

 Here are a couple of photos of finished pieces that have sold. First is the Tree of Life. It fit perfectly on the wood slice. The second one is a fun tree with two birds on a branch.

 I also found some fun wood frames at Michaels and recently painted them with fun designs. Here are the finished frames. I painted them with acrylics and then used a fine ink marker to draw the designs on. I finished them with acrylic gloss medium. But a spray acrylic varnish would be great to use.

Last, I have included some of the wood ornaments I bought at Michaels. I painted desert scenes on the ball ones and the Goddess with the four elements on the stars.

 My next post will show some of the rocks I painted two years ago during the painted rock craze going on across the country (and world).

 Til next time. J

Terri

 To see projects for sale check out my Etsy store at 

http://www.etsy.com/shop/magikalstoneemporium

 

  2022-01 A New Start

It’s been three years since I last posted to this blog. I decided it was time to try again to have some fun with projects and to show some how-to photos. 

 I still live in a small travel trailer in Wickenburg, Arizona and still work in a small gift shop in town. Life hasn’t changed too much for us. But we have a better internet connection.

  I am still doing my art and craft projects and learning new things every day. So I felt it was time to go back to sharing what I make and how I do each project.

 For these first few posts in 2022 I am going to share photographs of some of the things I have made over the last couple of years. I have been busy and have made quite a variety of projects.

 Today I have pulled up pictures of some of my polymer clay creations. I sculpted gnomes, trolls and dragons in 2020 and 2021. Many were sold through the shop where I work part-time.

 Most pieces are a maximum of three inches because the clay oven is small and won’t hold anything taller.

 Each piece is one of a kind and hand sculpted. They were a lot of fun to create. Each one has a different personality.

 I used either Sculpey or CraftSmart clays that I bought from Michaels. When baking I set the temperature at approximately 230 degrees instead of the 265 that the packages recommend. This means the baking time is longer. But the chance of burning the clay piece is reduced. Because the pieces were thicker than ¼” they require a longer baking time. Though I tried to sculpt each piece so that it wasn’t too much more than ¼”.

 For stability I use toothpick to secure the head to the body. This prevents the head from sliding off or falling off during baking. I also use liquid Sculpey like a glue between some pieces to make sure they are well connected during baking. Sometimes when putting two pieces of clay together, like attaching the mushrooms to the base, the two pieces don’t stick to each other very well. The liquid Sculpey makes them sticky and they adhere better.

 This is a couple of pictures of my yoga trolls. I work in a metaphysical shop and at the time I made these guys we were hosting yoga classes. We have since moved the shop and have no room for yoga anymore. 

 The next piece is one of the gnomes. Each gnome holds a rose that was coated with liquid Sculpey before baking so it is preserved and more secure.

 This is a picture of three of the dragons I created. The largest one was done in pieces and glued together because of small clay oven.

 This last one is a small wizard. He is only about two inches tall. He is holding a quartz crystal I found here in Arizona.

 I love working with polymer clay. The variety of colors makes for some fun pieces, though I tend to use a lot of black.

 My next post will show how I used paint on some wood pieces and frames.

 Til next time. J

Terri

 To check out some of my other creations go to my Etsy store at http://www.etsy.com/shop/magikalstoneemporium