Their Love Blossomed

 

Time to celebrate with a gift for friends in love. For some reason I kept changing my mind about color, theme, etc. But I want you to know that it is just fine to do that and the art may come out better. Working on this art project has given me ideas for future projects. So, I have a lot to look forward to.

SUPPLIES
Creative Paperclay® 
Stamps
Acrylic Paints
Hand cut gold paper
Ring
Wood panel

I started by rolling the clay out flat on a wood panel. I then used a ruler to make tile shapes. I am not a perfection kind of girl so my tiles aren't perfect but I like it. I always look for that happy accident.

Next, I stamped and made marks in the clay. Originally, I was going to put a star burst in the middle but that changed as my "story" changed. It was originally for a family member that just had a baby but then I found out about an upcoming wedding.

The background was painted multiple times as the colors never seemed righ. My color changes ranged from warm to cool and then I added a touch of gold leaf and a dark wash. I was open to color changes until the very end.

The next step was to roll out a sheet of clay, stamp it with my heart stamps then trim the heart shapes from the clay. After it was dry, the edges were sanded.
 

The hearts were painted with red acrylic paint then a deep red acrylic wash was applied after the first color dried. This color sank into the low points of the clay and showed off the detail of the stamps. One of the hearts is raised from the surface with a small block of wood, giving it depth.

It was missing some "pop" so I added some metallic gold paper that was hand cut and glued down a faux diamond ring I found in my box of old jewelry parts. These really completed the story and made it special.

Remember, changes are always OK to make.

Dream in Color!

Darlene Olivia McElroy

darleneoliviamcelroy.com

Delightful Hand Wall Art

 

I  am loving playing with Delight® and have made some very cool discoveries. Gather your supplies and join me on this art adventure.

SUPPLIES

Delight®
Hand shape (cut out of cardboard or a sheet of Delight®)
Acrylic paint
Texture tools (stamps, pattern tracer, etc.)

Vintage elements

I had these hand shapes die cut for another project but thought I would try it with Delight. You can use a shaped panel or you can cut your hand shape out of cardboard or a sheet of Delight®.

I started by applying Delight® to my hand shape then brayering it flat. Then I embossed the surface with different stamps to give it texture. 

Next I brayered (rolled flat) the clay and made sheets of Delight® which I was able to cut into shapes. 

I cast a heart in a silicone mold that I was actually just using for the border and shape. Next leaf shapes were cut out of the sheet and applied them to the surface. I took my tracing wheel to make the dotted center of the leaves. It indented the leaf shape and poofed out the edges. I will definitely be doing more projects using the Delight® paper. 

After adding more leaves, a new center for the heart shape, I painted the hand shape. Then I applied vintage millinery flowers and some pearls to add more depth. With a hanger on the back, it can be hung in small places like the kitchen, bathroom or by your entry.

I will be trying this again but with different colors.

Dream in Color!

Darlene Olivia McElroy

www.darleneoliviamcelroy.com

Revisitation with Creative Paperclay®

I was practicing doing pours on small masonite panels and then wondered how can I use these experiments. As a mixed media artist, nothing goes to waste. Creative Paperclay® to the rescue to create a new piece out of this piece.

SUPPLIES
Creative Paperclay®
Collage elements
Acrylic Paint
Stamp

I rolled out the clay on my surface, stamped into it and trimmed off the excess with an exacto knife. I placed my objects into the clay. These were taken off and the clay allowed to dry. This leaves marks in the clay that show me where to glue and place the elements later.

I painted it and glued in the collage elements. It is going to be a present to a friend's daughter. For years I have given art to my friends children or great grand children. Starting them on their "collection". One of them took a piece I gave her to collage and now to grad school.

Dream in Color!

Darlene Olivia McElroy

Dry into Wet with Creative Paperclay®

On this piece I am going to add previously made Creative Paperclay® heart that is totally dry into wet clay.

I start by marking in white the size of the heart.

SUPPLIES

Creative Paperclay®
Acrylic paint
Stamps
Holographic foil

After dampening the surface, I apply the clay and brayer it flat before trimming with an exacto knife.
When trimmed and the edges smoothed with some water on my fingers, I stamped the piece.

I wet the backside of the dry heart shape and press it into the wet clay. They adhere to each other beautifully. Next I painted it with red oxide acrylic paint and did a gold rub on top.

After painting it, I decided to apply some holographic foil to it. Now on to painting the rest of the art.

Dream in Color!

Darlene Olivia McElroy

Spooning with Creative Paperclay®

I am seeing art spoons in a lot of art shows so I decided to create one. For my inspiration I used Caroline Douglas's spoon. She is a friend and wonderful ceramic sculptor from Boulder, CO. These are great for decor and gifts. When I meet my friends for lunch we all have little baggies of art stuff to share. This would be great for the next time we get together.

SUPPLIES

Plastic spoon
Creative Paperclay®
Acrylic paint
Acrylic paint pens
Stamps

I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth. Pete Townshend
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/spoon.html

I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth. Pete Townshend
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/spoon.html

I was born with a plastic spoon in my mouth. Pete Townshend
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/spoon.html

I covered the spoon with Creative Paperclay® then stamped it for texture. I cast the head with a silicone mold and added a cast butterfly that I had done at an earlier date. It is so easy to add dry clay objects into the wet clay.

With Caroline's piece on the left for color inspiration, I painted mine with acrylics and made the checkerboard pattern and dots with my paint pens. Definitely a fun piece to create.

Dream in color!

Darlene Olivia McElroy

Dry Clay, Wet Clay

I have bags full of cast Creative Paperclay® objects to use in future pieces of art. I love it's adhesive qualities and the fact that I can add fresh clay to dry clay pieces or embed dry cast objects into fresh clay.

SUPPLIES
Creative Paperclay®
Creative Paperclay® cast objects
Art surface
Glue
Stamps
Paint

I had this painting started and wanted to addapply a halo with clay. While it was still damp I made the halo shape and smoothed it out.

I stamped into the halo with a rubber stamp then pushed the dry cast objects into the wet clay and glued the rest of the flowers to the surface with glue. Next thing will be to add paint but still at the stage where I am debating adding any more objects to the piece.

Dream in Color

Darlene Olivia McElroy

Creative Paperclay Heart Bowl

You need so little to create a Valentine bowl that has so many uses. It could hold a ring, valentine candies or incense. It just depends what you come up with.

SUPPLIES

Creative Paperclay®
Orange
Stamps
Acrylic paint
Polymer Medium

Cover the orange with the clay, trim to heart shape and stamp. The most difficult part is to wait until it dries.
When dry, just pop it off the orange.

When you turn it over, you can see the wonderful dimpled texture from the orange. Now it's time to sand the edges smooth. Once that is done, I seal the heart with polymer medium.

Now the heart is painted with various shades of red and pink.

The back side is painted dark rose gold and highlighted with a lighter, brighter gold.

Great as a gift or to keep.

Dream in Color!

Darlene Olivia McElroy

It is all in the Details

Storytelling is a very important aspect of my art as a narrative mixed media artist. Creative Paperclay® helps me tell my stories by being able to cast objects or create stamped shapes. Although I paint the clay, I really love the beauty of it in the raw stage.

SUPPLIES

Art surface
Creative Paperclay®
Acrylic Paints
Molds
Stamps
Foil & Adhesive optional

One wing symbolizes in search of completion. I think we spend our life searching to fill in our stories. Next comes the painting of my clay areas. I start by coating them with polymer medium when they have dried. On the body I applied a gold rub over the blue. The wing was painted then I applied holographic foil to it using adhesive size. That it what the white areas are on the crown.

Next step was to cast more objects. Once they are dry I will clean them up with either my dremel or SandIts then paint them.

Dream in Color

Darlene Olivia McElroy

Making an Aged Frame with Delight®

I love the marshmellowy feel of Delight®. It is perfect for the series of frames for some old tintypes to give as gifts. Delight is light when dry and takes texture well.

SUPPLIES

Delight®
Textures
Micaceous Oxide paint
Salt



Cut off strips of Delight® and push down on them to roughly form the shape of a frame.

I used rubber stamps, a latex mold and embossed wall paper to add textures to the Delight®.

After it was trimmed into a rough square shape I added some of the cut off pieces to the fron plus some cast flowers. Then I stamped it with alphabet stamps.

I finished the frame shape by painting a wash of micaceous oxide acrylic paint. While the paint was still wet, I salted it to give it a aged look. Now to find the right tintype for the window. At this point, I can still make the window larger if needed to fit the image.

Play with art and dream in color!

Darlene Olivia McElroy

Going Baroque with Creative Paperclay®

There is magic in mixed media. Old objects get a new life and are given a new story. I have drawers full of cast objects, charms and beads that I use as finishing elements in my art. I find boxes with broken jewelry and odd stuff on my doorstep often. People in town know I use these second hand interesting things (S.H.I.T.) in my art. As a mixed media artist, you never throws ANYTHING away.

SUPPLIES
Creative Paperclay®
Stamps
Old jewelry
Beads
Stencil
Polymer medium

This piece started by laying out shapes of Paperclay on an old painted, cradled panel. I stamped into the clay then went through my drawers full of objects I had previously cast with left over pieces of Paperclay. After selecting the lucky pieces, I glued them down on the dry butterfly shape. Then I coated everything with polymer medium to seal the clay before painting it.

Then I started the painting process using several shapes of purple, gold and buff colored paints. I dry brushed the gold over the purple to pick up the highlights in the texture.



















I went through my drawers full of small objects, jewelry, keys, and whatever that I keep in muffin tins. I always search these treasures to finish off a piece of art.

Now I add my small treasures to my art to embellish it. Some I painted just a little and, of course, I added some stencil work.

There is nothing like the pleasure of creating.

Dream in Color.

Darlene Olivia McElroy

Delight(ful) Stamps

I woke up in the middle of the night with the thought of making stamps with Delight. No doubt not a new idea but that possibility had never dawned on me. So I got out of bed, went to the studio and started making them. One of the things I learned was that if you want straight edges, it is better to cut it before the Delight sets up. Tip is to coat them with matte medium so they don't stain and allows you to wash them off without reconstituting them. And, no, they won't last forever but in a pinch it is a great fun!

SUPPLIES
Delight
Scissors (optional)
Anything that can give you a texture.

I started with a regular rubber stamp. You get a reverse or negative image of the stamp. On all of these, I rolled the Delight flat with a rolling pin before stamping into it.

I have large sheets of rubber stamps without the wood backing. This one has grunge edges because I wanted to see how that would look. Plus I prefer more grunge than perfection.

Next, I brought out the Indonesian wood block. This one has a real graphic pattern to it.

Next, the stencils came out for a creative play day.




Dream in Color,
Darlene Olivia McElroy

Create a Journal for You and Your Friends

Take an old book from a thrift store and turn it into a journal for yourself or for a gift. Simple and easy.

Supplies
Old book
Gesso
Paint
Creative Paperclay®
Stamps
Collage elements

I started by painting gesso on the interior pages. This adds a little weight to the pages as well as give you a great surface for journaling on. I let some of the text show through for interest.

Next, I added Creative Paperclay® on the cover of the old book and added texture and pattern by brayering stamping and stencils on the clay.

I added paint, metallic rubs and then glued on collage elements.

This is a great gift for all ages. Have fun.

—Darlene Olivia McElroy