Step into art; Customised Puffy Paint Shoes.

I know it says on my Mont Marte Super hero profile that my favourite product is the Two Seasons Spring and Autumn Watercolours kit and I have to say it still is, BUT the product I worked with this week came in a close second. The Puffy Fabric paint is not only fluro in colour but it is 3D in execution.  I simply cannot stress how awesome art materials are when they become textural; you can really enjoy your art projects from different sensorial perspectives, touch, feel and sometimes even smell is the best.  

This puffy paint is one of products you can use on almost anything and still retain its vibrancy in colour. I have tested this out on wooden surfaces like frames, greeting cards, t-shirts and have even used it on my camera bag. So it does not only work on fabric but also other surfaces. I decorated my camera bag a few months ago and haven’t stopped touching the puffy paint ever since.

Let me start by saying do not be afraid of fluro, fluro is your friend, it is a real attention grabbing tool perfect for customising a drab piece of clothing. This has led me to customising a boring pair of canvas shoes I own. Have you ever wanted a t-shirt to express your funny bone, ever had this urge to put a saying on a shirt for the whole word to see? Well join the club, the pun club; I was busting at the seams to paint this on something... a shoe to be exact. So I finally did it, I jumped on the pun bandwagon, “Hello, how are shoe”, get it? Get it!?

No matter if you don’t, have a go at this quick tutorial and your sole will thank you. 

I few housekeeping items to take care of first;

• Although the paint dries in a quick time, wait for 12 hours before using a hair dryer to cure it.
• Don’t hold the hair dryer too close.

 1. Pick your victim piece of clothing. 

 2. Draw on your design and maybe your hilarious pun!

 3. Paint on with Acrylic or fabric paint as a base.

 4. Apply the puffy paint, contrasting colours works well. Watch out sometimes the paint may spurt out.

 5. Apply the paint in different textures, see here I have created spikes out of a dotting action. 

 6. Add embellishments to the edges of the shoe.

 7. Laugh as hard as you want at your own joke.

I sure did!

Happy Creating. 

A-Thank you very much!

Every year we all go through many traditions of birthdays, baby showers, weddings, congratulatory events, ‘I’m leaving’ parties, ‘I’m coming home’ parties, 'I won a trophy and I'm fabulous' parties - I think you get the point, but basically plenty of celebrations to go around. There is one consistent element crucial to making these events happen, the cards! Invitations, thank you notes and congratulations in little envelopes, I have lost count of the amount of cards I have received over the years, but in all honesty I have only kept a few of the important ones.  For me, there is nothing worse than getting a generic card. No offense to my parents, but their card will probably end up in a recycling bin 3 months later (I know, you must think I’m the worst daughter in the world, but sometimes it is 6 months later!).

There are however just some of those cards that make it into the keepsake box for me to treasure for years later and these are either heartfelt long messages from my friends and family OR handmade cards.

Recently for my birthday in June, I received a handmade card from a friend I had only known 1 week. As I opened the envelope the gleam from the metallic gold, cut out lettering struck me first, “Happy Birthday”, wonky and adorable and clearly made for one person, me. To my delight, as I opened to read the contents which sprung from the page, literally, it was a pop up card! This gift was more so personalised by the fact she knew I loved skulls; this skull pop-up card was amazingly the best gift I had received that day.

I’m sure I am not alone with my reaction when experiencing this special treatment. That handmade little beauty sure did put a smile on my dial, so what’s to say you can’t achieve that with a special friend or loved one of your own?

SO, the purpose of this blog; handmade cards for special occasions, there are a myriad of different handmade card approaches I could have taken this week, but I thought I would attempt to replicate a foil card. These cards are often made at a great expense at your printer but I will be using silver imitation foil. The only limitation you have for when using this medium is your own imagination, so go for gold... or in this case, silver. 

I have decided to go for the traditional thank you card and some quite kitsch, iconic symbols that you could use for any occasion but are quite pretty and effective. 

Step 1: Pick out your card and re-size it using scissors or a cutting board. I have picked the Fluro card stock because the colours will provide a vibrant contrast against the silver foil.

Step 2: Make the fold before applying any design or adhesive. This way you do not damage the foil later.

Step 3: Paint the leaf size using a small brush into any design you want. Allow this area to become tacky and dry for a few seconds.

TIP:

To get straight lines grab a ruler and paint along it.

To get perfect typography (lettering) print off the words you want and use tracing paper for accurate, clean lines. 

Step 4: Gently remove the foil from the packaging, you might want to use a soft brush to help you, and place over the area you have applied the adhesive to. Either blowing onto the foil or using a brush with soft bristles pat down the foil. If you come across any areas that has a tear, simply rip off a small piece of foil and add to only that area.

NOTE:

The Silver Foil is the most delicate out of copper, gold and silver, so it it more inclined to tear. Be gentle and make sure you are not near a window or fan!

Step 5: After patting the surface down leave for a few moments then using a brush with a broad, flat edge, sweep away the excess foil.

NOTE:

Be prepared for the foil to stick to anything with moisture.

Step 6: Once all the excess foil is cleaned off, write a personalised message on the inside, give to your special friend then brag about how you made it all by yourself!

These designs could be used for a tea party, a pool party, an engagement or maybe you will want to have a moustache party! The freedom is yours to create. Happy creating!

Fluro Polar Bear Attack!

What happens when you leave a blank sculpture and a girl with fluro paints? THIS. Unfortunately the monitor colours DO NOT do the fluro colours justice. In fact looking at it with the naked eye, the fluro orange is almost blinding. Oh well, I had to show you this little activity nonetheless. This Polar bear I actually grabbed from another lesson that Mont Marte Joe did on sculpting with Air Hardening Clay, see it here if you like! This little art attack serves the purpose of showing you that you can jazz anything up with just a few simple block colours. What was a majestic polar bear perhaps to be used for a science 'show and tell' has transformed into a vibrant piece of decoration/ paper weight/ desk friend for anyone. Stay tuned for more fluro related blogs to come over the next month, watch this little video on how the fluro Polar bear came to be.

Happy Creating!

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