Small steps

Hi everyone!

Well, I took a small step forward today with the start to finish project.  I added some heart stencils to both the back and front of the piece.  Here are some pictures:

In the first couple of pictures above, it is hard to see the hearts...you can kind of see the gray heart outline a little bit, but you can't really see where I rotated the stencil on the piece and then used blue paint to make hearts.  I have to admit...the blue hearts are very subtle, but that is how I wanted them.

The back of the piece is much more obvious (still subtle, but you can at least see the outline of the heart in the center).

Here's the stencil on top of the start to finish piece:

And here's the paper plate I used with the blue paint on the front.  Basically, I squeezed a little paint on the plate then bounced my paint brush in the paint and then on the plate to take most of the paint off.  I wanted more of a dry brush effect.

For the gray outline, I used this kid's tool called a SprayZa.  You take a marker and insert it into the black SprayZa device.  Then you blow through the end that is away from the marker, causing air to blow onto the marker and then the marker to spray out onto the piece. This gives you a very light spray line through the stencil, again giving you a subtle look.

Joe got me the SprayZa for Christmas a couple of years ago for something fun, and it turns out that the thing makes a great artist tool.  I used it on a piece I did quite some time ago (that was purchased by a co-worker of mine :-) ), as it created this nice air-brushed look on it (I used it without a stencil on that piece).  Obviously, the more you blow in the same spot, the more color that transfers onto your piece, but that's okay...you have the control to do as little or as much as you want.

So, another step forward for the start to finish project...that makes me feel excited.  I have more to do, but that's okay.  At least it is still moving forward.

Until next time, keep moving, step by step, and before you know it, you'll have accomplished something big.  All it takes is tiny steps forward to do it!  Stay warm and safe everyone!