Saturday 29 June 2013

More Darcy inspired "magic"

Well, I had no hope of emulating Darcy's Geisha Kitty  which I think was one of the most extraordinary and gorgeous things I've seen for ages.... but I did like the idea of gesso-ing fabric for strength and took it from there...

I remembered in my stash I had a little pose-able mannekin (from the Works) and decided to make him/her a little outfit.  It looks a bit more like a bandit's blanket robe thing than a kimono, but hey ho!!


I have some poly-cotton fabric I got last year at the Craft Barn (no fabric shops near me!) and cut it in rough kimono/wrap shape, with slits for arms and head, then painted it with gesso.  (couple of coats)

Once dry, I stamped the harlequin background from Letters 5 in black archival. and a couple of flourishes (HP1006) in aquamarine archival.





When that was all dry, I watered down some Bora Bora Fresco paint to create a thin enough wash not to obliterate the stamping (Bora Bora being opaque)  and then painted some white satin ribbon in Bora Bora too, for the edging (and to hide my rough cutting!)
Looking back again at Darcy's I should have cut the fabric to fit it to the mannekin better, but there we go! Rough and ready, that's me....




I wanted to try and make a hat or umbrella thing too, I had already stamped in paint, onto fabric, the large flower from ELB01 and decided to use that. I added a couple of coats of gesso to this too, to stiffen the fabric first.  Much fiddling then ensued... tried matches, had no cocktail sticks, or bamboo skewers or anything thin enough... cut the ends of a cotton bud in the end and tried to fix it to the fabric.. I tried glossy accents. kept falling over... tried grunge paste (would have worked,if I hadn't kept picking it up to stage it, and it wasn't set enough..)
 in the end I went back to glossy accents and used lots, waiting impatiently for it to dry..
Well, it is an attempt at Geisha Mannekin lol!! Thanks for another fab week of projects, Darcy, I loved them all.

Linking it here for Paperartsy 

13 comments:

sam21ski said...

A* for effort, this is a brilliant attempt!!

Sam xxx

Gabrielle said...

Your flower umbrella is such a clever idea! It looks amazing! That Darcy is incredibly inspirational!!!

ionabunny said...

What a great and funny little manikin you have created. That would make me smile every time I saw it. Love the umbrella...

brenda said...

What fun Helen, it sounds like you really enjoyed making this pretty piece.

Hope you have a good weekend.

B x

Darcy Marshall said...

Helen you are a star! i can't believe you took up the challenge and made so many pieces. Totally love the way you did the umbrella. Fabulous quirky lil doll now, needs a name!

craftimamma said...

You clever girl, this is fab and I agree with Ionabunny, definitely a smile maker!

Hugs
Lesley Xx

Julie Lee said...

How brave you are, Helen! What a week! I think this works really well and I agree with Darcy, you should give your little manikin a name! Julie Ann xx

Anonymous said...

That's so cute! And I love the umbrella. Well done!

Carmen said...

Such a big grin reading this post - were there some naughty words when making that parasol?

Always inspired when visiting you Helen, am wondering what fabric I have to stamp on now.

Lin said...

Great take on Darcy's project Helen and lots of fun!!!

Craftyfield said...

Full marks for trying! That is so brave. The parasol is excellent by the way, the dress is a good idea too.

Lucy Edmondson said...

What a great idea! Using the flower to make the parasol is inspired! So relieved the Geisha has the bow at the back, lol!

Lucy x

Words and Pictures said...

Very chic! A lovely little kimono and the flower parasol is inspired (as is dressing up your little artists' model...).
Hope you've had a great weekend.
Alison x