Artist Class $15 Paper Doll Dress Tutorial
Artist Class's ala carte classes include my tutorial of paper doll dresses. You will receive a copy of this hand drawn and painted doll, patterns of dresses that will fit the doll, and scanned ephemera to download and print to make the dresses. Oh, and of course, step by step instructions on how to make them!
You can find the class HERE for $15.
And if you'd like to use the dresses as Christmas ornaments, or to hang them elsewhere, HERE
you'll find a free mini tutorial on how to add the ribbons.
FREE TUTORIALS
On this page, you will find how-to tips and tutorials that I have done on my blog in the past, all gathered here in one easy location for you. Scroll down to read them here, or click on the links to go directly to the post.
In order, I have:
Feel free to email me with any questions you might have.
How to paint furniture (the short cut way)
For years, I had an antique furniture painting business and would paint a dozen or so pieces in a weekend, using my big compressor and air gun to do all the base coats and primers. Now that I rarely need to paint something, and no longer have the heavy duty equipment to make the job easier, I found a short cut way to handle painting something.
Of course, having an assistant helps.
Since this cabinet had glass doors, I covered the glass with newspaper before starting, and set up the piece in an area where I could spray paint and not worry about the mess.
Old furniture comes with many defects time has added to its finish. Personally, that is what I love about it. If I wanted something to look new, I'd buy a brand new piece. I want my antiques to keep their flavor! So, I don't want to sand away any alligatoring of the old varnish, or any other interesting bits on it.
This BONDING primer (bonding is the key word, here, it will stick to any clean surface without sanding) covers the old varnish, but doesn't change the look of the finish underneath.
Spray away. And here is where the short cut comes in. If you plan on painting the piece with a brush after priming, you can leave it the way this cabinet looks right now, kind of shadowy. But, if you are going to do what I do and skip the step where you brush on paint, then you need to use plenty of spray primer.
It took me 2-1/2 cans for this piece. After it was at the shadowy point in this photo, I sprayed over any darker areas and made sure there was good coverage.
Did I mention how much it helps to have assistants? I gave this one an empty can to help with. I'm glad it was empty, because she tried to spray paint the world with it. If she ever gets hold of a full can, I might be in trouble.
Primer MUST NOT be left without a top coat. But, who says you have to use paint over it?? I use glaze, which is mixed with latex paint.
You can buy it pre-mixed like this kind, which is handy for large projects, but can be pricey.
Or you can buy glaze by the can, and mix your own color. I use those cheapo 2 oz craft bottles of acrylic paint.
This is really too much for the cabinet, but I liked this color and wanted to make extra to store for something else. It never hurts to make up a bit extra, because you'd hate to run out in the middle of glazing your furniture.
I'd say 2 cups of glaze and 1 ounce of craft paint (any color, any brand) is plenty.
The color I chose was a dark brown. Notice how it looks more like chocolate milk after it is brushed on? Well, that is because the glaze is milky. But you have to remember that the glaze will dry CLEAR. So the color you chose is what you end up with, not the milky version it is while still wet!!
Start at the top and work on one small area at a time. Paint the colored glaze on thickly, and get it down into all grooves. After one section is painted, wipe it off with a wet, soft rag.
I use old tee shirts, and keep a bucket of warm water nearby for rinsing. Not that warm water is better than cold, but it just feels better when you wring the rag out.
And rinse often!! Your rag will fill with glaze fast. If you don't keep rinsing and wringing it out, you'll have a soppy mess and will just be pushing the glaze around, not removing it.
Don't worry about perfection. Some areas will be more heavily glazed than others, that makes for an interesting finish. And if you were lucky enough to have a piece of furniture with lots of crackled finish to start with, then the glaze will really look nice when it settles into those cracks!
While the glass is still covered with paper, spray a can of satin finish clear coat over the project to seal it.
After you take off the newspaper and tape, you might have to scrape a little paint off the window here and there with a razor blade, if you tape as badly as I do.
I chose not to paint the interior of mine, instead I lined it with vintage wallpaper.
HINTS
You can skip the paint step, IF- you are fine with using bright white as your base color under the glaze. Canned primer doesn't come in tinted colors.
You MUST cover every inch of the primed areas with painted on glaze! Primer is not meant to be left uncovered. But glaze is quicker and easier to brush on than paint, because you are just slopping it on heavy and will be wiping it off.
Top coats are important, for durability. You can quickly spray one, or brush it on. If I am brushing it on, I like to use Min-Wax Polycrylic. It is water based, no smell.
Make sure the piece is clean before you paint it. Wipe it down with a damp cloth, and if it is greasy use Windex.
Only use BONDING primer!! Be sure the label says something like "will stick to glossy surfaces". I buy this brand at Home Depot. If I am brushing on primer instead, I use "The Gripper" by Glidden.
Primer can be painted over soon after using it, but sometimes it takes days to "cure". So, if you have painted something with an extremely high gloss finish, try to leave it set and don't mess with it for 3 or 4 days. The finish hardens, and won't scrape up after that.
If you get over spray on the glass, like I did, scrape it off right away, or it just gets harder to do.
It was pointed out to me that spray paint is dangerous to inhale and I didn't mention safety precautions. Please, use proper ventalation! I use the garage, but am right inside the open double doors. Also, the baby only was playing with an empty can, she was not actually involved with spraying or breathing in the spray. I treasure each and every one of her brain cells!
March 16, 2009
Lighten up! (or how to paint a chandelier)
Yesterday was a junking day, and a really good one at that. We all bought stuff we loved and at good prices, you just can't beat that! One of my purchases was this $58 brass chandelier. I needed one to light up my space at the upcoming Miss Frenchie's sale.
Today was definitely a perfect springtime day! 70's and sunny, and not too much of that Kansas wind. So, I took advantage of the sun, and took this chandy outside for a do-over.
Here's how:
1- Wipe off the dust, if it is really dirty, use Windex.
2- Now, this might sound like odd advice, but it really is smart and works. I've painted dozens of chandeliers and have found that this is the easiest way to go- screw burnt out light bulbs into the sockets before painting! That keeps the paint from getting into them, and is much simpler than using tape to cover the sockets. Really.
3- Spray with a BONDING primer. The label MUST say "bonding" or "will adhere to shiny surfaces."
4- Spray into all the nooks and crannies, let dry, turn over and spray that side. You will probably need to turn it around at least 3 or 4 times to get every angle.
5- Double check and see if you missed any spots!
6- Mix a deep brown paint (acrylic craft paint, like Apple Barrell or Delta) with some clear glaze.
7- Dab on the brown with a small, soft brush, doing one area at a time. Make sure you get it deep into all the cracks.
8-Lightly wipe away paint with a wet rag, leaving it in the recesses.
9- Repeat all over and all around the light. Just like when you sprayed the primer, turn it every direction and make sure you didn't miss any spots.
10- Go for an uneven, messy kind of finish, darker in some places than in others. You don't want it to look like it was done perfectly at a factory!
11- When dry, spray with a poly clear coat. And remember about flipping it over and going for every angle!
12- Add crystals, I prefer to use different sizes, not all uniform. If some of the holes are plugged with paint, poke through with a toothpick or small nail to clear it out.
Ta Da! Only 12 steps to a whole new look!
And please note, I didn't use just any spray paint. If you do that, the glaze will wipe off. It has to be a BONDING PRIMER for the water based glaze to stick!!!
February 18, 2009
Nesting (how to paint a bird's nest)
Today, I've been busy at work in the studio painting drawer pulls. I had a boxful, some from Beth,some that I harvested from dressers when I fixed them up and changed out the handles to glass knobs. The first step in the redo was to prime them with a can of Zinzer spray primer. Then, I painted them white with acrylic craft paint.
Are you up for a how-to? I thought I show you the steps in painting a nest. First, start with a nest shape blob in dark brown.
Next, add two vaguely egg shaped blue blobs.
Add white highlights to the eggs.
Switch to a thin, liner brush and outline the eggs in the same dark brown used for the back ground of the nest.
Now, switch back to a small, round brush and load it with yellow and tan.
Add some of the yellow tan color, in lines that follow the shape of the nest.
Repeat with a layer of olive green.
This is all about the layers. Let each previous layer peek through the next. Don't go at this with a heavy hand, let your layers of color build up, just as a bird would have built it with layers of sticks.
Now is time to switch back to the thin, liner brush. Using the dark brown, follow the shape of the nest again with your strokes. This time, be a little messy, with "twigs" sticking out all around.
Repeat the last step with white or ivory.
Fine tune the nest by outlining some strokes with the dark brown on a liner brush, here and there as needed
To finish, brush on a water based clear coat, or spray with a can of poly. I prefer the brushed on method myself. It might look like this was a lot of steps, but really, it goes fast and unsure, shaky lines make even better twigs than perfect lines! So give it a try, a nest is a simple thing to paint.
April 29, 2009
How to cut vintage wallpaper
For me, vintage wallpaper is simply a billion times better to use in art projects than any scrap booking paper could ever be. Now, I'll scan a really, really wonderful piece before cutting it up, so I'll always have it, but honestly, I don't much like using the copied pieces. The feel just isn't right.
Trouble is, vintage wallpaper can be a LOT of trouble. Its usually curly from being rolled up forever and it is often brittle.
Ironing it makes it much easier to work with.
I kind of go back and forth on what is the best way to iron and cut it. If it is really fragile, or I am just cutting a few pieces, I'll cut it right off the roll, then iron the pieces. If I am on a marathon of ironing and have good movie to watch while doing it, I'll iron it directly off the roll, like the first photo.
Here are some tips for cutting:
Keep a fresh blade in your exacto knife, or the edges of the paper will shred.
Find something the right shape and size to cut around. I use the glass from an 8 x 10 frame. That makes a good size bit to work with for most projects, and if I am making up packs to sell, its easy to mail.
Self healing cutting mats are wonderful! My blade doesn't get dull too fast and I don't slice up the table underneath. I used to try to measure the paper by the grid on the mat, but that was way too much work. Now, I just line up my 8 x 10 piece of glass with the straight edge of the paper and zip the blade around it. Much easier.
Iron the back side of the paper. Old paper is not prepasted, so the back is safe to iron on. If yours is gooey and gluey, its probably not very old. And your iron will be messed up.
The paper is often painted, if you want to protect your ironing board cover, you can lay a sheet of clean paper, or fabric over the board.
Ironing is almost as bad as sewing, but sometimes it has to be done. But ironing paper isn't nearly as bad as ironing clothes, since there are no cuffs or collars. At least, that is what I tell myself to get through it.
The iron can be left on its highest setting and some cut papers can be ironed in a stack of two or three pieces at a time to speed things along.
October 16, 2009
How to redo a vintage doll
Helpful tips:
Keep a baby wipe or Wet One handy to de-glue your mucky finger tips reguarly
To use the light bulb for ironing, you need at least a 60 watt bulb
Pull the dress tightly over the bulb and run it back and forth, go all the way around the skirt
You can use the light bulb for ironing ribbons or flowers too
Sometimes, you just need to dip your fingers in water and dampen a ribbon that is already tied to the doll, to pull on it and straighten it out.
Keep your embellishments in scale with the doll. No giant buttons or jewelry, they all need to be small bits.
Try to use items the same age as the doll. You don't want to add brand new embellishments to a vintage doll.
Don't be afraid to glue everything directly to the doll, her clothes don't need to come off to be washed or changed, so just glue everything permanently to her!
She doesn't have to be perfect. You want her to still look her age.
If her rubber band that holds her head and arms on is loose, just glue the body parts in place. She really doesn't use her arms, or turn her head and look around anyway. But do it after you fix her up, if the arms are glued solid, they might be in the way. Add them last.
