Dragonfly Lady Book

Dragonfly Lady Book

Posted by DecoArt on Mar 9th 2015

A pictorial tutorial on how the DecoArt Media line can create the illusion of surfaces that are anything but paint.

Items Needed:

Instructions:

Brush Matte Decou-page over the complete exterior of the paper mache book. When dry, brush Matte Decou-page over the complete interior of the paper mache book. Sealing the entire book will help keep it from warping as you apply paints and other mediums to it.

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Using heavy white cardstock, dry emboss one or several different designs.

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Create a patchwork effect of the embossed cardstock images but cutting and sizing them. Glue them onto the front cover of the book by brushing Matte Decou-page onto the surface, laying out the embossed pieces and then brushing over all of them to seal them in place.

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Randomly tear a piece of book text and add it to the cover of the paper mache book by first brushing Matte Decou-page onto the surface of the book where you want the text to go. Lay the text in place and then brush another coat of Matte Decou-page over the it to secure it in place and also to seal it.

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After adding the book text, I decided to emboss another of the large “POST CARD” images, cut it out and glue it in place directly on top of the original one on my patchwork book cover. I wanted this “POSTCARD” lettering to overlap onto the book text. Let dry.

Using a small detail brush, you can soften the cut edges of the cut paper patchwork pieces using a bit of water and Modeling Paste. Brush a bit of the Modeling Paste over the cut paper edges and blend it into the book background. Let dry.

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Find various embellishments you might want to use on the cover of your book and sort of layout a design. These pieces will later be altered to blend in to your cover.

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Paint a basecoat of Bahama Blue Americana Acrylic Paint over the entire book (minus the area for the pages). Gently heat set. Working on just the cover of the book now, create a wash using Quinacridone Gold and water. Brush the wash onto the book cover, being sure to let it seep into all of the embossed crevasses. Wipe away the excess wash color and repeat this process until you achieve the desired antiquing effect. In this photograph, the antique wash is in progress so that you can see the difference in the areas that have and have not been washed. Let dry or gently heat set. When dry, DRY BRUSH (using a short, fairly stiff hogs hair brush or something similar) around the edges of the cover with Quinacridone Gold to achieve an even more aged effect. 

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DRY BRUSH with Raw Umber Media Acrylic particularly around the edges and in deep crevasses to create a more aged look.

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Create “pages” on the outside of your paper mache book using Modeling Paste, a small stiff brush and some sort of straight edge. Begin with the top or bottom of the area of the book designated for the “paper pages”. Using a ½” to 1” stiff brush, apply a generous amount of Molding Paste onto the surface of the book and cover the entire area. Be careful to keep the molding paste on the flat area for pages only and not on the inside covers of the book. Once you have a generous amount of Modeling Paste brushed onto one of the ends, create texture and a worn, dog eared effect for the paper pages using some sort of a straight edge like an old plastic hotel key or plastic piece. Cut through the Modeling Paste and also pull up on the plastic straight edge to create raised areas, resembling worn paper edges. Repeat this process for the other end and then the long side of the book. Let dry thoroughly.

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Lightly brush Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide Fluid Acrylic mixed with just a little water over the surface of the Modeling Paste pages. Randomly repeat this over the pages, creating darker areas. Gently heat set. 

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DRY BRUSH over the “pages”, particularly the raised areas using Raw Umber Media Fluid Acrylics. In this photograph, you see the progression of the dry brushing and the beautiful aging effect it gives to the “pages”.

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DRY BRUSH the raised areas and areas that you want to highlight on the book cover using Gold Metallic Media Fluid Acrylics. You can see the progression of the gold highlighting in this photograph.

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Alter the metal and other embellishments chosen to go on top of the book by gently swiping Gold Metallic Media Fluid Acrylics to the surfaces with your finger. Then add touches of Patina Green Antiquing Cream (again using your finger) and wiping away the excess. Repeat these steps until you achieve the desired effect of aged metallic pieces that will blend but yet stand out on your book cover.

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To create the Lady Dragonfly, die cut a Sizzix Layered Dragonfly out of chipboard and also heavy white cardstock. Glue them together using Matte Decou-page. The female Grecian form is made out of molded Paperclay and allowed to thoroughly dry.

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I decided to add length onto the Paperclay molded piece so it would fit the entire length of the dragonfly body. I fashioned a bottom piece for the female form using the Paperclay and water and fused it onto the already existing piece. I used a sharp dental type tool to create the folds and allowed the newly altered piece to thoroughly dry.

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Apply a basecoat of Titanium White Media Fluid Acrylic followed by a light coat of Cobalt Turquoise Hue Media Fluid Acrylic to both sides of the wings. Gently heat set. DRY BRUSH with Cobalt Turquoise Hue to create darker areas on the wings, particularly around the edges and the veining of the wings.

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DRY BRUSH Gold Metallic Media Fluid Acrylics over the raised areas of the wings and around the edges to define them. Finally, brush a light coat of Liquid Glass over the wings to give them a cloisonné effect.

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Apply a basecoat of Titan Buff Fluid Acrylic to the molded piece.

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DRY BRUSH Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide followed by a DRY BRUSH of Quinacridone Gold, and coat of Ultra Matte Varnish. Gently heat set or allow to air day.

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DRY BRUSH with Gold Metallic Media Fluid Acrylics to create some subtle highlights.

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Add some Patina Green Antiquing Cream mixed with just a little water to the Dragonfly Lady’s body using your finger. Wipe away any excess antiquing and repeat until the desired effect is achieved. The Antiquing Cream is water soluble and is not permanent until heat set and sealed.

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Brush Matte Decou-page onto the dragonfly base and the underside of the molded piece. Press together to form a bond and let thoroughly dry. (It is always a good idea to brush Matte Decou-page onto both surfaces to be joined and then press them together. This creates a more permanent seal).

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The book should already be basecoated with Bahama Blue Americana Acrylic Paint. Create a wash using Quinacridone Gold and water. Working in sections, gently brush the wash over the remainder of the book’s surface and wipe away the excess wash. Repeat this step until the desired effect is achieved. The photograph shows the progression of the book during the Quinacridone Gold wash process. When finished with the washing and it is dry, DRY BRUSH Raw Umber Media Fluid Acrylics particularly on the edges and inner crevasses between the book pages and covers to create shadows and weathered, aged looking areas on the exterior of the book. 

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Brush Titan Buff Media Fluid Acrylics over the surface of the interior sides of the book. Let dry.

Brush Matte Decou-page onto the interior back of the book and also onto the back side of a piece of book text. Press the book text to the back of the paper mache book and brush over the surface with Matte Decou-page to seal. Let dry.

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Brush Media’s Crackle Glaze on top of the book text at the interior back of the book. If some spills onto the Titan Buff painted interior sides of the book, that is okay. Let dry.

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Create a “dirty wash” out of Quinacridone Gold and Paynes Grey Media Fluid Acrylics and water. This combination should be about 70% Quinacridone Gold, about 30% Paynes Grey and enough water to create a wash. Brush the dirty wash over the interior sides and text covered back of the book. Wipe away the excess and repeat the process until the desired effect is achieved. 

Piece by piece (excluding the Dragonfly Lady), brush a decent amount of Matte Decou-page onto the area of the book cover where each embellishment is to be added. Also brush Matte Decou-page onto the back of the embellishment and press it into place on the book cover. Continue this process until all embellishments have been added. Allow to thoroughly dry and then a light coat of Matte Decou-page or Ultra Matte Varnish may be brushed over the embellishments and book to further seal and protect them. Let dry.

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Finally, add a piece of rusted mesh by brushing a generous amount of Matte Decou-page onto the book cover. Press the mesh in place and add more Matte Decou-page on top, directly in the center where the Dragonfly Lady will be placed. Brush Matte Decou-page onto the underside of the Dragonfly Lady and press her in place on top of the rusted mesh. Press her firmly in place for a few minutes or place something over her to securely hold her in place for a few minutes. Allow the Matte Decou-page to thoroughly dry. It dries clear and will beautifully hold all of the embellishments in place.