5 in 5 - September 2015 - LOST AND FOUND

Welcome to '5 in 5' where on the 5th of

each month I post 5 photos that I have

taken in 5 minutes. 

 

This time last week I was on a 4 day workshop having an amazing time and in my next post I will tell you more about it.  But for now, I want to show you some of the wonderful collections that Alice Fox set out for us to use.  The excitement returns even thinking about them! As the title of the workshop suggests these are all items you can find  around your home or outdoors:

 

Shells. 

I can never resist collecting these whenever I go to the coast! 

 

Feathers. 
I collect these too!  I have ideas of using them to print with and make into quills for dipping into ink.  Alice showed us other ideas too....

Fishing line. 
Twine and string also make very useful found objects. 

 



How many of us have drawers with odd things lurking in the back?
Now I know what to do with them! 

 

And rusty objects.

Until my husband cleared the shed we would have found some of these. Now, I am deliberately rusting metal and looking out for rusty objects so that I can save it for future projects!

  

The workshop opened my eyes to lots of new opportunities and ways of using material.  And what's more I made a number of books too!  NOW you know why I loved it so much!   

 

Thank you for popping by, your company and comments are always appreciated and special thanks to Maggie, Joy, Eileen, Helena, Melanie and Barbara, who took part last month.
 

If you would like to join in this monthly photo challenge please link in below so I can come and see your photos. Here's the plan:

 

  1.  Choose a location.

2.  Have your camera ready.

3.  Set a timer for 5 minutes (I use my mobile phone).

4.  Take as many photos you can until the time is up.

5.  Choose 5 photos to download and share by using the link tool below. 

   Please note: 

You can take  your photos any time, they do not have to be taken on 5th!
And you have until the 25th of the month to add your photos to the link.

 

There are more details here.

HALLOWEEN IN AUGUST - Design Team Project

I don't usually think so far ahead, let a lone prepare, but I knew what I wanted to do with these have MDF Wonky Houses from That Craft Place ever since I first saw them. 

And in case you are inspired to make these too, I decided to share these now, to give time for ordering and making up in time for Halloween.  Of course, they would also be good for other festivities such as Christmas (I can see me ordering another set of Wonky Houses!) and they would look pretty good for Easter, decorated with spring flowers and bunnies.  But in total contrast here is what I did to them:

First I gave them an overall colour of PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk paint then used masks and stencils to add detail to the roof. 

Then I masked the roof and windows while I worked on the front of the house, to leave the inside window plain orange.  On the smaller houses I used a stamp to create an overall pattern, and decided to use a sheet of paper on the middle house. This sheet is from a set of Halloween papers in my stash and I've had it so long I don't know the manufacturer, but the large cobweb design was perfect for this project. 

And here are so close ups, showing more detail. After decorating the houses I inked the edges and painted the window frames and doors, using the same paint to decorate the base of the Wonky Houses and the MDF Halloween shapes (also available from That Craft Place).  Finally I attached these in place with PVA glue and gave it all a coat of DecoArt Matt Medium to seal and protect it.

 
And that's me done!  The houses will be packed away until the end of October and then they will have pride of place. I had a lot of fun decorating these and I hope they will enjoyed year after year. 
If you would like to make your own, here are the materials I used:

MDF Wonkey Houses
Halloween Grab Bag
PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Paints. I used Black Dress, Pumpkin Soup and Blood Orange - blending the colours to create different shades.
DecoArt Matt Medium
PVA glue
Sheet of patterned paper, alphas and stencils from my stash.

All these items are available from That Craft Place. 
Do check out other designs in the MDF range and their wide selection of masks and stencils.

To see more Design Team projects do pop over to TCP Blog and why not enter this months Mixed Media challenge?  You'll find details how to take part and lots more ideas too.  Thank you for popping by and I'll be back next month with another project.