Bee Creative

Hello Crafty Peeps;

Today I am attempting my first tutorial.  If you have any questions please feel free to contact me and I will do my very best to help where possible.  This idea came to me when my daughter had her best friend over and they wanted to do a craft.  I went to the dollar store and found the clipboards....lightbulb moment.....why not paint????

The first step included a good old fashioned layer of gesso.  Gesso is amazing and helps to make the process easier....literal blank slate ......right?  Before adding gesso though, I did tape the clip as to help with the finishing.

I was not long and got the layer slapped right on the board.  I used Golden Gesso and it took no time to dry.....maybe 4-5 minutes before flipping and doing the other side as well.  

I have to say all turquoise and aqua colors are my favourite lately.  The gesso is amazing because it only took one layer of paint to begin to see some amazing color. On side A, I was able to put the primary color down and start the stencilling.  

I used a coral color to gradiate the color into the center and used the same turquoise to blend it.

When this layer was dry i moved the stencil up to the top and finished the design to the top.

Working on Side B now:
I started with drawing the "bee" on the back.....

then added the turquoise to the perimeter of the bee.

Using masking fluid, I painted the bee and let it dry for about half an hour.  Using the stencil from before- i gently added the coral color to the turquoise area.

The masking fluid once dry was difficult to see; however, worked wonderfully :)

Covering the edges to ensure that it looked right was important.  

When the masking fluid was removed (by using an eraser) the bee was mostly clear and ready for paint.  Repeating the process from before once this layer dried then the stencil was moved and more paint added to ensure a steady flow of pattern.

Adding paint where the bee needed color I continued until completely finished.  After it dried I added stamped letters on tissue paper and used decopage sealer to finish the cutest little bee in the world.......I might be a bit partial as my daughter said mom I think that bee is me...lol

Side A Completed:  Adding some ribbon to the top and washi tape to the edges seemed to finish the clipboard off in a oh so cute way.  

Side B Completed: Using a Poscoa Pen and sparkly nail polish finished this cute little bee.....I really think it turned out to be the bees knees :)

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial.  Looking forward to living and learning more about making them better.  

Have a craft Happy day!

Cheers