Anj,
Thanks, that's a cute leprchaun and what a great thing. Wouldn't it be nice to be involved with Treasure Boxes? I don't want to go there with my crazy life but I hope this is still going when I retire and it could be fun.

I printed the first page and hope to get one painted. I don't have a colored printer but shouldn't need it.

How did your painting go this weekend? I'm painting something that I may not share. It was suppose to be antiqued and done with pen and ink, crackled and oh boy lots of stuff I didn't have on hand. But you know me and I'll paint it my way and who knows.

Looking forward to seeing your projects. Punk

Punk

What a darling leprechaun pattern, thanks for sharing it with us. I probably can't paint it that realistic but might have to give it a try. Luvs

Hey Punk....My painting is still going, but quite frankly it's giving me fits! ha Nothing is going right with this thing and I'm about ready to give up on it and start something else. I'll keep at it again tomorrow, but now I'll have my niece and nephew for the next 2 days (last minute plans) so don't know how much I'll be able to get done. Very frustrating. Maybe I'll put this one aside tomorrow and work on a leprechaun cutout I got at the TS with his pot of gold and try to finish up the Frosty sign I started at my friends house. I've got to stain it to give it a different look and I've not used stain before so hoping I don't screw it up completely. ha I'm sorry I haven't got anything to share yet, but I warned you how slow I am. ha

Luvs~ I was thinking the same thing on the leprechaun. Probably can't get it that realistic...especially the face looks hard to me, but downloading it anyway so I may try it later on.
Punk~ I didn't know what you were talking about with the Treasure Boxes at first, but went back and looked. Looks like a pretty neat program.

Hey, Anj, just a quick suggestion--before I stain anything, I always spray on a coat of the Krylon Matte sealer. The stain will still go on well, but if you run into a problem, the stain can be wiped off and redone without messing up your project. Sounds like you have several projects in the works, I'll be looking forward to seeing them all.

You know I'll bet Bebe could do that leprechaun face with no problem at all--she's so good at the realistic things. I think he is so cute, hope I get a chance to try him even if it's just my own style and not exactly like the original.

Punk, have you ever used the liquid Hide glue for crackling? It comes in a brown bottle and works really well. I've also read about people using just plain ol Elmer's glue to get a crackle effect but I've not tried that myself. I know there are special glues just for that purpose too--but I'm always trying to find things I can use for multiple uses instead of buying specialty things.

Luvs

Anj and Luvs,
Easy there girlfriends. I'll bet yours will look just like that one.

Anj, I'm sorry your project is not working well with you and I have the same issues sometimes. I leave it and move on and it seems like the next time I grab it to paint we're both ready. haha I have a project I'm working on like that right now too. The more I do the worse it looks.MM

Luvs, I've never used the Krylon Matt Sealer, liquid hide or Elmers for crackling. So now you have me going, I use to stain almost everything before painting it. Now I don't want to take the time. Is the sealer an a spray or brush on?

Where do you purchase the liquid hide? Better yet why don't you go pick up Anj while your traveling and come on up to MT and we'll try everything! The wood is on me!!!

I think I've heard of using Elmers glue for crackling but the last few times I tried to crackle with the crackle medium it didn't turn out well. I used it years ago and loved it. Maybe it's time to try something new. Thanks for all the ideas.

DD just brought me some snowmen ornaments this morning to personalize for her for next Christmas. She got a steal on them at Shopko for like .50 ea. They were 90% off. You might want to check it out if you have a Shopko close by.

It's 11:30 here and I still need to check the gallery and conversations so G2G. Punk

Luvs~ I have some of the matte sealer so I'll do that before I stain. Thanks for the tip. I'll have to make a run to the store to get some darker stain. The ones I have are all lighter than I want. Can anybody suggest a good brand of stain...quick drying preferably. ha

Punk~ I have a shopko by my house. Maybe I'll get to run down there tomorrow while I'm out.
~Anj

Anj, Here are the ornaments that DD brought me to personalize. Looks like there is 4 different ones. Hope you can find some at a good price if there anything you'd like.

Punk, those are such cute snowman ornaments--I love anything snowman. Darn, Anj, you have all the good stores in your area, I'm jealous, no Shopko down here. ;o(

The Krylon Matte 1311 is a spray on clear sealer. It is great for so many things. If you like to do linework with a pen,you can spray the matte sealer on and the ink will not run. It's also very good to give a little "tooth" to things before you paint them too. I don't usually seal my wood before I paint anymore either--I was taught to sand, wipe off the dust and then use a liquid sealer before I started to paint. Now I just skip the sealer and put on a couple coats of paint.

The Hide Glue is at Lowe's, Home Depot, Walmart. Not expensive and will last a long time. I just put an undercoat of paint on, let it dry, brush a layer of the glue on with a sponge brush. Thick layer makes large cracks, thin layer makes thin cracks. Let it dry, then quickly brush my second color on top. Brush the top coat on in long even strokes and don't go back over it. Have fun watching the cracks appear as it dries. ;o)

Anj, I can't help with suggestions on stain--I haven't done that in a long time--used to stain things allot. I've even used the dark Old English furniture polish on projects for a bit of a stain. It turns out really nice, but you have to be careful of fingerprints until it gets nice and dry.

Punk, wouldn't that be fun for the three of us to get together to work on some projects? Not sure I could convince DH to do that though, and I don't drive that big long motor home! I've never been to Montana but would love to see it sometime. That's the fun part about traveling in the motor home, get to see new places.

We just got back home, so I worked today on vacuuming and cleaning the carpets in the motor home. Got all the rugs and towels washed. Just need to remake the bed with clean sheets and blankets and take it back to the storage area in the morning. Always nice to go on trips, but love to be home again too. ;o) Now I need to clean up the leaves from the winds, do a little trimming and start working on some painting projects before you gals revoke my membership on this forum! ;o)

Luvs

Luvs,
Just talked to DD and her a GD want to do a sleep over tomorrow night. I'm so excited to spend the night together. Maybe she will know who she wants on her ornies and I can get them done and let her take them home.

Sounds like you worked your little buns off today after getting home. I wish I could go out in the yard and do something. Oh no, changed my mind it sounds like work. lol

If you want to come and see the Big Sky country let me know. You are more than welcome. Tell DH if he doesn't want to drive you can fly in and we'll come get you and show you some country!!! My brother bought lake front property on Flathead Lake so we could have a fun time up there also. Do you think we could fit in fun and painting?

Thanks so much for all the ideas with these projects. Makes me want to try crackling again. I want to paint on the trays unless your coming to MT and then you can. haha

I don't think you will ever get your membership revoked on this forum. Anj will see to that. It is so fun and now I'm hooked and can't wait to get back to see what's happening. Thanks again for keeping this going. Punk

Every month ladybug designs offers a free pattern. I have tons of them but I have yet to paint one.

Here is a link that might be useful: My etsy shop

Hi Urbanekdesign, welcome to the forum. From your shop, it looks like you are more into realistic art than the cute painted designs like the little leprechaun. Too bad we did not know about these free designs before, this one is so cute and I loved the way it printed out so nice and big and with all the instructions. Wish we could have gotten some of the prior ones too. Oh, well, we will have to watch for them now. Luvs