Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Patchwork Quilt Bird Collages and Rolled Paper Frame Tutorial

Boy- the month of August flew by in a blaze of glory!  I am so grateful to have a break from the terrible Texas heat.  September is finally here and the holidays are not far behind.

This past month my classes have been hard at work on several fun projects.  We have finished up most of our "Patchwork Bird" collages.  Sometimes my students really hated painting over their collages so I think we will revisit this project and make a collage "painting" next time.   Here are a few of our finished masterpieces:

Unique works of art




Lea's finished collage
Happy with her final result!



One of my favorite projects we tackled recently was our Rolled Paper Bead  Frame.  This project is a little labor intensive and takes several classes to complete, but the finished project is really fun and unique. Everyone was very excited about how the frames turned out.  Here is a quick tutorial for the rolled paper frames:

Supplies you will need:

Magazines
Scissors or Paper Cutter
Wood Dowels/ Skewers
Glue Sticks
Tacky Glue
Acrylic Paint
Foam Brushes
Varnish
Lots of Patience



1.  Rip out colorful pages of your old magazines- old calendars are great for this project as well.

2.  Cut lots and lots of strips- about 1 1/4 inch wide (or the width of the frame you will use).  Focus on the design at either end of your strip because that is what really shows up after you roll the paper.

3.  Get to rolling.  I used wood dowels, but you can use straws or wood skewers to roll the paper on.  Important note:  only glue the last 2 inches of the paper- do not glue anything in the beginning, just tuck the ends under and start rolling.

4.  Paint your frame- let it dry.

5.  Glue your paper beads onto your frame- Tacky glue is great for this purpose.
 

Final step is varnishing your frame
6. Once your frame is completely covered, then apply a light coat of varnish or Mod Podge to the finished piece to protect it and add a nice gloss coat over the painted frame.

7.  Then add a photo and give to someone you love!

Finished Frame ready to be given as a cherished gift

We've also been very busy playing with our Polymer Clay and are learning a lot about Poly Clay techniques and Jewelry making.  I usually am so busy during class that I forget to take pictures of our work, but will try to take some photos of our next projects to share.

So till next time-  Have Fun and Stay Creative!

Stephane