AU Techniques Chunky Book Done

Done! Ya-hoo! I spent most of the weekend finishing up my babies. Who’s departure I started to mourn as soon as I was done with them. I laid them all out to dry and had to photograph them. If you can make it through this whole post, I have a few close-ups at the end.

By the end of the last blog I decided that I wanted to use another technique from Michael’s class than just the background. And that is where the wiring comes in. A very simple technique of punching a hole through your background, (or drilling for a more formidable surface) and wiring it down. Usually you want to hide the wire, but I used it as part of the design.

I have an old clay tool that worked perfect to punch holes. A folded cloth under the page worked wonders; I was able to move quickly. (And for the squeamish of you please ignore the broken pinky on my right hand, long story).

Then just feed the wire through like you are sewing. With the two open ends I added a tiger eye bead. I wrapped the wire around it as quickly as I could and had pleasant results!

Then I laid the butterfly on and punched through the wings and the page at the same time.

And wired him on, starting with the back side, crisscrossing the thorax, under and back out to the front again. (FYI – the wires on the back, covered with my techniques info sheet make a smile. I should have taken a photo of that too, but I had to draw the line somewhere!)

I wound the excess ends out on to a wooden dowel, starting about an inch from the page.

Then rolled back down to the page. They are not perfect and I love them that way. You may have noticed the tape on my fingers, a necessity for this step! While rolling the dowel down you need to hold the coiled end and it is sharp.

I love seeing them all piled on top of each other, it’s like they have a life of their own. My little children, preparing to take off, so I named them “heading out”. I have to state again how much I love mass-producing. I love perfecting a technique and the growth process involved.

I tried several things to finish the background and again fell back on glitter. I guess I just can’t help myself. To change it up a little I did use Art Glitter’s Elements – Tailings, which is more of a tiny glass nugget, not technically glitter. (Glitter is cut from thin films.) Just draw on the Designer Dries Clear Adhesive and cover with Tailings. Oh yes, and I forgot to mention at the end of my last blog that I did use a matt finish spray after the textures on the thorax dried. Elements is an organic substance and has to be sealed. And I got a wonderful metallic look to the fantasy film that was an unexpected, happy surprise.

Done! Now what am I going to do?

Here are the close-ups I promised. Thanks for indulging me!