Celtic dog & Spanish Turron

 Bit more progress.  I like the way the head reminds me of Viking figureheads.  I need to do the next leather section very carefully and decide if anymore black outlines need to be enhanced.

I also made some almond, egg white and oil Turron at the weekend.  I hope to do a YouYube video about that but as it’s the Summer and there is so much to do.  It’s a very old Persian recipe where you form ‘nut dough’.  The taste is insane.  It took me a fair while to perfect the recipe, I used an Alicante praline, which I then ground down and then made a Turron blando, or Jijona recipe.  You are boiling the sugar syrup till the last stage of plastic, just before it becomes glass.  Then you allow it to cool for 10 mins, then you roll it with all the other ingredients.  It’s very similar to Halvah with one last essential difference…..more in the video 

Faux patina bedside table with lion’s paw legs - stage 3

 No time for many words today….Ok so I used a wallpaper knife to trim down the very stiff excess edges all around the item.  This is very easy to do as long as you hold the blade at 45 degrees to the edge and  use the edge as the guide.  It’s a lot of fun doing that part, but needs practice on the back first.

I made a template  with my tri-square for my drill holes, as it saves so much time.  As you can see in the picture below, I didn’t remove the original handles, I simply turned the drawers round and used their reverse.

The legs and the handles that I chose for the piece (pictures next time) cost me about £20.  The original drawers cost me £11 at IKEA.  I left the product code label on in case anyone wants to try to source them).

I decoupaged (PVA glue to drawer, then over image while all still wet) this vintage map that I bought on Amazon (link provided next time) in sequential order, so I can jumble the drawers or have them look like a proper map depending on mood.  I think this way whatever people say, I am ready for them…

For all decoupage and wallpapering you need to smooth the surface down after glueing.  For the decoupage I sized the image first with a thick layer of glue that I then wiped off with a soft cloth, waited two minutes and panted over it again with a proper first layer of glue.  I find this creates a very smooth surface to leave to dry.  Creases and quasi bubbles do reappear whilst drying, but you shouldn’t touch those, as they will smooth out in the later phases of drying, 

I don’t think I will glue anymore layers, but will polyurethane varnish ( water based so it’s labelled ‘Quick Dry) as I love the results with that product, as the item will be chip and scratch proof.  As I did for the recent cake table (see last post), where in the end I varnished it 3 times.  You can varnish so quickly if you maintain a wet edge and use a very soft brush.  Can I say, I also did a light sanding before each varnish layer.

Marie Antoinette cake table finished

 I am pleased to say this small occasional table is finished.  

I decided on Matt clear polyurethane varnish which allows most of the chalk paint patina to remain visible.  The shells took much much longer than I imagined but I think the overall reproduction feel to it works, which is a nice reward for all my efforts.

I am very excited about something else on the horizon now…. what can I say, Pinterest is responsible, don’t blame me, blame Pinterest….more later…

g2g xx

Celtic dog 4 & other stuff

 Ok ppl, here is a close up of current WIP and the area photographed is one inch square !!

I gave him a black collar with gold studs, to suggest a leather article. Although very little leather work survives, Celtic, Saxon and Viking leather work was very ornate and there are a couple of examples on display at the Ashmolean museum.  I’ve couched some silver thread too. Will be doing more of that but will probably bulk it up somehow?

Next is the progress I recently made with the Marie Antoinette garden cake table. 

Next is stage 2 of the bedside table with faux patina.

So I BIN Zinssered it as a base layer for wallpaper.  I used 1000gms paper, which is lovely and thick. I made sure there were no air pockets and will wait the full 24 hours before I cut that to size.  

 

Celtic dog 4 and next item to be upcycled

 Apologies ppl, but no time to speak….

Celtic dog 3

 Ok so here is the progress I made re all.

I decided to spread wildflower seeds around this wasteland that I’ve cultivated, to which I will add wild bird seed.  I’ve done this before at my mother’s and it works.  Basically in the bird seed is a lot of wheat and as wheat is a nitrogen fixer, you find everything benefits that is growing nearby.

I decided with the door to strip the lacquer off the furniture and polish it.  Although this means in the winter it will tarnish much more frequently, I just prefer the brass to look like gold and not like it did with the yellowed lacquer.  Removing the lacquer to get back to the bare metal was easier than opening a bag of crisps - you basically paint it with neat nail varnish remover aka 100% acetone.  

Then the stumps were so heavy, they broke the handle of my garden refuse bag, so there’s another job added to the list.

Not over the moon with the Celtic dog progress.  Looking too predictable.  Will be pulling some out and adding more blue.

Oh well have to dash off to hold down the day job.  I will be visiting an archaeology museum soon, that should be good…

Celtic dog update 2

 Here is the next instalment and the original design that I flipped. 

The colours I decided on were inspired by The Book of Kells.

I’d like to draw your attention to the two areas of solid filling worked in opposing directions, where you can clearly see how densely the stitches stack up and create a very flat surface that reflects a sheen, or light, even with the very cheap cotton I’m using.  Also, I’m noticing that if you work in one direction the stitches look more like mini chain stitch, but if you work in both directions, as they did back in the day, the stitches look more like split stitch and stack up even more densely.

The work takes a long time because each stitch covers 3 strands of ground fabric.  Sharp points, curves and straight lines can all be worked easily.  For the dog’s paws I had to go into the previous stitch, instead of the end of it, to create even tighter curves, which is also something I picked up from staring at Opus Anglicanum work in close up for a long time.

The black outline is a guide only, I’m still working out if I want that to be more apparent in the end?  

I seriously underestimated how long this piece would take and had hoped to finish it for the Diamond Jubilee, as the first kings of England were Welsh.

Remember ppl, it took three women 25 years to complete a set of vestments for the Pope back in the day….

I’m working in sections now, instead of long lines, as a way of seeing faster progress but it’s not as hypnotic to work as the previous way of working.  What I will say though, is that even though it takes a long time, it’s very very addictive - so be warned!

My personal view is this stitch most likely came to England via Byzantium religious textiles and not from secular French purses.  

Apologies if the photo’s aren’t clearer, my hands are a little unsteady due to painting my front door and sledge hammering about 12 tree stumps the last two weeks.  I’m so pleased both those arduous tasks are finito.

Celtic interlaced dog

 WIP using Opus Anglicanum Stitch