Making Rocks

Yes- you can! Anything you can paint can become a rock, just by a few easy techniques. You can create beautiful and one of a kind pieces for your home or work place easily and at a fraction of the cost. Say, for instance, you wanted to remake your counter top (which I have thought of doing!), or you need some earthy placemats for your deck table- paint it in stone! Make matching votive holders, candle plates, napkins (using fabric paint, of course)- you can do it just about anywhere.

First, assuming you've picked out what you want to paint, find the type of stone that you'd like. Do a little research. Sedimentary rocks, with their veins of color, are really the very easiest to mimic in painting. They have no set pattern (you know how Mother Nature is), so a flub here or there isn't going to make a difference, because maybe that's how it was supposed to be. But, you can use any stone style that fits with your needs.

Now that you've studied your stone, visualize your starting point. Start with your lightest shade of color. Basecoat if you'd like, but that depends on the surface you are painting. If it's originally hot pink, you definitely want to basecoat first. After your basecoat is dry, start laying down your veins of light shade. Vary the thickness of the paint, using water to thin for a more natural cast. Below, I started with a plastic tray and spray painted it with a Stone Accent spray (this was an experiment). I wanted to use the speckleness for the background.

Desert Jasper

With the basic veins in place, I started adding speckles in their special shades of color. This is where a specialty brush comes in handy if you don't want to paint dot by dot. My brush is an old filbert whose bristles are now all bent and curled, making it the perfect brush for dots, bushes, and trees. This old brush has seem more painting than you can imagine! So, if you have a brush like this, do some dots. Some spots are a thicker grouping than others. You can add some in dot by dot later, too. Keep checking your reference material, but let your hand do the work. It's fun once you get into it!

Now, start bringing in your final, darkest color for the deepest colored veins. Liner brushes are excellent for this. Follow the veins of lighter shades, but don't stick to it strictly. Those deepest veins will form wherever they will in the evolution of the rock. Thin down your paint if you need to, but I've found that the denser the color, the better the vein will look.

Here are two close ups:

That's all there is to it. Simple. Effective. Unique.

Sandstone is another easy stone to mimic in painting. These are a few beads I've painted-

This is a glass votive holder, basecoated:

And finished in Desert Jasper.

These are look-alike Purple Sea Sediment Jasper-

The bracelet in the following picture is real Desert Jasper. The bead is painted to look like it is.

Turquoise is a tough one, but I stuck to it. The copper accents come from copper metal powder suspended in a gloss varnish medium so it wouldn't oxidize while I was waiting for the paint to dry.

A plain, large bangle bracelet turned itself into turquoise:

After making this polymer clay bowl, it needed to be decorated. Here is how the 'making Sandstone' looks in the beginning stage:

It's not difficult to change something to what you want it to be. Painting is a marvelous medium to use, and with some practice, you can use it anywhere. Don't let it intimidate you. With a paint brush in your hand, You are the creator! Make it your way.

I sure do!!

Let me know what you think by leaving a comment below. Tell me what you have turned to stone!!

Toodles.

Cowland Studio

Garden Markers- Recycled

This is a quickie little project that will not break down in damp soil, and that you can reuse over and over again. You can even get the kids involved to do the decorating, or you can just save all the fun for yourself! Here's what you will need:

empty, cleaned plastic milk jugs
heavy duty scissors
a water proof marker
your imagination!

I use the long sides of the milk jug and cut as much of the flatness as I can get. Usually, a sharp knife will start the cutting process, and the heavy duty scissors take over from there.
Here is where your imagination comes in. As you can see below, I made a simple 'exclamation mark' cut for my markers, but they can take any shape you'd like, from squared to T shaped. They could be little clouds or balloons! More fun shapes equals more fun for you and the kids!

All you have to do now is write on them! I have found that Sharpie markers work well for me because we use a mister bottle to moisten the soil, but I have found that crayons work, too! When you want to reuse the markers for next year, a little isopropyl alcohol will help remove most of the writing.

All that's left is sticking them in their little pots!

Cutting your markers tall enough will allow you to elevate the plastic wrap, making a greenhouse for your seedlings, and the near-transparency of the marker allows more sun to get through.

Have fun with this little project and Happy Growing Season!

As always, feel free to leave a comment in the section below. I'd love to hear from you!




Toodles.


Cowland Studio

Sprouts Follow Up

This was one of those pictures that just had to be taken this morning. Hubby made himself a salad, topped with his own purple basil vinegar (which has the most delicious smell), adding in a healthy helping of fresh homegrown sprouts!

Is this yummy looking, or what?

A wonderful Welcome to Spring, for sure!

Have a happy, healthy, and warm First Day of Spring!



Toodles.



Cowland Studio

A How-To on Growing Sprouts

Growing and eating your own vegetables has come back to life, and at no better time. What's not to like about going out to your garden and picking a basketful of veggies for a stir fry meal? How can you resist a stroll around your garden, smiling, remembering how much fun you had playing in the dirt? And what did playing in the dirt get you? Healthier!! Yummy, flavorful food loaded with vitamins, nutrients, and best of all- no chemicals!

In many places, it's too early to get out and plant. I know the feeling of wanting to go out and will those seeds to grow. You can picture the plant loaded with produce, can't you? You gaze down the row of fresh turned soil, willing those little seeds to pop through and give you what you've been drooling for all winter. Right?

Well, if it's too cold to plant outside, try growing some green inside!

When you just have to have some green, there's nothing better than sprouts to help curb that craving. There are many kinds to choose from and you've probably had them at least once in your life. Here's a simple little tutorial on growing your own.

You will need:
a wide mouth quart glass jar (you want to get them OUT when they're done)
a square of nylon stocking to cover the open end
a large, strong rubber band
sprout seeds
clean, fresh water

Make sure your glass jar is very clean: rinse it out with very hot water and let it air dry. Next, add two level teaspoons of sprout seeds and about a cup of room temperature water. Cover the open end of the jar with your nylon square, holding it down with the rubber band. I use the stocking piece because the seeds have less of a tendency to stick to it. You'll understand why in a minute.
Pull the stocking piece taut, making sure the rubber band won't come off accidentally. Let the water and seeds sit together for about an hour or so. There is no exact time to this step, but the seeds don't need to sit in the water for a long time, just enough to get them started.
Next, tilt your jar carefully, emptying almost every drop of water out. That little bit of water will keep the seeds from drying out and stopping the germination process. Now, lay the jar on its side on a clean paper towel or cloth, making sure to keep it out of the sun. Your counter top or a shelf will do nicely.

For the next three to five days, rinse your seeds with fresh, clean water two to three times a day, laying your jar back down on its side after you have drained the water out. If the seeds bunch up near the nylon, gently tap them back into the jar. They need space to grow and air to breath!

If you find different types of sprout seeds, you can mix them together at the start of the process of sprouting, and if you are familiar with sprouts, you know they are great everywhere and on just about everything! My favorite is a tuna sandwich on toasted marble bread, with a huge splash of sprouts inside!

This post is the first of many that I hope to be writing in the future, to pass along  my experience in living as healthy as possible. Did you like this post? Any thoughts or suggestions? Pass them on in the comment section below!!

Toodles.



Cowland Studio.com

A Busy Time Lately

We have a lot to catch up on here in Cowland. As always, projects are being created, techniques are evolving, and there always seems to be something to do. With a change in my dialysis schedule, I'm finding much more time to be in the studio, and even manage to find time to do nothing but read a great book. It's not easy getting up at 3am three times a week, but being home very early (in fact, before I used to leave) has marvelous benefits.

I love cows. I have cows across the street

that like to watch you shoveling snow, and cows that sit quietly in the kitchen, like Daisy, featured in this next photo.

Do you have cows?

Still in the farm category, food comes to mind. What's better than fresh cow's milk for breakfast, but bacon. Right? Who doesn't love bacon? So, in honor of our favorite food (not necessarily for breakfast), I painted up this Tshirt the other day.

A close up of my work:

Eventually, I'm going to make a new backsplash for the kitchen, so I've been experimenting and playing with faux finishes that I might paint on it. This is a recycled plastic tray that I painted to look like wood-

And a close up:

These river cobbles were painted on a 5x5" tile (it was handy and cheap). It's my first attempt at these little guys, and I'm not sure if I like them or not, or if they would fit well in the kitchen decor.

Marble is a wonderful surface to recreate and I've repainted a small three legged table top to resemble gray marble (which has since met it's demise), but this green tinted bottle needed some green marble to jazz it up.

Then, to break up the faux painting, I painted this hawk one day. I might just give it to a friend who was instrumental in getting me an earlier on-time for dialysis.

We've had a shelf in the kitchen for a long time, and it was a nondescript dark brown with no interesting grain, as you can see:

I had so much success painting glass votive holders to look like bamboo, that this shelf just had to change. My husband calls this his 'shrine'. His favorite chef knives are above the shelf, attached to a bamboo magnetized rack. The 'bamboo' votive holders house battery operated votive candles, and the shelf just sits there beautifully, happy to have a new image!

The small cutting board is actual bamboo. Below, on the counter, is a bamboo knife block, and we also have a bamboo napkin holder. It's an eco-friendly product, but it's also FUN to paint!

The little creek is up from snow melt, but the weather is supposed to warm up into the 60s this coming week. It's almost time to plant some seeds and build some raised garden bed sections.

As always, feel free to drop a note in the comment section below. I love to hear from my readers! You can also catch me on Cowland Studio's facebook page.



Toodles


Cowland Studio

A New Name

As you can see, Knowing Fancy has become Cowland Studio!

Much thought has gone into this change and I really do hope that you, my readers, will like it, because I know I do! Please, feel free to drop in your comments in the 'comment' section below. I would truly love to hear from you all.

I have been working on something new and I really like the way the projects have been coming out. My 'Make It Wood' series will be posted here, and it has already been partially posted on Google+. Slowly, I am trying to wrap everything up under the Cowland Studio name, so please bear with me. A computer geek I am not! If I've goofed up somewhere, you now know why.

I would like to close this little post with a huge thank you to you, my readers. Thank you for stopping by, for reading my babble, and viewing the simple things I do to make my world just a teeny bit brighter!


Toodles.

cowlandstudio.com

Denim Does It

What says 'Country' as much as cows and hay bales, horses and barns, or tractors and gardens?

Denim and Patchwork.

Whether you're talking about coveralls or quilts, a peaceful country scene seems to come to mind. And, what can be better than combining the two?
Painting something to look like it!

The first time I tried this technique, I fell in love with it. It started many years ago when I was painting a large wood scarecrow with denim overalls. The knees came out kind of worn and ragged looking. Forgotten for years, it all came back when I started a new project for my granddaughter, who's learning how to sew. The small box was originally going to be something totally different, until I started painting. There's where it decided to be different. At the step pictured below, something more needed to be added.

 Remember FabCopy? It was just the thing to be added.

 Some glue, and then some hash marks for accent brought this little box to completion.

 With something to hold her thread and little whatnots, there needed to be more. I flew by the seat of my pants on this pincushion, but how hard could they be? The fabric was all ready to go- just paint, stuff, and glue came to be this:

 And then two pieces didn't seem like enough. My stash yielded a dry erase board waiting to be decorated. Projects and measurements must be marked down, so here's where she can do that.

 Now complete, all I have to do is get it to her.

 The denim/patchwork bug was burrowed in and there were more items in my stash, and my hand was itching to paint more. Slowly, I have been decorating the kitchen, trying to come up with a basic I could work off of and still have a large color palette theme to choose from. Having circled around a lot of options, denim and patchwork fit the bill more than anything.
First up on the work desk was this box, with it's random placement of 1/2" squares.

 Originally, I had painted stripping for under the cabinets, but it just didn't fit with the decor. Denim did.

 Here's a closeup.

 The spring and summer curtains, with cows and barns and Country Blue ruffles will fit right in!

 Now that this kitchen project is under way, I've got a focus point. I'll have to be patient and wait for more ideas to pop up about future denim decorations.

Potholders come to mind, but they'll be the real McCoy! If you have any ideas, be sure to leave them in the comment section below. I'd love to hear them!



 Toodles.



Cowland Studio