Anyone wondering what I've been up to?

Well, I'm currently tearing up and rearranging our entire house in order to make it resemble Hogwarts as much as possible...in one more week and no budget.  :o

Where has this month gone?!  The last one was pretty crazy.  Hopefully you'll hear from me and see pics of my efforts after it's all over.  :)

Witch BOO't Update: Really Bad News

Do you ever feel that the more effort you put into something, the more hopeless it's outcome becomes?  I seem to have underestimated how busy I would be and how much time these would take to paint.  Even after starting in July, it's not looking like I will have any boots/shoes finished in time for Halloween.  And, I refuse to rush and sacrifice detail and quality.  I'm just not going to do that. However, I'm very disappointed.  I sincerely appreciate that some of you have been waiting so patiently.  And, I feel really bad letting you down.  I've been trying to fit them in between other projects.  But, I've just had very little time and too much distraction to sit down to enjoy painting.  I'm very close on a couple, but fear they won't be completely ready for sale until it is too close to Halloween.

That being said, here is where I'm at on a couple of them:



The 1st one I'v been working on is a high-heeled vampire shoe/boot.  Not sure if it's a shoe or boot?  But, it's been a fun one that has taken quite some time to create.  I've redone the toe a few times.

 

I still need to clean up some lines.  Also, I'd like to add some handles to the sides, but I might have to cut into the bottom to secure them.  I've got an idea for a poem about a vampire's shopping trip, but haven't started it.



This 2nd is a very long shoe with buckle.  I'm still working on the fence details and cleaning up some things.

 

I'd also like to play with the grass and pumpkin stem details a bit more.  I'm also halfway through a poem for it about a "Party in a Pumpkin Patch".

I have a few others in the works that are not as far along.  There are a pair of small boots with a scarecrow scene.  I may show some pics of them later, but I've got an event coming up that is going to keep me away from the blog for a bit.  With any luck, or a miracle, I may have at least one of these shoe available before the end of the month.  Again, I'm so sorry.  I'm going to be really busy this month with events.  On top of that, I'm starting to organize the daughter's 11th birthday for next month.  We're going all out on a small Harry Potter themed party.  After all, "It's not everyday your young man (daughter) turns eleven". I've got a ton of stuff to do for that I hope to post here.

New Halloween Painting Tutorial on Etsy.com

Ever wondered how I paint my Witch BOO'ts? Or, have you wanted to paint Halloween scenes on something, but too intimidated to try?  After many requests, I've put a tutorial together that is full to the brim with ideas and techniques to help you decorate your own projects.  And, these techniques can be used on a variety of projects and different surfaces.



This follows up on the Paper Mache Witch BOO't tutorial starts with the priming and preparation of the sculpted boot and continues through to sealing with varnish.  It includes tips at every step in the process, as well as 10 techniques for copying and transferring images with suggestions on which to use for different purposes.


Also included as a bonus are 4 complete Halloween scenes and some various elements to use in them.  I've included images of how they might work on one of my witch boots and recommendations for how to apply them.



Each scenes is separated out to make it easier to alter and apply to your project.  And, each are totally different, so you have a variety of inspiration to work with.

Plus, I've included 2 pages of elements including witches, cats, skeletons, tombstones, trees, JOL's, and much more.  These elements can be used with the scenes or on their own.

Hope you like the new tutorial.  You can find it here:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/159755866/halloween-painting-pdf-tutorial  If you try it, I'd love to hear how it works for you!