Springtime in Paris with Sandy McTier

Happy New Year Y’all!!

Are y’all as ready for spring as I am?? I’m just not made for winter! lol

I remember many years ago, my husband and I took a trip to Paris during the spring. Paris is such a magical city and even more magical during spring! The colours, flowers, fragrance and feelings of being in this city during spring are still such fond memories I hold dear!

I think you’d agree that nothing speaks to Paris more than the Eiffel Tower?! I knew when I got this chipboard piece that I wanted to make it a focal point in one of my painted pieces! The SRTC Horizontal Filigree Wood Frame was the perfect piece to showcase a Parisian painted piece! Of course I wanted to figure out a way to use it differently, so I flipped the top part over and, instantly, I heard the piece sing! Don’t you love it when that happens!!

Prepping the Pieces:

• I painted both pieces with DecoArt’s All Purpose Sealer and let completely dry.
• Next, I painted both pieces with a smooth layer of DecoArt Media Gesso and let completely dry.

Eiffel Tower:

• I painted the tower with DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics – Raw Umber and let dry.
• I loaded a damp sponge brush with DecoArt Metallic Lustre – Iced Espresso and painted the tower.
• I flipped the sponge painter over and loaded the other side with DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics – Quinacridone Magenta and painted the word PARIS.  
• I added a bit of DecoArt Metallic Lustre – White Frost on the top half of the sponge painter and ran it back and forth over the top half of the word PARIS.
• Once the piece completely dried, I added some highlights of the White Frost Metallic Lustre here and there on the tower.

Horizontal Filigree Frame:

• I loaded a sponge with DecoArt Americana Acrylics – Spa Blue and Indian Turquoise, painted the frame and let dry.
• Next, I loaded some Turquoise Vintage Effects on the sponge, painted over the entire piece and let completely dry.
• I was going for more of a Tiffany Blue so decided to load the sponge with White Vintage Effects and painted that over the entire frame. Then I used a soft towel to wipe back some of the colour. It was exactly the colour I was going for!
• I stenciled on a beautiful rose stencil on the bottom piece of the frame using the White Vintage Effects and let dry.
• Roses seemed like the perfect addition to this Parisian piece! I based in the basic shapes of roses with DecoArt Fluid Acrylics… the roses with Quinacridone Magenta and the leaves with a mixture of Green Gold and Titanium White. An angle brush works great for adding the layers of petals on the roses. I’ll have a pattern packet with worksheets for this project on my website soon!
• I floated a mixture of Paynes Grey and Sap Green at the base of the leaves and also floated some straight Quinacridone Magenta in the center of the roses to give each more depth.
• Once dry, I dry brushed a mixture of Green Gold and Cobalt Teal Hue on the leaves to give them a subtle highlight and added veins on the leaves using a liner brush loaded with a mixture of Green Gold and Titanium White.
• Finally, I loaded a damp small brush with the Green Gold mixture and painted some soft transparent leaves and scroll strokes here and there to lighten up the design a bit and give the piece some movement.

Finishing Touches:

I used the On Point Glue by Imagine to glue the chipboard Paris piece in the center and set a book on top to keep it in place. Once dry, I added glue around the edge of the painted area and set the top frame piece on top. Again, I set a book on top of it to make sure it adhered to the bottom piece securely.

Southern Ridge Trading Company Products Used:

- Horizontal Filigree Frame

- Paris Tower

Other Supplies Used:

- Tracy Moreau Rose Mask Stencil

- DecoArt Americana Acrylics: Spa Blue and Indian Desert

- DecoArt Media Fluid Acrylics: Quinacridone Magenta, Titanium White, Green Gold, Paynes Grey and Sap Green.

- DecoArt Media Metallic Lustre: White Frost and Iced Espresso

- DecoArt Vintage Effects: Turquoise and White

- Dynasty Brushes: Black Gold 1” Wash,  3/8” Angle, #8 Shader, #2 Round, IPC Large Oval Foam, Large Tracy Moreau Stencil Brush and a liner brush of choice. (Available from TheBrushGuys.com – use promo code: sandymc for an additional discount)

Imagine On Point Glue

Website: www.sandymctierdesigns.com

FB: www.Facebook.com/SandyMcTierDesigns

©2019 Springtime in Paris, Sandy McTier Designs ~ all rights reserved

Y’all have a GREAT day; Happy Creating!!  Sandy