Love the box, really pretty.

BeBe....you just hit another hole in one! Beautiful box! You hydrangeas are so real looking, the best I have ever seen and I still drool over your leaves.

The cabinet sure changed for the better.

Belle

That's a neat cigar box, I assume that you added the little ball feet--great idea! Talk about a new life! You sure made this little box sooo much prettier! Beautiful hydrangea, and your ribbons look wonderful too. Thanks for the before and after shots--really shows how things can be redone and given a whole new lease on life with our paint brushes! (Well, your's anyway!) ;o)

Luvs

Thanks yall.

Belle, the leaves are your basic double loaded leaf. I used Hooker's green and white double loaded on my angle brush. When you blend it on your palette let the green blend over to the white so the white turns to a light green. This keeps the dark to the middle of the leaf. I also tipped the tip of the leaves with the rose color and I brushed over the darker part of the leaf with the same color. Then when I was finished with the entire piece I came back and scrubbed in a bit of white on the leaf - but don't cover up your dark green. Then add the veins with a light mix of the green and white, very thin lines.

The hydrangeas are really easy to paint - for the pink I used Plum Rose and Amythest, slapped it on in an oval shape, the rose on one side and the amythest next to it, and then while the paint is still wet I used my filbert and pulled in short four petal strokes with white paint. As long as the paint is wet it will blend in with the white.

The ribbon was the hardest for me and took the longest. I started off with a sheer ribbon - ice blue and faux glazing medium, then when I tried to add the shading I messed up - then the color got too dark and I had to lighten it up. I finally said enough is enough, that is all I am doing to this box!! What I should have done was draw my pattern then transfer it to my box, but I am lazy and I always want to get right to the painting. Now that I am looking at it I think the design would have been better if I had put the flowers across the top of the box, that way I would have more room to write something in the blank area.

The pattern - I used a regular pencil and drew where I wanted the leaves to be, then ovals for the flowers. The ribbon was free handed and as you can see I got a little crazy with the turns. I should also tell you the background paint is housepaint from the OOPS bin at Home Depot. It is an off white color and it only costs $1.00 for a full quart. I buy a lot of paint from that bin and it works great for basecoating. Usually I get the satin or flat.

Luvs, I did add the ball feet. I like boxes that have a little foot on them.

I did well with my piano lessons this morning - can you imagine it - I am 60 and I am taking lessons right along with the young ones. No matter, there are a lot of things I want to do before I die and learning to play with both hands in on my to-do list.

I didn't realize this was so long, I am off to see what I can paint today - I really should be cleaning house - but no one is coming over and if someone should show up unexpectedly, I can stuff things in my closet. Later,
B

I love hydrangeas too and your box is so pretty. What an awesome painting on this. You say the ribbon was the hardest but you sure painted it nicely.

Thanks for all the painting tips. I always enjoy that.

Punk

Bebe, it's nice to hear that someone who paints as beautifully as you do also has times when things don't turn out just right and have to be gone over! Sometimes I think I spend more time "redoing" than doing! LOL

I have a friend who makes lots of birdhouses and is always getting the Oops paints or the ones from the Restore. I really should do that for the basecoat on the signs I like to put outside. The cans are so messy though--always running down the side and hard to pry the stuck on lids off--do you leave yours in the cans or transfer it to something else? Do you store them in your craft room?

I love your design on this box. What words were you thinking about for this box? It's beautiful even without anything more.

Luvs

P.S. I think it's neat that you are taking piano lessons. Always neat to learn new things.

Thanks Punk,

Luvs, I redo paintings all the time. I can't just paint something and put it out for anyone else to see or buy unless I feel like it is pretty good.

The OOPS paint works great for me. It never runs down the side of the can because I don't pour it. If I am doing a piece of furniture I make sure it is shaken/stirred, then I use my brush and paint from the can. I don't usually wipe the brush on the side of the can, I just try not to dip the brush too far down in the can. If I need a lot, I would use a scooper (like the ones that come in your laundry detergent) and scoop out what I need and place it on a plastic plate or whatever. If I just need a little I sometimes use the paint that is on the underneath part of the lid after it is opened. And to open the can I keep several of those can openers they give away free at the paint store. Be careful if you get the glossy, it may not take the acrylic paint on top. Although if you use a spray gun, to get a matt finish you would need to use a glossy. I keep the cans on my desk and I basecoat as many things as I can at one time. Then I put it away in one of my paint cabinets. I also found several small jars of sample paints - these are the ones you purchase to paint a swatch on your walls to see if you like the color. They were only $.50 each. The colors were all an off white or a very light beige which are great for background colors.

The design on the box is a take off of Ros Stallcups. She has a book with a lot of hydrangea paintings so I got my inspiration from her. I don't know if I will have enough room to write anything on the box and I really don't like vertical letters so I may just spatter a bit and let that be it. The fabric on the inside will be in a blue gray - notice there is no gold lines on the box - not because I didn't want to put them on it, I forgot. The original plan was to draw a gold line on where the blue and ivory meet on each side.

Our Restore charges a lot for their paint - $8.00 a gallon! I found an old gossip bench I wanted to buy but they are asking $50 and that is too much for me.

The piano lessons - I haven't told any of my sisters about the lessons - I hope to surprise them when I can play a song all the way through. I played the trumpet when I was a teenager so I know my notes and can play right handed but now I am trying to include the left hand. It is harder than typing because sometimes both hands are pressing keys.

Now I am going to post the pics of my messy paint room. Check out my other post.
B

I love that you are taking piano lessons and here I am giving away my 100+ year old upright. I was a music major with "business" as my minor. With my hands as they are I rarely play anymore, but I still love music. Funny how I can remember recital piece from when I was 8, and not what happened yesterday, I also remember all of the scales! Oh! I hated scales!!!!! But I still have my Hammond book of scales. Have you picked out your first "performance" piece? Mine was the Indian War Dance. How funny!

I really like the feet on your cigar box, it give it a whole new charactor, something special. I had not thought about the OOOPS paint, good idea! I have used the "test" paints on large projects or when I have to make many of something. Much easier for the base coat than mixing or using the bottled acrylics which are more expensive.

Thanks for the ideas!

Belle

I forgot to mention your piano lessons. I think it's fantastic that you are taking lessons at such a young age.LOL

Punk

Beautiful hydrangeas! Wish my plants would look that good. ha I think I need to put some nitrogen in the soil this year. They have been planted for at least 4 years and haven't gotten any bigger. =(

Claudia~ I'd sure take that piano off your hands if we lived closer!! I have been wanting a piano for a while. I took lessons as a child and still practice on my keyboard at times. Not the same as a piano though. I loved playing, but hated the recitals (shy and hate to be in front of people) so I quit for that reason. If they'd have just left me alone and let me learn but not perform I'd have happily continued on. I like to play for my own enjoyment...not for others. ha Good for you Bebe for learning. I hope you get the same enjoyment out of it. My next instrument will most likely be a flute. More affordable and doesn't take up as much room. ha Oh, I also played trumpet, melaphone and french horn in high school and college. ~Anj