Brazen Bee

When I'm not making anything for a DT post I like to play...

and lately I've been using die cuts to make embellishments.

This "brassy" Bee was the result of a happy accident

 and will be using it on a future dt project :D

I have this awesome "bee" die and decided to layer it

up and heat emboss it...

 which meant putting all the bits back in the bottom layer lol.

 *was playing and forgot to take inprog shots*

I coloured the bottom layer with promarkers,

heat embossed the top layer with crusty gold embossing powder

(mixture of metallics and black from previous playtimes),

sandwiched the plain layer between the two for added depth,

 then poured clear glazing medium over the whole piece.

The intention was to create a shiny/enamelled brooch effect...

BUT I have a messy desk...

and 3 tiny pieces of charcoal got into the mix

(you can barely see them)

 as the gel dried the black spots grew and ruined 

the whole effect.

Undeterred I changed things up, too interesting a piece to waste.

 Added lumpy orange/red/yellow acrylic paints...

and got a rusty looking metal finish instead :D

 Now what to mount it on?

3 inch square chipboard...

 black gesso through netting...

 rollered on white gesso...

 trusty "Golden" Bronze paint

 which when you add water separates to give you

verdigris...

added to bee too...

 and I have a yummy, shiny..

 texture full panel for my bee to crawl on :D

long post but hope you enjoyed the experiments :D

XXX