Driftwood Fairy

Driftwood Fairy by Bea Grob

Today I'm here with a new driftwood fairy. I love everything with wings, and so fairies are included. Not sure if they really exist, but I like the idea anyway....

Materials:

Makin's Clay® - Natural, Red

Makin's®  Clay Tool Set

Makin's Professional® - Ultimate Clay Machine®

Metal leaf any color you like. I used a variegated one

Glue for metal leaf

Brown acrylic paint as patina

Die and embossing folder for the wings

Wire from the hardware store

Glue E6000

Driftwood, wire, 2 beads for hands, toothpick to attach head and a stand to put the driftwood on top.

Instructions:

I started with a ball of Makin's Clay® in natural. To form the head and the neck I used a tool from my clay tool set. 

I marked a hairline and then started applying very thin pieces for torn clay to mimic the hair.

A toothpick in her neck will give a connection to the driftwood.

Roll clay beginning on setting #1 of the Ultimate Clay Machine® and then #2, then #3, and ending on setting #4.

Now I had to let dry everything over night, before I diecut and embossed some wings from a bee. (it is a set from Tim Holtz). If you don't have it you could totally just cut by hand some wings. It is really easy with Makin's Clay®, just use a pair of scissors.

I  also shaped a little bird in red, again with the help of a tool from  the tool set. 

 

I also had to prepare my driftwood. I used a power tool for making holes for the head and at the bottom for the stand. For the arms I  used a simple hardware store wire and made holes on both sides. To glue everything into the wood and also the bird on the wire I used E-6000.

To give a little bit more dimension to the head, I used brown acrylic paint. I used a stiff stencil brush to get the paint into the cracks of the hair. Then I let it dry somewhat and used a wet towel to remove the paint again from the top parts. Leaving the paints mostly in the cracks. This is sometimes a back and forth process, means apply paint, wipe it of, apply more paint and so on.

I like to mix and match in all my art, so I added some metal leaf to the wood and the Makin's Clay®. To glue on I prefer gluepaste as it dries faster but any other metal leaf glue works too.

The goal is to have the glue not completely dry, but a little bit tacky, so you can carefully add the leaf. When it has dried you can use a brush to wipe off any excess.

I also added the same brown acrylic paint as patina, and no worries it wipes off easy from the metal leaf.  As you can see I was going for a more aged, grungy look.

When everything was dry, I assembled my fairy. I used E-6000 to add the wings to the back and also to attach the beads and the bird to the wire arms.

Now have fun to make your own fairy.....