Rustical or Folk? Wooden Horse Makeover - tutorial

Hi again my dear friends!

It's great when we can share our creative ideas with friends don't you think? I was really happy when my Prima friends - Josie and Sally from Iron Orchid Designs proposed a creative collaboration!

A week ago they shared their creative genius with you showing how they combine IOD + Finnabair for the perfect Christmas DIY projects on Prima blog here.

Yesterday was my turn... and you can check out my project and tutorial also here! I hope you will like it!

Some of you know I LOVE wooden horses. My collection of them is not very big but it is growing and every time I spot a new interesting one, I'm really tempted to buy it!

My travels to Sweden were a real challenge for me - one of the symbols of that country is a beautifully hand painted, colorful...(yes, you got it right) Dala horse. I could see them everywhere and of course I took a couple home... but as they were beautiful vintage ones, I would never paint or alter them.

And then, one year IKEA came with this quite simple, nice in size and mass-produced version of Dala horse. Of course I bought one and took it home to re-purpose!

I took my art mediums and tools out and started working on the "grand makeover" - in a short time I got the results I was happy with!

I wanted my horse decor to be rustical and also to keep the folk style of the original Dala horse - and I think it is a great success!

Are you ready to try it? 

These techniques can be easily transferred to any objects including boxes, book covers, canvases, bottles and jars... and more!

1. I've started with getting one of the new IOD Moulds - floral elements from "Rustic Fleur" set were just perfect for the folk style I was going for. As you can use almost anything in these great quality moulds I decided to experiment with hot glue - and I filled the elements I was planning to use. When they cooled down I popped them out and glued them to the wooden horse using one of my favourite adhesives Art Basics Heavy Body Gel (but you could try Modeling Paste or 3D Gel from the same range too - they would work great!).

To make my dimensional folk design more interesting, I added some of my Art Ingredients Melange Art Pebbles in different sizes, glueing them to the horse exactly the same way!

2. I dried everything with a heating gun and I used Art Basics Heavy White Gesso to prime the whole surface of the horse.

After drying, I repeated the process on some parts which needed a second coat to get full coverage. I dried my project again.

3. When Gesso was dry, I added a generous amount of Art Extravagance White Crackle Texture Paste in between the elements to create a more worn, rustical look.

When the paste was still wet, I sprinkled a bit of Art Ingredients Art Stones in it to make the texture more interesting. I let my White Crackle Paste dry in my kitchen (the warmest place in my house!) and the results were just beautiful!

4. Now it was time to add a touch of colour. You can get beautiful vintage effects rubbing Memory Hardware Artisan Powder into your textured projects - I picked 2 tones: Vausseroux and Parthenay and brushed them with a soft paintbrush into all the details of my flower composition and all the crackles created with White Crackle Paste. I rubbed off the excess with my fingers and cleaned the project a bit with a wet wipe.

5. Finally, I added a touch of Teal and Deep Water Mica Powder from my Art Ingredients Line. I love how these tones beautifully go together with Artisan Powders and add a touch of shine too!

To protect my wooden horse, I sprayed it with a popular fixative for dry pastels and dried it. My winter folk horse was ready!

The real beauty of this project is in the details: just look at the beautiful, rustical finish, all the delicious details, beautiful effects of crackle over and around the floral elements - so simple to make, so much to see and touch!

Here is the list of the products I used - all of them linked to our Mixed Media Place Store!

Make sure to check Prima blog to see more of the fabulous, inspirational posts... and keep your eyes open for the sneak peeks of the new products coming soon too!

Sending hugs!