Ambassadors in Innisfail :)

Hi again, my creative friends...
Sometimes life is writing the most unusual scenarios. When over 2 years ago  Andrew and I were looking for our new home we found a place named Innisfail - a lovely georgian house which had stolen our hearts right away. We could picture our future life in this place, we were inspired by history, the amazing interior of the house and the unusual name of it... it took us a while to find the meaning of it, though!

"INNISFAIL, a poetical name for Ireland. It is derived from Faul or Lia-fail, the celebrated stone, identified in Irish legend with the stone on which the patriarch Jacob slept,

when he dreamed of the heavenly stairway. (Genesis 28:10-22)

The Lia-fail was supposed to have been brought to Ireland by the Dedannans, and set up at Tara as the "inauguration stone" of the Irish kings. Innisfail was thus the island of the Fail, the island whose monarchs were crowned at Tara on the sacred inauguration stone."

Doesn't that sound just perfect for us? For years I was dreaming about living in an old building, real historical place - this was one of the reasons we decided to move to Ireland of course! Now we are surrounded by old walls, which keep us safe, we have our own red stove which keeps us warm and we are literally breathing history every day! We are in LOVE with the place we are blessed to be in - we are transforming it step-by-step, adding our personal touches to it. If you'd like to see a bit ouf our journey - glimpses of everyday life, but also our travels around Ireland (but not only!) you can check our Instagram account - Innisfail_house. We will be happy to see you there!

My super talented Brand Ambassadors got together this month feeling inspired by the legend of Innisfail - aren't they just amazing?! ;)

The Artists today decided to highlight my Stone Effect Pastes. These pastes come in three varieties: Pumice, Limestone and Concrete and are just perfect to turn ordinary simple objects into structured magical pieces of art...

LINDA

I love how the old churches and buildings from the past have such great texture and color.

The years treat their wonderful nooks and crannies by adding moss and patinas to the worn edges and shadowed doorways. The sunlight in the evening makes them a contrast of lights and darks that draw you in and intrigue your senses.

When Anna first moved into her home at Innisfail, she went on a trip around the neighborhood. I loved the pictures of the ancient buildings with all the amazing aged and patina-looking walls.

In making this little bit of Art, I used a simple wooden birdhouse, and made it into an ancient-looking chapel. This piece is my attempt to duplicate the wonderful look of vintage buildings from her beautiful Irish countryside.

This little house sits on our cafe table in the sunroom. At different times of the day, the sun will enhance the colors and metal paints in various ways.

You turn it one way and you see the bright blue shine, turn it another way and the brass paint is gorgeous.

It's a reminder of a simpler time in history. Sometimes that sounds like a wonderful dream...

Choosing from Stone Effect Pastes, the Concrete Paste is first applied using a palette knife and a stencil. More Concrete Paste is added around the base.

The Limestone is randomly slathered onto the roof for more texture.

I used Patina and Rust Pastes along with Metallique paints to add color to the entire house.

Mechanicals embellishments are painted and sprayed with Mica Powder sprays until I get the colors I want.

LOUISE

I was absolutely delighted when I read the story/legend meaning for Anna's house and how perfect that it was about a stone!

With that in mind, it was even more wonderful that we could then use this as creative inspiration using Anna's most wonderful Stone Effect Pastes.

 

This month I would like to share with you a clay plant pot I created that has been finished using Finnabair's fabulous Stone Effect Pastes and Emerald Green Art Alchemy paint.

I love the glazed pot look you can get using the wonderful Art Alchemy paints, but thought it would be cool to add a touch of grunge with the Concrete texture paste.

After the clay pot had dried I sealed it with Heavy White Gesso.

I applied a coat of Art Alchemy paint before applying a coat of the Concrete paste. When the paste was dry, I applied another coat of the same paint.

On the inside of the pot I applied a final coat of 3D Matte gel medium to seal it and prevent any moisture from watering the plant and water soaking into the pot and destroying it.

When the pot was completely dry, I planted it up with a miniature variegated Jade plant, added some black pebbles around the base, and a little Japanese ornament.

RIIKKA

Are you familiar with the Pixar's "Ratatouille"? :) The key phrase in that is "Anyone can cook". When crafts are concerned, I'd like to twist it to "Anything can inspire". Like the cook in the film, I'm a firm believer of that phrase. You really can find inspiration anywhere.

When Louise suggested this topic, I was so excited! There was so much to be inspired by in that word - Innisfail. You could use the story, the material (stone), the connection to Ireland...

I decided to go with the first image that I had in my head after reading the Wikipedia article and about the legend. The first image was an angel guarding a stone. I guess that was the connection to the patron saint that led me to the angel and well, stone is quite obvious.

As the whole thing was connected to Ireland, I just needed to use the greens in somewhere and added some Art Stones for texture and colored the background with several colors of green.

I also used the green shade of the Antique Brilliance Wax ('Lucky Emerald') to age my page a bit, although the old book pages I used were tinted from the beginning.

The book papers seemed appropriate as the background, like the central composition is raising from the legend and stories.

Personally, I'm blown away with the creativity of my Ambassadors - love their interpretation of the story, love the projects they've made... Same inspiration, so many different interpretations!

I hope you feel inspired too...

Sending you all warm hugs