Good morning everyone. I hope that you all had a great week end. Ours was.... interesting. I will leave it at that until the end of the blog today and then you will see for yourself. Okay so, for today we will be doing step 3, the final step of the candy canes tutorial. I did take some pictures but my camera does nothing to help out. So sorry! I am hoping that Santa will find it in his heart to bring me a camera this year..... if I have been good!
Alright so the last blog was you papier macheing the canes and then you have let them totally dry out.
This is what you should have to work with now.
I tried to get a close up of mine so that you could see how rough it is. If yours are rough and bumpy that is what they are supposed to be like. So, no worries..... until you get the sand paper out. I think that this is the worst step to me. It is a pain in the butt. But, it is what makes the candy canes look the way that you want them to.
This is after I had sanded it. Yucky picture but, the candy cane is pretty smooth.
I was trying to show you the difference in the sanded and unsanded. The front candy cane has been sanded down and the on e in the back is waiting to be done. Still bumpy and rough.
I wanted to try and show you when you are sanding the inside of the bend, I cupped the candy cane in my hand and then used my thumb to kind of sand it down. It is really hard to explain but, you do want to be gentle with them too. I put too much pressure on one of mine and it snapped. Just kind of cradle it and sand it at the same time. You can sand these down as much or little as you like. I try to get any loose paper edges sanded down and if I rub over the candy cane I make sure that nothing is sticking out or rough feeling. I used a very fine sand paper and I cut it into pieces that were manageable around the candy canes, like below;
After you are finished sanding these little guys. You then want to go on and paint them all white. I put two layers of white on to make sure that the newspaper didn't show through. Let the white dry and then I take a smaller brush and paint the red or burgundy, whatever color you choose, (I used Folk Art- Vintage white and Americana-Cranberry wine) stripes on. I start at the bended tip and work my way down the candy cane. Like this:
I just start painting the stripes on and work my way down the candy cane. You can do this free hand like I did, you can go back and touch up with the white if you need to, or you can pencil in some stripes and then fill it. I like doing it free hand because it looks like something that is NOT machine made. The wiggles and off spacing just add more character to it. But, if you prefer it more structured, by all means do it that way. This is all about personal preference.
Here is my first one, all striped up. Nothing perfect about this little baby. I am loving it though. Now, at this point if you like the sparkly glitter you could do that. I prefer mine darkened. Make sure to give your paint a day or two to dry before you put the Lustra on. Otherwise, (trust me from experience), the paint wipes right off with the wax.
Quite a difference in what they start out as and what you can turn them into. The last step for mine will be the Lustra Wax.
This is a "Fine European Hard Finishing Wax". The color that I use is Dark Brown. I get this at a local shop but it lists a website if you cannot find it in your area.
www.Lustersheen.com I hope that this will help you out. I use this stuff on everything. If I get some old furniture at a garage sale or Goodwill, this is what it gets coated with. Anyway, this is the final step to the candy canes. You just rub this on with an old t shirt or something like that. Rub on a little to begin with and then you just keep adding more and more to the desired darkness that you are looking for. I tend to go dark on mine. To me it just makes it look as old as I wish that it was.
Well I hope that you have enjoyed the candy cane tutorial. They look amazing on the tree, or anywhere for that matter. If I had enough patience I would make these up for everyone I know and love. I am not so excited about the sanding part though, not to mention the papier mache! They are definitely worth the effort. And there is nothing better than looking at ornaments and decorations that you have made to put on your tree. Unfortunately, once you start, you don't want anything but, homemade. You can't just pick up a box of those candy canes at your local Wal-mart!
Now, for the part about our interesting, week end......! See for yourself;
Meet Jackson!!!!!!!!! The guy that works with my husband had to get rid of him:(!!!!! I have a very special place in my heart for animals :)!!!!! So, with the recent loss of Miss Frankie, and the big hole still in my heart. Well, I couldn't bear to hear of anything happening to the BIG guy! Look at that face! The only thing about him that I do not like is that he is an outdoors dog. He is about 5 years old and has been outside for his whole life. I personally like my babies to be in the house. We have alot to do before we can even attempt to make this happen. I am hopeful that by summer maybe Jackson will be in the house with the rest of the family but for now, he has to be outside:( !!!!!!
Hubby with Jackson! At this point, I don't know who loves who more. They have formed quite a bond since Friday already. I can't imagine what they will be like in another month! <3
I love this picture of him. He just sits and poses for you, like he knows that you are taking his picture!
And we cannot forget my little man-Jeffrey! Unfortunately, Jeffrey hurt his leg the day that Jackson came. He went to jump up on my bed so he could look out the window and somehow hurt it. He has to walk three legged and is in quite a bit of pain. I pray that he starts to come around soon.
And, last but not least, my man Kayzer! He is not too fond of Jackson yet. He is one of the issues that we need to work on. But, look at that face. Is he adorable or what???! I am a very fortunate person and I am very thankful for all of my babies!
I wish that you all have a wonderful day today. I hope that you are all prepared and getting ready for Thursday. Good luck with your candy canes and if you get stuck or need any help, please feel free to leave a comment. I will get back to you as soon as I can.
Warm primitive blessings to you all!
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