MEANT TO BE   

By Sonny Smarra

This short novel is geared towards teens, but it is a great read for all fantasy lovers.  It is an engaging  'coming of age' story that I am sure you will enjoy.  Try a sample on Amazon, or buy for only $1.00.

Support a young, aspiring writer!

 CLICK HERE TO TRY A SAMPLE:
http://www.amazon.com/Meant-Be-Sonny-Smarra-ebook/dp/B013V3VQK0/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1439614414&sr=8-13&keywords=Meant+To+Be

Angels on High

Angels on High

 

I saw this for sale (made in wood)  on a website.  Since I don't have woodworking tools, I decided to make it with foam board.  It is light and easier to work with, and to store.  It is about 6 feet tall.  It is done in layers.  I cut the a full body as the first layer.  I cut the pieces, allowing for gaps between pieces.  Here is a picture of most of the layering done, and before painting:

Layering the Feathers

After all the layers were complete, I painted the front and the back with Bin Primer/Sealer.  I am putting it outside, under a covered porch, so I wanted to seal it.  The next step was painting it a dark brown.

At this point, I started layering on color.  As you can see, I did not do a solid coat, more like dry brushing.  I also high-lighted areas with different colors.  Then again after the antiquing process.

 
This is the completed painting phase.  If you like this, you could stop here.

I sprayed this with a Sealer/Primer.  Then, I used a antiquing wax all over the angel, as in the first photo.  The 'Peace' sign was three layers and I used the same process as above.

I am posting two pictures of the patterns.  If you enlarge them by 550 percent.

Baby Shower Decorations

Zebra Chair

This shower was for a special Baby Girl, named Vada.  The Theme was Animal Toys.  Oh, and lots and lots of Pink!  Today's Blog will be the chair for the Lady-in-Waiting.  The chair went through many stages and changes, because I really did not know where I was going with it.

I bought this chair, about 10 years ago, for $4.00.  I painted it to match a dining set, and it has been used for 10 years.  New dining set, new use for chair.

I painted the chair with pink stripes, twice.  This is the first stripe version.  Then I decided to put the Zebra's head on, and the stripes did not match the chair.  For the Zebra's head, I found a photo of  a zebra on Google, and made a large grey and white pattern.  I cut the silhouette out on a white foam craft sheet.  Then, I cut out the stripes on pink.  An exacto knife cuts it like butter.   Then I decided it needed a body, I made another pattern, moved it cut it, and shaped it to fit the chair.

The stripes did not match the body, so I repainted it.  I just sketched in a few stripes to match the body and free-handed the rest. 

 This is the completed giraffe.  I added a nose, eye, a full mane, a flower, black hooves, and a tail.


It was great fun to make.  I love letting my imagination go wild.  In later blogs, I will post the matching centerpieces, shower umbrella, and a Memory Box I made as a gift.  I hope you enjoyed seeing the steps in creating a chair into a Zebra.