Unicorn Blessings

Hi all, today I am sharing one of my projects created during the Powertex Garden Party in July. It was an amazing weekend and I went along with my ex’s lovely daughter Marie. Living far apart we rarely get the chance to be together – so it was extra special to have a whole weekend creating together.

Others also came along with friends or family but many came along on their own. Some were familiar with Powertex and some, like Marie, were completely new to the medium. Whether experienced or not, travelling with friends or alone, the Team at Powertex were wonderfully inviting and everyone soon felt relaxed and eager to get started. Tracey gave us all fabulous instructions to help us along the way. It was a wonderfully relaxed weekend and we made many new friends.

One of the projects was to create a Unicorn (or pony if preferred). We were taken through the process and instructed on the appropriate media to create a fully weatherproof piece that could be used as a garden ornament.

We were all give a Metal Base with attached MDF Unicorn Template which had already been wrapped with masking tape ready for working.

The first step was to paint the whole with a base layer of Bronze Powertex. Then layers of Powertex clay (created with Powertex and Stone Art) were built onto the surface and texturised using wooden print blocks and various tools. The Team had kindly mixed up the clay ready for us to use.

We then had a choice of floral silicone moulds to use to make pretty clay embellishments. I chose the lovely Daisy Moulds.

Next we treated Powercotton fibres with Powertex to create the mane and tail. Pigment colours were used to add colour. I chose to blend a mix of Ultramarine and Titanium White, plus Burgundy and Titanium White Powercolors, mixed with Easy Varnish and a little water to create a blended colour wash.

Next we dry brushed more colour over the surface to pick up and emphasise the texture. I used Colortricx in Silver.

When I got home I added a bit more colouring by dry brushing with Rich Gold Colortricx and Interference Violet (Secret Art Loft Pigment). 

If you know me you will know that I cannot resist a bit of bling. I just had to try adding glitter to the varnish and painted this onto the tail and mane. I used a holographic silvery glitter designed to be added to household paint. In theory it should be weatherproof when embedded in the Easy Varnish (will see how it holds up after she is installed in the garden). Oooooh I love her.

Note: There is a Unicorn Dreams Project Pack available which contains everything needed to create your own magical Unicorn - includes metal base, MDF Unicorn, Powertex, Art Stone, Flower Mould, Pigments, Varnish and instructions.

I also decided to add a little more texture to the base. I added a rough layer of clay and pressed in a crackle textured rubber stamp. I also added 3D Sand and Balls. Finally I treated a few stiff hessian threads with Powertex and pushed them into the clay to create grassy fronds. Various colours were dry brushed over the surface to blend in the base colours with the rest of the project.

Here is Marie’s amazing Unicorn. Truly fantastic.

We all had so much fun and between us created an amazing array of very different takes on this theme. All wonderful.

Sending Unicorn Blessings, Anne x.