Project 52: Decopatched Dinos

   It's a simple Project 52 post this week. I was doing a lot last week, working on new jewellery pieces, doing this current project, and working on the gypsy caravan that I started even before all of that, and by Friday nothing was actually finished. I did write a post but then I forgot to take pictures of the pieces while they were in construction for it, so it never got posted.

   Well, as you may have seen, I completed the new jewellery pieces, and I completed my Decopatch, which is this week's project.

    I don't remember where I saw the products initially, and I'd usually have thought little of it. I recall, now I'm familiar with the product, seeing decopatch paper hanging up in Hobby Craft, and even then all I remember was pink leopard print, but I stumbled across the product again last month. It would never have grabbed my attention had I not seen vintage floral patterns and then a dinosaur. As you might know, I am slightly obessessed with dinosaurs. Some of you know this better than others. My boyfriend gave me mostly dinosaur stuff last Christmas (PlanetDinosaur DVD, Dinosaur cuddley toy, even dinosaur cake sprinkles!), I have lots of dinosaur documentaries - both fully CGI (like Walking with Dinosaurs) and others almost fully fossilised (When Dinosaurs Ruled - they got Jeff Goldblum to do the commentary purely because he was in Jurassic Park) - and a handful of real fossils, and a few fake ones claiming to be real. The real ones came from my boyfriend. The first thing he ever bought me was a dinosaur egg shell fragment, and then when he moved over here, he gave me a bunch of rocks with fossils in them - you can even see some of them in the group pictures on my dinosaur necklace listings. Those were all rocks he gave me <3

   I realise I'm losing my point. When I saw the apatosaurus model, unpainted/covered/decorated, and then I saw sheets of vintage floral papers, I knew it had to be done. But I didn't just buy one dinosaur. I bought three. One big apatosaurus (it's called small - it's like 25cm. Given what the product is, a simple paper mache model, that's pretty big!) and two extra small ones, about 15cm in length. They have extra large animals, but no dinosaurs. Just as well really. They measure at least a metre. That would be a lot of paper and a lot of glue.

   Well I placed my order and I bought some pretty vintage florals (and other pretties for other projects I might want to try), and it arrived the next day - I was pleasantly surprised (I would have been even happier, except the box came with packaging peanuts and I'm either very right or very wrong in thinking they're not recyclable or biodegradable, so I don't like to throw them out).

   Needless to say, I parked my mother in her wheelchair in the living room with me, stuck on Notting Hill - because hey, why not? - and began cutting and gluing, whilst explaining over and over again what was happening, reminding her who actors were and so on. It took me over a week to complete them, but like I said before, I was in the midst of other projects too, and now their finished (and have nowhere to live) I'm happy.

   I tell you, if I'd seen them on Etsy (regardless of how shoddy a job I did on the big one, but I still have a second sheet of that print, so I can go over it if need be) I'd be pining over them for so long, but I'd probably never buy them. But doing it this way, I probably saved money, and I had loads of fun doing it. And that's what really counts!

   I want to get some shelves up for pretty handmade things I've bought and made (yes, I've said this a lot lately, but given how hectic home can be, and that this is my parent's house and I'm likely to tear the wall down if I attempt to use a power drill, I need my dad to help me...and pay for it), and these will go up there, along with a few of Wonder Forest's fawns, Vivid Please's biscuits, and Constance Connie's fox paintings, of which I still need to buy spring's, and any other things which win their way into my heart.

   I'll explain the product. It's very simple. They're not selling an idea or anything, it's really only the paper. You can buy paper mache models to paint and cover anywhere (or use pretty much anything. I've seen chests of drawers covered in the paper, the same with bookcases - even a car!), the same as you could use mod podge if you already have it (though Decopatch's glue and sealant is a little thinner and dries faster). What they're really selling is the paper. Their patterns are limited, but there is a nice selection. They're cheap, at about 82p a sheet (40x30cm), their colours don't run or fade, and it's extremely thin, but sturdy. It's not like tissue paper, it has a slightly glossy finish, and won't at all threaten to rip when covered in glue. It's the perfect decopaging paper. But, of course, they draw you in with other aspects. The dinosaurs were what immediately won me over (next up are a family of stegosaurs!), and when I was placing my order, I bought lots of paper, some models, and a pot of glue/sealer. It was only after I received it I realised what the sealer was - but now I have lots of it. Mod Podge is my best friend when it comes to crafting (and glitter my worst enemy), so it never hurts to have more, or more like it.

   Basically, the product is great, and really fun to use. Just grab their paper, cut it into pieces, and paste it on. The idea isn't to have realistic detail on the finished pieces, it's more a case of patterns and giving a shape a colourful and fun look instead. I took art for A Level (there were 3 other people in my class, and in the year above me, the class consisted of one student. Yay for art!) but the word I'd use to describe the point is lost to me. Abstract? Who knows. Actually one of you probably knows. Help me out.

   I'm hoping to have a giveaway of a product pack soon, with a small pot of glue, a few sheets of the winner's choice, along with an extra small animal of the winner's choice (I won't force dinosaurs on you). But we'll see. My money is pretty tight to non-existant at the moment, so it may have to wait a few months.

   I usually like to let you all know what next week's project will be, (I seem to be loving brackets today) but in truth I've given up guessing. I complete what I complete when I complete it. I try to get one thing done a week but it's not always possible. Either my mother's condition temporarily worsens, or the xbox steals my time. So, we'll all see when the time comes.

Lataz!