5 steps to beautiful bees

June is all about "Flora and Fauna" for our #funwithfolkit painting challenge.  Saying good bye to our Rainbow theme was difficult yet we have already been experimenting with a few new ideas including this sweet project.  

To complete this project you will need: 

Your chosen project - we chose this stone heart we originally bought from Matalan 

No 3 round brush 

Medium Liner Brush 

Flat Brush Starter kit 

Oriental Blossom Add on kit 

DecoArt Metallic in Bright Brass 

DecoArt Americana in Lamp Black and Warm white or Snow White 

Metallic Lustre in Champagne Ice 

Gold Glamour dust 

Stencil brush

Step 1. Using the Tracing and transfer paper from the Starter kit, transfer the bee design (below) on to your project. 

Step 2. Using the round brush and Bright Brass, fill the shapes (labelled Brass below). While the paint is still wet, sprinkle a little DecoArt Gold Glamour Dust over these areas to add a little sparkle*

 Step 3. Next, fill in the shapes labelled white with either Snow or Warm White.  Finally, fill the remaining shapes of the body with Lamp Black.  Using the Medium liner brush, paint the legs and antennas with Lamp black.  

Step 4. Using DecoArt Metallic in Bright Brass and Americana in White and Lamp Black (for the branches and flower centres), add our Oriental Blossom design around the edge of your project (we have added it round the side but this will depend on what you have chosen to paint e.g. for a plant pot, why not paint the Blossom around the lip? For a card, why not add a spray in the corner? 

Step 5. Using a small stencil brush, load a little Metallic Lustre on to the bristles.  Before you apply it to the project, rub the bristles in a circular motion on a piece of kitchen towel to remove the excess.  Dry brush the Champagne Ice over any raised areas on your project and over the bees wings.  

*Being a decorative item, we have left our project as it is. However, if you wish to use this design on outdoor plant pots, do not use Glamour Dust and finish your item with a couple of coats of Multi Purpose Sealer (which acts as a varnish) or weather proof varnish. If you wish to add this design on to furniture, again, forget the Glamour Dust and seal your finished piece with a coat of Chalky Finish Wax.