A Flock of Sheep

Four can be a flock.  Right?  What about four pictures of three sheep.  That's twelve.  Definitely a flock in my book.

A flock of four sheep prints loll lazily in the dappled shade.  

How did they get to be here? 

From whence did they cometh?

I am giddy right now because it has been raining for a couple of hours!

It all started with my adoration of all things sheep.  Please do not tell anyone about my obsession with sheep.  They are scattered about the house in small groups so no one will notice there is actually a collection brewing.  Why this caution?  Let's just say I once had over two hundred various Noah's Arks!  Enough said.

I searched one day on The Graphics Fairy for sheep images for a tag I was making, and Karen had several very interesting ones, but the one above really struck my fancy.  I loved the way the engraving was arranged with the three sheep looking in all directions.  Probably being aware of predators lurking about.  So I snagged this image and took it over to my favorite play toy at the moment - Pic Monkey.  I hope there will be support groups formed soon to get this monkey off my back!

This is the completed image after playing, er, working diligently.

I cropped, framed and colored until I got the result I wanted.

Three sheep up close and personal - suitably distressed, of course!

I added "LE MOUTON"  as an overlay.  (French for the sheep)

Then I went to Hobby Lobby to purchase transfer paper and Osnaburg cloth (100% unbleached cotton).

I printed out two to a page the images on the transfer paper on my HP PhotoSmart. Remember two things:  reverse your image if it has writing and load your paper correctly.  

I was planning to mount these to 8 X 10 canvases so I tore the cloth slightly smaller.  Tore, not cut!

The transfer to cloth is easily done - just make sure the iron is at the right temperature.

Here is a completed one. Notice the frayed edges.  This is the reason I bought the Osnaburg cloth.  You can pick out the threads to evenly fray the sides.

I painted the stretched canvases burnt sienna with a water wash to distress them.  I let these dry overnight before Mod Podging the cloth squares on them.  I used a big gloppy amount of matte Mod Podge, but if you try this with heavier cloth, I would suggest a heavier medium.

I applied three coats of Mod Podge over the top - lightly sanding between coats.  These cured for several hours between coats.

Ah, Hah!  A finished one!

Ah, Hah!  A finished flock of sheep!

You know me - I had to add more distressing.  So I pulled out my Howard's Citrus Shield dark wax.

Those of you who do this regularly know your stomach clinches in anxiety as you cover your work with a dark color totally obscuring what you had finished.

Be not afraid - it will polish off.  If it doesn't, add clear wax to pull off the dark.  I went heavy around the sides and light over the image.

Can you see the difference?  The back one has been waxed and the front one has not.  It just adds a little something-something to the print.  I was tempted to add a dangling tag, but restrained myself though I probably will on a future project.

The finished product.  Those curly things are part of the easel - not a randy ram after the sheep!  I love the texture - very coarse - and the colors and the distressing. 

As I was setting everything up outside to take the photographs of the finished prints, Molly jumped up to put her seal of approval on them.  Or she just loves the smell of those coffee bean bags!  I know it is blurry, but she moved right when I took the photo and then stalked off.

Hope your week starts with a beautiful bang and you have enjoyed your weekend.  There is still a little bit of rain falling.  I might just strip down and go dance in it!  That will surprise the neighbors.

See y'all!

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