Last Rose of Summer Santos by Michelle Talley

 

Happy September everyone! My project this month evolved from a poem by Thomas Moore. An ode to the last days of summer:

“Tis the last rose of summer Left blooming along;

All her lovely companions are faded and gone.”

Once I settled on that, the rest was easy! I knew I wanted to use the ever so cool, Large Santos Cage Doll, with niche.  I knew that “Rosie” had to represent the end of summer, and the beginning of fall, so I knew my color palate needed to have golds, reds, green and some rich blue.  Ready, set, go!

 

From PaperWhimsy:

Large Santos Cage Doll with Niche

Digi sheet 083

Sheet 244

Also: Mesh screen; INKAGOLD Old Gold; paper roses; metal rose; crystal flats, ModPodge, Super Glue gel; E6000; PanPastel powder: Blue, Yellow Ochre; Foam brush, short bristle brush.

When I assemble a Santo’s doll, I like to glue the base together with E6000 first. I let that dry, it’s hard to wait….but I do. I hop over to the rest of our doll and give it some love and attention with the InkaGold Old Gold paint. This layer is just to cover everything with the foam brush in an even finish. While this dries, I ModPodge Rosie’s lovely face and torso.

For her face I used sheet 244, and for the back of the niche and her clothes I used Digi sheet 083. I just love the rich colors in this sheet, it brings to mind an old tapestry, or some beautiful brocade cloth. Once everything is dry, I finish our girl with E6000.

On everything but the face and torso, put on a heavier coat of the InkaGold paint, with that tapping motion. It ends up with an uneven surface. Perfect! On to Rosies skirt! I cut about an 8 or 9 inch piece of wired ribbon, I used a green and orange stripe, nice fall colors, and it compliments the papers used in her top.

To gather the ribbon, grab the wire, and pull to gather the top. Usually it is best to pull one side, then the other to gather the whole length. Set that aside, then take the wire mesh and start shaping it for the skirt. When you have enough to go around, cut that section. This will be the lower part of the skirt. Starting about a quarter of the way down the “skirt”, start gluing the mesh on the legs.

I used super glue, and some small clamps to attach the mesh and make the skirt. It is messy, I glued my fingers together more than I care to admit, but a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do. When you glue your fingers together (and you will) there should be acetone, it IS your friend. Take your ribbon, and attach that to the top part of the skirt, I also used super glue for that, as we know I don’t like to wait. And it does a really good job!

Next, after I cut out my quote, I used ModPodge to glue it to the mesh skirt. Full disclosure, it is very “putsy”, I might have cried a little… okay I might have muttered a rude or two. Maybe. Don’t despair, it does work and I think it is very whimsical, the way the words seem to dance across her skirt.

The next step is to adorn our girl with the paper roses. She needed to really show all the other girls that SHE was the ONE! So her crown is made of beautiful roses, and they cascade down and almost seem to be wings. Why, I believe she is flaunting her petals!

To gild the Lily, she has a crystal necklace with a brass rose pendant. To give her petals a just- turning-to-fall touch, I used the pan pastel, in Blue and Yellow ochre, just a light random brush, to add depth.

Enjoy September, but remember to stop and smell the last blooms of summer.

Michelle