Mermaid wall art

I made a small wall hanging for a friend who loves mermaids. I have always loved the work of Diana Twedt, who uses foam board to good effect, and tried following her instructions as to what to do.

I didn't have some of the supplies, and all did not go to plan!!! I adapted and substituted and it all took much longer than I thought, and maybe it will never completely dry as a result.


The basic plan is to cut foam board to the shape you want, then adhere torn brown paper to it. Once dry, apply moulding paste, and add texture by stamping into it or drawing with the pointed end of a paintbrush. Once dry, paint with the darkest colour and highlight with other colours. I used Stewart Gill Byzantia paints as they are very rich and shimmery. Once dry, rub lightly with rub on wax - I used Treasure Gold.

The mermaid is made from fantasy film. Ink up a stamp with Stazon, lay 2 layers of film on top, lay a sheet of silicone or other baking paper on top, iron with a moderate to hot iron. Peel off stamp and trim. I adhered my mermaid to gold cardstock, using Golden gel medium, then adhered the cardstock to the back of the 'frame'. The result is a very lightweight piece of wall art.