Rocking Triceratops

I call this little lady, Penelope the Rocking Triceratops.  She is the result of a collaboration of the Big Boober and I.  He found the woodworking plans, and did the sawing, sanding, and gluing.....and then I took over and brought her to life.

All that was needed for my part of this project is some spray paint, acrylic paints, paintbrushes in various sizes, black Sharpie, Liquid Silver paint pen, and Triple Thick Clear Glaze (which can be found at any craft store).

There are a myriad of plans that can be found on the internet for rocking whatevers.....just find the one that makes your heart sing, and go for it!  Once the rocker has been created, proceed from here.....

The first step is to prime both parts of the rocker in preparation for the spray paint.

Once the primer is dry, spray on a light coat of the color you choose for the body.  Don't worry about completely coating the body with the first coat, as you will be spraying on several more coats till it's a nice uniform color.  Make sure you let each layer dry between coats!

Here's the body with about 4 coats of spray paint.  Set aside to dry completely.

While the body is drying, spray the rocker in the color of your choice.  Make sure to dry completely between coats.  Like the body, I sprayed on about 4 coats.

Set aside the rocker to dry.

For the facial features I made a cartoon of the features to transfer onto the face.

For the life of me I couldn't find my tracing paper, so I did the transfer the old-fashioned way.....I traced over the lines with a pencil, then placed the traced side down, and drew over the lines on the reverse side to transfer the features to the face.  I repeated this process for the other side (but in reverse).  You can sketch the features free-hand if you like, but I wanted both sides to be identical (that's the anal retentive perfectionist in me shining through).

This is what the lines will look like after tracing.....light, but still visible enough to proceed to the painting step.

I opted to make the eyes, nose, and corner of the mouth pop by using a black Sharpie.

Next I drew out a grid pattern on top of the seat using a ruler and a pink art pencil (similar in color to the paint I was going to use). I marked each square that would be painted pink.

I started painting in the facial features, the piece behind the head, and the polka dots.  I started off using a circle template for the polka dots, but that became cumbersome getting into tight areas.  Then I tried a drinking glass, which ended up creating a sloppy circle.  I finally ended up doing the circles free-hand, which went much quicker, and I also had more control over them!

Note the squiggly line and pinks dots on the piece behind the head.....that idea went out the window when I was almost done with the project.  I just felt it was going to be too busy.

Here's a better view of the facial features.  Note the horns, these too I felt were too in your face, and eventually softened the color.

Keep adding polka dots in various colors and sizes.

I decided to use Liquid Silver to outline each of the polka dots, and around the mouth and cheek.

Here's the lighter shade I decided on for the horns.  Also, the piece behind the head is now a nice shade of pink with some white polka dots along the edge.

I painted in the squares on the seat, and outlined each of them with the black Sharpie.  At this point, I went over the whole piece and touched up here and there.

Screw the body to the rocker.  Add several coats of the Triple Thick Clear Glaze. You can use a spray poly if you like, but I like the final effect of the Triple Thick.

Here's Penelope ready for the most adorable granddaughter in the whole wide world.

Penelope the Rocking Triceratops is ready to rock and roll!!!

Check out these other sites for more great crafting ideas.....
Southern Hospitality.....The Persimmon Perch.....Making the World Cuter.....
It's So Very Cheri.....Sumo's Sweet Stuff.....Women Who Do It All.....
The Shabby Chic Cottage.....Tales From Bloggaritaville.....Finding Fabulou$.....
The Romantic Home.....