Forever and a day

Hi everyone!

 Valentines day is nearly here and I wanted to share a Valentine creation with you. Not your usual red and pink hearts and flowers. For this one I tried to focus on more masculine colours and less flower power....well, except for a very tiny bit... ;o)

I made the hearts by cutting them out of balsa wood. I used a heart template to ensure they were all identical. I sanded down the edges of the hearts and then painted them with French Roast Fresco paint.

I then applied some crackle glaze with a palette knife and when this was dry I painted it with Picket Fence Distress paint. Not my usual choice for crackle effects but it is a more translucent paint and that was the effect I wanted.

 When this was dry I stamped some swirls with Jet Black archival ink - I wanted the whole effect to be rustic and tarnished and so I didn't want a perfectly stamped image -  so I held the unmounted stamp in my hand and rolled and dabbed it across the hearts. Then I painted the hearts with three coats of Decoart varnish.

The frame was made by cutting out a background of cardboard and then cutting four frame pieces. I stuck them to the cardboard back and when dry I painted both the frame and the background with several coats of Decoart chalk paint in Lace.

Then I applied a thick layer of Decoart Crackle paint and when this was dry Raw Umber Antiquing cream was applied and then wiped away to reveal enhanced cracks

A strip of twine braid was glued to the middle of the frame background. The hearts were stuck onto the twine. The letters were grunge board letters covered with Mocha Mousse Fresco Paint and then covered with Crackle Glaze. When dry the glaze was painted with Raw Umber Antiquing Cream to highlight the crackle.

Chit chat stickers formed the sentence "Forever and a day" and I stuck them onto each heart after dabbing the edges with Pumice Stone DI.

A fabric blossom was painted with a Decoart Chalk paint in lace and a pearl bead added to the center

Silver screw brads were used to attach the cream string that was used to hang the picture.

And this is the Valentines Gift I will give my Husband on the 14th - Don't tell him!!! ;o)

Happy Crafting!

Love from Laura xxx