Per aspera ad astra

    Hello everyone! The title of this blog is quite apt today....I struggled with this creation and believe me I was tempted to chuck it in the bin on more than a one occasion...It has been quite a journey...

    I got my first Distress Paints a few days ago and have been having a fun time experimenting with them. Finding them a bit tricky at first, I gradually began to realise what they could do or not do...I LOVE the fact that the colour is permanent...I love how they blend and react with water....I wish the pale colours were a bit more opaque - but that is a minor complaint and probably unique to me!

     I didn't really have any ideas when I sat down to do this, other than I wanted to take part in the Inspiration Journal challenge - Marvelous Masks and Spectacular Stencils. I have some stencils and I planned to perhaps use some die cuts as stencils too....I was really wanting to play and see what happened.

   So I put some Antique Linen, Bundled Sage and Vintage Photo DP onto the mat and spritzed with water. Swirled some card in it and well, first one was too dark...too much Vintage Photo. Put that one aside to use another time - Do we ever throw anything away?!!! ;o) Now more Antique Linen and Bundled Sage and a little less Vintage Photo!

    I spent a while making several blended 'canvases' with the paints...each one obviously different from the last. I picked one up and looked closely at it and saw it looked very marble like, while the others had a more distinct streaky effect.....and suddenly I was thinking 'Roman' - I think my devotion to the re-runs of a popular Roman drama on T.V the last few weeks has influenced me! My husband said he really liked this and said "You've been watching too much 'I, Claudius'"!!

    I cut out a piece to fit a PaperArtsy hanging chunky board . Then I stencilled some texture paste with my new roman lettering template.

I watered down the Antique Linen DP and brushed a thin watery layer over the whole tag which seemed to enhance the marble like effect. I used Vintage Photo to add some swirls using die cut leftovers.

     Then things went very wrong....I wanted cracks....so I applied some crackle glaze. What was I thinking?!!! It was too shiny and ruined the lovely chalky matt effect. No worries (I was trying to maintain some confidence here) I will go over it with some Fresco French Roast paint....Now it looked like an awful mess....Ok...don't give up.....Spread some crackle glaze over the top...and Uh Oh....My palest acrylic colour is Vintage lace - which is too pink -.......Think, think, think.....I'll cover it with Antique Linen DP....Well, that didn't work! It is too watery and although it did crackle, it was very streaky and now there are just browny-beige blobs of slightly crackled paint around the edges.

      Bin?.....No, not yet. I left it for a while while I sat moodily bemoaning my uselessness. Returning to it another day I decided I wasn't going to be beaten....Per aspera ad astra.......well I might not reach the stars but I will damn well give it a good try!

     I had another go making the marble effect paper and with these sheets I covered some balsa wood and created a frame - which in the end reminded me of marble pillars so I was pleased with the effect. They covered up the worst of the brown semi-cracks.

    I wound some very thin strips of paper covered with vintage Photo DI around the pillars and I spent ages cutting out leaves from all the left over sheets of marble paper. I covered the larger ones with crackle glaze and the smaller ones just had the edges inked with Vintage Photo DI.

    I found an old Dolls house door frame in my bits and pieces stash. It is too small to use on my dolls house so I decided it would be good on here...I covered it with Antique Linen DP and wiped it with a little Vintage Photo DI.

I arranged some peach roses that had had some Vintage Photo DI blended over them and a rose from a previous project that I had spritzed with homemade Old Paper distress ink spray. I had discarded it from the previous project but saved it for a time when it would fit and this was it.

     And so there it is - My Roman tag. It was a very much a learning experience and I am so glad I didn't give up!

       Thanks so much for being here! Hope to see you all again soon!

I would like to enter this for the following challenges -

Inspiration Journal - Marvelous masks and Spectacular Stencils
Simon says - Very strict challenge (anything goes)
Try it on a Tuesday  - Recycle (Dolls house door frame and rose)
Anything but a card - "Who are you inspired by"? (favourite TV program at the moment - 'I, Claudius)
Crafty-emblies - Anything goes