Rust No.2

Hi everyone! 

Here is the second Rust post!

This was the frame I made....

It was made with embossed card and liquid glass to add rivets and beaded edge. After the Paynes Grey/white acrylic paint had dried I added a wash of diluted Decoart Media Titan Buff - painted quite roughly - I intended to leave some patches of grey showing. This was followed by dry brushed streaks of Quinacridone Gold and some shading with Paynes Grey and Burnt Umber....

....and here is what I made with it

 This was such an easy one to put together...I loved the original frame - the beading made using Decoart Liquid Glass was so effective and the Decoart Titian Buff wash really gave this a look of painted rusted metal. I wanted to focus on Autumn colours and I had just got the Sizzix Thinlits Fall Foliage die cut set - so it made sense to put those ideas together

I did some wrinkle free distress effect on card  using Vintage Photo and Gathered Twigs DI for the brown leaves and Fired Brick, Spiced Marmalade and Ripe Persimmon for the orange leaves. I then die cut the leaves and covered them with crackle glaze. When dry and cracked I rubbed some Burnt Umber Paint on to them before wiping away with a baby wipe

 Curled rusty wire was used in the leaf arrangements

I stuck tissue tape around the frame and used silver brads to attach the leaves to the tape

 I added a chit chat sticker to the tape

Inside the frame I used one of my favourite Found Relatives Photos

Hope you like it!

The next creation will be one made using this (and I think is my favourite!)

 Come back soon and see the finished result!

Happy Crafting

Laura xxxx

Queen Charlotte

Hi everyone, 

     I am here today with a creation I made a while ago - when I was experimenting with the Andy Skinner rust technique that I featured here at SanDee and amelies steampunk Challenges, I did several experiments with this wonderful technique and here is one of them...

 You can see the video for the Andy Skinner rust technique that I used here

This one (the background in the frame) was a bit of an experimental practice run. I wanted to see how the technique worked with just plain embossed card...

The answer is - not very well (at first) The card buckles as the sand texture paste is drying and the embossing began to lose a lot of detail. I glanced at it and dismissed it as a mistake....but I decided not to waste it anyway and do the paint effects as well....at the very least it was a chance to have a practice run with that as well...

    This one turned out very different to the rust effects on the creation featured here....I applied the paint much thinner....the Paynes Grey was only applied in patches and I did a watered down coat of Quinacridone Gold...I was really impressed by the results!

     So I decided to use it in a creation - and I loved the final piece

   I had a set of trio paper mache frames and decided to cut one down to a single frame and covered the cut end with card. After doing that I covered it with German text paper stuck down with Mod Podge glue. I then covered it with a layer of Mod Podge glue before painting it with Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide.

I then covered it with Crackle glaze

  I dabbed all over the edges with Raw Umber paint

I stuck the rusted embossed card into the frame

A dolls head was lightly painted with raw Umber paint before being stuck onto a brass flower and having a brass crown attached. A brass key was also attached...

Wings were cut out of rivet embossed card and painted with gold acrylic paint before being dry brushed with Raw Umber paint

A chit chat sticker was used that had been dabbed with Vintage Photo DI and attached to a brass frame

A brass screw brad was used to attach brown hemp string to the frame

So there is my Queen Charlotte creation....I hope you like it!

Happy Crafting!

Laura xxx

Tando Tin

Hi everyone!

Bit of a quiet summer for me this year...spending some precious relaxing time with family before the school year begins in September! - I will be back in the Autumn full of fresh ideas, but for now - here is something I made a while ago....

 If any of you follow my wonderful dear friend and OCC team mate Julia you will see where I got my inspiration from! (if you are not following her - why not?!!)

I am, and always have been, an avid follower of her blog and am always looking to learn any little creative trick that she shares....

While I am way off being as talented as Julia is, I do love to use her blog posts for inspiration and her recent teapot post was one of these. I had to have a go.....

I got the tin and gave it a coat of Decoart Gesso - I had never used this product before and I LOVE it! It worked so much better than any other Gesso I have ever used. 

Then I stuck some Tando swirls to the tin lid and covered with another coat of Gesso

 

Then I began to paint inspired by one of Julia's favourite colours - Decoart Media Fluid Acrylic Paint in Green Gold. I have to agree with her - the colour is gorgeous!

I then covered the lid with Decoart Crackle glaze and when dry I covered it with Decoart Carbon Black Antiquing Cream. I left this to dry before wiping away with a baby wipe.

I then dry brushed the lid with a tiny amount of Gold Decoart Media Fluid Acrylic Paint.

I painted some die cuts flowers with a mix of Green Gold, Primary Yellow and Titanium White Decoart Media Fluid Acrylic Paint. The flowers had been embossed and were coated with a coat of Decoart Carbon Black Antiquing Cream which was wiped away when dry with a baby wipe.  I finished the flower off with a light coat of Gold paint and a gold button.

 I used four smaller die cut flowers and painted these with Decoart Media Fluid Acrylic Paint in Gold I dry-brushed the edges with Caron Black and painted a brad with the Carbon Black paint too.

 I glued on some music serviettes to the side of the tin with matte medium and then covered with several coats of Decoart Ultra-Matte Varnish mixed with Green Gold paint. This was also then coated with Carbon Black Antiquing cream before being wiped away...

 Here is the completed altered tin.....

 I do hope you like it

Happy Crafting!

Laura 

xxx

Aged Beauty

Hi everyone!

Over at Sandee and amelies Steampunk Challenge this month we are focusing on -

Ravages of Time

 Thinking of peeling wallpapers, rust in all its glorious forms of appearance, peeled paint, crackle, patina, weathered wood,

I love making things with a weather worn aged effect...There are so many paint techniques that can transform card into a tarnished treasure!

    I started this creation with a Paperartsy substrate...they are great! They take so much punishment (I know because several times I have stripped back the layers of a creation to re-do it). This toughness comes in handy for a creation where layers and sanding come into play...

     First I covered it with a coat of gesso as a primer - I wanted to use Quinacridone Gold which is transparent and would loose some of its vividness if painted directly onto the brown surface of the substrate. The white paint makes a good base for the transparent paint to shine...

    When the Quinacridone Gold paint was nearly dry, I patted the substrate with the palm of my hand to remove some paint. I didn't want to wipe the surface with a cloth in case I removed too much - by patting it with my hand, I removed patches of paint and the effect was wonderful - one to remember and worth getting paint covered hands for!!!

      I then covered the substrate with crackle glaze. After leaving it to dry I painted it with a thick layer of  Decoart Phthalo Green-Blue Liquid acrylic paint mixed with some white acrylic paint. This  formed a gorgeous turquoise.

      I covered the substrate with a thick layer of this which formed wonderful crackles - revealing the rusty Quinacridone Gold and also the white patches.

When dry I sanded around the edges revealing the layers of paint and adding to the distressed peeling, aged look. I dry brushed some Raw Umber and Quinacridone Gold around the edges of the substrate.

 

     Now was time to decorate...

   I wanted to focus on time so a clock die cut seemed best....my recipe for creating rust is very simple

Dab on some Evergreen Bough DP

When dry dab on some Vintage Photo DI

Then dab on some Picket Fence DP

Then covered with Quinacridone Gold and sprinkle with Vintage Photo Distress Embossing powder when wet.

This method was used to create both the cogs and the clock surround.

The clock face was made from printed paper which was stamped with my favourite script stamp in Potting Soil Archival ink. A clock was cut out from printed paper and dabbed with Frayed Burlap DI. The clock hands were painted with Antiqued Bronze DP and a bronze screw brad was used to attach them.

    The word TIME was stamped using Evergreen Bough DP. It is stamped onto pattered paper which was then cut out and had twine stuck to the ends. Twine braid was wrapped around the substrate and the word time stuck onto it.

The background was decorated with a script and text stamp - using Potting Soil Archival ink and Picket fence DP. Several stamps  - the numbers, gears and quote were added using tissue paper - the stamp was stamped onto the tissue paper - the image was torn out and stuck to the substrate with Matt multi-medium. 

Hope you like it! Why not come over and check out the wonderful things the rest of the team have made to inspire you!

Happy Crafting!

Laura

XXX

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