Ladies and Gentleman...

Hello friends,

Today I'm sharing another project featuring Speckled Egg Distress Paint and Embossing Glaze. This was created using a small Vignette Tray flipped over to the back side.  I like doing this since it makes a great substrate for a collage and it's also very easy to hang on the wall when I am done.

I painted the wood surface with Speckled Egg Distress Paint and let it dry.  Next I added ripped pieces of Typeset Collage Paper to the surface using Collage Medium both under and over the paper.

Once the collage paper was dry, I used the Hocus Pocus Layering Stencil to add Distress Crackle Paste stars to the surface of the Vignette Tray.  I sprinkled on some Embossing Glaze in both Speckled Egg and Walnut Stain and let it dry completely before melting the Glaze with an Embossing Gun.

Once the Glaze was melted, I moved on to creating a layered collage of cards from the Remnants Ephemera Pack, using foam squares to build up some cards.  The Sizzix/Tim Holtz Large Stems is a BIGZ die so you are able to cut thick materials like chipboard.  This is exactly what I did, cutting the flower in chipboard so it would hold up under the Glaze layer.  I painted the chipboard in an off white and let it dry.  Then stamped with Vintage Photo Archival Ink using the Fragments stamp from Stampers Anonymous.  I dried it with my heat tool then followed the basic steps for glazing...add embossing ink, pour glaze over the surface, tap off and heat until melted.

It made a wonderfully shiny layer of glaze over the stamped Fragment image.  

The large stem was added to the collage with foam squares.

This Photobooth is one of my favorites - we call him "The Magician" which led to using the Clippings Stick "Ladies and Gentlemen", like he was starting a magic show.  I gave him some subtle color using Distress Crayons.  I tried to make it look like he had a yellow glow around him, like being in the spotlight on stage.  Again, he was added with foam squares to the collage.

The gears are a mix of Gadget Gears, Sprocket Gears and Mini Gears.  Each gear pack gets progressively smaller so they can be layered, then connected with a fastener.  I used a Hex Fastener on this one and a Mini Fasteners on the one in the next photo.
Before layering, I rubbed Speckled Egg Distress Paint on each gear and fastener.  Once dry, I added a bit of Translucent Grit-Paste in random spots and let that dry.  Distress Crayon Walnut Stain was scribble on the Glass Media Mat and picked up with a damp brush.  I used the brush to work in the brown color over the Translucent Grit Paste like built up dirt.  The last step was to use a small file to file/scrap right into the metal to reveal the gold color where all layers have worn away.

 You can see the scratch marks of the file much better in the second gear.

To finish the tray, I added the metal plate at the bottom - from the Factory Tags pack.  I rubbed white paint over the surface and into the recessed portion of the tag.  I also added Hardware Heads to each end as if it had been screwed to the board.

I hope you might find some inspiration in todays project.  I think my favorite part was seeing the transformation of the gears after adding the Speckled Egg paint and Grit-Paste.  Something I will be trying again in the future!

Now carry on,
paula

Nice Girl From a Good Home

Hello friends,

What a fun week we have had seeing the excitement surrounding the the new color Speckled Egg!  Everyone seems so excited about the color itself and using it in their makes.  I love the color too!

My second project using Speckled Egg is a great for the beginner or the seasoned crafter.  Follow along and I'll show you the steps to make your own.

I am using the largest of the Vignette Boxes for this project but any size would work by adjusting the things inside.  To create the detail on the front, I used idea-ology Ball Chain.  You will need a decent layer of Collage Medium on the lip edge to keep the Ball Chain in place but probably not as much as you might think.  You can see in the picture that the Collage Medium is white under the chain but it's not sitting in globs of glue.  Use your Tonic Scissors to clip the chain at each corner.  You can adjust the chain after laying it into the glue but one you have it in place, leave it alone to dry.  Drying time will always depend on your climate and how much Collage Medium you used.

You can see here that the Collage Medium has become transparent during the drying time.  I know it looks like the Ball Chain is just sitting on the edge on the Vignette Box, but it's absolutely secured by the College Medium.  At this stage you are ready for paint.  Of course I chose to use the new Speckled Egg on both the box and Finial.

Once the paint was completely dry, I sanded the paint on both the box and finial.  Once I wiped away the dust, I scribbled on Walnut Stain Distress Crayon (even over the Ball Chain) and rubbed it in with my fingers and a damp paint brush.  

The background paper is a great grid pattern that can be found in the Dapper Paper Pad.  I adhered it to the very back of the box then painted a layer of Collage Medium over the top, which allowed me to color the background with Walnut Stain Crayon.  You might even be able to see, just up the in the top right, that I sprayed over the Crayon with Speckled Egg Oxide Spray.  I did not add water because I wanted it to just sit right on top of the brown Crayon work.  Small detail are worth it!

The Finial was glued to the top and left to dry in place (at least 20 minutes). 

While the Finial was drying, I chose a Found Relative to use in my project.  I used the Distress Embossing Pen to color her dress with Speckled Egg Embossing Glaze.  The Embossing Pen is PERFECT for getting into tight spaces like the ruffle around her neck and the flowers on her dress.  The Embossing pad or Dabber could never give you that kind of control.  I tipped the card up to see the shine of the ink (and make sure I had her dress covered), then followed the basic steps of using Embossing Glaze; pour, tap off, melt.  I painted the Flowers and the background with Distress Crayons and a detailer Water Brush.

I also used Distress Crayon and the Bubbles stencil to add a whimsical layer over the background.

A Baseboard Frame that I colored with Distress Crayons was added to the Found Relative before being placed into the Vignette Box.  I added the words, "nice girl from a good home" that can be found in the Clipping Sticker book.

The Adornments Floral are very cool metal flowers.  I think they get overlooked a lot because they are metal and not a pre-colored flower.  After I saw Tim using Embossing Glaze in one of his Saturday sessions I knew I wanted to use that technique on the flowers.  I chose three flowers from the group + three leaves, two small and one large.

I followed Tim's technique (which you can find HERE...it's right after the 1 hour mark) to Glaze the flowers.  As you can see, my flowers are three different colors.  Glaze is a translucent medium so it is effected by the layer or color underneath.  This makes it even more exciting to use, since you can very easily change up what a color looks like.  I rubbed the larger flower with white paint and let it dry before the Glaze layer was added.  The small flower on the left was rubbed with Speckled Egg Paint and the flower on the far left was rubbed with Evergreen Bough.  In this process, much is dependent on how much paint you use...it's a process of experimentation! Each flower came out wonderful with the added Glaze, but it was much easier to see the impact with the larger flower (or the butterfly Tim demonstrates in his technique video).  Again, be sure to watch Tim's technique for adding Glaze to metal before beginning the process.

I added the tiniest of faux pearls (colored with Mushroom Alcohol Ink) to the center of each flower and let dry before adding them to the box.  

The Thimble was colored with Gold Alcohol Ink Mixative, then rubbed with Walnut Stain Distress Crayon to create the aged appearance.  It works perfectly with the flowers and the Vintage Flair button.  I have to say, I love this detail shot! 

The last thing I added was the string on the Finial, that allowed me to add the Story Stick (love) and the Antiqued Gem dangle.  The Gems are one of my favorite little details to add to any project because we have made them to look old, no shiny metal here! 

Glad you have stopped by to view todays project.  I'll be back again next week to share more on Speckled Egg!

Now carry on,

paula

Reality #175

Hello Friends,

So fun to be here today talking about the newest color in the Distress Line, SPECKLED EGG!  It is a color that I have wanted for so long and trust me, it is beautiful!  I was able to create four projects for the new color Facebook Live.  I will be blogging all four projects by the end of May so if you are interested in learning how I created any of them, please come back often to see the posts.

For today's project, I started with a small Etcetera Tag (5 1/2 x 10").  There are two kinds of paper used in the background: The patterned paper is from the Dapper Paper Stash.  I used the smaller scale 6 x 6" papers that are found at the back of the paper pad to work with the size of the small tag.  The second is Mixed Media Heavystock that I colored with Speckled Egg and Gathered Twigs Distress Ink.  I created a patchwork background with all the papers and adhered them to the tag with Collage Medium.  I haven't used the Dapper paper for a while but it is so awesome for a more masculine vibe.

I stamped the gears using the Dapper stamp set and Vintage Photo Archival Ink - something you can do even after the paper is glued to the tag, since it's made from thickboard and will not bend.

I used Translucent Grit Paste and the 'Stitches' Stencil from Stampers Anonymous to add the X shapes to the tag.  I sprinkled Speckled Egg Embossing Glaze over the top of the paste, tapped off the excess and let it dry.  After about 30 minutes (when the paste was dry), I melted the glaze with the embossing gun.

The shelf is the next thing I created since it grounds the collage.  I am using Etcetera Trims called 'Pinked' for the sawtooth edge it has.  You will need three, 5" pieces, two skinny and one wide one.

The wide is the base, the skinny is glued directly on top and the last strip butts up against the straight side to create the shelf.

I used the Star Trim 3D folder and Watercolor cardstock to create the strip for the shelf.  

A few important things to remember when using 3D folders:

1.  Lightly spritz the back of the paper before you place it in the folder.

2.  Run folder through the machine three times at an angle to create the best impression.

3.  Once it's taken out of the folder, dry it with the heat tool before embossing.

 Glaze as you normally would to complete the process.

Just for fun, I tested to see what happened if you colored the watercolor paper first and then used the Embossing Glaze.  The paper strip on the left had been colored with ink, run through the Vagabond machine, and then Glazed.  The strip on the right is the white watercolor paper.  As you can see, they are both good but the one on the right has some white showing.  I liked that look better than the strip with the extra step of coloring the paper.  Just a test, but worth taking into consideration.

I also did a few tests with just paper (no glaze involved) so I could see the difference in color depending on the paper you use.  Both colors are great but the white of the watercolor paper is more true.  Using Speckled Egg over Heavystock comes out a bit more green because of the base color of the paper... "manilla-lite" (as I like to call the color of Heavystock).  So be aware that your paper choice may change the color just a tad.  Personally I think it's like having two colors in one pad!

Anyway, lets get back to the project at hand.  In the project I painted the wood pieces with Distress Paint then added the Star strip across the front, covering the middle strip completely.  I did trim off one edge of the strip to make it fit just a bit better.

Here is the finished shelf on the tag.  Walnut Stain Crayon was also added to the wood parts to make it look as if it was one piece.

Once the shelf was secure, I moved on to the collage using pieces from Paper Dolls, Field Notes ephemera, Urban Layers, Junk Drawer Baseboards, Type Chips (1/2) and the wonderful Number Blocks.

I sanded the black edges of the Number Blocks and inked the numbers.  The blocks are great for piling up and and really grounding a foundation. They work perfectly to balance the tall man in the composition.

You know me, always coloring the Paper Dolls!  This guys suit is very dark so I decided to play that up by rubbing the crayon directly onto the suit and then rubbing away what I didn't need, leaving just a hint of blue.  The crayon color really makes a difference when bringing him to life.

Once I had my man, I could go looking for a Clippings Sticker to fit the story I'm telling.  To be honest, there were so many to choose from that it was HARD to choose just one!  In the end, I had to go with this one because it just fit him and that nonchalant stance.  The Optical Lens (one of my very favorite products) is perfect for the sentiment...and of course what I like best is that I could nail it to the wood board.

I added the big card from Junk Drawer in that sweet spot above the six (he looks like he is ready to play some cards, right?).  Then I had an idea, I'm in the midst of purging closets and drawers during lockdown and had run across a package of cigar bands I purchased a few years ago.  I thought it was the perfect vintage item to add across the card!

I added the large flower to fill in the space above his arm.  I told Tim, my guy is a "Renaissance Man": he loves grunge and flowers, lol.  The Adornments Key was one of the last things I added.  It fit perfectly between his hand and the Baseboard below.

Machinery Heads were a new addition to the line this year.  I love the giant metal pieces to really bring a bit of industrial to any project.  I rubbed the metal with white paint and once dry, pounced Mushroom Alcohol Ink over the surface to grunge it up.

For the tie at the top of the tag.  I used Spray Stain in Speckled Egg and Gathered Twigs to dye Mummy Cloth (yes, the stuff from the Halloween release).  I doubled it up to make it look thicker on the tag.

Thank you for stopping by to see my project.  Speckled Egg is a must have color, don't you agree?

Now carry on,

paula

Lost Vignette Shrine

Hello friends,

Happy to be here today sharing a Vignette Shrine project.  I absolute love this new substrate because it can fit so many themes.  I also love that it comes with the two base pieces to give it more visual weight to the completed shrine.

Gather the pieces that you will need for the project.  From Collage Paper to a Baseboard Doll to Vintage Flair.  This picture shows all the pieces (plus a few other design choices) and includes 4 bingo chips for risers, and foam squares in both thin and standard thickness.

(click to enlarge photo)

1. Paint the two base pieces and the INSIDE of the Vignette Shrine with black paint.  Set aside to dry completely (not shown).
2. Once the paint is dry, use Collage Medium to cover the back and sides of the house with Collage Paper Typeset.  Remember the key to Collage Paper is having glue both underneath and on top of the paper.

3.  Once the Collage Pager is dry (I use a heat tool to dry the Collage Medium because I'm impatient), use a Walnut Stain Crayon to age the edges.  I just scribble it on and use a damp paint brush to move it around.  Set aside.

4. Adhere 4 bingo chips to the back of the Report Card.  Cut off the right end of the green flower card.  Add 4 foam squares to the back.  Add both pieces to the Shrine (see main photo).

5.  Use small scissors to fussy cut the flowers.  Add a few foam squares to the back and adhere to the Report Card.

Just like this!

6.  Spell the word LOST, then flip over to adhere together. I adhered a small piece of chipboard to the Type Chips to stabilize them, then added two thin foam squares to add to the shrine.

The word is adhered directly onto the Report Card.

7.  Add the Transparent Butterfly wings to the back of the Baseboard Doll, then add a riser.  I used some small wood blocks (3/8") but you can use what you have on hand, like a double stack of foam squares.

The Baseboard Doll was, of course, colored with Distress Crayons.

8.  Two last things...first the Optical Lens.  The round label from the Field Notes Ephemera fits right into the lens, no trimming needed.  I did add a small bit of glue on the back around the metal edge to secure in place.  Then I added it to the Report Card with a thin foam square.  The bingo chips on the back of the Report Card takes the weight of the Optical Lens...without them to stabilize the card, it might fall forward.

9.  And the last little detail.  Cotton strings (kinda like a nest) surround her feet and ground her to the Shrine.  Vintage Flair button added with Collage Medium.

I told you it was easy...it's all about the layers.
now carry on,
paula