Crackling Campfire Vignette Tray

Hello friends,

I'm happy to be here sharing one of the projects I created with the new Distress color, Crackling Campfire!  

It is such a beautiful color and it mixes well with the Distress family (probably more colors than you think).  I love how it can transform from being as intense as a fireball, but if it wicks out, it's like a juicy melon.  That's a good color.  Follow along and I'll show you what I created.

I have gathered the items I will need for the first part of the project.  

One small Vignette Tray, Heavystock paper cut to fit the tray (9 x 4 3/4" I believe).  I also picked 4 colors of Distress Spray Stain; Crackling Campfire, Fossilized Amber, Speckled Egg, and Peeled Paint.

NOTE: The 8 1/2 x 11" Distress Heavystock paper is not available from ranger right now but hopefully very soon (I still have 1 package left from when they used to make it!).  You could substitute Watercolor paper if you have that in the large size.  

I'm using my large craft mat from Ranger because the paper is large and I want lots of spray to work with.  I sprayed each color in a row to get the rainbow effect on the paper.

Smoosh the large paper into the ink and pick up quickly, moving to a paper towel (or at the very least, a dry spot).

NOTE: I had no problem keeping the colors separate when I made my sample last week.  However, I didn't take pictures while I was working so I had to redo this portion for the blog post.  My expert opinion: don't try to do this while taking a photo.  My left hand should be holding the left end of the paper not a camera.  Hence the color sliding to the left.

Heat dry the paper, blotting off any excess ink.  I did spray Speckled Egg directly over the blue area because it was so much lighter than the rest of the colors.

Set aside the colored paper to prepare for the next step.

You will need a Splat Box (or something to spray in), scotch tape/masking tape, deli sheets/paper, stencil and a water tray.

Fill a tray with enough water to drop your stencil in when you are done.

Using a Splat Box, lay a stencil over the surface of the colored paper.  Cover the edges of the stencil with ripped paper to disguise the hard edge.  I also used scotch tape to secure the paper and stencil so it does not blow away when I spray. 

Using Resist Spray, spray over the stencil.  I spray from the top down, not across the stencil.  Use a decent amount of Resist Spray but not so much that it runs under the stencil.

TIP: before spraying the stencil, test the Resist Spray in your garbage can to make sure the nozzle is working and that the spray is coming out as a spray not a stream.

Peel the stencil up and throw it into the tray of water.

Dry with a heat tool.

Once the stencil is clean and DRY, turn the paper around and repeat steps on the opposite end.

After drying, you can see the resist if you tilt the paper into the light.

Last step is to clean the nozzle.  It's a pain, but it works perfectly to keep the nozzle unclogged.  I have a red plastic cup that Ellie has written on, "Resist Spray Only".  I keep it in the craft room and use it over and over.  

1. Fill the cup with hot water.  

2. Remove the nozzle from the Resist Spray bottle.  

3. Use the water in the cup to spray either into a paper towel or right back into the cup.  

NOTE: The place not to spray is in your sink.  Unless you want microscopic bits of glue stuck to the porcelain (don't ask me how I know this).

Use Collage Medium to adhere the colored paper to the flat back of the small Vignette Tray.  I found that by adhering the paper to the tray, it was easier to control (no curled edges) and I got better results with the crayon because it was even surface.

Scribble Walnut Stain Distress Crayon onto the glass mat.  Create a puddle of water to dip the brush into.  

Use a damp brush to wisk the crayon over the surface.  I went across the tray from left to right and worked my way up.   You can start very light and build up the definition.  It seems kinda magical to watch the pattern appear.

Here is the finished tray.  

Ready for some simple embellishment.

I decided to use a wood Vignette Frame over the colored background.  I painted it white, then added Distress Texture Paste Crackle over the top and set it aside to dry for 30 minutes.  Once dry, I scribbled out more crayon (just like we did for the harlequin) and used the paintbrush to color the surface, revealing the cracks.

I love the colored background so I decided to do something on a transparency so you can still see the colors through the frame.  I cut a transparency (I buy mine at Office Depot) to fit the frame.  Then stamped with StazOn ink. The phrase I liked was too tall for the space so I only inked the bottom portion.  The flower stamp is from the new Halloween Stampers Anonymous release, called Dearly Departed.

I also added "No.92" from the Field Notes Remnant Rubs.

I also embossed the same flower stamp from Dearly Departed on watercolor paper using Ranger Embossing Powder, Liquid Platinum. I fussy cut just the flower and then used a Detailer Water Brush to add the ink colors Crackling Campfire and Peeled paint.  I did add a bit of Speckled Egg in the center to fill in between the stems.

Adhere the transparency to the frame.

Then to the panel.  

The flower can be added in many directions.  I just tried to show some of the under stamping and have enough of the leaves hang off the frame.

I added this tiny lucky clover with a bit of string.  The stems have an indentation that seems like a natural spot to thread string underneath and add a charm.

It is a simple piece, but I love the color and texture of the paper.  I told Tim I didn't even want to add anything to the top because I liked touching the surface, lol.  All in all I'm super happy how it turned out and I know for sure I will doing this Resist Spray technique again using different stencils.

I'll be back soon with another post from the new color release. 

Oh, and welcome to the family, Crackling Campfire!

Now carry on,

paula

Halloween Matchbox Tray

Hi Friends!

We have been secretly working away on samples for the release of the 2020 idea-ology Halloween product.  Today i'm sharing a fun project made with Matchboxes that are part of the everyday idea-ology line.  The foundation is a large Vignette Tray which is 6 x 12".  It is the perfect size for the six Matchboxes. So follow along and I'll give you all the details!

Start by painting a Large Vignette Tray with Black Soot Distress Paint. I painted the entire tray except the inside background that will be covered with paper in the next step.  Once dry, I sanded the surface inside and out to bring back some of the natural wood, then painted on a thin coat of Collar Medium to seal and give it a smooth finish. I used paper from two packs, the new Mini Stash, Departed + Wallflower (for the perfect bug paper). First I cut a piece of Wallflower to cover the entire back of the tray (adhering with Collage Medium). Then I ripped paper from Departed to add over the top. The entire center will be covered by the matchboxes so no need to worry about what that looks like.

The bug paper had an interesting tiled pattern on the back so I ripped small pieces and added that over the Departed paper.

Once the paper was in place I added a thin layer of Collage Medium over the top and let that dry completely.  Then I scribbled Walnut Stain Distress Crayon on the surface and used a damp paintbrush to work it into the corners and around the rips in the paper.  If you scroll back two pictures you can really see the difference the crayon makes.

I decided to add our new Trim Tape with the pinked edge to the box.  So I squeezed out a bit of Antique Linen paint and used my finger to rub it along the edge.  It was good that I had painted the tray with back paint because it sealed the edge so the creme paint stays on top, instead of soaking into the wood.  Once the paint was dry, I added the tape to the edge and then rolled the remainder over the edge and down the outside of the box. The last thing to do was a just a bit of crayon to take away the brightness of the paint color.

Matchboxes (1 1/2 x 2") come in a pack of six which fit PERFECTLY in the Large Tray.  I cut six, 2" strips (six different papers) from the Departed paper stash. Then used Collage Medium to adhere the paper to the boxes. I added Collage Medium over the surface to seal (so I can use crayon later).

Once I had the boxes covered and the Collage Medium was dry, I used my finger to add Distress Crackle Paste to the edges.  Not too much that it covered the design of the paper, but enough to make them look old.  I waited for the crackle to dry, then colored with crayon.  I scribbled Walnut Stain crayon on the Glass Mat and picked it up with a damp paintbrush to push it into the cracks. Followed by scribbling both Walnut Stain and Forest Moss crayon directly on the crackle to get darker spots.

For the drawers, I simply painted three black (be sure to paint the outside) and covered the other three with vintage book paper (again, adding collage medium and crayon to age).

Just a little tip before I show you the details of the tray.  When I was done creating all the boxes and ready to move them into the tray, I cut a thick piece of book board (1" wide) to use as a jig .  It fits right between the bottom of the tray and the bottom of the matchboxes.  Then when I glued each Matchbox to the tray they were nice and even.  Once I was done gluing, I removed the jig.

Before creating the interior of the boxes I lined them up in the tray to see how I wanted to arrange them.  The balance of color and texture is important to me, especially when I know I will be combining all the little Matchboxes into the tray.  As I went along, I tried to balance the "weight" of the three visually "heavy" boxes: the filled dome, the Toadstools, and the glass bottles in the bottom left.

The first quad of boxes are:

1. Red tag from the Snippets pack.

2. Black box - Hitch Fastener added for drawer pull.   Transparent Wings: I held the center of the smallest wings with a wood screwer and heated it with an embossing tool until the wings curled.  I swear I could do this all day long if I had the time!

3.  The Apothecary bottles were the same size so I decided to break one.  I just put the bottle in a plastic bag and hit the bottom of the bottle with small hammer to break it.  I rubbed Mushroom Alcohol Ink over the bones then tied them to the bottle with green string.

4.  The metal bug has been painted with Speckled Egg Distress Paint.  Once dry, I pounced Mushroom AI over the top.  Then I just wove the bug into the Mummy Cloth and glued it to the box.  The number came from the clippings part of the Halloween Sticker book.

box 2

box 3

box 4

5. Before adding the Peculiar Things token to the box, I threaded a needle an sewed two X's into the right side of the box.  My favorite little detail.

6. This is another of the black boxes.  I scribbled Distress Crayons onto the glass Mat and picked up the color with a Detailer Water Brush and just painted the Toadstools.  I adhered the tiny frame from the Baseboard pack to the front of the box then added the Poison, cut from a poison label.

7. The orange pumpkins have been painted white, Distress Crackle Paste added and dried, and a crayon wash over the top.  Words from the Halloween sticker book.

8.  Box is left plain to show off the crackle paper from Departed.

box 6

box 7

9. Another bug from the Adornments Entomology set.  This time I glued Mummy Cloth to the underside of the bug, then wired the bug to the box (poke the holes first and then thread thin wire).  Heavy crayon added to the wire to look like dirt build up.

10. Pack cut up Boneyard and Spooky Eyes in Corked Dome.  Pack the bottom with Mummy Cloth then glue the dome to the Cork.  Add a Remnant Rub (Field Notes) and tie with string.

11. Color a Paper Doll with Distress Crayons.  Cut her to fit into the small box.  Glue a wood block behind her to bring her forward in the box.

12.  I placed a wood block inside the Matchbox so I could hammer a carpet tack into the end of the Optical Lens.  These Lenses are from the regular idea-ology line and can be use for many things.  The Remnant Rub was added (Field Notes) and a tiny spider from the Adornments Halloween pack.

box 10

box 11

box 12

just a couple more photos...

I used a Mini Hardware Pull on the end of the tray to make it look like a drawer that had been pulled from a cabinet of curiosities.  The words are from the Halloween Sticker book.

Well I hope you liked the tray as much as I did making it.  I'm happy to be part of the makers creating these Halloween pieces.  I am in awe of the magical things my fellow maker put out there!  I also love cooking up these products with Tim.  We have a fun time imagining what would work for Halloween each year and helping it come to fruition!

now carry on,
paula