For All Those that Came Before

Hello friends,

I'm happy to be here today sharing another project that uses Velum Scenes as part of the focal point.  This collage project has a simple wood base and lots of pieces to tell the story of the generations.  I hope you will follow along so I can share all the details with you.

I gathered some supplies (not in this orderly fashion though).  It's much easier to show you a picture of what I used after the project is complete rather than before!  I test out lots of baseboards, ephemera, tags, and vintage...some work, some don't!
I started this project by choosing the Found Relative card.  That gave me a story to work from.  I've never used this one, but was attracted to it because of the mothers determined stance (love her leather gloves and the daisy in her hat) and the girl with the basket of flowers.  I picked ephemera that went with the story... a railway card, the number 3 for the people in the picture, the small dictionary cutout from Field Notes that has a tree with it's roots (always a significant image), Vintage Flair that says, registered to vote and security for all (both reasons why people might come want to come to the US). Anyway, you get the drift of where the story is going.

As for the coloring, it was all done with Distress Crayons. Smudging the background and using a Detailer Water Brush for the rest.  I love how the Aged Mahogany gave the mother's suit a rich tone.
Once I was done with the card I set it aside to work on the background.

I used a 12 x 12" cradle board for the substrate.  This is a wood surface, not one wrapped in canvas.  Photobooth strips are 1 3/4 x 6" so you will need 14 strips to cover the board (7 in the top row and 7 across the bottom).  I did need to trim away a bit of the white edge to make them fit but that was easy.

Once I had all the Photobooth adhered to the board with Collage Medium, I had the idea to add the Velum Scene to the background as a nod to people landing at Ellis Island in the New York harbor.  When visiting the Island a few years ago, I was struck by the city landscape in the distance.  I cannot even image how that would feel to be waiting for your passage across the harbor.  And for those that were turned away for a variety of reasons, the unimaginable heartbreak of being placed on a ship to be sent back home.  If you have never visited Ellis Island, it should be on list for the future.

So the next step was a bit of a guessing game (where the place the Velum Scene) because I really didn't know how big the collage was going to get.  In the end I decided it need to be below the top row of photos.  If you didn't read my recent blog post on gluing Velum Scenes, you might want to read that before you try this.  Bottom line, have everything you need ready to go, including your brayer.

After the Velum Scene was adhered to the surface, I added a couple ripped pieces of vintage book text just to break up the ring of photos surrounding the board.  Adding Collage Medium to the surface will allow you to used Distress Crayons to age the paper as well as the photos.  I used Walnut Stain over the entire board, working it in with a damp finger tip, then pouncing over the surface with a wet wipe to remove the excess.

The last step was to use the Distress Splatter Brush to add Picket Fence Distress Paint over the surface.  Not too much, but enough to make it pop!

So lets talk about the collage.  I think levels are key to this kind of collage.  I always have on hand, bingo chips, small wood blocks, foam board and foam squares (thin and standard) to use for risers.  It is sometimes surprising how many different varieties you end up using in just one piece.
For this particular piece I cut two pieces of craft store foam core (to create a double stack) then glued the photo to it.  I left a 1/2" around the edge so things could still slip underneath.  I used a thin coat of Collage Medium to adhere the photo to the core as wet mediums can warp a card if you add too much.

From this angle you can see many of the levels created with the different risers.

I wanted a very specific saying for this piece so I created it on my computer and printed it on vintage typing paper.  After adding Mushroom Alcohol Ink to the outside of the Pocket Watch, I added the words (ink added), the vintage button and closed it up.  Creating anything on a wood panel always leads to me using nails.  No exception here.  A nail and a little wire is right up my alley.

The Number Block works perfectly here.  It's nice and thick so no riser needed! I stamped the Number Block with text from the Purveyor stamp set using black soot Archival Ink.  Then added Embossing Ink with the Dauber bottle over the number.  Weathered Wood Distress Embossing Glaze was added, repeating the embossing twice for a thick glossy coverage.  Once melted, Distress Crayon was added to the surface to grunge it up.

This tag...one of many in the Salvaged Tags pack.  I colored it with Walnut Stain Distress ink and added the red metal "button".  It goes on like an eyelet but it does not have the open center.  I'm not exactly sure what they are called since I probably last used one about 15 years ago.  No matter, it works for today.

Two pieces from Baseboards Junk Drawer are layered to build up to the photo.

Then this little guy...Factory Tags with two added Hardware Heads.  I liked this tag since it refers to warehouse work.  After my grandmother came to the US from the Azores in 1910, she spent two weeks sorting out her immigration paper at Ellis Island before traveling to Boston to save for her passage to California.  She eventually travels by train to Chico, CA where she worked at the Diamond Match Factory.  Once again, she stays until she has enough money to travel to the Central Coast to join her Portuguese relatives.  Because I knew her story, I thought the warehouse metal plate was a great addition.

I thought you might like to see what she looked like.  This photo has a written introduction on the back by the aunt and uncle that she traveled to the US with.  I suspect it would have been used as a job reference because it talks about her being hard working (good thing my husband can read Portuguese).  I have always wondered what color her dress was!

 Well, thanks for stopping by to read the tutorial (or even if you just looked at the pictures).  I always appreciate the time it takes to go to someones blog when Instagram is so easy to just scroll by.  So THANK YOU for your continued support!

Now carry on,
paula