I Know That I Am Home

Hello Friends,

I am circling back to idea-ology today and a favorite project I created earlier in the year. I love this one, created with the Divided Box, which has been a favorite substrate of mine over the years.  I have loved it's size, depth and that it had so many way to configure it.  But all things comes to an end of their lifecycle and this is one such product.  I know many retailers still have the Divided Box in stock, but when retailers are out, they are gone for good. So fair warning.

The entire box was covered inside and out with Backdrops Volume 5.  I used blue and cream for the front, then added aqua, purple and pink to cover the back.  It takes time to cover any Vignette Box with paper so I alway measure, cut and glue (Collage Medium) on day one.  Then I walk away and come back to the filling the box.  For me, it feels good to come back into the workroom the next day with the box ready to go.

My paper choice led me to the blue color scheme that runs through each compartment.  The shade of blue varies for interest, but blue and cream are dominate throughout.  I chose a black Design Tape with numbers for the lip edge of the box.  You could use multiple tape designs if you wish but I liked the continuity of just one design.

On the back you might notice that I mixed in two Collage Strips.

The pink strip on the left and the group of neutral pieces on the far right side.  You can tell it's a Collage Strip because of the scale of the images.  I think they work really well with the larger Backdrop images.

When working on this box, I knew I was going to need multiple Corked Vials to fill the space, so I created all the bottles at the beginning.  Then when the box was ready to fill, I could just use the ones that fit the space the best.

CORKED VIALS

1. coat with a base of Collage Medium - let dry.

2. coat with Crackle Paint- translucent - let dry

3. drip or pounce Alcohol Ink over the bottle (do not soak or your crackle finish might lift).  I used Mushroom, Moss and Bottle Alcohol Ink to color the glass.

4. don't forget the cork - paint it or rub Alcohol ink on it, maybe add a Hitch Fastener, pick at the cork so it's not perfect, etc. Mine are all different.

5. add string or wire around the neck of the bottle.

Now back to the large compartment...

The entire piece started with this photo from Snapshots 2. 

1.  I pounced Gathered Twigs Distress Ink on my glass mat then sprayed it with water to created droplets.  I pressed the Snapshot into the ink repeatedly (drying the ink in between) until I had an aged look to the photo.  This method only works on a slick surface if you press, then dry, then press, then dry.  Somehow the ink fuses to the surface enough to create the aged look. I used this same method on the blue label that sits below the Snapshot on the right.  

2. Tint the Snapshot photo with Distress Crayons and a cotton swab.  To get the textured look on the skirt and red coat, I tinted the skirt and coat with darker colors.  Then I pressed a piece of paper towel over the top (do not rub).  The paper towel pulls enough of the dark crayon away, making the clothes appear to have the texture worn away. 

3.  If you look closely, you can see that I also used a cutting knife to cut around the top of the car and along the top of the frame.  I also cut out the windows of the car so you are able to see through.

4.  I added thin foam squares to the frame, then added a 'scene' of a house that can be found in the Ephemera Palette Pack. 

5. Once the photo is ready, it can be mounted on foam squares and added to the back of the tray,

The bottom of the large compartment can be filled with anything you have on hand.  A little vintage is a must. Here is a list of what I've added:

from left to right:

+ Corked Vial with ephemera label and vintage lace.

+ Foliage Adornment - white paint added

+ Photo Frame - Foundry Wax + Mushroom Alcohol ink.  I cut a piece of chipboard for the center of the frame.  Then covered the chipboard with a piece of vintage velvet. I used Scor-tape to add the velvet so I could still stitch through the velvet to add the Bouquet flowers.  As you can see, it just added three stitches to hold the flowers in place. There was no glue involved.

+ Mini Flair with 4 leaf clover

+ Second bottle with snippet label (Curator pack) and wire around the neck

+ Corked Dome filled with vintage buttons (I collect buttons that have been used and still have the sewing thread in place).

+ vintage spool of silk thread with added threaded needle.

+ Figure Stand - I painted the top hat black and added the metal flower that I cut from a vintage earring.  I LOVE the new Figure Stands so much!  Tim's idea to have interchangeable pieces (the other pieces are a pointing finger and star) on a stick is just brilliant. They are the perfect miniature size.

The figures are double sided, so for instance, the pointing finger can face either left or right.

The MADE IN paper is vintage.  It was on a bunch of vintage flowers and I removed it to use here.

If you are wondering how I made the Butterfly stand up in the background, it's very simple.  I cut a sturdy wire and hot glued the butterfly to the end.  On the other end I added a cork (larger end down) which gave me something to glue to the bottom of the box.

The top right compartment has blue paper so I tried to use more cream items.  Cream in the labels I chose for the two bottles, the Baseboard window frame in the background, and the Collage Paper I used inside the large Pocket Watch.  

The word Sweetheart is vintage, as well as the blue flower cluster (a vintage earring I have had for years). You can see I added the Hitch Fastener to the top of the Corked Vial to make it look like a stopper of some sort. I painted the metal and the cork with metallic paint so the two pieces look like they are one.  The blue stamp in the background is from the ephemera pack and I just stapled it to a vintage card of hook and eyes.

I added the phrase, "I know that I am home" from the Clippings sticker book.

In the bottom compartment, you will find a Matchbox filled with more Bouquet Flowers (Antique Linen Distress Spray was used for color).  The metal embellishment with the French feel, is from the Ornate Embellishments pack.  The words are, again, from the Clippings Sticker book.

I added a Word Tag to the neck of the bottle and a snippet label (I LOVE the Curator pack of tiny labels).  

To make the ball of string, I just started with one of the larger Bubbles left over from a Halloween project...winding and winding till I had a ball of string.  I stuck two tiny Sequin Pins into the ball like they were knitting needles.

The vintage button card with added ephemera was added to the background.

And that is it.

Creating all the bottles at the same time made the work seem easier, since it really is messy when you are coloring with Alcohol Ink and paint, and inked string, and wire, etc.  Once that's all done, you can clean up and then come back to assembling.

Three cheers for idea-ology...I love the kooky, creative thought process to make things come together!

now carry on,

paula

Truest of Friends

Hello Friends,

What a fun time I have had working on this collage.  In fact, I cannot wait to start another!  This all began with one of the blank canvas boards I painted last week when I was in a funk and couldn't think of anything to make.  I'm now down to only one canvas from everything I painted, so I guess painting structures to challenge myself is working.  Today's post about this collage is informative but there are so many variations, from color to stamps, that I hope you take this as more of a jumping off point for your own work.

 

I gathered a few supplies for todays project.  I saw Cassie use this Media Marks 2 set (or maybe the smaller version - Mini Media Marks) on a card she posted and it really inspired me to use it today.

As I said, last week I painted a 9 x 12" canvas board along with a few other substrates.  It was easy to go into the craft room today and pick this up to start working.

I adhered a long strip of vintage ephemera across the center with Collage Medium.  This came from an old attendance book.

I used my rotary cutter to cut random sized strips of Memoranda paper.  I'm using the page at the back of the pad with four, 6 x 6" papers.  I chose this because you get different papers when you cut it into strips.

Adhered them above and below the ephemera.
I also painted a wash of Picket Fence paint over the Tumbled Glass paint.

Once it was dry, I used Hickory Smoke Archival Ink to stamp the image of rings from "Halftone and Rings" stamp set from Stampers Anonymous.  I could have gone with black ink but I don't really want the rings to be the stand-out.

Distress paint...haven't used it a while other than base painting but after Tim's Facebook Live on Saturday, I was inspired to get it out and use it.  I know I have picked some bright colors but many layers will be added so not to worry if that's not your jam.  I squeezed a little paint onto a piece of deli paper (easy clean up) then used my fingertip to add a large dot in each of the stamped images.

The hardest part is waiting for it to dry! uggg...you can't rush paint!

I decided to add a large Velum Scene to the canvas.  These are normally meant to be used with lights behind them to illuminate the velum but I decided to add it here to create a backdrop.

Please beware, the velum is quick to bubble over glue.  I've done this technique twice, once it was perfect and this time I went to dig in the drawer to find my brayer (novice move on my part).  When I came back, I had a bubble down the center.  90% of bubbles dry completely flat in 24 hours, but because I walked away from it I got a permanent bubble.  With that said, have your clean brayer out and ready to go before gluing.  If you don't have a brayer, I'd suggest a big heavy book or two.  Lest you think a bubble will stop me, it will not.

So I still had the painted space at the bottom of the canvas to work on but I didn't want to repeat the top "candy dots" so I went with stripes.  I hand cut small strips of paper and added them with Collage Medium in a random fashion.  I used stamps from Media Marks 2 to add details in between the strips of paper.  I thought I should add some color to match the top so I just painted some stripes with skinny paintbrush and used a cotton swab to add the dots of color in the stamped circles.

Can you see how small the print on the paper is?  I cut up paper at the back of the Memoranda Paper Pad which has 3 x 4" images of each paper.  Everything is scaled way down, which is great when you need small scale prints.
*Walnut Stain Distress Crayon was eventually added to match the top of the canvas.

So you know I couldn't leave the candy colors as they are right? 

1.  The first layer is Walnut Stain Distress Crayon.  Scribble it on and use a damp paintbrush to move it around.

Again, I always follow crayon work by pouncing over the top with a wet wipe.

2.  Picket Fence Crayon was added to each color circle on the center left and rubbed in.
3.  Walnut Stain Crayon was scribbled on the glass mat and picked up with the water brush and added to the right side to give the appearance that the dot is now a sphere.
*I will add more color and dimension once I finish the rest of the piece.

This stamp is also from the Media Marks 2 set.  I stamped with Archival ink onto Plain Collage Paper.

Then used the Detailer Water Brush to cut away each stem from the paper.

I added the leaf to the canvas with Collage Medium.

This is a great way to add images, especially when going over uneven surfaces where stamping could be a problem.  The added numbers came from Collage Paper Typeset.

I added a few more pieces of Collage Paper before moving on.

You could leave the stems as they are but I decided to color them with Peeled Paint Crayon and the Water Brush.

Use a Distress Splatter Brush to add flecks of white paint over the canvas.

Then the center piece...the three girls from Paper Dolls.  I created the pattern on the dress of the girl on the left by pouncing the tip of the Water Brush over the dress.  You know I love coloring the Paper Dolls and making patterns makes me even happier.  I used Dusty Concord for the dress and Fossilized Amber, Stormy Sky and Aged mahogany for the flowers.

The Paper Dolls were added to the canvas with Collage Medium.  I did not put Collage Medium over the top.  Clipping Stickers were added and well as marks using a white Posca paint pen.

You know I love the Clipping Sticker Book.  It's just so convenient to create short phrases using the stickers.  It's my favorite part of every project.

Now back to the candy circles.  I did two more things to the circles.
1. I still had lots of Distress Crayon colors scribbled on the palette of my Glass Media Mat.  I used a paintbrush to pick up some crayon and dry brush over each circle.  You can see that Aged Mahogany was used over the Twisted Citron and Peacock Feathers circles to add a contrast of color.  This is where working on a canvas surface is cool because the texture/weave of the canvas helps keep the contrasting color on top.
2. Use a Stabilo pencil to doodle and add pencil lines.

 They are not just candy dots anymore!

Because of Covid-19, I couldn't go out to get a frame so I used the next best thing, a frame I found when I cleaned out the closet in my office last weekend.  It had glass, which I disposed of.  I glued the canvas directly to the mat that was already in the frame.  Who knew a canvas panel I chose at random last week, would work with a frame long forgotten in a closet.  Perfect.  Like it was meant to be.

I hope you can glean some inspiration from todays project.  I'm grateful for the extra time to be creating more and sharing more!  

Now carry on,
paula