Free To Fly...

Hello friends and a really big hello and welcome to all the new followers that have joined me over the last few weeks...I hope you'll enjoy my blog and all the projects I share and feel free to say hello at any time!

Today, I'm sharing the first of my two samples that I created for the recent Tim Holtz YouTube live for the launch of the brand new Sizzix 2021 Chapter 3 dies. If you missed the live on the 10th July, or if you just want to watch it again, and again ~ then you can catch up with all the fun HERE and there's also a recap and all the maker's projects on Tim's blog.

So, back to my project and this one was the framed panel that I made using a few of the new products from Chapter 3 ~ Butterfly 3D Impresslits Cut & Emboss, the Switchlits Seal and the Leafy Twigs and combining them with a couple of older dies, Funky Wreath and Alphanumeric Label Thinlits Dies.

I wanted to keep this looking very organic in it's style ~ it was all about nature and botanical beauty, so I decided to use earthy colours and chose to use blues, greens and browns throughout.

FRAMED PANEL

To begin with I took the framed panel. This comes in two pieces and I painted the wooden frame and the backboard panel using Gathered Twigs and Walnut Stain Distress Paints, blending the paint colours together to give a richness to the wood. I then applied a touch of Black Soot Distress Paint over the surface. I used the dry brushing technique to just allow the paint to kiss the wood, you don't want to make it too dark or obliterate the brown.

Once I was happy, I allowed it to dry before applying Treasure Gold Gilding Wax over the beading around the edge of the frame to accentuate it.

BACKGROUND

Setting the frame to one side, I moved onto the background and cut a panel of Mixed Media Heavystock to measure the same size as the aperture of the frame.

I then inked the cardstock with Speckled Egg, Antique Linen and Evergreen Bough Distress Spray Stain, and a hint of Speckled Egg Oxide Spray.

I misted the inks with water to create a blend and then heat dried the surface before adhering it onto the centre of my backboard panel using Matte Collage Medium to secure it and adding a light coat of the medium over the top.

Whilst that was drying I used the Leafy Twigs Thinlits die set to die cut two panels of Mixed Media Heavystock card. Once these panels were cut, I then used the Embossing Dabber over the surface. As I mentioned at the beginning I wanted a natural look to this panel, so I only applied the dabber half of the Leafy Twigs die cut, leaving the other half un-inked. It doesn't matter where you start or stop the inking, but don't create a straight line as this will look unnatural ~ just apply it randomly.

I then sprinkled the surface with Antique Linen Embossing Glaze, tapped away the excess and heat embossed the glaze. I repeated this process using Speckled Egg Embossing Glaze, and then Peeled Paint but on these applications, I only sprinkled random areas of the panel with the powder, as I want to create a variation in colour. The final layer of embossing is with gold embossing powder and once again, I used a fine sprinkle over the surface before I heat embossed the powder. Repeat this process for the second die cut panel and then attach to the background, trimming the panels so they will fit inside the frame once you attach it.

To complete the background I added some Design Tape, (this can be any design of your choosing) around the four edges to create an inner border frame and then I attached the wooden frame over the top, clamping it with bulldog clips so that it will be secure once the Matte Collage Medium is dry.

With the frame drying, I moved onto the inner panel which is the largest sized Vignette Panel. I spritzed  the panel with Speckled Egg Oxide Spray and allowed it to dry before I added a good covering of Crackle Paste over the entire surface.

I did find that the oxide spray seeped through the crackle paste but this was a happy accident as it created the perfect colour for the panel.

Once the crackle paste was dry and the crackles appeared, I ran Walnut Stain Distress Crayon over the top and with a slightly damp brush, I blended the colour to sink into the crackles to accentuate them.

I attached the crackled panel to my frame panel and added some Mummy Cloth around the edge of the wooden panel. The cloth is dyed with Frayed Burlap and Antique Linen Distress Spray Stains.

My frame is now complete and ready for the focal point.

WREATH

For this I started with the Funky Wreath. I cut the wreath from cardstock that I inked with Peeled Paint and Bundled Sage Distress Spray Stains and cut it a couple of times to create layers before attaching these over the top of one another, slightly offsetting them.

I cut some of the individual pieces and tucked these into the wreath to create more foliage, and add more dimension and frothiness to the overall look.

I attached the finished wreath over a Mica Sheet and adhered it to the wooden Vignette Panel before placing Hardware Heads onto the opposite corners.

In the centre of the wreath I used the amazing Seal Switchlit. I cut one of the Switchlit designs from Gold Metallic kraft stash and then layered a circle of felt in the centre before attaching this to centre of my Funky Wreath, using foam pads to secure it into place. You can see the layers in the photo below, which also show the dimension of this piece.

PLAQUE

Beneath the wreath I added my plaque. This is a piece of metallic kraft stash cut to size and using the Alphanumeric Label Dies, I cut the letters for FREE TO FLY.

I attached the letters to my metallic plaque and then with these in place, I applied Black Soot Distress Paint over the top. Allow for the paint to become slightly tacky but not dry and then remove the majority of it with a paper towel. You will find that the black paint knocks back the shiny metallic look. I then attached the metallic plaque to a piece of black chipboard which is slightly larger in size and applied Translucent Grit Paste around the edges. Once dry, I coloured the paste with Crackling Campfire, Ground Espresso and Black Soot Distress Paints to create the look of rust. I then rubbed some Gilding Wax over the surface to accentuate the raised areas and the lettering.

I attached the plaque to my panel, placing it directly beneath the wreath and placing it over the top of one of the idea-ology ruler piece from the Odds and Ends idea-ology adornments set.

Beneath this I added a Hardware Pull, attaching it with Matte Collage Medium and placed a Be Brave Sentiments Label Sticker inside.

BUTTERFLY

We're nearly there and all that's left is the beautiful butterfly...

For this I cut the butterfly twice from Mixed Media Heavystock. I always mist the card before running it through my machine, and always run it through 3 times for a really deep impression.

With my butterflies in front of me, I then added the colour and for this I used the Embossing Glazes to create an enamel effect.

I added the glazes one at a time to build up the shading and variation, sprinkling them onto the specific areas of the wings and body. Between each of the applications of glaze, I applied the Embossing Dabber and for the smaller, more detailed areas, I used Embossing Pens.

The colours I used were:

SPECKLED EGG

ANTIQUE LINEN

RUSTIC WILDERNESS

CRACKED PISTACHIO

SALVAGED PATINA

WALNUT STAIN

RUSTY HINGE

To complete the butterfly, I added a touch of gold embossing powder to the body. Repeat this process on the second die cut.

With the two die cut butterflies finished, I then layered them over the top of one another, ensuring that I only attached them by their bodies, leaving the wings to be shaped and lifted for height and dimension.

I adhered the butterfly into place.

Finally, I added a Field Notes Snippets Ephemera piece in the top left hand corner of the frame.

I hope you love this project and feel inspired with the ideas using all the amazing new dies and embossing folders ~ they really are such a gorgeous collection and work so well together.

Thank you so much to Paula, Tim and Mario for all the love and support you constantly give the makers, it's appreciated more than you know thank you so much for taking the time to stop by today!

Stay safe and keep well....Love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

Sizzix: Seal Switchlits Embossing Folder, Alphanumeric Label, Butterfly 3D Impresslits Cut & Emboss, Funky Wreath, Leafy Twigs

Distress Inks: Walnut Stain, Spun Sugar

Distress Paints: Black Soot, Gathered Twigs, Walnut Stain, Crackling Campfire

Embossing Glazes: Colours for butterfly listed above and in addition Peeled Paint for background panel

Distress Spray Stain: Bundled Sage, Frayed Burlap, Speckled Egg, Peeled Paint, Antique Linen and Evergreen Bough

Speckled Egg Oxide Spray

Distress Crayons: Walnut Stain

Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Framed Panel, Halloween Trimmings, sentiments Label Stickers, Field Notes Snippets Ephemera, Design Tape, hardware Heads, Odds & Ends, Hardware Pull

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium Hot Glue Gun, Crackle Paste, Gold Embossing Powder, Embossing Dabber, Embossing Pens, Translucent Grit Paste

Surfaces: Metallic Kraft Stash, Mixed Media Heavystock Card,

Glass Media Mat

Heat Gun

Sizzix Big Shot

Mica Sheet and Gilding Wax from my own stash