The Design Studio...

Hello everyone...

Hope you're all having a great weekend so far! Today, I'm so happy to be sharing a project over on the Simon Says Stamp blog and below is a little sneaky peek of what you'll find if you pop on over! hope you love what you find and will be inspired by some of the tricks and techniques I've used to create this 'retro type' vignette!

See you tomorrow with another creative make and until then, happy crafting!

Love Emma xx

A Place In My Heart...

Hello friends!

Well, another week has flown by and here we are at Monday again but the start of a brand new week means that the new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge starts today and this week our theme is called Crack It Up and whether you use crackle paste, stamps, stencils or broken pieces ~ all we hope is that you'll join us to share all your projects.

I was in my element with this Crack It Up challenge ~ crackle paste and me = ❤️ and with this in mind, I chose to create a home decor piece full of crackle and texture that would be the perfect gift to give to someone special, just to show them you care and that they have a place in your heart!

So, let's get started because the new challenge has begun!

So, the first thing I did was prep my Cathedral Frames ready to crackle and for this I added a coat of gesso over the entire frame, front and back, heat dried them very gently so that they don't warp and then added a coat of Antique Linen over the top, front and back. Once the first paint layer was dry, I then went in with my Crackle Paste, applying a good coverage over the front of the frame but leaving the back and some areas on the front untouched by paste. Set the frame aside and allow the crackles to appear...

...whilst that was happening I cut a panel of acetate, (if you haven't got acetate, then you can use old packaging) using the waste from the Cathedral Frame as a template and just drawing around the inside of the waste piece to give me the shape of the frame.

Apply a coat of Matte Collage Medium to the acetate and allow to dry.

By now the frame should be nicely crackled ~ so, to add a vintage touch to it I used my Walnut Stain and Gathered Twigs Distress Crayons and after applying the colour directly over the crackle, I used a my finger just dipped into a bit of water to make it damp and blended the colour over the cracks to accentuate them. You can add more crayon if needed until you're happy with how the frame looks.

Attach the acetate to the back of the frame with Matte Collage Medium and once dry, flip the frame over and taking small amounts of Rock Candy Crackle Paint, apply the paint onto the transparent 'window' areas of the frame and once again, let this dry before moving onto the next stage.

...and when it was dry, that's when I added some colour using Mushroom, Sepia and Teakwood Alcohol Inks and applying it to windows to add this gorgeous aged effect to the glass/acetate.

The frame is now ready and so that I could attach it to my base, I adhered it to a Bracket Etcetera Trim which I painted with Antique Linen Distress paint before applying Crackle Paste over the top. After allowing the paste to crackle and dry, just as I did with the frame, I used the Distress Crayons to add colour. To complete the frame, I added a Mini Plaquette Piece, the number 48.

Attach the frame to so that it sits directly onto the trim, adding a second trim at the back, placing it in an upright position to add more stability to the piece.

For the base, I used two Vignette Panels ~ the largest and the second largest in the set of 4 and covered the tops of the panels with paper from the Etcetera Paper Stash.

Apply a coat of Collage Medium over the top and then gently heat dry before adding even more Crackle Paste onto the covered panels, especially concentrating around the edges of each of them.

Attach the smaller panel onto the centre of the larger one with Matte Collage Medium before attaching the Cathedral Frame.

Now to build up the scene and for this I started with the Baseboard Paper Doll which I colour tinted with Distress Marker Pens.

I then pierced a small hole in their hand and threaded some cotton thread through before tying a heart to the cotton. To keep the heart in place, I added a smidge of adhesive to the dress on the doll and attached the idea-ology heart from the Treasures Adornment set.

I then attached my Paper Doll to a couple of wood slices, placing one in an upright position behind her and the second underneath her foot. This just creates some stability so that she will stand freely and securely. I attach the doll to the base panels and added moss.

I then coloured some of the Bouquet Findings flowers with Tumbled Glass Distress Stain Spray. Once these are dry, I cut the individual heads from the bouquet and attached them into the moss. I then added some Field Notes Snippets Ephemera pieces to the base and a couple of die cut foliage pieces that I had left over from a previous project.

To complete the scene, I used a combination of various sizes of Prima Marketing Art Stones. I added smears of Collage Medium to the areas I wanted the stones and then used pinches of the stones and sprinkled each size onto the adhesive. Allow for these to set, I usually leave these for at least 12 hours before adding the paint...

...and the paint I chose was Pumice Stone Distress Paint, followed by Peeled Paint and then a touch of Unicorn's Hair Sparks Acrylic Paints from Prima, drying in between each layer before adding the next.

To complete the project, I added a transparent butterfly to my Cathedral Frame...

...and then placed the quote, 'a place in my heart' onto the edge of the smaller panel.

I hope you've loved this project and that it's given you a few ideas of how to create a Valentine's piece with a difference for someone special in your life. Of course, it doesn't have to be just for Feb 14th, it could be for Mother's Day or a birthday, it's entirely up to you and you can also use my ideas and inspiration on cards ~ don't forget if you do, then just let me know and I'll pop by to visit!

Don't forget, if you would like to see more inspiration from my talented teamies over on the challenge blog and every week, one lucky random participant has the chance to win a $50 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp and you can join in up to 5 times, which means you could have 5 chances to win. You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in and good luck....

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by today and hope to see you again soon, love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous: Bracket Etcetera Trims, Cathedral Thickboards Frames
Distress Paint: Antique Linen, Peeled Paint, Pumice Stone

Distress Crayons: Gathered Twigs, Walnut Stain
Distress Spray Stain: Tumbled Glass
Distress Marker Pens
Alcohol Inks: Sepia, Teakwood, Mushroom

Idea-ology: Field Notes Snippets, Bouquet Findings, Baseboard Dolls, Treasures Adornments, Mini Plaquettes, Clippings Stickers Book, Transparent Wings, Wood Slices

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Crackle Texture Paste, Rock Candy Crackle Paint
Surfaces: Vignette Panels, Etcetera Paper Stash
Prima Marketing: Art Stones, Mega Art Stones, Mini Art Stones, Unicorn's Hair Sparks Paint
Glass Media Mat
Alcohol Ink Tool Set

Heat Gun
Natural Reindeer Moss, Spring Green Reindeer Moss
Acetate from my own stash

Artist At Work...

Hello friends...

Today I'm sharing another of my Creativation 2020 makes that I created for the Tim Holtz's Sizzix booth featuring dies from the Chapter 1 release that are all shipping now! Don’t forget that if you missed Tim’s Facebook Live showing this amazing release and all the fabulous projects that were made, then you can catch up with it here and you can also take a closer look at the booth, HERE!

For this particular piece I was inspired by what I love most, art and with this in mind, I took the Bottled Up die set from Chapter 1 and created a home decor project that would be perfect to display in a studio!

To begin with I started to prep the frame ~ this is the large framed panel from Tim and comes in two separate pieces, the frame and the baseboard backing.

Starting with the frame, I applied a coat of gesso over the surface and once it was dry I painted it with a coat of Walnut Stain Distress Paint. Heat dry the paint and then using the dry brush technique, I loaded my brush with a little Antiqued Bronze Distress Paint, removed the excess on a paper towel and then brush the metallic paint over the surface of the frame. Once this layer is dry, I did exactly the same but this time using Ground Espresso. If you need to add any more of each individual colour, just repeat the process until happy.

I also painted the four edges of the baseboard so that once the frame is adhered onto it, they will match perfectly and to accentuate the beading I used a small amount of Alchemy Wax rubber over the surface.

Placing the frame to one side, I moved onto the background and for this I used Dina Wakley Cotton Watercolour Paper cut slightly smaller in size than the frame itself.

After attaching some torn strips of tissue tape in the central section of the paper, I then applied some Crackle Paste over the top. Once the paste is dry and the cracks have appeared, I went in with some colour and began by spritzing Vintage Photo Distress Spray Stain over the surface, concentrating on the central area to leave some white space around the outside. I then added some stamped text onto the background using the calligraphy stamp from the Toadstools set before applying some Grit Paste through the Gradient Dot Stencil.

Allow the paste to completely dry and then spritz a light misting of Black Soot. When spritzing the colour, I usually move the paper around to create runs and drips and if I need a little more movement, I spritz with a little water.

I heat dried the surface and then watered down a small amount of Broken China Distress Paint and using a paint brush, applied the colour direct to paper ~ the brush allows me to apply the colour just where I need it.

I flicked a few spots of Black Soot Distress Paint across the surface and then stamped the Paris Postmark in the top left hand corner.

Adhere the background onto the baseboard using Matte Collage Medium and attach the frame over the top, sandwiching the background between the two pieces.

I'm now ready to get bottled up and for the bottles I used the die to cut chipboard ~ dependant on how thick your board is, I would cut between two and four layers to make each individual bottle. I layered the chipboard over the top of one another and then gessoed each piece.

I wanted to make these bottles look realistic and does any artist have clean paint bottles ~ I know most of mine, especially the well loved colours have drips down the side and so to replicate this I used hot glue and just dripped the hot glue down the sides of the two smallest bottles.

I then painted each of the bottles so they appear to have paint in them ~ I used Mowed Lawn, Candied Apple, Broken China and Mustard Seed Distress Paints and once they were dry, I then added shading using Pumice Stone and Black Soot Distress Crayons.

I tied some twine around the necks of each bottle and then added labels ~ each label is die cut using the Sizzix Label Die and then mounted onto gold metallic kraft stash. I then used Remnant Rubs to add the words to each bottle.

So the bottles are ready but need a ledge and I used some Pinked Etcetera Trims to create these, painting them with a combination of Ground Espresso, Black Soot and Antiqued Bronze, using the same dry brushing technique as I used on the frame but creating a darker shade of brown.

Attach the Etcetera trims to the background and then attach the bottles ~ I used some foam pads to add even more dimension to this piece, which you can see in the photo below.

I then used the Alphanumeric Tiny Type Upper Thinlits dies to die cut the 'Artist At Work" wording from gold metallic kraft stash. Top Tip: Adhering some adhesive sheets to the back of the card is going to be your friend when it comes to attaching these letters and will save you so much time and stop those sticky fingers!

I also added a couple of Hex Fasteners to either end of the trim.

Finally to complete this piece, I added a Ruler piece ~ I broke the end off the ruler before lightly tinting it with Walnut Stain Distress Spray Stains. I then attached this to the left of the bottles with an old paint brush that I wrapped in wire.

...and here's the finished project, which I hope you love and which I hope has inspired you with some of the ideas I've used!

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by today and I'll be back asap with another project from my Creativation 2020 adventure!

Hope to see you then, love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

Tim Holtz/Sizzix: Bottled Up, Alphanumeric Tiny Type Upper, Labels
Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous: Pinked Etcetera Trims, Gradient Dot Layering Stencil, Toadstools Stamp Set, Paris Mark Stamp
Distress Paint: Ground Espresso, Walnut Stain, Black Soot, Antiqued Bronze, Candied Apple, Mowed Lawn, Picket Fence, Mustard Seed, Broken China
Distress Spray Stains: Vintage Photo, Black Soot
Distress Crayons: Walnut Stain

Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Hardware Heads, Framed Panel, Tiny Text Remnant Rubs, Ruler Pieces

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Crackle Paste
Surfaces: Metallic Kraft Stash, Mixed Media Heavystock, Chipboard, Ranger Ink/Dina Wakely Cotton Watercolor Paper
Vintage Gold Alchemy Wax
Twine
Glass Media Mat

Heat Gun
Big Shot
Paint Brush, tissue tape and Hot Glue from my own stash

Every Family Has A Story....

Happy Monday friends!

The new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge is up and running and this week the DT are showcasing Prima Marketing products and combined it with our theme which is called ~ FLORAL FRENZY!

For my project I was inspired by some of the beautiful florals by Prima and combined it with Tim Holtz products to create a vintage style home decor piece all about family and beautiful moments!

So, let's get started because our new challenge is about to begin!

To begin with I started by prepping my base canvas which measures 18 x 24cm and after choosing one of the gorgeous floral Worn Wallpapers from Tim Holtz, I took two pieces, cut them down to size so that they would fit horizontally across the canvas. I then machine stitched a border around 3 sides of each piece of paper before placing them onto my canvas panel, matching them up the best I could in the centre to create a seamless finish. I adhered the paper onto the board using Matte Collage Medium and applied a coat over the top to seal the paper.

Whilst the medium is still wet, I picked away at the paper to create small tears to add a vintage touch to the background.

Once the medium is dry, I started to add some Crackle Paste, applying it around the edges of the panel and over the surface of the paper. I allowed for the medium to dry and the crackles to appear before brushing some Vintage Collage Medium over the surface and once that was dry, I scribbled my Gathered Twigs Distress Crayon over the top and used a semi dry baby wipe to blend the colour into the cracks to accentuate them.

So, the background is ready and we can move onto the panel that sits in the centre.

For this I used one of the Dina Wakley 4' x 6" Media Boards and started to apply layers of Distress Paint using a brayer. It's important to dry between each layer of paint but I applied it in this order ~ Antique Linen, followed by Picket Fence, Ground Espresso and finally another layer of Picket Fence. Once I was happy, I added some Vintage Collage Medium over the surface, heat dried the medium and then added some Crackle Paste. Again, I allowed for the paste to dry before taking the Gathered Twigs Crayon and blending it with the baby wipe, exactly the same way as I did on the larger panel.

After mounting the panel onto some Classic Kraft Stash, I applied foam pads to the back and attached it to the centre of my larger covered canvas.

I then took one of the Vintage Clips and some of the new Distress Glaze and the new Dabber, I applied the Dabber over the surface of the clip before sprinkling with some Hickory Smoke Glaze. I then heat embossed the powder and voilá ~ the metal takes on a whole new look. These glazes really are amazing and I'm definitely an addict already ~ there is just so much to do with them! To add a little more of a vintage feel, I used a brush to apply a touch of Mineral Alcohol Pearls over the top, just catching the edges and accentuating the pattern on the clip.

To complete the clip, I used a Floral Adornment, I painted the flower with Enchanted Alcohol Pearls and the leaves with Envy before attaching each piece to my clip using Matte Collage Medium. Attach the clip to the smaller board.

Moving onto that beautiful framed photo...

...I took one of my favourite images from Tim's Found Relatives set, cut it down to size to fit behind the small frame and then applied a light colour tint onto the image using Distress Marker Pens. The frame I used is from Prima Marketing and are made of resin, so they will take paint really well but I wanted to create a French shabby chic look to mine, so all that i did was to apply a layer of Antique Linen one the surface, allowed it to dry before dry brushing Ground Espresso over the top. If you feel there's too much dark paint, just take a paper towel and remove any excess and don't forget you can also add some more of the lighter shade to knock it back. I then added a touch of Vintage Gold Alchemy Wax to highlight the floral detail.

I then attached the photo frame to the small panel.

Now for my floral frenzy and for this I used the Prima Humble and Kind Spring Farmhouse Flowers. I actually felt the leaves were a little bright for this piece, so I just blended some Peeled Paint over the top and it did the trick. I then attached them to my panel.

Underneath the floral arrangment, I added one of the brand new Theories Quote Chip, 'Collect Beautiful Moments'. To add more of an aged look to the chip, I inked it with Walnut Stain ink and then used the Embossing Dabber to dab over the surface of the chip before adding a sprinkling of Antique Linen Embossing Glaze. After heat embossing, I attached it to my panel and added a metallic droplet to either side.

We're nearly done and all that's left was to add a couple of Field Note Snippets onto my panel and another down the side...

...add a Remnant Rub date, June 29th and a Vignette Accent which I placed underneath my panel. Th metal accent is once again aged to create a vintage patina using Mineral Alcohol Pearls.

Finally I added a Finnabair Hardware Accent to each corner to complete the panel.

So, that's it from me for this week and I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial and all the ideas and inspiration that I've included to add a touch of floral frenzy.

Don't forget, if you would like to see more inspiration from my talented teamies over on the challenge blog and every week, one lucky random participant has the chance to win a $50 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp and you can join in up to 5 times, which means you could have 5 chances to win. You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in and good luck....

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by today and hope to see you again soon, love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

Prima Marketing: Petite Round Frame, Vintage Gold Alchemy Wax, Humble and Kind Spring Farmhouse Flowers, Mechanicals Hardware Accent

Distress Paint: Antique Linen, Frayed Burlap, Picket Fence, Ground Espresso

Distress Crayons: Gathered Twigs
Distress Spray Stain: Candied Apple, Frayed Burlap and Aged Mahogany
Distress Embossing Glaze: Hickory Smoke, Antique Linen
Alcohol Pearls: Enchanted, Envy, Mineral

Idea-ology: Field Notes Snippets, Theories Quote Chip, Vintage Clips, Floral Adornments, Worn Wallpaper, Metallic Droplets, Specimen Remnant Rubs, Vignette Accents, Found Relatives

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Crackle Texture Paste, Vintage Collage Medium, Embossing Dabber
Surfaces: Dina Wakley Assorted Media Boards and 9' x 12" Media Boards, Classic Kraft Stash
Glass Media Mat
Alcohol Ink Tool Set

Heat Gun
Big Shot