That's Life: 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....