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