Hello friends...
With Easter just days away, I wanted to share a project that I made a couple of weeks ago and shared on Instagram and Facebook. Since then, I have had so many requests for a tutorial on this piece and I couldn't ignore them, so...here it is! Say hello to Mr Bunny who is ready for the Easter Parade...
To begin with I used the smaller Vignette Tray from Tim's idea-ology range and chose to cover this with some of the gorgeous papers from the recent releases of paper stashes that are back from the vault. This release was a limited edition and many places have now sold out ~ I hope that you were lucky enough to get it before it's gone and if you didn't then, there are many more papers from Tim that will be perfect for this make!
VIGNETTE TRAY
To begin with, I lined the inside and outside of the tray using the 12" x 12" Wallflower papers and I added Design Tape around the edges to create a nice finish.
I attached all my panels of paper with Matte Collage Medium and then applied a coat over the top to seal the papers.
Once dry, I ran the Walnut Stain Distress Crayon around the edges, using my fingertip to blend the colour and smooth out any harsh lines from the crayon.
To complete the tray, I added a drawer pull to the top. I used the pull from the Mini Hardware set, together with screw heads and painted these with a combination of Crackling Campfire and Black Soot Distress Paint which knocked back the silver colour tone of the pull and creates the vintage feel we're looking for with this piece. In the tiny window of the pull, I added a Clippings Sticker, "the meadow sweet".
BUILDING THE INSIDE OF THE TRAY
With the tray covered, I'm ready to create the inside. For this I used Stampers Anonymous Scalloped Etcetera Trims, together with an Etcetera Facade.
Taking the facade from the pack of 4, I removed the inside piece, which I can use on another project, and covered this with more of the papers from the Wallflower stash. trimming away the excess with a craft knife and sanding the edges for a neat finish.
I then adhered two of the stacking strips on the back of the covered facade to create dimension to this piece and attached the completed frame inside the box.
In the aperture of the frame, I placed an ephemera piece taken from the Palette Ephemera Pack. After stitching a border around the edge, and ripping and tearing the ephemera piece, I inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink and then attached this onto the inside of the facade, using Matte Collage Medium, which I also applied over the top to seal the paper.
Moving onto the trims and for this project, I used 5 Scalloped Edge Etcetera Trims, 4 of which I covered in a combination of co-ordinating papers from the Wallflower stash, die cut to fit the trims using Tim's Decorative Trims die by Sizzix and the 5th trim has Crackle Paste applied to it.
I attached the die cut paper to each of the trims with Collage Medium, and applied Walnut Stain Distress Crayon around the outside edges.
Taking two of the trims, I placed these at a slight angle across the top of the facade, fixing them into position with Collage Medium. These trims form a roof to the facade.
Across the bottom section of the facade, I added the remaining three trims, attaching the two trims covered with paper, so that they sit flush across the facade itself and then attaching the third trim, which I crackled with Crackle Paste, so that it forms a shelf.
Run the Walnut Stain crayon over each of the trims, again blending out any harsh lines with a cotton bud or your fingertip.
Finally, I added some Screw Heads and a Machinery Head to the Facade ~ a Screw Head in each of the corners and the larger piece at the bottom. All these pieces are painted with the Crackling Campfire and Black Soot Distress Paint combination to make them look rusty.
To complete this part, I attached the Number 28 Numbers Strip to the centre of the trim....
...and added some Cello Stickers to the tray.
With my tray ready, it's time to decorate and bring this scene to life....
CREATING THE SCENE
For this scene, you will need:
Salvaged Rabbit, Barrel, Toadstools, Moss and Natural Fibres, Tiny Eggs and Bouquet Findings.
PAINTING THE SALVAGED RABBIT
Using one of the Salvaged Rabbits, I began by applying a coat of Vintage Photo and Gathered Twigs Distress Paint over the surface. The paint will self level but I wanted to create a slightly textured look, so I took a dry brush and whilst the paint was still wet, I dabbed the brush over the surface of the rabbit, to create the textured finish, and the look of fur that I was looking for.
I then painted the insides of the bunny ears with Spun Sugar Distress Paint, and used Black Soot on his eyes and Antique Linen on his paws and feet.
SPECKLED EGGS
To colour the salvaged tiny eggs, I used (clue is in the title) Speckled Egg Distress Paint and once the paint was dry, I used the Splatter Brush to splatter Ground Espresso paint flecks over the surface. Leave these to dry...
SPRING FLOWERS
For my tiny individual flower heads, I used Bouquet Findings that I cut from the bunches. I spritzed the flowers using Distress Spray Stain ~ Scattered Straw and Spun Sugar which I applied directly to the flower heads, before I heat dried them.
TOADSTOOLS
Finally, we have the toadstools and using the pack of 3, I painted each piece with a combination of Candied Apple, Lumberjack Plaid and then once dry, I dry brushed Black Soot over the top. Once again, I dried the paint before adding the tiny white dots with gesso.
BARREL
To fill the barrel, I began by adding a small offset piece of wood to the bottom. I then stuck a circle of mount board directly onto the wood. This technique lessens the depth of the barrel, which in turn means you don't need to use all your precious goodies to fill it. With this in place, I added some moss to the barrel, and then arranged the tiny eggs and flowers, which I attached using hot glue.
TELLING THE STORY
With everything ready, I placed all my pieces onto the shelf, arranging them so they create the scene and adding moss and natural fibres to add texture.
At this stage, I also added moss across the top of the roof, tucking it into the trims.
Finally, and we're nearly there ~ all that was left was to place the Quote Chip Label, " Keep Looking Where The Light Shines Bright" inside the Label Frame, which again was painted with Distress Paints for that rusty finish to the metal....
...and the finishing touch of some speckled tiny eggs, in each corner of the tray, nestled onto natural coconut fibres that I have in my stash.
So, that completes my Easter make for 2025 and I hope you've enjoyed the tutorial. If you've been inspired by this piece, then just tag me on my socials, or here on my blog and I'm already looking forward to seeing all your makes.
Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by today....
Love Emma xxx
Recipe for project:
Tim Holtz Idea-ology:
Wallflower Paper Stash,
Barrel, Vignette Tray,
Tiny Eggs,
Salvaged Rabbits,
Bouquet Findings,
Design Tape Trim,
Toadstools,
Palette Ephemera,
Numbers Snippet,
Quote Chip Label,
Label Frame,
Cello StickersDistress Paint:
Black Soot, Crackling Campfire, Vintage Photo, Speckled Egg, Ground espresso, Gathered Twigs, Spun Sugar, Antique Linen, Candied Apple, Lumberjack Plaid Moss from my own stash
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