My Guest Post For Calico Crafts 'Boxed Menagerie'

BOXED MENAGERIE 

Hi there everyone, Kassa here, happy to be sharing  my recent 2nd Calico Crafts Blog Post - click on the link to feast your eyes upon the fabulous creationd by the regular dt and other guests - your in for a real treat.  And tis a must to go peep at the unusual and unique stash over in the Calico Crafts Web Shop - stash to suit every crafter's tastes, Altered Art, Mixed Media and much much more yumminess........

Firstly I would love to thank everyone for taking the time to pop by and peep at my last post 'LOVIN THE BEACH STILL', for all your fabulous comments and support you left over there on the Calico Crafts blog (click link to my actual post over there), My Blog and My Facebook Page - and like Tracy said (in her lovely message 'singing') yep I too am singing now thank you!

So.......

I wanted to create a little floral number, something a little different to my last post, what I had in my head had to be tweaked to accommodate my rather annoying Tennis Elbow - (acquired recently after a 3 week virus) - charming!))  And to add insult to injury the other hand lol believe it or not has pins & needles permanently in my pinky 'n' ring finger.  So fussy cutting it was and oh how perfect was Tim Holtz's new - amazing designs -  Menagerie 8-x-8 Paper Pad....

-out came the scissors and I was off.....cutting out all the delicious florals, fluffy feathers, plump eggs, that amazing nest filled with eggs, the beautiful birdies (I know not everyone is into birds so just leave them out and fill with more blooms-but I adores birds and these have soooo much fine detail in them how could anyone leave them out lol x  And of course the beautiful butterflies which make up my heavily layered hanging. (layer with Calico fabric, Jute Twine, ribbon, corrugated cardboard, tiny flourish piece with rusty wire attached, fussy cut eggs, feathers, twigs, fancy edged punched out strips of the Menagerie paper in contrast and blend effect - sew random edges leaving threads dangling and not forgetting the inky edges)

The shadow box - 7 Gypsies 12-x-12 Black Shadowbox/Tray is sooo deep it cries out to be filled with layer after layer of lush stash, it comes to you in a beautiful chalky black - and cos I wanted a peeled paint look I.......

............Gesso'd (white Gesso) the shadow box - left to dry 

-sanded down lightly with medium grit sandpaper......

-then randomly rubbed over the sanded gesso with a clear wax candle.....

-painted over the top of the Gesso 'n' candle wax with Matte Acrylic Paint (I mixed up a honey brown) - let dry 'n' sand and wax with the candle again......

-paint with your top coat of paint - let dry then sand - each time you sand you can see the wonderful peeled paint effect start to appear like magic.

iny blooms were created (bottom left) and the bloom garland hanging from the Rusty Wire - I simply soaked the Tando Mini Chipboard Flowers in water for a few minutes, then started to peel the petals layers slightly apart, shaped then left to dry.  I layered a couple of the now dry shaped blooms together and dusted the edges with inks but for the garland I, lightly Gesso'd both sides and pasted with DecoArt Modelling Texture Paste.  Once dry I sprayed with inks and pierced a tiny hole thro' their centres to fish the wire throu' - the Calico Fabric makes for lovely shabby ribbons. I attached the Garland to the wonderful Wood Flourishes, which had been given the peeled paint effect, but I popped some of the Tim Holtz Remnant Rubs - 'Elements' over the top of the dried paint, sanded to give that worn look and popped a little DecoArt modeling paste on too which I inked up and sanded when dry.  The tiny and very beautiful Butterflies on Tim's 'Elements' rubs can be seen peeping from behind the open wings on my shabby Butterfly hanging - there's eggs underneath the wings on the other side - (oh I do loves a little detail lol)

The birdies sit on Darice Mini Hearts (which act as little nests and make the birdies 'pop' forwards.  There are a collection of bits I find whilst out and about in there too, feathers (for movement), dried rose petals, twigs, hawthorn pieces and I've popped a little of the fabulous Natural Icelandic Moss  and Jute Twine in there too - just a little of each but it has a huge impact when all popped together, a detail fest lol.

Now I said I'd leave you a little flower tute, well I've told you about the mini chipboard flowers, the huge rose bloom are layers and layers and more and more layers of the tattered florals - (the new Jumbo die and Bigz die) -

   - the 'twirly' roses are simply created from a circle of your patterned paper.....

-take a sheet of the Menagerie paper, draw round a tea plate/side plate, tear out (not cut out)

-tear (starting from the outer edge) a spiral shape, leaving enough paper in the centre to pop your glue on.

-dust the rough edges of the spiral with inks

-starting from the outer spiral, preferred pattern face-up, and turn over the outer rough edges (only tiny edges) all the way to the centre.....

-now at this point if you like you can add extra's - pieces of thin Calico strips, Jute Twine, Lace, ribbon (anything that will add texture and detail)

-I have created the 'twirly' roses from the spirals without extra's.....

-starting from the outside spiral strip, (preferred pattern face up) form a small,tight spiral and as you work your way around the forming rose centre, start to carefully twist and turn your spiral strip as you wrap and twine it, as your rose grows your wrapping can become looser -

 -once you run out of spiral strip the last turn should fold under your formed rose, pop glue on this (hot glue gun preferably - be careful of burnt fingers though!) and push down 'n' hold rose in place - the centre of the rose may still spring out , just pop a little glue in there and pop centre back in place 

- these roses are sooo quick to create once you've practised and tweaked your method - you can create loose lush roses, tight crisp roses, try 12x12 papers and a dinner plate size circle, or tiny,tiny yummy sized fiddly roses...

There you have it......tis one finished shadow box full to the brim with the said wonderful stash.....the unique and unusual stash from Calico Crafts Web Shop - I have been lucky.....

-and I was thinking......maybe this is something you could create for yourself or as a FATHER'S DAY treat....I know my Dad would love it as he is a fanatical Gardner who loves to feed the birds all year long, ticking off which bird visits, when, how many times etc.....whatever you decide they (shadow boxes) are a real joy to create - immense satisfaction develops from within as your box grows layer upon layer.

 I'm offski for now - I have had a ball creating these pieces for Calico and everyone who stops by to peep.......either over on the Calico blog or over here on my blog or perhaps both blogs :-)

Kassa xoxo

My Guest DT for Calico Crafts - 'Still Lovin The Beach'

'Still Lovin The Beach'

Hi there everyone, not so long ago I was lucky enough to guest over on the Calico Crafts blog - click on the link to go peep at the stunning artwork by the amazing dt and guest dt. And it's a must to pop over to the fabulous Calico Crafts Web Shop - Its full of unique and unusual stash - a dream for Altered Art, Mixed Media and Craftaholics - there's always a little something special to get your hands on and the service is second to none  x

So here's my 1st of 2 projects - hope you like.......'Still Lovin The Beach'

With the weather being delightful here in Yorkshire recently its put me right in the mood for summer and holidays, and the stash in front of me took me back to hot sunny summers on the beach - the big kid in me just spilled out onto the canvas - hence my rather big canvas 'Still Lovin The Beach'

- I say big cos it's 12'' x 40''. 

- and that's where I started - cover the canvas front and sides with tissue paper and the Matte Modge Podge adhesive (the tissue paper may crinkle 'n' break down which will add lovely texture) 

- punch out different patterned edges along lengths of the various Graphic 45 patterned papers, apply to the edge of the canvas (left-hand side from bottom to just over halfway up - let the patterned edges hang over the edge of the canvas) Now over the top of this adhere thin strips of frayed edged natural Calico fabric (tip - tear the strips by hand) - let the patterned edged papers peep through still.

- once everything is dry use DecoArt Modeling Paste and various stencils to add more yummy texture to the front and sides of the canvas.  

- once dry spray matte paints onto the canvas, let the paint dry between coats and reapply as desired (tip - wet wipes and kitchen roll come in handy to mop up paint puddles, mingle and merge the paints) 

- whilst all this dries create the blooms - the big blue bloom's gorgeous papers come from the 12'' x 12'' Graphic 45 ''By The Sea' paper pad and the smaller bloom is created using the 8'' x 8'' Graphic 45 'By The Sea'' paper pad.  The papers from these pads are truly delicious......choices, choices....'Eenie Meenie Miney Mo'......the combinations are endless....

- create the cones from various sized squares, distress the edges of the squares and stencil them too using the  DECOART MODELING PASTE. (tip - I got the old Singer sewing machine out at this point and popped a strip of sewing here and there, leaving the cotton strands delightfully dangling to catch passing breezes, creating movement on the canvas)

  

- ( the largest square/cone on the big blue bloom measures 4'' x 4'' - decreasing in sizes to 3.5'' x 3.5'' and 3'' x 3'' and 2.5'' x 2.5'') 

- ( the largest square/cone on the small colourful bloom measures 2.5'' x 2.5'' - decreasing by quarter inch increments to the smallest cone being 1.5'' x 1.5'')

  Adhere the largest cones first to a round piece of grey-board (tea-plate size-ish) Hot glue-guns are great for this. Then start on the next tier - till you get to the centre (tip - I always build-up the blooms without glue - a dummy run)

I have shared a Tutorial on how to create these voluptuous Cone Wreaths over on a previous blog post  Here - lots of piccys.

-  decorating the inside of the cones, find the lovely printed 'Beach Rules' list taken from the 'Sand and Surf' paper, curl and twirl Rusty Wire (love, love, love this rusty wire) and pieces of the amazingly authentic in miniature Fishing Net.

- the stems of the blooms are the Birch Ply Wood Jagged Edge Plaque style 4 (300mm) with holes broken lengthways into 3 pieces - painted with White Gesso (let dry then paint over the Gesso with coloured Acrylic paint, let dry)  when all layers are dry paint with the amazing DecoArt One Stop Crackle Medium - when the crackle medium has dried,sand off the sheen for a more vintage look - apply  inks to to the crackles -  make the crackles 'pop!'  Adhere frayed edged Calico fabric to the backs of the stems letting the frayed edges peep through to the front edges for a soft textured feel against the jagged broken edged ply-wood.

- the finishing touch décor - (bottom of the canvas, bottom of the big blue bloom stem, peeping from under the cones of the small bloom) - Driftwood Sticks, Fishing Net, Various Shells and all my various curiosities are adhered to the canvas with DecoArt modelling Paste - once dried apply paints in and around/over the décor so it appears seamless and be at one with the canvas, a perfect harmonious blend.  Place the net over the top of the décor loveliness (tip - I apply a thin coat of Gesso to the net - scrunching in my hands - let the net dry ever-so slightly before placing and adhering over the top of the décor loveliness)

- again the lovely printed 'Beach Rules' list taken from the 'Sand and Surf' paper and the words 'To the Beach' taken from the 12'' x 12'' 'My Anchor' paper come into play in various places on the canvas -  the little dangling Birch Ply Wood Rectangle Plaque Style 6 (50mm) with holes is a perfect fit for these typed nautical words and looks kinda cool just hanging from the Rusty Wire on the over large (made to look rusty with paints) nuts/bolts/wing-nuts.

Once everything is in place stand back and add little extras like, 4 Ply Jute Twine, Natural Icelandic Moss, extras of the Calico Fabric, Lace, pins, Washi tape and more paints to highlight and shadow. Oh and a drip or 2 of paint - a must!

So I'm offski for now but will be back in soon with another creation (vintage, floral shabby chic-ness....sorry a little teaser! - oh and a little flower tute too!)  

I've really enjoyed creating this 'Still Lovin The Beach' canvas, guesting over here at the Calico Blog (click here to pop over n peep at my actual post Over on the Calico Blog)  It was a fabulous and lovely little adventure, thank you......

.....and thank you for stopping by today.....

Kassa xoxo