Lucky Star

Hello Friends!

Happy to be here today sharing my Vignette Divided Drawer. I don't normally go for "purple" but the Transparency with the flower was the catalyst for this project and it just lead me that direction.  Lets get started!

I first adhered paper to both the inside and outside of the Divided Drawer.  I used paper from Backdrops 4 (the neutral pack) because I needed a neutral base for the "purple" story. It takes a bit of time to add all the paper pieces, but once it's done the rest was easy to fill in.  I also think the choice of the green Trim Tape was good to offset the purple.  I've never used the green tape in the Trim pack before, but once it was on, I knew it was the perfect choice.

*I previously drilled a hole for the Tiny Lights, that will be added to the center section.

I added Large Fasteners to the sides of the box that I had dented with the new Texture Hammer.  I cut the brad "legs" off each Large Fastener before denting and adding white paint - then I just used Collage medium to glue each metal Fastener to the box, mimicking rivets.  I added 3 Large Fasteners to each side of the Divided Drawer.

I added a Quote Chip Labels to a metal Label Frame. The oval size worked perfectly on the top of the Divided Drawer.  I adhered it with Collage Medium and let it sit for 30 minutes before laying the box down.  While this was drying, I worked on coloring the Photomatic and doing the stitching with embroidery floss. 

Distress Crayons were used to color the Photomatic: Peeled Paint, Uncharted Mariner for the background and Villainous Potion for her dress.

EMBROIDERY

I used a sharp needle and embroidery floss to stitch three french knots and two small leaves, as a corsage on her lapel. The photos are easy to stitch through and the texture is a fun addition.  Just remember, a sharp needle is a must.

TIP: to get the photo to appear to be freestanding, I added a small wood block to the back.

FIGURE STAND

I glued the star to the stand.  Once secure, I wiped white paint over the metal and let that dry.  A few pounces of Mushroom Alcohol Ink gave the metal a good Patina, making it look much older than it is.  The words LUCKY STAR came from the Clippings Sticker book.  The stand was secured to the box with Collage Medium.

*Figure Stands - this is the one item that is still on pre-order.  Hopefully they will be in shortly!

PEARLS

The pearls are vintage (from an old necklace).  I painted Collage Medium onto the surface of the box and just poured the pearls into the box to see which ones stayed put.  Once I let them dry, I banged the box on table to see if any would come loose - about 4 rolled to the back.  I used tweezers to grab the loose ones and glued each of them back in place with a little more Collage Medium.  

*remember, Collage Medium dries clear and shrinks around the item being glued.

TRANSPARENCY

I cut the flower transparency to fit the center compartment (where I had already added the Tiny Lights). I used 1/4" Scor-tape to adhere the Transparency to the wood box. The transparencies are thick and hold up really well over the open space.

After the Trim Tape is added to the box, the transparency will be enclosed on all sides. I added a piece of mica over the transparency (collage medium just on the edges) to add texture, but that part is optional.

For the bottom section, I wanted to keep the nature theme going.  I started with the background, adding ephemera pieces from the Transparent Things 2 pack.  I used Scor-Tape to add them to the back of the box before adding the Barrel and Toadstools.

TOADSTOOLS

You might notice I covered the cap of each Toadstool with vintage paper from an old book.  I coated the Toadstool cap with Collage Medium, then wrapped strips of book paper over the top till covered, adding more Collage Medium over the top.  Dry with a heat tool before adding the paint splatters (Villainous Potion and Picket Fence).  I also glued moss up inside the Toadstool so it hangs down one side.

BARREL

The Barrel is just glued into the box with Collage Medium (a nice big dollop!).  That much Collage Medium takes longer to dry, but once it is dry, it's like cement and will not move.

I added the moss and then some Bouquet flowers that were sprayed with Shaded Lilac Distress Spray.

One of the new metal leaves (Foliage Adornments) was added at the bottom.  I wiped Rustic Wilderness Distress Paint over the leaves before adding to the barrel with Collage Medium. 

I hope you liked the project today.  I love the spring colors and the nature theme.  It's hard to photograph with the Tiny Lights on (in the center section) but I like the way it looks in person. 

Now carry on,

paula

Collector Divided Drawer

Hello Friends,

I am sharing my last project from the Uncharted mariner release.  This is a Divided Drawer that is filled with lots of idea-ology bits and bobs.  You can really add anything you want into the compartments so look for small things, leftover from previous projects.  I started with the box itself and then made the two domes.  That set the course for the rest of the box.  One thing to note is that that box can be use different ways because the shelves are removable.  I used both in this project, but I did make sure that the largest compartment was at the bottom so the Display Dome Small would fit into the box.  It does not fit into the other two compartments.  

Follow along and I'll show you how I put it together.

Embossing Glaze

I decided to paint the outside of the Divided Drawer with Weather wood Distress Paint.  I painted it on and wiped it off so you could see the wood grain under the paint.  Once dry, I moved on to the stamp/embossing.

You will need some supplies:  

Stampers Anonymous Eccentric + Stone (from the Slate & Stone set CMS299). Really, any stamp set could be used.

Embossing Ink

Uncharted Mariner Distress Embossing Glaze

Embossing gun

I stamped on the box with embossing ink and added Embossing Glaze.  I embossed the stone first, then went back and added in the numbers from the Eccentric Stamp Set and embossed those small areas again.  Embossing Glaze melts very fast so keep watch and as soon as it is melted, turn off the embossing gun.

Using Uncharted Mariner Distress Ink, LIGHTLY wipe the pad over the surface.  It does not take much ink for next step.  You can see here how lightly the ink has been added to the surface.  Just skimming the surface.

Working very quickly, lightly brush the surface with Collage Medium.  This wet medium will make the ink bloom to add a bit of blue to the surface.

NOTE: only work one side at a time so the collage medium does not dry on you.

BEFORE the Collage Medium dries, spritz sparingly over the wet surface with Oxide.  

Spritz with a LIGHT mist of water and dry with a heat tool.  The Oxide and the Distress Ink need to imbed in the Collage Medium for this technique to work.  If the Collage Medium is dry when you spray the Oxide, it will never dry on the surface and will always come off on your hands.

Here is what it looks like when dry. You can see how subtle the Distress Ink background is.

You can see here that I used one of the new Design Tape Trims that is sized to work with all Vignette boxes and Trays.  I love this one that has a repeated phrase going around the box.

The handle has been painted with Uncharted Mariner.  I have found that if you wipe any metal with Isopropyl Alcohol (before you paint), the paint will not bead up on the surface.  That is a good trick to hold in your memory because it makes it so much easier to paint metal pieces.

I did not put the handle/Hardware Heads on till I was done with the entire box so it could just sit cure over night.

TOP COMPARTMENT:

Curio Frame with ephemera from Field Notes ephemera pack.  It is very had to tell but there is a piece of Mica under the butterfly.

The small metal Thimble is the perfect size next to the Corked Dome.

The Corked Dome with the Toadstool inside is 2 1/4" tall.  There are two sizes of Corked Domes in the pack - I used the largest of the two (more about those later).  I did need to cut off the medium Toadstool to make it fit in the dome.  Yes, there is a smaller Toadstool in the pack, but the medium size looked better + gave me more area to paint.

BTW: Coked Domes are being retired and I am sad about that.

The Optical Lens is also a favorite.  I added a Remnant Rub and a little bit of white paint to the lens.  

TIP: when using Remnant Rubs, once it is adhered to the glass, rub Pumice Stone distress ink over the top and the halo around the word or image will disappear.

The Optical Lens is held on to the box with a small nail and some good wire.

CENTER COMPARTMENT

I painted an idea-ology Matchbox with Uncharted Mariner. The brown is watered down Gathered Twigs Distress Ink.  I just pressed the label into the ink once the paint was dry, then added the label to the box. I added a number strip from the Snippets pack and tied it with a string. 

I wanted to make the Matchbox look like the bird on the Mini Fair has made a nest inside, so I filled it with shredded cheesecloth, the Mini Flair button and Bouquet Flowers that I sprayed with Uncharted Mariner and Antique Linen Distress Spray Stain.

The Thought Token was added to the center with a foam square.  Then I pushed a VERY small gold straight pin into the circle.  I think the pin is called a "sequin pin".  So, so small!

There are a couple other things in the center box that are significant.  The Mini Paper Dolls are so fun to to use because they are so small.   I have them sitting on a piece of ephemera - but how did I make them sit up? the answer is always a wood block.  So look closely here, then scroll to the next photo to see how I did it.

I made two of this same project and the other has a man sitting, but the couple has been done just the same.  I buy small wood blocks in bulk so I always have a variety of sizes in a container close by.  The wood blocks give stability to many things in any Vignette project.  There is a wood block holding up and supporting the Curio Frame with the butterfly and another hidden behind the Matchbox.  They each give stability to the item they are supporting and are glued directly to the structure.

Love the mini size people!

You can't even tell they are glued to the black wood block.

This is what the Toadstools look like before going under the glass.  I painted with Uncharted Mariner, then added white dots with the wood end of a paintbrush.  I had to dig out a hole in the cork base so the Toadstool could be added with Collage Medium.  Once stable, I added moss and tiny rocks (that I got at Michaels a few years back in the "fairy garden" section).

Large Toadstool is in the Display Dome Small (3" tall).

Medium Toadstool is in the largest of the Corked Domes (2 1/4" tall). This pack comes with two different sizes.

BOTTOM COMPARTMENT

You can see how the Display Dome Small looks in the bottom compartment.  It fills almost the entire space top to bottom.  I added tiny labels from a Snippets pack to the dome and the books.  The stick is from my yard.  The gold Stencil Chip really brightens up the background.  The Stencil Chip has foam squares on the back to push it out from the back of the box.

The books were made with covers found in the ephemera pack - Memoir.  I just filled them with cut and folded cardstock.  They are messy to make with all that glue, but they are so cute when done!  Again, the tiny labels on the front and spine of each book are from the Snippets pack (your gonna need tweezers).

I put a big dollop of Collage Medium at the base of the stick, so I hid that with a tiny bit of moss and string.  Then just left it alone till is was stable.

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial.  I loved making the box (like I said I had to make it twice so I guess I better love it).  Hope you get the idea of using little bits and bobs on hand to make it special and tell a story.

now carry on,

paula

Mildred Comes Home

Hello friends,
Great to be back celebrating the Speckled Egg Release.  Todays 'feminine grunge' project is more subtle that the last three (as far a color goes) but Speckled Egg Still shines.  The substrate I used is the Divided Drawer with one of the shelves removed to create just two compartments.  I did not take step-out photos as I created this project, but I have gone back and recreated the side panel technique with step-outs which you will find below.

To begin, Collage Medium was used to adhere paper to the inside of the top compartment.  I also added a layer of Collage Medium over the top so Distress Crayon could be used as a wash over background.  When I say "wash", I mean that I scribble Distress Crayon onto the glass mat and pick it up with a damp (not wet) 1/2" paintbrush.  I concentrate the color in the corners and where the paper meets, fading it out as I go up the sides.  I ALWAYS end by pouncing lightly over the surface with a wet wipe to get rid of any brush marks.

The ephemera piece in the background came from the Layers pack, Remnants.  I used the dabber bottle of Embossing ink to go over random parts of the card before embossing with Speckled Egg Glaze.  Once the Glaze was cool, I was able to add Distress ink to the part of the card unaffected by the Glaze.  The card was then ripped and folded in on the edges...all done with Distress Ink Walnut Stain and water, which will of course make the card edges a bit soggy but once dried with a heat tool it will go right back to normal.  I added the ephemera piece to the Divided Drawer with two 1/2" wood blocks.
The girl in the fur coat is Mildred.  Her name is clearly written on the original photo we purchased for idea-ology Paper Dolls.  And although she does appear in some Paper Doll packs, I used Baseboard Dolls for this project (which she also appears in).  Baseboard Dolls are made from thick chipboard so the doll always maintain a stoic stance (in others words, they will not bend).  I used Distress Crayons to color her coat, hat and purse.  I have always loved that she has her purse.
The flowers and label used in the background are all from the Field Notes Ephemera pack.

To fill up the length of the compartment, I put her on a pedestal of sorts, that being the pink Baseboard piece from Junk Drawer (you will be able to see how she is able to stand there in the next photo).  I painted a Metal Gate with Speckled Egg Distress Paint and let it dry.  Then pounced Mushroom Alcohol Ink over the surface to age the paint.  Once that was dry, I bent the gate till it broke in half.  Then the tricky part...to bend the two flat gate pieces without breaking again, whilst creating two curved pieces.  I did it so I know you can, you just have to go slow.   In the end, I used wire cutters to clip off about 1/2" from the center of the gate to create a larger opening.

So you can see in this picture that there is a 3/4" wood block behind the pink Baseboard piece - that is the secret to standing up the pink Baseboard.  There is also a double stack of foam squares behind Mildred to adhere her to the Ephemera card behind her.  Her feet are glued to the pink Baseboard.
You can also see the curve in the Metal Gate.  Could you put the pieces in flat? of course.  But if you are willing to try curving them, it adds to the 3D quality.

So lets talk about the box at the bottom.  I drilled a hole in the back of the box to allow the Tiny Lights to be threaded in.  Once the lights were inside the bottom compartment, I wound the string in a loose coil and taped it to the back of the compartment.
It is hard to tell in this photo but the Vellum Scene was cut just a bit larger than the compartment so that it could be inserted concave/ or U shape. I did put Collage Medium on the sides of the compartment before adding the Vellum Scene and let it dry in place before moving on.
I used Speckled Egg Embossing Glaze over the Quote Chip "Adventure Awaits".  Same technique as the large ephemera card in the top compartment.  I cut it to fit and glued it into place inside the compartment.  The Clippings Sticker, "all the world is bright" was added to the shelf above.  And the the tiny sticks? ... their only purpose is to lead your eye to the path.  This is the part when the message of a Clippings sticker and the visual image are so cohesive it's uncanny.

The back was covered with paper and then the Tiny Lights battery pack was attached with a thin foam square.

As for the technique I used on the sides of the Divided Box.  I have recreated the steps on a Vignette Panel just because it is much easier to see in the larger format.  Because this is a recreation of what I did on the box, it is not exact.  I know I used less of the gold on the box, leaving more blue showing, but you will still get the intent of the technique.

1. Adhere Sizzix die-cut over wood.  I only used Collage medium underneath because I will be adding paint to the top.

2. Paint the entire surface with Speckled Egg Distress Paint and let dry completely.

3.  Gather supplies:
- Alcohol Ink Alloy in Gilded (shake before use, then take the cap off)
- 97% Isopropyl Alcohol (mine is in a small spray bottle)
- Alcohol Ink Air Blower

4. Spray the surface with Isopropyl Alcohol.
*Whatever surface you are working on, you will need to work in sections because the Isopropyl Alcohol dries quick.  If you are doing this on the side of the Divided Drawer, I might create three "visual" sections and work one at a time.

5. Shake a few drops onto the surface where you sprayed the Isopropyl Alcohol (bottom half of panel).

6.  The use the Air Blower to move the Alloy into the crevices.  If you need more Isopropyl Alcohol then add more.

They Alloy breaks up and will flow into the recessed areas.  Now before you get too excited, we are working on wood, which is porous, not Yupo paper, which is plastic and meant for Alcohol Inks.  The Alloy will soon become just gold as show in the following pictures.

Even when drying, you can always add more Isopropyl Alcohol to *dilute the gold (for lack of a better term) or keep it moving.

This is how I ended the Alloy portion.  Again, more gold that my original sample but I still like the look.

7.  Scribble Distress Crayons over flowers, leaves and stems.

8.  Smudge Crayon with a damp finger.  My goal was to keep the color on the die-cut layer, leaving the background as is.  Once I was done I lightly pounced over the entire surface with a wet wipe.  Kinda like magic, the light pouncing brings up bright spots in the Crayon work.

So that's it.  Just a nice shabby, grungy, feminine piece.  The more I look at it, the more I love it.  Even if you created it without the decorative side panels it would still be fun to make and display.

Now carry on,

paula