Hello friends and visitors! It's time for our newest challenge at
A Vintage Journey which is 'Use a Quote' chosen by the talented Jenny. Laura, owner of
That's Crafty generously provided That's Crafty Surfaces to all of the Creative Guides to work on for this challenge, and our ever-patient Nikki (
Addicted to Art) coordinated everything to be sure we all received our surfaces. Thank you to Laura and Nikki! I was so excited to be able to be able to create on this fabulously sturdy MDF Upright Arch.
Here's what Jenny has to say about her challenge: Take a quote! Any quote! Whether it be on a stamp, a sticker, handwritten or sourced from the internet and make it the focal point of your vintage; shabby; mixed media; art journaling, industrial, timeworn or steampunk project.
My timeworn project was predicated on this quote from a Tim Holtz stamp set I won on his 12 Tags challenge at one time. I felt a little bad never giving this quote any air time, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity. The inspiration for my choice of quote and eventually this garden scene came from an old broken Frozen Charlotte china doll gifted to me by a friend from her parent's estate. Originally I was going to use the doll on this, but I got a bad case of commitment phobia, and will keep hoarding her.
I started by giving my arch and base a coat of gesso, followed by Pumice Stone Distress paint. I determined where my quote should go, and embossed it with Watering Can embossing powder and ink.
I made a stencil using Tim's old Brick Wall strip die. Masking my quote I applied Ranger Grit paste through my stencil. In some areas, where I wanted it to look as if stucco had been added over the exposed brick, I knifed on additional grit and Prima Stone Effect pastes and set the panel aside to dry.
In the meantime, I got out my Prima molds and paper clay and started the process of making stepping stones, a concrete fountain and some concrete moldings. I purposefully "broke" some of them by using a craft knife to cut pieces off, which hopefully you can see are scattered at the base. When they were dry, I smeared grit paste on the stones and stone effect paste on the concrete pieces randomly, and again allowed to dry. When they were completely dry, I colored them with a variety of Distress Oxides, DecoArt fluid and chalky paints and my waterbrush until I was happy with the coloring.
I painted the bricks using a combination of Oxides, paints and inks and the waterbrush for the most part adding washes of color and then highlighting with unthinned color. (I have a complete product list below.) I mixed up some Faux Grass (??What? It looks like Faux Moss to me!) with Forest Moss Distress stain and allowed it to dry. I applied that using gel medium for mossy growth. I added highlights of DecoArt chalk paint to the bricks and concrete pieces. I love how all these products work so well together.
I used a Prima crack stencil and black texture paste to make the crack, which at first was a little too bold. I went back in with a white watercolor pencil to soften it up a bit and used a black watercolor pencil to extend the cracks and add a few more on the brick wall and the fountain.
In the shots below, you can see I washed Walnut Stain Dox over the sentiment to give it a look of old plaster (At least that's what I was aiming for.)
Here's a few closeups of the mossy walkway where some of the broken pieces lie. The 'bricks' are also made from paper clay, and the ferns made from just the tip of the die cut. The paper I cut them from was colored with DOX. I was quite pleased how, coincidentally, the stones closely resemble the real ones in my courtyard in color.
That's it for me today. Please stop by
A Vintage Journey to see all the amazing inspiration from the other Creative Guides--I think you'll get close to the full gamut of Guides using their choice of That's Crafty Surfaces. Then it's over to you! You don't have to use a That's Crafty Surface, just be sure it's a vintage, shabby, steampunk, industrial, mixed media, art journaling or timeworn project using a quote as the focal point.
That's Crafty is our sponsor this month, and one lucky winner will be awarded a generous gift voucher to their well supplied online store.
I'm entering the following challenges:
Products used: (Most can be purchased at
That's Crafty.) Gesso; River rock mold; paper clay; black texture paste; Prima IOD molds 3, 5 and 6; Prima Stone Effect paste-concrete: Ranger Distress Grit Paste, Prima Crackle stencil; Tim Holtz Ponderings stamps, Tim Holtz Brick Wall and Frantic Stamper Fern dies, Distress Oxides: Fired Brick (of course), Iced Spruce, Peeled Paint, Walnut Stain; Distress ink: Fired Brick, Mowed Lawn, Forest Moss; Distress paints: Mowed Lawn and Ground Espresso; Distress stain: Forest Moss; DecoArt Media Fluid acrylics: Paynes Grey, Carbon Black, Prussian Blue, and DecoARt Everlasting Chalk paint; Prismacolor watercolor pencils.
Thank you for your visit today and for all your inspiring comments!
Hugs and Blessings!
Sara Emily
