An Altered Metal Envelope

I’ve used two of the June Très Jolie offerings – the Mixed Media Kit, containing several new mediums and a metal envelope from BCI Crafts, and the Cards, Tags and More Kit, featuring a pretty collection from Simple Stories – to create a wall hanging.

 

Here’s how it all came together.

 

I started by creating a couple of test patches on the back of the metal piece. First, I applied the crackle paste straight from the jar. Next, I added a healthy dollop of the Magical powder to the same paste and spread it on the surface.

 

I allowed it to dry completely and decided to use the Magical mixture. (I sanded these patches off later.)

 

I placed a piece of scrap paper inside the envelope and proceeded to cover the front of the envelope. As you can see, the paste is thick; I applied this very quickly before it became unspreadable.

 

Dried and crackled; my project was ready for the next step. (By the way, it didn’t occur to me to prime the metal with clear gesso to give it “teeth. I do wish I had done this.)

Next, I took the crackled envelope and a bottle of Krylon matte finish outside and sprayed the crackle surface, allowed it to dry, and sprayed it again to seal the paste. (It’s important to do this outdoors; the fumes are intense.) This spray dries almost instantly, but I kept it outside for about a half hour to be certain that it was set.

 

I coated the inside “flap” with matte gel medium…

 

…covered it with a sheet from the paper pad that I had cut to measure and treated the edges with gilding polish.

 

I selected a piece from the sticker sheet and covered the back with cornstarch to undo the adhesive coating.

 

I placed a couple of pieces of foam tape to the back of the sticker to give it dimension...

 

…and adhered it to the base.

 

I traced the shape of the chalkboard pieces onto two of the journaling cards from the paper pad, cut them out and glued them on, using matte gel medium. The edges and clothespins were coated with gilding polish.

 

I dusted off a leaf punch and created some vines out of the Lemon Craft paper from the Cards Kit.

 

I used my scraps to punch out some butterflies.

A few flowers from the kits…

…and some butterflies, inked and backed with packaging…

 

…and a few of the vines, inked and placed under the flowers completed my project.

 

(I’ll talk about those tags in my main image in my next post.)

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*****Supplies*****

 

***Très Jolie June Mixed Media Kit***

BCI Crafts – Salvaged – Copper Patina Metal Envelope – 9 x 10 #METENV

Darice – Floral Embellishments – White – 12 Pcs #30061976

Craft Smart – Chalkboard Clothespins – 2 Pcs #321174

Lindy’s Stamp Gang – Magical – Bougainvillea Fuchsia

Creative Expressions – Cosmic Shimmer – Crackle Paste – Frosted Aqua

Creative Expressions – Metallic Gilding Polish – Silver Hessian

 

***Très Jolie June Cards, Tags and More Kit***

Simple Stories – Simple Vintage Garden District Collection – 6 x 6 Paper Pad #12515

Simple Stories – Simple Vintage Garden District Collection – 12 x 12 Cardstock Stickers – Banner #12502

Lemon Craft – Yesterday – A4 Basics Paper Collection – Leaves 01 – 3 Sheets #LZP-LVS01

Darice – Floral Embellishments – Sweetwater Roses – 12 Pcs #30062046

 

***Other***

Hug Snug – Seam Binding – White

Ranger Ink – Tim Holtz – Distress Ink Pads – Mini – Hickory Smoke #142098

Liquitex – Professional – Matte Gel Medium #5321

Krylon – Matte Finish #1311

Art Institute – Glitter Glue – Dries Clear Adhesive

Uline – Heavy Duty Double-Sided Foam Tape – ½” x 36 Yds – White #S-7824W

 

***Tools***

Martha Stewart – Extra Large Punch – Leaf Branch #42-39006

Martha Stewart – Craft Punch – Monarch Butterfly #42-30002

Martha Stewart – Craft Punch – Classic Butterfly #283010

 

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As always, I want to thank you for peeking into my blog; your visits mean a lot to me.

 

Golden Girl

The May Mixed Media package from the Tres Jolie Kit Club, containing an artist’s palette and plenty of embellishments and mediums (including three jars of Lumiere Halo paint) gave me the perfect opportunity to create a project featuring this photo of my granddaughter, taken by my daughter-in-law.

I started by covering the entire palette with black gesso from Liquitex, taking care to brush side to side. (Because this is much thinner than most brands, I prefer to use it as a primer.) Once it was completely dry, I sprayed the front of the palette with Nuvo mist from Tres Jolie’s April kit.

After determining my final photo placement, I used the texture paste and stencil that were included in the kit to create a brocade-like flourish that would show above and below the image. This dried to an almost transparent surface, so I applied chalk ink (again from the April kit) with a thin paint brush to make it stand out a bit more.

The corrugate squares are backed with a very thin wooden layer, so I used my heavy duty scissors to cut and tear them into pieces to go along the sides of my photo. I covered large sections of each piece with black gesso, and then painted them here and there with Nuvo mist.

I selected several of the plaster flowers and coated them with the same black gesso. Next, I took out the Halo paints and started to paint the surfaces, using all three of the colors, and then lightly misting them with water. I used my heat tool to dry the surfaces before applying more layers of color, repeating these steps until I got the results I wanted.

Meanwhile, I created my title with my Cameo, using the Cotton Candy font. Because the machine requires very thin chipboard, I duplicated the design so I could cut two layers. Using a blending tool, I covered the surfaces with Archival ink and then glued the layers together. I gave the surfaces a heavy coating of matte medium, and then poured on the glitter.

Time to assemble: I glued down both sides of the corrugate in layers, and then attached the photo that I had backed with several layers of packaging to ensure that it would lay flat. I cut several of the straws into smaller lengths before gluing them down, leaving a few pieces for my corner cluster.

Once I had determined the final placement of my flowers, I adhered them, along with the metal keyholes, using Art Glitter glue. (The plaster flowers are very heavy and I needed an adhesive with strong bonding properties.)

I added some texture with cheesecloth and Art Stones from my stash.

The title was placed to the side of my photo.

I poured out a small amount of each of the Halo paints and diluted them with water to color my embellishments in layers, again using my heat tool between applications.

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*****Supplies*****

***Tres Jolie Mixed Media Kit***

Darice – Studio 71 – Wooden Palette Set #30061945

Prima Marketing – Stencil – 6” x 6” – Flourish #564278

Prima – Sunrise Sunset Collection – Paper Roses – Gold #565169

American Crafts – Metallic Straws – Stripe – Gold – 5 Pcs #373832

American Crafts – Metallic Straws – Dot – Gold – 5 Pcs #368997

Darice – Glitter Tube – Gold – .75 oz #1146-36WAL

Prima – Finnabair – Art Extravagance – Texture Paste – White Sand #963002

Darice – Corrugate Cut-Outs – Square – 3 Pcs #30011909

Graphic 45 – Staples Collection – Ornate Metal Key Holes – 2 Pcs #4500546

Prima – Archival Cast Collection – Relics and Artifacts – Plaster Embellishments – Flora #942663

Jacquard – Lumiere Light Body Metallic Acrylic Paint – Halo – Pink Gold #555

Jacquard – Lumiere Light Body Metallic Acrylic Paint – Halo – Blue Gold #556

Jacquard – Lumiere Light Body Metallic Acrylic Paint – Halo – Violet Gold #557

***Embellishments***

Cheesecloth

***Mediums***

Liquitex – Professional – Black Colored Gesso

Liquitex – Professional – Matte Medium

Liquitex – Professional – Matte Gel Medium

Ranger Ink – Archival Ink Pad – Jet Black #31468

Prima – Ingvild Bolme – Chalk Fluid Edger – Tin Can #891152

Nuvo – Mica Mist – Antique Gold #571N

Prima – Finnabair – Art Ingredients – Art Stones #963705

***Tools***

Prima – Stencil – 6 x 6 – Flourish #564278

Ranger Ink – Tim Holtz – Mini Ink Blending Tool #40965

Silhouette America – Cameo – Electronic Cutting System

***Other***

Art Glitter – Dries Clear Designer Adhesive

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As always, I want to thank you for peeking into my blog; your visits mean a lot to me.