American Vintage Assemblage

I was inspired to create this project as soon as I saw the new American Vintage paper line come out from 7 Gypsies.  I slowly began to gather found objects as well as my coveted 7 Gypsies metal elements that I knew would complement the theme in order to create this fun vintage letterblock tray.

It takes some patience to make a project with this many elements, the key is to be patient and do it in stages.  Sometimes walking away from the project to let glue dry will allow you to come back and see the whole things with fresh eyes. I find this tactic really helps me to fill in every inch of my art, which contributes to my own personal style.  After coming back to my work a niche will be calling out for extra junk and the search will then start for another element to add.

When I make these assemblage style trays, I try to attach things at many different layers of depth.  In this project I used some scrap cardboard to prop up some of my ephemera and make it stand out.

Another little secret I will share is to mist your project with a sheer Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist at the end to cover up any glue that may have escaped. This trick will not totally cover the glue, but it will distract from it at least a little bit.

I mixed in lots of great elements from the 7 Gypsies line along with my own found elements and treasures to pull this piece off.  I love how the old and the new blend seamlessly together. It is fun to root through your junk drawers and your craft stash to come up with fun personal things to add to your tray. Another great idea would be to plan to make one of these before a road trip and then purposefully seek out your own pressed pennies, ticket stubs and ephemera to capture a memory in a whole new way!

You may have noticed that the base of my tray has been altered a little bit as well.  I used a scrap of paper towel to buff on a layer of patina colored gilders paste to add a weathered look to the wood.

I hope that this post has inspired to go through your trinkets and create a letterblock tray that captures a special trip or memory!

***This post was also featured here!***

Cheers, 

Rhea

Prima Design Team Call

When I heard the news that Prima Marketing Inc. was hosting an open design team call I decided to give it a try!  I am obsessed with their newest line called Relics and Artifacts and I know my work would be well suited to this line (and many others) due to my love for assemblage.  Additionally my addiction to their metal embellishments, trinkets and flowers will be quite obvious in this post! So, without further ado, here is my application post to design for a wonderful company that I would be absolutely blessed to represent.  P.S. this post is long, please stay tuned!

Altered Metal Box

Supplies:

Altered Metal Frame - Pedestal

Prima Flowers

Gears

Screw Heads

Hexagons

Faucet Wheels

Engraver Buttons

Satin Strip with Rhinestone Center

Faucet Wheels

Resin Icon: Feather

Printery Paper 6x6

Microbeads Silver

Mica Flakes Frosted

This project was inspired by the metal frame as well as a bird's nest I found that had fallen to the ground.  I decided I liked the contrast of the delicate nest and nature theme alongside lots of industrial touches and a metal base.

You may notice that I "hacked" the small gray flowers a bit.  They used to have a pearl center, but I replaced them with lots of metal trinkets that fit better with my theme.

Inside I was sure to embellish in layers to ensure lots of texture and dimension.  The background of the box was treated with silver leaf.  I intended for the reflective quality of the technique to keep the inside as bright as possible.

Perhaps my favorite technique in this project was how I created my little bird.  I started out with Printery paper I treated with Ice Resin.  

Just after adding resin to both sides of the paper, I sprinkled in some art ingredients from Finnabair: micro beads and frosted mica flakes.  After the paper had cured, I used my steel rule die to cut out the bird shape and then I added the gear for an eye, which made for a really cool embellishment!

Printery Shadowbox

Supplies:

Printery 6x6 paper

Art Ingredients Glass Glitter: Pitch Black

Ship Parts

Plate and Label

Typewriter Words

Handles and Turns

Faucet Wheels

Steampunk Air

Hexagons

Screw Heads

Zipper Pulls

Typo Bulbs 1

Engraver Buttons

Gears 

For this portion of the application I wanted to showcase my love for assemblage, texture and found objects.  I have paired a fair number of Prima metal trinkets and junkyard findings along with a few special treasures to make a fun nostalgic collection.

To achieve texture in this piece I chose to blend my edges and corners with a treatment of black glitter.  I love how this adds some sparkle, but still looks grungy and industrial.

I found myself drawn to using symmetry more than once as I pieced this together.  I framed out the outside corners of the box as well as the large inset. 

One trick that I often use to alter things is to layer them.  By adding the tiny gear inside of the hexagon and framing it out with the watch fobs, it created a whole different embellishment.  You can also see my layering technique below with the faucet wheels. 

The special touch of a few trinkets that are vintage also give this piece a bit more of a story.  A vintage clip, a skeleton key, found safety pins from button cards, anything like this can give a piece personal meaning.  I also love these old jacks and how the color has been worn off of them through play!

Winged Heart Plaque

Cartographer Paper
Archival Cast Relics and Artifacts Rising Spirit III

In this project I really wanted my love for mixed media to shine through.  The focal of this project is from the new Archival Cast Relics and Artifacts line and I am just absolutely in love with these art elements.

The plaster pieces are easy to alter and they accept so many different mediums.  I have layered on so many things and they still look fantastic!

Peeking out from behind the heart is a snippet of Cartographer paper.  The map symbolism for me represents growth, new journeys  and a global point of view.  All things I hope to get with a potential new design team appointment! I love incorporating personal meaning and symbolism into my work, I think it makes it just a little bit extra special.

Last up is just a quick snapshot of a project that really shows off the new microbeads as well as some sweet gray flowers.  While this project is not totally Prima, I absolutely love the texture that those tiny beads gave this project and I wanted to show off this creative application of yet another amazing Prima product.

Thank you so much for tuning in for this extra long post!  

Cheers, 

Rhea

Mixed Media Butterfly Box

I had so much fun really altering this box from Graphic 45.  

P.S. sorry about the moody morning light, I was under a deadline and had to work with what I had! 

I even made a tutorial on Snapguide so you can see how I achieved this lovely metal texture on plain old kraftboard!  

Check out How to Alter a Graphic 45 Mixed Media Box by Rhea Freitag on Snapguide.

The addition of all the microbeads at the end really adds to the texture I created on this project. I admit it was a little scary to slather my project in glue at the end, but it was worth it.

I am running low on those amazing butterflies from Graphic 45.  This is a great way to pay homage to a retired supply!

Here is a photo of the back of the project so you can get an idea of what my base looked like.  I even managed to stamp a little in this project, which rarely happens because I am a sloppy stamper.  I used the purposefully messy "technique."

While there is not a ton of paper in this project, I do love the snips of Artisan Style that I used in this project.  What a lovely paper line!

Thank you so much for stopping by today! I hope you found a little bit of inspiration to take into your next crafting session.

Cheers, 

Rhea

Soul Restoration Canvas

I was so excited when Canvas Corp asked me to do a special project in partnership with Faber-Castell! 

As you can see I was certainly inspired!  For more information and images of this project please check out this post!

Winged Heart Plaque

I have been so excited for these new Archival Cast Relics and Artifacts by Prima to come out.  They are just as amazing as I had hoped, and no matter what you do to them, you can make it work.  This project is proof of that!

I started by staining a Walnut Hallow plaque I had on hand.  I followed up with an edging of glitter and then some Inka gold. The stenciled words are actually with the Inka gold too and I rather like how they turned out.

The heart was treated with many mediums, too many in fact.  In the end I coated it with super fine glitter and accepted all the bumps and texture since I had played just a little too much.  The wings were treated with silver leaf and I think it worked perfect.

Under the heart is a wooden medallion thing that I purchased at a big box store.  I also treated it with leafing and matted it with paper from the Cartographer paper line.

I used gelatos, stickels and Twinkling H20's on the top portion of the heart.  A few pieces of vintage rhinestones add a nice detail behind the tied on key.  

Beware, I am going to guess these relics will be showing up in lots of my posts!

Cheers, 

Rhea

Printery Shadow Box

Wow, was I inspired with this one!  In this project I challenged myself to use lots of goodies from Prima Marketing.  The Printery paper line was the source of inspiration for this shadowbox.  

The base is a 7 Gypsies shadowbox tray. I chose to have the small cubbies on the side, as you can really orientate the tray in any way you want for different looks.  

I have paired a fair number of Prima metal trinkets and junkyard findings along with a few special treasures to make a fun nostalgic collection.

To achieve texture in this piece I chose to blend my edges and corners with a treatment of black glass glitter from Finnabair.  I love how this adds some sparkle, but still looks grungy and industrial.

I found myself drawn to using symmetry more than once as I pieced this together.  I framed out the outside corners of the box as well as the large inset. 

One trick that I often use to alter things is to layer them.  By adding the tiny gear inside of the hexagon and framing it out with the watch fobs, it created a whole different embellishment.  You can also see my layering technique below with the faucet wheels. 

The special touch of a few trinkets that are vintage also give this piece a bit more of a story.  A vintage clip, a skeleton key, found safety pins from button cards, anything like this can give a piece personal meaning.  I also love these old jacks and how the color has been worn off of them through years of play!

Cheers,

Rhea

Botanica Tea Altered Box

This is a fun springy project made for Graphic 45 with Botanical Tea.  

Botanical Tea Matchbook Box

Botanical Tea 6x6 Patterns and Solids

Botanical Tea Flowers

Shabby Chic Ornate Metal Keyholes

Shabby Chic Ornate Metal Key

Shabby Chic Ornate Metal Brads

Small Matchbook Box

Gesso

Twine

Resin Bird

Die Cut Bird Cage

Embossing Powder

This project started off with a Small Matchbook Box that I had primed with gesso one day when I did not have any creative mojo.  The white backdrop made for a perfect Botanical Tea spring scene. 

The birdcage was covered in thick bronze embossing powder to create a gilded look.  I love how the cage looks placed over the hole in the box.  The Shabby Chic metal staples have a lovely finish that coordinate well with the lightness I was going for in this fun little piece. 

Thanks as always for stopping by.  I hope you found a little spring inspiration today!

Cheers, 

Rhea