Steampunk Heart Hanging

The inspiration continues after learning so much from Finnabair!  I have also used a lot of her product in this project as well since I am on such a kick.  It was great getting back to a classic steampunk look, my absolute favorite!

The focal of the piece is actually a Masonite kit from Retro Cafe Art that I have been hording for some time.  I added Finnabair's silver micro beads and lots of layers of resin to achieve really great dimensional wings.  For the mica heart I made a great discovery.  I was able to dye my mica with alcohol inks prior to using them to customize the color.  This opens up so many possibilities with the mica I have on hand!

The heart also has lots of Finabair's mechanicals which were also coated with resin.  I love to layer the metal pieces to achieve different looks.

The base of this hanging is a burlap panel.  I love how this provides for a natural texture to begin with.  I also used lots of die cuts, Masonite shapes, metal bits, found objects and wooden embellishments in the collage.  All of it was brought together with the use of gesso, a dusting of metallic finishes and some mica flakes.

I made this piece specifically to keep my big designing dreams alive.  I have not been active with a team for a while and it is part of my creative life that I truly miss!

Cheers, 

Rhea

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

Xyron Shadow Box with Tutorial

I am so excited to begin my journey with Xyron!  For this assignment we were asked to recreate a project that was "Not Xyron, but should be."  This framed scrabble tile sentiment was a great inspiration for my little shadowbox.  I loved the simple graphic in the background paper, as well as the re purposed use for the scrabble tiles.

Here is the Pinterest pin.

And here is what I ended up with:

Supply List:

Frame

Scrabble Tiles

Xyron 1.5" Sticker Maker

Xyron Mega Runner

Xyron 3/8" High Tack Adhesive Dots

Xyron 1/4" Double-Sided High Tack Tape

Xyron Glue Stick For Corners

 Graphic 45 Paper

Graphic 45 Washi Tape

Embellishments

Gold Dresden

The inspiration project had a simple frame without glass, however, I could not find something along those lines in my stash, so I committed to trying to use what I had.  I find that this can be so rewarding, and it can save you money too.

Since I had a deep inset with not too much planned for the inside I decided to use some decorative tape to add interest to the inside of the frame.

Be sure to burnish down your tape.  Many of these are very low tack (not very sticky.)  I used a ruler to push down each edge and smooth over my tape.

Next up I added a piece of scrapbook paper to the back of my box.  I used my Mega Runner for this, and it made really quick work of the task.  Here I chose a pattern with a similar flair as the inspiration project.

Here you can see I started to play with layout.  I decided after a few trials to matte my letters in order to add more grounding to the text.  Because of the depth of the frame, I decided this was best.

The Xyron Glue Stick for corners worked perfect to create the small mattes.  I went to my scrap box and found a few bits of Couture I had left over.  I am always so happy to utilize those small scraps!

I must admit, this part was fun.  I simply added the tiles to the Xyron Adhesive dots and I had my letters all lined up and ready to go in no time.

The double sided tape was used to hold each word element down to the background.

A note on my embellishment.  I made it from scratch.  It is a bit of burlap that I coated in gesso and let dry. Then I free form cut out my heart and wings.  The bits were then altered with all kinds of stuff until I liked the look: stain, ink, gilders paste, marker...I finished it off with a few old transistors to give it that industrial touch I like so much.

Once I put my piece together I realized it needed just a little something more.    I added tape to the outside of the box.

Then I decided to use some Dresden I had on hand.  I must say that the Xyron Sticker Maker worked great to stick this down.  I always struggle with glue showing when I use wet glue on Dresden.

One trick though:  rub down lots and peel slow in order to ensure that the adhesive comes up with the Dresden.

And that is it.  Simple and fun and using the stuff I had on hand!

I love how the decorative tape adds so much texture to the whole piece.

Here is a close up of the fun heart embellishment I was able to create from scratch.

I hope you enjoyed!  Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers, 

Rhea

A new art journey

Recently I have made a profound connection in my artistic process.  Sometimes I need a prompt.  Whether it is a challenge, a swap, an article or a blog hop, these triggers really do help me when I am creatively stuck.  With that thought in mind, I luckily joined up in a round robin style art swap in my Kindred Souls group at the last minute.  I am so excited to be participating with a group of such talented artists.

 

I am a sucker for the steampunk look and with Valentines day on the way, I decided to combine the two and create a "Time for Love" journal.  My hope is that participants will add their own take on this unique mashing of classic art book themes. 

My focal here was made from 10 Second Studio sheet metal in Rock Star.  It was embossed with the gear pattern, sanded and then I edged it out in black tape.  A light buffing of copper gilder's paste added another dimension to the focal.  I added some metal bits, being sure to layer and follow the rule of odds.  Odd numbers of embellishments are more pleasing to the eye!

The wings are grungeboard and they were colored with both picket fence and the silver metallic distress stain. I finished them out with a bit more gilders paste as well as some stickels for a bit of sparkle among the grunge.  

The inside pages consist of heavy chipboard and the book was bound with a Cinch.  It really is easy to do and you get such a professional look. Each participant will have thier own page to alter in the chosen theme.  

On the back I repeated the same texture as the front.  Here you can see some of my fatal flaws too.  Because I had so much texture the stamping really did not take and I have really "hard lines" that are not very attractive.  Thus they are on the back of the book!

Here is a close up of my letters and a bit of the delightful texture.  On the letters, you guessed it, gilders paste.  In the background: lots of layers: silver distress stain, stamping, more gilders paste, molding paste, modge podge, tissue tape...

Stay tuned to see the work I do in the books of others.  I see several more creative and helpful art prompts in my future!

Cheers, 

Rhea