Paper Artsy 2013 Christmas Cracker Challenge!

Leandra, the Paper Artsy Queen, treated us all to Christmas Cracker You Tube video techniques and challenges. If you haven't watched any of her videos and you're interested in using acrylics and a variety of other media, you really should check out her You Tube videos. Here's a link. Because I'm nice like that. Just don't blame me if you start a wish list and start spending money. It's Leandra's fault. Not mine.

I decided to play along with Video One, Sanded Foundations, where you tint Grunge Paste with various colors of Fresco Finish paint, apply it through a stencil, let it dry, and sand it back revealing a perfectly stenciled raised variegated pattern.

My first attempt follows, though I'd qualify it as a "fail" for the technique. I kind of like how the final piece came out, so it's not an epic fail.

Here it is and you can judge for yourself.

I painted the 5x7 canvas with a few Fresco Finish pinks to get a base. Then I mixed up separate batches of colored Grunge Paste using Candy Floss, Elephant, and Mushroom Fresco Finish paints. Then I applied the colored Grunge Pastes through the Incognito stencil by Andy Skinner/Tando. I let the Grunge Paste air dry, went away, came back, and heat set it. Then I sanded it back and ended up with a blah greyish color. So I let it dry some more, then sanded it some more and guess what? It still stayed blah though there are a few areas that show a little variety of color. I *think* that the colors I chose (with the exception of the pink) were too close to one another and the area that I applied the pink was too small. I will try this again and will use a different stencil and different colors.

I then added a bit more paint here and there using a baby wipe. 

Anyway, since I had started the project, my inner Virgo control freak made me finish the canvas. So I did. The heart and the cogs from Paper Artsy's Eclectica Darcy 02 were stamped with Jet Black Archival ink and painted with Fresco Finish paints.

Weathered Wood Distress ink was sponged over the Dot Fade Layering stencil in a few places to add a bit more color and some more visual interest.

A small nameplate was die cut three times from cereal-weight cardboard. The frames were stacked, adhered to each other, then painted. The inner part was also painted. The sentiment from Eclectica Darcy 1 set was stamped onto the inner part of the nameplate with Jet Black Archival ink. The cogs were stamped over the sentiment with Frost Dazzle VersaMark ink and heat embossed with clear detail embossing powder.

Black cardstock was covered with Flashing Tape, die-cut with a flower Alterations die, embossed in an Alterations embossing folder, and shaped. The leaves were die-cut with an old QuicKutz die, embossed in the same folder, and shaped. Then both the flowers and leaves were painted, let set a minute, then wiped, leaving the paint mostly in the depressions. This worked better on the leaves, but I'm embracing imperfection. The flowers were stacked with the petals off set. The sentiment nameplate, flower, and leaves were adhered to the upper left.

Here's a close-up so that you can see the sentiment and the flower. The photo was taken in the evening in doors, so the leaves have some pink reflections in them. They're pale blue and silver.

A variety of metal embellishments were added and Pewter Treasure Gold was used to edge the piece.

I'm not thrilled with the piece, but it's done and done is always good. What's better is that I learned a bunch during the creation from this project so the next take will be better. Or I hope it will! 

Thanks for visiting today.