Lost and Found Reliquary Dome

Hello friends,

I'm so excited to share one last Easter make with you all before the holiday passes! This project showcases the wonderful idea-ology Reliquary Dome, a personal favorite. And of course, it wouldn't be Easter without the adorable Salvaged Rabbit and some glittery Tiny Eggs. A highlight of this project was creating the tiny white Easter baskets to perfectly cradle these eggs, resulting in a sweet and dream-like springtime scene. I hope you will read through the tutorial and find something that you might like to incorporate into a make this Easter season.

It's a lot easier to see with the glass dome removed!

I started the project by coloring idea-ology Tiny Eggs with tinted Rock Candy Glitter. Tim has a great video where he explains how to tint Rock Candy with Alcohol Ink. The VIDEO is timestamped so you just click on the timestamp and it takes you to exactly that point in the video.

Now back to the colors I chose for the Rock Candy - Dandelion, Eggplant, Pool, and Shell Pink. I found that these color worked really well for me, but so many other colors can be used. Admittedly, it is kind of addicting...I made about 10 in total! Afterwards, I set the eggs aside to dry completely while I worked on other parts of the project.

Starting with the cork base. You could leave it brown but I decided to switch it up and paint it with Rustic Wilderness Distress Paint. Let it dry while you work on the baskets,

 

I had the idea to make Easter Baskets out of Thimbles and wire. I used a flexible 18-Gauge Stem Wire I bought at Michaels in the floral department. When I say flexible, I mean it is very easy to bend into a shape. The first one I did with just my hands (that's the wonky one in the center). Then I figured out that I could use a Distress Crayon and bend the wire around the outside to get the perfect handle. I decided I still liked the wonky one so I left it. I used a generous amount of hot glue to attach the wire to each Thimble. 

Next up is painting. I used a craft paint instead of Distress Paint because I wanted it to be a thicker mat paint (and its also quick drying).

Once dry, I highlighted the Thimble texture with Walnut Stain Distress Crayon. I just scribbled it on and rubbed it in with a damp finger. It worked perfectly. They are really starting to look like baskets!

For the "grass" in these tiny baskets, I used a fine weave Grade 90 Cheesecloth (can be bought on Etsy) . I colored a large piece with Peeled Paint Distress Spray about 5 years ago and I am still using that piece. I just cut off a bit when I need it and shred it up!

NOTE: There is a hot glue gun in this shot because I filled the Thimbles with hot glue, leaving about a 1/4" at the top. When they were almost dry, I pressed the shredded cheesecloth into the barely warm glue. If you miss the window, just use Collage Medium to add the cheesecloth.

You can see that the hot glue does not go all the way to the top of the Thimble, leaving room for the eggs.

So, so cute! I probably should have made 10 of these, not three!

Okay, on to the Salvaged Rabbit.  

The rabbit can be any color. I went with two coats of Pumice Stone, letting it dry between coats.

Once dry, I added Walnut Stain Distress Crayon with a damp brush. I started with a wash...

Then just kept working it over the rabbit as the crayon started to dry. When I was happy with the way it looked I just set it aside to finish drying.

Cut a bamboo skewer about 4" long to use as a sign post. I colored it with Distress Ink and a bit of water to help the ink wick out.

I pulled a couple pieces of Ephemera from the Keepsakes Ephemera pack for my sign (one for each side of the sign). I added a piece of chipboard to the back so when I attached it to the skewer, the ephemera on the front would stay flat. 

This is the back - it did not matter that the bubble is showing on this side. 

Now just push the skewer into the cork. Super easy!

Next - the rabbit and the three baskets are added with Collage Medium. I set it aside for an hour or so to let the glue dry enough so the basket did not move when I added the eggs and moss. Once it dries overnight the baskets will be secure.

Break up the moss into small pieces and add to the surface with Collage Medium. If the moss is too "fluffy" you can shoot hot glue underneath and press down.

Then add the Tiny Eggs in and around the baskets and moss.

While the eggs were drying I worked on the dome, adding one of the Transparent Layers. First I had to round the corners of the transparency and cut about 1/2" off the bottom to make it fit. I added Scor-tape to the bottom edge so it will attach to the glass dome.

Lay the dome on it side and slip the transparency into the opening, adhering the Scor-tape to the glass. Test it out with the base.. does the transparency need to be adjusted? Now is the time.

I added string around the glass, held on with Cello Sticker Tape. Then added a Remnant Rub - "Lost and Found" to the glass, right above the bow. Then I had an idea...

If the eggs are "lost and the found", my rabbit would need something it dig them up with. So I grabbed an idea-ology fork from the Silverware pack to use as the digging tool. I had to remove one egg I had glued in that spot, but no matter, the fork was worth it. I did need to use my Texture Hammer to get the fork to go into the cork base (no hammering on the glass mat though).

You could add more eggs if you wish but I ended up with what was good for me (2-3 of each color).

Please Note: Salvaged Rabbits and Tiny Eggs are retired products. So if you think you might make this in the future, they will only be around for so long before they are gone. Just something to keep in mind.

Now carry on,
paula

Springtime Vignette

Hello friends,

With Easter right around the corner, I thought it was time for a little springtime project that could easily be completed in a day or two. I covered the boxes on day one. Along with painting the rabbit, eggs and Toadstools so they could dry overnight. Day two was putting the scene together and cutting the Sizzix flowers. I hope you'll follow the following easy steps to create your own little springtime garden scene!

I started with two Square Vignette Boxes (I did not use the smallest box that comes with the set). I cut 4 patterns of Worn Wallpaper to cover the two boxes, then adhered the paper with Collage Medium.

Once the paper was adhered I covered the surface with a thin layer of Collage Medium and set the boxes aside to dry while I worked on other things.

Lets start with the things that need to be painted so they can start drying. 

I used hot glue to add a Salvaged Rabbit to a big popsicle stick for easy painting. I used Ground Espresso Distress Paint for the rabbit, but any color will work. I gave him two coats for good measure.

After he was dry, I sanded off the shine with steel wool. Now you can pop him off the popsicle stick.

Next up are the Tiny Eggs. I really didn't know what color I wanted so I painted up a few of each using Speckled Egg, Squeezed Lemonade, Dried Marigold, and Worn Lipstick. I just used my fingers, wiping my hands between colors. I also painted, or should I say rubbed, Scorched Timber over the entire Barrel.

Once the eggs were dry, I flicked paint over the top with a small paintbrush. 

While the eggs dry, I painted two Toadstools with Speckled Egg Distress Paint. It took two coats over the tops to get full coverage. Once dry, scribble Walnut Stain Crayon over the paint and rub it in. I also used a wet wipe to pounce over any dark spots. I love the way they turned out with such little effort.

NOTE: you can see how I added a chipboard base to each Toadstool so it will be easy to secure them to the Vignette base when the time comes. A little hot glue works perfectly to secure the chipboard to the Toadstool - you just need to hold it upright while the hot glue cools.

I thought this metal plaque from the Factory Tags pack would work brilliantly on one of the Vignette Boxes. I just needed to add a bit of Picket Fence Crayon to fill in the recessed areas and a couple of the smallest Screw Heads.

One more thing before we start assembling...a sentiment. This time I took a stick and wrapped cardstock around the top with a Metallic Sticker. The bottom got the same treatment as the Toadstools so I can adhere it to the Vignette Box with ease.

Lets add some reindeer moss around the bottom just to get started.

Now we need the boxes that we made earlier. I used a Walnut Stain Distress Crayon to age the Wallpaper, because that is just my style. You know I like things to look a bit beaten up, lol. 

So here we go...lets start gluing the mail things to the smaller of the Vignette Boxes. I took this shot so you could see approximately where I placed things. 

NOTE: I previously added the Metal Factory Tag to the center front when the Vignette could be on it's side. You can also use 1/2" Scor-tape to add the tag if you don't want to wait the drying time. There is also a much better photo of the tag at the end of the tutorial.

Once the main pieces had some time to dry, I added more moss...both reindeer moss and spanish moss.

Now for the last go round...

I started at the back to fill in more of the space. I added some spanish moss and after it was dry, I pulled apart small pieces of moss and tucked it inside the spanish moss. The flowers and rocks were added last.

NOTE: the tiny rocks were found at Michaels, but I think any craft store would have them in the flower arranging section or even in miniatures.

All the flowers were made with the Sizzix Brushstroke Flowers Mini Thinlit.

I did not end up using any of the pink eggs - they just stood out too much. 

So easy to tuck the Tiny Eggs into any little spot! The detail work is my favorite part!

Now add the two Vignette together with Collage Medium. 

And there you go! 

I enjoyed making this project with all the pastel colors and nods to springtime. I also love how even mixing the Worn Wallpaper works perfectly with this color palette. Ready for Spring!

Now carry on,

Paula