My Dearest Panel

Hello Friends,

My husband went back to school on Monday, so I thought it was time I got back into the workroom. It's the perfect time to get a few things started for Valentines Day or at least things centered around love and caring. 

I had the idea to combine Paper Strips and Etcetera Tiles. So that is how this square Etcetera panel (8.5 x 8.5") began. Let's get started so I can share the process to make one for yourself or someone you love!

First, start by painting the sides of the Etcetera panel. I used the Distress Paint color, "Old Paper", because the color is similar to the paper I am going to use on the board. You can change up the color of the edge to suit your background paper.

Use a Tonic Precision Trimmer to cut 4 strips - each 1 1/4" wide. I used Backdrop paper (Vol. 4), which is 10" long so your strips are each 1 1/4 x 10". 

For the panel, you need two strips that are 8.5" and 2 strips that are 6", so cut the length accordingly.

Adhere the strips to the board with Collage Medium. Add a layer over the top if you want to use Distress Crayon over the top.

Once dry, scribble the crayon around the edges and use a damp brush or a wet wipe to move it around

(set the board aside while we work on the other elements).

Etcetera Tiles

You will need TWO packages of Large Tiles and one package of Cutout Tiles to make this project.

You can get away with only one package of Large Tiles if you are willing to sacrifice 4 of the Cutout Tiles as a second layer (something that will not be seen, but used just as a riser).

Starting with 4 Large Tiles, use Collage Medium to adhere idea-ology Paper Strips to each tile. There are so many to choose from in the package, that it's hard to choose.

Add a second Large Tile under each papered tile to give it height. 

NOTE: This is where you could use a Cutout Tile as a riser, since it will be hidden by the top tile.

Collage Paper

I chose a sheet from the Collage Paper Serendipity for the "plain" tiles. Because the leaves and flowers were small, I decided to fussy cut the paper rather than using a water line from a Detailer Water brush. Was it persnickety? Yes. But I didn't loose even one in the process. The Water Brush method works better when there is a patterned background to hide the residual paper. Can it ever be used on a light pattern like the linen weave? Well you be the judge. One tile was done with that method...see if you can you spot it?

The linen paper is from Backdrops Vol 4. I covered four more Large Tiles with it.

I have gauged where I want the leaves to go (they may look odd here, but I know what is going to be added later on). So I an ready to add the Collage Medium on the linen paper, and then again over the top of the leaves.

This is the result about a minute later. Literally.

It's magic, I tell you!

I made two with just Collage Paper.

And two, I add Crackle Paste Opaque through the Mini Nordic Stencil (that is part of set 21, if your asking). Once the Crackle Paste was dry, I used a Tiny Blending Tool to add Distress Ink over the Crackle Paste. Then I sprayed the surface with water to allow the ink to get into the cracks.

Here are the four linen tiles together.

If you are counting - we have used 12 Large Tiles so far.

Okay, can you spot the one that I used the Water Brush technique?

It's this one! 

You can still see where I pulled the paper along the water line. I did a pretty good job as disguising it, but it can leave a halo when the paper is darker and has almost no pattern. 

Okay, back to business...

A fifth tile has been covered in the linen paper. This is for the center so I decided to add some vintage lace across the front.

I also made a double bow with 1/4" seam binding ribbon that I colored with Spray Stain in Antique Linen and Tattered Rose. When I say, "double bow", that just means that you have a long ribbon (like maybe 30"). Fold it in half and even out the ends. Now just tie a bow. 

NOTE: once I have the bow the right size and shape - I spray it with hairspray so it will keep its shape!

This is where the Cutout Tiles come in or maybe I should say one Cutout Tile with a heart. I punched out the heart, then added more Paper Strips to mimic the Large Tiles we started with. Use a cutting knife to cut around the heart. You might have to follow up with a bit of sanding!

Heirloom Roses

So I did this technique a few years ago but I don't think I ever documented the steps.

1. Gather Heirloom Florals to color (more than you think you need).

2. Shake Foundry Wax (Statue) till you hear the mixing ball. pour out a dime size puddle. If you need more, shake again, and pour out another dime size puddle.

3. Use your finger tip (or a brush) to wipe the Foundry Wax on to the flowers.

4. Shake some Mushroom Alcohol Ink over the resin florals.

5. Quickly turn each flower upside down into a paper towel or wet wipe so the excess Alcohol Ink can run out.

6. Place flowers back on the deli paper and spray liberally with 91% isopropyl alcohol. It will allow the dark Alcohol Ink to rewet and run out a bit more. Leaving more of the base color showing. You can use as much or as little as you wish. It really depends on how much Alcohol Ink you used in the first place.

NOTE: I keep isopropyl alcohol in a 2oz Ranger Mister Bottle on my desk. I use it all the time to dilute Alcohol Ink (as we are doing here) and to clean my glass mat. Also, if you used a brush to add the Foundry Wax, use isopropyl alcohol to clean your brush. Works like magic.

7. Foundry Wax is heat stable so you can quickly dry the resin flowers with a heat tool. If you find that you have not removed enough of the Alcohol Ink, just spray again.

Admittedly, it's hard to take pictures of shiny things because the color is never exactly right, so I hope this photo does the technique justice. I LOVE how they turned out!! So vintage beautiful to me! Now we just need to use them on the project!

Use Collage Medium to arrange all the pieces on the center tile. And yes, I did add Foundry Wax to the "Sweetheart" Adornments piece for continuity.

The ribbon knot is glued to the lace beside the heart, so the Heirloom Floral can be partially on the heart and partially on the ribbon.  Let dry completely before turning over.

I just love this all together!

I need a sentiment so I decided to use a Quote Chip and a Label Frame. They are so easy to use because they were sized to go together!  No cutting needed!

Use Collage Medium to the nine Tiles to the Etcetera Panel. I worked very quickly to add the glue so that if there were any that needed to be adjusted, I could do that. But really, if you get the bottom row in the correct position, the rest will follow suit!

Once the tiles are in place, you can add the Quote Chip in the Label Frame with foam squares. I did a double stack under the right side and two thin foam squares on the left so that it is hovering over the four tiles beneath.

Now just two more tiles to finish!

Arrange three more Heirloom Florals below the Label Frame. Adhere with Collage Medium.

Stitch an idea-ology Photobooth (or one of your own photos) to a piece of old paper.

Tear away the excess paper till there is just a bit left.

Add 4 thin foam squares to the back and add it to the top left square.

And there you go! I love the color scheme since it's right in my wheelhouse! The Paper Strips could not be any easier to to use, but they make a great impact in the overall piece. 

Lots of close up photos...

Thanks for stopping by today. I appreciate you taking the time to come here to read my tutorials and maybe try the projects out. I'll be back shortly with another project, all about love!

Now carry on,
paula

Where the Light Shines Bright

 Hello friends,

Hope you week is going well!  We have been having lots of rain here in California, but no flooding in my area, so that is a plus!  We have a break in the weather toady with just a bit of blue sky so I might even venture out, even if it's just to the grocery store.

I'm really here to share a simple project...one of my favorites actually. I think its all the stitching that I love so much.

I began by cutting many pieces of Backdrops 4 paper (that is the new neutral pack that is just that...all neutral papers). The papers work seamlessly together, so this was an easy task. I cut the strips anywhere from a 1/2" to 3/4" which I thought best for this size project. I also used both the front and back of each paper. 

I then cut a base paper the size I needed for a small Vignette Tray and used a tape runner to add all the strips to it.  Once it was complete, I went to the sewing machine to do all the stitching, leaving the threads long, just in case I wanted to use them in the final piece.

You can see I added a couple small pieces of cheesecloth for more texture. If I was smart, I would have waited to add them later on, because I'm going to end up moving one of them before I'm done.  For now it's fine and I really like the added texture.

When I began this piece, my thought was to have all the pieced paper at the bottom and the house Snapshot at the top.  But after looking at the stitched piece laying on the tray for a few days, I decided it needed to be split up (that's the way some plans go, right?).  So out comes the rotary cutter, to cut about 1 1/2" off what I determined to be the top.

I had perviously painted the small Vignette Tray Black, so all that was left to do was add the stitched paper to the tray.  I decided to use wide Scor-Tape to add the paper, since the stitching raised it off the surface just a bit.

I chose an Snapshots Volume 2 photo of a house as my focal point.  I used a sharp cutting knife to cut away the background, leaving just the house, trees (with no leaves) and the ground. This was not hard to do, but you do need a self-healing mat board to work on.

Once I had my Snapshot ready, I used foam tape to add the photo over one of the backgrounds from the Layers Organic pack.  The clouds are the perfect scale for the scene!  Also having the Snapshot raised over the background gives it a great effect, like a diorama.

The last step was to cut a circle (always harder than it seems) out of metallic kraft cardstock that I had sanded just a bit.  

I slipped the "sun" behind the tree and house.  A little Collage Medium on the back keeps it in place.

I used the wide Scor-Tape to add the Snapshot to the tray, covering the black hole, lol!

The rest of the photos below were taken once the project was completed, but there are details that I did not take in-progress photos of, like the Large Fasteners and Label Frames seen below.

I had previously added the cheesecloth, but the Label Frame placement landed right on top of one...so I just peeled it off the tray and added the Label Frame with the Quote Chip. I love that the Label Frames fit all the sizes and shapes of the new Quote Chips Labels!

I added the bits of cheesecloth to the tray in places where I wanted to add the new Large Fasteners. Of course I had to use the new Texture Hammer on the Large Fasteners to dent them (I love the hammering part)!  I wiped a little white paint on them just so you could see the indentations.

NOTE: Large Fasteners are brads, which means they have "legs" that normally go through holes in chipboard or paper.  Because I wanted to use them on the Vignette Tray (which is wood), I cut the "legs" off and set the tops in Collage Medium.  Once dry, I pounded them with the Texture Hammer.  Okay, In all honesty, I did not wait till the glue was dry, so I ended up with a few across the room, but you can make that call for yourself!

The word "HOME" came from the Clippings Sticker Book.

I hope you like this project as much as I did making it! It was the first thing I made once I got Backdrops 4 - I had it in my mind even before the package arrived.  The execution just took a bit of finessing!
now carry on,
paula