Shabby Chic Altered Jam Jar

I made this recently for a swap on Chic Swaps made from the Heart on Facebook.  I actually used a peanut butter jar as I liked the shape.

 This is not a great pic but I can't retake this shot as I have already sent the jar to the recipient.  Some of the other views are clearer and also there is a video here on my youTube channel.   I started by covering the glass jar with torn pieces of white mulberry paper using matt medium, and then adding torn pieces of a white handmade very fine Japanese paper which has gold and silver flecks again using matt medium.  When this was dry I applied the white rose fabric heart which  is the background for the main image and flowers etc.

I used a spellbinders matt and also cut out a matt using some gold fabric thread paper which was stuck onto paper so it could go through the grand caliber.  These are the next layer onto which the fairy/angel girl image is matted.  She is an image from Astrid's Artistic Efforts here.  I have used 2 pieces and some glue gel to give a bit of definition and she is covered with Glossy Accents. The believe is from a book of Tim Holtz word stickers.   The roses were next and they have been sprayed with Perfect Pearls mist and some have distress ink on them.

The leaves are plastic but look like frosted glass luckily.

The words around the jar are stamped in black archival onto Paper Artsy Crackly tissue paper and glued on using matt medium, and the gold birds are stamped and embossed in Gold EP onto the tissue paper and applied in the same way.  If you tear the paper you can hardly see the join.  The wings are stamped onto tissue as well and another card layer of wings is on top.  They are embossed in cosmic shimmer EP.  The gold lock and key were silver so I used a gold rub on cream to change them slightly.

There is a gold metal birdcage with flowers on the side and a pair of charms I made hanging on the pink and white ribbon.  I added 2 stickpins I made to match.

The lid was gessoed and painted pink using Paper Artsy Fresco Finish acrylic paint and a flower shape cut out from a lacy tablecloth is on top of that.  The braid was stuck on using my glue gun to keep it all secure.

More roses are sitting on the centre and a handmade lacy butterfly made using Fiona Jennings technique here  on youTube. 

Underneath the lid I stuck 2 pretty spellbinder circles and butterfly with a tiny bling gem in the middle.

It is fun to make something other than a card!  I hope you like it and any comments always very appreciated.

Anne :)

this is link to the you tube video of this project

Mixed media lady

This is a canvas I made at a workshop taught by Lina Mcdermott at her home recently.  I am relatively new to acrylics but really like the challenge of new media.  The background is gesso and acrylic paint with torn paper to give texture.  A bit of stamping and stencilling with paint and gesso, going over the edges and down the sides of the canvas completes the background.

The figure is drawn onto white card and stuck on using matt medium.  Her skirt is torn paper pieces and bodice is a book page.  Hair is done using smaller book print pieces and everything is adhered using matt medium.  Her skin is painted in acrylic and her face is drawn on using pencil.  A tiny paintbrush was used to finish painting her features.  The colour isn't so good in the photo as usual.

It's nice to have something a bit more permanent than a card, although I love making cards too.  I hope you like her and thanks for coming by, and of course, any comments very appreciated.

Anne :)

Paint Job No 2

This is another piece using acrylic paint,  fresco finish by Paper Artsy, which has a lovely chalky effect.  I've been meaning to paint this for about a year and I finally got around to it!  I painted over the previous work as it was easier than cutting a new piece of wood.

I used gesso to begin and then did various fresco finish colours and  their Crackle Glaze, followed by more fresco finish .  The fish are a Katzelkraft stamp which was done in black archival ink onto Paper Artsy crackly tissue paper, then painted on the back using the other colours of the same paint range.  Some of the translucent colours were painted carefully on the front so as not to lose the black details.  When dry white pain was applied to the back to make the colours stand out.  The fish were then applied to the background using their Satin Glaze both under and over the top.

The next step was applying white paint through various stencils/masks before adding black die cuts  (Sizzix and Tim Holtz) with matt medium to finish it off.  I went through so many highs and lows making this both being very disappointed at stages and then slightly pleased (!) but in the end I am happy with it, it's not perfect but neither am I.

Thanks for looking and any comments are always really appreciated.

Anne x

Paint Job No 1

I've not really done any acrylic paint work so this was a big jump in.  I did a workshop with Lina Macdermott at The Craft Barn about a month ago.  She is the most patient tutor and I love her workshops. We actually had to draw the picture and mix the paint from red blue & yellow primary colours, and white of course.

It's a 12" x 12" canvas which we appllied gesso to and then when dry torn pieces of book pages were applied with matt medium.  We mixed our background colours and applied them over the top, wiping some off as you go.  The figure is then sketched and painted using colours we had mixed ourselves.  The clothes are made of card; the skirt part is embossed and sanded before applying matt medium to adhere it to the canvas.

I cant take any credit for dreaming up the composition as we all did the same as Lina's orginal, but now I've taken the plunge into acrylic I will get my mojo working.

So nice to make something that is not a card!

Hope you like it, look out for Lina.