Cogs, Gears and Textures ~ A Vintage Journey ~ New Challenge

Hi everybody! It's time for a new challenge over at A Vintage Journey.  Our lovely host this month is our very talented, Creative Guide, Ann. This is what she has to say.......

"Cogs, Gears and Textures"
Let us see you create amazing textures on your cogs and gears. Embossing powders, pastes, rusting or gilding waxes, acrylics ..... whatever your imagination suggests. Just remember to create your project in one of our preferred styles: vintage, shabby, mixed media, art journaling, industrial, timeworn or steampunk.

Well! I don't think there are many mixed media lovers who don't like texture as well as a cog or two! As you can see I certainly do.  My project is an altered door sign........

The door sign is something I bought a while ago, thinking it would be a good base for altering. The cogs are laser cut MDF shapes. I started by using my favourite Tim holtz, Layering Stencil, with Grunge Paste to add some texture to the sign. I didn't bother putting gesso on first as the wooden surface was quite smooth with a matte finish. Whilst this was drying, I painted the cogs with black texture paint from a 'Rusty Patina' set, by Imagination Crafts. Once they were dry, I set about creating a rusty finish on them. Firstly, I splodged on patches of the rust coloured paint from the set, and added some splashes of teal here and there.

When these layers of paint were dry, I added patches of Seth Apter's Chunky Rust, embossing powder. I then painted the door sign with the same black texture paint....

 I then used  metallic Treasure Gold Pastes, to highlight the raised patterns. I also used a pewter coloured gilding paste, on some of the cogs. My hands were pretty messy by this stage, so I'm afraid I didn't capture any pictures but here's a close up of a finished section....

It was fun playing with different arrangements of cogs, before adhering them with a glue gun. The finishing touches were to add different brads to the centres of the cogs, as well as an altered Word Chip, declaring  'Salvaged'. I really love creating faux finishes with rusty metallics, being one of my favourites. So it's many thanks to our Creative Guide Ann, for choosing a challenge that has enabled me to indulge my passion! If you would like to follow me and indulge your passion for cogs, gears and textures, please come and join us over on the A Vintage Journey blog. You'll find some fantastic inspiring projects by Ann and the other Creative Guides, as well as all the details of how to get involved. I hope to see you there! 

 

A Vintage Journey ~ Tag Friday ~ Holiday Memories.

Hi everybody! This is the fifth Friday in August and, of course, this means that it's a 'Tag Friday' over at the A Vintage Journey blog. Ever since being introduced to the joys of tag art, through Tim Holtz's Twelve Tags challenges, I jump at the chance to create one, as it is always so much fun! I've chosen a sea theme for this tag, so that I can capture a memory of my holiday in beautiful  Northumberland. This is how I did it.......

I began by stenciling the surface with white gesso. Once dry, I sprayed the surface with Distress Inks in shades of blue and green. The gesso acts as a resist to the ink and leaves a very clear image. I dried the surface with a heat gun. I then tried out a 'new to me' product called Xpandaprint, available from Art Van Go. I applied a layer of the paste around the edges of the tag, using a palette knife and gently tapping it on the surface. I then used my heat gun to activate the paste.....

On the left side, the Xpandaprint has bubbled up after being heated. On the right side, you can see the paste as I applied it. Once all of the paste had been activated, I sprayed the areas with more Distress Inks. After drying the ink, I did a little dry brushing with white acrylic paint

I love the texture the Xpandaprint creates, it's also very lightweight. Once my background was finished I set to work on the different elements. I already had the casts of the shells and seahorse, so I only had to apply a little paint and dry brushing to them. I also had a piece of  distressed scrim lying around which I sprayed with the same blue Distress Ink. In addition to these elements, I die cut and heat embossed a few leaf stems from one of Tim's Wildflower Stems. I then started to try out a few arrangements leaving a space in the middle for my photograph of the sea at Budle Bay.....

Once I was satisfied with the arrangement, I secured the elements with glue and dimensional pads. I mounted the photo in a die cut frame.This is also a Tim Holtz die called, Pocket Frame....

I added a few glass bubbles and my tag was finished. I'm hoping the memory of the glorious Budle Bay with its miles of white sandy beaches, will keep me going through the winter ! If you'd like to see a fabulous collection of tags, please hop over to the A Vintage Journey blog and feast your eyes upon the tags the Creative Guides have put together. Until next time,'happy creating!' x