Steampunk Birdhouse #128

I absolutely loved creating this project!  I wanted to show you that the little papier mache birdhouses we stock (just a £1.00 each!! - six different shapes available) - can be decorated in more than just the Decoupage style.  Sorry - lots of pictures on this one today so you can see all the stages!

Well this is what you start with... well sort of.. I was that excited to get started I forgot to photograph it in it's natural state - this is it... balanced on its side whilst drying from a coat of Gesso.

Next I cut out lots and lots of different size cogs and gears using my Spellbinders Sprightly  sprocket set and started to arranged them onto each of the sides and then stuck down with Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear Glue..

Next for some paint - I wanted a purple-magenta type shade - so mixed Art Proff Blue and Red shades

and then painted over the entire birdhouse a couple of times...

(it looks a little brown here) - but really its a magenta pinky purple shade.  Next - add some gold gilding wax to highlight the cogs...

Finally - I added dry brushed soft gold Cosmic shimmer pearlescent watercolour paint to further enhance the cogs and then glued some metal findings on with my glue for the finished piece.  We now sell packs of these metal findings - and absolute must for anyone who likes altered art!

love love LOVE it!.... what can I steampunk next???

happy crafting

Jane
www.aldridgecrafts.co.uk

Steampunk Panel Step-by-step - Part Two

Welcome back!  Yesterday's post took us through starting with a blank piece of greyboard and getting it to this stage....

Now we have to be brave and add some colours..oooh scary bit!!  I decided on aqua and bronzy brown shades as my colour theme so I gathered together some supplies.  I picked Cosmic Shimmer Ink Misters Teal Wash and Bronze Blush. 

 I sprayed the bronze blush first - spray generous amounts and then tilt your board so that the ink runs down - this way it catches in all the different levels.  Then do the same with the Teal Wash and spray in the other corners.  Spray it with water to make your ink really run.

You then want to allow your inks to dry - remember that the colours will be a bit muted from the raw wet ink.  

When getting up my courage to have a go at this project, I watched a few YouTube video tutorials on how to get started.  On one someone added alcohol ink to deepen the intensity of colour and then sprayed with water... an odd idea I have never tried..   So in the spirit of being experimental I thought I would give it a go!  I chose Stream Alcohol Ink - one of my favourites!

I applied generously in a couple of spots and spritzed.. it gave a very interesting texture that I really liked!

 Now time to start adding some depth of colour.  You can see here that the alcohol ink wasn't so harsh once it had dried.  I started adding pearlescent paints - I chose to use Luminarte H20 Teal Zircon and Cosmic Shimmer Autumn Twist to compliment my colour scheme.  Mix up the paints so they are quite thick and then apply over areas on your panel.  You can see here it has blue added to the left and the top right and the butterfly and the bronze focussed on the bottom right corner.  This all helps to merge in the vibrant effect from the alcohol ink too.

 Everything now had colour, but there was still no light and shade.  I used Cosmic Shimmer Soft Gold into a thick paint and using a wide flat brush started to brush very lightly over the top of the panel.  This really makes all the die cuts and metal shapes really pop out from the background

 Next I started to also apply Distress Ink Walnut stain with some cut n dry foam and switched back and forth between the paint and the ink to build up light and dark elements.

 You can see the different between these two closeup shots of the cogs the difference that this shading makes.

 And here again is the final finished piece!

 I absolutely loved creating this piece .. and although I still didn't consider it as brave as I wanted to be it was a really good first piece to break the ice and get me brave enough and confident enough that I can create these altered art pieces.  I already have my next project in mind - have my colour palette selected and I think I will do the next one flower based.

So my message for today is definitely to be brave with your artwork - what have you got to lose?  If you don't like it.. who ever has to see it... but you never know - you may just create something you'll be really proud of!

I will have the panel on display in the shop - if you are local - do come and have a look!

happy crafting

Jane

www.aldridgecrafts.co.uk

 

Steampunk Panel Step-by-step - Part One

Something I have wanted to do for ages is an altered book or steampunk style panel... and whilst I've dabbled with some of the techniques on my canvases, I wasn't brave enough to go into it completely and work with adding metal embellishments and getting that fully layered effect.  One of the items I saw quite a bit at the trade show that really inspired me was these types of panels and I came home with a renewed enthusiasm to give it a go.  After all, as I always tell our customers.. if it doesn't come out how you expect.. it's just cardstock.. you can always start again!

I thought I would take you through the journey of creating my first piece (hopefully the first of many!).  It would make a nice workshop too I think - let me know if you agree! :-)  You can see a picture of what I am creating at the top of the post.

 Start with a plain piece of greyboard or chipboard.  This is a 6x6" panel and the cardstock I am using is from the back of a 6x6 paper pack I had.  It's a nice firm piece that I knew wouldn't buckle when using lots of wet mediums.  Your first step is to paint the card with gesso on both sides and allow to dry.  I gave mine two coats.

 The next stage is to apply a bit of texture.  I use a couple of Crafter's Workshop masks and Dreamweaver white embossing paste.  I just added small areas of texture. 

 Once the paste is thoroughly dry, then you can start playing around with layering up your die cuts.  I went through my die collection and pulled out any dies I thought may fit in with my ideas for this design.  I then cut out pieces from all the dies - including some I haven't used on the final piece.. but plenty to play around with - after all, anything you don't use today you can use on a project another day.  The dies I ended up using are the sprockets die from Spellbinders, the elegant posts die from Spellbinders and the clock is from Marianne Designs.  I played around moving die cuts here and there until I found a layout that I liked.  The next stage was to stick all my die cuts down - I used my Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear Glue - make sure all the fiddly bits of your die cuts are firmly stuck down.

Next you paint it with gesso again and allow to dry.

I've just got in stock some bags of little metal findings that are just perfect for this style of crafting... watch the website for them to appear shortly as mixed bags.... if there's any left after me raiding them of course!!

I pulled out a mixture of metal shapes, charms and beadcaps and again played around moving them around until I found a layout I was happy with.  This is what I came up with!

Once I was happy with the layout, I started to stick the pieces down.  Again I used the same glue - it was only a little tricky when sticking metal to metal - but I think I was just not patient enough with the drying time!  My backup glue was glossy accents - but I only wanted to use this as a last resort as I wasn't sure if it would then act as a resist for my waterbased mediums... will have to test that one out before the next project!

Once everything is thoroughly stuck down, then paint again with the gesso.  Allow to dry and then paint again.  If needs be - give a third coat (I only needed 2) - but you are aiming to ensure that any ink and paint you then apply has a good base to bond to.

 This is how it looks when it is all in white gesso.. beautiful in itself!  the next stage is to get brave and add some colour!

This is where we will stop for part one.  Come back tomorrow for part two when we add the colour!

happy crafting
Jane

www.aldridgecrafts.co.uk