still playing with pastes...

but first...I need to answer several questions about the last post...

#1...how did you glue the jar to the page?

   haha...that's why the jar has a label...the adhesive is hiding under   the label...the rest of the jar has no adhesive, but the jar is firmly attached...

#2...what pointsettia stamp you were referring to when you said you cut it apart for the flourishes?

it's the poinsettia stamp from my very first release...

the set number is LCS007 and the set name is "art of making it merry"

here's what the poinsettia looks like...UNCUT...

#3...you said the poinsettia was an old stamp. I couldn't find it at my store. can I still get it?

YES...because they're made here in the USA, Ted can make 1 or 5000...you can ask for a special order from your store or order right from Stampers Anonymous...

moving on...

I've been making lots of art journal pages lately, so I wanted to play with a little home decor piece...

this post is about using embossing pastes on fabric & art parts...

and I'll show you how to alter some products and how to create custom embellishments...

to play along grab one of tim's burlap panels...

I used this one...

it's 6 inches x 4 inches...

you get 2 in one package for double the fun...

at $4.00 it's a very reasonable price for a solid base...

spread translucent embossing paste ...

thru the checkmate stencil, over the center of the canvas & allow to dry...

when the translucent paste is dry, use gathered twigs distress paint...on your finger or a piece of Cut N Dry foam & add the paint to the top & bottom of the panel to darken the burlap...

don't cover up the paste!

when dry, use tarnished brass distress paint (on a finger) to accent the panel edges...

now grab the black embossing paste...

and spread it over the dots stencil, to create a polka dot border on the top & bottom of the panel...

when the black paste has dried, line up the checkmate stencil, over the stenciled translucent paste...

use scattered straw distress paint, on  a blending tool 

or with Cut N Dry foam...

to pounce over the translucent paste...

adding the paint changes the paste from shiny to more matte...

the distress paint sticks to embossing pastes very well...

and the stencil helps control where the paint is added...

here's what it looks like so far...

on a side note...the large art part heart in the photo below was originally red...

I had inked it, stamped it & didn't like it one bit, so I covered it with gold metallic embossing paste so I could start again...

it's good to know that the pastes can cover up an OOPS...

add a thin layer of gold metallic paste first to cover the heart...

that makes the crackled texture paste stick securely...  

dry, then add a layer of crackled texture paste and allow to dry and crackle...

you'll see the gold paste coming thru the cracks...

now it's time to add color over the dry paste...

I used leaf green, fern green, forget-me-not, cornflower blue & a bit of tree branch...

just use a blending tool to apply the archivals...

and heat to dry...

and now the heart looks like this...

I added the artist definition stamp over the heart & used the polka dot border stamp too...using jet black archival for both...

oops...forgot photo...

time to make an embellishment with the vintage floral stencil...

use dandelion to stencil just the flower on a piece of clearly for art, that's covered with a vintage dictionary page...

cut out the flower, heat the CFA to soften it, then shape the flower...

here's a fun tip for making perfectly coordinated embellishments...

I LOVE the reverse dots background stamp because it shows lots of the ink color and it's a very small pattern...

that's important...you'll see that later in the post...

so, stamp a scrap of manila cardstock, with the reverse dots background & dandelion archival...

2 things to note in the photo below...

to create the butterfly, I stenciled ON THE BACK of the reverse dots manila cardstock with the butterfly from the new little bits stencil...

then cut out the butterfly...

the stenciling on the back gave me the outline for cutting...

next I used a hole punch to create these custom brads, using tim's custom fasteners...

they come with little epoxy dots, but I didn't use them this time...

think about this...

use any color of ink, a small pattern stamp & you can create flower centers in any color to coordinate with your art!

I made 2 of the smaller size fasteners...but only used 1 for this piece...

see why a smaller pattern like the reverse dots works well?

it was easy to position the punch so each would have 4 dots...

you'll see in the last photo that I also added a mini butterfly remnant rub over the butterfly...

next, ink some linen ribbon with gathered twigs distress ink...& fray the edges...

I chopped off the leaves from a piece of fake greenery I have in a bucket here...

I've done that before & that side is getting naked, so it's turned against the wall! psssst...don't tell anyone! 

next, alter a stencil mark with tarnished brass distress paint...

again, I like to apply the paint with my finger...

when the paint is dry...add a random bit of text from a remnant rub...

now we can alter these gem clips...

the original clear is on the right & the altered version on the left...

just tap them on the tree branch archival pad & dry to change them easily...

use jet black archival to stamp WISH on a scrap of CFA, that is covered with dictionary paper...

and cut it out...

you'll see in the final photo that the word hangs off the edge of the heart...but the CFA keeps it nice, strong & it won't bend...

this license plate set is cool because we can make lots of other words by stamping them then cutting them apart...

I made "MAKE A WISH" for a card, but for the life of me I can't find the photo...

ok...all the pieces are made...

now everything gets glued in place...

and it looks like this...

I could add a hanger to the back or display it on an easel...

this is a good design for gift giving...

you could customize it with a special significant year using the license plate numbers stamp...

it would be great for a wedding or anniversary gift...

or use the letters to customize with initials...

change up the flower & butterfly colors to fit any decor...

and with 2 panels in the package, you can make 2 at once!

here's a little look at the custom embellishments...

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial...

if it's cold & snowy as predicted this weekend,

we can stay in, stay warm and...

make art!

wendy