As I'm writing this, the British Summer has arrived - although storms are promised for later this week - and a summery feel has crept into this little panel, which will form the focus of a scrapbook page.
I started with the photograph, which is of me with my two sisters. I'm the two-year old toddler; my elder sister is holding my little sister, who is decidedly unhappy about the whole proceedings - probably because she's too hot, being wrapped up in a woollen shawl. We're sitting in our back yard, and it would be around June or July 1957. My father was probably the photographer.
I printed it twice, and cut out the figures of my sisters and myself to layer up over the background. I prepared the panel with a faux wood effect (one of Andy Skinner's Timeworn Techniques) and die-cut a circular aperture. While I had the Big Shot out (who am I kidding? It never gets put away!) I die-cut the clock face (Tim Holtz Alterations) and the cogs (ditto) and the letters (ibid).
I used two different techniques for the rust effect. For the clock face and cogs, I gave them a coat of PVA glue mixed with some sand to get a pitted texture. Once they were dry, I painted them with dark brown paint and finally rubbed some gilding waxes lightly over the surface.
The letters got a different technique. I coloured them with Vintage Photo Distress Ink, and then sprinkled on Vintage Photo Distress embossing powder, heated it, and finally rubbed away the release crystals.
I stamped the panel with a hexagon texture stamp from the Artistic Stamper, using Mushroom Adirondack ink. I stuck the clock face around the aperture, and put the photograph behind, with the cutouts popping out of the frame. I played about with the position of the cogs until I hit on the idea of using them to make a "sun" . I stamped the words "If I could turn back time! and "Time machine" using my trusty £1 alphabet and Coffee Archival ink. Finally, I glued a scrap of net, which I'd soaked in runny brown acrylic paint, and stuck the letters onto a length of chain which I'd dipped into the same runny paint and then baked in the oven to cure.
The last process was to stick the chain letters (geddit?) to the panel.
I'm entering this into the following challenges -
Sandee & amelie's Steampunk Challenges - Rust
Our Creative Corner - Captured Memories
Country View Crafts - Summer Sizzler
The Artistic Stamper - Ladies Day
Thank you for visiting - come again soon, why don't you?
Crafty Hugs,
Keren
