Woodware: Vintage and Lace

I love to create a vintage look, and this post is no exception...my inspiration being the Clear Scrap Deco Frame. To give the frame some age, I applied Dreamweaver Color Solutions alcohol inks in Aspen Leaf and Creme Brulee to the back of the frame. The front of the frame was stamped with one of the images from the Stampendous' Natalie Kalbach Cling Studio Fiesta set and black StazOn ink. The template that comes with this stamp set is the profile of the man and woman, which I traced onto black cardstock, cut out, and ran through my Big Shot with the Dreamweaver Damask stencil. Some Clearsnap Crafter's Snow ink was swiped over the embossed surface, and the silhouette was adhered to the top of an ink-distressed section of a music sheet. This was then cut to fit the opening and adhered to a piece of acetate cut slightly larger than the opening. I used a decoupage medium to adhere the music section to the acetate. More was brushed over the top, and Stampendous Fran•tagé Mica chips were sprinkled over the wet finish. This was set aside to dry. At this point I shifted my focus to my background.

I knew that I wanted to create a background that would make my framed couple the focal point. I started with a square piece of black chipboard, which I ink-stenciled with the white ink and the Dreamweaver Stripes stencil. A narrow panel of ivory cardstock was ink-stenciled with the Damask stencil again using Dark Cashmere and Venetian Lace die inks from Clearsnap® . Velvet and lace ribbon from was adhered along the edges of this panel. Now I could put the rest of this together...

The acetate piece with the music and silhouette were adhered to the panel. The frame was popped up over the top using dimensional glue dots. To embellish the frame, I stamped the flower image from the Fiesta set multiple times on the scraps of music sheet, and spritzed them with Clearsnap Premium Dye Ink Sprays in Banana and Chocolate. I cut them, loosely following the line of the design, and curled and "smooshed" them  into layered flowers to adhere along the edges. Some plaid ribbon was looped and tied with a piece of twine and a vintage button to add to the frame. The same ribbon was wrapped around the handle of the wood frame. The final touch was two Dreamweaver die cut ovals layered, with the Stampendous Cling Mr. & Mrs. stamped in black ink. This too was popped up on the framed project. Oh, wait...I forgot the most important elements that I added...glue on the edges on the flowers with Stampendous Gold Crushed Glass Glitter for extra vintage charm.

Mixing It Up with Nathalie Kalbach Studio Designs and Stampendous

Welcome to the final day of the Stampendous hop featuring designs by Nathalie Kalbach. You'll want them all by the end of this day, but we're specifically highlighting the Cling Marks and Cling Fiesta sets. As with all of our hops, there will be prizes, and you could be one of the winners. Just leave comments all of this week on each post that the team has had, along with the Stampendous blog. See Official Rules.

There are also opportunities for someone in Australia and the UK to win as well. Just leave in your  comments that you are from either country for a chance to win from the Stencil Specialists in Australia or Woodware Crafts in the UK.

Here's how I got really messy with Nathalie this week:

Yep. I did another t-shirt. You may see many in the future, as I'm kind of addicted to them. A different way of playing with all of my creative toys, that I've really never tried much before. To get a basic step-by-step idea of how I'm doing these, check out my post from Monday, October 19, for the 31 Days of Halloween challenge HERE. I did mostly bleach spraying through Dreamweaver stencils for that one, and for this one it was mostly dye-ink spraying through the Dreamweaver Vintage Decor and I Beams stencils with Diet Cola (black) Memories Mists from DW. You could easily use any of the dye paints and sprays found at the fabric and craft stores near you. I stamped many of the Nathalie Kalbach Studio images from Stampendous using Onyx VersaFine ink from Tsukineko. I've found that it stays in the fabric well, and doesn't bleed. You'll see various images from Nathalie's Cling Fiesta and Cling Marks sets. Once I'd stamped and stenciled over the shirt, I realized that I'd managed to add several black smudges over the shirt as well. So, I mixed up a batch of Tulip brand Fuchsia dye with steaming water and some salt, and placed the entire shirt inside. (Btw, I worked outside with this on my patio table that I'd covered with a large plastic trash bag. I also wore clothes that I didn't care about, and gloves.) Every 10-15 minutes I'd pull out several inches of the shirt, squeeze the dye back into the bowl, and leave that portion hanging out from the bowl. When I got to the final third of the shirt, I mixed in a small amount of black dye, and used that in the same way for those last inches. The end result was an ombré look, and after adding a smattering of remaining spray ink, I had a more uniform yet freeform design.

You can really see the difference from dark to light with these two pics. The one above was designs stamped on the back of the shirt, and the pic at the left showed how the stenciled I Beams still showed through the dying process without taking over the shirt.

Just as with my previous shirt, I cut a patch from muslin, and using the stencil inside the Cling Fiesta set of the silhouette, I used a finger-tip dauber to dab Onyx Versafine around the inside edges of the stencil design, leaving the center lighter to show off the next step. This is where I inked some of the Fiesta designs and used them to add pattern where the hair, dress, hat, suit would be. Then I sponged a bit of Dreamweaver Color Solutions Alcohol Inks (Cosmo Pink, Winter Red, and Sugarplum) down the center of the patch, and around the edges. Once dry, I ironed it to set the ink. Now I added some bling by using my Walnut Hollow VersaTool to "Hot Fix" some Swarovski crystals over the patch, and a few on the t-shirt as well. The patch can take the heat better, so I pressed the tool on it for about 13-15 seconds, and only 9-10 seconds on the actual shirt. (Make sure to do this over a ceramic tile that can handle the heat, and make sure that you use this tile inside the shirt so that the glue doesn't go all the way through.)

I ironed a piece of fusible interfacing to the back of the patch, used a bit of Beacon Adhesives' GemTac to adhere it to the shirt, and then zigzag stitched it around the edges. I also sewed the fun pompom trim along the bottom edge of the patch. I felt like it added to the "fiesta" theme.

These are so much fun to create, but I really recommend that for your first ones you use an old t shirt or an inexpensive one that won't break your heart if things don't go right. However, you can shift directions if your first attempt isn't perfect. Spatter, dye, bleach, add patches and trims. Remember the crafting adage..."Mistakes are only opportunities to embellish"!
 

Leave your comments for a chance to win and then check out my messy mates here:

Stampendous Stamps

Kristine Reynolds

Wendy Price
Tenia Nelson

Pam Hornschu

Dreamweaver Thursday: Messy Mixes with Nathalie Kalbach Studio by Stampendous

Whether you love or hate to get messy, this week we have something for everyone! The Stampendous team are featuring our licensed artist, Nathalie Kalbach, and some of her amazing designs that Stampendous has created for the artist in all of us. As with any of our hops, there will be great prizes, like these...

And, yes, there are rules for those who'd love to win! You can find all of the details HERE on the Stampendous blog.

As a reminder, today is also Dreamweaver Thursday, so you'll see a bit of that mixed in has well! Here is what I have to share with you for today...

I went a bit crazy creating this cork box full of notecards, all with a mix of Nathalie's "Marks" set, Dreamweaver Stencils' I Beams and Feather stencils, plus their Glossy Black Paste, all from Stampendous, and plenty of paints, inks, cord, and Fran•tagé Accessories. It looks as though it might be tricky, but actually it is quite simple, and would make an awesome gift for male or female friends.

The base for the cards are horizontal sets from Canvas Corp, which is a fun alternative to a normal note card. Each has been stamped with the "X"es the smaller borders in Onyx or Satin Red Versafine. The sentiments are from the Stampendous Perfectly Clear Happy Thoughts, and the torn corners have been brushed with VersaMark ink and embossed with Aged Black Embossing Enamel. Each card has been run through my embossing machine with the Dreamweaver Feather stencil, and the surface has been brushed back and forth with a large stencil brush and Sepia VersaFine ink to catch the edges of the design. More of my stash of Buttons Galore & More buttons were added to this project, with black cording looped, wrapped and tied.

The envelopes were stamped as well, being careful not to have the design where addressing will need to go. And now for the box itself...

The lid was paste-embossed in Dreamweaver Glossy Black using the I Beams stencil design, and set aside to dry. Meanwhile...

The sides of the box were stamped with Onyx ink for the "X"es, and the plastic stencil that comes generously in the package with Nathalie's "Marks" set, was sponged through using red acrylic paint around all four sides. When the paste on the lid was dry, the smaller circle border pattern was stamped with the same paint. (Note: I rarely put the stamps on an acrylic handle when I'm working on a project like this as I feel I can catch all of the surface better just pressing with my finger tips. It's messier, but then I don't mind getting a bit messy on occasion. Just ask the girl that does my manicures!)

Onyx and Sepia inks were daubed over the box as well, and the corners were brushed with VersaMark and sprinkled and embossed with the Aged Black Fran•tagé Enamels. On each side of the lid, cutouts were created in order to wrap and tie the black cording with this awesome textured button on the lid. The end result is a unique and beautiful gift for a special friend.

Here's your opportunity to visit more of the team's blogs for our week with Nathalie...

Stampendous Stamps

Lea Fritts (DW)

Louise Healy (DW)

Alison Heikkila (DW)

Pam Bray (DW)

Laura Drahozal (DW)