ATC Shrine For My Art Cards

Hi everyone, hope you are having a good week so far.  Today I am sharing this cute little ATC shrine that I made to display my favourite cards.

I will be using this ATC Shrine with Feet chipboard set which is BD12F in the shop.

I decided on my colours for the inside and outside of the shrine and started off by painting one side of the chipboards with white acrylic.  You can also use white gesso but I had some acrylic leftover and wanted to use it up.

Once that was dry, I gave the pieces a coat of this gorgeous turquoise iridescent paint, just one coat was enough.

For further decoration I added some shiny gold paint splatters and left it to dry.

Once it was dry on the turquoise side, I flipped them over and painted them black using black acrylic, two coats this time.

If you don't like watching paint dry :p you can use a hairdryer or a heat gun to speed up the process. Then it was time to do some stencilling!  I love the art nouveau feel of this stencil and thought it would look great in gold against the black.

I used a type of texture paste called icing paste but if you don't have any you could use any type of texture paste if you want a raised, textured effect, or gold paint if you don't want a raised effect.

Leave it to dry or again you can speed up the process with a hairdryer or heat gun.

I used some PVA glue to assemble all the pieces.  It's best to start at the bottom and work your way to the top as the side pieces have little slots that connect them to the bottom piece. If you do that first you won't have any problems, if you do it last then it will be difficult to get them in place!

Here's a closer look at the stencilled icing paste.

Once your Shrine is assembled, paint the front edges with black paint and touch up any areas that might need touch up.

The only thing left to do is add your favourite ATC or art card and decide where to display your shrine!

You can also see how to make these ATCs on my blog.

I hope you like this idea.  If so, you can find the ATC Shrine with Feet in the shop.

Till next time, 

Elle
Empire of the Cat

Ingredients:

ATC Shrine with Feet BD12F
acrylic paint
stencil and icing paste/texture paste
PVA glue

World's Most Photogenic

Happy Saturday, everyone! Were you aware Australia's quokka is considered both the happiest and most photogenic animal on the planet? They always seem to have a smile on their face. This little project started with one of my favorite pieces to play with - a GSL ATC Shrine with Feet. 

The shrine is easily assembled using a bit of tacky glue. I used two different papers for the little room's wallpaper (from Lost & Found Blush and Kaiser Gypsy Sisters collections), a coffee stir stick for the chair railing and a small mirror for the little guy to check his award winning smile.

I started by painting the front edges of the shrine with off white acrylic paint. I also painted the corners of the room where the lighter paper was going just to make sure the seams didn't show. 

The wallpaper was glued in place and the chair railing stir stick was painted in the same off white.

For the tiny picture frames, I selected some of the GSL Whimsy Doors & Windows available over at RubberMoon.  They were painted in a dark brown.

They were used to frame adorable quokka pictures. Since I wanted the mirror placed on an angle in the shrine I needed a triangular support. This was accomplished using black polymer clay. If you don't have something you need for a project, improvise!

Of course this little quokka will need to have a few 'most photogenic' trophies. I searched through my stash and assembled a few from beads, pins, small wooden blocks and stars. The tiny Time Person of the Year magazine cracks me up! 

 

The quokka was a surprise from my husband. He went to Tractor Supply to get chicken feed and came home with this little Schleich figure. He really knows me!

 Thanks for stopping by!

GSL Products Used

ATC Shrine with Feet

Whimsy Doors & Windows

Other Supplies Used

Tacky glue

Acrylic paint

Schleich quokka figure

Lost & Found Blush paper

Kaiser Gypsy Sisters paper

Coffee stir stick

Small mirror

Polymer clay

Printed images

Beads

Pins

Small wooden blocks

Stars

madonna enshrined

Hi everyone, Ann here today, sharing "madonna enshrined." A small shrine I created to showcase a hand painted madonna. I love creating religious pieces and recently acquired a mold to make these small Mary statues. I was so excited when I realized that she fit perfectly in the GSLC ATC Shrine with Feet.  

I begin with a Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts ATC Shrine with Feet. I always like to lay out the pieces and see how they all fit together prior to adding any finishes. This helps me to understand what areas are visible, as well as lets me envision how I want the final piece to look.

I cover all of the chipboard pieces with a light coat of grey chalk paint. This piece is made from medium weight chipboard, so it's not really a problem, but it's always a good idea to stick to light coats of paint that dry quickly, adding more coats as needed instead of one heavy wet layer, it helps avoid warping. Once the base color has dried, I dry-brush some pickling finish onto all of the exterior surfaces, including the exposed edges. I want to give the shrine the look of weathered wood. 

When the finish is completely dry, I cut some marbled Momi paper, from my special paper stash, to cover the the interior surfaces. Since I will be attaching the statue to the bottom, I cover it with a piece of heavyweight charcoal gray paper. The papers are cut to fit just inside the assembled piece, this way they do not interfere with the interlocking tabs that hold the shrine together. 

 I use a quick drink adhesive along the edges of the chipboard pieces and assemble the shrine. If necessary, I clamp the pieces together until the glue has dried. Once the shrine is assembled, I attach the cut papers to the inside by running a slight glue line around the edges and laying the paper onto the surface.

The next step is adding an edge of Dresden trim along the top and bottom edges of the interior. I use one long piece and trim off the extra length to ensure the strip extends the full distance. I use a small rope Dresden to frame the opening of the shrine where the madonna will be located.

Next, I paint the resin figure to be included, and add silver detailing. I add a die cut 3D radiant piece to her head to create a halo. I also add silver die cut stars onto the back panel. The madonna statue is attached to the base with collage medium and set aside to dry overnight. 

Such a beautiful but simple shrine to display my madonna. This ATC shrine with feet would be a perfect way to display any of your special items. I hope that you create one of your own, I'd love to see how you would use this piece.

Thank you so much for stopping by today, I truly appreciate it.
Hope your day is a creative one.
~Ann


Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts:
ATC Shrine with Feet

other products:
Distress collage medium: matte
Dresden trims
Folk Art: chalk paint, pickling finish
Mullberry Paper: marbled Momi
Paper Artsy fresco paints
Retro Cafe Art silicone mold
Resin Madonna
Tim Holtz / Sizzix Alterations dies: 3D radiant, shape strips

Let Your Imagination Take Flight and Build Your Dreams

Walt Disney once said, "if you can dream it, you can do it." For me, that is what this year has been all about. I have been reaching outside of my comfort zone to build the foundation for achieving my dreams. 

Actually, I have been going beyond more than just one comfort zone. I have been trying a lot of new things--from starting art product lines, to growing friendships and alliances in the art industry, to expanding the kinds of art I make to opening up about last year's health scare.

In essence, I am on a journey to build a new and improved Betsy. This journey is proving to be both exciting and a wee bit terrifying. This shrine represents what I hope my journey will become. Inside is a rough, lumpy, imperfect and sometimes dark place where ideas percolate and hard work to build a solid a foundation is underway. My hope is that by taking what I imagine and building my dreams, beauty, color and inspiration will spring forth. 

I am already seeing some exciting results. I am working with Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts and Emerald Creek to bring new products to the craft world. I can't wait for you to see them!

I attended Creativation this year and solidified what previously were virtual friendships and made many new friends as well. 

I agreed to join Eileen Hull's new Education Team, which has a roster of truly impressive artists. And to ensure fun and learning, I am meeting up with friends to take art classes. 

Another way I am reaching outside my comfort zone is daring to share a little of last year's health journey in an extended version of this post on my blog. 

So many wonderful things have happened this year--and to think it is only March. I wonder what the rest of the year has in store for me?

Tutorial How to Make the Build Your Dreams Shrine

Begin by using a strong adhesive to assemble the ATC Shrine with Feet. 

Cover the shrine and Vintage Bulb with texture paste. Let dry. 

While the shrine is drying, cut out the Hardware Silhouettes and paint with metallic gold paint. 

Dry with heat gun and add black distress ink.

Spray Tea Dye Distress Ink over the surface of the shrine.

Add layers of quinacridone nickel azo gold and burnt umber to the shrine, putting more of the burnt umber on the edges of the shrine.

Set aside one of the large screws to use on the top of the shrine. Adhere some of the other hardware pieces to the back of the shrine. 

Print two sets of butterflies, with one set being a mirror image of the other. Next you get to do lots of fussy cutting. For each butterfly, cut one original image and one mirror image.

I got a little immersed in the next parts and forgot to take pictures, but I think everything is self explanatory. 

Adhere white wire between two mirror images of a butterfly so that the butterfly has a front and back. Repeat this for eight butterflies. Gather four of the butterfly wires and twist them together at the base. 

Adhere the two groups of wire to the Hardware Silhouette screw that you set aside. I recommend using both a glue and a strong duct tape to keep the wire in place. 

Line up where you will place the screw on top of the shrine and mark where the two wire group bases will sit. Use a utility knife to gouge out two holes in the top of the shrine where you will embed the two wire group bases.

Use a strong adhesive to then adhere the screw and wires to the top of the shrine.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great weekend! -Betsy

Great Stuff

ATC Shrine with Feet

Vintage Bulbs--

Hardware Silhouettes

Beacon Fabri-Tac

Texture Paste

Tea Dye Spray Distress Ink

Soot Black Distress Ink

Acrylic paint: quinacridone nickel azo gold, burnt umber and metallic gold

Duct tape

White wire

Butterfly prints

Santa's Magic Key

Hello!! Jennalee here today with a bit of Christmas. I don't know about you but I am a true believer of Santa. And since I don't have a chimney magical key is needed. The ATC Shrine with Feet is the perfect size for displaying this bit of magic.

Begin by painting the inside of the ATC Shrine box black. 

Cut patterned paper to size and adhere to the inside of Shrine. Sand edges and blend with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. 

Prepare outside surface of Shrine by embossing a piece of watercolor paper using Tim Holtz's Lumber 3D Texture Fade folder. Paint embossed piece to resemble wood. Randomly spray with Distress Resist Spray. While the Resist Spray is still wet sprinkle with Distress Stickles and set aside to dry. The random effects of the Distress Resist Spray makes for the perfect snow. 

Assemble Shrine and adhere the snowy wood background to the outside. 

Die cut an oval and apply to the inside of Shrine using foam squares to add depth. Using greenery die cut from Holiday Greens thinlets begin building a background. Not pictured because I got too caught up in the fun - Die cut two more oval shapes and layer. Using foam squares adhere layered ovals on top of greenery. 

Grunge up a metal key using Mushroom Alchohol Ink. 

Apply Gold Alcohol Ink to a Story Stick and color in the word with Picket Fence Distress Crayon. 

Add a seam binding bow to the top of the key and tie on the Story Stick. Adhere to key onto layered oval. Add a Christmas Quote Chip to the bottom edge of the Shrine. 

I haven't started decorating quite yet but, I am looking forward to finding the perfect spot for my magic key Shrine. I'll be sure to leave it somewhere safe so Santa can easily find it to drop off all my goodies. I promise I've been good enough for lots of crafty presents!! 

Happy Creating ~ Jennalee