Steampunk Boutique Experience

Hi again,

It's Elle here from Empire of the Cat, and here's my project for today:

To make this project, I will be using the following chippies from GSL:


 There are two dress form / mannequin types included in this set but for my display I really wanted three so I used this circled piece of chipboard which I thought looked a bit like a dress form.  As you can see, it is just the waste piece that was leftover from the large wings that were there.  I have circled it for you in the photo below.  I cut out the whole piece and kept the cogs in place.

Since she would need something to stand on, I decided to use this key from the Steampunk Lightbulb set, but if you don't have this set, you could use something else as this is the only element I used from this set.

Here's how I laid them out inside the box to check that everything fit. 

The next step was to paint everything with white gesso - all of the dress forms and the inside and outside of the box pieces.   I am not using the internal dividers so I will keep them for another project.

Once everything was dry, It was time for the fun part - heat embossing!  I am using an Emerald Creek EP called Wrought Iron which seemed appropriate.

I ended up only using the EP on the dress forms, here's a look at them after heat embossing.   Now at this stage I was considering using that pink alcohol background in my display box but you'll see below that I changed my mind.

Much as I love the bright pink with the black embossed pieces, I decided to use one of these other backgrounds from my stash and so my project was definitely heading in a vintage direction!

Time to construct the box!  I am using regular white glue to glue everything together.  I made sure to measure my paper pieces first - much easier to do before the box is constructed.

Since my project is basically a display "window" I thought it could use a sign, so I die cut these letters from some old cardboard boxes, and since the cardboard was quite thin, stacked them on top of each other to make them more robust. But where to put my sign?

To construct my sign I am using this old piece of acetate from a cake box which I will wrap around the top of the display box and glue into place.  I laid everything out to make sure it would fit across the front of the box.

Now it was time to cover all of these elements with black gesso, ready for painting.  I don't have a painting photo but they were painted with black and metallic paints.

Leave all of those elements to dry and start gluing the background papers into the box and paint the outside of the box - I used Little Black Dress of course!

Next, adhere the acetate to the top of the display box, and then begin to arrange the painted gears and cogs, gluing them on to the acetate, and then add the STEAMPUNK letters on top.

Now to add the dress forms / mannequins to the display window.  I am using black foam tape 3-4 layers of it to attach to the back of each dress form (in a place where it won't show) and then affix them to the back wall of the display box.

Here's how the ladies look once they are in place:

At this point I was "finished" but I felt that it needed something else, and that something else was little feet.  I used a couple of plastic bottle caps, gessoed them and painted them in black metallic paint.  Once the paint was dry, I glued them in place on the bottom of the box.

And then, just when I thought I was finished, I found this little label that was leftover from another project and I thought it would be perfect as additional signage.  It was already gessoed so I gave it a coat of pewter metallic and added these word stickers from Prima.

Turns out I wasn't happy with how it looked, so I ended up repainting it in black acrylic.

I then glued it to the centre of the display box at the bottom.  The addition of this little plaque really finishes it off perfectly!

And that's my project for today.  I hope you enjoyed following the process and seeing the finished project.  Let me know in the comments below!


Elle
Empire of the Cat


PROJECT RECIPE

GSL:
Specimen Box C12Q
Steampunk Shape Set D33A *coming soon*
Gears Shape Set BB13
Steampunk Lightbulb Set D20D (one element used, can be substituted)
Stackable Labels Shape Set D35H (one label used, can be substituted)

Other:
Embossing ink and embossing powder
Silver, copper, pewter metallic paints
Black and white gesso
PVA glue
Black chalk paint
Word stickers
Double sided foam tape (black)
From stash: background paper, acetate, cardboard letters, bottle caps,

wings of time

Hi everyone, Ann here today, sharing an ATC shrine that I call "wings of time."
From the moment I set eyes on the ATC Shrine-Time, I envisioned a Fornasetti face within the circular clock area of the door, but I was unsure where I would take it from there. I put off working on the project for a while and finally decided that it would be best to simply start and see where it would lead...
I apologize for the lack of process photos in this post, it seems once I started working, I was so intent on creating that I forgot to stop and capture all the steps. My hope is that my description is easily understandable.

I begin by painting all the pieces of the ATC Shrine-Time black. Then I locate the image that I intend to place within the clock face. I trace the outermost edge of the circle (clock) shape onto the graphic and fussy cut. A piece of black cardstock is adhered to the reverse side of the image so that when the door to the shrine is open, it will appear as a solid plane. Before adhering the face piece, I emboss the clock hands on the shrine door. This is easily accomplished with a VersaMark pen and gun metal embossing powder. I heat set the powder on the exterior surface and then complete the same process on the inside. I let the embossing cool and then adhere the image that has been cut to size in place.  Once the iconic image is set, the project seems to direct itself.

I know that at some point I would like the shrine to be functional, a place to store artist trading cards. For this reason, the interior of the shrine is not embellished with protruding objects. Everything inside is kept fairly flat. The rear panel of the shrine is covered with a piece of black and white tweed pattern paper. I ink the paper with hickory smoke and milled lavender distress ink to coordinate with the Fornasetti image. A sentiment is layered onto wilted violet oxide-inked cardstock and attached to the back panel reading "REMEMBER YOUR WINGS."
A stamped and colored butterfly is attached to the solid black circle on the inside of the shrine door. The butterfly's body is an embossed clock hand from the GSLC Steampunk Shape Set.

The Rear of the shrine contains a Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Butterfly of Gears. I love this chipboard piece. It is sold as a set of two identical butterflies, I am only using one for this piece, but I already have a plan for the second butterfly.

The butterfly has been painted with seedless preserves distress paint and then dipped in wilted violet oxide ink to create a beautiful finish. Some of the steampunk cogs and gears are embossed, as well as the body, and tips of the wings. I use the same method that was used for the shrine's clock hands, a VersaMark pen and gun metal embossing powder. When the embossing has cooled, Ideaology metal embellishments are adhered to the butterfly with collage medium. Once the collage medium is dry, the butterfly is attached to the rear panel with collage medium and set aside.  A big chat "FLY" sticker is inked with wilted violet oxide ink and then attached below the butterfly.

I secure a ball hitch through the circular opening on one of the clock hands of the shrine door. This becomes a knob that allows easy access to the shrine's interior. I also emboss four wooden beads and attach these to the base of the shrine to raise it up off the surface it stands on. The crown atop the shrine is another piece from the Steampunk Shape Set. This set has so many pieces, I find myself reaching for it often to use on my projects. The crown has been colored with wilted violet distress oxide and then splattered with seedless preserves paint. The tops and back side of the crown has been embossed with gun metal embossing powder.

I really like the way that this ATC shrine turned out. The Gypsy Soul laser cuts store has many different ATC Shrine styles, from nautical, to steampunk, and everything in between. It's definitely worth checking out! I hope that you are inspired to create something of your own, perhaps something that you have put off because you are unsure of how it will turn out. You will never know if you don't start somewhere.

Thanks so much for stopping by the blog today,
 I really appreciate you taking the time.
~Ann

Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts used:
ATC Shrine - Time
Butterfly of Gears
Steampunk Shape Set

Winter Greetings

Hi Everyone,
Jess here today with a great gift card holder.

 It might look complex, but really there's not much to it.
Start by cutting out your Sizzix and Tim Holtz gift card holder.  Since the gift card I was putting inside had snowmen on it I decided to go with a snowflake theme.

Take the mittens from the Snow Fun set (coming soon to the store) and emboss them using Charred Gold embossing powder.  Using the Snowflake Shape Set Minis emboss two medium sized flakes with Soft Fallen Snow.  Emboss one tiny flake using Hammered Metal.

Glue one flake to each mitten and on the top mitten add the tiny snowflake. Edge the top of each mitten with tinsel twine that has been colored with alcohol ink in Mushroom. 

Glue the mittens to the front of the holder, right on the ribbon running down the center.

Emboss two flakes from the Snowflake Shape Set and glue them to the back of the holder.  You don't have to decorate the back of the holder, but this could be turned into an ornament so I wanted the front and back to look pretty.  

Cut out several metallic branches from the Tim Holtz Funky Festive die set.  Cut out a small berry branch in two shades of blue and white.  Assemble the berries so the centers are blue.  You just want a pop of blue.  Glue the branches under the bow.  

Stay warm! 

Jess

  

Collector of Curiosities

Hi Everyone,

Jess here today with a little Halloween decor piece.

 

Here's how you can make your own. 

Cover the Miniature Clipboard with a vintage style paper.  Cover the entire piece of paper with a collage medium.  I like the finish it gives and how it takes the various inks and crayons.  Ink the edges and add some splats to look like coffee and possibly slime.  The slimy green is actually embossed so it's raised up a bit off the paper.  I did emboss the clip part of the clipboard, but decided not to use it in my final design. 

Emboss the edge of your Small Canning Jar.  I made a jar similar to this back in February.  If you'd like to check out the tutorial I have linked it here for you.  With this jar, I wanted it to look a bit grungy and murky.  Pounce mushroom alcohol ink onto the acetate and it will muddy up the "liquid" inside the jar.  A piece of cheesecloth stained with blood(kidding, it's alcohol ink) gets tied to the lid. 

Cut a piece of background paper to go behind your canning jar and add your images.  These guys were stamped and fussy cut.  Make sure you play with your placement before gluing anything down.  

You can see here at this point I was still playing with the idea of leaving it as a clipboard.  I also hadn't added the eyeballs.  It's always good to play with your composition before you glue!

 I decided that the jar on the clipboard wasn't enough and I wanted to beef up my project.  A small Tim Holtz framed panel was the answer.  Cover the panel with a piece of worn wallpaper and add Distress Oxides so the paper looks water damaged.   

On the frame, randomly paint on Distress Rock Candy Crackle Medium. Once it starts to crackle you can heat it up to speed up the drying process.  Paint the frame using Art Alchemy paint in Metallique Blackberry.  Once the metallic paint is dry use a thin layer of Distress Paint in Black Soot on the entire frame and wipe most of it away. You just want it to sink into the recesses.  In random areas add metallic waxes in opal colors.  This adds another layer of dimension, but doesn't add a ton of color.  The final step on the frame is to use a fine brush and Dina Wakley Gilt paint to go around the edges.  Perfection is not the goal here.  The frame is supposed to look funky and old.  

Glue the frame to the back. 

Add your clipboard to the frame and add a small quote to the top.

A little metal tag, sticker, and eyeball brad round out the finishing touches. 

I hope you enjoyed this little project.  It was fun to make! I can't wait to pull out all of Halloween decor now.

Jess

The Queen Bee

Hi Everyone,
Jess here today with a bee-utiful tag to share.

 I am in love with the new Alphabet Stencils that will be coming to the store! They look like old fashioned stencils, but don't come with the huge price tag.

Start by embossing your chosen letter using the new 3d embossing folders from Sizzix.  To get the impression really crisp it is recommended to spritz your substrate(in this case chipboard) with water.  Once it's run through you can heat dry it or let it air dry.  Press in a book to get it flat  if it curls.

Cover the stencil with Black Soot Distress Oxide ink using a blending tool.  Using your finger add Distress Oxide in Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain Distress Ink.  Grab your Distress Crayon in Tarnished Brass to highlight the high points of the embossed areas.  Vintage paper grounds the stencil and makes it pop.

Make your background paper and cover one of the giant Tag Super X.  This tag was a bit larger than I wanted for this project, so I cut a couple inches off the bottom.

Emboss your Bee with Oil Rubbed Bronze Embossing Powder from Emerald Creek.  Rub the bee in Distress Oxide Ink in Black Soot and spritz with water.  Set aside to dry.  

Play with the placement of the Honeycomb.  Once you are happy emboss the honeycomb using Charred Gold Embossing powder from Emerald Creek.  Add the alphabet dice just below the stencil.  

Cut out a circle to use as your reinforcer. Emboss metal tape using a 3d embossing folder and color the tape using alcohol inks.  

Happy Crafting,

Jess