Hey, y’all! If you’re in the Northern Hemisphere of this rotating blue marble, I hope you’re staying cool! If you’re in the Southern Hemisphere, just know I’m jealous! I am just counting down the days until I can see highs under 100°F (38°C). I am fortunate enough to have some AC though, which I know not everyone has.
This week I have a “Cottage Life” Décor piece I made using this month’s Cards, Tags, & More Kit, and a deep frame that has existed since sometime in the 80s (the company is no longer in business, that I’m aware of), and some mediums from my stash.
Check out my video to see what I did to put this adorably vintage “Cottage Life” frame together!
Video:
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Now, y’all know I love using every part of the kits – packaging, scraps, etc. – and this project was no different! I loved the shapes of the Graphic 45 Chipboard pieces, and thought they would make some fantastic vintage frames – and they did! I, very carefully, cut along the outside of the negative space where the chipboard piece had been, eyeballing my distance, and to strengthen my new frames, and start them on their patinaed copper journey, I used some “Patina Bronzed Copper” embossing powder on them. After they were embossed, I backed them with different pieces of patterned paper.
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After my “Cottage Life” Folio (July 7th post), I had quite a few strips of paper, so I got them evened up and made a collage of them on a 5inx7in canvas board to use as the background for my frame.
Aren’t those Tres Jolie Chipboard gnomes adorable? I had to add them to my “garden,” so I did the same to them that I had done to my frames – I embossed them to give them a bit more strength and stability – and to make them copper so they could start their patina journey.
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For my frame, I didn’t want it completely rough, but I didn’t want it completely smooth either, so I randomly added some Finnabair “White Sand” texture paste before giving it a coat with some white gesso, “Steampunk Copper” paint, and a touch of “Brass” Patina Effect Paste.
To raise up all of my frame and gnome layers, I used hot glue because it is sturdy, and there is only a cooling time, not a long dry time – plus, when it’s hot it’s “stretchy,” which means I was able to make a pile of it, then use both hands to adjust the frames exactly how I wanted them. I was careful to keep the hot glue away from the embossed areas though because I didn’t want it to reactivate!
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You can see I left no surface bare! Since this is an open-front, deep frame, I wanted to make sure I had the inside of the frame matching the outside. After the canvas was together and the paint was dry on the frame I started adding my waxes – some “Rich Copper,” some “Patina Green.”
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When it came time to add the frame to the canvas, I used hot glue at the corners to get it in place and to hold the canvas even with the back of the frame so I could turn it over and fill in around the edges with some 3D Gel.
After the 3D Gel had dried, I turned my frame back over and popped on the final, front chipboard piece using more 3D Gel.
Thank you for joining me here in my corner, I hope you enjoyed this “Cottage Life” décor piece and it gave you some ideas of what you can make using this month’s Cards, Tags, & More Kit.
Stay Crafty (and cool & hydrated!), Friends
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In addition to the items from this month’s Cards, Tags, & More Kit (*from previous Tres Jolie Kits), I used:
**Some [non-Tres Jolie] items contain an affiliate link that allows me to earn a small commission at no extra cost to you!
Prima-Finnabair “White Sand” Texture Paste, “Steampunk Copper” Metallique Paint, “Brass” Patina Effect Paste, “Rich Copper” Metallique Wax, “Patina Green” Matte Wax, Gary M. Burlin Co. “Patina Bronzed Copper” Embossing Powder, 3D Matte Gel, Blick Art Materials 5”x7” canvas board, Simon Says Stamp Clear Embossing Ink, Daler Rowney White Gesso, Liquitex Matte Medium, Krylon Kamar Varnish, Krylon Matte Finish, Krylon Triple-Thick Crystal Clear Glaze, JudiKins DiamondGlaze, hot glue gun, Gorilla Mini hot glue sticks, The Creative Circle 5”x7” Frame (company no longer exists as far as I am aware)
C.J.'s Corner Scraps 