Texture Tips with Melissa-A Christmas Shadow Box

Good morning everyone! First off let me say that this month's Frog Dog Studio kit is awesome and one of my favorites so far. I was so inspired when I opened the box. I knew right away I wanted to make all of my projects in a Christmas theme since this is my favorite time of the year. I also knew I wanted to use as much of the kit on this particular project, since there were so many creative options. This month's texture tip involves the modeling cream, which is much smoother than modeling paste. I also love the pearly-ness of it :)

Let's get started!

The first thing I did was prep my main pieces, which were the bristle brush tree and the Tim Holtz Configurations box (I removed the smaller boxes that fit inside to use in a later project). I painted the tree with a mixture of the blue and green Silks. I used the gorgeous red on the box--I put on two coats to make it darker.

TEXTURE TIP: Using the modeling cream and the stencil, apply using a flat edge. Gently scrape it on. I was very generous with mine because I wanted a definite raised texture. Another cool thing I discovered is that when I hit the areas that had the modeling creme with the heat gun, it created a sort of crackle finish. I also added texture by brushing the snowflake stamp with some modeling creme and randomly stamped around the box. I also stamped it with black StayZ on ink and the checkerboard stamp.

Next, I selected a piece of the Tim Holtz fabric and cut it down to fit inside of the box. I adhered it using matte medium.

I wanted to give the box a little bit of a distress finish, so I rubbed it all over with Tim Holtz Distress Stain. It really highlighted the areas with the modeling creme and blended it all together nicely.

Now for the fun part--to decorate the tree! I love the little details like this :) To begin, I wrapped the bottom of the tree with the burlap ribbon in the kit and attached using the hot glue gun. Then, I wound the tinsel around the tree and attached the little metal gears with hot glue. I found some poinsettia paper flowers from last year in my stash and attached those as well.

I fussy cut one of the little girls from the clip art in the kit, and also found another die cut girl from my stash to use. I attached them using hot glue.

Since everything is better with glitter (not to mention that I am totally addicted to the Viva Glitter paste from one of the previous kits), I brushed it all over the sides of the box, as well as the tree and the girls.

To finish, I made a little banner out of washi tape and twine and ran it along the top--attaching with hot glue.

And here is the finished project! I hope you enjoy :)

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Expanding Your Options - December 2013

Happy December to you, my crafty friends!

For this month's edition of Expanding Your Options, let's take a peek into my layering process for this holiday canvas, using products from every previous and current Frog Dog kit!



I know that for many, this time of year can be chaotic and busy, but hopefully you find a way to squeeze in some Creative Time in one form or another.  Happy Crafting!

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The Splendor of the Holidays

Tis the Season to be Merry!!!

Once again Frog Dog Studio has come up with a killer, jam packed kit!!!  Enough product to make so many projects.  The Fabric from Tim Holtz, the modeling paste, and Silks are divine!!!  The other products are perfect for a focal point or accent.

Start out by creating your background.  Stamp, paint, Distressed Stains.......

I sketched a tree, cut it out and mounted it to the background.  I started to paint the tree, around the tree, and more on the background.  Silk paints are sheer and glisten with magic!!  You can achieve a little more opaque look by adding a thicker application of color.  But it is not totally opaque.  I used a combination of Clearsnap Colobox original pigment ink along with the Silks.  I like floating the silks on top.  The tree I painted with an olive paint but used the Silks to highlight areas and add extra glimmer.

I used an old brush to add the modeling paste as snow to the tree.  I didn't want the tree to have too much snow, so the old brush helps me control how much paste I apply.  The paste is perfect for stencils, dimension, and painting on top of!  I believe the term is Impasto, where Impressionist artists painted on dry plaster.  This can be done too, even collaging on dried paste.

 The mound of snow is deeper and more concentrated, so I used a palette knife to spread the modeling paste.  Sort of like icing, but with areas of extra texture to look like snow.

Here is a close up of the snow.  It has some smooth areas, blots of paste for texture.  Look and see how the Silks help to shade the snow in some areas.

Here is the whole tree with the snow finished and the shading/highlights.  When I first studied art, other than drawing people and cartoons, I loved realistic nature.  A tree in winter is so beautiful!

Here I have some little wood stars.  I painted the Silks on top.  I did 2 coats so it is semi-opaque, but the wood grain still shows through.  Love it!

Add the stars, and use an embellishment from one of Bo Bunny's holiday collections to finish the art.  A ribbon is added for more contrast.  

A perfect gift to give, display on an easel, add holes on top and add matching ribbon to hang on your tree or wall!

Cre8tivelea Yours - Lea

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