In honour of Emerald Creek's First Year Blogiversary and Kim Evan's sojourn into new territories for her business, I decided to follow her lead and spread my wonder-lust wings a bit too! I took the opportunity to embrace the Anything Goes Anniversary Dare and try something very much out of my ordinary repertoire with this altered trellis.
During my quest for a project idea for the Dare and with Emerald Creek's products in mind, my imagination was completely sparked when I spied this small brown metal fairy trellis in my local Dollarama. I just knew that the fairy's outstretched hand would work perfectly with a butterfly and I would be able to work with flowers which I do so like to do.
But, being somewhat practical by nature, I didn't want something solely decorative. I wanted it to be able to able to handle some moisture in use with plants. Thus, it forced me to experiment and get creative with materials to make it work as I envisioned it could.
What I learnt was that... foil alone (even the thicker BBQ variety) was too flimsy to withstand the intricate fussy cutting part of the leaves and ... foil tape would not be cost effective nor practical given the volume of leaves needed and used in the project. What I discover that worked was a form of something I had used in the past to withstand cutting through my Silhouette machine. I adhered regular kitchen aluminium foil to 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock with gel medium. It provides the right amount of support for the foil, it is easy enough to fussy cut, and is not compromised by a bit of moisture due to the foil front and use of gel medium which can withstand water once dry. The foil is easy enough to colour with alcohol inks and equally easy to heat emboss.
I prepped two foil covered cardstock pieces and once they were dried and flattened, I coloured them with Tim Holtz Ranger Alcohol inks. One whole sheet with a mix of Citrus and Clover for the leaves and on the second sheet a 1/4 was coloured with a blend of Sunshine Yellow and Watermelon to create orange for butterflies with a 1/2 part coloured Pool blue for flowers, and the last 1/4 left uncoloured in case of any boo-boos or if I needed more of anything.
For this project, I did a very Kim-esque thing and mixed up a concoction of embossing powders (about equal parts Candy Brown and Mirror Gold with a bit of Vegas Gold Emboss Powder for some sparkle) to get just the right colour and look that I was going for that would compliment and coordinate with the trellis's paint finish. Working in quarter page increments, I stamped the images with Versamark ink, applied the emboss mixture, and heat set it. Once the pages were completed, I began the task of fussy cutting out all the pieces. Building from the bottom up, I adhered them in place with gel medium on the trellis until I was pleased with the arrangement. Once it was all dry, I placed it in a planter box of Irish Moss. It makes its' home as a cute whimsical addition to our light-filled entrance area.
I must say that it has been exciting to be a part of Emerald Creek's first year journey into the realm of social media. Congrats to Kim on all her success and growth over the year! Thanks for having me along for the ride and here's to many more adventurous and successful years!
To commemorate the Emerald Creek Anniversary event, the entire DT team have created projects for the post. Be sure to check them all out over on the Emerald Creek blog here. I hope you too take on this month's 'Anything Goes' Dare and join us with one of your own labours of love for a chance to win a $50 gift certificate and a 20% off discount code to the shop.
TTFN,
During my quest for a project idea for the Dare and with Emerald Creek's products in mind, my imagination was completely sparked when I spied this small brown metal fairy trellis in my local Dollarama. I just knew that the fairy's outstretched hand would work perfectly with a butterfly and I would be able to work with flowers which I do so like to do.
But, being somewhat practical by nature, I didn't want something solely decorative. I wanted it to be able to able to handle some moisture in use with plants. Thus, it forced me to experiment and get creative with materials to make it work as I envisioned it could.
What I learnt was that... foil alone (even the thicker BBQ variety) was too flimsy to withstand the intricate fussy cutting part of the leaves and ... foil tape would not be cost effective nor practical given the volume of leaves needed and used in the project. What I discover that worked was a form of something I had used in the past to withstand cutting through my Silhouette machine. I adhered regular kitchen aluminium foil to 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock with gel medium. It provides the right amount of support for the foil, it is easy enough to fussy cut, and is not compromised by a bit of moisture due to the foil front and use of gel medium which can withstand water once dry. The foil is easy enough to colour with alcohol inks and equally easy to heat emboss.
I prepped two foil covered cardstock pieces and once they were dried and flattened, I coloured them with Tim Holtz Ranger Alcohol inks. One whole sheet with a mix of Citrus and Clover for the leaves and on the second sheet a 1/4 was coloured with a blend of Sunshine Yellow and Watermelon to create orange for butterflies with a 1/2 part coloured Pool blue for flowers, and the last 1/4 left uncoloured in case of any boo-boos or if I needed more of anything.
For this project, I did a very Kim-esque thing and mixed up a concoction of embossing powders (about equal parts Candy Brown and Mirror Gold with a bit of Vegas Gold Emboss Powder for some sparkle) to get just the right colour and look that I was going for that would compliment and coordinate with the trellis's paint finish. Working in quarter page increments, I stamped the images with Versamark ink, applied the emboss mixture, and heat set it. Once the pages were completed, I began the task of fussy cutting out all the pieces. Building from the bottom up, I adhered them in place with gel medium on the trellis until I was pleased with the arrangement. Once it was all dry, I placed it in a planter box of Irish Moss. It makes its' home as a cute whimsical addition to our light-filled entrance area.
Supplies: Leafed in the Corner stamp, Fallen Blossom stamp set, Large Butterfly stamp, Candy Brown, Mirror Gold, and Vegas Gold Emboss Powder (Emerald Creek Craft Supplies), VersaMark ink (Tsukineko), No Name Aluminum foil (Loblaws), cardstock (Staples), gel medium (Golden), Tim Holtz Sunshine Yellow, Watermelon, Citrus, Clover, and Pool alcohol inks (Ranger)
I must say that it has been exciting to be a part of Emerald Creek's first year journey into the realm of social media. Congrats to Kim on all her success and growth over the year! Thanks for having me along for the ride and here's to many more adventurous and successful years!
TTFN,
