Butterfly Bliss Shabby Shadow Box Frame

Hidy ho crafty friends! Today's creation is a piece of home decor. It is a treat when you find two challenges that mesh beautifully and provide so much wonderful inspiration. Such was the case with this week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Frame It challenge and A Vintage Journey's February Against the Grain challenge.

I created this home decor piece in a shabby style with patterned papers from the pretty KaiserCraft Scrap Studio collection. I cut the Tarnished pattern paper into a 4x6 piece and backed it with up-cycled cereal box board. Next, I stamped the KaiserCraft Sheet Music stamp with Wendy Vecchi Watering Can grey Archival ink in a few places. Then, I spread Faber-Castell Glass Bead Glitter Gel through the KaiserCraft Distressed Dots stencil.

While that was drying, I fussy cut the butterfly from the Course pattern paper and used a Golden Stardust Gelly Roll pen to trace over the butterfly's detail lines. Once that was done, I added Glossy Accents to the body and the two black dots for a little added dimension. I also trimmed off the pattern paper label from a piece of pattern paper from the KaiserCraft Everlasting collection, spritzed it with water, crumpled it and then straightened it somewhat to dry. This gives it a distressed look.

Once the glass bead glitter gel was dry, I added white watercolour paint from my Mijello Mission Gold watercolour set to help accent the distressed dots for added interest and shabbiness. While that was drying, I started to work on the frame. I used a Dollarama wooden paint panel on its back side. I gave it a a very light coat of Liquitex white gesso and then added a thin bit of white Decoart Acrylic paint. I was very light handed and rubbed off paint as I went so to allow the woodgrain and the wood's unfinished roughness to show through. Once it was dry, I cut a piece of Bazzill white woodgrain cardstock to fit the inside and adhered it to the back.

Next, I was back to the focal piece. I tore my prepped pattern strip in two pieces and tacked it down prior to stitching the corners with Darice hemp cord. I adhered a flight trail of hemp cord with Ranger Multi media Matte gel and then the butterfly. Next, I glued down the Dollarama gold glitter wood letters spelling bliss. Then, I used Therm-o-web's Decofoil adhesive pen along the edges and added their gold Decofoil for a distress gilded look. To finish the piece off, I added a piece of cardboard to the back before mounting it in the frame so to give it added dimension and a shadow box effect.

I am really pleased with how this turned out. It was a stroke of luck that these challenges inspired this fun creation. Head on over to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge here and a Vintage Journey: Against the Grain Challenge here to see some gorgeous eye candy inspiration and other participants takes on these challenges.

TTFN,