Decorated Candle Holder

Another month has flown by and it's time to share my latest DT post for the latest Altered Eclectics challenge. As always the theme for the challenge is Anything Goes as long as it's mixed media/altered art.

A few years ago I bought a wooden candle holder blank and decided it was time to do something with it. I must admit it's not the colour that I started out to do, it was going to be a peachy colour but ended up being mauve.

First I gave the candle holder a coat of gesso.

I adhered some die cuts and lace that had wooden beads attached.

I added some flowers and metal butterflies and gave them a coat of gesso.

The next steps I haven't got any photos for but I painted the holder with green paint and added a crackle glaze, then I painted it with a cream coloured paint. You can see some of the crackles in the photo.

This is where the holder changes colour. I dry brushed the holder with a mauve paint.

 Then I sprayed it with a mauve mica spray.

I then used my finger to spread some pewter gilding wax. The photos below show different areas of the finished candle holder.

I used the following sprays and paints.
Fresco Finish - Granny Smith, Vanilla, wisteria.
Fresco Crackle Glaze.
Tattered Angels Mica Spray.

The rest of my Altered Eclectics team mates have made some wonderful inspirational pieces, so why not take a look.

Thank you for looking.

xxx Hazel.

Gecko Galz Anual Blog Hop

Welcome Everyone to the 3^rd Annual Gecko Galz Tricks and Treats Blog Hop

 I am the next stop on your “hop” welcome to my blog! If you started here you might want to go back and start at the begining at the Gecko Galz blog so you won’t miss anything!  

We have 15 AMAZING blogs for you to visit this weekend, each with some gorgeous projects created using the Gecko Galz collage images, that we are giving you for FREE! Each blog you visit will have another free Gecko Galz Collage sheet for you to download, The one here is "Beautiful Birds".

Also make sure you collect all the secret words on each blog so at the end of the hop you can enter to win our wonderful treat.  So sit back, relax, take your time and enjoy the hop!

We have FOUR amazing prizes up for grabs:

·        First is the ephemera collections for each month for an entire year. That is 48 different sets! This is a $144 value

·        Second prize is a The monthly paper pack for an entire year! Each month you will receive our paper pack absolutely FREE! This is a $72 value.

·        Third prize is all 3 individual collage sheets each month for a year! This is a $54 value

·        And our Grand Prize ONE FULL YEAR of Gecko Galz  COLLECTIONS!!! That will be 1 paper pack, 1 digital stamp set, and 4 collage sets each month for the entire year! This is a prize worth $288

Read on to learn how you can win!

First of all, you will need to visit all 15 blogs and leave a comment on each blog :) **This is important so we know you have been to all the blogs **. Collect all Fifteen words (one on each blog site) and at the end of the blog on the Fripperies and Butterflies site there will be a link to email the phrase to Gecko Galz. This enters you in the contest. On October 28^th we will randomly draw the 4 winners and email each of you, then we will post the winning names on our website and on the Gecko Galz blog site.

For an extra chance to win make a purchase from the Gecko Galz site and your name goes in again for a better chance of winning (each purchase you make that weekend gives you another chance to win) 

Finally, we are having one more give away! If you post our Gecko Galz badge (found on the Gecko Galz Blog) on your blog, facebook page, or website you will be entered to win a Gecko Store Shopping Spree worth $25 - super easy right?  Just post a link to your blog on the Gecko Galz Blog so we can come visit :).

Your Secret Word is;

TRICK 

Please enjoy this free Gecko Galz Collage sheet “Beautiful Birds”

As well as the samples I have made using the images

 (Just click on this link for the full size sheet]
                                                                                                 

Here are the pieces that I have made with the lovely Beautiful Birds collage sheet, I hope you enjoy looking at them. Thank you for visiting now go and have some fun looking at the rest of the design teams blogs.

xxx Hazel

Darling Birdie Card

Matt the image onto some black card and layer it and some Gecko Galz background papers onto a card blank. I edged the card with some black soot Distress Ink using my finger. Add the ribbon, a couple of skeleton leaves and some paper roses.

Decoupaged Framed Bird

Paint the wooden frame with some dark blue acrylic paint, when it's dry cover with Fresco Finnish Crackle Glaze and when this is dry paint with a turquoise acrylic paint, it should crackle as the paint dries. Adhere leaves and flowers to the frame, it doesn't matter what colour they are, using your finger touch parts of the flowers with Treasure Pewter and then spray the flowers and bottom of the frame with green and gold mica sprays. When everything is dry adhere a piece of Gecko Galz background paper inside the frame. Print the image three times, matt one of the images onto some blue card, cut the oval from one of the other images and adhere to the main image with foam pads, cut out the bird from the last image and adhere to the main image with foam pads. Adhere to the inside of the frame.

Song Bird Card

Distress the edges of the image.  Sponge the edges of the image and some Gecko Galz background paper with aged mahogany Distress ink and layer them onto a card blank. Stamp some twigs on the right edge of the card, adhere the sentiment, lace and pearls to the card. Emboss a wooden bird with some Frantage embossing enamel and adhere to the card.

 Bird Song Tag

Paint the tag with acrylic paint and then adhere a piece of book page to it. Using a leafy mask, stencil some modelling past onto the tag and paint green when dry. Distress the edge of the image and some Gecko Galz background paper then colour the edges with stormy sky Distress ink, adhere to the tag. Put a strip of tissue tape to the bottom of the tag and add some lace. Add some flowers and ribbon.

Now  you are ready to go to the next blog site and see what wonderful treats await you there. Just click the name  to be whisked away to their blog!

Here is the Blog Hop Rotation 

 Hazel Harler

Carol Salisbury

Joan Liddel

Penny Walker

Starr Timmons

Helene Huber

Barbara Bird

Gerri Herbst

Sharron Rogers

Lisette Baker

Sherri Levinton

Jessica Moore

Heather Hudson 

Leanne Seed

Create For A Cause

This month Gecko Galz are giving back. The D T are making items for their chosen charity so if you purchase products from your favourite design Gecko Galz are giving 10% of the money towards their chosen charity. Every couple of days one of the D T will have their design showcased so please visit Gecko Galz to take a look. Today it's my turn to be showcased.

My chosen charity is Great Ornond Street Hospital Childrens Charity.

I made a door hanger using images from the Gecko Galz Wonderland collage sheet.

Wonderland Door Hanger

Images from the Gecko Galz Wonderland Collage Set.

Wooden Door Hanger Blank.

Gesso.

Fresco Finish Paint in two colours – one light and one dark.

Fresco Finish Crackle Glaze.

Alice In Wonderland Book Pages.

Picked Raspberry, Walnut Stain and Mowed Lawn Distress Ink.

Versamark Ink Pad.

Clear Embossing Powder.

Stampendous Frantage Embossing Powders. The colours I used are Aged Rose, Shabby Pink, Aged Green and Shabby Green.

Sizzix/Alterations Bird Branch Die.

Mountboard.

Paint the hanger with the gesso, let it dry.

Paint the hanger with the dark FF paint, when dry spread a thin layer of the crackle glaze over it and when this is dry paint it with the lighter FF paint, as it dries you will see the crackles appearing. Sponge the picked raspberry round the edge.

Tear the book pages and adhere to the hanger.

Die cut the bird branch with the mountboard and cut away the bird, colour with the walnut stain and mowed lawn distress ink, adhere to the hanger.

Emboss the Frantage powder round the edge of the hanger and anywhere else you’d like it to go.

Cut out the images and double emboss them with the clear embossing powder. Adhere them to the card.

Here are a couple of close ups.

Butterfly Plaque

Here is my latest DT piece for Gecko Galz. I used some of the fabulous March products.

 

Gecko Galz Images from Ephemera Days.

Gecko Galz Background Paper from the Pocket Full Of Posies Set.

Base For The Plaque.

Fresco Finish Paints - At Least Two Colours.

Fresco Finish Crackle Glaze.

Tissue Tape.

Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

Artistic Stamper Rubber Stamps.

Stickles.

Wire.

Staples.

 

Print the butterfly image twice and cut out one of the butterflies, crop the butterfly out of the image and reduce the size and print it three times and cut them out. Cover the cut out butterflies with the stickles and leave to dry.

Paint the plaque base, when dry paint with the crackle glaze, when this is dry paint the plaque again with a different colour. When the paint starts cracking you can speed the drying with a heat gun.

Stamp the base with your chosen images then ink the edge of the base with the walnut stain.

Adhere the tissue tape.

Tear edges of the images and background paper, ink with walnut stain, staple parts of the images and then adhere to the plaque.

Wrap the wire round a cocktail stick to make the coils, adhere to the larger butterfly. Adhere the butterflies to the plaque.

Blooming Canvas

Last Sunday I went with my friend Alison to the Craft Barn for a workshop with the lovely Jo Firth-Young. We made a canvas and a door hanging.

This is the door hanging.
I painted the wooden base with PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Paints, then when it was dry I spread a layer of Fresco Finish crackle glaze and when this was dry I added another coat of a lighter paint, I love the crackle effect. When all the paint was dry I went round the edge with some Distress ink. The flowers and leaves are Claudine Hellmuth Blooms, stamped onto white card with the paint and then cut out and attached to the base, then I added a few buttons.

The canvas is 12" x 12" and I painted it with PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Paint. I stamped the Claudine Hellmuth blooms with the paint onto sticky backed canvas and cut them out, the fence and some of the flowers were stamped onto an old book page. I added some buttons and liquid pearl dots.and one of the things that I bought whilst at the Craft Barn was the Tim Holtz Sizzix/Alterations Decorative Strip die so I added a border to the top of the canvas.