Shabby Chic at Crafty Cardmakers

This wasn’t what I had originally intended to do for this challenge, I had something a whole lot quicker  in mind but at some point in the last month or so I became aware that an artist whose style I had long admired was giving classes in the UK – Anna Dabrowska aka Finnabair. Of course this was after the event so to speak, and even if I had known I might not have got a place but to say I was miffed to have missed her is an understatement. So I thought I would have a go at a couple of pieces in her style, one of which was destined to become  my DT entry for the current Crafty Cardmakers theme – Shabby Chic.
The base for this project is an IKEA mirror frame – for some reason I decided to fill in in the mirror bit because I had this idea that I wanted a huge butterfly exploding out of the centre panel. If I had known the difficulties that butterfly would give me I would have stuck to the mirror!! I painstakingly chose some lovely shabby papers and covered the whole thing  - and then proceeded to obliterate it all with paint, ink and gesso!!
I loved using my new new ‘peacock’ stencil with artists spackle to give some texture – yum!!
 
I was really pleased with my diamond ‘relief’ – they are the waste from some trellis die-cut I have. Obviously I had to stick each one down individually but the finished effect was pretty neat.

Tried out the Kroma Crackle for even more shabbiness.



And of course there had to be flowers – these are made of UTEE using a mould.

The problem with the butterfly was I didn’t have a stamp big enough so it had to be digital – I tried several ways of colouring and printing it but it kept turning out either too strong against the background or more matt and dull than the background. In the end I found using a Golden glossy gel medium lifted it enough without being too brash. The layering of paint and gesso to create depth takes time as you need to let them dry between applications so this was not a quick project but quite a rewarding one!!  

Well I might not have quite nailed the look but I hope my take on the Shabby Chic theme will inspire  you to join in with to the Crafty CardMakers Challenge. This fortnight it is hosted by BettyC, who would like to see any creation, scrapbook page, altered art, or card that is 'shabby chic'. There’s lots more DT loveliness over on the blog to inspire as well.

PLEASE BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE RULES BEFORE ADDING YOUR CREATION AND CHECK IT MEETS THE THEME. 

We are sponsored by
MILK COFFEE DIGITAL STAMPS

WITH A PRIZE OF 5 DIGIS FROM THEIR STORE

And also by SIR STAMPALOT

with a fabulous prize:-

So go on, get  crafting!!