Tuesday, June 24, 2008

DaisyboardaBella Sketchbook (with grunge board n crackle)



Tim Holtz's grunge board is fun to work with. I slathered it in some of his Distress Crackle Paint (black soot) and added it to this Sketchbook. (I'm starting early on my Christmas presents this year, because I'm givin' all handmade gifts.) This is a sketchbook for my sweet little sister Tyese (aka weasel seester). She's not so little anymore, but she's every but as sweet! I've never stepped on a snowboard, but she has and she lives in a resort town, so I thought Daisyboardabella would be cute. She likes to make lists (she's the most organized gal I know) and she's artistic, so I thought a sketchbook would be a good place for her to save schtuff.

So.... about Christmas, I took the pledge to buy handmade :0)

I Took The Handmade Pledge! BuyHandmade.org

If you'd like to pledge too, you can do so here.

One Christmas, years ago, my Mom's side of the family all decided that we were going to only give each other what we had made with our hands. (I've talked about this on here before, but the memory makes me so happy that I couldn't resist sharing it again.) Those gifts are my most treasured possessions.




Here's the flourish with crackle texture up close
(click the pic for even closer.)




I find the edges of the grunge board hard to hit with the paint, but a black marker around the edges solves that problem. Messy little paws I have, hey?




I don't know how that cracklyfabulousness happens, but me likey! You just brush it on and let it dry. If you want big cracks apply a thick coat; if you want finer cracks apply a thinner coat. You can blend colours too. The bottle says it's best to dry it naturally, but you can start it off with a bit of gentle heatgunning.




A sketchbook is a great 3D gift for beginners to start with because it's just as easy as making a card. I just stuck this card-like image on with good double-sided tape. Then glued the grunge board on with crystal effects & double-sided tape.




To make the snow scene:
  • I used coredinations paper (this shade is Nightfall: black with a grey core)
  • I sanded it to look like snowy hills at night using a sanding block & emery board
  • Then I added swirls by painting a wash of white craft paint on
  • I outlined the swirls with a glitter pen
  • Added the embossed bella
To make the Daisyboardabella:
  • Emboss her with black craft ink & clear embossing powder
  • Watercolour her with reinkers (Passion Pink & Pretty in Pink)
  • Add crystal effects and glitter to parts of her (especially the snow board)
  • Cut her out
  • Glue her on with crystal effects
Other details:

I embossed flowers on the Pretty in Pink cardstock in black and filled them in with white signo gel pen. The scalloped black mat has little gems glued on with crystal effects and the silver frame is from Hodge Podge hardware. I used a glue pen to emboss "Ty" on there. :0)

Some Distress Crackle Paint links:
Hope that your day is a splendiferous one! :0)

9 comments:

Annapurna said...

Everything is splendiferous. Especially love the snow scene you made. Did I ever tell you are talented?

Anonymous said...

Why that's a cool idea! I like the handmade gift idea. There's a Vinyl Cafe\Stuart McLean sketch about Sam & Morley et all making Christmas gifts for each other. You should try to find the podcast. It's a good one.

What if your sister checks out your blog???? Then you're in trouble!

Thanks for sharing.
Beth G

Pamela said...

Wow...what a great blog entry. Love the journal. Love how you are making all handmade gifts! And I too love grungeboard. :)

Linsey R said...

OH, this is WAY cool! I love your pictorials--looks like you had a fun time making a mess, hehe! I love grungeboard and your technique is awesome! Bella looks totally great with this sketch too! FAbulous work! hugs!

Lorraine said...

What a great family you have to do that for each other, so much more personnal than buying a gift.As usual your work rocks.

Becky G said...

Super cool sketch book, Mel! I love it and your sister is gonna be thrilled when she opens this gift! Fantastic!!!

Have a wonderdful day!
By the way, tag, you're it!!!!

Yesterday's Tomorrow said...

ok look lady! you need to stop this! my chin is starting to get a huge bruise from my jaw hitting the floor! :P

and I'm running out of AWE words!!

so once again my friend.. this is INCREDIBLE!

Tonniece said...

another great creation here. HUMMMMM, is there no end to your ideas woman?

Great idea going handmade, my friend Dianne gives out handmade items for every occation (a very talented lady) and I love all her gifts.

Have a great day

Wendy Smith said...

Gorgeous work with the Crackle paint and the Coredinations...lovely