Hot stuff!!

It's been a while I know since a) I made anything and b) since I posted. Let's just say all work and no play makes Jo a bit of a grumpy girl!

Anyway I have finally managed to make something and yes it's a bit bright and a bit out of my comfort zone colour wise -  I must be craving some sunshine and heat (aren't we all, I can't believe I'm still wearing opaque tights and boots in May and the shops are full of summer clothes, they must be begging the sun gods to shine so that they can sell stuff!).

I am very very VERY pleased with this (don't mean to sound big headed but ...) as I've managed to crack a design issue I've been having for a while - how do I use the all the wooden IKEA frames I've got as a base for my fabric creations without them sagging in the recess?????

I've tried making them into mini canvases or sticking on to card, but they never really sat well or looked lumpy (bit like me really when I think about it) So what was the brainwave eureka moment?  Use the acrylic front piece as the base for the fabric which gives it rigidity and stick that to the front of the frame. Oooh it did make me a happy girl!

So painted the frame in Butternut and Haystack Fresco Finish paints, sanded it back a bit, rubbed a candle over it and then dry brushed a mixture of Claret, Paprika and London Bus over the top.

Took some calico and sponged on Butternut and Haystack and then stencilled Pumpkin Soup through a flower stencil. Sewed on some hot pink and orange strips of fabric with lots of "bad" stitching!

The tag was painted in Claret, London Bus and Pumpkin Soup and stamped in Cherry Stazon using a Wendy Vecchi flower stamp, edges distressed and inked with Fired Brick Distress Ink.

The photo is one of mine, just printed on photographic paper at home. I sanded it carefully to remove some of the ink and add some distressing (love the "spots", it makes it look like an old sun weathered photo from the 70's). A thin layer of PaperArtsy satin glaze with a tiny amount of Dolly Mix Fresco Paint over the top.

A scrap of pink felt underneath and two Prima flowers that had been hanging out on my desk left over from a previous project to complete.

Right, I'm off to work on one of my big pictures with the lovely papers I bought in PaperChase in big ole London last week and some teal / turquoise fabric I bought on Saturday - I only went in for a couple of fat quarters and came out with about twelve!

hugs

jo
xx