IT'S ALL ABOUT WENDY!!!

Good Monday morning everybody!  Last week's challenge was "Men Only"  This weeks' challenge is all about the girls....in particular....one very talented and super creative lady.... THE WeNdY VecCHi of Studio 490!!!  Don't you just love her stamps and Art Parts??  Wendy, if you're reading this, you are a genius!!!

I have a lot of Wendy's stamps and Art Parts.  There were so many inspiring things to choose from that I really had a lot of trouble zeroing in on what to use.  The only thing I knew before I started was that I wanted to use her new Art Shrine and her Dress Form Art Parts.  Other than that, I had no clue where this challenge piece would take me!!  And that is typically how I create....I just start in and let what I'm making tell me where it wants to go.  Here is my finished piece:

As I said, I started with an Art Parts Shrine.  I painted a base coat with white acrylic paint  because I wanted to go for more of a "fresco paint" type of look.  I then inked the background with Broken China and Wild Honey Distress Inks.  I love the subtle chalky looking finish I got.  Next I stamped the entire background with a text stamp using Jet Black Archival Ink.  

The frame for the Art Parts Shrine really tested my patience!  I started out with a base coat of white acrylic paint.  Then I covered it with Spiced Marmalade Crackle Paint.  When it dried, it looked amazing!  I distressed it with Black Soot but some of the crackle kept flaking off, exposing the white underneath.  I was not happy with that at all.  So, I ended up sanding all of the crackle off.  BUT...THAT'S NOT A PROBLEM WITH THESE STURDY ART PARTS!  Then I decided to paint the frame using a Terra Cotta Paint Dabber followed by a light washing with some Picket Fence Distress Stain.  Finally, I very lightly brushed a touch of Juniper Paint Dabber on to my finger and distressed the frame.

As I was working on the shrine, I thought it would be cool to add a shelf.  So, I pulled out the largest of the scallops from Wendy's Scallops Trim Art Parts which coincidentally is exactly the same size as the bottom of the shelf!!! That would be the front of the shelf.  I cut a 5 1/2 x 3/4 inch piece of out chipboard to be the actual shelf.  I painted both with white acrylic paint.  I wanted them to look sort of like an old weathered farmhouse door, so I sanded them.  Then I lightly distressed them with Wild Honey Distress Ink.  I poked a hole on either side of the shelf that I would later use to attach some swivel clasps.  I attached the shelf bottom to the frame using black masking tape and then I also hot glued the joint to strengthen the shelf.  Then I glued the interior of the shrine and the frame together using Glossy Accents. 

I decided to combine a couple of Wendy's Art Parts together to create a top for the shrine.  They are the Pocket Watches and the largest of the flowers from her Florals Art Parts.  The pocket watch was distressed using Gathered Twigs from Tim Holtz' new Fall Seasonal Distress Ink Three Pack.  What delicious colors!!!  I chose to not use the pocket watch as a pocket watch but rather as a "doo hickey" (for lack of a better word) to showcase Wendy sentiment.  I lightly distressed a piece of white cardstock with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and then stamped "Remember...Life Every Day of Your Life" from Wendy's Life and Art stamp set.  Next I lightly brushed over it with Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls to give it a subtle shimmer.  The large flower was heat embossed with a mixture I made using Ranger's Queens Gold and Copper Embossing Powders.  When I finished that piece, I knew that I wanted to string Tim Holtz' Swivel Clasps from the pocket watches to the shelf I had made.  So I joined two clasps together on each side at the jump rings so that they would perfectly reach.  I attached them to the pocket watches but waited until the end to attach them to the shelf.  

The Dress Form from Dress Forms And More was also base coated with white acrylic paint.  I lightly distressed it with Pumice Stone and Tumbled Glass Distress Inks.  I then heat embossed leaves onto the dress form from Wendy's It's Face Art stamp set using Gold Embossing Powder.  I lightly dusted over the dress form using Biscotti Perfect Pearls Powder for an extra subtle shimmer.  I used two sets of wings from Wendy's Simply Wings Art Parts.  The largest set were colored using Seedless Preserves and the smaller wings were colored using Ripe Persimmon from Tim's new Fall Ink Triple Pack.  The larger wings were stamped with Wendy's famous polka dot pattern from her All About Art stamp set.  The smaller wings were stamped with a little cross hatch pattern and gold heat embossed around the edges.  The larger set of wings were glued to the back of the dress form and the smaller wings were glued on top of the dress form.  For added interest, I added a key hole from Tim Holtz' Locket Keys Ideaology.  The dress form needed a head!  

I LOVE the faces on Wendy's It's Face Art stamp set.  So I used the smaller of the Queens And Crowns Art Parts (base coated with a flesh tone acrylic paint) and stamped a partial face onto it.  I then colorized the lips using a small Sakura Water Brush and making my own paint from Forever Red Perfect Pearls Powder and the water brush.  Then I gave her a blue eye by making my own paint with Blue Raspberry Perfect Pearls Powder and the water brush.  I added some Perfect Copper Perfect Pearls to her eye lid using the same paint technique.  Next I lightly added some Victorian Velvet Distress Ink with my finger to give her cheeks a blush and finished off her face with a light dusting of Biscotti Perfect Pearls.  The crown attached to the face was heat embossed with gold embossing powder.  I added another crown Art Part on top and heat embossed it with my Queens Gold and Copper Mix.  I off set that crown just a bit when I glued it on for a more three dimensional effect.  Then I cocked her head to give her an attitude and glued it onto the dress form body. 

The tall flower to the left is from Wendy's Florals Art Parts.  It is painted using Butterscotch and Bottle Paint Dabbers.  Because I love Wendy's polka dots so much, I chose to reuse them on the flower.  The center of the flower is a three dimensional flower I created from Wendy's 6 petal flower stamp on her Dimensional Rose Art stamp set.  The flower was created on manila tag paper using Wild Honey and Broken China Distress Stains and water.  I lightly brushed it with Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls for more shimmer.  The flower is growing out of an ink bottle from Wendy's Borders and Bottles Art Parts. 

I first base coated the bottle with white acrylic paint and then covered it with an Aqua Paint Dabber.  Then I highlighted it a little with a Silver Paint Dabber and distressed the edges with a black cats eye ink pad.  The label on the bottle is from Wendy's Tools For Art stamp set.  It is stamped onto kraft paper and then covered with Crackle Accents.  

The smallest flower in the little "spool pot" is also from Wendy!  The wooden spool pot is painted using a Butterscotch Paint Dabber.  The little flower is from Wendy's Ticket To Art stamp set.  The flower was stamped three times onto the scrap manila paper I used to create the three dimensional flower.  I then cut out the small flower, glued the centers together and spread out the petals.  I added a black button as the center for the flower.  I added a chipboard stem, painted with Bottle and Butterscotch Paint Dabbers and the leaves stamped onto a Peeled Paint distress cardstock are from Wendy's Nature's Art stamps set.  

After all of the pieces were glued into place on the shelf, I joined the Swivel Clasps to the shelf.  Finally, I embellished the pocket watch at the top by adding a silver bee charm, that I toned down by rubbing Gold Paint Dabber over the surface with my finger.  I added a stamped hand from Wendy's Mail Art stamp set.  It is heat embossed with my mixture of Queens Gold and Copper embossing powders over cardstock colorized with Broken China Distress Ink and then edged with a black cats eye ink pad.  I tied a little black cord around the finger, reminding you to "Live Every Day Of Your Life" and it is also pointing upwards towards Wendy's sentiment that the bee is holding;  "Believe in Yourself" from her Art Inspiration stamp set (stamped onto kraft paper).  Isn't THAT sentiment so true??

So there you have it...my Wendy Vecchi project for this week!!!  I hope you enjoyed seeing it and reading about all of her wonderful products I used in this piece!  See...I TOLD you I had a lot of Wendy stuff!!!  (smile) 

Check out the wildly creative and super cool pieces my Design Teammies have made for you at 
SIMON SAYS STAMP AND SHOW CHALLENGE!!!

Then enter your Wendy Vecchi piece in our challenge.  You could win our wonderful sponsor's very generous gift of.....(drum roll).....  

You may also be selected as one of the Top Three artists for the week!!!  So, now it's YOUR turn to get your Wendy on and get busy!  I can't wait to see what you'll create!!  Good luck!!