Sunday, October 21, 2012

THE HOUSE THAT WENDY BUILT

This week's challenge at Simon Says Stamp and Show is all about showcasing the wonderful talent and imaginative products of Studio 490's Wendy Vecchi.

And...as an added bonus, THE Wendy Vecchi is gracing us with her presence this week at Simon Says Stamp and Show as our guest artist! She is sharing two exclusive techniques with us this week!  One today and stay tuned for the other one, later this week!

Without further adieu, here is my piece honoring our guest artist, Wendy Vecchi....

Do you ever get a song that sticks in your head?  Well, that was the inspiration for my creation this week; a steampunk house complete with a love triangle. If you have not already guessed the song that kept playing over and over again in my head, it's Carly Rae Jepsen's hit, "Call Me Maybe". 


The house is a combination of many Wendy Vecchi stamps, Art Parts and some pouty Blossom Bucket Mini Lips coupled with some Tim Holtz stamps, texture fades and pieces from his Ideaology line.

  It started off as a 9 1/2" x 5 1/2" plain wooden house that I bought on sale at a local craft store.  I thought is had some great potential.

I began by painting the entire house black and then dry brushing over it with some gray paint.  Then I further distressed it by adding some half pearls (painted black) to make "rivets" on the front door.  I wanted the house to have a bit more of a "metallic" feeling to the wood, so I added another coat of dry brushed gold metallic paint to the areas that I knew would be exposed on the front of the box.  
 (You will see the rivets and dry brushed exterior in future pictures.)

  Next, I took some foil metal sheets and embossed them with Tim Holtz' Subway Texture Fade.  Then I painted the metal black and dabbed off excess paint (with a paper towel) until I achieved the grungy distressed silver metal look I wanted.  Next, I randomly wiped (using my index finger) some gold from a Gold Paint Dabber over the raised areas of the lettering embossed on the metal sheet.  I followed the gold with some teal-ish paint from a Juniper Paint Dabber.  


That gave me the grungy metallic, patina look I was going for.  Then I laid the foil over the roof and the sides of the house and lined up one edge along the edge of the wood.  I folded the other side over the other edge of the roof or the house side to give me a nice clean edge.  Then I cut along the folded line to create the panels for the roof and sides.  Since the metal foil sheets are already adhesive backed, it was a snap to put them in place.


Here is a closer look at the roof and the side of the house.  I really love embossing and grunging Tim's texture fades on metal foil sheets.  They look so cool!


I stamped several of Wendy's wonderful stamps on kraft paper (using Jet Black Archival Ink) and then measured them to fit the interior panels of my box.  I used her polka dot from "All About Art" for the top peak in my house.  On top of the ledge is Wendy's random splatter design from "Ticket To Art".  The lower area of the interior is repeated stamping with Wendy's conglomeration of cool numbers from Art Parts.  I inked all of the edges with a black cats eye ink pad and glued them all into place.

Let's talk about all of the pieces on the interior first. 

  The Steampunk gentlemen are from Tim Holtz' Steampunk stamp set.  They are colorized using various Distress Markers and a Small Sakura Water Brush.  I left a "tab" of cardstock underneath them so that I could fold that back and attach the trio to the ledge using 1/4" Scor Tape.  This also gave them dimension as they are not plastered against the back wall.

The same applies for the coloring of the two hanging fish from Wendy Vecchi's "Art For Men" stamp set.  After I finished coloring and blending the inks, I sprayed the fish with Biscotti Perfect Pearls Mist to give them that sheen that real fish seem to have when the sun shines on their scales.  The sign "here fishy fishy..." is from Wendy's "Call It Art" stamp set.  I stamped it onto manila cardstock, cut it out and inked the edges with a chestnut roan cats eye ink pad.  They hare hung on hook with Making Memories Vintage Findings Garment Pins then just hung on hooks at the back of the house.


The stacked 1" wooden blocks are colorized using Gathered Twig Distress Ink and edged with a black cats eye ink pad.  All of the images on the blocks are Wendy Vecchi's.  "Art" is from "Art Inspiration" stamp set.  The portion of the face in the center is from "It's Face Art".  The shoe print on the bottom block is from "For The Arts" stamp set.  The Alpha Card laying on the floor is from Tim Holtz and is distressed using the chest nut roan cats eye ink pad.


The interior door features one of Wendy Vecchi's Steampunk Gears Art Parts.  It has been colored using a pouncing method (to create a little more raised texture) with a Silver then Gold Paint Dabber.  I have wired one of Tim Holtz' Time Pieces transformed from antique silver to a shabby gold by applying paint from a Gold Paint Dabber to it with my finger.  I have added a Tim Holtz Sprocket Gear topped with a Mini Gear to the top of the Time Piece.  Then I added some antique gold wire that I curled to make it look like main springs.  I added another Mini Gear and "hands" from Tim Holtz' Mini Labels stamp set.  I ran the wire back through the time piece and secured it to the back.  Then I hot glued it all into place on the Art Parts Gear.  The background behind the time piece is from Wendy's "Art Rules" stamp set and it stamped with Jet Black Archival onto kraft paper.  "Specimen 2b" is from Wendy's "A Form Of Art" stamp set and is stamped on manila cardstock.  It is torn on the edges and distressed with a chestnut roan cats eye.  I added Tim's Ideaology Snap and adhered the strip to the background using 1/4" Scor Tape.


Onto the exterior...


The roof features more of Wendy's Art Part Gears painted with a Silver then Gold Paint Dabber.  One is located under the derby man and the other is located underneath the telephone.  It is hot glued to the tin roof with the support of a wooden spool.  The vintage telephone sitting atop the gear is from Wendy's "Call It Art" stamp set.  I stamped it two times onto manila cardstock so that I could separate the receiver from the base of the phone.  I could also cut out the dial and pop dot it onto the base, to add more dimension to the phone.  I covered the dial with Crackle Accents after slightly distressing it with a chestnut roan cat eye ink pad.  I backed both the base and the receiver of the phone with kraft paper to hide where I attached the phone cord using 1/4" Scor Tape.  The cord is wire that I painted black and then curled to resemble the old time phone cords.  Then I added the vintage light bulb stamp from Stampers Anonymous to the base of the phone.  It is stamped on manila cardstock and distressed with Gathered Twigs. 


The lovestruck man climbing up the roof to grab the phone is from Wendy's "Gentlemen's Art" stamp set.  He is colorized in the same method as the fish and attached to the roof by a kraft paper tab that has been slide underneath the roof via a slit (before placing that section of the roof in place).  I had a tab on his hand and on his foot that are touching the roof.  The manila cardstock hearts are colorized with Fired Brick Distress Marker and attached to a piece of wire using 1/4" Scor Tape.  Then I curled the end of the wire and attached it to the man's back, almost like a paper clip.



The derby man sitting on top of the gear was stamped onto manila cardstock and colorized in the same manner as the fish.  I added a Mini Gear to his derby and a keyhole and key from Tim Holtz' Locket Keys to his left side.  The key is dangling from a chain.  I also added one of Tim Holtz' Light Bulbs to the gear.  The derby man is saying "Here's my number" to the mysterious lady on the front of the door.  His number...."5-4-9" are Tim Holtz' Mini Numerals attached to the roof with black pop dots.  


The brick background behind the mysterious lady on the front of the door was created using Wendy Vecchi's brick stencil.  I rubbed white gesso over the top of the stencil on manila cardstock.  I probably could have done it on black but I didn't think of it at the time.  (smile) While it was wet, I sprinkled Tim Holtz' Distress Rock Candy Glitter onto the bricks.  When they were dry, I rubbed all over them with Fired Brick Distress Ink and created the rich, deep brick color.  The Distress Glitter took on the Fired Brick color and gave the bricks some added texture.  Then I colored all around the bricks with a Black Distress Marker in the areas that would be mortar.  That really made the bricks stand out.  


The mysterious lady was created out of a combination of Wendy's "Art Rules" and "An Eye For Art" stamp sets.  I stamped the eyes and "mask" surrounding them out twice so that I could cut out just the mask and pop it on top for more dimension.  Her eyes and face are colorized with Distress Markers and highlighted lightly with Lagoon Stickles on her eye lids.  I also added the white feathers. 


I outlined the mask in Lagoon Stickles and then added Stardust Stickles to all of the small dots going around the mask then let that dry.  

 

Then I added some Ideaology Foliage pieces to the top of the mask and Kaisercraft Rhinestones to each side of the mask.  Next I colored the phenology head underneath with the same method as of the other colorized items on this piece.  I added the Blossom Bucket Mini Lips  and coated them with Glossy Accents.  Then I placed the mask on top of the phrenology head stamp, creating this very interesting lady.  Her response to the derby man ... "Call Me Maybe." 

The steampunk house with the door shut.

The steampunk house with the door open.

  So there it is ... my steampunk "Call Me Maybe" house that Wendy (and Tim) built.  Stop by Simon Says Stamp and Show's blog and check out the really cool projects that my Design Teammates have waiting for you.  

Now it's your turn to create something fun using at least one of Wendy's products.  Then enter it into our challenge at Simon Says Stamp and Show.  You could be the lucky winner of our weekly random drawing of 



You could also be selected as one of our TOP THREE entries for the week ... a very nice honor.  Stop by the blog and see what all of the Design Team has created for you this week.  There are some really amazing and creatively thought out pieces for your viewing pleasure!

Good luck!  I can't wait to see what you'll come up with!

Here are all of the products available at Simon Says Stamp that I have used in creating this piece:







29 comments:

  1. ça fourmille de pleins de détails, autant de bonnes idées. Une création réalisée avec beaucoup de goût, de soins et de talent. Bravoooo

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  2. This is so cool Candy! I love it! As always you used fabulous techniques and your details are absolutel wonderful. Love the metallic roof, the phone, all the little bits and pieces. WOW!

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  3. WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW.... Candy, my chin is on my chest... am speechless (i know, me? speechless!) THIS IS AMEEEEEZING!!!!! WOWOW!!!!!! *am off to share this on my FB too, everyone needs to see it!!!* xxx

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  4. Candy!! You totally blew my socks off and built the most amazing house!!! I want to live in it!! So cool and tons of detail, just brilliant xxxx

    Kaz x

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  5. I got creative shock pleasure from your work! thank you for inspiration!!! hello from Ukraine.

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  6. I love it, it's fabulous and the effect you achieved on the roof... I'm gonna have to steal (oops, borrow) that idea!!

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  7. Wow, it's Beautiful, what a great way to honor Wendy, ur creation is awesome….

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  8. Absolutely stunning Candy. You piece everything together so well. Very inspiring

    Hugs Annie x

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  9. Just amazing yet again Candy, I have been back for another look in more detail as could not take it all in the first time lol. Love how you created the brick wall and your use of Art Parts, Idea-ology and embellishments is INSPIRED. I love those little cubes on the inside of the house and the hanging fish, what a fabulous idea. Love the lovestruck man climbing up the roof, very clever and the embossing is gorgeous, adding even more texture to an already lovely tactile piece. Love the lady on the front and your use of text inspired by the song. Another beauty and inspired piece Candy. Tracy x x

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  10. Wow, Candy!! This piece has oh so many treats for the eye! I love all the vibrant colors within it and the 3D effects! Using the gesso with the brick template looks fantastic!!

    *mwah*
    Steph
    Simon Says Stamp!

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  11. I don't think you have room in your house for any more phenomenal art pieces. So I'll come to your rescue and let you display them in MY house! lol Oh my...this is just the coolest idea!!! I gotta make me some blocks...super duper find!

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  12. Hey there my amazing teamie, my goodness you did the Wendy soooo proud, I am loving every little inch of your Wendy House wowwzerssss....love it all, the inside and outside of the house. IT IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING wohoooooo
    Hugs Terry xxxx

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  13. Another amazing project,so many different techniques,love it!!!

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  14. Hi Candy, I left this post to the end in my reader because I knew it would be worth waiting for and I was so not disappointed. This a proper Wendy House! Your wonderfully creative mind must have gone into overdrive on this one. The theme is brilliant, the man on the roof going to answer the phone is genius, love, love the fish inside, they are amazing. Love the patina you have created on the roof and sides and that mysterious lady is gorgeous and looks like butter would not melt in her mouth. Beautiful, beautiful inspired piece and oh, did I say - I LOVE IT! Crafty hugs, Anne x

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  15. Oh Candy, this is beyond stunning! Such an amazing transformation! I think my favorite is the textured roof and all those fun decorations a top it! I love how you always add so much detail and interest yet you somehow avoid the clutter effect. Just the perfect amount of everything! Gorgeous job, my friend! You never disappoint.
    Kate

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  16. Total amazing creation and loving the stories going on within this fab piece. You definitely pulled out all the stops for this fabby piece. Annette x

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  17. Stunning Project! You really rocked this one. I Love it!
    Hugs, Dangina

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  18. OMGOSH Candy!!!! I am in such AWE of your work girl!!! SO AMAZING in every single way!! WOW!!!! Wendy must be jumping up and down with joy!!

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  19. Wow, that looks wonderful. I love it. It is so interesting to see how you use the different techniques to create this beautiful house.
    It is always a pleasure to stop here and have a look at your new creations. I am waiting for more. :-)

    Anke x

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  20. I would guess that this took you over a week to make. This absolutely fantastic amazing piece is so full of details and embellishments and the most amazing creativity! I have no words good enough to go on! I am so not worthy!!! The vision alone is burning a hole in my memory blanks to make me smile on the saddest of days. I love every single bit! You are so darn talented!!! This project rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  21. Simply amaazzzing!! Love the detail!!

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  22. SO much detail! Very inspiring!

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  23. I think you've outdone yourself, Candy, and that says an awful lot. HOLY MOLY, GIRL! This piece is absolutely killer. LOVE the 'call me maybe' lyrics and the roof... what fantastic texture you have there! And then on the inside? The clock hands are killing me.... so flipping cool! I totally love this piece!

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  24. Oh my gosh this piece is amazing! I love all of the details you put into this one. Really beautiful!

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  25. Candy, this piece is amazing, it is hard to know what look at and love first, the looks, the fish..the steam punk gents...this is amazing and showcases your talent and creativity as well as your excellent skill perfectly!! Another wonderful make ,love trace x

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  26. Your piece is fabulous. I love all the fun pieces. I had a great chuckle, as my hubby just asking me what that song was, and why it was on tv all night last night..So funny.

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  27. Candy this is just 100% GENIUS girl, you have rocked this theme big style ...... love love love all the detail. x

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  28. Where to start? So many awesome details and then you open it up and even more! Love the texture on the roof I think that is my favorite part! But everything else is very cool!

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