Sunday, February 3, 2013

EVER AFTER ...

Welcome to my blog and the first Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge for February!  Can you believe it's February already?

This week's challenge is all about fairy tales and fantasy.
I was quickly taken back to my favorite childhood fairy tale ...


Cinderella! 

I thought she was the most beautiful princess I'd ever seen.  Her story of overcoming her evil step mother and three ugly step sisters to win the heart of the handsome Prince Charming is such a classic! My favorite part is Cinderalla's magical transformation from wearing rags into a gorgeous ball gown and dancing with her prince.  All seemed to be lost at the stroke of midnight when the magic spell was broken but in the end, Cinderella and her Prince lived happily ever after!

As I usually do when creating something, I never really know where the end project will take me.  But, I sort of know what I want to use in creating a piece.  So, I pulled out Wendy Vecchi's Art Parts Artful Shrines, Tim Holtz' Weathered Clock die cut and Kaiser's Iron Gate Wood Flourishes.  That would be my basic elements. 

Because I didn't know how the Artful Shrines would be colored, I gave all of the pieces a basecoat of White Gesso.



I painted the shrine frame with a Black Paint Dabber and let it dry.  Then I pounced the paint dabber in places to create a little more texture.  After that dried, I added some Gold Embossing to the frame by randomly stamping the crackled effect stamp from Tim Holtz' Joyful Song stamp set.  You will see that in later pictures.



I sprayed Dylusions London Blue then a touch of Vibrant Turquiose onto center portion of the white gesso painted shrine; followed by a touch of Stormy Sky Distress Ink.  Then I stenciled Dyan Reaveley's snowflakes from her Let It Snow Stencil onto the background of the blue using a stipple brush and Gold Paint Dabber paint.  I painted around the outside edge of the shrine with a Black Paint Dabber.  Then I lightly added some Sunflower Sparkle Perfect Pearls Powder to the surface.  Finally, I painted the Kaiser Wooden Iron Gates with a Gold Paint Dabber and then added Sunflower Sparkle Perfect Pearls Powder.  I wanted them to glisten as if covered with fairy dust!  I attached them to the base of the shrine using Tyvek that I had painted with Gold Paint Dabber.



The transformation continues as I hot glued the crackle embossed frame onto the top of the shrine background.  The black squares are pop dots where I would be placing the weathered clock.  I also hot glued the "steps" that had been painted with a Gold Paint Dabber and then distressed with Black Soot Distress Ink.  I kept the center of the weathered clock die cut and covered it with manila cardstock, distressed with Gathered Twigs and edged with Black Soot.  I then stamped part of a saying on Tim Holtz' Fairytale Frenzy stamp set. 

Now I needed to get the weathered clock ready to take it's place at the top of the shrine.


 I cut it out of Plain Grunbeboard and colored it using first a Black Paint Dabber.  Then I decided to try the Tarnished Brass Distress Stain over most of the clock.  I heated it dry and then added some dabs from a Gold Paint Dabber to add texture and also more metallic color. 



Next, I coated the clock in embossing ink and sprinkled Clear UTEE all over the clock and then removed the excess powder.



Then using my Heat It Craft Tool, I melted the Clear UTEE to give the clock a shiny finish and added dimension.



Finally, to really make those roman numerals pop, I added a black cardstock (that had been lightly swiped with Gold Paint Dabber) underneath the numerals.  I glued the cardstock in place with Glossy Accents and then cut out around the weathered clock die.



Here you can see the weathered clock, taking it's place at the top of the shrine.  Then I added a beautiful "castle door" frame from Darkroom Door's Frame Stamp.  It is gold embossed on black cardstock.



For a more romantic fairy tale feeling, I added some green wire (vines) to the castle door and then a few colorful tea roses to the vines.



The final touch to this fairy tale story ... the characters! All were found online and sized to fit my piece.  I backed them all with cardstock and then cut them out, leaving a little tab at their feet to hot glue them onto the steps.  Prince Charming and Cinderella shimmer and sparkle thanks to Waterfall, Stardust and Gold Stickles.



And what story of Cinderella would be complete without Tinkerbell?  Here she is, sparkling with Stardust, Eucalyptus and Gold Stickles, waving her magic wand over the sentiment ... "Anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending."  Isn't THAT a wonderful thought?  

I'm wishing you a "HAPPILY EVER AFTER" kind of New Year!

Join us at Simon Says Stamp and Show and enter our Ever After challenge.  You would be the lucky winner of our weekly random drawing of a 



 $50.00 credit voucher to shop at Simon Says Stamp!  You could also be recognized as one of the TOP THREE entries for the week!  Be sure to stop by Simon Says Stamp and Show to see the magical fairy tale creations that my Design Teammates have waiting for you!

Have fun with this one and have a wonderfully creative week!

Here are the products available at Simon Says Stamp and Show used in this piece:











32 comments:

  1. Candy this is so magical and I love Cinderella, such a beautiful story and you have captured all that magic in your beautiful make!great quote too! hugs trace x

    ReplyDelete
  2. That is beautiful, Candy. I always enjoy seeing what you come up with each week. Very nice, as always.

    ReplyDelete
  3. totes-perfecto my dear friend.... I loved Cinderella too and I had a little View Finder that had the Cinderella Disney photo's in the card... awww, this has taken me back to those days! LOVE your ART Candy... not so sure about the theme this week, I am not much of a fairytale kinda gal rofl You did it proud though xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey Candy, a lovely whimsical piece, such attention to detail, fabulous colouring and texture from the embossing. I absolutely love those iron gates, they are just the perfect fit here. I love your placement of the images too, I could almost reach into the computer and touch them, they seem to have so much movement. Love your use of the weathered clock too and the sentiment is just perfect. Enjoy your week my friend. Tracy x x

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wow Wow Wow this is just absolutely gorgeous love everything about this magical piece of Art. The clock looks fabulous as well as the iron gates. Thanks for sharing Candy
    Marilyn

    ReplyDelete
  6. Brilliant as always! I just love the arch the gates and lovely design! Fabulous take on the challenge! Love the details! Inspiring!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Magical Cinderella shrine - that UTEE'd clock is just lovely, and the gates look fantastic! That sparkly edging to her dress is pure fairytale glamour... And my favourite quote - gotta get that stamp set!! Wonderful inspiration as always, Candy, thank you!
    Alison xx

    ReplyDelete
  8. What a great way to use WV's Artful Shrines Art Parts and how well does that TH clock fit - this is a wonderful little masterpiece. Those iron gates are a brilliant addition and the beautiful Cinderella and her handsome prince are adorable, as are those cute little mice. A very inspirational piece Candy. Hugs, Anne x

    ReplyDelete
  9. So very amazing!! Thanks for the tutorial on it too! Hugs, Robin

    ReplyDelete
  10. O-h m-y g-o-s-h! I'm just speechless! This is just off the charts gorgeous! Museum quality!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. oooh that was my favourite film when I was young, especially loved it when all the birds and little creatures helped Cinderella.

    Loving your gorgeous project Candy. Hugs Annette x

    http://nettysartadventures.blogspot.co.uk/

    ReplyDelete
  12. This is wonderful Candy! I knew you would do magic with the fairy tale theme. LOVE the background piece with the gates, door and wonderful textures. The flowers are perfect and that sentiment just fits so well.

    ReplyDelete
  13. This is such a COOL idea! I absolutely love it Candy! So much detail...amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wow candy..............visits to your blog just get better and better :-). This is just an amazing piece.........so well thought out and the vines and flowers to finish it off...it is the perfect picture of such a HAPPY ENDING .

    TFS

    Annie x

    ReplyDelete
  15. Such a Magical piece. I Love it!
    Hugs, Dangina

    ReplyDelete
  16. Oh. I really love this!Such a beautiful, magical scene.
    I like the gate , the roses and the clock with the UTEE-surface. That looks great.
    Have a nice week.

    Anke x

    ReplyDelete
  17. Pure magic!!!! You have grabbed Disney by the creative fairy tale handful! The gate, using the shrine, the steps, the door...all amazing!!! You are amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Another amazing creation! Your creativity is astounding!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Magical… Astounding… Stunning… Remarkable…. these are only few words from the dictionary that can describe the creativity of the wonderful project you have done…. I love everything Disney… it is amazing to see how you have captured the magic of disney with every little detail…

    May you always have this magical touch in every project you do!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Ein atemberaubend schönes Kunstwerk, Candy, man fühlt sich beim Betrachten in eine Märchenwelt versetzt, das ist grandios! Ich staune bei jedem Besuch auf Ihrem Blog über diese wunderbaren Projekte, die Sie schaffen.
    Liebe Grüße.

    ReplyDelete
  21. oooh, another gorgeous piece, I love it! That turquoise and gold background is so good I could eat it, and the Kaiser gates go so well for the background, they really are like something from a fairytale. The clock has turned out really well, love all the details of the metallic stain and gold paint (I'd like to see Tim give us an antique gold to go with the colours they've already produced!).

    Cinderella was the very first pantomime I went to see. It was dark and we travelled by coach, and it's the first time I can remember going anywhere at night and being able to see out of the windows. We rounded a bend in the road on a hill and the whole of the city lights were spread out beneath us and I turned to my grandmother and asked "Is that fairyland Nanny?" and I was never allowed to forget it in the years that followed lol!

    ReplyDelete
  22. A stunning make and thanks for the clear step by step! The end result looks amazing and so very clever!!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Cool project, Candy!! I like the embellishments and the touches of sparkle:)

    *mwah*
    Steph
    Simon Says Stamp!

    ReplyDelete
  24. wow Candy! This is magical! What a gorgeous scenery you've made! It's so full with details, and I love it! Hugs, Sandra

    ReplyDelete
  25. I love this composition, especially the realistic way in which you finished Tim Holtz' clock die. I just got that die, so I'll have to try the technique sometime. This is one of my daughters' favorite stories too, although their favorite version was the Rodgers and Hammerstein version with Brandy that came out in 1997. Blessings!

    ReplyDelete
  26. This is totally awesome, it must have taken days to complete, but so very worth it! ~Diane

    ReplyDelete
  27. Such a totally AWESOME project Candy!!! You always blow me away with your attention to detail! FABULOUS LOVE!!!

    ReplyDelete
  28. Such a beautifully creation Candy!! You always amaze me with your attention to detail!! FABULOUS!!!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Hi Candy I love this piece. It would make a lovely real clock! It reminds me of one of those clocks that have a glass dome over the top. I have that cute Tinkerbell on my computer springing her magic.

    ReplyDelete
  30. WOW!!!!! This is just so stunning! Amazing interpretation of the theme.

    ReplyDelete
  31. I really love how you have used all the pieces. The clock face looks fab Andries in perfectly with the theme. Thanks for your lovely comment x

    ReplyDelete
  32. Hi candy,

    What are Amazing Piece of art work, its soo fantastic with the woman and the man is dancing on the flor, iam looking your blog and find so many faboulous and stunning pieces, i loved all.
    thank you for your lovely kind words on my blog,iam so glad you find my blog.
    now iam just your follower.
    i hope you can undertstand me ,my english is very bad,sorry.

    Big Huges Jeannette

    ReplyDelete

I am so happy that you stopped by my blog! I truly appreciate your time and thank you for leaving a comment! Have a wonderfully blessed day!