FAVORITE STAMP

This week's Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge was a hard one for me....YOUR FAVORITE STAMP!  The theme is not hard...but choosing my favorite stamp was!  I have so many favorites!  Check out the favorite stamps of my design team buddies and the wonderful creations they've made for you this week at Simon Says Stamp and Show's Challenge Blog.  Their imaginations never cease to amaze me.  Always inspiring art!

I guess right now...my favorite stamp would have to be Tim Holtz Remnants set because I love the hot air balloon!  So, I chose to use that stamp set to create my piece for this week...a vintage piece reminiscent of an old wind up toy.

I started off with a little inexpensive wooden box that I bought from a craft store for $3.

I think the box is supposed to sit flat with the mesh being the top of the box.  But, I liked it up on end.  So, here is my box before I started....The first thing I did was spray the entire box with some "Honey" stain from Design Master.  It does a wonderful job of adding a beautiful aged sepia tone to a project.  My next step was probably "bass akwards" of what I normally do.  I created my paper interior of the box before I painted the outside of the box.  I think I was so excited to see my idea of the interior come to life that I just jumped in with both feet!  But, it worked out just fine.

Before and After picture of the background being added to the basic paper.

I selected a paper from my Bo Bunny 6x6 Weekend Market Paper Pad.  I wanted a paper that has just a little bit of print so that my stamped image would not compete with it.  I selected the large text from Remnants as my background. I colored the stamp with Broken China, Rusty Hinge and Walnut Stain Distress Markers.  Then I stamped it onto my piece of paper, cut to fit the inside of my box. I loved the "earthy tones" I got and how the Distress Markers blended on the paper. Then I distressed the edges of the paper with a little Vintage Photo Distress Ink and set it to the side.

I knew that my box was pretty deep and that I needed to create a "false back" in my box so that my hot air balloon would not sit back so far inside of the box.  So, I added several small wooded blocks to the bottom of my box so that I could glue my background on to them.

I covered the interior of the box with various papers from the same paper pack.  Then I stamped the hot air balloon 4 times onto Ranger's Specialty Stamping Paper. I stamped the balloon using Jet Black Archival Ink and colored it with a Barn Door Distress Marker. I used the same technique to create my dimensional hot air balloon that I used a month ago on a project.  See those instructions HERE.  

I cut out little flags for the bunting from left over Specialty Stamp Paper.  I colorized it with a Tumbled Glass Distress Marker and edged with a black cats eye pad.  I then folded and glued the flags over a black cord.  To add some "sheen", I lightly brushed the bunting with Sunflower Sparkle Perfect Pearls. Then I added the bunting to the hot air balloon.  

Finally, I knew that I was going to be adding a "passenger" on the hot air balloon, so I painted a 3/4" wood block black and glued it onto the base of my balloon.  This would give me a good dimensional base to add my flying man....

The little man was so much fun to make! I used a "SOAR" (since he's flying on the hot air balloon) Adage Ticket as his body.  It is highlighted around the edges with Sunflower Sparkle Perfect Pearls that has been painted on using Tim Holtz' Detailer Brush....so far the cuffs on his shirt.  The rest of the little man is from a wonderul collage sheet that I recently purchased from Alpha Stamps.  Isn't he great?

I found the "stage curtain" that I used across the top of the interior of my box online.  I sized it to fit my box and cut it out.  It was cute...but it needed something.  So, I dusted it with Sunflower Sparkle Perfect Pearls and then painted some detail work on the fringe and folds with the Detailer Brush. I think it really brought the curtain to life.  You can see the Before (top) and After (bottom) results from the application of the Perfect Pearls.  

Here is the finished interior of the box. Lots of detail...lots of fun!

Now that my interior was finished, it was time to do the outside of the box. I wanted it to look really old and well worn.  So, I started off with a paint coating of Aspen Green Folk Art Acrylic Paint.  Then I smeared some Vaseline on to areas that I wanted to resist my darker paint color I was about to add.

Next, I used my Paper Artsy Crackle Glaze in a bit different way than it called for on the instructions.  I painted on the glaze and let it dry.  Then, instead of adding another layer of paint and letting it crackle, I added a thinner wash using a little water and Raw Sienna Folk Art Acrylic Paint.  I didn't want it so much to crackle as I wanted to try to create a weathered, peeling paint effect.  Here is the top of my box during the process.  You can see the difference before and after the application of the raw sienna wash and drying it with a heat tool.

Here is another picture of the texture on the box.  It really does look like a peeling paint or varnish.  I finally lightly painted some Iridescent Medium over the box to give it some sheen when the light hits it.

Now the exterior of my box needed some character.  I purchased some little unfinished wood pieces to achieve that.  Two different size wheels created the top of my box.  I painted them with Paper Artsy Haystack Fresco Paint.  Simon Says Stamp carries some of the Paper Artsy Paint and Glaze Products.  Click HERE to see them. Then I stacked them, hot glued them and distressed them using Gathered Twig Distress Ink. Then I added a dusting of Sunflower Sparkle for that extra shimmer.  I added a piece of braid trim and added Tim Holtz' Clock Key to the top.  It really gives my box that vintage, wind up toy feeling.

I also added four wooden stars painted in Haystack, distressed with Gathered Twig and dusted with Sunflower Sparkle.  I hot glued them in place on the four corners of the front of the box and added Tim Holtz' Mini Gears to the centers of each one....a different one on each star.  I also added four wooden knobs (colored the same at the stars and top) to the base.  I love the character just those knob added!

This is a picture of the box with the door closed.

Finally, I added some metal pieces that I found at a craft store to the interior of the wire mesh.  I wired each of them in place so that they would freely hang when the door is open yet it would not detract from the exterior of the box when the door is closed.  The little Antique Brass Hook at the top that is holding the wired pieces in place is from 7 Gypsies. Those little deals come in so handy!

So, that is my favorite stamp...made into a fun, vintage piece that I will enjoy having around!

Now it's YOUR turn to pull out your favorite stamp and make something wonderful! Then enter them into our weekly challenge. You could be randomly selected to win our generous sponsor's prize of a ...

You may also be selected as one of our TOP THREE entries of the week! Not an easy thing to achieve as we have so many wonderfully creative entries every week. So, get your ink on and enter today!

I'm also entering this piece in the "Alter It" Challenge over at Frilly and Funkie.  It's another fun challenge with a very artistic following.