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Tuesday 17 February 2009

A fantasy 12 x 12.

Hi all,

Recently i have been working on something for Jennie at The Artistic Stamper. She will be at the Make-It craft show at Farnborough, Hants from 20th - 22nd Feb, and i was asked to make something for the stand.

I was asked to do something with one of my fairy doors i make. I haven't made any for a while so this was a great opportunity to dust off the chisel and set about something special for the show. After sitting in my craft room for days on end wondering what to make, i came up with this 12 x 12 layout.



I am quite chuffed with the end result, at first i was doubtful whether something so "blocky" as a wooden door would suit a paper craft layout, but this actually fits quite well with the fantasy theme.


At first i went with a very plain background 12 x 12 paper, but then i came across this one from the DCWV "Once Upon A Time collection". All I've ever done with that collection was stroked it lol, so it was a pleasure to use it on this LO.
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The door itself was kind of a new experiment for me, in that i usually spend a long process getting the finish right with paints and varnish. However here i used a thin coat of Picket White Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint for the finish, and what a result! I am so pleased with how this turned out, just as you'd imagine an old weathered painted door to look.


Another first for me was the fact that this door can open! :)



A single brass hinge covered with ultra fine glitter, allows the door to swing open, revealing a hidden world behind it....
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The view behind the door was made by covering a backing paper from the Crafty Individual "Trees" range, with ultra thick embossing enamel (UTEE), then i sealed some pine branch punch leaves under another layer of UTEE. The effect looks real magical in real life, you could almost get away with thinking it was underwater.
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Now until this project, i have to confess to having been an absolute oaf at embossing! However i recently purchased an anti-static pad which appears to have made a major difference. On this layout, i really wanted to use one of the any of Jennie's Calligraphic background mats, and as you can see, it worked beautifully with embossed gold against the background layer of greeny-blue distress ink. I also edged the whole 12 x 12 with embossed gold. The embossing isn't perfect, but i'm still a learner so go easy. :)

Another product that totally sold itself to me whilst using it, was the Tim Holtz masks. I used a couple of pieces from the "Time works" sheet. I blended distress ink over the masks so that it was similar to the 12 x 12 paper, i think it turned out pretty well and i really enjoyed using these.

I thought the Once Upon A "Time" wording fitted nicely with the clock piece....

What else is there....ah yes.....a little tag made from black stamp board and embossed with one of Jennie's stamps, backed with a crackle glazed stamped paper.


Finaly, i have to mention the door plaque. The name of Jennie's challenge blog and another one of her stamps. Anyone who has seen my doors before, knows they are hand carved, and this plaque was no exception. I think it goes with the door nicely.

So i just wanted to say a big thank you to Jennie and Hel's for asking me to do this, it opened my eyes to a few techniques that i have been wanting to try for a while now, as well as trying out new products.

Talking of which, here are the products i used from Jennie's shop, all which can be found here...

Various rubber stamps, including background mats, flourishes and word stamps....

Calligraphic mat 3 for the gold embossed background.

"Object d' Art" stamp for door plaque.

"ART" stamp for the embossed tag.

Flourish swirl stamp (part of) for around the door.

Flourish swirl stamp for embossing on page.

"Diamonds" texture mat for "ART" tag backing.


Various colours of Distress Ink applied with the blending tool and foam pads.




Crackle Accents. for back of "ART" tag.



Thank you for taking a look.....hope you like it. :)


32 comments:

Kath said...

Fabulous Calv. I feel you could really walk through that door into a fantastic world.
Kath

Calv said...

Thank you Kath :)

I wanted to make a life size one from oak once, but when i worked out the calculations, i figured that if it fell on me it would crush me lol.....so i'll stick to the little ones!

Toni said...

oh wow this is wonderful Calvin I love the door and the world behind its fabulous

Toni xx

Paula's ponderings said...

WOW thats FANTASTIC - I am so impressed. I just love things like this will a whole new world behind them I will be in Farnborough on Saturday (I lived there most of my life) and my rellies wont let me go to the show (saving my bank balance they call it) so I wont be able to see it in RL. It is a wonderful job Calv! (I must admit to being a bit wary when I saw the heading of your post...knowing what rats are like!)

tracy said...

Wow this is absolutely stunning its like an enchanted door waiting for you to step inside and see what magical kingdom awaits you
Love it
Tracy

Ellen said...

brilliant how that all came together , there is so much to see.
so many techniques; the crackle on the door suits it so well and as for the scene behind it... dream away

a piece to be very proud of.

Calv said...

Thank you for your lovely comments everyone :)

It was so enjoyable making it, and it's given me lots of ideas for other projects. Always a good thing! :)

Nora said...

It's fantastic!!! I just KNEW that the door was going to open onto something fabulous & you didn't disappoint, did you?
As far as embossing, you're 12 steps ahead of me, so...
{bowing to my superior}
We're not worthy! We're not worthy!

Ruth (ooffee) said...

Wow! Calv, it's GORGEOUS!

Doors are among my favourite things. When I am out taking photos of old castles and things I always take photos of doors and arches!!!

I love that you can open the door to a different world on your LO!

Wish I could reach out and touch it!
Ruth x

My craft space said...

Wow Calvin, you feel as if you are going to go through that door it is wonderful

love Val xx

Happy Crafter said...

Fantastic Calvin, love the door and whats behind it its just awesome my jaw dropped when i saw this wow i am gobsmacked :)
Val xxx

Hazel said...

There is so much in this LO, including, of course, the gorgeous fairy door. That DCWV paper is just right (it's as if it were specially made for you). x

Carol Q said...

gorgeous Calv. what a lot of work has gone into this. the crackle effect on the door works really well and it does look like water behind the door - what a great idea! makes you want to go visit.

Rachelxx said...

Love it Calv :-) So many elements - love them all!!

Gez Butterworth said...

I can relate to being gobsmacked! WOW...so many different techniques have come together beautifully.
This paper was made for YOUR door!!!
NO....... making life size doors or even mouse sized ones!!!

Enjoy the show if you get to go. :D

Sara F-M said...

Wow, that's fantastic, I love it, what a neat idea and to have an opening door with images behind it, simply fab!

Jenn Klee said...

That little surprise behind the door is just extraordinary! What a great project.

Jennie -The Artistic Stamper said...

Fabulous , and a big thank you
Jennie x

Gaby Bee said...

Hello! I found you through a comment somewhere...
This piece is truly fabulous. I love all the little details, especially the surprise behind the door :-) Very clever!
Gaby xo

Toni said...

HOW CREATIVE!!!! THE DOOR IS PERFECT WITH THIS PAPER!!!!

Anonymous said...

Calv a question if i may....What did you use to make the door,is it solid wood,if so did you use a primer before the crackle paint? I went to tims demo and asked this question about painting crackle onto wood he said i'd need to prime first,anyway fab work as usual xx jo xx

Hannie's crafting creations said...

Wow this is fabulous Calv. Completely magical.

SP said...

Stunning, Calvin, my jaw is aching from the drop ;-), tears of delight, wonder and joy, excellent!
great to see how to try to construct my hinges (blush!)
Thank you for sharing
xx Susan

Calv said...

Thanks everyone for the lovely comments, it's great to see i'm not the only one gets excited about fantasy doors and the worlds behind them!

I was going to say i'm glad i'm not the only one who's away with the fairies....but of course that wouldn't be right! :)

Hi Jo, as for how i make my doors, unfortunately they are the few secrets that i keep between me and the fairies. Unfortunately i've had too many people copy my doors in the past. Lots of crafters know my doors and have been kind enough to tell me when people have been selling blatant copies.

It's a shame that it happens, but there you go.

If Tim says you need primer, it will depend on what material you are painting it on.

Paula's ponderings said...

so...do you take commissions for these Calv??

Anonymous said...

lol calv i didnt mean how do you actually make the doors......do you use wood thats all i was trying to find out because you used the crackle pain ,i wandered if you used a primer first xx jo xx

Calv said...

Hi Jo, sometimes i've used balsa wood, sometimes other materials. I don't use primer with the crackle paint.

Hi Paula, not at the moment, but i do when i'm up and running again. :)

Louly said...

OMG!!!!What can I say about this? It's so beautiful. It takes me back to my childhood when I was fascinated with anything minature that I could imagine exploring if I could shrink like Alice in wonderland.I would love to walk through that door into that beautiful scene.

sugarnellie said...

Amazing I love it what a huge amount of work, well worth it.

Paula said...

Wow what a fab layout. I can't believe you got one of your doors on a page LOL

Carisa said...

OMG, I absolutely love this! It's beautiful and I love all the little details. I am totally subbing to your your blog and after a short time on it I see why you have tons of followers, You literally have me laughing out loud! Can't wait to see more of your work.

sandra said...

This look like you steal house from fairy.Fantastic!!!You imagination have no limits!I salute...Sandra!