Spring is in the Air !

 

Hi everyone! it's Toni here to share a project with you today. It surely must be Spring as the clocks go forward this weekend and our lovely tortoise has woken up from hibernation. So in celebration of things to come, I've made this flowery wall hanging. I started by painting Studio Gesso on to a chip board circle. I then used my favourite Layering Stencils, Trellis and Dot Fade, with embossing paste to add some texture to the surface.





Once the embossing paste was dry I painted the frame firstly with Crushed Olive Distress Paint and then Antique Linen over the top. I swiped a little Walnut Stain Distress ink around the inside and outside edges when it had dried. I painted a separate piece of card for the background and used crackle medium to add interest.

I really like the results of this. It's almost a shame to cover it up but I had the idea of using the new Frame Works  Trellis die to create some 'rusted iron work'. I know I'm going to love using this die in projects. I cut several pieces and used Distress Embossing Powder in Vintage Photo to create the rusted effect.

I stuck the trellis strips together with tiny pieces of tape and then glued them onto the back of the circle frame. I cut a circle, the same size as the frame from the background card and joined the pieces together with dimensional pads. 

 I then set to with making the flowers. I cut several flowers in manila card, using The Jumbo Tattered Florals Die. If you'd like to have a go at making flowers like these, there is a step by step  tutorial, using the regular sized Tattered Florals Die, on my blog, which you can find by following this link. I used the same method  with The Jumbo Tattered Florals Die for making the largest flower on this hanging. Here's a photo showing the different stages..

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 They're quite easy to make, and also quite addictive! The yellow flower was made by shaping the flower petals with a ball tool on a foam mat and then layering together.

I used a couple of the smaller Tattered Florals die cuts for the centre of this flower.

The foliage was cut from Kraft Core card using the Tim Holtz Alterations - Bigz Garden Greens and the Alterations - Decorative Strip - Spring Greenery. I softened the surface with a little Distress paint before adhering them to the frame. I then arranged the flowers and greenery and used a glue gun to fix  the flowers onto the frame. The  sentiment is from a set of stamps by Indigo Blue, it's been stamped in Potting Soil Archival Ink onto a piece of distressed manila card.

So, that just about finishes off my spring project. I hope it inspires you to put a spring in your step!
Oh!  and just a quick reminder..... there are still a few days left to join in the 'Altered Books', ePlay Challenge, we'd love to see you push your boundaries! x
Here are some of the products I've, used available from the eclectic Paperie shop, on this project

Tim Holtz Alterations - Bigz Garden Greens	Tim Holtz Alterations - Decorative Strip - Spring Greenery	Tim Holtz Alterations - Bigz XL Die - Jumbo Tattered Florals	Distress Ink Pad - Tattered Rose	Distress Ink Pad - Scattered Straw
Distress Ink Pad - Crushed Olive	Tim Holtz Distress Paint - Crushed Olive	Tim Holtz Distress Paint - Antique Linen	Wendy Vecchi - Studio 490 - Embossing Paste - White	Claudine Hellmuth Studio Gesso