Monday 7 January 2013

Michelle Webb #1 ... Altered Tag Box

A little intro into what makes Michelle Webb tick ....

I'm positive (I bet you've gathered that one already), and have a zest for life. I think most crafters are positive people just by the fact that we create lovely things, which makes us feel good inside. I'm 41 and I work full time as a data analyst, a geek's title but I'm far from geeky! I have a 22 year old Son who thinks the world of me, he has been known to join in with my inky messyness sometimes. Good Lad! I live in the north of England born and bread in County Durham, but I moved south to Teesside in 1990. I'm into stamping in a huge way and painting. I like to combine the two as much as possible, usually making mixed media canvases. I like making my own digi stamps too (not the cute kind!) whenever I get the time that is, which isn't very often. I have 3 loopy young cats who take delight in removing things from my craft room and placing them in doorways where I trip over them, especially paint brushes! Don't ask me why, I don't know! Anyhoo enough about me, lets see project No. 1.

Wood is a brilliant substrate to decorate because you can stick anything you want to it (paper), paint over it, or apply embellishments and they will stay put.
For this 12 x 15.5cm wooden gift bag, I’ve started tearing out a few pages of a love themed poetry book and tearing them into smaller pieces. I’ve stuck these pieces to the wood using matte gel medium. It’s better to use gel medium than ordinary PVA glue because gel medium dries like a clear acrylic paint, so you don’t see it, and you can stamp and paint over it too. PVA glue tends to dry with a glossy finish and can be difficult to stamp over.
 
(Paintover a white wash of gesso (or snowflake acrylic paint), but thin enough to see the text through).

{Comment from Leandra: You can also use PaperArtsy Satin Glaze as an adhesive for this kind of collage-style application}
Well seeing as I was using a love theme I went straight for London Bus (red) and Vintage Lace (light creamy-pink) Fresco Finish Acrylic Paints. They have a great chalky matte finish, which gives a nice soft look to the surface. I’ve used vertical and horizontal brush strokes, I think they look better than random strokes. As a general rule, I've found vertical and horizontal always looks better, diagonals just look out of place. I’ve used both colours in this way, making sure I leave areas where I can clearly see the text coming through.
I stamped a PaperArtsy (Mini19) number stamp in random places with Maroon Archival Ink and also with the Claret Fresco Paint.
Next I chose a great green complimentary colour to the red, Hey Pesto through the stencil (Mini Paisley Swirls) over the top of the red and pink paint. As this is a translucent, you can still see the layers below through the Hey Pesto paint.

I love the look it gave the box. I also used this green colour to paint inside the box. Here you can see the random number stamps. I’ve also added some green honeycomb stamping.

 
I added some texture paste through a circles stencil and when it was dry I brushed it with Aged Mahogany Distress Ink, just to give them a subtle highlight.
 
I used white tissue paper (Crackly) to stamp the bird cage (Hot Pick 1004) and a sentiment from Hot Pick Xtra 04  then stuck it onto the box using gel medium. I stamped random little circles using Fresco Paint (Inky Pool). Inky Pool is fast becoming my favourite colour as I seem to be using it a lot! Finally I distressed the edges of the box using burnt umber and Pitch Black Adirondack Dabbers.

I was thinking what I could put in my wooden gift bag with a love theme, but purely by accident I ended up putting my tag backgrounds in it,and I love those, so they’re staying there, I like them there. So now it’s my tag backgrounds holder.
 
On the back of the box I have used a Crafters' Workshop "Birds Of A Feather" stencil and used a sponge to dab more Inky Pool Fresco Paint though. I love the finish. The Wooden Gift Bags come in a set of three sizes this is the smallest one so I have another two to play with and decorate. They come with rope handles but I took mine off for this project.

I’ve had so much fun making this project, looking forward to the next one.

Leandra Says: Now you can breathe a deep breath - that was quite a bit of pressure being the opening Guest Designer with a pretty short lead time to boot! I adore this project. Wood is so accepting of the Fresco Acrylic paint, and the layers of paint look fantastic. The touch of Distress Ink around the edges really gives a fantastic finish, and the contrasting Inky Pool through the stencil really 'pops'. I imagine the texture with the Altered Book pages underneath is quite lumpy, so stamping onto tissue allows you to get a perfectly stamped image onto a lumpy surface, good move Michelle!

Gillian Says: Way to go Michelle what a fantastic opening project. Love the colour choice you opted for - the burst of Hey Pesto & Inky Pool are very striking. Substrates are one of my most fav surfaces to work on for the very reason Leandra has pointed out.

35 comments:

Inkypinkycraft said...

A stunning make Michelle , love all the painty layers and the tags look right at home in there !! Wonderful buddy ! Trace x

Gabrielle said...

What a fabulous project to start the DT with Michelle! Love it x

Anonymous said...

It's completely GORGEOUS, I love all the layers - also; thanks for the great photos.

Minxy said...

Super first project Michelle, love the depth and zing of this piece x

Helen said...

Well done, Michelle! (I had trouble viewing the pictures though, as my browser wouldn't download them, but I could see them when I clicked on them!)

Linda M. Cain said...

Brilliant, I tell ya, Brilliant! WTG Michelle! LOVE the colors and the layers. Your pictures are terrific.

~Linda

Michelle Webb said...

Thank you my gorgeously talented arty friends, I love you all :)

Anonymous said...

lovely project! & what a great way to store tags! well done - setting the bar high!!
Jo (Firth-Young)

Anonymous said...

What a lovely storage box. The colours are beautiful and i love the combination of stencils and stamps.
Margriet

Redanne said...

Wow Michelle, that is one brilliant opening project! The colours are fabulous, love that birdcage stamp so much (have it, love it). Great piece of storage for your craft room too. Hugs, Anne x Well done!!

yoursartfully said...

What a fabulous first project Michelle. I do love a layer or two of paint and Hey Pesto is my absolute favourite Fresco colour.....great colour combination!!!

Lin

flutterbycrafter said...

Well done on our first project, it's wonderful Michelle, such wonderful colours and textures, I love it x

TAM said...

WOW what an amazing project just love everything about it. Thanks for such a detailed explanation as well - pictures are brilliant.

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous project Michelle, love the combination of colours. Fab stamping and stencilling too ! Sue C x

Fliss said...

Really gorgeous creation Michelle. The background effect is amazing and the colours really sing out.
Beautifully stamped too.
Fliss x

craftimamma said...

Fabulous project Michelle and gorgeous zingy colours. Well done on being the first guest designer on the PaperArtsy blog. You've done them proud!

Hugs
Lesley Xx

Trish said...

Such a great project! I love your brave use of colours. I need to be more experimental there. Thanks for sharing, it's an inspiration.

Netty said...

A wooden gift bag how brilliant. Loving all the painty layers. x

Craft Addicts - Tracy Evans said...

Hi Michelle, love your altered wooden piece, the colours are very striking and I love your step by steps. I love all the layers, texture and stencilling. Great random stamping too. Fantastic first project. Tracy x x

Words and Pictures said...

Absolutely stunning first project - talk about setting the bar high, Michelle! Gorgeous step by step taking us through your process too... thanks so much! Yay!!
Alison x

Nan G said...

Fabulous box! Your first project as a DT is a wow-zer! Thanks for the step by step. Oh, love the colors too!

Alison said...

A fantastic project Michelle! Love the colours!
Alison x

Suzanne C said...

Beautiful texture and love the bright colors too!

betjunroe said...

Absolutely love your project Michelle! I don't have the wooden boxes, but am thinking I could make one from chipboard. I need something to hold my tags in progress, so this would be great. Awesome colors too! Thanks for the inspiration! Bette

patcrafts said...

Congrats Michelle on your first project for Paper Artsy it's absolutely stunning xx

Silvia(Barnie) said...

Wow, that's a wonderful creation.

Helen said...

Love the colours on this and the way the red comes through the translucent paints.
First project of the year - really great!!
Helen

Karin said...

Wow, a fabulous first project, love it! Greetings Karin

Sandy said...

OMG - Michelle this is glorious - I beg you - do not go to New York -- come to Western North Carolina --- Oh dear lady, you would be treated like a queen!! What is it that you want to see in New York? Lord only knows I love your work and would love to meet you. You know you are always welcome here for free and you never can tell what adventures await you. Even American Indians! You have free room and board and tons of fun - I do love your work Michelle!!
Sandy By the way, we are in Florida right now and I am on my husband's computer!

Darcy Marshall said...

yay! Well done on your first guest post, beautiful colours. I am a sucker for pretty storage.

Claudia N. said...

Absolutely gorgeous, Gillian!

So glad I found your awesome blog (love Paper Artsy Stamps!!) with all those fab creations!

die amelie x

Carol said...

A great first project.....well done!!! Love storage and this is a deffinite to try. Great colour combo here
Carol Tadden

Sandy said...

Michelle I do have a question - when I have used a stencil it makes a mess and I never get clean lines. How do you do it!!!
Sandy

Sandra Botham said...

OMG, how awesome is this? Love love love it. You are so talented hun and really deserve your place as guest designer. Looking forward to your other projects.
Sand. Xxxx

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