Linda Cain #3 Altered Wooden House Hook

"Hi everybody Linda here. I’m back again to share my last project of this month. Assemblage Art is my favorite thing to do so I hope you enjoy it".

We start with the adorable House Hooks Wooden Substrate. 

Anyone who knows me knows that my first love is "HOUSES"  and secondly a must with houses, are Vintage Images. So we’re going to combine that with some Fresco Finish Acrylic Paints, some chipboard and masonite elements, and of course "Stamps". Let’s get started shall we!

I painted the background area of the plaque with Little Black Dress, also the roof edges and the back. The two larger houses were base coated on the lower part with Snowflake, using the dabbing motion with Cut N Dry foam, I then added Mocha Mousse, BeachHut and South Pacific to the first house, and Haystack, Autumn Fire, Smoked Paprika and Brown Shed to the third house leaving a lighter area in the middle. 

Then I started to rummage through my stash for chipboard to add to the houses, laying them out as I go. This process took me a long time….so don’t hurry. Lay it out, and walk away, come back….and scrutinize what you see. Give it the squint test…squint and it dims the picture, but you see the composition. I learned that in a watercolor class somewhere along the line. Try it! 

Next I base coated the wood label plates, masonite pieces from Retro Café Art, and various chipboard pieces I’ve collected over the years with Snowflake and Little BlackDress. 

 Add some big and little dots with the white Posca Pen and Black Glaze Pen. I originally used a gold pen on the black swirl pieces.

 But when it really dried, it didn’t show up well, so I repainted and added white dots that looked much better. That’s what is so cool about the Opaque colors. If you decide you don’t like what you did, just apply an opaque color {remember colours like Snowflake, Nougat, Vintage lace are all opaques} and start over! {It's like an eraser in a bottle}! When dry, paint the two labels with Old Gold.

Now we can work on the First House! 

Using Jet Black Archival Ink I stamped Paper Artsy Mini 48 onto the bottom of the house.

Mini 48

 Then I used a piece of paper to mask off the stamp and added an Ornate Name Plate stamp to fill in space. You can use any small edge stamp like that. 

Then I found a piece of striped paper from a Graphic 45 (Times Noveau) that matched my colors and traced around the roof section. I cut it out and edged with black permanent marker. Next I stamped with Hot Picks Xtra 02 using Coffee Archival Ink, and added pen marks around the edges. 

HPXtra02

 

The little girl picture was trimmed to a circle and glued to the back of the round masonite Frame. 

Now onto House number 2.

I used a Music Paper sheet from Graphic 45 (Playtime Past) for the base. My house was 4 ¼ x 1 7/8 inches, so I cut a piece of paper that size. Lay the top of the paper across the house and crease the paper so you can cut the eave pitch. Cut your paper and edge with a marker. 

The next thing is really cool, in my humble opinion. The laser-cut piece of chipboard was painted with Snowflake. Now we take Beach Hut (a translucent) and add it lightly to your chipboard. Then as it’s drying, add the opaque MochaMousse in a splotchy technique. I think this looks like a "Verdigris Patina"! I LOVED it! 

I sparingly added Beach Hut  to one of the gold wood label plates, and a tiny harlequin stamp was added. Then I found a picture of a young girl and glued it to the back of the wood label. More pen marks are added to the pieces, and a piece of black trim was cut to add later to the bottom with a little copper number.

Something needed to be done to spice up the roof. I found a strip of Copper Metal trimmed from the Vintage Lady piece that was embossed and painted with black paint.  It looked perfect for the spot. So it was trimmed and added to the top and front of the roof. I like it! 

Let's Move Onto House number 3.

I traced the roof onto striped turquoise paper from Graphic 45 (Once Upon a Springtime) and cut it out. Trimming is always necessary since when you trace, you add to the size of your piece. And I always edge my papers with a black permanent pen. Then I stamped black ink and the top three  numbers from Mini 22 using a piece of paper to mask off the lower numbers. 

Mini22

 Next stamp CoffeeArchival Ink with Mini 74 and add black pen stitching around it. Love the contrast with black and turquoise….one of my favs!

Mini 74 

Then I used the Mini 27 harlequin stamp on the bottom of the house.

Mini 27

 But first put a piece of tape across the bottom to create a line where you want your stamp to stop – creating a framed effect. Then lay a small stamp under the hook to stabilize your piece. 

 Now you can stamp without it rocking. Remove the tape, then add the tape to the bottom again and the right side. Stamp again and remove your tape. Add some white pen marks around the edge you created. 

I have a collection of vintage pictures and found this one to be perfect for the oval frame. Cut it out and glue to the back of your frame. I added a touch of Smoked Paprika to the little pieces of painted chipboard that will go on the top of the house, some Walnut Stain Distress Ink, and some black dots.

Now We Arrive At House Number 4.

If you’ve made it this far, the last house will be a breeze! I found a piece of Graphic 45 paper (Bird Song) that was perfect just the way it was, but any paper can be colored with Distress Inks to get the Rusty and Golden colors. That’s always the way I feel about paper. Make it the color you want.

So since you’ve already painted your chipboard top black, and your wood label white, all we need to do is dab on Old Gold and you’re set. 

 I stamped Mini 74 in Coffee Archival Ink onto the label and added a few white dots to brighten it up. Cut out a vintage picture and glue to the back of the label. 

 The little fence is painted white and needs nothing more. Then use a couple of brads to fill the holes making sure you bend them out of sight. So, aside from some white dots around the base of the house, I think we’re ready to GLUE!

I started with a generous layer of Matte Multi Medium applied to the wooden surface. Then lay down the papers and move into position. By adding the glue to the wood surface, you assure that it gets into the wood. Use a brayer or old credit card to smooth it well. The medium dries clear and matte so you don’t see it at all. Then add your elements as shown.


House #1

    House #2 

  House #3 

    House #4

Here is how it looks like all completed.

 Doing all the assemblage at the end gives you a chance to change your mind about where to place things, like I did with the littlest fence pieces, and makes sure you don’t damage the house next to you when you’re painting or stamping. 

Ties some ribbons on the hooks for a bit more color, and we are done!

This process works for me; I hope it works for you. I will be back in March sharing some more projects, see you all soon!

Your Friend In Art!

 Linda!

Leandra Says:So excitefd by all the different ideas that have gone into this project Linda. It's wicked! thankYOU!

Gillian Says: Adore the "whimsical/vintage" feel to this assemblage Linda. Love the effect Old Gold has on ornamental pieces, creates the perfect metallic finish.

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