Sue Carrington #4 {special 10th Birthday Post}

Altered box with a little extra! 

The birthday excitement continues tonight on the PaperArtsy Blog. Not so long ago, we thought it would be a nice birthday touch if the final project from each of the Designers was to either work with brand new stamps that are being released this month, or contribute towards the creation of some new minis and work with those. Sue had a great photo of a French doorway that Mark waved his wand at that to turn into a great stamp, and between them they came up with 2 complimentary stamps to use with the door, the bricks and the distressed flourish. All these stamps are now available online, just click the stamp code below each stamp image.

So, I'll hand over to Sue, for her final post of this semester....sniff sniff...


MN94

MN95

MN96

"How excited was I when Leandra asked if I could make an extra project for the PaperArtsy 10^th Birthday ! What’s more, I was sooo excited when asked if there was any image I would like to see as a stamp. I love anything related to France and there’s one photograph from a family holiday a few years ago that I hoped would look fantastic as a stamp, and guess what, it does. Tonight I'll show you what I have done with it"!

I decided to alter an MDF box for this project. 

I removed the lid and painted the rest of the box with Little Black Dress. 

I then spread Crackle Glaze over the black paint using a spatula, making sure it was a really thin coat. 

I painted over the Crackle Glaze with a mix of Inky Pool, Baltic Blue and Sky. I was aiming for the colour of the wooden shutters that you see at French windows. 

I sanded the top layer of paint a little so that it was more distressed, then I stamped the gorgeous new Mini 96 {Swirl} using Black Archival Ink, all around the box. 

Here you can see the stamped flourish and also the distressed paint.

I then used Moonlight with a baby wipe to knock back the colour a little and also to add an extra layer of distressing. 

I then moved on to the lid of the box. I added Grunge Paste on opposite corners dragging my spatula across it to create some texture. I left the area in the centre flat as I knew I would be adding an image over the top. I painted the opposite 2 corners with Little Black Dress as I wanted a dark colour to show through the crackle. 

I painted the lid with the same Fresco combination as the main part of the box and when that was dry I swiped some Sky across it. 

I then started to layer more paint using a baby wipe, starting with Pansy. I wanted a slightly different purple so I mixed Inky Pool with Blood Orange and again used a baby wipe to wipe it across the lid. 

I then took the new Mini 95 {bricks} and inked it up with Black Archival Ink but before stamping on to the lid I stamped onto a scrap piece of card. This made the image paler and created a great background. 

I added some text using Mini 44, again using Black Archival Ink.

I used the Mini Bingo Stencil with some Moonlight to add numbers in different areas of the lid. I masked off parts of the stencil so I didn’t get any extra bits by mistake! 

To make the centre piece I started by stamping the new stamp {Bricks} Mini 95 onto some Smoothy White Stamping Card. This stamp is fantastic at creating a continuous background! I used BlackArchival Ink and stamped onto a piece of scrap card first so that the image was paler.

I cut an arch shape using a Sizzix die and then used Distress Inks, Pumice Stone and Dusty Concord, around the edge. 

I blended some Stormy Sky Distress Ink over a piece of Smoothy White Stamping Card and flicked some water on to it. Then I stamped the gorgeous Mini 94 {doorway} using Black Archival Ink. Love this stamp! That's my photograph!!! Sooo exciting to see it as a stamp!

I then took a Tando shape and painted it with a mixture of Baltic Blue and Little Black Dress.

To make the shape look distressed I swiped some Moonlight across the surface. 

I used the same Fresco combination on the metal key and then brushed White Fire Treasure Gold over them both. 

I then brushed more White Fire TreasureGold over the raised and textured areas of the lid and the main box. 

I wanted to line the box so I cut the shape I needed from an A3 piece of white card and then blended Stormy Sky, Faded Jeans and Dusty Concord Distress Inks over it. I then stamped randomly using stamps from ESN06, ESN05 and ESN02 sets, using Black Archival Ink. 

I also used the Carte Postale stamp from the ESN05 set. I wanted the letters to be solid so I painted them with a mixture of Baltic Blue and Little Black Dress.

I layered the main image onto the arch and then arranged some more embellishments which I’ve painted with the same Fresco combination as the metal key. The words are from the ESN06 which have been stamped onto Smoothy White Stamping Card that I’d blended Distress Inks over. 

Here’s a close up shot of the finished lid. But wait....there's more....

 

I took the opportunity to make a little something extra. I thought I would make a couple of bookmarks to give to my Mum and sister who were on the same holiday. I cut 2 pieces of Grunge Paper and cut a fringe across the bottom. 

I painted the Grunge Paper with Moonlight and when that was dry used Cut N Dry foam to blend Pansy and Squid Ink around the edge. 

I stamped Mini 95 with Versafine Smokey Grey Ink and then stamped Mini 94 with Black Archival Ink. I also stamped Mini 96 in the corners with Black Archival Ink. The text is from ESN06 and I’ve then stitched around the centre image and around the edge of the bookmarks. 

Here’s my final photo of both projects. I hope you’ve enjoyed this as much as I’ve enjoyed making it! 

It just leaves me to say a huge thank you to Leandra for inviting me to be a part of the guest design team and also part of the birthday celebrations ! It’s been amazing! 

You are welcome Sue, thank YOU!

BUT wait there is more .... 3 lucky people who leave comments on this post, will go into the Sunday draw to each win a set of these 3 new minis; the bricks, the doorway, and the flourish used by Sue in tonight's project. The winners will be announced here on the PaperArtsy blog on Sunday evening. Good luck everyone!

Leandra Says: Wow, this is just amazing Sue. I know you hardly had any time to plan this last project, so under the circumstances, well totally WOW! It's a stunner. I adore boxes, and this one would look fabulous on display. We can't thank you enough for the amazing projects you have created over the last 4 months. An absolute joy to watch you. Thank you so much. xx I know we're bound to see you back from time to time! So I'm not thinking of this as goodbye at all! I'm in denial!

Gillian Says: Wow! This is a BEAUTIFUL finale project Sue. Thank you for all your amazing creativity over the past 4 months. It has been a real pleasure having you as a Guest Designer.