Cotton Reels {with Hot Picks Stamps by Jo Myhill}

Hello again, Jo here.  I thought I'd share an idea I've been thinking about for a while on how to use cotton reels or spools  as a base for Tim Holtz Ideology Memo Pins.

 

I started off with a 4x4" box frame and painted it all over in London Night Fresco paint. I also painted four small cotton reels that would act as the feet for the frame.

Once the frame was dry I added Crackle Glaze on the front and the sides and when that was dry added a layer of Stone Fresco paint. On the feet I just dry brushed some Stone to give it a shabby look. 

I took some Shrink Plastic and gave it a light coat of Stone fresco paint and then cut out a full heart and a tall heart and a butterfly from the PaperArtsy dies. These were stamped in Blue Violet Archival ink using stamps from the HP1217 set. 

HP1217

I also stamped the corset from the HP 1213 set.  At the same time I also cut four small flowers using the small (No3) Grunge Flower die.  These were stamped with the large flower from HP1217 in Blue Violet Archival Ink. I cut a hole in the centre of each flower with my crop-a-dile.

HP1213

I then shrank them! Always scary as they twist and fold but a stamping block soon flattens them out whilst still warm. I always cut extra - just in case!

 

I painted some Smoothy Heavy Weight card in Stone, then added a very dry brush layer of Elephant and finally a thin watered down layer of Stone on top. On the reverse of the card I painted Squid Ink. 

I then stamped various labels from HP1214  and HP1211 in Blue Violet Archival Ink. Cut these out carefully and edged in Seedless Preserve Distress Ink and a little bit of Pewter Treasure Gold.

HP1214

I painted four more cotton reels of varying heights in Squid Ink and dry brushed some Concrete over that.  I could have left them like that but felt the taller ones needed something round their middles.  So i painted some Crunchy Waxed Kraft Paper with Stone, crunched it up and them stamped the large tape measure from HP1211. I cut these out and wrapped around and glued to the three large cotton reels.

HP1211

For the sides of the frame I stamped the long button strip from HP1213 on tissue paper with Blue Violet Archival, carefully ripped the edges and stuck down with Satin Glaze, I also went over the top of the tissue paper to make sure it was sealed.  Once dry I sanded away the excess tissue paper and edges all the edges with Seedless Preserve Distress Ink and Pewter Treasure Gold. 

I first stuck the feet cotton reels onto the base of the frame with a hot glue gun. I stuck the shrink plastic embellishments onto the labels and carefully slotted the labels into the Memo Pins.  

Taking a Memo Pin, a cotton reel and a small flower I put some hot glue in the hole of the cotton reel, put the pin through the hole in the flower and stuck the flower to the top of the cotton reel and made sure the pin was in the hot glue down the hole!  then held it all in place until it was set. I varied the heights of the pins so I could see all the labels and the embellishments and to make an eye pleasing composition.

I really like how this has come out and I think you could do a lot more with the idea, say buttons on top of the frame or you could make a tag using a half cotton reel, or just the labels and the embellishments or do a much bigger single cotton reel using some of the large cotton reels available (umm got some of those) for example. Lots to think about!

Have fun.

Jo

xx

A huge thanks to Jo from all at PaperArtsy,we love the almost monochrome effect here. A truly shabby,vintage end result. This composition would lend itself to all sorts of possibilities. We look forward to seeing the directions people take this project. 

If you would like to join in our weekly challenge with any of this week's guests who have blogged since Sunday night, then join in to link up your creativity HERE you will go in the draw to win PA stamps of your choice! You need to link your entry by17:00 (London time) Sunday 8th June 2014