GD: Keren Baker Project #3 Floral Chalk Board

"Hi everyone, Keren back again for my last guest post. I had decided on one project and then a chance meeting with an unusual chalkboard and some half price corks, sealed a completely different direction". 

I'll begin with the colour palette of Fresco Paints ...

 

I chose this colour combo after popping out to the shops and seeing a notebook with a design incorporating these colours. I often get asked where I get inspiration from ... and the answer is 'everywhere I go'. Shops, adverts, everywhere you look is a colour scheme and layout design. Back to the starting supplies.

I added Washi Tape around the inside of the frame as my painting is not ultra neat and added a few layers of yummy Fresco Vanilla

Next up was this gorgeous Lin Brown Stencil and some Grunge Paste

These flowers could be anything - I wanted to give them a poppy-vibe.

I started to paint over the dried Grunge Paste - adding shading and contrast.

I was left with them feeling messy and not finished. I looked again at the stencil.

The Snowflake paint daubed all over the poppies gave them a much better look (albeit less poppy-esque). I gave each petal some detail with a white gel pen.

Onto the corks. I wanted to paint them and add them to the bottom of the frame so I could push pins into them to hold little notes etc. I simply painted each cork end and stamped each one with white pigment ink using stamps from this set. I stuck them onto the bottom with some PVA glue.

 By adding a little plastic flower onto a push pin, it makes a pretty little detail.

I'd had the whole poppy and remembrance theme going around my head. So this set ESN01 by Sara Naumann was perfect for adding the word 'remember' over and over - stamped with Fresco Paints.

It still looked unfinished so I decided to add some stencilled pencilled detailing onto the chalkboard itself.

Quick, simple and if you use watercolour type pencils, you can wash it off afterwards!

 Nearly there.. the top was looking a little bare so I decided to give it some dimensional flowers.

More painted, stencilled flowers onto Smoothy cardstock. I added the same sponged dotted details as I'd done on the frame itself. I cut them out, moulded them into a shape and glued some of the petals together to give them permanent dimension.

 I stamped out 'write' from ESN01 and cut out each letter into a pennant shape. I had to stamp it out several times as each time I trimmed a triangle, I was cutting into the next letter. I simply added some twine & adhered them using 3D foam pads.

I also added an acetate stamped butterfly from the Hot Picks 1301 set with some trailing twine to help balance the design on the left. And FINALLY.. it was done!

"Thank you for all of your wonderful support to me whilst I've been here as a Guest Designer. I've felt very welcome and learnt so much from you all. Thanks too to Leandra and the PaperArtsy team for trusting me with their amazing products".

~Keren~

Leandra Says: Thank YOU Keren for a wonderful semester full of great techniques and inspiration. All today's elements are fab, the dimensional flowers echo the GP flowers perfectly and I love the pennants.

Gillian Says: Keren what a beautiful finale project to end with, the soft floral/shabby chic look is perfect. Again your creativity in using corks as little memo holders is such a neat touch. Thank you for sharing your inspiration and journey with us all. x

If you would like to join in this week's challenge and play along with Keren's techniques, then do link up your creativity here, and go in the draw to win some PA stamps of your choice! You need to link your entry by 17:00, Sunday August 10th 2014.