2015 #5 Rusty Shrine {by Julie Ann Lee}

Hello Everyone, Julie Ann here, delighted to be joining PaperArtsy tonight with a post on rusting. 

I confess I have a passion for what some might term 'junk'. My favourite childhood haunt was my Grandma's attic, where I found treasures such as one-eyed teddy bears, rusty tins full of buttons and a battered old family Bible. My imagination loves to ponder the stories old and unloved objects might tell. And I'm not above giving something relatively new a fantasy history by distressing it. Tonight I'd like to share with you how I aged a little Nicho or Mexican shrine.

Step 1: Fabric Prep

I began by painting a piece of white curtain-lining material with Fresco Finish  Chalk Acrylics in Beach Hut, Snowflake, Wisteria and Lin Brown's Limited Collection Tangerine Twist, Bougainvillea and Banana shades. I then stamped and heat-set the beautiful Elizabethan image from LPC031...

 ... onto the fabric. I cut my fabric into different sections, which I would fix to the Nicho. I applied extra layers of colour to the face and ruff, which I blended using Fabric Medium.

Tip: When stamping on fabric, either use a brand new ink pad or re-ink your pad to ensure your image will be clear and crisp on the fabric. When it is dry, coat it with several layers of Satin Glaze, making sure each layer is fully dry before applying the next. Jet Black archival Ink is great onto fabric, and it is permanent once heat set.

Step 2: The rusting process! 

I painted my metal shrine with PaperArtsy Fresco in Vanilla. When this was dry I slapped on Gel Medium, not worrying too much about how evenly I applied it. I embedded various charms and embellishments in the Gel Medium and applied some Crackle Paste to the heart at the top. I punched a hole at the bottom of the shrine through which I looped a 'dog chain' and a decorative key. 

I then sprinkled Rusting Powder over my shrine. Rusting powder needs to be glued to the surface you work on, so in this case the crackle past also acted as the glue.

Tip: Crackle Paste can take a long time to dry. I waited a couple of days before adding some Treasure Gold and a touch of Tangerine Twist to the heart.

Step 3: Rusting Powder magic

I mixed some water and a few drops of vinegar in a mister spray and spritzed my shrine, re-spraying from time to time. To rust, the powder needs to be kept damp, and vinegar or lemon juice speeds up the process as they are acidic liquids.

Here you can see that I embedded a resin rose in the Gel at the top and fixed some cut-out pieces of the painted and stamped material into it too. These would eventually blend in with the rusting.

Step 4: Rust everything!

While I was in a rusting mood, I took some masking tape and attached lace to it with Gel Medium before sprinkling it with the Rusting Powder and then spritzing with my water and vinegar mix. I planned to fix this to the back and sides of my shrine.

I was able to stick this lace to the back and edges of the shrine and to begin to 'touch up' any gaps with Florentine Treasure Gold, which has a lovely orange-rusty glint. For contrast I also rubbed in some Sapphire Treasure Gold in places.

Tip: After you have painted your tape with one coat of Fresco, make sure that you lift it from the mat and then stick it down again to avoid it curling and twisting when you want to stick it to your substrate.

Step 6: Bellies

Finally I added more embellishments: a little resin bird, which I painted and rusted; a resin flower with a copper wire stem and a Prima wood, rusted butterfly resting on a skeleton leaf, which I rubbed with a little Florentine Treasure Gold. 

I added Pearl pen blobs too around the little door and the edge of the shrine. The picture inside is also from LPC031 so that when we open the door we seem to be stepping into a little world inside the shrine.

Here is a detail of the front of my shrine, which looks to me as if it has many stories to tell. I was really pleased with the effect of the rusting on the little bird, which I stuck on with Heavy Gel Medium. I liked blending the darker rusting with the bright Treasure Gold Gleam.

Thank you for looking at my rusty shrine. Who knows - maybe it houses a miniature of Sir Walter Raleigh's muse, and this little shrine might be a keepsake from Good Queen Bess herself! 

Do join in with PaperArtsy and link up something you have rusted. See what you can come up with to house your favourite PaperArtsy images stamped on fabric, tissue or board. I can't wait to see all your rusty creations. If you would like to see more images of this little shrine, please hop over to my blog http://magpieheaven.blogspot.co.uk/

~ Julie Ann

Wow Julie Ann, this is so gorgeous, I love how it turned out...required some patience but the rust and cracks are exciting to work with as they evolve!! ~Leandra

Have you got a niche or some items with a niche that you could alter with paints, crackle texture and rusting powder?? Maybe this has sparked your imagination in a totally different direction? 

Whatever you decide, if the Deconstruction Topic sparks you to be deliberately destructive, then share what you make in our challenge by linking your creativity here. We would love to see what you make!