A Bushel of Clovers

Hey there! Hope you’re having a nice summer ☺️ The days are just flying, aren’t they!? Sharing an ombré clover creation today, full of Tim Holtz faves 🍀

Here’s a rundown of how this project came together ✨

The Background…

Used the Damask 3D embossing folder on 4-5 pieces of heavystock (that texture! 😳)

Trimmed the edges, cut each piece in half, then painted with cream, yellow, and brown tones

Sealed with matte medium, then added paint highlights over the raised texture with my finger

Distressed the paper edges and applied a wash of Vintage Photo stain

Glued my papers + some ephemera bits over a large thickboard tag, starting at the top, and trimmed edges with a razor blade (on a cutting mat )

Covered exposed edges with a thick coat of matte medium, let dry

Painted my edges with Ground Espresso, added some Statue wax highlights and heat set

The Clovers…

Cut a bunch of the Clover 3D Impresslits from heavystock paper

Painted with Peeled Paint, Shabby Shutters, and Rustic Wilderness, with accent colors in centers

Added some watery Ground Espresso to the centers/seams and let dry, then added a few Statue wax highlights to the edges

The Basket…

Cut 3 sets of pots from Potted 2, embossed one set with the Intertwined folder

Glued the layers together, used extra collage medium around the edges to fill any gaps

Painted with Ground Espresso, then rubbed on Vintage Photo highlights with my finger

Painted a few mounting dots with Ground Espresso, glued behind rim to elevate

The Sentiment…

Cut 4 sets of LUCKY from the Classic Lower font set, embossed one set with Woven folder

Glued the layers and painted with Ground Espresso… later, I went back over them with Black Soot to give more contrast and added Statue wax to the tips

Used “lucky is a state of mind” quote chip, covered up the “lucky”, and distressed edges with Ground Espresso, added 2 caramel-inked hardware heads to the ends

The Finishing Touches…

For my ‘accent ledges,’ I cut some pieces of heavystock Decorative Trim, then embossed with the Woven folder… Glued these over two scalloped trim chipboard pieces, then painted with Ground Espresso and added Statue wax highlights

The wishbone and clover are both from the Adornments Lucky set, painted both with Ground Espresso, added Statue wax, heat set

“it’s all perspective” strip is from the metallic sticker book, painted a tiny clip with Ground Espresso, added Statue wax to the sticker edges and clip, then heat set

Cut a few jagged-edged pieces of Filmstrip ribbon to tuck in, and used to elevate my LUCKY letters

Sprayed cheesecloth with Peeled Paint, Rustic Wilderness stains to mix in with my clovers 

Glued my elements over my background with collage medium, and clamps for extra hold 💪🏻

And voila, my clover project is complete! 🍀

I’m definitely lucky in my life and super thankful for this fun hobby and supportive community 🫶🏻 Thanks for looking, happy crafting!

x Erin

The Products…

Dies… Clover, Potted 2, Classic Lower, Decorative Trim

3D Embossing Folders… Damask, Intertwined, Woven

Surfaces… white heavystock, Etcetera large tag thickboard,

Etcetera scalloped trim chipboard

Mediums… collage medium

Distress Paint… Antique Linen, Black Soot, Fossilized Amber, Ground Espresso, Peeled Paint, Rustic Wilderness , Scattered Straw, Shabby Shutters, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain

Distress Crayon… Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain

Distress Stain… Peeled Paint, Forest Moss, Rustic Wilderness, Vintage Photo

Foundry Wax… Statue

Alcohol Ink… Caramel

Ideaology… adornments lucky, hook clasps, metallic sticker book, tiny clip, hinge clip, hardware heads, film strip ribbon, Theories quote chip, ephemera

Other… glass mat, Big Shot, heat gun, cheesecloth, mounting dots, clamps

Birds at Twilight…

 Hi all! Been super busy lately and crafting has had to take a bit of a back seat 😑 BUT I did have a chance to play with these cutie silhouette birds! SO. Fun.

Let me take you through a bit of my process…

The Background…

Started with a wooden square panel base

Prepped my surface with white gesso

Covered with typeset collage paper, messy to get some texture, sealed with collage medium

Added a wash of Picket Fence paint

Here’s my first watery pass—Wild Honey, Crackling Campfire, Seedless Preserves, Black Soot—then I didn’t like it, wiped most of it off, and IMMEDIATELY ordered Villianous Potion 😬

And here’s where I landed with my blend AFTER the Villianous Potion…

 so worth the wait! 😈

Added washi tape around the edges for extra texture (from an older TH collection) and painted over with Black Soot

For my twinkling stars at the top, I used a paper towel mask then splattered on some Gilded wax

Added Black Soot archival ink to the raised collage paper texture along the edges

Added Labeled remnant rubs to the edges

When I was happy with the coverage/placement, I sealed with collage medium

I wanted a nice thick top coat… so covered with clear embossing ink, then clear embossing powder and heat set

The Birds…

Cut out 6 different Silhouette birds, 3 pieces each, and drew on my own details

Then began cutting out the details:

1. the full bird

2. cut off the beak, legs/feet + tail feather

3. Top-most wing detail (Saved the tail feather + feet)

I glued my layers with collage medium (I’m messy with this but I love the extra texture it creates!), then painted with Black Soot

Lightly rubbed on Gilded wax highlights on the edges

Was on a mission to work in more of this gorgeous gold! 🤔

So I cut the birds out of clear, heat-resistant acetate pieces,

added gilded wax to the edges and heat set

To give my birds some extra dimension…

I found some mounting dots in my stash, glued 3 high + painted with black soot

The Sentiment…

Cut TOGETHER using the Bold font and Life Is Better with the Label set

Cut 3 letters each and glued together, then coated with Gilded Foundry wax

I used a couple thicker coats to get this smoother finish…

here’s a look at 1 coat on the E vs 2 coats on the G… 

suuuuuper obsessed with this stuff 💥 ya’ll, these letters literally ‘clinked’ together!!

I cut one more set of letters for my shadow, painted with black soot

Painted 8 small hardware heads with Black Soot,

then added Gilded wax to 4 + heat set

Decided to add a Black Soot wash over my Gold bold letters…

yesss to this ✨

Glued my hardware heads and gold letters to the acetate,

then added more gilded to the edges

The Finishing Touches…

The wires… cut two pieces of twine and painted with Black Soot

(later added a third strand)

The lock… from the Locks and Keys Adornments Ideaology set,

distressed with with Gilded wax and Black Soot paint

The ‘day or night’ banner + clip…

Hand cut a little paper banner, coated with Gilded wax + a remnant rub from the Eccentric pack… For the Tiny Clip, I added Black Soot paint + Gilded wax highlights 

The Adornments stars… distressed with Black Soot paint + Gilded wax highlights

Glued everything down on the background with collage medium

and plenty of clamps…

And that’s my project!

Had such fun making this piece and can safely say I am a huge fan of the foundry wax! Thanks for looking 😘

x Erin

The Products…

Surfaces… square vignette panel, mixed media heavystock paper, Typeset collage paper, clear acetate

Dies… Silhouette Birds, Alphanumeric Bold, Alphanumeric Labels

Mediums… collage matte medium, gesso, clear embossing ink, clear embossing powder

Distress Paints… Black Soot, Wild Honey, Crackling Campfire, Seedless Preserves, Villianous Potion, Picket Fence

Foundry Wax… Gilded

Archival Ink… Black Soot

Ideaology… Labeled remnant rubs, Adornments stars, Locks and Keys Adornments, Tiny clip, Hardware Heads

Other Supplies… glass mat, Big Shot, twine, mounting dots, heat gun, washi tape, clamps