CREATE-ive Sign

Today I'm sharing something that has been 

on my to-to list for three years !

Ever since I set up an actual craft room,

I've been wanting to make this sign.

I kept putting it off because I couldn't really

commit to exactly how I wanted to do it,

I had so many ever changing ideas.

In early March I decided it had been too long,

just go for it and if I don't like it,

I can always redo it.

I've been waiting all this time to show it to you
because I wanted it to be a design team project for
Love To Craft Challenge.

We are an anything crafty goes month long challenge,

so long as your projects are family friendly.
Share what you've created with us!

If you'd like to see close up photos of each letter
and what I used on each of them, read on.


All of the letters were cut from chipboard with 
a Cricut Create machine.
Most of them have a top layer adhered on
with adhesive from a Xyron machine. 

This is a sort of "cracked glass" effect created by 

heat embossing a couple layers of ultra thick clear embossing powder.

The stamped card stock letter curved from the heat and embossing.

When I ran it through the Xyron adhesive machine, it cracked.

I could have put it in the freezer and then flexed it to cause

larger cracks, but I decided not to. I liked it as it was, subtle.

I used Stampin' Up! rubber stamps and inks on Vanilla card stock to

create the floral image underneath the heat embossing.  

The Hand Painted Petites stamp set retired in 2004.

This is a crackle paint finish with a "rusty"heart.

I painted brown acrylic craft paint directly on the chipboard letter.

I then brushed on a thick layer of crackle medium.

Once that was dry, I brushed on a thick layer of

cream colored acrylic craft paint.

If crackling, it is important to not go over the paint.

Just brush it on one time for the effect to work.

I wrapped a piece of linen thread around one leg

a few times then tied it into a bow.

 The rusty heart was made by sprinkling cinnamon

onto wet brown acrylic craft paint. Yes, ground cinnamon

from your spice cabinet ! I used to make rusty embellishments

by paper punching or die cutting shapes from sandpaper 

then painting them with acrylic craft paints. I then read

the cinnamon trick somewhere online regarding

creating faux finish effects for model train setups

so I gave it a try a while back. 

This piece is meant to replicate old painted embossed tin.

I came up with this idea when recreating tin angel ornaments

(see that post here)

I ran gold metallic card stock through an embossing folder,

roughly brushed cream acrylic paint over it then

lightly added gold metallic acrylic craft paint to the raised areas.

I typed up and printed out a tiny tag, cut it out 

then brushed gold paint along the edges.

A gold organdy knot bow is hot glued to the top. 

The entire piece is glued to the chipboard letter.

This letter is simply covered with a pieced fabric piece

scrap that I cut to fit carefully using a sharp hobby knife.

I hot glued on an old button.

The pieced fabric was a small scrap leftover from

my Families Are Like Quilts framed piece. 

This letter is covered with a page from an old dictionary.

I was worried that I might tear the paper or that I

wouldn't get it lined up well enough when adhering it

to the chipboard base , thus ruining it.

I meant to scan the page before cutting it just in case

so I could print it out if I did mess it up.

Luckily it all went well enough, whew. 

Sure, I could have used another piece of paper,

but I wanted this exact piece. 

I made the little roses from scraps of cotton fabric.

The leaves are paper punched and hand cut from card stock.

The final letter!

This one was also painted directly on the chipboard. 

I base coated it with a light gray chalk paint.

I then added a light layer, but not totally covering it,

of white acrylic craft paint.

It was then sanded in places to distress it.

I printed out a word strip from a digi kit

by Kimeric Kreations (A Creative Life)

and a tiny self portrait. 

The letters were all hot glued onto a piece of linen mat board
that I cut to fit the frame. 
 The frame was found at a fund raising church yard sale,
new in package for  $ 1.50. 

I really wanted "chunkier" letters to fill the frame
better and have more area to decorate on the letters themselves,
but the font in my Cricut cartridge wasn't the correct size.
I tried three different sizes, but they were all too wide to fit
all six letters in the frame properly. To go any shorter
which would have made them narrower was going to
look really funny. I thought about hand painting
"something every day" underneath the die cut "create",
but there wasn't enough room with this font and
once again, it wasn't going to look right with the other.

So until I find a shorter frame for these letters to fit better in,
I will be using this one - 
and I may add something small on either end
so there isn't so much space. 

Thanks for looking, have a great day =) 

I'm entering my project in the current challenge
Anything Goes Challenge at Retro Rubber.
I know, there aren't a lot of rubber stamped images on this project,
but the tiny floral stamps I did use are  15+ years old!

I'm also entering my sign project in the current
No Cards Allowed Challenge at Love To Scrap 

and

Anything Goes at Through The Craft Room Door.