Itsy Bitsy - The Blog place: romantic

Hello, dear craft-y people!

Summer's approaching at a menacing speed here in Hyderabad and days are sunny !! So today I thought of bringing some breezy summer colors for you. :D

Ever since I set my eyes on Little Birdie matte chalk paints, I've been on a rampage (almost!) altering items at home! The latest to fall prey was a photo frame which had started to show signs of weathering and was waiting to be given a face-lift.

Well, I'd like to think it has been a face-lift. I'll leave that to you to decide. I'll go through the steps of altering this photo frame in my post below :)

Here is what I started with...a canvas photo frame which I painted white with gesso. Once the gesso was dry, I layered bits of lace, trim, doilies, chipboard shapes, and gauze on the frame (all from the store). I added further texture using modelling paste and the honeycomb stencil.

Next, I primed the frame with gesso for a second time (this time covering the textures) followed by Chalk Paint in Sailing Sky (applied this only on the textured areas.)

I left this coat of paint to dry thoroughly and then went over the entire frame with Chalk Paint in Snow (White). Using a slightly damp baby wipe, I wiped the white paint off the textured areas. (I painted a small area at a time because chalk paint dries very fast.)

I felt the palette could use a little warmth so I dabbed Little Birdie Lime Splash over parts of the frame. (I used a rolled up baby wipe as a paint dauber.)

Where the color looked too intense or a harsh line was visible, I dry-brushed gesso to tone down the lines.

The altered frame was nearly ready! All that was needed to be done was adding a sentiment, flowers, and some chipboard. I prepped my chipboard using gesso and Lime Splash.

Here is the final altered photo frame--I did random script stamping and doodling to make the colors and textures pop. I also lightly inked the flowers with Lime Splash and gesso.

Thank you for stopping by! Please do leave your thoughts below--I'd love to hear from you.

Happy crafting :)

Suchi

Supplies:

MARGARITA OCEAN MIST 11PCS IB

http://itsybitsy.in/margarita-ocean-mist-11pcs-ib

BLANCHE OCEAN MIST 11PCS IB

http://itsybitsy.in/blanche-ocean-mist-11pcs-ib

HOME DECOR CHALK PAINT SAILING SKY 60ML BOTTLE

http://itsybitsy.in/home-decor-chalk-paint-sailing-sky-60ml-bottle

HOME DECOR CHALK PAINT SNOW 60ML BOTTLE

http://itsybitsy.in/home-decor-chalk-paint-snow-60ml-bottle

SILICON LIQUID GLUE 100ML IB

http://itsybitsy.in/silicon-liquid-glue-100ml-ib

COLOR SPLASH LIME SPLASH 50ML BOTTLE IB

http://itsybitsy.in/color-splash-lime-splash-40ml-bottle-ib

CHIPBOARD SHAPES IVY FLOURISH 1PC IB

http://itsybitsy.in/chipboard-shapes-ivy-flourish-1pc-ib

CHIPBOARD SHAPES HONEY COMB 1PC IB

http://itsybitsy.in/chipboards-shapes-honey-comb-1pc-ib

EMBOSSED PEARL BLOOMS LEMON CHIFFON 8PCS PBHC IB

http://itsybitsy.in/embossed-pearl-blooms-lemon-chiffon-8pcs

PAPER FLOWERS WHITE 18PCS IB

http://itsybitsy.in/paper-flowers-white-18pcs-ib

STENCIL HONEY COMB 18.5 X 24.5CM 1PC

http://itsybitsy.in/stencil-honey-comb-18-5-x-24-5cm-1pc

FABRIC GLUE 30ML SQUEEZE

http://itsybitsy.in/fabric-glue-30ml-squeeze

CRAFT GLUE MATT 250G HDPE JAR

http://itsybitsy.in/craft-glue-matt-250g-hdpe-jar

PALETTE KNIFE NO.15 MCG0063 1PC PBCI MM

http://itsybitsy.in/palette-knife-no-15-mcg0063-1pc-pbci-mm

Hello, dear craft-y people!

I am here today with this itty bitty mini album featuring the Shabby Chic Burlap Stack--one of the latest releases at the store! It's a whole pack of 12x12 inch laminated burlap sheets which are perfect for mini album covers, embellishment, layouts...I can go on :D

I picked the polka dotted burlap sheet for my album cover because I wanted a rustic chic look for this project. The inside pages are matted using leftover patterns from Chevron in Aquarelle and Pretty in Pink stacks, which I have been working on these past couple months.

Also featured in this project are the latest chalk paints (Oh, they are delicious!) and embossed tag dies from the Thin Cut Dies range.

I'll try and take you through as much of the process as I have been able to capture!

As always, I started with prepping the embellishments--in this case the altered frame and chipboard shape.

Going with the shabby rustic theme, I wanted the focal point of my cover to look distressed/weathered. I took a resin frame from my stash (it was ivory coloured) and painted it black with chalk paint in Charcoal. Once the chalk paint dried, it settled into this luxurious matte finish and there was no telling that the frame was not originally black! Yayie! Next, I went over the frame with Sailing Sky, which is a vibrant aqua. (Before this, I made sure the black coat was dry completely--I did not want the two colours to blend and muddy.) While the aqua paint was still wet, I dabbed the carved parts with a dry baby wipe--to expose the black underneath. (I painted and dabbed a corner at a time because chalk paint dries really fast.)
That's it! My shabby frame was ready. I also painted a butterfly chipboard shape with Sailing Sky (over a thin coat of gesso).

Next, I picked a sentiment from the Jen Hadfield Homemade paper stack by Pebbles to go inside the frame.

From here, I moved on to building the pages of my itty bitty mini album. An itty bitty is typically no bigger than 4x4 inches square so I decided my pages would be 3.5 inch square. I made four 3.5 inch pocket pages using one sheet of 12x12 bright white cardstock from the store.

The pieces numbered 1-4 are our pages. Here's how I got to these.

A--Trim a 12x12 inch sheet of card stock down at 7.5 inches (This gives you a 7.5x12 inch piece.) Save the leftover sheet of 4.5x12 inches for later.
Rotate the 7.5x12 inch piece by 90 degrees anti-clockwise and follow the next three steps:
B-- trim down at 3.5 inches
C--Trim at 7 inches
D--Trim at 10.5 inches
Now we have three 3.5x7.5 inch pieces.
E--For the fourth page, pick up the leftover piece of 4.5x12 inches and trim out another 3.5x7.5 inch piece.
You will have a few off-cuts left on your table--use these for hinges or mini tags, like I did! :D
F-G--To make the pockets, place each piece back on your scoring board and score first at 0.5 inches and then at 4 inches. Fold along the lines and you should have four pieces exactly like in picture H.

For my hinge, I used Laura Denison's Stack the Deck hinge system.

Next, I make the album cover using cardboard and the polka dotted burlap sheet from the Shabby Chic Burlap Stack. It's laminated, so you can use any strong glue and it will stay in place perfectly.
I used double-sided tape for this step--it's my staple for draping album covers.

1. I trimmed my burlap sheet down at 5.5 inches.
2. Lined up the front and back covers and the spine--adhered them down.
3. Matted the inside of the cover with white cardstock--this time, I used liquid glue because I did not want the corners to lift with opening and closing of the album. IB silicon glue, as always, worked like magic!
4. I attached metal book corners.

I made tags, tabs, and doilies to go into the pockets, or to layer under embellishments:

I went on to mat the pages of the mini album and add interactivity (flip-out pockets, belly bands, diagonal pockets, tuck spots, and an acetate pocket holding a mini book).

I dangled the butterfly chipboard shape on a pear-shaped pin--with bits of trims, faux pearls, etc., all from the store.

Here are the pictures of the final album: