FAIRIES IN GILDED CAGES

Once again l have entered the wonderful world of Altered Art. I'm having such a wonderful time and l can highly recommend this form of creativity to everyone. As you can see l have used several forms of creativity. My Cricut cut out the Branches. The Tim Holtz Caged Birds Bigz Die. Then a wonderful set of stamps called FAIRY SWEETS by OXFORD IMPRESSIONS . This stamp set along with a wide range of other stamps and crafting materials are available from THATS CRAFTY ON LINE. I can highly recommend a visit to the on-line store!

MATERIALS USED

Large tag shape that was cut out from a Manila folder glued together. -  Sheet of Tin Foil that's approx 4 inches bigger than the tag all round each side - Black Gesso - I think its called Punchanella or Sequin waste design of your choice - Carvable Molding Paste - Selection of Cosmic Shimmer Ink Sprays - Sheet of White Stamping Card - Selection of Pro Markers Pens and Gel Pens to highlight and glitter the stamped images -  Various shades of glossy paper to use in a Electronic Cutting Machine to make the Branches. - Black Foam from items delivered in boxes or packages [I never throw any forms of Foam Packaging that's in a squared shape and can be used in a Big Shot/Cuttlebug etc] - Scissors - Old Credit Card/Gift Card - Large Flat Paint Brush -Various Metallic Embellishing Creams - Martha Stewart Leaves Punch - Good Strong Clear Glue - Baby Wipes - Heat Gun - Cardboard Spray Booth - Plastic Straw - Stamps Away Craft Mat - Adirondack Pitch Black Ink Pad - Vintage Photo Distressing Ink Pad

LETS MAKE A TAG

After l had glued the Manila folder together l used a tag template and cut one out. Now then while l was watching several videos on y-Tube lo noticed that [Sorry l cant remember her name but she was so inspiring] she gave out a tip that if you get from your local D.I.Y Store some M.D.F cut down into 12" square blocks. Then when you have also found and bought several of those Black Plastic Grips that have a bright Orange Tip you can place your art piece into a sandwich of grease proof paper and then clamp two boards together with your project in the middle. This will put pressure onto your project and secure any glued item onto the surface it will also make sure that the project remains relatively flat. Much flatter to use than if you just left it to air dry. I got 6 blocks from an off cut and the cost was £4.00.

After l had left the tag over night the next stage was to lay down the tin foil. To do this we have to crumple up the foil but not into a ball! just take each corner and squeeze gently together. You need to crumple this foil up but you don't want to make an rips. You want it to remain in 1 piece  When your happy with the results lay a thick layer of good glue onto the face of the tag and place the foil on top. Carefully trim the edged leaving a small overhang. This will be folded over the edges. To go round the curves snip into the point where they curves meet and then gently fold as if you were making a circular cushion.

Again l placed the tag back into my home made press and let the glue do its work.

After a few hours l took the tag out of the press and then using the Black Gesso l covered the face of the tag [Tin Foil side] and then using a baby wipe l removed some of the paint. I wanted to make it look distressed and the raised parts of the foil would remain silver in colour.

Using my heat gun this helped the drying process.

The next stage was to take my chosen sequin waste and the molding paste and laid down a layer of the past using the old Credit card and a laying down/scraping tool. I had to lay the sequin wast down several times to get the coverage l wanted.. Then the heat gun was again used to help with the drying process.

After l had selected 3 different colour's from my collection of Ink metallic spays l once again laid down some colour. While it was still wet l took a straw and just blew into the wet ink and formed outward sprays. The tag was then placed to one side.

The next thing to do was to cut out the foam Cages and birds. When they had been cut out and l had removed some of the cage spokes and the Branch that the birds were standing on. l once again took the Black Gesso and covered the foam cut outs and left to dry on the crafting mat.

While they were drying the next step was to stamp out your images using the Pitch Black Ink Pad. As l was using Pro-Markers this was the right choice of ink pad to use. After l had coloured the images l went round them using a Warm Grey 2 Pro Marker just giving me a nice edge to cut out to and lm not cutting into the stamped and coloured image. To finish the images off using the Glitter and Glossy Gel Roll Pens highlights and detail was given.

Now then l know not everyone has a Electronic Die Cutting machine. or the Martha Stewart large Leaf Border punch. I know there are ways round this . In hindsight l could have gone into the garden and collected some small twigs that could be painted and then treated with the Metallic Creams. There are always ways round things with a little thought and a cuppa to get the brain matter into gear. So PLEASE DON'T feel you cant make something like this because you can with a few twists or tweaks.

After l had cut out the branches l then used the Vintage Photo Ink Pad to colour the reverse as l didn't want any white to be seen.

Using the Metallic creams l coloured the birds and the bird cages. I was going for that old Metal look and these crams are a wonderful addition to your crafting arsenal.

All that's now left to do is to build up the tag. The hardest thing about doing this is the placement. You cant do two so l could have done 1 or as l did 3. If the tag was smaller l would have just gone for the one cage. Picking up the branches l intertwined them into the cage, leaving just enough space so that the Fairies faces could be seen. Then using the strong clear glue l secured into place. The next two cages were treated in the same way. The last thing to do was then to place the birds onto and around the cages.

There you have it a tag that's been made using packaging, tin foil as a base for the embellishments  I hope this might inspire you to have a goi and to maybe take a look at all that foam that's used to keep items safe when they are in transit. If its big enough to make an embellishment then save it you never know what it can be turned into!

Any questions please send me a message and l will get back to you as soon as possible.