Idea-ology Potting Shed

I'm really not sure what exactly inspired this Tim Holtz Idea-ology piece, but I don't think it was just one thing. I'm sure it was the combination of the fabulous florals in the Field Notes ephemera and snippets packs, the tiny lights paired with the Vellum Scenes, and the glorious chippiness of the Distress Crackle Texture Paste with the Vignette Shrine and Frame.  It just all came together and said it needed to be a potting shed.

To start, I cut some paper from the Wallflower 12x12 Paperstash. You need enough paper for the inside and outside of the sides of the shrine and for the inside and outside back of the shrine as well as for the Tiny Lights Cover. I adhered the paper to the Shrine first with Distress Collage Medium.

Then I "stained" the Vignette Frame and any other bits of raw wood with watered down Ground Espresso Distress Paint. I did this because I didn't want Distress Stain or Ink to color the Distress Crackle Texture Paste. Once the "stain" was dry, I used a Ranger Pallet Knife and spread some of the Distress Opaque Crackle Texture Paste onto the top edges of the sides, the base and the frame. Let it dry and it crackles.  Glorious crackles!!

Then I determined where the frame was going to go and I punched a hole through the back of the shrine to feed the Tiny Lights through. I wrapped the lights around a wooden coffee stir stick that I attached to the top inside of the Vignette Frame. Then I attached the battery pack to the back of the shrine like this.

To attach the window frame to the back of the shrine, I adhered the Vellum Scene to the back of the frame, then I built up the sides by adding some Chipboard to all four sides.

Because I wanted the Vellum Scene to light up, I wound the Tiny Lights around a wooden coffee stir stick and adhered it to the inside edge of the chipboard on the top side of the frame.

If you look closely you can see that after I had adhered some chipboard to the sides of the Vignette frame, I put some Crackle texture past so it would blend right in with the frame. The space the chipboard gives to the frame by moving it away from the back wall of the shrine is what allows you to adhere to lights on the coffee stirrer to the inside top of the frame.

Once you get the frame popped away from the back, lights adhered securely inside the frame, then attach the frame to the back of the shrine with Distress Collage Medium and let it dry.

While that is drying you can age and distress the Idea-ology Apothecary Jars, Thimbles, and Silverware. I already posted a tutorial on doing this, and you can see it here. Once the thimble "terra cotta pots" are made, adhere three of them to the top of the window frame. Also, mount the Wholesale Florist sign from the Field Notes Ephemera pack to a piece of chipboard and then attach it to the back of the shrine above the window. I used this to cover the tiny crack where the window was attached to the back and a bit of the light was shining through. The chipboard sign did a great job of sealing that up.

I put the flower poster from the Field Notes Snippets to the back of the shrine under the window as if it had fallen off the wall and slid down settling against the bottom of the shrine. Once I adhered the jars and pots in place, I filled in around them with a little bit of moss.

Once I adhered the jars and pots in place, I filled in around them with a little bit of moss.

I adhered the garden tools into one pot, and adhered the other pot sideways. Then in the sideways pot I put a bunch of grit paste. Before it dried, I sprinkled some Distress Embossing Powder on it and I added some grit paste and Distress Embossing Powder in the pot with the tools as well.

Fair warning, the Distress Embossing Powder is retired. Long retired. But I have a huge stash of it and love using it to represent dirt whenever I can. If you don't have any, you can use some real sand or ink and stain the grit paste to represent soil.

Oh my, the details on the jars, pots and things are really so worth the work!

From this angle you can see how crackled and chippy the Distress Crackle Texture Paste really is.

It might chip off of its own or you can chip off some of it yourself. this just adds to the chippy goodness!

The finishes and the little details in this piece really make a difference and although they take time, they are all well worth it!

Just have fun experimenting and adding colors here and there until you get the look you want. That's what I do. I just play and try things and delight in the various finishes and details you get as you practice.

I am always grateful that you chose to come to my blog and spent time reading this post. If you have any questions or need clarification on anything, please contact me through the form in the column on the right.
Gratefully!
Tami

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