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

I am an affiliate with Simon Says Stamp and Scrapbook.com so the links below send you to one of those stores depending on which logo you choose.  If you wish to purchase something from either store and use one of my links below, I get a small percentage of your order, at no additional cost to you. This helps me to defray the costs of this blog, the time, the ideas and tutorials I post here. Your help is greatly appreciated! Thank you!

Idea-ology Potting Shed Garden Tools, Jars, and Pots Tutorial

I wanted to do a tutorial on the jars, pots and gardening tools I made for the Idea-ology Vignette Shrine Potting Shed I made for Tim Holtz Creativation 2020 Idea-ology booth.

I'm just going to address how to get the textures and distressed age look to these pieces in this tutorial.

Begin by applying some of the NEW Translucent Grit Paste to the Idea-ology vials, thimbles and silverware.

I use my finger and apply the grit paste to these pieces by just pouncing it onto each one, then let it dry.

Because the Translucent Grit Paste is new, I wanted to show the difference between the original Grit Paste, which has a white Gesso in it, and the translucent which has a clear gesso. When the Opaque grit paste dries, it stays white. But as the Transluscent Grit Paste dries, it becomes a bit more clear.

Here on the fork you can see how clear it becomes. Now to make the fork look like one of the garden forks used to break up soil, you need to bend the tines.

 I bent the fork tines with some needle-nosed pliers until they resembled a garden fork.

Then I turned the fork around and using the part of the pliers with a blade, I cut the fancy end of the handle off the fork and spoon.

Then I wanted to make some sort of handle on both the fork and spoon , so I got out my Eclectic Elements Craft Thread.

I'm only showing the fork for the following steps, but I did the same things to both the fork and spoon. Put a dab of Distress Collage Medium onto the end of the silverware and then wind some of the Craft Thread onto it. Wipe a little more Collage Medium on the outside of the Thread and let it dry.

They will look something like this. Now we need to make them look like they have been used to garden for decades.

I scribbled some Walnut Stain Distress Crayon onto the silverware and then with a damp finger, I wiped it into and onto the Grit Paste. Doesn't that look like a crustly old potting fork? I love it!! The Translucent Grit Paste allows the metal to shine through, but still allows for great texture too. Fantastic.

Then I hot glued the spoon (trowel) and the fork into a "terra cotta pot" for the final piece. Let's move on to how I aged the Apothecary Vials and Thimbles.

You need a package of Idea-ology Thimbles and Apothecary Bottles.

We are going to paint these, so you may think, well, unlike the silverware, where I didn't want to completely cover the metal, it really won't matter if the Grit Paste is Opaque or Translucent on these pieces. That is true, but I thought you would like to see how they both react with this technique.

Here you can see from L-R, the Translucent, Opaque, Translucent on each painted item.

Now you want to age the paint. You can use various colors of Distress Paint for this, Black Soot, Ground Espresso, or Walnut Stain. Put a drop on your Glass Mat, then water it down.

Paint the piece with the very watered down Distress Paint.

Pat it off leaving just leaving little bits behind in the crevices.

Again, here you can see the difference between the two Grit Pastes.

You may want to add a little bit of mold or moss onto the outside of the jars or pots. I use Distress Crayons for this.

Scribble a bit of Distress Crayon onto the Grit Paste on the raised gritty areas.

Wipe it on with a damp finger. You can make this as subtle or chunky as you want it. Used other colors to add depth and interest. I added Walnut Stain and sometimes a bit of Picket Fence or Rusty Hinge will add some terrific aged color.

Don't these look delightfully grungy?

Before adhering them into the Shrine, I added a bit of green moss from the hobby store. Adding florals was easy too. Pick a few florals from the NEW Field Notes Ephemera and Snippets packs.

I applied a bit of hot glue to the back and then attached a Memo Pin.

When you have the moss in the jars, you can hot glue the flower pin into the jar.

I tied a piece of jute around the lip of the bottles.

I really love how they turned out and think they look like some old concrete or ceramic jars.

My next post will show the entire project with all the elements in place.

 

Thank you so much for stopping by! I appreciate all of your comments and support for my blog. If you would like to ask a question, please use the contact form in the column on the right so that I can respond to you.

Thanks, 

Tami

 

I am an affiliate with Simon Says Stamp and Scrapbook.com so the links below send you to one of those stores depending on which logo you choose.  If you wish to purchase something from either store and use one of my links below, I get a small percentage of your order, at no additional cost to you. This helps me to defray the costs of this blog, the time, the ideas and tutorials I post here. Your help is greatly appreciated! Thank you!