Playing Around in an Antique Butterfly Curio Case

Wanting to get something together for this week's post to Brenda's Visual Journey, I started playing around with Deco Art's Weathered Wood and new Crackle Paste.   I also wanted to meet the requirements for the current PaperArtsy and Vintage Journey challenges.  The former requires only paint, and the latter has quite a few options, as it is a tic-tac-toe!



Paint I could do!  But what to do for the Vintage Journey challenge?

I started with the second row, but ended up without any ephemera that worked. I thought I had it solved, but then realized I had chosen embellishments.  I will confess I don't really get the difference, but I think ephemera are paper, and not die cut by me.  Embellishments must then be everything else, including anything I make. Obviously still making my way through this new world :-)  So I ended up making the first column (although I have used everything except Texture Fades and ribbon/twine.  I am tangled up enough already without adding that physical dimension to the work!)

Once again, not starting out with a story, but definitely wanting to play with the Andy Skinner technique using DecoArt's Weathered Wood and translucent acrylic in Quinacridone Gold and trying also Golden's translucent Smalt Hue.

 The base for all of these was painted with Lumiere's Metallic Gold paint.

I made a dimensional case, from Tim Holtz' cabinet card die.  I cut the die twice, using the second cut to make the doors, which open to the butterfly image.

The outside doors and the butterfly panel were aged with Deco Art's Weathered Wood using Quinacridone Gold as the top layer, after stamping in archival ink on top of the Lumiere gold layer.

The inner doors were painted with Golden's Smalt Hue, trying a wash on one side and on the other panel a thicker application of the paint.

So my little butterfly curio case was done, once I added a metal embellishment, cut in half and bent slightly for the door handles.  These bits were gilded with Treasure Gold "Spanish Topaz".

I mounted the curio case on a piece of KaiserCraft scrapbooking paper, toned down with watered gesso and Iced Spruce Distress paint.

 I applied DecoArt crackle paste through a Prima Stencil, and colored it once dry with Iced Spruce distress paint.  But not having gessoed the underling paper, I lost some of the crackle....so covered it all with matte medium.

And then tried Golden's translucent acrylic Green Gold mixed with a bit of Smalt Hue:

I added two metal embellishments, altered with Treasure Gold's "Spanish Topaz".

Added the foil tape (embossed) altered with the same Treasure Gold "Spanish Topaz".

And some die-cut lace spritzed with Lindy's Stamp Gang Opal Sea Oats (a copper shimmer) and a blue Prima Color Bloom spray, just to finish the raw edge of the paper.


And here is the final product - more of a techniques page than anything else, although it does look like a little special folly in a grotto, with some intriguing stone carving and personal momentos reminding us it is from a time well past.... ok, I do have an active imagination!  :-)

Thanks so much for stopping by, and please do comment - I love hearing from you!