That's Crafty Mixed Media Tree House

What a fun and inspiring challenge we have in store for you this month at A Vintage Journey!  Our theme is "Using Quotes" and our lovely hostess Jenny says, "Take a quote! Any quote! Whether it be on a stamp, a sticker, handwritten or sourced from the internet and make it the focal point of your vintage; shabby; mixed media; art journaling, industrial, timeworn or steampunk project."

As a bonus, our challenge is being sponsored by That's Crafty, who has so graciously offered the lucky winner a £20 voucher.

For my project, I chose the Extra Large House Shrine Substrate.  This substrate is over 8.5" high and is quite impressive on its own.  Honestly, it took me many a days to ponder how I would alter this beauty!  And I really wanted to use my all time favorite quote for this challenge, "I am most alive among the tall trees."  The result is this "tree house."  I hope you like it!  I used Tim Holtz's birch thinlet for the inside of my shrine.  I carefully cut and pieced two cutouts together so it would be long enough to fit inside.  To cover the seams, I scraped on DecoArt texture sand paste.  Then I colored it with watercolors.  I hand stamped the text with an alpha set onto inky paper.

I was curious to see how the substrate would take spray inks, and boy was I ever surprised!  I did not gesso or prime.  I stenciled this Tim Holtz flower stencil with texture paste, then sprayed blue and green Lindy's Stamp Gang sprays right onto it.  It soaked in beautifully and didn't alter the color much.  One of my favorite techniques with sprays is to add a bit of glimmer mist over a stenciled image.  The texture causes the shimmer to puddle around the image.  I love this effect.  After I did that, I dry brushed gesso onto the flowers and then hand painted more inks onto them.  I wanted them to be lighter and compliment the white trees in the niche.

To embellish, I chose to create one giant flower, inking it as described in THIS tutorial.  I used a Brenda Walton Bigz peony flower die with Distress Inks.  It reminds me of an Alice in Wonderland fantasy!

The curls are created in the twisting of the petals.  This flower was made with five layers of the largest of the peony die.  I would wear it as a broach.  Ha!

Right away I knew my forest must have ferns.  These foliage dies are some I got for a steal at a Tuesday Morning sale.  I don't know the brand, sorry.

I just had to use the lovely new IndigoBlu butterfly from the Victorian Garden stamp set.  Isn't it amazing!  I used blue and green embossing powder to get the two-tone look.  And that's it.  All finished, and perched upon a tree in my yard.  I hope you like it!

I'm also sharing with:

Simon Says Stamp: The Great Outdoors

Country View Crafts: Flower Power

That's Crafty!: Bright Colors

Artistic Stamper: Floral Fantasy

Dies R Us: Flowers

Frilly and Funkie: Put Your Inking Cap On

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