CCM #89 - Card/Tag and Matching Gift Bag/Box/Wrap

So, this week it is my turn to set the challenge! And I as I love things that match, I decided the challenge would be to make a card or tag, AND a matching gift bag, box or gift wrap. You need the two elements to be in with a chance of a prize.

Our sponsors this week are The Paper Shelter, who are offering a $20 gift certificate, and also Woodware.

 

I chose to use an image from Paper Shelter for my projects - Home Sweet Home - the idea being they can then be given to someone who is moving house!! 

 I started by printing the image in 3 different sizes onto Joanna Sheen Elegance Card, and coloured the images in at the same time, so I wouldn't forget what colours I was using. This is only my second real attempt at Promarkers, and I was really glad that I had bought some of the fine tips, as the smallest image was, well, very small!!  

  

 At the start, I had no real idea of what colour scheme I wanted to use - it just evolved as I worked. The colours I used were: Almond, Sunkissed Pink, Coral, Blush, Walnut, Henna, Teracotta, Spice, Sandstone, Umber, Saffron, Soft Peach, Orange, Apple and Forest Green. I cut the images out with Spellbinders square dies, and used Vintage Photo to ink them whilst they were still in the die.

I then started work on the tag and box. Sitting on my shelf for quite a while now has been a tube of Kroma Crackle. I bought it with some other projects in mind, but thought this would be a good opportunity to try it out. The idea was that I would end up with a lovely crackled finish to my pieces. So, from the Papermania Bare Basics range, I used an Instant Pillow Box and Kraft tag. I also decided to prepare a piece of Papermania Kraft cardstock in the same way, in order to be able to match the card to the tag and box.

I painted all the pieces with Eco Green Acrylic Paint in Pumpkin, as I wanted a little of the orange showing through the cracks on the finished work. 

I then mixed some more Eco Green Paint (this time in Mulch) with some Kroma Crackle ...

.... and spread it onto each piece. And this is when it started to go a bit wrong. I am obviously very stingy when it comes to products that are not particularly cheap. And this is one of them. So, I didn't really get a very thick layer on any of the pieces. 

And as it wasn't thick, it wasn't particularly even either. At this point I was not happy, but decided to leave it overnight and see what happened.

But even the following day, it was obvious that it hadn't worked in the way it was supposed to - there were some very small areas of cracks, but really not what I had hoped for. This is definitely a product that you have to be prepared to use a lot of, to get a good result. So, I had a choice. I could abandon this attempt and try the same process again, try something completely different, or see what I could salvage. As I said before, I am rather stingy, so decided to carry on and see if I could make something out of the disaster.

 So, when in doubt, get out the Distress Inks!! I covered all the pieces with Vintage Photo. Part of the result of this was to dislodge some of the Kroma Crackle that had cracked - but it actually didn't look too bad.

Next, I tried out another new product - Creative Expressions Gilding Wax. I used mainly Enchanted Gold, but added some Autumn Bronze too. You can see that this really highlighted the areas that had some cracking on them.

Once I had buffed it up, I was actually really pleased with the results! Kroma Crackle needs sealing otherwise it all flakes off, so I finished off with a layer of Indigo Blu Slap It On Matte.

The rest of the materials I used for matting and layering were: Craftworks Cards 148mm square white base card; DCWV brown cardstock; Bazzill orange cardstock; Papermania Chelsea Green Capsule Collection DP; ribbon and pearls from my stash.

The little box would be perfect for putting a gift card inside, and because the Kroma Crackle is flexible, it didn't crack further when the box was put together. The photographs do not really show the metallic sheen that the gilding waxes have added to the surfaces - but believe me, it really makes a difference. It was well worth persevering with!!

Pop on over to the Crafty Cardmakers blog to check out all the great inspiration from the other DT members. Remember, you need to have TWO pieces to be considered for the prizes - a card or tag AND matching gift wrap, bag or box.

I am really looking forward to seeing what you all come up with.

Cxx