Arches

The Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge  this week is to be inspired by the letter "A".  That means you have free reign to use the letter "A".  I had all kinds of ideas running through my head but the thought of using arches intrigued me.

I wanted to see if I could create the feel of an old wooden church showcasing some beautiful stained glass windows.

I started with die cutting three arches from some scrap cardboard.  I keep all the backs of pads of paper so when they get used up I have a nice sturdy chipboard/cardboard for projects like this. 

I applied several coats of white acrylic paint and then finished it off with rock candy paint to get the weathered effect.   I let that dry and then took my finger and picked up grey pigment ink and rubbed it into the cracks to enhance the crackle.

Next up was to create my stain glass effect. 

I traced the shape of the inside of the arch onto tissue paper.  I cut it slightly larger (hence the funny edges).  I stamped the mosaic pattern using black ink and heat embossed with black embossing powder.

I flipped over the paper and colored the back side of the tissue paper with watercolor pencils.  After I had finished coloring I spritzed it with water to soften the coloring.   I could have colored with any medium (distress dye inks, watercolor markers, etc)  Just keep in mind the wetter the medium the more likely it will tear the tissue paper.

After it dried I applied versamark ink over the entire surface and coated it with clear embossing powder.  I then heated it up and melted it to give it a shiny coat.  After it cooled down I flipped it over and repeated the process.  I did the front side two times to give it a double coat.  You can decide what texture and how shiny.

After I finished that I attached it to the back side of the arch.

I took this photo in the sunlight so you can see the faux stained glass effect. 

I created a panel from cardboard following the same weathering process as the arches to place my arches on:

After that I added just a few more touches for my finished art:

Product:    White acrylic paint , Ranger Archival Ink - Watering Can,  Stampers Anonymous - Cracks, Maya Road Art Journaling Stamps, Spellbinders Arched Window Die,(I used Memory Boxes but any Arch will do),  Moss, Hero Arts Three Artistic Butterflies,  Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint, Versamark Watermark Ink, Clear Embossing Powder, Black Embossing Powder, Ranger Archival Ink - Black, Tissue Paper


The ever generous Simon Says Stamp is offering a gift voucher to a randomly selected participant in the challenge, so come join in on the fun.

Thanks for stopping by!


Suzz