Sunday, April 5, 2015

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 CanStampers 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 ButterfliesRock 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

17 comments:

  1. Gorgeous, love the stained glass windows, very clever idea. Tracy x

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  2. Wow.... the stained glass effect is amazing! Suzz. Love your gorgeous creation! :)

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  3. such a cool effect to the stained glass windows and the arches!!

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  4. Wow, I love this, fantastic effects on and around those arches, - just beautiful!

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  5. Totally gorgeous stained glass windows! All the steps make them look so real!!

    *mwah*
    Steph
    Simon Says Stamp!

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  6. gorgeous project-love those windows!!

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  7. Ohh these stained glass windows are amazing! Love that you made them with a crackle stamp! Hugs, Sandra

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  8. What a very clever way to use the crackle stamp! You could take this idea literally and instead of mounting your arches on cardboard, mount them in such a way that, when hung in a window, the light could shine through. Or perhaps mount them around a glass candle holder, etc.

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  9. What a very clever way to use the crackle stamp! You could take this idea literally and instead of mounting your arches on cardboard, mount them in such a way that, when hung in a window, the light could shine through. Or perhaps mount them around a glass candle holder, etc.

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  10. The stained glass effect is breathtaking! It's so realistic, it seems really a glass, wonderful! barbaryaya

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  11. This is so beautiful and the crackle and stained glass effect is STUNNING! I absolutely adore your wonderful piece of art, Suzz ~ it's such a clever, clever idea! :)

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  12. So beautiful and inspiring! What a wonderful piece to keep you focused on the important things as well as give you something lovely to look at!

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  13. So beautiful and inspiring! What a wonderful piece to keep you focused on the important things as well as give you something lovely to look at!

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  14. I had wondered how you created those lovely windows. They're magical! Beautiful project, Suzz.

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  15. Such a fabulous technique!! I love your gorgeous and clever windows. So beautiful.

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  16. Beautiful Suzanne! Love the stain glassed look! You're so creative!

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  17. Holy cow-i-noli! This is pretty genius of you! My parents do stained glass work and it's something I really admire. I had no idea how brilliantly you could re-create that vibe with tissue paper! And the arched frames are so delightfully rustic! You nailed this...times a million!

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