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Sunday 29 May 2011

Carrie's Frame

It was Carrie's birthday earlier in May - the big 4-0!!  I wanted to get or make her something special so in January I spotted this frame in a Charity shop window.  The guy in the shop knows me now and when I asked to look at it he automatically showed me the back first!

The first thing I did when I got home, after taking this photo of course, was the take it to pieces and rip the leaves and glittered apple out of it and bin the them.  I couldn't get the glass out as it had been glued to the front frame.  Thank goodness the inside with the recesses came off cleanly!


I didn't need to prepare the surface apart from cleaning as the inside had been painted with some sort of matte paint.  As far as I could see the frame had already been altered into the state I bought it in as the painiting was not factory done. 

I painted the inside of the frame and recess with Viva Precious Metal Paint in Blackberry and then dry brushed the same make of paint in Mother of Pearl over it.  both of thses paints are very high in mica content so shimmer beautifully.  I painted the outside of the frame with Precious Metal in Silver to tie both parts together as the mother of pearl paint has a slightly silver tone to it.  Of course I forgot to photograph them at this stage, but you'll be able to see what I mean on the finished frame.

Next I made some flowers using a tissue drinks coaster and some pages from a book.  I cut both of them with a Nestie circle die.  Especially for S and J at the hospital here are the photos :)

These are the cut circles which have been scrunched up and sort of flattened back out.
The same circles which I have sprayed with Glimmer Mists in Key Lime Pie and Lemon Zest.
And again once they have been dried with a heat tool and ready to shape into a flower around a bead.   Lynn R-H taught me the technique at a workshop.  You start with a bead and a little glue and mold the paper around the bead.  Keep doing this with tissue, paper and glue until you have a flower of the size you want.

  
 And this is a close up of the finished flower.  I made the beads for both of the flowers during a workshop that Carrie, Jo and I attended and had a great time!

I chose bobbins to into the recess as Carries loves sewing.  My Mam wrapped the thread round 2 of the bobbins and I painted the 3rd and put a vintage cigar bad round it with a picture of a german castle on it.  Carrie also loves Germany.

This flower was made in the same way but sprayed with Jazz Blue and Fully Purple Glimmer Mists.

My Mam helped again by filling the miniature bottles with lavender grown in my garden and tied ribbon round the tops to finish them off.  The ribbon is from the loops you get on clothes to keep them on the hanger.  I cut them off and use them for projects!

Carrie love the outdoors and I thought the Lavender would be perfect here.

Placing the bobbins and bottles was difficult as I was shaking while doing it.  Thank goodness the Glossy Accents has a little time before it dries lol!!!


For the middle, I made a torso from pearl UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Powder) using a mold Jo has. It has a front and back to the mold but I just used the front.

The 'pedestal' that the torso is to stand on is a piece of dense foam from the bottom of TH Embossing Folder packaging.  I've been keeping it but didn't know why til now ;)
I painted the pedestal the same colour as the recess and stuck the whole angel together using silicone.









Then it was just a case of cleaning the glass up, bearing in mind I couldn't get it our of the frame.  There was gold paint on it from the last time it had been painted and somehow I'd managed to get the Blackberry colour on the inside of glass right in the middle.  So once I got that off and gave it a good dust, I could put it all together.

Here is the finished frame and it is totally personal to Carrie!

6 comments:

mamapez5 said...

What a wonderful project. You have a very lucky friend. I love the winged torso and the flowers.
Just beautiful. Kate x

Janet said...

Oh my goodness! This is fantastic! What a wonderful gift. You are very inventive and clever. Thanks for the flower making tips. I am sure Carrie will treasure this.

Janet xx

erasercarver said...

I can confirm that this frame is absolutely stunning! It is such a personal piece and means so much to me. I've really enjoyed reading through all the details here, Jill. Thank you so much xxx

InkyArtitude said...

What a great idea Jill! Love the way you have three little vignettes, each with some personal relevance to the recipient. What a lot of thought and creativity you've put into it and you've made a beautiful job of it.
Lynn x

judithw said...

Hi Jill, I love the it and you really seem to have enjoyed creating it.
Take care xx

craftimamma said...

What a lot of work but more important, what a lot of thought you have put into this project for Carrie. It's beautiful and I know Carrie is the sort of person who will really appreciate such a lovely gift. I love the torso and think I need that mold, lol!

I bought a similar frame from my local charity shop a little while ago but couldn't get it to pieces at all so I asked my son to have a go. I'm still waiting for it back and after seeing this I must give him a prod to get it back to me.

Hugs
Lesley Xx