A project with heart

This week our challenge theme at Simon Says Stamp and Show is 'a project with heart'. We have a special guest this week on the blog, Jim, The Gentleman Crafter. Don't miss his fabulous project, and he'll post a tutorial for it on Wednesday.

I love using hearts and I found a forgotten blank wooden heart which I can't even remember when I bought and decided to alter it. Love it when something gets a whole new life.

I had lots of fun making this little wall-hanging. I love mixing different types of metal and this heart was a great surface to play on. First, I adhered a piece of aluminium tape to glossy cardstock and embossed it with a clock folder. Then it was glued to the wooden heart. I painted the heart cream and wiped off the paint from the embossed parts. The heart was inked with Aged Mahogany distress ink and a little bit of Black Soot. Then I embossed the whole heart with clear embossing powder (distress ink wouldn't dry on metal, but the embossing powder seals the ink). Finally, the edges of the heart were distressed with a bit of Pitch Black paint.

I printed some old photo boot photos on ordinary cardstock and used one of my dad and me on the heart. More photos were added in a little Vintaj inchie book. The Vintaj brass blanks aren't only for jewellery making, they are great for making your own embellishments too.

The sentiment is a part of the long narrow stamp in Tim Holtz's Stamper's Anonymous Stuff to Say set, it is perfect to use for small sentiments - and I often like to use small sized sentiments. I glued it to a piece of Film Strip ribbon, which was attached to the heart so that it forms a dimensional 'bridge'. I attached it with the screw eyes that hold the gear and the little key.

The small hearts were die cut from grungeboard, painted with Juniper dabber, covered with Glossy Accents and then sprinkled with Distress Stickles Rock Candy dry glitter, love that stuff. The little heart charm was in my stash, I painted it with Agate Patina ink. The gears were distressed with a bit of Moss Patina ink.

On the Vintaj star I embossed an 'e', for our surname, painted it with Agate ink and then burnished to distress, using the Vintaj reliefing block.

A Tim Holtz clock face was layered together with a gear and a game spinner, which had been painted with Agate ink. The patina inks are opaque and cover metal perfectly, also drying very quickly. I drilled two little holes in the heart to hang the inchie book from

I have a thing for trees, and I thought it fitted on this project which is about family, time and roots. The lovely tree was embossed on a Vintaj Blank Journal Page. You can get a lot of different images out of one Sizzix Vintaj DecoEmboss folders, depending on the size and shape of the blank you use and where you place it. The grass was painted with Moss and the sky and tree with Agate. I used the reliefing block to remove the paint from the tree and the strands of grass. All the Vintaj pieces were painted with the Ranger Vintaj sealer to protect them.

I inked inchie pages for the book and used more photo boot images inside, together with more words from the tall Stuff to Say stamp. I lined the pages up with the covers and poked holes for the jump rings, one page at a time.

Another page. I wrote the dates at the back.

My mom. The photos don't look quite this grainy in real life.

The back cover of the book is embossed with gears and keys, to fit the theme of the heart, painted with the same inks and then burnished.

I hope you will join us this week and show us your creations 'with heart'. We love looking at all the gorgeous submissions to the challenge every week. As always, our fabulous sponsor, Simon Says Stamp, gives a $50 gift voucher to one random participant.

Thanks so much for visiting!

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:
Dies: Sizzix Hearts Set Movers & Shapers
Embossing folders: Sizzix: Clocks & Printblocks, Sizzix Vintaj: Moonlit Night, Steampunk Parts, Lowercase Typewriter
Stamps: Stamper's Anonymous Tim Holtz Stuff to Say
Ink: Distress Ink: Aged Mahogany, Black Soot, Vintage Photo; Archival Ink Jet Black
Paint: Adirondack paint dabbers: Sandal, Pitch Black, Juniper
Patina ink: Ranger Vintaj patina ink: Retro Highway kit, Weathered Copper kit, Ranger Vintaj Glaze Sealer
Embossing powder: Ranger clear embossing powder
Glitter: Ranger Distress Stickles Rock Candy dry glitter
Surfaces: Ranger foil tap sheets, Manila cardstock; Tim Holtz Idea-ology grungeboard; 7Gypsies Postale Ledger Journal 8x8 pad
Embellishments: Vintaj Blank Journal Page, Blank Tiny Artisan Star; Tim Holtz Idea-ology Sprocket Gears, Timepieces, Game Spinners, Filmstrip Ribbon, Screw Eyes; 7Gypsies 9 Miniature Keys Antique Brass,
Tools: Vintaj reliefing block; Sizzix Big Shot
Adhesive: Ranger Glossy Accents
Other: jump rings, wire, heart charm