Framed Art

Hi all and thanks for stopping by today!  It's time for the MFT Creative Challenge.  Our Design Team Creative Challenge is a monthly feature, where we are challenged to explore their creative side using a specific theme, product or technique. This month, we've been asked to Frame It! Be sure to check out the MFT Blog for a list of all the designers who have put their MFT stamps and/or Die-namics dies to work to create a framed piece of art for you. 
I got a little "dirty" for this project!  I whipped out some supplies that were collecting dust in my stamp room: paint, sponge, and distress ink.  My fingers were stained for a couple days.  LOL  I took a pressboard frame and altered it.  I also made a matching gift tag.  This will be a fun hostess gift for someone.  
I included a step-by-step tutorial below, so be sure to keep scrolling.  :) 

I incorporated LOTS of different dies for this frame and tag set!

The "main attraction" on the frame is the adorable Homespun Birdhouse.  I cut the house from Kraft Card Stock. The roof, post, and decorative base were all cut from Hot Fudge Card Stock.  The bird, wing, and heart were cut from older patterned papers (12 X 12) from My Mind's Eye Dreamy and Dreamy 2 Collections.  I also used the Branch and Leaves, Flat-Bottom Clouds, Fishtail Banner, Woodgrain Fence, By the Letters, & Fresh Cut Grass.  

I included lots of dimension by using Black Boosters and manipulating the die-cuts with my fingers.

The banner was created with the Fishtail Banner Die-namics.  I love the stackable little banner pieces!  I added eyelets to each piece and then strung them together with hemp.  I curled the ends of the hemp with my hot fix crystal tool, by using it like a curling iron.  Just wrap, hold, and release.  

I added a couple Flat-Bottom Clouds to complete the scene.

I took some pictures along the way to show you most of the process.  


I started with a pre-fab frame.  I discarded the glass immediately, because I knew I wanted pieces to pop out of the frame and the glass was not going to work.  I think it cost me $2-3.

I cut some patterned paper to the size of the frame.  

I loathe using liquid glue or Mod Podge, so I opted for Red Line Tape instead.  It's easy to apply, your paper won't bubble, and it's instant stick.  Love that.

I covered the entire frame like this.

Flip over the frame and use a craft knife to remove the portion that is covering the hole in the frame.  I just followed along the wood.

Sand all the edges on the outside and along the frame opening to ensure the paper is totally flush with the edges.  I use a Basic Grey sanding tool for this.  You can find the same black emory boards at walmart, 2 for $1.24 or so.  I buy those as replacements and just use the pink handle from my original Basic Grey sanding kit.

Next, I did some random paint brush strokes on the frame.  I added paint all around the opening of the frame.

I repeated all the same steps as above to cover the frame hole cover.

Next, I decided how I wanted to decorate the frame and went and die-cut all the MANY Die-namics I was going to need.  When I do this, I typically give myself plenty of color options so I can try different combinations and not have to continually get up to die-cut more pieces in more colors.  

At this point, I decided I didn't want pristine.  It was time to get DIRTY!  I grabbed some Tea Dye Distress Ink (in a dropper bottle) and a sponge, and started distressing.  I love how the flourishes in the paper grabbed the ink.

I grabbed an empty spray bottle I had on hand and made a mixture of water and Tea Dye Distress Ink.  I kept playing with the mixture until I was happy with it.  I added quite a bit of ink.  

Then I went kinda wild.  I was spraying, sponging, and even added some Memento Rich Cocoa sponging in there.  Here, I worked on the Woodgrain Fence until I was happy.  I used many layers of ink, sponging, and spray.

I created a post with the By the Numbers stamp set, and more spraying and sponging.  

I sprayed the Fresh Cut Grass.

At this point, my fingers were SUPER dirty, there was ink everywhere, and I stopped taking pictures.  The rest of the process was literally, spray everything, sponge most of the pieces, add distress ink sponging when I wanted more grunge, and lay out the pieces and glue them down.  


Here is the finished project once again:

Here are some individual pictures of the matching tag I created using Traditional Tag STAX.

I used a sentiment from Let's Toast and die-cuts using Branch and Leaves, Homespun Birdhouse, and Circle STAX.

I used some coordinating MME Ribbon I had on hand.  I sprayed that too... LOL

 Here are the dies I used on my dirty little "welcome" frame.  :) 

Thanks for visiting!  Don't forget to head over to the MFT Blog so you can see what the rest of the team came up with for the challenge.