Love is {NOT} in the air......Emerald Creek Dare

It is time for a new challenge at Emerald Creek Dares and this time

the team was challenged to create Valentine's ~ For All The Single People. Sort of Valentine's Day themed but not necessarily filled with all the mushy romance if that's not your thing. Quite a challenge since I have not been single for 25+ years. So as I pondered this challenge while enjoying a Venti Pike Place it came to me - I LOVE COFFEE!

I decided to do a small 5x7 canvas ~ this is one of series of canvases that will be hot beverage themed and displayed above my coffee/tea corner in my kitchen.

Let's get started.....

I started by mixing some Dina Wakely Glazing Medium with a bit of Candied Apple Distress Paint.

I appled this to my canvas with a pallet knife and my fingers. While this layer was still wet I added a couple of drops Fired Brick Distress Paint to my red glaze mixture and using my pallet knife added this colour to my canvas. Lastly, I added a couple of drops of Aged Mahogany to my glaze and using my fingers added some to my canvas.

I next made a mixture of Crackle Paste and Texture Sand Paste (both from DecoArt Media) to use with my Tim Holtz Brick Stencil. My mixture was probably 50/50 but if I was to try this again I will definitely make sure that I went heavier on the Crackle Paste so the cracks would be more visible.

After I let the paste dry completely, I applied a mixture of Golden Fluid Acrylic Burnt Sienna & Glazing Medium to the entire canvas. while this was still wet I used a baby wipe to wipe back some of the colour. I applied more of this mixture to the bricks 2 more times until I got the colour I liked.

I then added some stamping to my canvas using Archival Ink in Black & Potting Soil. I love how the stamping on the bricks looks like graffiti.

I used my Fresh Brewed Die from Tim Holtz/Sizzix for my main focal point.
I cut it from chipboard, painted with Picket Fence Distress Paint and gently sanded the edges before spritzing with Ground Espresso Distress Marker.

The sentiment was one I found on Pinterest and I used a combination of Chit Chat stickers & stamping on paper.

I used my Interlaced Hearts Stamp from Emerald Creek as the steam coming from my coffee cup.
Mmmmmm........coffee. ;)
A Prize Cameo Charm, also from Emerald Creek, was perfect for the the front of the cup.
I added some Burnt Copper Leaves Embossing Powder to the outer edge of the charm before filling the centre with glossy accents, 3 coffee beans and some red glitter.

Thank you so much for dropping by my blog today!
Be sure to visit the rest of Emerald Creek DT blogs for more
 "Valentine's ~ For All The Single People" inspiration
and enter our challenge at Emerald Creek Dares for a chance to win
a $25 online store credit!

Emerald Creek Design Team

Karon
Diana
Katelyn
Cathy
Claudia
Shilpa

~stay crafty~

julia


Challenges Entered 
Simon Says Monday Challenge: love is in the air

Live Your Dreams......

My son's birthday was last weekend and since he is off at college

there is no better gift than gift cards for coffee shops, the local grocery store, 

gas for his car & clothing stores. 

There is no cooler way to give a bunch gift cards than in an Eileen Hull 3D Square Box. 

I love this die! I have used it often to make a gift box, a storage box for small doo-dads and even a box for a custom made advent calendar.

This project was all about my son so it had to be manly, gritty & grungy.

This box has it all - The Time Travellers from Tim Holtz & Stampers Anonymous, tinted sand texture paste from DecoArt Media, lots of Distress Inks and a few bits and bobs from my stash. 

My favorite part is the Edison Bulb Charm from Emerald Creek Crafts .

 I made matching gift card holders from card stock to put in the box. I love the look of the torn notebook edge that fold over and is secured behind a brad.

Don't forget to check out the Emerald Creek Dares blog for this months challenge and for your chance to win a $25 gift certificate to their online store!

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks so much for stopping by my blog today.