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WIP Wednesday: A Cozy Fire

This little number is almost complete and I just want to shrink myself down so I can live in it! There was a lot of trial and error, but I think it is turning out great and I've learned a few things along the journey. There aren't a lot of "in-progress" photos because my hands were pretty inky while making it and I didn't want to ruin my camera or phone. Here's the low-down so far:



Supplies:
***All of the supplies for this project so far are Tim Holtz except for the LED lights and acrylic paints***
Vignette Tray (large)
Vignette Box
Vignette Frame
Vignette Hardware
Tiny Vials
Corked Vials
Bouquet
Skulls
Baroque Frame
Mini Pocket Watches
Lantern
Boneyard
Halloween Paper Stash (2017 and 2018)
Alcohol Inks in Gunmetal, Watermelon, Jet Black, Terra Cotta
Distress Stain in Walnut Stain
Distress Ink in Aged Mahogany, Candied Apple, Black Soot, Walnut Stain
Distress Collage Medium in Vintage
Perfect Pearls Gold
Scraps of cardboard packaging from the Sanding Block
Two sets of tiny LED lights with battery pack

Tools:
Dremel-type tool with drill bit and cutting wheel
Scissors
Tim Holtz Round Blending Tool
Tim Holtz Sanding Block
Metal awl
Paper punch (small)
Jewelry-making pliers
Latex gloves
Q-tips




1. A while back I had purchased the Mini Lantern and when I opened the package, the bulb was broken in the socket. Because I'm a saver, I put it in a drawer. When I looked at it, I thought I could just replace the bulb and battery pack with something new and I sacrificed a strand of white LED lights to do just that. See, a while back, Tim had show that you can cut those strands of LED lights down to size and they would still work--mind blown! I trimmed my strand down to two lights and then used my jewelry pliers to rip the original bulb out. The lights were really white so I painted the frosted plastic with Terra Cotta Alcohol Ink to make it it gloomier.

2. With the light figured out, I inked up the amazing flocked Halloween paper with the Aged Mahogany ink. It seemed a little light so I added some Black Soot and Walnut Stain. I dry-fitted it into the tray, folding the edges to make sure it was a tight fit.



3. I wanted the look of old paneling so I grabbed a piece of the wood paper. I trimmed one single plank to act as trim and then I colored it all with the Walnut Stain ink and smudged in the Black Soot. I dry-fit these pieces in as well.



4. Next, I trimmed down one of the spooky portraits from last year's Halloween Stash and glued it into the Baroque Frame. I placed it on the flocked paper and tested the lantern above it.


5. I put the Vignette Box into the tray and arranged the Vials and Skull to see how it would look.

6. Here's where it got messy and I don't really have photos of the process.

7. I added Black Soot ink from the eyedropper onto the Bouquet flowers and massaged the color into the petals and stems. I wore latex gloves to try to keep my hands clean but...

8. Next I added drops of Gunmetal Alcohol Ink into the vials and swirled it around to give a mercury glass feel to them.

9. I added Distress Stain in Walnut Stain to the Vignette Box and the Frame and did a rough measurement of where to trim the frame I have to become my mantle. I used my Dremel-like tool with cutting wheel to trim the frame. Once it was trimmed, I added more stain to hide any bare spots.

10. I decided to make a book for the skull to stand on. I cut a strip of cardboard packaging and made two folds to create the jacket. I cut narrower, shorter strips and folded them in half to become the pages. I then glued each page together using Glossy Accents and then glued the cover to the stack of pages. Once it was dry, I added Watermelon and Jet Black  Alcohol Ink to the cover and then dusted the spine and pages with Perfect Pearls. I decided to dab on the Collage Medium to age the cover a bit. Once it was dry, I glued the skull to it.


11. The single portrait seemed sparse so I grabbed two of my Mini Pocket Watches and looked through last year's Stash for photos. There's one page with a hodge podge of images and it has two smaller photos that fit the watches perfectly! I trimmed them down and glued them in place with Glossy Accents.

12. I wanted this piece to either hang on a wall or stand up on a shelf so I used Tim Holtz eye hooks on the top of the tray. I bored a small pilot hole for each with my awl.

13. Next, I wanted to drill holes in the tray and box for the lights to come through. I changed out my tool and eyeballed where the lantern and the fireplace lights would go. I made my holes and put the paper back in. I used my awl to pierce the paper from the back so I could make a cleaner hole with my small paper punch. I made the holes and lined everything up again.

14. I added Glossy Accents to the tray and glued the papers in place. It was a really humid day so it took a bit longer to dry. I then glued the lantern and portraits in place.

15. While those dried, I glued the vials and book/skull in place and then topped the box with the frame.

16. Once the fireplace was dry, I added Glossy Accents to the back of the box and glued it to the paper-covered tray, making sure my holes lined up.



17. Once everything was dry, it still looked a bit plain. After looking through all of my supplies, I decided to add the small nails to the lantern and two watches.




18. The final push for this project is making the fire in the fireplace. I'm nearly done making bricks and I have a funky floor in the works as well. With any luck, I'll have a completed piece to share on Maker's Monday!








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