Thursday 5 January 2012

Altered Papier Mache Letter - A for Arihanna

Evening All,

I've been running around town trying to do a dozen administrative tasks today ... when our dear old friend, Roy, died suddenly just before Christmas, I found that as executor I had a ton of jobs to do and the paperwork is still ongoing. So after trailing round the banks and the post office, form filling and more form filling, with a wee trip to the Waterstones and Costa Coffee for a much needed latte, I am exhausted, stressed out and needing some restorative crafting time. But, before I do get down to the next project, I thought I'd show you what was hidden under the DP on my desk in yesterday's post.


I've finished decorating the papier mache letter for my grand-niece's nursery and, of course, it's pink! I distressed the letter by painting with coats of white gesso, fuchsia acrylic paint, smearing with petroleum jelly and a final coat of white paint which, after drying, was rubbed down with kitchen paper to reveal some of the pink undercoat.


There's a lot of silver embossing too. Because the letter is hollow it was not possible to get a good impression with stamps so I drew the flourish by hand with a VersaMark pen before heat embossing with silver powder. By being selective about which spots I chose to stamp I did manage to have bees randomly flying around the sides and among the tiny roses.


There's also a sprinkling of pink gems decorating the sides. The wooden letters were painted pink and then heat embossed with a couple of coats of clear embossing powder then one of pink glitter embossing powder.  Pearls, flowers and a butterfly complete the decoration.


I can't remember where I got this butterfly but it is rather gorgeous.

It's another very girly project and I do hope my niece likes it ... too early to tell whether little Arihanna likes it or not :))

Right, the EM has just called up to say Pointless is on so I'm off to watch it before starting my next project.

Hope you are all surviving the wind and the weather.

Happy Crafting,

9 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Elizabeth, sorry I didnt comment on your lovely blog earlier, my laptop decided to hav a bit of a hissy fit :) Thank you so much 4 your comments on my blog
luv
Maria
xx

Sarpreet said...

gorgeous (I just shared some news on my blog, would appreciate if you have the time to pop on by)

505whimsygirl said...

Hi Elizabeth,
I hear being an executor is a time consuming job. Remember to take "craft and latte" breaks!!

The letter looks great. That butterfly is a great find. I'm sure your grand-niece will love it!!!

Hugs,
Kay

Marie-Louise said...

Elizabeth this A looks great. You are certainly very creative. It will really look good in her room. The nice thing is that it is unique.

Jules said...

Hi Elizabeth

I was wondering how you would alter this .. .. and the answer is "beautifully".

Love the embossing and that gorgeous butterfly.

I am sure it is going to be well loved by Arihannah later in life and by her Mum straight away!

Hope you enjoyed Pointless. I usually catch that when I visit my Mum. It is one of her favourites.

Thank you for your lovely comment on my exciting news. That was very kind of you.

Love Jules xx

Carrie said...

Stunning Elizabeth......she will absolutely love it. Hope you are keeping well and have had a good Christmas and New Year.
Love
Carrie

Julia Dunnit said...

Lovely lovely! Am sure your neice and in time, your great neice will treasure it, it's gorgeous. 'Home for Pointless' is my DH's goal for today...I really wish he'd get home that time every day...it's great for cuppa and biscuit time!

coops said...

this is stunning elizabeth.really beautiful colours and details :D

xx coops xx

Shaz in Oz.CalligraphyCards said...

Really lovely job , all the little cute pinkiness there Elizabeth! Shaz in Oz.x