A Scraphappy Southernbelle

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Let's Get Ready To Rock!

Hey guys! Happy Tuesday! I hope you all are having a great morning so far! I have a new project I'd like to share with you today. First, let's just say this is WAY out of my normal scrappy element. I prefer to stick to frills, lace, and bold colors, but for this project, it just ain't happenin'! LOL.

Let me give you a little background before I go into this project. Are any of you familiar with the term 'man cave?' I know it is becoming quite popular these days for the men in our lives to have their own room. Well, since the hubby gave me the biggest room in our new home for my scrappy studio, we decided he should finally get the man cave he has always dreamed of. And to be honest, this scared me to death! I am very shabby chic in our home's decor' and Brandon is a total opposite. But I made a promise and I said he could design it any way he wanted to. Brandon loves music and is learning to play the guitar so he decided he wanted a 'rock and roll' themed man cave. So we first chose the one thing every man cave needs, a big, comfortable couch! Here is our brand new couch! And although it is not in my personal tastes, I have to say it's definitely growing on me! This thing is soooo comfy and there's plenty of room to just hang out and veg!
So visualize that in his 'man cave' with a bookcase, 2 entertainment cases for cd's/dvd's/etc., and a entertainment center. After we had all the furniture in, we turned our attention towards the walls. Well, of course Brandon had to hang his dart board. He also bought a piece of really nice 'Beatles' mirrored artwork. Then we had the idea of me making him something! I was so excited! I figured he would not want my touch on any of the room, but I just knew I could come up with something for him. I wanted to totally blow him out of the water and surprise him. He is always so sweet to compliment my dainty artwork and I just wanted to do something completely opposite. So I have created 2 canvases.

I purchased these 16x20 canvases at a local bargain outlet for $2.99 each. I began by painting on a layer of black paint. I then used one of my favorite mediums, the Helmar Crackle Medium. This stuff is so awesome! I painted on the mediums as per instructions. Once dry, I rubbed my silver ink pad over the top and then wiped it down with a cloth. This allowed the silver ink to get into all of the nooks and crannies that the Helmar Crackle Medium left behind. I then also distressed up the edges with the same ink. Next, I found some free vector clip art online and pulled it up in my Inkscape program. This allowed me to turn the picture into a SVG file, which could then be cut on my SCAL software by my Cricut Expression. After cutting the artwork, I adhered it and sealed the canvases with 3 layers of sealant. Last, Brandon chose the black chain to hang them with. So it was nice to have a little of both of us in these pieces. Again, TOTALLY out of my element, but I must say, it was fun to change things up a bit and he adores these! I am a happy gal!

Supplies Used
Paper: The Paper Studio
Pearls: Queen & Co
Ink: Stampabilities
Paint: Plaid
Die Cutting Machine: Cricut (Provo Craft)
Software: Sure Cuts A Lot (Craft Edge), Inkscape
Font: VTKS Tattoo (found at Dafont.com)

Canvas #1
I chose this font because it looked like something you would see on a rocker's tattoo. Then I wanted the circular pattern in the art to match the circular pattern on his couch. We chose the couch not only because it looked rockerish (is that a word? LOL), but because the circles on the pillows reminded us of records. I think I am going to make him a bowl to put on his coffee table that is made from a melted down record.
 Up close...
 Had to add some bling in there somewhere! Tee Hee!
 Canvas #2
I put the artwork for this canvas together out of 2 different pieces of art, a guitar and flames.
 Closer...
 Had to do a close up of the Crackle Medium effect...how cool is this stuff?!!! I love it!
And now back to the regular programming! LOL! No more rockerish stuff for me for a bit. I'm ready to get back to the sugar and spice and all that is nice! Ha ha ha!

Thanks for visiting my blog! Have a beautiful day!
Happy Scrappin'!!!
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7 comments:

Sonya said...

Looks perfect for your theme!!

Joanna said...

How fun! Lovin the crackle effect!!

Sheila aka SassyLady said...

I know he is going to love love love your art. What a wonderful thing for him to have a man cave....
my hubby has one too, it is called a garage!!!! teehee I just aged myself as in my generation men didn't get a man cave EVER! so he is a lucky man to have you Aymee!
Enjoy!!!

Anonymous said...

Stop it! His own space! Nice!
You should totally post before and after photos cause those are too fun to see! We have this itty bitty room that my FIL was staying in part time but he lost his job and doesn't stay here anymore..so I may get a itty bitty craft space! we'll see what I can do with it! LOL!
Thanks for sharing this...I'll bring the kids over and you'll see how those pillows work on that new couch! LOL! Love the projects...they are awesome!

Hugs!!!

Kray said...

Love the crackling effect! Those turned out really good.

Rhonda Van Ginkel said...

You did a great job on these Aymee! I love the crackle medium too but was trying to figure out how to make it more matte vs glossy.

Your svg cuts are perfect for these and the chain is "rockstar"!

Audrey Frelx said...

They look great!