Shadow box makeover

Today I gave a Making Memories wood shadow box a makeover. Here is the before.

And now my AFTER!

Initially I combined a red and pink acrylic paint to match the red in the Urban Lily paper. Then I added Delta's Crackle Medium. I can't say that it is a crackle. . . it's more of a true wood finish. But I thinned some black fluid acrylic paint with water and brushed it on while the crackle was a bit tacky and wiped it off almost immediately.

For the chipboard pieces, I wanted to use Melody Ross' Chip Art tools to create an embossed, colored leather feel that is worn. So I embossed the chipboard and then while still wet, I bent the pieces to create the leather texture. The edges are worn and separated. . . again like leather. Spring is here and so are the cherry blossoms so I made my little flowers pink. After I curled the chipboard, I dried them with a heat gun (of course, right?) and painted them with my finger. Next I rubbed my finger in Distress ink and rubbed it onto the chipboard. I got the look of a torn leather jacket and that was exactly what I was hoping for. To highlight the pieces, I added a bit of Liquitex acrylic ink and Twinkling H20s.

Bead caps, bling and glitter later. . . it was done! Lately I have been in a "kitchen sink" mode where I use just about anything in my stash. . .and really I am loving it! Hope you give it a try too.