Calico Coaches, Planes and Automobiles - by Alison

Hello all, Alison from Words and Pictures here with some tags and an ATC using some of the fabulously detailed Calico Craft Parts Transport Wood Shapes.  You might want to grab a cup of coffee! There's a quartet of tags...

And since I left the vehicles unaltered for the tags, I also created an ATC with a whole different look.  Here's a quick taster - more of this one later in the post...

Let's begin with the tags. I started out with the unadorned Craft Parts, layering up some bits and bobs to go with them.

I used DecoArt Chalk paint in Serene to paint my background tags, and also to stamp onto the smaller kraft tags.  You get a fabulously detailed image.

But then I couldn't bring myself to alter the cars themselves - they're just so delicious as they are.  Let me show you them in close-up.  This is Vintage Car Style 3.  Just look at the intricate cutting - these are works of art in their own right.

As usual with the craft parts, you can get them in different sizes.  This sporty number is Vintage Car Style 2.

On these tags, I've used the medium size cars, so they're about 9cm in length - perfect for a card.  This is Vintage Car Style 4, a lovely old jalopy pick-up.

And, as promised over at mine, it's not just cars!  This is the amazing Horse Drawn Tram in the large size, so about 12cm long.  The detailing is exceptional - look at the chap with his hand raised on the platform at the back.  And I do believe one of the passengers on the top deck is using a cigarette holder to smoke with!

Not forgetting the hardworking horse, prancing along with great energy.

I added some of the Mini Cogs - Styles 3 and 4.  You get a sheet with various sizes of each style, 19 cogs in total for only £1.99 - that's a bargain in my book.

And I added ChitChat stickers to some Mini Wood Plaques.  These are Fancy Plaques 3, but there are lots of different ones to choose from.

Having left the pieces unadorned for the tags, I was curious to see how they would look with a bit of altering, so I set to work on a bonus ATC.

It's on one of the plain ATC Wood Blanks which was hanging around on the craft table.  I'd already given it a generous coat of DecoArt Media Line Crackle Paint, and stained that with Raw Umber and Quinacridone Gold Fluid Acrylics, but then it stalled awaiting further inspiration.  It came in the form of the small size (6cm long) of the Vintage Car Style 2 and this adorable small Vintage Biplane Style 1.

I added some blues and greens (Cerulean Blue, Prussian Blue Hue, Viridian, Green Gold Fluid Acrylics) to create a landscape.  In the first picture above, there's a light layer of the colours, but I added more depth as I went on, as you can see from the finished ATC.

I had a lovely time with the biplane - creating the wooden frame and wings with layers of Titan Buff, Raw Umber and English Red Oxide.  The body is mainly English Red Oxide with a touch of Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide and then some Triple Thick Gloss Glaze.  For the propellor and the wheels I used DecoArt's Dazzling Metallics Silver.

For the body of the car I used the Viridian, a pretty close approximation to British Racing Green - perfect for a sporty model like this.  The chrome wheel arches and other detailing is done in Dazzling Metallics Silver.  I used a black Sharpie to define the tyres (those old-fashioned skinny tyres - a bumpy ride for sure), and Titan Buff to do the folded canvas roof and the leather upholstery just peeking up over the doors.

Once it was dry, I added Triple Thick Gloss Glaze to the green metalwork - you can tell the owner loves his car... he keeps it well polished!

The Chitchat stickers tell the story of an age when travel had a more glamorous aura...

... so they've had a thin coat of gloss glaze too to give them a bit of a sheen to reflect that.

I'm pretty pleased with the finished ATC... In fact, what was meant to be a quick bonus has ended up being my favourite thing.  And it has a lovely weight and permanence from being on one of the beautiful ATC blanks.  I think this one may be heading to the dollshouse museum!

I hope you like my vehicular bits and bobs.  These Transport Wood Shapes are perfect for masculine cards and altered gifts - and for any vintage-loving females too!  There are also some brilliantly steampunk-y engines and steamrollers to check out.  Remember, if you're tempted to go shopping, you can click on any of the links in the text to go straight there.

Thanks so much for dropping in, and I'll see you again soon.
Alison x