Forest Notes - by Claudia

 Hi, servus and thanks so much for stopping by today!
Claudia here with another forest themed project this time.

My very first projects for Calico Craft Parts (as a guest designer back then) were ones that showcased my love for the forest, too (you can find them over HERE and HERE) and this time I needed a little gift for my dear friend, Kerstin, who loves woodland nature (and nature in general) as much as I do - so I decided to use some of my favourite Calico Craft Parts (the Mini Insects Wood Shapes) again to create a piece of forest ground on it.

Calico Craft Parts used:

- Sheet of Mini Insects - MDF Wood Shapes Style 1
- Sheet of Mini Insects - MDF Wood Shapes Style 3
- Word Elements - Art and Journaling
- Sheet of Mini MDF Acorns & Oakleaves

I guessed that Kerstin loves to collect ephemera of all kinds, so I chose a large wooden notes pin to alter for her.

I started with painting the top of the pin with Raw Umber heavy body acrylic paint. While that was set aside to dry, I dry brushed some Snow White and Lamp Black DecoArt Americana acrylic paint onto the word band, the oak leaves and acorns and insects shapes for a base layer.

Once the Raw Umber had dried, I brushed a coat of DecoArt Weathered Wood on top and let that air dry to the touch.

Then I used a very soft wide flat brush to gently apply a layer of a mix of DecoArt media Titan Buff and very little Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide on top. The crackling process started almost immediately...

...and I very gently applied thinned mixes of DecoArt Americana Antique Green and Plantation Pine here and there while the crackling process was still in progress.

While the pin was set aside to dry, I painted the insects, leaves and acorns with DecoArt media fluid acrylics English Red Oxide, Burnt Umber, Raw Umber, Quinacridone Violet, Diarylide Yellow, Titan Buff (for the highlights on the ants' bodies) and Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide.

The Word Element was toned down using washes of the same colours, until it matched the colours on the other Craft Parts.

I used DecoArt matte Decou-Page to glue the finished pieces to the pin.

Then I added some Mica flakes and glittery stones that are usually used for home decoration.

The acorns and the centipede's body were given coats of DecoArt Triple Thick, while the ants' bodies and the centipede's head were covered with DecoArt media Liquid Glass for some extra dimension.

Once the Liquid Glass had fully cured (which can take up to several hours, depending on the climate you are in), I applied DecoArt Iced Espresso Metallic Lustre with a brush to all the other sides of the pin.

I applied a wash of a mix of Burnt Umber and Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide media fluid acrylics to the glued on flakes and around the acorns and leaves.

Gold Rush Metallic Lustre was added around the pin's edges for some additional bling...

...and of course I needed some moss on my piece of forest ground. I added that with matte Decou-Page as well.

Et voilá!

I hope you like my little forest ground pin! 

See you again in two weeks!

Hugs and happy crafting!

Claudia

xxx