I'm travelling into a new way of working, a new country, a new language, and a new hobby which I'm passionate about. Come with me for some of the journey...

Tuesday 26 February 2013

Waiting in the wings...



Hello everyone, it's Tuesday and time for a new challenge at Fun With ATCs.  Our theme for this fortnight is Vintage - can't wait to see what you come up with.


There's loads of inspiration from my amazing team mates along with all the challenge details right here.


I've pushed the boundary a bit with my ATC this time around... It is 2.5 by 3.5 inches in size, as required, but it does also have a little roof on - I hope you'll forgive me!


I used the delightful little house frame from the Artistic Outpost set called Whimsical Melange.  I stamped it three times on plain manila card using Coffee Archival Ink, and inked it a little with some Vintage Photo.





I also gave it a coat of Rock Candy crackle paint in places, and let it dry.

Then I inked again, wiping away the surface ink to leave it highlighting the cracks for an aged look.






I hand cut the centres out of two of the images to create frames and layered up my three little arches with some padded tape in between.


To my mind (with its twin obsessions of theatre and crafting), it has the look of a tiny stage.


There's music at the top and footlights at the bottom... definitely a theatre.  Come on, surely it's not just me?!


There are the flats at the side ready to slide new scenery between, in front of the backdrop.









Ah, yes... the backdrop.

Originally, I had a watercoloured version of the station from the AO SteamPunk plate as my background, but I decided it all looked a bit too wishy-washy, so I decided to use up some leftovers instead.











I still had, lying in one of the piles on my workdesk, a spare image left over from one of the fabulous 12 Tags of Christmas.  Linda Coughlin, a.k.a. the Funkie Junkie, offered up a gorgeous vintage freebie image along with one of her inspirational tags.

I had printed it up in several sizes as I wasn't sure how big I needed it for my Toys, Toys, Toys tag at the time.

Now it was time for the understudy to take centre stage...



I could hardly believe it when I found it was exactly the right size!

I recoloured the bunting slightly, using Distress Markers, so that it would tone in with the children's coats, and added a couple of the mulberry paper roses as accents.










So there's my tiny vintage Victorian theatre ATC.  We had a huge turnout for the Red theme last time around, and I'm guessing Vintage might also tickle your fancy... so I do hope you'll be able to play along with us at Fun With ATCs, and at the very least check out the great projects from the rest of the team.












Just before I go, I hope you won't mind if I share a little sneak peek of a project I have over at Artistic Outpost today too... if you have the time to pop over for a quick look, that would be wonderful.


Have a lovely day and see you again soon, either here or elsewhere in Craftyblogland!







Theatres are curious places, magician's trick-boxes where the golden memories of dramatic triumphs linger like nostalgic ghosts, and where the unexplainable, the fantastic, the tragic, the comic and the absurd are routine occurrences on and off the stage. Murders, mayhem, political intrigue, lucrative business, secret assignations, and of course, dinner.
E.A. Bucchianeri, Brushstrokes of a Gadfly

53 comments:

Yvonne Garner said...

Hi Alison! Your theater ATC is perfect! I love every little detail down to the bunting shaded to match the little children's outfits. Bravo! Thanks for all you visits to my blog. I truly value your input. Best, Yvonne

Debi said...

Alison!!!!!! this is soooo cool- love how you've pushed the ATC boundaries, and the 3D effect- WOW, Debi x

Ephemera said...

Fabulous idea Alison, the 3D effect is so cool. xx

annes paperfun said...

Wow, Alison...this is gorgeous!
Love the 3D effect ♥
Hugs, Anne

Chrissy said...

Superb Alison, love the dimension and crackles, the colours and design, and love the little girls and the bunting...gorgeous [and so tiny..lol..]

Luv CHRISSYxx

Helen said...

It does look like a theatre!! It is fabulous, so much attention to detail. (I had one of those toy theatres as a child (Aladdin!) which my brother & sister & I loved. Sadly that was where my acting 'skills' stayed!)

Jenny Marples said...

Great ideas here Alison. Thought I recognised the backdrop! Love how you've coloured the bunting to coordinate. Hugs, Jenny x

Annie said...

Wow Alison. So much on an ATC . It's amazing the way you have created this piece.

Hugs
Annie x x

Asia King (aka Joanna K) said...

It's amazing how much loveliness can be squeezed into this little piece of art. The theatre theme adds such a nice 'mistique' flair to it. I love it!!! xx

Astrid Maclean said...

Oh Alison I just LOVE this, big time!!! Adore how you did the little theater, I love Linda's image (one of my favs ) and the way you have put it together with the bunting is inspired!! Love shaped ATCs and this one is just fabulous!!!

AngelicaS said...

Just stunning, beautiful picture!!
Love the 3D effect.

Deborah said...

A wonderful 3D ATC, Alison! And there are so many variations you could do your theatre. Would work wonderfully for a mini shrine.

brenda said...

Absolutely wonderful Alison, every time I look at a piece of your artwork I wonder how many hours it took.

B x

froebelsternchen said...

just fabulous dear Alison! You are such a big talent!

xxx Susi

craftytrog said...

Absolutely wonderful! I love the layering! xx

House of Bears said...

We love your vintage ATC, and what a great idea to push the boundaries and add the roof, it's fun to rebel a little sometimes. We're off to look at your intriguing post snippet now.....

Claudia N. said...

As I love toy theatre I just HAVE TO love your ATCs too, Alison!

You created so much depth with this small format - incredible!

Hugs,

Claudia

Alie Hoogenboezem-de Vries said...

A great theater Alison...sooo creative!

greetings, Alie :-)

Redanne said...

It really does look like a mini theatre Alison, it is hard to believe that so much can be packed into such a tiny space. Love the bunting! Hugs, Anne x

Anonymous said...

That image was made for the frame you created, this is so heart warming and adorable,
Perfection!
Wishes
Lynne

Gio said...

Lovely ATC , Alison. I think vintage is definitely your style!! :-)

Hettie said...

Wow Alison! This is wonderful and you are allowed artistic licence on the ATC size from me!
I must get that image out and play with it and thanks for the reminder!
Hugs
xx

Inkypinkycraft said...

Gorgeous , love all the depth and layers! Trace x hugs x

Sarah said...

Your Toys and Dolls backdrop is one of my favorite prints. You have used it beautifully.

Silvia(Barnie) said...

Such a beautiful ATC.

Keren Tamir said...

amazing ATC love the 3D effect!!

catherine said...

This just looks fantastic Alison great imagery and colours
x catherine

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

Fabulous 3D ATC's! Gorgeous work! Love the roses at the bottom!

PetraB said...

this is adorable

Dorthe said...

Alison, you made the most darling little theatre, with that lovely image, and your crackled front- so wonderful and the sweetest bunting. Just to love,dear.
xo,Dorthe

pearshapedcrafting said...

Brilliant atc - love how it is a little theatre, the bunting is so right for this too! You are right about your choice of image too - lovely! Chrisx

Cathy L. Calamas said...

I love it when the envelope is pushed on a tried and true concept,the ATC. It's really wonderful. I popped over and saw your tags, too. I have always adored blue and black together. Really lovely. Fantastic quote at the bottom of your post.:))

Neet said...

Alison - with work like this you can be forgiven anything. Absolutely delightful from the bunting to the figures, to the roof - oh heck - to the whole thing. Fabulous!

Hugs, Neet xx

gayle said...

Oh wow. I love this so much!! The framing is just gorgeous, wonderful ATC :)

mark gould said...

Absolutely stunning, and of course you are forgiven for adding a roof ;)
it's a really fresh take on the vintage theme, love it x

May said...

Gorgeous ATC Alison.. Love the layers the image is beautiful.. Brilliant idea Simply Beautiful... Hugs May x x x

Terry said...

So pretty, Alison! Love the vintage feel in your own little theatre! The banner is a great touch! Hugs!

Sophie said...

Fantastisch...

Candy C said...

Alison...your ATCs are absolutely adorable! I love dimension and I love detail. I always love our work because you do so much of both! These little ATCs are so sweet and so detailed! You always blow me away with your creativity and your exquisite craftsmanship! Thanks for the lovely comment you left on my blog as well! <3 Candy

Patti P. said...

Alison, so very perfect but your work always is. Love,love,love this! the children are so pretty and your layers are beautiful. Thanks for always inspiring me.
hugs...

Bonnie Irvine said...

It does look like a lovely theatre and I imagine the children on a school outing walking up onto the giant stage. They look so excited and sweet. Love how you have layered up the frame to achieve depth. Gorgeous "scenery" behind them, too, like one of those painted backdrops. Fun.

maria's knutselplezier said...

Wow What a beautiful project is this I really love it, beautiful color shoice, beutifull image, love the little girls !!

Greetings
Maria

Chris said...

Superb Alison and I love your idea to make an ATC house? Wonderful stamping and colours and interest with the cutting out, it's such a gorgeous piece. Chris x

maj. said...

Wowowowow, this is an excellent ATC!!!!

Andrea Small said...

How delicious! It IS a tiny stage and gets me wondering what the next scene is xx

Unknown said...

Beautiful Alison, very cleverly done, well thought out. And that puts some smoke in the pipe of those that say you can't achieve much with ATCs, and with a roof! lol. Chris xxx

Bärbel said...

Die ATC's sind so wunderschön geworden, liebe Alison!
Liebe Grüße.

Sue said...

Beautiful ATC Alison, well done you with all the fiddly cutting! xx

Nan G said...

Welcome to the world of 3D! Love your little theatre!

toni said...

Fabulous !!! x

Nicecrane Designs said...

Absolutely amazing Alice,,,,love the idea to post a roof,,,,,and all over the sweetie colored pict,,,,,,,love it, love it.

Marjie Kemper said...

Oooh lah lah! I'm so glad I found this one unread in my inbox... would've hated to miss it! The roof, the banner, the 3-D-ness... STUNNING! Wishing you a lovely weekend, Alison.

Kezzy said...

Oh wow I am so loving this ATC, at first I couldn't believe it was that small how fantastic. The vintage images are gorgeous I should really think of trying these out. Hugs Kezzy :-) xxx