The Good Ole U. S. of A.

Hello and welcome everyone, with an especially big welcome to the new followers - it's great to have you on board.

It's bloghop time at Artistic Outpost again.  The whole team have been creating projects with an Americana theme, so do have a hop around and have a look at the inspiring work of my amazing teammates.  Here's the full line-up:

Gerrie Johnnic, Lisa Somerville, Suzanne Czosek, 

Tracy Evans, Linda Coughlin, Alison Bomber, 

Terry Horrall, Kate Yetter

Initially, I was a bit wary of the Americana theme - what do I know?  And did I really have the stash for it?

But then I delved into my childhood: I was brought up on The Waltons and Little House on the Prairie (amongst other things, obviously) so I guess it's predictable that my make has a nostalgic feel! 

I've mostly used images from the wonderful Kudzu Kafe and Home plates - new to me and already in love with them - with a few other old favourites mixed in.  I'll point them out as we go...

I used an MDF ticket to create my hanging.  It's about half a centimetre thick, so it's good and solid; sturdy enough to hold all the doodads (new favourite word!) collected up from around the hoarded stash supplies.

And I'd also like to say, I absolutely didn't plan for a red, white and blue colour scheme.  It was going to be all subtle vintage sepias and buttermilk - but once I started gathering the doodads... it was a done deal!








I started by creating a weathered look for the background using PaperArtsy crackle glaze and acrylic paints.  As well as Fresco Cheesecake, there was some DecoArt Buttermilk involved.

Then the first stamp into action was the fabulous ticking pattern from the Kudzu Kafe set, stamped in Faded Jeans.  

Can you see where I'm going with the names of the colours so far?!

The fabulous pick-up truck from the Home plate was stamped in Sienna Archival ink (okay - Italy snuck in... should've used Barn Door I suppose) and given a coat of clear embossing powder for glossy dimensionality.  

I used Distress Markers to blacken the tyres (tires in US-speak) and add the steely blue highlights.

The "Kafe" is one of my favourite bits of stamping ever, though it was also one of the scariest.  

I inked up the stamp with Coffee Archival, and then - quite roughly - added some other colours onto the stamp as best I could with the edges of the ink pads: Library Green for the tree, Sienna again for the awning, and some Stormy Sky Distress ink for a touch of glassiness in the windows and tiles on the roof.

I then had to stamp direct to my beautiful background... if it all went wrong, I'd have to paint over, or start again on the other side.

As it is, I'm delighted with the result.  And I love the look of the house with the truck "parked" on some padded tape out front.  (I suppose next time I could do a trial stamping on some scrap paper first - why do I never think of that until afterwards?)

My vintage ephemera comes from a variety of sources. 

The sepia advertisements are all Artistic Outpost - the Kudzu boy is, pretty obviously from the Kudzu Kafe set; the Old Grist Mill - again obviously - from the Old Grist Mill set.  I've clipped them on with some jewellery findings.

There are some number plates from one of the Tim Holtz stickers sets (Destinations, maybe - sorry not at home, so can't double check which).  

There's an Idea-ology Cash Key - so cute, and the red stickers were just the right colour red.

And I added a couple of game pieces which came in a job lot of stuff from Ebay, and which I wasn't sure I would ever use.




The White Mountain Freezer advert is again from the Kudzu Kafe set - are you starting to see why I love it?! - and the train one is from the SteamPunk plate.  

The tiny wooden stars came from the fabulous Trace at inkypinkycraft as part of a swap we did before Christmas.  

You will have spotted the whole "wooden stars and ticking stripes" look, I'm sure... 

I added a couple of 3D postmarks by Wendy Vecchi.  

The Detroit one was a pale toothpasty green, so had to be doctored with Salty Ocean Distress Paint to tone in with the rest of the make.

And the drive-in theatre ticket is another Tim Holtz sticker (Salvage? - sorry, not sure again).

Gingham ribbon and some raffia at the top to hang it up by, and we're pretty much there... 

I hope you've enjoyed this little tour round my Americana hanging.  I certainly ended up loving making it far more than I'd expected to. I had a ball!

Do hop round and have a look what the rest of the team have been up to... If you get lost along the way, you'll find all the details here.

For now, thank you so much for stopping by, and I'll be round to see what you've been up to very soon.

As you read my stories of long ago I hope you will remember that the things that are truly worthwhile and that will give you happiness are the same now as they were then. Courage and kindness, loyalty, truth, and helpfulness are always the same and always needed.
Laura Ingalls Wilder

Although the years of my boyhood and youth on Waltons Mountain were a time of uncertainty and desperation for millions, somehow, in our home, we were sustained by a sense of being safe and secure.
Narration by John Boy Walton from the TV series

Home is the nicest word there is.
Laura Ingalls Wilder

And I couldn't possibly leave you without this, from the Waltons... Goodnight everybody!

Since I ended up unexpectedly with the red, white and blues, I'd like to enter this in the Independence Day challenge at That Craft Place Challenge Blog.

And at Fashionable Stamping Challenges, they'd like to see Something New/A New Style - well the stamp sets were new, as was the Sienna Archival ink, and so's the red, white and blue colour scheme - out of my comfort zone, but very happy with the results.
And I'm linking up with Anything But A Card at the Stampotique Designers Challenge.