Back to school...

Hello everyone, I'm delighted to have your company here at Words and Pictures today.

I'm sharing a Guest Design project with you today for Fussy and Fancy and their Back to School challenge.  I'm afraid I'm one of those odd types who actually didn't mind going back to school (yes, I know - boo, hiss!)... I've always enjoyed learning new things, and being set new challenges.  And I know for sure many of you share that - look at us all here in Craftyblogland trying out new techniques and styles and equipment all the time.

So, perhaps my take on this challenge comes from a slightly offbeat position - made as a wall hanging to go by the front door, so that each day as you set off for school you're reminded that it really is completely worth your while.  And, being me, it's vintage and distressing all the way (and lots of photos, as there's lots going on!)...

The minute Fussy & Fancy let me know that the challenge was Back to School, my head went to these glorious images from Nicecrane Designs.  

This set is called A Child's Garden of Verses (taken from a version of Robert Louis Stevenson's collection of poetry for children illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith).  Usually, I would take an actual stamp over a digi any day of the week, but for these I was prepared to make an exception!

I think they're completely adorable.  It's really worth a visit to the Nicecrane store and blog if you've never been, because there are so many amazing images to play with, and lots of inspiration.





I experimented with colouring them with Distress Markers, and I'll certainly hang on to the results for future projects, but it wasn't quite what I was after this time.  Then I thought I'd try printing them onto Kraft paper, and suddenly things started to fall into place.

I adore this one with the boy so completely absorbed in his reading - just as captivated and engrossed by that as an activity as he is by the adventure games, or the idling in conversation over the five-bar gate...





I used the Picket Fence Distress Marker to highlight certain parts of each image - trying to give the impression of the same boy moving from picture to picture, and then gave each of them a buffing with a blending tool full of Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  I'm really happy with the results.  I really like the golden brown of long lost summers...

As my first background layer, I used a sheet from the Graphic 45 ABC Primer collection in the 8x8 size.  I gave it a whitewash layer with Picket Fence Distress Stain to get that slightly shabby look, but I'm quite pleased that it also looks like a partially wiped blackboard behind the pictures, with plenty of chalkdust left on it.  It's got a bluish tinge in the photos, but I promise you it's not!

The quote is by George Washington Carver - not someone I really knew anything about (seems he's an American scientist 1864-1943), but I love the sentiment - and wholeheartedly agree with it.






The two really significant words get extra attention drawn to them by being backed onto some cream mesh ribbon.






The key seemed a perfect addition, not only in support of the words, but also with the whole golden vintage glow I was - by now - trying to create.  


The compass is there to help you decide your direction in life.  It's the Tim Holtz stamp on Kraft card, given a good coating of UTEE for the super glossy finish, and with a dull gold game spinner through the centre.



I then started building extra framing layers.  There's one on white paper, stamped with the Prima Almanac Script stamp, and inked with Vintage Photo.  

And over two corners of that, in the opposite corners from where the words are, I've added the lovely Memory Box corner die cut out of Paperartsy's wax paper (same thing as Kraft Glassine, as far as I can make out).

And then, for the base frame, I started ripping up one of my ex-stash-delivery-boxes (nothing useful ever thrown away round here) to try to get at the corrugated card inside.  

You have to peel away the top layer of paper/card over it - easier said than done! But in the end I quite liked the textured effect where some of the paper wouldn't quite come off.

I played around with gesso, white acrylic, Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain DIs, some Mushroom Color Wash spray and Perfect Pearls Mist in Heirloom Gold, ripping, distressing and rolling the edges as I went, until I had a weatherbeaten look which pleased me.











The banners are hand-cut from one of the other ABC Primer papers and inked... learn your letters as well as your numbers for an all-round education!



Thank you so much for stopping by today here at Words and Pictures - your support and comments mean so much to me.  Do pop over to Fussy and Fancy and see all the amazing projects from the Design Team there - there's lots of inspiration, and still plenty of time to join in with the challenge.

What we want is to see the child in pursuit of knowledge, and not knowledge in pursuit of the child.
George Bernard Shaw

The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder. 
Ralph W. Sockman

I'm entering this in the following:
Kraft Outlet's Make it Monday who are also playing Back to School this week
It's All About the Vintage have a lovely challenge called Summer Memories, for which this seems perfect
Simon Says Stamp are having an Anything Goes week
The Addicted to Stamps Challenge would like us to Recycle Something - I've used my packing boxes
Papertake Weekly who are having a Sketchie Free For All... I'm using Sketch #35