Just hanging at the beach...

Did you see what I did there?!  Welcome everyone, to my final piece (for now) using the amazing new Boardwalk release from Artistic Outpost.  And yes, it's a hanging, and we're at the beach so...

I used one of the delicious papier-mâché hanging boards (PaperArtsy and The Artistic Stamper both have them) as my base and set to work.

The colours just seemed to take me over when I started working with these stamps, so I make no apologies for the fact that we're back with the same palette!

I started with some Fresco Paints and Crackle Glaze to create my weathered background.

The first layer is Beach Hut (but of course!), and then I applied the fabulous Crackle Glaze and let it dry.

For the top coat I had both Mermaid and Snowflake on the craft mat, and applied both with the same sponge, mixing and blending as I went for the variegated look.









The fabulous bathing beauties are stamped in Jet Black Archival, and then I used some more Fresco paints to tint them, always making sure I used the opaque paints with a touch of water so as not to obliterate the stamped image underneath.

It's Beach Hut for the bathing caps, I think... and the skin was done with Nougat and Vintage Lace mostly, as far as I can remember (sorry, it's a while since I made this now!).










I cut a mask, and stamped the beach hut "behind" the women, using Coffee and Sepia Archival inks blended onto the stamp for a warm brown.

I'm very pleased with the effect... only don't look in the crook of the middle one's elbow.  I forgot to cut it out!  Ah well, what does Tim say?  Embrace Imperfection!








I'm also pretty happy with the sentiment - borrowed from the Typography set of sentiments - and
stamped in Black Archival and clear embossed for a glossy look.


I love that the embossing gets you a "two-fer", both the glossy finish and some dimension to the lettering...





This project was actually made before the Boardwalk Bathing Beauty tag, so this was the first place I used the Antique Linen Distress embossing powder as sand.  

Oh, no, it wasn't - I tell a lie.  It was actually on the Underwater ATC, Starfish for Eyes, made even longer ago while I was still in the Czech Republic... Apologies for repeating the same trick so often but what can I say?  When it works, it works!

I've used some more of Cat Kerr's lovely fishing net - such a well-timed and fortunate bit of candy, I'm so grateful for my luck there - to add extra texture.












And there's some more Imperfection to be Embraced, as I'm afraid some sand got onto the Beauties' legs - but that's what happens when you're on the beach, right?  The sand gets everywhere, and stays there...

The little peg got the same weathered painty treatment as the board itself, and is there for a bit of extra interest, and as an alternative hanging method.

And maybe my favourite thing about this hanging is that there's something going on from every angle.  


I did have fun getting the odd slant on the photos!




“When I walk down the beach and smell the salt water, hear the waves crashing against the shoreline, and feel the granular sand under my feet, I can't help but realize why I'm here on this green earth.”
from Sea Witch, by Wendy Joubert,

“...vicinity to the sea is desirable, because it is easier to do nothing by the sea than anywhere else... ”
from Expiation, by E.F. Benson

Update on all the Following stuff... It seems that Blogger Dashboard may still function fine for Blogger blogs - it's others, like WordPress which may disappear from the lists of posts there...  The lovely Chris Warner is offering up some Techy Tips from her expert IT knowledge if you want some more details.  So, for now, it does at least look as though the Followers widget is still favourite - do hope I haven't confused the issue for everyone!

I'd like to enter this at the Craft-Room Challenge, where they are playing Here Comes The Summer - yeah, we wish...