An open and shut case

Hello everyone.  Lovely to have you drop in - and after the previous post's rather dramatic hop into sunshine colours, we're back in the world of cool, serene greens here at Words and Pictures today.

I've altered a wooden pencil case using Artistic Outpost stamps - mixing and matching some of the nature stamps from various sets to give a cool, fresh feel.

And, of course, after raining when I was trying to photograph my sunshine canvas, today it was hard to find anywhere out of the blazing sun to get these photos.  

















But it is also nice to see the sparkle of the crackle when the sun hits it, so I'm not going to complain!
















It all started with a plain wooden box, which first got a coat of Buttermilk and then a coat of Light Buttermilk DecoArt paint.












And then there was the addition of some stamping and some texture paste, some of it through the chicken wire stencil...

... and some of it just patted on for texture.














All the stamping was done in Olive Archival, and I clear-embossed the sentiment for extra protection during whatever I might decide to do later!

Next stage was to start layering on Fresco paints - Honeydew, Guacamole, Hey Pesto and Hyde Park, if memory serves correctly - building up depth and contrast to reveal the textures beneath.

Then it was deep breath time... I'd decided I wanted to try out the DecoArt One-Step Crackle recently back in stock at Calico Crafts.  

Really, I'd wanted to use it when I was guesting recently, but I was out of luck stock-wise.









I know I should probably try these things out on something less significant, but where's the fun in that?

So off I launched, giving the whole pencil case a coat of the crackle glaze. 

I applied it in various thicknesses and with various brushstroke patterns, so that I'd have a sort of sample of possibilities across the box.

So, here it's quite thickly daubed on the texture paste, and very delicately applied in a thin coat over the leaf.














I just love the effect over the random texture.

Do click the photos for close-ups - it's worth it with this stuff!









I'm also happy with how the shading of the paint has worked out, giving extra definition to the edges and corners of the box. 





And a little green highlighting of the hinges too...  

The tiny flowers and the leaf are both from the Generation Redux stamp plate.

I'm sure the quote - from the wonderful Serenity set would have held it's own without the original embossing, but I think it does give it just a touch of extra oomph amongst the rest of the crackle glaze.














And the trees are from the Home set, though I stamped them without their base so as to fit.











Since I promised you an "open and shut case", it's only fair to show you the inside: very simply done with the buttermilk paint and some papers from the Graphic 45 French Country Patterns and Solids 6x6 pad.

I then sealed it with Matte Multi Medium so as to protect it from whatever gets kept inside.













Get that gleaming sunlight...  

We should be getting some more over the next few days, though not quite as hot, so that makes me happy!









Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by today.  I value each and every comment, and your lovely feedback keeps a big smile on my face.  Thank you so much, and I'll see you soon - here, or elsewhere in Craftyblogland.

The love of learning, the sequestered nooks,
And all the sweet serenity of books.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity.
Lao Tzu

Boredom is the feeling that everything is a waste of time; serenity, that nothing is.
Thomas Szasz

I'd like to enter this in the following:
At Country View Challenges they're looking for Quotations and Sayings
Anything Goes theme at the Simon Says Wednesday Challenge