Cracklin' Chap(lin)

Hello all!  I'm back to share some more details of my Crackle Tag at Tag Along where I'm the guest host this fortnight, challenging you to a theme of Crackle.  I hope this will also serve as a nudge to any of you who had planned to play along…

This is the half way mark, so you've still got a week.  All you need to do is create a tag with any kind of crackle - stamped, pasted, painted - and leave a comment with a link to your tag here at Tag Along.  It would be lovely to see you there.  For now, here's how I came up with my Cracklin' Chap or Chaplin (yes, Julie Ann, it's definitely Charlie!).

I used Andy Skinner's fabulous Old Film stencil and applied DecoArt Crackle Paste on to the whole tag through it.  Once that had dried and crackled, I applied various layers of Antiquing Cream - putting it on, allowing it to dry, and then wiping back with a damp cloth.

I liked the depth this gave it, but I decided I wanted something a bit brighter, so I started adding DecoArt Media Acrylics in blues, greens and turquoises until I had a look which made me happy!












Given that crackle is the theme, I really didn't want to cover it up too much.  I found a Photobooth photo with a suitably 1920s dapper chap - someone who might well have been a minor matinee idol working in the shadow of the great comedian…














… he's only a small star in the Hollywood firmament!












There's a little bit of ephemera layered around him, including my beloved book pages.

The word "explore" is cut from the same paper as I've used snippets from in the collaging.










And then in the opposite corner the crackled butterfly (he's a Calico Craft Part) warns of the short career span of most silent film stars in the 1920s.  With sound just around the corner, many of them wouldn't survive the transition, so they needed to flutter as brightly as they could while they were still loved.












My current favourite topping is back in action (in fact this is becoming a bit of a "set", colours and style-wise).












And nothing could get in the way of Chaplin's legacy, especially with crackle like that!

I hope you like the tag, and I really hope you'll be able to come and play along with me at Tag Along.  You have until Wednesday 9th September.







Thanks so much for stopping by.  I've just got one of those stupid summer colds (summer, what summer? I hear you cry), so that's slightly cramping my style, and I'm feeling pretty sorry for myself if truth be told!

But it always cheers me up to hear from you, and to spend some time wandering around Craftyblogland seeing what you're up to... so that's my plan for the next few days, all being well.  Happy crafting all!

A day without laughter is a day wasted.

We think too much and feel too little.

Failure is unimportant.  It takes courage to make a fool of yourself.
All quotes by Charlie Chaplin