Joanie's Junk Pin and Fun With Gilders Paste Tutorial

Hello everyone! Today I have a tutorial for you that is both project based and technique based. We will be making a lovely pin that will also highlight a fun way to use Gilders Paste. If you've not used Gilders Paste before, you are missing out.

The base for my pin is a Masonite House Shrine Kit. Start by putting the kit together following the instructions. It's very easy and requires just a bit of glue. You can also personalize you pin by adding an initial. I'm using a .5" Masonite J for "Joanie" on my piece.

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Once your House Shrine Kit is assembled, roughly paint the house with some white acrylic paint. You'll want to use a large paint brush and apply the paint on pretty thick. Normally I dislike brush stroke marks, however for this project you will want them. So paint it on thick and let those brush strokes show. You'll see why in a minute!

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Let your paint dry fully, and select your Gilders Paste Colors. I'm using Black, Patina, and Inca Gold. For those of you who are not familiar, Gilders Paste is a wonderful wax based medium that can be applied to metal, painted surfaces, wood, resin, ceramic, wax, and more! It can be layered and mixed to achieve wonderful patinas. What I love most about it, is how it goes on in layers, offering a great deal of control. You can build the layers until you are satisfied, and the metallic colors have a wonderful shimmer! If you want to learn more about Gilders Paste, you can view my other tutorial here.

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Begin by adding some Inca Gold with a Q-Tip. Normally I use a fingertip, however since I was going to apply several different colors, the Q-Tip was a better option. See the wonderful texture appearing on the brush strokes!

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After the Inca Gold dried (about 5 minutes) I added some Patina Gilders Paste.

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Finally, I added Black Gilders Paste, particularly around the edges. The Black really makes the piece pop.
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As you can see, the Gilders Paste adhered to the raised part of the brush strokes, creating wonderful color and texture! Brush strokes can be a good thing.

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You can personalize your piece by adding special things inside. My friend Joanie loves anything old and antique, or "junk" as she calls it. I attached the small pieces to the inside of the house using E6000 and a toothpick. You could also fill your house with resin, including various treasures. I used vintage buttons, rhinestones, gears, a watch face, a tiny key charm, and a small frozen charlotte head. All things that Joanie loves!
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I attached my .5" Masonite J to the front using E6000 (you can also use Gilders Paste directly on the Masonite, however I liked the natural look) and also added a brass gear.
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Finally, I attached a silver pin back using E6000. These make wonderful gifts. Joanie loved her special pin and wears it all the time!

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Supplies:

House Shrine Kit

(or Heart House)

Gilders Paste: Inca Gold, Black, Patina

.5" Masonite Letter

Silver Pin Back

E6000

Treasures: Small Frozen Charlotte Doll Head, Tiny Key Charm, etc.

White Acrylic Paint

Q-Tips

Paint Brush

FREE Belle Roses Digital Collage Sheet!

Hi everyone! In honor of our 1500 fans on Facebook, I'm offering this lovely Digital Collage Sheet to you FREE as a thank you for your love and support!
Download your high res version HERE on our website!

NEW Tim Holtz Idea-ology in the Shop!

Just a short and sweet post to let you know we now have the NEW Tim Holtz Idea-ology in stock! 17 fabulous goodies! I know several of you were waiting. The Cash Keys are my favorite! What's your favorite?



New Goods in the Shop, Storewide SALE, and a Honeycomb Paper GIVEAWAY!

Hello everyone! I've been busy doing some spring cleaning and listing LOTS of new things on the site, including these fabulous Honeycomb Paper Kits! You get 12 sheets all for one great sale price of 4.99 (while supplies last).



 Think vintage halloween decorations! Remember those? They were made from this fabulous paper. You can cut the paper with scissors OR run it through a diecut machine. Any symmetrical shape will work! You can put your pieces inside an altered book or card for a fun surprise!

Or right on the front of a card, ATC, collage, and more! The paper set is a great deal, normally one piece of paper would cost more than the entire set of 12!

 We also have Coffee Break Design Stamps and Acrylic Blocks with handles! But grab em' up quick - many of the stamps have very limited stock!

And Bullet Casings - great for Steampunk Art and Jewelry!

Check out this fabulous piece by Annette Husband! She used our Shrine Pendant Kit as the base and added our Sweet Brass Wings. I just love Annette's work!

 Annette also made these wonderful rings using our Ring Blanks and Ice Resin. I also spy one of our German Glass Eyes!

Stunning!

 She also made this cool bracelet using our vintage typewriter keys and Ice Resin. Thank you for letting me share you work Annette! You are so talented!

Check out ALL the NEW goodies HERE!
New Melissa Frances, Dylusions Stamps, Vintaj Metal Patina Kits, Jewelry Findings, and SO much more!

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As I mentioned in my last post, Retro Cafe Art Gallery is the sponsor this month over at the Ginersnap Creations Challenge Site.

For this week's Border Punch challenge, we are offering this SUPER prize pack just stuffed with Shrine Kits and Stencils. You must hop over to their blog and see the wonderful Design Team work that has been posted as well. We supplied their team with an assortment of Digital Collage Sheets and the work has been just amazing! Of course the Retro Cafe Art Gallery Design Team never dissappoints either. Go check out the art samples and challenge rules HERE.

(also watch for a tutorial by me on March 18th!)

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And how about a GIVEAWAY for some Honeycomb Paper Kits!

1. To enter, simply leave a comment on this post letting me know what you would do with some honeycomb paper!

2. On Thursday March 29th, I'll use a random number generator to select THREE winners to receive one of the Honeycomb Paper Kits!

3. If you are a winner and already a Facebook Fan, you'll receive an extra goodie too! Go here to 'like" us. Let me know in your comment if you are a fan, and please only leave one comment. Good luck and happy Spring!

Giveaway Winners, Heirloom Show Photos, and Gingersnap Creations!

Happy March everyone! I don't know about you, but I definitely have spring fever. It's been unusually warm here in Indiana, and I'm loving it! Time to clean the entire house! But first, we have some giveaway winners to announce...

The lucky winner of the Stencil Prize Pack is #9, Zoe!

And the winners of the new Egg Shrine Kits are #4 Jennifer, #7 Kris, #16 KimMJ, #21 Patti, and #33 Caroline! Winners, please email me at retrocafeart@gmail.com to claim your prizes! Congrats to all the winners!

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This past weekend Retro Cafe Art Gallery and Coffee Break Design participated in the Indianapolis Heirloom Productions Convention! Here are a few photos of our booth. I really enjoyed meeting so many wonderful customers, including some of our fabulous blog readers (you know who you are!). Shows such as this are a lot of work, but also a lot of fun! We have a few more lined up this year, which I will be announcing as they get closer.

We had a great spot for our booth, right by the front door!

 

Stencils!

And rubber stamps! Just before the show I pressed out my first rubber stamps using the Coffee Break Design Vulcanizer. I can't wait to make more, and will hopefully get some listed on the site soon.

Our booth was pretty busy most of the time. A big HUGE thanks to my helpers Joanie and Donna - you both rock so much! You can expect we will be at the Indy show every year since it's our home city! Thank you again to all the wonderful customers who came out to support the vendors. If you want to see more photos of our booth you can see them HERE on Facebook.

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And in other exciting news, Retro Cafe Art Gallery is this months Gingersnap Creations sponsor. So what does that mean? Ginersnap Creations will be posting several awesome challenges throughout the month, and we will be providing the prize packs!

Here is the first prize pack we are offering just filled with ATC Frames and Windows, ATC Blanks, Inchie Windows, and Inchie Blanks. Get on over to the Gingersnaps blog and find out how to play. There are also several amazing art samples by the Ginger Design Team and the Retro Cafe Art Gallery Design team, so you don't want to miss it. Check it all out HERE.
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We also have a wonderful giveaway for the goodie pack above on our Facebook Page right now. The winner will be announced on Friday so go get those entries in quick. Have a wonderful rest of your week! xo

Stenciled Box Make-Over and Some Stenciling Tips!

So, in just over a week, Coffee Break Design and Retro Cafe Art Gallery will be vending at the Indianapolis Heirloom Stamping and Paper Arts Festival! Show prep is well under way, and one of my favorite parts is creating the displays and art samples. I desperately needed something to put under my cash register so that I could operate it while standing and not killing my back! Something to raise it up a bit. I almost bought an overpriced faux wood box from Meijer, but I hesitated. It was just a box, and I really wanted drawers. I'm so glad I waited!

Instead, I went to my local Goodwill store and scored this (ugly) but awesome piece. It's actually a VHS holder! VHS what? Yes, it's hideous, but it was only $2.99 and I saw the potential. Not to mention it was the perfect size and exactly what I envisioned for my register.

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All it took was some spray paint and Coffee Break Design Stencils, and voila!

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To create the box, I simply used spray paint to spray on a base coat of red paint (outside of course). And then I went to town with the Stencils. I really didn't bother masking them of, however if  you want a nice clean look, you can tape them down using wide painters tape. This will protect the area you aren't currently spraying. Or you can do what I did and lay scrap paper around the edges.

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Our Stencils are made from durable stencil oil board, so you can use them over and over again. People have asked me how to clean them, and the answer is don't. Yes, they will get paint on them, but it won't hurt anything. In some ways the paint helps protect them even more. I've had some of the same stencils for years, however when and if they become unusable (haven't encountered this yet) you can use your awesome painted stencils in a journal spread or collage. They are very affordable (some as low as $1.50) so you can always buy lots more!

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The other thing I love to do, is right after I have sprayed my Stencils, while the paint is still wet, flip them over onto a piece of scrap paper, or directly onto your journal or collage. It helps remove some of the excess paint, plus, you get awesome papers to use in a later project!

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Stencils are super fun to layer! Since spray paint is so opaque, it really doesn't matter whether you layer light to dark or dark to light. Of course our stencils also work great with markers, pens, stencil paint & brushes, ink & color dusters, airbrush systems, spray inks, and so much more. If you are using really wet mediums, such as our Varitone Ink (basically like spraying on water) you can seal them first with a spray acrylic sealer. Of course if they are already covered in spray paint, they should be pretty well sealed.

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The purple layer was done using Copic Markers and a Copic Airbrush system. That is why it's semi-translucent, unlike the spray painted areas. To finish and protect the box, I sprayed the entire thing with a matte acrylic sealer at the very end.

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Even though no one will see it, I couldn't resist spraying the bottom too. It was just so FUN!
The Stencils I used for this project included: Large Optical, Muy-Walk, Muy-Run, Muy-Jump, Large Flock, Large Onomotoholes, and the Large Heart Background.

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Could this have been a more perfect fit? There is even a drawer for my credit card machine and another for storing receipts! I love it when things work out. Checking people out will be so much more fun now!

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Here is our Heirloom booth from last year. This year we will have even more goodies, including all 166 Stencil Designs! And all customers will get a special coupon to use at Retro Cafe Art Gallery. I hope to see some of you there. It's always so much fun meeting so many customers and reuniting with other vendor friends. You can view the show information HERE.

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How about a little Stencil Giveaway?

1. Leave a comment on THIS post and let me know how you like to use your Stencils. If you don't have any, tell me how you would like to use them if you had some!


2. On Wednesday March 7th (the day after my birthday!), I'll use a random number generator to select a winner to receive a 5 Pack of Coffee Break Design Stencils!

3. If you are a winner and already a Facebook Fan, you'll receive a 10 Pack! Go here to 'like" us. Let me know in your comment if you are a fan, and please only leave one comment. Good luck and XOXOs to you all!

Winners for the Egg Shrine Kits will be announced on the same day. Be sure you are entered!

New Goods in the Shop, News, and a GIVEAWAY!

Happy Heart Day to you all! Now that Valentine's Day is here, it's time to start thinking about the craftacular holidays ahead. We are all set with St. Patrick's Day goodies if you need any, so moving ahead that means Easter and Spring! We have over 40 BRAND NEW things for you to play with, and I wanted to get them out before show preparation is in full effect. We will be vending at the Heirloom Stamping and Paper Arts Convention in Indianapolis March 3rd and 4th. I would love to meet some of you if you can make it! We will have TONS of Coffee Break Design supplies and so much more.

 First, we have GORGEOUS German Cotton Spun Mushrooms imported from Germany. I think the photos say it all. They look almost good enough to eat! And of course I had to get them ALL. So yes they have their very own category.

 We also have 12 Brand New Coffee Break Design Stencils. These were actually designed for a local store, Homespun, that sells modern handmade goods, but I can share them with you as well. Dinosaurs, Mustaches, Octopi, etc. are definitely not uncommon in this store! It's cool to be able to expand beyond the Scrapbooking and Stamping stores. They carry my handcrafted jewelry as well :).

And how about some adorable bunny ears for your collage peeps! The latest addition to our Collage Cut-Outs Accessory Line. Add some Glasses and a Mustache while you're at it!

And well, I've been thinking about these for a while now. I just KNEW the "Chocolate" Bunnies would look almost real cut out of our lovely Masonite. I had to have some with bites taken out too. They are also available without bites :).

 Here's an ATC I made with the Bunny Ears and Chocolate Bunnies. I just couldn't wait to play!

And of course for Easter, there should be eggs! So we've got em' in several forms. But of course my favorites are the new additions to Trinket Keepsake Kits and El Tiny Trinket Charm lines. Available with Circle and Square openings. Personally, I'm partial to the circle as it looks like a yolk!

And yes, I played. I used one with the channels popped out to make a necklace, and one with the channels left in place (to become a pin). Here's a list of the materials I used for these:

Circle Egg Trinket, ATC Nesting Collage Sheet, 25mm Crystal Clear Cabochon, Diamond Glaze, Ball Chain Kit, Open Balls, Mod Podge, Patina and Black Gilders Paste, and 10mm Red Cotton Spun Mushroom.

The crackled one is my favorite. I used paint, 2 step crackle, distress ink, and Gilders Paste to get the final effect. Click on the photos for a closer look.

Loved working on the backs too. I almost hate to cover one with a pin-back.



And of course we have to have the Egg El Tiny Trinket Charms too. In honor of Valentine's Day today, I'll be adding one of these charms as a FREE GIFT to all orders placed within the next few weeks. There's no minimum, just lots of free eggs!

And let's see, oh yes, a GIVEAWAY! It just wouldn't be right if I didn't have one!

1. Leave a comment on THIS post and let me know which of the NEW GOODIES you like best.

2. On Wednesday March 7th (the day after my birthday!), I'll use a random number generator to select FIVE winners to receive one of the awesome new Egg Trinket Shrine Kits!

3. If you are a winner and already a Facebook Fan, you'll receive an extra goodie too! Go here to 'like" us. Let me know in your comment if you are a fan, and please only leave one comment. Good luck and XOXOs to you all!