The Journey is the Destination – Rusty Mixed Media Card

Hello again friends!

I have another fun project using some cool chipboard elements to make a card suitable for many occasions or for any gearheads out there!

LET’S GET STARTED – TRUCK PAINT JOB

Firstly, give the edges a wipe down with a slightly damp cloth or paper to remove the residue left by laser cutting. Then paint the chipboards with a layer of white gesso followed by a layer of blue acrylic paint.  For this rusty truck effect, I am using two different paint colours – azure blue and jade acrylic by Finnabair.

After the paint was dry, I added a copper metallic paint using a sponging technique, except I used an old paper towel, which works just as well.

I kept adding more paint, leaving it to dry, coming back to it, adding more paint, until I was happy with the effect.

THE BACKGROUND

For the background, I selected some gelli printed backgrounds I made last September.  This technique creates a peeled paint/weathered wood effect and you can read more about that technique here as it’s not covered in this tutorial, but if you have a gel plate you might want to try it out as it creates a very cool effect and it’s really fun to do!  At the time, I made nearly 20 of these backgrounds using this technique!

I pulled together all the bits and pieces I wanted to use on the card to see how they would work together and snapped a photo of it for reference later!  Note to self, it was actually a bit of a challenge to find a background that would work with the rusty truck!

BACKGROUND DETAILING

So then I cut the card down to size – 8.5 x 5.5 inches – one of my big cards! before covering it with transparent gesso

Once the gesso was dry (only a few minutes) I added some paint splatters and brush-strokes around the edges with the turquoise, just for some extra interest and texture.

Using a blending brush, I inked the edges with some Vintage Photo Distress Ink to make it look a little more vintage and grungy.

I added some random stamping in the white areas using some light grey Archival Ink

Then I flicked through my cardstock swatches and chose a co-ordinating cardstock for the card base and adhered the background to it.

TRUCK DETAILING

Before adding the truck to the card, I decided to add some similar coloured card (scraps) behind the chipboard to show through the cutouts, and to add some clear acetate for the windows using some old packaging.

This particular bit of acetate has a small crack in it and I like how it looks like the truck has a crack in the windscreen!  I also painted the windows with some diluted fluid acrylic paint to tint them a little.

TRUCK CARD ASSEMBLY LINE

Time to assemble the card – refer back to the reference photo if needed – and adhere all the elements in place on the card front.  I added some touches of colour on the girl and woman’s hair and shoes and stockings, added some ephemera snippets and word stickers and a stamped quote to the centre of the gear frame and the card was complete! My idea for this card was to try and show the passage of time – the woman is really the little girl all grown up and reflecting on her childhood and journey to adulthood… but it could mean something else to you – maybe it’s a woman and her daughter existing in the same time period? This was my second DT post for January for GSL Cuts, and you can also find more info on their blog.

Here’s a couple of close ups so you can better see the rusty effect

You can visit the GSL Cuts blog post here and links to the UK shop are in the Project Recipe below. Links to both shops can be found on their blog.

Till next time,

Challenges

A Vintage Journey – January Challenge: We Are All Getting Older – so I think an old rusty truck fits the bill!

Funkie Junkie January  – Repeat Performance – used acetate from old packaging for the truck windscreen/windows and teal cardstock scraps underneath the truck to show through the cutouts.

Paper Towel Tip: I use these sheets of paper towel until I can’t use them any more.  Since they are covered in all kinds of things, mediums and especially dried paint, they can add interesting effects and unexpected colours to what I am working on. So when I can’t possibly use them again, I spread them out to dry and then see if I can use them in my art journals!  That way, I don’t even have to throw them out and they can become pieces of art in their own right!

PROJECT RECIPE:

GSL Cuts – Truck 1 C25C,Chain and Gears Frame D20H
Tim Holtz baseboard dolls, word stickers, Distress Markers, Distress Ink, Snippets, Stuff 2 Say Stamp set CMS110
Finnabair – Azure, Jade acrylic paint, Burnt Sienna, Turquoise liquid acrylic, White Gesso, Transparent Gesso
Jane Davenport – Copper metallic acrylic
Archival Ink – Watering Can
Gina K cardstock
Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive
From Stash: gel printed peeled paint/weathered wood backgrounds, acetate from cake box, blending brush