I have shared many times before how I love picking up things on the clearance aisles and Hobby Lobby and giving them new life with scrappy products. Sometimes they end up on the clearance aisle because they are pretty beat up, other times though I suspect it is more about price and original design. This hinged double frame was originally $19.99. For some reason {wink} it didn't sell. I picked several of them up on clearance for just $4.00 each.
I have been thinking about my sweet great-grandmother Honey a lot lately. She was someone very dear to me and I wanted to make something special to display a photo of her. I only have a few photos of her and this is one of my favorites. It is her and my great-grandpa, Grampy. He passed away when I was 5. I don't really remember much about him, just how he loved to turn off the car on a big hill near their house in the country and coast all the way to the driveway. It drove Honey crazy! Honey's real name was Orva. Once when my dad was really little he called her Honey and it stuck. Almost everyone that knew her called her Honey. I think many people didn't even know it wasn't her real name. I never doubted for a moment in my life that she loved me with all her heart. What I wouldn't give for another few moments with her. Okay, gotta talk about the project because I am getting all teared up!
I began by disassembling the frames and covering the outside wood with Tim Holtz Idea-ology Tissue Tape. Tissue Tape is amazing for covering grooved surfaces like the front of these frames. It is so thin and pliable that it goes right down into the groves effortlessly. I added Weathered Wood Distress Crackle Paint over the tape. The bottle I used had gotten pretty thick so I added water to it. Maybe too much water because it was a little drippy when I painted it on thick. Whether it was the water or the surface of the tape I am not sure, but once it dried and crackled almost all of it flaked off. I liked the effect though so I used canned air to blow off anything that was loose, added a bit of Vintage Photo Distress Ink to the edges and then sealed it all with Claudine Hellmuth Studio Multi Medium.
I covered the inserts for both sides with pattern paper from Tim Holtz's Lost and Found Paper Stash. I cut a thin piece of copper sheeting to fit around the photo opening and embossed it with the Tim Holtz Texture Fades Collage Embossing Folder. I drizzled alcohol ink onto the metal to add color.
In the second frame I framed the words "Honey & Grampy" typed on my old Royal typewriter in an Idea-ology Ornate Plate. I filled the inside of the plate with Crackle Accents.
I embossed more copper sheeting with the December Calendar Texture Fade. I cut out the 19 and 24, drizzled on alcohol ink, and then pieced them together to create 1924 on an adhesive foam square. (That is the year Honey and Grampy were married. I think the photo is from the 60s or 70s.)
I cut flowers from Grunge Paper (colored with Wild Honey and Weathered Wood Distress Inks) and mica sheets using the Tattered Florals Alterations die. I layered the die cuts with Idea-ology Foliage elements that were also colored with alcohol ink.
The mica pieces are so super cool! Once they are cut you can peel the layers apart and use them in super thin pieces that are very sheer or leave several layers together for a thicker more opaque look. Depending on the light and the angle, they vary between looking silvery and perfectly clear.
I really love the way it all came together. It has such a wonderful shabby and vintage feel. I think it is a very fitting tribute to my Honey and Grampy.
(Adhesive used: Therm O Web Super Tape, Mounting Adhesive, and Adhesive Foam Squares; Helmar 450 Quick Dry Liquid Adhesive.)
