Making Lemonade!

You know that old saying about life handing you lemons....Well, that is kind of how this craft played out. But, I did not give up and I made some lemonade.

This is how we last left my post on paper casting.

 I couldn't get this to dry so I left it alone for the evening. Right before bed I went to check on it and it was dry but the layers of  Kleenex were NOT sticking together. I suspect it might be because this tissue is infused with lotion. The image was there but as soon as I tried to take off the mold, it wasn't. And so, I got out the trusty ModPodge and poured a fair amount into the recess in the back. I used the heat gun and got it to dry but when I turned it over, the image on the front kept lifting in layers. And so, it was time to make some lemonade. I wasn't sure if it would work but I got out my clear spray sealer and started spraying. I hoped this would give it a bit of a sturdier outside. And, it did. I must have given it 4-5 coats and left it for the night.

And, in the morning, it lifted right off of the mold so nicely. My next thought was to use water and paint it around the edge where I wanted the heart to end and them pull off the extra tissue layers so I would have a bit of a ruffle. I also got out some things to use for finishing the heart. I wasn't really sure where I was going so I grabbed a lot.

If you look at the above picture carefully you can see where I started with the water. Of course, it was right about at this point that I realized that the tissue was probably not going to tear off as I was expecting because it now had all of the coats of sealer. The sealer did what I wanted but now it was a deterrent. It took a bit of finagling and the rips didn't always go where I wanted but I got there in the end.

I really wasn't sure where to go next but I decided against using the cardboard heart shape as a base because I just didn't want another. I thought about making a wood pallet also but in the end I went with a canvas. I painted it red and then ripped the edges of two pieces of Valentine paper and decided how they would go.

I ModPodged the papers to the canvas and then started to think of all of the different embellishments I could use but, for whatever reason, I just decided to go simple. I stuck with the traditional red, white and black. The heart did need something so I painted the center red. I was going to paint more or add glitter or ribbon but, I stopped myself and just went with what I had.

When that was all dry, the last thing I did was to distress the edges with some black ink...and, I like it. It is definitely not what I was going for when I started and it did not go anywhere near the path I had thought it would take but, in the end, I like it. Not sure where it will end up but for now it is on the new shelf in the living room. I'll need to get a picture if that's where it decides to stay. We shall see. Stay safe and stay tuned.

P.S. As I'm looking at this again I'm thinking that I might come back and add a bit of red to the edges of the ruffle-it still needs something???!