Froggity Blog hop!!

Hi all, thanks for Hopping by on the Banana Frog blog hop! If you happened here by chance never fear you can catch up with the hop here and it will be worth it! All the froglets are soooo talented!!

So without further ado here is my hop offering for this months hop and the theme is Spring



Over the Garden Gate

I took some pictures of the garden as it at last started to blossom following this recent winter and love this picture over the garden gate. I like looking through things and being intrigued by what's behind doors and gates. For this project I have re visited one of my favourite techniques 'poor mans crackle' and I have used one of my favourite Banana Frog stamp sets Round in Circles. It's so useful for lots of things.



I cut some cardboard from an old box (always looking to 'up cycle' LOL) and cut it into a garden gate shape, ripping out a rectangle for the photo frame.



Now to get messy :) I smeared the shape with a layer of PVA glue, using fingers keeps it a smooth application.



Then while the PVA is slightly tacky I painted over the top of it with white acrylic paint. The paint needs to be thinned ever so slightly so it goes on easier and don't over paint or the glue will lift. Painting in one direction gives a uniform crackle but changing brush direction gives more texture.



If you're patient you can let it dry naturally, if you're like me however you can speed up the process with a heat gun, but don't overheat or hold the gun too close as the paint will blister. It's so exciting to see it crackle!! Leave the piece aside and get stamping your embellies!



There are loads of lovely flower stamps available from Banana Frog, take a peek in the shop but I decided to make flowers with the circles from the round in circles stamp set. I like the simple look of them and you can create all different sizes by layering the circles within each other. I used distress inks in bright spring colours and mixed two colours on the stamps before stamping the image to create shading.



Going back to my gate I stamped around the frame with some stamps from the Swirls stamp set using green ink to create abstract grass and stalks. I cut some gate hinges from card and added them and I then mounted the 6x4photo onto some white card and attached it behind the frame.



Finally I added my flowers on foam pads for extra dimension.



And that's it a piece of Spring home decor that sits on my shelf and makes me smile especially when the weather outside turns a bit dull!

You can see some other projects I did using the poor mans crackle technique on the BF blog here



Diamonds and pearls

and here



How does your garden grow

Thanks for hopping by my blog and I hope you feel inspired by this post and all the froglet posts along the way, talking of which your next stop is with the lovely Kirsty Wiseman here and don't forget to leave a comment wherever you go, who knows there may be froggy treats to be had :) AND don't forget it's Happy 4th Birthday at froggie HQ tomorrow, with a few surprises so don't forget to go and check out the party tomorrow and hop back on over here as I have something to contribute to the party!!

I hope you are all well and happy and until tomorrow Happy Crafting
Love
M x