Use a Portrait for A Vintage Journey

Hello everyone and welcome to our first challenge of 2015 at A Vintage Journey. Our lovely Sandy is our host and she has challenged us to:

Use A Portrait

Tim provides us with some excellent portraits 
with his Found Relatives, but of course, 
it could be a photo or portrait 
of your own.


I decided to use this (one and only) school photograph of my mother taken in 1939 when she was eight years old. 


The original photograph appears to have been lightly colour washed (probably by my Grandpa - he did that sort of thing!) and the photograph has a slight pinkish look to it, so I thought Seedless Preserves would work well and I think would have been my mother's favourite Distress colour!


But …… Seedless Preserves is a bit of a strong colour and took a little bit of patience to knock it back on the canvas. I have used one
of Tim's burlap panels which includes a picture so I had to paint over first with gesso and then it was covered with Melange Tissue Wrap. The Harlequin Mask and Wendy Vecchi Crackle Glaze came next and then a spray of Seedless Preserves Distress Stain Spray. You can see I had to give it a few good coats of gesso to knock the colour back!  

The lovely School Memories banner is from the school photograph - isn't it fabulous!


I received so many lovely comments from you all after mentioning in a previous post that I felt I ought to try something different instead of my usual flowers. I decided to stick with the flowers but try something a little different. So using the usual Tattered Florals die I inked the edges with a combination of colours instead of the usual Vintage Photo.


I used Scattered Straw, Rusty Hinge and Seedless Preserves Distress Inks. As you can see I don't blend the ink on my mat but hold the flower in my hand and rub the edges with the blending tool.


The bottom photograph shows how I built up the colour using the Scattered Straw first, then the Rusty Hinge and finally the Seedless Preserves. It looks a little dire at this stage but once spritzed with water and crumpled up it takes on a softer look.


The flowers were then cut and rolled as in my Paper Rose tutorial. I am very pleased with the effect and can't wait to try some different colour combinations. I have been looking through my gardening catalogues at some of the beautiful summer rose colours. Watch this space as they say!


Tim's Ornate Frame was cut in white board but I had to give up on my initial wish to give it a crackled look. I tried various different products but the frame is quite small and delicate and it wasn't possible to layer on the glaze satisfactorily. I wanted something white so ended up using Antiquities Frosted Crystal Embossing Powder.


The metal embellishment was painted with Picket Fence Distress Paint.


I added some Film Strip decorated with rub-ons, some muslin and some mother of pearl buttons (Mum would have loved those). The little leaf from the Spring Greenery die also got a bit of gesso and ink and tucked in underneath.

I do hope you will join us in our challenge and do hop on over to A Vintage Journey to see the fabulous projects my teamies have come up with. As usual just ensure that Tim's style or products are evident in your project. 

For me I love using Tim's products in my shabby vintage style in order to create something a little more feminine and soft. 

Thanks for joining me today and have a lovely weekend.

Jennie x


Tim Holtz products used:

Burlap Panels
Melange Tissue Wrap
Harlequin Stencil
Ornate Frame Die
Antiquities Frosted Crystal
Embossing Powder
Tattered Florals Die
Spring Greenery Die
Film Strip Ribbon
Remnant Rubs
Distress Inks: Seedless Preserves, 
Rusty Hinge and Scattered Straw
Seedless Preserves Distress Spray Stain
Picket Fence Distress Paint
Metal Embellishment



Comments

Julia Aston said…
What a beautiful panel to honor this lovely photo of your mum as a young girl Jennie! love the soft coloring - your roses with the film strip pieces and the white paint on the metal floral spray!
Brenda Brown said…
This is gorgeous Jennie, so wonderfully shabby in design and overall finish. That's a gorgeous framed photo of your Mum and the perfect touch of colour with your beautiful flowers. The school memories banner is such a wonderful addition as are the other elements you have used. Love it. xxx
Astrid Maclean said…
Oh Jennie what a stunning panel and such a great photo of your mum! When I first saw it I thought is was a childhood photo of you, there is definitely a family likeness! Love how you did the background and yes, I LOVE the multicoloured flowers, they pick up the colours of the photo so well!

Hope the storm did not hit you too badly... it was definitely HOWLING here in the night, but seems to have settled at least a little by now....
Ruth said…
Love the whitewashed, rosy tinted effect of this gorgeous creation, a beautiful setting for your photo. Your flowers are just a dream, but you are THE expert at handmade flowers! I am longing to make some now. Ruth x
What a sweet photo of your mother - and I love that you've used what you think would be her favourite distress colour. Gorgeous shabby chic textures in the background and oh how I love your layered colours in the flowers... can't wait to see more!
Alison xx
What a sweet photo of your mum and your vintage roses look stunning next to her. A beautiful way to make this now a very special keepsake.
Hope you haven't had any storm damage, I was thinking of you as the winds blew hard here.
Julie x
Redanne said…
I just love that photo of your Mum and the soft colour you chose really shows the photo up beautifully. Your flowers are always are just stunning. Anne xx
Unknown said…
Gorgeous texture, love the subtle background and the photo of your mum is so sweet - school photos are the best!!
xx
Jenny Marples said…
A beautifully embellished portrait - always love your flowers and the metal embellishment around the frame is beautiful. Stay safe. Jenny xxx
Sandy said…
Your Mother was soooo cute and I love the fact that you used a portrait from your family. Your flowers are gorgeous. You have turned on my turn on button!!
Sandy xx
Jools Robertson said…
Beautiful Portrait panel
The colours and details embellish and compliment the beautiful picture of your mum perfectly

Jools x
Just fabulous! Love gorgeous pic of your Mum and the stunning background! Chrisx
Terry said…
Jennie this is just gorgeous! I love the framing and those beautiful flowers!
Julia S-W said…
Simply stunning!! Those flowers are just beautiful and the faded look given my the colours you added to them gives the most glorious vintage look. You are queen of the flower makers in my book!! I could gush on and on but this has to be my favourite piece of yours Jennie so I'll leave it at that!
Juliaxx
sarascloset said…
What a fabulous portrait of your Mom, and you have really given it a lovely frame! Your flowers are melt-in-your-mouth sweet--as a gardener, I have to say you have hit this out of the ball-park on making these look like the real deal! Everything is just gorgeous--the frame with the pearls, the BACKGROUND, the metal embellishment, the buttons, the filmstrip and of course, those luscious flowers! Such great inspiration throughout! LOVE!
S@ndy Diller said…
What a wonderful piece of family history - you have made it come alive with your lovely art additions. I am sure it will be treasured for years to come. I appreciate your participation in this challenge.

Hugs,
Sandy xx