Beach Memories

Beach Memories

Posted by DecoArt on Feb 28th 2017

I live within an easy drive of the east coast of England. I love taking my dog Norman to the beach and seeing if I can find any treasures brought in by the waves. I wanted to display some recent finds in a box frame which could be used somewhere in my home. The box frame is homemade from simple, inexpensive wooden pictures frames.

 

Items Needed:

Instructions:

Lightly sand frame and apply two coats of gesso.

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Apply crackle paste randomly using a spatula.

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Allow the paste to dry naturally. When almost dry, heat areas with a heat gun to make small ‘bubbles’ in the paste.

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Apply titan buff paint using a baby wipe and mist lightly with water. This allows the paint to seep into the crackle but not clog the cracks.

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Make a wash using Green Gold and Phthalo Green Blue to add colour to the crackle paste.

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Detail to show how a wash sinks into the crackle but doesn’t clog it.

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Use more washes made from Phthalo Green Blue, Green Gold and Prussian Blue to add further colour to the frame.

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Stamp and sponge Quinacridone Gold paint onto the frame to create ‘rusty’ details.

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Dry brush areas of the frame with Metallic Gold. This enriches the colours and highlights the texture.

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Use Americana Decor Chalky Finish paint in toning shades to colour the bottom layers which will form the box frame.

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Cut a piece of grey board or heavy card to fit the back of the box frame.

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Stipple Gesso onto the grey board to cover and create a gently textured surface.

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Sponge the edges of the grey board with Prussian Blue paint.

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Stamp and age a piece of vintage book paper with quinacridone gold paint and a toning shade of Archival ink.

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Use Decoupage glue to fix the book paper to the gesso coated surface of the grey board.

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Fix the box frame layers together using Decoupage glue. Hold together temporarily with tape if necessary to ensure they stick perfectly.

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Cut a piece of muslin to the size required. Distress the fabric using a sharp tool and pull out threads as required.

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Colour the fabric using watered down Titanium White paint.

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Use quinacridone gold paint to add ‘rust’ marks to the fabric. Tiny amounts of carbon black paint can be mixed in for a dirtier rust look (not shown).

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Collect beach treasures to be displayed in the box frame – I just love those rusty pieces of metal which required no paint makeover and the shell which had picked up a rust stain somewhere on its’ travels! Look out for the tiny scraps of ‘sea’ glass with edges smoothed by the waves and glorious pieces of driftwood with amazing textures.

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Bind some of the treasures together using rusty wire.

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Use Decoupage glue to fix the treasures to the book paper in the base of the box frame.

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Stamp some rust marks onto the frame sides using quinacridone gold paint.

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Use drift wood beach treasure and rusty wire to create a hanger for the box frame.

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Detail shot showing the texture of the frame and the drift wood.

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