Instructions

Hi everyone, it’s Audrey, here to share a fun home décor project with you for St. Patrick’s Day. This cute altered frame features a mix of Tim Holtz Distress Ink and Oxide Ink, an inexpensive thrift store frame, and the adorable new bear die set from Tim Holtz Alterations by Sizzix.

In this tutorial, I also feature one of my current favorite techniques… creating an old-world Venetian plaster-like finish using Distress Crackle Texture Paste. I am completely addicted to this look recently, and hope that you will like it, too.

Step 1: Remove the backing and glass from a wooden 5x7 desk frame. Lightly sand the wood to remove some of the varnish. Paint the frame with Picket Fence Distress Paint. When the paint is dry, lightly sand some of the edges to remove the paint. Using your finger, spread a bit of Crackle Texture Paste to random areas of the frame. Set the frame aside to dry.

Step 2: Cut a piece of patterned paper to fit the opening of the frame. Use a Mini Ink Blending Tool to ink the paper, starting with Tim Holtz Distress Tumbled Glass Oxide Ink at the top, blending into Salty Ocean Oxide and finally Mermaid Lagoon Oxide at the bottom.

Step 3: Using your finger, dab a generous amount of Crackle Texture Paste in random areas covering the inked paper. Set the paper aside to dry.

Step 4: Glue the paper to the frame backing using Multi Medium Matte adhesive, smoothing and flattening the paper as you go. Then to create the plaster effect, sand the texture paste heavily to remove most of the bulk until you have a fairly smooth, sanded, and aged finish. Ink the texture pasted areas, as well as the edges and surface of the frame with Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink.

Step 5: Die cut all the pieces of the Theodore Alterations Die from sanded cardstock. Assemble the bear pieces with Multi Medium Matte adhesive.

Step 6: Dab Twisted Citron and Mowed Lawn Distress Inks onto a Non-Stick Craft Sheet, and spray the inks liberally with water using a Distress Sprayer. Cut a 3x4 piece of Distress Watercolor Cardstock. Press the cardstock down into the ink mixture, twisting and spreading the paper around to pick up the ink. Allow the paper to dry, and repeat this process until you have achieved the richness of color you like.

Step 7: Die cut four small hearts from the Tim Holtz Falling Hearts Die set, and four partial pieces of greenery branches from the Wildflower Stems #2 die set from the green watercolor paper. Hand cut a thin curving stem from the paper for the clover stem.

Step 8: Glue two branches to the bottom of the frame backing using Multi Medium Matte. Glue the bear to the right side of the backing so that part of his back goes off the edge. Glue two more branches to the bottom of the backing, overlapping the bear and the other greens. Trim all the excess from the edges of the frame backing. Glue the four hearts and the stem coming from the bear’s mouth. Insert the frame backing into the frame.

Step 9: Use Tim Holtz Alteration Dies to die cut the word Lucky, and an S and O from Watercolor Cardstock. Glue the pieces to the center of the frame, overlapping the middle of the bear.

Enjoy!