Friday, April 25, 2014

A Typography Tower Shrine

I was thrilled to win a prize on the Graphic 45 Twitter contest a couple of weeks ago, and finally got some time to play with the gorgeous paper collection
 
 
The colors are so rich and deep that they need little to make them shine. I only used a bit of Tea Dye Distress Ink in places to make them a tad richer.
 
This is a long one, so, get a cuppa and get comfortable. I'll lead you through it.
 
 
 The base is one of my favorite pieces from Retro Cafe Art Gallery. It's the Large Tower Shrine Kit (9 1/4 inches) and it couldn't have worked any better with these papers. It was like they were designed to go together!!!

 
This shows 4 pieces of paper cut and layered as a rectangle that will be glued to the Masonite shown here. Perfect size!

 
The 8x8 paper pad comes with 3 sheets of each paper, so I was able to cut 2 exact same pieces for the inside of the roof. Use an exacto knife to cut out the slot needed as shown here.
 
 
My favorite color combo ....red, black, ivory, and brown. I cut apart the strips of back letters and numbers to make a frame for the Typography sign.

 
Four of the side sections are just cut and glued to the inner sides. The 2 larger ones are each 2 layers of papers cut to fit the middle of the side pieces.
 
The Middle section is covered with a gorgeous sheet of Celebrate. Then layers of cutouts are added. I lay out my pieces before gluing it all together. NOTE: the side sections are upside down in this picture....would not have fit together well if glued as shown!!!
 
 
Here I've glued papers on and set it up to see exactly where to put the next layer of pictures.
 
 
Mark with a pencil where your shelves will be before gluing the next layer on.
 
 
The sides have 4 different paper layers ending with the Numbers in the center top.
 
 
The entire back section will be covered with paper. I trimmed off a strip of edging and glued it to the right side of this portion.
 
More cut outs are glued on to add balance.
 
 
I painted some wooden legs with  2 bright shades of blue Fresco Paint. The bottles sit nicely onf the back edge, and 3 Shabby Chic Ornate Metal Keyholes were also added.
 
 
I used Glue-N-Seal Matte on the Corked Vials that added a frosted, vintage look.
 
 
The roof is decorated with small Regal Stencil Border Strips from Retro Cafe Art and are painted with Fresco Paints in 2 different colors to make them look weathered. Use a punch to cut out the medallion for the roof.

 
It comes as a straight cutout and I trimmed it to fit. Worked perfectly!

 
This is probably my favorite section of the papers since it's so brilliant with color, and it says  CREATIVE!
 
 
 I painted the Letterpress Blocks with several different shades of Fresco Paints and set them on the shelves. The phrases are some of my favorites, too.
 
 
The back is as fun as the inside!
 
As always, thanks to  Graphic 45  for an outstanding collection of papers and to  Kristin  for her wonderful  Coffee Break Designs at  RCAG.
 
Check out the links for products...you won't be sorry! And let me know what you think!!!
 
Your Friend in ART,
 
Linda


21 comments:

Retro Cafe' Art Gallery said...

Your Tower Shrine is amazing! I love everything about it. And it's always awesome to see your process photos. Thank you! xo

Helen said...

Absolutely stunning, Linda - and yes they are gorgeous papers!!

Lisa H said...

so cool!!! I can't believe how perfect the papers are for the shrine. fab!

Tristan Robin said...

I first saw this on the Retro Cafe Art Facebook page, and had to come check out how you did all this. It's just delightful - and I love the way you've used the colors to pop against the paper structure. And I can't wait to try those stencil borders! Your piece is terrific!

Jackie PN said...

Linda, Has anyone ever told you...how awesome your art is? You rocked G-45 out of the box ! This is fantastic!!! hugs

michelle said...

Love this makes we want to create a tower too!

Jackie said...

So Creative! So Bright! I love your tower ♥

Martha Richardson said...

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G...simply amazing!

Debby said...

This is a gorgeous work of art! Love it.

Samsmitty said...

Linda I just love your Art. You are so creative and I love following you !!

Karen Petitt said...

This is quite simply stunning! I love it and I think every crafter would love it too - it would look great in my craft room!
Just wanted to pop over to say thank you for the lovely comments you left on my Inspiration Journal Challenge entries - thank you very much so very kind of you.
I will be popping back here often to see your gorgeous creations, in fact I am going to have a look round now! Karen P x

Lucy Edmondson said...

This is stunning, linda. Congratulations on your win!

Lucy x

Anonymous said...

Hello Linda, congrats on your G45 win. That is an absolutely stunning project.

Unknown said...

WOW! You are very talented...love it!

WhoMom said...

Yowzah! Fabulous project and details.

Cindy said...

Wow, when you win a prize, you don't fool around. This is absolutely gorgeous.

Tracy said...

Absolutely beautiful!

Rosetta Savage-Jenkins said...

Linda, I love this! OMG! You made the best of my favorite G45 paper. The colors are so deep and bright. You deserve the win.

Linda Storey said...

Congrats on winning Linda. Your Tower is wonderful. I just love it. Thanks for sharing your talent with us,
Take care..... Linda ;0)

Lori said...

Wow, this is absolutely gorgeous! Love all the details...that paper is so cool!

darlene said...

Love your assemblage piece! Great giveaway. Thanks for offering.