Welcome Annette to AVJ and new Creative Guide call

Happy Friday everyone. It's week 4 of our September schedule which means lots of inspiration and a magnificent tutorial from our Guest Creative Guide - I'll let her introduce herself and what she is sharing today.

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Hello everyone, it's Annette Green from Melbourne, Florida, USA. I'm proud and honored to be your Guest Creative Guide today here at A Vintage Journey.

My creative journey began when I was very little when I realized I had a talent for drawing. I entered contest after contest and actually won quite a few! Although I graduated college with a degree in the business side of Advertising, I quickly adapted to graphic design instead, and spent 15 years doing so. When my daughter was born, I stayed home full time to be a mom and began scrapbooking, quilting, cross-stitching and stamping. I loved it all! Over time, I have evolved into a full time paper crafter, designer and instructor and love every single day that I get out of bed in the morning because I'm doing what I love!

I first heard about this Tim Holtz guy way back when he created his first series of his 12 Tags of Christmas. I was totally and completely in love with his style! His products are some of my all-time favorites. I absolutely love all things vintage and distressed, so his products really speak to me. I incorporate so much of his line into everything I make. To see more of my creations, please visit my blog aptly named Annette's Creative Journey.

For the current Home Sweet Home challenge theme, I chose to create a welcome frame/home decor piece for the table in our foyer. Something for everyone to see when they enter my home. Fall is my favorite time of year, so I gave it a warm, Autumn feel.

My creation started with this thrift store frame I found for less than a dollar.

I took out the glass and cleaned it well, then painted the frame with two coats of white gesso.

Once the gesso was completely dry, I painted two coats of the new Ground Espresso Distress Paint. I made sure to leave streaks so it resembled wood and had a distressed feel. Once the paint was dry, I sealed it with a coat of Glue & Seal.

For the background in my frame, I cut a 4 1/4" x 11" piece or Ranger Mixed Media Cardstock and used Tim's Distress Ink Blending/Spritz & Flick technique to blend warm earthly colors like Forest Moss, Fired Brick, Fossilized Amber and Rusty Hinge.

In addition to the Spritz & Flick, I misted some water onto the large stamp in the Papillon set (CMS106) by Stampers Anonymous and stamped it onto the Distress background, letting the water do its magic. Once this was heat set and completely dry, I added a few spritzes of Perfect Pearls Perfect Copper Mist.

With the glass for the frame now clean, I stamped the leaves from the Falling Leaves set (CMS097) with Timber Brown Staz-On ink and set that aside to dry.

With Forest Moss Distress Paint, I painted the Letterpress letters spelling out Welcome, having to cheat a bit for the first E, using the ampersand. I did two coats of paint for this too.

Next, I die cut Kraft Core cardstock pieces from the Tattered Pinecone and Tattered Leaves dies, and gave each piece a light sanding.

I used Tim's Faux Tea Roses technique to create small distressed flowers and starting assembling my frame, using hot glue.

I veined my leaves, inked them, and spritzed with more Perfect Pearls Mist, using various colors like Perfect Copper, Heirloom Gold, and Forever Green.

I wish you could see this detail in person. The stamped leaves seem to float above the background layer. The photo just doesn't do it justice.

Here's another look at my finished Fall Welcome Frame, which is now sitting on my foyer table. Thanks for taking the time to follow my tutorial. I hope you've enjoyed it. And thanks for having me here today!

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This is utterly delightful Annette and we are so pleased you have shared this wonderful frame with us. The stamped flowers on the glass look stunning over the inked background - such a great idea. Thank you for taking the time to create such a special project to share with everyone.

One more week left folks to join in the current challenge 'Home Sweet Home' and a new challenge beginning next Friday at midnight (BST). We look forward to seeing you here again.

For anyone who may be interested we are looking for

  two new Creative Guides 

to join our talented team. If you would like more information and details please email me at brenda_brown25@hotmail.com by Monday 5th October. Many thanks.

Have a great weekend.

hugs Brenda and the AVJ Creative Guides. xxx