Hi bloggers, happy Wednesday to you! Where did the first half of the week go? I hope it’s going well for you! I’m going to dive right into this fantastic project today that the amazing Paula Cheney has made for us! (See the completed project above!) Not only will you see the finished product, but get a fabulous tutorial from the artist herself.  Paula was generous to include step by step directions and pictures so I’m including it all! Enjoy!

• Cut four – 4 x 6″ pieces of Foil Tape sheets.  Foil Tape is one of my favorite products to work with because you can do so many things to transform the surface: paint, alcohol ink, embossing, etc.
•  I decided to emboss the Foil with the Sizzix Riveted Metal Texture Fade.  I think this is the perfect embossing folder to remind her of the Eiffel Tower, which is of course made of metal, bolts and rivets.  
• Slip a sheet of the Foil (shiny side up) into the Texture Fade and run it through the Vagabond Machine.  Easy as that.
• You will need at least 3 pieces to cover the clock. (4 will give you a safety net).
•  Paint each piece with Distress Paint in Black soot.  Dry the surface for about 30 second with a Heat it tool.
• Now burnish with a paper towel to remove excess black paint.
• I thought I might show you two samples I did:  (picture is the above far right, middle) The one on the left is the one above: paint, dry, burnish.  The one on the right is: paint, mist with water, burnish, dry.  Since Distress Paint is reactive with water until dry, the water allows you to take away more of the black paint.  If you take away too much, just add more.  Which technique to use is totally up to you. 
•  Love, love, love this Texture Fade!
• At this point you have to make a decision to take the clock apart or not.  I found it very easy to take apart and put back together.  Every time I took a piece off,  I made sure I kept the washer with it so I could remember where it went.  You could always take a photo of what it looks like before you start (inside and out).  One tip I will give, is that the 2 stems that hold the bells/handle up have a screw on each end.  One screw end is longer.  This end goes up into the bell and handle.  If you remember that, then you should be fine. 
•  I painted the parts you will see (legs, bells, handle) with Alcohol Ink – pitch black.

• Now time for the fun part, covering the clock with the foil sheets!  Cover clock in sections, cutting the foil along the lines.  The foil is self adhesive so just stick it down and burnish with your fingers.
• When you have a curve that might expose the surface below, just cut a patch.  No one will ever know.
• Cut a skinny strip to cover the face.  I clipped the strips into 2-3″ sections to allow working around the curve.  Once the Foil is burnished you will not see the seams at all.
• Once you cover the entire outside of the clock, use a pencil to punch the holes so you can put it back together.
• Cut foil along lines to cover the lower edge of the bells.
• I did not cover the entire bell but again, that is just personal preference.
• Now for the inside: Squeeze out some Distress Stain – tumbled glass on to non-stick craft mat.  Mist with water.
• Lay a 5 x 5″ piece of Ranger Manila cardstock into the liquid and press down to get good coverage on the surface.

• Dry with heat it tool (you may need to blot off some excess liquid on a paper towel).
• Go back into the liquid several times, drying between the layers of Stain.
• I wanted to add a bit of shimmer so I repeated the same steps as above with Brushed Pewter Distress Stain.  The only thing to remember is to shake all metallic colors before use.
• Metallic shine is hard to capture in photography but it adds a subtle touch over the blue.
• Use the back of the clock as a pattern for cutting the inside back panel.
• Adhere cardstock to the back and add a bit of vintage photo Distress ink on the edge.
• Every assembalage about Paris should have an Eiffel Tower, right? This will be no exception.  I gathered the Paris to London stamp set, black Archival ink, and an old piece of plastic packaging. 
• Stamp the Eiffel Tower on the plastic… be sure to have at least 1/2″ of plastic below the tower to create a “stand” of sorts. 
•  Just fold the plastic back to make the stand
•  What Eiffel Tower is complete without a tiny French Flag? Alright, set the tower aside while we finish the inside.  Stars are in order as we saw the tower sparkle at night and it was pure magic.  I painted 3 small stars with Distress Paint.  I always like to give chipboard a base color in case the glitter does not go all the way to the edges.
• I gathered an Emboss it pad, Sticky Embossing powder, and my favorite color glitter, Platinum.
• Stars go directly onto the Embossing pad for “inking”.
• Then transfer to a piece of paper.  Cover with Sticky Embossing Powder.
• Tap off Sticky Embossing Powder and melt remaining powder with a Heat it too (they will be nice and shiny once the powder is melted).
• Return stars to the paper and cover with platinum glitter.  Tap off excess glitter then dry once more with the Heat it tool (about 30 seconds).  This drying step really cements the glitter onto the surface so don’t skip it.  I know using the Sticky Embossing Powder adds a little more steps to glittering but it is the perfect solution to glittering small delicate surfaces like leaves, flourishes and small stars.
• Lets add a message.  I cut the word destination from a Remnant Rubs sheet to add to the cardstock piece.
• Then spelled out Paris, using the Tall Text stamp set.  The lines on the Gridblocks helped me get the word straight (left to right and top to bottom) so I can stamp the complete word instead of one letter at a time.

• Stars added with tiny foam dots as well as the words “Follow your heart” from the Remnant Rubs.
• I used some small pieces of muslin to cover the inside of the clock.
• Then added the plastic tower about an 1″ from the glass so it will be freestanding in front of the clock back.  I adhered the clock to the base with very thick 3-d glue dots.
• Add the back onto the clock, making sure the words are straight.  
• I added brads to a Word Band, folding the brad legs toward the back.  The brads and the Word Band are held in place with a strip of Wonder Tape across the back.
• Next, color Crinkle ribbon with Barn Door Distress Stain and drying with a Heat it tool.
• Tie Crinkle Ribbon onto to clock handle.  I added Tag Label and with Remnant Rub words, “Dream Big” and a Mini Numeral 3 to represent the three of us that went on the trip to Paris.  The charms are hanging from a Wire Pin.  Note: the Mini Numerals do not have a hole at the top, but the metal is thin enough that I was able to poke a hole with a paper piercer to add the jump ring for hanging.
• Love the way it turned out!   I am super excited to give this little memento of our trip together.

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Thanks for reading today and thanks so much to our special guest artist Paula Cheney!

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