An ATC Cottage House with Metal Roof

Hi everybody!!!

It's been way too long. A lot of water has gone under this bridge, but the most was when my old computer died and I decided to go to a new system....a Mac....and it's so much different than I'm used to working with. Old dogs...new tricks phrase comes to mind.

Anyway, it's a new year, and I'm sure I can get back into this blog stuff again with the latest, and pretty much favorite, kit of all time from Retro Cafe Art Gallery!!! Kristin REALLY knocked these little guys out of the park.

This is the Style 2 with the heart opening. There are 3 styles so check them out.

I used PaperArtsy Fresco Paints for the light colors on the base and fence and added stamped images with black and sepia archival inks.

The ATC coins and cards will fit perfectly in the "courtyard" area of the kit.



Stamped papers are added in layers all around the pieces before gluing. This also can be done after you put the house together, but I've always tried to challenge myself to doing it before. It works either way.



The Metallique paints from Finnabair painted on the cutouts for the front and back add just a bit of shine. I also stamped and heat embossed images to the papers to create a really dark contrast on the lighter colored papers.

The Heart Skeleton Key is perfect with Victorian Flourishes and Label Pull Style Frame Cut-Outs as added embellishments.



Little signs with ARTIST stamped in the center go perfectly on the two ends.

The crowning glory of the piece is of course the metal embossed roof that I accidently ran across in a box while looking for another project. It was hidden behind other pieces on my shelf unit and I hadn't opened it in maybe years.

 The metal is either hand-embossed with a paper stump on a plastic mold, or run through a die-cutting machine. The metal is already colored red, and you remove the color from the raised area to show the silver underneath. But I wanted copper, not silver, so I lightly brushed on copper paint to change the look. Both metal and mold are from Ten Seconds Studio.

The strange thing about finding the metal was there were 2 pieces almost the exact size I needed for the roof and one actually had the red-line tape all ready to go!!!

So a bit a trimming, and on it went. I rolled the metal under the lower edge, and it was done. 

I believe in luck and amazing unknown guidance.

You can take the roof off and store all sorts of things in the base.....or not. The choice is up to you.

I hope you're inspired just a little bit to go and create something that just makes you feel good. It's freezing cold here, and dead of winter, so it's easy to stay inside and have some fun. Thanks Kristin for a great new set of kits!

As always, any comments and questions are welcome, and I remain,

Your Friend in ART,

Linda