Twisted Sketch #116 Twist Metal-Favorite Things

Wow, this week has flown by! I can't believe it is Wednesday already, and time for another Twisted Sketches reveal! The following is this weeks sketch and the Twist is Metal:

Below, is my interpretation of that fabulous Sketch, and here is one of my favorite quotes that inspired this layout:

"You... were created to be loved. So for you to live as if you were unloved is a limitation, not the other way around... Living unloved is like clipping a bird's wings and removing its ability to fly... A bird is not defined by being grounded but by his ability to fly. Remember this, humans are defined not by their limitations, but by the intentions I have for them; not by what they seem to be, but by everything it means to be created in my image. Love is NOT the limitation; love is the flying. I AM love. "
— William P. Young (The Shack)

I used my gorgeous Scraps Of Darkness August Kit -Envy to create this layout that features a few of my Favorite Things. Both photos are of things that my amazing husband of 21 years has gotten for me. The first favorite thing is my Old Country Roses Tea Set. When I was a little girl, I had a friend who was elderly, Mrs. Frailey. She was a widow, who had once traveled the world with her husband, and had a collection of beautiful tea cups from different places that they had visited together. I loved going to her home and spending time with her in her rose garden. She would fix me chocolate cupcakes, and let me eat them warm-no icing-just like I loved them, and serve me tea in one of her precious cups. She always knew how to make a little girl, who came from a family that didn't have much, feel special.  That relationship with her shaped so much of my life, and is where I get my love of all things vintage from.  My husband, knowing how much I love these things, took me to purchase that tea set. We had just moved into our new home, and I was about to host a girlfriend party, and he surprised me, by taking me shopping to pick out the tea set that he knew I so dearly wanted. The second photo is of my Staffordshire Dogs. Again, Mrs. Frailey had owned a pair of these beautiful dogs, and my husband had heard me talk about them, and knew that I secretly browsed the internet looking at them from a distance. One Christmas morning, we got up and started letting my son unwrap his presents. We don't normally buy for one another at Christmas, but there was a large box for me, under the tree from him. I unwrapped it  and there they were a set of real, copper painted Staffordshire dogs! He had found an auction house in England that had an estate set and had purchased them and had them flown in for my Christmas present. I cried like a baby. I don't think anyone has ever done anything so thoughtful for me in my whole life, but that is why I love him, he always knows what is in my heart and does everything he can to make my dreams come true!

The first thing I did was to take the shape in the sketch, and create 3 graduating templates in that shape for my layers. I don't have a Cricut, so I just drew the shapes out onto chipboard and cut them out. I started with one of the pps from the Envy kit and then traced the template shapes onto some stash card stock and some of the cream card stock from this month's add on. I inked, and distressed the first 2 layers and on the 3rd layer, I used a stencil and misted the pattern onto it. I then took some stash, pleated ribbon and tucked it in under the 1st and 2nd shape layers. I placed the photos on to get the began building detail.

 

I used a couple of the Petaloo flowers, and some of the mini roses from the kit to create 2 flower layers and tucked in some pieces of a  ZVA piece that I had in my stash. I stuck the stick pin that our super talented sister, Mandy (craftysprinkles) made for the Romance Add On, into the bottom flower layer, and I handpainted a Dusty Attic Teapot and tucked it into the top flower layer. I then used a Tim Holtz bird metal adornment that I gesso-ed and used some Mica from the color add on to soften. This was one piece of my metal twist.

 

Next I started adding adornment to my top photo by cutting out a photo corner from the Webster Journaling Cards that came in the Romance Add On, and attaching it with foam dots for dimension. I took some stash Melissa Frances pearls and added them to the upper corner. I then hand painted some of the Dusty Attic tea cups and stacked them on the side of  the opposite corner.

  

I took a Dusty Attic Wrought Iron piece and painted it then used rub ons to gussy it up.

 

For the bottom photo I did the same steps, the only difference is that I used a Journaling Card that had the words favorite things on it for my title. 

I then took some more of the journaling cards and ribbon and created a mini journal and wrote the thoughts that I talked about to you, inside of it and tucked it into the bottom corner.

For the finishing points, I added 3 little metal buttons (another piece to the Metal Twist) that I gesso-ed  to the upper left corner, and then cut some strands of pearl trim and tucked them into opposite corners.

It is amazing what having people, who treat you special, in your life can do. It can change everything. I am grateful that along the path of my life, there were people who were willing to do just that. Find a lost soul, show them some kindness, and give them their wings to fly. ~Renea