Grungy Monday Meets Gothic Arches

Hopefully, I'm not hearing any moaning and groaning that my take on this week's Grungy Monday challenge is a bit similar to last week's! I honestly can't get enough of these new Steampunk stamps from Tim Holtz. Plus, in my defense, the Gadget Gears die makes such a great foam stamp!

I had way too much fun playing around with different techniques, in addition to the 'Distress Ink With Studio Multi-Medium' challenge technique. One of my new favorite things is using Tim's Faux Rust technique on everything! Here, I used it on a frame that was cut from thick chipboard using the Tag and Bookplates die. It looks so cool!! I had actually made it awhile ago and then stashed it away to use later. When I opened my stash box, I spotted it and thought it would be perfect. I stamped the men from the new Steampunk stamp set from Tim Holtz and cut one out to use in the frame. I stamped the background from the same set onto a green piece from the Lost and Found paper collection, and mounted the man onto it and then secured it to the frame with Glossy Accents. I use a Versamark pen to apply ink to the cavity and then filled it with clear Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel. I heated it and repeated a few more times. Love this look!

I had a piece of cardboard lying around that I thought would add a nice bit of texture to my Gothic Arch. I did a random bit of Faux Rust here, too. This time I used Vintage Photo Distress Stain to add color. The metal piece was stamped with an Artistic Outpost stamp and then 'rusted' up a bit. I attached it using my Tiny Attacher (can't live without it!).

This is one of my favorite bits! I wanted to experiment with stamping on copper. I stamped the pointing finger from the Steampunk set using StazOn. I heat set it and then applied liver of sulphur - oh, that stuff stinks!! But, it blackens the copper beautifully and gives it a great vintage look. After it dried, I buffed it and was thrilled to see that the stamped image was still there.

Finally, I embellished the frame with an Idea-ology Philosophy Tag attached to a Hitch Fastener with Jump Rings. I also added Sprocket Gears to the upper part of the arch.

Be sure and pop over to both Linda's Grungy Monday and Gothic Arches blogs to take a gander at all the fantastic artwork!