Theme Thursday: Texture and/or Layers + a Mini Tute!

I have been meaning to post this for the past week and the Theme Thursday challenge gave me the perfect excuse to get off my lazy arse and do it! I created it as a birthday gift for Gloria, our fantastic, fearless leader over at the All Things Tim Yahoo group. Unbeknownst to my fellow birthday club members, I often use them as guinea pigs for things I want to experiment with! ;-)

For this piece, I was trying very hard to come up with a decent looking substitute for mica. Did I? Not too sure about that, but it is pretty cool looking! On top of my 'faux mica', I layered some Grungeboard gears that I rusted using Tim's technique from Compendium of Curiosities, along with one of the new Idea-ology light bulbs and a length of Idea-ology Film Strip Ribbon. The men from the Steampunk stamp set were stamped on some heavy cardboard-ish paper, trimmed, and glued on top of everything.

The sentiment (from the Stuff to Say stamp set) was stamped on an Idea-ology Journaling Ticket. I attached it to the base with my Tiny Attacher. The hanger was inspired by the wonderful Nancy Crissinger. I spotted it on her blog and knew I had to find somewhere to use it. Thanks so much for the inspiration, Nancy!

I shot a quick and dirty tutorial with my iPhone - I hope you enjoy it! OH! One of the reasons I was inspired to try this is the awesome Packaging Challenge going on over at the Inspiration Emporium blog. Have you entered? If not, what are you waiting for? You could win a $50 gift certificate! Go! Now!

Faux Mica (kinda)

1. Begin by selecting a large piece of plastic packaging (or whatever size you need for your project).

2. Using a piece of real mica as a template, cut your plastic into a rough, 'organic' shape.

3. Using various Adirondack alcohol inks, color the plastic to mimic the look of mica. I decided I was going to try to get the look of darker mica, like you'd find on a Mission-style lampshade. When complete, sand the plastic lightly to dull it down (this is optional, I just didn't want it to be shiny).

4. Once it was dry, I adhered a piece of paper from Tim's Lost and Found paper collection to the back, using Claudine's Studio Multi Medium. I also inked the edges a bit with black Stazon ink.

This gives you a nice, sturdy base to layer on anything your heart desires. I hope you're inspired to look at your packaging in a whole new light!

Supplies used:
Tim Holtz Alterations Gadget Gear Die
Tim Holtz Alterations Mini Gears Die Set
Idea-ology Journaling Tickets
Idea-ology Grungeboard Basics
Idea-ology Philosophy Tags
Idea-ology Charm Clips
Idea-ology Swivel Clasps
Idea-ology Light Bulb
Idea-ology Film Strip Ribbon
Idea-ology Tiny Attacher
Idea-ology Lost and Found Paper
Studio Multi Medium - Matte
Tim Holtz Steampunk Stamp Set
Tim Holtz Sayings Stamp Set
Tim Holtz Take Flight Stamp Set
Ranger Adirondack Alcohol Inks