DIY Wall Plaque by Patty Mello – April 2022 Guest Designer

Hello there everyone! We have the wonderful Patty Mello as our first April Guest Designer. She is also an Altenew Certified Educator and was certified in October 2018! Patty will be sharing a gorgeous DIY Wall Plaque with us today!

Get to know Patty

My interest in crafts started when I was very young. The first attraction that I can remember was with needlecrafts like crewel and cross-stitching. My parents got me a sewing machine for my 14th birthday and by my senior year in high school, I had made over 100 different clothing projects. I was a clothing design major in college and eventually made my own wedding dress and one of my sister’s.

Although I was crafty, I was never artistic; so when I got interested in card making it was a joy not to have to draw in order to create something pretty. I was thrilled when I came upon Altenew because they were my first introduction to layered stamping and being able to buy “sets” of colors that would match perfectly together. I was hooked. 

These past couple of years have brought many changes for everyone. For me, that meant a job change and becoming a pastor’s wife (my husband took early retirement and completely changed professions). In my spare time, I enjoy spending time with my daughters and their spouses, bicycle riding, para-sailing (when I am on vacation), kayaking, and of course, card making.
Working on this multi-media blog post has inspired me to think of projects that I could work on and bring to craft fairs that I participate in. Because I am not as big in social media as many others are, I consider myself a background cheerleader for all of you and enjoy all of the creations that you post. I hope you are inspired as well.

Patty's DIY Wall Plaque

To make the flowers and leaves, I used the ink smooshing technique. The tools I used were Altenew watercolor cardstock, Rose Petal Re-inker Set, Green Valley re-inker Set, and Green Valley mini ink pads. On my craft mat, I put a couple of drops of each color from the Rose Petal Re-inker Set, added water using a water sprayer, and then smooshed the watercolor cardstock into the inks. I dried the watercolor paper with a heat gun and then repeated the process until I was pleased with the colors.

To make the sheets for the green leaves, I used the same process as above except that I started by smooshing ink from the mini ink pads before repeating the process with the re-inkers. Make about five 5.5”x 5.5” sheets. Once the sheets were dry, I sprayed some of them with Antique Gold ink spray.

Once the pink and green sheets were dry, I used the Poinsettia 3D Die Set to die cut 3 sets of pink flowers (die cut the small centers using Warm Sunshine Cardstock from the Summer Afternoon Gradient Cardstock Set. I cut another 10 small pink flowers and Warm Sunshine centers. I used a shimmer pen, outline centers of flowers, and leaf lines.

I cut various green leaves using the largest dies from the Poinsettia 3D Die Set and about 5 of the smallest of the Poinsettia die (to put behind the tiny flowers).

Behind each pink flower piece, I glued a very thin wire to the center of each petal (see photo). If necessary, hold down the wire with low-tack tape until the glue is dry, then remove.

Using Moonrock cardstock and Just Leaves Die Set, I cut six sets of the largest leaf die. Then, I stamped these die-cuts using Silver Lake crisp dye ink and Birch Forest Stamp set. Using the same large die, I cut six more sets out of the green inked watercolor cardstock.

Using Bold Alphabet Die and white cardstock, I then cut out four sets of words: live, love, laugh, and layered each letter four times.

You can use a stained wood frame (from any craft store) for the DIY wall plaque and splatter it with white paint. Once the paint dries, I laid down the words, live, laugh, and love so that they are centered. Then I glued them down using liquid glue. I layered the stamped leaves over the green leaves, making six sprays, and glued them down using liquid glue.

Next, I arranged the sprays into a circle around the words. These were loosely glued down. You want the sprays to be loose and look free.

Then, I made three flowers from the die-cuts, arranged the flowers at the bottom of the wreath, and glued them in place. I arranged large green leaves under the flowers and glued them in place.

I then made six small flowers from the die-cuts and glued them together with centers. I placed these around the wreath, using a few small green leaves around the flowers, and used liquid glue to glue them in place.

~Patty

HOLY SMOKES! What a stunning DIY wall plaque! I want one too! I think we all do! Look at all that layering! SO so beautiful! WOW, Patty! This is amazing! I am sure everyone who visits your place must ask you about this! Thank you so much for being our Guest Designer for the month of April. I hope you will be back here soon to wow us with yet another beautiful creation!

Please leave a comment or five (!!!) for Patty to let her know how beautiful her project is! You can also check out her blog and Facebook Page. Thank you so much for stopping by!

~SUPPLIES~

Poinsettia 3D Die Set [ ALTN ] Just Leaves Die Set [ ALTN ] Caps Bold Alphabet Die Set [ ALTN ] Birch Forest Stamp Set [ ALTN ] Watercolor Paper Set (A2 loose sheets) [ ALTN ] Gradient Cardstock Set – Summer… [ ALTN ] Moonrock Cardstock (25 sheets/set) [ ALTN ] Silver Lake Crisp Dye Ink [ ALTN ] Green Valley Crisp Dye Ink Mini Cube Set [ ALTN ] Rose Petal Dye Ink Re-inker Set [ ALTN ] Green Valley Dye Ink Re-inker Set [ ALTN ] Antique Gold Metallic Ink Spray [ ALTN ]