Memories are Cracks in Time

Hi everyone, hope you've had a lovely weekend ^^

One of my favorite ways to try out new ideas and techniques is taking part in a craft challenge, there's just something about a theme thrown at you that gets the creative juices flowing. Simon Says Stamp have a couple of great challenge blogs, and in this week's Monday Challenge the theme is 'crack it up' - no way I'd skip that! YUM
It was one of those cases when one idea sparks the next, and I had a lot of fun experimenting and playing along.

The challenge title gave me several ideas for techniques and mediums I could use - from stencils to crackle paste - and I ended up combining most of them in the background. You can see the stenciling in two corners. The large 'crack' was done by stamping into the wet texture paste, then I added some crackle paste. I really like how the two pastes combined as they dried and the cracks appeared. I then added some color with sprays and some shading with markers.

For a focal image I immediately thought of this awesome broken pocket watch stamp by Visible Image. I decided to give it some dimension by stamping it a few times, then cutting out and layering pieces in different heights, I even glued some of them at an angle to give the feel of movement, as if the watch had burst from the inside out. To add texture and shine to the watch I selectively clear embossed some of the the base to create depth, and on the shards I brushed some Nuvo crystal drops for subtle shine and used the same drops to create a raised shiny border on the frame and metal ring. I added some Distress Mica Flacks here and there to emulate broken glass. I finished it with a couple of clock hands for Tim Holtz's Idea-ology.

The combination of the clock image and the challenge title brought the idea of memories as cracks in time. I really like it because a) it's sort of true and b) it gives an interesting twist to the often negative associations of 'crack'. I'll definitely come back to this idea in future projects, it really got the wheels turning, but for now - hope you like this little experiment!