Gears and sprockets tableau by Chris W

Gears and sprockets are so popular and I find myself reaching for them all the time as elements on my altered art pieces. I bought the Tim Holtz Gears Texture fade set and the moment I saw it, it cried out for a tableau dedicated just to gears and sprockets.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love the metal gears embellishments but if you’re an avid ‘gears’ fan (as I am) then it gets expensive to keep buying multiple packets of the metal ones so the answer had to be investing in dies. A friend told me that die cuts just aren’t the same, no, they’re not, dies are far better because you can choose the material you’re cutting, distress them, emboss them, embroider them, paint them, stitch them, shall I go on, lol? You know me, unless I can get multiple and frequent uses out of a die then I usually don’t buy it. I’m fortunate because over time I’ve invested in the Tim Holtz Bigz die, the Movers and shapers and the Spellbinders sprockets but I use them so often that they’ve certainly paid for themselves.

There are some unusual items on this tableau and I appreciate that you may not have them in your crafting cupboard but there are lots of alternatives you can use instead to get a very close match to mine. The first is a wooden tag and, as you can see, it’s tied with strands of hessian. You can use an appropriately sized die cut for the tag and bakers’ twine or ribbon to tie it.

On the left of the tableau you’ll see I’ve used hessian. The ‘ribbon’ is actually plastic strapping used on parcels that has been stained with alcohol ink.

The Texture fade is quite detailed featuring gears and sprockets small through large. The resulting embossing lends itself to cards and scrapbooks for the guys as well as for your altered art.

This piece would make an unusual present for hubby, Dad, Grandad or any male you need to find a little gift for and remember Father’s Day in June. If you'd like the instructions to make this please click HERE.

Thanks for taking time out to visit, please feel free to comment. 

Chris xxx