Inspired at McDonald’s

Inspiration can come from anywhere — even the bathroom at McDonald’s.

It’s true. I’ve been inspired by ads, commercials, quilts, other scrappers and much more, but this is the first time I found inspiration in the bathroom of McDonald’s! OK, so I have to admit, the entire place was inspirational. The McDonald’s we stopped at to use the WiFi while we were on vacation was in Muskegon. Inside the restaurant, there was a huge vintage photo of downtown Muskegon. I spent quite a while staring at it, but figured I would make the people eating near it uncomfortable if I took a photo.

However, when I used the bathroom, I was all alone and had no problem snapping a few photos so I could replicate it in my scrapbook.

This is the tile … I loved the way it changed color as you looked at it from different angles and the way it appeared to shimmer. I knew immediately that it wouldn’t be hard to replicate in paper, but I didn’t want to forget how it looked, so I took my camera into the bathroom and snapped away. It isn’t the first time I’ve taken photos in a public bathroom, nor the first time I have been inspired by tile, so I wasn’t very shy.

Here’s the results of my inspiration …

And, here’s a close-up …

I started with Kraft Glassine paper from Tim Holtz.

Using a piece of blending foam, I applied Ranger’s Perfect Medium to the paper and then added a variety of colors of Perfect Pearls, repeatedly, working in layers and going in perpendicular directions until I achieved the look I wanted.

Then, I cut the paper into 1″ squares.

Finally, I covered them with a thin layer of Glossy Accents, dragging a paint brush across the adhesive as it began to dry for more texture.

I let them dry over night on the Nonstick Craft Sheet and then used the scrapper tool to lift them up. I trimmed off the leftover glue and then attached them to the page, leaving a little room for “grout”.

The title was cut from one of the Sizzix Dies by Tim Holtz. I used Distress Ink around the edges and added small dots with the Glaze pen by Sakura. I placed it on the page with dimensional foam adhesive.

The letters are chipboard and from Maya Road. I inked them in Painted Shutters Distress Ink and then painted them with several colors of Perfect Pearls, mixed with water. As a final touch, I lightly dabbed a bit of Black Soot Distress Ink over the top. Once dry, I used Art Glitter Designer Dries Clear Adhesive to attach them.

Then, I added photos and a few brads and called it done. What do you think?