Fourth Of July Vintage Card Swap - Cre8tor's Touch

I have been invited to join a swap being hosted by Patrick Gill of Cre8tor's Touch for the Fourth of July - it is a Vintage Card Swap, just like the one we did for Easter and I was VERY pleased and VERY flattered to be asked to participate. Here is the work in progress so far. I have to say that BusyLittleGnome was a BIG inspiration for this piece - she had shared an amazing project of hers - a large concrete gnome that she reworked into an Alice in Wonderland montage in relief sculpture (I am making up terms as I go so if I'm wrong, my apologies!) - here is what I have so far. I am also going to be using Crackle medium for the first time on this once the paint is done - any tips for a successful application would be MOST welcome...