Shadow Box

Following on with my Art in a box adventures is this shadow box, made as part of an art group swap. There was no set theme for this swap, just that it has to be a shadow box of some kind, so I used a piece of 12x12 card to make my base box leaving me with approx seven and a half inches of space to fill within the frame.

I used heavy weight purple card stock and after I made the folds (but before I put the box together) I stamped it with black archival and a crackle stamp (from Andy Skinners TOXIC set).  Then I cut my background paper and adhered that before folding the box to create the frame section. 

It was at this point I decided I wasn't so keen on the pattern on the paper or the depth of colour of the pattern (I wasn't sure what it was to be honest)  and so I ended up going over it lightly with some white gesso just to fade and blend the pattern a little in places. After that I used some texture paste through a script stencil and  set it aside to dry. In future I think I will do all of that first because I managed to get a little gesso on the frame and didn't notice it until it was dry...white gesso smear on purple looked awful so I had to touch up the affected parts with purple paint... all of which could have been avoided if I did the messy stuff to the background before I assembled it all. Needless to say, Lesson learned!

The rest was all about choosing and prepping chipboard elements, flowers, gems etc and putting it all together. I did not have time to mess with it any longer but I think if it was staying here with me I may well have tinkered with it a bit more...but I had to call it done and get it packaged up and on its way. I hope the recipient will like it when she opens the package.

Until next time
Cxx

Match box Art

This week I have been playing around with "box art" or  Art in a box and I have tried several different types...the first of which is this matchbox art.

I used distress oxides with a baby wipe through a stencil before assembling the box and the sleeve and also for the belly band which was a last minute addition, I added some stamped and heat embossed shells and  starfish as decoration.

Once the belly band is removed , a simple push from one end of the matchbox will start to reveal what is inside...

until the box is fully opened and

the whole scene is revealed...

For the inside I used a gesso base, topped with acrylics in shades of blue and white and once dry I stamped the gulls in the top corner before I assembled the base box. Painting all the surfaces before assembly means the roof side and base are all painted as part of the scene.

The tree and boat were stamped onto a piece of card, coloured and cut and I used a scored strip to pop this up halfway into the box base. The front of the scene was finished with some mica granite flakes and some art stones adhered with heavy body gel.

This was my very first attempt at anything like this and it was a challenge working on such a small scale but I learned stuff and had fun along the way.

Until next time

Cxx

Busy making cards

I have been really busy this past week making lots (and lots) of birthday cards, including some pretty cool milestones birthday cards,  but I can't share them on here because they were personalised with photos ....

So instead, here is a summery themed card I made for a buddy . For this I used a velvet card base which feels amazing to the touch (shame you can't appreciate that in a picture)  and I used  an old Stampin' Up! set along with a bee stamp from VLVS. Distress Oxide for the background and markers for the rest. The dragonfly I stamped direct to the card and also stamped two images onto vellum and heat embossed them both. Layered up they give more of an "in-flight" effect. I was quite pleased with how it turned out and I hope my buddy likes it... it is winging its way to her as I type ;)

This week I am working on a couple of projects and depending how they turn out (and the jury is out on that one at the moment) I hope to have something to share soon

Until next time

Cxx

Cray cray yeah

This week has been quite busy and little hectic at times. Aside from all the mundane stuff, I have begun facilitating a series of regular sessions as a volunteer with the Arts Programme at our local hospice and that was something new and it was fun.  There was also chocolate making and cake decorating alongside my card making this week and we managed to get a little of all done.  I didn't make any chocolates but I did add chocolate and lemon sprinkles to a cupcake... which I later ate...it was delicious! The maker of the cakes did get a Thank You card at the end of the session.

I don't have any photos of the card making to share, but instead there is this tag which I have made for a swap on UK Stampers. This used a Kraft card base which I cut with a tag die, some acrylic paints, background stamps and the image from Tim Holtz's Hipster set. All in all a fun set and a fun tag

Until next time

Cxx

NOT the prettiest Coaster in the world...

I have  a desperate need to tidy my craft space...and so what do I end up doing? Making stuff with odd things I have lying around of course!

And today I spotted a pile of old seasonal catalogues from SU that should really be destined for the recycling bin... but then that old I'm sure I could make something with these thing kicked in and there I was tearing and rolling catalogues...until I had a basket of pretty strong paper straws...

I cut a 10cm square piece of kraft card, added some gel matt medium and started pressing the straws lightly onto the base until it covered. I then brushed the whole thing with a thin layer of mat medium and left it to dry, before trimming the overlapping pieces from each side.

Then I applied paint... I did not gesso first - I'm not sure why I skipped this because I pretty much always gesso everything before I add paint, and to be honest if I do this again I will add a layer of gesso before I start painting, but this was a practice run and nothing was harmed so I just added paint... and I kept adding paint until I was pretty happy with it.

Once it was all painted I then painted extra rolled paper straws to use to cover the open ends on two sides of my project. I tried adding a border all the way round but it was not working so I gave up... Once the straws were dry I added them and then painted over again...

Once everything was all stuck down, painted and dry I used a background stamp and some black archival ink to add some interest...

This coaster will definitely not win any prizes and it is absolute NOT the prettiest coaster in the world, but its mine and I had fun.

Until next time

Cxx