ALTERED BOX

I had a gift to send to a friend so decided to alter a box to send with it . I wanted it to be pretty but at the same time grungy if that makes sense to you. I also wanted to experiment with some new supplies.

I was very happy with the outcome and below I explain more of the process and the supplies I've used.

The box was originally brown kraft coloured so the first thing I did was painted it inside and out with white Gesso.
Once dry, I stenciled on the lid with a baroque design using white modeling paste. On the sides of the box and the bottom I stenciled through the "Art Is" stencil by Crafters Workshop. This was left over night to dry out completely.

For the colour, firstly I used Delphinium Turqoise Starburst Spray by Lindy's Stamp Gang but rather than spraying I applied it with a brush for more control. While still wet, I  carefully sprinkled on a minute amount of Bister in Blue in various places and encouraged this to run around the stenciling with a brush. (Available from Art Journey.nl).This gave a fantastic effect with the shiny turquoise interleaved with the darker blue/black of the Bister. (Remember a tiny amount goes a very long way and the colour is very intense).

I dried everything then used Inka Gold wax paste in Steel Blue and Silver to add areas of extra sheen and to highlight the stenciling. (You need to buff it with a dry cloth to really bring out the shine).

I mixed some clear glass micro beads with some Gel Medium and some of the Lindy's stamp gang spray in a small pot and added it to the box lid in random places. This added extra texture and interest.

For decoration I added Cheese Cloth, silver leaves and white flowers which I'd painted the centers blue to co-ordinate.

The inside of the box was lined with a paper napkin which had a lovely sentiment.

As it was her birthday I included a card which I cut with my ScanNcut machine after making the design in their Canvas Software programme.

ScanNcut have included a new feature update into Canvas, where you can now add a dotted score line to your cuts. This can also be designated as a draw line so I was able to replace my blade with one of their special pens and create faux stitching around my patterned paper. Super fun and a very useful addition. So pat on the head to ScanNcut.

I hope you like my box and below is a YouTube video showing me creating this step-by-step.

Die-Namites Dies October Challenge

Die-namites Dies are holding a monthly sketch challenge to win a $25 gift certificate and this is my entry.

The challenge was to make a card using a sketch posted on their blog as a guideline. The requirement was to incorporate at least one of their dies and some burlap.

I chose to use the Daisy Bunch Die DN-1012 which I die-cut in black card to be a silhouette. (I have cut off and moved one of the daisies from the bottom into a higher position).




As well as burlap, the sketch also had a strip of lace, so I used black for this too, to tie in with the die-cut. My matting layers were also black.

 As my strip of burlap was a mustard colour I chose a similar shade of mustard for the background paper. I used the Tim Holtz Mini Baroque die for my center mat and cut the black matting layer by hand. The lettering was cut with my ScanNcut machine. To finish I added a few black sequins and filled in the daisy centers with Black Pearl Pen by Viva Decor..

I really like the quality of the Die-namites dies and they cut very well. They have  a good selection of patterns to choose from.

If you'd like to enter the challenge you have a few days left to post your entry.  http://www.die-namitesblog.com/  If not there's always next month.