Home Sweet Home Recycled Wall Hanging

 I had been perusing Pinterest to find something to do with all these friggin' buttons I had left over from when it was a big thing to put buttons on your cards {something I never really got into, but HAD to have all the stuff in case the moment grabbed me and I felt the urge to make hundreds of cards with buttons on them} and I found all these Christmas wall hangings with button trees on them So I actually made the Christmas wall hanging during the season this past year and decided I needed to make one that could be used all year long.  I came up with the Home Sweet Home wall hanging that I am using for this month's recycle challenge at River of Creativity {remember we are an Anything But a Card challenge!!}:

I started with an 8" x 10" wooden shadow box frame {no covering on this frame} that I had painted with white gesso and rubbed some gesso on the actual frame part to soften the darkness of the wood.  I took some Scrabble tiles I had {I have SO many of these tiles I am sure I could cover an entire wall

Making the Heart

with them} and spelled out Home Sweet Home to make sure the sentient would fit.  Then I cut out the largest heart using Tutti Nesting Stitched Hearts, #TUTTI-216, and covered it with the buttons.  I could NOT get the shape of a heart to work when trying to do it by hand, so I used the die cut as a template.  Since the background of the shadow box is white it is really difficult to see the white paper heart beneath the buttons.  Once I had finished the heart and glued it to the center of the shadow box, I glued down the Scrabble tiles.  I am really pleased how this came out! I think I could almost actually sell them if I could find a cheap source for the shadow frames; I have sourced a few and they are just too pricey right now - at least if I wanted to make a marginal profit and I can't see having to spend more money to use up the stash I already have.  But, I do have a project I made for my sister for Christmas that I was SURE I posted but can find no record of it, so more button projects on the way!

Getting back to the challenge on River of Creativity, this months theme is RECYCLE so if you'd like to use the theme make sure your entry has some sort of recycle, or upcycle in it.  We can't wait to see all the gorgeous entries! I am personally so pleased at how you all have embraced the changes we made to this challenge and it's a testament to how people are still creating other things besides cards! Thanks SO much and I hope to see you at the challenge ~ Fondly, Christi

I am entering my Home Sweet Home Wall Hanging in the following challenges:
Mix it Up Challenge, #59 - Anything 3D Goes
Creative Artiste Mixed Media Challenge, #82 - Anything Mixed Media Goes
A Perfect Time to Craft, #5 - Anything Goes
Mixed Media Lovers, #13 - Anything Goes
The Creative Crafters, #51 - Anything Goes
We Love to Create, #5 - Anything Goes

River of Creativity's November Challenge "The Gift"

Hi all!! I took this month's challenge at River of Creativity literally and made a gift :) I don't exchange holiday gifts with my family, my mother is blind so she can no longer appreciate my art {and she has more clothes than she can wear!}, my brother, well, he's my brother and while he will admire what I make he really couldn't care less and my sister has become my biggest cheerleader.  I made this shadow box for her as she decorates for the holiday {I mean it looks like every holiday icon has thrown up in her apartment}.  Since we have so many cats I no longer decorate for the holidays - if I like something it stays up all year long and most of that is not really in the spirit of the winter festivities.  Anyway, I made this little shadow box as a gift, hence it fits the challenge :) I hope you have made something that fits the challenge; we are fairly easy and if you are stuck these prompts might help: the gift of your art, your love or just sharing appreciation for the changing season.

I began the box {that I found in a big box store for, get this, .99!! You can get yours by following this link} by getting a piece of packing foam and cutting it down to the size of the snow drift I wanted in the box.  The material I used isn't Styrofoam, it has some give to it and it

isn't as dense; plus {BIG PLUS} you don't get all those little pills everywhere from cutting it. Once I had the piece in the right size I literally slathered it with Multi Medium Matte just using my fingers.  I then used "snow" I purchased from the Dollar Tree.  I set that aside to dry and painted the box white, waiting overnight for them both to fully set and dry.  Once the box and the hill were dry, I glued the hill into the box and added the blue sky using a dry brush and Blue Violet Opal Magic Paint.  Next, I added the trees {also a Dollar Tree purchase}, the trees came on little wooden circles but I just unscrewed them so I used just the tree. I made the little house out of cardstock using the dies from this Lawn Fawn set, and the sentiment is also from Lawn Fawn.  I had all the little sparkly and clay snowflakes in my stash as well as the snowflakes on the sides of the sentiment; they were actually buttons and I just snipped off the shanks! 

I hope my sister likes her gift; I am sure she will, and if she doesn't, she won't tell me LOL. I also hope I have inspired you to join us for the Gift challenge at River of Creativity - we happily take ALL crafts! Hope to see you there ~ Fondly, Christi 

I am entering my gift to the following challenges:
TTCRD - Anything Goes
The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas Goes
Country View Challenges - Christmas Gifting
Moving Along with the Times, #136 - Anything But a Card (entry 2)
Classic Design Team Challenge, #11 - Anything Goes
Pearly Sparkles Challenge, #68 - Merry Christmas
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Any Holiday Occasion
Lawn Fawnatics, #112 - Make the Sentiment the Star

PS: If you'd like to see my other Shadow Boxes, here is the Fall one {it lights up!}
and here is the Halloween one :)

Fall Light Up Shadow Box

This is the 3rd Shadow Box I've made in the last 2 months and I am having SO much fun getting messy and creative! When I first started stamping I was much more involved in mixed media than I am now and it's a blast to get back into some 3D art.  I LOVE this wall hanging and it was really easy to make so let's get started on the details!

I added full sized pictures of both the unlit and lit boxes at the end
of this post if you want to see them full sized.
Plus in this photo they are a bit blurry to me but I can't seem to get them crisper.

The back of the box

I used one of these small {5" x 5"} wooden shadow boxes that I found in a well known large craft store - they also had some other sizes - and the price was so good, I bought a bunch of them {which is why I've made so many in such a short period of time - I am positive there will be many, many more to come}.  This time I broke out the hot glue gun; which I am NOT proficient at, but I rarely use it.  I started by figuring out how the lights would work around the outside of the box and once I had the spacing down, I hot glued them all around the box.  There were two left over but I just snipped them off.  I got the lights at the Dollar Tree store and I think I need to go back and get some more 'cause I think they are just adorable being shaped like little leaves.  I did drop the entire string and cracked the case the batteries go in so that it wouldn't close anymore, but I quickly fixed that with a twist tie.  I like that you can turn the lights on or off with just a switch.

Next I needed something to fill in around the lights so I used Lawn Fawn's Fall Leaves Backdrop;  I just used the leaves that are extras, not the actual frame.  I cut two of each leaf in a bunch of colors I found in my scrap box, and then cut the acorn stems out of dark brown and the acorn bodies out of Kraft.  I also used the hot glue gun to attached the leaves all around and I can now see why everyone loves these guns.  The glue sets SO fast and I had no issues with attaching the leaves to the bumpy wire that I bunched together between the leaves that light up.  Once I was done with the frame, I added berry garland that I also found at the Dollar Tree; I just left it in the circle it came in instead of unwrapping it.  Lastly, I used Kelly Alpha Lower from Pinkfresh for the word fall.  I chose red for the sentiment since I feel it stands out a bit more.  While I try to make most of my 3D art able to either sit on a shelf or hang this one needs to hang on a nail about 1 1/2" away from the wall to accommodate the power box on the back.  I think next time I will try to put it on the frame and hide it.  I probably could of done that here but as usual I didn't know what I was going to use for what.

I hope you like my little shadow box!  Like I said, I had SO much fun making it! As well as the others I've made.  I'm glad I bought a bunch of them!  Now if I can find room to set up my Silhouette machine I just might make some signs next :)  Thanks so much for stopping by & see you soon! Christi

Thanks again!!

I am entering my project in the following challenges:
We Love to Create, #11 - Anything Goes
Mix it Up Challenge Blog, #55 - Anything Goes + 3D project
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Any Holiday Occasion
Challenge up Your Life, #141 - Interactive
Moving Along with the Times, #136 - Anything but a Card
NBUS, #32 - Everything is new except the Alphabet :)
Creative Friday, #293 - Anything But a Card

Haunted Times Wall Hanging

If you are looking for the Cat Lovers Blog Hop post, click here :)

 As I was scouring the internet for Halloween miniatures I stumbled across these small {5" x 5"} wooden shadow boxes in a well known large craft store - they also had some other sizes - and the price was so good, I bought a bunch of them. I try to make something 3D for Halloween every year {last year I made a spell book that you can see here} and this shadow box is this years' 3D project.  It's the first time I used one of my new shadow boxes and I had a blast making it! 

 

Haunted Times

First, I primed the wooden box with white gesso, then painted it black.  While the box was drying I shaped the skeleton, which I got at the Dollar Tree {they are sold in a garland with 4 or 5 of the plastic skeletons tied to a piece of jute. Since the skeletons are plastic, I heated up where I wanted with my heat gun and gently bent him; a plus is that their arms and legs move so even though I bent his legs to make knees the left leg is movable still. This way the box can either be hung on the wall and his leg can dangle, or you can gently put his foot onto the bottom of the shadow box and have it sit on a shelf. I shaped him to be sitting down by bending his legs and I bent his arms to create elbows.  I glued googly eyes to him and set him aside.  I also purchased the hay bales, the silver bat sticker and the background ribbon I used in the box from the Dollar Tree. 

 

I cut the ribbon to fit the back of the box and glued that down, glued a Tim Holtz/Idea-ology drippy candle onto another hay bale and put some googly eyes on the pumpkin which I sat on some paper leaves from my stash.  The metal letters used to spell out spooky are from Memory Makers, which has gone out of business, they were actually buttons, but I trimmed off the shank.  I cut Happy Halloween from DCWV metallic silver glitter paper using an Impression Obsession die and attached that to the back wall of the box, glued the silver bat under that and added the hay bale with the candle on it to the scene. The last thing I made was the "Haunted Times" newspaper; this is the reason that Mr. Skelly Ton has the googly eyes.  See, he is reading about himself in the gossip portion of the newspaper.  I actually typed up the paper and sized it down to fit in his hands which makes it almost too small to read so I thought I'd post the entire newspaper above.  You will need to click on the image to be able to read it.  If he had lips they'd be open in surprise but he doesn't so let's move on.

Lastly, I glued Skelly Ton on the hay bale, attached the newspaper to his hands and I was done!  I Hope you find this as humerus {see what I did there?} as I do and enjoyed the peek into Skelly's life ~ thanks so much for stopping by and above all, reading the entire post! Christi

Entering my Halloween Wall Hanging in the following challenges:
Creative Artiste Mixed Media Challenge Blog, #76 - Anything Mixed Media Goes
My Time to Craft - Halloween or Fall Colors {Halloween}
More Mixed Media Challenge - Anything Goes, Option of Orange
Crafty Catz, #569 - Anything Goes w/ Option of Layers
Mixed Media Palace - Mood Board {inspired by all the Halloween-like pictures}
Mix it Up Challenge - Anything Goes
The Corrosive Challenge - Anything Goes
Use Your Stuff, #434 - Halloween or Pumpkins
Love to Scrap, #150 - Anything But a Card
Mixed Media Academy Challenge Blog - Mood board & compulsory item is BUTTONS {word spooky was buttons, I removed the shank!}

 

On The Prairie with Hero Arts

Thank you SO much for stopping by and I hope you can join us at a2z Scrapbooking! This month's theme is anything goes and I am SURE you have something whipped up that you can enter!

Ever since I made the Angel Ornaments, my muse has been begging to play with some more decor and answering the call is what prompted me to make this cow skull shadow box.  This die was in a goodie box that was sold by a well known paper artist {the proceeds were donated} and at first I was stumped as to how I was going to use it.  I've always been attracted by Southwestern style art and I used to have a huge cow skull with feathers and whatnot.  I no longer have that cow skull so I decided to make myself another one.  

What I Used to Make my Art:
Blick Canvas Panel, 5" x 7"
Blick Artists' White Gesso
Shadow Box Frame {bought on eBay years ago}
Hero Arts On the Prairie Fancy Die, #DI511
Light Green, Green, Pink, Red, Yellow and Blue Card
Distress Oxide Inks in Wild Honey, Vintage Photo, Fossilized Amber and Gathered Twigs
Distress Sprayer
White Card
White Craft Foam {I use Creatology™ from Michael's, 6mm, 9" x 12"}

Before                                After

Years ago I bought a bunch of shadow boxes through eBay.  I bought different sizes and frame colors and I've been saving them {for what I don't know} but it was time I started to use these supplies that I've kept packed away.  The frame I envisioned for this piece was weathered so the first thing I did was sand down the frame slightly, cover it with gesso and sand it a bit more once it was dry.  Originally, the frame was a medium brown and, as you can see by the picture, I did a fair amount of work to make it look like it had been out in the harsh sun, rain, and other elements for years. 

In between working on the frame, I started to make the panel.  Using Distress Oxide inks I colored the panel, giving what I think is a more Southwestern feel.  I used some ink blending brushes and, to get the depth of color I wanted, I inked, spritzed, inked again, and spritzed again quite a few times, drying each layer of ink before applying the next.  I just kept on reworking the colors until I was happy with the outcome.  Once I was satisfied, I put the panel aside to dry completely overnight.

I ended up making two different skulls; on the first one I used foam core to get

Not in the Frame Yet

the dimension I wanted.  But when I cut the foam core board, the board got crushed too much and I didn't want to use a smooshed focal point.  I used craft foam for the second skull and it came out much better.  The craft foam held up to the die cutting machine much better than the foam core board {you can see all about the craft foam I use HERE}.  I did end up using the first skull on a matching card so it didn't go to waste.  Once the shape was cut, I layered two pieces of cut white card on the top and, while that was fully drying, I cut out the flowers and

Some Dimension

the leaves.  As usual, I cut out more than I needed so I also made a wreath out of the leftovers but I haven't used it yet.  I still think it's better to have too many embellishments than not enough!  I added the flowers and leaves to the cow skull and glued it to the panel.  Lastly, the panel was put in it's new home and it is ready to display proudly.  What do you think? Are you planning on any home decor or 3D projects in the near future? I'd love to hear about it! {and yes, that is a pop top on the back of the hanging - they are free and work just fine to hang something!}

I hope I get to see your NEW creations and that you join up at a2z Scrapbooking! Thanks so much for stopping by! I appreciate your support! ~ Fondly, Christi

I am Entering my On the Prairie Project in the following challenges:
Scrapy Land - M, Anything Goes w/ a Brand of Die they sell
TTCRD - Anything Goes
Crafty Friends - Animals/Birds
Cardz TV - Anything Goes {entry 2}
A Blog Named Hero - M, Crafter's Choice
Bleeding Art Challenge - Anything Goes
More Mixed Media - Anything Goes {I did not use the option of Blue}
Happy Little Stampers - Dies - Anything Goes with Dies {badge below}
Happy Little Stampers Mixed Media - Layers - the skull is layered {badge below}

It's Getting Close to Halloween!

Close enough for me to begin decorating and creating!  I got these really cool "salad grabbers" at the Dollar Tree - they are made from a skeleton arm and hand, and you get 2 of them! I just HAD to grab them and I have been painting them with glow in the dark paint; my goal is to stick them on the lawn so they appear to be coming up from the dirt, BWAHAHHAHHH!! 

As soon as I spied the Lawn Fawn Shadow Box Card die set I knew I had to have it.  Once I had the set, I watched the Lawn Fawn Video on how to assemble the card and saw fabulous ideas from their design team.  I can see holiday ornaments in my recipients futures!  Anyway, since the video tells you how to assemble the card I won't be going into that detail, however, please be aware that sticky tape DOES go bad.  Apparently, you cannot keep it for 20 years, find it, and try to use it to make something.  Also, mono-adhesive leaves a strip wider than where you want the adhesive to go, lastly, wet glue doesn't work AT ALL.  Yes, I made a HUGE mess, swore like a sailor and scared the fur babies (in my defense, they are SO cute when they puff up!) and finally got my adhesive nightmare under control.  Needless to say there is an order for more 1/8" wide tape on it's way to my door.  So, back to the card:

This is What I Used to Make my Card:

Black Card (for shadow box)

Light Brown Card (for hills)

Orange Card (for pumpkins)

Watercolor Card 

Lawn Fawn Shadow Box Card, LF1486

Lawn Fawn Costume Party Stamps, LF1458

Lawn Fawn Costume Party Dies, LF1459

Hero Arts Intense Black Ink

Paper Smooches Wise Dies Streamers, KFBD029 (here is a nice substitute)

Derwent Water Color Pencils

Stampin' Up! Blender Pens

Circle Punch

Yellow Card

Pop Dot

I made the Shadow Box and attached the hills as instructed on the video.  Then came the fun part.  As some of you may know, I get on these coloring kicks where I color & color & cut and then, days,

View From the Top

sometimes months later, I use the items I colored.  Well, I did the same with all the cute costumed folks in the Costume Party set.  I colored and cut like a madwoman.  I even have candy corn, chocolate bars and adorable individually wrapped candies ready to use.  I picked out a witch and a mummy to you in this card.  I gave the mummy a cute little pumpkin candy catcher and set a plain pumpkin near my witch.  Once I was happy with the placement, I stuck all the elements down.  I also used a nice bright yellow card, punched a moon out and pop dotted that to the upper right corner.  For the grand finale, I made a Happy Halloween banner as a sentiment. 

A2 Envie - ooops!

This scrumptious little shadow box will close to fit into a standard A2 envelope so it requires NO EXTRA POSTAGE! That is a huge selling point to me!  As you can see from my pictures below, mine did not fit in an A2 envie, due to the placement of the banner.  However, it fit like a charm in an A7 envelope, and assuming you haven't stuffed the envelope full of rocks, it should also be able to go out to the USA with one "forever" stamp. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and I hope you'll get inspired to make some screamingly cool Halloween goodies! Christi

Don't forget to play along at the Dies R Us Challenge Blog for your chance to win a gift voucher to the Dies R Us Store.  A new challenge begins on the first and fifteenth of every month.  

Be sure to Follow Us on FACEBOOK too. 

click below for:

STORE

CHALLENGE BLOG
FACEBOOK
INSPIRATION BLOG

FRIENDS OF DIES R US PINTEREST PAGE

Another Look :)

I would like to enter my Halloween Shadow Card in the following challenges, found at Challenges for Days (shameless plug): 

Cuttlebug Mania - M,  Anything Goes w/ Dies and/or Embossing

Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

Happy Little Stampers - Sept. Anything Goes with Dies Challenge 

One Crazy Stamper - M, Seasons of Celebration

Crafty Catz - Halloween

Crafty Friends Challenge - #66, To Use Dies and/or Punches

Allsorts - #433, Feels Like Autumn 

Lawn Fawnatics - #13, Inspiration Board (see below)

Thank you & hope to see you at Dies R Us! 

Bird in a Birch Tree Shadow Box

I love birch trees - always have.  I remember being fascinated as a child at how the bark just peeled off.  So when I saw the cut out on JittoBear's website I knew I had to get it!  I know it's officially spring, but it is snowing (yes, it is really snowing - and not just a flurry either! We got about 5 inches) here in my area of Colorado, so I felt that a nice spring scene just wasn't going to do it for me. So, here is my Bird in a Birch Tree Shadow Box:

You can see how I made the trees look like Birch Trees

What I Used to Make this Project:
Shadow Box 8" x 6"
Golden Acrylic Paint in Carbon Black
Birch Tree Cut Out
Gesso
Tim Holtz Distress Marker Spritzer
Tim Holtz Distress Marker in Black Soot
Red Cardstock
Black Cardstock 
Brown Cardstock
Martha Stewart Paper Punch - Bird
Silhouette Machine for Frame
Crafters Pick The Ultimate Glue

I have had this shadow box for years - and I have more somewhere in this house - I bought them off of eBay when I still lived in Connecticut - it was so long ago I think I was still married! The only issue with the boxes is the glass does

All Taped Up!

not come out, so it can be a bit tricky to paint.  But, I taped the glass panel on the box up and painted the wood black, letting it dry in between coats.  I must of painted this box 800 times (it felt like 800 times) - I kept finding spots I missed! But, better that I got to fix them then be embarrassed later when I give the gift.

Once I had the box painted, I set about making a frame for the inside. The birch tree chipboard doesn't quite go to the top of the window, so I measured the inside (the best I could) and made a few frame templates with my Silhouette machine to make sure I got the correct size. After I cut the frame, I set it aside and set about making the birch trees look like birch trees.

I used white gesso, brushed it on, and then used my finger to swipe the gesso,

Bare Trees

while leaving some of the chipboard brown showing through.  After I felt they looked pretty good I spritzed 
the trees with the Ranger Spritzer and Black Soot marker. I thought I took a picture of the trees before I out them in the shadow box, but either the camera ate it, or I forgot. I'm betting it was the camera. Next, I just punched the bird out of the red cardstock and assembled the piece.  Lastly, I used a piece of dark brown cardstock as my backdrop, it was just glued on to the back of the shadow box.

Thank you for stopping by and checking out my Bird in a Birch Tree shadow box.  If you have a moment, please stop by the JittoBear site and see all the ready made chipboard cuts they have.  And remember, they specialize in custom cuts - they can make you anything (I have a few customs that I have yet to use). Also, please consider subscribing to my blog and help me meet my goal of 100 subscribers ~ Fondly, Christi

Another look - sorry about the glare - it's a constant struggle!

I would like to enter my Bird in a Birch Tree Shadow Box in the following challenges:
Allsorts - #310 - Use 2 Die Cuts (the trees and the bird) NOTE: I wasn't sure if my project would be OK to enter, but I saw no where on the challenge site that said your entry must be a card, so here it is!
Brown Sugar Challenge Blog - #145, Layers
Moving Along With the Times - Birds and/or Feathers
2 Creative Chicks - M, #26, Anything Goes (no cards) 
Animal Friends Challenge - M, Use a Bird
Design Team Showcase - #12, Anything Goes - project made for a DT you are on (voting starts 5/23)
Through the Craft Room Door (wk ending May 11, 2015) Always Anything Goes
Clear it Out Challenge - Anything Goes
Decorate to Celebrate - Anything Goes

Anything But a Card ~ Keys Shadow Box

ARGH! I hate it when my scheduled post doesn't post!! 

The challenge this month at Anything But A Card Challenge is one of my favorite themes, Anything Goes (#37).  I love Anything Goes challenges as they give me free reign to use some of the items I have hoarded over the years, like the shadow box I used in this project.  Well, honestly, most of what I used has been in my stash for years.  It was fairly simple to make and since I had everything on hand, it was free!

Sorry for the glare - glass!!

What I Used to Make This Project:

Shadow Box, mine was about 13” x 10” (the frame was darker, so I sanded it)

Background paper from KaiserCraft, Art of Life Collection, P1399, Always (2 pieces) 12" x 12"

8 Skeleton Keys

Washi Tape from Tim Holtz

Brown Velvet Leaves (I can’t recall where I got them, but if you search you can find plenty of options)

Small Bulb from Tim Holtz

Other Embellishments from stash & around the house

Crafters Pick The Ultimate Glue

I began with the background paper.  Since my shadow box is 13” long, I needed a bit of something to fill in where the 12” x 12” paper fell short. 

 

You can see the sides of the board - this was before I put the scalloped pieces on

The Keys

I happened to turn the paper over and found the scallop border design on the other side, so I just cut those out of the paper and used those to make up the difference.  Once I got the background settled, the placement of the keys was next. I wanted them to be the focus of the piece so in the middle they went.  I honestly am not on to measure and be precise, I always do it by eye when I make cards, but I actually measured the area around the keys so they could be placed as close to the middle as possible (as possible for me anyway).  Once I was happy with the keys, I glued them to the board and put it aside for overnight drying. 

I had already begun gathering some prospective embellishments before I began making the shadow box.  I am always thinking (obsessing?) about upcoming projects and I think a lot before I actually begin one. Of course I have those days where I just want to play, but if I have a theme, I often think for days prior to beginning the piece.  I tried doing the sketchbook thing, can’t do it, can’t draw what I want to and this frustrates me to NO end.  I will occasionally make notes if something strikes me that I fear I might forget.  And, since I started blogging as a part of teams, I do make a list of the items I use to make something so when it comes time to do this part I can be sure of what I used and if I can, I like to supply manufactures (I hate seeing something really cool and not having any idea what people used in making it).  Sorry for the detour into my creative process! I had gathered some stuff that had been hanging around; one item is particularly special for me is the pen nib.  When my Dad passed away, I found this pen nib in a drawer along with some other art materials and have squirreled it away – I think this was the perfect use for it!  Everything is real, except for the bulb and the keyhole – the keyhole was a brad and I just removed the “legs”.  The snippet of letter on the bottom right is from a real letter, the typewriter key (or is it an old adding machine key?) is real, the clock dial is real and the optic piece is from a real optometrist kit.  Flea markets & eBay are wonderful!

Playing with Placement

Playing with Placement

After I fiddled with the placement of the embellishments, and fiddled some more, I finally felt the piece was done and glued everything down.  After allowing it to dry overnight (and I am SO proud to say I didn’t get spare glue anywhere!) I placed the board in the back of the box.  Now, originally, there was a piece of cardboard as the backing, but I knew that would never work, so I asked if I could get a piece of wood cut to size.  My SO used an old cabinet that was left here when the previous owners moved out.  Love to recycle that kinda stuff! The wood fit the back so perfectly I didn’t even need to glue it to the box – I just folded the little holders and I was done!  The only thing missing is a hanging mechanism, which I will rectify on my next trip to the wonderful Dollar Tree.

The board, before I put it in the frame

I hope you enjoyed my creation, and my detour into my creative process! There is plenty of time to enter the Challenge at Anything But a Card and I do hope you will pop over to the blog and get some inspiration.  Thank you so much for stopping by! Have a marvelous week ~ Christi

PS: If you'd like to see a photo in more detail, please click it. This is true on all of my posts :)

Another view of the final product

I am entering my Keys Shadow Box in the following Challenges:
Crafting at the Weekend - Challenge 3, Anything Goes

Altered Eclectics - Anything Goes
Just for Fun Challenge Blog - #1, Anything Goes
Mixed Media Monthly Challenge - July Challenge (Around the House)
Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
The Sailing Pineapple - #11,  Anything But a Card

Halloweenie (?) Shadow Box (yep, another one!)

I made this little shadow box from one I got at the Dollar Store – I have had it in my stash forever but I knew someday it’d come in handy and I’d know just what to do with it.  Halloween is definitely one of my top 3 favorite holidays – I love spooky stuff and candy!  The box is only 8 ¼” from the very tip top to the bottom and 7 ¼” side to side so it isn’t very big but I love the little cubby holes and I wish I had bought more. I don't have any pictures of the construction of the box as it's fairly cut & dry; if you have any questions you can either leave a comment for me or use the "contact me" form.

First I gessoed the wooden shadowbox twice.  When I am working with wood, I am careful to ensure it is totally covered because wood will just soak up whatever medium you put on it and in the case of this, with all the nooks and crannies I wanted to be sure the entire box was covered.  And at this stage, I really didn’t know what I was going to do with the box and when I don’t know I try to prep for anything <grin>.

Here's the box after I painted it.

The paint is hand mixed dark gray acrylic (I used my trusty Golden acrylics); I just used some black paint and white paint until I found the color I liked & painted the whole box.  A trick I like to use when mixing paint is I mix it in a plastic cup so when I think I am done I can pop a piece of waxed paper over the top with an elastic and save the mix; inevitably I need the paint again, either to touch something up or fix a mistake and I have kept acrylic paint for days using this trick.  The last thing I want to do is try to mix the exact color because experience has shown me time & time again I won’t be able to do it.  Then when the project is done, or at least the painting part, I can just toss the cup away.  If I only need a little paint I will use those little plastic cups that come with liquid cold medicine and then I’ll wash the cup out and keep it; I have tried to do this with the regular cups but because they have ridges on the sides I can never get the paint out completely so I toss it even though I hate adding to trash.  I can never seem to get the perfect amount of paint out of the container – I always end up with too much, so this way I can at least try to save it.

Once my box was all painted, I started to fool around with finding things that fit in the cubby holes.  I measured one of the cubbies and cut little rectangles out of black and orange card stock but I kept having to trim them to fit in the holes. I measured again and again had to trim – well, come to find out ALL the cubbies were different sizes – oh JOY – at least it wasn’t my measuring skills this time, LOL.  But I decided I really didn’t want the box to be too Halloween like (Halloweenie?) in case I wanted to display it all year (I’m lucky, my honey likes creepy stuff too) so out when all the rectangles. 

I had gotten an order I placed and forget I even ordered the DCWV La Crème stack and once I saw it I thought, it was perfect for the background of the holes.  You can only see some of the paper but I like the fact that if you look really close you can spot it.  The pictures of the skulls, web, Devil, Edgar Allen Poe and the witch are all from clip art.  I got the really cool picture of the lady holding her head from Kris Dickinson’s blog called A Nostalgic Halloween (she is an amazing artist; check out her ATCs!), the two little girls are from a collage sheet from a company that’s gone out of business and the “eyes” face I had in my stash of photos – I don’t know where it came from but I think its Charles Manson.  The poison label at the top is an authentic label from my stash of pharmacy labels.  The swirl is a piece of Tim Holtz grudge board painted with acrylic black paint (I used my tip about the tiny cold medicine cups with the black paint.  Even though it wasn’t a hand mixed color I knew I missed some spots the first time I painted it and, like usual, I knew I’d splotch out much more paint that I needed, so I kept it in the little cup – worked great!).  The adorable black plastic cat is from an eBay purchase eons ago.  The 2 medicine bottles came from The Pork Chop Show – I glued little wooden circles (the size of bingo chips but without the number) to the back of them so I could have them stand out a bit.  The Dresden trim came from a kit club I used to belong to but it is easy to find online, I got the puffy fabric bat ribbon from the same club (but again, I am sure you can find it if you really want it).  I made the black crystal ball out of a marble glued to another little wood thingie (same as the kind I used above) painted silver with a Krylon Leafing pen.  I had the little bottle & ribbon in my stash as well as the little copper nuggets that are inside the bottle (I don’t even know what I am going to use the rest of the little nuggets for – don’t even know why or where I got them! <grin>).  The black chain came from a Dazzles sheet from Paper Wishes called Steampunk . I thought it would be cool to give the pictures some dimension so I picked a few, Edgar, the witch & the web and glued little wooden thingies (the same ones I used to make the crystal ball) to the backs of them and then glued them in place.

This is a view of the dimension.

 Lastly, the little drip of blood running down the side is a drip of resin I made when I had mixed too much.  Once it dried, I painted it with red acrylic paint on the flat side then just glued it on. 

Stunning isn't it?

There ya go – my Shadow Box – I really enjoyed making this a lot and I have quite a stash of various sized shadow boxes so I know I’ll make another one (I know I have one more with the cubbies in it - I just don't know where it's hiding). . .hmmm, is it too early for Christmas?

I would like to enter my shadow box in the following challenges:
My Crafty Life - Anything But a Card (over the end of November)

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Rhedd and Rosie Challenge - Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Anything Goes

Get Inky! - 3D Holiday

Creative Inspirations Paint - Anything Goes
Drunken Stampers - Goth or Halloween 
Left of Center Creative Challenges - Halloween or Creepy (entry 2)