Upcycled Jewelry Box using Graphic 45's Gilded Lily Collection

I was at a local thrift store and found a wooden jewelry box - it had a beautiful shape and black velvet lining, but the wood was terribly scratched - so I decided it was a perfect upcycling project! I took the box apart and primed all the wood sections with gesso and then added white crackle paste. After the crackle paste had dried, I rubbed the box with Distress Ink in Tattered Rose, making sure to get as much in the cracks as I could. Then, I sealed it with Soft Matte Gel so the Distress Ink wouldn't rub off when the box was used. Next came the really fun part - fussy cutting the Gorgeous Gilded Lily papers by Graphic 45 to embellish the jewelry box. For the lid, I have used two gorgeous ladies cut from the Ephemera Cards and the Gilded Lily title from the 8x8 paper. I also used the "Keep Calm and Adjust Your Tiara" tag from the Tags and Pockets. All the papers are edged with the Tattered Rose Distress Ink. I embellished the lid with a floral spray I created using gorgeous paper lilies (of course) and other flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts. I finished the embellishing with some flat-back pink pearls and pearl sprays.

Inside the lid was a perfect little recess to allow some more decorating - so I have fussy cut some figures from the 12x12 paper and surrounded them with an abundance of flowers and pearls. I've added in the side pieces from the 8x8 title page above and below the recess and included the "Let Them Eat Cake" quote and a tag from The Tags and Pockets inside it. 

Finally, I used a sheet of 12x12 paper and cut it to fit the bottom of the box and then put the feet back on, adding just a little more beauty to this upcycled jewelry box.

Oh, and in case you're curious - here are some "before" pictures of the jewelry box!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today - hope you enjoyed my upcycle of this jewelry box. It is so much fun to take something old and give it new life!  Happy Crafting!

'Ozymandias'-Inspired Reverse Canvas ~ Creative Embellisments

I have a new project to share with you today using Creative Embellishments chipboard and a Prima Relics & Artifacts resin piece. Every time I looked at this resin piece, it made me think of the poem Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley, so I decided to create a reverse canvas using the resin piece and a quote from the poem!

Ozymandias - Percy Bysshe Shelley

I met a traveller from an antique land

Who said: “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert . . . Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed:

And on the pedestal these words appear:

‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

I started out with a 6x6 canvas that was quite thick and coated the inside of the back and edges with heavy black gesso. I then wrapped the back of the canvas and sides with the "Forgotten City" paper from the Graphic 45 Kraft Reflections collection and inked the corners with Distress Ink in Black Soot.

I chose the Creative Embellishments Greek Frame and Spiral Square Panel because they suited the 'ancient ruin' theme of the canvas so well. I painted the chipboard pieces with Heavy Black Gesso and then added White Crackle Texture Paste, intentionally leaving a few spots on the chipboard black. Finally, once the crackle paste had dried, I randomly inked spots on the chipboard with Distress Ink in Antique Linen. I painted the resin piece with Clear Crackle Texture Paste and, once dry, inked parts of it with the Antique Linen Distress Ink. I raised the resin piece up about an inch from the bottom of the opening using spacers, giving the design extra dimension and revealing more of the Spiral Square Panel section at the back. I printed the quote on reverse side of some leftover Graphic 45 Kraft paper and inked the edges with Distress Inks in Antique Linen and Black Soot - I attached the quote with 3D Foam tape. I added some decorative grass, Prima flowers and Prima paperclips and finished off the embellishing by adding some of the white crackle paste in places on the flowers and then inking the dried paste with Antique Linen Distress Ink.  Here are a few more angles and close-ups!

This piece is already up on the wall in my craft room - it is one of my favourite pieces that I've created with great personal appeal for me.

A Vintage Shadow Box ~ Meg's Garden

Hi Crafty Friends! Today I am sharing a small shadowbox I made for Meg's Garden using the gorgeous Chantilly Cream papers and embellishments from the Meg's Garden store!

I used the Chantilly Cream 12x12 papers 04 and 06 to cover the inside and outside of the box, respectively. Then I used lots of cut-outs from the Cut & Create page and Papercraft pack to decorate each section of the box. All the papers and the edges of the box have been inked with Distress Ink in Vintage Photo. I've added in some gorgeous flowers, lace, metal trinkets, and trim from the Meg's Garden Store, as well as a few extra items from my stash. Finally, I finished off the box with a dash of Stampendous Bronze Luxe Mix (consisting of Mica Flakes and Glitter). I took lots of photos and close-ups to share with you so you can see all the details!

In these angled photos, you can see how I wrapped some lace from the Meg's Garden store around the edge of the shadowbox and added a little 'drawer pull' from my stash to the bottom of the box. The chocolate-coloured mesh ribbon that I used to create a 'hanger' for the box is also from Meg's Garden store.

Here are some close-ups of the different sections of the shadowbox so you can see all the little goodies tucked in to each opening!

Thanks so much for stopping by my Blog today! I hoped you enjoyed seeing my shadowbox project!

Meg's Garden Products Used:
Chantilly Cream Papers - 12x12 papers 04 and 06, Cut & Create Page, and Papercraft Pack
Meg's Bundle of Goodies - Temptations in Cream, Camel and Brown

Alice in Wonderland Art Journal Cover - Mixed Media Altered Book Cover

I've been having so much fun creating in my Alice in Wonderland Art Journal lately that I thought it was time for the journal to have a new Alice-themed cover! I've been using images cut from the book Puzzles in Wonderland on my journal pages, so I decided to use the cover of that book and alter it for my journal cover. I started off by cutting the front and back covers off the book and taping the cut edge with some 7 Gypsies Alpha Tape. Next, I used a large circle mask with some 3D Matte Gel to protect some of the cover images that I wanted to keep revealed. Once that had dried, I painted the rest of the cover with Heavy Black Gesso and then used Clear Crackle Paste with the distressed Harlequin Stencil to get the cover pattern/texture. Next I misted the cover with a gold shimmer mist and used a baby wipe to clean some of the colour off the stenciled pattern. Here's a couple of photos of the front and back covers. More details below!

I created a charm dangle to hang on the binding rings for this journal - I had some pieces that just suited the Alice theme so well that I had to use them. There is a large key, a tea cup, a glass bottle with a tag and crown symbol all dangling on different lengths of chain. I also created a small charm for the cover by punching out the Mad Hatter's hat tag and using Glossy Accents to seal it into the charm.

For the front cover, I used a small picture frame around the main Alice image - I love how this also brings out the Through the Looking Glass theme as (to me at least) it looks like a mirror frame. I've used lots of Finnabair/Prima gold-tone metal pieces to decorate the cover and coordinate with the gold shimmer mist and finished off the decorating with some black and gold microbeads. Here are a couple of angles and a close-up of the front cover.

Finally, here is the journal all bound together! I used some extra-large binder rings (though I only had silver and will need to find some gold-tone rings) to bind the album so that there is lots of room in it for more journal pages!

Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today! Happy Crafting!

Graphic 45 Design Team Audition 2016

Hi Crafty Friends! If you follow my blog, you'll know that I absolutely love EVERYTHING by GRAPHIC 45. Being part of their Design Team would be a dream come true for me - so I am auditioning again this year! As Albert Einstein said, "You never fail until you stop trying." So, here are three of my favourite Graphic 45 projects (to date) and a new Snapguide tutorial showing how to make a beautiful little Pocket ATC using Graphic 45's Couture Collection.

An Eerie Tale Stacked Coffins and Mini Album

I love Halloween - so creating with Graphic 45's Halloween collections is one my favourite things to do - and this An Eerie Tale project is one of my favourite creations ever. Its three stacked coffins (held together with magnets) that hold a skeleton (top), candy (middle) and a mini-album (bottom). Here are a few photo highlights of the project - but there are lots more pictures on my original blog posts (Post 1 & Post 2). 

Love ~ Layout featuring Olde Curiosity Shoppe

I just adored the Olde Curiosity Shoppe collection (I hope it gets re-released!) - and I created this layout way back in 2012 using it - its still one of my absolute favourite layouts of me with my son.

World's Fair Inspirational Shadow Box

I love mixed media projects - so whenever I can, I'll combine my Graphic 45 papers with some mixed media techniques. I recently created this Shadow Box to hang in my craft room using the World's Fair collection - and fun mediums like crackle paste, graphite texture paste, crackle accents and Distress Inks. Here are few photos of the full project, but you can see more details and close-ups on my original blog post here.  

Snapguide Tutorial - Couture Pocket ATCs

So, I decided to update my tutorial since first posting my audition. I gave Snapguide a try and I LOVE IT! It is so easy to use and will definitely be my go-to for all future photo tutorials! I put together a tutorial to demonstrate how to create one of these Couture pocket ATCs - I hope you enjoy it. 

Check out How to Create a Pocket ATC With Graphic 45 Couture Papers by Sarah Routledge on Snapguide.

Note: If you want to see the original Youtube Slideshow tutorial I had posted, you can find it here.

Well, that's my audition blog post! Wish me luck! Happy Crafting!

Love & Family - Large Photo Tags ~ Creative Embellishments March Challenge

It is March 1st already - and that means Spring is just around the corner - and a new challenge is up on the Creative Embellishments Blog! This month I was inspired by the colours and watercolour feeling of the inspiration photo. The twist for March is to show/tell why you feel lucky, so I chose photos of me with my husband ("love") and my son as a baby ("family") because I feel so lucky to have two such special guys in my life! This month, the colours in the CE Challenge also just happen to correspond to the colours of this month's Prima Product Pick - so I'll be entering these tags for the March PPP challenge. 

Creative Embellishments Inspiration Photo

 

Prima Product Pick - March 2016

I've used two Prima Watercolor tags as the base for these - I stenciled each tag with a rose pattern stencil using Finnabair 3D Matte Gel and then misted them with two colours of Lindy's Stamp Gang Starburst mists to get an ombre effect. The green tag was misted with Edelweiss Moss Green and Ponderosa Pines Olive; the pink tag was misted with Bodacious Blush and Bougainvillea Fuschia. I've layered papers and tags cut from the Prima Tea Thyme collection under the photos and splattered the paper with white gesso and Shimmerz Inklinz in Burnished Buckle. I have used two Creative Embellishments Door Knockers at the top of the tags and two Creative Embellishments Keys as part of my flower clusters. To alter the chipboard, I painted it with white gesso and then Shimmerz Inklinz in Burnished Buckle. I finished off the chipboard by adding some Antique Copper micro beads to them using Matte Gel Medium.

Here are some close-ups and different angles so you can see all the layers and details.

Challenge Rules:

• Create a NEW project layout, mini album, tag, card, canvas, etc….as of March 1st 2016.
• Please add your entry to our InLinkz box below to be eligible for the prize. You have until the last day of each month 11:55 pm eastern time to enter.
• It is required that you mention in your blog post that you are playing along at Creative Embellishments together with a link back to our blog. Please make sure to reference our challenge. Please no back linking.
• Combining with other challenges is permitted.
• We would love to see you USE AT LEAST 1 CE product on your project but it isn’t required to play along. However everyone that does will get and extra chance at winning.
• WINNERS will have 2 weeks to claim their prize. The winner will be announced on this post the day after the challenge ends. Keep an eye out to see if you are a winner.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today - and I hope you'll play along with the March Creative Embellishments Challenge!