Flowers..inside out

Hello Friends…

Welcome to my page today..I am here sharing with you an altered project with a twist as usual! Hope you enjoy another long post, goes without saying.

This is DT project for Rhedd’s Creative Spirit where the theme is Anything Goes but only mixed media or altered art, NO CARDS. So go ahead, wear your thinking cap and let the creative juices flow…

Here’s what I made…I altered a smoked almond tin. I have it bright and beautiful this time!

I gave the tin a shabby distressed look. For this, first I sponged gesso all over and then when it was dry, I sponged turquoise acrylic color. I used a sponge bcos I like the natural texture that it gives. Next I rubbed a wax candle in all the areas that I wanted the distress, followed by another coat of Picket fence DP. Once dry, a light rub with a sand paper and voila the top layers just peels off wherever I have applied the wax!

Just look at the lovely distressed tin now!

I an in love with making signature tissues now, lol! I stamped the big sunflower on tissue with Archival black and colored it with DI mustard seed, peacock feathers, worn lipstick and picked raspberry. I adhered the flower with gel medium and then gave a generous coat of it all over the tin.

Some pearly dots for the center with silver pearl pen and some stamped sentiments again on a tissue…I told you, I love it so! 

I colored the metal butterfly with alcohol inks and glued in some tiny glass beads for its body.

The lower part of the tin, I wrapped a printed ribbon which had a floral print and butterfly on it, perfect match for the top! I inked the edges of the tin with picked raspberry and yes my tin is now ready…ready for what????

Have a look at the title of my post…flowers inside out! We talked about the outside…well for the inside, I have lined the tin with lovely floral PP from DCWV in complimenting colors…is that it???

Of course not, when the lid is opened, this is what comes out!

A signature hand made neck piece..ta da! Very very simple and very few things needed…shall we start.

I made the sunflower using air dry clay that you get in the hard ware store used to close up leaky pipes! Yes, you heard me right…I chose that cos it is black and solves the base coloring part for me, lol! And yes, maybe when I get wet in the rain, nothing will happen to it… Think about that!

Now, coming back to the flower…I rolled the clay into a big circle and stamped the same sunflower stamp that I used for the lid. I applied some baby cream on the stamp for easy release and pressed a bit hard. It left a lovely deep impression on the clay, and I randomly cut around the petals with a craft knife.

As the clay drying, I decided to color it using…..perfect pearls??? NO…I had a box of eye shadow for god know how long, maybe its even 15yrs old, lol! I thought it will look beautiful on this flower than on my eyes and so the makeover for the clay flower begins!

I applied the eye shadow in pink and grey and highlighted a bit with silver mica powder. For the center I squeezed out a blob of glossy accents and added some tiny glass beads. The clay was still soft and I pierced 2 holes on the top on bottom.

Once dry, I gave 2 coats of gel medium to seal the powders and to give it a light sheen too. I didn't want an ugly back and so I adhered a stamped flower with the back and sealed that too, lol!

Now to attach the jewelry findings, I chose lovely big baubles in turquoise and some pretty pink and turquoise micro meads along with some silver findings and used my amateur skills to make this piece. 

The organza chord is the finale and voila a handmade neck piece to my taste is ready!

This is how it looks around my neck, so happy with this one! I am happy, my eye shadows no longer have to wait for eternity to be used up now! 

One last look at the trio! Hope you enjoyed this post and thanks a bunch for sitting through the whole thing.

This should inspire you to play along…there is so much that can be done with things lying around the house! Really…

I would like to have my hand made neck piece along with its care taker tin to enter the following challenges…

Open MindedCrafting Fun Challenge – Shabby Chic

PolkadoodlesChallenge Blog- AG but square

That CraftPlace – No cards ( I love that, lol!)

A Vintage Journey- Spring Colors

Simon Wednesday Challenge – AG

Crafty Boots – Things with wings

FantasyStampers Challenge Blog – Distress it

613 AvenueCreate – AG
Decorate To celebrate - AG
Red Rubber Inspirational Ch Blog - anything with 'S' (sunflower, stamping, string,silver)
Mixed Media Monthly Challenge - may Flowers
Craft Stamper Magazine- Use a stamp

Until my next creative journey,

Happy Crafting and Re cycling,

Hugs.            

My very own HAND MADE....

Hello crafters..

Wishing all of you a very Happy New Year..a year filled with lots of color, creativity, good health and happiness.

I had a great holiday this year end with my Bro visiting me from London and we spent some amazing family time together! He also got me a lot of crafty stuff from there (well, actually only that!)…who wants anything else???Lol!

I am having a great time using up my new supplies and for this project I have tried a couple of new things which are my favorites and I have been wanting to do for a long time!

I have altered a worn and torn cardboard box this time…so what’s new in that?
I love textures and this time I have experimented with air drying clay and wooden block prints...(These are used for fabric printing)…

I applied a layer of clay on the lid and them stamped with wooden block…just look at the impression…I just Love it!

I wanted a metallic look to the box, so went and colored it with black acrylic colors and when it was semi wet, I rubbed in silver dust. The result is an antiqued silver look and I also embedded some Rhine stones on the clay before it dried. That saved me some glue, Lol!

For the base of the box, I modge podged some tissue paper and then gave it the same metallic treatment.

For the closure, I screwed in a eyelet screw and then created a beaded dangle for it. If you observe, I have been using blues, silver, black, turquoise and yellow only…any guess why? You have to wait until the box is open for that!

The embellishment on the lid is pretty simple but a few of my fav things again..handmade flower using my new Ariana blooms die(prize win at Craft Hoarders Anonymous),a resin butterfly, some twisted rose buds and the quote says it all.

A closer look at the butterfly…have colored it at the back with pearl blue metallic colors and on the top applied rock candy crackle paint…in the cracks applied silver mica. For the antennae, I beaded some colored glass beads on to a wire and twisted its end and voila…here she is!

Are you ready to open the box…here we go.

I love contemporary jewelry and wanted to try something with stamping and when my Bro go me this new stamp from Paper Artsy, I knew it was worth the wait! It was as if I had to make a piece of jewelry only with this…

I enjoyed every bit of stamping the image, coloring with DI, sealing it with industrial resin, adding the jewelry findings , fixing little glass bead danglers and finally stringing the organza chord! Phew that was all quite a bit of new things to me but I loved the end result, MY OWN HAND CRAFTED JEWELLERY!

I think the quote in the inside lid is just perfect for the New Year! I have stamped it and mounted it on a piece of corrugated cardboard; I love its natural texture.

That kind of wraps up my 2^nd project for the year! Very very soul satisfying…the thought of re cycling and also creating something new and also with all my fav elements in there!

I would like to enter my trinket box and handmade jewelry in the following challenges…

LTSCB- use items with these alphabets( L-layers, leaves, T- texture, trinket box, S-silver, string, stamps, C-chord, card board, B- beads, butterfly!

Lessology- card board central (old card board box and corrugated cardboard for the sentiment panel)

Artistic Inspiration- anything goes with a twist of new (new texture, new stamps and my first piece of handmade jewelry)

TIOT – Favorite things (texture, handmade embellishments, re cycling, jewelry making)

613 Avenue Create- Anything Goes with a twist of matching envelope (I have a matching box for a change!)
Artistic Inspirations- anything goes with a twist of new.

Until my next Creative Journey…

Happy Crafting and Re cycling…

Remember, TODAY BELONGS TO YOU…

Big hugs.