Steampunk Fairy Matchbox Shrine

My final matchbox shrine, at least for now, wasn't for my swap but just because I fancied doing it (it was another theme on another swap). So, I made an illuminated steampunk fairy matchbox shrine (as you do).

I cut the basic frame with a Sizzix die and used Tim Holtz embossing folders for texture. Cue lots of inking and gold paint (some of which is now on my ceiling!) to cover the frame and the inside of the matchbox. At the back of the inside of the box I put a fairy hologram (culled from an old and worn out children's book) which I coloured first with alcohol inks. I filled the inside with various bits - little filled glass vials, ideology bits, watch face etc. Added loads of ideology bits, old watch parts, spare sewing machine bulb and metal flower and fairy embellishments all over the outside.

There is also a small light with a switch underneath that lights up the inside of the box. Although it's been too tricky to photograph it does look really good at night.

Sounds simple enough, but there's been a lot of trial and error on this one, and a lot of matchboxes have been sacrificed!

The front of the shrine and you can see the fairy hologram. It's not this vivid in normal light but it's hard to photograph so it needed lots of extra light. Who said fairies should be easy to photograph anyway!

I love how you don't always see the hologram - this is in dull daylight.

The back of the shrine.

And the sides.

I entered this in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp and Show (Anything Goes)

Frilly and Funkie (Upcycled matchbox and old children's book)

Gingersnap Creations (Copper, ginger, rust)


Thanks for looking.

Octopode Alice Tags

Final update for today (phew!). Over at the Octopode Factory blog this week's challenge is anything goes. Well, I've been doing some tags recently so I thought I would add these. I love the quirkiness of the Octopode images and have just invested in some Alice collage sheets so here are my Alice tags.

I inked the tags in one colour, embossed the tags using a mixture of Tim Holtz and Cuttlebug embossing folders, then inked over them with another colour. The collage sheets were easy as they were already coloured in so I just cut the images and stuck them on. Added some fibres and finally, just because, I added googly eyes (ah, old school craft products!). I'm pleased with how they turned out - nice and bright and colourful.



Forgot to add the link to The Octopode Factory Challenge Blog.

ETA - I won! How cool is that. Thank you so much. And I got this fabby tag too. Now I have to go and choose a digi and that will be tough as there are so many that I neeeeeeeeeed!

Thanks for looking.

Trendy Tags

More swaps - this time trendy tags. Organised by the lovely Leanie, the theme for this was to incorporate chevrons. I always think of travel when I see chevrons (obvious I know) so I made these.

We were supposed to make 3 and get 3 back, but I made an extra one for Leanie to keep and, bless her, she sent me one of hers too so I have 4 back. Thank you Leanie, that was very sweet of you. So here's what I got back.

Aren't they all gorgeous. From left to right we have:
Beautiful paper mosaic arrow from Rosie and I love how she did the chevron buy colouring the embossing
Gorgeously stamped and distressed tag from Yolanda, it probably doesn't show in the picture but the chevron stamping in the background is inspired
Fab secret garden tag from Shirley, with chevrons made from corrugated card, lovely tactile flowers and even a tiny key
Stunning dimensional tag from Leanie with loads of lovely stamping detail and again very tactile

They are all beautiful and thank you so much for my lovely tags. If you want to see all of the other tags there are on Leanie's blog here.

Thanks for looking and have a good day.

Matchbox shrine - English Seaside

Well, this is the last matchbox shrine I made for the swap over on UKScrappers, this time on the theme of the seaside for my partner Suzy.

Well, to me that conjures up the image of beach huts which made a perfect structure for the matchbox. Cut from chipboard and then painted white, I embossed some lines then coloured it to try and give the impression of the planks of wood a beach hut is made from. I put the door on the smallest hinges I had so it opens, and inside is a picture of (what I hope is) Suzy's favourite beach. I added some small shells, sea glass, pottery and driftwood to the inside (just loose so she can take them out if she want to) and finally added some fixings to the side and threaded some old rope, salvaged from the sea, so it can be hung up.

Now, for the last two shrines I did I made two things so I couldn't leave it at that for Suzy, but I didn't want to make another suitcase. So, I made and decorated a lidded box using another matchbox as the base, lined it with a different photo of the same beach, and filled it with more shells, sea glass and driftwood. I built up the sides of the lid with super strong chipboard, glued some shells and sand and then filled the lot with a load of molten UTEE. It came out more yellow than I thought but I think it looks okay.

It's reached its new home now and I'm glad you like it Suzy. I enjoyed doing it so much (plus I have some seaside bits left over) I'm going to make a matching screen!

Craft Screen Swap - Dragons

For my second craft screen (yes I am a glutton for punishment) I was given the theme of dragons - European not Chinese). Yikes and double yikes! Not my area at all. I thought about drawing some, even went over some tutorials on tinterweb but nothing could stop my hand drawn dragons looking like mutant my little ponies (or worse).

So, I had a change of tack and decided to go for more older, even medieval dragons. That got me thinking about the old maps where cartographers used to put "here, there be dragons" - except they didn't. Well, only on one but somehow the idea has taken hold. So, I found this lovely old map with lots of drawings of dragons and other monsters to put on one side of the screen with some dangly dragon charms. I also found an old black and white engraving which I hand coloured with distress inks and water brushes (and I am still amazed at how long that took) and put on the other side. I stamped and embossed the backgrounds with the same stamp but different colours.

And just for fun, and because I liked the image, I did a stained glass window effect screen. The blue dragon stained glass photo was printed onto acetate (some reversed) and put into gothic arches cut using a free gothic arch SVG from Monica's Creative Room. It doesn't look all that great in the photos, which were a rush job as I needed to get it sent quickly, but looks good with light behind it.

Whilst I was worried at the start I really did enjoy making these so many thanks to Frances for the inspiration and I hope she enjoys them.