Alice ATC book - back covers

Just a quick snapshot. They do (I think) look better in real life.

Fabric covered top hats with hat pins and Secret Swappers logos instead of the 10/6 sign tucked into the ribbon hat bands. Just typing this has made me think of adding the classic 10/6 to the other side so they are reversible.

The taming of the Tinchie - Altered mini tin

Yet another swap (I like swaps - can't you tell!). This tine, it was altering a tiny little mint tin. Now, many thanks to Karen for hosting the swap and sending me a few tins to play with, and boy did I need them. The first tin is in the bin (and I hate to throw anything away), the second tin may be salvageable for something else, and finally the third tin came together (phew!). My theme was Vintage/Victorian. I love some of the things I have seen on this theme but I have never done it myself so it was somewhat of a learning curve.

I decided to make something along the lines of a Victorian love token (they were big on those in them days!). It is very distressed looking, but deliberately so (promise!) as I was trying to get the effect of an old love token that was battered and worn because it had been held and treasured over a long period of time. I hope I've achieved that effect and my swap partner doesn't think it's just a pile of poo!

Anyway, here it is: first the front. Altered Prima flowers. a crystal hat pin and a heart frame with an old photo. And I don't think it's that brown round the edges IRL, it's just the light!

Inside, hearts and flowers and a little pull out concertina book.

This is the book - from a Victorian illustration set.

And finally the back.

Alice ATC book covers part 2

Here are all 14 front covers, plus the inner covers at the top left.

Frida Kahlo / Day of the Dead Chunky ATC

Another day (well, the same day actually!) another swap.

This was for a chunky ATC (basically a wooden block, ATC sized, that you decorate on every side). And decorate I did - my theme was Frida Kahlo - think Day of the Dead. Now I love Kahlo's work, and I love Day of the Dead (it was my theme for the last chunky I did). So, I decided to go hell for leather and make a little shrine or ofrenda for Frida, very much in the Mexican style. Each of the items on the shelf is representative of the kind of things that would be put on a shrine and it is covered in Day of the Dead charms. Unfortunately I took the photos before I added the tiny votives (every shrine has to have candles!) and forgot to take some after. Take my word for it though, the finished thing does have red candles in the gaps.

It is OTT but then all the shrines I have ever seen are - minimalism doesn't seem to apply here! I really hope Audrey likes it :)

Alice

Just some Alice things I have been working on for an Alice themed ATC book swap.

These are nine of the 14 front covers (the rest are drying) which will then be filled with 14 ATCs all bound into a concertina book, very much inspired by this fabby ATC book on an absolutely gorgeous blog.

I've gone for my Octopode favourites - I love these Alices, so fun and quirky. I'm very much into cramming as much as possible into a small area at the moment so they're pretty busy.

I do hope my very talented swap partners like them.

Much, MUCH more to come very soon :) - inside and back covers, my ATC and the whole book in all its gorgeous loveliness!

I'm entering this in the Altered Alice Challenge Blog as it's anything goes.

More tags (I like tags)

I seem to have started a lot of projects but not finished any, but finally something is done.

Here are my tags done for the trendy tag swap over on UKS. This month's theme was hexagons and so I thought (predictably enough) of bees. But not just your normal bees - oh no! I had just bought a bugs collage sheet from The Octopode Factory and I knew I had to use the bee on there. So, here are my tags.

I know,  I know - cheesy "bee" puns but they were certainly fun to do. If you like cheese and you like bees you'll love these - cheesy bees! (Betraying my age now!)

I'm entering them in the Octopode Challenge blog as the theme this week is animals. I wasn't going to as I didn't think these would count (more bugs than animals) but one of the DT examples has just bugs, so yay I'm in!

Thanks for looking.