Altered Cheese Box !

Gosh if your day outside is anything like it is here in Kent there is only one thing for it and that is to stay in and play--- ( oops I mean be creative!).

Sometime ago I saved a wooden cheese box, having enjoyed the contents of course and left it outside on the garden table to allow it to release the now stale cheese aromas. As with so many items saved the thoughts were this must have a use, well this one will have.

The decoration 'sort of' follows on from my last blog entry as I really love the effects the shaving foam and acrylic paints made through a stencil.

To begin with the box was given a coat of white gesso all over-- top, bottom, sides etc. Then a coat of Toad Hall Fresco Chalk acrylic paint and once dry, which was very quick as the box absorbs the paint like a sponge, a coat of Americana Weathered Wood just on the lid, top and sides and the sides of the base. The top coat was then Guacamole in the Fresco Chalk mixed with Eco-Friendly Aged Silver acrylic. Once this had dried I then went over with a dry brush using Inky Pool translucent acrylic.

Then using the medium sized reindeer stencil from the Tando-Creative set of stencils and masks I spread a mix of the shaving foam with Autumn Fire, Pumpkin Soup and Claret Fresco Chalk paints. I also fancied a card to match.

Once the reindeer was completely dry I went around the outline of the reindeer on the box with a fine nibbed black pen.

Next I added touches of grunge paste through the Tando-Creative Stitches group mask around the top half of the lid above the reindeer. 

Around the rim of the lid I stencilled Christmas twice using Brilliance inks in Starlight Black and Ocean Depth.

I randomly stamped some music in black ink around the legs of the reindeer before decorating the Mini Wonky Trees also by Tando-Creative.

These were embossed twice with Cosmic Shimmers ultra thick Lave Black embossing crystals and then whilst the embossing crystals were still hot a stamp inked in black Archival was pushed into the molten plastic. Beware though not all makes of stamps will stand up to the heat !!!

Once cool and the stamp removed the raised edges were then rubbed with Decoart Metallic Lustre in Black Shimmer as were the grunge paste stitches on the lid. The trees were stuck onto the lid with pva glue.

The reindeer was lightly rubbed with Treasure Gold in Ruby and Renaissance and a few tiny silver stars were added in the sky.

The inside was lined with some copper coloured tissue paper.

The thoughts behind the box is to fill it with home made chocolate truffles for a christmas present.

And there's a matching card to go with the present.

The lovely marbling shows up better in the photo of the card than it does on the box, but unfortunately it doesn't pick up the slightly raised texture.

If you would like more details of the shaving foam and stencil technique pop over to my previous blog entry titled 'Playing with Fresco Chalk Acrylics and Shaving Foam'.

I would like to enter this into Tando-Creatives monthly Challenge titled "Something with a use".

Thanks for stopping by today  and a big thank you for all the wonderful comments - they really are appreciated. Hope you enjoy your day and hopefully have some time to do something 'Crafty'.

Take Care, Jane x