"Boxes Of All Sorts"

Hi, and A Very Happy Easter to you all. Today I finally got around to finishing my entry for Crafty Individuals March Challenge titled "Boxes of All Sorts".

I really don't know where this month has gone but it's certainly flown by --- to view the other beautiful entries and the fantastic DT samples click on the link here.

To begin with I started off with 2 basic components ;

an empty box of chocolates measuring 10cm x 10cm and a pack of Twiddleybitz inches.

The box was given a coat of black gesso all over and the inches were cut to size. 

The frame of the inches and the squares were given a coat of white gesso and then the frame was painted with fresco chalk paint in Slate. Once dry a layer of Americana weathered wood was applied, then a coat of Fresco Chalk paint in Stone. the inches were painted in Fresco Chalk paint in Evergreen, Lake Wanaka, Mermaid, Beach Hut and Inky Pool with a brayer.

The inches were stamped using CI 184 and white embossed and the frame had touches of Treasure Gold in Olive Bronze added to the edges.

A small black card tag was white embossed using 'For You' from CI 438.

I then attached some fancy thread to the edges from the back and tied some bakers twine through the tag.

The box had grunge paste applied through CI mask which once dry was coloured with DI in Victorian Velvet, Seedless Preserves, Bundled Sage, Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint. A piece of scrap paper was placed in the centre of the mask so as not to colour the centre of the box.

Once this was dry Olive Bronze Treasure Gold was added to the foliage and dots of Liquid Pearls in Pewter were added to the centre of the flowers.

Some CI text ribbon was attached to the sides of the lid and the inches and frame were glued to the top.

I shall probably use this box as a present filled with homemade chocolate truffles.

Well I hope you enjoy what is left of the Easter break, and hopefully your weather is much better than what we have had here in Kent today. Take Care and have fun, Jane x.

'Pru' the Art Doll

Good afternoon and welcome, today I would like to share with you the making of 'Pru', my first attempt at an art doll. Inspired by 2 challenges I would like to link her to;

  The Creative Carte Blanche  2 theme Metal, Lace and Corrugated Paper link here, and

 PaperArtsy's challenge Art Dolls link here. 

The video on the PaperArtsy blog was excellent and gave me the idea for construction.

To begin with I made a frame for the dolls skirt from wire and then attached this to a piece of wooden doweling which would become the centre part of the complete doll.

I stood this in a cotton reel while I was preparing everything, but managed to get Hubby to cut a block of hard wood and drill a hole in the centre for the completed Pru.

Next I painted several dictionary pages with the following colours of Fresco Chalk Paint; 

Chartreuse, Zesty Zing, beach Hut, Pumpkin Soup and Inky Pool.

 Then gave them a light spray with Perfect Pearls Mist in Blue Patina.

Once dry the pages were torn into strips along with some blue vellum and some white lacey Japanese paper and the skirt was then constructed using PVA glue. 

Then I made a template from some scrap paper to stamp the material through.

The centre flowers are from Jofy 12 and the leaves around the edges are from Flora and Fauna 3.

This was then embroidered and beads were also sown onto the flowers.

A corresponding heart was cut from another piece of fabric for the back of the body.

The face was stamped onto another piece of fabric using stamp set LPC 010.

This was lightly coloured using DI in tattered rose, trimmed to fit a small polystyrene ball and then the mauve felting wool was attached using a felting needle.

Now it's time to assemble the doll --- 

the 2 hearts were stitched together leaving a gap at the top and the bottom so that it could be threaded onto the doweling. Whilst stitching I added a small amount of toy stuffing and added a large pipe cleaner for the arms.

Wooden beads were threaded onto the pipe cleaner and the ends of the pipe cleaner were then threaded back into the centre of the bead forming a loop for the hands.

A metal charm was sewn onto the point of the heart.

A bow was made from some antiquey lace and attached to the back.

A metal cog was placed on the doweling before attaching the head. Wire and pearl beads were then added for a tiara. 

The book was made from a piece of stripped corrugated cardboard and the page was taken from a dictionary with the definition 'Art'.

You might be wondering why the name Pru ---- no particular reason other than when I was popping the head on that was the name that came to me!

She might not be as 'Quirky' as some Art Dolls but I had fun making her and she will sit in my craft room and keep me company while I create.

Now I'm away as the sun is shinning and I must do a bit of gardening. Thanks for stopping by and getting to know 'Pru'. Take care and have a good week whether it's working or 'playing' Jane x