Altered Art Introduction

Hello Everyone

I have been incognito for the past 13 days and here is why. If you remember last month for the bonus challenge I asked the M&M Girls to create a project using items I provided and those that were given items to alter did such a wonderful job that I decided to give it a go. So I went out and found me a few paper mache letters and boxes, a couple of old cigar boxes (hidden in an attic) and a few pieces of plain wood and canvas to work with.

It was such fun and I was having a blast playing with these items because for me this was all brand new and a learning experience.  Before I knew it I was hooked and everything I saw I wanted so my grand-daughter had to slow me down.

So I'll start sharing a few of the projects I have completed.  Let me see, first up will be my cigar box.  I've purchased 3 really old ones from an attic ($1.00 each) and 2 brand new from ebay.  Buying them new was a better deal (less work to clean). Oh well that's enough of talk because I am too excited so here goes my first altered cigar box. Don't know what to call the material but it is the really old lacquered king that have a lip-to-lip type of lid.  Let me just show you:



Here you can see the cigar box before I did anything to it...well actually, you're seeing it after I dusted and gave it a bit of a bath with a wipe.







Now to continue to showing you the inside and hopefully you can't see the dust in the corners, as I've just noticed I need to clean a bit more (think I'll buy from Ebay the next time).

And finally here is the reverse side of the cigar box.  I sanded it just a bit and took off all of the paper that had lifted or appeared to be peeling.





Then I proceeded to gesso the whole box.  Once that dried I used acrylic paint to highlight the edges.  Additionally, I tried to hide a few cracks I found just from the age of the box (mostly around the lid..another reason to buy new next time)




Now Whola...the top of the cigar box after I got a hold of it.  I'm not bragging but I sure am grinning from ear to ear.




I am so pleased how it turned out especially with it being my first time ever.

I thought for sure I would mess it up and that is why I decided to buy old and cheap so I could test and demo but this one turned out good enough to claim it as my own.

On this photo I wanted to capture the lace front and the little handle I added so you could open it without turning it upside down.

Okay and here is yet another angle of the front.  The paper is Secret Garden by Pink Paislee and it was perfect for this project.  The flowers are all from Wild Orchid and the Pearls are Recollections.

So now its time to move along.  I still have to share the inside and the reverse side with you.
I added trim around the edge to add a cushion for the lid when it closed and to hide a few of the cracks I noticed.  Then some scrap paper finished it off.  After I took this photo I went back and added a small resin frame by Melissa Francis with a piece of mirror paper to give the illusion of a mirror on the inside.   If anyone has additional ideas throw them my way please.


The last thing I did was add paper to the bottom so I could put my stamp of approval, and then I used these little dials to make feet for the box.  I think its best to paint and then adhere (might make it easier).




Well guys I am just thrilled...in fact I may have a bonus challenge where you have to enter something that was altered.  That might be fun but what would be a fitting prize for the winner.  Suggestions welcomed.  We'll see, I need to check with my team and see what they think.

In the meantime, I would love it if you would leave me a comment and tell what you think about my cigar box.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Lesia~

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