Wooden Boxes

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Whew, I'm still at this box thing and to some degree it is so worth it to use all this paper I've been hoarding.

Its amazing how many different paper packs I have in this one room...I wonder if I have crossed over from being a pack-rat to a mini hoarder. I tell my friends that if they see me becoming a hoarder to please get me help but I'm not sure they're listening to me since they too seem to be hoarders themselves.

This little box I found at Hobby Lobby in the clearance section, why it was there I'm not sure because it looked just fine to me so of course I purchased it and added it to my other boxes...until now.

I'll start by showing you the top of the box. The paper is the Bo Bunny "Country Garden" collection.

I did a little fussy cutting to give dimension to the butterflies and added a metal clock as well as a couple of metal corners. The chipboard "Believe" was painted using acrylic paint and then dabbed with a bit of distress ink.  I outlined the edge with a bit of trim to enhance the print on the paper.

The second photo gives you a clear view of the front of the box. 

The little label holder says "Country Garden" and works great as a drawer pull.

Having the drawer pull makes it easier to open the 4x6 drawer.  It will hold your standard photos perfectly.

The inside was painted white and then lined with more of the Country Garden collection. I tried to use just the paper designs with blue hues. 

 And one of my new found habits is to include a matching card with any altered art that I do. 

Doing this ensures that a card will be available regardless to whether I give it as a gift myself or sell it to someone.

I've also gotten into the habit of making an envelope every time I make a card.  It does save time in the long run although in some cases a handmade envelope just doesn't happen (smiles).

And now a peek at the inside of the card. The left side has a bit of print but I can't make out the words.

The right side has a pre-printed space for a personal note which I think is great.

So that it is all for now.  If you haven't added your name for this month's giveaway click here to do so now. 

Remember each month I will be giving away Spellbinders dies (3 each month) until I run out.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs from Texas

Lesia

Boxes Galore

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Hello Everyone! I'm back with a bit of altered art. I recently found myself focused on boxes.  I have altered shoe boxes, phone boxes and paper mache boxes. All sizes and shapes and I have about 6 more to go and I hope this mojo I've got going on will continue through the rest of them. 

Anyway I am going to share a round one that I altered with you. I am really pleased at how it turned out and how quickly it came together.

Oh and did I mention that for each box I altered I decided to make a matching card with any leftover paper so that if given as a gift there will be a card to go with it. Pretty darn cool...don't you think?

So sit back with a bit of tea or coffee and check out my photos. I took about five pictures from various angles to give you an idea of the overall look.

This first photo has the box tilted forward so you can see the complete top.

The word "Lasting" is in chipboard that I left raw but splashed a little gesso here and there to make it pop. 

I thought this was appropriate to imply that the contents or the memories inspired from the contents are long lasting and worth keeping.

Here the lid is off to the side and the card is shown to the left of the lid.

No worries I have the card from another angle as well.

I wanted to show off the bottom of the box as well as the lace around the rim, so here you can see just that.

At the bottom of the box I added what I called elastic lace just because of the way it looks and feels.

The flowers are a mixture of Prima, Recollections and Wild Orchids. I also tucked in a chipboard piece that I inked with Walnut Stain.

Again here is a full view of the box with the flowers lace and trim.

I not only used a very intricate lace around the rim, I also added a trim piece from Offray that had dangling pearls which I thought was perfect and elegant enough for this particular paper collection from Heartfelt Creations.

Lastly is another view where you can see the card and it's greeting more easily.



Other items used were distress inks, gesso, acrylic paint and a hot glue gun. The greeting on the card was a stamp I picked up at Michael's from the dollar bin.

This alteration was so much fun and I'm ready to start anew. 

I couldn't share all my alterations so to make sure I didn't bore you to much I thought I would share just the one this time...but beware I might just return with more. 

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to enter your name below along with your comment for a chance to win "Group C" of my blog candy. 

Have you forgotten about the giveaway?
Click Here for a reminder of what is up for grabs and of course the rules.

So there you have it.  Add your name and leave a comment.  Easy Peasy!

The Two J's

ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

Mema's Crafts is looking for a few designers to join her team in 2015.  There are no strict rules and you are allowed to have fun.

There are 3 ways to let me know you're interested:
1.  Leave me a comment with a link to your email or
2.  Email me by clicking the Contact/Email Me button in the right sidebar or
3.  Just send an email to:  memascrafts2@gmail.com
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I'm still altering items and I have discovered that altering letters is something I totally enjoy doing so when I was asked to alter some letters for a co-worker of a friend of mine I was more than thrilled.

And to make it even better the daughters of the recipient of the letters was so impressed they asked their mom to get them an initial as well to match their rooms.

So of course I jumped at the opportunity to alter a couple of J's for her two girls; Juliana and JoAnna (JuJu and JoJo).  Given the color them and the girls ages I set off to create two letters ready to adorn a shelf or hang on a wall.

Although they did not turn out the way I had planned when I first started, I do believe they turned out exactly the way they should.  They represent the personality of the girls perfectly.

Lots of color and fun for colorful personalities.

The first one was focused on shades of purple with teal accents.  I added pearls because she is such a lady and the phone represents her being at the start of her tween years with popularity measured by number of calls you get. Dangling down the side is a couple of pearls and charms again for this growing diva.  I think the paper is K&Company and the flowers are all Recollections.

On this one I'm sure you can tell what the focus colors are; Black and Green.  For this little one I had to add lots of lace, bling, ribbon and anything girly.  She's only 4 but she knows what she likes and for this J her simple words and this is a quote "Its Amazing" so that means she liked it.  Just look at the grin on this little one:

So when you get photos with words of praise from someone so young then you can be sure that you did a job well done.

I adhere the letters to a base if I am doing initials where one of the letters have a curved base and to hang them on the wall I add a picture hanger (paper mache) or loop a ribbon on the back for chipboard or wood letters.

Well the little people have given me their thoughts but now its your turn to leave me your comments and thoughts.  And if you have any suggestions or ideas on how to display these letters let me know.

ANNOUNCEMENT!!!
Mema's Crafts is looking for a few designers to join her team in 2015.  There are no strict rules and you are allowed to have fun.

Couture Style

Hi everyone, hope the goblins didn't eat anyone out of house and home (smiles).

I have gotten into altering things.  This includes boxes of all shapes, sizes and purpose.  Everywhere I look I can find things that need to be altered or given a face-lift as I like to call it.

I have acquired quite a collection and I continue to put things to the side for a rainy day.  Well it finally did rain a bit this week so I decided to work on one of my projects which happen to be another cigar box.

This one was unique in that it was already black.  I got from our local smoke shop for $3.  Perfect condition without the wood or cigar smell you sometimes find with these boxes.  What a treasure find this was for me and I think after its face-lift is complete it will be the perfect treasure or trinket box for someone else.

This is how a black cigar box starts out once the cigars are removed and placed in a humidor. 

Here is how it appears after getting a face-lift courtesy

of Graphic 45 Couture Collection and a whole lot of 

love and attention.

Both sides are wrapped with velvet ribbon and centered with a metal medallion for no other reason than it was cute.

A front shot of the inside that was once a tannish brown almost raw wood.

Lastly I thought I would give a quick view of the before and after together.

This is a unique one item only that is up for sale should you desire to have it as your own.

If you would like to purchase it click the Buy Now button below to be taken to Paypal where you can make your purchase.

This item has sold!

Crackle Meets Home Decor

Before I share my project I want to say thanks to the folks at Purpleglo Creations for selecting my entry as one of their celebration winners, and to QKR Stampede 
for selecting my entry as one their Top 5 picks.

Wow! I have discovered altered art and now I am looking for trash and treasures, and sometimes I see a treasure in what was once called trash. I'm not sure if that is a good thing or not but it sure keeps me busy and I find that it is a bit cheaper.

Seems like everything I see I want to decorate or something...this sure is fun but I have to be careful because I only have one room in which to store and play with my crafting.  

Today I am thinking of Home Decor and decided to start with the easier things like tissue box covers and serving trays. The best thing is I discovered the Crackle Technique right before I decided on this venture and that was wonderful. 

 I've altered a lot of different things but here is one that I think turned out pretty good and I'm ready to share.

This a photo just to show you the tissue box before I decided

to beautify (smile) it with the magic of paper.

Here I covered the boring tissue box and whola

my tissue becomes a conversation piece and

I enjoy telling folks that visit where

the tissue is or they use the powder room and they

see it.  Of course after seeing it they want to 

know where I got it..and I just smile as I

tell my story of the boring tissue box.

Hopefully, on the closeups you can see how the crackle medium allows the base coat of paint to show through.  Additionally, the box is basically wicker white and I added a little sea-foam spritz for color.

Lastly, I added my embellishments, sealed everything and added the tissue.  It is now part of my home decor and blends in quite nicely.

If you get a chance and haven't tried the crackle medium, I recommend that you do and think of the many things that you can crackle for a different look.

Before I end, let me remind you that its not to late to join our October challenge.  A new winner will be announced on Halloween Day.  Just click the tab above to join or click here.

Thanks for stopping by

Lesia a.k.a.  Mema