Lucky Vignette

Hello friends,

I'm happy to be here today sharing an idea-ology project with a March theme! My substrate is a square Vignette box that is 5.5 x 5.5".  An easy size to work with - it will take you a day to make, not a week! I wanted to use the word Lucky and it just happened to be the perfect size to reach across the 5.5" front! This project looks great with the lights on, but just as cute with the lights off. I think the velum gives a nice contrast to the gold Mini Stencil Chips! Well, enough talking, let's get started.

Again, I'm starting with the largest square Vignette Box as my base.

I will need a shelf for my idea to work, so I cut a piece of foam core to fit the Vignette. It should be flush with the depth of the box and fit snugly across (approximately 1 1/4 x 5 1/8"). I used a rotary cutter to cut the foam core, but you could also use a metal ruler and a cutting knife.

Set the foam core to the side while you add paper to the outside of the box.

Cut three, 1 1/2" strips of paper from the Worn Wallpaper Scraps for the sides of the box. Save the 1/2" strip for the back of the box.

Cut the strips to length, saving the excess.

Add the strips to three sides with Collage Medium. The last side was covered with the three pieces that were excess. No once will ever see this side because it will become the bottom of the box. Add a thin layer of Collage Medium over the top of the Worn Wallpaper to seal.

Add Design Tape Trims to the lip edge with Collage Medium.

Once the Collage Medium is dry, add Walnut Stain Distress Crayon to age the paper. Use a wet wipe to mottle the finish.

Before we add the shelf, we need to make the word strip from Mini Stencil Chips. Tape the word together, then add velum to the back. I'm going to add Tiny Lights to the compartment so the velum will help to diffuse the light.

Now it's time to add the "shelf". I just added Collage Medium to three sides of the foam core and slipped it into place. Make sure the self is level.

You could use a ruler to measure the compartment...

But the easiest way is to use the Stencil Chip word as your guide. The Stencil Chips will hide the edge of the shelf. For now, add the shelf with Collage Medium and let it dry for at least 30 minutes. 

NOTE: Do not add the Stencil Chip word till after the Tiny Lights are in place.

I wanted a "green" theme so I used Large Collage Strips for the background and the top of the shelf. Again, using Collage Medium to adhere the paper, then adding a a layer over the top to seal the paper.

Once the Collage Medium was dry, I added Walnut Stain Distress Crayon over the background to give it a bit of grunge (especially in the corners).

I used a drill to make a hole in the bottom compartment so I could add Tiny Lights.

Once the lights were in place, I added the Stencil Chip word.

PLEASE NOTE: I used Collage Medium for the bottom and sides, but I used Scor-tape along the foam core.

A wanted a more industrial look so I added Screw Heads to some of the Stencil Chips. 

I scribbled Walnut Stain Crayon over the top of them so the were not so pristine looking and used a small paint brush to work the crayon around. I also added Cello Sticker Tape in a few places.

INSIDE:

For the scene, I started with a Snapshot from the original package of Snapshots. It looked like a lucky day to me!

I used Distress Crayons to add color to the Snapshot. The cotton swabs helped give the scene a blurry appearance, using just dots of color in the background along the boardwalk, like the photo had been hand tinted. 

In my last post I talked about when and why I choose to "seal" a photo with Fixative spray. This is one of those times. I wanted to add ink details over the crayon work and that can be difficult since water will wash the crayon away. So I went to the garage to spray Fixative over the top of the Snapshot and by the time I got back to the craft room, it was dry and ready to go.  I made a puddle of ink and water, then dipped the Snapshot into the mix, drying with a heat tool. Any excess ink was removed with a paper towel.

Next is the Mini Display Dome with the metal clover from the Figure Stand 2 package. You can see I painted it with Rustic Wilderness Distress Paint (sanded with steel wool once dry). The cork base of the Mini Display Dome was painted with Ground Espresso Distress Paint then sanded back. String and Snippets Curator were used on the outside of the glass.

Add your pieces to the Vignette with Collage Medium. I have a small wood block behind the Snapshot so it can stand up and be at an angle free from the back wall of the vignette. Once the wood block is secure, the Quote Chip can be added to the Snapshot with a thin foam square.

I also painted a knob with white paint. Once dry, I scribbled Distress Crayon over the top to age. Remember this technique from my last post, "10 Ways to use Distress Crayons"? It was number 5 - Faux Patina.

By the way, the knob is not screwed on (there is no hole underneath). I just glued it in place with Collage Medium and let it dry for at least an hour before moving forward with the string.

I added labels from the Curator set to the top of the box with Collage Medium and Cello Tape. This shot is just delicious to me! It's everything I love! 

I also cut a small piece of string and added the bird to it. I tied a knot at the top to keep the bird in place, then added it to the knob, trimming away the excess. I cut a second string about 30" long, folded it in half, then tied a bow around the knob to complete the look. The little bird is from Sweetheart Adornments.

I added more Worn Wallpaper to the back of the box before securing the Tiny Lights in place with Scor-tape.

So to finish up I needed to add more dimension to the inside, so I decided to use the Wildflower Stems 2. I thought the stem on the right looked kinda like clovers. I sprayed a piece of Distress Watercolor Cardstock with Spray Stain then cut out three stems with the die.

I thought I better show what I did here. I really only wanted the top part of the tall stem, so I cut one whole (where the die is in the photo), then I cut two more times of just the top portion of the stem.

I used the top of one of the pieces as my base. Then cut leaves to from the leftovers. I took the leaves and glued them to the base, making each stem 3D. I made TWO of these + a couple extra leaves that are singles.

This is one base + leaves. You can see that I bent the top leaves so they stand away from the base.

I glued one to the top of the box - there are small foam squares under to leaves that hang over the Snapshot, so they are actually connected to the Snapshot, not just floating over the top.

I glued the second one behind the Quote Chip - I kinda munched that one up to give it a shape before adding it to the box.

Note: there are a couple single leaves on the left side, out of the camera shot.

I wanted to add another color so I decided on some flowers. I thought the small flowers from Brushstroke Flowers Mini would work perfectly. Again, I colored some Distress Watercolor Cardstock, this time with purples and blues. Then cut out a couple sets of flowers. I used a Villainous Potion Distress Crayon for the dark purple center of each flower.

Then I just added them with Collage Medium. That lavender looks so good with the green!

Heres the left side with the extra leaves and one flower.

I love the way this turned out. The colors are just so pleasing to me and it will be perfect to have on display in March and beyond!

Thanks for stopping by!

Now carry on,

paula

Lucky Star

Hello Friends!

Happy to be here today sharing my Vignette Divided Drawer. I don't normally go for "purple" but the Transparency with the flower was the catalyst for this project and it just lead me that direction.  Lets get started!

I first adhered paper to both the inside and outside of the Divided Drawer.  I used paper from Backdrops 4 (the neutral pack) because I needed a neutral base for the "purple" story. It takes a bit of time to add all the paper pieces, but once it's done the rest was easy to fill in.  I also think the choice of the green Trim Tape was good to offset the purple.  I've never used the green tape in the Trim pack before, but once it was on, I knew it was the perfect choice.

*I previously drilled a hole for the Tiny Lights, that will be added to the center section.

I added Large Fasteners to the sides of the box that I had dented with the new Texture Hammer.  I cut the brad "legs" off each Large Fastener before denting and adding white paint - then I just used Collage medium to glue each metal Fastener to the box, mimicking rivets.  I added 3 Large Fasteners to each side of the Divided Drawer.

I added a Quote Chip Labels to a metal Label Frame. The oval size worked perfectly on the top of the Divided Drawer.  I adhered it with Collage Medium and let it sit for 30 minutes before laying the box down.  While this was drying, I worked on coloring the Photomatic and doing the stitching with embroidery floss. 

Distress Crayons were used to color the Photomatic: Peeled Paint, Uncharted Mariner for the background and Villainous Potion for her dress.

EMBROIDERY

I used a sharp needle and embroidery floss to stitch three french knots and two small leaves, as a corsage on her lapel. The photos are easy to stitch through and the texture is a fun addition.  Just remember, a sharp needle is a must.

TIP: to get the photo to appear to be freestanding, I added a small wood block to the back.

FIGURE STAND

I glued the star to the stand.  Once secure, I wiped white paint over the metal and let that dry.  A few pounces of Mushroom Alcohol Ink gave the metal a good Patina, making it look much older than it is.  The words LUCKY STAR came from the Clippings Sticker book.  The stand was secured to the box with Collage Medium.

*Figure Stands - this is the one item that is still on pre-order.  Hopefully they will be in shortly!

PEARLS

The pearls are vintage (from an old necklace).  I painted Collage Medium onto the surface of the box and just poured the pearls into the box to see which ones stayed put.  Once I let them dry, I banged the box on table to see if any would come loose - about 4 rolled to the back.  I used tweezers to grab the loose ones and glued each of them back in place with a little more Collage Medium.  

*remember, Collage Medium dries clear and shrinks around the item being glued.

TRANSPARENCY

I cut the flower transparency to fit the center compartment (where I had already added the Tiny Lights). I used 1/4" Scor-tape to adhere the Transparency to the wood box. The transparencies are thick and hold up really well over the open space.

After the Trim Tape is added to the box, the transparency will be enclosed on all sides. I added a piece of mica over the transparency (collage medium just on the edges) to add texture, but that part is optional.

For the bottom section, I wanted to keep the nature theme going.  I started with the background, adding ephemera pieces from the Transparent Things 2 pack.  I used Scor-Tape to add them to the back of the box before adding the Barrel and Toadstools.

TOADSTOOLS

You might notice I covered the cap of each Toadstool with vintage paper from an old book.  I coated the Toadstool cap with Collage Medium, then wrapped strips of book paper over the top till covered, adding more Collage Medium over the top.  Dry with a heat tool before adding the paint splatters (Villainous Potion and Picket Fence).  I also glued moss up inside the Toadstool so it hangs down one side.

BARREL

The Barrel is just glued into the box with Collage Medium (a nice big dollop!).  That much Collage Medium takes longer to dry, but once it is dry, it's like cement and will not move.

I added the moss and then some Bouquet flowers that were sprayed with Shaded Lilac Distress Spray.

One of the new metal leaves (Foliage Adornments) was added at the bottom.  I wiped Rustic Wilderness Distress Paint over the leaves before adding to the barrel with Collage Medium. 

I hope you liked the project today.  I love the spring colors and the nature theme.  It's hard to photograph with the Tiny Lights on (in the center section) but I like the way it looks in person. 

Now carry on,

paula