Altered book

I attempted to build a doll house from a book in a vintage style. 

I cut out doorways and staircase from the pages of the book and this is how it looks. Them with lots of layering, texture pastes, stenciling through a lace, sketching, fuzzy cutting and embellishing I build a scene of any day in a house. This book depicts a page out of any ladies life…look through some more pictures to see what I mean.  

The basic page cutting such that the book can be folded shut

I wanted to use a metallic lace (which you will see as an outline of the walls) I have been hoarding for a while. It’s also perfect to add a vintage look.   For creating a vintage look to the walls I applied modeling paste though a lace and inked it orange.

See the walls texture, created by stenciling through a lace with modeling paste

Note the stairways

 For the cover of the book refer this link to see how I did it.

See the cover of the book in the mirror reflection

Most of the miniatures I have made from card board. The candle stand and the dressing table were both made in a vintage style to add as accessories. There is also a little doll there , a rightful resident of this doll house!

 

Hope you liked my story book!!

Linking this to:
Lessology challenge: 48 lace up
 

Frangipani earrings from plastic bottles

Another attempt to recycle, this time plastic bottles into earrings...

Here are the WIP pictures..

I have written a detailed Do it yourself instruction here

Tea light holder mixed media

As I was reading my blog roll , I came across 2 challenges(which I am linking to) that have highly inspired this project

Firstly,  Lulupu challenge 49 = color palette+ feminine creations + use wings which has a fantastic picture. In the picture something subtle but what caught my attention the girl in the picture holding a candle stand, the bronze clock and the tinge of pink, blue and peach.

 Another challenge that truly got me starting was CSCC #14 mixed media challenge. The romantic picture kept making me this of candle light. In the picture I loved the magnifying effect with a dash of bright red which steals all attention.

 So there I was sitting in my crafting area staring at an old cardboard box. I knew I wanted to make a candle light holder, but these 2 pictures set my mood going.

 I am making this as an inspiration for the unstampablles challenge with a theme of family tree with a twist to make it vintage. I interpreted the theme slightly differently to think of members of the family as  different elements of a tree (flower/ fruits, roots, flora , fauna), with light meaning family bond in the center.

 

I altered a cardboard box into a tea light candle holder. I added strips of cardboard and painted make it appear as wood. Further randomly added torn vintage pp , dabbed with inks and gesso.

 

I added brown and orange flowers (from flourishwithbling) and some hand made flowers. I made a metal butterfly from some broken old earrings. I also made the peach flowers of handmade paper and added pearls to it to embellish

 

 

Embellished this with pearls, beads, fibre etc. I also stuck a magnifying glass to focus on “our journey” to add some emotion and magnify emotions.

 

 

Hope you enjoyed it and play along the unstampablles challenge which is giving away a superb pillow box die from Die-namics .

materials used

Linking this project to

Lulupu challenge 49 and CSCC #14 and
 BGC #68 (make your own embellishments). I have made flowers, used magnifying glass as embellishment.

 

Mini dressing table for a doll house

 

November 14 is celebrated as children's day so I thought of making a dressing table box unit for my kids doll house (something I have been promising her for long).

 

  

This month the theme for the unstampabelles challenges is - Box it up - with the twist being create a tutorial for others on your  blog on how the box was made; you could have a link and show progress photos and tips as an alternative . The challenge is sponsored by:

 

 

Well, this time I interpreted the theme box it up differently.  I thought out of the box quite literally!!! I decided to use boxes to create a miniature box unit dressing table, for a doll house.

 

So I gathered a couple of match boxes and cardboard. I measured an area (in my kids doll house) where I wanted to place this and cut out the cardboard as below.

 

 

 

Since I wanted to work on a grungy look, I tattered the cardboard as you can see and then folded it to my dimension. Remember the side flaps have to equate to the height of the table. Further, I used the natural corrugated portion of the cardboard to form the rims of the table.

For the drawers I stacked the 3 boxes on top of each other.

 

I covered the whole box unit with a crumpled masking tape to create an uneven texture. Yes I know it looks ugly at this stage.

 

There on I have done the following to get to the next stage:

1. Coated the masking tape with black gesso.
2. Next rubbed silver embossing powder onto the black with a sponge. At this stage naturally the protruding portion gets colored.
3. I cut out an oval shape of thick paper and coated it with foil for making a mirror.
4. Since I did not have a mirror border chipboard of this size, i decided to go with a cut out from a piece of lace.
5. After having picked the lace you want to use, cut it to dimension and dip it in glue, such that it hardens when dry and become stiff.
6. Post this I dabbed it again with black gesso.
7. The small beads paired very well with color combo and used that for my drawers and mirror.

 

This is a fully operational dressing table, with usable drawers (for the doll!).

 

hope you like my piece of furniture, all boxed up....

 

Am linking this to:

 

Lulupu challenge 41: Childs play
Imaginationsonline challenge 5 : Out of the box
 

Paper Mache Table cum lantern: Perfect Festive spirits

How can we celebrate festivals without lights? ...I decided to make this camel table cum lantern to place in the living room while several guest visit us during this season.

Camel Table light

 

 

For paper mache on such a big scale, I started with building and armature. 

building the model

                                                 I got my kids to help me shred paper

Preparing the paper mache

To make the paper mache dough I used the finely shredded paper, pinch of zinc oxide (to prevent molds) and PVA glue with water.

Before starting to paint I have coated the camel with primer.

freehand modeling and painting

 

 

Here are some other completed snaps

 

 

I have decorated the top wooden plank by sticking a hand made paper with wood glue. Further, Have used thick red and golden ribbons to wrap around the tubing. I made net flower and leaves to add to the table.

This Camel is 4 feet in length X 1.7 feet in width X 2 feet in height. I have inserted power saving LED lights and fixed four wheels to drag the camel as per convenience as a center table, bed side stand/ night lamp or during barbeque nights on the terrace.

 

 

Aerial View

To decorate the face off the camel I have used beads, golden ribbon and golden net sheet.

Front View

Inside the camel's belly (the table ) I have stock layers of red, green and blue gelatin paper so that when it lights up it throws various colorful lights.

Side View

 

 I have stitched around an elastic the golden net and black mirror worked cloth, such that it can be easily removed and washed (during festivals with plenty of guests this does get dirty)

 

 

Cheers!

 

 

 

Linking this to Imaginations: October Festivals

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mixed Media tag

Am very excited sharing this with you today. I have been down with an ENT infection for a while and just been crafting in my head. Finally I am somewhat back in my craft room, have been looking around for inspiration and am really kicked up about using textures.

 This time I made an altered luggage tag.

 

While I have been in bed, Ive been staring at this luggage tag on my suitcase. I really loved the cut and was thinking I can make it look like a mini suitcase. So here I am; combining my love for travel, texturing and recycling!

 

The original tag

 I stuck a translucent wrapping tissue paper all over the tag so use the red color of the tag. The front side (where the name is displayed, I cut out a card stock shaped as a suitcase, applied a layer of gesso applied home made modeling paste while adding a tingle of shimmer, through my stash net stencil. I clicked this pic while I was carrying it in my hand, also so you’d have an idea of the size of the tag!



Suitcase shaped paper textured to stick onto the airline tag

 

I wanted to make a small wheel to my suitcase so I pulled out an old red button from my stash , gessoed it and inked it.



Button as a wheel
 

 Once dry, I dabbed distress ink on it. My kitty recently tore apart my pearl bracelet and I had kept those away in my box, so I thought of using those to border the suitcase.

I was experimenting with crepe papers to make flowers and I had made these mini sunflowers some time back. However since they are so small, I never got a chance to really use them. Any guesses what I made the leaves from!...Well, it is a result of an interesting experiment. I soaked up a green wool in glue and then stitched it over a paper to create this formation. I let it dry and simply tore apart the paper and was left with this beauty (which I further colored/ distressed) .

 Moving to the back of my tag (this is where I wanted the red to show through!) I applied modeling paste to create a world map and to the water area applied gesso. Once dry, I simply painted the water with acrylic paints and couldn’t resist my temptation to add some glitter!

World map created with gesso and paste

 The other flap of the tag (behind the name and address flap) I applied modeling paste and scratched it with a fork to create this pattern. Since this is so small and I don’t own a stencil so small, I made some cut outs from an OHP to create the Rays pattern and stamped a cut ladiesfinger (Okra ) with gesso and red ink and let the color play itself.

 

 I sketched this blue haired girl, while I wanted to use the phrase “to paint the town red”. Since I made a globe-trotting tag here, I changed it to world!

 

 

 I am so used to creating large mixed media projects, this was completely out of my comfort zone. But I learnt that size doesn’t necessarily interfere with spontaneity!


Im quite liking how this looks....what a chic suitcase it would make.

Wouldn’t you help but notice it, if it was dragged in front of you while you are killing time at the boarding gate!

 

Suitcase on wheels

 Supplies used: home made - modeling paste, gesso, crepe paper, mini pearls, button, green twine, distress ink (worn lipstick).

Am linking this to

BGC 58: Textured tag

Lessology : Travelogue
Craft Hoarders Anonymous  Challenge #15 - All The Pretty Flowers
SSS Wednesday : Create your background

 

Very excited to link this to The Mirror Crack’d  , their first mixed media challenge.

Mixed Media canvas combined with upcyling (wall art)

Here is my altered canvas I made for my own home......All sorts of techniques or arts, crafts and upcycling have been used.... Well, I went with the black and white tiles coz these suit my curtains and interiors.....

To start with I took an old window frame of wood which was to be disposed...That should give you a good idea of its size ...approximately 3.5 feet in height....I wrapped this with canvas cloth which has been lying with me since ages (had bought it for some stich-work but never used it much) so it had many creases, stains, tears and cuts (ironing also could not do away with these)....However the task was to use these creases to compliment the work, so I used these patches to gives light and shadow effect wherever damaged, stick accessories, wherever torn or cut......
The major task was to nail the canvas to the frame. Once done, I marked out areas which required covering up or had folds...Accordingly I made a sketch according to make this balcony scene....

So what are the techniques used.........The base painting is of acrylic paints....On the right side (the scene outside the balcony. I have used decoupage technique and modge podge (of course to seal the holes) and intentionally kept jolly light colors to portray the brighter ide of the world!. Have used  some water colors to fill empty patches and to give a sky effect..The balcony railing is a 3D black outliner. I used this medium such that it reflects light and look like metal/ grill work...

In the balcony I have placed some cats made out of paper mache...I chose this medium as paper mache is great to give a 3 D effect and when I put on the light on the wall to which this is framed, it throws a nice real cat shadow.....

I have also made a glass bowl which is a cut out from an old plastic packaging material  and colored with see through glass paints to give the water effect (and also under the light it throws a nice blue shadows like real water bowls).....

Coming to the  right side of the canvas (this was tough as there were to many holes spread across and I have used folds of the cloth as wall corners which worked very well) I have accessorised the painting using some embellishments, buttons, pearls and glass pieces. Around the mirror to create a wire look I have used some paper quilling techniques and colored in bronze…

The wall clock is my favourite….II it’s a real operational clock I have built of an old wrist watch …I have carefully dismantled and rearranged the watch to make it a real miniature wall clock…

Don't miss my pencil sketch in the extreme corner which is framed in an anklet giving it a vintage look.

I really loved the whole look. And one fine day when no one was at home I got this framed on my wall to see everyone pleasantly surprised in the evening!!!

 

 

Here is a glimpse of some of the basic materials used

 

Other supplies: watercolor set American crafts, paper matte finish modge podge, acrylic paints, other embellishments as mentioned above.

Linking this to http://gloriadesignschallenge.blogspot.ch/2014/08/challenge-13-lets-cycleup-cycle-that-is.html

Anything goes http://craftingfromtheheartchallengeblog.blogspot.in/

http://www.simonsaysstampblog.com/mondaychallenge/ Anything goes

http://alteredeclectics.blogspot.in/

http://reves2scrap.blogspot.fr/ anything goes with pearls

http://memascrafts.blogspot.in/2013/08/august-2014-anything-goes.html
 

Mixed media altered art 3D..A Fairy Home

For some days now I have been planning to make something with this 5 ltr plastic water jar. . . Finally I was inspired by the fairytales I read out to my kiddo and decide to make this..

I simply cut and carved out the plastic containers, folding plastic in ways to make it appear in different shades I used a drawing marker, cutter, glass paints, acrylic paints, pollen sticks  used for making flowers, mseal, PVA glue, varnish and  beads and other embellishments.

Below are some of the work in progress pics...

This is what I started with

WIP



birds nest

Add caption

French window

Fairy Home
 



Final look



I have two uses in mind for this...Place tea lights in it and make it a lamp shade or plant a indoor plant to make it a planter (I have made enough air circulation cuts and water proof too!)...Ah!...Im torn between these two ideas...What are your suggestions for this fairy home?

As a planter

As a light hanger