Altered Fairy Dust Cigar Box with Hidden Compartment

Today is a gorgeous day.  Sunny and warm for a Fall day.

We went to go out to dinner last night and our car decided to act up and the check engine light came on.  Well,  $500.00 later it is feeling fine again.

Don't you just love it when your car acts up and your not a mechanic?

For today's project I altered a wooden cigar box.  I call it my fairy dust box.

Again, I used my favorite paper, DCWV in the primrose pattern.  There are so many different papers in this collection the results all coordinate yet look so different depending on the combinations used.

 First thing I did was paint the box with white chalk paint.  On this box I used the harlequin glittered paper.   Distressed the paper and the box.  On the top I cut out 3 of the tags, distressed the edges and layered them  Added some lace, some rhinestones, a little velvet bow and mulberry flowers.

On the front of the box I cut a lace medallion with pearls from a piece of lace and hot glued it in place. Around the top edge I cut a piece of border lace from the top of a larger piece.

Continued the paper all around the box.

close up of flower details

close up of tag detail

I continued on the inside of the lid with the same paper.  Added another cut out tag, a small piece of lace, a white rose, a couple of  butterflies and a saying I printed out from Pinterest.  Then added a row of rhinestones for more bling.  Gotta have my bling.

Tucked inside the box is an altered jar filled filled with fairy dust.

Detail of jar with on of my handmade flowers

I partially filled the jar with glitter, mica flakes and white pearls to create my fairy dust.

I made a satin pillow lightly filled with fiberfill for the fairy jar to rest on and underneath I covered the bottom with paper that I only partially glued down.  Leaving one corner loose.  I used hot glue to glue the satin pillow together.

As you can see under the loose paper there is a cut out for lifting the false bottom I created by lining the box with 1 inch strips of cardboard on all 4 sides and cutting a piece for the false bottom to fit snuggly on top.

loos corner of paper

  Under my false bottom I used a little fiberfill and a piece of ivory chiffon to cover the bottom of the box to make a soft area for any hidden treasures.  Again I used hot glue to secure the chiffon in place.

Happy Crafting!

Shabby Chic Altered Clipboards

Here are two regular brown clipboards I altered for my craft room.

I used my favorite DCWV Primrose paper.  I just adore the colors of these papers, so shabby chic and soft without being too pastel and very vintage.  

On the long clipboard I needed to piece coordinating papers to fit the length.

I began by cutting the paper to fit and gluing to the board with Mod Podge.

When the glue was dry I sanded the edges and distress the edges with distress ink.

I  painted the clip with Martha Stewart pearl pink paint.  Then added the lace trims and Mulberry flowers with hot glue.  And added a few hot pink rhinestones for bling.

pieced papers

On the second, shorter board, I used one sheet of paper, from the 12" x 12' paper pad.

I added a couple of pink lace daisies with a clear rhinestone in the center, more lace bits from my stash and a larger mulberry lily surrounded by smaller pink flowers. When everything was dry I gave them both a coat of Mod Podge to protect the papers making them more durable.

I use these clipboards in my craft room to hold project ideas or magazines

 I want to use for reference.

Happy Crafting!

Altered Composition Book

All our prayers are with the people of Paris.  They have had a terrible weekend.  Hopefully their will healing in their lives soon.  It is so sad when one human can take out his anger on another total stranger with no remorse or caring.  I pray for peace in the lives of all those involved is this terrible tragedy.  

My family is from France so I have always felt close the the French people. Perhaps that is why I like the Shabby Chic French decorating style.

Today's project is a shabby chic altered composition book.

The first thing I did was cruise Pinterest for a couple of images for the front and back covers.

Print out the images to fit your covers.

Glue the images to the covers.

 Next, sand the edges of the book then distressed with a light aqua distress ink.

Add three pearls, some lace and a border of Stickles  down the length of the book, where the lace and print meet, for a little bling.

front cover

Starting with the first page, I cut a piece of scrapbook paper from DCWV, Primrose pattern and glued to the first page and about every 25 pages added another page and tab.  For the tabs I drew an image on a piece of scrap card stock and traced my pattern on the different papers, then cut them out and glued along the edges at varying heights along the edge.

inside front

On the inside back cover I added a white ribbon bookmark to easily be able to fine the page I am working on.

inside back cover

The back cover I added a larger piece of paper to cover the whole area and then added my smaller picture from Pinterest along with a little glittered washi tape.

outside back cover

Happy Crafting!

Crafting Secretary Desk

Thought I would give you a peek where I do some of my projects.  

A year ago we made a trip to one of my favorite little towns in Nevada.  Genoa.

I found this little slant front secretary in one of the antique stores.  I could tell it was old.  The wood on the back is all hand planed and the dovetails where hand cut.  

Each one was different not machine made.

  

But the wood was starving for care, it looked so faded.  I cleaned and oiled the wood which brought out the luster and the rich color.  It turned out to be a beautiful piece.

The inside had all these cute little cubbies, too.  I decided to fill each cubby with a handmade box to fit, where I could store supplies. I used one of my favorite paper patterns, DCWV Primrose.

I love this paper pattern so much I purchased 5 or 6 stacks of them.  This paper has such a Shabby Chic look.  I use it on so many projects.  Love the way all my projects coordinate with each other.

Album in an Artist Canvas

6" x6" covered canvases

And lastly,  today's project with DCWV Le Tres Chic 12" x12" paper stack is a 4" x 4" mini album hidden between two 6" x 6" hinged artist canvases.

I painted the edges of the canvases black to match my paper, then covered them inside and out with the scrapbook papers once the paint was dried.  I used two tiny brass hinges to connect the canvases together. On the bottom corners I hot glued 4 large silver grey pearls for feet so my finished project will stand on its own.

closure on the outside

The edges I covered with a flat lace I attached with glue.  Then added the tiny closure with the screws that came with the lock and screwed it right into the wooden frame of the canvas.

inside with mini album in place

Front cover of mini album, here you can also see the hinges I used on the inside to attach the  canvases together .

And here is the finished inside where I also painted all the edges black just in case I had any gaps in the paper.  I didn't want any of the white canvas to show through.

back of cover of mini

The photos below show the detail of the album pages.

Believe or not but this tiny album has tons of space for photos and journaling.  
There is space for at least 30 photos.

back cover of hinged canvases

Book for Notes

My next project using the DCWV Le Tres Chic 12" x 12"  paper stack  is a little book for notes.  It contains a 4" x 6" paper pad.

Front Cover

 The notebook is made with 3 pieces of chipboard cut to desired size.  I covered the outside with the small floral pattern.  On the front cover I used the blue stripe with the Eiffel Tower image
and used one of the cut apart tags that I stamped the word "notes" in black.  On the upper and lower corners I added faux metal corner stickers and used Glossy Accents over the word "notes" and "the city of lights" that I had edged in rhinestones.

Inside has left pocket, pen, magnetic bookmark and paper tablet

4" x 6" tablet is removable  

On the left inside cover I created a pocket to hold loose notes and on the right cover I created a large pocket so the tablet is removable and a new one can be added as needed.  The penholder  is a piece of tan grosgrain ribbon inserted through a slit in the paper and glued behind.  The pen is a gel type pen that you can unscrew which allowed me to insert a small piece of paper inside to match the book.

Spine

On the spine I used another sticker from my stash with the word notes on it.  And again I sealed this with Glossy Accents.

Planning to make several of these for gifts in different paper patterns.  They would really make nice teachers gifts or for gift exchanges at work.

Altered Potato Chip Can

Wishing for more of a feeling of Fall in the air.   It is still in the 80's here.  Our little bit of cool weather is gone and it is warm again.  I have all the doors and windows open.  Really need that cooler weather and lots of rain.

For today's project I altered a potato chip type canister.   I covered the can with papers from DCWV Paper, Le Tres Chic 12 x 12 paper stack.  I really love all the different textures in this pack.  Some glitter, some glossy, some matte.

I first covered the front of the can with a floral paper from the pack about 4 inches wide and the height of the can, glued it from top to bottom, then chose the black and pink swirls for the outside.  Meeting in the center  and not gluing at the 4 inches at the top to form the "v" shape where I curled the edge back to reveal the floral paper beneath. I added some pink lace and a pink crystal tied on with some tea stained seam binding.

I placed a pink and black striped print cut about 2 inches tall all the way around the bottom edge. Then used one of the cut apart tags and a couple of paper flowers I punched out, added a rhinestone in the center of each to finish decorating the outside of the can.

Next I cut a circle from the floral paper to fit the lid and added three more punched out flowers with pearl centers and a few leaves from my stash. 

I am using this can to store all the punched out flowers that I have made for some future project.

I am also working on a scrapbook and a book for notes from the same paper paper pack.

And here is another one I made using DCWV Primrose stack.  Love these papers so shabby chic.  I use this one to store my dyed seam binding.

Love it when I get organized.