There are tons of photos in this post so grab a drink and settle in for lots of pictures and details. . .
When I sat down to create this tray, I didn't really have a theme in mind. I just figured it would be kind of assorted odds and ends. As I continued it took on a number theme, with several of the boxes having something to do with numbers, counting, or time. All mean something to me so the final project ended up being a little snapshot of me and some of the things most important to me.
For this block, I lined the inside with patterned paper from the Crowded Attic Paper Stash. I layered a Crowded Attic Salvage Sticker onto a piece of paper from the Lost and Found Paper Stash and added machine stitching around the edge. I used my typewriter to add text on two pieces of scrap patterned paper and clipped them on using a Mini Paper Clip. I distressed the two Fractured Dolls by applying paint (Pitch Black Adirondak Paint Daubers) over them and then wiping it off with a dry towel. I added two silk ribbon bows around each doll's neck in the favorite colors of my two daughters. You may know that my two girls are 13 years apart so the difference in the sizes of the two dolls seemed perfect to represent them.
Through out the whole project, nearly every piece of everything was inked with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. Also, any paper edges that are distressed were distressed with the Tim Holtz Tonic Paper Distresser. I also used Claudine Hellmuth Studio Matte Multi Medium to adhere all of my paper items. I used Therm O Web's 3D Adhesive Foam Squares to mount pretty much everything in the box so that it all floats out away from the back. I love the added dimension they add. I also used Helmar's 450 Quick Dry to adhere anything that isn't floating out, like flowers, bottles, etc. I used the new Sketchbook Tissue Tape for all of my box seams and edges.
This box features a photo of my house which is adhered to a piece of paper from the Lost and Found Paper Stash. The paper in the box behind the photo is from the Crowded Attic Paper Stash. I used the Crowded Attic Salvage Stickers alphabet to add the word HOME to a scrap of patterned paper and accented the letters with a line of machine stitching. I clipped the piece to the photo using a Mini Paper Clip. I added two Game Pieces to create 515 (my house number).
On the box to the left, the inside back is covered with paper from the Crowded Attic Paper Stash. I added an Keyhole to the back and hung a Locket Key from a brad in the Keyhole. I again typed text on scraps of patterned paper. I placed one piece on the Keyhole and one on a scrap piece of a ruler sticker from the Crowded Attic Salvage Sticker set that I adhered to a scrap piece of Grungepaper.
The second box has paper from the Lost and Found Paper Stash that has been covered in Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint. I created the flower using crinoline cut with the Tattered Florals Alterations Die and colored with Wild Honey Distress Ink. If you would like instructions for making this flower, you can download my printable tutorial.
On the box to the left, the inside back is covered with paper from the Crowded Attic Paper Stash. I added a Word Stick that I painted with Snow Cap White Adirondack Paint Dabber. I wiped the paint away with a cloth, leaving the paint down in the recessed letters. I added a small scrap of Trimmings colored with a spray ink through the opening and adhered it to the center of the space with an adhesive foam square.
The box on the right is covered with paper from the Crowded Attic Paper Stash. The piece that looks like sewing pattern instructions is from the Crowded Attic Salvage Stickers. I crumbled it and inked it to add some texture. I added brown embroidery floss to a small wooden spool and inserted a Memo Pin into to hold another typed piece of text. I also added a small flower that was created by cutting fabric using the Tattered Florals Alterations Die (colored with Spun Sugar Distress Ink) and layered with Foliage and a Washer (bent and shaped with a pair of pliers). I also layered two Accoutrements Buttons (one from the new Shabby set and one from the Fanciful set) and tied them together with embroidery floss.
For this box, I first colored a piece of the new Kraft Resist Paper Stash with assorted shades of blue, green, and yellow to create a landscape. I used the branch portion of the bird on branch stamp from the Urban Tapestry stamp set inked in Walnut Stain Distress Ink to stamp branches on my scene. After adding the paper to the box, I added an Umbrella Man die cut from Grungepaper, painted black with an Adirondack Pitch Black Paint Dabber and then coated in Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint. I then covered a small chipboard frame with a piece of paper (I forget which Stash this one came from) that was inked and covered in Rock Candy Distress Stickles. I added a typed quote to the back of the frame.
This box is covered with paper from the Crowded Attic Paper Stash. I added a number 3 from the Numerals set that I first coated in Pitch Black Pigment Ink and then Painted over with the Snow Cap Adirondack Paint Dabber. I added a top layer of Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint. After it was all dry, I tied on a small typed tag and adhered the piece with adhesive foam squares.
This box is covered with paper from the Crowded Attic Paper Stash. I added a Time Piece that I first painted with the Snow Cap Adirondack Paint Dabber and then dabbed on Pitch Black Pigment Ink. I added a small text strip with the word TIME and put it inside a Corked Vial to represent a long favorite song Time In a Bottle. I also added typed strips that say "Make Time. No matter what."
Next, this box is covered with paper from the Crowded Attic Paper Stash. Like the other box with the flower, the inside back of this one is covered with Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint. I added a crinoline rose as before, this time colored using Broken China Distress Ink. In this box I added a bit of dried hydrangeas from my garden along with a butterfly sticker from the Crowded Attic Salvage Sticker set. I misted the dried hydrangeas with Perfect Pearls Interference Red Mist to give them a bit of color and sparkle. The butterfly was monochromatic so I used Copic Markers in super light muted colors and then inked over it with Vintage Photo Distress Ink to mute and age it.
This box is covered with paper from the Crowded Attic Paper Stash. I tied a little bundle of posies together with a bit of colored Trimmings. To create the posies, I folded fabric flowers cut from the Tattered Florals Die into a cone shape and wrapped the tip of the cone with thin floral wire.
This box is the same as the box with the blue flower, except of course that the paper is a different color and that the flower is colored using Spun Sugar Distress Ink.
For this box, I covered the inside with paper from the Lost and Found Paper Stash. I added a piece of the ruffled trip from the Trimmings set. I lightly brushed the trim with Wild Honey Distress Ink to give it color. I added a text strip over the center of the trim and added brads to each end. I finished it off with a Pen Nib.
For this box, I first added Distress Inks to a piece of Kraft Resist Paper Stash in blues and yellows. I then added a fabric piece that is a made up of Sticky Back Canvas, quilt batting, and cotton. I stamped my all time favorite Tim Holtz Stamp from the Just Thoughts set on the piece (before sewing it to the other layers) and colored the images with Copic Markers. The marker ink tends to run on fabric, but I actually like the effect. I added a light touch of blue and yellow Distress Inks to the image to try to add sun and sky effects. I finished off the fabric piece with two Mini Pins.
These three blocks are all filled with paper from the Crowded Attic Paper Stash. I used a Fiskars round scallop punch to cut out paper to layer behind the large Shabby Accoutrements. I inked the edges of the paper pieces and added Clear Rock Candy Stickles to the surface. After they were dry, I layered the buttons on top and added embroidery floss to the button holes. I adhered Alpha Parts to the top of each button. The letters are the initials of my three kids.
In the tall box, I covered the backs and sides with paper from the Lost and Found Paper Stash. I used a ruler sticker from the Crowded Attic Salvage Sticker set. I adhered the sticker to two layers of Grungepaper. I added a typed quote to Ornate Plate that I adhered to the outside of the box. I embellished it with a small flower that was created by cutting fabric using the Tattered Florals Alterations Die (colored with Spun Sugar Distress Ink) and layered with a Reinforcer, Foliage and a Washer (bent and shaped with a pair of pliers).
Next, this box was also covered in paper from the Crowded Attic Paper Stash. I added two Corked Vials that are filled with sand from my honeymoon. I tied a bit of colored Trimmings ribbon around them and added a Trinket Pin. I added a Numeral that I inked with Adirondack Pigment Inks (sorry, I forget which ones I used on this piece). The photo is of the place where my husband and I got married. As I did in most of the others, I typed some text on a scrap of paper and added it over the photo.
The box on the left is covered with paper from the Crowded Attic Paper Stash. I layered a Crowded Attic Salvage Sticker on a scrap of patterned paper and used a Mini Paper Clip to add text strips about the three boys in my house, the hubby, the son, and the puppy dog.
The last box is filled with paper from the Crowded Attic Paper stash. I used the Snow Cap Adirondack Paint Dabber to add paint inside the word on a Word Key. I used embroidery floss to add a text tag and a Chain Tassel.
Whew! Did you make it all the way to the end? I think I may have broken my own record for blog post length with this one! I have to say that a lot of times after I finish a project I see things I would change or tweak. Not this one, I love every bit of it. Looking at it totally makes me smile!
