What is it with Me and Finishes?

I have a terrible time with getting projects finished.  I really don't know what the problem is.  My cupboards are full of projects that are almost done . . . and quite a few that are not even close!

I know that I am easily distracted (can you say short attention span?), but I wonder if something else is at work here.  So, I am going to start studying why projects are left undone.  As well as try to finish some of them!

Creative Box Making from March 2009

  I took this class from Sue Bleiweiss last spring and did pretty well for the first four (out of five) lessons.  As I look back at the calendar and this blog, I noticed I was involved in several swaps in April.  Then I took a quilting class in May, we had water come into the basement, . . . and it appears that life began to get in the way.  

I'm thinking, too, that the Lesson 4 box was not exactly my style (see above and right).  It is a game box and I can't think of a reason to make another one.  We are just not big gamers at our house.

Which is a shame, because I really love the boxes in Lesson 5!  And this week I finally completed that lesson.  A seven month recess - not bad!

The first container was a teapot - for holding tea, of course!  No, not the liquid stuff - tea bags!  Deviating somewhat from Sue's directions, I dribbled fabric paint onto a plate and then scrunched used Shout Color Catchers around in it to come up with a background for motifs cut from a tea box.   I am already using it to store the collection of tea bags near my worktable.

 

For the last box, I made a pyramid container.  I needed to make a collage piece for postcard backgrounds and just increased the size to include this.  The box is about 6 inches tall and 4 inches wide at the bottom.

 

 

When you look on the bottom, you can see that I used a "reject" doll arm in the collage.  Interesting idea.  I will have to do that again sometime!

 

And the box is just right to hold thumbtacks or paperclips or perhaps coins. 

So how come I waited so long to make these?  And why wasn't I working on the challenge due next month?

Fun with Altoids

. . . er, the tins they come in, that is.

This month at my doll club, we experimented with making things from Altoid tins.   There are really quite a few things you can do with these (and other) small tins - from useful to purely decorative.  There were many, many ideas being bounced around the table!

I did some pre-work on three tins before class.  I painted gesso on one (not shown), ground off all the paint on one (this can be done by hand-sanding but I used a grinder), and mod-podged papers on a third.

And here is what I ended up with!

I used wire to string beads and buttons for the arms and legs and to attach a flattened bottle cap along with doll-head bead as the head.  I had a piece of Tyvek and a footprint in paperclay which I used as embellishment on the lid. 

Inside, I mod-podged clip art of a vintage brandy advertisement.  I'm not sure what the message is here, but it's bound to be a good one!  LOL!

For the gessoed tin, I stamped a face on the lid.  The ink was not really permanent, so it smudged and ran a bit when I sealed it with mod-podge.  Actually makes it a bit more interesting, doesn't it?

On the inside is more "vintage" clip art and a stamped message.  The legs and hands - more clip art - were attached using wire and beads - and some cute little blue clothespins!  By the way, all of the clip art is from Alpha Stamps collage sheets.

Apparently two tins is my limit for one session - because the third one is very simple!

I glued some grunge board arrows on the top - and that's it!  Of course the paper mod-podge was already done.  I discovered that just one layer of paper can prevent the lid from closing properly.  For the next time, I will trim off the paper cover right at the lid line.  But this little box will be good to hold paperclips or something like that on the desk.

I provided several of the tins for the group to "play" with.  I've been collecting them for awhile  . . . and forgot to stop!  It was nice to clear some of them out!  But I've got more, never fear.

If you would like to see more samples of what can be done with these little gems, just put 'altered altoid tins' into your favorite search engine.  One of my favorites for eye candy is the Art-e-zine site.  Yummy stuff!

Another class project

That title might be a little misleading . . . it's not another class.  It's still the Creative Boxmaking class I've been taking.  But I couldn't say "Another Box" . . . well, it's not a box!

In fact, it's a Vase - two of them.  These vases are made using the same techniques as one would use to make a box, though.  Sue does a good job of making the class interesting by having us make something a bit unexpected!

The tall vase was made by layering tissue paper with Gesso.  Basically the same process as I used on the outside of the first box.  This one gave me a chance to correct my mistakes the first time around, which was basically not using enough Gesso.  This is really a very messy process when done right - my lab assistant demonstrates just one of the issues below  - but it is really a pretty surface when completed.

(No, pugs do not come with white spotted muzzles!)

Here is a closeup of the other vase.  I made this one smaller (more like a basket) because I have these acorns and other seed pods that needed a home.  The outside surface of this "box" started out as a brown paper bag.

 Here you can see that I punched holes and inserted eyelets (LOVE that Crop-A-Dile tool!!) and then laced the sides together using a coordinating yarn.  It would look cool with leather lacing, too.

I have the next box under construction now.  I might finish it before the last lesson comes out, but don't hold your breath!!   I am keeping pretty busy with all kinds of projects.  Plus, it is almost time for another Goal Review.  Yikes!  Six weeks already? 

Another Box

Here it is the end of the third week of this class - and I am finally posting pictures of my second box!  It's not that I am falling behind (really!), but the first set of photos I took were awful!  Today I tried again - much better.  I really need to study up on lighting!

This box is in the shape of a house.  Very cool, huh?!

For the roof, I layered and fused some fabric scraps and then candy wrappers.  A final layer of chiffon helps keep it all in place.  In this picture I was "auditioning" fabric for the walls.  Too bad those kitties weren't quite right!

Doors and windows were cut from the scraps of the roof fabric then stitched in place.

  The roof lifts up to reveal the box contents.  I'm thinking chocolate would look good in there!

Pretty Box

I'm taking an online class from Sue Bleiweiss called Creative Box Making for the Fiber Artist.  Yes - I'm taking another class!  I was going to take a break from online classwork, but this class looked way too interesting to pass up.  And it is!

This box is from Lesson 1.  I used copper screen for the window spaces.  I had some in my stash - purchased for a clay project that never got off the ground!  Not sure I even remember what it was now.  Jeesh! 

This is the view from the top.  I found the paw print at a scrapbook store (it's a brad) and the color is close enough to copper that I figured it would work. 

This is a cute little box, suitable for holding something with a fragrance like lavender or scented candles.  But not for lighting the candle!  Very flammable - Yikes! 

I've been wrapping up a couple other projects.  Still some details to finish up, but they will be ready for posting in a few more days.  Here are a couple of "teasers."

 

 

 

 

Stay tuned.