A Tisket, a Tasket, Another Kitchen Basket

 

Welcome to another day of crafting, and another kitchen basket shadow box! Today I created a beach scene using crushed glass for the ocean, mixed sand for the beach, and tiny seed beads mixed with white paint for the sea foam.

I have plenty of sea shells, but added some pea gravel, moss and one glass button from a floral purchase. Looked a little empty, so I added the last of my starfish stickers. I used one of the tiny bottles I had purchased online (during COVID), with a tiny, rolled up piece of paper inside (neatly tied with a strand of twine).

The final touch was found in my box o' shadow box figurines...the tiny seagull (well, it really was a dove. Use your imagination)! LOL

Challenges I am Entering:

If You Give a Crafter a Cookie - Seashells at the Beach

(Pin)spirational - July Tropical Sunset (I used the beach scene on my shadow box basket)

The Four Seasons - Summer Season July

Colorful Options - July

A Tisket, a Tasket, a Basket for your Wall

I scored five a these shallow, wooden baskets a month ago from a local craft swap. I posted my first  "mini" shadow basket earlier this month. Today I finished my mushroom forest. I covered the back/bottom of the basket with moss. Deciding to hang this basket on the diagonal, I arranged my mushrooms, along with several rocks, tiny stones and foliage, to set the scene. 

I used a combination of hot glue and E6000 (although the moss needed some adhesive spraying to make it stick well). standing back and taking a look at it, it seemed to be missing something. I riffled through my big box of shadowbox figurines, knickknacks and miscellaneous toy parts. I found just the thing it needed.

The snail was the last piece I adhered to my mini shadowbox, and I like it! I can't wait to make the others. I'm thinking southwest desert scene, maybe a beach scene, the ideas are churning in my mind as I type. If you like this, stay tuned for more...

I AM ENTERING:

Creative Artiste - Anything Mixed Media Goes (I used wood [basket, stones, flowers, moss)

Creative Fingers - Challenge #304

On the 18th Day of Christmas Crafting...

I love making shadow boxes, especially for Christmas and Halloween. Today's project features a house-shaped shadow box made of wood. After lining the back with holiday designer paper, I riffled through my holiday stash and found characters, presents, trees and decorations enough to fill all three cubbies. I look for bags of small holiday ornaments and knick-knacks at garage sales and thrift stores throughout the year.

In the bottom cubby, there's Mrs. Claus baking Christmas cookies while elves are making toys. In the middle, Santa is trimming the tree and putting presents under it. The top compartment is where candy canes and poinsettias are stored. I finished the box off with holiday buttons and stickers after decorating the roof with paper doilies, a bell and a holiday greeting.

I used to facilitate workshops for shadow box making, but the store front closed after a couple years. Now I make them for craft fairs and take commissions for specifically-themed ones. 

24 Days of Christmas - Day 11 - Shadow Boxing the Holidays

 I have finally climbed out of the pit of crafting despair. I haven't been inspired to create a shadow box for almost a year!! I love making shadow boxes, esp. for Christmas and Halloween. My cabinets are full of empty boxes waiting on me to bring them the holiday spirit.

Today I crafted a whimsical scene of the inside of a house getting ready for December 25. Throughout the year, I have hunted and gathered tiny ornaments and after-Halloween and -Christmas craft supplies for my shadow boxes. Salvation Army has a thrift store where I found a whole box of figures. Michaels was good for pkgs of tiny gifts, pets, stockings, etc. And of course my mom's crafting supplies and Christmas deco's helped my cause. If you look at the bottom shelf of my shadow box, you'll see some vintage children I've paired up with a Michaels holiday figurine and a tiny ornament of grandma baking cookies..

I'm always on the hunt for bottle brush trees, and found one that fit onto the 2nd shelf. Stickers where I didn't need a lot of depth, and paper doilies mimicking a snowy roof. When my closest Michaels closed with deep discounts (90% off) about 20 years ago (!), I bought up all the shaped buttons. I couldn't resist, They were 10 cents each for multiple buttons on a backing.

Anyway, I worked all morning on this, spending some time looking for the right pieces to add to my design. And I really like the final make. I hope you do too!

Christmas Crafts All Year 'round - Anything Christmas 

613 Avenue - AG w/optional twist winter holiday

Peace on Earth - Anything Christmas

We Love 2 Create - Anything mixed media

Merry Little Christmas - Anything Christmas

Morgan's Art World - Anything Goes

31 Days of All Hallows Eve - Day 20 - Pumpkinhead's Morning After -the conclusion

Bonesy stopped in his tracks, struck still by a terrible thought. His fiance's mother had long dark hair. . She had been a witch, and as far as he knew, she still was. Then he did get sick...

How was he going to get out of this fix? If it were his "almost" mother-in-law, did she tell his fiance about his behavior? "But I didn't do anything!" he argued loud. "It was a Bachelor party!"

He started trotting down the road, being very careful so he wouldn't fall. The way his luck was going, he'd probably lose his the pumpkin on his head, or smash it on a rock, or something else terrible and awful. He made it to the fence marking the cemetery property line. He sat down to think when he saw out of the corner of his pumpkin eye another skeleton...with a pumpkin head!!

He rushed to it and realized it was his fiance! "What happened to you?" he cried.

"What happened to you," she screamed in startlement. She was dressed in her wedding gown and had been crying. "She didn't wait for Bonesy's explanation and blurted out, "Your father saw me with my girlfriends in a restaurant and he thought I was flirting with the waiter. He yelled my name and some words and the next thing I knew the restaurant was clearing out, with skellies screaming, and my head was a p-p-pumpkin."

"Same thing", Bonesy said, "only it was my bachelor party and your mother cursed me." He got down on his bony knees. "Ima, I still love you and I don't care if we both have pumpkins for heads. Let's elope right now!"

Ima Goner smiled through her tears, pulled him off his knees and answered him with a kiss. So that's what they did, and they lived spent the rest of their lives time happily ever after.

The End

31 Days of Halloween - Shadow Boxing Halloween Decor

 

I created this shadow box for a craft workshop I was facilitating, and can't remember if I posted it before now. When I go to thrift stores (and I do so often), I'm always on the lookout for shadow boxes, or things like wood silverware organizers and other pieces I can upcycle into shadowboxes. My favorite theme is Halloween (Christmas comes in 2nd, with Beach theme #3).

I lucked out and found a house-shaped box to use for this project and painted it black. Using supplies and material from the Dollar Tree, I first printed out a spooky Halloween scene and cut it out in the shape of the house. There are many sites that offer free vintage digis and scenery, like Graphics Fairy. One company, Luna Girl offers many scenes and items in its store. I'm always ready to pop in i=on each of them for inspiration and materials. This image was one I bought from Ricola Designs, which can be found at Mischief Circus.

As you can see, I tried to make my shadow box haunted house as welcoming as possible, with a skeleton sitting outside the door to permit visitors to enter. Beware, though, he's sitting on a skull, so that should clue anyone into the nefarious goings-on inside. Would you dare to enter?

Let's turn that frown into a smile with a gruesome giggle...

Let Freedom Ring!

I hope everyone in the US had a great holiday weekend. My daughter Wendy was born on the Fourth of July. In fact, while in labor, the fireworks were sparkling outside the hospital window 20 years ago. Everyone watching was oohing and ahh-ing. I was like erghh-ing and ughh-ing. She was the first baby born in the area on Independence Day.
Every year, Wendy would get a kick out of all the parades and picnics and fireworks "for her birthday." Of course, as she grew older, she understood that it wasn't just about her, but about the birth of our nation, and of the bravery of so many men and women to keep that nation independent and democratic.
What does this have to do with my project today? Well, it's a new week and a new challenge at Craft Your Passion. Doodle Pantry is the sponsor this week and I got to play with this cutie called Fireworks Birdie. The sheet comes with black line, layering and colored images, as well as several sentiments.
I started to create a birthday card for my daughter, and then the muse pushed me toward this mixed media shadow box. Funny how inspiration often takes you somewhere completely opposite of where you were headed.
So, where will inspiration take you? Whatever you do, link it up and share with us at Craft Your Passion challenge blog!

Other Challenges I am Entering:

Doodle Pantry Blog - Anything Goes

A Gem of a Challenge - Red, White & Blue

Challenge Up Your Life - Sequins

Crafty Friends challenge - Anything Goes

Splendiferous challenges - Wave the Flag

Brown Sugar - Red, White & Blue

Digitally Sweet Challenges - Anything Goes

Simply Papercraft - Anything Goes

2 Creative Chicks - Anything Goes

Altered Eclectics - Anything Goes (mixed media, no cards)

Crafting Musketeers - Anything Goes

Naughty or Nice challenges - Seeing Stars

Rhedd's Creative Spirit - Anything Goes