Trinket box for all seasons

Hello! Thank-you for your visit.

I'm truly honoured to be amongst the guest designers featuring today over at the wonderful mixed media challenge / teaching blog Anything But Cute. Pamellia and her super talented design team are celebrating their 1 year Anniversary! They have selected eight of their favourite artists from the last year, and guess what, they have included little ole me on the list!! It's a fantastic accolade ladies - thank-you so very much for including me and many congratulations on your 1st Anniversary.

The challenge theme this month is 'Celebrate Your Style'. Along with several of the other guest designers I love both vintage/shabby chic style and all things Nature so have combined these to make a trinket box for all seasons. I hope that you will visit Anything But Cute to see all the wonderful mixed media talent there, and why don't you celebrate your own style by entering their challenge.

Sorry, but a long post follows...for best viewing click photos to enlarge...

I've made a trinket box using a Tim Holtz Idea-ology configurations box. For step by step details as to how to make box please scroll down this post to see a 'how-to'. The box is decorated with papers by Pion Design from its 'A Day in May' and 'Days of Winter' collections. The hardware shown in first photo includes a lock by Prima Metals (Plaque 9), Tim Holtz Idea-ology Feet and a Maja Road key. All have been painted with gesso followed by PaperArtsy paint in 'Nougat'. Then dry brushed with Prima paint Opal Magic 'Rose Gold' and some gold gilding wax.

I created a Spring / Summer scene for the top lid. The papers are sprayed with Prima color bloom in 'Empress Gold' and 'Cotton Candy' as well as Tattered Angels Glimmer mist and Perfect Pearls sprays. There is some stamping, mostly using Katzelcraft script and music stamps. I ended up covering up most of stencilling but you can still see crackled 'Vintage Quilt' by Wendy Vecchi and script by The Crafters Workshop done with a Faber Castell luxe pearlescent paste.

Several MFT Dienamics 'Stitched Fishtail Flags' feature in the layout - interspersed with various lace trims and tulle. The bird sits in a Prima resin frame that I've painted with Twinkling H20s 'Dreams Bloom'. The bird image (Pion Design) is set in Judikin's Diamond Glaze along with Swarovski pearls and gold seed beads. The frame is on some painted Wycinanka chipboard (part of Blueberry Gate) and fibres. I cut one side to open out and dotted it with oodles of pearls.

Wood branches skirt the edges (diecut using Memory Box 'Woodland Branch'). Wild Orchid Crafts' blossoms abound, as do little stamens. There's plenty of foliage - made from a combination of Scrapiniec chipboard 'Apple Tree Blossom' and painted Nunn Design metal leaf charms. The leaves and flowers are lightly dabbed with Twinkling H2Os in 'Mint Julep' and 'Almond Beige'.

The little nest image is in a resin frame by Prima. I sprinkled the nest with lots of Prima's gorgeous micro beads in 'Copper' before setting with diamond glaze. You can see that I am very taken with these microbeads as they feature liberally across the flowers and branches! Finally I placed cream lace around the edges and let Nunn Design gold butterfly and dragonfly charms flutter about. Oh, there are some pearl swirls in the mêlée too!

Here's the box open. A second scene is inside the lid, this time reflecting a snowy winter, but I had thoughts of Ireland's frequent grey rainy skies so that wet murkiness is meant to be in there too.

The delicate ivy chipboard is by Scrapiniec 'Secret Garden Ivy' and Wycinanka 'Corner of Ivy'. These chipboards have been gessoed, gilded and crackle glazed. The background is stamped and heat embossed (again using Katzelcraft stamps). Also applied white Frantage to the background and generally sprayed and splattered it. Stencilling is done using Heidi Swapp 'Tiny Snowflakes' and Agateria stencil 'Pismo'. There are dabs of Snow-Tex too, especially around the rims.

The garden tool charms are by Karen Foster - they are gilded and painted a little. A paint crackled picket fence is on the left side with a Tim Holtz key charm thereon. Over to the right hangs a plywood frame that I've coated with DecoArt white crackle paste. Highlighted the cracks with PaperArtsy 'White Fire' paint. Within the frame is a stamped sentiment that the older I get the more I realise is so true. A rhinestone chain by Spellbinders 'Gilded Life' holds the frame up. The clock hands (Prima) have been gessoed and gilded and are held in place with a Tim Holtz hitch fastener. A Spellbinders 'Gilded Life Treasures Vial', filled with Swarovski pearls, adorns the corner.

Finally, a view to the rear to see more of those lovely Pion papers decorated with a pearl trim by Woodware.

Phew! Thanks so much if you read all above!

~~~How to make Trinket Box~~~

Start with a Tim Holtz Idea-ology configurations box measuring 5.75" x 10.75". Any other size configurations box would work too.

 Paint all edges with 2 coats of paint, including edges of small inner boxes and their outsides. I used PaperArtsy Fresco paint in 'Nougat', as it matches the neutral Pion shades very well.

Adhere paper to surfaces. I used Pion Design papers and Ranger Multi Medium Matte. Use a bone folder to shape paper into corners. It's better to paint the outsides of the small boxes. On a previous box I papered their outsides but then found it quite a squash to fit them into tray.

Adhere scene for topside as a faux lid (better to do this now as it gives a truer sense of weight). I used Aleene's Tacky glue to stick the lid. Appoint an assistant (!) to help you hold the top part of box to lower section of box. Securely tape the two together making sure that whilst it is tightly taped the top can still hinge open (approx 90°) and shut (resting on lower half).

Cover up the masking tape with matching papers.

When inner scene complete, glue it in place with Aleene's glue. (I reinforced both outer and inner scenes with a backing layer of Tim Holtz grungepaper, to absorb all the media I applied. As you play work, the paper may curl, especially if heat is applied. To remedy, weight it for some hours to flatten). The measurements of the outer and inner scenes differ so be sure that the inner scene fits perfectly before you complete it and glue in place.


If you would like to see some of my other trinket boxes you can find them here, here and here.

Again, very many thanks to all at Anything But Cute for including me as one of your favourite artists of the last year. It's been a pleasure to make this trinket box and feature alongside the other guest designers today. Wishing all at A.B.C. many more successful years.

You really should pop over to A.B.C. and enter their challenge this month as they have a brilliant lineup of prizes.

As always, your visit and any comments you may leave are greatly appreciated.

Nicola x

I wish to enter trinket box to the following challenges:

Pion Design - May, Season of Hope
(inspired by Apple Blossom in photo and 'A Day in May' papers)

Live & Love Crafts - Blossoms &/or Butterflies
Simon Monday Challenge - Home Decor
Deep Ocean Challenge - Flowers Everywhere
Scrapyland - Anything Goes (use brand carried by Scrapyland - Die-Namics)
Country View Crafts - Use a Stencil
Apple Apricot - Simply Neutrals #22
Creative Carte Blanche - Wood, Word, Something Wild
(wood = hanging plywood frame + faux wood branches, word = stamped sentiment within frame and wild = just wild about Prima microbeads)