Boxing Day

Okay, I know it's not really Boxing Day (only 341 sleeps to go, people!)... but it's even better than that.  

It's the start of another brand new, exciting Challenge strand at eclectic Paperie.  It was great to see so many of you taking part in the Altered Challenge, using canvas, and I hope you'll be tempted by this one too.  Each month, as well as the Altered Challenge, there'll be a challenge set by a member of the Design Team, and when I tell you that this inaugural challenge is being hosted by the extraordinary Marjie Kemper of She Who Stamps and Scraps... well, how can you resist?!

The challenge Marjie has set us is to create an Altered Box.  Have a look at the details of what she's after here - and this is one challenge where you can obviously choose to think inside as well as outside the box!!

I wanted to play along, and since my last altered container was a very painty, stampy tin (thank you all so much for your wonderful comments about it, by the way), my first thought here was to go in the opposite direction and work with papers to alter my box.  I'd also been thinking about the Lace challenge over at Simon Says Stamp and Show, and lo and behold, an idea was born.

I started with a small wooden box (about 5.5 x 3.5 inches) - I think probably a cigarillo box - which has been lying around the house for literally years.  It had the paper advertising wrappers still on it, but I forgot to take a photo before I'd already given it the first coat of gesso.  So here's a quick not-quite-before and after:

Using some of the Fair Skies papers by the Farmhouse Paper Company (available at eclectic Paperie - links at the foot of the post), I cut strip after strip with my Tim Holtz Vintage Lace Decorative Strip Die.


I then spent quite some time laying them out in sequence to get a balance of colours, varying laces and a pleasing overall look.












Regulars will spot that these aren't my usual colours, and you won't be surprised to learn that by this point my brain was already busy planning a neutral, lacy version (see the sneak peek at the end).





I also did some mixing and matching of strips to cover the sides.

All the sticking down was done with Studio Multi Medium in Matte, and I put a couple of coats over the top to give some protection to the lacy edges.












And when I mentioned "thinking inside the box", I wasn't being entirely silly...










... because obviously I had to do something with the inside of the box!











So a couple of the papers get to make more than just lacy appearances, and I picked the dark red so that it would set off the patterns.

I also blended a touch of Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink onto all the edges.









I do like how the different shapes and patterns and colours collide from different angles.

So there's my little trinket box for you... a fairly simple affair - but sometimes it's okay to let the papers speak for themselves, I think.




And of course there's an altogether bigger project (somebody's been smoking some huge cigars!) on its way to you in the next day or so (as soon as I get round to writing the post)... here's the promised sneak peek... so I do hope you'll pop back to check it out (Update: it's done now).

But for now, head over to the eclectic Paperie blog for all the challenge details and lots more inspiration from the DT, not least the fabulous Marjie herself.  

There's another great prize on offer, generously sponsored by Kim of eclectic Paperie, so we'd love you to play along.

We could learn a lot from crayons; some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, while others bright, some have weird names, but they all have learned to live together in the same box.
Robert Fulghum



Click on the links to go straight there:

Farmhouse Paper Company - Fair Skies 6x6 Paper Pad

Claudine Hellmuth Studio Gesso

Distress Ink Pad - Chipped Sapphire

Claudine Hellmuth Studio-Multi-Medium Matte

Tonic Studios - Kushgrip Non-Stick Scissors