Circus Wagon Altered Tin

I think this is my favorite tin to date. This masonite frame, available at Alpha Stamps, was the perfect size for turning a plain Altoid tin into a festive circus wagon! I painted the frame with red and gold paint, and accented it with glitter, metal studs, and shiny star sequins. The banner stands on a toothpick and is topped with a couple of beads. The wheels are painted wooden spools with carpet tack spokes. The horse has real feathers attached to his tiny baker's twine bridle.

The wagon includes the usual cast of circus characters: lions, monkeys, clowns, and even a cat.

Are you getting tired of circus art? I hope not; I'm working on another circus parade, this one made with small masonite shrines. I'll post it later this week.

Circus Print Canvas Frame How-To

I fell in love with this 4" by 4" circus tent art print by elgerboart on Etsy, and ordered it last week. It arrived in the mail yesterday, and it's gorgeous! I want to sit it on a table top, but didn't want to just stick it in a boring frame, so I thought I'd mount it on a canvas instead.

I painted a 5" by 5" chunky canvas black, and then lightly painted the front edges with the green, red, and yellow found in the print. Here's one of the advantages to hoarding scrapbook paper: I found some great striped paper with the perfect colors to match the print in my stash. For the sides of the frame, I cut three pieces about 1/4" smaller than the area to be covered, and then edged them with black ink. I glued them down with a little tacky glue, and then gave the entire frame a once over with Mod Podge to seal it and make it a bit shiny. I added a decorative knob (Tim Holtz) on top, and used four bead caps (found in the jewelry section of Michaels) for little feet. I love how this turned out!

The photo is attached to the canvas with clear photo corners. The corners are sticky, but I added a little dab of E6000 glue to the back to assure they won't fall off. I also used a few removable glue dots on the print itself to help keep it from buckling. I like knowing that I can remove the photo and re-frame it if I ever get tired of it displayed this way. Here's a view of the side:

And, I always feel it's important to make the backs of my art pretty, even if it's likely that no one will ever see that part. It just gives things a more finished look. For this canvas, I glued the same striped paper to a piece of shirt cardboard, inked the edges, and then glued it to the back. I've made frames for photos of my family before, and have glued a little surprise there, like a fortune cookie from a Chinese restaurant, which I think is fun. This one I left plain for now.

If I ever find the perfect fortune, I'll add it later. 

These frames make great gifts if you need a little quickie homemade gift idea. I put this one together in a little under two hours this morning. Maybe you should make one for your Dad for Father's Day!

Mermaids!

Woo-wee, it's hot. All the heat makes me think of the beach, so I was inspired to do a beachy tin. I had this great mermaid collage sheet from Alpha Stamps that happened to coordinate beautifully with one of my favorite Graphic45 paper patterns (I love the swirls and that gorgeous turquoise color!), so I put the two together with some glitter, shells, faux pearls, funky yarn, and a couple of gold charms, and here's the result:

Isn't that tiny seahorse charm just the cutest? You can find both it and the swallow charm at Alpha Stamps. The mermaid in the foreground is attached with foam tape, so it's got some dimension.

 

 Here's the back, with a small reproduction of a vintage souvenir postcard:

 I wish I could say looking at these cool blues and greens makes the heat more tolerable, but I'm afraid it's going to take more than that. Meanwhile, I'll turn on the fan.

More Clowny Mayhem

You know I love me some clowns. And some Altoid tins. Here's my latest tin, fresh off the drawing board. I love using the vintage clown picks on the top of the tins, and nothing says circus like stars and sparkly glitter. I used G45 paper for the stripey tent effect, and clown images from an Alpha Stamps collage sheet. If you don't like clowns, look away!

 I like to decorate the sides and the back as well:

If you don't like clowns, here's some good news: I'm working on a beach theme next.

The Sketchbook Project

Last year, I participated in the Sketchbook Project, sponsored by the Art House Co-op. I sent them an entry fee and they sent me a sketchbook to fill out and return. Each book had a theme; mine was "I'm a Scavenger". The book I sent back, along with thousands of others from all over the world, went on a nationwide tour. I was lucky enough to view the project with friends when it showed in Atlanta, and even though we had cursed our sketchbooks as the deadline approached, once we were there to see them in person, along with the books done by people we have come to know through Craftster.org, we decided to participate again this year. I was pleasantly surprised to find that my book, which I was not happy with at all (way too many pages were done hurriedly upon the approach of the deadline!), was not as bad as I remembered, and even had a few pages in it I could be proud of. If you're interested in seeing it, click here for a slideshow scan of all the pages. If you do care to flip through it, I'll bet you'll be able to pick out the pages where I was rushed for time. :D


My theme this year is "I Remember You". Here is my blank book, with a new deadline of January. I'm still trying to decide if I want to make the book a tribute to friends and family members, or if I want to alter vintage images and make up stories about them. Or, maybe, do a combination of both. Either way, I hope I don't procrastinate too much on this one.

 I'll keep you posted.

Afternoon Quickie

No, it's not what you think! I've been wanting to gussy up some clothespins to use as chip clips for a while, so today, I put on an old movie (All About Eve) and painted up a few. After painting, I edged them with black ink, and then sanded them down to distress them a bit. I like the way they look old:

And then, just for fun, I stamped on them and added some dots and stripes:

I'd still like to attach a few to a board and hang it in the laundry room as a place where orphan socks can hang out until they are (hopefully) reunited with their mates.

Happy Friday!

I still can't show you what secrets we're working on at Alpha Stamps, but while I'm waiting to post that, I have to share what I just bought from there. It's a reproduction vintage ticket holder from those rascals at 7Gypsies, who are always inventing new ways to get my money! I can't wait to play with it.

 

I can see filling it with old photos, tags, ephemera...when I receive it I'll post a photo of it "stuffed". Meanwhile, have a great weekend!