Down The Rabbit Hole with the Red Queen

I titled this latest Alpha Stamps project "Down The Rabbit Hole" because this little tyrant actually took me there. I had planned to use her as a book cover, in which I would use two of the cutouts to make the covers. Alas, though, this little queen would not let go of her heart shaped staff, nor would she not quit pointing in such a rude manner. I would have had to make a pretty thick book in order to assure that it could open correctly. I decided to just start painting Her Majesty and see what would become of her. Here's the story of our journey together.

I used an image from "The Red Queen" collage sheet as a reference for color, etc. and started painting just the shoulders and head of the queen. At this point, my plan was to use her as a back cover and make a tiny rectangular cover in front. Look how tiny she is! Once I got that top part painted, it felt weird not to have the rest painted, too, so I penciled it in and got to work. My solution: just keep painting and worry about construction later. Most times this works out for me. The queen, though, had a different plan. 

 

Once I got the entire queen painted, plus the front cover, so her the dress would still be complete with the cover closed, I glued a strip of card stock to the back of our queen, making sure there was room for the front cover to close under her right hand. Wow, great idea. Now, if you make a little book, it's going to cover up all that work I did painting her dress. Plus, there's no way the book will close, because the spine isn't thick enough to allow it. Luckily, I had the foresight to leave the strip of card stock long. Perhaps I could use what used to be the front cover to finish out the back of her dress, and then make a book on the backside. Genius! (*note: I painted the card stock brown because I did not prime the cardboard figure before painting it. If I had painted on the lighter card stock, the colors wouldn't match.) Alas, I had the same problem with the back of the "book" than I did with the front. It just would not close with pages in it. On to plan C.

After the step above, I attached a piece of cardboard to the non painted side of the card stock so I could continue on with the front of the dress. Here's Her Majesty at this point, completely painted: 

OK, now we're getting somewhere. I decided to just make a little scene from Alice in Wonderland and use that weird shape as well as I could. I put the Cheshire cat up in a tree, and used the Queen's pointing hand as a signpost to Wonderland. It's an odd little project, but at least something was made of it!

She is small, but mighty. And she definitely has a mind of her own. For supplies, click here.

Cheers, Marie! Altered Altoids Tin

I'm not sure if anyone was drinking Cosmopolitans back in Marie Antionnette's day, but I'm pretty sure that if they were, Marie would have been a huge Cosmo fan. I know I am! In fact, we've made a dedicated Cosmo party shelf in our kitchen, where our martini glasses, the shaker, and a little container of  rim sugar are kept. It also includes some Cosmo artwork; some by me, some by my friends. When I got this month's kit from Alpha Stamps, all the pink reminded me of that shelf, and I decided to let Marie enjoy a Cosmo, at long last. Cheers, Marie!

I removed the cover of the tin, and covered the inside with some gorgeous pink floral paper, plus some black and white harlequin paper from my stash. I found a gold dollhouse frame which was the perfect size to frame a quote featured on some of that kit paper, which reads, "Life is nothing without passion". Ain't that the truth?

The outsides of the tin are also covered harlequin paper, and then adorned with some gold Dresden trim. A string of little red beads sits atop the rim. In the photo below, you can see that Marie's yellow overdress overlaps her pink skirt a bit. I used two French Ballet Costumes collage sheets to achieve this look. I cut the yellow overdress at the "v" of the bodice and glued it only at the waistline of a full image of Marie. A couple of foam tape squares were inserted between the overdress and the skirt to separate the layers. Marie is adhered to the tin with 4 layers of foam tape, so she really stands out.

A gold crown brad was the perfect little topper for the tin. The prongs were easy to fold flat into the base of the crown. A large flat-backed crystal fit perfectly inside the crown and hid the folded prongs. At the angle of the next photo, you can see the stacks of foam tape helping keep Marie front and center.

 

 A few tips on construction:

The Marie from the collage sheet has her arms spread out as if she is dancing. It's a beautiful pose, but it's not conducive to enjoying a drink, nor did her arms allow her to fit inside the tin. Here's how to change her position. In the top half of the image below, there are two identical images of Marie. The left image is the one that will be used in the tin. Her right arm is cut off at the elbow, and her left arm is cut at the shoulder. The duplicate image at the right has already had the overskirt removed. Both its arms are cut at the shoulder. Her wand is removed from the right hand, and her hand is removed from the left arm. When her left arm is hanging down, that hand is not in the correct position. Therefore, I used another image from the same collage sheet, and Marie was given a hand transplant.  When you position this new left arm on Marie, there is a little gap at the shoulder. It's easy to fill that in with a little piece of one of the unused arms. You'll just have to trim it to fit.

The beads aren't tough to adhere to the edge of the tin, but they do require some patience. You will have to really babysit them while the glue dries. It's best to glue only 2 or 3 inches at a time. I use Aleene's Tacky glue. I put it on fairly goopy, but it's invisible when it dries.

While it is drying, you'll need to hold it in place. Those beads are going to want to fall off the lip of that tin. One thing that helped me keep my sanity during this step was to lean the side of the tin up against a flat surface. You'll still have to keep checking it until it's fully dry, but it helps keep the beads in place. Make sure you stop and start your beaded strand in on one of the sides, not at the corners.

For a complete list of supplies, click here! And now, how about a little bonus photo of that Cosmo shelf? Yes, it has party lights.

Five Tiny Tins: Fairies, Mary, and Alice

How sweet are these little 1" by 2" tins? I made a couple shrines with the ones I had, and then begged Leslie at Alpha Stamps to send me at least 5 more. The tins come with a sliding lid, and I still plan to try a design incorporating the lid, but for now: tiny shrines. I started out making little fairy shrines. The backs of the tins are covered in scrapbook paper. Tiny wings from a collage sheet are added to create fairies, who dance on beds of moss amongst the smallest of mushrooms, made from floral stamens.

Here's a quick photo for scale. Adorable! 

 

All the fairies are attached with small pieces of foam tape to add dimension. This first fairy is friends with a lucky ladybug. Her crown is made from a sequin star, cut in half and glued together points up. For link to the supplies used for this tin, click here. A full list of supplies for all the tins is at the end of this post. 

 

Several of the tins have half-round toppers on them. I used a wide pair of pliers to gently bend round medallions in half. The pieces I used were very easy to bend. Just grip the medallion where you want to bend it, and push to fold. The flat side can then be glued to the top of the tin with E6000 glue. 

The ballerina fairy has caught a falling star. Make a wish! The word "wish" was cut from an old dictionary. I found a picture of a tiny flower and cut out two petals to glue on her back for wings. Supplies can be found here. 

 

 

I didn't want to use only half of the star for this next shrine, so I used some Apoxie Sculpt to adhere it to the top of the tin. Extra sequin stars add a little sparkle. This gentleman's supplies can be found here. 

 

 

 

Of course I also needed to make a shrine for Mary. After gluing the paper to the back of the tin, I covered the sides with beautiful glass glitter, plus some more sequin stars. I used two images of Mary for this shrine; the entire image is glued to the back of the tin, and then Mary alone was cut from the second image, and stuck on with foam tape. I did not like the way the medallion on top of this tin had a hole in it (see picture above where it's getting bent with pliers) so I added a metal rose to cover the hole. Mary deserves a little extra bling anyway. Here's your supply link! 

 

 

I have had this adorable White Rabbit charm (from Alice in Wonderland) for a while. I finally found the perfect home for him! I removed his hanging loop with wire snippers. Using some Alice themed scrapbook paper, I covered the back and the sides of this tin. Then all that was needed was a little moss, some polymer clay playing cards, and a tiny teacup on the top. The heart was painted on with a small detail brush and acrylic paints. Supplies for this tin (including that rabbit!) can be found here.

 

 

 

I really enjoyed making these little tins. The projects were quick and relatively easy. Placing the stamen mushrooms was a little tricky, but once you cut them to the desired height and run the stems through some glue, they stick easily. I often used a toothpick to straighten them up once they were inserted into the moss; it can be difficult to stick a finger in such a little space! Finished tins can be hung up with removable mounting putty or glued to small magnets. They don't stand on their own, but it would be easy to mount them on a medallion or small block of wood if you want to display them on a flat surface.

 

For a list of supplies used on all the tiny tins, click here. 

Tiny Bakery Box and Book

This month's new Alpha Stamps kit contains the cutest little bakery box you have ever seen! At 2.5" x 2.5", it fits perfectly in the palm of your hand. (I can't help thinking that it would be the perfect size for an American Girl doll.) The box is easy to put together and fun to decorate. Who wants fresh baked donuts?

I gently removed the window cellophane on the box lid in order to trim the decorative paper added to the top of the box. Once that paper was trimmed, I replaced the cellophane and added a picture of yummy donuts so they'd show through the window. Mmm! Tiny polymer clay cake slices make a fun swirly design element for the box top.

 

 

Polka dot paper on the inside top of the box hides the back of the donut photo. I just happened to have the perfect sized chunky book that fit in this little box, so I altered it with Delicious Scrapbook papers and vintage housewives.

 

The cover and the pages:

 

Before I glued anything down, I lightly sanded the glossy papers to help the glue adhere. I decided to paint the cardboard edges after I finished gluing everything down, but a wiser person would have painted those page edges before gluing. Next time I'll plan ahead.

Such fun background papers, and who doesn't love a happy housewife? The woman on the right seems to be silently contemplating smashing that poor fella's head into the pot.

 

 

 Hey fellas, look at all that tasty grub. Someone's been working hard in the kitchen today.

What will go in your tiny box? For a complete list of supplies (minus the chunky book) click here!

2020 Tree Ornament

2020 has definitely been a year, and I felt the need to commemorate it with a Christmas ornament. Using a wooden ornament from Alpha Stamps, I made this. This will be the perfect reminder of such an imperfect year.

"Our first pandemic. So sweet. That pretty much says it all, yeah? Here's the back.

I love these vintage snowpeople. They have the prettiest smiles. Of course you can't see them, though, as they are wearing their masks. To give this ornament a chalkboard look, I used a white colored pencil for the lettering.

I hope this ornament makes us laugh next year, when we are able to get together again with friends and family. Until then, we'll stay safe at home. For a list of supplies used for this project, click here!

Otis Brings Home the Tree

No one can say that Otis doesn't have the Christmas spirit! He decorated his truck up big time for the season and has gone out and found the perfect Christmas tree.  I cut the hook off of two Vintage Truck Ornaments from Alpha Stamps, and using a Truck Bed Bagatelle Box, made a Christmas truck. Here's Otis, heading home.

I'm not one to decorate my car in real life, but I enjoyed decorating this car with Otis. He's a fun loving snowman that enjoys peppermint candy and snow, and the hubcaps and the garlands on his car reflect that. Even the door handles look like candy canes! The Hello Christmas Polymer Clay Slice Mix contains lots of fun shapes, including peppermints, snowflakes, and snowmen, all of which I used to decorate the car. 

The front of his car features a wooden bumper and a bright silver snowflake; flat backed crystals made the perfect headlights. The Santa hat is made with red felt and a cotton ball.

I think my favorite part of the car is the back view, from the "ho ho ho!" license plate to the glittery bow on the tree, to the "family stickers". Looks like Otis has a wife and child at home eagerly awaiting this tree. To make the snowman kiddo, I used an x-acto knife to make his hat a little smaller, trim his sides up a little, and make him shorter. The polymer clay is easy to cut.

Here's how this all started: the first step was painting the truck and wooden tires a nice Midnight Blue. It almost reads black, but you can see on the tires where they're sanded down that the blue really comes out. I trimmed the paper to fit the back part of the truck, and then glued it down before trimming the front and windows. Pictured below is the paper in place, ready to be trimmed around the front of the truck.

Once the paper is cut out and ready to go, it's time to assemble. I used tacky glue to put my truck together. Spread out all the glue so the entire surface is covered! Clothespins are great for holding everything together while the glue dries.

Details on the side of the car were made using a Stabilo pencil. I love this pencil so much I included a photo, should you want to get one. It draws a nice dark line, and you can take a brush with water to add a little shading with it. I used it to outline the doors and hood, and to stripe the sides of the car a little.

It appears that Otis has stopped on his way home to admire the starry night. Can't say I blame him. For a list of Alpha Stamps supplies used for this project, click here!

Scary Halloween Sweets and Treats Stand

One last Halloween project for the season: how about some fun mail? My mom mentioned the other day that she never got anything but bills in the mail anymore, so I thought I'd send her a little Halloween treat. Welcome to Alpha Stamps' "Scary Halloween Sweets and Treats" stand. Please be aware of the handy candy corn stickers on the floor that indicate where to stand when ordering your favorite spooky treats; you know we're still in a pandemic.

 

Never mind that the proprietors are deceased; they're still being careful to wear masks and enforce social distancing. Aren't their little candy bags adorable? Those bags are so easy to make using the Retro Halloween Bags collage sheet. A couple of toothpicks hold up the striped awning. I used an awl to punch small holes in the stand and awning for each end of the toothpicks. Once the card is assembled, a little dab of glue will help keep the toothpicks in place.

The beauty of this little scene is that it folds flat, so I can mail it off in an envelope.

 

A lot of people plan out an entire project before starting it. I am not one of those people. Lots of what I do is trial and error and finding things that work at the last minute. For that reason, before I even started this project, I painted the entire thing black. I know I would be covering it with papers, and that the folds of the card may show.  The only thing I know I wanted to do when I started is have a striped awning, so that was done first. The candy paper was too much fun, so I decided a candy stand was the way to go. Below you can see how that paper was cut to fit the wall of the stand, plus the top of the table in front.

If ever there's a measure twice, cut once situation, this is it. I had one 6x6 piece of this paper. No room for mistakes! Here's the back of the piece, with some directions. The black plaid paper seen below is the back of the candy paper. Once I cut the paper to the correct width of the stand, I measured carefully and cut out the space for the window under the awning. Put the paper on the front. Holding things in place, carefully slice between the stand in the slits on each side of the "no glue here" part pictured below. That will be the top of the table. Cross your fingers, flip over the piece, and carefully glue only where the dotted line is. You don't want to glue your table top until the piece is fully opened. Once you've glued all that, you can carefully trim the extra paper from the top (where it says "trim here"). Once the candy paper is attached correctly, it's relatively easy to cover the front of the stand and the ground.

 

The chipboard sign adds a little fun to the scene. It's painted with acrylics and lettered with a fine line marker. I wanted to give it a hand painted look, so I didn't worry about keeping everything straight.

If you plan to shop at the Scary Halloween Sweet and Treats Stand, don't forget to stay on the candy corn stickers so you don't get sick. Isn't 2020 fun? For a list of supplies, click here.