2015 #7 Box In A Book {by Lauren Hatwell}

2015 Theme 7: Niches

Hello everybody

My name is Lauren Hatwell, though you might know me as Bluebertie. You are probably wondering what the heck I’m doing here. Guess what? Me too!! I’ve been pinching myself since Clare asked me to help out with some samples for her latest release back in January. So, here I am, a craft addict outed…

One of my favourite things is to re-purpose everyday items to give them extra life and a bit more interest. I was so excited when I saw the theme was NICHES as it lends itself so well to recycling projects. I don’t know about you, but it gives me such a pain when I have to throw a good quality hardback catalogue away at the end of a season and I’m always trying to think of ways to repurpose them. Turns out there are loads of great things you can do with them and this is one…

I trimmed out the pages of my catalogue and used an A4 size box lid to make my shadow box

Now for the fun bit! I coated the whole thing in a layer of torn up paper and gesso, partly for texture and partly to add strength. When dry I used Cosmic Shimmer glue to make swirls and waited for it to dry before breaking out my beloved Fresco paints in my favourite colours, Mermaid and Bora Bora, which I mixed with Liquitex Iridescent Medium to add a subtle lustre. Once dry, I rubbed over the swirls with Gilding Wax in Aquamarine and buffed it with some kitchen towel to bring out the shine.

On to the paper doll. I stamped my image using the girl from stamp plate ECL04 before colouring with Copic markers, sealing with Mod Podge and carefully cutting out.

I cut three identical label shapes with my die cutter and cut an oval aperture in each one (this obviously has to be in exactly the same place so I used the first cut as a template) and layered the three tags with foam tabs to create enough dimension to form a niche. I stuck some clear acetate on the inside of the bottom tag for the heart to sit in so it appears to float in the niche. I painted the top of the dress with Candy Floss Fresco paint and stencilled some polka dots with Snowflake Fresco paint.

I used the dragonflies from SquigglyInk plate 2, Tops and Tails, which is one of my favourite PA stamp sets of all time and one I keep going back to. The sentiment is from the Squiggly Ink range and seemed perfect.

 I coloured my chipboard leaves with guacamole Fresco paint and brushed on a little of the Treasure Gold Spanish Topaz, which is a glorious green/gold colour. The sign post is also coloured with Treasure Gold Spanish Topaz.

I was anxious not to cover up all the texture and swirls in the background so I wanted to keep everything pretty simple. When it came to the front I decided to go with some chipboard letters painted with Candy Floss and Orchid Fresco paints which I swirled together loosely on a glass mat before sponging onto the letters to create a soft ripple effect. Out with the Liquitex again for some added lustre and I just added a few punched flowers throughout the piece to add a feeling of spring as it seems to be well and truly in the air and I can hardly wait for it to get here.

All very simple but once you’ve got the basic box shape you can do whatever you like with it. It will stand up to make a display or it will fold away to go neatly on a shelf. It would make a neat album if you added a fold out book of photographs. You could put a wedding scene in it and give it as a keepsake or gift. You could even add smaller sections to make the shadow box into a print tray. Just have fun with it and add as much or as little as you like. No cash required; just some packaging and a bit of imagination.

Thanks for listening. I hope you’ve found it interesting.

Lauren x

My blog - Marvelous Mechanical Mouse Organ

Thanks Lauren, so lovely to have you here after your debut during launch week. I too hoard more packaging than I will ever be able to use, but I can't bear to throw it away. This is a really cool example of recycling and also of combining different stamp collections so effectively. Mega Brownie points for the fussy cutting of the Dragonfly tails, and we love the shimmery,swirly background texture. ~Darcy

We would love you to join in with challenge #7: Niches If you are inspired by any of our guests who blog with us over the fortnight, then please join in and link up your creativity HERE. 

All links go in the draw to win a voucher to spend on products of your choice from the PaperArtsy online store. The Niches link will close 17:00 (London Time) Sunday, April 26th, winner will be announced 2 hours later at 19:00.