Weathered Shell Box - Thursday 20th June

Hello Blog Friends!

I hope you all managed to enjoy some sun yesterday, because I don't think Mr Sunshine is coming out this morning (at least not here in the Southwest, where it's pouring down!). Yesterday was a non work day for me, so the hens enjoyed a wonderful day in the garden, whereas I spent most of it inside making up my packs for the ladies at our workshop tonight and finishing off this little box that I started last week!

My regular followers will know how much I have have been enjoying using this stamp from Crafty Individuals and tonight is the second workshop where we will be using it - my group of ladies (a different group to last time), will be making the twisted easel I posted here.

When I saw that this month's Crafty Individuals Challenge had a beach theme and having made quite a few beachy projects lately, some of them using this stamp, I knew I wanted to create something other than a card. This wooden box had been on my altered art stash shelf for a while and looking at it, the idea of a shell box came to me...

First of all I sanded the box and then gave it a coat of Claudine Helmuth Gesso, both inside and out.  I made masks of the stamps from post it notes and positioned them on the box where I wanted to stamp them, then using a dotty mask I stencilled through with embossing paste. Once dry, I  sanded slightly and gave the entire outside a coat of acrylic (parchment colour); then I stamped the beach huts, sentiment and bathing belle and gave a wash of colour with promarkers.

Next I coated the front and sides with crackle accents to give a protective finish and left to dry...in an attempt to make the box appear as if it had been around for years, I rubbed it inside and out with gold rub n' buff and the edges with Patina metallic gilding wax.

 To decorate I added shells, starfish, some little metal charms and hessian to the top and sides and knotted some craft ribbon rope before tying around the box. I also decided to use a piece of knotted rope for the 'handle'.

I rubbed some of the gold relief inside the box leaving areas of parchment paint showing to create and worn look.

I stamped the quote 'May you always have a shell in your pocket' from the same stamp set(love this!) on card, tore it, distressed it and fixed it to the inside of the box lid. Then I stamped the postcard from Crafty Individuals stamp CI-119, a few times and inked with distress inks to make them look old. I distressed the edges and crumpled them up before tying with vintage lace (which I coloured with Vintage Photo distress ink)

To add finishing touches, I used some bottle tops, added a starfish to one and little shells with the others and filled with UTEE heated in my melting pot; I also made a cast of a shell from heated UTEE and added some shells collected on my own travels.

Well I think that's about it!!! Thank you so much for stopping by!

I would like to enter this project in the Crafty Individuals June challenge: Sun, Sea & Beach

I would also like to enter this project in the Our Creative Corner June Challenge: Recipe and have used:  

List A: Fabric: Hessian, craft rope and lace

List B: Wooden box, metal embellishments

List C:  Inks, Acrylic paints and rub n' buff stain

Love and Hugs

Carole X