Mid-Summer Days . . .

I say it almost every time I post . . . and I will say it again. Where does the time go? It is already the first week of August! Summer is going by way too fast.I uploaded my photos for this post over a week ago, but I was having so much summer fun that I never got back to sit at the computer to write a few things about them. :-) And . . . of course . . . since these were taken, there are some new ones that need to make their way to a future post. There are captions on the photos. Take a look . .

This is a tag I made for a challenge in the Craft That Divas facebook group.

The theme was "Come Away With Me".

I created the jeep from a Tim Holtz "Jalopy" diecut that I altered.

I painted it with black acrylic paint and a silver Sharpie.

I drew the little suitcases, the hat box and purse and cut them from chipboard.

I painted them and decorated them with Sharpies.

I used a bronze jump ring for the purse handle.

The background paper and the little map that I accordion folded and matted are from

the "World Traveler" designer paper stack by Teresa Collins.

I popped everything up on pop-dots for dimension.

The "Passport to Adventure" dog tag is from my stash.

I knew I would find just the right use for it someday!

The cord at the top was red and white, but I used a little gold Sharpie on it to give it more of a worn look.

This is my chauffeur and best friend, my husband Paul.
It is because of him that I have the great life I enjoy, with fun little day trips, big adventures and tons of support for all of my creative interests.  

I love this photo of us. We were on our way home from Naples, New York, which is in the Finger Lakes Region.
I have been told when we take a selfie of us together, it is called an usie!
My cousin Molly said this reminds her of the movie "Driving MIss Daisy", and I have to agree!

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This completes my travelogue.

I thought it fit right in with the "Come Away With Me" theme.

:-) 

Below are some cards, the interiors of some and some of their matching envelopes that I made.

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As I write this, it is early morning, the cool fresh air is wafting through the window, and I can hear the bugs in the grass and the birds chirping. Life is good. I am already thinking about the tomato sandwich I am going to make for lunch! I make mine on white squishy bread with Miracle Whip, XXX-sharp cheese, dill weed, and ground pepper. Yum! Do you make tomato sandwiches? How do you make them?

I hope you are enjoying your day and until we meet again, may the Lord hold you in the hollow of His hand.

Emmy

Stick Pin Swap . . .

The 4th of July holiday is now behind us and I am back on track with crafting and real estate. A new listing is going up on the MLS today. Yay! I am working on some special projects and also one that is going to be a part of a series with a beach/shore theme. I will post some of those in the near future. 

Once again, I am posting a project that I made as part of the online craft group Craft That Divas on Facebook. For this swap, we each had one partner and we needed to make some pretty 3-inch stick pins and make something pretty in which to present them. I could have made any kind of stick pin holder, from a pin cushion, to a cloth booklet; but I had seen these altered Altoid boxes on Pinterest and was intrigued by them. This gave me the perfect opportunity to make one!

I took apart an Altoid tin and used the two larger parts of the tin, the bottoms, to form the box. From there, this is what I came up with. The interior and the pins are shown below also.

This is how two Altoid tins ended up as a presentation box for handmade stickpins.

It is supposed to resemble a book.
I added a little key to the ribbon closure.



My swap partner, Amber, likes peacock feathers.
I used some paper from the Old Curiosity Shop line from Graphic 45.
The metal pieces for the corners, the lock and the key were all brass.
I altered the color using a Spectrum Noir alcohol marker.

The book covers are made of medium weight chipboard.
I painted the edges with a blend of acrylic paints.

Don't you just love the little flying pigs paper I used on the tins?

It stands up like a book on a shelf.

Here are the handmade stick pins in colors I hope Amber likes.
She can choose to wear these as an accessory or add them to projects.
Making stick pins is just one of my addictions!
I placed the stick pins on removable cards with ribbon pull tabs.
She can use the box for another purpose, if she wishes.
The hinges are made of ribbon, but I forgot to take a photo from that angle. :-(

I included this handmade card with the swap.
I used some gold paint to distress it a bit.

I used parchment paper for the interior of the card and stamped it with little butterflies.
I embossed the envelope with a postal motif.

Here is the card and envelope pictured together.

As an added gift, I made this long presentation box.

I surprised Amber with two handmade 6-inch stick pins.
I used a #8 tag as the holder.
I embossed it with a Parisian theme . . . the Eifel Tower and painted it with acrylic paint.
I was so happy when I found the little Eifel Tower charm at Michaels!

This is the back of the tag for the 6-inch stick pins.
The old fashioned images of the bicycles is so charming!

I look forward to making more stick pins. I have a lot of beads and some special pins, including some that I picked up in Lancaster County in Pennsylvania. They have black teardrop shaped heads and are what the Amish women use to pin their bonnets. And . . .I have a few empty Altoid tins, waiting to be transformed! I will have to come up with something to use the tops for, too!

The day is melting away and I still have a bit of work to do here at my desk and tall weeds to pull out in the overgrown gardens. So, I will close here and, as always,  . . . may God hold you in the hollow of His hand until we meet again.

Emmy

How To Make An ATB Foundation Box

I made a very quick ATB today as a favor for a friend, who wanted to see how I made mine. An ATB is an Artist Trading Box. It is similar to an ATC, an Artist Trading Card. Artists swap these and they are little works of art.

I will put captions on the photos below to give you an idea of the steps I took to make this ATB.

This is a 3 inch by 3 inch covered chipboard box.
It does not open.
It is merely to look at and enjoy.
It needs to be embellished, but I have not done that step yet.

I started out with a 12 inch x 12 inch sheet of thin chipboard.
I prefer medium weight chipboard, but I did not have any on hand today.

I cut a 3 inch strip off the 12 x 12 sheet.

This is the sheet in the paper cutter ready to be cut.

This is the 3 inch x 12 inch strip.

I scored the 3 inch x 12 inch piece of cardstock every 3 inches. I did NOT cut thru it.
I lightly scored it.

I scored it at 3 inches, 6 inches and 9 inches.

You can see the score mark/ cut mark here.
Remember, this is not cut all the way thru the chipboard.

All three scores have been made with the cutting blade.

 

I used scotch tape to make the box.
It was quick and easy for this example.

You can see the beginning of the 3 inch x 3 inch box.

I cut two 3 inch x 3 inch squares.
You may need to add a 16th or an 8th of an inch to this depending on the depth of the chipboard you use.
Measure twice, cut once!

All taped up.
It is almost square!

And . . . later on, you will be able to make something like this!

I don't have an example handy right now, but for the edges of the box,
I cut some 3 inch strips. they may be about 1.5 inches wide, or so.
I mitered the corners and this fortifies the box.
Before you begin this part, you may want to use gesso on the chipboard box to give it some "tooth".

View 1

View 2

View 3

 

View 4
The stripe is on the bottom of the box.

This is it for now . . . I hope you can follow this and of course, there are many ways to make a box!

This is just the way I have made them. :-)

As always, your comments and questions are welcome.

Until we meet again, may the Lord hold you in the hollow of His hand.

Emmy