Once Upon a Springtime

I just love the "Once Upon a Springtime" paper series that Graphics 45 has.  I have been hording a few sheets of this paper for a while and decided to finally use some of it since spring seems to have really arrived here in Michigan.  I started with a cute little pressed board box "book" that was given to me from a new crafty pal Karen, who owns Dillon's Scrapbook Store in Portage MI.  How kind and sweet for her to think of me!

I covered the book in a flocked paper from the store as well, but I failed to photograph the back of the project where you can really see the paper.  If you look really close you may be able to pick out the light pink brocade pattern, which is so soft from the flocking.  I chose an image for the front of my book and framed it out with Tim Holtz's corners.  I also added a hitch post at that time, knowing I wanted something to either dangle or act as a closure for the box/book. 

Now typically I am not one to gravitate towards pink...or ribbons for that matter, but today I chose to embrace these new to me elements.  I backed a title portion of the paper with a nice ruffle trim and attached it to the top of the scene.  A few ceramic flowers were added as well as as a dimensional butterfly. To finish out the front, I attached a couple of Tim's super cute buttons, and buttons just happen to be this week's theme for the Simon Says Stamp and Show blog challenge this week.

The top portion of the inside started with one of the postcards from the paper.  Oh, how I love all things postal.  I added a strip of Tim's newest tissue tape along with a fragment I altered with paper and foil tape.  Another butterfly sticker and a bit of yarn holds a key, completing the inside upper area of the piece.  For once I tried to keep it simple!  I did have to make sure that my embellishments were not going to interfere with the closure of the box as I crafted.

To frame out the bottom I started by covering the edges of this skinny little book box with another one of Tim's new tissue tapes.  A light blue subtly printed scrapbook paper frames out the main image.  I used more ceramic flowers, this time spraying them with Glimmer Mist as their color did not work with my palate.  They are a bit dark in my opinion, but there was nothing I could do, the other flowers I had that were similar were too dimensional and would have broken due to the lid. I added a bit of texture with some trim up top and a length of textured yarn.  A couple of shells and more of Tim's buttons add a bit of interest, along with a tiny bottle, filled with flowers (spring) and watch parts (time).  I added a few altered corsage pins to add a bit of height and frame out the inside.  I did not make the pins, they were given to me in a swap.  

In the end, I found a little copper charm that fits the motif perfect.  It is hard to see in this picture, but I also added Stickels to the wings of all the fairies to add a bit of magic.