Down the Rabbit Hole: Part II

So I was called long ago by my inner artist to revisit this piece and it seems the moon and the stars aligned to make this happen.  Alpha Stamps is the sponsor this month for the challenge over on The Altered Alice blog, which is a really fun place to explore. Everyone who enters in the monthly challenge will get a free collage sheet too!   

Have you ever made a project and called it complete, only to keep fantasizing about what else needed to be done to it?  That was the situation with this assemblage.  It was one of my earlier pieces and it was intended as a swap, but it never left my possession as I fell in love with it, and with the story.  You can read more about the first version here.

It was a good exercise to look back at this post and this piece and evaluate my growth.  I think the quality of my pictures has vastly improved.  

Quite a nice pick me up, if I do say so.  First off the color reflects the vibrancy of the Alice story so much more now.  I added dozens of red paper roses and used the mini playing cards to hide my glue and wire.  My old shrine was missing a nod to the Cheshire Cat.  Using the Red Queen Collage Sheet took care of that and added a good bit of that color with new imagery in other areas too.  

                  

A few new trinkets were added to the project as well.  I have been wanting this tiny tiny teapot with hinged lid ever since I laid eyes on it.  I absolutely adore it. Notice too that the tiny door opens.  I just adore movement in my work.   

The gold rabbit bead was a nice addition to the area with the mushroom.  In the first run, there was a spot open where the bunny was that I thought needed to be filled.  Unfortunately I had run out of the particular color of mossy stuff that I used. The rabbit covered this issue up nicely.  

You may also notice the change in the wood color.  I used vintage photo distress stain and stained the whole thing.  I do not recommend doing this after an assemblage is complete, by the way, it was a bit challenging.  A few roses are now a bit aged! The stain warms up the piece considerably and goes well with the new vibrant tones.  

Thanks for joining me on my re-do.  I hope this post inspires you to revisit that piece that you often look at thinking it needs just one more...

Cheers, 

Rhea

  

I'm Late!

This mixed media piece was made for a swap.  I had made my "Down the rabbit hole" assemblage with this swap as the inspiration, however, I ended up deciding to keep that piece because there were so many sentimental things inside it. You can read more about that piece here.

Since creating that first Alice piece, I stumbled upon a lovely blog called Altered Alice.  This month they are having a tea party challenge, which I incorporated into this piece.  For this challenge, I am also bringing some vintage linens to the party. 

I started with an old book cover.  It was then covered with a bit of floral paper by Tim Holtz, after all it is a garden tea party.  I edged the outside with tissue tap.  This is the best for covering up any mistakes in aligning your paper by the way.  A few spritz of glimmer mists added a bit of sheen to the background. 

I used an image I cut from a sheet of Graphics 45 paper, the lovely white rabbit who is running late for the tea party.  The mosaic pieces were made from two different types of fragments by Tim and Graphics 45 Halloween in Wonderland die cut tags.  The edges were coated with a silver leafing pen.  I played with layout a bit to determine a pleasing design and glued them down.  I wanted the party to be central, so I was sure to put this image in the middle. 

I am really loving this theme.  I think I may have a few more Alice inspired pieces in my future.

Down the rabbit hole

Wow, it feels like it has been a while!  I guess my creative mojo took a little break, probably because my work life has been a bit challenging of late.  I made the time to check out  Linda's Grungy Monday challenge which is always inspired by none other than Lord Tim.  This week was a Distress free for all and I really enjoyed it.

I was inspired to make this project for a swap I am enrolled in, but this is another project I kind of grew attached too.  It just may live with me for a bit, we shall see as I have some time.  I just love how I was able to really flesh out this theme with supplies I had on hand.  

I started with this box I had on hand that was ready to alter.  This was sent to me in a swap and had been filled with a ton of lovely hand carved stamps.  I still have to move the hangers on the back because I had to change the orientation in order for the images I had to fit properly.  As I look at this, I realize quite a bit of the materials used were from swaps.  People send me the coolest stuff! 

The background paper was glued inside of each part of the background.  Tim Holtz's tissue tape frames out the inside of each square.  Then came the Distress inks. I used a bunch of brown tones and buffed them into the front and sides of the raw wood.  Since Distress inks react with water, I spritzed the inks to get them to intensify and blend more.  I also added a touch of rub and buff along the front for a little sheen. 

At this point, I added some metal corners from Tim.  Then it was stash scavenging time, fun.  I had just received the faux Alice stamps in a mail art swap.  They were a bit bright for the project, so enter a bit more Distress inks along with some additional colored pencil.  The mushroom was recently picked up at an antique show for a dollar.  The faux moss also just arrived in the mail from a swap as did the tiny bottle filled with "the sands of time" (shielded by the open door.)  I really like to have movement in my work.  To this end I also attached the heart shaped lock with a tiny eye bolt, yep, someone sent me that lock too.  

In the middle area I knew I wanted to use some of my small brown bottles.  I bought oodles of them at a good discount.  I bit of paper, some ink and a "drink me" label and I had some potion for my project.  A philosophy tag from Tim also goes with the theme.  I looked and looked for something that said "dream," but I could not find anything on hand.  I later did add this word from a bit of paper on an inner wall (not seen.) I knew I also wanted a playing card  in this piece too.  Due to the waxy coating it would not accept ink, I got around this by sanding and I love the texture this process achieved.  A few random wooded chess pieces that arrived in my mailbox (from a swap) fit perfect with the theme.  The metal heart was a garage sale find I believe.  I really wanted to fill the metal heart with red distress stickles. I did this, but I lost my patience as they take a while to dry, so I altered my plan and moved forward.  The flourish was sent to me and the key, I think I had.

Now, I have a tiny heavy metal printers "Q" that I wanted to use, but I was supposed to send this internationally, so I did not add it.  It probably made a good choice as the scale of the large grungboard letter works better.  It was colored with Distress Inks and coated in stickels.  I glued it down when the glitter was still wet, I am so impatient with my art at times! A cheap plastic heart shaped locket was tucked in and a royal button add some interest in this taller box.  

I knew I wanted something to do with time.  I used a Spare Part clock face and a few spinners from Tim.  The tiny teacup I just received in a swap as well.  In fact, I think this little cup and the faux postage really inspired the whole project.  When trying to add elements, I read the wiki entry of the plot synopsis to refresh my memory of both Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass.  I found that Alice in sighted "rule 42" at the royal court. I searched my vintage bingo pieces and lucked out.  

There is room for a few more trinkets in my opinion and there are a few story elements I would like to add.  Some red and white roses and a rabbit would be nice for sure.  A tiny pair of gloves or a fan would also complement the theme.  This is an image rich tale for sure, there are so many things I could see doing with this theme in the future.  So this is what the "Alice" hub-bub is all about!  Now that I have fallen in love and plan to keep it, I just may be able to continue my search and find the finishing touches.