Sweet Sentiments Mini Shadowbox Tutorial

There is lots of eye candy to be had, so please enjoy.  Be sure to scroll down to the bottom to see how I made this step by step as my Valentine gift to you.  Cheers!

Sweet Sentiments Mini Shadowbox with tutorial

Sweet Sentiments 8x8 paper

Sweet Sentiments Cardstock Stickers

Shabby Chic Ornate Metal Brads

Shabby Chic Ornate Keys

Metal Clothespin

Petaloo Flowers

7 gypsies Solo Shadowbox Tray

Distress Ink in Tea Dye

E6000

Xyron Glue Stick

Resin Embellishments by Prima

Perfect Pearls

Burnt Umber paint

I was inspired to make this project from rooting through my little collection of “alterables.”  I have a stash of items I pick up on sale or at garage sales or estate sales.  When I don’t know what I want to make, I will simply start moving things around and inevitably something will call out to me. 

I started out by creating my background and using a glue stick to adhere my paper.

Next I got busy altering my elements.  I used basic distress techniques like roughing up and inking the edges.  I also embellished my resin birds with several layers of mixed media products.  I just kept layering until I was happy with the results.  These types of touches always make a project stand out.

Here you can see I was experimenting with my layout.  It did not end up exactly like this, which often happens, but I do like to plan out my major embellishments by auditioning.

To add interest to the frame of the shadowbox, I used the sticker border and studded the corners with brads. 

It may be hard to see, but on the bottom squares, I popped up my images by using some foam I had on hand.  This added a bit of dimension and depth.

I started to layer in my embellishments with a heavy duty glue.  I tend to use E6000 For this task. 

A few of the new Shabby Chic Ornate Keys were added.  These were so hard to use up, but they were just perfect for the project.

For the final touch, flower embellishments were added.  Again, I played around a bit before adhering to ensure the correct choice.  Once again, my flowers changed from my original shot.

Another great element I added at the end was a metal clothespin.  To make it look nice and shabby I pounced a bit of white acrylic paint on it, let it dry a bit, and then scratched some of the paint off. 

I hope you are now inspired to make your own little shadowbox! It is is super easy and fun.  

Cheers, 

Rhea

Sweet Sentiments Valentine Wreath

This project started out with a wooden wreath base I picked up at a local garage sale. I am always on the hunt for things with flat surfaces which can be easily altered or adorned with paper.   With the heart motif, it was destined to be altered with Graphic 45's Sweet Sentiments just in time for Valentines Day.  

Sweet Sentiments Heart Wreath

Sweet Sentiments 12x12 paper

May Arts Ribbon

Petaloo Flowers

Distress Ink and Stain in Tea Dye

Adhesive

Wooden Heart Wreath Base

Gesso

To create a nice base I painted on a layer of gesso and once it was dry, I aged it with Distress Stain in Tea Dye.  The paper was added in layers that were stitched together on a sewing machine.  I am not a seamstress by any means, but I do like to add thread as a design element from time to time. 

In order to make the edges of my central image disappear, I fussy cut small elements and camoflagued the edge.  This little trick makes such a huge difference.

Another trick used in this project was to age my ribbons from May Arts.  The ribbon was pink and white to start out.  I thought it was a bit too stark, so I simply wet the ribbon and then added some distress stain.  I love how the aged look really pulls it all together! 

So the next time your shopping around a garage sale or estate sale, be sure to keep your mind open to finding fun things to alter. 

Cheers, 

Rhea