A Hot Box

It is time for a new challenge at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog (formerly known as Frilly and Funkie).  Suzz is our hostess for this one that she is calling It's Heating Up.  Here is how she describes it:

July is when the weather here in the Midwest really starts to turn warm and muggy. This is the inspiration for our challenge to interpret the heat with using one or more of the following colors: Yellow, Red or Orange. Your challenge is to create a vintage or shabby chic project where the main color is yellow, orange or red. I can't wait to see how you turn up the heat in your art!

It has been super hot so far this summer so I had no problem thinking hot colours but what to make with those colours - an altered box came to mind.

I took the process photos along the way and the finished product photos later only to discover that some of the camera settings had changed along the way so some of the process photos don't have a background that looks like the one I took them on.  I have decided there is a gremlin in my phone because the Bluetooth turns itself off from time to time and texts are disappearing - time for a new phone and maybe a new provider.

I started with a cheap paper mache box from Dollarama and gave it a coat of White Gesso (Dina Wakley) followed by a coat of Squeezed Orange Acrylic Paint (Dylusions).  Once the box was dry, I added Lemon Zest acrylic paint (Dylusions) with a sea sponge.

Next I inked it all over with some Red Geranium Archival Ink (Wendy Vecchi) and then sprayed it with Aged Mahogany Distress Spray Stain (Tim Holtz) and while it was still wet, I patted it with a piece of paper toweling to give a marbled look.

I found some little wooden finials at Michaels that I thought would make great feet for the box so I coated them first with White Gesso and then with the Lemon Zest Acrylic Paint.  They were too bright so I inked them with Orange Blossom Archival Ink (Wendy Vecchi) and was much happier with the finished look.  I used some Gel Medium (Dina Wakley) to glue the feet to the bottom of the box.

I grabbed some venise lace from my Funkie Junkie Boutique stash and dyed it using some Wild Honey Distress Stain (Tim Holtz - no longer available but Distress Ink Re-inker would be a perfect alternative) mixed in a little jar with a bit of water.  Once it was dry I adhered it to the outside edge of the box lid.

Now it was time to decorate the top.  I used the Shabby Posies die (Tammy Tutterow) to cut petals from paper pads called Floral Shoppe and Midnight Masquerade (Graphic 45).  The paper used for the yellow flower was too pale so I inked it with some Mustard Seed Distress Ink (Tim Holtz).  Next I shaped the flowers and layered the petals together.  I wanted a shiny look so I painted them with some Gloss Gel Medium and then when they were dry I added some adhesive pearls from Dollarama to the centres.

A branch was cut from the orange in the Metallics Jewels Kraft Stock pad (Tim Holtz) using the Skeleton Leaves die set (Tim Holtz) and then I cut some of the leaves from the branch.  I also used the Garden Greens die set (Tim Holtz) to cut some branches from some rusty red card stock scraps.

To make the butterfly, I coloured a piece of plastic packaging with Sunset Orange, Sunshine Yellow and Poppyfield Alcohol Ink (Tim Holtz) and then cut the little butterfly using the Entomology die set (Tim Holtz).  I used a black Micron pen to draw lines on the butterfly rather than stamping it.  I tried stamping one from the Entomology set (Tim Holtz) but did not like it.

I made a loopy bow from a large ball of yellow twine I found in my stash and then punched a little circle from the Metallics Kraft Stock, shaped it with a large embossing tool and added it to the centre of the bow.

All of the elements were adhered to the top of the box using either Scor Tape or Gel Medium.

I hope you will join us for this sizzling challenge.  There is lots of time to create as it runs through 11:55 pm EST on Tuesday, July 30th.  One random winner will receive a gift certificate to shop at The Funkie Junkie Boutique and the Design Team will choose their top picks with the overall winner receiving an invitation to be a Guest Designer at a future date.

Supplies List from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Tim Holtz Idea-ology 8 x 8 Metallic Jewels Kraft Stock

DYLUSIONS PAINTS, SQUEEZED ORANGE DYP46035	DYLUSIONS PAINTS, LEMON ZEST DYP45991	Ranger Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink Pad - Orange Blossom AID38986	Ranger Wendy Vecchi Archival Ink Pad - Red Geranium AID38993	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Mustard Seed TIM20226	Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Stain Spray - Mustard Seed TSS42358
Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Stain Spray - Aged Mahogany TSS42129	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Reinker Wild Honey TIM27324	Tammy Tutterow Shabby Posies Die	Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 9PK - Garden Greens by Tim Holtz 661206	Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 5pk - Skeleton Leaves by Tim Holtz 663094	Sizzix Framelits Die Set - Entomology by Tim Holtz 663068
Ranger Adirondack Alcohol Ink - Sunset Orange	Ranger Adirondack Alcohol Ink - Sunshine Yellow	Ranger Adirondack Alcohol Ink - Poppyfield TAL40736	Graphic 45 - Floral Shoppe - 8x8 Pad	Venise Lace Trim - 1/2 inch wide	Ranger Dina Wakley Media Ultra Thick Gel Medium 4oz
Dina Wakley Media Mediums - White Gesso MDM41689	Scor-Pal Scor-Tape 1/8" x 27 Yards	Scor-Pal Scor-Tape 1/4" x 27 Yards	Scor-Pal Scor-Tape 3/8" x 27 Yards