Sources of Inspiration
Your source(s) of inspiration can be obvious, or, sometimes, surprising! There were two sources of inspiration for my project today. The first came from an obvious source, a scrapbooking blog! I daily follow a blog of a very dear friend of mine, Roni Johnson. You can find Roni here, and I would heartily recommend that you visit her blog. Recently, Roni has been showing followers how to alter a tin box for a Mother's Day gift, even showing us how to create backgrounds for ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) to include in the tin. You can see this post here.
My second source of inspiration came from my brother! Although I had all the supplies to follow Roni's directions and alter my Altoid box, I had not yet started. As I sat talking with my brother (visiting from the Dominican Republic), he opened a metal box and took out a cigar cutter that he had ordered online. He was about to discard the metal box, when I said, "Hey! I'll take that!" And the rest is now history.
Today is National Scrapbooking Day, so I wanted to do something creative. When I arrived in my scrap loft (that's fancy for 3rd floor), there was that metal box! I didn't really need to do much with the tin because it was already beautiful with its mesh sides (lacking on that Altoid box!). According to Roni's directions, I did sand the top, bottom and insides of the lid and base so that it would greedily absorb the coat of Mod Podge (adhesive) I was about to apply.
Next, I went to my scrap drawer and found 4 different patterned papers. Using the top of the lid, I traced around it on each sheet of paper (making minor "fitting" adjustments as I progressed). Although I generally tease you with the details, today, I will show you the (almost) finished project first. This is the top and bottom of the tin (note that stylin' mesh). After applying my adhesive to the outside of the lid, I attached my first piece of patterned paper. I sanded the sides of the paper so that they conformed perfectly to the edges of the lid. I then used a black ink pad to add a bit of color and "aging" to the sides. After adhering the paper to the inside of the lid, I added a ribbon around both the outside and inside of the lid. Then, I embellished the outside with a butterfly. I then added the patterned paper to the bottom.
Once inside the tin, I added an ATC made by Karen Ladd (received in an ATC swap many years ago on the About.com: Scrapbooking website). To add dimension, I used pop dots underneath it.
Next, I added the fourth patterned paper to the bottom of the base.
I liked Roni's idea of filling this tin with ATCs, but, by now, time is running short. I remembered my 3-ring binder of ATCs in which I keep both ATCs made by me and those traded or given to me. Perhaps I should have mentioned this before, but I did not create this tin for a Mother's Day gift, but for my sister Sandy's 70th birthday being celebrated by family next weekend. As I looked through my binder, I found 9 ATC's that immediately reminded me of Sandy for one reason or another.
I cut strips of black card stock on which to mount the 9 ATCs. I scored these strips so that they would fold easily into an accordian. I allowed for a "tab" so that I could join the strips together. On the back of each of the folds, I adhered paper cut from a lined index card for ease in writing on them.
Each of these ATCs will certainly jog a memory for my sister, and I am hoping she will write down that memory. The first, "Sister," was made by me and will definitely arouse all kinds of memories; the 3rd, "Eiffel Tower," would be her year of studying abroad; and, so on. Here are a couple more ATCs I used made by special people in my life. The first ("Juice of the Gods") by Roni Johnson, the second ("YADDA YADDA YADDA") by Tammy Birkhead, both crafters that continue to inspire me!
Now, all put together and back in the tin:
I thoroughly enjoyed making this project and thank both Roni and my brother for my National Scrapbooking Day adventure into the arts! Happy 70th birthday, Sandy!!
Please leave a comment to let me know you were here!
Cheers!
Your source(s) of inspiration can be obvious, or, sometimes, surprising! There were two sources of inspiration for my project today. The first came from an obvious source, a scrapbooking blog! I daily follow a blog of a very dear friend of mine, Roni Johnson. You can find Roni here, and I would heartily recommend that you visit her blog. Recently, Roni has been showing followers how to alter a tin box for a Mother's Day gift, even showing us how to create backgrounds for ATCs (Artist Trading Cards) to include in the tin. You can see this post here.
My second source of inspiration came from my brother! Although I had all the supplies to follow Roni's directions and alter my Altoid box, I had not yet started. As I sat talking with my brother (visiting from the Dominican Republic), he opened a metal box and took out a cigar cutter that he had ordered online. He was about to discard the metal box, when I said, "Hey! I'll take that!" And the rest is now history.
Today is National Scrapbooking Day, so I wanted to do something creative. When I arrived in my scrap loft (that's fancy for 3rd floor), there was that metal box! I didn't really need to do much with the tin because it was already beautiful with its mesh sides (lacking on that Altoid box!). According to Roni's directions, I did sand the top, bottom and insides of the lid and base so that it would greedily absorb the coat of Mod Podge (adhesive) I was about to apply.
Next, I went to my scrap drawer and found 4 different patterned papers. Using the top of the lid, I traced around it on each sheet of paper (making minor "fitting" adjustments as I progressed). Although I generally tease you with the details, today, I will show you the (almost) finished project first. This is the top and bottom of the tin (note that stylin' mesh). After applying my adhesive to the outside of the lid, I attached my first piece of patterned paper. I sanded the sides of the paper so that they conformed perfectly to the edges of the lid. I then used a black ink pad to add a bit of color and "aging" to the sides. After adhering the paper to the inside of the lid, I added a ribbon around both the outside and inside of the lid. Then, I embellished the outside with a butterfly. I then added the patterned paper to the bottom.
Once inside the tin, I added an ATC made by Karen Ladd (received in an ATC swap many years ago on the About.com: Scrapbooking website). To add dimension, I used pop dots underneath it.
Next, I added the fourth patterned paper to the bottom of the base.
I liked Roni's idea of filling this tin with ATCs, but, by now, time is running short. I remembered my 3-ring binder of ATCs in which I keep both ATCs made by me and those traded or given to me. Perhaps I should have mentioned this before, but I did not create this tin for a Mother's Day gift, but for my sister Sandy's 70th birthday being celebrated by family next weekend. As I looked through my binder, I found 9 ATC's that immediately reminded me of Sandy for one reason or another.
I cut strips of black card stock on which to mount the 9 ATCs. I scored these strips so that they would fold easily into an accordian. I allowed for a "tab" so that I could join the strips together. On the back of each of the folds, I adhered paper cut from a lined index card for ease in writing on them.
Each of these ATCs will certainly jog a memory for my sister, and I am hoping she will write down that memory. The first, "Sister," was made by me and will definitely arouse all kinds of memories; the 3rd, "Eiffel Tower," would be her year of studying abroad; and, so on. Here are a couple more ATCs I used made by special people in my life. The first ("Juice of the Gods") by Roni Johnson, the second ("YADDA YADDA YADDA") by Tammy Birkhead, both crafters that continue to inspire me!
Now, all put together and back in the tin:
I thoroughly enjoyed making this project and thank both Roni and my brother for my National Scrapbooking Day adventure into the arts! Happy 70th birthday, Sandy!!
Please leave a comment to let me know you were here!
Cheers!
