Just wanted to say ... thanks for taking the time to stop by, hope you enjoyed your visit.x

Wednesday 20 August 2014

Hip to be Square - for Frilly and Funkie

Well it is time for another challenge over at Frilly and Funkie and the theme this fortnight ( still a week to go ) is Hip to be Square. Here in Jenny's words are the details :  
Create something based on a cube. You can use your own templates, dies or the Artist Trading Boxes dies. Decorate, embellish, alter in any way you choose. 

Make sure you hop across to see my team mates gorgeous makes as there is lots of inspiration!

You can choose whatever theme you want and just have fun, now these ATB's are designed by Eileen Hull and are so much fun to make and create..and highly addictive. So here is my piece for this challenge :


Now for this piece I used the largest die and then went on to create 3 smaller ones that would fit inside..rather like Russian dolls!

Here are the 3 smaller ones that fit inside :


And here they are all snuggled inside:



I wanted to create a softer fell for these than my previous makes with these boxes which can be found here and here. They were full of all sorts if you want to see. These are so versatile and I have to say so much fun to create as there are four sides to decorate as well as getting carried away inside.

So now for some of the details :

For each of the die cuts I added some blue ink to the inside surface and some frayed burlap for the front surface. I die cut mine from 500 gsm card to give it some thickness.


I like to add colour to the inside and decorate them before gluing together. For the outside I then used this great latticework stencil and applied some stormy sky distress ink through in places using a mini blending tool. Then spritzed some water into palm of my hand and then flicked onto card surface and dried.


For the seahorse I applied some distress paint to surface, then added rock candy crackle and completed pretty much as Tim Holtz did in his tag for July found here. I did choose softer colours.


I fixed the pieces together to create the finished boxes and then had fun embellishing!

For the large box I added a small piece of trellis die , some baby shells, some stamped blueprint seashells and sand dollar and some foliage..which was painted and splattered and inked. I also added a chit chat sticker.


 here are a couple of the side...complete with cheesecloth sea  and some more simple embellishments.



For the lid/top I added another seahorse, some dyed seam binding and a word band. For the base I added some little spools painted with tumbled glass distress paint.


For the stack of boxes, I embellished in a similar way..


Well hope you find time to be square too...and join in the fun. Make sure you pop across here for all the details of how to join in and for details of the generous prize you could win from Linda's boutique ..The Funkie Junkie Boutique, which is stacked full of lots of yummy goodies!

All supplies are listed below...


Thanks to everyone who takes the time to stop by and for all those who leave a comment, it is hugely appreciated .

keep those fingers inky!
trace x 

18 comments :

  1. Hola Cómo puedo participar en los retos? Me encantaría ya que este arte es apasionado!!!
    Hermoso todo lo que presentas Gracias!!!

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  2. An absolutely beautiful set of ATB's here Trace! I love the soft colour palette to compliment the sea theme and I adore the way you've altered the die cuts. Jenny x

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  3. Fantastic idea to have three that fit together and all very beautiful

    Love Chrissie x

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  4. Absolutely gorgeous Trace, I love everything about this (you will see why tomorrow!), the colours are wonderful and the crackling on the seahorse is amazing - oh how I wish I had bought the mini seahorse die now too!! Hugs, Anne x

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  5. Such a great set of boxes Trace!
    greetings, Alie

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  6. stunning makes Trace - these are just beautiful! Hugs rachel x

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  7. Wow this is soooooo beautiful Trace,it's making the temptation to resist that ATB die even harder!! Wonderfully constructed,love it :)

    Hugs
    Donna xx

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  8. All three boxes are fabulous Trace. Love the colours , details and embellishments....a set of treasures

    TFS and crafty hugs
    Annie x

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  9. Stunning Trace. I really must tried an ATB at some point! Nikki x

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  10. Really a elegant set of boxes... now what are your going to do with them... ???? I love the sea theme... and the colors are really lovely Trace... GREAT Art on all of the boxes... just curious about what you are going to do with them.. LOVE all of THESE... Love, Light and Peace...Bonnie

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  11. I just hopped across to see this, as I was so impressed by it on Facebook. The colours are wonderful! I love the addition of the cheesecloth, the shells and that fabulous sea-horse - wonderful crackle on him! How lovely with all the little boxes nestling inside! I'm really keen to collect some more of Eileen Hull's die-cuts: top of my birthday list, in fact! You have created something gorgeous. Julie Ann xxx

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  12. Under the sea, under the sea - things are much wetter - can't get much better than your boxes under the sea! I especially like the way you did the sea horse. Not only are you bubbly good you are darn clever!!!
    Sandy xx

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  13. What a beautiful stack, Trace. Full of vintage yumminess. I love the soft faded beachy feel you accomplished. Very cool the way they all next together too. Such great inspiration for our visitors this week!

    Hugs,
    Linda

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  14. Each of them so beautiful; all the texture, images and the colours! Great! Hugs, Gerrina
    Oh, I said I wanted to play with the crackle paste this week? Didn't happen'I couldnot find the time, but next week my sister is back to Spain and the holidays are over, so maybe...

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  15. Love the stacking and storing here! Each box is fabulous! Just so gorgeous!

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  16. Hi Trace! I love these boxes and how you've decorated them individually but then show them nested! And I love all the techniques you've included here. I'm getting ideas to put photos on each box and then store them inside one another. Kind of like a 3D photo album!

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Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by and leave me a comment..it means a lot..hope you like what you see. Trace x