Thursday, April 27, 2017

Cigar Box

Hi ya'll!

I hope you are having a wonderful day!

I'm not going to share a card today but instead another kind of project.

I am in a craft group that meets once a month and we always swap something.

This month each of us was given a cigar box and told to decorate it.

After a panic attack lot of thought, this is what I came up with.



My box had a very rough, ridged top.

After struggling with a coat of gesso, I asked my DH if he still had the electric palm sander.

Wonder of wonders, he found it and there was one piece of sandpaper.

So we went to work trying to smooth the top some.

After another coat of gesso and two  coats of white acrylic paint, I was forced ready to start decorating.

I thought of some beautiful vellum pieces that our dear friend Darnell had given me
and pulled them out.

I used Modge Podge to adhere the vellum pieces to the box.

Much to my dismay, some of the pieces didn't seem to want to hold.

I tucked a bit more Modge Podge under the corners of the pieces and weighted them down.

Still not great.

I think my Modge Podge was too old.

Does that stuff have a shelf life?

So I switched to TH Distress Collage Medium.

Thinking that if I gave it a good coat over the top, it would help stick it down,
I slathered it on!

And then the orange started to appear.  Ackkk!



I'm not sure what that is.

Could it be stain from the wood that hadn't been coated with gesso?

Whatever it was, it didn't disappear.

So I'm calling it distressed!



I added some fancy feet and a little pull for the top.

I'm hoping the "jewelry" will make it more appealing.

So that's my swap for this month.

I'm so relieved it'd done and can't wait to see what the rest of the gang did.

I'll try to remember to take a picture of the one I get.

Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!




Card Recipe
Stamps:  
Ink:   
Paper:   
Other:  


15 comments:

My Card Attic: Hazel said...

What a great idea! And what a great box! I LOVE that 'distressed' look! Have a lovely evening my friend! Luv & Hugs. Hazel xx
My Card Attic

Mac Mable said...

Such a surprise and what a wonderful surprise x It sounds like you had a real challenge with this one Bonnie and boy did you rise to it. Well done too, to your DH and loving the distress look x I don't know if Modge Podge has a shelf life, would be interested to find out. A great keep sake for your jewelry...great job x

jimlynn said...

WHOA!!! Bonnie, this is so unique and gorgeous! Love the distressed look the gesso gave to the box. Old or not! OUTSTANDING!!!
Lynn

Loll said...

You did a fantastic job, Bonnie! That is quite a challenge with the rough surface. I love the butterflies and garden images you've used. The orange looks good to me. A happy accident, I think! Love the sweet metal feet. xx

BożenA said...

WOW! What a beautiful box! I like these yellow spots very much, they give an interesting appearance of the surface. I generally like irregularities, so this uneven surface is much more beautiful to me than smoothed. The whole thing looks really amazing to me. It is the most beautiful, unique and unrepeatable, because part of its appearance is a fate :-)
Hugs,
BożenA

Brenda in IN said...

Oh wow, this is great. I love the distressed look, it's a good thing for something that old. I didn't even know cigar boxes were still around so you have a jewel there. I love the friendship on the front and the sweet butterfly. This is a real showpiece.

Sandy said...

I love the top that you came up with Bonnie- that's a hoot about the orange that came through - looks planned!
What a fun group to belong to.
Sandy xx

nancy littrell said...

OMG Bonnie...I Love the accidently distressed look of your vintage style box! Your wildflowers on vellum gifted piece from Darnell is perfect for the top along with all your beautifully colored butterflies. All your hardware adds so much interest to your vintage style. I am just so impressed with your final results. TFS and describing your artistic journey my friend. Hugs...

Susan said...

I think it's fabulous, orange and all. Love the vintage collage piece on top and the beautiful butterflies. Please do show us the one you receive!

Faith A at Daffodil Cards said...

You did make me laugh with your "how I did it" speel, whatever happened, it is BEAUTIFUL. You have ended up with something special, that anyone would love.
Faith
x

Princess Judy Palmer said...

I hope Modge Podge doesn't have a shelf life. I plan to someday use mine... Gorgeous box! I laughed that you had a panic attack at first. I thought that would only apply to me, not you ultra artsy creative folk!

Julia Aston said...

A great job in decorating this rough wooden box Bonnie! I love that magical appearance of the orange! Julia xx

Bobby said...

I'm sure it was the wood that was staining the paper, Bonnie, but it does give the box a great antiqued look. That sounds like a fun group to be in. Please do show pictures of the other boxes.

Nstiz said...

Bonnie, you did a spectacular job on this! I love altered boxes and that image- just so perfect. Whatever the orange is- it works! LOVE this!

Mrs A. said...

Maybe the glues reacted with one another but the rusulting orange occurance looks totally intended and gives a lovely vintage chic look. Slightly biased though as i love butterflies! Hugs Mrs A.