Cigar Box Alteration & at Odds with the Universe

You ever feel at odds with the universe? The only reason I ask is that with this box, I was pretty sure I had done something wrong on some kind of cosmic level.

VERY wrong.

I started off with a cigar box base that came in a recent Zeus and Zoe Kit from Marivic.

I don't have before photos. Imagine a cigar box if you will. ;-)

I headed out to the driveway where I usually spray paint.

My driveway is littered with little spray paint outlines. THE MAN seems to have a problem with this. Sometimes he comes out of his garage lair, points into the sky and declares the wind direction to be a problem and do I really want spray paint on my new jeep.

Anyhow this particular night he was not available to give me a hard time.

I was having trouble with the spray paint can so marched back into the garage and ripped the top off another can as a replacement. It did start spraying at that point, but intermittently, so I was getting ready to rip the top off again, when it sprayed me in the face.

Now, I could see black freckles on my nose at that point. Lucky for me, nothing got in my eye balls.

I did not know I looked like a leaper. Finished my spray job as the clog was now gone and headed back into the house.

Met THE MAN on the steps.

He gave me a hairy eye ball.

ME:  You like my new freckles?
HIM:  ummmmmm......ahh........baby.....ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
ME:  Does it look real bad?
HIM:  Ahhhh.......um......good luck getting that off. It's even in your NOSE.

He is trying nicely not to laugh and not look too grossed out.

Oh it was bad bad bad. And took a bit of serious scrubbing and examination to remove all the splatters.


Thankfully this box is all finished now! I tell you, it kinda fought me every step of the way!

I LURVE those feet!!!And my little lock! And the edges with the metal scrolls....and my Zeus & Zoe key....all were prettied up with some Adirondack Alcohol silver ink which sticks to metal like white on rice. ;-)

I am playing along with ScrapFriend's fabulous color challenge.

And a quick shout out goes to Ignacio at Nicecrane Designs for The Fascinating Victorian Women image I used for the little frame.

Is she not darlin'? I paired her up next to a bloom from Manor House and a few handmade blooms from Anni at Handgathered goods.

I used another image from Ignacio/Nicecrane for the inside. His customized top & bottom edges are genus!

They are really sweet and made a nice addition to my lid. I think that perhaps when I am inclined to give this box away as a gift, I'll add a little personalized note there all handwritten. 

Happy Altering and always point the nozzle away from your face. ;-)

Assignment Burgundy Zombie

So THE MAN assigned me one chore this summer.

Only one chore.

Of course, there were a lot of better things to do than this one particular chore.

I mean, I had to bust out the angle grinder, sand off rust, use oil base paint, and make it look nice.

I was pretty sure it was a tall order for someone who has fallen out of her desk chair at work several times on accident.

And, I didn't take a before photo. I mean, I have one from afar. But lets face it. I always tried to pretend the blue doors in the background that were nagging at me didn't exist.

Can you see it WAYYYYYY in the background?


And for you folks from places other than here, these doors are a hatch way into your basement. Come fall, all my chairs on my deck, the grill, and stuff I have out in the garden will make it's way down to be stored in the warm via that hatchway door.

And lest you think I survived this whole painting the door thing unharmed?

Let me give you a visual.

I was painting this door in a bikini because

A) Bikini was the same color as paint
B) I sit in the inside all day and thought a bit of sun would be nice
C) Less clothing means I am less likely to have to wear a shirt around for a year with burgundy paint
D) I might be a moron.
E) all of the above.

So, at some point during the painting, I had to reach wayyyyyyy over to the center of the door. What better way to reach than to lean on the side of the hatchway. Which of course was already painted.

Did I mention it was oil base paint?

It looked like I got gored on my side. This look was pared up with an updo to keep hair out of harms way of paint that was slowly unraveling the stickier I got. (I have painted my hair before too)

THE MAN showed up a few minutes later on the mower in theory to check me out in my bikini and fled in horror.

Evidently the Zombie Look is not Sexy. Somebody phone Victoria Secret and let them know.

True Love Hook Board

So, it's been two years since we moved in here at this house.

For two years, I have endured the top of my jewelry box being the home to spare things. Might just be a shirt or two, but regardless, when I want to find some earrings, I have to move them off the top.

Not a huge deal since I don't wear jewelry all that often due to the fact that nobody sees it....except the dogs....but, I did get the urge to have THE MAN start hanging up his things....and wanted a spot for a few of my things too.

So, since I likely can't buy something I'd like, I made my own.

I modge podged some doilies, roses, and cool images onto a board and added hooks.

The images are an easy peasy download from Nice Crane Designs and were previously magazine covers. They are designed as ATC images, but I like how they work on this board. I printed them out on an 81/2 by 11 sheet of photo paper and sprayed them with clear acrylic before working with them. The acrylic protects them from the Modge Podge which makes them run.

Here is another shot of the middle of the board. I love those dresses and hats! So feminine!

How do you like the little red roses? I love those...they are pretty and embossed.

Added various spritzes and ink pads to get the shimmery background. Of course shimmer modge podge helps too!

I may have gone a little TOO girly with this hook board though.

I got THE LOOK when I asked how he liked it. Evidently someone thinks its pretty um...feminine for his taste. Not like his shirts will know!

p.s. How do you like that background I took those photos on? That is a huge boulder that sticks up in my lawn. When we moved here, they were hiding it under a small little garden. I was super excited to find the rock. I know, I may be slightly crazy...but I do love a good boulder. ;-)

Water Fun and a page by my Sistah In Law

Soooo, by the time this posts, we should be heading back from a camping weekend at The Enchanted Forest Water Safari. It's a fun little local splash park. OK, so not exactly local, but within a few hours.

Lots of fun times I have had there. NOT. Used to work there when I was younger. Never went there for fun, so I guess we'll see how I do trying to have fun....


Anyhow thought posting a pool page would be a good theme for today. She made this for me for our Summer of 2012 Great Page Exchange.

Love the buttons, the letters, the sparkle...

And, not to leave Eddie out....he's the dude in the star floaty on top...He sent me this in a package.

In case you are confused....this is a drawing of nighttime activities here. Flashlight tag to be exact.

We set one kid up with a huge flash light and make everyone else hide.

Sometimes people hide in the apple trees out front. That is why there are little feet sticking out of it.

Thankfully the other day I spotted the HUGE hornets nest and got it sprayed before someone happened upon it while hiding. YIKES!

Anyhow, hope your Monday is most EXCELLENT!

NEW (sneaks) Scrapbook Page

I know, they are bright! My little sweetie loves colors like this.

She is crazy I think.

I want new sneakers myself, but I will be skipping over these two colors when I buy myself a new pair!

Of course, we're doing some back to school shopping.

Posting this for TWO challenges. The first one up, Bird is the Word I haven't played along with for a very long time. Challenges are the first thing to go when I get crunched for time. ;-(

They are asking you to use the word PEACE. I don't find these sneakers very peaceful, but it certainly KEEPS the peace by buying her the ones she likes. She wears a size 9 in woman's so it's quite expensive, but they are very comfortable, so yet again keeping the peace, LOL!

Here is a close up of some journaling where I used the word PEACE. I think this page reminds me of her hippy chick side! Cool colors, etc!

Coolie little birdie to help me illustrate too, thanks Alison, the hippy chick with the marble toes!


The second challenge I'm entering this in is one to use office supplies at Our Creative Corner. You WERE supposed to use the color red...and I snuck in as much as possible....but mostly, just wanted to play along with the Kim Price Challenge, LOL!!!

Did she hear that purple is the new red? There may not be a lick of red on this page...I did use two paper clips and also some staples, which fought me. I must have taken them out eighteen times, which is what normally happens to me when I am trying to use a stapler at work...weird. Although, we never had hot pink staples anywhere I have ever worked....

Have a couple of shout outs here on supplies.

Those super cool little house chippies are sold by Channa. The big huge purple button?? Purple Pumpkin I THINK.

AND, the sneaker wearin' Hippy Chick colored those chippy houses herself! I spritzed with a bit of white paint to get the ink to run and make them look tie dye-ish!

Wish me luck, I'm heading into the back to school whirl wind....Oh and Happy Friday!

Cork Board by Aunt Coco

I had GREAT intentions of posting this early this morning, but it was not to be.

So, rolling with what was handed to me, it now gets posted tonight. I think you'll enjoy it now just as much. ;-) Of course since we nearing the end of our day, Australia will enjoy it in their morning. Hey Australia!!! Morning!!!

I have been waiting for this project for years. I can remember my Aunt Connie (Or her Paris nick name Coco) collecting these corks for years.

LIKE YEARS PEOPLE.

I was little. VERY little. Little enough to think a taste of wine was nasty...

Having watched someone make a very small cork board the other day, I realize how long these corks take collect, even if you drink wine frequently. ;-)

Look at the sweet copper insets. My Aunt CLAIMS that I got these for her somewhere. She is probably right. I have amnesia occasionally but I am sure if I spotted real embossed copper plates at a second hand store or garage sale, I was ALL OVER IT like white on rice. Even if it was a real long time ago.

OK, I am going to digress here just for a minute. I was on Anupama's blog the other day, Scrapbooks from India and she wished me a HAPPY HUMP DAY. It was the best part of my day. Anytime we can hook other people up with our really crazy American terms....as if Wednesday was a big ole hairy caterpillar....or the top of a hill....

Anyone want to tell me now if "white on rice" is just an American slang thingie? I use it all the time. In fact, I only ever recall an long ex boyfriend saying it. It was one of the more useful things I think I took away from that relationship....that and a pair of earrings my Mom loves.

Anyhow, back to copper insets. LOOOOK at all those pretty labels on the corks. Holy wow, that is pretty stuff right there. A bit jealous.

Yeah. Exactly. You like it too...all vintagy...and a wee bit stained from the red wine. Delish.

THIS is the same Aunt with all that good dark birthday chocolate which just arrived.....so enjoying her successful project over a glass of wine and a piece of chocolate! Enjoy your success, Aunt C!

Little Box with Wings!

A little while ago I spotted this really cool box my friend Lisa at You Made Me Ink had made to hold her business cards.

She hooked me up with an extra box all painted up, so adding the BLING was super easy.

How do you like those CHIPPY wings?

They are from the Zeus & Zoe etsy shop! She carries ScrapFX and also, Manor House flowers. Both are so much fun!

Also, I thought I'd pop in and remind you that the girls at Berry71Bleu have a cool wing challenge going too. Have a play with it?

And here is another shot of my little box. The shimmer on the wings and the wood front is from Pear-Ex. Lizzy Hill has been writing about that for a bit and inspired me to dig my water color palette out!

Hope you find a chance to play along!

Mirror Mirror on the Wall for Jean

Jean is such a good egg.


She sent me a HUGE package of homemade goodies and some flowers to match this mirror and finish it off.

Do you recall my post about it a few weeks ago?

Do you not LOVE them dearly!

The one in the middle is Manor House, but the rest are hers! I added it in to change up the texture. The cool part is I have the biggest of the blooms left over to use on another project! Which is good news for me because I am now able to part with this mirror.

Yes, I am sending it to Jean! Now, this isn't in the mail YET because I am waiting for a good box that fits this mirror. Thankfully it's similar in size to scrapbook paper, so pretty sure I'll luck out soon! Maybe I'll have to buy some paper special! ;-)

For Helen: A Bird Cage

I have had this birdcage "in process" for it seems like months now. Found it at the second hand store wayyyyy back in Spring.

First I painted it that cream color. Then went shopping for flowers and didn't find much I really liked. Well, I did find that garland with the beads and berries I used under the flowers. Interestingly enough, it was in the spring clearance items in Michaels.

At one point, I ended up with my cage and the little crystal top out in THE MAN'S shop and we figured out a nice way to make sure it was installed firmly on the top of the cage. There is a before photo of the cage minus the gold crystal finial.

And, here is a little close up of the crystal top.

The crystal topper was originally a pull for a ceiling fan. For some reason, the chain kept breaking every time we used it, so I decided to repurpose it!

I did have LOT of fun with some gold alcohol ink and some Tim Holtz hardware. LOVE the feet I added with the little gold lock! Wanted them to match the crystal.

More more photo, this time a close up of the Manor House Flowers that I added with the little bird sitting on the gold nest. LOVE those flowers. Had no clue how truly lush they would be in real life.

This creation is flying via Air Mail to Africa as we speak to Helen. I cannot WAIT for her to get it.

She uses bird cages as decoration around her house!

Hope this makes your Monday Helen from South Africa!

Zeus & Zoe Color and Technique challenge with options!

Hey there on a Friday! Check out this cool post by Sandi who has a new challenge up at Zeus & Zoe. I LOVE it. I love the little sample she made to show you all. SO pretty! Please play along if you can! ;-) We only had a couple of players last month which is awesome if you want to win the prize...but....its way more fun for us if we have a lot of people sending us cool things to look at! 

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Hi everyone, Sandi here. Today I'd like to share our Color & Technique with options August challenge with you.

Yup, we'd like you to use our color pallette and our technique for this challenge, yet we are going to give you some fun options as well!

Here's the pallette:

Your colors are: brown, white, yellow, green, and grey.

Your technique is: sewing.

Here's what I created:

Now here's your options:

Color option: If you don't like the color pallette, or don't have the color goodies to do it, we are going to let you grab a photo, that you really like, and do a project using the colors in the photo.

Technique option: If you don't have a sewing mach., or can't sew, we are going to let you draw your stitches using a marking pen of your choice.

Yup! You read this challenge correctly....how easy and fun is this!

Prize for the winner voted on by the DT:

Yes! This is a mini sampling of our gorgeous Vintage style kits!

Prize for the randomly drawn winner:

Yes! This is one of those gorgeous tags, by Marivic, that we all want to get our hands on!

Here's the rules:

1. Projects must be linked up to our linky tool in the side bar, using the URL of the ACTUAL POST, not your entire blog.

2. You may submit as many entries as you would like and combine your entry with up to 2 other challenges.

3. Post this challenge to your blog and mention, in your post, that you are playing along at Zeus and Zoe TOGETHER with a link back to our Zeus and Zoe blog.

4. All entries must be received by MIDNIGHT EST on the 15th day of Sept.

5. Entries to be submitted via the linky tool at the top of the sidebar ONLY, not by e mail and not by linking up in the comments section please.

Information about our challenges:

1. Zeus and Zoe Challenges are open to anyone, anywhere in the world.

2. Our DT do their best to comment on all entries, you can make their job easier by turning off your word verification.

3. Challenges are held monthly and each month TWO winners are chosen. One winner is chosen by our DT and the other is chosen by random draw.

4. Challenge winners will always be announced within a week of the challenge closing and winners are then required to contact Marivic.

5. Prizes not claimed within two weeks will be forfeited.

6. The Merit winner will have an image of their project featured in the winners post, together with a link back to the homepage of their blog.

7. Winners will be awarded a Winner's Badge to post on their blog...full bragging rights included!

I can't wait to see what you come up with for our challenge!

As always, thank you for stopping by. See you soon!

Hugs!

ROOF Layout for MMD Divas

ohhhhh this sketch was a crazy one! I got it and thought wow, that is going to be hard and within about then minutes, I had all the pieces cut and laid out....so, don't think it's hard if I can do it!!!

Here is Heather's Sketch from Miracles Momma Designs.

I chose to make mine an oval so I could fit a few more photos in there.

It really was a huge undertaking....adding steel to both the garage and the house roof. The garage involved several family members helping us early spring but nobody related to us really wanted to tackle the steep pitch on the house roof. I can't say I blame them. It was really hot and a lot of work to pull those steel pieces up to the roof.

We had a college kid that came over on weekends and consequently spent most of the free fun time working on the house. We had thought the roof would last a year or two longer but a windy night last winter tore off shingles. I was the person on the ground running the boys on the roof stuff and also assisted with getting the steel up to the roof.

Since a roof is one of those critical things, we had to jump on it when spring hit but I did miss all the camping we had planned to do. We will hit a few places before fall comes if we can I think to make up for it!


Here is a close up of my blooms. I had some vintage linen that I thought might make some cool flowers. I had fun with those using my Big Shot and dying them with inks. Just took a bit to dry. They are floppy, not stiff like canvas ones I made.

Also tucked in a vintage button card in behind things. Le Chic Roof was my thought! THE MAN and I typically pick a few colors to keep things matching with the house. Since the house was WHITE we opted to go with something bright for the roof. Eventually we will have matching shutters at some point so the front of the house looks more like the FRONT! ;-)

And here is shot of the side of the page, just added some small journaling and a few stickers.

Love how the bright colors go against the woodgrain and the fun stickers!

If you choose to try her sketch, she usually posts them if you e-mail them to her.

Happy Thursday!

Another Freaky Scrappy Sketch Challenge

I know, can you believe it! It's half way through August already! Goodness gracious!

Means it's time for the next challenge up at Another Freaking Scrappy!

Check out this very fun sketch.

I admit, I worked on this page on Saturday. I was thinking a lot about Helen and decided to channel her style. Not sure I really captured it, she goes brighter with her colors than I tend to, but the intent was there. 

I used smidges of gesso and paint around the edges and even painted a key!

While in Corning NY a few weeks back, I took some random photos while out at lunch. 

One I took of some buildings that I THINK was built from Potsdam Sandstone. It reminds me of HERE! 

I didn't use that one on my page, had a few more I liked better. 

See, look at the stone and how worn it is, yet so pretty. Sorry, geologist at heart here. LOVE rocks!

Another photo I did use was this photo of Little Joe sneaking out over the top of Corning Inc. Headquarters building. Love the glass on this building and how it looks against the river.

It was kinda a gloomy day. I lightened the photo for my page.

Another random shot of the fountain I used to take the kids to when they were little to play in. Not the original intent, I am sure. But they added foam over the marble to help with wee people slipping which made me love it even more!

And a random shot of some roses that I found around town, because I liked them!

Have a great Hump Day!