Hello there to all our crafting friend, we had a workshop down in the Reading area of the country in mid September, and this is what this post is all about! This post will take you through how I created my Fairy Memory Box for the workshop.
So without further a do, let me list all of the products I have used, 1 A4 size MDF box with lid from The MDF Man, Black Acrylic paint from Wilko (great paint for the price!), various dies from Sue Wilson, Crafters Companion and X-Cut, Pinflair Buff-it in various colours, 1 Dufex picture print, white 300gsm cardboard, black 300gsm cardboard, heavy weight cardboard, Pinflair Glue Gel,Pinflair Pearl Wand (Pearl colour), PVA glue, DecoArt Glamour Dust Glitter and some gold foil board.
Step 1 Using this beautiful swirly die from the Sue Wilson collection I used it to cut out 4 pieces of white card.
I folded the die cuts in half and stuck them to eachouter corner of the MDF box base. This MDF box also a lid which is held in place by some brass colour hinges. For the next step I unscrewed the box lid to make it easier to decorate both the lid and base.
Step 2 I then measured half way a long the long side of the box and half way up it's height. Then using a power drill for a clean hole I drilled a hole slightly larger than the screw that will hold the handle in place all the way through the wall of the box lid.
I checked the fit of the handle and then removed it making it easier to continue the decorating process.
Step 3 Then using a soft wide brush I painted the box base using black acrylic paint from Wilko. I must admit I did wonder if the paint would be good enough, but it really surprised me at how good it really was (£1.50 for 200ml... a bargin!) I even managed to get away with just one coat, so there was plenty of paint left over for another few projects!
Step 4 Using PVA glue I stuck the Dufex fairy picture onto a piece of heavy duty cardboard. DO NOT use solvent based glue when using Dufex as it will ruin the picture.
Once the picture print was stuck down in place I then painted PVA glue over the entire surface of the picture using a soft brush, however you could use a sponge brush too. Paint it on vertically first, leave to dry and then paint on a second coat horizontally. Before the second coat has dried sprinkle some DecoArt Glamour Dust glitter on it. Not too much, but enough to add interest.
Step 5 Now roughly measure your picture print and with pencil lightly mark the area where the picture print will be glued to the box lid. Using the black acrylic paint, paint the box lid and just slightly go inside the pencil mark. For a strong bond it is best not to paint under where the picture print will be stuck.
I cut your picture print out using a craft knife and rule.
Because I am going to do a workshop I made a jig so that the picture prints would be in the same place on every bodies boxes. But you could just measure it all the same.
Next with the jig still in place I applied PVA glue to the back of the picture print and stuck it onto the box lid and held it in place until it was dry.
Step 6 Using some Pinflair Buff-it (Antique Silver) I brushed it over the Sue Wilson die cut which I had stuck on all 4 corners of the box base. This helped highlight the detail and also gave it an aged effect.
I applied the same treatment to a keyhole die cut from an X-Cut set of dies.
Next I re-fitted the handle and brass effect mouldings and the hinges.
Step 7 Using various flower dies I cut out enough flower shapes using the black card to go all of the way round the picture print. I laid them out dry then cut a few extra as when you start to glue them in place you will find that you are overlapping them.
I also cut out a beautiful butterfly using a Crafters Companion die and also some swirls out of gold board. Again I placed these on top of the box, but didn't glue them in place.
Using a round pencil roll some of the flower petals over the pencil to give them some shape. Then using a PVA glue, start sticking them in place onto the box lid. Ensure you cover the straight edges of the picture print and make the hard lines disappear and this will help the die cuts seamlessly merge from into the print.
Step 8 Now using various colours of Pinflair Buff-it craft polish start to colour all the black die cut shapes on the box. I started by applying the Buff-it with a soft paintbrush to start with and then added extra colours over the top of the original colours using my fingers. For the large butterfly die cut I applied the Buff-it polish with a sponge brush and merged/faded the colours into one another.
Step 9 Using white cardboard, I cut some letters out spelling the word 'Dream' using Crafters Companion letter dies and then stuck them to a sheet of white card using PVA glue. I then drew a banner lightly in pencil and when I was finally happy with the shape I cut it out. Then I painted it on both side with black acrylic paint and waited for it to dry. Then using the Pinflair Buff-it colours I applied the same treatment to the banner shape. When finally coloured I gave it a little shape by pulling it over the edge of my work surface and then glued it in place using Pinflair Glue Gel.
Because this was a showpiece creation for a workshop, I also decorated the inside of the box lid using the same techniques. However for the banner I created a double style version. For the upper layer, I curled it right round to give the illusion that it flowed round to the lower part of the banner. Again I used Pinflair Glue Gel to stick the banner in place. I finished of the rest of the inside of the box using black acrylic paint.
Here are just a few of the many pictures from the workshop.
Antony
Until next time, Happy Crafting!
Antony
