Inlaid Box

When I saw the "Inlaid Dies" Challenge at Addicted to CAS, my first idea was to recreate a wooden box with etching and inlays framed with metal. This was a fun technique; I may have to use it for an actual paper box someday.

The brown square started as a scrap piece of corrugated cardboard; I inked it with brown chalk ink (Quick Quotes) and ran it through my Big Shot with a fancy die. The outer edge cut through but the little pieces didn't, as intended. I sprayed the inner piece with a Satin coating before cutting out the flower (Sizzix) & branch (Sweet Stamps) pieces; I ran these dies through my Big Shot twice to ensure a deep cut. The frames are cut from a gold paper (Recollections) and the inset pieces are cut from a pearly cardstock; I used SU! Wasabi ink for the green parts. I strung some twine around the "box" and used a metal ring to attach a metal Hamsa charm (which I heat-embossed with Gold powder) and a sentiment tag (cut with an EC die & stamped with a Jillibean Soup stamp in Vintage Photo distress ink.) The card front is a lightest beige cardstock. To be honest, this was very much inspired by the urn/box that the Vet put our dear dog Allen into when we lost him a few weeks ago. I miss him very much, and am glad that I have crafting to help me through this time.

Inspiration/Challenges:
Addicted to CAS Challenge #85: Inlaid Dies (2nd entry)
Paper Sweeties: Inspiration #42

Recycling with Crafting with Dragonflies

I'm hosting the Crafting with Dragonflies challenge this fortnight, so I chose my favorite theme: Recycling/use something not intended for crafting.

My mom & I visited a great new store near my house yesterday that sells Southeast Asian foods. We found these beautiful sliced "nuts" called Sopari and Mom immediately knew she wanted to use them on cards! You should have seen the look on the owner's face when we bought them...he said, What are you going to do with these‽ but was happy when we told him we were using them as art. Ends up that they are betel nuts, one of the original stimulants. So don't lick this card!

For the background, I cut up a white Styrofoam take-out container and embossed it in my BigShot. The banner is a rubber tourniquet that I cut with fringe scissors. I added some hemp twine & a beautiful Hamsa charm that my best friend gave me for my birthday. The flowers were die-cut from a stiff fabric, and I added betel nut centers & leaves die-cut from an aluminum can. The sentiment is a stamp from IndigoBlu, a happy coincidence considering my color scheme!

Inspiration/Challenges:
Crafting with Dragonflies #45: Recycled items
Mojo Monday: Sketch #418
Dream Valley Challenge #116: Recipe (bottom row: Flowers, Embossing, Blue)



Thank you for visiting, and I hope you'll join us at Crafting with Dragonflies,