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For those who don't know me as the creative I used to be... I am one of those people that need to be creative in order to thrive! For a long while creativity was literally my bread and butter. The last 6 months have seen me needing to get back to incorporate more creativity in my personal space which is now naturally transsitioning into my buisness as well! 

 

As such, I will be posting a whole range of different creative projects that I do... some will have links to my website where KITS will be available for purchase and others will just be tips on how to... I hope you enjoy this journey as much as I do!! 

 

This first project is completely a fun, passion project. I ADORE tea and as a close 2nd, I ADORE Graphic 45's paper ranges - this one is a particular favourite and so I decided to go over the top with this HALLOWEEN IN WONDERLAND Tea Box!!! 

 

Please forgive some of the images - they were taken for interest not intended for public viewing :( 

 

I was given a tea box and that needed a new home! I have always wanted a tea box and decided that I wanted to make this incredibly unique and very ME. I mean crafting and tea are literally two of my absolute favourites. 

 

 

The above picture is how it arrived - I decided that this baby was about to become a seriously wcked little treasure. I thought I would go with a witchy/apothercary vibe - bouncing off of the idea of WITCH'S BREW - but as my inner racoon was rummaging through my paper stash like my life depended on it, I came across perfection. I bumped into ALICE - journeying through Wonderland at Halloween no less. It was a no brainer at that point! 

 

 

I immediately knew that I needed a darker backdrop to accomodate the palette of the paper collection and as the inside of the box was plain wood, I decided to paint her black. I used CHALK paint for extra coverage and in the end did 3 thinner coats, not only does it allow for quicker drying, but also prevents lumps and bumps! 

 

 

Can we please just take a moment to appreciate the absolute beauty of this range - be still my beating heart!!! 

 

Once all the painting had been done, top and bottom of the lid, the sides as well as the inside - it was time to call back my inner raccoon and start the dig for the design pieces I wanted to use. If you are not familiar with Graphic 45 - do yourself a favour and Google them - their collections are incredible although somewhat tricky to find in South Africa. This was discontinued range from before Pa fell off the bus! 

 

I decided what pieces I wanted to use for background pieces on the lid inside and outside - measured and cut those. I decided that I wanted to frame the sunken centre pieces with different strips of the papers to add character and a little more chaos. I chose pieces to wrap the sides, front and back and then did more measuring - not by any means my strongest point. When all the pieces were ready - I started to really play! 

 

At this point - I want to mention that I had removed the chipboard teapots off the lid of the box as I wanted to use them as elements in different ways.. So I coverd all of them completely, both sides with black chalk paint. 

I wanted 2 for the top of the lid and the other 2 were going to be used to hide joins on the side! 

 

 

The first 2 teapots I pasted face down onto the back of the paper, I wanted to cover them in a co-ordinating paper from the range - I chose to do a very meta theme by covering them in teapot paper! Once the modge had dried, I then used a craft knife to cut out the design and neaten the edges of the teapots. 

 

The second teapots I wanted to make funky but not the star of the show as they were hiding the paper joins on the side of the box. My new favourite way to cover large areas with glitter, is to add glitter to the MODGE and then paint the areas. If you are wanting to glitter small images or thin lines it is tricky because of the nature of MODGE but it can be done with very fine brushes - you would just need to sacrifice the brush to the Gods of Modge. Once I had covered the teapots - I did leave them overnight to dry as I did a fairly thickish coat! 

 

 

Once again my inner racoon became very useful when she came across a gorgeous ribbon that was literally a string of hearts!! My happy, happy heart!! So I cut out a few of them - trimming the stems to give them the proper heart shape. I then stuck them onto the dry, glittered teapots randomly. I wanted them to be funky but not overpower the chaos of the paper! I will add a completed image of them later on in the blog!

 

 

The next step was to tackle the inside and the outisde of the lid. The inside of the lid has a very small lip around the frame. So I chose to create a centre piece and then use the teapot paper, to tie in with the 2 teapots, to create a frame around the centre piece. 

I began by choosing backround paper that although it had a pattern, it would not detract from the main event here which I had decided was going to be the playing cards from this range. I absolutely adore them - and really wanted to have a way to display them. 

Not going to lie - this part took a lot of patience and involved some marathon cutting but it was so worth it. 

I measured and cut the background and stuck that down first. Next, I cut and placed the cards,  and then decided that I wanted to make a centre piece for the centre piece as it were. I cut a strip for the middle (the range has a paper that contains different size strips that have different images on them) and then used one of the range's chipboard pieces. 

Once that was done - I measured and cut the teapot paper to edge the frame. I did leave an edge of black which I wanted to 'upgrade' at the end of the project! 

 

 

At this point I decided to tackle the outside of the bottom of the box. I very serendipitously found the most amazing black and white check print tape. I was smitten!! I knew it would be a lot and take the design to a whole new level of busy but I loved it. So I chose to measure and cut the tape in one long strip so there were no unnecessary join points - once I had my piece - I cut it roughly in the middle - to the full length of the strip. I knew I had some play space as I had already chosen paper strips - so they would cover the gap between the 2 tape strips. 

I then used the straight edges of the tape to align with the bottom of the box and proceeded to wrap the box - I repeated the same action along the top. 

I then modged the strips to cover the central gap. There were 4 points of overlap from the paper - the 2 back ones I concealed with stickers from the collection but the points that are in the front - I used my 2 heart teapots on. Everything was stuck down with MODGE. 

 

 

The final piece of the puzzle was the top of the lid. for this part, I once again chose a background piece - and then decorated with cut-out pieces as well as the 2 teapots that I had covered in the teapot paper. I added a larger centre cut-out that spoke to the theme of the project and then added as many more of the cards I could squeeze on, finally placing the 2 teapots! 

 

 

 

The final touches for me were that all the edges that were where the black paint was revealed - both inside and outside. I used the leftover black glitter modge and I painted them all to add a little extra to the projuct. I had put clingwrap over the leftover modge and then sealed the container so I didn't lose it. This project actually took me a little longer than expected but I had the best time creating it!! 

 

PLEASE NOTE: every part of the box has been sealed with Modge. I understand that it is a lot of work but it does protect the paper especially on projects like this one where water cotact is a real possibility. I usually do 2 -3 coats - leaving longer periods of time to let them dry. 

 

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! 

Always live your life in full colour, 

Mara xxx