Tuesday 8 January 2013

"Keepsakes"



A dear friend of mine recently gave me some awesome cigar boxes for altering. (Thanks, Alexander!)

For a start I wanted to try the "faux leather technique", which is shown here at Technique Tuesday, who are having a DT call right now! (Check it out if you are interested!)



So, as shown in the wonderully made tutorial, I first covered the box with torn pieces of masking tape all over. Then I blended the surface with Distress inks "rusty hinge", "vintage photo" and "walnut stain" using the blending tool.

This picture shows a "before and after":



To give it a glossy finish the whole box was covered with clear embossing powder and heat embossed, which gives it a stunning leather-like look! (I admit, I really was surprised by the effect as I hadn't expected it to be that "leather like").




 Then I cut out two hinges using the Sizzix Alterations die from Tim Holtz and heat embossed them with Ranger embossing powders "Rust" and "Verdigris". They were glued onto the box using special power glue as the normal crafting glue would not work with the embossed surface (so pay attention for good results).


What remained to do was embellishing the box with some nice "goodies" as distressed and inked copies from pictures of my ancestors, Prima flowers, Tim Holtz die flourishes, key holes, clock faces, gears and a self made label to indicate the box's purpose.

The "keepsakes" label was made using one of the Xcut "Dielicious dies and stamping the quote (surrounded by a flourish design in "Sepia" archival ink, which is a stamp from Rico Design's "Ornamente" stamp set).

...at last some spritzing and spraying with darker tones of Maya Mist and Mr. Huey's colour sprays for an even more used look and for the inside of the lid a cover, using some scraps of my paper stash....done!



Here are some close-ups and views, which I hope you will like!
Thanks again for visiting and a big hug!

die amelie xx























I am also entering Simon Says Stamp and Show's challenge "Embrace the Old", Loves Rubberstamps "Use Dies or Punches" challenge, Fashionable Stamping Challenges "Surprise Us" and Vintage Stamping Challenges' "Vintage" challenge with this project.




39 comments:

  1. Wow!!!! Fantastisch!!!! Das sieht soooo klasse aus!!!! Wie aus einer anderen Zeit!!!! Richtig, richtig tolle Arbeit!!!!

    LG!

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  2. You have beautifully transformed the cigar box into a wonderful keepsake. All of your embellishments are just perfect.

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  3. Brilliant altered cigar box - so perfectly aged, with fabulous techniques! Gorgeous work, Claudia.
    Alison x

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  4. Da fehlen mir glatt die Worte, die Box und megacool und gefällt mir irre gut. Vielen Dank für's Zeigen bei VSC und FSC. :)

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  5. Lovely altered cigar box, love the torn masking tape in the background, gorgeous texture. Lovely vintage image and lovely flower. Thanks sommuch for joining in the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge. Tracy x

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  6. When a beautiful little keepsake box, you've aged it beautifully.

    Thanks so much sharing with us at FlonzCraft Vintage Stamping challenges month.

    B x

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  7. wow oh wow! Your altered box is absolutely beautiful and you've really captured an old, vintage feeling with it. Love the design you've done on the top....it's really a lovely keepsake. Thanks for sharing your art with us at Simon Says Stamp and Show. <3 Candy

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  8. das ist W*A*H*N*S*I*N*N*I*G schön Clauia... eine begnadet schöne Arbeit!

    Auch möchte ich Dir zum super netten Interview gratulieren!
    hab es genossen zu lesen!
    ich durfte da auch mal eins machen - die sind wirklcih sehr nett:
    da ist meins

    Bussi Susi

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  9. Wow, this is so beautiful. Love all the details and the colors and the fabulous design. Thanks for playing with us over at Loves Rubberstamps!!!

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  10. Beautiful altered cigar box. love the aged look to it.

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  11. Wow a fantastic altered box. It is a wonderful memory keeper. Thank you for sharing it with us over at FSC as well.
    Yvonne

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  12. This is soooo awesome!! The box is beautiful! Love how you used the technique. It looks so real! :) Thanks for stopping by blog and leaving sweet comments! :)

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  13. Love the way you have used this technique Claudia. Good luck with the DT entry. You would be a real asset to the team. Hugs, Jenny x

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  14. What a beautiful creation! This is just absolutely AMAZING!!! LOVE all the elements and I love that you used our technique to create something other than a card! :) Thanks you so much for joining our DT at Technique Tuesday! Good luck! ;)

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  15. This is amazing! This technique is perfect for this project and looks stunning! Awesome job! Thanks so much for playing along at Loves Rubberstamps this week!

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  16. Wow...words fail me! Such an absolutely stunning creation!!!
    Thanks for joining us this fortnight at Fashionable Stamping Challenges
    Dot x

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  17. Sensational!!!
    Wonderfully aged and love that old cabinet card image on the lid of the box.
    WOW
    Wishes
    Lynne

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  18. Oops in all the enthusiasm I forgot to add
    Thank You for joining us at FSC this fortnight.
    Wishes
    Lynne

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  19. Yes, I do have the odd pair of Converse!! But it now holds my re-inkers and embossing powders and some other bits and pieces!
    Alison xx

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  20. This is just stunning. It would be a treasured gift to anyone. If you are not picked for the Design Team it would be truly a surprise!

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  21. What a beautiful project, love all the elements on this creation! Thanks for playing with us at Loves Rubberstamps!

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  22. Wunderbar vintage und das Innenleben paßt perfekt!

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  23. Oh my crafty goodness! What a stunning alteration! Your use of the faux leather technique is perfect for this project. The aging of the hinge looks so real, I had to read what you did to see that it was paper. Thank you so much for joining our DT call at Technique Tuesday! Good luck :)
    hugs,
    Ellen

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  24. Wow, ist das schön!!! Ich muß dran denken, öfters bei dir vorbeizuschauen ... da haut's mich doch jedesmal vom Sessel!!

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  25. Einfach nur wunderbar !!!!
    Ich hab grad erst angefangen mich hie rumzuschauen aber ich hab jetzt schon Schnappatmung ;o)
    Ganz liebe Grüße, Dagmar

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  26. I love this cigar box and I think the Faux Leather technique was the perfect choice for this project! You did an awesome job with it. Thanks for entering our DT Call at Technique Tuesday and I hope you come back for our next challenge too.
    Hugs, Tracey (DT)
    P. S. Thanks for your nice comments on my 'Christmas Door' post, I really enjoyed reading it. Greetings from Canada!
    (serene-stamper)

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  27. Superb Claudia and the faux leather technique you did looks amazing! Love all the gorgeous details and colours too. Chris x

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  28. Fabulous project, the leather effect is gorgeous ! Thanks for joining us at VSC. Sue C x

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  29. What a beautiful alteration, love the aged look you have achieved Great choice of embellishments.
    Thanks for sharing with us at FSC
    Avril xx

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  30. Fantastic effect on the box. Love the embellishments and the beautiful hinges you created. Lovely! Glad you joined us at Simon Says Stamp and Show.

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  31. LOVE this Gorgeous box ~ it's AMAZING!!!! Beautiful work!
    Nancy xx :D

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  32. This is a beautiful piece of work.I love it!

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  33. This is really amazing. Thanks for sharing at LRS.

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  34. I love this altered box Amelie and thanks so much for sharing the faux leather technique - it looks amazing.

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  35. This is pretty amazing! Love it!

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  36. This is gorgeous. You rocked that technique for sure! Thanks for sharing! And for your kind words on myBlog.

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  37. spitzenmäßig diese box. auch die technik kann sich sehen lassen. toll gemacht!!!
    glg
    margit

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