Wednesday, 11 September 2013

Witch Myrtle's Favourite Travel Case

Hello, dear readers and followers old and new,

welcome back to my tiny spot! I am so glad that you stopped by again (or even for the very fist time!) and I am ever so thankful for all the lovely comments you leave with me. They really mean a lot to me and I know I have been MIA for quite some time now (due to our long school holidays and all the preparations for my son's start at the new school directly after returning home - gosh, they grow up sooo fast!) I hope you forgive me that I have just started to try catching up with visiting your blogs and leaving some lines there.

Today I want to share my first Halloween make with you. I made it on the first day with enough spare time to sit at my workdesk and although I had planned to do something "quick and easy" it turned out as a whole day's project in the end ;)

Last Halloween you met the three witches Amealia, Prudence and Porticia who live together in a flat sharing community. They had some problems when you saw them the last time, but those luckily seem to have been fixed shortly afterwards. ;)

Well, they have a very dear friend, Myrtle Twizzlethwaite, who is one of the youngsters among the witches' community.  Young witches often get used special items from their witch ancestors. So did Myrtle. She got her Grandma's Travel Case - a very practical item, even though it is not as modern as the tiny Witches' Emergency Kit I showed you last autumn. But it provides a lot of space for travel equipment and therefore Myrtle is using it very often and with pride.





Myrtle's Grandma became very forgetful and absent-minded during her last years - so she put on the "Poison" stickers as a reminder of the dangerous load the travel case carried then. A lot of the labels on the travel case are remnants of Myrtle's Grandma's great times as a highly notable witch...which makes the travel case even more precious to Myrtle.


And maybe you have already spotted Archie, Myrtle's Hercules guard beetle in there.

Every witch has an animal partner with her - some love to have ravens by their sides, some love the company of snakes and lately some have started choosing small creatures like mice, rats and even beetles or spiders (which some of the old fashioned witches think is humbug and just a short-lived fashion).

But Archie has already proven very useful, as he drives off  pickpockets by his rather ghastly sting (which is extremely hurtful and makes a victim puke for four days).








Archie always guards Myrtle's Spellbook, which is the most important thing a witch owns.



Myrtle also carries a crib with her, as she still is not too firm with some of the spells.

As you can see she has been using it quite a lot and has also added a lot of handwritten notes to it during her first years as a graduated witch.




One of the compartments holds a pencil and some stamps, as Myrtle loves to travel and write postcards to her friends and family from all over the world.




The tiny metal tin once held a dangerous poison but now holds Myrtle's earplugs, as she is a very light sleeper.




















But the most important things Myrtle carries with her are her tiny bottles with spells ingredients - from simple ocean salt over glowing termites, poisonous spider bones, ancient scarab's shine, hornet's sting, bristles and wings to concentrated pumpkin crystals.





The "Happy Haunting" pennant on the case's handle is a memory of Myrtle's very first studies trip to "Blocksberg Manor", THE meeting point and seminar hotel with the best sorted library of the world.




 With this project I'd love to enter Frilly and Funkie's "Anything Goes" challenge.

I leave you with some more close-ups and a materials list and hope that you enjoyed your visit!
Hugs and happy crafting,

die amelie - Claudia x










Materials used:

cardboard, glue, scissors, ruler, hole punch, crafting knife, cutting mat, crafting sheet,  DIs "spiced marmalade", "walnut stain", "vintage photo" and "gathered twigs", Distress paint "brushed corduroy", DecoArt Traditions Acrylic Colors, DecoArt "Weathered Wood" Crackle Medium, 7Gypsies label stickers, new Tim Holtz stamp sets "Poisonous" and "Laboratorie", alcohol inks, masking tape, MyMindsEye brad, Prima brads, stamps from Martha Stewart, archival ink "jet black", leather from an old leather rucksack, corked vials from idea-ology and Vaessen, papers from Echo Park's "Chillingsworth Manor" stash and Graphic45.

20 comments:

  1. Well Myrtle is one lucky junior witch to have such a fabulous travel case, I truly wonder what she is going to get up to with so many treasures in side, this could turn out dangerously, hope she doesn't decide to travel to Scotland to join the covens here..... Wonder, would broomsticks get over the channel......

    Fabulous project Claudia and a great story, and best of all, it gave me the chance to see some of last year's projects before I had discovered your blog, so that was fun too, put me right into a halloweeny mood and certainly brought a smile to my face!

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  2. What a fabulous creation. Thanks for sharing it with us. I look forward to seeing even more wonderful creations on the lead up to Halloween.

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  3. Hi Claudia, what a fabulous case and the story. not so keen on the snakes. All the work involved in making, just stunning. Gruesse von Francesca

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  4. I'm new to your blog, Claudia, but I'm so happy to have found you! I love Myrtle and her spells case. Her story is fascinating and I'm sure she has a long future as she travels the world picking up knowledge and spell ingredients. Can't wait to hear more of her adventures!

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  5. Oh now that is cool, just what every witch needs

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  6. die hat es gut, diese Hexe... die ist richtig gut ausgestattet von Dir..
    sagenhaft Claudia ! Du Alchimistin!

    lg Susi

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  7. This is absolutely beautiful Artwork!!!! Great details, colours and I love it!!!

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  8. wow das ist ja mega- genial - ein Hammerteil und diese vielen Detail - Spitzenklasse!

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  9. Absolutely awesome! Your work is amazing, so good I found this blog.

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  10. What a very special heirloom for Mrytle. I love all the little details including the bottles, tin and books. You are so clever Claudia and have such a vivid imagination. Thank you so much for sharing this with us at Frilly and Funkie. Hugs, Jenny x

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  11. Wow Claudia, this is fabulous.
    Avril x

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  12. Das ist ja nun der allersüßeste Halloween-Post, den ich seit meiner Reise durch Blogland gelesen habe! Spinnen, brrrrr... der erste Reflex: Weglaufen, weg gucken... Aber was sollte ich machen. Dein "Hexenreiseköfferchen" läd so sehr zur Mitfahrt ein... Mal abgesehen von den Krabbelwächtern, will jedes Bild vergrößert und bewundert werden! Meine Güte, hast Du Arbeit und Liebe in dieses Gesamtkunstwerk gesteckt... Ich bin so beeindruckt und hoffe, mehr von der lustigen Hexengesellschaft zu erfahren.

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  13. So many ghoulish details! Love this little case of horrors! That green crackle is such a great color for all the spooky details! Love this!

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  14. I remember the 3 witches story last year and am happy to see the addition of Myrtle. LOVE the witches toolbox, awesome!! waving hi from the hills of North Carolina ♥

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  15. Love it! That green seems so appropriate for a witch. The story made me smile. I imagine you tell wonderful stories to your son, also.

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  16. So many problems with Blogger in the evenings - I left you such a long comment THREE times yesterday - bah!

    I am completely and utterly begeistert!! This is so inventive, creative, imaginative - with the enthralling story telling too. I remember your wonderful witches well... With this and your incredible steampunk doll, your mojo is in overdrive at the moment - brilliant creativity, skill, techniques - an almighty WOW from me!
    Alison x

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  17. Ýou're such a great artist Claudia...a stunning creation, with so many great details!!! Great fun to watch the pictures of it! Wonderful work!

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  18. Incredible, Claudia. This is just the coolest piece of Halloween artwork - incredibly well thought out and amazingly creative. I enjoyed reading your story so much - what a story teller you are! Thank yo so much for sharing this treasure with us at Frilly and Funkie this week!

    Hugs,
    Linda

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  19. Boah!!!! Wie absolut unglaublich ist das denn?! WAHNSINN!!!! *Mund wieder zuklappen geh*.... WOW!!!! Ich weiß grad nicht, was ich sagen soll und das kommt nicht oft vor :-P.... Echt toll!!!!

    LG!

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  20. Your work is simply stunning! I can't stop staring at these beautiful creepy bottles. :)

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