Thursday 1 May 2014

Love Those Left Overs At Our Creative Corner. . . . .

Hello everyone. It's time for a new challenge at Our Creative Corner and the wonderful talent that is Linda aka the 'Funkie Junkie' has set the challenge. Linda is asking us to use up our left overs to make a new project.

We have launched this theme previously but due to a short blog closure, we were unable to complete the challenge. Well, this time we're all set and each of us has made a new piece which we hope will inspire you to raid your scrap box! You may use any items from your box but do let us know which pieces they are on your project. As usual, all the DT will be showing their work today so do go over to Our Creative Corner - (I'm working with a group of hugely talented ladies as you will probably know if you read a blog written by a certain Tim.)

Like everyone else, I keep all kinds of left overs. I make more items than I need for a project and keep them for another time. I even keep paint/ink covered card and paper just because I love the colours and can't throw it away. We're all the same aren't we?!

Unfortunately, I was so eager to use my scraps that I'd cut into one of them before I'd taken a photo but I can show you the scrap left from the left overs. . . . . confusing I know!

I was inspired by Easter when making this project so I hope you don't mind my celebration of the event being a little late.

Here's what I've made:


An Easter basket with a rusty wire hanger. I fitted a medium sized egg in it but it could be used to collect small eggs on an egg hunt.
The 'basket' was made from the top section of a an empty chocolate box.
My scraps included two flowers leftover from a previous project (one shown above), a piece of paper used to clean my brayer during a gelli plate session and in the next image . . . . . . . 
. . . . . . some die cuts made for a previous project but rejected. This image shows the original finish on the die cuts which I put inside the basket out of sight. The other side of the die cuts were given an alternative finish which is shown later in this post.
The original flowers had a silver brad in the centre but for this project I painted and crackled them. The larger flower is on the side of the basket.
This wonderful butterfly image was stamped onto the brayered paper, stuck onto card and then cut out. Crackle followed to comply with the grungy look. Some rusty wire is used for the antennae as I broke the card ones off!
The chocolate box was painted with gesso, two coats of acrylic were added followed by some modelling paste through a stencil (all paint and mediums by DecoArt). Lastly, the piece was finished with acrylic paint and a sponge followed by the usual crackle. More acrylic paint was used to antique the surface.
Using the same stamp but choosing a different coloured area of the brayer paper makes the image look slightly different. I also cut it out slightly differently just to avoid repetition.
This image shows the 'rivets' on the top edge of the basket.
To ensure the die cuts toned in with the stamped butterflies, similar colours were applied to one side of each die cut using a brayer. Crackle and a little extra acrylic paint followed. I love how these turned out and  really didn't see the need to change the original design on the other side as it wasn't really visible.
Holes were made in the box in two places and rusty wire threaded through to act as a hanger. The ends were twisted up the hanger to complete the look.
You can just see the edge of the larger flower on the left of this image! I forgot to take photos of the scraps before starting so I do apologise.

Your turn to go through your scraps and see what you can make! There is a full copy of the challenge over at Our Creative Corner along with one or two rules we ask you to follow. Will you be our winner and in the Spotlight? Don't forget to see the Sponsor Spotlights over the coming month from some members of the design team. There's also some exciting news about other things happening this month - don't miss it!

Thanks so much for visiting today and do leave a comment if you'd like to let me know what you think.


14 comments:

  1. What an imaginative way to use the box and your scraps Julia!! You've positively transformed their look into what has to be one of the most individual and stunning egg holders I've ever seen. Love it in the garden too. Jenny x

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  2. Awesome, Julia, and seeing your whimsical project gave me a big big smile! I always love that when visiting your blog I find things out of the ordinary! Very inspiring!

    Hugs,
    Claudia x

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  3. Julia, your art is always so inspiring! I love this beautiful colourful piece, hard to imagine it was once a mere chocolate box, you really do 'think outside the box' - pun intended! Love this. Anne xx

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  4. Oh, brilliant, Julia - what a fabulous Easter basket... that crackle is simply glorious, and I love the die-cuts adding that touch of detail around the rim. Love those crackly brads too, and the wire handle, of course! Shame there were no leftover chocolates though...
    Alison xx

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  5. Wow Julia, the colour and texture you manage to create on your projects are just fabulous. (Your garden looks lovely too!) xx

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  6. How funky artsy cool is this!?! Love that you recycle things! WOW!!!

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  7. Fantastic inspiration here Julia, love all your photographs so clear and vibrant. Thanks for the step by step, wonderful way to use up scraps :-) xxx

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  8. Oh wow Julia, absolutely amazing! This is such a brilliant piece of recycled art, totally love it!!

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  9. wonderful make Julia - such great inspiration - love all the colours and textures - brilliant xx

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  10. I love how you've used your leftovers Julia, it's an amazing project.
    xxx Hazel

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  11. What a beautiful Easter basket, love the vibrant colours and wonderful textures.

    Sylv xx

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  12. Nobody could ever believe what the basket was in a previous life. The transformation is inspirational and I so love the fact that it is beautiful as well as practical.
    wishes
    Lynne

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  13. Hi Julia, I just had to come over to say how much I enjoyed reading all about you over at OCC - and I love that Led Zeppelin track, you are so right about it! Hugs, Anne xx

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  14. This is stunning! You did an amazing job with this makeover and now I'm wishing I had an Easter basket as amazing as this one!

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Thank you so much for taking the time to comment. Juliax