tiny skyline sihouette book in a matchbox drawer...

I love this sweet new chipboard Matchbox Skyline Book from Alpha Stamps. It's the perfect size to knock out a quick, quirky art project in a couple of hours.

I used several different papers from Maps, Text & Ledgers 8x8 Paper Set as my base and as most of my collage images too (The images inside each tiny window are postage stamps from one of the papers in the set). The butterflies and the text "the pursuit of a paradox" are the only exceptions.

The tiny windows are from House Ornament Window Trims, and I darkened them with a brown stamp pad I had on my desk. I also used the pad to darken the edges of my paper for a grungy look.

 Although the skyline book has fold perforations, I cut mine apart after papering the front and back, because I wanted to put it back together using decorative tape, as I really love the way that adds to the grunge esthetic.

I used Diamond Stickles on the butterfly wings and added an adorable Small Brass Hitch Fastener to the matchbox drawer for a handle.

The whole project was finished in one afternoon as I listened to a favorite podcast. I find it so relaxing to make smaller creative projects using very few supplies when I've had a stressful week.

Thanks for reading this post. You can find my supply list here.

Alice in the library... and outside

 Alpha Stamps has a new monthly kit for May and it includes this awesome Gatefold Window Card.

 I used two of the gatefold window cards to make a sweet little double sided Alice in Wonderland shrine. On one side there is an outside scene with fake grass and a window box and lovely pink roses. You can view the library through the window...

 if you look closely you can see the Cheshire cat sitting on a shelf in the bookcase.
Btw, I used the Finnabair Art Extravagence Rust Paste Set to paint the window frames and the flower box because I swear I'm in love with this stuff!

From the side you can kinda see both little scenes...

 The flip side of my shrine has a library scene and you can look outside. I used the Alice Plays Croquet Collage Sheet for my outside view. 

 You can tell you're in the library because there are stacks of books everywhere.

The White Rabbit is looking a bit puzzled by the butterfly sitting on a stack of books and perhaps by the mushrooms sprouting out of the floor.

Those wonderful framed paintings are cut out of one of the papers included in the May kit :)

If you'd like to see a complete list of the supplies I used click here.

 Thanks for stopping by and reading my post. I hope you have a fun and creative day!

the Naturalist's Curiosity Cabinet...

I created my curiosity cabinet in the new and adorable Millinery Cabinet 1:12 Scale because I really loved the cabinet, but I'm not really into making hats ;)

I think it worked out nicely using the Cabinet of Curiosities collage sheet I designed just for this project...

 The collage sheet has Riker Mount drawers to put together so that you can fill in the cubbies with drawers if you want (although you will need two collage sheets to make enough drawers to fill all 16 of the cubbies). I used Small Antique Brass Suitcase Handles on the drawers, for handles, and it was pretty easy to do. I took photos as I added the handles so I could show you just how I did it...

 I cut out and scored my drawers, but didn't fold or glue them. I then cut a long thin strip of cardstock to reinforce the area where the handle would be mounted.

 I glued a small piece of the strip to the back of each drawer.

 It took 8 sets of the Small Antique Brass Suitcase Handles to cover all 16 drawers. I used a pair of flat nose jewelry pliers to carefully bend the loop part, on the ends of the handles, so they were less curved. They should look like the bottom handle in the above photo.

 Then I measured a drawer to find the center...

laid a handle in position...

then poked holes with a pointy tool.

 Next I laid a handle over the holes and inserted a headpin through each hole. The headpins I used were just some cheep bronze ones I had in my stash with large enough heads.

 Using my pliers I bent the wires on the back of the drawer as close as I could to the drawer without creasing the paper.

 I twisted the two wires together to keep them in place. You could glue or tape them down, with masking tape, if you didn't want to twist them together.

 Here's what the handle should look like when you finish.

After you fold and glue your drawer together, you may need to use a marker to cover the score marks on the edges of your drawers. The Distress Marker - Hickory Smoke is a perfect match.

Here's a bird's eye view of my cabinet so you can see some of the curiosities I used. The bones in the Mini Red Shadowbox are from a real mouse skeleton! I love the tiny mushrooms growing in a mossy pot under a glass dome.You could make your own curiosity cabinet as creepy or as scientific as you'd like, as it's all just a matter of what you like to collect.

Here's a view with my hand to show scale... 

Yes, that is a giraffe skull on the bottom left side. It's from an educational toy set made by Safari Ltd, I aged it with a bit of acrylic paint. I've also used tiny seashells, a miniature handmade bird nest and that wonderful owl statue made by Reutter Porzellan. If you'd like to know more about the other things I've used to create my cabinet you can view my supply list here.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope I have inspired you to go make you own miniature curiosity cabinet!

caged Alice...

Today, May 4th, is Alice Liddell's birthday. If you are an Alice in Wonderland fan, then you know who Alice L is... for those of you who don't know, she is the little girl who inspired Lewis Carroll to write Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Alice L would have been 164 today if she had not died in 1934 at the ripe old age of 82. Anyway... in honor of Alice L's birthday I have created a silly version of the Queen's croquet ground... complete with hedgehog balls and flamingo mallets.

I used a wonderful shabby chic birdcage as the base of my croquet ground...

 then added a bit of moss...

some fussy cut collage images...

 some paper flowers and a wonderful resin-faced flower I painted with artist pastels...

then I topped it all off with a cute little hedgehog that's trying to escape the game ;)
If you'd like to create your own version of Caged Alice, you can find my supply list here.
Thanks for dropping in!

a miniature fairy garden specimen under glass...

It seems like everybody and their sister has gone nuts over fairy gardens lately. I'm not complaining as I think they are a lovely way to decorate your garden but, how about shrinking it down a bit so you can display it on your desk, shelf or table?

I did just that when I created this tiny little fairy garden specimen...

It may look complicated but it was really very easy to do... although there are a lot of steps to doing it, lol. I wanted to share my process with you so I created a Snapguide to show you how you can make your own miniature fairy garden under glass. Click here to view :)

Most of my supplies came from Alpha Stamps, of course, and you can see my supply list here.

Thanks for stopping by... now go make something!

a shrine to the creative process...

 

Click here for a list of the yummy supplies I used ;)

Woodland Storage Tower...

or how to convince yourself you're buying a crafty new goodie for a reason other than hoarding it in your stash.

We recently got these nifty Paper Mache Box Mini Towers in at Alpha Stamps and I instantly fell in love with them. Of course, I fall in love with almost everything new that arrives so this was not unusual. What was unusual was, that very morning, I had vowed to stop buying so many crafty goodies because I really have no where to put any more.

After a bit of pondering on my dilemma, I concluded that the tower was a storage vessel and therefore I could bring one home with me. And I had loads of fun decorating it with mushrooms and other woodland flora and fauna.