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!

Kitschy Bitch Television Shrine...

New and fabulous at www.alphastamps.com is the Altered Metal Frame - Television! I am in LOVE with this kitschy little shadowbox! It's the perfect shade of mid-century aqua and looks like an old TV with rabbit ears. I adore kitsch, so I begged Leslie to carry this frame from Prima Marketing just so I could create something totally over the top and tacky as all get out. I even created two new collage sheets for the occasion and dug up all the red and aqua treasures I could find in my hoarded stash.

 I think we can all agree the resulting shrine is pretty tacky, gaudy and lots of fun. It was also very easy to create as the back of the shadowbox opens up so you can easily apply paper and other decoration. My favorite thing about this piece is the letterpress letters that spell out kitschy along the top. I used some red acrylic paint on them to make them really pop.

If you'd like to create you own version of this "masterpiece" click here for a list of the supplies I used.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you've enjoyed this little bit of kitsch.

a Shrine to the Holy Mother and Mushrooms...

Happy Mother's Day to all of you wonderful and loving mothers! May your day be fill with love, art and happiness.

I've created a reliquary shrine to a rather well know Mother for this special day.

I painted a vintage plastic icon to look aged and enshrined her in a wonderful House Shrine Box Kit from Alpha Stamps. I love the way she looks set off by the papers from the Junque Gypsy collection.

I didn't stop there though...

To the back of the shrine I added a sacred heart reliquary I made with the fabulous new Relic & Artifacts Casts designed by Sandra Evertson for Prima. I'm totally in LOVE with Sandra's collection so you will be seeing lots of these used in my upcoming projects. I used Golden Liquid Acrylics to paint the heart and hand and they take the paint like a dream. Also featured in this reliquary is the new Castle Towers Reliquary - Single from Alpha Stamps.

Since Spring is slowly taking root around here I've been thinking of mushrooms...

I made this little fairy house shrine using a plastic mushroom that I added a door to and painted.

Last but certainly not least I made three potted mushrooms because mushrooms are just so cheerful and make me happy.

The fairy house shrine and mushrooms are available in my Etsy shop here, but the Holy Mother Shrine has already been claimed by a friend.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing a bit of your day with me. Here's a free image to use in your own mushroom art...

 

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.