Wednesday 27 March 2013

Any Eggscuse For Chocolate



     Welcome back - Hope everybody is managing to keep warm in this unseasonal weather...I have a feeling the Easter Bunny will need scarf and mittens this year to hide the goodies in the garden - The kids will if they are going out there to find them!

    This is the first time I have ever made a special gift container for those chocolate goodies - Lets just hope I can keep my mitts off them till Easter! ;o)

     Frilly and Funkie have set as the Easter challenge - Easter/Spring Gifts - but not a basket. Well, first thing is to decide what to put them in....

    I considered making a box, putting them in a jar, a bag...all ideas went running through my head. Then I noticed the book box I had been wanting to use for a while...I considered trying to make it into something at Christmas time but I didn't have the confidence to tackle it and I put it away. I was determined now to make something with it...



 





















First I separated the box into six compartments with balsa wood. I painted the entire box, except for the lid with Vintage Lace Fresco Paint.

   To decorate the lid of the box, I painted around the edge with French Roast Fresco paint, added a thin layer of crackle glaze and then sponged Vintage Lace fresco Paint over the top. I then painted the rest of the lid with a brush.


    I dabbed the edges with Walnut Stain DI to make it look vintage shabby chic.

  I made the centre decoration with a piece of corrugated cardboard half covered with Melange Tissue paper.



I covered it all with a watered down layer of Vintage Lace Fresco Paint. When dry I dabbed with a bit of Walnut Stain DI and spritzed with some of my homemade distress ink glimmer sprays in Bundled Sage, Weathered Wood and Tattered Rose.



I then glued another piece of card that had been covered with the same tissue and paint and also spritzed with some glimmer sprays.

   I got some white lace and dabbed with Antique Linen DS and spritzed with the same three colours of glimmer spray to coordinate with the corrugated card.



   I stuck this onto the book box and arranged some handmade flowers and leaves around it.



     I made all the flowers with the Tim Holtz Tattered Flower garland die cuts.The roses, well they were made the usual way. The leaves were my usual Distress inked and stained and then covered in Crackle Glaze...The other flowers were inspired by the tutorials done by the amazingly talented Lisa Nazario-Gregory




















 I didn't make any exact copies of these flowers - mainly because I didn't have all the punches, diecuts, inks etc...and anyway it was a lot of fun selecting parts that I could make and adapting them to make my own flowers. I also used the wonderful tutorial by Almo to make the pale blue flowers and the centers for the buttercup style flowers...



      I had to adapt it slightly as I just cut a strip of paper, inked it and cut very, very fine strands and then rolled the paper up....it made a gorgeous flower and the perfect flower center. I really recommend checking out both blogs for great flower making inspiration and before you know it there will be bouquets of flowers all over your creations! Perhaps I should do a flower tutorial as well?!!!








































Thank you so much for being here...thank you so much to all my new followers for joining me on this crafty journey...and thank you to anyone who considers my work worthy of adding a comment...each comment is very special me to me and I am very grateful.....

        Have a SUPER Easter!!!



I am entering this into the following challenges -

Frilly and Funkie - Easter/Spring gifts - but not in a basket
Eclectic Paperie - Corrugated Card
Try it on Tuesday  - Use recycled products - Corrugated Card + Tissue paper
Tando creative  - Flowers
Fab 'n' Funky  - Boxed in

33 comments:

  1. Hi Laura, this is such a beautiful and well thought out creation. I love the little compartments you made for the eggs and the crackle finish on your box is fantastic. Your flowers are all little works of art, I did recognise the frilly ones from Mo's demo and your roses are just beautiful. Putting little centres in them makes such a big difference. Gorgeous! Hugs, Anne x

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  2. What another awesome make Laura! Love the idea of hiding the eggs inside a 'book' and the cover is a work of art. Seriously great crackling and I adore the use of corrugated card. Thanks for joining us at Frilly and Funkie again. Hugs, Jenny x

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  3. I saved myself from falling out of the chair when I read that all your flowers are handmade!! These are absolutely gorgeous and look so breath taking adorning your wonderful Easter box of chocolates. Love that you used Balsa wood to divide the inside too. Beautiful make here Laura. You're definitely a very talented lady and so inspiring.
    hugs,
    Lisa x

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  4. WOW wow wow this is so amazing wonderul oustanding :-)
    XOXO SanDee

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  5. Those handmade flowers are gorgeous! Such a beautiful box - could become a family heirloom! x

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  6. Wow, we love this, it's so pretty. If you need any help with those eggs......

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  7. A beautiful project Laura! I love the great textures and lovely floral colors...marvelous!! Hugs, Rebecca

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  8. Fabulous textures and the flowers are amazing

    Love Chrissie xx

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  9. what a lovely box for Easter..lovely blog too

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  10. This is one brilliant make, Laura!

    Love that crackled white surface and the corrugated card half covered half bare!!! And your flower bouquet is sooo lovely! At least it is Spring over at your home...

    Thank you for joining us at TioT with this awesome creation!

    Hugs,
    Claudia x

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  11. Hi Laura, This box is amazing I LOVE it. Your flowers are truly beautiful what a lovely mix of colours (Thanks for the mention). I also like the original idea of using the balsa wood for the sections inside making the box very useful after the eggs have gone. I would be so pleased to create something as nice as this. Top class! Hugs Mo x 62

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  12. Oh how pretty is that! The Easter Bunny will be deeply impressed if he manages to get through the snow....

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  13. Awwww.... this is such a sweet project - quite literally! :) I absolutely love your flowers, they are beautiful! xx

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  14. Me again :). I just saw your comment on Mo's blog that you've been looking for flower tutorials. I have a small selection of links on my Pinterest - here's the link if you'd like to have a browse :) http://pinterest.com/creativespell/handmade-flowers/

    xxxx

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  15. A beautiful box and every one of those flowers is a delight! Thanks for the links to the tutorials - I'll be trying those out over the Easter. Hope your little ones enjoy a visit from the Easter Bunny.

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  16. Lovely layers of crackle and tissue paper, and those flowers are really stunning! The eggs look even more delicious for being in such a yummy book box! Thanks so much for joining us again at eclectic Paperie!
    Alison x

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  17. OMG, girl I am so in awe and so humbled that you say I inspire you because I am just blown away by your creativity. I love this. Nothing I have ever created looked this wonderful. Seriously, it's beautiful. So glad you shared with the eTeam. Keep creating..... hugs

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  18. Another totally stunning project Laura,looooove your work!!So glad you joined us at eclectic Paperie.
    Hugs
    Tracy
    Xxx

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  19. Gorgeous work, Love the textures, Layers, Colours, Boy! I could go on & on... Simply AmAzing... Love it!! Hugs May x x x

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  20. Fabulous box Laura. You are so talented and create such beautiful things. Have a Lovely Easter. Hugs Rita xx

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  21. Oh Laura this is a totally fabulous make and thank you for the clear step by step. I totally adore the way the corrugated card turned out with its shabby look and the flowers are out of this world!! Would love you to do a tutorial, there can never be enough flower tutorials!!
    Have a wonderful Easter, hope the kids can find the eggs in the snow... (hopefully no snow, but you never know)

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  22. gorgeous, thanks for joining us at FnF :)

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  23. OUTSTANDING, my Dear Miss Laura, your own ink sprays you go girl:):) all those fabulous flowers are gorgeous,it was meant to be saved for you to make this amazing piece of art work, love the inside so kool. Thanks for all the inspiration here, I'll be checking out the other blogs, I think you should do a tutorial too :):)... Have a fabulous holiday weekend.. Big hugs..

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  24. WOW!! Can you hear my jaw hitting the floor! Those fowers are beautiful! The fact that you made them all really blows me away!!The crackle, ccardboard, and paint colors were all great choices...so much to love here!! Thanks forcoming out to play with eP :-)

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  25. A stunning piece of art. I love it all but especially the gorgeous flowers. You really should do a tutorial and I'm following to make sure I don't miss it. Thanks so much for joining us at Fab'n'Funky this week. hugs, Pat K x

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  26. Oh my word Laura, your project is absolutely stunning ! I love the idea of separating the inside into little egg compartments, the crackle is gorgeous and your flowers are amazing ! I agree with Pat, you need to do a tutorial on these ! Thanks for joining us at Frilly and Funkie. Sue C x

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  27. what an absolutely gorgeous project - hope those choccies lasted until today! loving all the different flowers on the lid - great idea. Thank You for joining us at Tando Creative this month.

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  28. Laura, what an absolutely beautiful piece of work! I love how you divided the inside into separate compartments. The finish on the outside is gorgeous as are the flowers that you embellished it with. I agree with others, I'd love to see a step-by-step on your flowers! Lovely! Thanks for playing along with us at Frilly and Funkie!

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  29. An absolutely gorgeous project Laura, those flowers are beautiful and a lovely use of the corrugated card. Thankyou for joining us over at eclectic Paperie x

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  30. Wow...this is stunning Laura...so many beautiful details...love the beautiful flowers and all that lovely crackle :)

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  31. There is fabulous texture on this book box. Love the crackle finish and the gorgeous corrugated cardboard. The flower groupings are just beautiful both in terms of colour and composition. What a delightful make! Thanks so much for joining our corrugated challenge at eclectic Paperie. I'm so glad I was able to visit today.

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  32. Gorgeous box Laura, great textures and details, thanks for sharing with us at TioT
    Avril xx

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