Sunday 18 August 2013

Off the page

Hello everyone and a warm welcome to my blog.  I hope the weather is better wherever you are because Adelaide is miserable at the moment.  Lots of rain and very cold, well, cold for here anyway.
I have a tidy box I'd like to share with you.  It has taken me a few weeks to make this because I started from scratch.  The box is made from pasteboard and I've used my little joining strips to put it together.  My own design and everything!!  Yeah, I know, you're saying to yourself  'Sooooo? Big deal!'  Well for me it is a bit of a big deal,  I've never made anything this big before and, luckily, I'm quite pleased with the result.

 My reason for making this box is to hold remote controls and the bits and pieces my hubby and I have sitting beside us when we're watching TV.  We had a little basket before and it was kinda overflowing.
 
 Having never done this before, I made quite a few mistakes and had to fudge a few things but, hopefully, they don't show.
 The papers I've used to cover this are from G45's Communique Collection.  I love these papers, they are totally gorgeous and I wish I could get more but they've been discontinued for a while now  and it's getting quite hard to lay my hands on them.  I did use TCW's reversed chicken wire template and a Versa Magic  stamp pad in Midnight Black just to add a little more interest.
 The drawer pulls are from Kaisercraft.
The most time consuming bit on this box was the punched border strips I used to edge it with.  They took quite a while to make and there were so many of them!!!!!  But I must admit I love how they look.
The chippies and wooden flourishes were coloured with Shabby Shutters Distress Ink and Cyan Versa Color and then I covered them with Glossy Accents.  I saw a similar colour combination on a layout made by Heather Jacob.    She is an amazing artist and you can find her blog HERE.  I loved the colour combo so decided to try it out.  She actually used a turquoise Distress Ink (I think) instead of the Versa  Color but I didn't have that and she also used a clear crackle on hers but I decided to just use the glossy coating instead.  I love how it looks!!

The blue colour doesn't show up as well on the wooden flourishes but I still like them too.  I'm not sure where the above chippy is from but the two wooden flourishes are from Kaisercraft.  I've used the Ornate Plate and the Fancy Door Knocker.
 I've placed some vintage brads on both these flourishes.  Another idea I got from Heather.   I actually had the great pleasure of going craft shopping with her and she recommended a few things to me that I might never have bought but which I absolutely love!!  Thank you Heather, love you girl!!
 
I didn't want anything too 3 dimensional on the sides so I used some G45 and Kaisercraft tags and labels and arranged them in and around some chipboard frames.  These little frames are Little Birdie chippies and I got them from 'Cheap as Chips'.

 
This chippie is a Mini Scroll from Dusty Attic.  There is one on each side of the box coloured in the same way.

 The flowers are a mix of Kaisercraft, Prima and Magnolia Ink and I made them into a vine so that they could more easily be spread across the front.  



 I used Matisse Gel Medium to glue all the papers down and the edges were inked with Walnut Stain Distress Ink ... and here is the box on the coffee table  and in use.  Puzzle books, remote controls, pens, pencils and all sorts of other bits and pieces all neat and tidy and there's room for more!! 

 I hope you like my coffee table tidy box.  It took a while to do but I really enjoyed making it, although, if I ever have to make another, I'll have a better idea of how to go about it because of all the mistakes I made with this one.  hehe!!

Thank you so much for visiting.  I do hope you enjoy the remainder of your day.
Take care and God Bless.
oxox Marg

17 comments:

  1. WOW!! I had to come and take a closer look from FB here! This is absolutely breathtaking!! Love ALL the detail! It must have taken you ages to complete!

    New follower here too! :) <3

    Hugs
    xx Tracey xx

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  2. Wow Marg, oh my giddy aunt!!! This is just super duper amazing ..... you are such a clever lady. You have a superb eye for colour and coordinating/decorating. I am in total awe over this magnificent piece and will be drooling over my keyboard for some time 'looking'.

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  3. wow this is stunning....... love the paper, pity its been discontinued......you have done an amazing job, you should be very proud

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  4. This job is super magnific!!!!! Congratulations!!!! Kisses from Spain!!!

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  5. This is gorgeous and so detailed! Amazing work!

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  6. I am really so impressed with this project of yours!!!This is what we would make if we were living close to each other...lol!It is worthy of an A+++

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  7. Oh my giddy aunt as you Ozzies would say, - I am speechless, this is totally amazing, - my mouth is on the floor! You are sooooo clever, unbelievable and if you hadn't said so, one would never know that you made mistakes along the way! I absolutely adore the way you have finished it, can just see how much work it must have been, and I love that it is actually useful!
    I am also really, really jealous you got to go craft shopping with Heather! I often wondered whether you two knew each other, seeing as you are both in Adelaide....

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  8. this is super marg. are you maltese? just the surname got me wondering xx

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  9. WOWSERS!! OHH MMMM GEEEE Margaret I love this....what an awesome project and you must be so proud of your achievement. It is a very big deal to create something so truly beautiful from scratch....there is nothing like that feeling of accomplishment....I love it. AAA-MAAAZ-ING!!. I have those papers!! I have been hoarding them for years...I really should pull them out and create with them.. Thank you ever so much for stopping by my blog and following. I truly appreciated it and also your kind words. Thank you :) ~Kimi~

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  10. This is fabulous....Do you think you could make one for me too ... My DH is very messy and we always have loads of crap everywhere :) I think it is a HUGE deal to have created from scratch and you did a great job. Love the papers too.... Way to go :D

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  11. bloody amazing .... beautiful eye candy .... love everything about this Margy ...top marks xoox

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  12. beautiful touches on your organised box.... a place for everything.. great addition for any craft room :) fabulous work

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  13. Wow Marg you can and should be proud of this. it looks amazing and with all the stuff in it it gives me an idea of how big it is too.. beautiful colors and the punched edges do look fabulous.. well done, it is fabulous!

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  14. Absolutely stunning Marg. I'm even more impressed to see you designed and made it yourself.

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  15. oh my gosh Marg! This is beautiful! I cannot believe you did this from scratch! I love how you lined up with all the edges with that beautiful scallop border. Anyways, I love it and it is truly amazing :))

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  16. You are very very clever - doing this from scratch! And you have decorated it so beautifully! You deserve a round of applause for this! Well don!!!!

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  17. I have spent the better half of today having a good ol look around at all your fabulous projects, wonderful creativity, thank you for sharing all this wonderful creativity. I noticed that you also do quite a few KO minis etc, i have done quite a few myself.
    smiles and hugs from across the pond to you
    Paola

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