Bad Girls Challenge # 7 - Insect Shadow Box

Challenge 7 – Shadow Box (good size, found, cigar, repurposed, purchased, etc…)

• Theme – Insects (butterflies, bees, spiders, moths, mantis, caterpillars, etc…)
• Required material – Fabric (velvet, cotton, felt, lace, old/new, antiqued, etc…)

I really enjoyed this project! I was stumped at first and was going to do a piece with a bee in it but it just wasn't coming together. So I went on another search for a theme and decided upon a butterfly theme when I saw the butterfly ornament at Michael's! After finding the focal point I then perused their scrapbook paper and found the perfect paper, from that point on it just came together for me! Serves me right for buying everything ahead of time when I wasn't set on a theme. Anyways this is super easy.

First off paint your box with gesso if it has a busy background or you want a bit more texture to your piece. Since my box was a cigar box it had very ornate art on it. Let dry. Then choose your paint color and paint the outside and partial inside so no white shows. Measure out your shadow box/cigar box on the inside and cut the paper to fit. I used 2 coordinating papers, one for the sides and one for the background. Glue them down with your glue stick. When that is dry you can now add your focal point where you want it (butterfly). I used the E6000 glue because it had a clip on the back of it. Also on the way home my butterfly was put in the bag with something heavy and was slightly crushed so I had to put it back together. Next I glued on my trim with regular tacky glue but in clear. Next came the cute little flowers! Just glue those babies on! I wanted this piece to look like it could stand alone so I decided to add the knobs on the bottom to give it some height. First I painted the knobs a darker purple (2 coats) and when those were dry I glued them to the bottom with the E6000 glue as well. I let that sit overnight to be sure it was dry. Next was the embellishments, I gathered a bunch of tulle and wrapped some silver craft wire around it so it would keep it's shape. Once I was happy with the shape I added more E6000 to the top and took some sewing pins to hold it in place. When that was dry I pinned an old brooch to the front of it for extra class. I decided the sides needed some glitz so I applied some gold glitter. Next I sprayed it with fixative to keep them in place. Just a little though you don't want to drown the piece. Still wasn't totally happy so I added the little polka dots to the knobs and swirled around the dots with gold gel pen. Last but not least I used the word "Papillon" French for butterfly and a little butterfly sticker next to it. Et voila it's done!

Supply list:

1. Cigar box ( I have a few lying around, used to buy them from the antique book shop)
2. Gesso
   
3. Making Memories Tiny Alpha's
4. Christmas ornament (Butterfly) These are super cheap now!
5. Lara's Crafts Doll Head/knob (3 for the base) 1 1/4" found these in the wood craft section of Michaels.
6. Acrylics - I used Claudine Hellmuth's purple paint, dark purple & white for the dots on the knobs.
   
7. Glitter (gold)
8. Coordinating scrapbook paper
9. Paper cutter
   
10. Tulle (fabric on top)
11. Found objects (gold brooch on top)
12. E6000 glue for the knobs
13. Silver craft wire
    
14. Sewing pins to hold the tulle in place at the top
15. Fabric Fancies Flowers in champagne/gold
16. Trim (I purchased mine in the Bad Girls shop)
17. Tacky glue
    
18. Gold gel pen
19. Glue stick to glue down the paper
20. Fixative to finish the outside and hold the glitter on.

Official Rules:

The winner of this challenge will receive a $20 Gift Card to shop like a Bad Girl in the Bad Girl Shoppe! Be sure to leave a blog comment here first!

Three Rules to Follow:

1. Follow the challenge guidelines exactly
2. Post your project in the specific "Project 52" gallery with the title "Challenge #7 - Shadow Box" before January 16 Midnight Pacific Time
3. Link your layout to the Challenge #7 Thread in the Project 52 forum