In the digital age in which we live, words, books and the entire printing process seem to be going away. For someone who has spent the majority of her life hanging out in bookstores and libraries and working for a newspaper, the change is sad. While I appreciate the ability to carry dozens of books on my Nook and love the speed of e-mail and the convenience of text messaging, I am still nostalgic for the smell of ink, the feel of the pages in a brand-new book and the excitement that comes from finding a card in the mailbox. Yes, I am that crazy girl who rather look up a book in a digital database, but dreams of owning her own card-catalog cabinet. And, while I would never trade a computer to go back to the old days of setting type, I would give just about anything to own a wooden cabinet that once held the letters.
So, when Tim Holtz came out with a printer’s tray as part of his Configurations line through Ideaology, I knew I had to buy it — even though I had absolutely no idea what I was going to make with it. It sat in my craft room for a few months while I thought of the possibilities.
Then, Matt & I took a vacation in Manistee, along Michigan’s west coast, and had such a wonderful time that I knew it was worthy of recording in the tray. Here’s what I came up with …
You can click on the photo for a larger view.
I used quite a few techniques and wanted to share a few with you …
I started by painting the outside of the tray, along with the insides of the boxes I planned to put photos in, with an Adirondack Paint Dabber. Then, I created some glazes with Perfect Pearls and went over the outside with them. The end result looks kind of like wood and has a soft, silky feel.
Next, I covered the edges of each of the interior boxes with Tissue Tape. It was too light/bright for my project, so I covered it in Walnut Distress Ink to tone it down a bit.
Then I glued each of the boxes into the tray with Art Glitter Designer Dries Clear adhesive and added metal photo corners, also from Tim Holtz. At that point, I was ready to decorate.
I cut photos to size and placed them in many of the boxes. I used paper from Simple Stories to accent a few of the boxes. The brads and embellishments are, for the most part, from Tim Holtz. The metal flower is from Graphic 45 and the decorative brad shown here is from Bo Bunny. I also added a few rocks and the saying in the top photo was cut from a travel magazine.
In this box, I filled one of Tim’s tiny jars with sand taken from the beach. I added a label from 7 Gypsies, fiber from We R Memory Keepers and a tiny lock and key from My Mind’s Eye.
The Frankfort sign was cut from a photo.
I created another jar for this square. The compass was stamped, embossed and cut out. I added a brad and game spinner and attached it to the box. The tag is also from Tim Holtz — I cut the die on my Sizzix Big Shot and then stamped the image, distressed it and added it to the box.
The tiny sign at the bottom was cut out from a travel magazine. I then used Glossy Accents to attach it to a clear fragment charm and glued it on the bottom so it stands out from the photo.
I used the same technique to make the charm in this photo.
The No. 2 is Grungeboard that I colored with Distress Ink and then covered with Diamond Glaze.
The book plate is another of Tim’s brilliant creations. The stamp is from his ticket set and the paper is cut with the tag die. They were designed to work together, but also to fit in the metal book plates! Cool, eh.
I used the same stamps and the ticket die to make the title … then I cut out the letters using a QuicKutz/Lifestyle Crafts die set.
The flowers are from Prima. I so love these!
And, although you can’t see them too well, the word Escape is made from Tim’s letter and blocks Grungeboard set. I colored the letters with Distress Ink and painted the block with Adirondack paint. When dry, I glued the letters to the blocks and then covered them with Diamond Glaze. I love the way they flow together!
When I finished, my husband decided it said Escape 2 West Michigan. It really didn’t … I had separate squares for escape (as in relax), Just the 2 of us, and the destination, but, from a distance, it does say “Escape 2 West Michigan.” Sometimes I think my fingers know more than my brain!
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