NB: I apologise for the background in these photos. Possibly taking photographs of my finished project ON TOP OF MY GROTTY WASHING MACHINE was not the best idea. Wasn’t thinking about the final presentation I guess…. Anyway, please ignore said appliance and focus only on the box itself, ok?
Hello! I hope you are all well and coping with this crazy world we live in. Been a bit brutal lately. If anything can realistically be described as “a bit” brutal. So much going on and most of it not good. I try not to watch the news these days because it is distressing and depressing and keeps me awake. This means that I am quite ignorant about it what is going on much of the time, but I feel that is the only way I can keep my sanity (or what’s left of it anyway).
My cousin recently turned the big 5-0 and, to celebrate, I made her this tea box. We both LOVE The Princess Bride and so it inspired me to make something that was related to that. I didn’t have a lot of time so it needed to be something I could put together reasonably quickly, with as little room for error (and subsequent swearing) as possible.
So, using the gorgeous Iron Orchid Designs “Primitive” mould, I moulded air-dry clay and glued it on to an old wooden tea box I had purchased from an opshop. I love the hares and had been wanting to use them on something for a while. I added hearts and lots of florals. On the front I used IOD’s “Harper” mould to spell out “As You Wish”. These letters are very fiddly and probably the most difficult to mould and glue on, but I think it’s worth it. Before allowing to cure, I gave all the clay a very quick, light coat of paint (I just used acrylic white paint); if you’ve not tried this before, I recommend it – it really helps reduce any cracking of the clay as it’s drying.
The next day, when all was cured and ready to go, I did a couple of coats of pale beige house paint all over the moulds and box. When that was dry, I lightly sponged over the whole thing with a lighter shade of paint, to give a stone or limestone finish. A couple of finishing coats of matt varnish and I was done. It really was quite a quick project but I am pleased with the results. The box was filled with specialty teas and other treats.
What do you think? My cousin loved it and I’m glad I took the time to make her something special. Homemade gifts are always nicer, don’t you think? It may not have compared to the diamond necklace she got from her partner, but I hope she will treasure it just the same 🙂
I always enjoy making things for other people – it gives more meaning to what you are making and somehow encourages you to put in more effort and take care of the details.
Using clay moulds is a great way to transform an otherwise plain item and upcycle things that would most likely end up in landfill or in the back of someone’s cupboard, never to see the light of day. It’s an easy method that takes very little skill or expense and can produce lovely results.
That’s it for today – just a quickie post from this very slack blogger!
Take care – be kind to one another. The world needs all the kindness it can get right now.
x
Upside Down Miss Jane 