2 in 1 Matchbox Swap & Kaz's Saturday Stampers Challenge

This is another matchbox

which was done as part of a swap on Zuzu's forum. I havent done much crafting recently and Im a bit rusty so Im not entirely happy with it (sorry box recipient). There was no theme other than alter a match box and somehow mine started to become rather gothic/ meloncholic which was not my intention. Ive ended up just going with the melancholic theme and used John Keats poem 'Ode on Melancholy' as the basis. Ive included a wee booklet thing with the poem printed on to it, though i havent scanned it to post here.

Ode on Melancholy

No,no! go not to Lethe, neither twist
Wolf’s-bane, tight-rooted, for its poisonous wine ;
Nor suffer thy pale forehead to be kiss’d
By nightshade, ruby grape of Prosperpine ;
Make not your rosary of yew berries,
Nor let the beetle, nor the death-moth be
Your mournful Psyche, nor the downy owl
A partner in your sorrow’s mysteries ;
For shade to shade will come3 too drowsily,
And drown the wakeful anguish of the soul.

But when the melancholy fit shall fall
Sudden from heaven like a weeping cloud,
That fosters the droop-headed flowers all,
And hides the green hill in an April shroud ;
Then glut thy sorrow on a morning rose,
Or on the rainbow of the salt sand-wave,
Or on the wealth of globed peonies ;
Or if thy mistress some rich anger shows,
Emprison her soft hand, and let her rave,
And feed deep,deep upon her peerless eyes.

She dwells with Beauty---Beauty that must die ;
And Joy, whose hand is ever at his lips
Bidding adieu ; and aching Pleasure nigh,
Turning to poison while the bee-mouth sips :
Ay, in the very temple of Delight
Veil’d Melancholy has her Sovran shrine,
Though seen of none save him whose strenuous tongue
Can burst Joy’s grape against his palate fine ;
His soul shall taste the sadness of her might,
And be among her cloudy trophies hung.

The box and poem probably doesn't make much sense together as its just a bit of a collage piece really but its done and ready to be sent. Its a bit weird how things can emerge as something that you haven't planned for and even when its not what you have intended it somehow wont be what you want it to be. If you get me?????

Katies Birthday Matchbox

This is my 3rd altered match box that I have done. I made it for Katies (aka Mzz P.) Birthday, I had to wrap it so her nosy mother couldn't sneak an advance viewing either. I wanted to do something that would suit someone young but not a child and she is a very good crafter herself. I also wanted something a wee bit vivid - hence the colours. I had great fun doing this I must admit. I inked up papers to cover the actual box and collaged and stamped various images for outside and inside. Then i just done the same with the tag..inked, stamped and collaged on both sides. The tag is an accordian style that folds up to fit back in the box (of course). I must say that i think the scans dont do it justice (its not often i would say something like that) but it does look much better in real life.

Gingers Altered Book - Artists Theme

Im really into Frida Kahlo so I thought she was the obvious choice for Gingers book. What a facinating woman she was.

She's Mexican and had quite a coloured chequered life before she died in her 40's. Her art is quite weird and does not fit into one specific art genre though some people class her as a surrelist. Lots of her stuff is self portrait and shows the pain she went through pretty much all her life due to an accident as a teenager. Some of her stuff is quite naive looking and other stuff is pretty weird. These pages do not do justice to her work at all. She is well worth having a look at in my opinion.

Crowns & Wings Swap

These are for another swap on Zuzu's forum. When I heard the theme I wasnt going to do it cos Im not too keen on the idea of crowns and wings as it always makes me think of quite twee girly fairy images which is not really me. I had a play about though and this is what I came up with. Its a bit grungy and dark but thats more my style really so Im quite happy with them...... and isn't that kid in the first atc quite evil looking

part of the party hats challenge

I forgot that the Party Hats challenge was a 3x3 and not a 2x2 plus hostess as I thought - so I had to go back and do another one or else I could have just not given the hostess hers - okay maybe not.

This was a new chair stamp I had got and was just messing with it to try it out. I just inked the atc then stamped the chairs then over stamped the background script and just left it. When I discovered I still had a Party Hat atc to do I thought I could try to do something with it. For some reason musical chairs seemed like a good idea to link with party's and hats. The phrase just popped into my head and wouldn't leave until I added it to the atc then I just positioned the hat. Voila!

Party Hats ATC Challenge

I was taking part in a Party Hat atc swap on Zuzus forum and this is what emerged. Im not as keen on the Warhol one now as I am on the Manson & Einstein. This is mainly cos now when I look at it it doesn't look much like Warhol. These were quick and easy to do cos I had the idea for what I wanted to do with them quite quickly and I also knew who I wanted to do.

Cream & Blue Inchies challenge

These have been made as part of a challenge set on a forum I use. I wasnt sure that i would like doing this colour scheme and I almost decided not to take part in it because of the colour- actually I still dont know if i like it.

Im not really sure about the whole inchie concept and whether I like doing them or not. This is only the second set I have actually done so maybe they will grow on me if i keep taking part in the monthly swaps - we shall see.

Alice in Wonderland Atc'c

These 3 atc's I done with a set of Alice in Wonderland stamps I had had for ages and couldn't think of anything to do with them so they lay in my drawer for the best part of a year probably. I was a bit bored one day and just really playing around with them and came up with these. I think these also illustrate very well how grungy lots of my stuff is - without even trying it just somehow transforms into grungy!!

Set of 9 Atc's

This is a set of 9 atc's I done as a swap. I chose the theme as a tribute to my mum who is strong, compassionate and has always fought for the rights of people less able to do so for themselves. I know that had she been around in the suffragette times she would have been throwing herself in front of horses etc.

It was the first time I had done anything like this and wanted to make the 9 atc's fit together to make a large picture but also I felt it was important to make each atc stand on its own.

Orange ATC Swap

This was a set of atc's I made as part of a monthly colour swap. Can you guess what Junes colour was then?

Another Altered Matchbox

This was my second altered matchbox as part of a captured fairy swap. I used the same methods in inking the papers first and then stamping and adding some accents with glitter glue. I added a ring at the top of the chain so that it could be hung up.

Altered Matchboxes

This is the first matchbox I altered so it was all a bit of an experiment. I inked the papers with various Tim Holtz distress inks then stamped the images on to the paper. I added a little bit of extra colour to the main images with glitter gel pens. Then I assembled it all together adding the other elements such as the ribbon and bead thing at the top and finishing off the inside and the tags.