The Old Curiosity Shop...

Hello friends and welcome to the brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge! This week our theme is BASED ON A BOOK and we can't wait to see what you create! You can interpret this challenge in many ways, you can use pages of a book as part of your project or use the theme of a book as your inspiration.

For my project, I chose Charles Dickens', The Old Curiosity Shop as my inspiration and used plenty of Tim Holtz idea-ology products to create the curiosities that would fill my little shop window. So, it's time to step inside and take a look around...

 

...and here's how I created this project!

To begin with I took the largest and smallest sized vignette boxes and on the front of each box, I covered the raw edges with the French Design Tape and then used my finger to add a smear of gesso over the surface.

Next, I covered the outside, and the inside of both boxes with a selection of papers from the Memoranda paper stash. What I love about this paper stash is everything co-ordinates perfectly, so any of the papers from the pad will work. I attached each panel of paper using Collage Medium and then once everything was dry, I sanded back the edges to create a more worn, antique effect.

To create the shape of the box, I attached the smaller vignette box using Glossy Accents and placed it on top of the larger box. The finial on the top of the box is painted with gesso, which I then dried thoroughly before applying a coat of Old Paper Distress Paint. Thoroughly dry again before running the Pumice Stone and Walnut Stain Distress Crayon over the surface to grunge it up a bit. Blend the crayon out with your fingertips and to add the final touch, I used some Treasure Gold Gilding Wax to accentuate the edges of the finial. Attach the finial to the top of the smaller box.

To complete my vignette boxes, I added the gorgeous little mini foundations to the bottom, once again attaching them with Collage Medium. This stuff is fantastic for adhering all these little pieces to my box and it has the most amazing grip, once it's stuck...it's there for life!

I now had my basic box which was ready to fill with all the curiosities and the stories that each piece would tell. There are so many idea-ology pieces which are perfect for this project and all I had to do was work through my boxes...and boxes of adornments and pick out things that I thought would work...

...and I began by filling the smaller box, attaching the Silverware Adornments set inside. I then added one of the gorgeous new Quote Chips, attaching it with a fine line of Glossy Accents along the bottom edge of the chipboard. To complete this section, I placed some sisal fibres inside the box and added two tiny glass vials which I crackled by applying a coat of Collage Medium over the glass, allowing it to dry thoroughly before applying Rock Candy Distress Crackle. Once the crackle has done it's job, I then dribbled a small amount of Mushroom Alcohol Ink over the surface to give a more aged appearance.

Now for the larger section below and for this I started by making the butterfly cloche...this is actually based on a piece I saw in a department store in London and I instantly fell in love with it! The problem was the piece I saw was very expensive, so I think I'd need to win the lottery to have bought it home with me but with that in mind, I decided to create a miniature version that would go in my shop and used one of Tim's Decorative Domes and added a small piece of foam to the base. I then used a piece of rusty wire which I coiled around a pencil and attached one of the small butterflies from the Snippets set of ephemera pieces. Attach the wire by poking it into the foam and then cover the foam with a base of moss so that it hides it completely. I then added the decorative dome to the base finial which I had altered in exactly the same way as before.

For the section on the right of the box, I used a Ornate frame, coloured with Treasure Gold Gilding Wax and placed a Photo Booth image behind it. The small price tag comes from the Snippets set of ephemera pieces and I just tied it on with some twine.

I added flowers to a larger corked vial to create a vase and crackled the outside in the same way as before but added different colours of alcohol ink to create a mercury glass effect. I then placed some Bouquet Findings inside the vase, coloured with Spun Sugar Distress Spray Stain. 

The little stack of letters are all from the Snippets set and I just tied these together with some twine and added the keys.

To complete this section I added a pen nib, together with one of the Salvaged Dolls, slightly aged with some Gilding Wax and complete with added crown and wand from the Treasures Adornments set and the butterfly wings from the Snippets set.

On the left of the box, I added the butterfly cloche, complete with price tag, a Time Piece, an old dice I had in my stash and a crackled tiny glass vial with a light bulb. I also used a price ticket, again from the Snippets set of ephemera pieces and attached this to a memo pin before adding it to the cork from the glass vial which would hold it securely in place...

...and that completes my curiosity shop, which I hope you love as much as I loved making it! This really was a fun piece to create and will now stand in pride of place in my craft room!!

As always, if you do need any further inspiration, then you need look no further than our blog to see all the wonderful creations from all the very talented Design Team members and every week, one lucky random participant has the chance to win a $50 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp. You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in and good luck....

Thank you so much for stopping by today and see you again very soon!

Love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

Distress Paint: Old Paper

Distress Crayons: Pumice Stone
Distress Inks: Old Paper, Vintage Photo

Idea-ology: Snippets, Quote Chip, French Design Tape, Finials, Vignette Box, Mini Foundations, Decorative Domes, Silverware Adornments, Bouquet Findings, Memoranda Paper Stash, Memo Pin, Treasures Adornments, Tiny Vials, Corked Vials, Time Pieces, Key Adornments, Salvaged Dolls

Mediums: Gesso, Collage Medium, Rock Candy Crackle Paint, Treasure Gold Gilding Wax
Alcohol Ink: Mushroom, Gold Mixative, Red Pepper
Twine

Palette Knife

Ranger Craft Sheet

Heat Gun
Moss, dice and rusty wire from my own stash