Monday, December 06, 2010

Out of the Box

It was MIL's 70th birthday last week and that seemed a good excuse to make an exploding box - they are such fun to make and this one was a welcome break from Christmassy things too.
 
 It was also a good excuse to use more of those gorgeous GCD Paris Nights papers from the 8x8 pad, I've used loads already but the pad doesn't seem to get any smaller!.  The paper I've used to cover the main section of the box is flocked so it feels fabulous and the spotty one on the top is textured and shimmery so the whole effect is really luxurious.
 To tie together the black, brown and cream colours of the papers I made the rosette for the top of the box using 2 different colours of tulle (black and cream) for the outer section and 2 lengths of wide  organza ribbon (brown and cream) for the central rosette, it's all held together with a beautiful K&Co fabric and bead brad.  The whole box is tied up with coffee coloured ribbon as I wanted to make sure the lid wasn't lifted by mistake when she took the box out of the parcel it was sent in.
Bow undone, lid removed and all the "pages" fell apart to reveal lots and lots of family photos from our collection.

I did consider making them all B&W so they'd match, but decided instead to leave them in colour and then embellish the pages with the colours on the various photos.

I decorated the centre of the box with a Happy Birthday message and various flowers and trims.
She must have liked it because she took it out with her to show her friends when a gang of them met up for a lunch time birthday celebration.
Phew!
I am getting soooo behind with everything, and right atm I'm struggling to find the mojo to get on with all my crafty to-dos.  At least it's meant I've got down to some "admin" type jobs which are usually the ones that I put off!
It's really foggy, frosty and freezing cold too.  I looked at the Met Office App on my ipod touch this morning and it said it would be foggy all day - and that the highest temperature I could expect here was -2.  I don't like the cold!
I hope you're managing to stay cosy - it's my poor fingers that I can't seem to keep warm!
Thanks for visiting

7 comments:

Lythan said...

that's one of the most beautiful exploding boxes that I have ever seen Kathy. Love it - and glad MiL loves it too

Linda said...

Love the exploding box. Came across your blog by accident and immediately realised you are my sort of crafter- love the variety in your work and look forward to seeing more.

Kaz said...

It's gorgeous Kathy and I'm not surprised she wanted to show it off!
I know what you mean about the lack of mojo. Hope it returns soon xxx

Angelnorth said...

Fantastic job Kathy, so much lovely detail and beautifully put together! I'm not surprised MiL took it to show off to her friends!

Janice said...

OMG that is fabulous, your MIL just had to love it, so elegant and beautiful.

airing cupboard crafts said...

Your box is stunning Kathy!!! I have 2 to make for Christmas gifts and I am sure they won't be as good as that. Thank you so much for sharing x

Karen said...

Fabulous box Kathy! I love the way you put colours together...looks so classy! x