Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Fond Memories - A Vintage Journey Challenge

I found a great vintage challenge site - A Vintage Journey - and their latest challenge (which is almost over so I had to get this made and posted!) is Fond Memories - to let some personal 'fond memory' be your guide in creating your project being inspired by Tim Holtz.
While I could have used old photos of past generations of my family -  at this point in my life my fond memories are of the babies being born in our family -  they grow so fast and their infant times are already 'fond memories' (accept for Madelyn - our newest baby who was born in April!)

So - for my Fond Memory project -  I used photos of my 2 grandnephews and 2 grandnieces as infants AND I made my first ATB (artist trading block)!!!   I have L-O-V-E-D these wonderful boxes from the first day that I saw them in blogland and I FINALLY made one -  I love them even more now! And you can bet you will be seeing many more here on the old 'blogo'!

I'll show you the steps I took to make my wonderful little Fond Memory Box.  I started out using 2 of the largest panels on the Sizzix Blocks/Cubes Die that makes a 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" box.  I sponged over the panels with Mustard Seed and Salty Ocean Inks.

When I was done sponging - I flicked water on both panels - then blotted it with a paper towel.  At this time I also folded the panels and held the two together as a box to see which way I should place my photos so they would be right side up .  I drew little arrows in the center of the sides showing the direction that was up.
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At this point I sponged all the creases and edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  I had printed my photos using my computer and printer on Natural Sticky Back Canvas in Sepia (an option on my printer).  I cut around the photos with a pair of pinking shears.
I had just purchased the Faucet Knobs and Compas Coins by Tim and I thought they'd be perfect on the top of my box.  I inked them with Archival Orange Blossom ink -  dried it with my heat gun - then inked it some more with Leaf Green and dried it again.  Let them cool after you heat them as they get HOT!
I adhered the sides of my box together with ScorTape -  as well as the bottom flap -  but left the top piece open as I thought I might want to use this as a box that opens.  (I have seen it recommended to decorate all sides before putting the box together - I think it depends on what you are putting on the sides.)  On my cover, I stenciled Wendy Vecchi's Check Mate using Archival Cornflower blue ink.  I put some Remnant Rubs/Botanicals on the edges and then punched a hole in the top and screwed on the compas and faucet (the screw that comes with the faucet fit PERFECTLY through the compas coin! that Tim thinks of everything!)
I added some Chit Chat Stickers and more Remnant Rubs/Botanicals over each of the photos.
Here is James as an infant - he is now almost 3
Here is Madelyn - James' brandy new sister (born in April!)
Here is Landon as an infant - he will be 4 in September
and this is Landon's sister - Mila as an infant - she will be 2 in August
So there you have it -  my Fond Memories!
The faucet top is SO fun -   you can pick up the box by the faucet handle to look at all the pictures.  I used Little Sizzles for my box - it's a very sturdy chipboard - the 6"x13" size fits the box die perfectly - you can make 1 box of each of the 3 sizes with two pieces of the chipboard and they come 6 pieces to a package.

I'm also linking this to the eclectic Paperie May ePlay challenge - to use stencils - this challenge goes until the end of May.


Paper:  Little Sizzles 6" x 13" chipboard - Sizzix, Natural Sticky Back Canvas - Claudine Helmuth/Ranger
Ink:  Archival Cornflower Blue, Orange Blossom, Leaf Green, Ranger Distress Vintage Photo, Mustard Seed and Salty Ocean.
Accessories:  Remnant Rubs/Botanicals, Chit Chat Stickers, Faucet Knobs, Compas Coins - Tim Holtz/Ranger, Scor Tape, Check Mate Stencil - Studio 490 Wendy Vecchi, Pinking shears, photos printed from computer.

20 comments:

Steph Ackerman said...

this is lovely. what a great idea to use this box for family photos.

Willy said...

Wow...beautiful project!!

Deepti said...

Beautiful memories captured in a beautiful way, love the way u built up the BG and the babies are so adorable :)

Marybeth said...

Oh the babies are adorable! Yes, they do grow up way to fast. Love this creative vintage project Julia! Thanks for sharing the how to steps,I know that takes extra time to post.

Terry said...

Julia, how fun to finally play with your ATB blocks. Your fond memory project is absolutely adorable in so many ways! I love the baby photos, so cute are they! The faucet handle is a great opening touch! Thank you so much for sharing with us at A Vintage Journey!

Sharli Schaitberger said...

Your project is darling! The "current" babies are perfect for sharing and having on display! What a wonderful project!!
Hugs!

Micki said...

Love that you printed the pictures on canvas! Love the color and that knob on top is PERFECT. Love it.

Words and Pictures said...

Fabulous ATB - I love the colours and the altered metal. And the photos look wonderful on the texture. Thanks for joining us on A Vintage Journey.
Alison x

~amy~ said...

Julia, this is awesome!!!

Mona Pendleton said...

Beautiful project Julia! Not only are those photos darling but I love the inky papers! Thanks for the inspiration!

Annette Allen said...

girl you surprise me again.. this is amazing.. very creative and just so darn cute..

Sue Lelli said...

FANTASTIC creation, Julia! LOVE the photos, the TH BG and the knob to turn it around!

Almo said...

This is a lovely memory ATB Julia. Love the sepia effect on the photos and the altered faucet handle. Mo x

vic said...

Hi Julia wow this is gorgeous I love the gorgeous baby pics too!!

Vic x

Vicki Dutcher said...

SO.MUCH.FUN.!! I bet the kids love this too! :)

Kim Heggins said...

Wow...what a sweet, adorable and fabulous project you created! The pictures are so sweet and precious and that handle on top...the perfect finishing touch!

Jenny Marples said...

Love this Julia. Great vibrancy to those colours yet still a vintage piece and I adore the faucet on top of your ATB (which are incredibly addictive aren't they?!!) Thanks so much for joining us at A Vintage Journey. Jenny x

jdmommy - Anne Harmon said...

WOW! This is just amazing, and Ilove the faucet! Great little pics of the babies!

Kelly Griglione said...

Oh my gosh! I really love your block! The knob on top is such an awesome idea to encourage people to explore and interact with it.

Erin Smetak said...

Julia, your box is absolutely amazing!!! The faucet handle on the top just steals the show. Well, almost! Those babies are definitely a showstopper!!!!

Beautiful box!!!!