Twisted Trinket Box

Welcome back! 

I am here to share a 3D Halloween decor piece today.

I used the 3 In 1 Trinket Box Scoreboard XL die by Sizzix from designer Eileen Hull. 

I cut our the pieces using white mat board. I painted these with Dylusions Paint: Tangerine Dream.

Then sanded the edges.

Next I inked them with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. The sanded areas picked up the ink really well to give the painted mat board a dirty distressed look.

Then I added some more grunge with Black Soot Distress Crayon.

Before assembling my box I added some stamping.

One of the focal points of my box was this Ghost Die - Tim Holtz Bigz Die from Sizzix.

I painted these with Dylusions Paint: White Linen.

I sanded the edges.

Then inked the edges with Black Soot Distress Ink.

For the inside of my trinket box I added some Black Soot Distress Crayon to 

these resin bones from Tim Holtz Idea-ology.

I added some mini Paper Dolls from the Tim Holtz Paper Dolls - Ancestors  Pack.

To add the light element behind the bone pile I made a small cut on the back of the box and inserted a tea light. I left it white for the photo but then later on painted and inked it to blend in more with box.

I added a small skull rub on to the boys face. The hand and spider are also rub ons.

A few Chit Chat stickers and a word token and my Haunted Trinket Box was ready to be displayed.

Here are the affiliate links for the products used for this project:

Celebration Calendars....not just for Advent anymore

We all remember the chocolate-filled advent calendars we got on

 December 1 when we were kids, don't we?

The excitement of 25 days of opening the tiny doors and

chowing down on low-grade chocolate. The joy!

Well, fast forward to 2015 and the age of Pinterest and now we have 25 days of Beer calendars, and 25 days of Wine calendars. Isn't it great to be an adult? 

I had an idea a couple of years ago and it all started with my sister.

My sister is a winter baby, born on December 28 and for years I have heard that she feels 'ripped off' at her birthday because it is so soon after Christmas. 

In the Spring of 2013 I decided to make her a birthday celebration calendar - 25 days plus 3 extra wrapped presents. One for each day of December leading up to her actual birthday.

It sounds ambitious but hear me out - each box was filled with a little gift that I picked up in local stores or while away on trips. A pair of earrings from a market on Cape Cod; handwritten notes from my kids & my husband & I about why she is so awesome;  a bag of Mystic Tea from Mystic, Connecticut; chocolate truffles from Papa Chocolate; lip balm, hand lotion, a scented candle; a necklace all the way down to kitschy gifts from the dollar store. 

I have to say it was a lot of fun to look for tiny gifts that would fit into a 2"x 2" box

 and it was even more fun surprising her with it!

She loved it!

So the idea of the Celebration Calendar was born!

I found the mass produced advent calendars available to buy a little restrictive because of the box sizes and only having 25 boxes. This is where having a creative carpenter for a dad really comes in handy. Any size wood box for any number of boxes. It's awesome and so much fun!

My most recent custom box was made for my very good friend and Halloween queen, Nicole Wright.

She wanted a 31 day calendar for Halloween because who wouldn't want 31 days of spooky & creepy fun every day of October?!?

So with graph paper, pencil and Eileen Hull's XL ScoreBoard Box & Cubes dies I was ready to start designing a 31 day Halloween Calendar.

 I can't wait to see what Nicole does with the blank canvas ~~~ I know its going to be amazing!

I have to give a huge thanks to my Dad for his time & patience. I am always so amazed that he can take my ideas and bring to life in 3D!

Check out his Facebook page to see his custom made furniture & home decor...

Shuttleworth's Carpentry & Custom Furniture

Thanks for checking out my blog today!

~~~stay crafty~~~

julia