Spring time in Paris – Artist Trading Block

Hello everyone!!!! i am so excited to share with you my submission to the blog hop we, the Artist Trading Block team and the Altered Pages team  are having this month using the collage sheets from Altered Pages!!

and so now on to  my piece. We were given a choice of collage sheets to play with and the one  i decided to showcase was the Paris collage sheet. so let’s get to it!

first i had cut out from my black matboard one of Eileen Hull’s XL Block die along with one each of the other three sizes, which i set aside to play with later. i then dug out my melt craft iron and wax. i wanted to be able to merge my collage pictures right into the mat board and add a warmth to the whole piece.

my first step was to drip some black and white encaustic wax onto the matboard and spread it out with the iron.

i then laid my paper onto the mat board and dripped clear wax on top and then heat set until completely sealed.

i loved the sheen of the wax on the papers

i then attached some May Arts ribbon onto the  edges of the four sides of my cube and attached using the clear wax. (you will see this in my final photo’s)

now it was time to take on the inside of my Artist Trading Block.

so to start i glued my tiniest cube (1 1/2 squared) to the  2 1/2 cube using TomBow glue. i then added some of the same May Arts ribbon used on the outside to the inside flaps of the  2 1/2 square pieces and then dripped a bit of white wax which i set by using my Heat it by Ranger.

i love how it spread out through the details in the ribbon!

i repeated it on the largest cube as well! isn’t the inside dreamy!!

i had wanted to find a small Eiffel Tower to put in the center but was unable to locate one.. i then thought of putting a little bucket to symbolize a bucket list item….but couldn’t find one of those either. so the next best thing of course is words. i chose ‘dreams do come true’ and placed then inside the smallest of the boxes but as you can see it didn’t show up that well.. so my wheels were turning…

but of course!! use Ranger’s metal foil tape sheets 

what a big difference it made! now it can be read clearly

now it was time to add some finishing touches to my ATB.

so to start i dug out a couple of hitch fasteners  and a piece of  jute string and created a closure for the box.

and then it was time to create a stand to showcase my ATB!!

so out came my cupcake stand which i created by cutting out of a piece of cardboard. i then glued the whole thing together using glossy accents. now seeing as this is a cupcake stand it need to be treated with some yummy goodness.. so out came my Viridian Sorbet by Art Anthology and my pallet knife. i covered the whole stand in a thick coating and allowed it to dry. LOVE the sparkle and shine of my stand

if you are still with me here is my ATB for this month in all its glory!

well there you have it. i will be gifting this to a dear person who had dreamed most of her life of making it to Paris (said of course with a french accent) someday…. and she did along with two of her dearest friends. i hope that she fills the inside with special pictures of the special trip.

so ‘dreams do come true’

You can find even more Artist Trading Block Inspiration over at Altered Pages and of course at Team ATB’s site as part of our month long “Block Hop” with Altered Pages!

Also be sure and stop by the Art with Heart Challenge for more  Inspiration!  Link up one of your creations for a chance to win a Sizzix prize pack!

diana