Altered Cigar (Treasure) Box #1

Hello to all - I recently spent several weeks refurbishing two old cigar boxes that I have been saving (for that special person/persons) and after deciding who the recipients were going to be (my nephews) -and  after many hours of day dreaming - collecting small items (that I believe a young boy/man would like) and printing my own artwork -

This was my first altered cigar box and it was created for my nephew Joshua for a Christmas gift.

I set about gathering various papers and using my very favorite glossy "Modpodge" to put it all together.

Pictured above is the outside of the first box.  I decided to leave it as a cigar box and I polished it and cleaned it up a bit to bring out the wood sheen.  For this I used "Old English" and a cotton cloth.

Below is a photo of the top half of the inside - I used various patterned paper and metallic gold paint to do the trim.  I personalized the box by gluing in scrapbook postage stamp letters and I also glued in a Lego piece as well as a sea shell, pirate coin and small prints of my own paintings of beach scenes.

  Here you can see the detail of the inside bottom.  In the top left corner I glued a small Jack-in-the-box figure - at the far right corner I glued in a Star Wars miniature figure.  Since my young recipient likes to travel - I glued a Garden State Parkway token on the bottom left corner - and to the right I glued a miniature tire from an old toy car.  At the center on the bottom I glued a small figure of a Bearenstain Bear leaning on a baseball bat.  I also printed out and glued in two of my artworks - The Sun and Ferris Wheel.

 The idea was to keep the integrity of the outside of the cigar box looking the same - for I felt it was beautiful just the way it was - and my hope is  that when my nephew opens the box - he would feel the magic of  all the thought and love that went into creating it.  I also left plenty of room for him to add his own treasures over the many years to come - so that the Treasure Box would then be a keepsake he would always have as a reminder of how special he is.

oxoxoxoxm Daisy Rita

Altered Cigar Box #2

 This is the second cigar box that I altered to transform it into a treasure box to give to my nephew Matthew for a Christmas gift.  Just like the first box - I kept the integrity of the outside of the cigar box by just polishing it to bring out the grain in the wood - as I felt is was beautiful just the way is was.

 Detail of the brass closure on the cigar box.

This is a view of the treasure box when opened on the inside.

Just as I did for the other box - I personalized this box with Matt's name using scrapbook postage stamps - I also added a pirate's coin, a sea shell and  in the middle I added a charm of a theater mask.  (Matthew likes the theater).  I also printed out small versions of various paintings of mine and glued them in.  After all the items were in place - before the final varnish - I had painted the inside trim with gold metallic paint.

 

Below you can see my painting of the lifeguard boat, the Sun and Ferris wheel. 

 In this photo you can see the small toy that I glued in in the right hand corner - a miniature boat ridden by an elephant and in the middle is a Lego glued in place.

 

Below you can see the overhead view of the bottom half of the box along with various vintage stamps I glued in two small printed out versions of my paintings - "The beach path" and "Lunch on the Beach".

This photo is a detail of the bottom half - you can see a vintage game piece glued in the corner and a penny collaged in with the other various vintage postcards and postage stamps.

As same as the first altered cigar box - I tried to personalize the inside - I tried to create a beautiful box that would inspire magic and love when opened - at the same time - I left plenty of space for my nephew to have a space to collect and keep his treasures for years to come.

oxooxxom Daisy Rita

"People Who Have Thin Skin are Mostly Thick Headed"

I read a quote somewhere that "people who are thin skinned have thick heads" – or something to that effect.  I wish I could remember the quote word for word and could credit the writer – because it is something I can relate to.

Thick headed is what I am.  I set out to do my mini collages last night and when it wasn’t working out the way I wanted it to – I kept plowing ahead.  I had some issues with the papers not melding to the piggy banks – the mode podge (which is an artist’s best friend) was too thick – then too thin – then too messy.

And although I’ve been called “sensitive” and I tend to take too much to heart – and I have been told many times “grow thicker skin” – I have to admit that I am "thick headed". 

Being thick headed or rather hard headed on a positive note can also mean being tenacious – not giving up.  Don’t we all learn through making mistakes?

So today I am going to thin out my glue – cut my pieces smaller and use my hardheadedness to keep at it.  It is too easy to give up when you think you may be wasting your time.

I can see images of these beautiful little pigs now if I can just get my brain, fingers and art supplies to all cooperate.

Having an idea – and then seeing it through is wonderful when all the chips fall where they lay in a good position.  Hitting roadblocks can either be a setback or a derailment to take another pass.

I will get back to you to give an update on the pigs.

Marguerita

Every Day is an Artwork in Progress

Not a day goes by that I am not working on a project.  When I am not physically working on something – my wheels are spinning for the current or next project.  I like the idea of taking images that I have created (both paintings and photos) along with images cut from magazines, tissue and wrapping papers etc...  and turning them into framed prints, T-Shirts, collages etc..

At the moment I just finished two paintings.  Both I cannot post – because one is a gift (a surprise) and the other is a painting that I will turn into Christmas gifts – so I don’t want to ruin the surprise for those on my Christmas list.

Today I gathered supplies to turn a few regular items into gifts.  I have decided to create a few mini collages – out of a few found objects – such as a glass paperweight, a piggy bank and an eyeglass lens.

I will post photos as I progress.  Please feel free to suggest themes or ideas.

Marguerita