24 Boxes of Advent - Grand Finale by Kim

 So may be you haven't room for 24 of these cubby boxes, but four will work just fine!

Start by building the boxes and drawers -
as in previous posts in this series. Next, take the outer boxes and glue them into a square. Make sure you line up the edges and get them 'square'. 

Once dry I gave them a coat of gesso, then Blue Harbor, fading to Spa Blue at the sides.

Now, to paint a picture over four separate drawer fronts could be difficult so I took a piece of multi media art paper, and prepared one surface that covers all four drawer fronts. 

I started with some old book pages and glued them on to the sheet. When dry I used thin glazes of Santa Red and Forest Green over the text. To add interest I brushed a thin wash of Hansa Yellow (Media Fluid Acrylic) in places over the red and green.

When it was dry I thought the colours were too strong to work as a background so I painted a wash of Titanium White over the top to knock back the colour. Let it dry.

I sketched lightly a simple Christmas tree shape with three layers. With Leaf Green I base coated the top section. With Forest Green with a little Deep Midnight Blue I started the top of next section, then changed back to Leaf Green to blend to the bottom of that section. Repeat for the bottom section.

When dry I dry brushed a little Fawn on the branches, especially those towards the left (that is where my imaginary light source is). Using a large dotting tool, I added the Venetian Gold garland - load the tool and place the first dot at the bottom of the loop, then continue up one side. You should get 5-8 reducing dots from a load. Repeat for the other side of each loop. The wonky star is in this gold, too.

Next, use the large dotter, or the end of a paint brush to add baubles, red, blue,  and yellow. When the dots were dry I used a very small dotter to add a glint of light to the top left of each bauble (remember where the light source is).

I used the same gold for the letters behind the tree - Y U L E. The U and L are only partially visible. They are outlined in black, using a very fine liner brush and a steady hand.

To finish add shading around the tree with a wash of Zinc, then spatter white 'snow' over the whole picture.

When it is dry lay the picture face down and rest the glued together boxes on top to mark the outline. 

OR, you could use papers from your stash.

 

Spread glue over the front of each drawer in turn and place on the back of the picture. Line up each drawer with its neighbour and the outline you drew. Leave to dry. I added some weight to them to make sure they made proper contact with the sheet. (Having made sure the drawers were the right way up for the picture!)

Using a sharp craft knife carefully slit between the boxes to separate them. I found by bending the boxes apart a little it was easier to follow the line - take your time as this is the vital part!

Last I painted the outside edges black - not the edges where the picture joins - then a coat of gloss sealer to bring out the colours.

Thanks for visiting! I hope you have a great Christmas, or whatever other celebration you have for the winter season.

Products:

Tando Creative square boxes and drawers X 4

DecoArt Colours of your choice

Background paper, made or bought

24 Boxes of Advent - Dun Drekly by Kim

Part of my inheritance from my mother was a Dremel. It is a multi purpose tool often used by model makers. It has many different bits and spins at very high speeds. (It sounds a bit like a dentist's drill).

So, I thought, let's give it a go on greyboard ...

A short video of the finished box is available at : instagram.com/the_scratchypen/

I put the box together as in previous episodes of '24 Boxes of Advent' then, once dry, got to work with the Dremel. I chose a very small ball shaped bit, and after sketching out the rough stone wall, carved gently into the greyboard to produce the recessed joints between the stones. I was careful not to go too deep. This produced a lovely rustic looking surface.

My original plan was to have just three stones missing from the wall so the viewer could get a glimpse of what was inside, but, I changed my mind and opened up a big window. I sanded the surface lightly to tidy up the edges of the carving.

Next, a base coat of DecoArt Zinc, followed by random dry brushed patches of Burnt Umber, Burnt Orange, True Ochre. For the mossy edges, and the outside of the box I used Forest Green and Wasabi Green. I added snow to the edges (well it is supposed to be Christmas!) with a texture paste. I used a little black under each stone as shadow.

Next, the interior - a diorama. I measured the inside of the drawer section. Across the back is 76mm, from front to back (interior measurement) is 69mm. It is 75mm tall. From a cereal box I cut a piece 185mm wide and 75mm high. Measureed 60mm in from both ends for the folds. This meant there was a backdrop of 65mm wide. By making the walls a bit smaller it increases the 3D effect especially in the fireplace. I used a sharp craft knife to cut out my sketched fireplace.

Now the scene. Choose your wallpaper. Pink and green stripes seemed nice (Really?). And a white skirting board (mouse hole is optional). 

On the left we have two pictures, a portrait of Auntie Mable, and a  scene of rolling hills and sheep on a sunny, summers day. These were painted on small greyboard scraps of 10mm x 15mm.

On the right a Christmas tree. The tall side are 55mm and the bottom of the triangle is 50mm folded in the centre. Decorate your tree with your favourite baubles. The star is in Venetian Gold paint. Other baubles are painted around the room as you see fit.

The end wall. The fire grate is painted with Zinc then the ironwork in Lamp Black. The flames are painted with red, orange and yellow flame-shaped dabs using a small detail brush. The mantle piece is cut from a small piece of balsa wood, and the surround, either side is wooden coffee stirrers. These are painted with a wash of Burnt Umber for a nicer colour. Two small pieces of waste greyboard are painted gold for the wall lights, and a piece of greyboard offcut has cooking foil glued on the surface, and a frame of Lamp Black, for the mirror. Christmas stockings are cut from cereal box and painted. A spot of glue sticks them to the mantle.

The wooden floor is a wash of Burnt Umber painted in stripes, and the fireside rug is more cereal box painted to fit with the rest of the decor.

Once your scene is dry tidy up the creases and slot it in. 

Mother's Dremel

The wooden shutter is built from coffee stirrers and stained with a wash of Burnt Umber. I left the support rails long so that I could add the house name board and use it as a handle to slide open the shutter. I had to make a pair of small cutouts in the box to accommodate the rails.

Products:

Tando Creative Box Storage 

Scraps and greyboard offcuts

DecoArt Americana colours

24 Boxes of Advent - Follow a star - by Kim

Here is the next in my series of 24 Boxes of Advent.

 

Follow a star ... but which one? There are trillions to choose from!

I couldn't get them all on this box, so you'll have to use your imagination. My inspiration was the wonderful photographs taken from the Hubble Space Telescope.

Once I'd glued the box together I base coated the whole thing, inside and out, with Lamp Black.

Because my nebula is small I used an old and worn out brush for the stippling. All colours are stippled on so they blend easily.

The centre of the nebula is Cadmium Yellow. Make the colour more dense at the centre. Next up, and mainly towards the left of the picture, is Tangerine. Start by covering some of the yellow so the colours blend and gradually change from one to the next. Scarlet is next, stippled on as before. Then Calico Red. The red doesn't cover too well, which is good for the blending process, the density can tail off as you stretch in to outer space. You will probably need more than one coat for the denser areas.

To the right I used Primary Blue with tiny dabs of white blended in roughly. As the blue area gets farther from the centre it becomes less dense and eventually fades in to space.

At the centre of the nebula I added some tiny white 'splits' in the yellow layer showing the white heat of the core.

Next, the rest of the universe. I diluted a couple of drops of Titanium White with water to make it a milky consistency, then with an old tooth brush, spattered the stars over the surface. Try out your technique on scrap paper before you aim at your project - it could be messy!

Choose a couple of larger stars to have extra sparkle. With a fine point like a dip pen or cocktail stick paint in six or eight starburst lines. Make them taper away from the centre. Worth practising on a spare surface for this, too.

Once all is dry, mix some diluted black and add shadowy clouds in a couple of areas.

As this is my fourth Advent box I cut a number 4 from spare greyboard, painted it black, then added first Tangerine, then white highlights only to the edges that face the glowing nebula.

Thank you for journeying around the universe with me.

 Products:

Box Storage Large + Drawer (Set x4 off)

DecoArt Colours, Various

Spooky Tando Advent Box - Zoë Sanderson

Yep, teach a girl how to make videos of herself and there is no stopping her!   Actually it is quite good discipline for me.  My process is very random I am as likely to start in the middle working back from there to the start and then picking back up to get to the end as I am to work beginning, middle, end.  Making a video of it there is at least a plan in principal to start.

So today I'm sharing the bones of a Tando Advent Box.  Again the process takes time and these videos take a long time to upload to you tube so it comes to you in 2 parts.

And yes if you are wondering the acetate did stick without any further help from me!  When you open the box it pops up like the good scary spider it is intended to be!

Products Used

Tando Advent Boxes

Tando Stencils

Paints, pastes, paper, and other embellishments from my stash.

24 Boxes of Advent - Plain and Simple - by Kim

 Sometimes plain and simple is good, with may be just a little glitter.

Just two colours, white and blue (DecoArt Blue Harbor), blue at the top, white at the bottom. Blend the two together with horizontal strokes. This makes a great background snow scene.

Once all the sides are covered and dry paint a simple fir tree in white.

With the edge of a flat brush paint in the brown trunk of the tree (I know I only said two colours). Next add the branches of the tree, again with the edge of the flat brush, dab on the fronds, reducing in size as the get to the top. Give them a slight downward slope to make the tree look more natural.

I used an old toothbrush (you could use your current one, but the paint doesn't taste so good) to fly speck slightly watered down white paint for a falling snow effect. I suggest you practice on scrap paper to make sure you get the effect you want, before you splatter your project.

As this is my second Advent box I cut out a number 2 from spare greyboard, painted the edge with blue and glued glitter to the face. A few dabs of glue on the tree and sprinkle a little glitter there, too.

That's it. Simple and effective - and in plenty of time for the Christmas countdown.

  

24 Boxes of Advent (January) - by Kim

 The best definition for Advent I could find was basically a count-down to Christmas. So I thought, anything goes!

My inspiration for this one is, finding an old rusty safe and not knowing what treasure lurks inside. I started with an outside all-over base coat of grey (DecoArt Zinc), with the inside black (Ebony).

From my 'Tando's Leftovers' stash I found screw heads and a keyhole from Industrial Elements and stuck them on the front of the drawer. These were base coated with grey, too.

For the 'industrial decay' I used DecoArt Media Fluid acrylics. I tried to replicate the way corrosion runs down. First I used Transparent Yellow Iron Oxide, then Quinacridone Gold, then a little Green Gold. On the top, where the rust meets the paint I used Paynes Grey to define the edges.

I thought the idea of an interior lid would be fun - like a safe deposit box, so I made one with coffee stirrers, hinged at the back. 

To bling it up a bit I cut a No1 from waste grey board and painted it a bright, shiny gold.

Products:

Tando Boxes of Advent

Coffee stirrers

Offcuts/leftovers from Tando Industrial Elements

DecoArt colours - various Americana and Media Fluid Acrylics