Saturday, November 8, 2014

Cigar Box Beauties

I've got some pretty plaques inspired by a trio of vintage cigar box beauties! Alpha Stamps has an awesome kit with gorgeous papers this month all in the very rich, vintage theme of old cigar box art and design.























I started out with some scrap wood cut into ATC sized blocks. They're about 1/2 an inch thick, but you could also use a couple of the Chipboard ATC's glued together with the ribbon sandwiched between them. Or an ATB Wood Block and make them stand alone pieces.
































All the papers I used are from the kit. I covered all the backs with the blue side of the Cigar Box Secrets Corona Scrapbook Paper, the sides with Cigar Box Secrets Robusto Scrapbook Paper. For the center block in the first image I used the back flip side of the Figurados Scrapbook Paper and for the two ladies on the ends Perfecto Scrapbook Paper was used.

































I inked all the edges and then glued this beautiful Dresden trim down the center of the block....it reminds me of the fancy gold foil on cigar boxes and gives the image in front of it some visual grounding. The trim is from the Gold Ric Rac Dresden Border trim Set.
I used foam tape on the back of the beauties to make them stand out a bit, glued ribbon on the sides of my plaques and added some pretty paper roses to dress up the ends of the ribbon and add some extra ornament.

































I sparkled them up a wee bit with some Diamond Stickles, glass micro beads and a few flat back crystals, but in the end I decided to keep the embellishments fairly simple. The images are strong, rich and speak for themselves and I thought just giving them a bit of a boost was all they needed.
And okay, I couldn't resist a crown and a couple of pretty  Antique Bronze Fan Charms to add a little extra something!

























SUPPLY LIST:
Cigar Box Secrets Papers  (click left to view the complete collection individual sheets used are below)
Cigar Box Secrets Robusto Scrapbook Paper
Cigar Box Secrets Corona Scrapbook Paper
Cigar Box Secrets Figurados Scrapbook Paper
Cigar Box Secrets Perfecto Scrapbook Paper
Cigar Labels Banner Collage Sheet
1/2" Paper Roses
Antique Bronze Fan Charm
Diamond Stickles
Gold Ric Rac Dresden Border trim Set
Center Stitched Ribbons
Narrow Striped Ribbon

Small Cigar Labels And Bands Sheet
Glass Micro Beads
Swarovski Flat Back Crystals
Die-Cut Crown