The Poison Room

Last year I read a number of books by Alan Bradley in a series called the 'Flavia deLuce Mysteries'. Clever, witty books written with a precocious child as the main character. At an early age Flavia discovered her great uncles forgotten old poisons laboratory at the top of the huge crumbling family estate. By the time she was 12 she was putting poison ivy oil in her older (and beastly) sisters lipstick and solving crimes with Scotland Yards finest.
This little 'Poison Room' was inspired by Mr. Bradley's snarky pre-teen heroine, Miss Flavia deLuce.

A shot so you get the idea of scale.....

Looks like someone is not the best housekeeper and who doesn't need a large economy-sized bottle of Chloroform?!
And all the hand written journals on Venom, Toxins, Acids on the shelf above....some excellent bedtime reading.

 Is that a poisoned cup of tea?

And what about the slightly creepy skeleton guy peeking around the corner? Is that the mastermind? An experiment gone wrong? Or just some really skinny Boo Radley type hanging out in his favorite room.......

Probably don't want to know.

Here is a quick tutorial on how to make a plate rail/bracket shelf like the one holding all the book above.

First off, I did all of the interior work on the box, like papering it and painting around edges, back and side. While I was at it, i painted the frame as well.

Next, I measured the interior of the papered box and decided how wide I wanted my shelving to be. I cut seven pieces. One goes across the entire back wall, two extend from the the back shelf (side walls) and four 45 degree triangles that make up the brackets or shelf supports.

I lined up the back shelf on my handy mat full of measurements and glued the sides and back together and after those set up, glued the brackets on.

After the shelf was completely dry I dry-fitted it into the box, making sure it was snug.

I then removed the shelf, painted it and glued it in place. And with a bit of Quinachrodone gold and a little black acrylic paints, I 'aged' the walls and the shelf. I did the same with the little bottle rack and the table and then glued them in place.
And then it's all set up for filling in all the fun stuff.
Wait a minute.....what's he doing there? I've had a lot of trouble keeping him out of the photographs. You don't know how many times I've had to redo shots as he wants to photo bomb everything.
And I thought he was shy......

For a link to all the supplies from the incredible Alpha Stamps click HERE.
Supplies List:

Small Frame Shadowbox
Simple 1:24 Table
Small Spice Rack
Skeleton Slide Mailers Collage Sheet
Mini Old Windows And Doors Collage Sheet
Secret Spell Book Labels Collage Sheet
Little Potions Collage Sheet
Little Library Collage Sheet
Large White Turquoise Skull Beads
Tiny White Turquoise Skull Beads
12 Tiny Glass Bottles
Mini Mason Jars-Set of 3
Corked Vials
Miniature Hurricane Lamp
Set of Miniature Books
Pewter Measuring Spoons
Bronze Teacup and Saucer Charm
Tall Bulb Perfume Bottle
Tiny Wooden Flower Pots
1mm Micro Beads (in Teal and Red)
Tiny Wooden Bowls
Tiny Glass jar with Lid

Additional supplies
Chipboard scrap
Matte Brown Acrylic Paint
Various beads for bottle making


Thanks for stopping by!

One hundred years old.

I live in a very small town of about 1,000 people. Along with our wonderful farmers market, our library is a huge part of what makes this little town a wonderful place to live.
Our librarian is the soul of the library and has the most wonderful knack of knowing the exact book you want when you need it. He does a lot for us all and we think he is spiffy. His mum is turning one hundred years old this coming week and he has asked friends in the community if we would make her a card....the goal being one hundred cards for her one hundred years.
This is my small contribution to the paper flood that I am sure is coming her way!

 The inside of the card.....

Detail of the left side.......

Such a lovely lady! I hope she gets a veritable sackful of birthday wishes this week!

I was inspired by the wonderful quote on the front of the card, attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt, a fabulous lady herself.
I started out with my quote and some flowers that I played around with on illustrator. Then cut some card stock to the size I needed for my image....

I glued that on the front and while it was drying I painted all of my Gypsy Soul Laser cuts white. Which include;
Ivy Corners
Filigree Frames Shapes Set
and

I made little 'signs' to go inside the frames, glued them in and added sparkle.
I cut out more flowers from my chosen image and then added some fun sparkle to Mom Librarian's glasses and a couple of Swarovski flat-back crystals.

I glued in all the components and added embellishments and little dots to places I felt needed a little pop.
And there she is! All decked out for her birthday!

Happy Birthday pretty lady!

Supplies List;
Ivy Corners
Filigree Frames Shapes Set
and

Additional Supplies:
Acrylic Paint Pen
Stickles Glitter
Swarovski Flat Back Crystals
Collage Images
Card Stock

Pretty Spring Flower Treasure Chest

Hi folks, Lora here today with a pretty Spring Flower Box. A friend of mine asked me for a little box that she could store things in on her desk at work....something springy and girly that would cheer her up on long days spent at her desk. Her favorite color is pink, so I went with that, and here is what I came up with!

She is a rather elegant person, so I worked under the premise that 'Less is more' and didn't get too fussy, but hopefully, I achieved the necessary girlyness.

 I began with the Treasure Chest....

I glued the basic box together and then glued that on base.

While the glue was still wet, I used a Q-Tip to wipe off any excess glue inside and out. Everything fits better when I do this and you'd be surprised at how a lump of glue shows up after you paint over it!

I gave the structure a good coat of gesso and set it aside to dry.

I wanted to use the pretty flower images I found on some napkins, so I peeled the napkin apart. Usually napkins are three-ply, so make sure you get them all apart or your image will not be glued on properly and will peel off.

I used matte medium, first on the box, attaching the napkin and making sure there were no air bubbles, and then put a coat on the napkin. Then I let it dry without fussing with it. Otherwise, it can tear orslide off the box and you'll be smooshing it back into place or having to start over.
Not that I have ever done that.

After it dries, tear away the excess napkin toward the inside of the box. Then using a piece of sandpaper, and the same 'inside' technique, sand of the rough edges.

While I was waiting for things to dry, I gave the rest of the treasure chest pieces a coat of gesso, let that dry and after sanding the napkins, gave the whole piece a nice coat of white acrylic paint, including the inside and the bottom of the chest.

I have some pretty little beads I found rummaging around in a second hand shop that I have been slowly using up. I got scads of them and they are great because they are a little flat and easy to glue. Pearls would work as well and if you want to get really snazzy you could use flat back crystals or beads. I glued these around parts of the chest, making a pretty borders.

I added a cute little knob on the top and at the last minute, glued a flower on it. I like how pretty and whimsical it looks! A couple of brass findings in the top corners of the lid and a few of those little beads glued around around the base of the knob and I think I'm done.
An elegant and feminine box for an elegant and pretty gal!

Supplies:
Treasure Chest

Additional supplies:
Gesso
Acrylic Paint
Beads
Knob
Silk Flower
Brass findings (little flowers)
Don't forget the napkins!

Thank you for visiting!