I am so excited to have Nadia from With Glittering Eyes as my guest designer. Her project is stunning and I am so honored that she took the time to make this project and step by step directions exclusively for my blog. I am so thrilled to share this with all of you! Be prepared to be amazed! Thanks again Nadia! -Linda
Hi, everyone! This is Nadia from the blog, With Glittering Eyes! I am so excited to share a project with you today that I have made exclusively for The Paper Boutique. I love creating vignettes and altering Cricut cuts to get just the image I want. I also like to add some hand-cut elements to make projects that are one-of-a-kind. Today's project is a shadow box, decorated like a gift, featuring a light-up vignette!
I found a vintage Christmas card on Pinterest a few weeks ago with a lady on a ladder decorating her tree. That was the inspiration for this project. I didn't want a decorated tree; I wanted a tree that was just beginning to be decorated! When doing vignettes, I start with the element that has to be right for the project to work. Usually, that is a figure but this time, it was the tree. This was cut from the Christmas (solutions) cartridge at 11-1/2". (All die cuts for this project were made on the Expression unless otherwise noted.) The cut was enhanced by using a Martha Stewart branch punch in four different green hues.
Next, the figure:
I used the cut sizes I had figured out from a recent project to do this figure. (You can see that project by clicking
here.) I hand-cut the lower body on that project too. I used the same pattern piece that I drew by hand for the lower body on this project.
I cut the upper body from Country Life (layer 2, page 32) at 7-1/2" on the Imagine, flood-filling with RGB code 250, 229, 210. I cut the figure's back arm at the shoulder and placed it just behind the body to look a bit more like her torso was turned (since she will be turned toward the tree) and I lowered her arm.
Above, you can see my inspiration picture, along with the original cut from the Country Life handbook, the pattern piece I used to make the lower body, and my altered cuts.
I hand-cut her lower body. I cut two legs, notched them at the knee so that the legs would bend, and then I simply pivoted them until I liked the way they looked. I cut a 6" square on the Imagine, also flood-filling with 250, 229, 210. I traced the legs onto this printed paper. Then I traced them onto black to create pants.
I cut a 6" square flood-filled with a print from Snow Angel (page 42) for a shirt. I traced the torso and arm onto the printed paper, taking advantage of the pattern to emphasize a turned body (by placing the center of the paper print at the center of the figure's chest). I kept the figure's torso and legs attached loosely so that she could still be pivoted on the ladder.
The ladder was cut from Handy Man at 8" in black card stock and rubbed with a silver ink pad.
I placed the figure, ladder, and tree together to figure out placement and adhered the tree and ladder on the 12x12 paper I chose for a background.
To finish the figure, I hand-cut slippers. The shapes were placed through a Xyron (topside down) and flocked to make them a bit fuzzy.
I added a piece of black card stock to the back of her head to fill in her eyes. I hand-cut a nose and mouth, using tweezers and a straight pin to place the tiny cuts.
The figure's hairstyle was created by cutting hair layers from Paper Doll Dress Up (page 75) at 1-1/2" and 2".
Once the figure was placed again on the ladder, I realized that I wanted both of her arms in front of her and that she would be placing garland on the tree! I snipped her arm...
... and flipped it upside down and glued it on at the elbow.
AH! In order to be at the "garland stage" of tree decorating, the lights already have to be put in place! I borrowed what I had learned from a light-up picture frame I made last Christmas (click
here to see that project). With only the ladder and tree adhered to my paper, I mounted my paper to Crescent Artist Board to make it sturdy. I used a Crop-A-Dile Big Bite to punch in twenty small holes for the lights. I checked my placement by putting my board over my light box.
I found a package of battery-powered mini lights from my stash from last year's Christmas crafting.
I fitted the lights in place.
OK- here's the confession, in case you haven't figured it out: I never know what I am going to make before the project starts. It was at this point when I decided to make a shadow box! I needed something to hide the light cords and I wanted a space on front of the tree--- like a floor--- for the garland to puddle. (This project could have been slightly altered to fit in a 12x12 frame but I have been wanting to try something different and jumped at this opportunity!)
I cut a piece of foam-core 4" x 12-1/2". I cut in a ditch in the middle for my board to stand in.
With my project upright, I continued with the scene. The chair was cut from Sophisticated at 4-1/2" (page 44). I love inking die cuts to give them a little volume. I also drew in a little detail. I hand-cut a pillow using some leftover printed paper I had from All Wrapped Up. The chair was adhered in the scene with 1/2" pop dots.
I adhered my figure in place. The upper body was popped up with 1/8" pop dots; the lower body was adhered flush. I added the garland, gluing cut lengths at the top to create the illusion that it wrapped around the tree. Garland was also glued into the 3D box (that I cut by hand from kraft paper) and onto the floor in a 'puddle'.
I hand-cut and inked Christmas boxes, my little angel, and part of a nativity scene.
I created a wood floor: I cut a 2" x 12" piece of wood veneer into 1/2" strips. I ran the edges through black ink to emphasize them and re-arranged them so the pattern wouldn't match up. I glued it onto the foam-core ledge.
This was my project as this point. The battery pack is attached to the back of the project with Velcro.
I built the shadowbox by cutting lengths of 4" x 12" foam-core for the sides, and gluing in place. I cut a back and then a lid. The back has a window cut out to turn on and off the lights. I cut the window so that it can be pulled down in order to change batteries.
I cut photo corners from Art Philosophy (page 50) at 1-1/2". I hand-cut a paper bow (with 1" and 2" strips)and 2" wide "ribbon" for the top and sides of the shadowbox.
My 7-year-old supervisor informed me that animals were needed. From Four Legged Friends, I cut the bird hiding in the tree (3/4"), the seated cat (1-1/4", flipped), and the cat in the garland (1", flipped).
To finish, I added a tag cut from Art Philosophy (page 40 cut at 3") with text from my computer (Microsoft Alcohol Licks at 36 point) printed directly onto the tag.
I had so much fun creating this bit of holiday decor! Happily, when I 'deck my halls,' I will have less tree to deck (no ladder needed)!
I am so honored to share this project with you on The Paper Boutique! You are invited to see all of my paper crafts in
My Project Gallery. Projects in my gallery are linked to my original posts, where I always give away all the 'secrets' of cut sizes, techniques, and tools needed. Hope to see you there!
