tofa: altered wooden crate

Thursday, 9 June 2016

My Love for Mangoes!

Hello crafty friends..

Welcome to my page today. I am still enjoying the lovely weather from my studio and its been a pleasure working with the sun up during the day and evening showers just cooling it off!

So, I have a very cool altered project for today. If you are a mango lover, you will recognize this little fella that I am going to alter!

Yes, it’s a mini wooden crate...I got it long, long ago, so long ago, god knows how long ago...BUT even then, I did not throw that crate away, lol! I knew it had a future and so yes...I remember it must be more than 13 yrs back that I received a mango sample in this and I am NOT a mango lover but definitely the packaging caught my eye!

So let’s start....

Step1- It was a very simple crate with some ordinary packaging wood but then it was sturdy; yes...it stayed up my attic for so many years, lol! I don’t remember, but looks like I had I had done some texture work with a ceramic cone on it and left it at that. So to cover up that, I painted the whole crate with gesso but the texture was still seen and I was not happy. I knew another coat was not going to make it any better and I dint have the patience to sand down the whole thing.

So I thought and finally decided to stick strips of paper from a magazine. Just plain white and black print and I decoupaged it all around with modge podge. I then inked the edges with lavender acrylic paint and gave a coat of varnish and let it dry.

Step2- This lovely floral napkin caught my eye and I thought was perfect for this project. I went about cutting 2 ovals from an old wedding invite, a thick one mind you. I then gave a coat of lavender acrylic paint and once that was dry, gave a coat of crackle medium, an Indian brand which was in my stash. Sadly, it is no longer manufactured! I love not so big cracks that I can achieve with this.

I tried applying it in 2 different directions on the base and when it was tacky, gave a top coat of white acrylic paint. Voila...the lovely cracks appear and I get to see the lavender color beneath. This is such a beauty and I managed them in different directions too!

Step3- I tore the napkin to fit the oval panel and stuck them using modge podge. I liked the fact that the cracks can still be seen through the napkin...a crafters delight! You agree??? I then worked on the edges with acrylic paint and then sealed the panel with Deco art Triple glaze. It took time to dry but I liked the final look.

Step4- I then fixed the panel to both the front and back of the crate and embellished them with tiny lavender pearls.

A small tag with “hello” stamped and tied with the same lavender paper twine gives warm touch to the crate. A bunch of white roses when placed inside, gives life to the entire project!

I JUST LOVE IT! This is probably the simplest project that I have done till date, just 2 tones and nothing too fancy...a CAS altered project, lol and NOT Vintage!

Here is the back view...as good as the front, lol!