Slipping through the cracks...

I've been thinking lately. When I was a kid being an adult seemed straightforward. You went to university, graduated, got a job, met someone, had kids. All the things that are supposedly inevitable. Now, I feel like I've slipped through the cracks of life, settling amongst the fluff, dust and other discarded things. Languishing there, unneeded, unwanted, forgotten.

I'm not stupid. I know that life is what you make it. It just seems so hard sometimes. My depression and anxiety have eased in the past couple of months but they will never fully heal. We have good times and bad times, and some of us are better at dealing with the bad times than others.

Right, onto todays crafting, which I'm entering into That's crafty keep it simple challenge. I had one wooden box left over, and a ton of grungeboard letters that don't make words, so I started there.

I only put letters on the top part of the box, as I only wanted to decorate that part. Next I painted it in black gesso, inside and out.

After leaving it to dry, I sprayed it with the green glimmer mist I have, and left it overnight to dry.

I then used fired brick and black soot distress paint, and coated the letters with it.

I used the heat gun to dry this. NOT a good idea as it bubbles up, but it works well with the battered look I wanted to give the box. What also worked well was spritzing the fired brick paint, as it dripped down the sides in a cool way. Once that was dry, I drybrushed the letters with tarnished brass and antiqued bronze, before dabbing it with iced spruce.

Sorry about the light - it got really dark!

Next thing I did was something I wanted to try since I got the UTEE. I cut out some paper flowers, inked the edges with fired brick and pumice stone distress pads, inked the leaves with peeled paint, and assembled them with glossy accents. Once they were dry, I got a small ovenproof dish, poured some UTEE in it, and stuck it in the oven at 170C in a fan oven. Once it had melted I carefully dipped the flowers in the UTEE, using a pair of tweezers. I let the excess drip off (shake it if you can as it dries quickly) and then let it cool on a craft mat.

A little thicker than I would have liked but not bad for a first try! I also got some film spool, and a wooden memories word, which I dabbed with antiqued bronze and black soot distress paints.

Here is the finished result! Very different from my other wooden boxes, but quite simple to do once you've mastered the UTEE bit. 

Let me know what you think of it

Ems c