Box for Floral Mini-Album–Completing the Construction (I Hope!)

Today I think I have completed the construction of the two boxes – that is, if I have no further problems!

I cut two further pieces of Tyvek to make hinges for the inside of the boxes, to cover the gap and to strengthen the hinge further. I inked these to match the inside of the box as far as I was able.

The inner hinge in place. It’s a shame there’s a visible overlap but it can’t be helped.

In order to prevent the lids opening too far, I added a restraining ribbon on each side. This is narrow black gros-grain ribbon and I stuck it on using Pinflair gel glue. I attached the lid ends first and let them dry, and then glued the other ends to the inside of the box sides, clamping them in place until the glue was dry.

I cut further small pieces of black cardstock and inked them to match the inside of the box, and these were stuck down over the ends of the ribbons, to cover them and to stop the ends fraying.

Then I experienced some major problems. The metal corners started falling off, and so did one of the feet.

I had a feeling I might have problems with the hot glue. I pulled them all off (apart from the remaining feet which so far seem to be secure) and then spent ages pulling off the glue that remained on the boxes. The glue didn’t seem to have stuck onto the metal. Pulling it off (a combination of scraping with a blade and pulling it off with tweezers) did damage the papers on the corners a little, but I painted all the corners with black acrylic paint, and once this was dry, I re-attached the metal pieces using Pinflair gel glue and left them to dry overnight. I am not confident that this is going to work much better but we shall have to see. If it doesn’t work, I am not sure what I am going to do. I may have to dispense with the metal corners altogether and make corners out of black cardstock but I hope it won’t come to that, as I’ve still got all the embellishing to do and I have to finish this project on Wednesday!

Box for Floral Mini-Album–Completing the Construction

Today I finished making the two boxes, with the exception of the embellishments for the top, and sorting one or two problems.

I began today’s session by cutting the pieces for the front mats.

I had to sleep on it to work out how to get the hole for the clasp in exactly the right place. In the end, I added some Zig 2-way glue on the back and let it dry so it was tacky (temporary adhesive) and lined it up on the box and pressed it into place. Taking my pokey tool, I pierced holes through the mat from inside the box where I’d already made holes, for the brads to attach the clasp.

I then removed the mat. I laid the clasp on top of the mat and lined up its holes with those I’d just pierced, and drew round the clasp. I added 1/4 inch all around and then cut the piece out. I double-distressed all the edges (including the edges of the cut hole) with Vintage Photo and Black Soot Distress Inks.

I attached the clasps to the front of the boxes, filling the concave back surface of them with Pinflair gel glue as I’d done for the other part of the clasp, and attached them firmly to the box with the same antique brass coloured brads.

Now I was ready to attach the front mats, and it was easy to line them up over the clasps and glue them into place.

The lids laid in place, so that I could test that the clasps worked correctly.

I cut the two mats for the backs of the boxes and double-distressed them as before.

The back mats glued in place. I didn’t realise till later that I’d made a mistake here.

Double-distressing the side mats.

The side mats glued in place.

It was now that I realised my mistake – I should not have glued the back mats in place until the hinges had first been glued down, because the mats cover the construction strips.

Fortunately it was easy to remedy. When I was making the Floral Mini-Album I learnt on Youtube that if you glue something with double-sided tape and have made a mistake, all is not lost, because you can soften the glue by heating it with a heat gun, and peel it back. This is what I did here.

Here is the lid in place, with its Tyvek hinge concealed by the re-attached back mat.

Using the cut out piece from the front mat as a pattern, I cut two pieces from an offcut from the front mat and glued them in place inside the box, over the three brads attaching the clasp to the front of the box.

Using a 1-inch punch and cutting from the same offcut, I attached circular pieces over the brads inside the lid flap.

The brads are now all covered, giving a neater finish, and preventing anything catching on them. I used wet glue to attach them.

I decided after all that I would use the metal corners I’d bought. They are only joined on one edge; there is a gap in the other so that you’ve got a bit of flexibility for lining them up. I cut along one of the other two edges so that a flat piece was detached, and filed it smooth, and gently bent it back into shape with pliers.

I did this because if I had put complete corners on the back, the lid would not have opened. I put the flat piece of the corner that I had cut off onto the back of the box, and the remaining piece around the corner of the lid.

I had a bit of trouble with this and it was hard to make them stick, even with hot glue. Opening the box, the two metal pieces collided and tended to knock each other off, so I had to heat it up and move them a bit so that there was a gap. I’m not sure I’m 100 percent satisfied with the result just yet.

Also, opening the box, the inside of the Tyvek hinge is visible, and it’s white. I don’t think the attachment of the Tyvek is strong enough as it’s tending to peel away. I propose adding another strip inside. This will be visible unless I ink it to match the box. I may also have to add a couple of ribbons to prevent the lid opening too far.

I added the metal feet, using hot glue.

Anyway, for now, apart from these final minor problems to sort out, the boxes are complete. Here they are with all the metal embellishments in place.

I have sorted out some remaining flowers from the Floral Mini Album project, and I need to make some more leaves, because these were all used on the album. I shall also die-cut some more gold Moroccan trellis and possibly some other embellishments. These will all go on the top of the boxes, and then the project will be complete. I have just under a week to do it, so I’m not panicking… Yet!

Outing to Seale-Hayne

Yesterday afternoon my hubby and I went to Seale-Hayne outside Newton Abbot. This beautiful place used to be an agricultural college but is now the home of Dame Hannah Rogers’ school for disabled children, now known simply as Hannah’s. We have visited several times in the past. They host a lot of art in various forms, with small workshops and studios available for local artists, and a gallery. Unfortunately they were in the process of installing a new exhibition so all the gallery had to offer was a collection of workmen and a lot of pieces of MDF and dust!

From the front entrance archway, you enter a large open courtyard. It was extremely hot in there as there wasn’t a breath of wind!

In one corner of the courtyard was an amazing sculpture of a kind of robot, made from all sorts of agricultural and industrial scrap. The man in the shop said it had been made by a blacksmith who has a studio on the estate, with the help of some of the students.

It looks like something out of War of the Worlds! Amazing what you can make with stuff that most people would think of as rubbish.

They have a very nice gift shop.

I loved these little hanging ornaments. The heart-shaped ones reminded me of the heart embellishment I made for my hubby’s anniversary card recently.

I think I must make some more of these. I love the little birds.

I remember this long corridor from previous visits. The lampshades are just gorgeous – almost Zentangle.

I love this beautiful Celtic calendar.

Back in the courtyard again. Along one wall are several large painted posters on wood.

Round the back I found a place called The Green Room which has been converted into a sort of common room, club and music studio for the older children and young adults.

A gorgeous old door. Love the handle!

In the corner of the courtyard. This tree sculpture could have lots more things hanging from it. It just has some rather uninspiring leaves!

View of the main building again.

In another wing we found a long paper pasted to the wall, with lots of little frames drawn on it. Apparently this is for the children to draw their portraits in.

Also in that corridor, some beautiful glass hanging plaques in the window,

and a framed piece of weaving.

A lovely afternoon out. It was disappointing that there was less to see on this occasion, but no doubt we’ll go back sometime soon, and in the meantime we’ll keep an eye on the website to see what exhibitions are coming up.

Devon County Show 2017

On Thursday 18th May, we went to the Devon County Show at Westpoint, Exeter. I have finally had the opportunity to go through all the photos I took and get them edited and saved. I won’t show them all here because there are too many, but it will still be a picture-rich post!

There was a huge display of poppies, a tribute to the 11,000 Devon men and women who lost their lives in the First World War. They were made of any material as long as it was not paper, and most of them were knitted or crocheted, and there were some made of lace and felt.

This wreath was made from recycled Coca-cola tins!

I learnt something new – that purple poppies are a memorial to all the animals that were killed in the course of war. Purple poppies featured in this display, too.

A prize-winning display at the show was put on by Lifton Farm Shop, in the theme of Shaun the Sheep. All the sheep’s bodies were made of cauliflowers! The display was so imaginative and fun, and everyone loved it.

The house was covered with potatoes (with ones with pink skins around the windows) and the garden path was made of onions.

There were some fun sheep – here is one sunbathing in a deckchair. Note the sun cream and cocktail close at hand.

Here’s the farmer. I like the sign at the bottom!

Sheep shearing.

Here are some ladies, knitting and having their hair done.

Mutton dressed as lamb.

There was the usual fantastic display of floral arrangements, on different themes, one of which was “pas de deux,” a ballet theme.

I loved this “triptych” of calla lilies. It won a prize.

A large display of pitcher plants and other carnivorous plants. I have always found these very exotic and fascinating.

We found a textile art student from Bicton College, making felt, and she allowed me to photograph her project book. Here are a couple of pages.

There was quite a large display of lace making.

In the spinners’ booth there was a good display.

My hubby learning how to hand-spin (not!).

The Bonsire man was there again, and I always promise to post photos of his work on my blog! He makes the most exquisite miniature bonsai trees from wire.

The usual very high standard of work in the blacksmithing booth.

This intriguing piece had different leaves around the base – ivy, oak, hazel.

It always amazes me that such fluid, organic shapes can be formed from a material so hard and unyielding.

While wandering around, we came across this eatery with very pretty Indian parasols. I’d love to have bought one but they were too expensive!

The Queen Bee herself, at the entrance to the beekeeping tent.

Some natural honeycomb. This is what the bees will make without a frame in the hive.

I bought some beeswax polish and some very special heather honey.

Here is a prize-winning hand-painted plate.

Judging the eggs! Not sure what makes one egg better than another!

There was even a display of posh jellies being judged.

A fascinating spherical sculpture made entirely of horseshoes.

The usual displays of small animals.

This year we didn’t get to see many of the farm animals, but we did visit the angora goats. Look at that billie’s magnificent horns, and the kids were really cute.

The Corrymore goats always carry off prizes. I always want to visit that tent, because I can stock up on new Corrymore socks, made from their fleece. They are quite simply the best socks I’ve ever had – I have a whole drawer-full and never wear anything else! They come in lots of colours (and different styles too) and they are very hard wearing (I’ve had my original ones for years and years), and wash very well, and they are cool in summer and warm in winter.

As we were leaving, we were held up by what seemed to be an interminable parade of tractors of all vintages. They varied a lot in size and complexity. One thing they all had in common was that they smelt! The smell of exhaust became very unpleasant after a while, and I was glad of a lull in the cavalcade so that we could cross over and return to the car. You can see from this photo that it had started to rain by this point. The rest of the day was fine and sunny, but we did get a bit wet towards the end, and my buggy battery started giving out so my poor hubby had to keep pushing me as we limped our way back to the car!

I did some great shopping, and we had a very good salad lunch, but some aspects were disappointing because we didn’t manage to see many animals, and both the carriage driving and the show jumping were just finishing when we arrived on the scene, which was a bit of a shame. It’s the only time one ever gets to see this sort of thing, and the horses and riders are always so beautifully turned out, and it’s lovely to see anything done really well.

My hubby said he probably wouldn’t bother to go to the show if I didn’t love it so much (although he always enjoys it while we are there) – he is very good to me, taking me to nice places and giving me treats! He gets the buggy and the wheelchair in and out of the car and pushes me when necessary. I would be well and truly stuck at home if it wasn’t for him! The following day was his birthday, and I think he had a nice birthday treat at the show.

We finished the day with my hubby’s brothers and their wives, having a well-earned slap-up Chinese takeaway. Delicious! Altogether, a great day out, as always. The County Show is something I always try not to miss!