Saturday 3 May 2014

La Colmena

Hi everyone, soooo excited to be drawn out to be a 3 upper and extra excited cos I get to show on my birthday.
I chose to enter the draw for the new stamps HP1303EZ because I love the image of the face, very Grace Kelly and all the script and labels looked very inviting.

I decided to update all the stuff on my phone table, my address book looked very tired and there was a mismatched notebox and biros etc. The actual drawered box I bought at a flea market and it had already been tarted up with the old PA papers and waxed.
Incidentally, Leandra cracked up when typing my post as she thought that phone tables were so not now!
I started by turning my biro into a quill pen, making a feather as instructed by Julie Ann Lee out of manuscript paper, distress inked and rubbed with treasure gold. I emptied ink out of my bottle and made it look old by Grungepasting through a stencil, painting it with fresco French Roast and rubbing with Treasure Gold Aquamarine and Spanish Topaz.
Next I worked on my old address book. This was painted all over with French Roast, crackle glazed and painted over with Mushroom and Mermaid.I stamped assorted script in archival over the cover. I cut a corner pocket from Metal Card, wrote "Vins" on the reverse (back to front) by pressing onto the back of a mouse mat. I aged it with Treasure Gold Spanish Topaz and Oxynite. I created 3 "business cards" by using some of the stamps and tucked them into the pocket. I also TG the edges of the notebook.

I repeated the same Fresco paints onto my note box but didn't crackle glaze. I stamped half of the face of the girl and Grungepasted the same stencil as the ink bottle onto it to match. Inside I stamped the half face onto the notepaper and tied up with distressed lace. There is a "photo" of the girl in the lid also.
My large box was also painted in the same fresco paints, the paint went over the waxed surface no problem. I made a metal plate to fit over the drawer using the same technique with metal card and this time wrote "plumes" and "crayons". Going for a French feel!! I used assorted archival inks onto the stamps to give the effect of graffiti on the box. I created a postcard by using a selection of the stamps. To give extra drama I aged and stuffed some envelopes, wrote on them and tied them up with lace to sit inside the box.



My story for this is about an ageing French actress called "La Colmena", which is the name on one of the stamps. She is not coping with losing her looks and her career and clings to the past. This sounded good until I looked up "La Colmena" and discovered that it is not French but Spanish for beehive. Should have started with research not ended with it. 
Here is my creation in situ.
Special thanks to Leandra and all the Paperartsy team for giving me and the other 3uppers the opportunity to play nicely.xx

11 comments:

  1. Just stunning, love every detail and clever touches (the biro as a quill is inspired), the altered ink bottle... and it's useful too!

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  2. Super project for the last night of 3UPers, well done.

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  3. Wow, Hazel this is fantabulous! What a lot of thought (except about the name, lol!) you've put into these very original pieces. I don't know which bit I like best .... all of it I think. The ink bottle is great and the whole set up on your 'telephone table' ;-) is brilliant. Well done on a fantastic project for the final #3UP night for this semester!

    I'd actually forgotten about the last post on #3UP with all the hassle of the last few days so I'm doubly glad I dropped by your blog to wish you another HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

    Lots of love
    Lesley Xx

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  4. Lovely projects Birthday Girl, what a fantastic day you must have had!

    Fab inspiration here Hazel, love the quill especially:-) xxx

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  5. Great project and yes love the quill....and the bottle...well it's all fab, lovely idea Hazel!

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  6. Wow! Amazing! It must be lovely to walk by your table and see your fab creations each time!

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  7. sorry I'm late commenting, Hazel, but I was so thrilled when your name popped up! Happy Birthday treat too! I love that you made all these items and that they will be useful too. The quill pen and ink pot look amazing. I don't think your telephone table looks old fashioned at all. Leandra is so rude to you, lol!!

    Lucy x

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  8. Love your #3up project Hazel..that little ink bottle is gorgeous!! It all looks fab together on your table..very clever and lots of inspiration xxx

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  9. Wow, fabulous Hazel! It's so clever, especially the quill pen and the ink bottle.

    Emma x

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  10. sorry a bit late been with out a computer all week - belated Happy Birthday ! so glad to see you were picked, your pieces are fab as usual - I think we all need a telephone table now xx

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  11. Well, you already know how much I love this project, Hazel - it's absolutely stunning, and so worth it's place at PaperArtsy. Wonderful to hear the back story - and I think the name works beautifully - I know plenty of actresses with a sting in the tail!
    Alison xx

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