The Game of Art

What is my sudden infatuation with cigar boxes? Is it because I've been collecting them and now is the time to do something with them? No one in my family ever smoked cigars that I can recall. Well, at least not in front of me as a child. I remember my Great Uncle Lacy spit his chew into a can that sat beside his chair and I thought it was the most gross thing I ever saw in my whole life. OK...not going there today with that memory! LOL!

There's a little cigar shop next to Zamparelli's and I like to go in there. The guy only charges $2 per box, and he donates that money to cancer charities. But man! Does it stink in there! To air out a cigar box, spray the inside well with Febreeze and set it outside for 2 hours. No smell!!! This is one of his boxes that I decided to make an "art" purse from.



The background paper was cream and black and I used Ranger Distress ink to alter the color. I like to use their cut 'n dry foam to bring in the color....gives me nice even tones.



That is a mini Etch-a-sketch that really works. How fun is that? About 2" wide. I used some little pewter charms in this one and inked them with Ranger's alcohol inks.




"Play" is probably my favorite word right now. When I make something like this, I usually try to put some type of hidden meanings into what I do. So, G-56 on the bingo tile...I'm 56 years right now. O-69....I graduated High School in 1969! And G +O is "go" and it seems I am always on the "go"!!!



"the Game of Art" is made from beads with pre-drilled holes from Stanislaus Imports. I love looking at their catalog...it's an altered artist's dream! That's real modeling clay on the right, a working watercolor set on the left and up on the top right, real crayons in the background.

Every element on this box is brand new. I used Ranger products to distress everything, even the wood.



To age plastic, use Latte Alcohol ink. To age paper and wood, use Vintage Photo Distress Ink. Once again, I've used a ton of Creative Crystals on this purse.


To give you some idea, the little art doll is about 4" tall. The wood ruler along the bottom is 7" long.



I keep thinking that each one of these that I make is my favorite....but after 3 of them this week, I can hardly wait to see what happens next! They are only taking a couple hours each to make. I'm lining the inside with felt and adding a mirror just for fun!



Because the front is covered with art things (and yes, and etch-a-sketch is a very good art tool for kids!) I decided to call this one "Play the game of art". I think this one is going to house some drawing pencils..or I just might dump the box of 256 crayons in here! Is this a great storage system or what?

I've been playing with Colleen for the past week and it seems when she is here I just get this creative spurt and can get so much done! She's gone back home today.....but my friend, Judy, arrives from London tomorrow....so who knows what we'll be creating this next week! All I can say is that playing has never been more fun than it is right now!

May 2008 be the year that you truly learn how to play the game of art!