Thursday, July 5, 2012

Configurations for Compendium

How's that for a mouthful?! Linda is giving us two weeks to complete the latest Compendium of Curiosities II challenge. So this is week 11 and 12 combined. As always, the challenges are based on the works of t!m and he and the wonderful Mr. BTS, Mario are also sponsoring this fortnight challenge with an amazing t!m Holtz goodie bag full of prizes. This challenge can be found on pages 33 and 34 in CofCII.

I bought this Confugurations box over two years ago. And it's sat. I didn't really know what I was going to do with it and was waiting for inspiration to strike. And when Linda said this was the week for the box, I knew inspiration HAD to show up! I had the wooden "J" and "S" letters (for John and Sue!) so that was my starting point. I covered the J in foil tape and distressed it using my t!m Craft Scratcher and a pen. Then I painted the whole thing using Claudine Hellmuth Charcoal Black and quickly wiped it off. For the S, I covered it in a scrap of blue and white dotted cs since blue is my favorite color, then distressed the edges of it. Then I was at a loss of what else to do. So I sat the box on my side table and stared at it for a couple of days. Finally, lightning struck! I would do different places we had been on vacations through the years. We've been able to take some great trips over the last 24 years. We have many happy memories of the trips we've taken.

 Completed box
 Japanese Torri Gate. I made this out of a Kraft stick. Painted close to the same color as the one at the entrance to Miajima Island. John's letter "J" and my letter "S'. Marie Laveau's Voodoo Potient represents New Orleans.
 Wasted away again in Margaritaville can be no place else than Key West, FL! The Great Smoky Mountains, one of my favorite places on earth. Grand Tetons in Wyoming.
 Bison represents Yellowstone National Park. "Vacation" definition taken from an old dictionary. And below it is Chippewa Square in Savannah, GA and the "Forrest Gump" bench. Turtle is for Grand Cayman Island and the turtle farms where they raise Green Sea Turtles to return them to the sea.
Bridge of Lions across the intracoastal waterway in St Augustine, FL. Thomas Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC. Coke bottle for the tour we took of the Atlanta, GA bottling plant and Jack Daniel's label for the tour at Lynchburg, TN.

12 comments:

Redanne said...

Hi Sue, I love your box! You have obviously had some wonderful holidays and what a great reminder of them. I have had mine for a couple of years but only managed one little box.......I must keep it up now and do the rest a.s.a.p. Thanks for the visit. Anne x

Carol said...

It's lovely to have memories of your holidays.

Tamara said...

what a nice box you made. I can join the challenge now because yesterday i get my book.

Shelann said...

Clever adornments, it all came together so well.

Debbie said...

Love it! Fabulous keepsake of your trips!
Debbie
^..^

anna christensen crafts said...

What a great keepsake you have created. I hope you will display this somewhere you will see it often. I love the way you have done John and your initials and how many lovely memories this will always invoke. Fantastic project Sue

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

I love how this is so personal and has deep meaning! Fab job!

Debbie DP said...

Great Job. Love this box. The attention to details of course is my favorite part. Great use of the box.

Sue West said...

From one Sue W to another, I just love your box, a wonderful way to preserve happy memories.
Sue :)

EmeralDQueen said...

Oooh I love it, very nice configuration box :)

Annette Green said...

Inspiration always hits, eventually. This turned out great!

Jane said...

Great job on your box. Very clever.