We Must all Stand Together

Hello Friends,

Today's project has a masculine feel and I love it.  I also loved working with the Divided Drawer because it's made from wood, which means you can nail directly into it.  I wanted to combine wire, with other metals and paper in the idea-ology line and this substrate allows me to do that.  It's also not as big as the Divided Box so it's a great place to start if you have never done a mixed media piece.

I gathered a few supplies I thought might work for the project.

Both the Divided Drawer and Box are easy to work with because the shelves pull out leaving the entire box open for painting or adding paper.  For this project, I painted the drawer and the large Finial with black paint, letting it dry completely, before sanding the wood to expose the grain (see below).  Once I wiped away the dust from sanding, I took the Vintage Photo Distress Ink Pad and rubbed it directly over the painted surface to "brown up" the exposed wood.  And in a final step, I painted a thin coat of Collage Medium over the wood to seal it and give it a rich finish.
I did add paper from the Abandoned Paper Stash to the back wall of the drawer, although it is hard to spot in the finished piece.  Once the paper was in, the two shelves were glued back into the drawer with Collage Medium.  NOTE: the three compartments are not even, so make sure the larger compartment is at the top of the box.

I love these Finials because they make any shadowbox project seem complete.  Here, I added an eyelet to a small label and tied it to the Finial.  In a project like this one, I always rub Collage Medium over the front and back of the label (or any hanging item) to strengthen the paper.  This simple step will make it last much longer. 

Top Compartment:

The two back pieces are able to stand up with the help of small wooden blocks glued to the back. 

Registered card - Urban Layers

Phrase "we must all stand together" -  Clipping Sticker Book

Playing card - Baseboard Junk Drawer

Round card - Urban Layers (fits perfectly into the Monocle)

Key - Locket Keys + string
Monocle - red paint was used in the number

I thought I'd show you how I got the Monocle to stay in place on the lip edge of the drawer.  I cut a piece of wire and began wrapping through the hole at the top of the Monocle.  Make sure you leave wire on both ends (kinda like two tails).  Around and around until I had 4 loops on each side.  I drove a tack nail into the side of the drawer, about a 1/4" below the top edge.  Using needle nose pliers, I wrapped the two "tails" of wire around the tack nail leaving enough slack so the Monocle could sit flat on the lip edge.  I did add a bit of glue under the handle of the monocle to keep it level.

Center Section:

I cut 20+ pieces of  3 x 3" Distress Heavystock. With all the cut Heavystock on a craft mat, I sprayed them with Antique Linen Distress Spray Stain and dried them with the Heat-it Tool, repeating on the back side.  Next I glued ripped strips of vintage book paper to the center of the cards, so when folded, the text would show up.  I also inked the edged with Walnut Stain Distress ink and sprayed some of them with Iced Spruce and Weathered Wood Oxide Spray.  Once dry, I stitched down the fold line, leaving the threads long so they can be seen.

Before adding them to the compartment, I glued some together, added other ripped pieces and bundled a few with string.

The photo is from Photobooth.  I tinted it and roughed it up by bending the corners.  I added the eyelets with my Crop-a-dile, then ran a piece of wire through one eyelet, and up and out the other.  I hammered two tack nails into the edge of the wood, then wrapped the wire around each tack nail.  I was a bit worried about the sharp ends of the wire so I bent them back with small needle nose pliers.

Bottom Compartment:
The target has been cut on the left side to fit in the box (it is a whole circle in the pack). The pieces stand up with the help of small wooden blocks glued to the back.  All pieces have been rubbed with Distress Crayons in Walnut Stain or Evergreen Bough (in the case of the target).

Number card- Urban Layers
Target - Urban Layers
Metal bolt in the center of target - Machinery Heads
Small Arrow - Adornment Arrows with Gold Mixative Alcohol Ink + Mushroom Alcohol Ink
Number label - Field Notes Ephemera Pack
Chess piece - Small Finial painted red

Well, that's it!  I hope you liked todays tutorial.  The Divided Drawer makes a great substrate for so many things and so many styles.  This would look totally different if it was painted white and had flowers and butterflies inside.  The thing is, it would still work.

Now carry on,

paula