Blog Hop--Treasure Box

For some time, I have been thinking about using stencils and metals to make a treasure chest. I only had to decide what theme to use. I have always loved Celtic Knots, so when I realized how many wonderful Celtic Knot stencils Dreamweaver had available, I knew I was on the right track.
I began by purchasing a wooden chest shaped box at my local craft store. It already had brass hardware, which I wasn't crazy about, so I sanded it. I also painted the box green to go with my Irish theme. The first coat was actually black and painted with a foam brush. I then put a few layers on of two different colors of green paint with a sea sponge.
Most of the metal was done with black coated aluminum. The part around the latch was with regular aluminum and alcohol inks because I very much wanted it to blend with the latch. The technique was a lot like the butterfly technique that I used on Monday, except that I pushed on the opposite side of the metal. In this case, I put the stencil face down on my hard surface. Then, I placed the metal on top, black side down. I used the teflon tool from Mercart (also available through Dreamweaver) to push the metal into the holes on the stencil. Then, I removed the stencil. This is a big difference from the previous post. I put the metal black side down on a piece of suede. I then used a "ball" ended tool (also in the beginner set) to push the metal into the suede on the parts that were already indented. When that was done, I flipped the metal over and laid it back on the hard surface. I used the teflon tool to "clean up" the lines. When I was satisfied with the embossing, I filled the back with the Mercart filler (also through Dreamweaver) and let it dry. After it was dry, I sanded it down to the aluminum on the embossed sections and cut around the piece with a regular pair of fine tipped scrapbooking scissors. I attached the pieces to the box with a thick, tacky glue (actually a product here in the States called Tacky Glue). I don't think that the glue is going to hold it in place permanently, so as soon as I can find a very fine hammer, I am planning on nailing them into place with metal tacks.
So, on to those fantastic stencils that I used. The lock was created with LL 540 Heartweave. This one was done on plain aluminum and inked later. The really fun bit on this was when I cut out the insides of the bottom loop to fit it over the latch. I then cut off the loop all together so that I could put it on the bottom of the latch. The emblem on the top is LL 345 Square Knot. Celtic Hexagon LL 381 is on both sides up near the top. I used LL 380 New Age Celtic as a decoration on the back by cutting it in half and putting one half on the lid and one half on the back. I positioned it to slightly overlap the hinges.
Probably my favorite to use on this was the Triangle Knot LM 180. I made four of them. After they were prepared, I merely folded each in half and used them on the corners. I just loved the look that they gave the finished piece.
So, now that you have finished here, don't forget to leave a comment. You will want to win wonderful stencils! (Oh, and you could always sign up as a follower--I love followers!) Then, be sure to hop on over to Louises blog here. She always has great projects. Have a great time hopping, and don't forget to come back again some time!