Steampunk frame shadow box

I have just spent the weekend at the fabulous retreat in Suffolk run by A Trip Down Memory Lane.  Got lots done and had a wonderful time :-)  I have some completed projects to share, but first I thought I had better show you the finally finished project from a class at the last retreat in April!

It was a technique class, taught by Jane Hewitt, the basic idea was to stick die-cut shapes to a frame, cover with foil tape, and paint over with black paint which was then rubbed back as desired to reveal the silver colour beneath.

This is how it looked at the end of the class:

It stayed that way for a while, in fact until I went to the Stamperama show in August, where I bought this shadow box.  It has an acrylic insert which slides into the groove to form the complete frame, I have taken the photo with it pulled slightly out so you can see how it works:

I painted the box black, while it was drying I had a little play with the frame.  I die-cut some gears in a coppery colour card, stuck them to the silver gears, then stamped/embossed in black over the frame with a script stamp.  Then I used Treasure Gold in Onyxite to highlight the gears and the frame, waited for it all to dry and sealed with Mod Podge.

Then came the interesting part .... I stuck the box to the backing board inside the frame and attached the little screw eyes to hold the charms.  This was a mistake, I should have sorted out the box before I fixed it to the board and it did cause me some problems!  Lesson learned for the next time!

The tiny travel charms are attached using jump rings and a lobster claw fastener, quite fiddly to insert.  They have an additional hidden element -  I have put a blob of Blu-tak behind each one, to stop them spinning and ensuring that they are all the right way round, all the time!

Here is the finished frame, photo'ed without the acetate front:

And a couple of close-ups:

 



Now all I need to do is collect some more charms :-)