Dog Days of Summer

OPUS GLUEI has turned up the heat this summer.
Nah, not really. They're just using the phrase as the starting point for this weeks challenge.




My first step was to identify the direction I was going to go for this challenge. I had no clue. Then this little darling

(This is the look he gives me when he wants a treat.)

walked by and I had a moment. You know when the angels sing and the lightbulb lights up. Just like that, I knew that my subject would be

DOG.

I had to then get him out of the picture and make a couple copies in case, you know, just in case. I fit 15 onto a 4x6 photo. But printed it onto cardstock cuz it wasn't going to be a real picture and I wanted the texture of cardstock.

I looked through my stash and found some bits and brads that would work for the cover and the inside.

Then I sanded the lid of the Altoids Smalls tin. It's about 2 inches tall and a little over 1 inch wide. I took off most of the color, but left some for interest. I didn't worry about the raised letters cuz I knew I would be covering them up. Mostly.

After sanding, I colored the tin with my Copic markers. Cuz I was too lazy to pull out the bin with the alcohol ink and the markers were right there. You would have done the same thing.

Then I stamped little paw prints in Brown Staz-On and little bones in Black Staz-On. I wanted the paw prints to step aside cuz I had the metal paw prints. Which were also colored with Copics.

Then I let the inks dry. And waited. Not so patiently for the ink to dry.

Then I used UTEE on the lid, for the first time ever. I put on lots of layers because I wanted the lid to be smooth. Morgan is going to be carrying this around. I know she will, and I want things to stay put.

I don't know why I waited so long to use this wonderful stuff, but I did.

I know, I know, Silly Me.

I cut Kraft paper to fit inside. Versamark stamped the paw print on one and the bone on the other. I used my Copics to color this little doggie to be more like Zeke's coloring. Added the other things. Dimensional glazed some seed beads around the inside. (Waiting patiently for drying isn't one of my "talents" as evidenced by the "white" not dried glue in the beads above.) Covered all but the UTEE surfaces with Gel Medium and let it dry.

I added one of Tim's chain/clip thingys and a couple of charms. I only put one layer of the UTEE on the bottom because I like the texture. You can kind of see it in this picture.

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Let me know if you have any tips for future altered tin projects. I have ONE for you:

Don't put anything around the edges of the inside lid.

I tried to put the seed beads around the inside lid. It didn't work because the bottom tin has to have someplace to go. So I had to scrape them all out and used my Copics to dot some faux beads instead.

There, now you know the ugly truth. Some of the seed beads were harmed during the making of this little shrine.

It isn't something I am proud of, but hopefully, by sharing this story, I will save someone from the same horrible fate.

I am also submitting this for:

Stamptacular Sunday Challenge - # 71 Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails

Creative Craft Challenges - Animal Antics

Shelly's Images Blog - This Place is A Zoo

The Play Date Cafe - PDCC 41 - Color Challenge

Thanks for looking.