OK no jokes about the whiff please, Irene has said enough for everyone lol but finally … after not having a bath or shower for a week (because of the op on my leg) … I had a long, long soak last night so that the stitches would dissolve.  The leg now looks like the colours I have used on my box  (black and purple)!!!!  The stocking stays on during the day for two more weeks but it can come off at night, phew that will be a relief in itself.  Irene and myself have still been Skypeing and crafting which has been a life saver for me.

How many of you does this happen to, you reach over for a paintbrush, which happens to be kept in an old plastic mug, and they all fall over with brushes falling everywhere?  Got so fed up with this happening that an idea started to form in my head.  Plus the satisfaction of making something from start to finish without knowing how it is going to turn out is a real buzz.

These are some of the items which I started with, which I am sure you recognise, toilet roll holders and a block of wood getting a once over with black gesso.

Below is the finished make and also a few before and after pics.  No measurements are given because everyone uses different loo rolls so each make would end up a different size.  My box ended up being, 6″  x   5  1/2″   x   4 1/2″    Hopefully from the pics you can see where I was going with the plan and the block of wood at the bottom makes it very heavy which gives the stability to the whole project.  The ladies peeking out of the window remind me of “The Ladies Of The Night”, what do you think??

A bit further on with the project and the loo rolls were also painted black before adding to the block of wood.  Grey board sides were added (recycled from my bit basket, some far away project which never made the grade).  Starting to take shape now.

All frames are cut from the Tim Holtz Window Box die which I crackled and painted.  Paint colour is called Amethyst from the JOFY  Limited Edition  at PaperArtsy  and used with some black gesso.  Crackle paste was used with the Fluer-de-lis stencil mask.  Only a teensy tiny bit of stamping  and this was mainly on the odd bits of G45 paper.  I did stamp on the bottom of the box just to tie it all together.

Entering into the challenge at Artist Trading Post called ‘Lets Celebrate’ – I am celebrating the fact that my brushes won’t be rolling all over my desk anymore … YAY!!!

Nikki from A Vintage Journey has chosen a theme of ‘Let’s Celebrate’ which is the same as the above challenge.  You also have to say for this challenge what influences you from Tim Holtz.  For me it’s always his dies, they are my all time favourite cutting dies.

Mr Brush Box is now sitting proudly on my craft desk and what a gorgeous thing it is to look at.