Steampunk Shadowbox with Lori

I'm a huge fan of Steampunk, and one of my favorite things is to combine vintage with bling, so that's exactly what I did for this project.  I started with a shadowbox and the Steampunk Debutante paper pad from Graphic 45.  You can accomplish a similar project with any of the Graphic 45 paper pads - the best part is that they have 2 sheets of every paper, including the punch-out tags & images!  This means you can use an entire image from one sheet and cut portions of the same image from the other sheet, layer with some foam adhesive, and you've got some great dimension going - a must have in a shadowbox.

Here's my completed project:

Now, here are some details and helpful hints.  First, see that big picture in color?  Yeah, there was no spot big enough to put that in the shadowbox.  But lucky for me, there were three smaller boxes in a row that were all the same height.  Here's how I altered the space to contain this picture:

Here's my shadowbox as I bought it.  (You can also find these in thrift stores or antique stores as printer trays, depending on the look you want.)  See how those three spaces line up together?

Here's the picture with it to get an idea of the size.  I did measure the combined opening, and trimmed a bit from the side to fit.  I wouldn't adhere this directly to the top of the frame, because it's likely to get bumped and the picture could get pushed in or torn.  (Especially in my house, where children like to touch things.)

I cut a piece of black cardstock to the size of the picture plus 1".  My shadowbox is 1/2" deep, so I scored the CS at 1/2" on both sides.

I checked the size with the sides folded to be sure it would fit properly, then I adhered the picture to the front (not shown here to make it easier to see).

Once my picture was adhered, I put adhesive from my Scotch ATG on the side tabs and adhered it into the space. 


Now, on to the fun part - decorating!  FYI, sepia toned photographs look great with this paper pad (and with most vintage look papers).  I decided on the papers and items I wanted to use, and dry fit them into each space.  I also cut a Family Time title using my Cricut Expression and the A Child's Year cartridge.  After fitting was complete, I separated my papers and pieces in two piles: neutrals and colors.  I got out my Glimmer Mist and sprayed all of the color items with Pearl, and all of my neutral items with Creme de Chocolat.

Once the Glimmer Mist was dry, I chose some items I wanted to highlight as glossy or a glass-like finish, like this lightbulb and (harder to see) the inner portion of this tag.  I carefully used Glossy Accents to outline and fill these areas and let those dry.

Once dry, I adhered the papers in the spaces using my Scotch ATG.  I added some copper brads to some of my punch-out images, then layered in my punch-outs using adhesive foam squares.

Once everything was installed in the spaces, I pulled out my Stickles for some extra bling.   I used touches of Broken China, Scattered Straw (both Distress Stickles), and Black Diamond on parts of my punch-out images.

 Here's a reminder of the products I used from Cutters Creek:

• Steampunk Debutante paper pad by Graphic 45
• Scotch ATG and Foam Adhesive Squares
• Glimmer Mist
• Stickles
  
• Glossy Accents
• Cricut Expression