Crafter's Travel Lap-desk (Caardvark Verse/Quote Challenge) ~ StampznewBright

ETA: Hi You lovely Lovey People You,
I gotta taking Wednesday off--to get over the hump.
Anyone have sinus advise?
stampy hugs, :o) mel

(click the pic to see it close up)

The new Caardvarks challenge
involves Verses or Quotes...

You can check out the yummy stuff
by the design team & join in the fun here:

VERSE/QUOTE CHALLENGE
(There will be RAKing of stamps!--just so's you know!) ;O)

I had a riot with these images from the challenge Sponsor: Unity Stamp Co. They must have a zillion sweet stamp images. As soon as I saw this cute car image & the sentiment "Home is where your story begins," I knew I wanted to make a project to do with travel.

I added the first part of this quote: "The world is a book, and those who do not travel read but one page"--Saint Augustine

So, you may be wondering...

...What on earth is this thinger?

It's a traveling lap-desk for crafters, what else?!? bwahahaha

It's made from a 12x12 storage case. I originally thought this would be good for kids (to organize stuff to entertain them on the road), but we haven't any kidlets yet, sighhhh <--ignore interjection of maternal ~~clock~~ time-bomb. ;o) Just kidding honey! (He reads this, LOL)

Anywho, I'm a big kid, so I made one to travel with my bestest toys. I thought it might be a neat gift idea to share with you...

Here's a shot of the inside:

(The black stuff is a fun foam message board which doubles as a piercing mat.)

With the cost of the case being under $20.00, it might make a nice affordable gift for your favourite crafty person. It's a snifty opportunity to work in the 12x12 scrapbook scale/format, if you're like me & you usually make cards.

Wanna make one?

Choosing the Container: If you want to use your travel lap-desk as a piercing mat, it may be a good idea to check (while shopping for your 12x12 container) that it opens all the way (like a book) so that you can lay it in your lap or on a table without emptying the contents.

message board:

Here's a closer shot of the inside of the lid
(the message board made from layers of fun foam
which has beads sewn on for a lil' razzmatazz):

It has 4/5 layers of fun foam which means that you can use thumbtacks in it (they even stay!) :O) The fun foam sticks nicely to itself & the container with really good double-sided tape. BUT...my favourite part about this fun foam mat is that it doubles as a piercing mat or for shaping flowers. And it's big so you can pierce a lot! LOL.

Those turquoise mother of pearl buttons are glued onto thumbtacks with Crystal Lacquer. It helps the buttons to stick if you scratch the thumbtacks and the backs of your buttons. Directions here.

GREEN: :O) The fun foam is recycled (since i always craft with a 4 layer 12x12 piercing mat made of fun foam. I just used an old holey one & renewed the top layer so it was perty & even. (No need to fill landfills with fun foam, right?)

(cheap) note pad:

the note pad is made with a scrap of homemade map paper to match the front of the box & some plain copy paper cut in a curvy shape & slapped on with staples.

mini pin cushion:

see that weird black rectangular thing in the right hand corner?...

...It's a mini pin cushion to hold my favourite needles. It's just made from fun foam layers & stuck in with really good double-sided tape. (It's an essential for me since I hand sew so much.)

Other things I keep in my crafty car box:

--plastic box with: adhesives, threads, stickles, bottles of beads
--sketchbook
--Stamped images to colour
--Watercolour pencils for colour sketching
--Copic markers/other colouring supplies
--Stamp images that I'm planning to work with (stamped on a full sheet so I can make notes based on the image & get ideas.)
--paper packs
--the cards I'm working on (ie sewing...) a plastic case protects them & hold bits
--plastic cases with beads (or whatever I'm currently usin')
--pencil case with pencil/pen eraser...Niji watercolour brush, blender pen & paper piercer
--A good craft book/magazine
--ipod
--notebook (moleskin)

You'd be astounded at what you can fit in there!

Ideas for Possible Features/Contents:

--wet erase to do list on acetate
--page protector folder with templates envelopes etc
--inspiration sheets with the bits for your projects (to match up for organized shopping)
--small case with a magnet in it for brads/eyelets (magnet prevents spills)

And this is such a cool coincidence.....

...it fits inside this bag!

(which was a gift from the ultra generous ladies who ran the 3D challenge blog Carrie & Pamela who are now my fabulous fellow Caardvarkians (and shame on me for taking so long to post it! SO sorry Ladies.) It has the neatest pocket that you can slide a matching image into! :O)

You can find the bags here.

(There are all kinds of cool varieties.)

The Bitty Details:

The car image, frame image & sentiment are all...

....embossed on heavy weight vellum
....coloured from the front & back with Copics
....layered over patterned Gesso cardstock
....beaded
....and embroidered

The buttons & Crochet flowers are from my beautiful Bam Bam (aka Grandma.) She crocheted the flowers herself (she sent me about 150 of them!!! Lucky lucky lucky me, hey?) I dyed them with craft reinker (tempting turquoise) Besides colouring the crochet thread, it stiffens the flowers a little, so they'll stand up to travel.

The map cardstock is just a map of BC printed out, cut out in a curvy shape & sewn.

The quilted black squares are embossed with different Cuttlebug folders & stitched onto white 12x12 cardstock, then rubbed with chalk pastels.

The hinges are grungeboard pieces painted with Broken China crackle paint & impressed with a wooden batik block to distress them.

Travel boxes for...

...Scrapbooking
...Sewing
...Kids (books, colouring books & crayons, snacks, games, toys....)
...Art supplies
...whatever you like. ;o)

Thanks for stopping in!
Hope this was useful to you,