Smile away Shadowbox

Smile away Shadowbox

         Since I am feeling much more cheerful and happy finally [Thank you so much  my blogger pals-- your supportive comments helped a lot to cheer me up!] ,I wanted to make a crafty project which was so  colorful and cheerful it would chase away any blues !
          I built a shadowbox around the theme " Smile your heart out" the sentiment on an epoxy sticker my friend Lisa sent me!

Sponge Cloud

         Everybody has cloudy days and so I added a cloud [ cut from packaging sponge] just to remind one that eventually the sun will come up !

         I embossed the sentiment " Laughter is the best medicine" in gold and I bet you agree that many a times Laughter is certainly the best medicine! Yes believe me as a doctor I see that all too often...the power of ones emotional state and positive attitude can work wonders! Last month we operated on an 86 yer old man with advanced cancer of the larynx[ voicebox]. His postoperative period was so turbulent as his aged body struggled to heal and at times we even regretted having given him the option of surgery even though that was his best chance! But in all these years we have not seen such a fighter...he was just raring to go back home and I think his positive attitude did more wonders than anything we did and he was soon able to join his grandchildren at home beating the deadly disease and the turmoils of its treatment! 

Laughter is the best medicine

       My shadowbox has a dominance of bright pink and cheerful yellow with oodles of greenery too! The embossed frame was sponged with distress ink and dusted with pearl powders for a gorgeous shimmer.

Cute Fairy

        Everyone has a guardian angel to look over them dont they. I am not deeply religious in the temple going- daily praying fashion but I do believe someone watches over us! And anyway the little fairy looks too cute to not smile!She is actually  a button I stuck on an stamped- die cut butterfly!

Glittered palms

       Well what else can make one smile...something that reminds you of a holiday ...palm trees on sandy beaches..or more accurately coconut trees in my case as they remind me of my hometown of Kerala ! The coconut trees are Spellbinders die cuts and inked in distress ink and glittered over with distress glitter.

Exotic flowers

         I don't know if there really are pink pears and big swirls of yellow berries in the real world but they looked yummy enough to add to my shadowbox!

Golden gate

          This  beautiful golden gate is a Spellbinders die cut and I seem to want to add to every project [ you can see it in our Snail diorama too] ...do you do that too...use a new craft supply in a near obsessive fashion...?

Shadowbox frame

        The picture above shows the shadowbox elements and the wood- glass frame I dressed up to go on top .

3 D floral sticker

          The butterfly was stamped [ hero arts stamp] and heat embossed , water colored and die cut with a Sizzix die. All the beautiful 3 D decoupage floral stickers  you see were sent to me by Lisa [ I am constantly amazed at the generosity of the crafting community!]I added them to my shadowbox so that I can treasure them for life[ Thank you so much Lisa!]

Whipped spackle

          The white snow like elements on the edges of my frame are " Whipped Spackle " and you can read more about Whipped Spackle here : Mixed Media tutorial , Altered Heart tutorial , Texture Media experiments

Laugh and Smile Shadowbox

         The golden lamp post is a Challenge die cut and most of the leaves are Heartfelt creations Classic Leaf die cuts I jazzed up following this tutorial : Leaf tutorial
Supplies : Dies : Cheery Lynn  butterfly, Cheery Lynn  grass,Cheery Lynn  lamp post, Sizzix Butterfly, Heartfelt creations Classic Leaf , Memory box cloud, Spellbinders gate, Spellbinders palm trees
Stamps : Hero Arts Butterfly Rubber Stamp [ in combo with coordinating sizzix dies], Laughter is the best medicine Rubber stamp
Misc : Itsy bitsy frame embossing folder,whipped spackle, Jesse james fairy button, Pearl powders,Distress inks