Puppy Kisses! And a Lessology Candy Challenge....

 

I've been working on this one for a couple days now.  It really has been a labor of LOVE in many ways.  First... do you see that adorable Craftin' Desert Divas pup peeking out?  Don't worry... you'll see more of him in a bit....

 

 

Lessology is having a challenge this month called Candy Land.  Lessology is a fun and cool challenge where you have to use at least one upcycled item in your project.  When I first saw it this month I wasn't sure what I was going to do.  Candy.  And I'm not one to normally take things literally.  The best part of Lessology is it's open to interpretation.  You really must check this one out!  And since we're all hearts and valentinesy I'm also playing along with Chouxchoux Paper Art's Valentines/Hearts Challenge.

 

 

However, when a friend at work came to me and said her daughter used to make little polymer clay figures and she was cleaning out and was going to throw away her "rejects".. did I want them?...!!! ... well of course I did!!  See the little red and white swirled lolly?  That was from her stash.  This was my jumping off point... upcycled item Number 1... saved it from the trash..  Oh! ... and there's a beautiful crocheted flower doily under there as well.....

 

I knew I wanted to do something with the pup... and a box... and the candy... but what box?   I didn't have anything salvaged that was the right size or shape... a heart wasn't even on my radar... and while rummaging through my cupboards I found this little kraft heart box that I bought 'cause it was cheap and on sale and I'd probably do something with it someday.  Not upcycled...but still perfect... heart shaped box of candy anyone?  Here you can see one of the awesome arrows from that Heart of Hearts die I got from Craftin Desert Divas last week..  Also... an oh so adorable little crocheted heart... a gift from a friend... Tracey...as was the one above... and you can check out her blog here.   (when we're done... and it's oh so worth it!).  And don't forget my favorite little Gold Bling Gems from CTMH... I don't know what I'll do when they don't have these any more... they wouldn't do that to me... would they?  Also you can see here where I painted the top of the box in gold metallic paint and then used some clear texture paste and a Tim Holtz lace stencil to dress it up a bit.

 

 

The sides of my heart box were covered with CTMH gold dot washi tape... another LOVE of mine... gold foil tape... LOVE... and some of my new heart and gold washi tape that I got from the Cutting Café Shop. LOVE more!  Some Paper Sweeties ribbon... as many ribbons as I have.. my favorite and most versatile is the crinkled dyed seam binding... I just love the way it's all .. well... crinkly.  A button from a friend and a little key dangling... 

 

AND check out the back of the box too... a gift from my friend Mitra.. more about her below... some metal tape from Lowes painted with some metal primer and then more gold metallic paint... I LOVE it... and it's just as beautiful as the rest of it.

 

There he is!!  I was stuck when it came to the inside.. how would I do it.  So I headed over to my friend Mitra's blog for some inspiration... just inspiration... and while I was looking at her oh so yummy projects, it came to me and back to creating I go... (and be sure to check out her blog here too!  Also very much worth it... and a good read).  So... I added some of the gold dotted washi and gold foil tape to the inside (which was no small feat) and then I took some of the tissue paper from my recent Cutting Café order and cut it in a large heart shape... shoved it into the bottom of the box to form it.. then took a little bit of Modge Podge to the box and placed it back inside (Upcycled Item #2).  I cut the heart large so that some of the tissue would stick up above the flowers I covered the bottom of the box with along with some more gold bling and just a bit of glitter... 

So... to top off the whole candy theme... what's better than adding a few candy hearts?  Yup... real candy... talk about literal!  I just added some Modge Podge to them and when they were dry I had to trace over the cute little sayings because they didn't show up enough.  Upcycled item #3 (really did save these from the trash too... yuk... does anyone really enjoy eating these?)  A couple more doilies too...

 

Sorry for all the words... but I thought you might like to know!  Thanks for stopping and stop again soon!