It’s been one month today that we lost our Mother. She was a special woman of many, many talents. One of her talents was she was the go-to person to fix things around the house. She could be hard, and move rocks for landscaping, as well as fashion conscience by making her prom dress (by hand) or knitting Barbie clothes for me and my sisters.
She spent her working hours usually at factories, of which she had the interest. Her last job was at GE Medical Systems as an inspector of Xray tubes. The new things, MRI’s and CT scans were just starting to be used. She gave me her tool box, probably because I didn’t have one. I never used it, as it was a little rusty, and I wanted to use it for something special. I saw some videos on Tim Holtz items and his fabulous alcohol inks, so I thought I would try it out.
First thing I did was try and get rid of some of the rust. My dear husband showed me that with a little gun oil, you can diminish the rust. I scrubbed the toolbox, inside and out with a rag and the gun oil and got it so all the rust turned a brown color. I let it set for a couple of weeks so I could gather some other materials together from Joann’s.
I used the alcohol ink in various colors, a dark purple, a dark blue, a red and the gold mixtivie. Along with those colors, I applied them with the Tim Holtz ink applicator and some alcohol blending solution. I also bought the little gears which are on the sides of the box and the Tim Holtz vintage type writer keys. I decorated the box with little gems and die cuts, distressed and then decoupaged on all the areas. I chose the die cuts (from K & Company’s Que Sera Sera package) that meant something in her life. To the celtic knots in the front, to the roses, birds, and butterflies. I also got some nice tin roses that I put to surround her name label. Please feel free to visit my Flickr site at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nancypatterson/?saved=1 to see more pictures as well as close ups on all sides.
I am keeping all my colored pencil tools now inside. I rarely travel with my colored pencils, as my methods are very slow and detailed. But, if I wanted to, I could take this tool box out. It weighs less than 5lbs. In it I have my battery operated eraser, blending pencils and markers, some Prismacolor Art Stix, erasing tools, ruler, and brush. I hope I honored her memory and her personality by embellishing this tool box.
