Curious Alice Altered Tins

What do you get when you cross Alice in Wonderland and blank Altoids tins? Only the best combination of things to craft with, that's what! Alice is the guest of the party at Alpha Stamps this month, and she's bringing a full deck of new and exciting products with her. Two things in particular that I was curious about were the Alice Altoids Insert, a miniature frame designed to fit the tin (I used both a scalloped insert and a Cheshire cat silhouette), and the Alice Covers collage sheet. The gorgeous images are vibrant, and the number included on the sheet gives you more options for altering a tin than you can shake a flamingo at. 

The inside of this tin has duplicate images cut from the Rustic Trees and Foliage collage sheet so I could sandwich pop dots between them, creating depth. The White Rabbit, bushes, and Alice have also been placed at different depths in the tin. The trim of red German Bouillon fit exactly around the tin and gave it a little shimmer.

The second tin, Tea Time, uses the Alice Altoids Insert Frame; this one being the grinning Cheshire cat who is observing the Hatter's tete a tete with Alice. 

Alice is perched on a chipboard armchair from the new Tiny Chipboard Alice Props sheet listening to the speech of the Hatter while the dormouse snoozes at the end of the table. 

Here you can see the tin insert a little better. The base of the tin is an upside down (how appropriate) wooden box foot glued to a wooden doll stand, and the top is simply decorated with a pile of 1/2" red paper roses, a bronze teapot charm, and a painted chipboard tart. It is lined with Yesterday Papillon and Amour Border Strips paper, has a band of black Stickles inside, and is trimmed off with black embroidery floss around the outside of the tin.

Everything used in both tins can be found HERE. 

The Fox, The Crow and the Cookie Cart

I was so excited to get this 1:12 scale miniature wheelbarrow from Alpha Stamps! There are umpteen possibilities for it- flower cart, gardening wheelbarrow, a wheelbarrow full of puppies, peddler's cart, or even use it as a base for an even tinier themed scene inside...oh, I have to get another one. Or three.

The idea for a cookie cart came quick because I had wanted to do a project based off a kooky song titled The Fox, The Crow and the Cookie for a long time and having the cart made it an easy decision. It was fortunate to find Alpha Stamps had  Aesop's Fables Foxes and Birds and Crows collage sheets, as well as pages of miniature sweeties to stuff in the cart!

An excerpt from the song:

Through mostly vacant streets a Baker from the outskirts of his town earned his living peddling sweets from a 

ragged cart he dragged around.

The clever Fox crept close behind, kept an ever watchful eye

for a chance to steal a Ginger spice cake or a

Boysenberry pie.

Looking down was the hungry Crow:

When the time is right I'll strike and condescend to the earth below

and take whichever treat I like!

The moment the Baker turned around to shoo the fox off from his cart,

the Crow swooped down and snatched 

a shortbread cookie and a German chocolate tart.

Using most unfriendly words that the village children had not yet heard,

The Baker shouted threats by

Canzonet to curse the crafty bird:

You rotten wooden mixing spoon!

Why, you midnight winged raccoon!

You better bring those pastries back, you no good, burnt-black-macaroon!

I had an exceedingly entertaining time putting it together, singing the song as I decorated the tiny cookies with Red Stickles (sitting in the miniature square cookie tin lid) and painting the polymer clay Mini French Loaves. The triangular shortbread cookies were made from the cut shapes in the cart's wheels, the croissants in the base of the miniature square cookie tin are from a push mold, and the round cookies (or cakes?) on the far right are painted pop dots. I managed to tuck in two milk bottles, and load the wooden tray with polymer clay macaroons, filled cookies from a mold, plus the rest of the  tiny cookies. 

Assembling the cart is fairly straightforward, but here are a few pictures showing how simple it is. The kit has eight pieces: the left and right sides with handles, the front and back, the base, two wheels, and the "kickstand" (whatever that bit is called).

Glue left and right sides on.

Glue on front and back pieces.

This isn't necessary, but I drilled two holes through a 1/8" dowel that was cut to the appropriate length, threaded it through the cart, then added the wheels on the ends of the dowel. I sanded a toothpick until it fit in the drilled hole to make it look like a linchpin. Easy peasy!

My list of supplies can be found HERE.

Thanks for looking, now go make something!