Sunday 6 September 2009

It's all about the Journey......

It is better to travel than to arrive....... Are we there yet?

This month's challenge on GAS MAMMA is an altered matchbox with the theme of 'Travel' and all the above had gone through my head along with a trunk full of postcards, a suitcase, some kind of miniature travel journal...... but I am in a somewhat frivolous mood this week, largely I think due to the fact that we managed a meet last week with MAMMA herself and the London MAMMA girls in Covent Garden.



Perhaps it was the fact that the London Transport Museum was there that got me thinking about modes of transport rather than travel but this is what I came up with (Well a double decker bus would be a bit of a stretch for a matchbox wouldn't it?)



I used the inside of the matchbox to create the top part of the car, covered it with paper and then painted with acrylics (should probably have done a third coat but I am way too impatient) and a thin layer of dimenional glaze to give the bodywork a showroom finish (work with me here). The banquette is made from Enammelling Magic and stamped with a rubber texture sheet. The runner board is a slim piece of metal painted black. The tyres and steering wheel are curtain rings wound with wire and painted and the folded 'hood' or canopy is folded black tissue paper. Now I look at it it bears more than a passing resemblance to a kid's TV character - maybe I should have used wobbly eyes instead of the diamonds for the headlights!! Overall it's a bit wonky and I don't suppose it will take much handling but kept me occupied for an hour or three - I love it when I get a silly idea and it works. Well, sort of lol.



The photos have shown up a couple of bits of paintwork that need touching up before I send it out so will have to put it back in the body shop.... now how exactly am I going to send this through the post?!!

11 comments:

Jan said...

Oh my goodness Cindy.... this is incredible!!!! What a great idea and what a fantastic job you've made of it! BRILLIANT!

nancy said...

Cindy, this is genius!!

Mooneybeams said...

I love this! What a fab idea!

Nicks said...

wowsy Cindy this is brilliant!!!!

truly altered!

Deborah said...

Wow, Cindy! This is totally amazing! Never have thought of it in a million years.

Funny thing coincidences. I often come across a word I don't know, look it up, and then see it everywhere. But to be using a book on the pre-raphaelites quite by chance just after I'd mentioned them is seriously spooky :-)

I saw the steampunk stuff in Craft Stamper (in WH Smiths, mine still hasn't come!) and it is only vaguely steampunk. Colours are too girly. I think there is a steampunk group on flickr.

Mooneybeams said...

Just saw your little houses in Craft Stamper - yay! You've been published!

PeregrineBlue said...

Cindy: I am so impressed with this. No matter how I read the instructions, I wouldn't know where to begin. You have really impressed us all.

Zuzu's Blog said...

thank you for sharing this... and showing one that was made at another time is perfectly acceptable as its still sharing ideas, especially as the challenge is new and may have taken a lot of people unaware this month..
and as for that fantastic little car.. i think its the most altered matchbox ive seen. great detail with the little spare wheel on the back and everything. Great work :)

Ginger said...

I would never have guessed it was a matchbox. I came to your page and started to look for a matchbox and it was not until I really started to read the information I realised I was looking at it all the time. The most altered matchbox I have ever seen. very clever. Thank you for takng part this month and uploading your blog to our challenge.

Andria said...

WOW, amazing, totaally original.

Moira said...

Wow, and er well wow again, what an amazing alteration, I am, most unusually, stuck for words! Love it

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