By The Sea

I signed up for an upcoming Altered Tin swap. Actually, I didn't make the deadline I was hemming and hawing about it for so long. But they let me join in anyway and boy and I glad they did.

This is my first ever Altered Tin so I wanted to get a head start on it in case it did not turn out. Well, it did, actually I would say it is pretty darn close to exactly what I envisioned.

I decided to go with a Treasure Chest type theme. I have always loved the beach, it is fun and romantic and carefree and dangerous all at the same time. Plus many of my favorite childhood memories are from times my family spent on the beach. So here is my own personal beach to carry around with me...although I am giving it away...because I live no where near the beach.

Before starting I sanded the tin and coated it with PVA and then a layer of Gesso. When all that prep was done I affixed the female image and painted around her with a crackle paint that I later aged a little with some brown ink. I sealed that and added various rocks and real sea shells!

Inside I coated it entirely with sand, yes, real sand. The inside top has one of my favorite sayings by William Blake stamped on a handmade paper that to me kinda resembled a rocky beach. The inside bottom (deep section) is what I am most proud of. I cut out various sea shells from an old post card and coated them with clear embossing powder and then elevated them to various heights inside the tin on small wooden dowels. Down in the bottom of the tin I added some rocks and sea shells.

All around the outside of the tin I attached various beads and other ephemeral that reminded me of the beach/ocean/sea. I did this by first punching holes in the tin with an awl and then looping fishing wire through them. This step was actually done before I did any work on the inside of the tin.

To finish it all off I attached a mermaid charm that I aged with some rust colored Alcohol ink and a sand colored thread (the only thing I don't like). They guard the treasure inside.