My New Tool Caddy.....

Hi folks, well jumping sticks.... It's all done, finally.... Finished.....

I've been working on a lovely new project for a few days now and I have to say.... I'm quite pleased with the results. In fact - I'm chuffed!!!!

I wanted a new tool carrier for a while. I've bought a few different ones in the past but have always fell out with them after a couple of weeks. For some reason, I never seemed to be able to find anything that I put in there!!! 

Which when you are holding on to something which needs sticking down with one hand and rummaging about with the other hand looking for the thing you knew you put in that specific pocket but now seems to have done a flit..... It gets a bit frustrating. 

So I thought about it and thought about what I really wanted.... an old style wooden tool box. Similar to the old milk bottle carriers. So off on the hunt I went. Which was so unsuccessful!!!! I did find a few... that were too big, too small, to long, too heavy, didn't hold enough weight.... I mean come on!!!!

Finally after a few hours of internet searching I came across one that carried bottles. YES!!! so it will take on the weight of my crafty tools. Size? YES perfect. Made of wood? YES perfect.... It was all coming in to play. Until I looked at it in finer detail. It wasn't pretty looking at all!!!
Here is the before....

Well that was such a shame (insert sarcasm here) - as that was the perfect opportunity to get the crafty stash out and start playing. 

I decide I wanted my new tool caddy to be a fabulous creation so picked out some of my fave IndigoBlu stamps. I thought it would be a great advertisement for IndigoBlu products too when I am out and about doing my IndigoBlu demos and workshops. 


So.... here is my finished creation...

After a good sanding and couple of coats of IndigoBlu White Gee-Soo Good! I went with the luscious IndigoBlu English Cottage Artist's Acrylic Paint using the stunning Townhouse Teal and Park Lane colours from the Summer collection. 
I still can't decide which one is my favourite in the Summer Collection but I went with these two as I think I'm still going through my blue/turquoise/teal phase. 


I used Park Lane on the inside of the caddy and Townhouse Teal on the outside. 

The IndigoBlu stamps I chose to work with were:  Elizabeth Bennet, Nature 1, Jane, Crackleglaze Background, Honeycomb Background, Bubbles Background, Rose Blush, Butterfly, Harlequin.


I stamped each of the stamps several times on to one ply of white cosmetic tissue with Versafine Vintage Sepia ink. After tearing the tissue around the edge of the stamped images I decided where to put them on the caddy. 

To adhere the stamped images on to the caddy I used IndigoBlu Slap It On Matte. This is THE most AMAZING stuff!!! And its so easy to use, just do what it says on the bottle!!! Literally.... SLAP IT ON!!! 

I placed the stamped tissue on to the caddy and used a large brush to apply the Slap It On until the tissue had adhered to the wood. 

I worked my way around the caddy until all the images I wanted were adhered in suitable areas.  

The next step involved one of my favourites. MEGA FLAKES!!! IndigoBlu Mega Flakes are just MEGA. They are huge! I chose a selection of the stamps, Yorkshire Dale Mega Flakes and along with IndigoBlu trusty FlitterGlu, got gilding. 

On both of the caddy ends, I wanted to add some more, different techniques. On the Elizabeth Bennet/Rose Blush side I chose to stamp the images on to acetate with FlitterGlu and add Mega Flakes. I painted on the reverse, over the flowers on both stamps with the Park Lane Acrylic Paint. I then adhered them over the top of the original stamped image. 

On the opposite side of the caddy, I wanted to add something around Jane. I chose to add some IndigoBlu Altered Ego's to create some 3D art and chose the Florals collection to work with. 

I arranged the Altered Ego's in quite a random way, layering, adding and changing each piece until I was happy. I gave them a coat of white Gee-Soo Good! and mixed up the paint with water in spray bottles. I sprayed alternate colours until I was happy with the colour. 

To finish, I wrapped some jute string around each end of the handle to create a more rustic look. 

I am so chuffed with this project. I love how each little element has come together and created something that original was so boring to look at, is now something that is worth carrying around. 

This is definitely my new handbag!!!



Bits and Bobs I used...

* IndigoBlu English Cottage Artist's Acrylic Paint - Townhouse Teal, Park Lane.
* IndigoBlu white Gee-Soo Good!
* IndigoBlu FlitterGlu.
* IndigoBlu Stamps: Bubbles Background, Elizabeth Bennet, Nature 1, Jane, Crackleglaze Background, Honeycomb Background, Rose Blush, Butterfly, Harlequin. 
* IndigoBlu Slap It On Matte.
* IndigoBlu Mega flakes - Yorkshire Dales.
* Versafine Vintage Sepia.

All these products can be found on the 
IndigoBlu Website.


I would like to enter this project in to the following challenges:

Rhedd's Creative Spirit - altered art August challenge. 
Altered Eclectics - August challenge.