nicho box

I got a few nichos from Helga at Artchix, and decided to play around with them today...here's a reliquary box in it's not-quite-done state...this is a close up of the nicho, with a brooch I got at a house sale...on a piece of copper mesh. The background is not quite as icky blue in person - the box itself is a wooden cigar box that i cut a hole in with my trusty Dremel tool. then I applied a rust solution and a patina solution on it...the patina is showing off here:

here's the inside...the heart came from Absolutely Everything, a store in Topsfield, MA that lives up to it's namesake! I took a workshop from Michael Demeng there (see previous posts) in May or June, and couldn't get out of there without spending the mortgage money! check out their website - some excellent classes coming up:

The bottle inside has a scrap of paper from an old airline ticket that reads: "Retain this and your ticket stub as evidence of your journey." kinda cool. The inside will be finished in maroon leather with some moss. There's a piece of antique lace around the neck, and the stopper has a red jewel on top.

...here's the top...the color is icky...that's patina and rust around the nicho, not robin's egg blue:

so all in all, a lot done. i started this last night, then woke up around 4am and added more layers, then again at 6am, then again at 9am. lotsa layers. the Next Big Thing is still playing cat and mouse with me, but some shower time tomorrow may dislodge it. plus it's flea market day and that always gets my ya-ya's going. will try to remember my camera...it's 3 buildings filled with tetanus and junk! heaven! L.