MY IRISH MOTHER

I planned to make this piece for a long time. The used Whitman Sampler candy box set on the top of my refrigerator for over a year. In the end the delay was fortuitous because I learned some new things about glues. The lid of the box is covered with various scrapbook papers in different shades of green which have been aged and randomly painted with white gesso. I love the paper with the green crowns. Then the lid is covered in a thick layer of Golden Gel Medium (matte) and an old, very fragile piece of exquisite lace with tattered edges was then embedded into the layer of gel medium. After that dried I placed a raised oval photograph of my mother and her family, circa 1925, which had been decoupaged to a thick piece of cardboard and the edge embossed with Queen's Gold. It is finished with a vintage amber four leaf clover broach. I stamped, embossed in dark green and cut out the words "Irish Treasure" and glued them around the sides of the oval photo. I dyed a vintage knitting spacer with green alcohol ink and placed it around my mother's face to indicate the other meaning of the treasure. The sides of the box are covered with handmade dark green paper with shamrocks embedded into it. The inside is papered with a striped green paper and the a bit of flowered lace painted with green lumiere. I love this box and I think it is an apt tribute to my mother's angelic face and her Irish heritage. It is my own Irish Treasure box. If you click on the picture, you can make it larger to see the details.
Have any of you made your own family heirlooms?