I made this shrine from all kinds of Americana knick-knacks and assembled them into a California wine crate. Basically, to make it you need to:

Paint your wine crate, line the back of it with fabric (I went with red w/ white stars). Next you want to add flat objects to the sides. Magnets (glue them on) work perfect for this! In the center I used a note holder and inserted a picture to serve as my focal point, and then I continued to add other objects around it. I even added some eye screws at the inside top so I could have Elvis's glittery blue jacket dangling! I also placed several miniature toys and pictures. On the outside top, I glued down what used to be holiday ornaments. Oh, I almost forgot - I painted some wood stars and hearts and sprinkled them throughout. This is my version of "folksy", therefore I really didn't use any glitter, except for what might be in the objects (like the jacket). If you look close at this piece, you will see all kinds of things like perfume bottles, Mardi Gras beads, a Tabasco sauce bottle and a button from the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Click on the picture for a bigger view.

Let's talk glues. I used several. I mostly used hot glue, but sometimes hot glue is not strong enough to hold heavy objects. In that case, I put a dab of E6000, and then put a dab og hot glue and it worked as yummy as hot apple pie with whipped cream. Dang! speaking of apple pie, I should have included that in there somewhere...Maybe I can go through a McDonald's drive-thru and buy a mini-apple pie, come home and eat it while smiling at my Americana Folk Art Shrine.

Happy 4th of July to you!
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* All content/photos copyright, Kathy Cano Murillo, 2006. Photos property and courtesy of Arizona Republic and AzCentral.com. For more artsy goodness, check out CraftyChica.com *

Labels: collage/paper, home decor, inside, recycled