Matchbox Art

Day #228
Hearts #239-240

Here is the first of many "art" matchboxes I plan to make and abandon for my Art Abandonment project.  I love how this turned out, and I love that it includes TWO sewn hearts, so I can count it twice!

The outside:
I covered a matchbox with paper cut from the pages of a book (I bought this thick, boring book for $1 at a bookstore, specifically to cut up).  I scrubbed the paper with white acrylic paint to soften the look of it.

I sewed a little "patch" for the top, featuring a winged heart, using fabrics from my scrap bag.  It's so small (2 1/8" x 1 1/2") that it takes very little fabric to cover the top.  I used my favorite color palette, and my favorite image!  I sewed it all together, leaving the edges raw, and glued it to the top of the box.

The inside:
When the finder opens it up, he or she will see a stuffed heart posing the eternal question, "got art?"  The words are stamped on with rubber alphabet stamps, and the heart is another raw-edge fabric collage.

I covered the inside of the box with book paper too, and added a paper heart to the bottom to jazz it up a little.

After I make a few more of these I will print out some tags (so the finder knows that this is a free gift) and then I will secretly abandon them around town.  I can't wait!