Myths, Monsters & Mayhem 2019 letterboxing Event

Our Greek Underworld

Originally I had planned to host my annual post-holiday party with holiday themed stamps; however, my nephew BoxReaper was studying Ancient Greece, so we decided on that instead. He and his sister Christmas Puppy and I brainstormed a list of Greek topics to pursue on the AQ Stamp Exchange. Offers of recycled stamps to newly carved poured in.

Next, we brainstormed how we would design my house. At some point in the planning process, we decided to turn the basement into a Greek Underworld! The kids were great at coming up with ideas for props, but I needed to figure out ways to involve clues with their ideas.  I explored ideas for Ancient Greek decor on Pinterest and shared these with the kids for their "approval." With their parents' permission, we gathered at my house for a crafting weekend.

One of our first projects was Greek vases. Christmas Puppy's (Leah) handmade vase. Made with paper mache, cardboard, balloon and acrylic paints.

While we crafted vases, Noah crafted a Greek warship from foam and hot glue that could hold the weight of the stamp. We tested it in the turtle pool in backyard. The sail mast is made from a chopstick.

On the day of the event, Noah's warship set sail in the bathtub. I found a squishy octopus or Kracken on Amazon and surprised Noah with that. The warship stamp was an event stamp, but for those that were not afraid of the Kracken, there was a clue on its underbelly! A side note: the bathtub has become a main attraction for my annual events.


With the help of their mom Poo Slingers and her Halloween supplies, we made Charon the ferryman. He was positioned at the back door to guide people across the River Styx to the Underworld. Raven accepted my invitation to carve a jaw-dropping stamp of Charon which was used as our event stamp.

 

Noah was the master architect of the Underworld.   We began building the Underworld a few weeks before the event. This required decluttering the basement and vacuuming which was my responsibility. The kids and I planned and implemented the "river" with blue plastic table cloths from Dollar Tree and blue lights from Poo Slingers' holiday decor stockpile.

BoxReaper was so happy with the Underworld that he was willing to pose and even smile. Shown here crossing the River Styx.

Interestingly, during preparations for the Greek event, Noah came up with an idea for his new trail name-- BoxReaper-- and ideas for the image. I designed a stamp for him based on his ideas, and we shared the work of carving.

As our research for ideas continued, I learned about Greek Steganography which  'is defined as the hiding of information by embedding messages within other seemingly harmless messages, graphics or sounds." In this pict, the secret message was tattooed on the messenger's head. His hair grew back and then he was sent to deliver the message. This idea opened up limitless ideas for cluing. I began looking for ways to hide the letterbox clues in plain sight (CHIPS.) Once found, and if needed, deciphered, the boxer would be led to a stamp hidden somewhere in my house or yard. 

One of our first ideas for a CHIPS  was to create Greek shields from dollar store platters.  This shield was made with a gold platter, black buttons, cardstock, distressing ink and a gold disk I found in a junk box. We embossed the disk with an outline of Pegasus and lastly, a cipher of Greek lettering was planned and written on the shield. Without closer examination, it looks just like Greek decor. The shields were put on display in plain sight!

Some of the clues were more obvious: Pegaus, Pandora's Jar which was crafted by Kudichan, the Cyclops which was crafted by BoxReaper, the Golden Apples, and the Parthenon built by BoxReaper for a social studies project which is truly where all this Greek stuff began. Even though many of the clues were easier to find, that didn't make breaking the cipher or riddle any less difficult.

Clues shown here:  Themis' coins, the Minotaur's maze, Hercules' club, another Greek vase. Greek helmet and sword.

Achilles sandal with a Scytale cipher.

Trojan Horse made by BoxReaper from a kit found on Amazon. Not just a prop. Like the Ancient Greeks, this horse also holds a secret.

Satyr wine anyone? Looks suspicious.

Greek Olympian Discus or a CHIPS?

Pandora's Jar handcrafted by Kudichan led boxers on a search throughout the house for all the awful things that had been released, from anxiety to insomnia and more.

The clues waiting for the event.

Boxers breaking clues. Altogether there were at least 33 carvers represented, 70+/- clued stamps, and 15 event boxes.

White Dollar Tree table covers, plastic ivy and white lights made the house feel ancient and festive.  The goddess Nike, posing here, offered boxers a challenge, either Athenian (intellectual) or Spartan (physical,) to earn her stamp.

There were many more CHIPS to explore while waiting for a turn to visit our Underworld. Once in the Underworld, boxers searched high and low for eleven micro stamps of Greek architecture carved by Maude. 

 Buffet table of yummy Greek and American foods. 

 

Thank you to all the Carvers and Crafters:

Kudichan

Christmas Puppy
BoxReaper
The V’s
4Js
Topcollector
Fantastic Mrs. Fox
GypsyFiddler
Fiddleheads
MissAdventure
BBStacker
Linden Leaf
Acorns4U
The Pakrat
Lucky Duck
amazeing adventure frog
 Team Awesome Pants
 Blacksheep 1-2
The Woodshed
Twofreetimers
WiseWanderer
Wavesandwaterfalls
Angelwinks
Redbird
Intrinsically Knotted
Greenmountainhiker
Trishee
GypsyLadybug
BaliWho
Dancing Pecan
 Kiss’n Karin
Maude 
Raven
PumpkinSeedsLenore

Fusible Webbing (Round 1)

 "Nesting" was created for the AtlasQuest LTC tracker "Round 1: New Product/Underused"  hosted by Linden Leaf. I chose to work with Fusible Webbing (FW) for the four rounds of the tracker. For each round, I need to find a new way to use FW.

For the first round, even though I chose a technique that I've used before, this card would offer its own challenges.

The following technique is easy and, in my opinion, creates a dramatic effect.

FusibleWebbing is available at JoAnn Fabric & Craft Store and other crafting outlets. (Zoom in to read the label.) When heat is applied, the FW fuses with fabric, lace, ribbon, paper, cardboard, wood and more. Since I haven't used this since 2014, I can say that the product doesn't go bad.

I also learned about a fusible powder that can be sprinkled over the materials: Bo-Nash Bonding Agent

For the first round of the LTC tracker, I created a nesting mix by cutting up leftover pieces of ribbon, yarn, string, fake leaves...anything I could find!

The FW has a disposable paper backing that is removed. I cut small squares and added them to the nesting mix so they would fuse all the nesting bits together on the card.

After peeling the backing, I applied a strip of cut FW to the card, sticky side down. In hindsight, I think having the sticky side facing out would have helped control the nesting material more so.

After placing parchment paper under the card, I clustered the nesting material onto the card over the FW. I wasn't worried about overhang because I would trim that off later.

Then I sandwiched the card between parchment. Meanwhile, I've been heating up my craft iron on the cotton setting (steam is recommended but it works without it too,) 

I pressed the card (making sure to protect my work surface too.) The heat melts the FW creating a sticky bond within the nesting and between the nesting and the card.

It is a good idea to let the card cool before pulling the parchment off so the FW sets (and avoid burning your fingers on hot melted plastic.) I added additional bits of FW where needed to secure the nesting or added more nesting and then reapplied heat.

The stamped image was simply colored in Copic marker and after fussy cutting it, adhered to the card with an adhesive foam square. I embossed the background with the Richard Garay pine needle folder and a Big Shot machine. I couldn't decide between the bird perching on the nest or nestled within. Happy with both. 

Below are two more cards using the same technique:

April Fool's Leftover Quickie Swap:

Juggler of the Cosmos, March 2014.

Fiber Art:

Serenity at Sunset, June 2014