Altered candy tin assemblage

Back in late January I rusted some papers that I never showed on my blog.  Although I showed the "before" shots,

I never showed the end product.

Since you can't wash paper in baking soda water, which deactivates rust in fabric, the only way to deactivate the rust in paper is to use a fixative.  In case you didn't get the warning about handling paper after it is rusted, you can use a dedicated fixative product (like Krylon Workable Fixatif) or cheap aerosol hairspray to BOTH SIDES of the paper before removing your protective gloves.  And in case you didn't know, exposure to any rust affects the hemoglobin in your blood if you have exposed skin.  I can NEVER emphasize this enough, although apparently those who make a habit of rusting fabric and paper don't explain this on their blogs or web sites.

This all leads to a candy/mint tin I worked on for Day 21.  Many of us have these old tins, so instead of throwing them in our recycle bins along with our tin cans, why not make art with them.

I don't have any step out photos of this, but I used some of the rusted paper to cover the front and inside of the lid to the mint tin.

In addition to the rusted paper, I added some cheesecloth I dyed various colors that mimicked rust.

Behind the little girl I fussy cut, I placed some of my iris flower pounded fabric.

I added rusty paper to the back, too.

It is a really drab day, and even the use of a full spectrum light didn't help much.  I tried to color correct some of the photos, but I'm not sure I ever got the color right.  Regardless, I hope you enjoy this little butterfly girl who now lives in her very own mint tin.

EDIT: At the suggestion of my art friend Chris, I have carefully observed the rules for entering a new challenge at Frilly and Funkie.  The theme is It's Not Easy Being Green, so please follow this link to see more recycled vintage art.   Several of my previous projects for April would fit this, too.

For Day 21 I recycled an old mint tin into a rusty assemblage that holds a little butterfly girl.  Thank you for visiting and following me through these 22 days of recycle and reuse.  I'm very grateful for your visit.