Saturday, November 10, 2012

Les Miserables Papercrafting Project


When I think of France, the famous French novel “Les Misérables” by author Victor Hugo instantly comes to mind. I saw the musical at the Music Hall in Kansas City and truly loved it and of course shed tears throughout, but I am a softy.  Here's my stage and sign for the musical.



The novel is considered to be one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century and follows the lives and interactions of many characters. The character in the novel and musical I am focusing on is Cosette, whose story is quite moving.


I printed a portrait of "Cosette" by Emile Bayard, from the original edition of Les Misérables (1862) on an ink jet printer. Cosette is a fictional character in the novel whose mother, Fantine,  places her under the guardianship of the Thénardiers, where she is severely mistreated.

You may want to read the novel or see the musical to follow the life of Cosette.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ebcosette.jpg

I added some stains to the image for contrast, on the wooden door I used Vintage Photo, on the stones - Pumice Stone; on Colette - a little Barn Door on her hair; and on the water - a little Glossy Accent was added for shine on the water highlights.


I wanted to make a stage and a Honey Maid Graham Cracker box was the beginning of my stage.

I cut the front panel of the box to open it up like a stage and began staining it with Black Soot. It took several coats of the Black Soot.



For stage curtains, I started with white lace ribbons stained then thought I wanted red curtains so stained the lace with Barn Door Distress Stain. 




My first assembly came together pretty well but I wanted a Broadway type sign on top so wanted to add some lighting on the sign. 






I made a a sign for the top of the stage to resemble a Broardway sign and used dew drops for the lighting effect.





Now it was time to create a small sign to sit in front of the stage promoting Les Miserables. I used a Sizzix Nestabilities die to cut the small sign and stamped with a Hero Arts stamp repeatedly, added a fleur de lis, a ticket, some script, Tattered Banner. distress ink and a picture of Cosette from the musical.


There you have it, my stage and signs are complete - Judy.

Challenge:
Simon Says Stamp and Show: Inspiration Francaise

5 comments:

  1. Love love LOVE it! It was so much fun watching this one come together. Such a joy! You are a talented lady!

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  2. Judy...I love your ingenuity on this one! Love that you've repurposed a Honey Maid Graham cracker box to create such a beautiful "stage" for your Les Miserables theme. Very nicely done with great creative thought! Thanks for sharing this with us at Simon Says Stamp and Show. <3 Candy

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  3. Clever stage from a graham cracker box! Sweet idea and beautifully executed. Glad you played along with us at Simon Says Stamp and Show!

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  4. TOO COOL...using a graham cracker box, and they tasted good to finally get the box...brilliant! I love your Les Mis theme...so clever and beautiful!

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  5. As someone theatrically minded - I love this! Great drama, and the tinting on the image is absolutely lovely. Thanks so much for your kind words over at Words and Pictures... much appreciated!
    Alison x

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