Glass Tile Pendants

Well, I’ve finally made some pendants using the glass tiles I got from the US earlier in the year.  I couldn’t find the tiles anywhere in Britain but eventually found them on e-bay US, inc P & P, I paid about £18.00 for 100 tiles which I think is a bargain!.

I’ve seen these pendants on lots of blogs, they looked so simple to make, I just had to have a go, but please forgive me if this first batch is pants because this is my first attempt and it is very much trial and error at the moment.

The first step is to apply a small amount of Anita’s 3D clear gloss finish to the back of the tile (the side with a slightly  rough texture) and apply the patterned side of an inch square face down.  If it comes over the edge, it doesn’t matter as you can trim round it and file any rough bits with an emery board.

 

Let the tile dry and then apply a good coating of the gloss finish to the back of the tile.  You can also apply the bail with a drop of the finish too.

Now the bit I hate ……. waiting for everything to dry!

Naturally, me being me …..  I felt the need to fiddle fart a bit more with them ….. so I’ve added peel offs, vinyl stickers and transparent backed adhesive stickers, plus a few flat backed gems and pearls.

I’m not sure how durable these extra embellishments will be, so I need to wear each of pendant for a week or so and see if the added bits stay stuck.

The bails I have used are quite small and will fit a chain – but I am looking at getting some that will fit a leather thong

The papers I have used have just been a background, a lot of the pendants I have seen on Google use very small pictures – watch this space ……. I have a lot of experimenting to do.

I wonder if you can stamp on them?

Large SAT NAV Birthday Card

 
This card was made for a friend at work whose nephew was taking driving lessons. 

I found a picture of a SAT NAV screen and printed it off after  I  had fiddled with it a bit using PAINT to add his name, making  it more personal.

The background is a page from a road atlas that has been mat and layered on silver card, as have the L plates, which are made from table confetti. They have been fixed in place with  foam pads for extra dimension. The car and traffic lights are from a pack of small foam transport embellishments I’ve had for a while. A few silver stars here and there complete the design.

The card is A5 sized.

Bird in a Cage Card

Oh my life, this was a fiddly card to make!

The cage is a Quickutz Silhouette download – and I can only blame myself for the fiddlyness,  because I scaled it down to be so small to fit the project.

But now I see the result, all the pricking out and little bits on the floor were worth it.

Positioning the bird  (from a packet of Paperchase stickers  -   £1 per pack) was tricky, but I got there in the end.  I have used very thin strips of a double sided foam pad to make the cage stand proud. 

Very tweet!

Birthday Card for A Gardener

I made this card for a colleague whose dad’s garden has been plagued by mice and squirrels this year.

 
 

The 3D stickers used are from Handmade Art (from a sale in WH Smith). As the card was to be given rather than posted I added a small wooden mouse to complete the joke.

What’s On My Desk Wednesday

I did a bit of shopping in Bristol and Bath  – no earth shattering bargains or finds, but as it’s Wednesday and it’s all on my desk waiting to be put away, I thought I would share it all with you…….

These mini plastic takeaway boxes were from The Works – they are so cute – there are 4 in a pack for 99p, bargain!

They will make brilliant favor boxes and I also reckon I would be able to stamp on them with StazOn ink.

Stickers from Paperchase next ….. the hearts will make brilliant noses for animals.

And, naturally I had to have a nosey around Accessorize, just in case they had anything new in ….  the holiday themed stickers will come in useful for making a card for a friend who has just got a job in Tropical climes,  and I just loved the ice cream/cupcake badges, not cheap at £3.80 – but I plan to add a few flat backed gems to them and attach them to cards.

I found the Kath Kidston shop in Bath – oh my life, I wanted everything, but all I could afford were two sheets of reversible gift wrap! So many pretty things – but oh so expensive!

Lovely ribbon by East of India – always very useful at Christmas time (sorry …… I know its TOO early to mention THAT word) as it comes in muted colours and old fashioned texture. And some metal tags (60p each) which I will probably just slip into a kraft envelope and give instead of cards to special friends.  The mushroom is on a fat peg …. I thought it was an idea I could try ….. when I have the  time.

 

Finally from Poundland – the animal and robots are bubble stickers – so they will add extra dimension to a card.  I don’t do many boy’s/men’s cards so I thought I would challenge myself to use the robot ones.

And last but not least some Fairy Princess stickers also from Poundland, so sweet.

So that’s it.  I won’t put them all away immediately, with two weeks off work I am going to try and use a lot of what I have here to replenish my card box in the staffroom which is  very empty at present.

Striped Thank You Card

I am not at all sure about this card, I think it’s a bit too much! I don’t think the flowers are right! In fact, nothing about it is right!!!

I used Pop Culture – Fruit Stripe as the background paper, hand wrote “Thank You” all over it, and then mat and layered it on black.

The flowers are made with my Whale of a Punch Retro Flower punch in three layers and then embellished with flat backed gems.

I finished the card with some faux stitching using a fine liner pen.

Hmmmmmmm, to be honest, it’s not my cup of tea, but I will put it in my card box and see if it goes!

Desert Island Crafts – Part 4

Sewing machines …………… I don’t sew …….. but I have three!

This was a bargain buy from a carboot sale – unused and still sealed in its plastic bags - £2, bargain! I have threaded it – but usually use it empty to put perforated lines on cards to make faux stitched borders, edges etc., all you have to do is join up the holes with a very thin liner pen and it looks like real stitching!

The original of this sewing machine came from e-bay and cost me £7 – but I swopped it for an almost identical one with my friend Lisa because it was everso slightly better. I use it when I want to put real sewing on my cards, it may be cumbersome but with the handle I can sew at my own pace and feel more in control.

This sewing machine was a Christmas present, as yet unused, but when I have the time, probably in the summer, I will put my mind to mastering it.  I love the fact that amongst other stitches it does zig zag – which I very much want to use on my Christmas designs ……. aghhhh, did I mention Christmas ….. already????

 

My treasure is a glass bubble that hangs in my craftroom window, it’s so beautiful – I got it from the fairy shop in  Camden Market about four years ago.

Desert Island Crafts – Part 3

I love my Bind It All, I have had it for about three years now and have lost count of the little wedding, baby and birthday books I have made with it. I sent for the space bar which made the hole punching much more accurate.

The books I tend to make are 4ins x 4 ins and I usually make my own covers using a really thick strong card and then covering both sides before binding. My favourite size wires are 5/8 – which gives me plenty of depth for embellishing the pages.

My best discovery last year was DCWV adhesive cardstock, it goes on like a dream, no bubbles or ridges and comes in an assortment of colour ways and patterns and saves so much time!

This is one of my smaller cupboards – crammed again – this time with all the bits I would like to alter one day ….. the pink things are picture frames with a small deep window in – ripe for altering – I’m just at a lose as to where to start ….. I have said time and time again how much I love Tim Holtz – but I just don’t have a clue where to start!

My treasure is this postcard, every year alongside the Hobbycrafts Show at the NEC in November is a gift fair, and every year I drool over these heart pendants – I so want one, but how on earth do I choose just one as they are all so beautiful?  Perhaps this year I won’t sigh at the very sight of them or stroke them, perhaps I will actually make the BIG decision and buy one!

Desert Island Crafts – Day Two

 

These are a few pages from my notebook, if I see an idea that inspires me,  I’ll stick it in here – with notes and other ideas as they pop into my head.

 

This is a view of my second fitted wardrobe, again crammed to high heaven with papers, embellishments, alphabet stickers etc. etc.

 

Today’s treasure is a photo I took of my husband and our children when they were very small, walking up the steep stony banks at Chesil Beach.

Desert Island Crafts Continued …..

It’s Easter - we felt we had earned  a few days away and the circling pin of fate landed on Bristol ….. not sure what we will find ….. but I’m sure I will stumble into a Poundland tucked somewhere amongst all the tourist attractions

So, while I am on my jollys, I thought I would continue something I started at Christmas and blog some of my favourite tools and  materials, a few treasures that inspire me plus some new views of my craft room …..  but please, excuse the mess!

This is my really old but faithful dymo label writer – I just love the effect it gives,  especially on men’s cards and mini books.  I know there are newer, more modern machines out now, but they are not a patch on this one, bought from e-bay.

The view today is one of two fitted wardrobes, which is packed solid, you name it, it’s probably in there!

And my treasure …….. the boxing gloves my husband had as a little boy, they are just so beautiful.

Quick Easter Treat Bags

I thought I was prepared for Easter but then, I had a last minute panic for some little “fairing” gifts for work.

Fortunately, I remembered a pack of wooden die cuts I bought from Hobbycraft a while ago, so I quickly coloured them in and tied them to some little bags of M & S chocolates I’d made up ….. voila! Phew!