Tuesday, 14 June 2011

Pendant Tray Project Using Accessorize Stickers.

Pendant Tray project
This was a bit of an experiment, I had a packet of Accessorize cat stickers staring at me (£1.75 per pack) on my desk and I got to wondering what they would look like in a pendant tray….
Accessorize Cat Stickers Accessorize Stickers
I’ve used a very small print paper for the background and doodled some equally tiny faux stitching round the edge, then added the cat and hearts.  All that was left to do was fill the tray with Anita's 3D Gloss Finish, which should be left for about twenty four hours to set really well. The results look like a little porcelain plaque/tile.  I am dead chuffed, and now intend to look at all the other Accessorize stickers I have to see what else I can use.

Monday, 13 June 2011

Gardening Inchies

Guess who’s got the Inchies Bug?
Gardening Inchies
Sometimes I make something and decide it doesn’t look quite right, so I leave it on my desk and go back to it the next day.
Gardening Inchies 2
I dug out these  gardening charms and thought I would keep the inchies fairly plain and just doodle a background …. but there was something missing …. I resisted as long as I could, but what they needed were punched daisies and some bling in the guise of flat backed gems!

Sunday, 12 June 2011

And The Winners Are …

Picture
I didn’t use my salad bowl in the end …. I thought I’d be different and use my teapot …. after all anyone can use these random name selector thingies!!
Picture 074
So if you can see your name amongst these …. e-mail me at nellxxxx@aol.com and I’ll send you your Coppernob Crease Mouse! http://www.coppernob.biz/temp/index.html

Hero Arts - Music Of The Heart

This card measures 5ins x 5ins and is made using black ribbed effect card.
Hero Arts Music From the Heart
I’ve set myself a little task, I have any awful lot of unused stamps and stamp sets, which I know is a terrible waste, so I am going to see if I can try to use them all (once) before the end of the year ….. I’m not sure if I’ll make it, but I like a challenge.
Music from the heart hero Arts
Today's card uses one of  Hero Arts Quarter Elements sets, Music From The Heart (LL576), I’ve used some really odd colours (for me) and the only card blank that seemed to go was black, which is a also bit different.  I wanted to use black embossing powder on the stamping, but I used a StazeOn  ink pad which seems to dry too quickly for the powder to stick …. or is it just me?

Saturday, 11 June 2011

Blog Candy Crease Mouses

Thank you all for leaving so many lovely comments this week.  I will be putting everyone’s name in my giant fruit bowl and drawing out five later on today and then I'll let you know where Coopernobs Crease Mice will be winging their way to!

Little Monster Card

Little Monster Card
This card is made using some hard plastic bubble stickers from a pack found in Poundshop.  I was a bit dubious at first, as I thought they might be hollow with a just small adhesive rim round the edge to stick them on by, but the adhesive film goes all across the back, making them a doddle to use.
Dinosaur Sticker 
All the dinosaurs in the pack are so cute and are ideal for making a quick job lot of children’s cards.
Poundshop Dinosaur Stickers

Friday, 10 June 2011

ArtEmboss Foil and Tim Holtz Tattered Florals Hair Bands

Hmmmm, seemed like a good idea in my head, but not so good in reality……!
Tattered Florals Tim Holtz
Thanks to Angie I now know that this material is called ArtEmboss Foil and I can now order some more because after yesterday I have used up the last bit I had.
art-emboss
I had a (mad) idea for making foil flowers using my Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die and putting them on hair bands, but if I am honest this is not a very strong or durable project as the weight/thickness of foil I’ve used is quite soft and malleable and as a result can be easily squashed, altered if the wearer is not careful or fiddles with it (also making them unsuitable for young children), but it was an interesting experiment ….. and OK as a one off wear.
Tattered Florals
I’ve attached the flowers with a hot glue gun onto  Poundworld hairbands (3 for £1).
Picture 053
The flowers look humungous in the pictures, it’s just the closeness and the angle I took them at …. they are not really as huge as they seem!

Thursday, 9 June 2011

Floral Butterfly Card

This card measures 5ins x 5ins and is made using white linen effect card.
Floral Card 2
I was going to leave this card very plain and only added a few gems to the centres of the flowers of the My Mind’s Eye Stella and Rose paper (Gertie), but as I took the first photograph I changed my mind …..
Floral Butterfly Card
…. and added four double layered butterflies with gem centres, punched using a Woodware punch. I’m not sure ……I still prefer the unembellished one, which I would use as a notelet.
Floral Butterfly Card 1

Wednesday, 8 June 2011

90th Birthday Card For A Special Nan

This card is A5 in size and is made using ivory linen effect card and Papyrus font size 20.
90th Birthday card
This was a card specially ordered by a friend. The inner and outer frames are made using Nestabilities label dies cut on my Bigshot, both tools that I am guilty of not using often enough.
Stampin Up 2 Step Bird Punch
The bird and branches are made using my Stampin Up 2 Step Bird Punch, again a tool with endless possibilities, but not used enough by me.
The flowers are made using various sized daisy punches, with small flat backed pearls in the centre, quite fiddly and time consuming especially as I am not over keen on fluffing up all the flowers to finish the card!

A Surprise From Docrafts!

DoCrafts Goodie Bag
Oh my life, I never expected anything from the Docrafts Royal Wedding Card Challenge, I thought being in the July edition of Creativity Magazine was exciting enough, but look what the postman brought me this morning ….. how WONDERFUL, lots of bits, all from the latest ranges, including Tulip and Me To You plus a pack of Papermania 12 x 12 Kraft card which I have a feeling is going to be really big for making cards this Christmas …… well, it is going to be for me anyway, I just love Kraft card!

Tuesday, 7 June 2011

Tea For Two Inchies

This card measure 5ins x 5ins and is made using ivory linen effect card.
Tea For Tow Inchies
Following on from yesterdays inchies, I’ve had another go but this time turned them into a card.  
Inchies tea For Two
I’ve used some brass charms that I got from U.S quite a while ago, I just love the tea bag!  I’ve used numbers from a small background paper, but I had to doctor the number 1 to make it look like a T!

Monday, 6 June 2011

Coppernob Crease Mouse Blog Candy

This is very exciting for me …. my first blog candy giveaway!
sweets-2
I hang my head in shame in telling you that until Josie from Coppernob sent me her new Multiscoreboard Xtra with Crease Mouse to try, I had never used a scoring tool to fold my cards …. I thought they were just a gimmick!  How wrong I was ….I am now a convert and can’t believe the finish I now get on the folds of my cards and now panic when I can't find mine, in fact I have one and a spare, I love it so much!
crease
“Crease Mouse Scoring Tool - the perfect partner to the M & F Board! This light-weight tool fits comfortably in the hand and is ideal for scoring along M & F's grooves. The flat edge enables you to make sharp folds and reduce cardstock cracking”
Josie has very kindly sent me five Crease Mice/Mouses worth £3.25 each and I will be giving one away each day for the next five days, all you need to do is leave a comment(s) on posts between Monday and Friday this week, (no linking or complicated stuff like that), and I will sort out the rest. How exciting!!

Nautical Inchies

Nautical Inchies 1
I have never done “inchies” before …. so I thought I would have a go …. oh my life, I like to work small, but this is ridiculous,  I almost needed reading glasses over my reading glasses!
Nautical Inchies
I decided to start off very simply, using four nautical charms I already had and stuck to two main papers, plus tiny scraps of a couple more to add a bit of contrast.
Picture 115
I’m not sure if there are any rules to inchies, if so I have probably broken them, because once I added the silver matting they were everso slightly over the inch!!

Sunday, 5 June 2011

Bee Pendant Tray

I’ve really tried to think outside the box for this pendant!
Bee Pendant Tray
I have had four of these enamel bee buttons for well over ten years, they must have been in every drawer in the house but I have never found anything to do with them until this week when I have been really determined to out try new ideas with my pendant trays from Marc.
Danger genious At Work
Above …… Danger …. genius at work!
The bee was too deep for the tray, but then I had an Ulrika moment and thought why not put it on the side …..
Silver Pendant Tray
So I lined the tray with a 1” x “ scrap of stamped and glittered paper I’d got left over from another project and then found silver flower charm (also from Marc) and stuck it down with couple of glass gems. The flower is fractionally deeper than the tray, but I thought that might add something to the finished pendant.  All that was left for me to do was to fill the tray with Ranger Glossy Accents and wait for it to set in around 12 hours……. and I am so impatient!
Silver pendant tray with bee
Come on …. hurry up and set!
Picture 122
But I am thrilled and the wait was so well worth it!
Picture 120

Saturday, 4 June 2011

Microscope Slide Pendant

  Microscope Slide Pendant 1
Through this blog I have made so many friends, Marc being one of the loveliest.  We met through the most wonderful RAK (Random Act of Kindness) when Marc asked if he could send me a copy of Tim Holtz's  A Compendium of Curiosities, which arrived along with a huge pile of other wonderful crafty stuff which made me cry and from there on our friendship has grown via e-mail and this blog. Microscope Slides for pendant Making
Anyway, I think of Marc as being a bit of a mentor, he is always so encouraging, always offering me lots of ideas and suggestions, but when a box of microscope slides and adhesive copper foil arrived I knew I was well out of my depth and I was scared …………… until yesterday when I conquered my fear of the crafting unknown …..
Look what I have made ……. OH MY LIFE!!
I stamped, chalked and glittered the  background first (using Stampin’Up Fresh Cuts), cutting it down to the size of the slides. Then with the paper sandwiched between two slides  I very, very gingerly applied the copper tape round the edges and then smoothed it down with a wooden coffee stirrer.  This was the part I was dreading most, but it much easier than I anticipated. Then I went over the copper tape with a brown Promarker to deepen the colour.
Microscope Slide Pendant
I found a couple of dragonfly charms that I’ve had for a while and touched  them up with the same Promarker pen, then glued them onto the front slide using Ranger Glossy Accents.  The finishing touches were made using some very twinkly glass flat backed gems.  Am I allowed to say I love, love, love it?
As a fastener I’ve taken a silver bail and coloured it again with the Promarker, but I may find an alternative hanger for my next attempt!
Thank you Marc …. thank you for helping me smash another one of my crafting boundaries!

Hmmm, seems after a bit of research (which I should have done before I dived right in) that I should solder the pendant .... from what I have read you apply flux to the copper tape and then apply solder over it  ..... so what I have actually done here isn't really finished .... they say pride come before a fall .... so today I am going to ask my husband to show me this new skill!!

Friday, 3 June 2011

Pendant Trays From Marc

Picture 090
A while ago I asked on this blog about pendant trays and my very lovely friend Marc very kindly sent me a whole pile in various colours, plus lots of other lovely bits for pendant making,  which quite overwhelmed me. 
pendant trays 
I knew he was anxious to see what I made with them but I am afraid it took rather longer than I anticipated to pull my finger out and do something ….. but at last Marc …..here you are …. this is my first “go”.
Picture 096
I used a text/floral stamp to create a background, cutting a 1” x 1” square from it to fit into the tray, colouring it with blending chalks and a sprinkle of hologram micro glitter. I then added two different sizes of brass dragonfly charms, which I coloured with Promarker pens to match the copper of the tray and a few tiny flat backed gems, I then filled the tray with Ranger Glossy Accents ….. and prayed it would set as I had never used it like this before.
Picture 085
Above pendant drying.
My only disappointment is that the flat backed gems add no dimension to  the “picture”, they look very flat (as if they have dissolved) and perhaps when I try this again I will try small seed beads or tiny sequins.

Thursday, 2 June 2011

Ranger Inkessentials Memory Frame.

I am usually quite pleased with the things I make, but today I feel like a dog with two thingy-me-bobs! I am ecstatic! Following my success of yesterday I have persevered with my Inkessentials Memory Frames and this is the result.
Inkessentials Memory Frame Project 
It took a couple of hours of fiddle farting, trying this and that,  with quite a bit of stuff ending up in the bin.  I would have really liked to use one of the Memory Capsules I have, helping to add an extra dimension to the pendants but the results just didn’t look right, but the compromise I made at the end has worked successfully..
Picture1
First I stamped the background using a stamp from Stampin’Up’s Fresh Cuts set (111634), adding  colour using Plaid blending chalks with my finger and some Hero Arts micro hologram glitter for extra sparkle.
Inkessentials Memory Frame Dragonflies
The brass dragonflies were originally bright gold, but because the frame was antique copper I coloured them with a brown Promarker pen, and believe it or not the colour stuck!  The finishing touches were made using a few tiny weenie clear flat backed gems.
Two pieces of memory glass, (front and back),  plus the added depth of dragonflies wouldn’t fit into the frame, so instead, I used glass on the front and a piece of acetate on the back which has worked out really well.  I just need to get a few dark coloured jump rings and this baby will be ready to wear.

Wednesday, 1 June 2011

Tim Holtz Stamps & Ranger Inkessentials Memory Frames

Tim Holtz Time Anonymous Stampers
I’ve wanted some Memory Frames for ages, but when I eventually got them I was afraid to do anything with them, what am I like?  I have seen so many exquisite projects on other blogs and  just didn’t think I could produce anything to compare.  But finally I have done something, which I will be happy to wear.
I’ve used a 2” x 2” Ranger Inkessentials antique copper memory frame (MEM21698)
ST-COM004 lgpics_memframes
I’ve  stamped, in black StazeOn,  Tim Holtz’s, Stampers Anonymous ATC  stamp Time (COM004) - £4.99,  onto a faint text print patterned paper,  trimming it down to size to fit the frame.  After this I used Plaid blending chalks with my finger to add a little colour. The finishing touch was a miniscule amount of Hero Arts Hologram micro glitter, which I applied apprehensively, praying it wouldn’t look too much, but  thankfully the result is quite subtle.
Anonymous Stampers Tim Holtz Time
So, I have conquered another crafting fear, I just need to get a little more adventurous ….. and my next target? To use one of the  Inkessentials Memory Capsules I have put away and go all dimensional!

Tuesday, 31 May 2011

Butterfly Panel

Butterfly Heart
A while back my mum and sister came back from a day out and said they’d seen a panel covered in butterflies that they were sure I could make.  This is what I have come up with from their description.
Butterfly Heart 2
I used a faux suede panel, part of a set of three from Home Bargains (£ 1.99).  I made a heart template and drew round it.
Butterfly heart 1
Then I covered the heart with what seemed like 100’s of punched butterflies, each one having three very sparkly clear flat backed gems down the centre and a tiny bit of hologram glitter.
It all looks a bit flat in the picture which doesn’t really do it justice. The panel looks better from a distance and in the sunlight the gems and glitter twinkle beautifully (if I may say so myself!).