Lisa’s Halloween Mojo Challenge Part 2

I don’t think I have ever made a Halloween card … so here’s a first,  which is destined to go in my friends little boys Halloween pack from Aunty Helen!
Not only have I used Lisa’s Sizzix pumpkins, bats and papers … but I have finally used one of Marc’s Sixxiz Flip-It Card blanks (No. 657591)!  Last time I was with Marc in August he sat, while we watched Celebrity Big Brother and drank giant vodka and cokes and patiently cut me out piles and piles of these cards in black and white ……
Not a lot to the card really …. but Marc and I both loved the Flip-It aspect of the card, where you can have two toppers for the price of one …. or just a sentiment to flip ….. I have always shied away from dimensional cards …. to complicated for my simple mind to get around …. but I have quite enjoyed making this one, very simple and experimental as it is ….. I know you can get a lot more elaborate as I have seen on Google.
However, when I stay with Marc again at the end of this month I shall hopefully be taking some more double sided Christmas and floral patterned card as I have a few more ideas I would like to try out.

ThermoMorph–Mouldable Plastic–A Review And A Set Of Tags

I haven’t done a review for ages but when I got an e-mail from David at ThermoMorph I have to admit to being very curious …. and so agreed to his offer to send me a tub for an “honest” appraisal.

Before I started to work with ThermoMorph I deliberately did not look at any other reviews or projects beforehand …. as I wanted to work with it as an absolute novice and not be influenced by others ideas

ThermoMorph comes in the form of polymorph granules, rather like small pellets which when put in hot water becomes mouldable in 5 minutes and then sets rock hard solid at room temperature within 10 minutes!  Who wouldn’t be curious?

I had intended on working in my craft room, but this didn’t quite work out as I am not the fastest of workers and as this was my first time using ThermoMorph it was all very much an experiment, and I found that it was hardening while I was still just playing and thinking what to do, so I relocated to the kitchen where I was able to have a pan of boiling water at hand to soften the ThermoMorph when needed.

When ready to use, the ThermoMorph becomes transparent and pliable, a bit like chewing gum, you have about 2 minutes to use/mould it before it begins to harden and as I have said at this experimental stage this wasn’t really long enough for me ….. but practice makes perfect!

I was also a little unprepared,  and so tried to keep things very simple using a couple of moulds I already had …. the silicone face moulds worked fine ….

…. but I far preferred  the rigidity of the snowman and Christmas tree ice cube trays I also tried, but the finished results were a little deep to use on cards for example,  so I think for future projects I need to research more specialist silicone moulds on, for example etsy …. as I particularly like the idea of making my own cabochons and embellishments, especially with my embellished mirrors in mind.

etsy http://www.etsy.com/uk/search?q=%20silicone%20moulds&order=most_relevant&view_type=gallery&ship_to=GB.

I also understand that there are colour additive's available that can be used when using mouldable plastics and again for making cabochons etc. this would be a good idea, although ThermoMorph can be painted.

And so….  what did I make with my VERY rudimentary experiments?

Three very basic and naive tags! I just added colour to the snowmen and Christmas tree with permanent Sharpie pens ….. et voila.

I think there is still a lot of playing to do, I will certainly be taking the rest of the ThermoMorph to “play with” when I stay with Marc at the end of the month, And, now I have done something with it  I have looked at what others have done …… far more adventurous and creative than me, for  example:-

http://diningroomdrawers.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/thermomorph-product-review.html – where Helen has embossed and cut hers in her BigShot with very impressive results.

I am a paper crafter at heart but have appreciated the opportunity to try a new medium with which I could create embellishments for card making, and being able to compare ThermoMorph with Fimo clay, paper clay, air drying clay and a melt pot …… for me, at the moment,  for ease of use Fimo has the edge. However as ThermoMorph comes in a big tub I intend to continue experimenting, having already ordered a couple of small snowflake silicone moulds from e-bay and buying a skull and cross bones ice cube tray from Poundland.   I also intend to continue looking for more craft ideas on the internet.  I have already found some interesting ideas on YouTube that could be of interest to DIY’ers, including how to make new handles for knives and tools,

ThermoMorph is available from Amazon in 500gram tubs and costs £19.95

Googles and gloves are not required when working with ThermoMorph.

What’s On My Desk Wednesday - Lisa’s Halloween Challenge, Part 1.

These are the bits that Lisa (Craft Fairy) sent me for our monthly mojo challenge, included were papers, Sizzix spiders, pumpkins, and bats, ribbons, buttons and a wooden H. Hmmmmm

I gravitated to the wooden H first …. H for Halloween immediately sprang to mind …. so first job was to cover it with one of Lisa’s papers ….

….. then came the spider, I stuck two together using a sticky pad to add dimension …. doodled webs followed, which screamed for a few googly eyes, a small Sizzix lizard and Lisa’s buttons.  I also found some Halloween rub ons that Dianne in Florida sent me …. these were perfect.  I don’t use rub ons a lot …. but I am tempted to look for more word ones as they are a brilliant way of filling the odd gap.

And then,  I got to thinking that the back looked a bit bare and that it was a shame waste the space, so I started the whole thing again!!

Finally I drilled a hole in one of the corners, attached a jump ring and then a ribbon ….. et voila.

This is going to be part of a little pack of Halloween bits and pieces for my friends little boy who she adopted in April and this will be his first Halloween with her, so I wanted to give him something special that can come out each year and bring happy memories back over and over again.

Halloween Trick Or Treat Bags …..

Well my cellophane bags have arrived and so there was no excuse not to get my Halloween Trick or Treat Bags made ….. all paid for with my Bonus Ball Lottery win at work.

First I made all the tags, 40 in all, using scraps of orange, green and purple card for the tags and other scraps for the decoration ….

….. the bubble and foil stickers I got from the poundshops of Wolverhampton…..

.…. and some adhesive Halloween edging strips from Dianne in Florida

…… plus a bit of FiddleFart doodling.

All the tags are slightly different and it became more and more interesting as the adhesive strips began to run out as well as the “best” stickers!

Once all the tags were made it was time to put the sweets into the bags without being tempted to just pop just one or two into my mouth ….. quality control, obviously.  With 80 chocolates in each tub of Celebrations or Heroes …. I was able to fill 10 bags ….

I added a few novelties into each bag, but will make sure that everyone is made aware that these bags are not suitable for children under 36 months because of this.

A matching ribbon finished each bag off perfectly ….
……  with left over foil stickers put on the bag of the bags which made them look really “professional”!

I am going to take these bags at work, the first time I have taken anything in over two years, so I am a little nervous that they’ll go  ….

Viva Las Vegas …… A Trip To Walmart ….. Of All Places!!!

Fortuitously,  the retail park where I went to Michaels also had a Walmart and a 99c Store ….. but as I said in my last post is was sooooooooo hot just walking across the car park was a major effort ….. and believe me,  I can pick up speed when I spot a shop I want to go in …. but on this occasion, I really had to pace myself via Raising Canes for Chicken Fingers, as recommended by our taxi driver, to get to Walmart!!! 

An odd place perhaps to have on a Bucket List for Las Vegas …. but Lucy and I wanted to do something “ordinary” …… and on “The Strip” in Las Vegas nothing is ordinary!  We wanted to find and try some of the snacks etc. we’d seen in films and on the tele, because we could!!! All I can say is OMG ……but, in the end we put very little in our trolley, we just walked round mouths agape ….. the choice and range of everything was just too much to take in!! 

Craft wise, my interest was primarily in the confectionary, with sweetie bags in mind ….. and yes, I found some Rainbow Twizzlers …..

…… but no ideas, yet as, on how to use them. A 12.4 oz. pack only cost £1.17,  as opposed to silly money in UK. It would have been nice to have bought a few more packs, but they were heavy and weight was always on my mind when buying anything, especially as I had already paid for extra weight in both England and in Las Vegas and still went over …. but the lovely lady at Las Vegas airport erm ….. overlooked it! 

Looking back through my photos I didn’t take that many pictures for this blog ….. Lucy and I were too busy ohhhing and ahhhhing, but there are a few more over on Mum’s Monkey!

The one thing I couldn’t get over was the extraordinary range of Duck Tape, OMG …. I was so tempted to buy some, but Duck Tape craft was/is a mystery to me. I have since spoken to Marc ….. and now wish I had taken the risk, even if I just used it to jazz up parcels …. at £2.11 a roll it should have been a no brainer.

……. With the weight issue always on my mind …. I did take a few pictures during our trip of the objects of desire that I had to reluctantly leave behind …

Like this candle holder ……. £4.92!!!  So me, but it ran the risk of being smashed to smithereens if put in my case!

My favourite purchase from Walmart?  A mahooooooosive bag of the biggest, sweetest,  most gorgeous cherries (my fruit of choice), I have ever tasted in my life …… eaten on my bed while watching Hoarders, late into the night  …… such a guilty, guilty pleasure!!

OMG ….. My Jewelled Boudoir Mirrors Finally Finished ….. Nine And A Bit Months On!

Warning:- some of the photos in this post contain great globules of drying glue, such was my rush to get everything written up!!!

I can’t believe that I started my pair of “Boudoir Mirrors” back on January 4th this year, my longest running project, ever ….. putting them on What’s On My Desk Wednesday last week certainly gave me the kick up the backside I needed. I only challenged myself to finish one ….. but in the end I finished both!!!

This is how they started out, measuring 35ins x 12ins with a frame of just 1/2” wide, bought from a “bargain discount” shop in Wolverhampton for £3.99 each.

Using E6000 glue I attached two old wall sconces that I’d had either side of my bed for years,  but had grown tired of ….. I wasn’t sure if it would work and wasn’t sure either about the colour of the glass tea light holders, but once stuck on, there was no turning back.

Progress was very slow, I had a few bits and pieces left over from other mirrors I had made for Christmas presents, but when Primark went and completely changed their style of jewellery, my source of cheap, large, jewelled or enamelled flower bracelets, necklaces and earrings to disassemble disappeared and I allowed myself to be temporarily scuppered!

Then Marc helped me out with a huge pile of flat backed gems and other bits and pieces ….. and I managed to source some large flat backed flower gems  and metal flower embellishments on e-bay.

I also asked WholePort for a variety of plastic/resin cabochons and fimo flowers to try, but was fearful that with a more diverse range of materials, some of the effect could be lost or the overall look would just look tacky. At this stage, after more hopeful but fruitless trips to Primark,  both in Wolverhampton and London my enthusiasm waned ……. until last Wednesday, when looking at the half done mirrors finally got on my nerves …….

On Friday night I started and finished the first one …. I had had a rubbish day at work and needed something to take my mind of it.  In all I think it took about three hours to fill all the gaps in. 

And then on Saturday morning I got up at about 7.00am and started on the other one, which didn’t seem to take as long, as I didn’t need to experiment quite as much in finding where things would fit.  The mirrors are not identical, but follow a similar pattern ……. and all the garish plastic/resin that I wasn’t sure about because they broke my rules about mixing materials actually worked!!!!

It seemed to take an absolute age before all the great globules of the various types of glue I had used had set and it took almost as long to remove all the straggly bits and blobs and smudges before I could finally hang the mirrors in situ, complete with tea light holders.  Now my “boudoir” is finally complete, tastefully over the top and “me”!!!  I am not discounting adding a few more bits to them if/when Primark get their act together again ….. but for now I am absolutely THRILLED with how they have turned out despite my original doubts.

Last time I was down in London in August, London Lounging with Marc (of that more in a future post) he suggested incorporating a set of small battery operated LED lights into this sort of mirror ……. hmmmmmm, now where can I find another suitable set?  Will I ever learn?

Can’t believe that I left the Windolene visible at the end of my bed in a couple of these photos !!! Aghhhhh!!!