ArtEmboss Foil and Tim Holtz Tattered Florals Hair Bands

Hmmmm, seemed like a good idea in my head, but not so good in reality……!

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.

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.

I’ve attached the flowers with a hot glue gun onto  Poundworld hairbands (3 for £1).

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!

Floral Butterfly Card

This card measures 5ins x 5ins and is made using white linen effect card.

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 …..

…. 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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

Tea For Two Inchies

This card measure 5ins x 5ins and is made using ivory linen effect card.

Following on from yesterdays inchies, I’ve had another go but this time turned them into a card.  

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!

Coppernob Crease Mouse Blog Candy

This is very exciting for me …. my first blog candy giveaway!

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 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”

http://www.coppernobcardcraft.co.uk/productDetail.php?product_id=16

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!!

http://www.coppernobcardcraft.co.uk/

Nautical Inchies

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!

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.

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!!

Bee Pendant Tray

I’ve really tried to think outside the box for this pendant!

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.

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 …..

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!

Come on …. hurry up and set!

But I am thrilled and the wait was so well worth it!

Microscope Slide Pendant

 

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.

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.

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!!

Pendant Trays From Marc

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. 

 

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”.

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.

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.

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.

 

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..

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.

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.

Tim Holtz Stamps & Ranger Inkessentials Memory Frames

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)

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.

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!

Butterfly Panel

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.

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.

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!).

Tiny “Jam Pot” Light Place Setting

When I get an idea in my head, it’s hard for me to let it be until I finally make it.  I eventually sorted out a small enough candle to fit by using a watchmakers tin I had forgotten I had, (but in future I will use metal, screw bottle tops, which I am now collecting).

I drew flowers on the jar using a Cern’ gold outliner (Lefranc and Bourgeois).  When the outliner was dry I coloured in the petals and leaves using glass paint pens, adding a flat backed gem in the centres.  Then to cover the groves at the top of the jar I went over them with more gold outliner and adding a few more gems before it dried.

Using the Macro on my camera to get right up close it looks a bit blobby, so perhaps I need a bit more practice with the outliner, but I think that after a few more tries these would look lovely on a place setting, before the start of a “posh” meal and am already thinking about a Christmas version without the outliner.

Car Boot Sale Wooden Box

I apologise that there are only a few step by step pictures of this project, I got so involved I forgot to pick my camera up!

  Remember the £2 wooden box I got from a car boot sale a few weeks back?  Well on the first day of my Whitsun break I decided it was about time I did something with it.  I am so chuffed when I find a “car boot bargain” but then am equally guilty of doing nothing with it when I get it home.

I’ve covered the outside panels and the inside, including the tray with 12” x 12” papers from Stampin Up Designer Series Paper – Springtime Vintage pack (121782) which cost £8.75 for 12 assorted double sided sheets.

All this was a little fiddly, I made templates of all the parts I wanted to cover, but as the box was handmade it was a bit trial and error to get things to fit just right.

I used a small blue flowery pattern on the outside, but it looked a little too plain, so I cut some larger flowers from another paper, sticking them on top,  which transformed it, giving it a lovely old fashioned look.

I couldn’t decide what to do with the top, I quite liked it plain but there was a small, noticeable chip on it, so in the end I decided to cover it, using a gold panel cut using a Nestabilities label die on my Bigshot with a smaller label in the middle, using the same paper as the panels plus some more flower cut outs.

The next stage was to varnish it all, several times,  inside and out.  I used Ronseal Quick Drying Varnish, Clear Gloss which dries in 20 minutes which is brilliant for me as I am very impatient and find this sort of thing as boring as hell!

It’s now finished.  I am thrilled, I haven’t decided what to use it for yet, but jewellery seems to be the obvious answer as my collection of quirky bits and pieces is constantly growing thanks to even more car boot sales!