Wonderful, Wonderful Times With Marc–Ranger Melting Pot And Whole Port Mould.

Like all of Marc's and my Melting Pot experiments during my in October, we just didn’t know what to expect, especially this last one.  I had asked for this mould in my last parcel from WholePort  ……. http://www.wholeport.com/item/b1s_fondant-and-gum-paste-silicone-resin-clay-molds-baking-molds-cake-decorating.html

…… thinking I could use it with Fimo, but at the last minute I put it in my suitcase thinking we could also try using UTEE in it.

We started by using a adding white pigment to the clear UTEE and then adding a bit of green, but after adding two lots of green it still looked too pale and as Marc and I were tiring, so we thought what the heck, we’re only playing, lets just use it as it is!

You’ll notice, I didn’t pour too carefully! All we had to do then was wait for it all to cool and set, which doesn’t take long at all. I wasn’t impressed when the bits came out of the mould, my dodgy pouring didn’t help I know, but I don’t think the mould liked the hot UTEE too much, as it seemed to expand a little round the edges, so it must have done at the bottom as well, as a result the  impressions were not as sharp as I would have liked, (but it was meant for fondant paste after all), the pale and pasty colour also failed to impress!!

However, Marc is not one to give up lightly and knows so much more about finishing and finishing products than I do …. perfect pearls are a mystery to me!!! But, he got out his Copper Cosmic Shimmer and rubbed and buffed like there was tomorrow, to startling results,  which reminded me of ancient artefacts.  What I would have binned, Marc brought to life!

I am not sure what I am going to do with these new “treasures” yet, but I did do this doodle while we were admiring the bits and pieces we had produced ….. I am thinking of using a small box frame, and inside the branch and a heart pendant I have got somewhere hanging from it …… so now I need to find that heart and once more as you to watch this space!!!!

http://www.wholeport.com/?gclid=CJbD877Jw7oCFe7HtAod6mYAEA

Wonderful, Wonderful Times With Marc – Pictures of Notting Hill and Battersea

I like to take lots of photographs ……

….. but I know I am pants at the art of photography ……

I don’t have a fancy camera ……

…..my  poor, simple brain cannot cope with anything more technical than pushing a button and the occasional zoom in and out ……

…… but I do like capturing things that take my fancy or inspire me …..

….. and these are just a few of the pictures……

……… I took when I was out and about in Notting Hill and Battersea……

…….. giving Marc a bit of piece and quiet from my incessant Brummie accent!!!

This final picture has a touch of the Derek Acorah’s about it,  as I took it only because of the name of the road/street ….. I don’t have a clue why …… only a spooky sort of feeling that the name has meant/means something to me somewhere in my deep and distant consciousness…… if only I knew what …..!!  Queue the spooky music!!!

Wax Seal Gift Wrap

Following on from my experiments with faux wax seals made using my Ranger Melting pot …….. I just wanted to see how one would look on a parcel …….. this was my first hasty attempt.
I attached the seal, over the knotted string using a glue gun.  The small tag is made with a punch and is written in “my best handwriting”  Perhaps next time I think I should try a lighter coloured string as a contract ……. but overall it don’t look too bad.

The Start Of Another Bejewelled Mirror

I got up, had a shower and then meant to “do” the lounge, but I got waylaid …. by my boudoir bathroom mirror ….. and four hours later I am still in my dressing gown ….. with a mirror about half way done ….. and a messy lounge still screaming to be vacuumed!!!  The mirror sucked me in I am afraid as opposed to me sucking up with the vacuum …. if you pardon the expression!

This is the stage of a bejewelled mirror that I hate, the stage where it looks like pants and I want to give up!  I started by working in the corners, using the same bits, and then move on the the middle of each side, so that when you look at the mirror initially there is a sort of symmetry to it …. and then when that is done, I just go for it, filling in the gaps, using the plainer embellishments to build up the first layer, and then adding the fancier bits on top of them.

I am really surprised to see how far I managed to get with what only looked like a small pile of leftover bits and pieces, I don’t think I need to go to Primark to look for bits to disassemble after all …… I also remembered these glittered adhesive shapes from Michael’s that my friend Dianne in Florida sent me that are just perfect for the more fiddle farty top layer.

When I made my first mirror I was very wary of mixing different materials … I wanted it all to be metal and glass gems ….. but now so long as it is pretty and/or sparkly I know it will look OK.

I don’t however have quite enough stuff  to finish the whole of the mirror, so I have ordered these metal flowers  and acrylic gems from E-bay to complete it hopefully. I will then use small pearl and gold beads to fill in any small gaps in the final stages.

I now need to let what I have done so far to set properly, while waiting for these pieces to arrive …. and perhaps get some cleaning done too!

My Las Vegas Diary/Scrapbook

I can’t believe how time has flown, last year seemed to go in an absolute  flash, I didn’t seem to have a minute, there was The Rolling Stones concert, our trip to Las Vegas ….. and then came the Wedding of the Year, trips to London, Lucy’s graduation etc. etc.  ….. and then Christmas ….. agh!!!!

So over the next few months I am going to attempt to try a catch up, hoping that I will not overtaken by even more exciting events   …. because I have a enough pictures of all the gorgeous “objects of desire” that I am desperate to show you that I had to leave behind in Vegas, either because they were wayyyyyyyy too expensive or because they wouldn’t fit in my case, for a couple or three posts …….

…… I also want to share, starting today, my Las Vegas diary/come scrapbook which I diligently wrote and stuck into at the end of every day when we got back to our room, no matter how exhausted and overwhelmingly hot I was …..

I wanted to “create” something that was of the moment, nothing fancy, just a record of what we had done each day and our feelings, plus the odd bit of doodling and souvenirs that I had picked up as we went around.

I couldn’t rely on photos because those would have to wait till we got home ….. although I did leave a few small spaces for poignant events.

So …… here are the first few pages, with more to come in the coming months, to help fill a few otherwise empty posts.  I hope you will enjoy them and not get too bored!!!!

Two Adoption Cards For Two Very Special People

Towards the end of December my friend Sarah was able to call her little boy Jacob her own ….. it gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. They both had to go to court, Jacob in his smart new suit, for the judge (???)  to sign all the forms and make it official …… woooo hooooo hooooo

I wanted to make a card for each of them,  I also wanted to keep it very simple, but that said it all.  I think I must have got it right, because as soon as Jacob opened his, he said to his mum “I know who this is, it’s me and you!”  I nearly cried!!

The puffy foam bear stickers came from Paperchase a couple of years back meant for Valentines Day ….. I have hung on to them since then ….. and for this occasion they were just perfect.

Playing and Learning With My Ranger Melting Pot.

I’ve had an evening of glorious Melt Potting ….. but I have sooooooo much to learn.  What I really should do is set aside an evening for watching some of the many Melting Pot/Utee videos on YouTube  and then play, but I am just too impatient!

So, the first thing I have learned is not to let your Utee overheat as it becomes discoloured … as you can see from my pan the colour started out as Lapis Sapphire …. but gradually as I “played” with it over and over again it became erm ….. swamp green, as you will no doubt see from the finished results!  I am currently researching how to stop it overheating!!  I have also since found out that you should keep the pan lid on and NOT to stir during melting process (to stop bubbles forming),  well,  I hold my hands up and admit, I stirred copiously, like Fanny Craddock possessed ….. but in my defence I am only learning!!

I tried to use the melted Utee with a couple of my moulds, but with very disappointing results. The Utee appears to be too think to pick up the fine detail in the shallower edges of the moulds that I have tried so far, so again, further research is needed.

So, my chosen method, while I am still playing, is using a metal cookie cutter.  As you can see I have added beads and glitter to the mix. I pour the Utee straight onto the non stick craft sheet, press the cutter into it and then wait for it to cool, which takes a matter of just 30 secs or so.

As I said earlier, this is the stage where the Utee became swamp green, as I melted and reused it over and over again, trying getting the look/shape right,  don’t let it put you off, it was ME!!!!

These are four hearts of the hearts that I was happy with, which eventually will be used as gift tags.  I put the hole in them by using the pointed nozzle on one of my old glue bottles, holding it in the Utee until it had set. I then put a jump ring through the hole, onto which I will eventually tie a suitable ribbon or cord.

Overall, after my third play I am a bit disappointed with the swampy colour I made, but, from this one “mix” I have finished up with nine heart tags that I am happy with. The beads however are “lost” in all the colour, they look quite pretty when held up to the light but that effect is lost under normal light . …. so my next experiment will be just adding beads to plain unadulterated Utee.  But it’s all about playing ….

…… nothing gets wasted as the Utee can be remelted and used again for other projects, as my little tin shows.

At the end of the evening my final play was mixing Blue Raspberry Cosmic Shimmer with a little bit of glitter to make these red hearts ….. with Valentines Day in mind …….. watch this space!

Guest Crafter–The Equally Lovely Denise

Over Christmas Lucy and I nipped over to the Equally Lovely Denise’s and the Ever Patient Ken’s for a festive meal, but I just could not help looking at and admiring all of Denise’s lovely Christmas creations ….. and asked if she wouldn’t mind being my guest crafter for today

Have you ever seen anything as lovely as these crocheted baubles? I was so jealous when I saw them, and decided there and then that I really MUST learn to crochet sometime this year.  They are just sooooo beautiful, in fact too beautiful!!!

The wool and pattern both come from Planet Penny:-
http://planetpenny.co.uk/2013/11/07/crochet-christmas-baubles/

http://planetpenny.co.uk/2013/11/12/crochet-christmas-baubles-part-two/

And then sitting on the mantelpiece were the Advent Drawers Denise had made for Ken.  Denise has become quite an expert on her Silhouette Portrait, again putting me to shame.  The drawers were made using downloaded files from Silhouette and then Denise used the print and cut  feature on her machine for all the patterns,  another process I have yet to master, after goodness knows how many years, perhaps 2014 will be that year!

And finally, a bit of Decopatch …… gorgeous! 

It’s so brilliant to have another person in the family to bounce off ideas with and who is as daft and as enthusiastic about new stuff as me ….. I also have a spooky feeling that The Equally Lovely Denise is going to become a very  regular guest crafter during 2014 and beyond!