Charm & Ornament Swap

 I finally got home after making a rush trip to California because hubby's mother passed. Thank you all for the wonderful condolences. I removed the post because this is a new year and we are trying to look forward. I hope you all can understand. Anyway when we got home the Charm and Ornament Swap was in my mailbox. I loved each and everyone of them. Because time is so short and Christmas is almost here I put them on a little wire tree for now but the ones that are small enough for a bracelet will be made into a bracelet for next year

Snowballs and Santa Claws

I figured you all are tired of seeing all my soldered ornaments so I thought I would show you some other ornaments I have been doing. I have been making the snowball for a couple of years now. I make a few more each year. First I covered Styrofoam balls with air dry clay. Then stamped snowflakes into the soft clay. Then I cut the mouth into the ball with a knife and stuck on some balls of clay for the nose and eyes. Once dry, I sprayed them with spray glue and glittered them with translucent glitter and a few flakes of fake snow. The hangers were just glued on with E600 … I love that stuff!

Santa Claws
This was made with a pattern I designed. I used white card stock for the basic lantern. Then I stamped it with holly and sprayed it with spray glue and glittered it with translucent glitter (gotta sparkle for Christmas) then I used red stickels for the berries and glued on some holly leaf confetti for a little extra glitz. I then hung a little Santa dog inside :)

Christmas Q

We will be decorating our tree tomorrow so I made this little ornament for my little grandbaby's first Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving!

There are so many things I am thankful for ... family, friends and that we finally found that dang turkey!

I believe :))

And the winner is Mavis!

A Christmas ornament, the rectangle part measures 2 inches by 1 ½ inches. I made several of these for an ornament swap I am in.

Gettin Junkie

 

Now that I have my soldering iron and a few tools, I wanted to try something more artsy fartsy … lol I want it to be something weathered and rusty … something that is totally outside my comfort zone. But where do you find the junk! I tried the local building salvage and everything I found there was too big. The antique stores want to much so I turned to the thrift stores. The problem with them is that anything junky they throw out because they don’t think it will sell. So as I was digging through the good stuff and I came across this little candle holder …. and it hit me… I could take it apart and rust those leaves. Then I found one of those cheep vanity mirrors with the lacy metal edge. Well I am gonna take that apart and rust it too. I guess this is a good first step … to start looking at things just a little different.

Wrapped up

Just some little gold wire wrapped earrings I made and gave away for blog candy. 

Christmas Eve House

Ok … the little house … or church you all have been waiting for…this is my first attempt at soldering something dimensional…it was a learning experience for sure! But for my first one, I am pleased. I put a little battery powered tea light inside it and it looked great but it did not picture well. The battery tea light is smokeless so you don’t have to worry about having a way for the smoke to escape or it getting to hot, yet you still have the ambiance. I will have the kits for this and for one that doesn’t have such a steep roof available soon. I will also have the house shapes to sandwich images between. Smaller houses for charms will come with the small circles when the thinner glass arrives. They have to be made from the thinner glass.

I am calling it my Christmas eve house as that is the big day in our family. That is the day we have a huge party, open our gifts and Santa comes :)) By Christmas day it is all over with but the eating … lol

Most of these are made by sandwiching your images between two sheets of glass and then soldering it like you would a charm. This one is made of a single panel of glass. I don't have a lot of storage space so I wanted to be able to change the images for the season. I used "Tack-it-over-and-over" glue just on the edges of each collaged image so it only hits the soldered area. This way it can be removed and saved for next Christmas. The Number also has the "Tack-it-over-and-over" glue. Then I have saved the backing paper after I used my xyron so that I can store the images sandwiched between when the time comes. I have already started the "Valentines" images and eventually I will have a set for the entire year.

:o Total Bummer

While on a hunting trip my son totaled our Jeep today. The doctor says he will be fine, just sore for a while. He also has hearing loss in his ear from his head hitting the side window when it rolled. The doctor says it will come back and that it is like he had his ears boxed but the eardrum is ok.

Fairy House Charm

I love this little fairy house charm but decided to part with it for blog candy:) This one is done with mica instead of glass.

House of Q

You all are probably getting pretty tired of my photo houses but I am hooked on these … lol. Here is the latest addition to my block party. It was really hard to get a good scan of it as the chain did not want to hang right on the scanner. It features no other than the mighty Quinton himself.

Well you know me … I kept walking past the house of Q in the hallway and I just felt it was not finished so I pulled it down for a “redo” … lol I added the rusted curlies and another rusted snap and it made all the difference.

These can be made any size but the measuring tape on mine are accurate.

Swap Charms

I have recently been in several charm swaps. So I thought I would share my ideas.

 

 These I made for a couple of scrabble tile swaps but I did both sets the same or just about. I glued clip art inchies on the tiles (available in the free printable section of my website) then I printed the sayings on velum cut them out and glued them on and stamped them with some swirls Once that was done I covered the entire face of the charm with diamond glaze. When dry I wire wrapped them.

 

 

These were for a shrink plastic swap. I made a wire wrapped spiral and then sewed on shrink plastic buttons with metallic tread. Then I glued coins on the opposite side.

This picture is of page pebble charms. I made these last month for the monthly project on my website but as I always do, I made two of each so I would have a set for a swap too. Unfortunately they went missing in the mail. Although I missed the deadline for the intended swap, I still hold hope of getting them back as it has only been two weeks. There is a fee online workshop for the pebble charms ... just click on the link on the right hand sidebar

Halloween Reflections

Halloween has come and gone and in all it was a nice day but I am glad to have it over. I was carving the pumpkin for the evening when my son arrived. I had the face drawn on and the eyes were finished. I was cutting out the mouth and was getting ready to carve the teeth when my son informed me I was doing it all wrong. He felt he should finish the job and since I wanted to cuddle the little sleepy ghost he brought, I quickly relented!

Optical Lens Pendant

 

Made from an optical lens this little pendant depicts “The Queen of Dreams”and was given away as blog candy :)

House Of Three

I had posted the "House Of Three" last night but I just did not like it. So this morning I disassembled it and remade it. This is my son and his wife’s first house (there will be more featuring these three). I used the number three because they are now 3.

My 58 House

Not my 58th , it is my first photo house. But this photo is of my mom and dad in 1958. Inspired by several artist work, I wanted to create a hallway wall with all the little houses of my family’s life and history. The curlies are chipboard. In real life the chip board curlies do really look like metal. I would love to share the technique with you, if only I knew it. My son provided me with two bottles of his secret rust. I painted on the some of the contents from the first bottle and it looks rust colored. Then when that was dry, I painted on some of the contents of the second bottle. It bumps up and gets flaky and dark in spots and it really looks real rusted metal. Then just for fun I brushed my copper ink pad over that. I just updated the photo. Some of you may remember that I did not feel it was finished. After a few days of thought, I added a keyhole and a little key fringe. I created the fringe by adding eyelets with little keys hanging from it. Although it doesn't look as good on the scanner bed as it does hanging, I think you can get the idea .

Drywall

I did these cards a while for the ladies in my local stamp group. Today we went, we stamped and we ate …lol I mixed a little latex paint into the drywall mud so they would be a little more flexible. Then I “buttered” some lightweight matt board with the paste and stamped into the goo for texture. Then I popped it in the oven at the lowest setting 170 ° and left the oven door open a crack. After about 20 minutes they were dry with no cracks. Then I just painted them and brushed them with a black inkpad. The images were colored with chalk and then cut out.

Grand distractions!

I have been a little distracted by the most beautiful grandbaby boy ever! Don't you agree :))

Daddy and our little prince :)

I am so tired but I wanted to take a quick moment to post a picture of our little prince. My pictures did not come out so great but hopefully the ones that daddy took are better. For now here is a picture of daddy and baby in there hats. Also I would like to thank you all for all the sweet posts.

He has arrived!

Little Quinton Scott Heaton was born this morning at 1.05 AM .... His birthday party will be later today and pictures will follow :)

Judy's Birthday

Still no baby but my solder finally arrived and I made my first charm for my sister’s birthday on the 5th. I really lucked out as my daughter-in-laws mother is here (also on baby watch) and I discovered her hobby is making stain glass windows. She gave me some pointers but the reason it looks a little rough is that she made me do it all by myself. Here is a little tip she gave me that I thought I would pass on, you can solder on anything metal and then paint it with solder. This is what I did on this. The front of the pendant is a picture of my sister and me when we were little and the back has my boys when they were young.

Halloween charm swap

These are for a charm swap in one of my groups. I shrank scans of some Halloween cards I did then I use “Jumbo Rain Drops” that I bought at the scrapbooking store. They are clear plastic so they will hold up to clanging against other charms. Once they were stuck to my images, I cut them out and sandwiched them together with e6000. This made them double sided. Then I stuck a piece of wire between the layers. Once it was dry, I wrapped the wire around the seam and twisted a little bail.

Dots Challenge.

A Birthday hat for the little prince!

Well the little guy still has not arrived. As I waited I realized that I had not made a hat for the birthday boy. I wanted his to be something soft so I made this little stretchy crown today.

I have had a scads of emails asking how this was done so here goes. First cut stretchy ribbed velvet fabric to be ½ inch wider than a newborn sock hat was around and about 12 inches long. With the right side of the fabric to the inside, sew it down the length to form a tube. Once that is done, sew a gathering stitch around the tube opening on both ends. Gather the first end and tack it down by hand. Then turn the tube inside out so the right side of the fabric is to the outside. Gather up the other end making sure to tuck the raw edge of the fabric to the inside. You should have something that looks like an empty bolster pillow now. Bring both gathered ends together so that the gathered “rings” are touching, folding the fabric over one hand. You should have something that looks like a sock hat now. Pin two pieces of ribbon to the bottom edge of the hat so that they cross at the top. Cut a strip of stretchy fur (make sure the back of the fur stretches or the hat will not stretch around the babies head) long enough to go around the bottom of the hat. Pin to the bottom edge of the hat with the fur to the inside. Using a stretch stitch sew the fir and ribbon to the bottom edge of the hat. Hand stitch the ends of the fur together. Roll the fur up to cover the ends of the ribbon. Tucking the raw edge of the fun in, loosely hand stitch the fur to the hat. Make sure you leave plenty of thread for stretching. Make a little pom pom from gold embroidery thread. Gather the ribbon at the top stitching down by hand and attach the pom pom. Use a permeate marker to make the black dots around the white fur and your done.

Stamping fun day!

I had a very good time yesterday at the local stamp club meeting. My friend Carolyn showed me how to make this soooo cute little paper purse. She also incorporates these into her cards, by putting them inside with little tags in the pockets!

Ok my friend Carolyn has put the instructions up on her blog have fun with this!

Finished Hats

Done! now we are just waiting for the Birthday boy to arrive. We have made a couple of false runs to the hospital :)) That boy already has us jumping through hoops! Mum saw the doctor today and he told her not to have him this weekend because he was going camping : /
Although I had planned on just showing these here, I went and showed them off in a couple of my stamping groups. Because of several people asked for my pattern and instructions, I have been working on getting them written up. I will be posting that and some close up pictures tomorrow on my website if you are interested.

Sweet Fall

I did this card this morning. I loved the way the colors came out.

Wrapping it up!

I love to do wire wrapping too! This is one of my favorite sets. Unfortunately I am allergic to most metal so when I work for myself it has to be in gold. The cost is really limiting so I am always making stuff for friends. I also like to add wire to my mixed media projects too.

The Wait

Inspired by everything I saw when I was blog hopping yesterday, I made this card this morning :)

Halloween eye candy

Since our local stamp clubs theme this month was Halloween I also joined a swap in one of my yahoo clubs. Then I just made two of each card. These are the two I liked the best.

Yep, these are my nails!

 

Yep...and I painted them myself!

The 31st

This is a card I did for a weekly sketch challenge in one of my yahoo clubs. It was the first time I participated in the challenge but it was so fun I am sure to do it again! The stamps used are from Scroll Works

I am still addicted to the serenity of the orient. When ever I need to relax I stamp something Asian … lol

A Kaleidoscope for my sister Judy

Kaleidoscope made from wrapping paper rolls for my sister’s Birthday. As you turn the base around the clown in the diamond shaped window changes. 

 To make this you will need to find two cardboard tubes, one slightly smaller than the other. I used a wrapping paper tube and then a ribbon tube. You will also need a plastic bead container the size of the tube with the larger diameter (Pic.2). I found several sizes at my local bead store. Decide how long you want your kaleidoscope and cut the tube with the smaller diameter that length. Then cut the larger diameter tube about 1/3 the length of the smaller diameter tube. You will also need to cut 3 strips of mirror all the same length as the smaller diameter tube but one needs to be slightly narrower in width. They also need to be able to fit in the smaller tube when taped together as you see in picture 3. You can make a pattern out of cardboard until you come up with the right sizes. These strips also need to be of thin mirror, as you would find in those mirror tiles that you stick to walls. If you feel you can’t do this part you can always go to your local glass shop and have them cut. Once you have your pieces assembled, slightly tape the mirror strips together enough to hold the shape (pic. 3) and insert them into the tube. Use a bamboo skewer with E600 or Liquid Nails along the length to reach inside the tube and glue the mirror strips in place.

 

 

Place some broken glass, beads, glitter or whatever you like inside your bead container. Cover the entire rim with liquid nails and close the two pieces together. Run a bead of liquid nails around the diameter of the sides of the bead container. Wet your finger and smooth it out being careful not to get glue on the top or the bottom. If you do, wipe it off with alcohol or Goo Gone right away. Set the bead container aside to dry. Once it is completely dry, drill a hole in the side with a dremel (pic. 5). Use a craft syringe to fill it with Mineral Oil (Pic. 6). Make sure it is completely full and there is no air inside. Prop it up on each side so that it will sit on a table unaided. Clean any oil that may be around the hole off with alcohol not Goo Gone as Goo Gone is oily. Once dry cut a small square of acetate large enough to cover the hole. Cover one side of the acetate with Liquid Nails and carefully place over the hole. Once that has dried cover the top of the acetate and completely to the sides of the bead container with Liquid Nails to make a tight seal. 

 

Cut a strip of scrap paper to fit around the larger diameter tube. It will also need to be a little longer than the tube so that it will cover the bead container also when it has been glued to the end of the larger diameter tube. This will be the pattern you use to decide where you will place your window when you stamp your cardstock that will cover the larger diameter tube. Fold the pattern in half then in half again. Use the fold lines to mark out the pattern you will be using (Pic. 7). Stamp the cardstock for both tubes and glue onto the tubes and cut the window out. Choose a piece of braiding that will easily fold in half. Glue this around the end of the larger diameter tube with one half of the braiding off the edge of the tube. Run a bead of glue on the inside edge of the braiding that is hanging off the edge as you see in picture 9. 

Once the glue has dried slightly, fold to the inside of the tube and let dry (Pic.11). This will form a rim that will hold the larger tube in place later. Place a ring of foam mounting tape at the bottom of the smaller diameter tube and again on the smaller diameter tube where the top of the larger diameter tube will cover (Pic. 12). Do not remove the top tape cover (green plaid) but do tape the ends of the foam tape cover together with standard tape. This will create a surface for the larger tube to ride on and also create a stop for the braided rim. Once the braiding is dry, slide the larger tube over the smaller diameter tube from the top so that the braided rim you just made hits against the foam mounting tape stop.

 

 Once the bead container has once again dried, glue it in place on the end of larger diameter tube (Pic. 13). Glue some pretty braiding around the bottom end also (Pic. 14). As you turn the larger diameter tube decide where you would like your images I used collage sheets available at my etsy store and place them accordingly. This way as you turn the base the image in the window will change.

 Cut a circle of cardstock the diameter of the smaller tube, cutting a peep hole in the center of that. Decorate as you like and glue on the open end. Cover the edge with braiding add some bling and your finished. Peek through the peep hole and enjoy!

My Muse

This is my little muse shrine. I keep her on my desk. It is made from a Altoids tin and the little muse doll has a magnetic pin back so she can be removed from her house and worn.

Clowning around

Clown house made from painted and stamped mat board shapes.