A project from Stash - Having fun Steampunk style

Sometimes I get lost in overcommitting myself to the point where crafting feels like a second job.  I hate when it gets that way, because I truly love it and it is such an escape from a busy life.  One of my goals this year was to start having fun with it again, play more, and use more stash.  I always say the last one, but end up with more at the end of the year than I started with.

Today I went to craft with a friend.  I needed to bring some things with me that wouldn't take a lot of time and would be easy to to pack.  I brought a cartridge to do a cut rak which I completed.  I have to say if you have a Cricut, the Artiste cartridge is a must have.  That baby has a bit of everything on it. 

I brought my spool to work on.  I finished the majority of it, but I needed to remake the phinneal at home and do the final assembly and embellishing.  It is about 75% done, so I made good progress.  Pictures to come on this.  I want to wait until it is done and my partner has it before posting.

Then the fun came.  I wanted to bring another project, but wanted something that I could get done in a reasonable amount of time.  I had a plaque in my stash for a while, it was sitting there in the alterables closet just waiting for me to do something with it. I grabbed my all time favorite stack G45 Steampunk Debutante.  It was a hard call because Old Curriousity Shoppe is a really close second.  That would look just as well.  Too bad I don't have a second one of those or I must just might have had to make one.  I really enjoyed this project.

First Monday Class on Creative Soup For the Soul

Hello everyone. Come join me on Creativesoupforthesoul.com for our first Monday night class. I will do the class in two parts. 

When: 1/14/13 and 1/21/13
Time: 6:30 pacific time (45 minutes to an hour)
What: Mixed Media Canvases (on chipboard - instead of canvas)

Breakdown:

1/14/13 Techniques to make unique backgrounds.
1/21/13 Creating a finished piece

Learn how to use use gesso, molding paste, templates, other mediums, etc. to create unique backgrounds for a 6 x 6 mixed media canvas on chipboard. You can do any style you choose I will just demonstrate a few techniques to get started and we can see what everyone comes up with.



Materials for backround:
6 x 6 piece of chipboard.
Gesso
Image
Inks, paints, stains, (what ever you want to use)
Embellishments, trims, etc
Optional: Papers, text paper, printed tissue paper (example tim holtz), stamps, sayings, molding paste and templates, texture mediums, punchinella, mica, glitter, buttons, blings, anything for texture.
Heat gun - optional.
Here are some examples of ones I have made:
This background I went wild on....used molding paste, papers, paint, rub and buff, stamps, TH tissue paper, sprays, ...etc

This one has the crackle effect in the background (easier to tell when up close - plum underneath with suede as the top coat.  I used a large piece of lace to soften the background.

This next one is in progress, but I just love the background.  I used molding paste a 6 x6 crafter's workshop stencil, black gesso, gold rubn'buff luminarte paints in different shades of blue.

Creative Soup for the Soul's New Year's Kick Off Party

Come join us at http://creativesoupforthesoul.com for a New Year's kick off party.  The party will go from 8 am - 12pm  pacific time. You will need to login in and become a membeer of the board.  Then you will need to go to video chat.  When you sign in to the video chat, please select microphone only and then select just typing response.  This way we can have more people join in on the fun.

So what will we be doing:  There will be demo's, projects, games, prizes, info and announcements.

Here are some projects I will be demoing and teaching along with supply lists.  You are welcome to create or just watch.

MELTING POT: Melting pot basics, colors of utee, mixing colors, molds, accenting finished pieces with color, texture treads, glass flowers, beeswax, project trays, and molding compound.

If you want to create as well - just have your melting pot ready, some utee, molds, 3 dimensional flowers (example prima, iamroses), tweezers, silicone spatula's, colors if you have them, rub-n-buff (if you have), etc.

Metal Art:  Demonstrate basic metal tape techniques
Make a metal 6 x 6 canvas

Need 6 x 6 piece (or what ever size you would like) of medium weight chipboard
Chipboard, grunge board, etc. letters and or diecuts
Metal HVAC tape (roll), Range metal tape, or any type of metal tape
metal kit or a stylus, bone folder, an end of a paint brush.
Magic Mesh or Cement tape (optional), Punchinella (optional)
Black acrylic paint
Copper Inka Gold by Viva Decor or Rust Alcohol ink (optional)
If you want to hang it: crop-o-dile, twine, chain or ribbon, and eyelets
Embellishments
E6000 and Beacon 3 in 1 adhesive

 

Hope you can join us there it will be fun!!!!

Non-Traditional 12 days of Christmas Swap

I participated in the non-traditional 12 days of Christmas swap on the cmb.  We could buy up to 4 of the 12 days, but that still left 8 projects.

My true love gave to me....
Day 1: A partridge in a pear tree - make a fruit themed item.  I went with simple but classic.  I made 3 by 3 note cards.  I used a white textured card stock base.  Layered black textured card stock and a light aqua print.  (Aqua is one of her favorite colors).  I used  the fruit from the Serenade cartridge and was going to do the layers but it just didn't look right.  I decided to go with cutting in black and making it more like a silhouette.  I finished off with black gems in the corners.  I made 6 of the cards and a matching tin to store them in.

Day 2:  Two Turtle Doves - I gave my partner the Damask cricut cartridge.  It was on her MQ and she loves the pattern.

Day 3: Three French Hens - paris or french themed item.  This wasn't the first project I came up with for this day.  However, I just wasn't over the moon with the finished project and end up making a small printers tray.

Day 4: Four Calling birds - feathers  This is my favorite project of them all.  I so wanted to keep this.  It is hard to tell by the pictures, but the centerpiece images are all raised with foam tape.  On the wings, behind the metal ones are feathers.  There TH gears on the center of the rosettes.  I used the tags from the paperline to intermix with the rosettes. This is my favorite line of paper - Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutante..

 

Day 5: 5 golden rings - banner in jewel tones.  My partner requested a Christmas Banner in traditional red and green

Day 6 - 6 geese a laying - make 3 oval gift tags (they are pictured on the previous post along with the gift box.

Day 7 - 7 swans a swimming - an item in blue and green - bought partner blue and green lindy's stamp gang sprays.

Day 8 - 8 maids a milking - create a pearl themed project

 

Day 9: nine ladies dancing - fill an altered purse with candy

 



Day 10:  10 Lords a leaping - project using masculine colors

 Day 11 11 pipers piping: 2 trims - I filled the box in little aqua damask bags with the trims plus extras from my stash.  I read that she like Mica Flakes on her mq and I add a variety of colors, crystal pieces, and an altered key.

Day 12: 12 drummers drumming - although this is so not usually my style - this is my second favorite project.  I got the idea from a pin on her board and had to come up with my own version.

Tags

Wow, it has been a long time since I have posted.  I made a ton of projects since the last post.  Unfortunately I didn't take pictures of one of the last swaps I did. This one I am finishing up, I am definitely taking pics of.  Here is one of the projects that I did.  We were to make 3 scalloped oval tags. 

Finished Tag

Cut from Alphalicious on the Cricut at 3 1/2 "  the scallop oval - 3 each, then cut again with the flip so I could back the tag.  Cut the regular oval at 3 1/2" - 3 each.

 Inked all edges in black ink.  then I went over in gold Inka Gold.

 Added flowers that I inked, bling, gears, tulle, and stick pins.  I added black sheer ribbon to the top of the tags.

I had made a little pizza style box for the presentation for the tags.

Box lids

So I posted earlier that I made the body of my apothocary out of two boxes and put the lids aside for another project.  I couldn't believe how much the craft store was selling wood planks for for subway art and other signs - they were 7 something a piece. YIKES.  I wanted to make two.  The boxes were in my stash - I had bought them previously on sale for 5 a piece.  I allocated the lid costs to $2 each - not bad of a savings. 

So story behind what I did with them.  My original plan was subway art.  I was going to be crafty with an idea I saw on pinterest.  I painted them both cream. Then over the top I did some random color blocking in fall colors.  I put down sticker letters (where I went wrong is on Pinterest they did this to a canvas).  Painted over the top with belended fall colors. Let dry and went to remove the sticker letters and oh was it a mess.  they did not come off cleanly.  So I tried to pain over it and that didn't work.  So instead of throwing them away.  I used inka gold to cover the plank, then I covered the front with paper and went from there.  I actually do like how they turned out...so in the long run it worked out.

fall wreath

This wreath has been a long time in the making.  I think I started this a month or two ago and just stuck it in the unloved box.  (It is a box I keep next to my desk with items I get stuck on or just don't quite love that I will get back to some day).  So I challenged myself to pull that sucker out of there this weekend and finished it up.  I think it looks so much better with the center and final details.