metal mania...

this week's challenge over on the simon says stamp and show blog is to use metal...and i had to play along with that theme, right?

i've used 10 seconds studio metal and embossed it by hand, and with folders, i've inked it, stamped it, cut it out, glittered it...accented it with glossy accents and sanded it! i've also used metal tags, metallic glitter and metallic paint...as well as a couple of staples...so i think i've got the metal thing covered... ;)


one of the things i love about metal work is how versatile it is and how much dimension you can get into even a basically flat project...




i was particularly chuffed with how this rose turned out...its cut in metal and alcohol inked, then covered in distress stickles so its all sparkly...very vintage looking :)

ooooh....and i haven't shown you the whole thing...so...can you tell what it is yet??? lol

its a new doorhanger for my craftroom!

wowyww...and winners!

hi there Wednesday folk...thanks for dropping by to see what is indeed on my workdesk today...and the answer is this...we've been drawing the winners for the sketch i posted two weeks ago...so without further ado...the winners are:

becky!

christina!

terri~ann!

if you lovely ladies could leave me your addresses as a pm to agirlcalledbob over on UKScrappers...i'll have your page kits on the way to you in the morning!

thanks so much to everyone who had a go...i loved seeing all your LO's...and i really enjoyed having you play with me! :0)

as for what else has been going on here over the last few days...well you may have noticed i've totally fallen in love with the embossed metal patchwork i've been doing...and here is another one...this time a letter A for my craftroom:

clearly, i've done it in the colours i love, and it matches the decor i've got going on in here...and i have to say i really rather like this one!! ;0)

i've covered it all round, which took a little bit of fiddling, but was well worth it...and in case you can't see...here is a close~up to show you just how shiny and pearlescent the peacock coloured metal is:

if you haven't seen it yet...i've done a step~by~step tutorial to creating this look a couple of posts back...

right...off you go on your rounds of all the woyww'ers...and don't forget to stop by Julia and leave her some love for starting this whole thing off...i just might see you there! :0)

there is a chill in the air...

..and i've decided to make a start on my Christmas gift list!!!! i've started with this photo/scrap album for a friend...an easy make with quite a stunning impact, i think...and of course tying anything with a big bow instantly makes it looks like a much more super glamourous present than it did before :0) the bow here is actually a tie to keep the album shut too...so its functional as well as pretty.

when you untie the bow you can see that i've been at my patchwork metal effect again...and this time i've used silver foil and coloured the patches with alcohol inks. {if you like this dramatic colourway as much as i do, you might like to know its created using 3 colours: raspberry, sunset orange and sunshine yellow} i've then added scraps of ribbon and trim, and covered the inside of the cover with pp to match the back cover...with the ribbon glued firmly between the layers of the back cover...and then accordian pages between the two:

so that is one present down...goodness knows how many to go...but its a good chance to flex those crafty muscles, eh? ;0) now...i wonder if i can find a shop that's selling mince pies already to help get me in the mood even more!!

metal momentos...

ok...so after a totally non~productive weekend...don't know what was wrong with me...i was all set for the cybercrop over on UKS...and yet i had a couple of those days when everything i touched...well...lets just say it did not turn to gold! ;0) anyhow...i decided to start the week by finishing off these frames i started yonks ago:


the base frames are some of those cheap brushed silvery type affairs that were snaffled from a local charity shop by my MIL {that shows how long ago it was, huh?} i coloured the whole frame with alcohol inks, mainly clover because i love it, then stamped the swirly Fancy Pants design in Stazon.

the flowers are made from Ten Seconds Studio metal sheets...embossed and die cut with my Big Shot, sanded and inked with Stazon and sewn together with buttons and thread. the curl on the petals is achieved by wrapping around a fat pencil ;0)

rubon wording and butterflies from my *leftovers* box adhered really easily once the ink was well dry {i leave it overnight ideally...or in this case for months!!} i coloured the inside of each frame with Sharpie pens to draw attention to the photos...and added some lush ribbon trims glued one over the other and then added pearl flat~backs for the centres, and to add to the wedding theme.

this small one is basically...a smaller version of what i've done above...almost made to match i think you could say!

if you look closely you'll see that the rubon wording hung over the edge of the frame onto the picture...so i've simply drawn the loops onto the photo with another Sharpie.

if you're still with me...i'd love to hear what you think..? i was planning them as part of a wall display in our guest room...but hubby thinks they are both "garish" and "twee" at the same time...what do you think? he's not...*struggles to say this*...RIGHT, is he? ;0)

in the grungey~groove...

after months of putting it off...for no real reason i'm aware of...i've finally had myself a little go at the grungepaper flowers everyone is madly making...and oh boy...are they seriously addicting little beauties to make!!! ;0) trust me...there will be more!!!

this is my version of the rose that is so popular atm...i've not got the official Tim die...{yet!}...so i cut mine using the Hello Kitty Daisy die...and added a couple of extra layers as the petals are longer and thinner...but i really like the full blooming effect...once i'd cut the shapes...i embossed them using the swirly Cuttlebug folder and inked them with distress inks...then sprayed them with the two~tone Moonglow mica powders and sealed them...i then cut and curled the shapes and assembled with glue and pegs...once they were dry i sprayed them again with Moonglow...sprinkled crystal glitter on them...and sealed them again...i was having so much fun i could have played all day!


this large daisy flower is one i really like...its so open and pretty...and easily flat enough for a LO or a card...i would really keep the roses more for gift wrap or projects like this.
see how i've sprayed the Moonglow and the glitter over the brad too? its tricky to photograph as its soo glittery and shiny...but it really settles well on the metal and has a sort of mottled and very naturalistic effect...

my final attempt {for today...} is a flower which takes up Shimelle's Something from almost nothing challenge...to use up mismatched brads...as you can see...i've clustered them in the middle of the flower and then sprayed them to bring the colours closer together...i've used 18 brads in all on this flower...but it would look super cute with 3 or 5 in the middle if you are a less is more kind of crafter!! lol

ok...off to find out the next challenge...and to clean the loo!

have a crafty day xx

Back Porch Memories...

...have you been here yet? This is a great site, with a fabby kit club and at the moment they're having a cyber crop :) Officially it was this weekend, but the deadline for many of the classes and challenges is next weekend so there's still time to join in...and win a prize!

I've not been feeling so good, but I've had a quick go at their flower class and made up these speedy cards using the flowers i made. My creativity is directly related to how well i'm feeling, but i'm pleased with them :) and i got to use the big shot {to cut the circles and flowers} and a yummy cuttlebug embossing folder, so OH feels he's getting value for money too! lol

why don't you have a go?