Bubbly Scrumptious update...Valentine projects...

have you been over to the Bubbly Scrumptious blog to see my latest creations...i've gone all romantic for Valentine's day :0)  if not...just click here!

who said Valentine's have to be red or pink, eh? ;0)

30 minute Thursdays...personalised keychain...

Hi all...its Thursday again...so time for another 30 minute project...this week i've created a personalised keychain with a photo of my hubby on it. Of course, you're unlikely to want my hubby on your keychain...so feel free to add photos of your children, pets or favourite flowers...whatever you love!

Materials:

1 large Tim Holtz facet and the jump rings you get in the pack

Glossy Accents

2 charms of your choosing

alcohol inks

Stickles

a scrap of ribbon

a keychain

a scrap of pp

a photo

The first step is to adhere your pp to your facet using a smoosh of Glossy Accents. Move the facet around a bit {wiggle it} to spread the glue and allow it to dry for about 30 seconds. Cut carefully around the facet.

Next, adhere your photo to the reverse of the pp just as before, wiggling the facet for good adhesion...and allow to dry. Trim as before and using a pokey tool, remake the hole all the way through so you can attach the jump ring.

Using the jump rings in the pace of facets, make a simple chain of 5 rings with the keychain on one end and the facet on the other. Take your charms and colour them by dabbing with alcohol inks and when dry {again about a minute unless you've totally soaked them!} add a dab of glitter glue with your finger for some subtle sparkle. Leave this to dry, then using two more jump rings attach the two charms to the chain.

The final step is to simply tie on a piece of co~ordinating ribbon and attach keys!

And there you have it...a simple but personalised keychain perfect for a gift or as in my case, just for yourself...because *you're worth it* muahahahahaha

She Art week 3

the third week's challenge on Christy's fun she art course...was to create a self~portrait she art girl...and i decided to do one featuring me and the hubby...bet you didn't know i was married to Paul Weller, eh? ;) actually...i think he's aiming for Dave Grohl...but he's just too blonde!! lol


i used layers and layers of mica sprays, **i love Dyan** :) and alot of gold acrylic paint...this large blob here is to cover up some stamping i did but hated!! lol so as usual...its a learning curve...as you'll see i'm experimenting with different levels of distressing/painting/etc to see which i prefer...which do you prefer? {last week i did alot less...}



i guess i'm also still finding my *style* for these paintings...and this one turned out a bit like a scrapbook page...but its a very forgiving format...and i really like it...hope you do too...and i hope you've all signed up for the next course??? ;)

Friendly Plastic Masterclass ~ Day Six

day 6 ~ 3-dimensional techniques

Welcome back after the weekend...i do hope you had a good one? Now, lets get started...
When you buy Friendly Plastic in flat strips it is easy to think it has to stay that way, but this is sooo not true. Using either the pellets or the sticks it is really fun to bend it round things...shape it over things...and enter the *third dimension!* Obviously there are many ways to mold the warm FP into 3~D shapes and today i will share a few of my favourites with you.

Technique fifteen~ freeform shaping

Freeform shaping simply means using your fingers, and other simple tools to make a unique 3~D shape. This can be as simple as rolling a bead or a coil, or as complex as creating a freestanding figurine. This is by no means my area of expertise, so you won’t be surprised to see that my examples are very simple.
The pebble~like heart shape that i’ve made was created by melting down some scraps of FP and shaping with my fingers and an embossing tool. Do be careful and keep dipping your fingers in cold water as you do this, partly so you don’t burn yourself, and partly so you don’t stick to the plastic!
The simple beads i’ve made were created from FP pellets, melted down and coloured with mica powders. They are really pearlescent in real life. To create the hole in the middle of a bead, simply drop the shaped bead into cold water for a few seconds and when it is hard enough on the outside, simply wiggle a pin through it. This takes a bit of trial and error to get the timing right, but once you’ve mastered it, you’ll be beading everything in sight!

To show that you can also use the stick form of FP in a freeform way too, I’ve created the flower shape from a lovely pearly stick i had. I cut a rough circle with scissors from the cold plastic, heated it and shaped the petals with an embossing tool dipped in oil and then embedded a press stud in the middle. I reheated this slightly with my heat gun and then lightly curled up the petals.

Technique sixteen~ using a mold

If, like me, you are not a whizz at freeform modelling i am happy to report there are other methods of modelling. You can use all sorts of art and craft molds as long as they can tolerate the heat of the warmed plastic. I don’t personally have many of these molds, but the ones i used were designed for FIMO and worked perfectly.

Again, i’ve tried to show that you can use all forms of the FP with these molds. The pink elephant in my photos was created from pink strips cut into inch long sections placed one on top of another and melted down on a non~stick sheet using my Melt Pot as a hotplate. I lined the mold with lots of two tone mica powder in pearly gold and pink {Moon Glow Starlit Pink Gold} which gives a lovely sheen and aids release.
The other animals were made from pellets mixed with mica powders and melted into a translucent blob like we did in the last lesson. These are much easier to handle and manipulate, and when they were cooled I painted some elements with Ranger acrylic paint to give definition.

Technique seventeen~ using FP to make a mold for other sculpting media!

While we are on the subject of using molds, i thought i’d mention that you can also create molds from FP to use with cold modelling materials like air~drying clay and FIMO or Sculpey. Simply melt yourself a suitable sized blob and carefully push into it a button or a small ornament, being careful not to push so far that the FP comes up the sides of your object and keeps it for good! A little oil on the object makes this much easier. The super bonus of making molds this way is that when you are bored of them...you can simply melt the mold down and created something entirely different...as many times as you like :0)

The photo shows the warm FP with a metal charm pushed into it, which is how you create the mold. The pale blue shape is the mold made from the flower charm you can see.
All these molding techniques are a brilliant way to use up the scraps of FP you will undoubtedly have collected by now. Never throw those scraps out...simply re~melt them, re~mould them or re~colour them and start again!

Technique eighteen ~ the flat pack technique!

As i was thinking about 3~D pieces i wracked my brain for ways to make them for people who don’t like freeform modelling or don’t want to buy molds...and the *flat pack* technique was born. You know how it is when you go to the Swedish store we all love...everything is dismantled into flat sections that you simply assemble to create something rather wonderful...well that is how my mind works, and its what i’ve done to create the box illustrated!

Simply create 6 squares of FP, 5 exactly the same size and 1 a couple of mm larger. To create the box, you need to make joins between the touching surfaces and i’ve done this invisibly by dipping the edges i wish to join in hot water for a couple of seconds {60 on my Melt Pot}, then pressing them together. Easy, huh? To create the lip which stops the lid slipping off {the lid is upside down in the photo} i made 4 thin strips and attached them as i’ve just described, then i put the lid good side down and heated slightly and pressed the lip into the hot plastic. Its so cute!

Ok, i hope you’re having fun with all these techniques...as usual do leave me a comment if you have any questions and queries and i’ll do my best to help out...and don’t forget to join me tomorrow for our final day! Bye for now...

scrapping with Shimelle...

...so here is the first of my LO's based on Shimelle's sketches and prompts in the Love your pictures, Love your pages class....

...the photos were taken during this year's Valentines' Weekend...which was christened *the love weekend* in our house!

...again its all made using scraps of pp...which was Shimelle's idea...to use up all those strips that accumulate in the scrap bag, and i've managed to get in some eyelets...so old letter stickers by Basic Grey, and a couple of grungepaper flowers left over from a previous project!

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)

are you playing with shimelle...and me?

so i've been playing over at Shimelle's place...and shimelle being who she is...{and we wouldn't want her any other way}...her first blog party prompt was to make some kind of cupcake related project:

i made this little jewellery box out of felt {from a kit that Jaki gave me for my Birthday...hope you like how i've done it, hon?}...cute as...well...a big pink cupcake!! ;0)

next i've taken up her scraplift and use woodgrain challenge...and i've made this LO: i did scraplift her LO...quite closely for me! and i've used woodgrain sticker letters, woodgrain printed ribbon...and a photo of some wood!!

next up was a challenge to make some bunting...on a card...on a LO...or on the wall...and as you can see...i've gone for the *above the bed* option!

its a very simple affair...the embroidery thread and the mini~pegs are from this month's Scrapagogo kit...and the golden paper hearts are from a string we were given wrapped around a Wedding present...i've simply cut them apart to use them here :0)

not sure which challenge i'll tackle next...but i'm off for a little nap before i even think about it!

hope you're crafting happily or enjoying the sunshine...

spaghetti hoop~la!!

a huge thanks to the wonderful Ruth who directed this month's crop class...a real *back to basics* class where we were encouraged to use only cardstock and doodling for our *cheap as chips* layouts...
in my usual way...i *adapted* this slightly...and included some foam letter stickers...although i did doodle on them...so its not really cheating, is it? ;0) i also added some dew drops that i was given for Christmas to add a subtle dimension to my border...and a few buttons...which meant i had to have thread...because i do sooooooooo hate a button when its not sewn on!!!

its a simple LO, which didn't take long to do...and cost me pennies...so i'm rather pleased with it, all in all! Of course it doesn't hurt that my cousin is sooooo gorgeous!!

as i'm not sure if you can tell...but i decided to raise alternate petals, on my doodled flower, on
foam dots and glue the others down flat...this adds a dimensional touch that i really like...and is much more interesting than having the whole thing either up...or down...

as for the spaghetti hoop~la...if you look closely you can see spots on the right hand side photo...where i set it aside to photograph after i had had my lunch...his Nibs proceeded to throw the unwashed tin just exactly where my LO was...he is now in the dog~house...no more spaghetti for him!! ;0) on the plus side...now its dry it doesn't even show...but does anyone know if spaghetti hoops are acid~free? lol

its easy when you know exactly what you want to say!

hi everyone! this just might be the quickest and easiest LO i've ever done...but when you know exactly what you want to say...you just have to say it, right? the photo is one i took of his nibs while we were on our second honeymoon {do you remember that story? ;0) } and i just love how its captured him off~guard...not posing...just smiling his natural smile...and dreaming of...well...who knows with men!! lol
as i'm determined to do this year...it is made entirely from scraps of pp and left over embellishments...the only new thing is the paper rose {which i've layered over a fabric die cut flower} which Suzy sent me in a box of fluff for my Birthday...Thankyou Suzy! xxx

the word adore is from a scrap of pp that i loved years ago {sorry don't remember who made it}...and the i and the u are left over chip letters that i've painted with crackle paint to make the same colour...look carefully at the crackle tho...its much smaller on the chipboard corner and the star shape than it is on the letters...can you guess why..?

...its because i turned the letters over and painted on the adhesive side which gives this fantastic crocodile skin crackle! *another happy crafting accident!!*

this whole page took me about 20 mins...which just might be a record for me...and about 15 mins of that was waiting for the crackle to do its thing! ;0)

happy day...xxx

a little more love...

ok, so apologies...but i am not done with Valentine's Day yet...before i move on i wanted to share these wooden roses that used to dress the guest beds for our *love weekend* visitors.

i bought the roses more or less as is...and added a touch of glitter

to the petal edges to pretty them even more...i then used a couple of foam stamps {Lil Davis Designs} to make the tags and

added more glitter to the heart shape...i then swiped the edges of the tags with lightning black Brilliance ink which adds a super gold black shine i absolutely adore!

if you haven't tried these dew drop Brilliance inkpads i really recommend them...the black comes in 3 colours...graphite black {true darkest, blackest black}, lightning black {black with a gold undertone} and starlight black {black with a silver undertone}...they are all superb and its amazing when you try them how different they are...and how yummy!

obviously, i also made his nibs a card...and here it is:

when the light is not shining on it...it is very dark, masculine and mysterious...but when the light does catch it...it shimmers and shines brightly!

i've used stamps by Tim Holtz to create the background and stamped them in graphite black and galaxy gold {pure gold}, then used black soot distressing ink to darken the outsides...and finally edged with a heavy swipe of the galaxy gold again...

to this i've added a prima swirl which i've cut up to create two separate curls...one either side of the message...

the message is one of my handmade stamps {more about that next time}...stamped onto a scrap of BG paper, outlined in clear stardust gelly roll pen {thanks katy!}, and topped with a Tim Holtz flower and a genuine ruby ;0)

i've cut this out roughtly and mounted it on black cardstock, again swiped the edged with galaxy gold and then attached with foam pads to raise it up...

i've decided to enter this into the Stampotique Designers' Challenge...check it out here if you haven't already...you might want to enter too!

and the good news is...

he loves it!!!

they might be a bunch of loonies...

but they are *my* bunch of loonies...and i wouldn't swap a one of them!

this is my LO for Scrapdolly aka Karen's 5th prompt to scrap your family...this is my husband...my sister and my BIL...my top 3 favourite people in the whole world...{equal third that is with my mum...my granny...various aunties...and quite a few friends!!! } but these are the ones that make me feel at home...that let me be me...and don't seem in the least bit fazed when i'm having an *off* day...love you guys! xxx

the details are...a gorgeous rubon which i think was Rhonna Farrer...and i've layered 2 layers of glossy accents over the top of the letters for prominence...a chipboard *f* which i've inked, stamped with a tim holtz stamp and then also double glossied {there i go again making up my own words!} i didn't have an inkpad in the colour i wanted...so i inked in blue and stamped in black to give a sort of navy blue effect...quite pleased with myself for thinking of that! ;0)

i don't know if anyone has spotted this...but i decided to make this album all *quick* pages...and entirely from scraps of stash...no new pieces of cardstock or pp for me in this album! lol i'm generally a super slow scrapper and i think i often spend too much time wanting it to be *just right*...i'm trying to let go of that in these pages and be a lot more spontaneous and use what is to hand...the pages are a bit *scruffier* for it...but so far i'm liking them...what do you think? i'd love to hear if anyone had noticed a difference!!!

will you marry me? {a LO not a proposal!}

indeed i would...and did...and i have to say i love this man more and more everyday...he is currently in the kitchen stuffing me a pepper and beating some chicken into submission...but a man needs an aggressive outlet when he has to put up with me everyday!! lol

i've completed this LO {finally} in response to this week's challenge on UKS...which required the use of bling *tick*...pink *tick*...and old stash *tick*...so i'm claiming full points for my team...which should make the team leader happy!

i've used bling over the top of a rubon butterfly to accentuate the body and add a little more pink...as if that pp wasn't pink enough already! i love adding to embellishments...its just another way to make them *mine*...i've also added pink gems to the centres of the flowers and outlined them in black to make them *pop* off the page...

i've used a black pen to fill in the scroll work to make it more prominent...and added prima flowers with red buttons and pink gems to their centres...don't be afraid to mix red and pink...the effect can be really cool and striking...or quite subtle...just keep the intensity of the colours similar...and there you have it!

and this is my favourite part of the page {apart from the photo of course!}...i've layered rubons over the pp, added a chipboard button which i've inked around the edges...attached a red heart shape...and topped all that off with a rubon flower and another pink gem!

****hint****

when adding rubons to surfaces like this which are not flat...i like to rub on the flat section first and use my fingers to smooth the rest of the image around the sides...it takes a bit of practice...but its easy when you know how!

ok...so i'm 3 years late with this LO...but better late than never, eh? you never know...i might even get around to doing the wedding album as some point!! lol

thanks for stopping by...love to hear your comments as usual...and have a great day!

its a wonderful life...

maybe i should watch that tonight...because it really is true today! I've been spoiled rotten and its still going on...there will be lots of photos tomorrow...

hope you're all having a good Valentines' Day too xxx

ps...have you checked out my CTYD projects today? talk about *loved up* lol You can see all the pages of this and more:

What is Love?

Just in time for St. Valentine's Day...my circle journal has made it's way home...here's what the *Nutters* think love is:

Thanks so much to everyone who took part...I *love* the finished article...and its great to see examples of all your gorgeous artwork! xxx