30 minute Thursdays...interchangeable faux amber charms!

I love it when a happy crafting accident leads to a discovery...and today's 30 minute Thursday project is a classic example of this...i discovered through laziness that if you don't clean your Melt Pot thoroughly enough when you've been using gold embossing powder in it...and then you add clear UTEE...you get something that looks remarkably similar to amber!!  Personally, i've always had a love affair with amber...so i'm particularly tickled by this discovery :0)  Add into that the fact that it occurred to me that this technique could be used to make interchangeable charms...and i have to say i'm rather chuffed with today's offering! *blushes slightly*

What you need:
Clear UTEE
Flex
Ranger Ink Essentials Memory Frame
Chipboard shape/costume jewellery pieces/small flowers...whatever you like really as long as it fits in your frame!
leather thong

What you do:
This is such a simple project that i haven't even bothered to give you step by step photos...i really don't think you need them.
First off, melt the clear UTEE in your Melt Pot with a tiny smidge of gold embossing powder {less really is more here and the gold powder is opaque and we want a beautiful translucent liquid}...while that is heating...lay your frame onto a non~stick craft mat and arrange your inclusions in the frame.  In the sample above i've used a chipboard flower {from Bee Crafty} which i coloured with gold Brilliance ink.  When the UTEE is liquid carefully pour it into the frame, over the flower and gently press half a press stud into the flower centre...leave it to cool...add a thong and some beads and you're done!!  See...i told you it was easy!!!  I''ve only popped a short length of thonging on this one as we both like the look of it hanging in the kitchen window.

As long as you are careful not to add too much UTEE {no going over the edges}...and because of the way the frames open and close...you can remover the cooled charm...and then do another one with all sorts of other things in the *amber*...i've used a chipboard letter with a fabric rose and some small flowers with some glass chips...but if you want to go for realism with your pendant maybe you could try a dead fly!! ;0)

My favourite of the pieces i tried was this one...with a rather yummy piece of broken jewellery in the middle and i've hung this one on a long thong to wear as a Winter necklace over a cowl neck jumper.

The jewellery piece was quite chunky so the gemstone *ahem* section sticks up above the *amber* and the whole thing feels rather sumptuous. :0)

And there you have it...a simple idea that can be used to create pendants to wear or for hanging in the window...even to hang on the Christmas tree would be lovely.  I'm bursting to make a steampunk version of this too with clock parts and cogs...i think that would be fabulous!

Thanks for stopping by and i do hope you'll give this technique a go...

30 minute Thursdays...shoe revamp!

I bet i'm not the only one out there with a really comfy pair of shoes that have seen better days...so today's project shows a cute way to revamp a scruffy/stained/scuffed pair of pumps...into a new and rather unique pair!

You'll need an old pair of shoes {obvious really}, some sheets of newspaper, an ink and some Mod Podge:

Tear your newspaper into lots of pieces {not too small or you'll be all day, not 30 minutes!} and mix some Mod Podge with a few sprays of black ink in a glass jar:

Paint your shoes with the Mod Podge mix and cover with the pieces of newspaper.  Add a layer of the glue over the newsprint too to add colour and to seal the paper to the shoe:

Continue until you have worked your way all around both shoes.  At this point I decided to remove the elastic straps:

When the glue has dried enough for you to handle the shoes, neaten all the edges with a permanent marker pen:

And finally, add a toning flower to each shoe.  These are Prima flowers which i've sprayed with the black ink and sealed with Marine Varnish to toughen them up a bit:

Assemble yourself a cute outfit...i'm thinking these will look good with warm tights and a cute grey dress i own...and model your new shoes for all to admire!

I hope that's got your creative juices flowing...and feel free to adapt the idea by using tissue paper instead of newsprint...a pretty coloured pair would be lovely!

30 minute Thursdays...coaster from scraps!

Welcome back again Thursday crafters :0)

This week i have a cute project for you that helps you to make something useful...a coaster or trivet...or maybe even a pot stand for a cute plant...and all out of the scrap cardstock left over from scrapping or cardmaking...and one of the cardboard rings from your double sided sticky tape rolls!  As always on a Thursday...you can do it in double quick time too :0)

First up, you need to assemble your supplies...you'll need some cardstock that you no longer love, or leftovers from other projects...you could even use junk mail!  You'll also need an empty DSST ring, some craft glue {PVA or your favourite kind}, a metal ruler and a craft knife.

Cut a cardstock strip 12" long and the same width as your ring.  Use this strip to cover the outside of your cardboard ring and use a peg or clip to hold into place while the glue dries.  Colour the top of the ring with a permanent ink that tones nicely.

While this is drying, cut more cardstock strips of the same width...using your knife and ruler or a paper trimmer.

Curl the strips in your fingers, as if you were rolling up an old fashioned tape measure.

As you curl your strips, glue them into place inside the ring as shown below.  Make sure you glue the end to the outside for neatness.  Complete the outside ring and then glue 5 or 6 strips together to create one mammoth strip and roll this to form the centre.  Alternatively, you could make another ring of small coils with one coil in the middle...just play!

Glue your massive coil into the middle making sure you have glue where each coil touches.  Attach a diecut scalloped circle or chipboard shape to the bottom for stability and place a heavy book on top and leave for the glue to dry.  At this stage you could simply hang your project as a cute work of art...it looks lovely in a window if you don't add the backing as the light travels right through :0)

To use as a coaster, add a couple of coats of Marine varnish {a spray sealant available in model shops} and add your favourite mug!

As always...i do hope you've enjoyed today's little project and i'd love to know if you have a go and create one of your own...or if you just spark off the idea to create something quite different!

If you'd like to win this one...simply leave a comment with your name and e~mail address...and i'll randomly choose one person to win it!

Bubbly Scrumptious update...the whole hydrangea

Hi all...limited crafting still here due to the surgery...but i've got a Bubbly update for you...the full instructions on how to turn your hydrangea heads from last week into a full bush!  Do click here to see my full post.
Back soon...hopefully with the return of 30 minute Thursdays...watch this space!
:0)

30 minute Thursdays...the pom pom coaster...on a Saturday!!!

ok...so there has been a definite lack of 30 minute Thursdays of late...but better late than never, here is the project i prepared but you never got this week! :0)

its a cute and practical coaster for your cup of whatever to rest on while and the colours can be adapted to suit your colour scheme...so why not give it a go..?  a handful of these tied with string would make a super gift too ;0)

You need:
a coaster base ~ an unwanted coaster to recover, a coaster blank or as i've used some unwanted cork floor tiles die cut into circles in the Big Shot!
Tacky Glue {or similar strong glue}
String
Pom pom trim

Coat the entire top surface of your coaster with a thick layer of the Tacky Glue {i spread mine with a lolly stick} and apply your pom pom trim all the way around the edge.  Overlap the ends slightly.

Next take your string and create a tight spiral starting in the middle of the coaster and winding round and round.  Press the string into the glue as you go and it holds nicely :0)  Don't worry if you're not exactly in the middle...this becomes obvious as you increase the spiral and you have plenty of time to slide into the right position.

When your spiral reaches the pom pom trim, apply a line of glue onto the trim {not the pom poms...the flat bit} and overlap your spiral to hold the trim firmly in place.

Trim your string to the right length and use a pokey tool to tuck the end underneath the spiral to finish off neatly and prevent little fingers undoing all your work...now leave to dry!  The glue doesn't show at all in the dry version :0)

what now..?  time for a cuppa i think and a sit back to admire your handiwork!

30 minute Thursdays...a funky button ring...

Morning all, time for another 30 minute Thursday project...a rather funky button ring.  This is a great project to do with the girls in your life...young and old...and would make a great sleepover activity!

You will need some wire and a couple of buttons.  I cut my wire into three 9" lengths:

Loosely plait the middle section of your wires to hold them together {this is much easier if you have someone else hold one end!!}...just plait enough to go around your finger:

 Check it by bending it around your finger and twisting the wire together to keep the join where you want it:

Remove your finger...and you now have a ring with 6 legs!  Notice how your plait seems so much neater when you've bent it round into a circle? Magic! ;0)

Add your buttons to 2 of the longest threads by pushing the wire up through the back, over the middle and down through the other hole:

The back of your ring will look like this and you can stop at this stage, twisting the wire gently into a small spiral behind the button and trimming neatly {making sure you have no rough edges to catch on your finger} this will create a simple button ring...

...but i like to take it a bit further and add a coiled wire petals for extra fun to my rings!  Simply use round nose pliers to make a small loop on the end of each wire and then use your fingers to make loose spirals with each of the wires.  Arrange the spirals to look like petals all facing the same way and you're done!

And here is my finished funky button ring:

...and here is another...slightly smaller buttons this time {i only have small hands}:

...and finally...my favourite but most bonkers version...the super~sized funky ring!!

30 minute Thursdays...a fabulous star decoration...

Another Thursday quick project today...how to use what we learned on Monday's Bubbly Scrumptious Blog posting...not to make a starbook...but to adapt it to make a rather fabulous star shaped decoration! These are great for parties, children could even do them...and they'd be super for Christmas fairs if you want to use a little bit of stash to raise a whole load of cash! :0)

Firstly, cut yourself 21 strips of double sided pp, to the sizes listed below. This is really quick if you use your paper trimmer.

Secondly, use a wet glue to stick the sections together...one strip of each size, glued as shown below with a little glue on either end.

When your sections are all glued together, stack them by glueing one on top of another adding the glue as shown below:

Now add some ribbon with some strong tape and glue the first section to the last section, opening the star out to form the shape.

Your star should now look like this!

Add a flowery embellishment to the middle of the star with a generous amount of glue...this will help to stabilise the points if you've used thinnish pp...but it looks lovely even if you don't need it!

Finally, hang your decoration up...this one is going to go to my sister and her hubby to decorate the nursery they are preparing for their much anticipated baby...

Warning:

You may well be asked to make lots of these...people do seem to be disproportionately impressed with the skill required to achieve these babies...but i won't tell if you don't!! ;0)

Bubbly Scrumptious update...step by step starbook!

If you love the look of starbooks and are unsure how to create them...then today's Bubbly Scrumptious post is perfect for you...just pop over here to see the step by step photos!

of course they can be decorated for any theme...but the real stars of my book are the children...love these two angels! xxx

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

30 minute Thursdays...a very versatile pin...

Aesthetically i love this time of year and lately i've been very inspired by all the lovely flowers that are blossoming around me. Today's 30 minute project was inspired by the beautiful rambling roses my FIL grows...i hope you like it as much as i like the roses! ;0) its a simple rose pin that could be used for a myriad of things and in many situations...how about as a bag, coat or hat pin, a Wedding boutonnière {is that the right word??}, as an embellishment on a hairclip...

This is a super easy project and in fact you could create more than one in 30 minutes if felt so inclined! So what do you do?

First take a 40cm length of scalloped velvet ribbon and wind this around and around as you do when you're tidying up the tape measure. Let it slacken slightly and add a generous dollop of Tacky glue to a section of felt slightly larger than the coil. Trim the felt into a simple flower shape and layer another slightly larger piece of felt underneath, again trimming to a rough rose shape. Take a fancy pin {or create your own with regular pins and a few small beads} and push this into the centre of the rose. Now cut a piece of wide green ribbon for the leaves. Fold the ribbon in from both ends to the middle with a slight overlap...pop the pin through the middle hiding the ends and glue this into place. Finally, using small pliers bend the pin at a right angle and use this as a simple brooch attachment, or trim and glue on whatever attachment you prefer.

Easy, huh? This works well in all sorts of colourways and it looks so good in all sorts of places...mine has come to rest on the kitchen roll as i just loved the spotty ribbon agains the spotty towel!! ha haaa not a very practicle place really...i think it will come to rest permanently on my wicker type beach bag :0)

30 minute Thursdays...create a cardi!

Hello+again+30+minute+crafters...and+what+have+we+this+week...create+a+cardi...in+half+an+hour..%3F++You+bet%21+%3A%29%0D%0A%0D%0AFor+this+project+you%27ll+need+a+thickish+t%7Eshirt+in+a+colour+you+love+%7Bmine+is+cerise%7D%2C+5+clear+buttons%2C+some+pp+that+co%7Eordinates+with+your+t%7Eshirt+and+some+embroidery+thread.++Make+sure+your+t%7Eshirt+is+a+size+larger+than+the+cardi+you+want+to+create+as+making+the+overlapping+button+area+will+effectively+make+it+a+good+size+slimmer%21%21+lol%0D%0A%0D%0A%3Ca+onblur%3D%22try+%7Bparent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully%28%29%3B%7D+catch%28e%29+%7B%7D%22+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-9_d_sRwdhjI%2FTeC6iGqBljI%2FAAAAAAAACr0%2Fbaho_kWUGfA%2Fs1600%2Ft%25257Eshirt%252Bcardigan%252Bcut%252Band%252Bpin.jpg%22%3E%3Cimg+style%3D%22display%3Ablock%3B+margin%3A0px+auto+10px%3B+text-align%3Acenter%3Bcursor%3Apointer%3B+cursor%3Ahand%3Bwidth%3A+259px%3B+height%3A+320px%3B%22+src%3D%22http%3A%2F%2F4.bp.blogspot.com%2F-9_d_sRwdhjI%2FTeC6iGqBljI%2FAAAAAAAACr0%2Fbaho_kWUGfA%2Fs320%2Ft%25257Eshirt%252Bcardigan%252Bcut%252Band%252Bpin.jpg%22+alt%3D%22%22+id%3D%22BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5611690230768834098%22+border%3D%220%22+%2F%3E%3C%2Fa%3EThe+first+step+is+illustrated+above...using+sharp+scissors+cut+your+t%7Eshirt+directly+up+the+middle+ofselectBloggerImabrave%21++Then+lay+tB%7D+catch%28e%29+%7B%7D%22+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-yh1VfCsyxq8%2FTeC44muJcbI%2FAAAAAAAACrk%2F6dAPiZH6U-o%2Fs1600%2Ft%25257Eshirt%252Bcardigan%252Bbuttons%252Bon.jpg%22%3E%3Cimg+style%3D%22margin%3A+0px+auto+10px%3B+width%3A+250px%3B+height%3A+320px%3B+text-align%3A+center%3B+display%3A+block%3B+cursor%3A+pointer%3B%22+id%3D%22BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5611688418309927346%22+alt%3D%22%22+src%3D%22http%3A%2F%2F2.bp.blogspot.com%2F-yh1VfCsyxq8%2FTeC44muJcbI%2FAAAAAAAACrk%2F6dAPiZH6U-o%2Fs320%2Ft%25257Eshirt%252Bcardigan%252Bbuttons%252Bon.jpg%22+border%3D%220%22+%2F%3E%3C%2Fa%3ENext+take+your+embroidery+thread+and+sew+the+buttons+on+in+line+with+each+of+your+buttonholes...and+pat+yourself+on+the+back+for+making+a+new+cardi+out+of+a+t%7Eshirt%21++Because+the+buttons+we%27ve+made+aren%27t+washing+machine+proof...i%27ve+stitched+them+on+with+a+couple+of+stitches+each+and+tied+a+knot+in+the+front+so+i+can+easily+snip+them+off+if+i+want+to+wash+my+cardi+and+pop+them+back+on+in+no+time+%3A0%29%0D%0A%0D%0A%3Cdiv%3E%3Ca+onblur%3D%22try+%7Bparent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully%28%29%3B%7D+catch%28e%29+%7B%7D%22+href%ou+wiggle+it+to+spread+the+glue...then+simply+cut+them+out+carefully+with+sharp+scissors+and+then+hold+them+up+to+a+bright+light+to+remake+the+holes+using+a+pokey+tool.++Do+this+from+the+back+for+neatth%3A+297px%3B+height%3A+320px%3B+text-align%3A+center%3B+display%3A+block%3B+cursor%3A+pointer%3B%22+id%3D%22BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5611686751764393026%22+alt%3D%22%22+src%3D%22http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-xyqYxXdWLkY%2FTeC3XmWurEI%2FAAAAAAAACrc%2FuOAOeLU4ekk%2Fs320%2Ft%25257Eshirt%252Bcardigan%252Bensemble.jpg%22+border%3D%220%22+%2F%3E%3C%2Fa%3ENow+style+your+new+cardi+with+a+cute+cami+and+a+fun+necklace+and+step+out+into+the+World+to+show+them+your+new+style%21%0D%0A%0D%0A%7BYou+may+notice+that+my+finished+cardi+has+cute+stitching+around+the+sleeve+hems...this+did+not+happen+during+the+30+minutes...i+must+confess+i+added+this+while+i+was+watching+The+Apprentice%21%21++Naughty+Alix...that%27s+a+bit+like+cheating%2C+right%3F++Well+the+stitchin+is+optional...so+you+decide%21%7D%0D%0A%3Cdiv%3E%3C%2Fdiv%3E%3C%2Fdiv%3E%3C%2Fdiv%3E

bubbly scrumptious update...

just to let you know...if you didn't spot yesterday's post over on the Bubbly Scrumptious blog...its here...and its a an explosion of the gorgeous new Prima collection called *Reflections*...i have to say my favourite new collection for years!! :)

there are lots of extra photos and a tutorial for making the little frame in the middle there too...so see you there :)