An Altered Journal for a Pin Up Fan

Today I worked on a swap. I do love creating things for swaps, it’s so much fun. The swap that I worked on today, is for an altered journal. Fortunately for me, I happened to have a very good artist sketchbook, just waiting to be altered.

My partner’s favorite color is purple, and she loves pin up girls. So here’s what I came up with:

Now, I know that it is not typical of me to have a lot going on, as I love to lean towards the simple side, but today I was in the mood for a lot going on. I used purple acrylic paint by Plaid Crafts, Pan pastels in purple, typewriter font background stamp, and fusible glittery fibers, by Art Institute Glitter. The flower is by Prima, and is hiding a smudge. Damned inky fingers.

I used dimensionals to get Ms. Betti Page to pop out a bit more.

The ribbon was sent to me as extras, in a swap I was in.

The film strip ribbon is by Mr. Tim Holtz. I love that stuff!

What else? Today I am catching up on a bunch of swaps. I usually do them in bundles, since I wait until I have the extra $$ to mail them all out. It’s easier to do it once every couple weeks or so, then to have to keep going every so often.

Oh man. The other day, I made the most AMAZING portobello mushroom pizza and blackberry lemonade. It was SO good. Don’t worry,the food blog is coming. But since I don’t have the most high tech camera in the world, you all will just have to wait until my dear husband has the time to take amazing shots with my crappy camera, of the step by step.

That’s all for today.

 

PS. –> Help FUND my CAUSE!

The Craftaholic

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A Frida Kahlo Jewelry Box

It’s actually fitting that I just finished making a jewelry box with the image of Frida Kahlo on it, considering Frida Kahlo wore so much fun jewelry. Here’s what I made:

I LOVE this. This box was sent to me by Stampboard, along with ink and things. I LOVE this.

Stampboard has these lovely inks, and I blended some blue, yellow and green to make this lovely turquoise color which I applied using a brayer.

The rhinestones are (I think) from a past kit, from the Sampler.

I painted the sides and stuff with a turquoise paint from Plaid Crafts.

You like it? The funny thing is that I had made this with the intention of selling it, but alas, I decided to keep it. I like it too much, and I’m all out of rhinestones. I can make one like this for you, with glitter instead of rhinestones, if you are interested.

 

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Decoupaged Wood Bead Necklace

Recently I held a workshop with my art group, on making decoupaged wood bead necklaces. We had so much fun. Here’s a picture of what I made.

Cute, right? We of course, used Mod Podge for these. And they are so much fun. If you’ve got a paper shredder at home, you can shred your junk mail, and make your own beads just like this! I dried them on a wooden skewer.

What do you think? Nice, right?

I like these. I’m going to put them in my christmas gift bin. I want to start early. I’m taking a break from doing too many swaps, so I can concentrate on my art, and making things for sale.

On a personal note, my husband and I had been going through some stuff, and have come out of it with sheer bliss and love on our faces. So I’ll be chatting a bit more here.

We’ve also decided to try to have another baby, can you believe it? Woohoo! Trust me, when I pee on a stick and see two blue lines, you all will be the second to know (after my hubs, of course).

Dakota will be four in May, and I cannot believe it. Wow.

I’ve got some ideas for jewelry pieces that I’m going to be selling in my shop online, and I also will be carrying some new handbound books in my etsy shop. I’m excited for that.

Other than that, I’m just really awaiting spring. I hate the cold weather. I don’t mind it in December because I LOVE christmas (and my birthday is in December) but after that, I just want to fast forward to spring and summer. Summer is great, because you don’t need a lot of money to have fun. Pack up some sandwiches and go to Coney Island, that’s what I do most days. I love the ocean a lot. And I’m pale, so sitting in the sun won’t hurt me much.

Ta-ta for now.

The Craftaholic

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A Pair of Wish Jars

One of the new companies I design for is Blockhead Stamps. Recently they sent me some new goods and treats to play with. Here’s a new item I just recently finished making, their stamps, and acrylic paint daubbers that they sell. I love those paint daubers! How cool!

I used Mod Podge with dictionary paper, and then went over it with mod podge, waited for it to dry, and then went over it with the paint daubers. Then, I used this “Joker” stamp set, for the little hats there, and a stamp sentiment that I had. Cute, right? And of course, lacey ribbon finishes the items nicely.

These are wish jars. Write down your wishes on a full moon, and set it on your windowsill until your wish comes true. Or, if you’re not a superstitious person, just make one for vanity’s sake.  It’s cute.

Oh, and no, I can’t remember where I got the bottles, at all. Sorry. I litterally had that in my stash for a year or more.

 

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Mini Altoid Brooch

Today I finished another project for a swap. This one requires us to remake a mini altoid tin, into a jewelry piece. My partner is one that I’ve had before, so it was fun making something for her.

The swap requires us to make it vintage inspired, so that is the theme of the brooch.

When I saw this clip art (by AlphaStamps) I immediately thought of my swap partner, who goes by the user name, Tiaragoth.

I used silk sari yarn, lots of E-6000 glue, and Mod Podge’s Dimentional magic, for the lady there. She’s glued onto a domino, then I applied a bit of Dimensional magic.

You like it? You think she will too?

The Craftaholic

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Glitter + Textured Paint = Bliss

Today I finished a fun crafty item.

Plaid crafts makes a fun item you may or may not be aware of : Texture Paint.

I was so excited to work with this product. Here’s the photo, before I go on rambling about it.

Oh, I have to tell you. I loved making this. I used a bit of blue folk art paint (also by Plaid), and mixed it with the textured medium. Then, I applied it on, like paint, waited for it to dry, and then LIGHTLY sprayed some spray adhesive over it, and sprinkled some glitter in TWILIGHT by Art Institute. Then, the flowers are just silk flowers from the dollar store (if you can believe it). It’s that easy!

The frame is also by Plaid. I think you can find them at Walmart or Michael’s.

Here’s a close up:

and, so you can see what the paint looks like, finished:

You see? It’s gritty and grainy. I LOVE this stuff!

Christmas Cards, Batch #2

Here’s the second batch of Xmas cards that I made.

These are a variation of the first batch.

The snowflakes are from a stamp set by stampin up. I don’t know which one, because it doesn’t have the container anymore. I love that they keep their stamps in containers because they are so much easier to store that way.

I went over the snowflakes with a Martha Stewart glue pen and glitter. The letters are from a stamp set by All Night Media, called Ornamental.

The pop up dots are also by All Night Media.

Now, to make the gift tags!

The Craftaholic

Lots of Little Trees…

Today I made set #1 of 2 sets of christmas cards. I am DETERMINED to get Christmas chores done early!

I used generic cardstock from Micheal’s, Pan Pastels in Green, Ornamental Alphabet Stamps  and Pop Up Dots by All Night Media, and  the Tree background Stamp by Northwoods Rubber stamps.  Oh, and generic brand Gold Pigment ink. And Brown Dye based ink, by Stampin Up.

Together, they make a very pretty card, don’t you think?

The Craftaholic

Cupcake Photo Box

Today, I got to photograph a pretty box that I just finished yesterday.

It may not be the best photo in the world, but I love this project! I had so much fun with it.

You can see the crackle finish. The flowers I got from my swap partner. The cupcake is hand sculpted, and on top, there is a lovely coating of art institute  Ultrafine Opaque glitter in the shade of Twilight.

There’s a better shot of the crackle finish. This little box? It’s by Plaid Crafts, and you can get it anywhere that you purchase their products.

Pretty cool, right? I really like it. Oh, and this little item is for sale, if you’re interested.

The Craftaholic

Butterfly ATC

When I first dabbled in “traditional” crafts, I started with making ATCs since I’m a collage artist, first and foremost. I haven’t actually made one in such a long time, and really wanted to get back to that, so I made a fun ATC with some supplies by All Night Media (by Plaid Crafts).

You like it? It’s soft and pretty, which isn’t normally my style, but I do like butterflies a lot.

The butterfly stamp is H100 Proof Press, and the sentiment is by Stampin’ Up. The ribbon is from my stash. I created my own background by smudging pigment ink pads on the paper, and stamping with a stamp from the set, “Ornamental” by All Night Media (by Plaid Crafts). I love love love this set!  It does make a pretty background.

I also used pop up dots by All Night Media. They make pop up dots, yes! And in the two sheets that come in a pack, you get assorted sizes, which comes in handy for various projects.

This is a sort of soft and feminine project, which in general is not my thing, but it’s working here. I added the ribbon so it can be a bookmark as well.

Most of you know that I’m a big fan of recycling. So yes, I used baseball cards for this one. I have a whole bunch of baseball cards that I bought on ebay and etsy a while back, so i’ll be using them for ATCs. It’s cool, because I don’t need to buy the precut paper! Cool, right?

One funny thing is that since I am designing for Plaid Crafts, and am a guest designer for several others, I rarely run out of supplies! The only thing I do run out of is card stock and glue. It’s a blessing, for sure.

I say this because the other day, I was at the fine art supply store, and realized I really only needed watercolor paper and glue. But you know what? They have pre-cut ATC paper, and even sell little cases to keep them in! At the art supply store! Cool, eh? But for me, I’d rather just make my own case, once I have enough of them (ATCs, that is).

You know on a side note, when  I finished my 365 day creative journey, I thought for sure that I wouldn’t be posting as often as I am. But I am! I can’t help it. Sometimes I make something and get so excited about it, I just can’t wait to share it.