WE HAVE A WINNER!! Southernbubbles, drop me an e-mail and I'll send you Little Red!

I made this fun, over sized ATB (artist trading block) with some great supplies from Alpha Stamps.

 
The block itself is a scrap piece of maple McGyver had kicking around his workshop. Overall, the piece is about 9" x 5.5" counting all the branchy bits sticking out. Most of the rest of the supplies used are from Alpha Stamps including the very cool Creepy Chipboard Tree Cut-Outs.

To achieve the texture on the tree, I first sealed it with some matte medium. After it dried, I inked the tree up using Vintage Photo Distress Ink and a 'leather' Copic marker from the Madonna of the Birds Set.
After those dried, I laid on a really thick coat of matte medium and then dabbed at it with a sponge brush to get the rough, bumpy texture. I worked both sides of the tree, but allowed lots of drying time before I flipped the tree over to work on the opposite side.
Pretty easy and straight forward, but the effect is neat.
I also used the same Copic marker to color/stain the Candlestick Holder (the base) and the 1 Inch Wide Wooden Finial (on the top).

The collage images I used were the Red Riding Hood #1 Collage Sheet and Red Riding Hood #3 Collage Sheet.
I also used the Copic Sketch Marker Lipstick Red to punch up the reds in both images. I love this red...it's so lush.

The rest of the supplies I used are listed below:
1/2" Red Paper Roses
Double Dot Vinatge Turquoise Scrapbook Paper (similar to Double Dot Vintage Ocean Scrapbook Paper)
Double Dot Vintage Chocolate Scrapbook Paper (similar to Double Dot Vintage Gingerbread Scrapbook Paper)
Black Zig Zag Dresden Border
Thin Fleur Dresden Borders Black
Brass flower (similar to 7mm Flower Washers)

Additional Supplies:
Golden Matte Medium
Brass filigree flowers
Block of wood approx. 4" x 5.5"

I'm giving this piece away!

 





























All you have to do is join this site or leave a comment. I'll be picking a winner out of the (metaphoric) hat on Saturday, August 9th.
 Note: I'll ship this for free, but only within the USA. International shipping costs will apply.

Thanks for stopping by!

It's the Circus!

It looks like the clowns are on strike.....

Except for this silly guy, who can't help himself.
And by the way, I'm not so sure I'd stand where that cat is standing......

This guy seems to think a nap on the back of an elephant is the height of comfort.

And we've got a clown that is into self-improvement, or maybe he's just reading the funnies....

SUPPLIES LIST HERE

A little silver spool

 



I made this little silver spool ornament for a Craftster buddy of mine (Knickertwist!)  I'm in a swap with.
For some reason, I lost a whole paragraph here...I said lots of nice things about Knickers...all true (funny lady, wicked good imagination, generous spirit and more) but I'll sum up and say I really wanted to do something special for her, mainly because she's an awesome human, but also because she participates in Art Abandonment, which is very special to me. If I'd been able to sneak up to her doorstep and leave the spool there, that would have been very apropos.
You can learn about Art Abandonment HERE

Knickertwist's website is called Pixie Hill and you can see her magical work there and on her blog Here.

Just FYI, this piece is made from PMC3 (precious metal clay) which is fine pure silver particles, binders and water. You can treat it like clay, roll it flat, stamp on it, make tiny things and attach them to other things... in a trazillion combinations.
It dries to leather hard and is then fired in a kiln at about 1200 degrees. The binders and water burn away and what you have left is the pure silver.
It's magic every time I open the kiln.
This was my first attempt at a hollow form bead. It was a lovely, enjoyable experiment and I want to make a lot more!

The Great Escape

Here's a little magic show I conjured up (look what I just did) for the Alpha Stamps awesome June Paper Theatres Kit.
I love the big fancy magic shows that used to be put on in those beautiful, opulent old theatres and used that for my inspiration. This very grand looking wizard has managed to make a few balloons appear out of thin air and  they've begun to escape the confines of the magic circle he has them trapped in and are now floating off into the theatre and the crowd.

This guy is either a genius or a really bad wizard......

 There's a link to supplies Here.

Thanks for stopping by!

The House of Underwear

Welcome to The House of Underwear! You need a foundation garment, The House of Underwear has got it! Need support hose? Something for a hot date at the library?  The House of Underwear has what you need. And no more hot dressing rooms and mirrors that make your derriere look too big. You don't have to try anything on...the ladies at the House of Underwear do it for you!
That's what I call good old fashioned customer service.

Just a little something with fancy French undies I made for Alpha Stamps. :-)

Ooh, the ladies are peering out the window......I wonder what caught their eye?
A slip showing underneath a hem line?
A sagging stocking?
Did someone pass out from wearing a damn corset?!!

Or maybe it's a handsome window cleaner.
Or a cute pair of shoes.
Oh.
It's the guy delivering the coffee and chocolate croissants.

Wow, the mademoiselle in the center window really wants to be in the middle of everything.
She must like those red petty pants a lot.
Or she really needs a cup of coffee.

C'est la vie.

Supplies List:
12 x 12 Die-cut Chipboard 
Vintage Lingerie Collage Sheet

ATC Window
Large Fleur-de-lis Charm
White Dresden Border Sampler Set
Brilliance Pigment Ink Pad-Galaxy Gold
Glamour and Grunge Scrapbook Paper-Nature Study
Glamour and Grunge Scrapbook Paper-The Old World
Double Dot Decaf Scrapbook Paper
Room with a View Collage Sheet
Liquid Pearls White Opal
1/2 Inch Paper Roses
(in various colors)
Various Copic Sketch Markers from the
Pale Pastels
and
Floral Favorites-2

Additional Supplies:
Small craft Jewelry Boxes
White Acrylic paint

Mini Tutorial on making window boxes below......

To make the wee window boxes, I started with a small craft jewelry box just large enough so that the lid of the box fits over the window, which is ATC size.

Turning the box on it's side, measure to how far you want your window boxes to stick out. I have this little ruler that is pretty skinny and used that to measure with. About 1/2 inch is what you'll need.

Cut the sides of the box first, then lay the box flat. Using a straight edge, cut the body of the box. Or you can draw a guideline and use a pair of scissors.

Paint your window box whatever color you like. I chose white for mine. while it was drying, I cut a little piece of styrofoam to fit inside the box, and I painted some Dresden trim white and glued that on  to the front of the window box. I did kind of let that dry as well, but I'm not very patient!

I used some inks to give the piece a little age.
I chose 1/2 inch paper roses for my window box. The paper roses have wire stems and I cut them to about an inch and a half and folded the stems double and stuck those in the foam after putting a dab of glue on the underside of each flower.
After everything dried completely ( I had to find another project to do so I wouldn't mess with this one!) I glued the window box under the window and Voila! Easy peasy.

There is the mademoiselle in red again.......

Thanks for visiting!

My Garden

It's an enchanted space that has always called for attention. I plant, weed, trim and water. I cajole and nurture plants I rescue from the hardware store. I defend them against predators and welcome ladybirds, praying mantis, bees, little birds and anything else beneficial to the garden to come and live there.

Freddie was born in the garden and it is his favorite place to be.

Right now, the early foxgloves are opened, the Lady Banks Rose is nearly past her bloom, shedding delicate little rose petals that look like sulphur butterflies.

The clematis, such a Vegas show girl, is displaying her fancy plumage.

Spring is so glorious here in the south and it's only the beginning!