Lots-to-do Challenge- Wire-wrapped Heart Pendant

This piece came about thanks to the influence of Sam and Nicky, who are both very talented in the melt pot department! Sam does brilliant things with UTEE using silicone ice-cube moulds, as does Nicky. Nicky does great wire-wrapped items (and now has a Folksy shop if you want to buy her jewelry). I had poured the black and gold heart recently, when I did my bottlecap piece, but had not thought of how to use it. Then when Sam set the wire challenge at the Lots-to-do blog, I thought this might be a good project. The wire is florist's and beading wire, and I covered the back in Glossy Accents to stop the wire from sliding off and make it more comfortable to wear. The pendant is 4cm long- about the same size as would come from a certain heart-shaped ice-cube tray I have! Thanks to Sainsburys, too!

Pat's Paper Bead Swap- A Bit of a Funny Story

This is the last of the Feb swaps, and I meant to post this picture last week! I think my blogging is destined to be like my washing- sometimes I do a load a day, then I don't do any for a few days which means I am back to frantic load-a-day again! Pat hosted this swap, and I happily put my name down for it as I have enjoyed making these paper and UTEE beads in the past. Little did I know how frustrating it would be to make 20 all at once! Now, you have to understand, I was the only one who had problems, so I think it is just me! And the resulting beads are pretty, so it was worth it really :)

Here is a quick tutorial if you want to have a go yourself:

1. This is the easy bit. Prepare an A4 piece of paper by colouring, stamping, whatever you like. Decide how long you want your beads to be and cut into long triangles, making the widest side the length you have decided on. Mine are 1.5cm, and I used my trimmer and just cut them quickly into the triangles. NOTE: Make 5 more than you want to end up with, just in case.
2. Find a bamboo skewer and, starting with the wide end of your triangle, wrap your paper tightly around until it looks like a bead shape, using a dab of glue every so often to keep the tension. Pull tight every so often, then start again as the whole thing unwinds. Undo every time it goes out of shape. Make as many beads as your nerves allow, then leave the project alone while you have a cup of tea. Go back to it when your patience has returned and finish all 25.
3. Put your melt pot on, and fill it with clear UTEE- admire the clarity then add flex to stop the beads from shattering when knocked. Note that the beautiful clear mixture has now gone yellow. Apply Versamark/glycerine to the end of your skewer and add your first bead near the end. Dip in the hot UTEE and then quickly rotate like a glas blower to make sure the UTEE sets in an even shape. Re-dip when you realise that you have a huge lump on one side. Repeat the twirling and set aside to cool (you can have two skewers on the go at once to save hanging around).
4. Using scissors, cut of the excess UTEE at each end of the bead so that you can slide the finished bead off. Admire how pretty it is. Go to your second skewer to do the same and realise that this skewer is wood, not bamboo, and therefore rough enough that your bead is completely stuck. Go and hunt for another bamboo skewer in the kitchen drawers. Oh well, you still have 4 spare beads and this won't happen again!
5. Do a few more perfect beads. You must be getting the hang of this! Then do exactly as you have been doing, pull the bead off the skewer, and watch it unwind from the inside, leaving you with a UTEE shell. Oh well, you still have 3 spare beads. Carry on, repeating this cycle until you have one short of your required total, and no more paper beads to dip. Desperately try to cut one more bead from the paper you coloured- phew, just! Dip your final bead, take it off the skewer, and go and have a big gin and tonic to calm your nerves.
6. Put the beads in a glass dish, and admire them. Knock them on the floor (must be the g and t!) and scrabble around to pick them all up. Then go and put them somewhere really, really safe so that you can photograph them and send them off.

When I look back on my bead-making experience, I have to laugh as it just shows how kack-handed I can be! I think I will stick to making just one or two at a time next time... and there will be a next time as it is the perfect way to get a bead to match your project. Good luck if you give this a try!

Bottlecap swap- a few of my favourite things...

I really got carried away making this little piece for the February altered art swap on UK Stampers. Good job too; the standard was really high, as ever, so I would have been embarrassed if I hadn't gone that extra mile! I used all of my favourite techniques and products :)

Colour: Alcohol inks, Stickles, Distress Inks, Versafine, Sakura clear stardust pen, Opals UTEE in black and gold, Perfect Pearls
Stamps: Cherry Pie
Other: Two bottlecaps (flattened with a hammer and a block of wood), sheer ribbon, adhesive metal tape, Cuttlebug and embossing folder, buttons, Krafty Lady art mould, Melt Pot, Papermania adhesive gem

(If you can read the words, they are from Twelfth Night- another of my favourite things!)

Stampbord brooch swap

Sid is hosting a Stampbord brooch swap at UK Stampers, and I was hit by inspiration for this one! I had been using my melt pot for another piece I have made (yes, for yet another swap!) and to use up the excess UTEE I poured it into some of my Krafty Lady Art Moulds. I loved the heart so much that it inspired the rest of the piece.

Colour: Dee Greunig Blending Blox (green), Stazon, Versafine, Gilt wax, Opals UTEE
Stamp: Hero Arts script
Other: Small Puffy Heart art mould, Grungeboard wings, Cuttlebug script embossing folder, Aurora Fusible Film, Stampbord, brooch pin, Pinflair glue gel

The colour of this is changeable, as I started with the Blending Blox before gluing and ironing on torn strips of Fantasy film. The wings were bent and glued on with a supporting blob of the Pinflair glue gel- my new favourite glue!

Altered Domino Swap, plus mini-tutorial

This month's Altered Art swap on UK Stampers had the theme of dominoes. We each altered a domino, then incorporated it into a piece of work of our choice. I like this approach, as everyone has a different way of treating their domino. The pieces were all so different and gorgeous. See the slideshow here. My piece is a stamp book holder, and I have done a mini-tutorial for it (scroll down the page to see it). I call it mini because I didn't have time or a second pair of hands to be able to take any photos. First, the how-to of the decoration :)

Colour: Watercolour crayons/water-spray/drinking straw technique shown by Jo Capper-Sandon in Craft Stamper, Versafine, Versamagic, Distress Ink
Stamps: Stampin' Up, Crafty Individuals (postmark)
Other: Mountboard, old book pages, stamps (from a package sent to me by Marina from Cherry Pie), domino (the stamps are collaged on with beeswax using my Melt Pot).


My piece uses such simple techniques to construct it that I wanted to share them. I first came across the mitre trick when Tricia Morris showed it on Craft TV Weekly, which is sadly no more. I have used this technique before, to make a box file, and for the covers of my two circle journals. The trick is to treat your object as if it were a book, with two covers and a spine. I am giving the dimensions I used for this piece, but any variation will work.

What you will need:
Mountboard or greyboard
Cover paper and liner paper
Wet glue- I use white PVA
Something to spread the glue evenly- a foam brush or credit card is ideal
Ruler and pencil
Bonefolder

1. First of all, you need to decide your size and cut your mountboard pieces. My main pieces were: front 5cm x 8.5cm, base 3cm x 8.5cm, back 7cm x 8.5cm. I did not cut my sides or base at this point, as I wanted a really snug fit.
2. Work out the dimensions for your cover paper. Widthways is easy, as it needs to be 2cm bigger on each side than the mountboard. Lengthways, you will need to allow an extra 0.5cm each side of the spine for the piece to fold, plus 2cm each end. So my finished cover paper was 12.5cm wide x 20cm long. Decorate it, remembering that it is a wrap-around and the design needs to be multi-directional.
3. Mark your 2cm border on the back of the paper. Spread glue evenly on the mountboard pieces and glue down, making sure that they all line up at the top and bottom, and that you leave your 0.5cm gutters either side of the small spine piece.
4. Using your ruler as a spacer, draw a line across each corner of the cover paper, approx. 3mm from the corner of the cover, and at approx 45 degrees (you can do it by eye, it's OK to guess!) Cut along these lines.
5. Now we are going to fold in the long edges of our cover paper. First fold your flaps up without glue, to make a crease (just to make it easier to fold when covered in wet, sticky glue). Spread your glue along the first flap, making sure you get it right up to the edge of the mountboard. Lift up the whole piece, and press the edge against your work surface as you wrap your flap as tightly as possible around the mountboard (if you just use your fingers it won't be as even). You will know this is right if you can still see the shape of the mountboard- the paper shouldn't look domed. Repeat for the other side. Work the joints, smoothing the cover paper gently down into the gutters.
6. This next part is slightly fiddly. When you look at the corners of your piece, you will see that the cover paper overhangs the mountboard by 0.3cm on the long side. You need to use your bonefolder to tuck this excess around the corner and flatten it out. Do this on all four corners. Now you have a nice flat flap to fold up and glue, exactly like you did for the long sides, and when it is glued you will have a professional-looking mitre with no unsightly points.
7. Cut your liner paper 0.5cm smaller all round than your finished piece is (mine was 11.5cm x 19cm). Brush on your glue and, starting from the spine, smooth the liner down onto your piece, gently pushing the paper down into the gutters again. Now work the joins, and smooth it down anywhere it pops up, adding extra glue if necessary. Your covers are done!
8. To add sides and a base, simply measure your finished piece and cut your mountboard to fit. My sides have a slanted top edge, and my base is bigger by 0.5cm all round. Be aware that your cover paper will add bulk, so err on the smaller side when cutting. Add glue on three edges of the side pieces, and hold in position until the glue starts to set- with PVA this doesn't take long. Glue the base on, and leave the whole piece to dry overnight, using weights, clips or elastic bands if necessary to make a tight joint.

I hope this makes sense to you! If do you have any queries, please feel free to email me and ask- my email is on my profile. And if you make something using these instructions, link back to this post and I will come and admire your work!

Last of the Christmas Pressies- wax canvases

Well, this is it, the last of my Christmas present photos! (I still have some more photos, but they are not from my mammoth present-making session). This is a triptych of small canvases- 4" x 5" and 5" x 5"- and is my first go with beeswax. I coated the canvases with beeswax and then ironed the image on and added more beeswax to blend. Then I dusted the canvases with a mixture of Perfect Pearls and Cosmic Shimmer mica powders to tint them- the effect reminds me of a picture I had when I was young which seemed to be printed on mother-of-pearl. I am not entirely happy with them as I would probably have added more elements and stamping, but as a first attempt, they are OK!

PS The photo was originally taken a couple of years ago with a dodgy old 1.2mp compact camera, and is of my nearest beach at Hayling Island- here is the original:

I wish we had light like that every day!

Happy new year everyone :D

Stampbord necklace- two techniques!

After I got my lovely new Melt Pot, the first thing I did was go onto Youtube to look for tutorials. I was delighted to find loads from Suze Weinberg herself! This necklace was inspired by a tutorial of hers, showing paper beads dipped in UTEE (different from the Leandra bead which uses lots of layers of UTEE), and another tutorial by Suze Weinberg with Julia Andrus, author of 'Paper Transformed', which showed a way of making faux sea-glass. I used the sea-glass technique to make the pendant, but used Stampbord instead of glass as the base- it still looks good to me! The beads were made using the Melt Pot, but I have in the past used Glossy Accents instead of UTEE, which worked as well but was more time consuming. I love these two techniques, and you will be seeing them again!

Here's Faux Sea Glass:



And here's the UTEE bead:

Altered wooden box

Apologies for the rubbish photos, I took these on Tuesday, and I don't think it was bright enough for decent photos at any time of day, let alone 9am! I need a light box...!

This was a pressie for my best friend, Vicky. She gave me a beautiful altered triple frame in return- I will photograph it the next time we have good light.

Colour: Nick Bantock dye inks, Anita's acrylic paint, Stickles, Versamagic, Sakura clear Stardust pen
Stamps: All Paperartsy (inside the lid of the box I used tiny flowers from one of the minis, but they are not visible in the photo)
Other: Box from The Range, and tiny handle made using my new toy, the Ranger melt pot, plus a Krafty Lady mould.

I absolutely love my Melt pot, which was my pressie from Paul, and used it a fair amount for the handmade gifts. I forgot to order any more UTEE, though, so must get around to that this week!