Crafty Daze

Sid from UK Stampers has generously provided some jigsaw pieces for an altered art jigsaw swap. I had lots of ideas of things I could do to them and with them but couldn't settle on one. In the end it was while I was playing with my melt pot that I had my eureka moment. I have placed a mirror on to the top of the two joined jigsaw pieces. Then I poured gold UTEE around the mirror making sure all of the edges were covered. Once the UTEE had cooled and dried I added some silver crystals, coloured crystals and shaped nail heads using my Kandi Kane. Then I used some gold stickles here and there for a tad more glitter. I wanted to have some stamping in this project so stamped directly onto the mirror and the back of the jigsaw bits using purple Stazon. I have added some magnetic strips to the back as I think it would add a little glamour to a kitchen! I do hope that who ever ends up with it likes gold and glitz!

I have been enjoying playing and experimenting with my melt pot recently.
I have made lots of different moulds and you can see a few of the gold UTEE shells that I made. There is a tiny Eiffel tower as well.

The end of the school year is nearly upon us so I have been preparing presents for the extremely hard working teachers that I know. I enjoyed making stampbord brooches a couple of months ago and was really pleased with the results so decided to make some more of them to use for these presents.

The UK Stampers inchies theme this month is.....well there is no theme.We were able to do whatever popped into our heads. Quite a lot of ideas popped into mine but in the end I went with a little inchie book. First I cut the paper and folded it in half. I cut the front edge with wavy or zig zag scissors. I added some pages to the centre of the book and stapled them together using fascinator staples. I stuck my name and the inchie details onto the back and to finish off the small books I stamped silver stars onto the front and wrote some words inside....

We have new neighbours. They seem friendly but not excessively so. Since meeting them and enjoying a chat we haven't seen them much but from the little we have seen so far they appear to be the perfect people to have as neighbours, hopefully we do too. I made a 'New Home' card for them, one for the old neighbours who have moved to the other side of our village and a couple of spares in case I am surprised by anyone else moving anywhere else :) .

We have been invited to the naming ceremony for a gorgeous little girl we know. Another card for the special occasion, plus a few extras for who knows when.

I have used K & Company card and papers, some some shapes I have cut and some I have punched out. I made the little tags on the new home cards and wrote the message with a glittery pen and added stickles and perfect pearls to add a shimmer. I printed my message out on heavy card stock and die cut the shapes.
Inspiration? Well I took that as well as the sentiment on the baby cards from the new Cards magazine.

The theme for the UK Stampers twinchies swap this month is monochrome. I have painted my blank twinchies with creamy white paint, leaving some bumps and lumps to add texture. I then stamped my image using a Technique Tuesday clear stamp and archival black ink. I added some white and transparent dots using white pearl stickles and Anita's glossy clear finish. I don't normally work in just black and white, but quite like the effect.

I have just hosted my first swap on the UK Stampers forum. The swap was for a stampbord fridge magnet swap and was as straightforward as it sounds. I drew names out of a box to designate the magnets to the crafters and have just posted all of them. The quality of the work was really high. Everyone had taken the time to work with such care and the results were gorgeous, pretty and imaginative. I received gifts from lots of people as a thank you for hosting the swap. This was totally unexpected and very kind. Thank you all for making my first swap so enjoyable.

The weather is being so kind to us, it's been blazing here today and should last all week. Wonderful!! You can't beat some lushious strawberries in the summer, unless it's a bowl of strawberries with meringues and cream as well............mmmmmmmmmm I can't wait for supper!

I have made some pretty little tags using a template cut with a Sizzix die (the pocket scallop die). I used H2O's to paint the tags. Some were (technical term!) splodged, and some were painted in stripes. I used my gold krylon pen to colour parts of some of the tags. I made other tags using some pretty paper that I have.I am going to put little metal die cut pieces in side them to make little pressies for some lovely people I know. The die I used to cut out the metal decorative pieces is made by Spellbinders and is called Timeless Heritage. It is full of buttons as well as a key, clock and lock, it is one of my favourites.
I have been making some larger tags to go with presents. I used Tim Holtz distress inks and techniques, H2O's and I edged them with gold and silver krylon pens.

I am hosting a Stampbord Fridge Magnet swap on the UK Stampers forum. The swap is just as it sounds, make a fridge magnet from stampbord and decorate it however you wish.

I have used a piece of round stampbord that I have painted with Tim Holtz distress bronze crackle paint. The stamp that I have used is one made by Stampers Anonymous. I have edged with foil tape and have decorated the front edge of the magnet with two colours of stickles glitter glue. In real life the stamp look much more shiny and the metallic paint really glows.
I hope whoever ends up with my magnet likes it enough to stick it on their fridge and enjoy it.