It's a Mini Christmas!

Welcome to my post for UK Scrappers Christmas blog hop and my project for Christmas. I love a quickie make 'n take, and I conjured up these mini Christmas brooches for our Annual Christmas party a couple of weeks ago. They are so simple and easy to make, and will add a little extra to your Christmas gifts if you add them as toppers instead of a brooch.
Ingredients: mini die shapes from Tim Holtz, chipboard bases, Christmas paper, Distress glitter, glues, Glossy Accents, brooch back, distress inks, Stickles.

 

 I used some chipboard mini tags we have, and covered them with Tim Holtz Seasonal Paper Stash which has mini papers perfect for this size :) Add some distress inks to the edge to cover the edge of the paper. 

I used Tim Holtz Mini Christmas sizzix dies to create the elements on the brooches. I cut them all out of Kraft Card,  and painted them with PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Paints or Distress Paints and allowed to dry.

 

Add Glossy Accents to the elements you wish to glitter and add the Distress Glitter to them. I poured it into a plastic cup, but you could equally use a plastic bag . Give them a good coating and allow to dry. You can heat dry the Distress Glitter, but the Glossy Accents dries very quickly, so not completely necessary.

Add the elements you wish to use to the backing and glue with Glossy Accents or
Cosmic Shimmer. I added the reindeer with a couple of foam dots to make it a bit higher than the rest of the elements.

Add some Gold Stickles to the bow and a brooch back to the back of the base when it is all dry, and you have the cutest brooch to give to someone for Christmas. Tip: when glueing the brooch back to the back add it to the top third of the back  ( I used hot glue) so that when you wear it , it sits properly. Here are some more samples I made too.

 

I have made up kits for all 3 brooches, and you can find them here with all the other elements to make them too :)

I hope you enjoyed the project, and if you are member of UKS, don't forget to leave a comment with your UKS your name too, to be added into the draw for a prize.
Thank you for looking, and have a truly fabulous Christmas and a Happy and Creative New Year
{hugs}

Waxing Lyrical

I admit, this past weekend has been hard for me to even think about working (lots of lovely hot sun, and gardening!), let alone creating anything, but I have had on my mind using beeswax, and altering a few things with it. I have to admit I am not very "au fait" with wax, but did learn some techniques at Ranger U, and already had some wax in a meltpot project pan, which has been sitting on my desk for a couple of days! It is best to heat the beeswax in a separate pan, as too much heat will set fire to it! To experiment, and learn more about its effects, I used a tag I had already spritzed with Crafty Notions Mica Sprays with a bird mask, and I just brushed white melted wax over the tag. I then very gently heated it with a heat gun, and stamped the Calligraphic mat directly into the wax. I did mask off the bird, so it didn't get wax stamping in it, and then continued to melt the wax until I got the effect I wanted. I brushed the finished tag with perfect Pearls in gold, green and blue. It is very hard to photograph the shimmery effect, but all in all, I am very pleased with the end result. Strangely enough it makes the whole tag translucent, and hung up on my tag hanging thingy ( the overhead light!! lol) you can see right through it... The first picture is of it without Perfect pearls, so you can see the finish the Pearls has on it.  

Hope you have a sunny and creative day!
Hugs

2 in a row...

Birthdays that is.. well along with my DH's of course...and I got busy and made cards. Cards are , like I said never really my forte, and Tim's bird came out and hopped into both of these! I know both of the recipients have got them , so now I can blog them :)

Have a very Creative weekend, I am working on my garden this weekend, and hoping to get a little bit of crafting in too.
Have a sunny one!

It's a Bird week!

When I was at Port Sunlight on Saturday, I spent the day demonstrating Tim's new bird cage die, using Ten Seconds Studio metal and tags. I think I am hooked on them, and we have plenty in the shop. I distressed inked the tags, and then sprayed them with Crafty Notions mica sprays and let the tags dry. I then stamped on top with distress ink. I used a TSS mould to emboss the metal. Add the metal to some card and humngo tape to make a sandwich, and then run it through the Big Shot to cut out the bird. Easy Peasy! I even added the wing made from left overs. The metal was sprayed with Mica sprays and some Precious metal colour added to them too. I had great fun making these.

This one was made wby accident, and really does need a little more work, but the Birdcage was cut out by accident, and I just added it to the tag.

It is not often that I moan about shows, but sadly my little wooden book bird has gone missing. He was hanging up beside me, and I cannot find him anywhere :(. I fear he has flown to a new home, let's hope he is happy there and the person who has him looks after him....
Take flight today and be creative!
Hugs

Tweet, tweet....

or should that be sweet, sweet?, as I have candy on offer. I have spent a very enjoyable morning, while the rain has come down outside,indulging in making a little wooden hanging bird with distress inks, rock candy crackle paint, dotty stamps, and the crown! The wings are from Mr Holtz's Flourishes die set, and coloured with Rusty Hinge and Barn Door. The crown is painted with Viva Decor Precious Metal in red.

 I am a great lover of those penny sweets that you get in sweet shops, (you know the kind, pink shrimps, blackjacks, flying saucers) and I often buy 50p bags and munch my way through them before I am even home! But the candy on this page is of the crafting kind, and a must for anyone who loves competitions. All you have to do is comment, and add the candy to your sweet shop to be in it twice. I am giving away a Tim Holtz die, and a new wooden bird that we have in the shop, along with the darling little crown to add to your bird.

I shall pick the winner on Monday 10th May.
Hoping you are having a great Bank Holiday weekend despite the rain!
Hugs