Heavy Metal

There's a new challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge ... Heavy Metal! My creation is far from heavy, but it's not lacking in the metal category.

I am hooked on Mike Deakin's You Tube channel, and I recently watched a video where he made a steampunk canvas.  Boy, did I want to make something similar!

Starting at the top, I glued mesh topped with string and then a bicycle paperclip.  Going further down the left side, there's a lightbulb from my son's fan as well as other goodies.  The DP and dp on the canvas are my initials.  I added a number of buttons, a key, a feather charm, and many other goodies from my stash.

After gluing, I added a coat of black gesso to make everything uniform.  That's when the fun started!  I used Finnabair's Patina Effect Paste in very liberal doses to make it look as old as it could be.  There wasn't a lot of shine, though, and I couldn't let that happen.  Tim Holtz' Distress Stain and Paint in several metallic colors added that je ne sais quoi to make it shine.

 

Thinking of You

Yikes! This photo did not turn out very well.  I can assure you that the card is so much prettier in person.  Unfortunately, I had to get it out in the mail asap, so I didn't have the card available to take a better shot.

I love the color combination (weathered wood, rusty hinge and gathered twigs along with mowed lawn for the stamping).  I am so glad that I purchased a MISTI ... that stamping of the thinking of you would never have happened prior to having it.  Isn't that butterfly beautiful?  It's a Cheery Lynn Design, and I smooshed some copper ink over top.  I love those wildflowers; sister sent the dies to me a while ago, and I've used them several times.

FINALLY!

Almost three years ago, I won some of Tim Holtz's Eclectic Elements fabrics from his site.  Then, just a few days later, I also won more from another site.  I've been saving the fabric until just the right moment.  (I did use a small amount to make a little cross-body purse.)

Well, that moment arrived today!  But first, a bit of history ... 15 years ago, I sewed a little pillow to keep on the couch.  In those fifteen years, that little pillow has seen a lot of use!  It was falling apart ... the seams were disintegrated, the piecings were falling apart.  You get the story.  I purchased a pillow form about two months ago, but I didn't know what I would do with it.

Yesterday afternoon, I was nosing around Pinterest, looking for ideas for a pieced pillow cover.  Lo and behold, up popped a rag quilt pillow!  Aha!  That's the ticket!

So this morning, after I finished some other projects around the house, I created this pillow ... and the other one is now in the trash. Don't feel bad for it, though; it deserves the chance to become one with the earth yet again.

Rusted Camera

I saw this project on Finnabair's blog, and I knew that I had to try to recreate it (with, of course, my own interpretation).  The problem, though, was that I didn't have a camera just sitting around, waiting to be turned into a mixed media project.

One afternoon, DH came down from the attic carrying a box.  Inside was an old camera!  Wahoo!  Let the project begin!

The following is my first attempt at adding a YouTube video to my blog.

 

 

 

Happy Birthday

I am really loving the Mojo Monday Sketch #458.  I even posted a card yesterday!  

I didn't follow the sketch exactly as it is shown, but that's okay!  Now this is in my stash, ready to send to my friend for her May 2 birthday.

Gone to the Beach

It's Monday, and that means it's time for a new Mojo Monday sketch!  I played around with the sketch and some of my designer papers that are in my stash.  We live about 5 miles from the Gulf of Mexico, and every summer my teacher friends and I meet for a gab session.  I think I will send this card to one of them for her upcoming birthday.  I'm entering this into Mojo Monday 485.

Thinking of You

I was sick for about four weeks ... nothing earth shattering, but I just felt blah. I wasn't even sick enough to miss work; okay, one day, but that was it.

While I was sick, though, I did spend a lot of time looking at blogs and looking at challenges. This weekend, I finally got into my craft space and did some tidying.  That gave me the push to make a card. This card is inspired by CASE(E) this Sketch #209.

Aren't those little flowers just adorable?  They were in a package of many goodies that Sister sent to me for a Christmas present.  I used some Distress Inks to watercolor the design, and then I added a sentiment.  My MISTI tool is fantastic!  I never had much luck with embossing (the stamping part of it, that is), but the MISTI made it possible to restamp to get a good image. The flowers and some splatters with Gold Perfect Pearls added the finishing touch.