Happy Birthday, Becca

I made this card for our daughter-in-law's birthday earlier this week.  I am still loving the Simon Says Stamp card kit that I bought way back in October.

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.