Altered Bottle Brush Tree

Feb 16, 2015

Altered Bottle Brush Tree

Bottle Brush Trees are fun to alter for any holiday or to use year round as a home decor accent. You can attach these to wooden spools, perfume bottles, small glass jars, in shadow boxes, really pretty much on anything. Also, if you want to color your trees it’s easy using any of the non-iridescent Maya Mist colors. This altered bottle brush tree is so fast to create you can have it completed in under 5 min. Supplies Needed: Bottle Brush Tree, Small Glass Bottle, Seed Beads, Small Flocked Flowers, Seam Binding, Crochet Doily, White Maya Road Glitter Dust, Dina Wakley Gel Medium Tools: Scissors, Hot Glue Gun and Glue Sticks Instructions: Place seed beads into small glass bottle. Cut stems on small flocked flowers to shorten slightly, place into bottle. Double knot a piece of seam...

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I Love You Frame

Feb 13, 2015

I Love You Frame

This sparkly chipboard frame is going to be added to the front cover of a mini album. I plan to cover the album with vintage sheet music and ledger paper than add photos of Terri and Ansley. If you want to make this chipboard frame it’s super simple and here’s the tutorial. Supplies Needed: 2 Maya Road Chipboard Frames, Maya Road Glitter ~ Red & Silver, Red & Silver Acrylic Paint, Vintage Sheet Music, Martha Stewart Crystal Coarse Glitter, Vintage Glass Vial, Flocked Flowers, White Seam Binding, Diamond Glaze, Glue Stick, Aleene’s Fast Grab Tacky Glue, Dina Wakley Gel Medium, Book Page Words “I LOVE YOU”, Adhesive Foam Squares Tools Used: Scissors, Paintbrush, Craft Knife, Craft Matt, Tweezers Instructions: Using a glue stick type adhesive, cover the front of one chipboard frame with vintage sheet...

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So This Is Love ~ Tag

Feb 11, 2015

So This Is Love ~ Tag

The star of this tag is one of my new handmade Penny Candy Dolls. I think she is the perfect accent for this tag and I must admit she is one of my favorites. If you want to recreate a tag for yourself or a friend I put together a step by step tutorial just for you. Supplies Needed: Manila Tag, Vintage Music Sheet, White Crepe Paper, Chipboard Heart, Dina Wakley Media Ruby Acrylic Paint, Maya Road Red Glitter, Platinum Stickles, Diamond Stickles, Small Red Flocked Flower, Brown & White Twine, 3 Crocheted Doilies, DoodleBug Rhinestones, White Embroidery Floss, Aleene’s Fast Grab Tacky Glue, Fabric Tac Fabric Adhesive, Ranger Multi Medium Matte, Martha Stewart Crystal Coarse Glitter, Handmade Penny Candy Doll, Small Alphabet Stamp Set, Jet Black Archival Ink Tools Needed: Scis­sors, Paper Trim­mer,...

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Valentine Home Decor Accent

Feb 9, 2015

Valentine Home Decor Accent

This valentine home decor piece showcases one of the handmade Penny Candy Dolls I now have in my etsy shop. I love these dolls from long ago and when possible make molds of dolls I think you too would like to use in your crafting projects. This little cutie is holding a book underneath it’s arm. I put together a tutorial so you too can recreate this home decor accent. I plan on displaying this year round in my studio. Supplies Used: Large Wooden Spool, Vintage Sheet Music, White Crepe Paper, 2 Chipboard Hearts, Dina Wakley Media Ruby Acrylic Paint, 16 Gauge Wire, Diamond Glaze, Maya Road Red Glitter, White Embroidery Floss, Red & White Baker’s Twine, Martha Stewart Crystal Coarse Glitter, Ranger Multi Medium-Matte, Aleene’s Fast Grab Tacky Glue, Flocked Flower, Handmade Penny Candy Doll with...

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Ranger Designer Challenge 2015

Jan 16, 2015

Ranger Designer Challenge 2015

It’s always so exciting to be invited to participate in the Ranger Designer Challenge. Basically how it works is Ranger picks a product line to feature, sends the designers a box of the products and you create a project using these products. This year the challenge was a canvas using Dina Wakley’s Media paints, stencils and stamps. Talk about a fun challenge. I also used some Tim Holtz Distress Stickles Dry Glitter Rocky Candy and of course Diamond Stickles. I have fallen in love with Dina’s Media paints. They come in a tube with a flip top and are heavy body acrylics that spread like butter! I already have her new colors Glitz, Sterling and Penny on my list of “Must Have Now” as well as Dina’s super cool new Media Fine Tip Applicator. These...

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Rocky Mountain Memories ~ Artist Flood Relief

Jun 20, 2014

Rocky Mountain Memories ~ Artist Flood Relief

Last September Colorado was really hit hard with unexpected flash floods.  Dams broke, roads were washed out, rivers took control, and lives were lost.  It’s just so devastating.  Complete towns were evacuated, lives lost, people unaccounted for, homes & businesses demolished. Rocky Mountain Memories is hosting a silent auction to help Crossroads Ministries. This non-profit organization has provided a total of 725 flood relief assists but their funds are depleting.  Any assistance would be appreciated. Up for auction are many great pieces from various artists. I’ve donated autographed copies of  all three of my books Delight In The Details, Delight In The Seasons and Delight In The Art of Collage, plus several other items.   This shabby chic birdhouse was shared on my blog in July of last year. If you want to read how I created it...

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Cupid’s Feathered Friend

Jan 21, 2014

Cupid’s Feathered Friend

Place a few drops of pink dye or Mist into a small cup of water, (the more dye the darker the color, less dye the lighter the color), mix together. Using a paint brush, apply dyed water onto white bird and let dry. You can speed up the drying process using a hair dryer set on the cool setting. Cover the body of the bird with a thin layer of instant decoupage, then apply Light Pink Glitter, tap off excess glitter and let dry. Cover the wings of the bird with instant decoupage and apply a thin layer of Iridescent Glitter and let dry. Apply instant decoupage to the beak of the bird then apply Fine Silver Glass Glitter, let dry. As you can see there is a lot of drying time but it should not take long...

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Trash to Treasure Shrine Pendant

Jan 20, 2014

Trash to Treasure Shrine Pendant

I had a little mishap with a vintage salt shaker and had to keep it because of the way the front section broke. I was thinking it would create a super cute shadow box type project so I hung on to it. Well, the other day as I was looking at it I thought it looked like a shrine. This is when I had a light bulb moment… create a big funky shrine pendant. The first thing I needed to do was smooth out the sharp edges. I applied soldering tape all along the broken edges and started soldering. Once I had the this as I liked I started digging in my vintage jewelry pieces for perfect rhinestone accents. When at flea markets, antique shops or thrift stores I love looking for broken jewelry...

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On My Table…

Jan 17, 2014

On My Table…

I’ve been playing around in my studio, this week and have really enjoyed working on a few soldering projects. Soldering is something I kinda put on the back burner for a bit while creating my last two books. I get so much satisfaction from creating items I have visualized in my head. I’m a true assemblage girl at heart. The house above has an adorable vintage Valentine image inside and is covered with a layer of resin. The vintage flocked flowers are a beautiful shade of pale pink and one is accented with the words “Love is”. I added two small rhinestones from a vintage necklace to the key. So I’m sure you figured it out that the title of this pendant will be “Love is Key”. I’m going to drill a hole in...

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Faux Polaroid Ornaments

Dec 6, 2013

Faux Polaroid Ornaments

This ornament is going to do some serious sparkling on the tree as I covered each Maya Road Photo Frame Chipboard piece with iridescent glitter. It shimmers and sparkles beautifully and will look gorgeous when the tree is lit at night. If you want to make an ornament like this one or similar ornaments below are the products I used. Maya Road Photo Frames Chipboard, Maya Road Cloud White 1″ Ink Pad, Iridescent Glitter, Diamond Glaze, Red & White Twine, Red Mini Gingham Trim,1  Holly & Berry Pick, 1 Gold Jingle Bell, Black & White Photos, Black Cardstock, Glue Stick, Strong Liquid Adhesive, Scissors, Sanding Block Step Out for Making This Ornament: Remove center square from photo frame and set aside. Apply white ink to the photo frame, place Diamond Glaze over the top...

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Merry and Bright

Nov 27, 2013

Merry and Bright

This shadow box is created from plaster then painted and glazed with an antique wash to give it that perfect aged look. It measures approximately 5.5″ W x 7″ H x 1″ D. The outside edge of the shadow box is wrapped with vintage lace, red seam binding and accented with two vintage Christmas picks. The background of the shadow box showcases hand cut words “Merry and Bright” from vintage sheet music from the early 1920’s and a glittery snowflake with an iridescent rhinestone center. I created the doll from plaster using a mold from a vintage doll in my collection. She is hand painted with acrylic paint and given an antique wash. The dolls dress is created from antique doilies and she wears a crown made from a vintage book page sprinkled with...

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Silent Night Ornament

Nov 19, 2013

Silent Night Ornament

I created this heart shaped shadow box from plaster several months ago. I had an idea for it then changed my mind and well it’s been sitting on my worktable since. Well, over the weekend an idea came to me and I’m happy to say, it worked perfectly. I love it when this happens. I decided to turn this lonely little plaster heart into a holiday ornament. The sides of the heart are covered in vintage sheet music from 1920 and the typed sentiment “Silent Night” is typed onto vintage note paper using my awesome antique Underwood typewriter. Then the entire pieces is covered in glitter. There is something so beautiful about the roughness of plaster being covered in glitter, it’s magical. When looking into this ornament I imagine a beautiful snowy winter night, where...

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My Life In A Dingy ~ Stephenie Hamen

Sep 26, 2013

My Life In A Dingy ~ Stephenie Hamen

“My Life In A Dinghy” featured artist, Stephenie Hamen. Stephenie is a creative type person that fell in love with art at an early age. She has never met a set of crayons, a sheet of paper, or a bottle of glitter that she didn’t immediately fall in love with. She really got into crafting and creating with scrapbooking, which lead to other crafts and creative endeavors. While she still scrapbooks and dabbles in other various art projects, her current love is mixed media canvas art. Stephenie spends a significant amount of time in her craft room (aka the furnace room in her basement), creating, playing, and making a mess. When she isn’t covered in ink and paint, she is a wife and mother to two boys, as well as a full time employee for...

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My Life In A Dinghy ~ Hels Sheridan

Sep 25, 2013

My Life In A Dinghy ~ Hels Sheridan

“My Life In A Dinghy” featured artist, Hels Sheridan. Hels has been crafting since 2003, although she always did have a love of covering everything in glitter and glue when she was a kid. Hels started out making her own cards which then led to a brief stopover in scrapbooking and then she found her true crafty love, rubber stamping. Hels has a bit of a thing for altered art and mixed media and is happiest when covered in ink and paint. What started out as a hobby to release the stresses of her career as a Train Driver has become her job now after she had to leave driving trains due to ill health. She is a full time craft tutor and demonstrator and a Certified Ranger Educator. Hels is also on the design team...

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My Life In A Dinghy ~ Donna Salazar

Sep 24, 2013

My Life In A Dinghy ~ Donna Salazar

“My Life In A Dinghy” featured artist, Donna Salazar. Donna is a wife, mom, grandma, artist, designer, teacher and kid at heart. She loves Inky-Painty-Glitzy-Grunginess… what she calls her “Girlie Grunge” look. Her style is especially appealing to mixed media artists; however, her love of flowers and all things sparkly seems to appeal to crafters of all types and styles. She currently has licensed products with 5 companies. Donna’s, Life In A Dinghy Life in my magical dinghy would be peaceful and calm. The daily dusting of Fairydust Glitter would give my dinghy the ability to fly amongst the clouds. I would spend my days traveling through the fluffy white clouds gathering cloud flowers, just because I could. In the evening I would visit with the fairies in their cloud homes to get the next...

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Home for Christmas

Aug 14, 2013

Home for Christmas

This is the second of three classes I will be teaching at Creative Cards and Crafts in Villa Park, IL ~ Oct.18th & 19th. In this Home for Christmas class I will show you how to create three old fashioned Putz style houses using patterned papers from the new Graphic45 12 Days of Christmas line. Once all three houses are built and accented with Stickles and glitter you will group them on a decorative acrylic platter covered with faux snow and sisal trees to complete a miniature winter themed neighborhood. As a bonus I will show you how easy it is to bleach sisal trees at home if you wish for yours to be off white in color. And a vintage Christmas project would not be complete without including a few vintage mercury glass...

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Kids Week Day 2

Jul 10, 2013

Kids Week Day 2

Today, Madelyn decided we should do her nails again this time using Martha Stewart Vintage Leaf Glitter in Turquoise and Charoite. So we applied a clear top coat to her nails then alternated the two Vintage Leaf Glitter colors onto her nails. Once each nail was covered with glitter I applied a clear top coat to seal the glitter. After a fun few hours of bowling with Ansley and Brittain we decided for a quick afternoon snack Madelyn should make “Flip Flop Cookies“. I found the idea on Pinterest and have it posted in my “Things to Do with my Nieces” board. Decorating each cookie is really simple. All you need is a package of Nutter Butter Cookies and two different kinds of icing colors. When Madelyn saw the Wilton Sparkling Gel which included...

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Kids Week Day 1

Jul 9, 2013

Kids Week Day 1

Day one has been a whirlwind of fun. As soon as Madelyn’s feet hit the floor she was ready to go. Thankfully, I planned ahead the night before and had chipboard pieces, Stickles and Liquid Pearls for her to use while I was trying to get my first cup of coffee in me. This was a lifesaver, she created and I woke up. Then she decided she would like to make a video of how she alters her chipboard pieces using Stickles and Liquid Pearls. I was really impressed with how well she did since we didn’t talk about what she would say or anything. I basically just got my camera and started filming her very first unedited on-the-fly 10 min. instructional video. Not bad for a first time video. I love her. While...

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Altered Frozen Charlotte Dolls

Jun 6, 2013

Altered Frozen Charlotte Dolls

I have to show you how Julie Smith Campbell alters some of my Handmade Frozen Charlotte Dolls as I think you just might be inspired by her creations. I know I certainly am. I think this Spring piece is so lovely and  unique. I love how she incorporated the broken egg shell for the base of this piece. And look how Julie altered these spoons. How can you not love anything that includes vintage spoons, Frozen Charlotte Heads, rhinestone trim, pearls, silver glass glitter and other awesome vintage items. And just look at this adorable altered project. These are not my Frozen Charlotte Dolls but these certainly do inspire me to create some tiny ballerina’s with mine. So cute! I think Julie and I could do some serious damage at a flea market together....

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Stickles

Jun 5, 2013

Stickles

Most of you should know by now that I have a serious LOVE for Stickles, especially Diamond and Platinum! When teaching these two are a given for items needed in class. I use Stickles on pretty much everything I create and I have a saying about them too, “Stickles is to Crafters what Botox is to Plastic Surgeons. You can always use a little somewhere”. If you are a crafter that does not like loose glitter Stickles is a product for you. It’s easy to use and there is zero mess. So today, I’m going to show you how I use a little or a lot on my projects. Diamond Stickles is a great way to give a simple flower a little pop. All you need to do is apply a small amount onto...

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Studio Observations

May 20, 2013

Studio Observations

Several weeks ago while staying at Ronda’s and playing in her awesome studio, as I looked around I noticed lots of similarities in the way we decorate and the products we use to create. Even though our styles are quite different we do have a love for similar things. So while I was noticing all the similarities I started snapping photos to show you how two totally different artists (I’m a vintage neutral girl and she is a wildly colorful stencil girl) can be such great friends. Ronda uses colored buttons in her art and has them sorted and lined up in rainbow order neatly on a shelf were as I use mostly clear or neutral colored buttons and have jars placed here and there in my studio. Ronda has some of her favorite Trinket...

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