Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Mar 17, 2015

Happy St. Patrick’s Day

Nothing like a french bread clover covered in cinnamon sugar to start your St. Patrick’s Day morning. This is really easy to make and pretty darn yummy too. All you need to make french bread clovers is a tube of Pillsbury Crusty French Loaf, melted butter, ground cinnamon and sugar. Instead of greasing my cookie sheet I placed mine on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Preheat the oven per instructions on the tube. Cut 5 long strips of the Pillsbury Crusty French Loaf. Leave about 2 inches at one end for the clover stem, then loop the strip as shown in the upper left photo. Create the second loop as shown in the upper right photo. Create the third loop as shown in the lower left photo, tuck the end of the strip...

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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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A Joyful Snowman

Dec 3, 2014

A Joyful Snowman

This is one of my very favorite ornaments I’ve ever created. It was originally posted on December 4, 2009 but I love it so much that I thought I would repost the tutorial again today. All the different textures and the color scheme make me super happy. Sup­plies Used: Paper Mache Rec­tan­gu­lar Orna­ment (Hobby Lobby), Cream Felt, Crys­tal Coarse Glit­ter, Vin­tage Sheet Music, 2.5″ Sisal Brush Tree (Christ­mas Sec­tion of most large Craft Stores), Maya Road Mini Snowflakes, Maya Road Mini Noah Chip­board Let­ters, Fab­ric Rem­nant, Red, Cream and Black Embroi­dery Floss, Rhine­stone, Gold Self Adhe­sive Gems, Gold Ger­man Glass Glit­ter, White Seam Bind­ing, Gold Jin­gle Bell, 3 — Vin­tage But­tons, 24 Guage Wire, Fabri-Tac, Col­lage Pauge Instant Decoupage — Glossy, Sizzix Snow­man Die, Adiron­dack Metallics Acrylic Paint Dab­ber — Gold, Mak­ing Mem­o­ries Acrylic Paint...

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Altered Art Journal ATC 1

Aug 25, 2014

Altered Art Journal ATC 1

I was so super happy when I discovered (which is what happens when you clean areas of your studio, you discover things) I had a set of 6″ x 8″ pocket pages that fit inside my art journal. Since these pocket pages are a variety pack I have several different sized pockets that are perfect to add different sized art pieces into my journal. Yes, I’m happy. So once I discovered I had more options for my art journal I decided to create a small ATC type piece to put into one of the pocket pages. This card measures 2.75″ x 4″ so it is a bit off in measurements for a traditional ATC which is 2.5″ x 3.5″.  The base of the card is from a portion of the left over postcard I had from my first...

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Bellie’s Here For A Visit

Jul 30, 2014

Bellie’s Here For A Visit

This past Saturday, Isabella (a.k.a. Bellie) my 7 year old niece came for her week of everyday fun. We have had a blast doing one paint project after the next. This girl LOVES to PAINT! She wants to paint over going to see a movie, getting a makeover at Sweet & Sassy, eating breakfast at IHOP etc. I suggest something fun to do for the day and all she says is can I just paint. So paint is what we have done all week. I asked her Sunday what she wanted to paint and she said a horse. At first I panicked because this auntie does not draw especially horses. So I found some coloring pages of My Little Pony online, printed some out, let her pick which one she wanted to paint then...

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Paper Clay Beads

Jun 10, 2014

Paper Clay Beads

These paper clay bird beads are a fun and unique way to create your own handmade summer necklace, bracelet or earrings. All you need to have on hand is Paper Clay, Acrylic Paint, Paint Brushes (Medium & Fine Tips), Multi Medium,  20 Gauge Wire, Jewelry Tools and a Stylus. Mold the paper clay into the size bird you need for your project. Mine range in sizes from 1″ to 1.75″. Theses measurements are from the tip of the beak to the tip of the tail. The width measures .5″ and a bit smaller. This measurement is from the top middle of the back to the bottom middle of the belly. Using a Stylus poke a vertical hole all the way through the bird from the belly to the top middle of it’s back. You...

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Sing Your Own Song

Jun 3, 2014

Sing Your Own Song

I wasn’t kidding when I said I LOVED Dina Wakley’s Scribbly Birds stamp set. Here is another piece I made over the weekend. Using Jet Black Archival Ink I stamped the bird image onto a 6″ piece of watercolor paper, then filled it in with acrylic paints. I painted the entire background with teal acrylic paint. I used the Kaleidoscope stencil by Ronda Palazzari and some of Wendy Vecchi’s Crackle Texture Paste to add texture to the piece. Once the paste was dry and did it’s magic I inked it with Archival Inks and Vintage Photo Distress Ink. Using Multi Medium I attached some vintage sheet music and an image from a book. Next I covered the stenciled areas and the branch image with bits and pieces of a dress pattern. Once the multi  medium dried I...

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Altering Melt Art Embellishments

May 30, 2014

Altering Melt Art Embellishments

I fell in love with this cameo in the center of a vintage tin I found, last week. As soon as I got home I made a mold so I could pour some UTEE into it. I did a random pour, just the cameo and then a little bit around it, wherever the UTEE landed is where I kept it. I wanted the embellishment to look like an old decorative piece that came off a wall taking some of the wall along with it… I hope this makes sense. I also have a vintage photo album with the most amazing embossed image on the front and decided to create a mold of this as well. As you can see, I use several different mold products and with all of them the results are wonderful. I get a beautifully...

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Embedded Objects in Beeswax

Feb 6, 2014

Embedded Objects in Beeswax

Embedding miscellaneous objects into beeswax is a technique that allows for some pretty amazing results with your mixed media projects. Some of my favorite items to embed are scanned copies of old photos, vintage ephemera, buttons, feathers and dried flowers. The look these items give to your projects are fabulous and as you can see, I embedded all my favorites into this Putz style house. The photo embedded on the front of the house is of my great grandmother on her wedding day and is one of my favorites I have of her. I prefer using natural beeswax pellets over white beeswax pellets and is only because of it’s off white color. The coloring of the natural beeswax goes perfectly with my vintage style. I also don’t have or use any high end encaustic...

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Jewelry Clay & Mini Glittered Hearts

Jan 24, 2014

Jewelry Clay & Mini Glittered Hearts

To create this valentine pendant you will need EnviroTex Jewelry Clay, Dress It Up Valentine Collection Love To Flirt, My Jewelry Shoppe  Heart Shaped Bezel (21.5mm x 32.5mm), Metallic Pink Seed Beads & Bubble Gum Perfect Pearls. All but the metallic pink seed beads were purchased at Hobby Lobby. I had the seed beads in my stash already but I’m sure you can find some at Hobby Lobby if you need some. You can also use micro beads instead of seed beads. Mix the Jewelry Clay as instructed by the manufacturer. Once the clay is mixed well place it into the heart shaped pendant making sure to push the clay to the edges of the pendant. Note: I completely filled the pendant with jewelry clay. This way, once I started pushing the hearts into...

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Mini Snow Globe Charm

Dec 19, 2013

Mini Snow Globe Charm

As soon as I saw the adorable snow globe charm created by Margot Potter I knew I had to make one of these little cuties. Although, I created somewhat of a Texas sized version. I love wearing big chunky charms and thought this would make for an adorable holiday piece to wear on a simple silver or ball chain style necklace. I pretty much created my charm exactly as Margot,  although I didn’t have to trim off the top of a bottle brush tree as I had one that was super small and fit inside my bottle perfectly. All I needed to do was snip off the wooden base of the tree using wire cutters. Supplies Used: 2″ Glass Bottle with Cork (Tim Holtz), .75″ Mini Glass Bottle with Cork (Maya Road), Tinsel Trim,...

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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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Happy Holidays Photo Ornament Kit

Oct 31, 2013

Happy Holidays Photo Ornament Kit

  I’m still going through my stash and putting together mini ornament kits for the holidays and last night, I was able to put together this cute photo ornament kit. FYI, I have a very limited amount of kits. The kit contents are listed below and as always come with step by step instructions and a color photo. Please note, Festive Berries Distress Ink used to color the chipboard frame and Platinum Stickles used to outline the chipboard base and frame are NOT included. Kit Contents: 1 – 4″ x 6″ daisyd’s Snowman Patterned Paper 1 – 4″ x 6″ daisyd’s Polka Dot Patterned Paper 1 – Chipboard Page 1 – Chipboard Frame (Frame will vary see photo for variations) 1 – Small Bottle Brush Tree 2 – Holly Leaves 1 – Button 2...

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Delight In The Seasons ~ Autumn & Winter

Oct 25, 2013

Delight In The Seasons ~ Autumn & Winter

These are just a sampling of the projects you will find inside “Delight In The Seasons” Autumn and Winter chapters. In these chapters you will learn fun techniques to create 3-D Embellishments, Tissue Paper Trims, Interactive Layers, a Paint & Ink Patina, Altered Bottle Brush Trees, Creating Pearlescent Watercolors, Paper and Felt Bows, Fabric Cuffs and more. This book is filled with loads of inspiration and right now when you order an autographed copy the shipping is FREE! This is an awesome deal. So if you are looking for a beautiful idea book that is not only pretty to look at but also filled with easy to follow step by step techniques for you or your crafting friends, I hope you consider purchasing this...

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Bees Wax Tools & Tips

Jun 21, 2013

Bees Wax Tools & Tips

Bees Wax is a medium I really enjoy creating with and if you are thinking about giving it a try I thought I would share some tips. First, if you are new to this medium there really is no need to go out and purchase expensive encaustic supplies right off, if you find out you love working with wax then you can begin adding high end encaustic wax and tools. But for what I do the tools I’m going to tell you about work perfectly. Insert here… husband clapping hands and doing a little happy dance. The heat tools I use are a Non-Stick Craft Sheet (always work on a Non-Stick Craft Sheet), Heat It Craft Tool, Melting Pot, Clover Quilting Iron and a Walnut Hallow Wood Burning Set. As far as wax, I...

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Petaloo Color Me Crazy & Ranger Ink Week

May 14, 2013

Petaloo Color Me Crazy & Ranger Ink Week

All this week on the Petaloo Blog, Petaloo is showcasing guest designers using their Color Me Crazy Line that have been altered with Ranger Ink products. My guest designer post isn’t until Friday so I thought I would show you a few of the other projects I created just to peek your interest until then. You can see a gorgeous card Tammy Tutterow created and has posted on their blog now. This mini canvas was a snap to create and altering the Petaloo Color Me Crazy Petites, Butterflies, Fancy Frames and Keys are easy breezy lemon squeezy when using any of the products Ranger Ink has to offer. To create this mini canvas I first covered the mini canvas using a Paris themed napkin. If you have never used designer napkins as a base for a...

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Altering Paper Mache Eggs

Mar 11, 2013

Altering Paper Mache Eggs

I altered these paper mache eggs from start to finish in less than an hour. These paper mache eggs measure approximately 1.5″ in length so they are rather small and perfect to cluster together to accent little areas around your home. I started altering these eggs by first painting each one with Claudine Hellmuth Studio Blank Canvas acrylic paint. When the eggs are painted it makes the paper tape more vibrant. You don’t have to use paper tape either, you can use Washi Tape, Maya Road Fabric Tape, Tim Holtz Tissue Tape, basically anything you wish. Even masking tape with stamped images using an archival ink would look nice. Now, that I’ve shared a few tips here are the supplies I used to alter my paper mache eggs. Paper Mache Eggs, Martha Stewart Paper...

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Book of The Week

Jan 23, 2013

Book of The Week

So happy to share that my book “Delight In The Seasons” is the “Book of the Week” over at Cut Out + Keep. If you’re not familiar with this site you really need to check it out. It’s FILLED with all kinds of awesome crafting tutorials. Cat is even giving away a signed copy of “Delight In The Seasons” so don’t miss out, you can enter HERE. She also has four sample project/techniques from “Delight In The Seasons” for you to create. The Altered Bottle Brush Tree, a Felt Message Banner, Embellished Clear Buttons and the Chipboard Cameo. As you scroll further down the page you will find a “Meet the Author” section that tells a little bit about me, my book, where I find my inspiration, etc. So go check it out. Cut Out +...

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Sweet Little Girls Embellishment Tutorial

Jan 22, 2013

Sweet Little Girls Embellishment Tutorial

Using the products listed below is a really quick way to create cute embellishments and accents for any project. Plus when storing your Adirondack Alcohol Inks in a palette as I have shown above makes alcohol inks super portable for crops and weekend retreats. To create your portable palette of alcohol inks simply apply enough drops of each alcohol ink color to cover each of the inside circles in the palette as shown above, let the alcohol inks dry and you are ready to go. You fill the Adirondack Alcohol Ink Fillable Pen just as the instructions on the back of the packaging instruct only you use Adirondack Alcohol Blending Solution instead of Alcohol Inks. Antiquated Collection by Lisa M. Pace ~ Pink Persimmon Sweet Little Girls Stamp Set Ranger Products  Tim Holtz Ink Palette, Tm...

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EnviroTex Memento Key Chain

Jan 4, 2013

EnviroTex Memento Key Chain

Here is another keychain I created as a gift for Christmas. This one was for my mom. I started by cutting a piece of wallpaper from the old homestead that mom and I peeled off the wall one summer. I then placed the wallpaper piece inside the heart bezel. Using a paintbrush I covered the wallpaper with three coats of Nunn Designs Glue allowing the glue to dry thoroughly between coats. I then mixed a small batch of EnviroTex Resin and filled the bezel halfway. I set this aside and let it cure for 12 hours. Remember there is no need to waste any of your resin. If you don’t have another charm you want to create, create resin paper by placing the paper onto wax paper or foil and brush the leftover resin onto the papers...

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EnviroTex Resin Key Chain

Jan 2, 2013

EnviroTex Resin Key Chain

I created this key chain for my sister, Belinda. It was created in memory of my brother, Richard who passed away from alcoholism, March 28, 2004. He loved the water and worked on a boat off the Gulf of Mexico. I found this image of the anchor by doing a google search and the quote from Quote Garden. I had Alan resize the image for me to fit inside the bezel then printed it out on my laser printer. Next, I applied Nunn Design Glue on the bezel and placed the image on top, pressing the bubbles out from underneath the image as best I could using my finger and paint brush for the corners. Once I felt I got all the bubbles out, using a paint brush I applied a layer of Nunn...

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