Ok we are not oldies but we have been on the DT for some time & are staying, These are the very Tallented ladies staying with us on IACW :) The ladies are lucky I was going to put a photo of them up but my emails are not working so they have been let off lightly (unless i add them later)
CAZ - Creating memories
DEBBIE- Rainbow Poppy
JAYNE- Paper Thoughtz
LYNNE- Lindyloo Crafts
KAREN- Dollys dreamings
ELEANOR- Highland House Keeper
MANDY- ichthusfish
{image supplied by photobucket}
Hello, Eleanor here, with a technique I had forgotten about. I was prompted to revisit it by Jimjams on UKScrappers, when I saw a recent scrapbook layout of hers, with embossed, stamped tiles and letters. They look stunning and I immediately fancied a bracelet of 'tiles'.
Still in inchie mode from Lynne's weekend workout challenge, I cut some more one inch chipboard squares, dabbed the edges with a copper inkpad, coated the front surface with versamark, and triple heat embossed with Blonde Moments Festive Fern ultra thick embossing powder, before quickly stamping a retro pattern inked with the copper. I liked the stamps I used (old, but their first outing!) a retro set which which have quite a proud red rubber, so make a deep impression.
The dilemma I faced next was the manner of linking the tiles to become a bracelet. I tried punching a hole before embossing, but the hole disappeared in the thickness of the ultra powder. I then tried punching through the hard surface, but it shattered, as it did when I tried drilling with the Dremel (as Jemma predicted!).
Hmm, this is what I tried next, hot glue gun and paperclips - it looks primitive but hey presto, it works:
I was able to connect each end of the paperclips with a small silver jumpring.
To conceal this rather unattractive backside, and stop it possibly rubbing on my skin, I cut one inch squares of felt and glued them onto the back:
Here's the finished bracelet, modelled by yours truly:
If you make something like this, I'd love to see it.
Thanks to Jemma and Lynne for the inspiration.
xx
Hi, Mandy here again...
I love making toys and decorative items in a continuous crochet spiral, BUT it's beyond important to use a stitch marker with this Amigurumi style crochet. Recently I have been working on a pattern for a crochet egg (which is turning out to be harder than I first thought). It's very easy to lose your place in a pattern and if you haven't marked the rounds then it's hard to go back and find where you were. Really hard (I've learnt this the hard way with much gnashing of teeth). So, up until recently I always tied a piece of contrasting cotton thread into the crochet as a stitch marker. This worked OK but it takes time to tie it in and untie it every round. I decided to make myself a crochet stitch marker with a built-in round counter. My dd had made the beadling bee for me a few years ago and decided to use it. Next, I threaded some pretty glass beads and a round counter onto the bee's wire and connected a teeny silver lobster clasp which I got here at Yadanabeads on Etsy.
However, I got carried away making it cute and personal and lost sight of it's function as a stitch marker and that it would be attatched to the crochet while I worked. The teeny lobster clasp held it's place wonderfully in the crochet and was quite quick to use BUT this cute new tool was so annoying to work with. Back to the bead box I went and came across an old amber drop earing which I used to wear and love until I lost one. The amber bead was lightweight, smooth and dangled freely. I just added a small jump-ring and connected it straight to a lobster clasp. A 30 second job and it works wonderfully!
I still use the round counter and the bee stops it rolling off the arm of the settee, so all's well.
I haven't given up on 'the ultimate crochet egg' and will share the pattern once I've worked out the kinks.
From Mandy.
Hi Lynne here
I'm intrigued by how changing shapes can alter the whole look of a project.
I'd wanted to try a twin needle project for a while and settled on a "ladder" style bracelet.
This one has bugle beads to form the ladder, they are twisted and have a rainbow coating so really glisten in the light. This gives a delicate effect.
For this one I added 3 cube beads to form the ladder and swapped the outside beads to silver and used a black cube bead in the middle, which also has a rainbow coating. This is a much chunkier bracelet.
They are very quick to make and you can ring the changes with the rainbow of beads available.
Do try making some yourself.
Lynne
I recently found some fabulous wooden bangle blanks ready for decorating and decided that my first one was going to be an inky one:
I started by using a pale green distress ink over the outside and then a darker one:
I then laid Tim Holtz masks over the inked bangle and added more ink over the top. The next step was to add a darker brown ink along the edges and then tiny rhinestones in the middle of the masked flowers:
I think the next blank is going to be decorated with paper but I'm not sure yet LOL!
As always, thanks for visiting IACW!
Jo x
Hi, Mandy here,
I really love to crochet and as a scrapbooker I can't remember the last page I made without a crochet flower or some trim on it. However, I decided to have a change & try out an idea I had to make crochet earings. It was my Gran, Daisy, (who's 83 now) that taught me to crochet the traditional 'granny square' when I was a child. Since then I've always loved 'granny squares' but never really make any. So, I decided to make some earings inspired by granny squares and my own Gran. These were the first pair that I gave to my daughter...
...here's a closer look...
I used a 0.75mm metal hook and crochet thread (I think it's size 8 cotton). I made more in a variety of colours...
The photo below shows the size compared to a 1p
I did put a tiny dab of glue (Glossy Accents) on the metal findings where it touches the crochet, just to make them hang well and added beads to a couple of pairs but also left some plain. It doesn't take long to make a pair!
Bye,
Mandy
Besides enjoying paper crafting I love beading. I enjoy wire work and beads but my favourite is using thread and beads.
My daughter loves having matching jewelery for her outfits and will often flick through my books and magazines or sketch me an idea and say Mum, I'd like one of those in whatever colour she's wearing at the moment. (Mainly blues and purples)
This is my latest offering:
The smallest beads are size 15 and the largest are size 6.
By changing the size of the beads you create a wave. (instructions for a similar bracelet can be found in Issue 12 of Bead magazine. If you're looking for ideas of something new to try, pick up a copy and try some of the projects)
If you're anything like me you have a stash of beads in varying sizes and hues, get them out and have a play and see what you can create.
Lynne x
Hiya Claire here.
A few weeks ago we set a competition asking you to challenge us,
and the winner was Jayne who left us this comment:
Mandy here & Oooh... I have seriously enjoyed getting out some messy, painty, inky stash this past week. Sometimes it can feel like too much bother to 'get messy' (& clear-up afterwards!) but it has been so much fun to PLAY!! I learned about this kind of messy stuff from Julie Fei-Fan Balzer's on-line class called 'Technique-a-Palooza: Paint & Ink 30 techniques' ...
You can find her brilliant blog here.
So, I decided to make a 12" by 12" scrapbook layout about my Husb who passionately loves to make tasty coffee including grinding the beans & frothing the milk etc. Here's the finished layout, then I'll tell you what I did...
OK... here's what I did...
I used some 12" by 12" cardboard packaging from the back of a pack of papers because these techniques add weight and ordinary cardstock just can't cope! I arranged some spare chipboard alphas into a vague heart shape...
Once glued down well, I used a sponge applicator to cover over all the letters with GESSO which is one of my fave products. It's a bit like thick acrylic paint but dries matt and is a perfect surface to add paints/inks to. Wangle the sponge applicator about to totally cover the letters...
While the letters are drying, use a pallette knife (or an ordinary knife/piece of plastic) to thickly coat GESSO all around the alpha heart...
Then give the alpha heart another coat of gesso. Now, the fun part of imprinting texture into the wet GESSO. I used a jam-jar lid to make circles like a coffee cup and a cotton-reel and some corrogated card to add lines. Packaging from chocolate boxes always makes a fun texture too.
Here's a close-up of the wet GESSO to show some texture...
Let it dry overnight and it goes matt...
Time to add colour. First I like to use watercolour paint, unevenly and 'not-too-overworked' ...
I used brown & yellow paint and a small amount of green (to tie-in with the Starbucks logo embellie I made) I deliberately splattered some brown paint drips on at the end ...
Next I got out my inky sprays which were matching colours and sprayed a few test sprays onto some scrap paper. Then (having put down plenty of newspaper) I 'went for it' with the sprays. They do run into one another and 'pool' in the indented Gesso background and it's fun!
It doesn't take too long to dry. Then I finished the layout with a photo-strip, title, ribbon, Starbucks embellies and an embossed metal heart I made and inked. I love using staples especially on a man/boy page and used my long-arm stapler to emphasise the outline of the big textured heart. Here's a couple of close-ups...
So...I hope you'll agree that it is worth the messy clear-up!
Mandy
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Hi from Caz!
Well my inky messy play certainly doesn't compare to the AWESOME projects above! I am in AWE of this work and would love to have the guts to give it a go. I guess i'm a little afraid of totally messing it up. So I will stick to my chalk ink, stazOn, acrylic paint and a little Tim Holtz distress ink :)
For my project I have covered and decorated a plain 7 gypsies book that I am going use for a little personal project in 2010. A bit about that later though ;)
A few years ago I decided that I was over foam stamps and sold off all but 2 sets. And the reason I have those two sets still is because they landed up in my stuff cupboard and I only re-discovered them recently. But boy am I glad I still have them. Foam stamps ROCK!
Next month i'll share more of this book and a little of what it's all about.
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Thanks for visiting and thanks for the challenge.
IACW girls
xxx
Hi from Caz, sharing my latest craze!
My past dabbles in jewelley making always involved I pins and beads. And I like the results but never thought WOW I really LOVE that.
Well a few weeks back I found a gift bag in the bottom of my wardrobe full of odd bits of jewellery, some broken, some I haven't worn in ages and some I had forgotten about.
So I set about finding some little storage and split things up into beads, charms, bits of chain etc. And then I took myself off to our local town market (Hitchin) where I knew there was a lady who sold jewellery making stuff.
I bought a length of chain (enough for about 6 bracelets) of a nice weight, some charms, jump rings and a packet of wire.
Back home I took out some bits that I thought went together well and set about putting together my first charm bracelet.
This beautiful big heart came out of a little book my mum made me (sorry MadDi!) I just loved it and as it was put in a book by my mum and the book was about me it meant something :) I will always think that it came from her.
The ring is a Dinny Hall, who is one of my favourite designers and as I don't wear it as a ring anymore I wear it as a charm! The cross was a gift from my aunt.
The crystal I bought at a market in Durban, SA. And the beads was a necklace that I wore ONCE and found it to be very heave so never wore it again! I just split it into little lengths.
I love my bracelet and everyone admires it when I wear it. I can honestly say I LOVE it! And it has sentimental value to me.
The second bracelet I made was for a work colleague. She, like me, loves hearts, and loves jangly jewellery, like me, lol.
It's a bit more of a mix of metals and colours, but it's fun and most of all, she LOVES it!
I also personalised it with a J (her initial)
I think this is a great way to recycle your jewellery, and if you have lots of aunts get a little something from each of them and put it together to make a family charm bracelet, you'll always remember them and it will become a family heirloom.
As always if you have links to your own work, please leave us a link so we can come visit!
Thanks for visiting!
Caz
xx
About a week ago I was in John Lewis and saw some lovely necklaces made out of buttons. They were quite expensive and, being a typical crafter, I thought I'd have a go at making my own. It was really quick and easy to do, and I'm quite pleased with the results! Here's how I did it.
First I chose a nice piece of scrapbook patterned paper. This one is October Afternoon. I used some clear buttons which I got from Stampin' Up! and glued them over the pictures I wanted using Stampin' Up! Crystal Effects.
All that was left to do then was to punch the button holes through the paper with a paper piercer and thread them onto 3mm co-ordinating ribbon. I made the necklace long enough to go over my head so I just tied it with a knot, no clasp was needed.
The great thing about this idea is that you could make necklaces and bracelets to match any outfit, just pick your favourite patterned papers! It would also make a great last minute Christmas gift for someone. You could even use some Christmas scrapbooking paper!
I hope you like this idea and I'll see you again soon!
Joanne x
"I would love to see more messy inky projects."