Thursday 31 January 2013

February Guest Designer - Jo Capper-Sandon

We are very pleased to be able to share with you that we have the fabulous Jo Capper-Sandon joining us as a guest for the month of February.
To get an idea of what she may have in store for us all check out her blog HERE.

Today is the last chance to enter this months challenge, all the details can be found on the challenge post.

Carol x

Monday 28 January 2013

I am Queen

I love the quirky quotes from Catslife Press! This one just jumped out at me for this pair of girls from Paperbag Studios. One had a big bow one her head so the other definitely deserved a crown from the party hats collections (lost coast) I even managed a bit of recycling with an old book page ~ Agatha Christie if you're interested! lol

I used a Krylon pen around the edge.

Yes the image is wonky ;-S ~ I am most perturbed about this but the rest of the card is straight lol

TFL
Mandy x
mandysmagicalworldofart.blogspot.com

Friday 25 January 2013

Faux bell jar by Julie Dandy

 
Happy New year everyone - better late than never huh :D
The Happy Daze theme this month is recycling because I'm sure we all need to be a little bit thrifty after the season of goodwill and long pay months LOL :D

My project is something I have been wanting to do for a very long time but was struggling to find a cloche or bell jar - they have been increasingly popular since TH released his sizzix die, and impossible to find at a reasonable price!

I found a very clever idea on Pinterest showing a pop bottle transformed in to a bell jar from THIS BLOG so thought I would give it a go.


I have to say its not very easy sawing the top of the bottle off without crushing the rest of the bottle, so after a couple of attempts I enlisted my hubby's help. he found it easier to leave the top on but remove the seal ring, then hold the bottle by the top to saw. Tricky, but he managed it one attempt, and found it pretty funny that the top of a coke bottle was so precious to me LOL :D

The base was made from a ribbon spool from my Christmas wrapping, an old cd and the back of my Tim Holtz paper pad, which I covered with Graphic 45 paper, acrylic paint, and TH crackle paint in Frayed Burlap.
I then tied a piece of ripped Tilda fabric around, glued on some lace and spritzed everything randomly with a distress re-inker mist to age it all.

I painted one of these cute little wooden houses stuck on a mini wooden bobbin in acrylic paint then added paper accents to the roof and back. I stamped the black paper before I stuck it down, with my Picket Fence distress marker to give a chalkboard effect.

I inked the edges with distress ink and gave it all a spritz with the ink mist. The piece of fabric tied around the bobbin was a leftover stamped from a previous project which says May you love... so I pinned on a TH muse token which says FOR EVER MORE.

I added buttons, bling and flowers, and a mini bird nest, and a teeny bird I bought from a florist supplier on e-bay.
I spritzed again with the ink mist and added some distress stickles randomly.


For the bell jar I added a game spinner and a  time piece to a curio knob with the screw and glued them on to the cut off top of the bottle.

Then glued on some lace which also got spritzed with the ink mist. I added distress stickles to the outside of the bottle around the top and bottom and just to make the bottle look more aged I sponged on some brown alcohol inks on the inside of the bottle.
I just placed it over the birdhouse and Voila, a cute recycled project :D




Who would have thought it had started life as a pop bottle, cd, packaging and a ribbon spool???


Hugs'n'snogs,
Julie xx

Wednesday 23 January 2013

Ballet Girl Recycled Make Up Bag


For my final recycled item for this month's challenge I have decorated a make up bag which was pink with white butterflies on, and I wanted the butterflies to show through, so I covered it with Tim Holtz Composer Tissue Wrap using Matte Gel Medium. I stamped the little ballet dancer from the Artistic Outpost Picture Star plate onto tissue paper and coloured her with Distress Inks, along with some of the wording from the set, and added these over the top. I finished off with pleated ribbon trim, some lace flowers, and a friendly plastic homemade mould taken from a piece of broken jewellery.

Monday 21 January 2013

Life's a Circus

This week I've made a little arch (thanks to Deb for sending me some of these diecuts)

I've used Mustard Seed distress stain for the background. I stamped one of the Circus dogs and the podium from Lost Coast onto card and cut out and coloured with watercolours. The yellow background is stamped with blue chalk ink and the Whimsical Melange set from Artistic Outpost. the flowers are from another Artistic Outpost set Serenity. I stamped these onto card, cut out and coloured in. Finally edged with some chalk ink.

TFL
Mandy x

Saturday 19 January 2013

Miranda By Carol Fox



Today I have used the Chapel Road Art Stamps and altered one of the larger sized boxes available from the shop.
I simply gave the box two coats of paint, sanding between coats, then sealing with glue and seal. I stamped the image in archival brown ink, then masking the image before adding a background text to the lid and the sides. Using Distress ink I gently coloured the box to add a bit of interest and detail.


 Adding a button from my stash to the front to look like a knob.

See you next week, Carol x

Wednesday 16 January 2013

Great Gatsby Recycled Gift Box


I recycled one of those horrible holographic foil gift boxes using Prima Moulin Rouge Papers and glittered die cuts and the Artistic Outpost Great Gatsby stamp plate to make a jewellery box. I also recycled a stopper from a broken glass decanter which I felt went with the art deco theme.  I used the text from the various stamps in differing brown inks to build up the layers, and the scroll from the Daisy stamp for the images on the top and the side panels. Hope you will join in the January recyling challenge!


Monday 14 January 2013

Here's the story....

This month our challenge is 'recycled' ~ not my most fave theme I must admit... until I got ill and bought a box of tissues! lol I knew as soon as I saw the pull off top of these that it would be ideal for altering. 

 it's an altered ATC pocket. Just the right size for an atc after sealing up with some staples
 ATC and pocket :-)
 and finally.... the ATC (which is also made using a cereal box as the base
I've used 
white pen

If you'd like to join in with our challenge... check out the deets here 

TFL
Mandy x
mandysmagicalworldofart.blogspot.com

Saturday 12 January 2013

Recyled Tag By Carol Fox



The theme for the current challenge is to use re-cycled items. Unusually for me I did not opt for an item but I went for a small pile of odds and sods that had been sitting in the corner of my desk for ages, sitting there just because they looked like they could be useful.

I had cut the tag ages ago from some packaging, ripped it in half to use one corrugated face for something and the other half had just sat there.....waiting. The text is the cut out section from an altered book that got missed when I put the rest away in a draw, so I stamped my image on this. A piece of scrap tissue wrap. some beaded ribbon from a cushion that got partly eaten by my washing machine. An organza flower made from a scrap of ribbon, dyed, went the wrong colour so was sent to live in the corner awaiting its moment to shine.

So here is my hodge podge of items assembled to become a tag along with some ink and paint to make it pretty.

Stamps I used

Queen Of Life
Quote from Miranda

Full details of this months challenge can been seen here.


Carol x

Wednesday 9 January 2013

Miracle Perfume Bottle



I love recyling, especially after Christmas when packaging is much fancier than my normal empty cereal bottles and milk cartons! Here I have used an empty 'Miracle' shower gel bottle which I painted, then gave a layer of crackle medium, then a layer of pale pink paint. I stamped the pattern from the Artistic Outpost 'Jane's Countryside' plate all over the bottle using Archival Sepia and used a little on my finger along all the edges. I painted the bottle top in gold paint which gave a mottled and antiqued effect.


I stamped the Violette Flor, Lundborg's Perfumes, and Corset stamps from the Lost Coast Labels plate onto tissue paper using VersaMark and embossed with Black Embossing Powder and adhered the two main images front and back as shown, using matte gel medium. I sealed the whole lot with more gel medium.

I cut the text away from the Violette Flor piece to add down the sides of the bottle.

I stamped the Violette Flor image again onto frosted shrink plastic using Gold StazOn and cut it out leaving a border and punched two holes at the top before shrinking with a heat tool. I used a little bit of the gold ink down the edges of the bottle too. I added jump rings and a piece of chain to hang around the neck of the bottle. I was going for a sort of wine decanter look!

Finally I added a round Tim Holtz facet charm to the top of the bottle lid for a decorative touch.
 
 
 
 
I do hope you will have fun with recyling some of the packaging and other items left over from Christmas and join in this month's challenge!
 
 
 
 
 

Monday 7 January 2013

Make your Mark....

in your book :-)  Last week, I got myself a few new paperback novels to read so what better way to keep your place than a nice new bookmark! I've used a nice citrus colour palette on this one and added some beaded trim for a glam feel :-)



What I used:
Birdhead woman
Circus Dogs Set
Zetti Map
Archival Jet Black
Stazon ~ saddle brown and pumpkin
Watercolour pencils
Black Fineliner
Cosmic Shimmer Sprays

Happy Monday
see you next time
Mandy x

Saturday 5 January 2013

Domino Fridge Magnets By Carol Fox


This week I have used the Prima Cling Stamp set Songbird to make a set of Fridge Magnets.

I stamped directly onto the domino using black Stazon ink, when dry I gave it a quick coat of Multi medium and then coloured in the images using Claudine Hellmuth Paints.

I sealed it all with a coat of Glossy Accents, and then added a magnet to the back. These would look equally as cute with a brooch back so you could wear your art.

Thank you for looking and see you next week
Carol x

Friday 4 January 2013

December challenge winner

A bit late with this sorry, no excuse I just forgot. :(((

Thank you to everyone who entered the December challenge. The winner as chosen by The random Number Org is number 13 Butterfly. You can see Alison's entry on her blog HERE

The details for this months challenge can be seen HERE, so rummage in your bins and make something lovely to share with us and you could win a £15.00 voucher to spend in the shop.

Carol x

Tuesday 1 January 2013

First Challenge for 2013

Its time for the first challenge of 2013, I hope you all have a lovely creative year ahead of you.
The challenge this month has been chosen by Lucy, and she chose the theme of recycled. I am sure like me most of you were rummaging thorough the packaging that came with your presents looking for the things that could be saved and used for projects, so I loved this theme when Lucy came up with it.
There is only one rule to the challenge that you have to use at least one thing that is available to purchase form the Happy daze shop on your entry piece. You can enter up to 3 times and please link back to the challenge post when you blog your entry.

Some DT Inspiration



Lucy


Mandy


Carol 

I will announce the winner of last month challenge on Thursday.

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year, the Happy Daze Design Team x.