Beeswax Beauty

I'm finding the new Suzi Blu stamps very hard to resist so for this make I just wanted to show how different the same stamp can look, if you look at my previous post Queen of Hearts you'll see I've used the same stamp but changed it a little. For this make I removed her wings, ouch, and just continued her hair to her waist.

I began by stamping the Angel of Art stamp on ordinary printer paper and then removed her her wings, I stuck the image down and then coloured in her face, neck and hands with pencils as these are the only parts that are not painted. I used string and modelling paste for the texture of her hair. The little bird is made with modelling paste as are the details of the skirt. I used a Prima Songbird stamp for the flowery details around the edge. Finally I stamped the Balloons stamp on tissue paper and then glued down so I would get it in the right place. After painting everything I then used an ordinary pencil to go over the edges and some of the details which gives the whole make a hand drawn look. I covered the whole make with beeswax and then distressed it by scratching with a knife and applying burnt umber oil paint and then rubbing off, a bit of bling adds another dimension simply embedded in the beeswax.

I used some stash and Suzi Blu Angel of Art stamp,

Paperbag Studios Balloons stamp,

  Crafters Workshop screen, 

Various paint dabbers also

Prima Songbird stamps

Wishing you a lovely, happy day, Sam xxx

Untie your Wings by Samantha Read

I honestly cannot put into words how excited I was when I found out that Happy Daze are stocking all the new fabulous Suzi Blu stamps!! They are so hard to find here in the UK I thought I would never get my hands on them.

As soon as I saw the Fly Free stamp my creative mojo started singing and the stamp was talking to me. . . 

. . . I immediately reached for a canvas and turned it the wrong way round, scrunched up some tissue paper and pva'd to the front edge for texture. Then I randomly discovered that 6in x 6in paper fits neatly in the recess, result! I toned down the pattern of the paper a little by applying a very thin layer of gesso with a baby wipe, I then painted the green, pink and blue and again toned it down with a touch of gesso. Then the fab part, I stamped the Fly Free girl once onto white card and once onto some patterened paper for her dress. I acheived the textured hairdo with modelling paste. A Claudine Hellmuth craft stick was perfect for the title. A bit of wire, a few beads, flowers, a bit of sparkle and some nik naks that were lying around finished the piece.


I used:
20cm x 20cm Canvas

She art paper

Claudine Hellmuth Studio Craft Sticks

Fly Free stamp by Suzi Blu

Prima Crystals and Pearls

Claudine Hellmuth Studio Paints, Painterly Pink, Sky Blue and Landscape Green

Artistic Outpost Serenity stamp sheet for the flourish and
Claudine Hellmuth Gesso

Wishing you a lovely, happy day, Sam xxx

Songbird Designed by Paula Tidman

Inspired by Sam's altered altoid tins, I thought I would make my husband an altered tin. He plays the mandolin and is always misplacing his plectrums LOL, this little tin is the ideal size to store them in. I bought two of these tiny mint tins from Aldi for just over a £1.

I started by giving the tin a coat of gesso. Then two coats of cream matt emulsion.  I then stamped the cute little birds from Prima Songbird and the text stamp from Artist outpost Bluebird plate, in archival ink on the sides and the bottom of the tin. I painted the stamped images with distress inks in Barn door, Dusty concord, spiced marmalade and broken china. Then I buffed more broken china all around the edges.

I used a gold leafing pen around the top edge of the tin and finished with a coat of varnish.

A quick reminder about the current Happy Daze Challenge which  you still have time to enter. It is "March to your own tune" So anything with a musical theme.  One lucky winner will be drawn at random to win a  £15 voucher and free P&P to spend in the Happy Daze shop. Maximum of 3 entries per person & you must use at least one product which can be purchased in the Happy Daze shop.

• You can enter by blogging you address to the linky widget here, 
• emailing your picture to info@happy-daze.net
• uploading your photo to their facebook page

  

Note to Self by Samantha Read

I absolutely couldn't resist any longer! A chunky, wooden atc and one of my favourite colour combinations, pink and brown.

I started by painting the whole thing with ordinary emulsion paint left over from decorating, this seals and smooths the wood. I then cut and decorated the paper, adhered to the atc and added embellishments. The embellishments were vital to this project, without them it just looked really naked.

The memo pin went into the wood really easily, I just kept tuning and pressing into the wood with the pin, it would be good for holding photo's too.

Yet another new addiction!

I used:

Chunky Wood ATC (thank goodness these are now available, I had a go at cutting my own and it was tricky!)

Artistic Outpost Stamp Sheet, Serenity

Tim Holtz memo pin

Birdhouse charm

Prima Crystals and Pearls Pearlescent Pinks

Distress Inkpads, Brushed Corduroy, Antique Linen and Worn Lipstick

Wishing you a happy day, Sam xxx

Dangly Things Challenge Piece - by Ruth Philps

I am a magpie for all things pretty, old or broken and my challenge piece is made from just that, broken and old bits of jewellery and the odd bird!

The beautiful birdcage is a tempting new stash item from Happy Daze made by Prima as part of their Vintage Trinkets Range.

 I used antique bronze findings to attach all the bits together.

 Fortunately the birdcage trinket comes in a pack of pairs along with four little birds, so I can make a matching necklace and earings too!!

You can still enter the Dangly Things Challenge HERE, to be in with a chance of winning this months prize.

Resin pendants by Julie Dandy

This is my piece for the current dangly things challenge, if you want to be in with a chance of winning a £15 voucher with free P&P visit the blog post HERE


I used the fabby Lisa Pavelka resin to create my piece which is sooooooo clever!!!
It sets in 20 minutes with a UV light so makes it perfect for layered projects like this one.
If I had used normal two part resin it would have taken me days to make this piece and would have stunk the whole house out - this is odour free :D

Visit Lisa's website HERE to see some amazing video demoes on how to use her brilliant product.

I used a clear acrylic shape as a base (I think TH fragments would work well too which I must try) and added Prima Reflections rub-ons on each layer to create a 3D effect and beadazzles and glitter to the layer on the back.

I used a connector similar to this one set in the resin at the back of the piece above as a bail and a proper bail like this one on the example below.

You can add in extra embellies before you set the resin like I have done above without glue and they set solid.
The little flower over hanging the edge was supported with a little blob of plasticine while it was cured.

Moira has a fabby selection of jewellery finding and charms HERE if you want to create your own little wearable masterpieces




Hugs'n'snogs,
Julie xx