Why the Hell Not?

Feather/Leaf Bracelet Part Two

Yesterday, I made another fold formed copper bracelet.  This one I will be donating to a silent auction for a fundraiser I'm helping to organize.  I wanted to donate something cool and unusual, that will hopefully get lots of bids.  If I'm feeling froggy, I may make another one (though with a different finish) for the auction next week.  

Remember these bracelets?  Well, yesterday I made one using the same technique, only I did not flip it inside out.  Thus, the fold in this one is on the inside of the bracelet, rather than on the outside.

Here's my bracelet -

I did what's called a torch patina on the metal, meaning the coloring is all from torch work.  It's a very inexact method and you never quite know what you'll get.  You heat the metal until you get the look you want and then you let it cool slowly.  When you heat metal and let it cool slowly, it stays hard and inflexible and will hold its shape.

I noticed that this copper kept having a bluish tint when I was heating it for annealing and hoped that I would be able to get that same tint in a patina.  I lucked out.  It's actually even more blue in artificial light.  The patina has the same effect as a fire opal does - it changes as you move it under light.  I have to admit, I'm amazed at myself for not only getting it to that point, but also for having the willpower to stop heating it so I didn't lose the patina! 

I love the rose gold look of the metal too.  It's amazing what you can do to just plain copper.  Also, I did seal the metal with wax to help hold the patina on.  That does slightly dull the shine, but also helps to prevent turning the wearer's skin green (from the copper).

Here's another picture -

And the last one (a picture of the ends) -

The reason the ends are sort of scalloped is because I forged them when the metal was folded.  This stretched the metal in places, forming a scalloped look. 

An Outfit for Little Miss

When Little Miss and Mr. Why came to visit for Camp Kiki 2010 Summer Edition, Little Miss picked out a stamp set she wanted me to use to make her an outfit.  She picked Heartfelt Creations' Innoscents Flowers 2.  While the kids worked on their Father's Day projects, I stamped out the flowers onto duck cloth.  And then I set the project aside.  A few weeks later, I painted and cut out the flowers.  Then I set it aside again.  Today, finally, I finished the project.  Just in time too as school starts next week and she just might want to wear this during her first week!

Presenting, Little Miss' outfit -

And a matching headband as she's really into headbands these days -

 

All are appropriately blinged up, as bling is an important thing to a six year old.  Here are some detail shots of the shirt that show both the painting detail and the bling -

 

I hand sewed them to the shirt and only attached them in the middle so the flowers would move with wear and washing.  I also added a solution to the acrylic paint to make it fabric safe and added a clear paint to it as well.  This made the paint slightly more translucent and made it easier to blend colors on the flowers.

As for the belt, I stamped the smallest flower in Azure Stazon (stamped off once first) all over the outside of the belt.  It's hard to see the detail in this picture, but the detail does show in person.

 

The belt "buckle."  The actual buckle is a set of "D" rings, but I sewed this on top to partially hide the fastener. 

 

And lastly, a little side detail of the headband.  This is the only flower that I sewed down on the sides and the middle.  It will somewhat limit it's movement, but it needed the stability.  I bought the headband premade at the dollar store (I think). 

I hope you enjoyed them!

In case you're wondering, I used duck cloth because it's quite stiff and will help hold the flower shape.  I did not seal the edges so they will fray over time, adding to the vintage look of the outfit.  I used slightly more than half of the duck cloth I bought for this outfit.  Speaking of fraying, I hand sewed a line down both ends of the webbing to seal the belt to hopefully prevent fraying. 

Supplies -

Heartfelt Creations Innoscents Flowers 2 stamp set (HCPC 2242), 1/8 yard cream Duck cloth, 1/2 yard cream webbing (for belt), 2 "D" rings, Making Memories scrapbook paints, acrylic paint additive to make it safe for fabric, clear acrylic paint blender, Stazon Black ink, Stazon Azure ink, Gutermann thread, needle, paint brushes, various Swarovski crystal beads, t-shirt, headband

Heartfelt Creations Design Team Entry

In June, I discovered a wonderful stamp company named Heartfelt Creations at the Great American Scrapbook Convention in Arlington.  Once I saw these stamps in action, I instantly fell in love!  I've been playing around with them for a few weeks and am finally able to share some completed samples with you.  Since I mostly see Heartfelt Creations' stamps stamped on white card stock and colored in, I decided to play around with the images and see what else I could create.  I did try coloring one of them (and have quite a few colored that I just haven't made into finished products), as they do color beautifully.  The following three projects are my submission projects for their design team call.  I hope you enjoy them!

Oh, and check back tomorrow as I plan to finally finish the rockstar outfit I've been making for my six year old niece using Heartfelt Creations stamps.  When she was here in June, she picked which stamp set she wanted me to use and I've been slowly working on the projects ever since.  I hope the outfit I'll be sending her soon will make her the hit of her first grade class!  As a hint, it involves paint and canvas...

Project #1 - a Thinking of You card -

This is a 4.25" x 4.25" square card, so it'll fit into a regular A2 envelope.  Keep scrolling down for detail shots and a supply list.

Here's a shot of the interior -

I did something interesting on the interior.  I wanted to use the third stamp in the set, but needed a large space.  I also needed to stamp it in a light color so you could read the sentiment on top of it, as well as anything I write in the card before I send it.  So, I inked the stamp with Memento's Desert Sand and then pounced Memento's Rich Cocoa ink randomly on top.  Lastly, I stamped it off twice before stamping it onto the white card stock.  This technique gave the image a weathered look which works well with the vintage feel of this card.

Here's a detail shot of the medallion and the pleated front -

To pleat the paper, I scored the paper every 1/4" and then folded the paper to get the look I wanted.  I did apply a bit of adhesive (ATG) under each pleat to make the paper easier to handle.  Once I'd pleated my piece, I ran it through the Big Shot with a square scalloped Nestie to cut it into the shape I wanted.

The medallion was a combination of the faux metal technique and a happy accident.  First, I smooshed SU's Very Vanilla craft ink over a scrap piece of card stock.  Then, I sprinkled Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE) in Bronze on top and removed the excess.  I heated the paper with my heat tool until the embossing powder was fully melted.  Then, I quickly added another layer of UTEE, removed the excess, and heated again until melted.  I repeated this process until I had five layers of UTEE, a nice thick coat.  Then, I smooshed my stamp into the melted embossing powder.  To my horror, my melted embossing powder came up with the stamp when I lifted!  I about died.  It was embedded in the stamp!  Thankfully, when it cooled, I could peel it off.  Some of it came off in once piece, including the popped up part that's now in the middle of the medallion. 

For my second try, I did the correct thing of protecting my stamp with ink before smooshing into the hot liquid.  This time, I inked the stamp with Very Vanilla craft ink, which is why you see cream in the recesses of the medallion.  Since I am a waste not want not girl, I cut out the middle of the medallion that I pulled out of the stamp and popped it up to give the medallion extra dimension. 

Let me know what you think!

Supply List -

Card stock - SU's Chocolate Chip and Bronze, PTI White

Patterned Paper - Basic Grey

Stamps - Heartfelt Creations GRS-228A

Ink - Memento Rich Cocoa (for stamping and inking edges), Memento Desert Sand, SU Craft Ink in Very Vanilla

Tools - Spellbinders Shapeabilities Pendants - Fleur de Lis, Spellbinders Nestabilities - Classic Scalloped Squares Large, Martha Stewart Score Board

Accessories - UTEE in Bronze, heat tool, Tim Holtz Distresser, Swarovski pearls, SU Chocolate Chip satin ribbon

Adhesives - Scotch ATG, SU's Dimensionals, Zip Dry

Techniques - Faux Metal, Pouncing, pleating paper

Project #2 - Life is Good Card -

 

As you can see, I did do a bit of coloring on this one!  I couldn't help it; I had to!  Unfortunately, I made it a few weeks ago and forgot to write down the Copic colors I used. Sorry about that!

A close up of the flower -

 

Isn't it pretty?  I love this stamp set.  I cut the flower from a much larger image.  Even though there are only three stamps in this set, it's quite versatile. 

I also used the technique of Faux Suede on the background of this card (I used the same technique in the next project as well).  It's a super easy one to do - just crumple your card stock then peel off the top layer.  You'll be left with a rough texture that looks similar to suede.  Crumpling your card stock breaks the fibers enough that you can peel the top layer off.

Supply List -

Card stock - PTI White, New Leaf, and Kraft

Patterned Paper - October Afternoon

Stamps - Heartfelt Creations Lilacs/Posy Bouquet - HCPC 3302

Ink - Memento Black, PTI New Leaf (stamped off once for main image), Colorbox Chestnut Roan (for inking edges)

Tools - Sizzix On the Edge Die - Brackets, SU Ticket Corner Punch

Accessories - SU Linen Thread, SU button, Basic Grey ribbon, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher (for stapling the ribbon into shape)

Adhesives - Scotch ATG, SU's Dimensionals, Zip Dry

Project #3 - Wedding Details Scrapbook Page -

My husband and I got married in the month of December.  Our colors were crimson, olive green, and muted gold.  Conveniently, the church and wedding reception location were already decorated for Christmas in those colors...  And, conveniently, they were both decorated with poinsettias, just like the ones in the Heartfelt Creations Regal Poinsettia 2 set...

This shot shows my sister, also my matron of honor, buttoning up the back of my gown.  Our photographer, Ryan Green Photography, took many "detail" shots.  I'm a sucker for detail shots, especially those taken with a journalist's eye.  As I make my way through scrapbooking my wedding, I can't help but include as many of those detail shots as possible.  This page is just an example of the detail shots.  I also plan to post more of my wedding pages as Ryan Green Photography was gracious enough to give me rights to publish their pictures (and submit them for publication elsewhere), so long as I mention their name.  I love that they were so willing to work with me, are fabulous photographers, and such nice people.

For this page, I decided to go mostly monochromatic.  My entire book is based on black and white with a touch of red, green, gold, and silver (yes, I mixed metallics).  This color palette made it easy to work with the mixture of color and black and white photographs that I have.

Here's a detail shot of my faux suede gray poinsettia embellishments -

I made sheets of faux suede using SU's Basic Gray and then stamped the poinsettia images onto the card stock.  Ironically, I hand cut out each image.  I say ironically as: (1) I'm rarely a fussy cutter, (2) I'm a tool fanatic and have the Nesties that match this set, and (3) when given the choice of cutting something out by hand or using a tool I rarely choose the hand method.  However, it was so nice to only do one of something (since I tend to make cards in bulk) and I really enjoyed the monotony of doing the mindless task of massive cutting.  Plus, these images are super easy and quick to cut out by hand!  Love that design feature!

I also stamped the middles of the flowers on Bazzill Crimson textured card stock and paper pieced those onto the top flower.  Each layer of the flowers is popped up on Dimensionals.  The top left flower is also popped up on double stacked Dimensionals, so it sits above the other two flowers.

A detail shot of the bottom border, made by piecing cut out stamped images -

 

To make this border, I used Stazon Black to stamp the largest poinsettia in this set onto Silver Textured Card Stock (DCWV).   Then, I cut the flowers out.  I stamped the medium poinsettia onto Basic Gray card stock (SU) and cut those out.  I then cut the medium poinsettias in half.  I ran a line of adhesive (ATG) onto the back of the black card stock.  I pieced the medium poinsettias onto the card stock, arranging them how I liked them.  I then ran another line of adhesive on top of the pieced medium poinsettias.  I then adhered the large poinsettias so that they stuck farther out than the medium ones.  Lastly, I adhered the entire black card stock piece to the background paper using Dimensionals.  I used Zip Dry to adhere the crimson pleated ribbon just above the edge of the black card stock.  I love the look of this border!  I hope you love it too.

I also stamped the photo mat with Basic Gray ink (on top of Basic Gray paper) to give it some added dimension.  I used the last stamp in the set to frame in the photo by stamping it in Snow White.

Supply List -

Card stock - PTI White, New Leaf, and Kraft, SU Basic Gray and Basic Black, Die Cuts with a View Silver Textured, Bazzill Crimson Textured Card Stock

Patterned Paper - Die Cuts with a View

Stamps - Heartfelt Creations Regal Poinsettia 2 - HCPC 2291

Ink - Stazon Black, Memento Black, PTI Snow White

Accessories - Ranger Inksentials White Gel Pen, Swarovski pearls, May Arts (I think) pleated crimson ribbon

Adhesives - Scotch ATG, SU's Dimensionals, Zip Dry

Techniques - Faux Suede, Paper Piecing

I hope you enjoyed seeing my submissions.  Let me know what you think!

Judy's Pin

I couldn't give a fellow artist the Breast Cancer pin I'd made for her without giving it to her in a proper box.  I took a plain white Container Store box and turned it into this -

I used Prima papers for decorating the box, some extra Close to My Heart flowers I had stamped and cut out ages ago and had left over from a card kit,  Making Memories ribbon I was hoarding (from last year's travel line), Stampin' Up!'s twine and rhinestone brad, and metal charms from that same CTMH kit.  I wrote the words "Hope" and "Faith" using a black Sharpie.  I also popped the flowers up slightly using SU's Dimensionals.  Just about everything was inked with Colorbox's Chestnut Roan chalk ink. I  learned that a glossy white box does not take chalk ink well...  Hence, I lined the top inside of the box to hide my smudges.  I hand cut the leaves from the green Prima paper.

I intended to use the extra piece of green paper you see to write a nice note about the piece, and forgot.  Zoinks!

Here's a view that shows you some of the dimension of the piece -

A close up on the charms.  Note that I tied the twine and arranged the charms so that the twine was in the shape of a ribbon. -

 

One last detail shot of the box top -

The most important shot of all of my pictures of this project is the next one.  It's of Judy after I'd given her the pin.  She loved it!  I hope that it helps her through her breast cancer and reminds her that she is loved.

A Present for Judy...

Mark's aunt Judy has breast cancer.  Thankfully, it's treatable.  However, the treatment is difficult and long as it's compounded by her other health problems.  Through it all she maintains her typical Judy positive attitude.

Judy is also a crafter.  Like me, she's tried just about every craft out there.  Unlike me, she excels at painting.  In fact, her crafting skills compliment mine well as we're good at different things. 

Since Judy truly appreciates crafters/artists, I decided to make her a gift in metal.  This was truly a labor of love as it was my first time to set a stone, first pendant, first pin, and first of so many other things.  However, I think it turned out quite well.  It's also symbolic. 

See if you can guess the meaning -

The ribbon is made of 18 gauge Sterling Silver that I cut into the shape.  I hand drew the shape from memory.  I used my ball ping hammer to forge a texture into the ribbon.  It's polished to a high shine, which makes it very hard to take a good picture.  The ends of the ribbon are also curved up to give the ribbon more life.

The cross is of highly polished copper (it's not enameled like the picture looks).  I also hand drew and cut it.  The pink stone is a 4mm round cut Pink Tourmaline and is set in a Sterling Silver tube.  I drilled a hole in the back of the piece to allow more light to come through the stone to enhance shine.

Here's the back -

 

The bail is made of the same tubing the stone is set in.  The pin back, however, is hand made (and hand sharpened) from 16 gauge Sterling Silver wire. 

Judy can wear this as either a pin or a pendant.  I figured she'd appreciate the versatility.  The finished piece is about an inch wide by 2.5 inches long.  The wavy edges of the ribbon were created when I forged the texture into it.  

I aimed towards making a classier version of the typical breast cancer ribbon and including a cross.  I think I succeeded. I plan to give it to her today and hope she likes it!

As for the meaning, you probably guessed it.  It's simple.  Hope plus Faith gets you through the fight.  Of course you need medicine too, but the patient can only fight with hope and faith.  Doctors provide the medicine.

This gift is also a temporary one.  It's meant to be passed along as a sort of good luck charm.  When she's cured, she can pass it to a friend or family member that needs it.  Hopefully, she'll be cured and never need to pass it.  However, breast cancer is currently prevalent enough that she will have to pass it to someone she knows.  Or maybe this will be the decade that we find the cure.  Through hope and faith, science just might...

Fold Forming Greatness

On Saturday, I took a class at the Dallas Craft Guild on Fold Forming.  Fold Forming is a technique in metal working.  Basically, you fold a sheet of metal and then apply various techniques to get the results you want. 

During the morning, we learned fold forming techniques.  During the last part of the afternoon, I used those techniques to make the bracelet on the right.  It was originally a 1"x7" piece of 18 gauge copper.  The one on the left I made today.  It was originally a 2"x6" piece of 18 gauge copper.  The larger one ended up a bit thin (I've quite the ability at forging), so I'll have to use 16 gauge copper next time. 

If you're wondering why the right one is shiny and the left one has what looks to be a pink powder on top, it's because I haven't fully cleaned the left one.  I've pickled it but not attacked it with the brass brush to remove the oxidation. 

See, when you heat metal to anneal it, oxidation occurs.  On copper, oxidation tends to be reddish black.  To remove this oxidation, you pickle the metal, meaning you place it into a pot of "pickle."  The pickle we use is a mixture of water and pool chemicals.  This pickle removes the oxidation.  Then, you wash the pickled metal with water and scrub it with a brass brush and Dawn soap to remove the last bits of oxidation.  If you don't scrub the copper clean, the pink powdery finish will rub off onto your skin when you wear the piece.  So, pickle it!

To make these bracelets, I annealed the metal (heated it to a certain temperature and then quenched it in a bath of cold water) to soften it and then folded it in half.  I annealed it again and then forged (hammered) it into a "C" shape, annealing each time I needed to soften it back up.  If you work in metal, you learn quickly that metal work hardens, meaning doing something like forging will make the metal get super hard and unworkable again.  Thus, you have to anneal it often.  After I'd reached my desired shape, I pried the metal back open, making sure to not lose my fold.  I shaped it on an oval mandrel and then annealed it again.  Lastly, I flipped the metal inside out and shaped it on a mandrel into the cuff.  The whole process took me a couple of hours, though I was working on a second project at the same time (to be shared later). The result is a frilly bracelet that looks like a feather or leaf.

Wanna see what the bracelets look like on a wrist?  Here's the smaller one on -

And the larger one:

 

And some detail shots...

Inside of Big Daddy Bracelet -

This would have been the outside if I hadn't flipped it inside out.

Edges of Big Daddy Bracelet -

Edges of the small bracelet - 

 

One of the cool things about this technique is that you never quite know what you're going to get.  I have to admit, I'm hooked!

Child's Birthday Cards

The card swap I'm in does monthly themes for our cards.  Last month, our theme was a child's birthday card.  So, I came up with this electrically bright number. 

And it's neon friend:

The paper, ribbon and brads came from a Taylored Expressions card pack I won at a shoebox swap last year.  The card stock is textured and a nice weight.  The patterned paper, I think, is from Bo Bunny, but it also came in the pack. 

The stamp set is from Stampin' Up!  It's one of the first ones I bought of their new "clear" mount sets.  They work great so long as you DO NOT put on the sticker!  They fall right off the block, even sparkly clean SU blocks, if you put the sticker on.  Nice design idea, but bad execution.  

Regardless, these bright colors work well for cards for the kiddos.  My niece seemed to like the tag I made for her present using the same set and colors!

Friendship

Want the perfect fast card to send a friend?  Try this one -

It's just a simple and super fast card made with Certainly Celery, Chocolate Chip, Gina K Gold, and a SU stamp set I borrowed (forgot the name).  I think the ribbon is from May Arts and it comes ruffled like that.  The main image is popped up to allow space for the ribbon.  I think it took me an hour to make a dozen or so of these, so they really are fast!

Shower Invites and Thank You Notes

A few weeks ago, I offered to make shower invites for my mother-in-law.  She's giving a shower for my brother-in-law's oldest friend's bride-to-be (say that three times fast) later this month.  However, I failed to ask HOW MANY invites she needed.  Guess what?  They needed 50.  Yikes!  So, I set off to make the invitations and thank you notes to match, and here's what I ended up with -

I used Rose Red and Basic Gray for the ink and card stock.  Most of the white paper is SU's Whisper White (as I was trying to use up all I had since I don't plan to reorder it) and the rest is PTI's White.  I used both the large and small scallop rectangle Nesties (the largest in each size) and a Cuttlebug embossing folder.  That particular folder comes only with a set of dies.  I inked the embossing folder prior to embossing to accentuate the texture. 

I stamped the cake image with Rose Red, stamped off once.  I found this stamp exceedingly frustrating to use with SU's ink pads, as the pads are so incredibly uneven.  So, I made my own spot, which helped quite a bit.  I stamped the flowers on top of the cake with Rose Red ink that I didn't stamp off first.  I also used Stardust Stickles to accentuate the flowers.

Each card inside has a mat of plain Rose Red card stock with a piece of white card stock on top.  I printed the details on the white card stock.

As for the thank you notes, I ran out of Rose Red card stock and had to get creative.  I used PTI's Rustic White for the embossing (same technique as the Rose Red).  I also included an embossed layer as a mat on the inside, with a white layer (for writing the note) on top.  Here's a look at the outside -

 

Lastly, I made a box to fit all 50 thank you notes, plus their envelopes.  I was inspired by a blog post that I read (and subsequently lost track of) about how to make a purse from a book and purse handles.  I found purse handles on clearance at Hobby Lobby and set off to make my purse. 

The final dimensions of the purse are 8 1/2" long by 4 1/2" wide by 6" tall.  I cut and covered heavy chipboard for the sides and bottom and adhered them together with folded Basic Gray card stock (I used it like a hinge).  I used some retired Rose Red DP I had left over to cover the panels.  Then, I attached the handles by running organdy ribbon though them and taping the ribbon to the insides of the chipboard panels.  I also used my Tiny Attacher to add staples to the ribbon for extra sturdiness.  The ribbon on the top of the bag covers the staples.  Finally, I lined the entire purse with Basic Gray paper.  This gave it a finished look and also reinforced the hinges and ribbon attachment.  Here's a look -

You can see the Basic Gray peeking through on the sides, which for once was actually what I intended!  Here's a peek inside with the 50 thank you notes.  There's just enough space to add in the envelopes once you push the cards tight.

I hope the bride likes them!  She loved the sample I sent of the invites, so I think we're good.  My mother-in-law and aunt-in-law loved them too!

Let me know what y'all think of them!

St. Patty's Birthday...

In honor of Saint Patrick's Day, I decided to make a (mostly) green card.  I've also noticed that I've fallen into a layout rut and seem to be using the same boring layout, in some variation or another, on all of my cards.  So, I decided that I'd stop kibitzing and finally start participating in Splitcoast's Sketch Challenges.  Here's my entry into today's Sketch Challenge (SC272).

For this card, I stamped an image I bought in London over two years ago for the first time.  Aack!  I bought this image from Blade Rubber right before we went on a lengthy trek to the British Museum (aka a huge building where the British showcase all of the things they've pillaged from other countries - and they've pillaged a lot of stuff).  While in this store, I discovered some fabulous products, including a few that I could not find in the U.S.  Shock of shock, I stuffed as many things into my basket as I could slip past my (then new) husband.  This stamp was one of those things.  It's made by The English Stamp Company.  It's also some sort of clear rubber-like substance that feels like red rubber, stamps like red rubber, and yet is an opaque white in color.  It's also wood mounted on a totally ergonomic handle.  you could stamp for forever and forever with that handle.  And, it stamps like a dream.  I really should have inked that baby sooner! 

Here's a detail shot of my stamped medallion, which is really four of the same image cut out and layered on top of each other -

I love this stamp.  Just sayin'...

Ingredients:

Stamps - Gina K Designs (Punchy Words), The English Stamp Company (love ya!)

Cardstock - SU's Always Artichoke, Mellow Moss, and Confetti White

Patterned Paper - Basic Grey

Ink - Always Artichoke Classic Ink, ColorBox Chalk in Chestnut Roan (for inking the edges)

Accessories - Chatterbox Wooden Brad (note that I inked the edge first), SU Soft Suede 1/2" Polka dot Grosgrain Ribbon, Spellbinders Labels Nine