Mica Powder Ornaments and Tutorial

Good morning!  Whaaaa??? Blog posts *2* days in a row?!  I knoooooow!  You would think I was gettin' all crafty and stuff!  ::wink::

Want an awesome Christmas gift that is unique, pretty, and super easy to make?  I make these ornaments every year and give several away as gifts.  I have a stash of PearlEx mica powders and I can never figure out what to do with them or how to use them.

 Here's a simple techique that takes minimal time and experience.

Here's a list of what you'll need:

-Glass ornaments
-Mica Powders (like Perfect Pearls or PearlEx)
-Acrylic Medium (I used LuminArte's acrylic medium #2)
-Shot glass or other small cup for draining
-mini scoop or spoon (I cut notches out a straw and it works beautifully)
Now onto the fun!  These really are super simple to do.  Your first step is to remove the metal top and apply the acrylic medium to the INSIDE of the ornament.  Make sure you swirl around and that the medium covers the ENTIRE inside of the ornament.  Once you've done that, set it so that the opening faces down into your cup and let the excess medium drain out.  It is important that you do this step otherwise the mica powders will just puddle and clump in the bottom of your ornament.

You can tell when it is done draining when drips are about 30 seconds apart.  I usually let mine sit for 5 minutes or so.  While one is draining, you can coat the inside of your second and third ornaments and pick out the color powders you want to use.  I usually use 2 but you can use as many as 4.  Experiment with color combinations and families and find what you prefer.

Once your ornament has finished draining, it's time to add the powders.  Take your mini spoon and scoop up a small amount of powder.  Always start small and build your color.  You can always add, but you can never take away.  Insert the spoon into the ornament and sprinkle the powder as your turn the ornament.  This will help to get color all the way around the ornament.  When you are satisfied with the amount of the first color, add your second color.

Now here's where the magic happens.  Swirl your ornament around briskly and make sure your powder moves around.  If you see "blank areas", feel free to add more powder until you get the desired look you want.  After you are done swirling and adding, set your ornament back onto the cup and let it dry.  It usually takes a few hours to dry and the powder is fully set in 72 hours.

Finally, embellish and decorate your ornament as you prefer.  I chose to use ZVA flourishes, Prima floral stem, and ribbon from my stash.

 For more tips and tricks, please click here!

Uber, Trez, Fab...The Fashions of A 4 Year Old!

Good afternoon my fellow crafty crafters!  I hope everyone is having a great day.  It's a nice brisk fall day here in Southern Cali!  Well, brisk in our terms means temps below 75.  I know.  We have it rough!

I am sharing another page I did using Gauche Alchemy's awesome "Monstrous Mutant Robots From Outter Space" kit.  This kit comes with papers from one of my favorite manufacturers, Bam-Pop.  I hoarded these papers for JUST THE RIGHT set of photos.  And I found them!

My now 4 year old is quite precocious and very independent.  She has her own opinions and when she has her mind set, forget it.  She insists on dressing herself and picking out her own outfits.  Here is one of her many colorful ensembles.

Uber Trez Fab Fashionista

She put this together all by herself.  She LOVES wild, funky socks and just HAD to wear them.

The journaling along the bottom of the center graphic read, "No matter how you say it, you are your own mini FASHIONISTA".  I cut the center graphic from one of the awesome Bam-Pop papers included in this kit.  In fact, everything except for the alphas is from the kit!

I matted everything onto black cardstock to give it some dimension and to make sure nothing got lost in the background paper. 

I liked how the bottom border strip complimented the colors on the page and those little robots peek-a-booing up are just too adorable to waste.  So, I decided to keep it and trim excess paper off the top.  A rather nice little touch, if I say so myself. 

Just goes to show that even robots and funkiness can be for GIRLS too!  Thanks for taking a peek and diggin' my cool robots....and mini fashionista!

Cheers!

Light Box to the Rescue....and a tutorial!

Good afternoon party people!  I hope everyone is enjoying their lovely fall weather...or spring weather for you south-hemi peeps!

If you're like me and are kinda picky about what your photos of your projects look like, then have I got a tutorial for you!  I took on this project as an assignment for Gauche Alchemy and am I glad I did!  The solution for the "lack of natural daylight" dilemma is -- a LIGHT BOX!  And I am going to show you how to do it as well!

It is actually very simple to do but it does take some time and a bit of finagling.

From the Gauche Alchemy blog and written by Michelle: 


Did you check the morning weather report and start cursing in front of the youngins?  Perhaps you’ve shot 100 photos of your latest project and have found that NOT A SINGLE ONE WILL DO?

Wait- don’t Hulk out yet! I HAVE A SOLUTION FOR YOU!!!!  A lightbox.  All the cool kids have ‘em.  Check it.

For this project, you will need the following supplies:

-5 sheets of foam board (20in x 30in)
-Masking tape (do not use duct tape as the heat from the lamp(s) will melt the adhesive)
-1 Clip on lamp (make sure it can handle 100W light bulbs)
-1 100W light bulb (daylight bulbs work the best)
-Straight edge or ruler
-VERY sharp box cutter (You’ll see in mine that I used a sharp knife and it still is kind of ragged looking. Hey! Don’t judge me! It has character!)




And now we’re off! This is really simple in its structure but it does take some fiddling around to attach the pieces to one another.

Step 1:
Attach the top and bottom sides of the box.



When you have the top and bottom sides attached, your box will look like the picture below.



Step 2:
Attach the left and right sides of the box.



When you have both sides attached, your box will look like the picture below.



Step 3:
Now it’s time to trim off the excess foam board from your sides. Using a straight edge or a ruler, draw a guideline from one side to the other.



Next, using your nifty and VERY sharp box cutter, cut along the line. Your box will look all nice and neat like mine below.



Step 4:
I cut notches a few inches deep and several inches long so that I can have my lamp place a bit closer to my project that I am taking pictures of. My notches are 3 inches from the edges and 3 inches deep.



If you do them on both sides, which I do recommend, your box should look similar to mine below.



Step 5:
We are almost done! The final step is to place your lamp. Mine is just slapped on there for the sake of pretty pictures. Wherever you choose to place your lamp is up to you.



Turn on your lamp and VOILA! Your very own professional light box to photograph your Gauche Alchemy creations! Total two-fer!



NOTE: Now if your light gives them a yellow color cast, you will have to color correct your images- this is very easy to do in Photoshop.  But I don’t HAVE Photoshop!!!- you scream- you are turning an alarming shade of green….Stop!

Do this:
1. Go to http://pixlr.com/editor/ You will need to sign up but it’s TOTALLY FREEEEEEE
2. You can just use some of their instant filters for cool retro photo looks or open up their full scale image editor (which looks JUST LIKE PHOTOSHOP!!!) and use images from your computer or from the web. This thing is freaking amazing!!! Nerd alert! Nerd alert!

You can check out a video tutorial done by Gauche Alchemist, Elina, over on the Gauche Alchemy blog!


I use my lightbox regularly and am glad that I made one.  Let me know if decide to make one and how it works out for you!   I love to hear feedback!

Cheers!

It's a SNOW DAY at Paper Issues!

Good morning, afternoon, or evening, depending on what part of the world you are reading this from!  Paper Issues' theme from November 1 until November 14 is Snow Day!  Of course, what would THAT aptly named theme be unless I used Pink Paislee's "Snow Day" line?!  It's a perfect match-up and I had the perfect pictures to use.

I have been hoarding this Maya Road mini for almost THREE years now!  I didn't want to just use it on any ol' thing and I certainly didn't want to jack it all up!  This mini was really fun to put together.

The snowman on the cover is a wood embellishment from the line and I painted it white, used my DecoArt Snow Writer to give it a snowy look and sprinkled some Doodlebug Sugar Coat glitter on it.  I painted his hat black and added some My Mind's Eye and The Twinery twine.  I also used my Snow Writer on the "Snow Day" title as well.

The decorative edges were so easy to dress up!  Just paint and some twine on some of them and it was DONE!

The first two pages of this bad boy are pretty simple, as is the whole album.  I used Thickers for the lettering and a JilliBean Soup corrugated frame.  I added some "snow" using my handy-dandy Snow Writer (I'm tellin' ya!  This this is hellah awesome!).  On the facing page, there's some ::GASP:: sewing using my ::CHOKE:: sewing machine!  Of course, I had to dress up the little floating snowmen heads with some awesome Twinery twine.

The next two pages are done in pretty much the same style.  I love dressing up pre-made embellishments.  Can you tell?  I added bling to the sentiment, the mittens, and everything else you see there!  I also changed it up a bit and used a Martha Stewart edge punch and wrapped the decorative edge of the album page in twine.  I know!  ME??!!

Yep!  You guessed it!  MORE SNOW WRITER!  And bling! 

More paint!  More bling!  And even more glitter on that snowflake!  The snowflake is another wood embellishment from the "Snow Day" line.  I painted it white then sprinkled some more Doodlebug Sugar Coat glitter on it.  I coated it using Diamond Glaze to seal the glitter in.  I blotted the middle of the snow flake so that the white paint peeks through.

And the last two pages of this little baddy!  The "Snow Day" page is actually missing to wood hearts that I painted and covered in Crackle Accents.  I am waiting for them to dry.  I hope they look like cracked ice.  We'll see!  The facing page are more die cuts that I layered.  The decorative edge is "stitched" with My Mind's Eye twine (I'm hoarding my Twinery stuff!).

I will edit this post with an updated photo of the hearts.  I was just so glad this turned out the way I wanted it to, that I had to share it!  This mini is very much a different style than what I typically do.  I hope you all liked it and if not....no biggie.  It's for me anyway!  ;)

Cheers!

A Simple Acrylic "How-To"

This is a super simple tutorial I put together for A Cherry On Top using Pink Paislee's "Vintage Vogue" and an acrylic mini album by KaiserCraft.  This acrylic album was also my first time ever doing one as well!

I think one of the most requested tutorials as far as mini albums go would have to be how to put together an acrylic album.  I know that these see through beauties are often intimidating and seem quite daunting at first.  I know that from experience!  Here, I hope to break that intimidation and show you that with a little bit of forethought and planning, they are actually quite easy to do.  Also, this acrylic album is my first time doing one too!

I used an acrylic album by KaiserCraft and Pink Paislee's "Vintage Vogue".  I also dressed up my album edges using alcohol ink.  Since I used sepia colored prints, the alcohol ink and these papers work beautifully together.

Now, the key to an acrylic album is PLANNING and THINKING BEFORE STICKING!  The way I did each of my pages is that I would hold a piece of patterned paper up against one side of the acrylic and see how it looked on the other side.  If Iiked the way it complimented the photos on both sides, then I would think about photo placement in order to hide the adhesive.
That leads me to the biggest question regarding acrylic anything.  Which adhesive do I use??!!  I highly recommend using any clear adhesive.  I used Zots and my ATG.  When I planned my page, I remembered to carefully place my adhesive so that I could cover it up on the other side with the photo, papers, or embellishments.
There really isn't a good way to show you how in a pictorial.  It's something that you are going to have experiment with and just jump off the edge with.  I will show you how my finished album turned out and give you tips and tricks as I go.



If you look carefully, you'll notice that none of my "edges" are glued down.  If I were to place adhesive on the very edges of the papers, then I would have to figure out how to cover that adhesive on the other side.  I also made sure that my embellishments did not extend too far past the edges of the patterned papers as they are not double sided.


Keeping the page designs simple makes planning both sides of the page super easy.  I kept my designs very basic by using circles and rectangles.  I tried to pick my photos for the backside of the page to compliment the patterns that showed through.  I also relied heavily on layering and pop-dotting to keep things visually interesting and to add depth.


Here, you can see the backsides of the pages peekeing through.  I used the papers that showed as added matting to my photos and picked my layering papers to coordinate accordingly.  This is where and why I recommend working within one product line for papers.  The papers do the work for you.



Here's another example where you can clearly see the backsides showing through and adding depth and coordination within the layers.  Once again, all of my adhesive is placed in the middle of my photos and papers.  That way, no matter what, it'll be covered by whatever you use on the reverse side.



I got so engrossed in making this album and figured out that it was sooooooooo ridiculously easy to put together, that I lost track of my pages and turned the back "cover" into a photo page!  OOPS!!  So, I just traced and cut out a template for a back cover out of the packaging from the album and covered it with coordinating paper.

These albums really are easier to put together than they look.  The trick is THINKING BEFORE STICKING.  They do require a certain amount of planning and forethought.  It's really important to keep the design simple at first until you get comfortable with doing them.  You can use any adhesive  as long as you remember that it needs to be covered on the other side.  I do hope that you will approach these albums with a bit more understanding and clarity.  They really are easier to do than they look.

A Li'l Mixed Media Sump'in

Good afternoon...and a gloomy, dreary, and RAINY afternoon it is here in SoCal!  I can't lie though.  It's a bit refreshing, since we don't get that much rain. Because it's so gloomy and rainy, what perfect project to share than one that is BRIGHT, FUN, ECLECTIC, and a FIRST for me!

I have always wanted to try my hand at a real mixed media canvas.  I have seen too many to count and I just love all of the texture, layers, and color.  I love the idea of using regular found items and turning them into something unique and creative. 

My Mini Mixed Media Canvas

Since I do work for Gauche Alchemy, this little canvas is perfect for showcasing some Gauchey attitude.  This canvas is a mini.  It's only about 3x5, maybe a little bigger.  I used a mix of product from Gauche Alchemy and ARTchix Studios.

Hot! Hot! Hot!

That li'l Tobasco bottle and star are from Gauche Alchemy's red mixed media color kit.  The little flirty image is ARTchix Studios.

Zippers are awesome....and so is tulle!

Zippers and tulle...completely drool-worthy stuff from the uber-exclusive Acme Kit.  What's a Gauche project without some Punchinella?!  I used it as a mask and as an embellishment.  Some other products include Tattered Angels glimmer mist, Ranger alcohol inks, and those little stick pins are made by yours truly!  After slapping some paint, some gel medium and some stamping, it's done!

This canvas sat in such a drunken and pathetic state on my shelf for MONTHS.  I finally said to myself, "Eff it!  Let's just glue shiz and roll with it."  I must say, it turned out quite neat-o in my opinion.

Let's Get Nekkid!

Good morning all you Gauche Femme Fatales!  Have we got a treat for you!  And you thought trick or treating was all done!

What do "nekkid" colors, awesome kits, and woodgrain have in common?  How about I show you!  Kick up your stilettos and fishnets, grab a mimosa or bloody mary, and rest your tush on your red chaise lounge.  You are going to LOVE what Gauche Alchemy has in store for you!

First, let's talk wood.  ::snicker::  More like WOODGRAIN, you cheeky li'l tarts!  Gauche Alchemy has gotten their well manicured hands on some woodgrain.....PUNCHINELLA!  I shiz you not!  We are fo' realz!  I have the photos to prove it!

Dark Woodgrain Punchinella (5mm)...Oh my wood!

Light Woodgrain Punchinella (6mm)...Got wood?

I told you!  And to have it in 2 colors?!  How awesome is that!  However, there is a catch.  If you want some, you may want to order it soon because once it's gone, it's very unlikely we'll get it back in stock.

Now, let's get "nekkid"!  The lovely ladies at Gauche Alchemy have debuted another stellar kit for you!  And this one is mind-blowing!  Let's break out our poles and stilettos and give it up for the "Bare Nekkid Mixed Media Kit"!

Here's what you get with this amazingly huge kit:

12x12 Paper Mix

12x12 Paper Mix:

- Bazzill Basics Simply Smooth cardstock in Ivory
- Basic Grey Basic Manilla Bulletin paper
- Jillibean Soup Cold Raspberry Fresh Cherries paper (polka dot pattern)
- American Crafts Hello Sunshine Splendor paper
- American Crafts Hello Sunshine Gossamer paper (herringbone pattern)
- 3 assorted papers from Tim Holtz’s Ideology Kraft Resist line
- 1 sheet each of kraft and white Ouchless Cardboard

Gauche Alchemy Signature Ephemera Mix

 Signature Ephemera Mix:

-1 sheet vintage sheet music
-Vintage dictionary page
-2 pages of foreign text

Embellishments

Embellishments Included:

-several buttons and brads
-a wood word game cube
-a sheet of kraft photo corners
-2 swatches of lace – black and brown/cream
-cork (about 5″ square)
-1 yard of brown fiber ribbon
-a length of paper rope
-3 swatches of punchinella (4 mm white, 6 mm laminate, and 6 mm chocolate brown)
-a piece of white plastic canvas
-Jillibean Soup kraft mini letters (over 900 of them!)
-Kaiser Craft Art Deco MDF album with patterned cover and 4 pages

And guess what?!  We aren't done with you yet!  Gauche Alchemy is also offering a mini kit, "Nearly Nekkid"!  

Nearly Nekkid

This mini kit includes:

-Kaiser Craft MDF Mini Victorian Tag album with 5 pages
-Jillibean Soup kraft mini letters (over 900 of them!)
-mini brads and buttons
-a length of brown twine
-a length of chocolate brown large ric-rac
-a length of ivory lace
-a piece of ivory tulle

More Nearly Nekkid!

Embellishments Included:

-a piece of black plastic canvas
-a small piece of white and kraft ouchless cardboard
-a white plastic barrette
-5 assorted Bazzill Basics Half the Edge kraft paper strips
-2 mini clothespins
-Basic Grey Basics 6″x6″ paper, brown, 1 each of 9 patterns
-3 small swatches of punchinella (8 mm clear, 5 mm dark brown laminate pattern, 10 mm iridescent gray)
-1 square of vintage braille paper
-1 vintage dictionary page
-3 foreign text pages
-1 manilla tag
-dress pattern tissue

The Bare Nekkid kit is available for $39.00 and the Nearly Nekkid kit is $22.00.  Oh!  And let's not forget......FREE SHIPPING!   Both kits and the woodgrain Punchinella are available in the Gauche Alchemy store.

Mind-blowing!  Absolutely mind-blowing!  I know it knocked my schoolgirl skirt off and got my fishnets in a bunch!  Good thing for my handy-dandy flask of Jameson to get my nerves all settled after revealing all of this in its glory!  Whew!  ::fanning face:: I don't want my falsies and non-waterproof mascara to run down my face!  ::fanning face again::

Better get yours before they are sold out!  Don't forget your Bloody Mary (I added another shot of vodka for you!)!!

Day of the Dead

Good morning everyone!  I hope all of you had a spectacular Halloween!  And now that Halloween is over, it's time for Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead!  Here is a cool link for the history and traditions behind Dia de los Muertos.


One of the biggest decorations for this holiday is the "Sugar Skull".  I'm sure many of you know what I am referring to, but in case you don't, here's a cool picture of what one looks like.

Photo credit:  http://www.flickriver.com/photos/blahmni/4070977056/

I have always been a fan of Day of the Dead and I finally got my chance, thanks to Gauche Alchemy's awesomeness,  to create a fun little "Shrine in a Box" using a regular Altoids tin! This little shrine was inspired by the wonderfully talented, Marie Ramirez.  I loved how she did hers and I wanted to try my hand at one as well.

Before I show you the finished project, here's a couple things to give you a bit of perspective.  I ordered the little skulliez and glass beads from Oriental Trading Company.  I decorated my skulls using regular fine tip Sharpie pens.

Decorated Skulliez!

It's easiest to keep the design really simple.  The reason being, these beads are SMALL!  To give an idea of how small they are, check out this pic!

Holy Tiny Skulliez, Muertos Man!

And I have TINY nailbeds too!  So yeah....lots of simple dots for decorations!

When you add them to your tin and jazz up the inside with some awesome Punchinella, here's what you end up with.

"Why sure!  I have a "mint" you can have! ::wink::"

I just cut some black cardstock and stuck it up in there.  I strung together my glass beads and hung them kind of like a banner or a string of lights.  The Punchinella just adds a nice flash of color and "OOoooOOooo shiny!" to it.

I almost wish they would start singing or something!

 The two little skulliez are hung from the top using twine and with care (read like "Night Before Christmas").  Their li'l podiums are made from micro-mini wood spools and milk jug wood thingies from Michael's.  I just glued them and painted them.  As for my skulliez little sombreros are rosette cabochons from Michael's.  I only say "sombreros" because after I glued them on, it looks like they are wearing sombreros!

My little flowery charm lookin' things I've had for A G E S and finally used them!

And there you have it!  Super easy and super fun.  I did not alter the outside of the tin because I like the idea of something not being what it appears to be.  MUAHAHAHAHA!

Cheers!