Monday 5 November 2012

Dreams of a Secret Garden...


That's what these earrings made me think of while I was making them. The book...The Secret garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. What a lovely story, and what a wonderful garden I saw in my imagination. I imagine that some of the flowers in that garden may look a bit like these fabulous floral glass focal beads by Laura Critchfield of Chestnut Ridge Designs on Etsy.
What do you think? Tangled vines and mystery? No? Well, perhaps you think Christmas, I'm with you on that too! Meanwhile, they are a little more bling for my Etsy-One-Day stash.

Hmmmm, I can smell dinner, better go and check on that. Thanks for stopping by.


Blogged to: Tricycle - Frances England, Daddy-o - Frances England and Blue Canoe - Frances England.

Sunday 4 November 2012

Punch Art Santa Candy Cane Tag


I have had a little photo from Patty Bennett's blog on my desktop for ages. It was one where she made a cute punch art Santa and used him as a topper for a licorice stick....see her post here. I thought her little Santa was just irresistibly cute, so I had to CASE him for myself. I have made a few small changes here and there, and am very pleased with how he turned out...
The hardest part was not snacking on the candy cane while I was working on Santa. The next hardest part is all the fiddly punch art sticking-down. My favourite product right now, for fiddly punch art projects, is my box of Micro Glue Dots. They measure approx. 3 mm in diameter and are great for hiding behind even the smallest punch art eyes, nose and mouth! I got my box of 325 micro glue dots from Scraptherapy, and will have to stock up on some more soon!

I have used a rectangular strip of cardboard, with two 1/2 inch circles punch in it (one at either end of the rectangle) to make a sliding holder to adhere my Santa to the candy cane. The candy cane just threads through the two holes and the Santa is adhered to the centre part of the rectangle holder. I don't have a photo, otherwise I'd show you what I mean, and I can't be bothered going back outside to take one because it is a little warm here today. We cracked 41 degrees C at 2pm! I can't say 41+ was that hard to take as I was taking a lovely little siesta at the time (under a ceiling fan and with the evap cooling going too it was lovely)....but there's no way I'm running about outside like a hooligan in it!

Enough from me. I hope that you have enjoyed your weekend!

Project Recipe:

Cardstock: Shimmery White (beard and moustache), Silver Glimmer Paper (hat trim and pom pom), Blush Blossom (face and nose), Riding Hood Red (nose), Sky Blue (eyes and Christmas greeting tag), Basic Black (pupils) and DSP (hat) (all by Stampin' Up!);
Ink: Tuxedo Black Memento (Tsukineko);
Stamps: Santa's Star (Annabelle Stamps);
Punches: Ornament (beard), Blossom Petals Builder (moustache), Blossom Trio - retired (mouth and pom pom), Owl Builder (eyes, pupils and nose), Scallop Oval (hat trim), Extra-Large Oval (hat), Medium Oval - retired (face), 1/2 inch Circle (holder to affix Santa to cany cane) and 1 1/4 inch Square (to create the banner end on the greeting tag).
Accessories: D'Vine Swirl Embossing Folder (Provocraft), Micro Glue Dots (Glue Dots) and Dimensionals (SU).


Blogged to: Money for Nothing - Dire Straits, She Drives Me Crazy - Fine Young Cannibals, St. Elmos Fire - John Parr and Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now - Starship.

Friday 2 November 2012

Bits 'n Pieces...


Not feeling all that much craftin' love right now...but I've pulled out all stops to come up with a little something quirky to pop up here, just so you know I haven't abandoned my blog.

I have been thinking about lady beetles a lot lately. This is mainly because we seem to get quite a few of them up here, and I do like their polka-dotty cuteness.  So Dotty the lady beetle it is...
I have included the second shot, because I think you can see the pearlex that I have used for Dotty's cheeks and dot highlights. I just applied it dry with a sponge dauber....so it'll wipe off pretty easy (and messy), but I do like how it shines.

Now for a few other random pics...
Beautiful Standley Chasm
The wall behind me is COVERED in flannel flowers....just beautiful!

...and last but not least, Miss 8 - ready for her very first time trick or treating. Halloween is big up here!
Watch out Forks...there is a scary new vampire in town, and she's messy!