Lace Tea Cottages with Tresors de Luxe

These super cute cottages were created using Movers & Shapers House and Window dies with Graphic 45's Botanical Tea collection. They've been decorated with all sorts of snips of Tresors de Luxe lace and embellishments.

I often work on small scale projects, because of this every scrap becomes precious. Just a few tiny snippets of lace here and there are all that is needed to gussy up these tiny tea shops, but they add a big impact.

Don't be afraid to deconstruct and combine laces! I often cut elements from  Tresors de Luxe laces and they hold up very well. If you are worried about those tiny snips fraying or unraveling, simply apply a bit of white glue to the cut edges to keep everything in place.

So be sure to save those little scraps, you never know when a tea sipping fairy will need some embellishment to her little cottage :)


Lace Trim in Ivory LA-107
Trim Pearl Beaded Alencon Trim LA-805
Lace Trim Venice Lace LA-137
Multi Colored Chiffon Flowers FL-181
Rustic Green Shabby Chic Flower Embellishment FL-099
Lace Trim Beaded  LA-005
Ivory Lace Trim with Multi Colored Sequins  LA-121
Movers & Shapers House and Window dies
Graphic 45's Botanical Tea collection including 6" Solids and Patterns Pad, Tags & Chipboard + more

Yarrr!

Ahoy matey! Tis the day I've been a-waitin' fer, International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Earlier this week I put out a challenge to all of the land lubbers out there to create something worthy of a sea faring buccaneer. The mighty Ms Kay showed that she is no scallywag and sent me pictures of this treasure...

Tis pretty enough to soothe the barnacles from a crusty poop deck.

 
It's never too late to jump into the craftin' crows nest, drink some rum and make a blasted mess so the PDF of piratey goodness is still available for download HERE.

Finally, for those beauties who requested a tutorial or template for the wee sailing vessels, hang on to your hornpipes and set your eyeballs on this moving picture show....

Typography Sky Pirate Zeppelin

I’ve been meaning to expand my fleet of amazing flying machines so and when I created the template for my Old School Rocket, I knew this project was in my future. 

The shape of the rocket body can easily double as a zeppelin. The addition of a paper boat, trims, chains, gears and propellers turns the rocket into a fabulous sky pirate vessel. 

The images and colours of Typography lend themselves perfectly to steampunk projects so it was a natural choice. The ‘rope’ used to attach the boat to the zeppelin is a sturdy gardening wire that has a natural jute covering. Hot glued firmly into place, these ‘ropes’ keep everything exactly where it should be without causing too much stress to the paper. 

Copper, brass and bronze accents are in keeping with the steampunk feel. A bit of metallic acrylic paint can transform chipboard with very little effort. Distress with an old ink pad and you can add years to those new ‘metal’ gears and cogs. 

I added a couple of small light bulbs which should be easily available (I got mine from the grocery store!) and a snip of tea stained cheesecloth to the inside of the boat. Finally I glued an eye pin in the top so that my little vessel can hang proudly and fight off any lightning thieves.

Supplies

Typography
> Inspire

> Journey

Ornate Metal Label Holder

Stamped Metal Brads

Ornate Metal Keys

Copper Chain

Copper acrylic paint

Gina’s Design Chipboard Propeller, Gears and wings

Copper Zig Zag Dresden Border

Half-Round Dresden Border

Brass Eye Pin

Small light bulbs

Gardening wire

cheesecloth

lightbulbs

thumbtack

 

Psst... jump over to the Graphic 45 blog and check out the gorgeous boat posted by Miranda Edney.

A Small Shrine for Saint Expeditus

I have many, many, many half-finished projects all over the place. Sometimes an idea will pop into my head, I'll prep the base work for it... then become thoroughly distracted by something shiny in the corner.

If I really want to finish a project, I will leave it in plain view, poking and prodding me until I pick it up and complete it. This project, a little shrine to Saint Expeditus (who is always saving my bottom just in the nick of time) sat for a few months before finally completing it.

Inside there are offerings of beer and cake in tiny vials, a scroll of thanks and a four leaf clover. The exterior is a jumble of old and new, bits and bobs from here and there.

And finally hand held for size reference.

A little gift for auntie K

My auntie very recently threw herself a birthday shin-dig to celebrate her 60th birthday. I couldn't make it to the party (insert sad face) but I sent along a little present.

The inspiration for this project totally came from EasilyAmused's awesome Tiny Photo Album project on Craftster. I ran with the idea of a miniature photo album and created a tiny book filled with familiar things and memories for my auntie.

The book is handmade. Small but mighty.

I included family photos shrunk down to miniature scale and added embellishments like pressed Baby's Breath, words and bits of ribbon and lace.

Also included are shrunken images relating to her life. Her childhood church, maps and vintage postcards of the places she has lived. There's tiny recipes for Yorkshire Pudding, a little library index card for a Jane Austen book and other papery bits to fill out the contents.

I'm sorry I missed giving it to her myself, but I did hear that she liked this little book of memories.

Arrr! An important scallywag of a notice

Friday is International Talk Like a Pirate Day!

It's short notice but I'm sending out a challenge for you to get your peg-leg on and create something piratey.

To get you started I've created this free collage sheet for you to use. You can download the full resolution PDF file HERE **You DO NOT have to use the sheet to participate!**

Send a pic of your pirate project (and link to your site/page) and I'll feature them on my blog, and post them on my Facebook page on Friday.

IMPORTANT: email your submissions to [email protected] by Thursday.

Be bright

I created this set of collages for an anti-bullying challenge on fb. They are gentle reminders to be kind to one another... and to ourselves.

It saddens me that bullying is an issue in a 'grown-up' setting. Children act out, perhaps unable to fully comprehend that their actions, their words, have an impact on those around them...

... but as grown ups we should be empathetic toward others (even to those we only encounter through a screen). We should strive to be kind, to be understanding, to lift up those who feel low.

 
And while there may be some rotten apples, people who thrive like a virus on drama and hurt feelings, there are far more sweet ones and tender souls. We're all just doing our best, each one of us.

Be kind. Be warm. Your thoughtfulness may be the bright spot in someone else's darkness.

Be good to yourselves too and don't let others dim your light.