Late nights and sticky fingers

I was up late last night. Really late. Late even for me. When I finally went to bed it was after 4 in the morning. When I woke up this morning my hands were still sticky and rather inky from my late night crafty escapades.

It can't be helped! I was on a crafty roll. Everything was going swimmingly and I had to finish just more thing... and then one MORE thing... and then... well, you get the idea.

I can't show you what I was up to or the work in progress, although I think I'm safe to post a 'Before' picture.

What do you think? What would you do? What do you see when you look at this thing-a-ma-bob?

Whovian WIP and more art blocks

A while ago we bought a beat up old dresser for $10 and as it sat in my studio I began to envision it becoming some sort of wardrobe to Narnia. After daydreaming for a while I was told reminded that perhaps it was more important for our boy to have somewhere to put his clothes. I agreed... reluctantly.

So the boy chose a shade of blue and I set to work. Mid-way through painting I realized that the dresser was not a portal to Narnia...

... but a TARDIS in waiting! So over the next short while this messy thing will (hopefully) become a very cool bedroom time machine.

Something I have completed are this set of art blocks. They really are the most fun things to make and you should definitely give them a try!

These blocks are all embellished with Typography and Good Ol' Sport from Graphic 45.

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Lastly, a reminder that I'll be hosting a kids' workshop for making mixed media art blocks this Friday at the Brighton Public Library. If you're near, stop by and let your budding artist get their mess on!

ETA: The art block size is... 2.5" x 3.5" x 1.5" Just cut segments that are 2.5" wide from a 2x4 and they'll be the perfect size. I have no idea why 2x4's aren't 2x4.

Graphic 45 Typography Print Tray

It's National Craft Month in the good ol' USA and I'm proud to take part and spread the crafty love with Graphic 45 and this project...

...an altered print tray embellished with loads of fabulous junk (or 'la junque' if your pants are fancy) and the magnificently classically graphic Typography.
 

I love altering things, making assemblages and mixed media pieces. The process I go through when creating most of my mixed media pieces is almost always the same. Prep, base, gather, play, layer, finish! If you hop over to today's Graphic 45 blog post you can play along with an easy peasy tutorial!

Supply list:

Typography
Journey

Inscribe

Inspire

Typography Tags & Pockets

Typoygraphy Chipboard

Typography Stickers

Washi Tape Set

Ornate Metal Key Holes

Ornate Metal Keys

Metal Clothespins

Small wooden printer style tray

Acrylic paint

Ink pad

Adhesives

Misc items for embellishing: wooden spools, wire, twine, Glass Bottles and vintage vials, buttons, miscellaneous rusty bits, old pen nibs, metal letters, Tim Holtz Clock Keys, metal brads,  Reversible Round Metal Number Tiles, Scrabble tiles, metal corners

Warming up with pretty cards

After that stretch of focus on the 221B tins (psst, another will be listed on etsy some time this week) I'm ready to get my mess making mojo back and move on to other projects. A bit of a warm up today making a few cards before starting in earnest and altering a few bits and bobs this evening.

I'm planning on doing some card tutorials for Graphic 45 and thought a practice run might be the ideal way to get those juices flowing again. So I grabbed a 12" sheet of Coredinations colour core stock and chopped it into three bits to create three different sized cards.

All of these were created with Botanical Tea. I love this collection. It makes me long for summer and hot breezes with Tom Collins by the pool :) My favourite of the bunch is this one...

Dreamy butterflies and gorgeous Petaloo flowers... swoon!

Products used:
Graphic 45 > Botanical Tea > Botanical Tea
Graphic 45 > Botanical Tea > Spring Duet
Graphic 45 > Botanical Tea > Just Because
Graphic 45 > Botanical Tea > Love Notes 
Botanical Tea Tags & Pockets
Botanical Tea Banners
Botanical Tea Chipboard 1
4 Inch Paper Doilies

Signature Series / Graphic 45 Lights

Coredinations Graphic 45 Lights - Precious Pink

Signature Series / Graphic 45 Lights

Signature Series / Graphic 45 Lights

Petaloo Hydrangeas n Mixed Blooms Chantilly-VelvHydrangeas - Cream 
Petaloo Whites  Botanica Blooms - White *THESE ARE OUTSTANDING!*
Self adhesive pearls

Cleaning and an elf in training

I'm holed up, cleaning my studio today.

Yes. The mess maker is cleaning.

I have to because I can't find anything or move in my making space!

The cycle goes something like this: Make. Make. Make. Lose stuff. Make. Lose more stuff. Make. Can't find the floor. Clean.

One of the nice things about cleaning is discovering things you'd totally forgotten about. Like this fellow.

He'll make a very good elf one day.

SOLD!

Just two very quick updates today.

#1. The little 221B's have found their new Holmes homes (sorry, can't resist bad jokes). One is already packaged and on it's way! There will be one placed on etsy either tomorrow or Thursday, depending on when I can get around to it (company is coming, house is a disaster). Thanks to everyone for putting up with my blabbing over the past few weeks. It's been fun but I'm itching to move on and make other stuff :)

#2. If you are nearby and have a little artist, I'll be hosting a mixed media workshop for kids at the Brighton Library during March break. It's just $5 an artist and your little person gets to play with paper and paint and have a grand messy time.

And that's it! Happy pancake day!

Graphic 45 Harry Potter Mashup

If the sorting hat were placed upon my head the last house I would be put into would be Slytherin. Most silly quiz results put me in Hufflepuff. (Not sure how I feel about that either but I'll take it.) But as soon as I saw this paper, Play Ball from Good Ol' Sport ...

... I immediately saw quidditch team colours for the serpenty Hogwarts house and HAD to make something Slythernish. (Slytherinesque? Slytherinny?)

I'm pretty sure that almost every Slytherin student would have a sneaky false book to hide things in. Using the new staples Book Box from Graphic 45 and papers from the Good Ol' Sport and Steampunk Spells collections I've done just that!

Each of those gears and cut out pieces on the cover are laser cuts from Gina's Designs.

Inside are magical bits and pieces tucked away for safe keeping.

A captured winged key made with Graphic 45 Staples

A bottle of Death Microbes... because it is Slytherin house afterall.

A box of owl treats

And a little reminder to support the house team!

 

Not being a sports inclined person at all, I'm pretty pleased that I was able to find a sporty use for Good Ol' Sport. And don't you dare say quidditch isn't a real sport! (Muggle!)

Supply List:
Good Ol' Sport:
Game Day
Play Ball
Big Score
Newsworthy
Touchdown 

Steampunk Spells:
Steampunk Spells
Vintage Voyage
Mechanical Marvels
Totally Wicked
Steampunk Spells Alphabet Stickers
Steampunk Spells Chipboard 2
Steampunk Spells Tags & Pockets

Book Box
Metal Butterflies
Ornate Metal Keys

Gina's Designs

Texture Sheet Gears

Flourished Open Circle Frames

Queen Anne's Lace

Acrylic paint, glass bottles, pen and nib, crafty wirey bits, glue and all that other good stuff :)