Me! Me! Me! and a Botanical Tea House too

I'm featured over on the Graphic 45 blog today. If you hop over there you'll find an interview in which I share my regularly occurring crafting mishaps. I have a lot of mishaps.

I'm also showing off this project. Supply list and tutorial link are at the bottom of this post :)

I’ll say my forte is mixed media or altered art... but really it’s just playing with paper. I’m also fascinated by miniatures and love to create little worlds. Sooo, I thought that I’d create a little tea house with Botanical Tea inside a Mixed Media 5x5 Box and show you how to make your own too. 

This project is easily adaptable and you could create a whole little town if you like. Perhaps a pet shop with Raining Cats and Dogs, or a train station with Come Away With Me.

You could also adapt this project into a dollhouse for little crafters by keeping the embellishments and fiddly bits to a minimum.

The snapguide tutorial for this project is available HERE

And now for the totally massive (not really as bad as it looks) supply list

Graphic 45 Botanical Tea Birds of a Feather

Graphic 45 Botanical Tea Robin's Egg

Graphic 45 Botanical Tea Hello Friend

Graphic 45 Botanical Tea Herbal Infusion

Graphic 45 Botanical Tea Love Notes

Graphic 45 Botanical Tea Banners

Graphic 45 Botanical Tea Tags & Pockets

Graphic 45 Botanical Tea Chipboard 1

Graphic 45 Botanical Tea Chipboard 2

Graphic 45 Mixed Media 5x5 Box-Ivory

Graphic 45 Ornate Metal Keys

~ Gold dresden trims ~
Gold Zig Zag Dresden Borders 
Gold Ric Rac Dresden Borders Set 
Thin Fleur Dresden Borders - Gold

Miniature Table & Chairs Set* 

~ Tea themed charms and miniatures ~
Attic Pieces Charm Set 
Miniature Tea Kettle Charm* 
Miniature Silverware Set 
White and Gold Service for Four Tea Set
Small Wooden Box Feet

~ Tiny faux flowers ~
Petaloo Petites Teastained Pink
Petaloo Botanica Petites

Chess Piece, Domino, Checker

Wooden stir sticks

Wooden tongue depressor

Ribbon

Acrylic paint

Glue

Paper Moon Shrine with Tutorial

It occurred to me that since I already scanned the clouds I had created for my Vintage Theatre Moon Shrine, I might as well go ahead and make an entire collage sheet. AND if I have a collage sheet prepared, I might as well create a project to go along with it. AND if I have a collage sheet and a project, I might as well get some video practice in and do a tutorial too. 

Here's the project...

It has the same sort of feel as the Vintage Theatre Moon Shrine but without the hard to find vintage embellishments.

Those lovely billowy clouds are part of a collage sheet available exclusively via Alpha Stamps. It hasn't officially been released yet, but I asked very nicely and they agreed to list it early so I could share it with you.

Here is the supply list:
Theatre Clouds Collage Sheet
Small Paper Theatre Boxes 
Thin Fleur Dresden Borders - Black 
Star Tinsel* 
Rusty Stars / Metal Hands*
Graphic 45 Artisan Style: Patterns of the Past
Thread / craft yarn
Buttons
Black and blue acrylic paint
Extra fine glitter (I've used Recollections Peacock Blue)
Adhesives
Black ink pad

Here is the video tute that goes along with this piece. It's long and I'm sorry about that, but for those who often have a million questions, it is a thorough walk though. Pinky swear I'll do my best to keep the time down from now on.


Good Luck! And be sure to let me know if you give this a try! I'd love to see the results.

Vintage Theatre Moon Shrine

I was watching the Sophia Coppola film Marie Antoinette the other day. It's a lush flick to watch. So much eye candy! One of the things that REALLY caught my eye were the opera sets. I set to creating my own little theatre out of a wooden box and all manner of bits and pieces.

Unable to find just the right clouds for this project, I painted my own, scanned, printed, and cut them out. You may notice that they have a bit of a Terry Gilliam, Monty Python feel. I'm a big fan of Terry's work. The top curtain is from an existing Alpha Stamps theatre collage sheet.

The box has had one side removed and the lid upturned to become the stage floor. The end pieces at both the bottom and the top are vintage earrings. The round 'medallion' like shapes flanking the 'wings' are the heads of ornate  ornate metal upholstery tacks. Loads of dresden embellishment adds a fine finishing touch to the box.

The entire piece measures around 3.75" x 6".

This piece is currently listed HERE.

P.S. If you like this piece, please check back later this week! I'm working on a little something you may enjoy.

Springtime Fairy Frock for Petaloo

The ground is STILL covered in snow here. I'm longing to see some grass poking through the white. I'm sure spring is on the way. I can hear her coming, the birds are heralding her. That doesn't make the wait any easier. So what's a girl, starved for blooms and blossoms to do? Make a fairy frock of course!

The base of this dress is cardboard. I created a sort of hourglass shape, painted it white and the rest is just embellishments. 

First, working from the bottom up, layer of petals to form the full bottom of the dress. Next, a snippet of lace to forms the bodice. (THIS is the lace I used.) A bit of rickrack from Fancy Trims is perfect for little shoulder straps. Finally, tuck all sorts of Petaloo blossoms and leaves within the petals to complete your magical gown.

I think this might tide me over until I see real blossoms in my garden.

Supplies:

• cardboard
• Botanica Petals• Fancy Trims
• Botanica Blooms
• Botanica Petites• Spring Berry Clusters• Lace

A little announcement...

I'm pleased to announce that I'll be working with Gina's Designs as a Special Design Educator for the next wee while.

What does this mean? I'll be using some of Gina's products and posting a new project and tutorial on the first Friday of the month.

I'm genuinely excited. Gina has some great products that are perfectly suited to mixed media, altered art, ATC's and all sorts of themes close to my heart. Here are a few of the projects I've created in the past that include Gina's Designs Lasercut elements. Hint: Click on the titles to visit the original posts.

Graphic 45 Harry Potter Mashup

An altered bit-o-wood

Typography Postal Station No. 45

One Little Thing - Luck

With St. Patrick's Day approaching I thought we'd explore "Luck" this week.

Feel free to create something, anything, with a "Luck" theme as you interpret it.

Remember, there is no wrong solution to this challenge! The most important thing is that you take a few moments to consider the theme, and to get creative... even if it's only doddling for a few minutes!

Very little (but quite happy) moon shrines

I finished this series of tiny moon shrines yesterday. I created the moony faces a while ago but have been lacking the gumption to complete their starry skies. I'm blaming the wintry weather that seems to be dragging it's heels and preventing springs return for my laziness.

Here they are now, happy as clams in their new tiny homes. They are small, the square ones measuring just 3", but tiny places are important so we won't  hold that against them.

The moons are created with polymer clay, the houses and toadstools are paperclay.

I've used two different types of glitter too. Above is lovey long strands, which remind me of Van Gogh's starry night. Below, a more traditional variety of fine glitter that are like pinpoints of light in the sky.

I'm not pleased with the photos. My camera doesn't seem to know what I want. It refuses to see what I see. It's frustrating. The little shrines are far nicer in person. The moons don't care, they are just happy to have their skies to hang in.

All of the wee things above are available in my etsy shop HERE.