Shamrock Chapel with Walk-through

There is a beautiful little church I visited while in Ireland, St. Finbarr's Oratory at Gougane Barra. A wee chapel situated on a bit of a jetty on a lake.

Looking at the Mausoleum Kit in my stash I was inspired by my memories of this place to create a miniature chapel of my own.

For the exterior stone texture I've used drywall compound and the Cobblestone stencil.

Tip: coat your stencil with boating wax to seal it and make it reusable!

I quite like the roof of this piece and the wee turrets that flank the two sides. For the saintly statues I simply painted some miniature figures used for railway models grey and popped them inside. That fancy bit at the front peak is the handle of a chipboard key from the Keys & Plates Shape Set. That spire is a Cabana Row House.

The windows are a stained glass image that I downloaded then printed onto a transparency sheet. Rather than cutting out individual windows, there is a piece that covers the whole windowed area. It's much easier and less fiddly and if no one is going to be peeking inside, why the heck not.

That spikey Gothic trim to the roof? I deconstructed (aka chopped up) a Gothic Border to add some vertical interest.

You can follow the process I went through making this piece with THIS video walk-though.  And here is the supply list of all the bits you'll need to create your own version.

Mausoleum Kit

Chipboard Shingles - Pointed

Chipboard Shingles - Half Scale Sampler

Cobblestone
Gothic Border 6 Inch
Keys & Plates Shape Set
Cabana Row Mini

Other supplies needed for this project:

Stained glass pattern printed on transparency

Acrylic paint

Drywall compound

Glue
Cross charm
Railway figures

Psst... Did you find a four leaf clover in those pics?

The Secret Garden Tin Revisited

A few years ago I made a series of Secret Garden themed Altoid tins. I revisited that project last week.

The Secret Garden tins have had loads and loads of tutorial requests since they were first posted. I've always been reluctant to attempt an instructional guide because of the size of the project. It's got a lot of parts, there's drying, and waiting, and fiddly bits. They all come together to make something rather nice, but writing a tutorial for a project that needs to be done over a few days always seemed rather daunting.

I set my mind to it however, and I made a tute. 

It's a big one.

Four jam packed pages of instruction. I am literally attempting to reduce the whopping file size as I type this entry because etsy is telling me it's too flipping big.

These tins are only ever so slightly different than the original set. The handmade robin has been replaced with paper butterflies. The door hardware on my sample is a little fancier than that on the first. But I think they're just as cheery.

If you're interested in making your own tin, the tutorial is available on etsy HERE.

If you're curious what you'll need to make these sweet wee things here is the recommended supply list:

• Altoids style tin (flat/not embossed lid)

• thick card (think cereal box)

• wooden sticks

• egg carton

• drywall compound

• mod podge/sealer/top coat

• old book pages

• bits for door hardware (my sample uses THESE) 

• faux flowers, leaves, moss (lots of texture is nice)

• hot glue & white glue

• acrylic paint

• chalk pastels

• green paper

• tape

• permanent marker

• star or leaf punch

• stylus or other pokey tool (you could use a pen in a pinch)

• disposable piping bag

“It made her think that it was curious how much nicer a person looked when he smiled. She had not thought of it before.” 

― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

I hope you're having a smiley day.

Alchemy Coasters and Coins for AlphaStamps

AlphaStamps sent me this Alchemy 12 x 12 Pad and I have one word. SWOOOOOON! Ugh! It's the type of pad you take extra care when cutting into because there's something gorgeous on both sides of the paper.

I used that gorgeousness with elements from this months' kit: Coins, Coasters & Holders. 

I mean you wouldn't think that moons and bees would go together.... but here we are.

The coins and coasters that are the base of these pieces are super thick chipboard. If you know me, I like to beat my projects into submission so these extra thick beauties are a total treat.

Oh the lushness!

Snails, stripes, moths and numbers! A jumble of all the nicest things.

And have you heard of Artist Trading Coins? 2.5" diameter, round works of art. You know how much I love working on a small scale so I'm game for these mini arty farty things.

There are coordinating pockets, folders and 'wallets' available to match the coins and coasters. It's such a nice way to present them as a gift, to make them extra special.

Since I can't control myself and make everything extra chunky, I particularly like the pockets with extra room like this Dimensional Coin Folder.

Beautiful graphics, shiny highlights, a bit of paint and glue and you've got yourself some sweet celestial art.

Here are all the bits and pieces you'll need to create your own:

Alchemy 12 x 12 Pad
Dimensional Coin Folder
4 Inch Trading Coasters - Set
Artist Trading Coins - Set
Crepe Ribbon - Black - 3/4 Inch
3 Inch Wallet
3 Inch Simple Pockets - Set of 3
Clear Iridescent Beaded Wire Garland
Narrow Gold Fleur Dresden Borders
Star Tinsel
Flat-Back Gold Star Studs - 8mm
Flat-Back Gold Star Studs - 12mm
Fancy Brass Star Charm
Mini Alchemy Half Sheet
Acrylic paint
Gold embossing powder
Rubber stamp

You might want to grab the Coins, Coasters & Holders Kit

Platform 9 3/4

This has been waiting to be finished for AGES. Since before I visited the real platform 9 3/4!

When I visited the actual platform at Kings Cross station it was absolute madness. I didn't even line up for the photo op because it was swarming with people. (Don't feel badly for me. It gives me a great excuse to return!)

My little version of Platform 9 3/4 was built inside of a wooden shadow box. It measures approximately 6" x 9" x 1.5"

I'm so happy with the brickwork in this piece as well as that pipe to the side.

All of the suitcases are made from cardstock with ribbon and other wee bits.

There's a little Hogwarts Express ticket, and a few books atop the stack of cases.

A wax sealed acceptance letter, and a wand too.

Want to own a little Platform 9 3/4? This piece is listed HERE

P.S. Happy mother's day weekend moms and motherers!

Paper Stereoscope Tutorial and Downloads

Are there things, objects, that you can't help but feel drawn to? I love old clocks, wooden crates, books. I've also always wanted a stereoscope.

I've wanted to make my own for a while and finally got around to looking into how to make one.

Graphic 45's Olde Curiosity Shoppe—Deluxe Collector's Edition seemed the perfect paper choice!

And I'm so pleased with myself because the stereoscope works like a charm!

Most of what I read suggested 3x lenses. I tried a few different magnifications and ended up using a pair of 4x's magnification reading glasses. Maybe it's because my eyes are a little weak that they worked better for me? Not sure, but I popped the lenses out of the frames, and simply glued them in place inside the viewer. Perfecto!

I didn't add many embellishments to this piece. I wanted to keep it looking like a usable object rather
than a decorative item. There's a restrained trim, a couple of Antique Brass Stamped Metal Brads. But how perfect is that graphic from the Optical Oddities page of Olde Curiosity Shoppe?

Those stereocards? A vintage story of love told in a series of public domain images from a museum collection. 

Because I think everyone should be as excited about stereoscopes as I am, I've put together a big fat tutorial for this project with three parts.

The pattern

The cards

The video tutorial

Here are all the other bits you'll need to create this project:
Antique Brass Stamped Metal Brads
Olde Curiosity Shoppe—Deluxe Collector's Edition
Clearsnap Decades Dye Pad Dark Cashmere

Cheap reading glasses 3x's (I used 4x)

Thick card
White Glue

Glue Stick

Scissors

Thats it! Just a handful of things to make a really neat something :)

Now all I have to do is figure out how to make my own stereoview images...

Florentine Moon Triptych for Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts

I have always had an affinity with the night sky. The stars and moon make me swoon! And I've been especially inspired to make moony themed pieces recently, and this project is no exception.

The exterior is dark and moody. A Vintage Triptych "Florentine" is covered with paper from Graphic 45's Love Notes. 

The corners are adorned with Victorian Corners 2 which have been chopped in half to give a sort of hinge look. I've added a Hasp to the cover for a closure, and simply added the smallest of the Tudor Rose Singles to add a bit of decoration to the piece.

Inside I've relied on old paper and paint, and a bit of gold embossing powder.

I'm really pleased with it and I have a video to show you just how I achieved this look (and how I put the pieces together) Pop over HERE to see the walkthrough.

Are you ready to make some of your own moon magic?

Here are all the bits you'll need from Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts:

Vintage Triptych "Florentine" *Coming Soon*
Victorian Corners 2 

Hasps
Tudor Rose Singles

And all of the other supplies that I used in this project:

Sweet Dreams Collage Sheet

Graphic 45's Love Notes

Black Crepe Ribbon
Rusty Star Ornament Set

Brass Starburst CharmFlat Back Gold Star Studs 12mm
Flat Back Gold Star Studs 8mm
Stamp and pad
Gold embossing powder
Glitter

Old Paper

Washi Tape

Acrylic paint
Glue

Altoid Specimen Tin

Even if I haven't been posting like crazy, I've been making like mad. I've hit one of those periods where one inspiration leads to another, and so on, until I can't possibly keep up with all the ideas in my head!

There are about three hundred things on the go in my studio, but I wanted to make sure to share something before you forgot about me. So, I finished up this specimen Altoid tin to show off today.

The outside paper is from Communique. The inside is lined with vintage music paper. The butterflies are fussy cut from Butterfly Specifics - Old Curiosity Shoppe.

All those little specimen labels are from THIS new collage sheet set. I'm including two pages in this set. One page is filled with blank labels and the other filled with descriptions (low key fairy themed). While there aren't editable text areas, if you have basic photoshop/photo editing skills you should be able to add text on top of the image file, adding your own descriptions.

For authenticity, I recommend viewing THIS tutorial to create an aged glass look.

  A little bit of fake grime makes a big difference!

Inside those jars are all sorts of wee things. Twigs, roots, petals, bones, glitter, moss... basically anything that fit inside those little vials.

All the bits used:

Artifact Labels - 2 PDF collage sheet download

Mint tin
Mini vials

Communique (exterior paper)

Old Curiosity Shoppe (paper butterflies)
Music paper

Wee bits to fill the vials

Metal card/Label holder

Glue/Paint