Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Sparkly Foot Unicorns (or Getting Weird for a Good Cause)

Just look at these....


Sparkly footprint unicorns. Can you even stand the cuteness?

This is not my idea. It's a slightly grown-upper version of a kids craft. I figured I'm a big kid, plus this would be fun to do drunk AND sparkly unicorns!

After I posted my first attempt at these, I was asked if I might donate one to a charity auction. I'm not sure how much my feets will fetch, but I'm absolutely down with trying to raise a few extra pennies for The Marvelle Koffler Breast Centre at Mount Sinai Hospital. Because screw you cancer.

Anyway, they were a ton of fun to do and here's how to make your own...


Gather all your stuff. You'll need water, a towel and wash cloth, paper or canvas, acrylic paint, a brush, a pallet/dish, glue and glitter. Pink toenails help... I don't know why... they just do.


Rather than dip your foot in a tray of paint, it is much easier to paint the bottom of your foot. Water the paint down, apply, then step diagonally onto a piece of paper. 


Work quickly before the paint has time to dry. Also, remember to position your footprint so that there is room for the horn and mane.

This is really messy business, especially if you make this after a glass (or three) of something boozy. Consider your work area before you start, and remember that towel! You do not want to be hobbling through the house with a painty foot.

When your print has kinda sorta dried you can add the cascaded mane...


... and the horn too. I didn't get too picky here. I just sort of blocked those extra bits in.


It doesn't really matter which side of the foot the horn is added to, the pinky side or the big toe, but I think it looks especially cute when you use the big toe as an ear like below.


Once the mane and the horn are dry, add some black edges to give definition and detailing.


Then add glue and go nuts with the glitter.


For my charity unicorns I used canvas instead of paper. I also prepped the background with a wash of blue paint and added stars and hearts... because apparently unicorns and glitter just aren't enough.


That's it! Easy peasy. The auction will take place at a live event, but you can still donate to The Marvelle Koffler Breast Centre at Mount Sinai Hospital HERE.

Sparkle on weirdos!

Saturday, April 08, 2017

Dapper Gents ATC's

 It's Dapper Gents month at Alpha Stamps and I've made a batch of suuuper simple ATC's


I really didn't fancy at all with these guys. Just Men Collage Sheet and Satisfying Text Collage Sheet images, paper from the Dapper Paper Pad, and mounted on a Chipboard ATC base.


Any other additions are just tiny scraps of dresden, washi tape and other little bobs.


They're really just very cute and super fast crafty something. Nothing too fussy going on here and they're swell nonetheless.


I've used these same collage sheets for some rather saucy versions which can be found HERE if you're not faint of heart.


But there's ain't nothin' wrong with the PG versions! They're a load of fun daddio!

Don't want to be a square? Here's all the bit's you'll need to make your own...

Men Collage Sheet
Satisfying Text Collage Sheet
Dapper Paper Pad
Chipboard ATC
Doodads, scraps and this and that

Or just scoop up the Dapper Gents Kit!




Friday, April 07, 2017

Spring Fairy Altoid Tin with Tutorial

It's spring and my blasse mood is giving way to fairy dreams as the weather warms and the green shows through the grass. Swoon!


This month I'm going to show you how to create this pretty little altered Altoid tin with a sweet surprise inside.

On the outside I'm using an elmement from the Altoids Inserts Fairy Tale Frames,
Art Deco Corner Set and Faux Metal Number Plate.


I've used paper from Lemoncraft, but you could use any paper you love and make this project entirely suited to your own tastes.


Inside, I've used more elements from the Altoids Inserts Fairy Tale Frames. Behind the frame I've layered elements and images to give a dimentional effect.


This project is pretty dang cute and fairly easy to recreate, but I've made a demonstration video with some pointers that you might find useful.


Ready to make your own? Here's all the baubles and doodads you'll need:

Altoids Inserts Fairy Tale Frames
Art Deco Corner Set
Faux Metal Number Plates 1 to 25
Blank Altoids TinsScrapbook Paper (I've used Lemoncraft's Forget-me-not)
Foam squares
Glue
Gesso
Acrylic Paint
Glitter
Embellishments!

Sunday, April 02, 2017

Human Bone Earrings

A little while ago we took a drive to the big city and stopped in SkullStore, a shop that sells all manner of bones, taxidermy, and other nifty things. I picked up some foot bones and a devil pod/bat nut. 


I knew I wanted to make something wearable with the bones and came up with this pair of earrings.


A number of people have asked "WHY?!" I'll admit, it seems a bit weird on the surface, but it's not just for shock. I do have actual reasons for bony jewelry:

I like bones and the strength and frailty they represent.
• Some believe that human bones help connect us, magically, to those on the other side.
• Primitive materials are beautiful
• I've been exploring foot fetishism
• I have extra bones in my feet!


I toyed with adding lots of different things to these bad boys, but I like that they embrace the primitive. The dark red circle you see is wax embedded with magical herbs, powders and oils. The wax reinforces the idea of being strong, but delicate simultaneously. It's solid though pliable, and easily scratched.

They might not be everyone's cup-o-tea, but I love them. 


Wearing them today made me feel a smidge more powerful... and maybe little like Pebbles Flintstone.




Tuesday, March 28, 2017

Adorable embellished shoes and more bloggity goodness

Two things today. I've started a new blog. I'll be keeping this one (and posting more, I promise) but I wanted somewhere to post more *ahem* mature projects. I know that some of my online buddies are little-uns, and some aren't as fond of bawdiness as I am, so I wanted somewhere separate to post those sorts of things. There will be overlap between the two blogs (like these shoes for example) but I'll keep it fairly PG here. 

BUT if you're a gal with moxy and a glue gun, and you're up for some frisky crafting with sass head over to La Bona Dea ~ The Good Goddess



Now on to the shoes!

We went shopping a few weeks ago and saw sooo many beautiful shoes. I fell in love with a ton of Betsey Johnson's that were utterly adorable but my wallet scoffed at me. I thought 'balls to that! I'll make my own."


I picked up this pair of scuffed heels for a few bucks and polished them up.


Already an improvement but I wanted to turn them into something girly and impractical.



I can't jump in puddles with these... but how stinking cute are they?!?!


I used THESE anenome flowers from Petaloo in light pink. The leaves I pulled off of some dollar store silk flowers and then just added a tiny pink bow. I stuck everything on with just a bit of hot glue.


They might not be Betsey Johnson's but I LOVE them and think they are totally adorable. They hardly took any time or money at all so if/when they do fall to bits I'm not worried and I can change them up again.

Next time, more glitter.

Saturday, March 25, 2017

Magical Masquerade ATC's

This months kit at Alphastamps.com is themed "Beauty and the Beast" but I've run with the Midnight Masquerade papers and made a handful of pretty magical masquerade ATC's instead.



The colours are juicy and gem like and look lush with copper highlights. I applied some thick acrylic medium with the Quatrefoil Texture Sheet and Diamonds Texture Sheet to create some three dimentional texture.

NOTE: If you want to use your texture sheet over and over again, try a couple of coats of marine varnish to protect it and make the card super durable.




This card has adorable Small Mulberry Blossoms and pretty Lavender Purple Gardenias.



Those little Clear Iridescent Star Sequins on all of the cards are really quite nice and rather dreamy. I thought they seemed quite a bit thicker than most sequins I've worked with before.



And how gorgeous are those Gardenias in Mixed Cream Yellow Orange?



I think they turned out quite nicely. All dreamlike and rich.


See a card you like and want to swap? Shoot me a note and we can make a trade!

Want to make your own? Here's a list of all the bit's I used for these ones.

Friday, March 03, 2017

Victorian Frame and Easel

I kind of feel like I'm on the verge of a mid-life crisis. I have this strong desire to wear leopard print, snap gum and listen to old time country music about standin' by yer man. 

I'm sort of looking at 'Flo' from Alice as my new life role model. She's a sassy fire cracker who's catch phrase is "Kiss my grits!" I feel like saying that an awful lot lately so I figured I'd make a sign I can just point too when annoyed. 


The 'kissy grits' part is a very quick embroidery I just whipped up on some cotton fabric. I've placed the embroidery in a Victorian Frame and Easel and gussied that sucker up with flowers and paper butterflies. 


I mean, just because I'm annoyed, doesn't mean I don't want things to be pretty!


This would actually be a great sized frame for an ATC, which would sit nicely with a border between the card and the edge of the frame. Or you could just go old school and put a picture in there.


I'm certain you could figure this one out yourself, but just in case, there's a video walkthrough HERE (link shortly.)

And the teeny tiny supply list!
• Victorian Frame and Easel
• Acrylic paint
• White glue if you want a crackle finish
• Faux flowers and leaves
• Paper butterflies
• Hot glue