Always and Forever

Hi

Just a very short post this evening.  Unfortunately I have been absent for a couple of weeks due to a family bereavement, but I hope to be back shortly.

As you know, I was thrilled to be asked to be a Guest Designer at The Stampsmith Challenge & Blog, and this is the second project I created, inspired by the song "Always & Forever" (do you remember the song?):

A small mdf wedding keepsake which has been covered in a mixture of Kraft cardstock and co-ordinating dps by Melissa Frances.

The main image on the front cover is from the plate "Thank Heavens For Little Girls" - it has been trimmed to fit inside the bronze frame, then covered with Ice Resin.

The inside of the third page features another Stampsmith image from the "Wedding Bells" plate, which sits behind a painted and crackled chipboard frame:

There are two pockets in the album for special mementos and a Kraft frame, which I've left open at the top, for a special personal photograph to be slipped into.

Various charms and embellishments have been added to the front page - all the pages can be seen in the photo collage below:

There is still plenty of time to join in the challenge - just create a project (using at least one Stampsmith stamp) which has been Inspired By A Song.

I'd to say a big "hello" to my new followers, and also a huge thank you to all my regular visitors for your continued patience - it really seems to be one thing after another this year.

Maria xxxxx

Some Vintage Glass Glitter........Friday Ice Linky Party

Hi, I hope you are all ok.  You may remember that a little while ago I shared a bag charm with you (here), the main feature of it made using gilding flakes with Ice Resin.  I'd like to show you another one I made at the same time, as a gift for a friend, but this one has been made using some Vintage Glass Glitter from SU:

The heart bronze heart shaped bezel was part filled with glass glitter which was then encased with 3 layers of Ice resin.  I added a SU vintage style brad in the centre, which was also encased underneath the resin.  The heart was then used as the main feature of a bag charm, which was made as a gift for Vicky over at Crafting Clare, who runs the Stampers 6 club - she is such a lovely person, who VERY patiently waited for my order month after month!  Thank you Vicky :-).

Here is a picture of the full bag charm:

I'd like to link this up to the Friday Ice Linky Party over at the Vintiquities Workshop.  Please pop over and take a look at the stunning cuff bracelet Thespa has created, using antique lace and, of course, Ice Resin.

Click on the logo to take you there!

I do have another, slightly different, one of these to share with you in the future - it was also made as a gift a few weeks ago, but as it was only posted today, I am unable to share it with you just yet.

Thank you for your lovely comments and best wishes - my bumps and bruises are starting to heal, although I still have a lovely one on the back of my head, and a very sore foot and hip.

Enjoy the sun this weekend, and thank you for dropping by, your visit is really appreciated.

Maria xxxxx

Something for Friday Ice....

Hi, this is a very short post this evening.  I hope you are all well and having some decent weather.  I'd like to share something with you that I made a little while ago, which I'd like to enter into the current challenge over at the Friday Ice Linky Party before it closes:

I used an oval hollow backed, stop-watch style bezel:  

The Ice Resin was added in layers, along with the charms and TH sticker inside, then the bird was added onto the top so that it was half inside/half outside of the final layer of resin.  

This was my one of my first attempts at a hollow-backed bezels, I will share the others at a later date with you, but I quite like how this one turned out.

I hope your week is going well, and that you're looking forward to the Bank Holiday weekend.

Thanks for dropping by, it's very much appreciated.

Maria xxxxx

So Sentimental - Craft-Room Challenge DT

Hi, I hope you're all well.  Milder weather seems to have arrived in our little corner of the UK, which is nice for a change!  It's time for a new theme over at the Craft-Room Challenge, and this time it's the turn of our very talented Mervi to choose our theme, and she has chosen

So Sentimental

 Mervi would like to see your text, script or messages clearly, 

but otherwise your creation can be anything self-made and new!

The entries into our "In the Library" challenge were gorgeous, by the way, and Debi will be back next Tuesday with her Top 3 and winner.

For this theme, I decided to decorate a large perfume bottle I'd picked up from Dunelm Mill last week.

I used some pre-printed tissue paper which I bought from Crafty Individuals, cut it to size, and gave it a couple of coats of watered down emulsion.  I then over-stamped it with the background stamp from TH Papillon set and a SU flourish, then adhered to the main body and the neck of the bottle with multi matte medium.  The sentiment on the front of the bottle is by Darkroom Door.

I added some lace, a beaded trim and narrow ribbon with a glue gun, and to the stopper of the bottle I added a ball chain with some charms: a key, a heart padlock, part of a recycled necklace, and a bezel with a CI stamped image and a metal corner encased in Ice Resin.  A little Paperartsy Metallic Glaze was painted onto the rim of the bottle, and also the bottom part of the stopper.

Our sponsor this fortnight is:

manufacturers of fabulous chipboard and chipboard shapes.

We'd love it if you joined us, and if you'd like some more inspiration, please drop by the challenge and see the fabulous creations from the rest of the Design Team.

Thank you for dropping by, a big hello to my new followers, and have a wonderful week!

Maria x

A Bag Charm for Friday Ice

Hi, I hope you're all enjoying the milder weather, at long last, although we've had some rain today.  I'd also like to say a big hello to my new followers :-).

As you know, I've been dabbling with the Ice Resin lately, and would like to share a bag charm which I've made, over at Friday Ice, which posts on the 2nd and 4th Friday of each month, ...

...and this is my bag charm:

The main bezel has a bit of everything in it - some shabby embossing enamel heated, then some unheated embossing enamel along with some microbeads, then some gilding flakes mixed into the top, and then a SU brad sits in the centre.

Once it had cured, I gave it another coat of resin to finish, which also gives it a nice weight.  I attached a split ring, some chain and a key ring clip, and added some antique bronze charms and strands of thinner chain to give it a bit of jangle.

In real life, the gilding flakes look gorgeous encased in the resin - I'm trying a few different things out to see how they look, as I'm finding out that some things look better than others.  I have another bag charm to ready to share with you soon, and a couple of other pieces of jewellery.  I'll also be back on Tuesday with my DT creation for the Craft-Room Challenge.

It's the start of the weekend so I hope you enjoy it and get some crafting time to yourself.

Thanks for dropping by, I really appreciate it.

Maria xxxxx

Something For "Friday Ice"

Hi,  a short post tonight, but I'd like to share a creation with you which I made for Thespa's linky party,  "Friday ICE", over at the Vintiquities Workshop

"Friday ICE" is where you can link up your Ice Resin creations.  I'm absolutely loving using Ice Resin and have a few more pieces to share with you over the coming weeks, however this is one that I finished over the weekend:

I used a little green patina gilding wax around the edges of the base of the bezel, poured a little resin inside then added a piece of torn bookpage (a bit smaller than the bezel).  A little more resin, then an antique bronze swallow pendant on top and a word tile at the bottom.  If you look at the top right corner, the book page is teased up a bit so it's not flat against the base.  A little antique gold glass glitter was added into the top layer of resin, also on the top right corner.  I added a split ring to the bail and a lobster clasp, two pieces of chain attached with jump rings and a couple of charms.  I thought this would be nice hung from the zipper of a handbag - then my daughter saw it and claimed it, lol, so it's gone already!

Thank you for taking the time to visit - I really do appreciate it.

Bye for now

Maria xxxxx

From Me To You - Craft Room Challenge DT

Hi, it's time for a new challenge over at the Craft-Room - wow, what a fantastic response we had to our "For A Man Challenge".  Julia really will have a tough job narrowing it down to just three.  This time it's the turn of our fabulous, and very talented, hostess, Zoe, to choose the theme and she has chosen:

From Me To You

This is what Zoe says about her theme:

"The theme from 'Me to You' is one of gift giving, we all enjoy making things for others and giving them.   We would like you to share with us a gift you have made for someone. "

I am warning you in advance, this is a bit on the lengthy side so make sure you've got a cuppa!

My gift is for my mum.  It' was her birthday very recently, and I decided to use something very new to me (which I've been itching to try for a while) to make her a gift, along with a card.  Yes, you did read that correct, I made a card!  I don't make cards very often but thought I should make a bit of a special effort for my mum, as she loves handmade cards:

As the sun has been shining (now and then), I used some nice bright spring colours.  The dps are by Prima and the beautiful Stempelglede stamp (Maribel) was very kindly forwarded to me by Debi from our DT in New Zealand, as I couldn't get hold of this in the UK (thank you Debi :-)).

She has been stamped in Archival Ink and coloured with Stampin' Up water based markers.  I've used things in this that I haven't used for ages (border punch, brads, doilies) and quite enjoyed myself!.  I've also added a metal leaf charm, a couple of Petaloo flowers, a little lace and some white muslin behind the image, and finished with bow made from seam binding.

Now onto my mum's little gift:

I made her a ring, with some Ice Resin!  This stuff really fascinates me for some reason (even though I've used the one step UV resin a few times).  I finally took the plunge and bought some recently, and I have to say, I love it - there's something very relaxing about drizzling this into a bezel from the end of a lollipop stick (sounds nuts, I know!).

I sealed a piece of torn book page with Modge Podge, then placed a jewellery finding on the top of this inside the ring blank, which I had touched over with a little green patina gilding wax.  I then added a tiny little butterly on the top, sitting only just inside the resin..  It's fairly simple but it's my first attempt, and I'm quite proud of it, simple or not, lol!

Our sponsor this fortnight was Tanda Stamps but they have sadly gone out of business recently.  However, Zoe still has a prize to give from Tanda, along with her creation for this fortnight's challenge which is amazing!

Please pop over and have a look at what the rest of the Design Team have created to inspire you, and I hope you will find the time to join in with us this fortnight.

Tomorrow and Wednesday, I will be able to catch up with commenting, thank you for popping over.

Bye for now

Maria xxxxx