So Charming!

Make your own Necklace Charm!

In this post http://www.createalways.com/2013/05/floral-fantasy.html 

I shared with you how to make the following flower motive using transparency sheets.

I cut a flower out of the transparency and glued it to a piece of colored paper and set it inside of this necklace charm found at http://www.sakuracraft.com/shop/Gem-Crafts/Jewelry-Findings/White-Brass-Jewelry-Findings.htm

I covered the entire image with 3D Crystal Lacquer - found here http://www.sakuracraft.com/shop/3D-Crystal-Lacquer/3D-Crystal-Lacquer--Clear.htm

When my lacquer was setting, I set a jewel in the center and let this all dry.  

These aren't air bubbles you're looking at, but beautiful glimmer from the Terri Sproul Mixers I used to paint the flower - found here http://www.sakuracraft.com/terri-sprouls-mixer.htm

Now this is a simple and easy project yes, but what I really want to share with you are the great prices on jewellery items Sakura Hobby Crafts has http://www.sakuracraft.com/shop/Gem-Crafts/Jewelry-Findings.htm 

And when you place an order in June, you can get - 20% off your entire order when use code Crystal06 at check-out!

Note To Self 12x14 Canvas

Hello! today I would like to share with you a project I call "Note to Self" as a reminder to be more thoughtful.

For todays project I used:

Terri Sproul Pearl Mixers

Terri Sproul "Journal Stamps"

Sakura 3D Crystal Lacquer

Acrylic Paint

Stencils

Golden Molding Paste

Tim Holtz Distress Inks

Toothbrush for flicking paint

Hand Colored Images

Copic Markers 

Cardstock

Printed Words from the computer

 What started out as a blank canvas quickly added up with layers of Acrylic paint, Stencils and Stamps.

I painted the top of the canvas with blue and purple paint and added yellow ochre in the middle and green at the bottom.

Next I stenciled in some trees, dots, and a doily. Now I was ready to stamp! I used my new Terri Sproul Stamps from the Journal set and with my fingers instead of a block pressed my  stamps into place.

 

I used a toothbrush to flick some mixers onto the

canvas to represent a magical presence.

 

Next I made a stencil with my Cricut.

I just cut out some blackout flowers out of cardstock and took

out some molding paste to give it some texture.

 

 

I decided to color the flowers of molding paste

with Terri Sproul Pearl Mixers and 3D Crystal Lacquer.

 

I couldn't quite get my green leaves just right so

I colored them in with Copics.

 Everywhere I put the Pearl Mixers the canvas glistens.

I drew a girls face and colored her in with copic markers.
I found a butterfly and cut it in half to use as wings.

Then I cut a piece of cardstock into a triangle for

her dress and colored her arms in.

 

Next I printed out some words I should be reminding

 myself of in a distressed typeset font and distressed

the edges with Tim Holtz broken china distress inks.

 

 

 

 

Opps almost forgot to color her lips!.. see I do need these notes to self!

I hope you enjoyed my short tutorial and don't forget if you use coupon code Crystal06 you will receive 20% off your entire order HERE at checkout!

Patriotic Girl Card - Terri Sproul Pearl Powder

When you think of pigment powders you think of ways to create unique color palettes for mixed medias or jewelry, but today I have decided to use Sakura Hobby Craft - Terri Sproul Pearl Powder to create a Patriotic Girl Card.

I wanted to create a embossing effect, however, I did not realize that I ran out of embossing powder and the nearest craft store that carries it is about 3 hours away, so to switch things up. I decided to paint using Terri Sproul's Pearl Powders mixed with Crystal 3D Lacquer.  The effects are quite lovely and I loved the way it turned out.  Now, I am not going to lie, it did take me three takes to get the right affects but in the end I loved the way it turned out.

If you look closely at the Graphic 45 cling mounted stamp I colored in the image with the Terri Sproul Pearl Powders.

For the flag I painted the red stripes with originally Acrylic paint and topped it off with Sakura's 3D Crystal Lacquer.

This card was a very simple coloring technique simply using Terri Sproul's Pearl Powders and any stamp.  So, here is what you need.

Sakura Hobby Craft Suppies:

• 3D Crystal Lacquer
• Terri Sproul Pearl Powder

Other Supplies:

• Kraft Cardstock
• BoBunny Anthem Paper Stack
• Wild Orchard - Mini Paper Flowers
• Satin Ribbon
• Paint Brush
• Water
• Distress Ink
• Staz on Black Ink

Step One:

Gather all your necessary supplies needed.

Step Two:

Cut your Kraft cardstock or cardstock of choice to 5 1/2" x 11, and score at 5 1/2". Cut your BoBunny Anthem collection at 5 1/4" x 5 1/4" (2) pieces that will be for the first layer for front and inside.  Then cut another piece at 4 6/8 " x 4 6/8".  Finally cut a small piece of kraft cardstock for your stamp image.  Oh and the third layer of the front of my card came in the BoBunny Anthem stack, and I just cut and trimmed to fit my card.

Step Three:

Once you paper is cut you can distress with ink and I used Tim Holtz Vintage Photo.  Once all that is done you can start adhering to your Kraft cardstock.  Then stamp your image onto your kraft cardstock that was about 3 x 3 3/4".  Make sure you use Staz On Black Ink, because otherwise the ink will bleed, and you don't want that.

Step Four:

Next you can take out your Terri Sproul Pearl Powder, brush, and Crystal Lacquer and begin painting, but before you do that, if you look at the little girl on top you see that the stamp isn't really a flag, so what I did was draw in some lines and created a line, and I just used a pencil for that.

Once you get that all done you will have something similar to this.

For the dots I just mixed some of the Terri Sproul's Aquamarine Pearl Powder and dipped the end of my paint brush and spotted away.  I carried that same color to her socks as well.  On the edges of the kraft cardstock I brushed some of the Gold Pearl Powder and I sponged on the distress ink to age it alot more.  Oh for her sink I used the Garnet Pearl Powder and a bit of the Aquamarine for her eyes.  I used a red marker for her lips.

Step Five:

Place your flowers and ribbon and you have completed a Pearl Powder painting.  So, not much to it, but I think she made a lovely Pearl Powder model.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial be sure to checkout Sakura Hobby Craft online store and take advantage of the coupon code below.

Crystal06 -20%off total order for June..

Pearlized Mini Book

Mica Powder Painting!  This is something covered in my book, Creative Art Concepts for Papercrafts put out by C&T Publishing.

Using Terri Sproul Mixers - Pearl, adds a wonderfully, magical color.  TS Mixers-Shimmer are translucent, but Pearls are opaque!  It is important to know this fact so you can plan your projects, and how adding 3D Crystal Lacquer will affect the final "paint" made. 

When painting with mica powders, lift a small amount with a tiny, soft brush for small areas, and more with a medium brush for larger areas. 

Stamping and painting backside creates a sticker of sorts, but you have to add double-sided adhesive to adhere to surface of choice.

The image is by Paula Best, and is just whimsical and fun for this mini book.  The book is 3x3 and black and so the Pearls just shimmer and stand out against the black.  Add word(s) and an embellishment and your art piece is done!  This little treasure showcases how beautiful the Terri Sproul Mixers - Pearls look. 

I make a batch of these painted "stickers" and keep them on hand for my art.  Paint with the Pearls, add to 3D Crystal Lacquer for paint as this would be glorious on paper mache' or any other surface.


Cre8tively Yours- Lea

Pearlized Votives

For this project, I coloured the 3 votives I have in the house. These are actually wine glasses that I found at the local thrift store.

I started with just the 2 small ones, and liked the effect.  Each one is different.
The one of the right, I thought I'd be smart and use the heat tool to dry the pearlized 3D Lacquer - it created a cracked texture of the lacquer.
The second one was the one on the left with the diamond sequins set into the drying lacquer.
The large one, I added the paper onto the votive before adding the coloured 3D Lacquer.

I used the Lilac Pearl applicator in the Metallic/Pearl set of 3D Crystal Color Lacquer set. 

{If you purchase in June - use the coupon code: Crystal06 for 20% off on all purchases.} 

It is thick, so I poured some out onto my plastic paint palette along with plain 3D Crystal Lacquer. Mixed well.

I started to cover the outside of the glass votive (you need to do it on the outside so it doesn't burn) by rolling it in the mixture, then used a stir stix to add more all the while rotating the glass.

Once they were totally covered, I set them upside down for a few minutes, then right side up.  I kept doing this to try to get a marbleized effect until it wouldn't move anymore.  As I said before, the first one, I used a heat tool to set the Lacquer.

For the larger votive, I wanted to add paper to see how it would look.  I coloured some vintage book text with a Portfolio Water Soluble Oil Pastel - Blue Green colour.  

I, used my finger to spread the oil pastel, then cut out the 2 hearts.  

I glued the hearts onto the glass with the 3D Crystal Lacquer, covered them with clear before adding the pink sapphire (from the Terri Sproul's Mixer - Jewel Effects Color set) & 3D Crystal Lacquer, mixed well. I used the stir stix to clear off the heart a little.

I added the diamond sequins into the coloured 3D Crystal Lacquer while it was still sticky. To the bottom of the glass, I punched a 1.75 inch circle of heavy cardstock, glued it underneath with 3D Crystal Lacquer.

I added a piece of satin forest green ribbon to the textured first one.  For the Heart one, I gathered a wide piece of lace, tied it around the stem, then added the gold cording for a bow.

I like how they turned out and I am thinking of stopping in the local thrift store this week, getting a couple more glasses and try different colours of the 3D Crystal Lacquer.

Check out the Sakura Craft products HERE.

June Special coupon is: Crystal06 and will entitle you to 20% off all purchases.

Faux Fused Glass Pendant

You can make faux fused glass pendants with Sakura Crystal Lacquer and Terri Sproul Mixers!

I had just made some “Crystal Lacquer film” for a project I had in mind when I saw Tammy Tutterow’s tutorial on making faux fused glass pendants with shrink plastic and Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE).  It looked like fun, but I wanted to try it with my Crystal Lacquer film instead of shrink plastic, so I postponed the project-in-progress and used my “film” to make my own faux fused glass pendant.

Here’s how I make the Crystal Lacquer film.  The base is the package from a set of metal dies.  I pour in some Crystal Lacquer, add Terri Sproul Mixers and stir.  The package has a little rim that holds in the Crystal Lacquer. These were made with Copper Penny and Green Pearl.  When the Crystal Lacquer sets up, it is adhered to the plastic.  You can cut it with scissors or in a diecutter.



I diecut some hearts.


Then I heated UTEE in a Melting Pot.  A word of caution: The Embossing Enamel and parts of the Melting Pot get very hot! 

I punched holes in my hearts and put a piece of thin wire through each hole.  Using the wire as a handle, I dipped each heart into the melted UTEE.  The Crystal Lacquer film became very flexible when heated, so it is better to have a nice deep reservoir of melted UTEE and make a quick dip.  If you have to move the piece around in the UTEE for too long, it can become distorted (which might be a cool effect for some projects).

I set the hearts to cool on a heat-resistant nonstick sheet.



While you are dipping your pieces, you can scrape them against the edge of the Melting Pot to remove excess UTEE.  I was trying to get a thick coating of UTEE and ended up with the UTEE dripping off my pieces.  I trimmed it off with scissors while it was still warm and smoothed out the edges by heating them with a heat gun.  I removed the wires and cleaned out the holes with a small round file.


Then I made some jewelry!  Here is one of the hearts with a brass charm on a chain:



And here is one with a brass charm on a memory wire choker with glass beads:


This process is easy and has so many possibilities!  You can include embellishments or combine multiple pieces for more complex pendants!

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Antique Milk Can

Good morning

I've been so excited to show you my version of the Milk can that everyone has been making.  Aren't they just the greatest?  Each one is so unique and I've loved them all.  I'm kinda picking up the rear here and hope mine will inspire you to create one also.

I started out with the silver milk can and painted it white.  Then I "sanded" a bit of the white off to expose the silver and make it look shabby chic.  After that I added back some color and used the Terri Sproul mixers in Shimmer Smoky Quartz mixed with the 3d crystal lacquer.  I love this color because it's really antiquey (not a word, I know) looking.  After that was completely dried I added a "white wash" spray paint to tone down the color a bit more.  Now it really became vintage looking.

I just could stop there...last summer when I was home at my mom's we were going through some old pictures and we came upon a picture of the house she was born in.  It's the only one we have and she wouldn't give it up.  I took a picture of the picture.  It's not the best, but then this is supposed to be "vintage" looking right?  I printed the picture out and mod podged it to the painted milk tin.  Once that was completely dry I "painted" some brown acrylic paint watered down over the top of everything to give it a balanced look and then painted a thin layer of the 3d crystal lacquer over the top to keep it from scratching off the paint.  I then added some flowers and I gave it to my mom for Mother's Day.  

I just love the way this all came together and now she can treasure her "homestead" for a long time to come.

I hope I've inspired you to create something using these fabulous milk cans and if you do, please leave me a comment and I will come and check yours out.  You can always find me here also.  Thanks again for coming by and see you soon - Brenda

If you`d like to order your milk cans today - you will get 20% of your ENTIRE ORDER (for the month of May) so act fast as I`m sure these cans will be flying off the shelves. 

Use code Sakura 05 at checkout.