Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Who doesn't need a little photo holder for their desk that holds a reminder of why they do it all in the first place?? These little photo holders are created using 2" ceramic tiles from the hardware store and a medium sized clothes pin. I made a lot of these as well. Some are painted, some are stamped with permanent ink and others are layered with images. I trimmed the clothespins just a little and glued them to the back!

These will hold a photo or a card and are a nice little addition to a side table or mantle!!

So those are the new items I spent the best part of August creating!! It is fun to come up with new items and put a new spin on items that you have made before!!

Be aware that if you are creating items for sale you need to respect copyright!! Use copyright free art or items from companies that have liberal angel policies and give proper credit!! That applies to rubber stamps, clip art sheets, stickers, etc. Of course, consider creating with your own art and images for as much freedom as you want!!

Thanks for dropping by and Happy creating!!


Therese in Trenton
Mixed Media Market
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mixedmediamarket/
Brag books are fun to make and can be customized for any occasion!! I made my first one earlier this year for Mina's pictures - my first grandchild!

I made several with different themes - baby, travel, etc!! This one uses the name badge holders from Staples and has a travel theme on the matt board cover!

The one Linda made uses the name badges from Walmart and is perfect for holding ATCs!! Would make a great table top book or for carrying your ATCs to your next trading session!!

Therese
Always have journals at my sales! I usually cover these with handmade paper and add a "faux leather" paper spine. Decided to be differently creative this year and painted the covers instead! I sanded the covers and painted on a layer in a light colour. Stamped on several images in permanent ink and then added several layers of paint over the top! Finished off with a bit of a metallic!! Very happy with the way they turned out!!

Therese
These so made me think of Harry Potter!!
I created them from plastics which I melted together and embossed with a stamp!! You just never know what you are going to get when you start creating these and that is what I love about the process!! Used some metallic paint to highlight the texture!! I embedded a hanger and added a cord to make a pendant. The center of this one is clear but some of the others have different coloured centers!! Very cool!!

Therese
I made made my little bottle caps with artitude into magnets!! I glued Lee Valley rare earth magnets to the back. I always use their quarter inch magnets because they are so strong - they hold up to 10 sheets of paper to a metal surface!! I also glued large paper clips to some of them for a little added interest and fun!! These easily hold a list or photo while looking pretty on your fridge!! The large paperclips are available at Staples and possibly at your local Dollarama store!!

Therese

Made a whack of these bottle cap magnets!! If you have never tried working with bottle caps I would encourage you to try! They are so versatile and in the end quite slim once they have been pounded!!

To pound the bottle caps: you need unused bottle caps. These can be purchases on line or locally at a beer making supply place. Place them crimped side up and whack with a hammer. The crimps will start to roll and soon will be rolled all the way around leaving a nice little depression that can be filled with art!!

Inspired by Sally Jean I created my own little collages for the center of my bottle caps! I used copyright free art and a layout program to create the little collages which I punched out with a 1" punch. They fit perfectly in the centers!!

Therese
I attended the Women's Art Festival in Kingston as a vendor last weekend!! It is a wonderful outdoor festival with music, children's activities and music - all by women!! I created a few new items for sale this year which you will find in the following posts!!

Created these cute little pins! They are based on the Big Blossom from Stampin UP which was a feature during Sellabration earlier this year and made from shrink plastic!! I paint and stamp then shrink them!! Added some glass beads in the centers for texture and interest!!

Sold quite a few!!

Therese
Handmade paper!! I had a few friends over last week to make paper!! So much fun!! I prepared the pulp and we spent the afternoon making sheets and visiting. Had some tea and goodies too!!

The ivory, blue and white are confetti papers.

To the ivory I added glittery bits of gold - curly ribbon, regular ribbon, foil, embroidery thread. It turned out very nice - I expect there will be Christmas cards made with this one!!

To the blue I added yet more glittery bits!! Iridescent blue green "basket straw", blue foil (Hershey Kisses), several blue curly ribbons, blue lame threads to add glitter and texture. I also added some primsmatic silver gift wrap cut into wee bits. I had a square left over which I blended and added!! Wonderful little glitteries!! These settled on the surface of the paper and most stayed in place once dry! I am thinking snowflakes would be perfect with this paper.

To the white pulp I added black fabric bits, silvery foil, silver curly ribbon bits, silver threads! Makes a nice classic paper which can be used for most anything. Maybe for very classy and simple Christmas cards with some silver accents.

To the pink pulp I added some lemon herbal tea (used) and some red geranium petals that had been dried. I love the look of naturals in handmade paper!!

In the end, everyone took home what they wanted and I dried what was left. I have a neat little stack of 8.5" x 5.5"papers I can reuse in my art!!

I would like to encourage all papercrafters to recycle their paper scraps into more paper sheets!! If papermaking is not your thing, consider passing off your scraps to a papermaker who will make good use of them For those of you who scrapbook, it is a wonderful way to recycle your acid free scraps into paper for your albums!!

I sell the moulds and deckles in four sizes - 3.5 x 4.5 for card fronts, 8.5 x 5.5 for cards, 8.5x 11 for larger projects and 12x12 for scrapbookers, if you are interested in giving it a try!!

Therese