Angel Words (new items)

Good morning. Teresa here again with todays fun offering. 

I love fonts. And I love word art. So when I first saw the new words that GlobeCraft was introducing, I was thrilled. 

I immediately knew I was going to make a canvas. 

Let's Shop ----

Blessings Word Accent
Celebrate Word Accent
Cherish Word Accent
Create Word Accent
Dream Word Accent
Enjoy Word Accent
Family Word Accent
Friends Word Accent
HappinessWord Accent
Inspire Word Accent
Laugh Word Accent
Love Word Accent
Smile Word Accent

Aged White Enamel Powder
Mermaid Tears Enamel Powder
Pure Platinum Enamel Powder
Vintage Silver Enamel Powder
Vintage Gold Enamel Powder

Embossing Enamel Adhesive

Extras

16x20 prepped canvas
Paint and Paintbrush (I used latex in Whitecap grey)
Glue (I used a quick dry tacky glue)
Lace (this was a vintage tablecloth edging)
Buttons/Rhinestones for accents

And here we go.

This is a prepped canvas and would be completely ok as is, but I lean more towards warm tones so I painted mine my favorite Pantone Color (Whitecap Grey) which is actually more of a cream color than a grey. 

After the paint dried, I took my words and the lace edging and worked out my layout directly on the canvas. 

(the above photo was taken with my phone - I intended to use it only for my reference, but then decided that this was a good tip to take a digital image so that you do not forget what you decided to do) 

Glue your edging to the canvas with the tacky glue. And set that aside to dry.

I had chosen the 5 different enamels listed above and I wanted a random effect. So I gathered my words and sorted them into 5 stacks. Then embossed the words. Some got only one coat and some got two. That is personal preference on the look you are trying to achieve.

Here are the Powders that I used (matched to words).

FAMILY - Mermaid Tears

BLESSINGS - Pure Platinum

LAUGH - Vintage Silver

CREATE - Vintage Silver

DREAM - Vintage Gold

CELEBRATE - Mermaid Tears

ENJOY - Aged White (2 layers)

LOVE - Mermaid Tears

SMILE - Aged White (2 layers)

HAPPINESS - Pure Platinum

CHERISH - Mermaid Tears

INSPIRE - Vintage Gold

FRIENDS - Mermaid Tears

Using your reference picture (or notes), glue your words to the canvas and set aside to dry.

Add your embellishments. I used mother of pearl buttons on the canvas and the lace accent and some flat acrylic rhinestones on the "i" in the words that contained that letter.

That detail above is of the vintage silver powder - I LOVE the hammered metal look it has.

There you have it. An Angel Words canvas, ready to gift or display.

Offbeat Bride - components week three

Good morning all. Teresa here. I've been busily making more flowers and such for this offbeat bouquet. See previous tutorials HERE and HERE.

Today I'm featuring two more shapes and both were super easy to do.

So let's shop.

Vintage Cross Piccolo Set
Fairy Wings Piccolo Set
Mermaid Tears Embossing Powder
Mossy Glen Embossing Powder
embossing enamel adhesive
glastique Matte 
fine applicator tip
A pearl button
Assorted bead
Bead wire.
glitter - I mixed a fun green, copper, silver, and blue from my stash

Gather your shapes - carefully punch them out - keep that little round piece in the center of the cross.

Emboss both sides of the cross with the Mermaid Tears Powder - this is such a versatile color.

Add a pretty pearl shank button to the center - I glued this with the Glastique Matte Gel. For the final assembly, I will wire through the shank of the button.

The cross element is now complete.

Wiring any of the shapes into the bouquet has to be considered. Each of these has a designed in way for that to happen - those details will be added in next weeks final assembly post.


Next - lets make a dragonfly - now let me just say, this may be my favorite creation ever. This turned out far better than I imagined.

Emboss two large and two small of the fairy wing set with the Mossy Glen Powder. Also emboss the little circle from the cross with Mossy Glen. Glue to tissue paper - let these dry and trim. Then using the fine line applicator tip and the glastique- and the technique described here - fill in the areas you want to glitter.

Sprinkle on the glitter and patiently wait for this to dry.

Once dry assemble the dragonfly wings.

To assemble these - glue them to the little circle from the cross center. I used quick dry tacky glue and as you can see, I propped up the wings so hey would dry level.

While this dried, I beaded a dragonfly body using a variation of my own, but from these basic instructions.

I glues the dragonfly head and body to the wings (again with quick dry tacky glue).

Just look --- yes I like this one A LOT. There will most likely be a blue toned one in the bouquet as well.

I'm looking forward to putting all these elements together with some lace, buttons, and silk florals for a wonderful - Vintage Brooch inspired bouquet.

Be sure and visit the archives, I've used a lot of the ideas and techniques from the blog in several of my creations. There is a wealth of inspiration and how to in those previous posts.

Have a wonderful Thursday.

A lovely wedding gift.

Good Morning my friends. Teresa here again with a thoughtful and heartfelt gift idea. I have friends getting married and I made a very similar one of these for them. We will be sending all of our posted samples with Stacey, so while I was making the real gift, I made two. 

Let's go shopping.

- Mini Key Charms 
- frame from the Flourishes that I made the earrings from.
- medium heart from the Key To My Heart set
- Mermaid Tears Enamel
- Ruby Red Slippers Enamel
- Victorian Bronze Enamel 
- Vintage Black Enamel 
- Enamel Adhesive
- Matte Glastique

Additional Materials
- frame - no glass - and I used the cardboard spacer as my backer.
- a neutral solid matte board - mine is covered in muslin.
- vintage buttons
- assorted pearls
- a heavy duty glue (I used max tack by Aleene)
- vintage paper for backing
- old bottle
- string.

My cardboard backing was going to show and I was using a silver toned frame. So I need to fill that space. I marked the area that was going to show and embossed it with the Mermaid Tears Powder.

Look at that colored area in the picture below --- I am so in love with the Mermaid Tears colors - such a versatile coloration.

I wanted a vintage look to the entire piece - so I used the Victorian Bronze on the frame piece and the heat flash technique .

I love the way the frame turned out ----

I then found traditional Christian marriage vows in a vintage worship book and cut then to reflect some of the words and to fit the frame.

I glued this in place with Glastique. (The glastique does NOT wrinkle the paper at all and I do a LOT of paper craft so I use it often as a glue.)

Then I glued it off set to the top and center of my mat board using the Max Tack glue.

 Now for the little bottle -

I embossed the tiny key charm with the vintage black enamel on both sides.  (I tried several until I found one that slipped inside the bottle)

Using a vintage Mother of Pearl shank button - I hung the key with a pearl (symbolizing God in the marriage). I adjusted the spacing on the key until it was suspended like I wanted in the bottle.

I also embossed the heart lock with the Ruby Red Slippers enamel - I glued it centered to the bottom of the mat board with two mother of pearl buttons as well. (my friends will be using theirs as a ring "pillow" and these buttons stick out far enough to hold the rings.)

Now to assemble the bottle -

I added more pearls to the bottle - two large ones for the couple and five smaller ones for their combined children.

Drop the hanging key in the bottle and glue the button to the top securely.

I attached the bottle by tying it off to the mat board at the top and resting it on the frame and gluing it at the bottom with the Max Tack.

I am thrilled with how this finished.

This would also be a great way to display a lock of a baby's hair. 

Or sand from a breach vacation. 

How about a fluffy white feather?

My sister has a bottle with her shell casing from her law enforcement post certification. 

Lots of things you could use this for. 

Have a wonderful Thursday. 

Mini Canvas

Morning everyone, Tracy here. 

I have been creating with some of the new release this week, and have created a mini canvas. 

This was so fun to do. I coloured the canvas using Distress inks and then stamped along the bottom using Tall Grassy Flowers Stamp, i then dabbed adhesive fluid across the grasses and sprinkled a mix of Mermaid Tears Embossing enamel & Aged White across and heat set, I then took two of the new 3D Enamel Gels  and randomly dotted them to give them the look of flowers. 

The birds are from the Lil flowers, Leaves, Birds & Bows set and I have given them two coatings of UTEE in White and then rubbed some gold wax over them. 

The sun is from one of the new Piccolo Sets, Spring Accents, I did something slightly different with the sun.I cut it so it would fit in the corner  & then used my black Spectrum Noir and Coloured it so it was all black (including the edges), I then gave it a thin layer of 3D Enamel Gel In Daffodil Pearl, whilst it was still wet I sprinkled some Aged White over it and heat set, I then took the 3D Enamel Gel In Daffodil Pearl and put another layer on and waited 5-10 mins before wiping some of the gel away...I really love effect this has given and will certainly be using it more in the future. 

I hope you like my mini canvas, don't forget to check back each day for some wonderful creations from the rest of the fab team. 

Items used- 

Mini Canvas

Distress Inks

Tall Grassy Flowers Stamp

adhesive fluid

Mermaid Tears Embossing enamel

Aged White embossing enamel

Lil flowers, Leaves, Birds & Bows set

UTEE in White

Spring Accents set

3D Enamel Gel In Daffodil Pearl

3D Enamel Gel In Coral Pearl

Grace

Good Morning. Teresa here again. When i applied for this design team, one of the things I included in the biography was that I consider myself a mixed media artist. I also use a lot of upcycled and repurposed materials. 

Today's project encompasses all of those descriptions. 

It's an altered bottle. I use a lot of bottles, jars, and other repurposed containers in my studio to store bits and pieces. I most likely would store beads in one this size, but even empty this one is just pretty to look at.

Here's the shopping list.
-  A128 Lil Flowers Leaves, Birds, and Bows Accents. (These are tiny - you get 32 assorted shapes in the packet)
- A124 Vintage Cross Accents 
- Deep Red 3D Enamel Gel
- Victorian Bronze Embossing Powder
-Mermaid Tears Embossing Powder
- Enamel Powder Adhesive 
- Glastique Gloss Finishing Glaze
- Glastique Matte Finishing Glaze

Additional Materials (Links to SweetStamps products are provided)
- Velvet Hydrangeas (these are gorgeous)
- lace and assorted trims
- a paper appropriate adhesive (I used The Ultimate)
- A paper of your choice ( Mine is a cut from an old hymnal)
- a discarded bottle of your choice (Mine is a perfume bottle from the stash)

And here we go.

Over the weekend, I prepped several of the Lil Accents. You will be seeing these in the next few projects. And it was very relaxing to work up several of them at once.

I covered these with assorted 3d Gel Enamels (the colors are amazing and this link goes to the main category of the site)

For this project, the tiny heart I used was covered in Deep Red Gel.

Using the Enamel Adhesive, cover one of the small crosses from the Vintage Cross set with Victorian Bronze Powder.

See how I have picked this straight up from my paper. I leave the thick layer of the powder on the shape. Heat it from underneath initially until it starts to melt, then finish it from the top. This keeps the powder bits from being blown off the shape. You can also control how these powders finish, any where from a rustic "grainy" finish to a very smooth yet varied finish (simply stop the heating process where you like the look)

When you get your cross embossed set it aside.

Measure and cut your paper of choice to fit around the bottle. I used a "higly accurate" method here. I wrapped it around and simply trimmed to suit me.

Apply the Embossing adhesive to the edges of the paper  and emboss for a more finished look. For this I used the Mermaid Tears Powder

Go ahead - click on the picture for a better look - this color is stunning.

Set this aside and now we really get to play.

The top for this bottle was some sort of plastic with a metallic finish. I first made sure the heat from my gun would not melt the cap. I wanted it to have a mottled textured finish to coordinate with the rest of the materials

 More Enamel Adhesive and Mermaid Tears Powder. I held it carefully with needle-nosed pliers and worked my way around the cap. Emboss a section. Turn. Emboss.

After finishing that, set it aside.

Now for some assembly.

Glue the paper around the bottle.

I added some cording to the top and bottom areas. A bit of Gold and Cream Lace. Then glue the Cross to that lace. I added the heart to the cross and coated the entire cross with Matte Glastique ( I did not want a glossy finish to this one). I snipped the larger GRACE from the song title and adhered it with Gloss Glastique. I also covered that word with the Gloss as well.

(Note - the Glastique comes in two sizes - a 2 ounce and a 4 ounce size. This is a versatile adhesive/finishing glaze. I find myself using it for so much more than these projects.)

To finish off my bottle, I made a bow from seam binding and one of the beautiful Velvet Hydrangeas, that I ordered from Sweet Stamps.

(Globecraft & Piccolo and Sweet Stamps are sister companies)

Here are some closeup pictures of the finished bottle.

Grace ---

This one shows a bit more of the Hydrangea.

And the finished bottle. 

I think this would be a nice little gift for a beautiful friend. 

Come back for more inspiration. There is a new post every day. 

Life is beautiful. 

The Mermaid wears her Heart on her Tears

Good Morning  from the frosty southern US. Teresa here and I'm back with this week's fun creation. 

Being on the design team, I am challenged to see how far the materials can be pushed and I really wanted to see how the Embossing Powders reacted to being applied to smooth metal.

So lets look at some steps for this one.

Gather the supplies
- embossing adhesive
- Mermaid Tears Embossing Powder
- gloss Glastique
- matte Glastique
- fine applicator tip

other supplies
-bracelet blank
- I used heart punches from a favorite paper.
- tiny paint brush
- heat gun

See how smooth and shiny the blanks are.

We have all advised you not to Squeeze the adhesive because the applicator tip will come off -- well this time take it off. 

Dip a tiny paintbrush into the adhesive and paint inside the shapes (yes it does "gather up"). I found that I could manage about three hearts at a time. 

Roll the container of the Mermaid Tears Powder to mix the particles and sprinkle in the shape then heat.

TIP - do not shake any excess off for this project.

I'm sharing this because I do not want you to think this is a panic moment. You will have to repeat the application process. I actually had to do three layers of application.

Simply repaint the adhesive - add powder - and heat.

After three layers I had this lovely - The Mermaid Tears is a beautiful mix of tan, white, silver, and some ocean blue and green bits.

I then used the Matte Glastique as an adhesive to hold my heart paper bits.

Let this dry.

TIP - I keep my fine applicator tips   (yes I have plural) stored in water in the vials they were shipped in. This keeps them from clogging with dried enamels and glastique. I also keep a container of water close by to drop them in until I can clean them out. The enamels and Glastique are soap and water clean up until they are dry.

After the hearts were dry in place, I add a layer of the GLOSS Glastique to each shape. Then I covered the whole thing with a box lid to keep from marring the finish while it all dries.

I left this overnight and this morning I found........

Gorgeous - the Glastique brings out the various colors in the enamel finish.

And I am quite happy to report that, yes, the enamel adhesive and powder do adhere quite well to the smooth metal finish.

Please visit the archives for even more design inspirations and some really great tutorials. 

Life is beautiful.

Teresa (aka MaggieGraceCreates)

All images can be clicked to see the various bits of the embossing powder. Simply beautiful.