Altered Altoid Tin

This was made for a swap on swapbot. The swap name was Altered Altoid Tin. For years now, I have googled this project, but this is the first time I think I've actually ever made one. I am not sure how I decided to make it a bird theme, but I did. 

The first step in creating my little masterpiece, was of course to purchase an altoids tin. I believe it cost me three dollars at a gas station. I ended up putting the mints in a Baggie and giving them to my dad. Here's how the rest goes:

🔸 After buying the tin, my first step was to figure out what images I wanted to use. As I mentioned, I wanted it to have a bird theme. So I googled "vintage birds" and picked the image I used on the inside of the tin.

🔸 I just bought a cricket cutting machine and I envisioned cutting out the bird both on paper as well as chipboard. But apparently I didn't have the right blade to cut chipboard. So I ended up printing and cutting the image on cardstock, and then cutting just the shape onto two pieces of cereal box.

🔸 After I had three cut out shapes, I glued them all together with the printed image on top of course. This made my bird really sturdy, as if on chipboard. (I've since bought a deep cutting blade. Haven't tried it yet though) 

🔸 Next, I picked the outside image.

🔸 Using my two images, I went through my scrapbook paper, and found patterns I thought would match.

🔸 For whatever reason, I decorated the outside first by cutting my patterned paper to cover the top.

🔸 Before I glued it on, I painted the tin first with gesso, then pearlescent white.

🔸 After I glued on the blue paper, I cut my second bird image to fit the way I wanted it. I glued that on too.

🔸 Next I went around the bird image with a piece of white sparkly string. It's made by "May Arts". I got it on Amazon and it comes in a ton of colors.

🔸 After the string dried, I went around it with glitter glue.

🔸 When the glitter glue was mostly dry, I attached my white plastic flower. I got it in a grab bag package from tomorrowsunknown.com.

🔸 The last thing I did to my lid was surround the lip of it with white sequin string. It's hard to see in the picture, but it was a cool touch. 

On to the inside:

🔸 On the inside lid, I used the same paper as the top. I traced, cut, and glued it in place.

🔸 I had also found and printed a bird image for the inside lid.

🔸 For the frame, I used a plastic projector slide. I colored it using tan and orange alcohol inks. I did this by squirting the ink onto felt and then daubed it on the slide.

🔸 I glued the bird image and slide into place.

🔸 I used a musical background for the other side.

🔸 For the inside edges I used blue electrical tape. The color matched perfectly.

🔸 Before I stuck my bird in there, I placed my flowers where I wanted them and glued them in. 

🔸To make my bird "pop out" of the box, I glued foam squares to the back to lift it off the surface. It was perfect. 

🔸 I used some more electrical tape along the outside and underneath the bottom lid.

I really do love how the whole thing turned out. The pictures do not give it justice. 

Halloween Tag

This tag was made for a swap on swapbot. One of the reasons I wanted to do this swap, was because I seem to have a ton of Halloween embellishments. I thought this would give me a chance to use some. Here's how I made it:

🔸 I started by cutting cardstock to the size the swap called for. I'll be honest, I don't remember the exact dimensions, but it was to be the size of a large Manila tag. For the background, and the bag of the tag too, I first painted it a dark orange.

🔸 When the dark orange was dry, I used two lighter shades of orange to paint bubble wrap and use it as a stamp on top of the darker color. I stamped it a few times, so the circles overlapped.

🔸 I had decided I wanted to use the ghost I picked out in front of a halloweenish background. So I searched the Internet till I found the right one. I did have to crop it to get the size I needed. Go iPads!

🔸 I also printed an orange moon for the spider to go on.

🔸 I used some German scrap borders to go around the dark scene.

🔸 Before I attached my ghost and spider, I painted both printed images with "Hard Coat Modge Podge".

🔸 I didn't have any orange or black thread or fibers, so I ended up using sequin thread.

I do like how it turned out, though it could of used a little more, if you know what I mean. 

Autumn Journal Page

I haven't done a challenge from a challenge site for a little while now so I thought I'd give it a go again.

I always have to read the challenge sites carefully because the challenge rules are always different. A lot of them are cards only. I'm thinking about making cards again soon, but right now I'm into journaling.

I chose a challenge from "A Gem Of A Challenge". Their theme is autumn.

Here is how I made it:

🌀 I started making the background by mixing metallic gold and metallic bronze with gesso.

🌀 I had my 5 year old pick out a stencil and I stenciled the gesso mixture on my page.

🌀 Then I made a brown glimmer mist by using 25% brown metallic paint and the rest water. I also added a teaspoon of brown mica powder.

🌀 I sprayed it over the page after my gesso had dried.

🌀 While that was drying, I had my brand new Cricut cut out the leaves.

🌀 I painted the smaller ones with sparkle podge.

🌀 After my page was dry, I attached the mesh tape (you can get it at the dollar store in the automotive section) and the ribbon.

🌀 Since this was a journal page, I thought it could use more paint. So I painted the edges and along the ribbon with gold metallic acrylics. 

🌀 It took me a couple of different layouts before I decided to use the "live, laugh, love" words. I glued them on along with the big leaf and the smaller sparkly ones.

🌀 I finished it off by adding a rhinestone in the center of the leaves. 

Before I go, I wanted to show you a new way how I am keeping my ephemera:

Sticky photo albums! I ordered a couple more for my cut out ephemera too!

My Planner and Tutorial

Hey ya'll. I have decided to branch out a little from my usual posts and show whoever decides to read this what other things I've been doing.

For the past several years, I have become obsessed with planning. Well, planners, to be exact. At first I bought about six binder type planners: 

There are actually a few unaccounted for. Like socks in a dryer, I can't seem to keep track of all my stuff.

When I got these planners, I chucked the pages that came with, with the plan I would print my own.

I scoured the Internet in search of the perfect planner printable and I have to say there were many good ones. But none were perfect. 

About the time I was looking for the "perfect printable", I bought myself an iPad. It took awhile before I unlocked all it's wonderful creative abilities. But once I did, I was on to making my own "perfect printables". Soon I will make a page on this site with my printable creations. Here is an example of one: 

So you'd think I'd be set. But alas, I was not. The "perfect printable" I'd make would only be perfect for a week before my interests would change. Either that, or I'd just forget to "plan" anything. 

So once my interests took me back to planning, I'd rip out everything from my planner and start anew.

This was all fine and dandy, but one of the reasons I wanted to have a planner was to someday look back at them years from now.

And that brings us to about a week ago. That was when I had the epiphany of purchasing predated planners that would not be so easy for me to just rip out the pages. So I bought a few.

But then I got to thinking, what fun it would be to bind my own planner. That's when I got online and bought myself a "bind it all". So last Thursday, I went ahead and made my own weekly planner: 

Instead of taking the time to make my own weekly spread, I decided to go ahead and use one from Scattered Squirrel. It's a great printable. I then made my cover and back using my iPad and laminating machine. I bound it all together and am happy with how it turned out.

But wait, I'm not done. Every good, useable planner has some sort of book mark to take you to today. So I got creative, and made one.

But how do I move the book mark around and keep it in place at the same time" you ask? This is how I did it: After I laminated my bookmarks, I used the bind it all to punch the holes in it (you could use a regular hole punch if you're making one for a binder). Then, with a pair of scissors, I cut little slits from the hole to the edge so that I could sort of clip it into the wire rings of the binding. Now you can snap it in and out between the pages.

So that's my planner story and tutorial for ya. Any questions?

Butterfly and Stars Journal Page

It may look like this page is upside down. And that's because it is! I had made it the other way around, but when I closed my journal, I realized i had made it upside down. Oh well. I don't think it looks bad this way. Now for how I made it:

🌀 The first thing I did was paint the butterfly on a separate piece of card stock using craft acrylics. I have been trying to do more of my own image painting.

🌀 While the butterfly was drying, I started my background.

🌀 I smeared a ton of gesso all over my page. Then, before it dries, I take a heat gun to it. It makes the gesso all bubbly and after you're done, it leaves you with a cool textured look.

🌀 I painted my page a couple different shades of yellow. 

🌀 Next, I glued on some black doilies.

🌀 I cut out my butterfly and glued it on also.

🌀 Then I glued on my fibers.

🌀 I was looking for something to do next to my page and I found those stars connected to each other by some floral wire. So I glued them on.

🌀 It still needed something. So I went to my chipboard drawer and found a wooden star.

🌀 I painted it pearlescent white and threw some gold and clear glitter to match the other stars.

So even though it's upside down, I like the way it turned out. Plus I got to use a found "thing" in my art (the stars).

Butterflies #1

I have a mini binder. It holds 3x5 note cards. I thought it would be fun to make it into a tiny art journal for ATC sized work. So when I did my butterfly ATC for a swap on swapbot. I made another piece using the same techniques for my mini journal.

🌀 For the background, I put gobs of paint on my cardstock in two colors. I covered the thick paint with Saran wrap. I smushed it around a little and let it dry.

🌀 The butterflies are some cool lacey stickers that I got at the dollar store. I attached them to my cards.

🌀 I punched out some small flowers using a punch and glued them in place.

🌀 I put a bead in the middle of each one.

🌀 Next, I painted the body of the butterfly and some of the wings with metallic paint.

🌀 When all that was dry, I ran the edge of my card against a clear stamp pad and then sprinkled metallic embossing powder over and embossed it with my heat gun.

🌀 After all that, I thought the flowers needed something. So I took a gel pen to all of them.

I like the way they both turned out and I'm happy I got to use those dollar store stickers. 

Unique, Crazy, Beautiful ATC

I made this ATC for an alphabet pocket letter swap on swapbot. What is a pocket letter? I had to ask the same question. This is my first pocket letter swap. Apparently you fill a nine pocket baseball card sleeve with goodies that start with the letter of the alphabet that you're working on. I chose an ATC for the letter "A". I'll tell you how I made it:

🌀 The base of the ATC is a piece of chipboard that I painted a dark blue.

🌀 In front of the chipboard is a background I made awhile back but I'll tell you how I made it;

    🔸 I painted a piece of card stock with gold metallic paint. 

    🔸 When it dried, I dabbed it with alcohol ink using a piece of felt. I followed the ink with             alcohol blending solution.

🌀 I cut the background in a rectangle and ripped two sides.

🌀 I glued it to my chipboard.

🌀 Then I gessoed a tag someone had mailed to me.

🌀 When it was dry, I painted the flowers on it.

🌀 I attached it to my card.

🌀 Then I glued the green ric ran into place.

🌀 for whatever reason, it took me awhile to choose which brad to use, but when I finally decided, I poked it through the card and attached it. 

🌀 To finish, I chose some words I liked, typed them and then printed them.

🌀 I cut them out and glued them in place.

🌀 Lastly, I went around the cut words with gel pen.

I am excited about my first pocket letter. I plan on putting ephemera and such things in the other pockets. Looking forward to what I receive as well.