Garland Wrapped Tags

Tag on the left is covered in Gesso, the tag on the right is as it printed,  the letters have a layer of Gesso

First finished tag

Five finished tags

The last couple of days I have been working on tags and garlands to wrap around them for my Happy Mail.

For the tag base I printed off some tags from Tati Scrap (scroll way down) or here. But, since my printer was running out of ink, they printed beige at the top (about 1/10th) and purple at the bottom. Not liking to throw things away, especially things I print, I saved them.

Since I printed the tags with my inkjet printer, the ink is not waterproof. I first used a waterbrush and let the ink bleed. Then on the first tag, I used alcohol ink and pens letting the ink bleed. But, on the set of five tags, I used Staedtler Watercolor Crayons in blue and red, blending them with my waterbrush. After the background dried, more or less, I stamped an Inkadinkadoo swirly dragonfly stamp and on top a Heidi Swapp word background stamp using Tsukineko Memento Elderberry and Brilliance Galaxy Gold inks respectively. For the finishing touches on the single tag I outlined the tag with a brown sharpie and then edged the tag with a white Sakura Gelly Roll. I didn't like the brown as well as I thought I would, so I didn't use it on the other tags, but did stick with the white Gelly Roll.

For the garlands, I glued one of the glitter butterflies in the center of red crochet thread. On either side of the butterfly I glued punched flowers and hearts.

Garlands

Once everything was dry... waiting is so hard to do, I wrapped the garlands around the tags and tied a bow. I made some bags out of the tops of page protectors I had cut off for last years summer vacation scrapbook.

For the bags' sides I used the Fuse tool. The trick for me when I use the tool is to make sure it is fully heated before trying to use it to stick the plastic together. I always hurry the waiting for the iron to get hot and then the plastic sticks temporarily. I have learned to check the seal and if it didn't work, wait for the tool to get hotter and then try.

Garland wrapped tag

The last set of tags have two coats of Gesso and are glued back to back. then I used the watercolor crayons to add color. I am thinking about what to do to them next, probably stamp something on them and then add some doodling. I am planning on putting the tags in the Happy Mail with the tags with the garlands.

Have a wonderful day!

Theta

Tags with two layers of Gesso, glued back to back, and with watercolor crayon

Sparkled Butterflies (a Studio G and Stickles Diamond comparison)

 I printed these butterflies from What a Beautiful Mess and Stampomania-Challenge about a year ago and have been fussy cutting them off and on for awhile. I use them on cards and in my Happy Mail. Sometimes I glue them down as they were printed, but I like them best when they have a bit of glitter and/or shine on them. The butterflies on the left have Studio G Glitter Glue on them and the ones on the right have Ranger's Diamond Stickles. As you can see from the pictures, the Studio G brand is a greeny-blue and the Stickles is a red-gold. They each give a very different feel to the butterflies. The other difference is that the Studio G dried smoother than the Stickles. The Stickles feels like glitter and is rough, the glitter comes off a bit when brushed.

Some of the smaller butterflies I covered in Plaid's Mod Podge Dimensional Magic. This made them thicker and shiny. First I decorated the butterflies with the Studio G Glitter Glue, let it dry, then covered the butterfly with Dimensional Magic. The glitter shows up very nicely under the shine. I have not put Dimensional Magic over Stickles, but it should work the same and also help smooth the glitter out making it stay on better.

I am looking forward to having a bunch of glittered butterflies to pick from for my Happy Mail. Also, now I won't have to wait for the butterflies to dry before using them, which will make the creating process go a bit faster, possibly...

For the antenna, I have been using some pearl cotton yarn that is about the thickness of one or two strands of black embroidery floss. I think it is for crocheting and may be a #8 thickness as the DMC Petra I have is a #5 and thicker.

Have a great day!

Theta

Card: Just Because

This card I created for fun with some of the leftover paper from my purple box. This is the paper I used to cover the inside of the box. The design is stamped in silver and shines quite nicely in real life. Actually the picture really doesn't do the card justice, but so be it :D

Gems: Say It in CrystalsPaper: unknown
Ribbon: Purple sparkly - momotara; Purple grossgrain - unknown
Circle: Twin Seven packagingButterfly: stampomania

Have a beautiful day!

Theta

Paper purse

I made these purses last month and I think I'll send them out in some spring Happy Mail.

Purse Template: Fun-Stuff-to-Do.com
Leaves: Crafticious
Flowers: melstampz
Butterflies: stampomania
White and colored paper: ROCO
Cream Cardstock: SBC
Ribbon: China
Ink: Tsukineko
Crystals: Say it in Crystals, China

They turned out really cute. I printed out butterflies in different colors for each purse. I wonder what I'll put in them... hmmm, that will be a surprise.

Have a great day!

Theta

One Card 3 versions

Yesterday I made these cards from a card design I saw in Stamptington & Company's magazine Take Ten or Stamper's Sampler. I can't seem to find the card I took the design from which is a bit of a bummer, because I really like the way my cards turned out and I'd like to give my source credit. I also stamped the animal inside the card.

One of the twelve cards is already in an envelope ready to give my neighbor. During Eid they brought over some mutton for us. It was a mixed bag of ribs and backbone. I ended up cooking them like my mom does spareribs: boil for an hour, smother them in Mrs. Chans (an old neighbor of ours) sweet and sour sauce, then bake for another hour. They were quite yummy and interestingly enough, after all the cooking and baking, they had lost most of their sheep flavor.

Have a wonderful day!

Theta

Note: I found the card design! - Take Ten, summer 2015, pg. 19: Relax and Chair Up - Beverly Sizemore

Materials:
Patterned paper - Colorbok: Hootenanny
Ink - Tsukineko: Memento
Cardstock - White and Cream: ROCO; Brown: Fabriano: Cartacrea
Rhinstones - unknown
Stamps - Owl, Cat, Butterfly: Inkadinkado

I'm Trying Something New

For my birthday my husband got me some oil painting things. He's been bugging me about painting in oils for years, many years, and when he said he was going to take me to the local art and craft store and I could pick out what I wanted (within reason); I knew what was going to happen. It was a somewhat underhanded way to get me started in oils.

Now the best art store here is sub par, the main one is mostly a mish-mash of craft items, material, tools - sort of an art mercantile. Things are generally organized - the styrofoam is grouped together, the material is all on one floor, and the thread, floss, ribbon, and yarn is loosely grouped in one corner. The trouble begins when you need writing and drawing implements - will they have put them with the school supplies or the art supplies (two different floors), or glue - in the tool area, the art area, the craft area(s), or the school supply area. Things are not shelved logically and many things can be found in two places... It is a very confusing store for me. They carry a few fine art things, but mostly, crafts.

The other main store is a bookstore that carries electronics (computers, cameras, phones, iPads, etc.) and their accompaniments, stationary, art supplies, toys, and books in Arabic and English. They carry Winsor and Newton, Derwent, Faber Castel, and other companies art materials. They have a smaller selection than the other bigger store, but it's mostly fine art and good quality.

We went to the larger store and got some good stuff; then I went to the other store and filled in what I was missing. It worked out fairly well. It was nice going to the big craft store and having time to just poke around - almost a birthday present in itself. I dislike going to it because it is downtown and the traffic is terrible. Every time I go we almost get hit 5 or more times. I'm always really glad my driver has excellent reflexes.

So one of the things we got at the craft store was a Daler Rowney Oil Creative Pot with 6 tubes of oil color, two paintbrushes, 12 oil ATCs, and this adorable 2.5" by 2.5" mini canvas and easel. I actually started on one of the bigger canvasses, but oil paints take forever to dry, OMG, so I did this little butterfly while waiting for the bigger piece to dry. I think I'm going to get some googly eyes and glue them on... When it dries...

Have a great day!
[If my paint dries, I will be ;) ]

Theta

ATC Butterfly #27

284Butterfly

 Two more bright butterflies for the gray days of winter.

Have a fabulous day!

Theta

285Butterfly

ATC Butterfly #25

280

 Butterflies today :)

Have a great day!

Theta

283

ATC Butterflies #24

247

 Today, butterflies done with Derwent Inktense. They came out pretty and bright.

Have a lovely day!

Theta

256

ATC Butterflies #23

242Butterfly

 On this Tuesday morning I give you two very different, but quite decorative butterflies.

Have a beautiful day!

Theta

243Butterfly

ATC Butterflies #22

240Butterfly

Two yellow and orange butterflies float by today......

Have a great day!

Theta

241Butterfly

ATC Butterflies #21

238Butterfly

More pretty butterflies today.

Have a lovely day,

Theta

239Butterfly

ATC Butterflies #20

226Butterfly

236Butterfly

Primarily blue and predominately orange are the butterflies for today.

Enjoy and ave a great day!

Theta

ATC Butterflies #19

233Butterfly

200Butterfly

One older butterfly that was lost and found and a newer butterfly that I doodled like a flower are today's selections.

For some reason I chose not to color the butterflies body. It could have been an oversight or a deliberate decision, at this point, I don't remember...

Have a great day!

Theta

ATC Butterflies #18

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And, today, here are two dominantly yellow butterflies. Tomorrow, I have a series of different ATC's.

Have a sunny day!

Theta

214

ATC Butterflies #17

205

210

Blues, greens, and purples today. Somehow I got off count and the two fish have the same numbers as two of the butterflies and #200 has disappeared altogether. I think I gave #200 to someone and neglected to get a photo first. Oh well, I do these for fun and to give away, so it's not really important to keep a perfect accounting of them and it only really shows up in the blog when I get off count.

Have a great day and don't worry about trifles!

Theta

ATC Butterflies #16

225

Today are two bright butterflies, one a bit free and the other a bit fancy.

Have a great day!

Theta

213

ATC Butterflies #15

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Two more pretties today and tomorrow, something different...

Have a great day!

Theta

207

ATC Butterflies #14

204

#203 I gave to the waitress at the breakfast we had at the Blue Lake Casino. It was a decent place to stay. I am not a particular fan of gambling, but they gave us each $5 worth of tokens and despite the fact that I don't usually win anything, I won $33.97. So, that was a nice bonus and was quite useful on the trip.

May these butterflies brighten your day!

Theta

203

ATC Butterflies #13

201

Two more butterflies. The top one I gave to the Denny's waitress after we ate our lunch along I5 north of Sacramento. I always wonder what people do with these...

Have a wonderful day,

Theta

202