[Focus on Life Week 27] Texture

Hello there!  It's Week 27 over at Ms. Sally Russick's Focus on Life and it's all about Texture.

" From the course to the soft and fluffy, textures are always at our fingertips but we tend to be too busy to notice. Textures surround us at any given time, we sometimes just need to slow down a little and give them a little attention. Run your fingers down the hem of a quilt or pick up that dried leaf and focus on what your finger tips feel."

I like adding texture in my crafts such as this card - done with textured paper and accented with paper flowers.
A few days ago, I also shared a tutorial using dimensional adhesive.

I also use texture in my jewelry such as in this necklace where I added an embossed a Vintaj blank.  

This necklace was featured HERE.

Texture may also be applied to food and this homemade mango crab salad is full of it!  I combined lettuce, imitation crab and fresh, sweet mangoes.  The dressing was a combination of creamy garlic and Bragg's Hawaiian dressing - it tasted perfect!

Thanks for stopping by the blog.  It's time to head over to Ms. Sally's site to check on different textures.  Have fun!

Have a wonderful weekend!

♥  Michelle  ♥

[Tutorial] Dimensional adhesive and Brass Stencils

Happy Monday and 1st of July!  We are halfway through Year 2013.

Do you like texture and dimension?  I do.  I love doing dry embossing either with my Vintaj sizzix bigkick or manually using  a lightbox and an embossing pen.  Few years ago, I went to the CHA where I learned about using dimensional adhesive and stencils.  I bought the adhesive and a couple of brass stencils but rarely used it until recently.

Here's a quick tutorial on how to do it.

Tools and Materials:

     Brass stencil

     Dimensional adhesive (i used Tessler dimensional elements clear embossing gel)

     Chalks

     Paper

     Painter's tape

     Spatula

     Warm soapy water in a bowl

Instructions:

1.  Clean your brass stencil with soap and water or alcohol.  Dry completely, lay it on the paper and secure all sides with painters tape.  I just used a little because I'm stingy, lol.
3.  Color the open spaces using chalks and a cotton applicator or small brush.  Put a manageable amount of the paste on one end of the stencil.
4.  Hold the spatula on an angle and in one sweeping motion, spread it across the design.
5.  Check for missed areas and apply adhesive if necessary.
6.  Gently lift the brass plate by removing the tape on 3 sides first and the top tape last.  Dunk the brass stencil and spatula in a bowl of warm soapy water and rinse thoroughly.
7.  Allow to dry.  It took the design above about 10-15 minutes to dry.

I like how the design turned out.

You can use these for your handmade cards - I made bookmarks that I gave to the group of seniors  citizens at church to put in their Bible.  Adhere the embossed design on a piece of colored cardstock, punch a hole in the center, add a ribbon and done!

dry embossing and Tessler dimensional elements

Stencils allow you to be creative with your color pattern and it's exciting to see the whole picture once the stencil is lifted.  It goes really well with floral designs too - yup, that's me!

May your day be filled with blooms!

♥  michelle  ♥

[Diaper Cakes] Fast and the Furry Friends Motorcycle Diaper Cake

I would like to introduce you to these three adorable furry friends who are out to go on a bike.

There was a baby shower for 3 mothers in church today and I made these as gifts.  They are  a new twist to the diaper cake.

motorcycle diaper cake

This is "not-so-curious Jorge."  LOL. There are many tutorials on how to make these diaper motorcycles  such as this.  You just need diapers, receiving blankets, socks or mittens, washcloths, a bottle or sippy cup, rubberbands, ribbon or paper and a stuffed toy.  The instructions are simple, it's the shopping that could be a little challenging but fun.

Motorcycle diaper cake

The emblem says: 

"Hello Baby!"

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. - James 1:17"

These mothers are blessed to have children.  I don't have children of my own but I know that I have the responsibility to make a positive influence on them.  

motorcycle diaper cake

Off we go!  Weeeeeee!!!!!

Have a wonderful week!

♥  michelle  ♥

[Beads] Bead Hoarders Blog Hop

Hello friends!  I have a confession to make:  I am a bead hoarder  and I'm so happy that I'm not the only one.  LOL.

Ms. Lori Anderson of Pretty Things Blog, host of the Bead Soup Blog Party series and author of the book "Bead Soup" is hosting the "Bead Hoarders Blog Hop" on July 20, 2013.

Bead Hoarders Blog Hop



All of us have a box or even a trunk of beads, charms or findings that we are holding on to because one, we don't know what to do with them or two, they are too special to make into a piece to wear for our own or to sell. Well, I have my own stash of beads that will see the light once again.

See you on July 20!

Have a wonderful and blessed week.

♥  michelle  ♥

[Tutorial / Tips] Using Embossing Folders as Texture Plates for Polymer Clay

I have accumulated quite a number of tools in my craft room and I organized them depending on whether it's for papercrafting, cardmaking, jewelry making, or for polymer clay projects.  

The photo below shows some of my embossing folders from Sizzix and cuttlebug (I have smaller dies too from Vintaj) that I use in making my cards.  It occurred to me that I can use it for texture for bigger projects (duh)!

Embossing Folders:  Sizzix and Cuttlebug

Many polymer clay artists use stamps, get a negative image of it, cure accordingly and use it for their polymer clay project.  Well, I want to cut a few steps, save a little time and money.  I used Prmeo clay - it holds the texture pretty well.

Acrylic stamp from Inkadinkado

Embossing folders have 2 sides:  positive - with the raised design and negative - raised background.  I cut 2 circles - 1 thick and 1 medium thickness polymer clay and pressed it against the negative side of the folder (I sprinkled a little constarch as release).  The clay was then cured according to the manufacturers' instructions.

The photo below shows how well defined the stamped embossed images are.  These can now be used as texture plates for pendants, mokume gane technique, etc.

You can also use different materials to make all kinds of texture sheets... explore and have fun!

Have a wonderful day!

♥  michelle  ♥

[Post Tutorial] Bettina Welker's Pixelated Retro Blend Cane

Happy Monday!  How was your weekend.  Mine was great - I was able to organize my craft room a little, with only a couple of storage bins to go through.  I still have to decide whether to do an inventory of all my supplies but it's too tedious to count or weigh my beads plus I wanna hang out, watch a movie and play video games with my hubby.  

As long as it's below my budget, we are fine with that (wink! wink!)

Have you heard of Ms. Bettina Welker's "Pixelated Retro Blend?"  Here's a photo from her website with a FREE tutorial.  Thank you for sharing your "aha moment" technique with us, Bettina.  Much appreciated!



photo credit from HERE



We had our local guild meeting last Saturday where we talked about this technique and when I got home, I took out my clays and Makin's extruder and tried it out.  The first thing I did was to figure out which colors to use.  I thought of using Premo Purple and Turquoise and make "in-between" color blends.  Bettina suggested having 5 different shades plus black and white.  In making different shades, I used a cookie cutter to measure equal amounts of clay, cut 4 circles and replacing some circles with the other color, then mixed them up.  The shades where too subtle or "close" to each other which is why I will use colors that would have a better contrast next time.   

The other problem I had was that my cookie cutter was a tad bigger than the Makins barrel.  I tried to use the end of the barrel to cut the circles out and it worked. however, be careful not to distort it upon taking it out.  Following Bettina's tutorial, I arranged the circles as follows:  white, 2 colored circles, black, 2 colored circles then repeat until the desired length to fit the barrel.  I placed the purple side first, as per the instructions.

To extrude the clay, I used 2.5 mm circle disc and extruded a good length of clay.  This was the pattern that was formed (kindly refer to photo below).  Then, I decided to slice thin veneers to cover my small altoid tin.  I applied a thin layer of black clay then the veneer.  This was baked in the oven for about 20 mins, sanded and buffed to a medium sheen. 

Pixelated Retro Blend Cane
Bettina Welker

So what do you think?

I still have to finish the bottom part of the tin but I think I will keep it plain.  There are rooms for improvement for me - my canes have been slightly distorted when slicing - I blame the heat over here because it softens the clay too much.

Thanks for stopping by the blog and have a wonderful week!

See you soon!

♥  michelle  ♥   

[Focus on Life] Week 24: Green

Welcome back!  It's Week 24 over at Ms. Sally Russick's Focus on Life and this weeks' prompt is GREEN.  Sally described the prompt as follows:  

GREEN:  the color of balance, growth and harmony.

GREEN:  evokes the feeling of calm and symbolizes self-respect and well-being.

I totally agree with her!  To me, it means life - natural and organic.

This is the photo that I want to share with you.  Can you guess what these are?

Doesn't it resemble a bamboo tree?  

Well, these are tissue rolls that I have been saving for whatever.  My husband would laugh at me when I ask him not to discard odd stuff for me especially when I tell him that I will be using them one day - I think he hasn't realized that I am just recycling and trying to save the environment.  Hahaha!

Well, the day has come for these rolls.  I mixed green and black acrylic then painted them to look like the bamboo trunk.  For added interest, I added a white paper quilled white flower matted on a textured yellow cardstock.  I like how it stands out, looks very fresh.

Now, let's head over to Sally's blog and check out the other "green stuff."

Have a wonderful weekend!

♥  michelle  ♥