Tea Cup Pin Cushion Inspiration - Alice in Wonderland ATC's!

Recently I was asked where I got my inspiration
for the above Tea Cup Pin Cushion
I made using a Sizzix scoreboard designed by Eileen Hull.
Well, being that I love to sew
and I love Alice in Wonderland...
I knew right away what my tea cup was destined to be!
If you would like to see the tutorial... please go here!
Now with the release of the new Alice in Wonderland film,
it was not hard to be inspired....
as you can see by these wonderful ATC's I received from a recent swap!

And these were the ones I sent in!

I loved seeing the Caterpillar at Disney-CA Adventure's Electrical parade....

and here's a recent tutorial I did with another Tea Cup in mind....

Yummy cupcakes to eat while I was creating....

Some charms I made for a recent Charm swap
You can see the rest of the delightful creations here...
from all 25 participants!

So as you can see...
I had a Fantastic tale down the rabbit hole
plus a Mad Tea Party on my mind!
Plenty to be inspired by!
I hope you come and visit me again and again...
Because on June 26th, 2010
I'll be participating in a mad (magical) Tea party
hosted by Vanessa Velencia,
and at the same time introducing
a whole new line of Faerie Tale inspired treasures
to my shop!
Thanks for coming by and have a Inspirational day!

Sizzix Score Board - Rectangle Box - Blog Hop!

I'm so Happy you are here to follow along on another Blog Hop
showcasing new Sizzix Scorboard dies created by Eileen Hull!
This weeks die is a rectangle box that once completed measures approx. 3" long and 2 " high.
Just perfect for mini treasures to gift away!

I wanted to show you just how easy it is to color these creations.
I used a Dreamsicle Glimmer Mist to completely coat both sides of the cut out.
once dry I used ribbon to hold the pieces together
and then wrapped "good old" clear packing tape all around the box,
acting as a seal for the glimmer mist and to hold the box more securely together!

I decorated the front of the box with some elegant rub-ons to create the feel for the box and then finished with some border stickers and sharpie /free hand doodles.

If you enjoyed seeing this scoreboard design during our Hop,
please leave a comment on Eileen Hulls Blog So we may know you stopped by.
This also makes you eligible for a random drawing to have your own Scoreboard die!
Then......
Mark your calendars ~ on May 12th we will be making Cakes!
Hope to see you then!

Spring Time Centerpiece

This last Easter was celebrated with Brian's family, so I made my Mother in Law this center Piece!

I had been eying the this scrolling tea cup for some time at Michaels wanting it for myself but at the same time, wondering what the heck I was going to do with it as it's not the most petite of tea cups. And then all those pretty spring flowers that are always on sale in the store inspired me to create what you see.

The tea cup is part of the craft store garden section. I walked it over to the floral craft section where I found a large foam ball that fit perfectly inside. Once at home, I gathered up my materials, all which can be bought at Michaels or any other craft store.

Dried moss
Tacky glue
Foam brush
Empty sour cream container or same size dish
Something to protect your space from drops of glue and messy moss.
Assorted flowers
Butterfly's
Jeweled garland
Wire cutting tools

Start by coating half your foam ball with full strength glue. I just squeezed it on and used the foam brush to move it around. Then break apart your moss selecting the most desirable tuffs and start patting them in place, you may want to hold them down for a second and glue may get on your fingers, but it will peel off. (that's the fun part!)

Continue all over the glue spots with moss, pressing and maybe filling in vacant spots with little bits of moss.
Let dry on the container for a bit.
Then switch it over and continue to the other side.

I let it completely dry over night. Turning in on the container before bed to prevent sticking.
Then in the morning I cautiously put the ball in the Tea Cup. This time, covered in moss it does not fit so easily into the Tea Cup as it has some extra padding! But using your fingers, you can easily guide /push it in.


There is no need to glue your flowers in, because as you work you may change your mind and want to pull every out.
I started with the big flowers (pink roses)
and them placed the other pink flowers around and lastly added the filler (white flowers)
I knew the focal point would be facing the cup with the handle on the right side.
I used wire cutting tools I use for jewelry to cut the floral stems and just pushed them into the moss and foam. For some smaller flowers that had no wire, I simple used a wire scrap piece to make the hole and them pushed the flower in.


I wanted to add butterfly's to the arrangement but the ones in the store were either the wrong color or overly glittered. So I bought a pack of plain colored undecorated butterfly's and used my stickles to add the color I wanted.
In this case I picked the pink butterfly's and used fruit punch and crystal stickles.

I set them aside to dry while I worked on the jeweled garland filler.
I cut it apart using my tools and then curled the ends.
I stuck varies pieces here and there all our the arrangement.

Ta-Da!

It turned out so pretty!
I hoped to have helped you in making your own!
Don't buy one, make one!
And for my giveaway, I have some extra materials to make some more tea cup creations for my shop but in a much smaller scale...like a real tea cup?
So....for the giveaway... I'll be making one extra to give away here on my blog!

If you'd like to win one of my creations, please comment here and leave your e-mail.
I'll pick a winner on Tuesday night before my next post for Eileen Hulls Blog Hop!

Thanks for stopping by and Good Luck!
~Michelle

Madness is Genius

I just LOVE this, don't you?
Cat is giving away this your choice of this sign or another here on her blog on May 1st!

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On another note, I want to apologize for not being really active with posting my usual art right now. I do have a ton of stuff to share...all artsy, I do! Really. It's just that my I'm distracted, and as soon as I get a thought, any thought, I lose it.

Dyllan, who will be 6 at the end of this July has been tested for peanuts and has been declared allergic. This last Wednesday through a series of freak moments he had a reaction. I gave him a child benadryl which seemed to help, but then threw up twice and I questioned myself to give him the epi pen because I was unsure of what was all happening. It was all a crazy accident that wound him in the ER for 5 hours.
He's fine now. All clear. But I'm not. I always knew this day would come and now I'm on edge.
I chitchatted with the school nurse letting her know what happened and promised that next time (when the reaction will be much worse) I won't hesitate with the epi pen. She gave me useful tips and said he can wear a bracelet that's lets people know to react quickly if I'm not present...and now I need to really read food labels because when he says he can't breathe, I have to know what he's been eating.
OK. I'm going to stop now. Sorry for the depressing ramble. I'm a newbie at this. And I'm asking for the advice of Mom's who have gone through the same and can help me out.
Thanks. :)

Happy Earth Day!

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.
~Native American Proverb

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If you looking for some fun "upcycled" crafts to do...you gotta check this out!

3 Mardi Gras Masks

Now on to the Mardi Gras mask ATC swap I did recently...

You might remember these beauties I posted about not to long ago...These were the ones I sent in (also making a set for myself!)
These may look life size, but they are not bigger than 2.5" X 3.5"!
The Butterfly one is my absolute favorite!

And here are the ones I received from my swappers!



I swapped them through a Alpha Stamps yahoo group.
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Don't forget that the Etsy Spotlight for the month has begun again!

Etsy Spotlight - Nicole Charshaf of Ncharfshaf's

Please welcome this month's Etsy Spotlight!

Hello, my name is Nicole Charshaf, 

 I currently reside in Northern California. 

I graduated college a little under a year ago

where I studied Graphic and Web Design. 

It was in college that I fell in love with bookbinding,

leading me to where I am today. 

I am so content with the fact that

I am now able to make a living off of being creative,

through my profession and my hobby.

I grew up being inspired by my Grandmother

who is an abstract artist.

I would spend a lot of time out at her studio

with her exploring

different creative avenues.

I always knew I wanted to explore

my creativity for a living,

but was not sure which direction I would take. 

I am inspired by everything around me.

I love clean lines, bright colors, and polka dots.

My hand bound creations

allow me to collect graphical prints that inspire me,

and turn them into something practical.

Here are some blogs that I frequent:

Redding Handmade Blog:

http://reddinghandmade.blogspot.com

a blog for my local etsy team
featuring articles for lots of different members.

Decor8 Blog

http://decor8blog.com/

A lovely design blog where

I could sit for hours just looking at the

pictures. There is something about the quality

of each and every photo

on the site that exudes joy.

DIY Ideas

http://www.diyideas.com/

This site never fails to make

me want to get up and do a

quick project

to improve my house.

There are so many creative ideas on here

that I never would have thought of.

Paper Crave

http://papercrave.com/

Beautiful blog featuring all things paper

Smashing Magazine

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/tag/showcases/

While this website normally falls

more towards inspiring my graphic

and web design

, it does have some fantastic

showcases of designs from

all around the world,

and many different disciplines from fine art, to

poster design and typography.

If you would like a chance to win this set of colorful note cards, hand bound journal and decorative envelopes, please visit her shop here, and then come back and tell me your favorite!

****************************************************************
If You or someone you know has a Etsy shop and would like to be featured on my blog...
1. Your shop must be current
2. Once accepted, you'll featured on a 3rd Friday of a month,
and will be visible on my blog for the whole time.
3. You'll need to mail me 2 good quality shop samples
4. I will handle the shipping of the "won" item to your winner.
5. In the case I don't have a seller to spotlight,
the current seller will have a extra month.

Interested? Have questions? E-mail me!
altered-art@hotmail.com
International Welcome!

Make Your own "Tea Cup Pin Cushion " with Sizzix Scoreboards!

Thank You for visiting this weeks "Sizzix Blog Hop" to see what I've created using the newly released
Sizzix Scoreboard Tea Cup , designed by Eileen Hull!

I love to sew, and as soon as I saw this die, I knew it wanted to be a pincushion!
Complete with it's very own Tea Bag needle case!

I have a little tutorial for you!
I hope you don't mind -
At the end of this post will be some information on
how you can win a sizzix die for yourself!
So read on...and be inspired!
* * *
Last week the challenge was to use something from the office supply store in our creation.
This week designer Brenda Pinnick helped set the theme!
We had two color palettes to choose from.

As you can see, I chose #2.
And below you can see my idea sketched out on a envelope,
while waiting in my car for my son to get out of Kindergarten.
I'm super pleased with how well I stayed true to my design!

These are the supplies I used to make this Tea Cup Pincushion.

And this is what the die looked like when I received it.

I covered the folding middle and tea cup base with decorative paper by die cuts with a view.

I then used my big bite crop-a-dile to punch holes through both pieces.

I fixed them together with two small brads.

After I covered the tea cup sides with some paper by My Minds eye,
I added some velum paper trim and then glued the sides to the inside of the cup.
It helped to slide the bottom tab of the tea cup under
the inside base to keep the cup secure.

After making sure the glue was holding up,
I used a q-tip and chalk ink to color the inside of the cup.

Now on to the Pin Cushion.
I LOVE making Pin Cushions! I could make them all day!
I used a medium bowl that was square shaped to
trace on the wrong side of some vintage red satin.

I cut out with pinking shears

then, just as you would so any pin cushion or even a yo-yo,
I basted a loose stitch all the way around, a little less than 1/2" from the edges.
If you baste too close to the edges, you risk the stitch pulling free.

Carefully guide the stitch and pull on it, leaving a opening at the top.

Now while holding the tail end of the thread, stuff your pin cushion with fiber fill.
Don't stuff it too tight, or it won't fill the tea cup.

When full, gently pull the tread till the hole is closed, then pinching with your fingers, you can sew it shut with the remaining thread and needle.

You can see why you needed to use a square shaped bowl.

Line the inside of your tea cup with your favorite tacky glue
and then gently put in your pin cushion.

While this is setting, you can work on the gold pins.
I used basic corsage pins.
Super easy.
Just paint them with paint them with a 18kt.Gold leafing pen by Krylon
and set them to dry in your pin cushion!

The Tea Cup die came with a tea bag tag, but I knew that what
my Pin Cushion really needed was a good needle case!
So I traced my tag onto some felt and hand stitched to 2 layers of green mermaid fabric.

Cut that out and added one more piece of felt to make "pages".
I bound it in the middle and used the crop-a-dile to make the holes.
(of course, once you get this die, you won't have to do this all by hand. :)

Using a brad and gold elastic, I made a clasp and then attached a fun charm to the other end.

Lastly, I glued one of the gold pins to a velvet butterfly from Petaloo.

coordinating stickles helped add some color, allowing the butterfly to come to life.

I think it completed the look. Don't you?

I would love it if you could vote for Me.

If you like my creation , please visit Eileen's Blog
and vote for me!
Leave her a comment telling her that "I like Michelle Cummings Tea Cup Pin Cushion"
If I win the most votes, (during this weeks Blog Hop) I could win this die, and you know I'd be in pin cushion heaven! :)
You too could win!
One random commentator will win a fabulous Sizzix prize as well!
Thank You for Coming By!

Now for more chance so you too can win, please visit these other fabulous designers!
Sparkle's Tea Cup, Bonnie Bruns, Craftside
,Madeline Jen Goode Modern Surrealist, Sandy Laipply, Einat Kessler,
Ann Butler Laura Bray Veronica Goff , Roann Mathias, Candice Windham,
Mel Designs Julie McGuffee Debra Quartermain
Niki Meiner Lisa Rojas

Have a wonderful time "Blog Hopping" and good luck!
( the next sizzix blog hop will be revealed on April 28th...so mark your calendars!)