Christmas Charm and ATC Swap Reveal!

 Here is the reveal for the Christmas Charm and ATC swap!
Everyone did a wonderful job creating magical and festive jewelry!
I made the (above) vintage inspired bulb wreath necklace! I colored faux pearl beads with inka-golds and glued them onto a sturdy back ground to create the wreath!

 Shelia created this colorful Christmas tree dangle bracelet.

 Christina made this sweet angel necklace.

Sarah made us this whimsical vintage inspired pink Christmas tree!

PJ put together these fun Snowman earrings

Maria made this simple but classy jingle bell bangle

 Ashani always amazes us with her wire work skills. This is just beautiful and unique!

Glenda created this sophisticated snowman pendant

Shawn made this sweet vintage pendant!

See past Charm and ATC swaps here.
If you are interested in joining future swaps, we also do Faerie garden swaps too!

Message me the following:
Your name
Mailing address
Your Birthdate/year
Any links....Blog, twitter, pintrest, instagram, FB, website, shop....
A little about yourself and the style of crafting you like to do.

You will be sent a confirmation and added to a "master" email list for future Charm or Faerie Garden swaps. 

People on the email list get first signs up for a swap before the announced to other social media sites.
Swaps can be 10-20 participants.
They must include a coordinating ATC.
They must be nicely packaged and shipped no later than the post marked date. 

Table Top Holiday Decoration!

 Have you ever wanted to give a live plant or mini tree as a gift for the holidays but felt like the selection at the stores were less than great? As long as you keep your basic craft supplies on hand at home or with you when you travel, you'll never run into that problem again!

 I was visiting Family for the weekend and had to run to the store for a few things. I saw this tree with it's plain ornament and thought, hmmmm.....I bet I can pretty that up a bit. 

Back at the house, I painted both sides with shimmery paints.

 When they were dry, I added some glittery accents with Tulip Beads in a Bottle.
I have used them once before, you can see those projects here.
I set the decorated ornament outside to cure while I worked on the garland. 

 I used 26 gauge wire, assorted beads and scissors. 

 Wrap the wire around the tree like a garland, then double the wire length.  String a bead onto the wire and secure the end leaving a 1" tail..  Then keep on adding more beads, alternating the colors if possible. 

 Loosely space the beads about 1" apart and twist them and the wire as shown. Continue until you have enough beaded garland for the tree.

Secure the end tail onto a the bottom part of the tree, then loosely wrap the garland around, going up as you wrap. You may have too much garland, if so, snip it off leaving a bit of wire. Attach that bit to the top of the tree. Add the the decorated planter ornament and place for all to see!
Thank you for coming by, comments welcome!
See more Holiday themed crafts here!

Halloween Steampunk Blog Hop

 

Welcome to another year of Halloween and Steampunk fun! 

All hosted by Leslie Rahye! 

This is my 4th year participating in this hop.

Here is a little re-cap- 

 October 2012, I created these Steampunk Spiders.

 October 2013, I created this Steampunk Skull Pendant.

October 2014, I put together this Steampunk Book of Spells.

 

 

This year, I have created this Spectacular Steampunk Pocket Watch pendant! 

Materials:

• Open pocket watch. Real or fake. Can be found at antique flea markets or craft stores.
• Chain.
• Assorted sized watch gears. The small gears are the real deal, collected from broken watches and such, the other gears are from the craft store.
• Halloween and Steampunk findings. Always have more than you plan to use.
• Mini Dew Drops.
• Mod Podge Dimensional Magic-  Dries hard and clear.
• Inka Gold in green, orange, purple and red.
• Wink of Stella Glitter brush.
• Fine and chunky glitter.

 Fill your pocket watch half way with the Mod Podge. 

Then start laying down your embellishments. 

Create layers of your items. 

 Secure larger pieces onto the rim of the watch with the Mod Podge.

Fill in spaces, adding more Mod Podge as needed, add embellishments, findings and glitter.
Let set completely overnight.

In the morning, add more Mod Podge and small gears. One of the watch hands didn't work for me, so I used pliers to cut it off. After this has had a chance to set, you may now color it using the Inka Gold and a small paintbrush/water. Finish with the Glitter Brush. 

Thanks for coming by, I hope you liked my tutorial. 

My giveaway for this hop is a jumble of Halloween and Steampunk embellishments for you to play with.

 International welcome

. Leave a comment here (no later than Nov. 6,2015) for a chance to win!

For more idea's , feel free to follow me on Pintrest , FB/Blog,  FB/Charms and Garden Miniature swaps.

Now on to more Halloween Steampunk Inspiration!

Happy Halloween!

Barrel Cactus in Bloom by Michelle Frae Cummings

To take a break from my normal crafting, I thought it would be fun to show you a mixed media painting I did for this months theme- "Flowers".
I'm currently in Borrego Springs, Ca visiting my Mother. They had some rain a couple of days ago so most of the desert floor is still green and the flowers are still in the budding stage, not ready  to open up.
When I created  this barrel cactus cluster, I painted them in anticipation of what they will look like in a few weeks!

 I started first by painting the cactus base shapes with green watercolor. Then I added shades of bright yellow, yellow green and dark green watercolor. When the paint was dry, I added some definite detail with gold, dark green and pink pearlescent  watercolors by Yasutomo.

Next I used my finger to add some shades of Inka-Gold.
Lavared for the blooms with some Champagne in the center. Oldgold and Champagne for the cactus sharp spines. The nice thing about Inka-Gold is that once it set, it will not smear and your art work can be enjoyed with no hassle.
Lastly I used a fine tip black Sharpie to bring the Barrel Cactus cluster to life!

Thank you for visiting. I hope you have enjoyed the "change of scenery" from my normal crafting. :)
~Michelle

Please use the "hop forward" button to the right of this post -  for The Designer Craft Connection group to see what else is "blooming" on their blogs too!

Quick and Easy Butterfly Card!

 Recently I needed to make some quick Thank You card for friends.
This card literally from start to finish took less than 10 minutes!
 How cool is that?

 The supplies are so basic, you probably have them already and if not...you should because I use them on everything!

• Card blank
• Fine tip permanent pen
• Drywall mesh tape- hardware store find...great for everything!
• Inka Gold
• Butterfly punches and die cuts
• The Robins Nest Diamond Dew Drops
• Adhesive

Stylish Faux Leather Cuff

 
 This month for The Designer Craft Connection group, the theme is a project or technique that will blow you away!
So here is a really fun idea I have been wanting to try for a long time. - Faux leather.
Its a lot of style with out a lot of work. Once you try this project, you won't want to stop!
You can use it for anything from jewelry, Hair accessories, Book marks to Card making.
Lets get started, shall we?

Butterfly Card

I like to create beyond normal paper and glue. I love working with my hands, getting paint under my nails and imagining the impossible.
This is my creation.
Enjoy :)

I started with a 3x3 label die. I use a Big Shot which is compatible with any manufactured die and embossing folders, but sometimes I have to improvise.
To make the die-cut, I used the multipurpose platform with all the flaps closed, die- cutting side up, paper on top and 2 acrylic plates.

Then to emboss the shape, I left the piece in the die. Placed it on the platform with all the tabs closed, a Sizzix impression pad, and (3) 8x11 cardstocks folded in half. - Trust me...this works like a charm!

 I stamped my sentiment onto the die cut and inked the edges for a distressed look.

Then I began work on the card. I wanted something stiff, so I used watercolor paper trimmed to 5½ x 3½.  This I covered with 2 strips of foil tape, then trimmed off the excess.
I ran this through the embossing folder, Work Shop by Couture Creations.

 I drizzled a few patina inks on the embossed card and blended with a makeup sponge. When this was dry, I gently used a sanding block to remove some of the color from the raised design and around the card.

 

Whenever I create something new that involves an assortment of mediums,  I always make a practice piece...just in case I mess up.
Below on the practice piece I played around with where I could add some red accents.

 What I ended up doing was adding red to the edges with my fingers, followed by some gold to soften it up.

 Now most of my projects start with a base plan and end with something way better than I envisioned. My mind is in constant creating motion. :)

Butterfly's are a favorite of mine and always seem to "flutter" into most of my creations.
I keep a color variety of punched butterfly's in little bags, these are punched from paper scraps and are always ready for last minute inspiration. 

 I ran one of the butterfly's through the Work Shop embossing folder.
Next I added just a touch of gold to the plain butterfly then more color to the other butterfly, highlighting the embossed design.

 A butterfly cannot be a butterfly with out it's faerie antenna! To get the perfect length every time, cut a piece of wire to be double the center width of your  butterfly. Fold in half, pinch at the bottom and loop the ends with jewelry pliers. Glue in place as shown with quick setting adhesive.

 Place another dot of glue onto the wire then add the top butterfly, folding up it's wings. Let set completely. Glue your foil card onto a 6 ¼ x 4½ card stock.  Line the edges of the stamped die with some gold and add to the card with foam tape.
Accent the butterfly with some patina, red color and rhinestones if desired.

Supplies used:
Work Shop Embossing Folder by Couture Creations
Labels by Spellbinders
Boundless Flight cling stamp by Tim Holtz
Black stamping ink
Jade, Moss and Verdigris Patina ink by Ranger
Gold and Lavared Inka Gold
Tombo glue
Foam tape
Foil Tape (plumbing section of any hardware store)
Sanding block
Colored floral wire
Rhinestones
Butterfly punchies
Paper trimmer, scissors, jewelry pliers,big shot and accessories.

Butterfly Pennant Banner

 Here's a sneak of something I made over on The Robins Nest blog!

 I hope you'll come by to see the rest! :)