"Mixing Creativity with Crystal Lacquer" to make a LOVELY Altered Candy Box -

Welcome to my project for the "Mixing Creativity with Crystal Lacquer" Bloghop!!! I am so excited to be part of the Sakura Hobby Craft Design Team - I will have featured posts the first and third Wednesdays beginning in March at the Sakura Hobby Crafts Blog.

You should have arrived here from Leslie Rayhe's page...

To get back to the top of the hop...please click here.

A brief recap of my project: This started out as a recycled paper heart chocolate box...you know the for Russell Stover chocolates. I did a some altering and built up a layer of the Creative Paperclay® around the outer edge of the box to beef it up some - like a ceramic box would be. Then with Amazing Mold Putty, I cast a scrollwork heart frame ornament and also a scrollwork heart pendant. Using the molds I created, I cast both of these in Creative Paperclay®. I painted over the Looney Toon's characters adorning the box and the edging of paperclay with red acrylic paint base layer. Over that, I decopaged a red heart doily using 3-D Crystal Lacquer. Then the magic happens when you add the BRAND NEW Sakura Terri Sproul Mixers that get mixed into 3-D Crystal Lacquer!!

Photo 1: Just the beginning! Detail of box painted with

only three colors of Terri Sproul Mixers.

The detail above {photo 1} is base painted with three of the new Sakura Hobby Craft Terri Sproul Mixers: Red Pearl over the red acrylic painted layer which looks as luscious as lipstick; and Yellow Pearl and Violet Pearl on directly on the white paper clay nested cast hearts. The Yellow is very vibrant so I toned it down a bit with a touch of the violet. THIS WAS JUST THE BEGINNING...

Now I have more colors and I have continued building up the layers...

Photo 2.

Next I added the Ultra Fine Glitter to Crystal Lacquer and painted in the large heart detail and dotted some on each of the gem detail areas. As this dried - the bright yellow really began to "POP" from the base layer. I didn't add more color, just clear with shimmer glitter. Then I mixed up some of the "Gold Glitz" which is a chunky crushed glass glitter and placed in the negative spaces between the small and large hearts. Wow - this is getting good, but still not done yet!

Photo 3.

This I added a second layer of Gold Glitz and mixed up some Gold Dust and placed in the voids of the center heart. Then I added some Green Pearl dotted to the detailed areas. These did not come out as nice as I was expecting - I need a little practice in applying small details with this new media. I was applying with a toothpick and didn't have as much control as I thought I would. But it still looks great to me! I finished up the box with some tri-colored twisty cord and a green bow - LOVELY!

Thanks for stopping by. Remember, there is blog candy to be won as well. One winner will be chosen and posted on the Sakura Hobby Crafts Blog. Three MAGICAL containers of Terri Sproul Mixers and a bottle of Crystal Lacquer will be given away!!! RULES to enter to win blog candy prize....stop and visit each stop on the hop - THEN return to the Sakura Hobby Crafts Blog and leave comment there telling what your favorite project was on the hop. Easy-peasy!

30 colors of Sakura Terri Sproul's Mixers are now available.

Contact your local SB store owner to get yours!!!

Thanks so much for visiting - the next stop on

the hop is Gini Cagle's "Beadz" CLICK HERE! 

If you are interested in keeping up with what I'm doing, you can subscribe to receive my posts in your inbox at the top right. When I post something new here...you'll receive an email with the new content. I get such a kick out of seeing my posts in my inbox {I'm such a geek}.

: ) Sb

Festive Friday #4 - Repurposed Take Out Bag for Pretty Holiday Gift Giving

Welcome to the fourth installment of Terri Sproul's 2012 Festive Friday Bloghop! You should have arrived here from Amanda's Page. To get back to the beginning of the bloghop CLICK HERE.


Today I am sharing a quick and easy gift bag repurposing project...and you only need a few supplies.

This tote bag was a seasonal gift bag that my husband brought home from work containing a gift of  Columbian coffee {brought back from Columbia}. He has a lot of colleagues that are from Central and South America. Not only was it already sort of pretty - it smelled yummy, too! This decorated bag carried some handcrafted goodies to California for my official meeting with my "Fairy Craftmother" {you know...Terri Sproul} at CHA! This bag has earned frequent flier miles. And I'm happy to report that at CHA, I was standing near a trash receptacle and I noticed a lady preparing to throw away a holiday gift bag and I asked her for it so I could recycle it properly {artfully - wink, wink}. Of course it made the trip back to Florida!

I spritzed the bag with Stewart Superior Memories Mists "Sparkling Silver" and "Iridescent" shimmer sprays. These really brought this bag to life. I cut out and added some images from the T!m Holtz Holiday stack paper embellished with chalk inks. I finished the bag off with burlap trims from May Arts.

* * * * * * * * * * *

As a gift on the First Festive Friday of 2012... I shared a FREE DIGI of my Melted Frosty for personal use to get a jumpstart on your Holiday Cards. Today I announce the winner of entries left via inLinkz. DRUMROLL PLEASE!!!

Congratulations Leslie Rayhe!!! Thanks Leslie for this lovely blue card featuring "Melted Frosty". You are the winner and I will be sending you some fun holiday themed goodies. : ) Sb

The next stop on the Festive Friday Bloghop

is Laura at Scrappin' Daphne - CLICK HERE.

Making Sweet Treats using Amazing Mold Putty

Hello everybody - just catching up on posting some crafty projects. This "AMAZING" adventure with Amazing Mold Putty left me little sticky, and having so much fun making some fun Valentine's Day treats. This project was featured over at the Amazing Mold Putty Blog on Jan. 22nd, 2012.

DID YOU KNOW????

Amazing Mold Putty is FOOD SAFE!!! YES - I said food safe. You can use it for candy molds, jello, cupcakes...and more. JUST as long as you don't put any RESIN in it first. When you make an Amazing Mold Putty mold for food purposes...it can only be used for food/edible products. To mix up Amazing Mold Putty, I followed the simple illustrated instructions on the packaging. If you want a more in depth how-to of mixing Amazing Mold Putty please click here.

Today's project I am casting some fun Valentine's shapes in Amazing Mold Putty. I couldn't resist when I found this at my local favorite Dollar Tree! A lollypop with some fun cartoony lips on the front. I must make a candy/food mold for Valentine's Day goodies.

Please see accompanying image number(s) to go along with written instruction/description.

Photo 1: Mix equal parts of part A and Part B of Amazing Mold Putty and blend evenly. Then place plastic lips into putty and let cure. Photo 2: Completed heart shape removed from cured mold. Photo 3:The base of lip mold was a thin in three places {where three red spots are}. This was repaired by creating another small ball of putty and molding it to the bottom of existing cured mold. Photo 4: I had some chocolate mint peppermint bark in my fridge, so I decided to melt this down to pour in my NEW candy molds. I broke up the chocolate into a small pyrex bowl that I placed into a pot of simmering water {a double boiler]. This is a slow melting process. The candy melted fine, but the peppermint candy in the chocolate altered the consistency of the chocolate. Photo 5: Melted chocolate poured into molds. I put these in refrigerator to harden. When hardened, I removed from mold - but they did not look good...they resembled soggy brownies. So now to the Godiva White Chocolate.

Please see accompanying image number(s) to go along with written instruction/description.

Photo 6: I broke up the white Godiva chocolate into small pieces and placed in my makeshift double boiler. I added several drops of red food coloring and stirred into the melted chocolate. Photos 7: Close-up of lip mold filled with tinted white chocolate. Photo 8: I poured melted chocolate into the heart shape mold and into another mold I have prepared for another project - but not yet utilized. Photos 9, 10 and 11: Completed chocolate after hardening in the refrigerator. The result is a little soft and melts to the touch very easily. So I do recommend getting proper melting chocolates from the craft store. I was just using what I had on hand at home.

Amazing Mold Putty will withstand temperatures up to 395 degrees. So this is perfect for cake batter and cookies which bake at 325-350 degrees. So I also tried some ready made sugar cookie dough nuggets {these are pre-measured discs for perfect shape cookies}. I let the dough get to room temperature then pressed into the molds. PLEASE NOTE: these cookies were twice as tall during baking. I removed half of the dough midway through the baking process since they were about a 1/2" out of the molds. I used a knife and gently lifted of the top of each. I will have to experiment more with the cookie dough, so that I won't get an overdone cookie with the crunch of a dog biscuit. But they do look tasty! I topped each with red gel icing....Mmmmmm-mmmmmmm!!!!

The icing on the cake is the J-E-L-L-O lips! I poured cherry gelatin mix prepared following instructions for molding gelatin on package. I did pour into the other heart molds, except that because my fridge underwent a power outage during the day - then reset itself to default settings...all of the gelatin came out frozen. The lips survived - and they are luscious!!!

I hope you enjoyed today's project. I encourage you to visit the Amazing Mold Putty Blog and visit the many AMAZING projects from the other Amazing Mold Putty Design Team members for some great tips and ideas! 

HAVE YOU HEARD???? Did you hear??? There is a call for the next Amazing Mold Putty Design Team! You can apply to be on this awesome team {CLICK HERE for info}.

I hope you all have fun making your own tasty treats! : )

Amazing Jewelry Made with Amazing Mold Putty

Happy Wednesday! I have shared another adventure with Amazing Mold Putty today over at the Amazing Mold Putty Blog. I have been casting many wonderful beads, buttons and other interesting found objects for creating jewelry - my new found favorite hobby.

Now I have a wonderful replica life size "Wish Bone" charm to add to my charm bracelet. I will be making many of these for gifties this year. I used to only make jewelry for gifts... and maybe now I may make them for my craft shows, too. 

This is just a sneek peek. To see the entire how-to please CLICK HERE to visit the Amazing Mold Putty Blog.

Did you hear??? There is a call for the next Amazing Mold Putty Design Team! You can apply to be on this awesome team {CLICK HERE for info}.

Hope you have a wonderfully crafty Wednesday : ) Sb

Today is the BIG DAY!!! Have you heard??? Sakura Hobby Craft Design Team Announced!!!

I have a fantastic announcement to make and I've had to keep this under my apron since I came back from CHA in California...I almost died when I was given the news IN PERSON {thank-you Terri, you are so AMAZING}!!!

I am proud to announce that I am part of the New Sakura Hobby Craft Design Team for the next Six months...starting in March. This Team will post on Monday, Wednesday and Friday's with new projects to AMAZE and INSPIRE you. Please click the name under each photo to visit each of their blogs. Please stop by their blogs and welcome each of them. I encourage you follow each of these talented artists {if you don't already already}. I am so grateful to included in this group of UBER-Talented artists. I will be stretching my creative muscles working with Crystal Lacquer and the endless possibilites that the New Terri Sproul Mixers bring to my palette!

I am very excited about this team and all of us are so excited about starting. So make sure you stay tuned to see what we are up to over at the Sakura Hobby Craft Products blog....

Have a great DAY!!!! I'm off to play with some Crystal Lacquer and the NEW Terri Sproul Mixers!!!

: ) Sb

Terri Sproul - Team Leader 

Amanda Marks 

Barbara Moore 

Leslie Rahye 

Lyneen Jesse 

Susan Brown
{hmmm - she looks familiar}

Gloriann Irizarry

Ho...Ho...Ho...card number Eight is GREAT!!! Unscripted Sketches #146

Welcome to your regularly scheduled Sketch-it-Saturday debut! Now presenting Christmas Card number EIGHT using Unscripted Sketches #146 and my new handy VINTAGE FLOWER FROG that I picked up last weekend from my friend Katrina of Eclectica, a vintage shop at select local indie craft shows and a storefront in Miami {which I had the pleasure of visiting last month}.

It is becoming easier to make Christmas cards in February - but I must admit - I wanted to make a Valentine. For at least this week I'm staying true to my challenge. This card is just a few leftover patterned papers and blue cardstock. The background is Basic Grey and the Santa is My Minds Eye wrapped with a green satin ribbon and bow. Finished off with "Ho...Ho...Ho..." sentiment in Sandy Lion shimmery stickers. Just a few scraps, some Miracle Tape and pop-dots and I have another card for my collection!

What is Sketch it Saturdays at Unscripted Sketches? Every Saturday morning a new sketch is posted for the week. Flip the sketch, rotate it… create a card, a scrapbook page, a wall hanging, digital, paper, fabric, paint, anything your imagination comes up with! There is no right or wrong way, as long as you are using the Unscripted sketch as the inspiration for your creation! And everyone is invited to join in the fun...and post your creation on their page for all the world to see!

This week has flown by - but Valentine's Day in the middle was a sweet treat! My hubby sent me a cookie bouquet and I gave him the same {this is so funny - we are so PERFECT for each other}. There is a big announcement coming tomorrow so I'll see you tomorrow 2-19-2012!!!

: ) Sb

Traditional Tree Trimming Christmas Card using Unscripted Sketches #145

 

Happy Saturday! Today I will be sharing two posts for Sketch-it-Saturday! This project is using sketch #145 which debuted last Saturday. Last weekend was pre-empted by as fantastic Steampunk Bloghop I was participating in. My apologes for the delay in blogging this creation. Great news!!! There will be an "Hippity Steampunk Easter Hoppity" on GOOD FRIDAY, April 6th. If you are interested in participating CLICK HERE to sign up ASAP.

If you are keeping track...this is Christmas Card number seven (7). Yes, this is getting easier. I hope everyone is having fun checking in to see my progress on this challenge.

This card is created with a leftover DCVW background paper from a card a few weeks back layered with a double matted vintage Christmas image. This image is from a scrapbook paper with a collage of several vintage Christmas images. The mats are using two contrasting toned fancy gold stationary papers. The ribbon at the top is created with a crumpled and chalked strip of green striped patterned paper, folded to create pleats and layered over with a strip of gold paper. Looks like ribbon, right. I finished this off with some shimmery snowflakes cut from a section of mini snowflake garland. A festive and traditional holiday card indeed!

What is Sketch it Saturdays at Unscripted Sketches? Every Saturday morning a new sketch is posted for the week. Flip the sketch, rotate it… create a card, a scrapbook page, a wall hanging, digital, paper, fabric, paint, anything your imagination comes up with! There is no right or wrong way, as long as you are using the Unscripted sketch as the inspiration for your creation! And everyone is invited to join in the fun...and post your creation on their page for all the world to see!

I invite you to come and play along at Unscripted Sketches. Your creation can be chosen in each week's "Top 3" and featured on the Unscripted Sketches web page the following week! Stay tuned for Sketch-it Saturday's Sketch #146 later today!!!

: ) Sb

"Geared up in Love" for Leslie Rayhe's Very Steampunk Valentine Bloghop

Welcome to Leslie Rayhe's Very Steampunk Valentine Bloghop. This is where Love and Steampunk have craftily collided. I have to admit I have become enamored with Steampunk and have been working on many varied projects in this Genre {it's pretty easy since I have a lot of old rusty junk}.

The center heart is a scrolled medallion I cast in Amazing Mold Putty then melted UTEE and colored with green alcohol ink to get an Absinthe color and feeling. The gears are gold hologram paper die cut with TH Sizzix Die that are also hit with some alcohol ink and maroon cats eye chalk ink. The centers are TH metal gears and the gems brad centers are Imaginisce. The background is a piece of distressed metal tape background embossed with gears embossing folder layered with a gesso/acrylic primer then colored with various alcohol inks. The center gears are layered on some beaded and embroidered trim and finished off with metal corners. LOVE IT!!!

Thanks so much for visiting. Want to win some blog CANDY? I will be giving away some steampunk crafty goodies. Please follow this blog and leave a comment to be entered in the drawing. ALSO - the winner of the last STEAMPUNK BLOGHOP in OCTOBER is....drumroll please...

Cheryl LIndsay said...

So Fantastic and I love your mixed media steampunk art...TFS

OCTOBER 31, 2011 1:33 PM

Cheryl - please email me at sbartist1107 at yahoo dot com to send me your addy. Hope you all enjoy the rest of the bloghop and have a great weekend!

Below are the super crafty individuals participating...just click a box to hop to the next stop! You are currently at {sbartist} box #9.
Sb : )

Wrapped in Christmas Cheer - Festive Friday Bloghop

Welcome to the third installment of Terri Sproul's 2012 Festive Friday Bloghop! You should have arrived here from Amanda's Page. To get back to the beginning of the bloghop CLICK HERE.

This whimsical scribble gal is wrapped in Christmas lights topped off with some gem bezels and some glittery red floral trim. 

I just love handcoloring these scribble gals using my jelley glaze pens, marvy markers and my waterbrush.

DID YOU SEE MY FIRST POST for Festive Friday on January 13th???

{CLICK HERE to see}

As a gift on the First Festive Friday of 2012... I shared a FREE DIGI of my Melted Frosty for personal use to get a jumpstart on your Holiday Cards.

This DIGI is free for personal use only. It may not be sold or distributed in any other manner. This is a black and white printable that you can color yourself however you want! To download, click on the image, right-click and select “save image as”.

Enjoy!!! I'd love to see what you create. Please add your creation via inLinkz HERE. I will be having a giveaway of fun festive goodies to the submission with the most votes by Feb. 23, 2012 {voting to begin on Feb 10}. I will announce winner on Feb. 24th's Festive Friday post. : ) Sb

The next stop on the Festive Friday Bloghop

is Laura at Scrappin' Daphne - CLICK HERE.

Save the Date - Valentine's Steampunk Bloghop on Saturday

Do you love Valentine's Day? Do you love Steampunk? How about getting your fix of both in one place. Stop back by here this Saturday, Feb. 11th to see what I've created for Leslie Rayhe's Very Steampunk Valentine Bloghop.

There are some super crafty individuals participating...you don't want to miss this!
Sb : )

CHA Recap - Making Some "FUNctional" TOOLS using Amazing Mold Putty...

Here's another one of my "AMAZING" adventures using Amazing Mold Putty that was on display at Winter CHA last week in the Amazing Mold Putty Booth #2252. If you had a chance to visit the booth - I hope you took a few minutes to play with the product and cast something yourself.

This project is a little off the wall...but definitely out of the box! For anyone that knows me knows I love PURPLE, not lavender - purple {like grape jelly} and that I love my tools. I have a gadget to do pretty much everything. My crafty friends call me if they need a tool for something they want to create.

Today's project is catering to all my crafty STAMPING friends. If you stamp, you will appreciate today's project. I started a with this antique stamp holder I picked up at my local artist salvage center Trash 2 Treasure. It came with a couple old rubber stamp handles in varying sizes. So knowing that I wanted to have a complete set of handles for my blending foam and alcohol inks...I decided to cast my own in Amazing Mold Putty. Between the handles that came with the spindle {like T!m Holtz has}, and a couple I already had...I had six. I was off and running.

Please see accompanying image number(s) to go along with written instruction/description.

Photo 1: I gathered all of my handles of varying sizes. Photo 2: With razor blade, gently slice off old decayed rubber stamp and mounting. Photo 3: I glued my handles to my glass cutting mat with hot glue. This is so they are level and they would not move around as I put the putty around them {see Photo 4}. This was a good idea as it resulted in a nice flat surface on the open end - but I lost some control over seeing where I was leaving open areas. I ganged them this way thinking it would use less putty and make it easier when pouring resin. In hindsight, I would probably make separate molds next time - it was quite tricky getting the cured resin out.

To mix up Amazing Mold Putty, I followed the simple illustrated instructions on the packaging. If you want a more in depth how-to of mixing Amazing Mold Putty please click here. Photo 5: For this project, I needed to make a lot of putty to cover the entire piece, so I make several small sections and overlapped them due to the quick setting cure time. Photos 6, 7, 8 and 9 of following photos show the mold build-up process. Photo 10: View underneath completed mold. Photo 11: Using a spatula, I gently pried the mold and glued handles from the glass mat.

NOW FOR THE CASTING with the Amazing Clear Cast Resin:
 

 

Please see accompanying image number to go along with written instruction/description.

Photo #12: Completed Amazing Mold Putty mold prior to removing stamp handles. After about a half hour, I gently removed stamp handles from mold. It's recommended to dust the mold with some type of release agent, especially if there is a lot of fine detail. I didn't think I needed this for this resin, yet it would have greatly helped in ease of removal cured resin. Photo #13: After measuring liquid needed by filling mold with water, I mixed just one drop of Red Alumilite Dye and one drop of Blue Alumilite Dye into PART A of Amazing Clear Cast Resin. This resulted in a pretty purple color {when cured it turned a dark violet, almost cobalt blue color}. Photo #14: Mixing together part A and part B of Amazing Clear Cast Resin stirring slowly and mixing thoroughly. I let rest a few minutes to let air bubbles escape. Photo #15: Prior to pouring resin, I placed objects into the mold: purple glitter, assorted colored beads, googly eyes, dichroic beads, and misc. computer parts and screws. This was the fun part of customizing my tools. Then I gently poured the completely mixed two part resing into the molds. The googly eyes decided to float.

After much filing and sanding of rough edges, here are my completed CUSTOM tools. Ready for adhering velcro to apply blending foam or alcohol ink applicators. My stamp handles are fun and just make me giggle - they have PERSONALITY!!! I plan to make more in different colors, embedding other found objects & cleaning out those things in the craft drawer saved for a rainy day!

This photo is taken on a light table, so that the beautiful color is visable.

Check out this cool set of custom handles that I made. Can you guess who these are for??? They were hand delivered and brought huge smiles all around at CHA.

I hope you enjoyed this project. I encourage you to visit the Amazing Mold Putty blog to see the many AMAZING projects from my fellow Amazing Mold Putty Design Team members for some great tips and ideas!

If you have any questions, please leave a comment, select receive e-mail follow ups on comments and I will respond. If you would like to see more of my creations, please hang around a while and stroll around my blog. Happy Crafting : )

"Joy" of Cardmaking using Scraps! Christmas Card #6 using Unscripted Sketches #144

Happy Saturday...again. Here is today's Sketch-it-Saturday sketch #144 creation. This is Christmas Card number six created using scraps received in a package I received this week in a "SCRAP SWAP" I participated in. I took about 100 different patterned paper scraps of varying sizes from 8" x 10" down to 3" x 5", sent to swap hostess, who lovingly swapped out all submitted and sent back to us. I got the papers out of my new fun pile of scraps. I finished off this card with some glittery Sandy Lion Holiday Stickers and a red metallic twine bow. Quick and easy - AND - I only fidgeted around with the bow for about 5 minutes, too. I really like how the similar colors in all of the elements really pull this card together!

What is Sketch it Saturdays at Unscripted Sketches? Every Saturday morning a new sketch is posted for the week. Flip the sketch, rotate it… create a card, a scrapbook page, a wall hanging, digital, paper, fabric, paint, anything your imagination comes up with! There is no right or wrong way, as long as you are using the Unscripted sketch as the inspiration for your creation! And everyone is invited to join in the fun...and post your creation on their page for all the world to see!

Since my trip last weekend, I have been sick, and I still am - so I will be getting some much needed rest {per doctor's orders}. I'm having a relaxing weekend indoors and planning a Steampunk project for an upcoming bloghop on February 11th. Have a crafty day!
: ) Sb

Playing with Pink & Mint - "Jolly and Bright" Tag using Unscripted Sketches #143

Happy Saturday!!! A little late...I'm bringing you my regularly scheduled Sketch-it Saturday with Unscripted Sketches creation from last week. With last week's sketch #143, I created a JUMBO pink and mint "Jolly and Bright" CHRISTMAS Tag!!!

Five projects in and still sticking with creating for Christmas. This tag is pretty simple using some Fancy Pants holiday paper and striped lace die cut border and center sentiment die cut. The green circular scribble snowflakes are cut out of paper by Memories Complete. The snowflake stickers are from a DCVW holiday paper stack. I layered the sentiment over a large scribble snowflake and a clear glittered snowflake ornament from the Dollar Tree. I finished everything off with some ribbon and this tag is ready for a BIG fun gift!

What is Sketch it Saturdays at Unscripted Sketches? Every Saturday morning a new sketch is posted for the week. Flip the sketch, rotate it… create a card, a scrapbook page, a wall hanging, digital, paper, fabric, paint, anything your imagination comes up with! There is no right or wrong way, as long as you are using the Unscripted sketch as the inspiration for your creation! And everyone is invited to join in the fun...and post your creation on their page for all the world to see!

I'm decompressing from my whirlwind trip to CHA!!! Going to see my work on display at the Amazing Mold Putty Booth was fantastic - I spent quite a lot of time there playing. I made a lot of new friends and on this trip I planted some seeds for many exciting things to come {I hope}. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
: ) Sb