Flippin' a CREEPY, Crawly Switch... Halloween Crafts with Designer Crafts Connection

Good morning friends! October has arrived and today brings a new bloghop with the Designer Crafts Connection focused on "HALLOWEEN CRAFTS". So today, I am sharing how to make some spooky home decor for the spooky holiday season.

What do you do with a blank light switch plate and some of last year's leftover Halloween party favors??? You create a spooky lightswitch plate!

Supplies needed: a light switch plate, hot glue gun, your choice of halloween favors {I'm using skull rings and spiders, scissors, masking tape, acrylic paints, silver Rub n' Buff®, Amazing Mold Putty and Creative Paperclay®.

I wrapped torn pieces of masking tape onto the light switch plate to add texture, making sure to wrap around the backside and burnish edges. I cut off the rings sections on the skulls, then using hot glue, I adhered skulls to the corners and finished off with a plastic spider. ** A TIP ** Be careful when applying hot glue to plastic parts... it's very easy to melt them.

Now for the FUN to BEGIN! I got out my Amazing Mold Putty to create a mold of my altered switchplate! To see how-to of mixing Amazing Mold Putty please click here. I begin by taking equal parts of Amazing Mold Putty parts "A" and "B" and gently mix together both parts, working quickly so that the colors are evenly mixed together with no striping. Press the Amazing Mold Putty around the switch plate gently pressing it around the item and sides.

I let the mold sit and cure for about 15 minutes, then the mold is ready to fill with resin, polymer clay or paperclay. OH... did I mention that Amazing Mold Putty is FOOD SAFE. It can be used for custom candy molds, ice cubes, cookies, fondant shapes... and so much more! What creepy, tasty treats can you dream up?

I pressed some Creative Paperclay® into the mold, leveling it out flat to meet the edges of the mold. I let the mold dry overnight before attempting to remove. 

I gently removed casting from mold then let paperclay fully dry out {being in hot and humid South Florida... this took a couple days}. It looks like something that might be found at some ancient ruins - the texture and detail is captured beautifully. Wouldn't it be so fun to make a whole bunch of these and let the kids join in the fun of decorating?

While cutting out the holes, I dropped my lightswitch plate and one of the corners broke off. Along with the cracks from drying, this just added to the charm of this ghoulish lightswitch plate. Time for the transformation! By adding some acrylic paint this switchplate came to life in minutes.

Flippin' a Creepy, Crawly Switch...

I really love the distressed plasterlike texture that you get from the paperclay. I've rubbed casting with some acrylic paints and silver Rub n' Buff® to create a rusty, grungy patina. I dipped my screw heads in paint to match, wrapped some faux barbed wire trim and affixed to the lightswitch next to my front door... this is so creepy cool. I'm working on a resin variation to affix outside onto my doorbell to really scare the kiddies on all Hallow's Eve.

Thanks for visiting! Continue on the Designer Crafts Connection "HALLOWEEN CRAFTS" Bloghop by selecting hop back/forward on the logo below. Sb :)

Designer Craft Connection

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Santa's Walking in a Winter Wonderland for Week 3 of Anything But a Card Challenges #29

Good Morning Everyone! It's week 3 of our current challenge number 29 - the third and final week to create and share. CLICK HERE to jump over to the challenge intro and where to LINK UP your creations. CLICK HERE to check out the other design team projects today for some amazing inspiration!

The current Challenge... Anything But a Card Challenge #29 - Fall into Fall! School is in Full Swing and Indian Summer has faded - this challenge is open theme - Please share any current project you have created, and if it's FALL themed that's perfectly OK, too! JUST REMEMBER... create anything EXCEPT a card for this challenge. ALSO - Please new projects only {no-backlinking}. :)

**A REMINDER** This Challenge will go through midnight Nov. 23rd... giving you 3 weeks to play along and ENJOY the creative process! There's still a week left on this challenge – I hope you a chance to squeeze in some Cre8tive playtime.

I created this winter wonderland tag using the same techniques as my Halloween Tag from a few weeks ago... just using a different a color scheme and elements... and of course I had to use some Amazing Mold Putty too! Below you can see how I molded this frame using one of my Viva Las VegaStamps!

I needed a frame I didn't have one on hand... BUT... I do have a Viva Las VegaStamps! lacy oval frame stamp (Doily #18849) that would be perfect. So I'm got out my Amazing Mold Putty and made a border mold with my stamp.
 

**WARNING**

You need to thoroughly cover your stamp with petroleum jelly to protect your stamp - the rubber of the stamps and Amazing Mold Putty touching are reactive with each other. Watch closely and limit the time of stamp in contact with mold putty and remove it as soon as curing is completed.

As you can see here with stamp removed from mold. Some of the Amazing Mold Putty has stuck to stamp, which I cleaned off with soap and water immediately so the detail of my stamp is not clogged up and to stop any reaction the two compounds may have.

Now with a mold of my decorative border stamp - I filled it with Creative Paperclay® and let it cure. When paperclay is dried I inked and covered with Ranger Embossing Ink and heat embossable glue powder; then dredged in Antique Linen Distress Glitter. I went back with Vintage Photo and Broken China Distress Inks to add some depth and color to the edges.

Welcome to a Winter Wonderland...

Layered on a collaged background using several of Viva Las VegaStamps! images; stamped glittered snowflakes and matching icicle chipboard... all tied off on top with a sheer organza ribbon hanger! I really love mixing up the monthly T!m Tags with my own stash of goodies - the possibilities are endless and LOVELY!

Thanks for stopping by and have a fantastic day! :) Sb

Happy Halloween... Counting Two Times the October 12 Tags of 2013 FUN!!!

Happy Halloween!!! I can't believe this month is at the end. I had to crack down three days ago and say NO MORE Halloween projects and move on to Christmas projects. In doing so I managed to complete two variations of the Tim Holtz' 12 Tags of 2013 for October. When I saw T!m's tag for October - it was SCREAMING for Amazing Crafting Products... so I have created all my embellishments for this tag using Amazing Mold Putty, Amazing Casting Resin and an assortment of Alumilite Dyes. This tag is totally a Halloween Treat! 

My AMAZING tag for October!

PLEASE CLICK HERE to see the HOW-TO.

Now for the second version - a stamped winter wonderland using the same techniques just different a color scheme and elements... and of course some Amazing Mold Putty too!

PLEASE CLICK HERE to see the HOW-TO.

Thanks for dropping by today. Hope you have a safe and happily haunted Halloween! See you Saturday for my weekly Unscripted Sketches project. :) Sb

This Pumpkin Head's FLYIN' with Unscripted Sketches #225

Welcome to Sketch-It Saturday with Unscripted Sketches #225. Halloween is just around the bend and I'm in full spooky spirit. For today's project, I used this weeks sketch and combined the October Inspiration from Viva Las VegaStamps! and added some Creative Paperclay®, too!

I made a mold from a stack of jack-o-lantern foil die cut embellishments using Amazing Mold Putty. CLICK HERE to see how I made the mold. I filled the mold with Creative Paperclay® and set it aside to dry. When completely dry, I sprayed with a combination of shimmery mists, and dry brushed with some Ranger Distress Paints... this pumpkin is AGLOW!

The background was a section of painted cardstock using peeled paint and seedless grape distress stain spread on my craft mat, misted with water then paper dragged into it... leftover from another project {since I was able to make several painted papers from my inky mess}. This was a perfect base to start with and I toned the colors down with Old Paper and Vintage Paper Distress Inks. I stamped a muted foggy scene using Cemetery, the spiked fence, a tree background and Halloween Tree Silhouette, and Headless Horseman/Bridge images - all from Viva Las VegaStamps!.

I stamped an extra headless horseman and colored with Ranger Distress Markers and my water brush; then fussy cut to layer into the scene - taking the place of the two small round items in the sketch.

The final detail was adding a glow around the my flying pumpkin head. I got out my Sakura of America Cray-Pas® Expressionist® Oil Pastels and used yellow and orange to build up a glow around where I'm placing the pumpkin. This really adds movement and the illusion of flames... and with the help of an Action Wobble jiggling device - this pumpkin head is truly airborne! I think I nailed the Viva Las VegaStamps! October inspiration, don't you? CLICK HERE for the details on entering your own creation.

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 via inlinkz for all the world to see!

Join us tomorrow at Anything But a Card Challenges for a new challenge - Challenge No. 28... Use the Colors "ORANGE and/or BLACK".

I so love how this turned out and I'm linking it up to the Creative Paperclay® Halloween Link-up Party. Thanks for dropping by today. Hope you a have creative weekend!
:) Sb

Let Your Creativity Soar with Anything But a Card Challenges No. 26 - Fairy Tales or Fairy Theme

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Hello! Happy Sunday everyone! I'm so excited to share the new Anything But a Card Challenge... Anything But a Card Challenge 26 is "Fairy Tales or Fairy Theme" - let your imagination soar with this theme... you could create something based on any fairy tale, or fairies, room for lots of possibilities! Let your imagination soar!

I am all about green-crafting! To create proper home for my fairy, I have taken a cigar box lid and some other bits and baubles to transform it into a shadow box straight from Fairyland! I've included a little how-to below on how I've created my "Fairy Frozen Charlotte", too.

**JUST FOR FUN** Here's an idea starter... if you want to channel your own inner Fairy... there is even a Fairy Name Generator. CLICK HERE to generate your very own Fairy, complete with a backstory. Next week I will share a project using one of these generated Fairy names. Just remember create anything except a card... and to have FUN!!!

There's two weeks to play along and link up via inlinkz froggy. Anything But a Card Challenges is a bi-weekly challenge and today, begins a new challenge. Our wonderful Design Team showcases their Challenge 26 "Fairy Tales or Fairy Themed" inspired projects today. Please click here to head on over to ABAC and see the wonderful projects shared by the design team AND submissions by all of you.

REMEMBER this challenge blog is ANYTHING and EVERYTHING... except for Cards. ATC's aren't greeting cards...so please link up your ATC's, too!!!

This project began with a little goodie that was included from an Etsy team-member I purchased some holiday soap molds from. She included this sweet fairy bar of molded goat's milk soap. I have been saving this for a special Amazing Mold Putty adventure... that has evolved into a whole fairyland altered shadowbox project.

I mixed up a good amount of Amazing Mold Putty to cover the front and all sides of the soap. It's about the size of a trading card and the square part of the soap below the relief is about 1/2" thick. I made the mold around the bar and I can use it for just the relief of the fairy - or as more of a sculptural piece.

A little note about the results... as it turns out goat's milk soap is very soft and delicate {but smells lovely}. It wasn't harmed by the mold putty - but the heat of the curing process of the mold putty sort of melted the soap into the edges of it. I had to put it in the freezer for about an hour {because this particular mold is so thick} to help accelerate cooling and release from mold putty. I had to pull a little to get it started, but it worked! My bar of soap has a slight tint of yellow now, but it was a success!

Then I filled the relief part of the mold with Creative Paperclay® and let completely dry. I also put this into the freezer for about 15 minutes so that I could get it out of the mold to dry. When dry I used a water brush to add some muted tones with my Distress Markers and then rubbed the edges and high points with metallic pearlescent dew drop ink pads.

My little fairy frozen charlotte is born!

The lovely detail of my Fairy Frozen Charlotte is painted, worn and weathered.

The Gnome is a vintage collage image from AlteredPages.com and is nestled amongst money shred for grass; layered on top of some patterned and handmade paper scraps, with some chipboard flower stickers and flourishes, paper florals and silk flower leaves I found in the parking lot outside the craftstore. All tied off at the top with a beautiful bow of luscious May Arts Ribbon.

For more projects, ideas and techniques using Amazing Crafting Products, jump over to the Amazing Mold Putty Blog. Go run and get those fairy wings on and let your creativity soar!

Thanks for dropping by today and I hope to see you tomorrow for a sneak peek from  a new project I've created with Amazing Crafting Products. :) Sb

Sharing the Love with a New Challenge at Anything But a Card Challenges

Hello! Hope you are having a wonderful weekend. Today debuts a brand new Anything But a Card Challenge... Challenge number 12 - "SHARE the LOVE". Are you ready to CREATE and play along!

There's two weeks to play along and link up via inlinkz froggy. Anything But a Card Challenges is a bi-weekly challenge and today, the Design Team showcases NEW projects using a brand-new challenge #12 of "SHARE the LOVE." Please click here to head on over to ABAC and see all the fantastic projects shared by the fantastic design team AND submissions by all of you. I will have a project featured next Sunday for week two of the challenge...I have a whole pile of heart and love inspired goodies ready for altering.

REMEMBER this challenge blog is ANYTHING and EVERYTHING... except for Cards. ATC's aren't greeting cards...so please link up your ATC's!!!

Anything But a Card Challenge 12 is "SHARE the LOVE". This is the season of LOVE and is sure to inspire! USE anything related to love - hearts, Valentine's Day, Anniversary, Wedding, honeymoon, cupid, love poems, love songs, are you lovesick? The color red or even dark valentines, too. I hope you are inspired to play along and I can't wait to see what you create! 

This started out as a recycled paper heart chocolate box...you know the kind with Russell Stover chocolates. I saved this heart shaped box for a creative redux. 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 decopauged a red heart doily using 3-D Crystal Lacquer. I painted the hearts and finished off with twisty tri-colored wire cording and a mint green bow. This box is full of love and ready to hold a special gift.

Happy Creating with LOVE!!!

https://apps.facebook.com/mylinqto/saturdaycraftsfair

Thanks for stopping by!!! I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Looking for some creative playtime on Saturdays? Please join me live at 4:00pm EST {1pm PST} in the Daylight Musings room at the Saturday Crafts Fair on Linqto! I am demonstrating there every Saturday and I share my projects, how-to's, tips, and more. The Saturday Crafts Fair is three hours of creative inspirtation beginning at 2pm EST / 11am PST. Hope to see you there!  : ) Sb

Top FIVE Posts of 2012

It's New Year's Eve and as the hours wind down to close out 2012... I am gathering creative inspiration to JUMPSTART my 2013. I will be participating in Nathalie Kalbach's Creative Jumpstart 2013 Summit which begins tomorrow. CLICK HERE to sign up {hurry}. I began 2012 with her 2012 Jumpstart and it helped me step out of my creative box and hit the ground running. I am so thrilled she's so generously offering this again!

In reading my daily blog feeds, I came across a great post by my creative friend Laura Bray. She shared a post of her BEST of 2012 - top five most popular posts of the year. Her fun and fabulous fabric projects are wonderful and I've marked many to make myself. CLICK HERE to read her top 5 post - it's a MUST READ full of MUST MAKES!!!

I shared my favorite projects with you the other day... BUT I was curious as to what my most popular posts for the year were {meaning most viewed}... and set off to the stats area in the blogger dashboard.

So here are my top five most popular posts of 2012 - ENJOY!!!

#5 - Custom Halloween Lightswitch Plate: CLICK HERE for post.

#4 - Frozen Charlotte Fairy Shadowbox: CLICK HERE for post.

#3 - Stamped Paper Halloween Lantern: CLICK HERE for post.

#2 - 5 Year Blogiversary... Altering Spoons Bloghop: CLICK HERE for post. Please take a moment to check out the fantastic spoon players on the hop.

...and DRUMROLL PLEASE!

{my most favorite project also}...

#1 Steampunk Eggship CLICK HERE for post.

Thanks for following my creative journey and cheering me on. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I wish all of you the very best in 2013!!

:) Sb