A Sight for #Cre8time Eyes... Altered Eyeglass Collaborative

Hello friends! I'm so excited to welcome you to a very special bloghop today... a MUST SEE!!! Several creative pals and I gathered to take another challenge posed by the super imaginative Tina Walker. This time she posed the question, "could we alter old eyeglasses"?? Tina wears glasses and she said she had plenty to donate to the Cre8time cause to have our crafty playtime with.

These are the eight pairs that she had and she graciously donated for us to use if we didn't have our own in our craft stash. I was squealing with delight!! I selected pair No. 8 as it was the perfect size and shape for a bunch of metal and electronic junque I have been hoarding for years... just waiting for a magical project to use them in.

These are my blank canvas upon which to create! CLICK HERE to jump over to Tina Walker's blog who is our hostess and VISIONary of this Cre8time adventure.

These glasses have nice sturdy frames, though the arms posed a challenge as they were thin - I had to be creative in attaching bulky items to them as there isn't much surface area to glue things.

I knew exactly what I was going use before my pair of glasses arrived. My whole project is centered around this recycled component that I have been hoarding for years {I'm not ashamed to say it}... saved perhaps for an altered book project with a bunch of other electronic disassembled junque. My hubs goes crazy taking apart stuff that no longer works. I think this came from a pre-historic digital camera or an old cel phone.

I created an eyelid and eyelash with a small computer board and some fringed metal pieces that I can only imagine serves a cooling purpose. The COOLEST stuff is inside electronic stuff.

Combined with some found rusty pieces and old broken jewelry pieces, I layered to create a contrasting eye for the other lens.

I added some color with paint pens and alcohol inks, then I layered and glued items together with some E6000®.

After a couple of assembling fails... creative and strategic wire wrapping was the best method to mount the bulky items.

I scuffed up the edges of my lenses with some sand paper {since I scratched one of them attempting to drill tiny holes on the frame} which added some interesting dimension. Frames were painted with a combination of plum and metallic alcohol inks - easy peasy!

More layering and adding and wiring and gluing... my vision is coming together!

Enjoy all the fabulous details of seeing through my "curious" eyes... perfectly titled by a recycled tea bag tag message.

Please take a minute to visit
the other VISIONaries of the

"Altered Eyeglass Collaborative"...

at the links below.

Tina Walker

Keri Sallee

Tifany DeGough

Susan M. Brown {sbartist} you are HERE

Thanks for dropping by and hanging around until the end! Thank you Tina for your boundless creative vision!!! 

I hope you are inspired to alter something and create something interesting and new! Have a creative day :) Sb

#Cre8time New Beginnings... Artist Weaving Collaborative Bloghop

Hello friends! Welcome to a special "Artist Weaving Collaborative" bloghop that I am participating in with a group of my creative pals hosted by Tina Walker. Tina has been inspiring us with loads of woven and textile creations and she gathered a group together who would like to explore weaving. 

I am totally new to this art form and was excited to try something completely NEW! I found this was right up my alley as I could create using household items and yarns and fibers in my crafty stash. If you google "weaving tutorial", several fabulous how-to's come up. I really liked this one by abeautifulmess.com, this one on weaving on the etsy blog, and this one using a clipboard as a base at gatheringbeauty.com - which is the one I followed along to make my wonky woven wall hanging.

If you arrived here in the middle of the hop, you can CLICK HERE to jump over to Tina Walker's blog who is our hostess and organizer of this Cre8time weaving adventure and her gorgeous framed woven masterpiece.

Since I am a total novice to the weaving, I plodded along leisurely and didn't track my steps via photos. I found that I really enjoyed this process and that it's so easy, anyone can give this a whirl with stuff you have on hand. The only tools I used was a pair of scissors, a knitting needle and large eyed embroidery needle. The knitting needle came in really handy to pick up the rows to pass the needle and fiber through.

I didn't mount to a dowel rod like traditional hangings - I liked how the burlap twine bunched up at the top made a fun triangular shape. So I just tied it off at the top and wrapped with some coordinating fibers.

Of course... most of my yarns and fibers are my favorite color purple! I have an unopened crochet and knitting kit in a box with pretty yarns/fibers with fond memories of my desire to learn one day. Weaving has filled the need for working with textiles, without all the counting and complicated stitching. I'm excited to see everyone's tapestries and to read and learn more from all the ladies joining me on this woven adventure.

To visit all the other stops of

"Artist Weaving Collaborative"...

check out the links below.

Tina Walker

Martha Richardson

Beth Soler

Albion Gould

DeeDee Catron

Robyn Crowningshield

Mitra Pratt
Laura Mooney
Melissa Johnson

Susan M. Brown {sbartist} you are HERE

Thanks for dropping by - I hope you are inspired to try something new! Have a creative day :) Sb

An InLinkz Link-up

Add Some Light to your #Cre8time with Chibitronics and Designers Craft Connection

Hello friends! I have watching the night skies for my Man in Blue Box to arrive and meanwhile getting in a little Cre8time. This month the Designer Crafts Connection was challenged to work with Chibitronics... only one word can describe these – AMAZING!!! CLICK HERE to hop on over to the Designer Crafts Connection blog to see all the creations that with illuminate your crafting!

Today I'm using the Chibitronics Chibi Lights LED Circuit Stickers STEM Starter Kit – which has everything you need in one super cute kit to add electronics to any sticker-friendly surface: paper, fabric, plastic, the sky's the limit! 

Chibitronics Chibi Lights Circuit Stickers are a creative and fun way to learn electronics. Circuit stickers are LED circuits on peel-and-stick stickers. Build circuits without soldering, plugging wires, or clips. Instead, use the stickers with conductive tapes to draw circuits on paper and other crafts. Learn to build circuits while make interactive artworks. It's easy, fun, safe and creative.

Included in the kit is everything you need to add light to virtually anything you can imagine. The Circuit Sticker Sketchbook gives you step-by-step instructions, with pictures to build upon, for several variations of circuits. Chibitronics would be great for kids projects - as everything needed to make circuits is sticker based... no mess and no tools necessary.

On the Chibitronics website, there are videos of each process and more advanced circuit ideas. I decided to go with the parallel circuit as I wanted to line up a few lights to illuminate the windows of my resin cast Blue Police Box {made from my VLVS stamp design, Amazing Mold Rubber, Alumidust and Amazing Clear Cast Resin}.

The first thing I did was read the instructions and trace my pendant shape onto a piece of paper so that I could make a test run of planning the circuit trail. After a first try, I made another, using the full width of copper tape.

I initially planned on running 3 white lights at the windows and a yellow light at the top - but these little babies are really BRIGHT! 

So I decided to go with only two lights which gives just the right amount of pop.

Now that my circuit is prepared, I removed the excess copper tape for the circuits not being used and trimmed my paper to fit behind my resin pendant. I added double layer of black 3D foam adhesive squares around border and in empty areas which will adhere this to backside.

Before sticking down, I lightly brushed my paper front and back with blue spray mist - quickly drying off any excess that puddled around my circuits. My battery can slip in and out of a pocket I left open to insert it when I want to wear and illuminate. Almost a perfect match and the mottled texture was an interesting surprise.

Quick and easy! Lights off...

Lights ON!!!

I drilled a hole in the top and wire-wrapped a hanger on to attach to a rustic necklace which has a solder stamped charm and a the key that will open my "T.A.R.D.I.S.". My pendant now has a proper home ready to wear at the next Timelord Fest.

The Chibitronics lights bring a whole new dimension to crafting and it was fun as I learned about electronics too!! I can't wait to use these in my papercrafts and handmade cards... watch out Hallmark... I have special effects too!

Follow Your Whovian Heart!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great day! CLICK HERE to hop on over to the Designer Crafts Connection blog for more fun projects using Chibitronics... and find out how some blog candy to be won too! :) Sb