Easter Decorations

Two very simple cards using the Butterfly Die, nestabilities and some pretty papers. I used 3 of the cut butterflies to give some depth and movement. Effective die but but they were a pain to cut out as you have to keep poking all the bits out of the metal die :-(

(click the photo's for a closer look)




Last years Easter twig tree with more of the butterflies added. I used a paperclip stuck to the back to make the hanger to put them on the tree. The pot was just a bucket decorated, Forsythia twigs painted with acrylic paint, egg shapes stuck to the pot, shredded yellow tissue round the base and some fluffy chickens on that and some bought eggs and decorations. You could add chocolate Easter eggs if you like them!!

Also in the photo is my gold-leafed Goose egg and a chicken shaped card. The template for that was in last years Easter edition of Crafts Beautiful, I expect you can still download it from their website.

Award

Thanks for this award its very nice to have viewers who appreciate you enough to do this.

This one is from Lena you can find her blog here

http://lenascreations.blogspot.com/

Nature altered book

Items used:

Grunge board and grunge paper including Grunge board nature shapes, swirls and letters

Distress inks, stickles and glossy accents

micro beads, glitter and embossing powders

vintage sheet music and stamps

metal accents and hardware, chain and keys

Bare Board shaped book

Assorted clear and rubber stamps

Flowers

Vellum quotes

Tags and string

This has been a work in progress for a while but its now done, just for the fun of making it no other reason. Hope you like it xx

Easter Mini Tree

I made this for my friend for Easter hope she likes it.

I used acrylic paint to colour some wire then bent it into shape, added some fine wire and swirled the ends to hang the eggs on the tree. Coloured sand with acrylic paint and pva glue so it would set hard, placed this into a shot glass, positioned the wire and allowed to set. I cut 3 layers of the butterfly with a die I have and stuck to the front to finish this present. I also put a couple of gems on the ends of the antenna

Card, Garden dividers and plant sticks

This is mum card. Iused a stamp from C Dee's of a Hibisus, its embossed with clear over black ink and coloured with copics stamped several times and decoupaged. The papers are from a pack I just got can't think of the name right now but they are lovely and have glitter and embossing on. I also used foil card which has been embossed in the cuttlebug and cut with a nestability die, small pearls finish off round the scalloped edge. The word mum is made with grunge board letter painted with mica H20 paints

I made these to go inside the box for mum. The plant sticks are coffee stirrers with fruit buttons stuck on painted with Dabbers and then crackle glaze applied after (not showing yet in these pics) The dividers are from an office stationer and stamped with distress inks and coloured using a water brush to distribute the ink. O'k so she won't be growing pineapples but they look jolly :-)

Another Soap Box

Ok so you can say my mojo is returning :-) 3 posts in one day!! I love these empty washing powder boxes as they are sturdy and handy for all sorts of storage. This one is a box to keep packets of garden seeds in, again for my Mum.

I gave it a coat of acrylic paint first and allowed to dry. Then I raided some nice magazines for flower and fruit pictures to decoupage onto the box. I used Marvy Medium to glue on the torn pictures and after I painted it all over as a "glaze come varnish". I thought torn edges gave a better effect. Then I ran an ink pad over the edges to darken them. Add a lock and handle on the top, a chain with charms, from Tom Holtz elements range for Altered Art, the charms a strawberry and leaves are from a jewellery bead shop.. I stamped the word garden on card and glued it on under a piece of acrylic, again from the Tim Holtz elements range.

** Allow plenty of time for the Marvy Gloss to dry, leave it open in a warm place, preferably over night as you don't want it to glue shut and ruin your work.

TFL

"Fozzberge"

Excuse the pun but my Goose Fozz layed me these amazing eggs so its not a Faberge Egg its a Fozzberge !! ..lol I had to do something with these other than just eat them so I blew the insides (made a magnificent sponge with those) and cleaned the shells to craft with. The photo is Fozz's egg next to an extra large chicken egg (also from my girls) in all they weigh in at about 9 ounces!

If you want to try this you can get Goose eggs at most farmers markets for about a pound each, plus you get to make a nice cake with the insides as 1 egg is enough for a decent size Victoria Sandwich cake.

You need to make a hole at either endof the egg one slightly larger than the other, I used a poky tool. Using a piece of wire, poke inside to break the membrane of the yolk. Then over a bowl to catch the egg blow very hard at the smaller end and get out all the egg. This takes a while but its not to bad. Submerge the empty shell in a bowl of warm soapy water and swill it out till the water comes clean. It will always have a slightly milky look but as long as its not yellow it will be fine. Then stand in a glass over kitchen paper in a warm place to dry for about a day.

Coat the egg with a layer of Gesso (or white acrylic paint will do) then when its dry paint again with some Marvy medium, this is like glue but goes tacky so makes good "size" for glueing the gold leaf on. Rub it all over with the gold leaf and polish it with a brush or just by rubbing it in your hands.

I used some ribbon stuck on with double sided tape and secured at the top with a drop of Glossy Accents. Then decorate with sequins, pearls etc as you wish. I used a large pearl beed secured with a long head pin poked through into the egg shell and a dab of glossy accents to secure it, then surrounded it with smaller pearls also glued with glossy accents and a few gems down the sides onto the ribbon. I had these gold napkin rings which make a perfect stand to display it but I intend to make a box as its for my Mum for Easter.

** Point to note, I tried to use clear versamark and emboss it but it came off, something to do with the porus nature of the shell I think. The paint worked best but I am sure if you did a base coat something like Cosmic shimmer paints or powders would give a nice effect. If you can't get a Goose egg you could use a duck or chicken egg but the result of course will be smaller and more fragile as a goose shell is very hard.

Grungepaper notebook holder

I made a little shopping list note holder for my mum to put in her mothers day bag. It was simple to do but useful for her I hope.

I used grungepaper as its soft and flexible like leather and softens with use unlike card which would fall apart. I basically cut a piece of grungepaper to the size of the pad height plus a little overlap and x 3 lengthwise as I want it to be a fold round wallet, you also need a strip to make the strap for the cover to slip under to hold it closed. I used paint dabbers (distress pads work as well) and covered the whole piece and the strip both sides. Then I ran it through the cuttlebug to give it a texture design. I dragged a clear embossing pad over the design and brushed it with perfect pearls (any mica powder would do though) to highlight areas of it.