Tiny Little Glitter House

 This month at Alpha Stamps the kit is 3D House Ornaments.  I was so excited about this because I've been wanting to make some glitter houses.

 When I found out that Leslie had lights to go with this kit (the add on kit) I was over the moon, glitter and lights!  

I built everything on top of a Medium Craft Shadowbox so that I could hide all the light components inside the box. The house is built out of the Christmas Collage Flurry Paper that I then coated with Star Dust Glitter.  Normally I would have used Dresden to outline the windows and roof but I wanted everything on the house to be glitter so I created strips of gold glitter.  The doors and windows come with frames so I just covered those with the glitter and added them to the house.

 Y'all know how much I love my texture.  Well I discovered a new product, Snow-tex and oh my!  It is a lot lighter than modeling paste and I just love how it gives the appearance of snow banks around my house and fence.

 Yes, I know this picture is awful (blurry as all get out) but I just had to show you what it looks like all lit up.

And here is a better lit up picture but I didn't take this one in complete darkness like the above image.

I am going to make myself an entire town of these little cuties.  

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a wonderful holiday season!

Cigar Box Book Nesting Boxes

 Cigar Box Sweeties was the them for this months Alpha Stamps Kit

 I had purchased some Tiny Cigar Boxes and when this kit came out I knew I had to use them somehow. But y'all know me, I couldn't go simple and just decorate them...so I reached into my pile of books to alter and came up with this Nesting Cigar Box Book.

 In the past I have done tutorials on how to prepare a box for altering and how to create a box inside of a book (HERE).  This time I went with making two openings and I will be pulling together a tutorial soon.

 I love Dresden Flowers and Gold Dresden to me they make things look so rich and Victorian (my favorite time in history).

 When I saw the new Collage Sheets I instantly knew I wanted to use the Starry Queen image from the Small Cigar Labels and Bands Collage Sheet.

 I used texture paste to build up the clouds all around her and then sprinkled it with glitter.  Alas after all my excitement of working with this collage image I ended up disappointed with the outcome.  

 For my second tiny cigar box I again used an image from the Small Cigar labels and bands Collage Sheet.  This box just fell together perfectly and I absolutely love the outcome.  Inside each box is spray painted gold.

 I used a ton of different papers on this project from the Cigar Box Secrets Paper Collection. The papers are so rich and coordinate so well. To hold the tiny cigar boxes I built up two openings.  You can take the tiny cigar boxes out and use them or keep them inside this book.  

In the end I am really pleased with this creation.  It might just be my favorite so far this year, but then again I would have to go back and look at everything I've made. 

 I hope you are inspired by my creation.

You can purchase this piece in my Etsy Shop

Cigar Box Nesting Boxes

I have also put all my Halloween items on a half off sale and lowered the cost of some ornaments I made last year.  

Thanks for taking the time to stop by my blog.  

Complete List of Supplies Used 

(available at Alpha Stamps)

Cigar Box Secrets Paper - perfecto, panatela, corona, figurados, robusto

Cigar Label Banners Collage Sheet

Gypsy Coin Mix

Pink Roses Dresden Scrap

Senorita Cameo

Halfround Dresden Boarders - Gold

Cigar Box Label ATC Collage Sheet

Red Roses Dresden Scrap

Narrow Gold metallic Braid

Tiny Cigar Box

Small Cigar labels and bands Collage sheet

Diamond Stickles

Tiny Star Sequins

Cigar Box Secrets 6x6 paper pad

Lumiere Metallic Acrylic paint - metallic gold

Texture sand paste

Cigar Box Secrets Ephemera

Gold Ric Rac Dresden Boarders Set

Home for the Holidays Ornament Swap!

 Oh I am super excited about this one!

I am hosting the annual Alpha Stamps Ornament Swap and this year we are making mini houses.

Home for the Holidays

 The little chipboard houses measure ATC size 2 1/2 by 3 1/2

 The swap is a 3 for 3.  You make 3 and will receive 3 in return.  All you have to do is use the chipboard houses and at least one Alpha Stamp Collage Sheet or Rubber Stamp.

Not a member of the Alpha Stamps yahoo group?  You don't have to be.  Email me at ouztshay@yahoo.com and I will send you all the swap details and sign you up.  

If you are a member Sign up HERE

Don't miss out on this fun swap.  

My tree is full of handmade ornaments and I cherish them all.

Goblin Potion Altered Matchbox

 As I've mentioned before, it's that time of year...Halloween!  And no one does Halloween better than Alpha Stamps.  This year Leslie has pulled together a fun Goblin Kit.

 One of my favorite things to make around Halloween is special treat containers.  Did you see my Medusa Candy Jar?  Well, here is a little treat box.  This one you can fill with just about anything.

 I used paper, collage images, and Dresden all from the kit.  Some of my other supplies were black seam binding, potion bottles with sticker labels, and the poison rubber stamp set all available from Alpha Stamps.

 Inside is a tarot card reading scene with a large potion bottle and a spider web in the corner.  See lots of room for candy.

But my favorite part is the paper clay zombie hands that I made for the ends.  Doesn't' it look like they are reaching in to steal some candy!?!  

This piece is available in my store

Journal ~ In the City

 I am on a roll with this journal thing LOL.  Last week at Journal 52 the theme was In the City.

The idea of using flowers for clouds popped into my head before anything else and the page evolved from there. 

When I was done adding the paper bits I thought it was missing some things so I added a few bricks, wrote all the places I've lived and washed the entire page with an off white paint which is what really helped in my opinion.

I also added some shimmer to a few of the windows and flowers.  

Journal ~ Favorite Foods

I'm working a little, well more like a lot, out of order on the Journal 52 prompts.  This one is from Week 32: Favorite Foods. Cupcakes aren't my favorite food, I don't really have one, but they are my favorite to make.

 I had some trouble with this page and had to start it all over.  Can you see the image of the woman above?  Well, that is my grandmother who taught me a lot about baking.  I wanted to include her image and decided to try a new to me technique, gel medium image transfer.  It didn't work as well as I wanted it to but in the end I like how the page turned out.

 I cut along the edge of the page in the shape of the cupcakes.  You can see the next page peeking through.  

Medusa Candy Jar

 It's October!  Time to share Halloween goodies!

This one was so much fun to make.  It's a Medusa themed candy jar using Alpha Stamps products.

Wouldn't this be Awesome filled with Gummy Worms!  I mean after all that is the closes one is going to get to the Essence of Medusa this Halloween.

 And there is no way you can open/look at a Medusa Candy Jar directly to you must use the mini mirror provided.  

 The topper is a paper clay skull and crossbones.

This was so much fun to make and I know it will be even more fun to have out on the counter filled with Candy this Halloween Season.  

It is available in my Etsy store.

Lunch Box Notes F, G and H

Here is part 2 of my pre-school lunch box notes.  

Go HERE to download/print them out

C, D and E are HERE

Lunch Box Notes C, D and E

So I am one of those mom's who sends lunch box notes.  My mom used to write on napkins and I just loved getting them.  So moving along with the times I print out ones I find and toss them in.  My oldest has a hard time reading some of the ones I pick but she understands them for the most part.  My youngest, 4 years, has no clue but wants little notes so bad.  

I searched and searched but there just aren't any preschool level lunch box notes.  So what is an artist to do?  Well, I made my own and I am sharing them with you.  I hope you like them and that your little one loves them!

Each week in school she is learning a new letter so I have created 4 per week highlighting the letter she is working on.  This is just the first installment.  And If you really want me to do A and B I will, but my daughter is past those letters.  Just leave a comment.  

Click HERE for a link to go to a Google Doc and print them out/download them etc. 

Journaling ~ Rhyme

 I would by no means call myself a journaler but I have found myself a bit lost now that many of my swapping groups have shut down.  I discovered Journal52 and have been playing with their prompts.  

This weeks prompt was Rhyme Time.

I started with an acrylic background, covered it with gesso, then Twinkling H2O's next came some hand writien facts about the rhyme and randomly placed stamps.  I created the cow and moon from various decorative papers.  To finish it off I added some texture paste in a star pattern.

Envelope Art

Wendy from Bliss Angels hosted a fabulous Mail Art Swap.  We were paired with three other ladies and told "go" no rules just your imagination and it had to of course be mailable.  

I made my 3 all different.  

 This one is my favorite.  I hardly ever do anything with circus items and I don't have that many but I received the paper I used as a banner and just couldn't get that out of my mind.  The circus theme evolved from there.

 If you follow me you know that anything Ocean themed is my cup of tea.  So of course I had to create an envelope with that theme.  I wanted it to be a bit different and found this blue envelope in my secret stash.

 It's hard to tell but I covered the entire envelope in perfect pearls.  So shimmery and pretty.

 The swap didn't have to be mailed until the end of the month so I thought a Halloween themed envelope would be fun to receive.  

This one ended up being the most work and it is the one I like the least.  I hope that the recipient likes it better than I do.  

You can follow the progression of my pieces on Instegram, glittertartdesigns.

Nevermore...

 It's been a while, and I've missed it, since I created something for Alpha Stamps.  But what better way to get back in the swing of things than playing with some Poe?!?   The September Kit of the Month at Alpha Stamps is Edgar Allan Poe.  I love me some Poe!

 To create this piece I wrapped a wood block in decorative paper (available in the kit) adhered Poe to one corner and attached my crow with a dowel rod in the other corner.  The same paper (just the opposite side) I used to wrap the wood is used as the crows head and the banner background.

I'm hosting a swap over at the Alpha Stamps Yahoo Group for decorating the chipboard birds.  Come join us, it doesn't have to be done in a Poe style.

To achieve the feather like look on my crow I took apart a Gerber daisy flower (black) that I got at a local craft store.  I thought the individual petals looked perfect for crow feathers.  

Some of my finishing touches include 

Resin Skull Beads

Black Sweeper Fringe (hides the attachment of the petals at the neck) It's in the kit!

Black Pearl (for the eye)

Antique Typewriter Mini alphabet Set  

Edgar Allan Poe Kit ~ and a Swap Announcement

It's that time again...another Halloween season starting at Alpha Stamps and boy do they know how to celebrate there!  To start off Leslie has a killer Edgar Allan Poe Kit for sale.

Here is some inspiring art by some of the design team members...more to come.

But the real fun is the swap I am hosting through Alpha Stamps Yahoo Group

It's a 3 for 3 Raven cut out swap.  

Come and join us!

French Bird Cotton Pouch

 Before I took my summer break I had discovered a template to make this cute little pouch.  I made a few for a swap that I was in that were much simpler than this one. So I wanted to give it a try with a more creative design.  This is what I came up with.

 For this one I hand dyed and stamped the cotton.and hand sewed the silk ribbon roses.  Aren't the little birds egg centers just too much fun!

 I stamped and colored the little nest before attaching it.  

 And inside I lined the pouch with French blue lace. 

 Again I hand stamped and colored the Fluer de lis.

On the back you can really see the detail of the stamping.

All the stamps I used on this are available from Alpha Stamps.    

I have this one for sale in my shop.