Marie Folded Cloth Heart

 Heart closed

Terri Gordon came up with another fabulous MAMA Swap.  This time participants created a Folded Cloth Heart to send to an assigned partner.

No glue to be used on this heart, this is to be sewn, either by machine or hand.

When you print out the pattern it should be 6 inches high by 8 1/2 wide. These are alot of fun to make, use beautiful laces and you can decorate your heart anyway you would like, you can also use color if you wish.

Rhonda and I were partnered together and both of us are ecstatic to be finally creating for the other one.  Especially since Rhonda is the wonderful person who invited me to join MAMA

 Outside of the heart

Originally I wanted to go darker, Marie without her head, because Rhonda loves the dark side.  However I just couldn't make it work so I went with the cupcake theme.  Most of the items I have used can be purchased through Alpha Stamps.

 Outside of the heart open

Terri made a wonderful tutorial that I followed most of, I had a lot of seed beads to sew on so I closed up my heart a bit differently than Terri suggested and it worked and there are no messing sew marks showing.

Inside of the heart 

The Inside design came to me before the outside.  I absolutely love these Eat Cupcakes Bookmark images that I purchased from Olgas Designs on Etsy

The cupcake images are from Alpha Stamps. I printed everything out on fabric and sewed them on the heart adding seed beads to enhance them.

The photos don't do this piece any justice, which is a shame because I really wish you all could see how pretty it is.  At least Rhonda will :)

And yes, I sewed on each and everyone of those pearls.  And yes, my fingers hurt.  So I am off to find some lotion and get started on my next project.  Hope you enjoy.  

Meet the Alpha Stamp Design Team Blog Hop Winner!

Last Week Alpha Stamps held a fabulously fun Blog Hop to introduce the Design Team.  I was thrilled to take part and loved all the comments. 

I offered, as a prize, a kit to make your very own "Slices of a Birdhouse" 

Once the hop was over I headed over to Random.Org and let the computer guru do it's thing.  The number picked was 4

and that number goes with.....

Jennifer Pearson Vanier

who said... What great fun! Lovely work

Congratulations Jennifer please take a moment to e-mail me cmoh@earthlink.net or leave a comment (I won't publish it) with your address so I can send off your prize.

Thank you all that took part in the hop, can't wait to do it again. 

Art Share ~ Stamp Out Crime

It's anohter ATC by the Stamp Out Crime group.  This simple, sunny, bright piece was cretaed by our fearless leader Sarette.  She was inspired by the book bellow, Unraveled Sleeve by Monica Ferris.  It is the 4th in a series called the Needlecraft Mysteries.

The art of needlecraft requires patience, discipline, and creativity. So, too, does the art of detection. Just ask Betsy Devonshire—who’s learning that life in a small-town needlecraft shop can reveal an unexpected knack for knitting…and a hidden talent for unraveling crime.

Unraveled Sleeve

Betsy Devonshire has settled into her new home in Excelsior, Minnesota, as owner of the town’s needlecraft shop. So why is she suffering from terrifying nightmares? She hasn’t a clue—but she thinks maybe it would help to get away for a while. With her friend Jill in tow, she heads north for a “stitch-in” at a remote, rustic lodge. But her nightmares only get worse—especially after she finds a dead woman no one else had seen. Then the body disappears—and she knows she won’t get any rest until she untangles the mysterious threads of the crime….

Sarette really likes the Needlecraft Mystery's because she did a 2nd ATC inspired by it.  This ATC was created after she read Thai Die (Needlecraft Mystery, Bk 12) by Monica Ferris.  I need to ask Sarette if these books need to be read in order. 

Just back from a trip to Thailand, Doris Valentine is eager to show Betsy and her other stitching friends her souvenirs. She also has a small stone Buddha that she agreed to deliver to a local antiques store. When Doris meets the dealer, he's surprised she threw out the dirty rag it was wrapped in, though relieved the statue's delicate h... more »ands aren't damaged.

That night, Doris's apartment is broken into, and some of her souvenirs are stolen. Than the antiques shop owner is found murdered - and the Buddha is missing. Betsy starts to wonder about the dingy wrapper she retrieved from the trash - made of silk and stitched with rare, exotic embroidery. Is the statue dangerous, or did its silk cocoon conceal more than carved stone?

To view other Stamp Out Crime ATC's select the Label Stamp Out Crime from the left hand toolbar on this blog.  Enjoy!

House Journal

It's been a long time coming but this is the last of the Circle of Friends round Robbin Journal Entries for this rotation. 

Andrea's Journal was in the shape of chipboard houses, she asked participants to do whatever they wanted but no personal photo's.

So I decided to make a "Tea House" out of one of the houses.

I stained the book pages with tea and brushed some tea leaf bits onto the page.

I made the window frame out of paper clay, painted it white, stained it with tea and then stamped it with a script stamp. 

The opposite side of the house is what's going on inside, beyond the window. 

Yesterday I shared a tutorial on how to add texture to foil without an embossing system.  Well, here is that project in it's entirety.

You can view the tutorial HERE

This is my "House of Blue's" which was the first idea that popped into my head.  I'm not 100% pleased with how it turned out but they can't all be perfect, right.

I used some of my paperclay stars (available in my store) to fill in some of the open spaces. 

And that's that.  I had a great time creating for this round of journals and I can't wait to start the next journal rotation.

Foil Texture Without an Embossing System ~ Tutorial

A few weeks ago I bought some foil tape to use on the roof of this house journal. When I got it home and read the instructions I realized that I don't have (nor do I want to buy) an embossing system and that there had to be a way to get texture without an embossing system.  So I started testing different techniques and boy did I come up with a bunch, this is only one, I will share the others over the next few weeks.

Supplies

Foil Tape

Thin Cardboard (like a cereal box)

Scissors

Glue

pen

Alcohol inks

Blending solution

Crackle Medium (Rangers Crackle accents)

rag

Step 1:  Decide what kind of pattern/texture you would like.  I am doing a roof so I decided on a scalloped edge that I would stack on top of one another.  Measure and draw out your design and then cut it out.

Step 2:  Glue your texture together

Step 3:  Trace and cut out the cardboard to the desired shape

Step 5:  Cover the Texture piece with foil tape

Step 6:  Press down the foil tape onto your texture piece making sure to bring out all the curves.  Be careful not to scratch the foil, use your finger tip NOT your nail. 

Step 7:  Trim around the shape leaving about an 1/8th of an inch to curve around to the back of your textured piece.

Step 8:  Gather your Alcohol inks and blending solution.

Step 9:  Apply Alcohol inks directly to the foil, let it run together

Step 10:  To ensure all the silver is covered pounce on the alcohol ink but DO NOT use any blending solution.

Step 11: OPTIONAL  I wanted a bit more texture so I covered my piece with Crackle Accents

Step 12:  OPTIONAL Because I added the crackle accent I decided to do another layer of Alcohol ink to fill in the cracks. 

Apply the ink directly to the piece and quickly wipe it away, if you get too much apply a bit of blending solution to a rag and wipe it away.  Be very careful here because the cracks go all the way through and if the blending solution reaches the color it will spread it and water the color down.

And that's that.  All done.  Yes I know that running the foil sheets through a machine is much easier but if you don't have an embossing system this is a way to achieve a nice look. 

Hope you Enjoy!

Meet the Alpha Stamps Design Team Blog Hop!

Hey all traveling the Alpha Stamps Design Team Blog Hop and welcome to my little abode in cyberspace. 

Sit back, relax, grab your favorite beverage and enjoy.

My name is Caroline Ouzts Hay and this is my first year on the Alpha Stamps design team, but as many of you know I've been hanging out with the gals of Alpha Stamps for quite some time and loving every minute of it.  The women of Alpha Stamps have inspired me to grow and learn and helped make me the artist I am today.

I found Alpha Stamps about five years ago when in search of a Pierrot stamp

(this one, isn't she darling!)

and since then have fallen head over heals in love with everything they have!  My favorite themes are Ocean, French, Tea/Coffee, to name just a few off the top of my head. 

I like to tell stories with the pieces I create, and frequently it is a book or image itself that inspires me.  With a book I love to create new art to depict scenes and the overall emotions that it brings out in a reader.  When I set eyes on an inspiring picture I like to make up a story to go along with it. 

This is one of the coasters I created for the Bird in Hats Swap (you can sign up now, just click the icon below).  We all know the story of Marie Antoinette, well this is the story of two birds that were watching and just might have gotten a little too close. 

Constantly the woman of Alpha Stamps stun me with their talent and ideas and I'm looking forward to what is planned in the future.  I can't wait to see all the lovely coasters and am thrilled that I am hosting the swap.  In the upcoming year I hope to continue to build on the friendships this group has fostered, meet new artist and grow more as an artist.

Now onto the fun stuff, right ;)

Giveaway

A kit, to help you make my "Slices of a Birdhouse"

the kit will include

3 collage sheets, paper, trims, flowers, ribbon and a bird

and arrive to the lucky winner packaged in a hand stamped baggie. 

 

But in order to help you out and for those that may not win.  I am going to share some of the techniques I used to create this piece.  The following tutorials will appear over the next few days in separate posts to make them easier to find.

How to put together  "Slices of a Birdhouse"
to make it easier to see I've opted to use colored cardstock for this tutorial, you of course would use the chipboard houses.

Draw a line down the center of house #2 leaving a 1/4" gap at the top (you will not cut that area)

Draw a line down the center of House #1 a 1/2" long

Now using a matt knife cut along the lines, DO NOT CUT  past the lines or your houses will not slip together evenly.

Slip House #2 over House #1 until they fit together snugly.
(You might have to widen your cut on House #2, I suggest sanded it a little)

Now draw a line down the center of House #3

and cut it into two

Now comes the tricky part, you can eyeball this (I did) or get out a protractor. 
Twist House #2 until it is roughly at a 45 degree angle from House #1.  Glue this into place (I used E6000) and let dry.

Lastly put some glue (once again I used E6000) along the edges of each half of House #3 and place them into the open space (about a 45 degree angle)

All done!  Now you decorate.

***

The next thing I would like to share with you is a tutorial I found on Pinterest, tried out, and made a few alterations to suit my purposes and style.

Karen B. of Todolwen made some beautiful Hymn Page Feathers and supplied a wonderful tutorial

Here is an image of Karen's feathers

Alas I had no hymn paper, and Karen's feathers were way to large for me.  So what follows are how to make the feathers for the "Slices of a Birdhouse"

Print out or draw your own feathers.  The above are the sizes I used on "Slices of a Birdhouse" 

Trace the template onto your desired paper and cut the feathers out.
Because my paper was thin, when I went to cut the feathers out I stacked two sheets of paper together and then cut.  However if your paper is thicker remember you will need to have a front and back for your feather.

Now it's time to cut some wire. 
I used a medium gauge wire but suggest a nice thick one.  Cut the wire slightly longer than the feather.

Glue the wire in place and smush the feather pieces together.

Now it's time to really turn it into a feather. 
Start cutting downward from the edge towards the wire.  I like to make sure the cuts are nice and uneven.

Give your cut feathers a little edge ruffling by running your finger along them and curling the paper in towards the wire.

Karen wrapped her stems with matching paper, I had a really hard time doing that so I decided to wrap my stems in coordinating seam binding.  I dipped the wire end into the glue and curled the seam binding around it.  Once it was dry I cut off the excess ribbon.

For some reason I distress everything, so the feathers got a quick brushing of tea dye and vintage photo distress sinks.

Not so surprising is that I added glitter.  I put a small amount on my finger and ran it along the edge of the feather, then sprinkled the glitter on.

 And voila, mini feathers!

Thank you Karen for the wonderful tutorial and the inspiration to make them. 

Well gang, that's about it.  I know it's long but it's fun!

If you would like to enter my giveaway (winner will be announced June 12th) please leave a comment and a way for me to contact you.