Mica Powders, Stamping into UTEE, and Another Flying Head

I had a flying head left from when I did my flying heads ATC a couple of weeks ago, so decided to make another ATC with it. I've used the same stamp as before but this time stamped into the UTEE. I've used clear UTEE over the top of a background made using Cosmic Shimmer Powders. The head is made from air dry clay painted with gold acrylic paint, and the wings are Friendly Plastic.

This one's going on the ATC canvas that Matt's forcing me to make. I'll post a picture on here when it's finished, but don't hold your breath - it's taken me nearly 8 months so far! (If only I could have a few more hours in every day).

Think Monday - Think ATC

This week's challenge on TMTA is Walpurgisnacht (night of the witches). I've made the witch by assembling various bits of Paperartsy stamps (and a little bit of drawing). The background is Versamark resist using distress inks (sponged on) and a Cherry Pie cobweb stamp.

There's a link to the TMTA blog on the right.

Make a Moo or Two: Girls

This week's challenge on

Make a Moo or Two is Girls, and these are my Moos. I'm not sure why I've chosen to do them like this as I hardly ever do pink, and I almost NEVER do girly, but these are, I think, the pinkest and girliest things I've ever made. I can only assume that somewhere deep inside me there's a little bit of girliness waiting to jump out whenever I give it the opportunity! Ah well...

Green Queen

This is another one for my Stamping With a Twist swap. I've stamped the image into Friendly Plastic, and the background is stamped into UTEE with Radiant Rain spray behind.

Green is not a colour I use very often, but my Friendly Plastic order has got stuck somewhere in the postal system (or at least I hope it's just stuck, and not lost), so it was the only colour I had enough of left.

Stamping With a Twist

I'm hosting a swap on the DoCrafts Forum entitled 'Stamping with a Twist', the twist being that the ATC has to have a stamped image as the main point of interest but it can't be stamped on paper or card. This is the first ATC I've made for the swap. I've stamped the image into clay and then painted it with metallic acrylic paints. The background is PVA and mesh painted with metallic acrylic paints, and I've added some wire and beads to finish it off.

Flowers in Her Hair

Well, I haven't been very productive over the last few days. I'm on a diet and doing lots of exercise, and it's making me tired. I made this one on Thursday night and it's probably my favourite of the ATCs I've made this week. The background was made using Twinkling H2Os and clingfilm (there are lots of shimmery bits but they don't show up very well in the photo), and the flower is cut out from fabric. I've coloured the lace with inks to match the background.

Think Monday - Think ATC

I decided to have a go at the TMTA challenge this week. The theme is mermaids and sea sprites.

I created the background using Twinkling H2Os and clingfilm then added a bit of irridescent embossing powder in green and blue. At the bottom I created a rock using scrunched up tissue paper with silver acrylic paint and a bit of green embossing powder and glitter glue, added some seaweed made from fibres, some sandpaper and some real pebbles and driftwood. The mermaid and fish are printed images, and the shells preserving her modesty are hand drawn on white paper. I've also added a bit of green mesh at the top (well, I do have to use mesh on everything at the moment!) Finally I added a bit of Stickles glitter glue to make it look a bit more magical.

Make a Moo or Two: Vintage

These are my efforts for this week's Make a Moo or Two. This week's theme is vintage. I enjoy doing these as it's a challenge to work so small. I think there will be lots more moos to come!

Bits & Bobs Challenge

This one's my favourite of Bobs' challenges so far. Bobs supplied a piece of paper tape measure, a piece of corrugated card, a button and a safety pin. I don't do a lot of fabric work but I thought it would look good with these items and decided to give it a go. I've added a piece of linen, which I hand dyed using reinkers and water (I didn't have any proper fabric dye and didn't want to get any when it's something I wouldn't use a lot), silver thread which I've hand stitched around the edges, a bit of ink, and various ribbons and fibres which I've tied through the safety pin and the button.

A Bit of Aqua

I'm getting ahead of myself at the moment, but I wanted to do these because aqua is a colour I really enjoy working with. They're for the DoCrafts colour swap in June (turquoise/aqua).
The top one is a stamped image and fusible film background. I love the way the fusible film has turned out on this one. I didn't get on with it the first few times I tried, but am glad I persevered.

The second one is Friendly Plastic with mesh, wire, gems and accent beads on a stamped background with a bit of shimmer spray. I'd originally intended to use the Friendly Plastic piece on the fusible film background, but when I put them together I found that the background was a bit overpowering and took the eye away from the Friendly Plastic, so I decided on a simpler background with the Friendly Plastic and a small stamped image with the fusible film so that the background is the main feature. These were great fun to do!

Tick Tock

This is for a challenge I've set for Bobs on the DoCrafts forum. Bobs does a monthly challenge for whoever wants to join in, so I've been sending her some challenges of her own as I thought she might like to have a go! The only problem is I have to do my challenge as well. This month's challenge was to make an ATC using a watch face, a plastic slide mount and a piece of bubble wrap. All I've added on this one is acrylic paint, wire and the words "tick tock" stamped into air dry clay.

Flying Heads

I'm not sure what was going through my head when I made this one. I've combined rubber stamping, UTEE, moulded clay and Friendly Plastic.

Mr Sunshine

This is a another possible entry for Nicks' ABSA swap. It's an altered lip balm tin lid on a stamped leather background. I've painted the lid using bronze acrylic paint, attached a moulded Friendly Plastic face in the middle and Friendly Plastic rays around the outside. I've also added a few accent beads around the face.

Altered Matchbox

This is an altered matchbox for a swap I'm doing on the DoCrafts Forum. I've been working on it over the last two weeks, as I've had to keep waiting for things to dry, (something I'm not very good at!)

I've painted the matchbox with metallic green and champagne gold acrylic paints. On the outside I've added mesh, craft moss, a few natural fibres, and a leaf which I've made by stamping into clay. I've also added some beads which I've attached with wire. The inside is painted gold and I've added bark, a skeleton leaf, more mesh (I have to get over this obsession with the stuff), more craft moss, a paper flower, a dried pine needle and a frog moulded from clay. I've also added some gloss finish around the frog to resemble water and a few droplets in various places inside the box.

Make a Moo or Two - Women

This week's theme on Make a Moo or Two is Women. I enjoyed doing this last week, so decided to give it another go. I think it could get addictive!

Lucky Jim

Firstly, I will say in his defence, that that is his FOREFINGER he's holding up!

This is an altered poker chip on an aluminium mesh background edged with copper tape (a necessity because the mesh has very sharp edges), and is another possible entry for Nicks' ABSA (alternative background, something altered) swap. I still need to make a couple more before I decide which ones I'm putting in. I think this is a great swap and Nicks is very mean for only letting us do two!

I have distressed the poker chip using a PVA/acrylic wash which I've rubbed hard to make it peel a bit, and then a metallic rub-on over the top. I've added legs and the left arm made from beads and wire. The right arm is an old pen nib with copper wire wrapped around it, and the head is moulded Makin's clay painted with copper acrylic paint and a black PVA/acrylic wash.

Only the poker chip is attached, so the other bits move around - he just decided to cross his legs while I was taking his picture. I've decided to call him Lucky Jim.

Encaustic Art

I managed to get a couple of hours to do some encaustic art yesterday. This is something I don't get to do as often as I'd like because I work in the conservatory as the light isn't very good in our house. Unfortunately this means that, for the moment at least I can only do it during the day, which can prove difficult with two young children. Roll on summer! The pictures shown are ATCs and are my two favourites of the ones I did yesterday.

I find encaustic art very difficult to photograph, and the colours never look as vibrant as they do in real life, even with adjustments, so these are actually a lot more colourful than they look, especially the bottom one.

Gypsy Princess

Just the one for now! I made this one on Thursday night. I'm hoping to get a few hours to do some encaustic art over the weekend so I should hopefully have a few more things to upload over the next couple of days.