A special Thank You [Tag] Card

My last post told you about how a bad week was turned about by a token of incredible wonderfulness from an amazing fellow blogger, Mrs.Craft.  (If you missed the post you can find it HERE – it will open in another window for you).

I wanted to make something to say ‘Thank You’ – but something a bit different from just a normal thank you card.  I’d been working on an idea of making a post about Tag Art,  and suddenly a little Fairy sparkle of an idea grabbed me and spurred me on to make a Tag Art card for Mrs.Craft.  But I needed a theme.  hmmmm

Something popped into my mind.  Mrs.Craft is the maker of some extraordinary show stopping slippers….  knitted slippers.  BUT STOP…  don’t think of ‘knitted slippers’, instead think Fairy Boots.

Mrs. Craft calls her creations Crocodile stitch slippers.  What kind of name is that for something which belongs in the land of the Fairies??  It says nothing about the absolute fabulousness of those magical slippers.   I mean to say … look at these Boots …

CreditL Mrs.Craft.

Credit: Mrs.Craft

All photographs of the boots belong to Mrs.Craft.

Every time Mrs.Craft posted about her ‘Crocodile stitch Boots’, I told her in a comment that she really should consider calling them something more wonderful.  Fairy Boots.  Unicorn Rider Boots.  Elfin Creepers.  That sort of thing.  Of course … Green creations could be called Crocodile Creepers.  But not these fantastical wonders!

When I was a child I can remember not wanting to wear my slippers which my mom had bought me.  But had they been given a magical name such as ‘Samantha’s Slippers’ or ‘Bewitched bootees’  (both after the TV series Bewitched – which I adored to as a child),  then I doubt very much that you’d have ever got them off my feet!

So with a nod to the Fairy vibe  I decided to theme the Thank You Tag card around Fairy Land, and I share the resulting card with you here…

(. . . and to borrow the words of Willy Wonka himself . . .)

“Come with me and you’ll be in a world of pure imagination . . .”

 

A Card for Mrs. Craft

The large red balloon was made by cutting out the same shape over and over, and then glueing them to each other so that the ‘half round’ shape for the balloon was achieved.

Oooo, yes please …  ‘Admit One to Wonderland’   I’m all for that!

….and … of course, there had to be Fairy Dust, after all …  we were in Wonderland!

What better place to allow your thoughts to take flight than when you’re DREAMING!

The Scroll on the front, to the right of the balloon reads:  “How does one become a butterfly?”  she asked.  “You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a CATERPILLAR”.

All the butterflies you see on the front are hand-made from card, but with a mix of embossing powders on them, and heated over and over, in order to make them look enamelled.  There are a couple of hidden ‘smiles’ on the front of the card, but I couldn’t photograph those as they were tucked away and pretty impossible to try to get a photo of.

Shall we go inside?…

A peep into the middle…

The centre is a tad less decorated … because well… one has to have a place to write!  But it still has charm …

The ‘DREAM’ which you saw peeping over the top of the front of the card is actually a Bookmark which I made specially for Mrs.Craft, for this card.  It simply slides off the top of the card, and can be used as a regular bookmark.

On one side of the inner card there is a ‘scroll’ which reads…

…  and it continues on the other page of the card, and tells you exactly what you need to enter the Land of the Fae…

OF COURSE!!  “… one must come with the right KEY“  …  now why didn’t I think of that?!   So …  where do we get the right key from???

…  look closely.  ‘The Right Key’ is there … suspended on a cobweb thread, inside a tiny glass bottle, which has been sealed closed and dusted with Fairy Dust.  The glass bottle is hung inside the card, on a length of woven Unicorn Mane Hair. (or something like that).

… And of course … no one would expect that a Tag Art card,  made with the help of a Fairy who was sat on my shoulder, would have a plain ol’ boring back.  Nooooo.  Mrs. Craft deserved the full works …  and the Fairy whispered into my ear and told me I was to tell her this …

“Your Wings exist  . . . FLY!”  …. so, Mrs.Craft,  I know you’re reading this, and I wanted to tell you that the Fairy who was sat on my shoulder told me to tell you that your wings really do exist.  Don’t be afraid to fly.  (But I don’t think she meant jump off a ledge and fly…  not that sort of flying.  I think she meant that you can do anything you put your mind to.  And … I agree with her.  I think you can too.   So then…. ETSY shop here you come!).  😜

Thank you again Mrs.C for the wonderful gifts.  You won’t ever know how much your kindness  meant  means to me.  Bless your beautiful heart.

Edit to add:  Mrs.Craft has (a few hours before I did) made a blog post about this card and the fabulous Chutney which she had made and sent me a jar of.  If you’d like to read her post too, you can do  HERE   <— click to be taken to Mrs.Crafts blog post.

And now you …. no, not Mrs. Craft, but you...  you reading right now …  I want to do a post about Tag Art.  So … we’ll do that in a few days.  You see a little while back …  I introduced some folks to working in ATC size – which I was thrilled to pieces about.  Seriously so.  But … I kind of would love to also introduce those folks to TAG ART too.  It’s another fabulous way to craft, and really very easy.  So … that post will come in a few days. I promise. [holds pinky finger up]

Thank you so much for coming.  I love seeing you here and love even more when I get to chat with you, so please say hello in a comment.  Tell me what’s going on.  How you are.  How your cat/dog/bird/children/boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife/parent(s) are.  Failing that … tell me your current guilty secret.  Have you bought something you shouldn’t?  Or planning to?  Do tell.  I love the juicy bits!  😎

I hope your Thursday is a truly lovely day.  Please …  Do something which makes someone else smile.  Pull a face.  Cross your eyes and pull your tongue out.  Just make someone smile.  It might just make their whole day into something worth being alive for.

A smile is a magical gift.  Use it.  LOTS.   It never runs out. 

Sending oodles of squidges to you ~

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Believe in the Magic . . .

In a comment on my last Fairy Dress bit of artwork (an A.T.C. – you can see it  HERE  –  it will open up in another window for you),  I received this message … or maybe it was a letter … 

Dearest Cobs,
I would like to place my order for a lovely fairy dress in my size. I would also like it to have a bit of magic in it so that it makes my size be about 5 sizes smaller. And if I’m going to ask for some magic I should also like the feathers to be completely functional so that I can lift my skirt and fly away whenever the mood strikes me!
Sending you the fluffiest of fluffy feathered blessings!
~ Tami

Well, this young lady didn’t discuss colours, she only mentioned feathers, and a magical dress which would make her look at least 5 sizes smaller.  But … I don’t think it would be small enough for a real Fairy Dress in Fairyland … so I’m going to have to wave a Magic Wand over Miss Tami and simply change her into Fairy Size.  However, I have made her a dress which has a feathered skirt, – the feathers of which have been kissed with colour by a Kingfisher as he flew past.  As Fairy Tami flies, the feathered skirt will simply brush away from her legs which will allow her to land easily.

The Fairy Wings are the most beautiful of feathers …. but they’ve been died, cut and tinted to make them look like a butterflies wings.

The Skirt …  has been adorned with Diamond like Crystals, which can also be found on the bodice, at the centre of each flower.  The Bodice was all hand painted.

Above the Fairy Dress is a crown of gold ….  again decorated with Diamond like Crystals, and placed at a slightly jaunty angle, as I feel that Miss Tami would wear her crown at a slightly jaunty angle to show the fun side of her character.  (And believe me, that gal has a MAHOOSIVE fun side!  lol).

Although the four photos might appear to be exactly the same, they actually aren’t.  I tried my best to show the little details of this card so had to use different lighting in the hope of drawing attention to things so that you got a full idea of the whole card.

The Fairy Dress and Wings are mounted on an 8″x8″ plain white card blank.  The Teal colour around the edge is actually called Aquamarine, and is made using one of my most favourite crafty products – Pinflair Buff-it.  I LOVE this stuff and have it in about 8 different colours.  You can buy it direct from  Pinflair HERE –  I’ve shopped with them for many years now and cannot fault their service.

After I’d applied the Buff-it and polished it to a shine,  I then applied wriggly lines of glue all over the card and added very fine glitter dust to that glue.

I fixed the Dress and Wings in place;  fixed the crown at a jaunty angle, and finally fixed the word ‘believe’ to the bottom right hand corner – which I’d printed onto some thin white cotton.

And that’s all there was to it!

I do hope Miss Tami likes it.  Of course… she’ll have to have a fitting to ensure that it fits OK, but personally .. I can’t see a problem.  I think it will fit like a glove.

All that’s left for me to say now is ….  I hope your week is going well and that it’s not too hot, nor too cold where ever you are right now.  Here … well it’s a little humid in my cottage, but I’m sure it’s like that for a reason …  and being England, the weather will change if you blink so I’m sure it won’t last for too long.  (Although it’s three days here in the South Coast, and I am getting just a little fed up of feeling like a wilted flower).

Have a wonderful day, whatever you’re doing.  And whatever you’re doing, be nice.  Smile.  A smile costs nothing, but it can change a person’s whole day.

Squidges, from me here in my corner to you there in yours.

And Pigs Might Fly! ~ an ATC painted for World Watercolour Month

I’m going to type this blog post and get it all finished and completed within 15 minutes.  Yeah … and pigs might fly!

I got out my paints this afternoon (Sunday) with the intention of painting an Angel …  but then a stray little ticklish memory came to mind and I found myself pencilling a flying pig, and so I went with it.

P ‘And Pigs Might Fly’  ~ an ATC sized painting for ~ #WorldWatercolorMonth

It was quite a quick painting project, the longest time was waiting for colours to dry so I could move onto another colour  …  but my heat gun helped with that just a tad.

Again, painted to the ATC size of 2.5inches by 3.5inches.  You can see the exact size in the photo above – the pencil marks around the sides – but I always leave an ‘over-hang’ so that I can touch/hold the painting and move it around without getting mucky finger prints on it and spoiling it.

‘And Pigs Might Fly’  ~ an ATC sized painting for ~ #WorldWatercolorMonth

I tried a white mount around it and quite liked that.  But then tried the blue mount and …

‘And Pigs Might Fly’  ~ an ATC sized painting for ~ #WorldWatercolorMonth

…  I quite liked that too.  One moment I love it with the white mount … and the next … well … what can I say.  I like them both.

What about you?  Which one do you prefer?

This really was an enjoyable make.  Watercolour paper.  Watercolour paints.  Some brushes and some water … and VOILA!  One teeny pig with really tiny teeny wings. Somehow I don’t think those wings would carry the pig … but hey…  who am I to judge?  I have no training in these things!  😇

Happy Monday!

I know, I know, you’re not overly impressed with Mondays.  Lots of people aren’t.  So let’s break the system.  Let’s paste a smile on our faces and wear it at every opportunity today.  Why?  Because it makes everyone wonder what the HECK you’ve been up to.   You’ll look like you’ve been up to something or know something.  Keep ’em guessing.  When they ask you just say   “Aw,  nothing,  really” … but say it in *that* way which makes them think that  …  you might not be telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.   And that alone will keep ’em smiling.  lol

Have a truly blessed day my friends,  and wherever you go today,  may your God go with you.

I Grew a Flower Baby in a Pot! ~ an ATC painted for World Watercolour Month

When it said on the packet:  “Baby Seeds” – I thought it was referring to the size of the flowers which would grow.  I didn’t think I was supposed to take it literally!

Ah I’m joshing with you really.  I didn’t really grow a Baby in a Flower Pot!  I painted a baby growing in a flower-pot …  in ATC size, especially for World Watercolour Month.

an ATC sized painting for ~ #WorldWatercolorMonth

I got about half way through this and wasn’t entirely sure that it was coming out as well as I wanted it to.  I nearly gave up and started again.  Not sure what pushed me on, but I’m so glad that I did because I fell in love with this little scrap by the time I’d finished.

If you look carefully at the photo above, you can just see the pencil marking of the actual size for an ATC/ACEO ~ and that size is:  2.5″x 3.5″.  I tend to cut a piece of watercolour paper just a little bigger than that size so that I can hold onto the card and move it around, as I’m painting ~ without spoiling the painted image with a finger or thumb marks.

an Artists Trading Card sized watercolour painting, painted for  #WorldWatercolorMonth

I tried three different mounts on this little hand painted card and all three seemed to bring out different aspects of the card . . .

A Flower Baby Growing in a Pot ~  an ATC/ACEO painted in watercolours, especially for  #WorldWatercolorMonth

The green mount seems to pick out the two little green leaves growing from each side of the Baby.  Is she/he perhaps ….  a Fairy or Angel Baby?  Are the leaves in fact ….  wings?

But … I think my favourite mount colour, for me, has to be the creamy white mount:

A Flower Baby growing in a Flower Pot!   And ATC/ACEO hand painted  especially for #WorldWatercolorMonth

So … which mount do you prefer?  Blue?  Green?  White?  Or perhaps you prefer no mount at all.

Anyhoo ….  HAPPY SATURDAY!

I hope your day is sweet from morning till night, and that the Bluebird of Happiness flies over your house and leaves a little magic happy dust, sprinkled from its wings, over your home.

Whatever you’re doing today, do it with all of your heart, for that’s where your happiness lives.

Have a truly blessed Saturday my friends.

Love is like a butterfly, as soft and gentle as a sigh . . .

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Before I get to talking about card making ….  I’m sorry about the invite above saying: ‘Follow my blog with Bloglovin’ … I had to insert a bit of computer code into a new post order to ‘claim my blog‘. I’m not really sure why I need to claim my blog, but I noticed some other bloggers have done this so, in order to find out what it’s all about, I registered with Bloglovin. Will see what’s so exciting about it.  You can ignore it … you don’t have to click to follow me on there – unless you want to, of course.

There are cards for every sort of occasion and every type of person, (or personality) and I sat for 20 minutes trying to decide on what sort of card I was going to make for a relatives 89th Birthday.  I’ve made her cards  (Birthday, Christmas etc) for a few years, but I felt that she needed something different this year.  Not so fussy, but still with something going on.  Hmm… something with butterflies I think.

I knew I had a little kit which made up two jars of either butterflies or sweeties so I went in search of them among the box of Hunkydory stuffs.  I’d forgotten how pretty they were and the moment I saw them I knew that I’d make her one of these.

In ‘kit’ form this is what you get:

The pink jar is the sweet jar, and the blue, as you saw at the head of this post, is the butterfly jar.  But … there’s nothing to say that you can’t mix them up and swap butterflies for sweets.

Now … I have a bit of a problem in making ‘kit cards’.  I ALWAYS feel like I’ve cheated and let the whole crafting community down.  I don’t know why I feel like that, I just do.  But, I know that there very much is a place for kits and also know my relative will love this card.  It’s very ‘her’.

You begin by popping out the ‘front’ central part of the jar, and then cutting some clear acetate  to match the shape of the ‘hole’ in the front of the jar, you then fix that to the inside of the card front.

showing the rear of the card and the acetate fitted and fixed to the front of the jar.

It’s when you get to this point in the making that you need to stop and think about how you’re going to write the card out when it’s made.  Yup… you need to do that now before you fix any of the butterflies into the jar, because once fixed in place, you’ll have a difficult time trying to write on the back of the card.

The reason the card has that 3D effect is because of the roundedness of the front.  And that happens because the front is cut slightly bigger than the back. So once you’ve fixed the butterflies into the inside of the jar you then fix that card (jar) front in place.  If you scroll up to the photo of the unmade kits, you’ll notice that on the one edge of the card front, there’s a little flap.  That little flap allows you to adhere the front to the back … but because the card front is too big it ’rounds out’ and so gives the jar it’s shape.  (The use of craft clamps comes into use for this part).

This is the finished card as far as the kit is concerned, however you can then add your own touches to it to make it yours.

I added some deep pink with white dots ribbon ‘ties’ which I made (look like bows but not bows), and a silver metal, dangly charm fixed onto a large white paperclip,   which had a little more of the ribbon looped onto the top of it,  which I attached it to the back of the card so that the charm was dangling down next to the hand-written message.

I totally forgot to take a photo of the extra touches until it was packaged and sealed inside its postal box so you’ll just have to imagine the end result.  [sigh…  I’d be terribly dangerous if I had a brain]

And, as they say, that was it!  VOILA!  It’s an easy to put together card, the majority of the time is taken up with trimming off the little ‘tabs’ from where the die cuts were still attached to the cardstock.  Other than that it’s a simple card to make.  But looks so pretty when made.

As I was putting this card together I kept singing the theme song to a lovely, gentle sitcom, called Butterflies,  which was made and shown on the BBC, here in the UK,  between 1978 to 1983, and if I find it showing now, I’ll actually sit and watch it, just to be reminded of a more gentle time.  The theme tune is the Dolly Parton song Butterflies, but for this programme it was recorded by a singer called Clare Torry, and I think this may have been because Ms Torry had a little softer and more gentle tone to her voice.

It’s only 38 seconds long, so I share it with you here:

If I’ve got an earworm I think I should share it with everyone so that you can have it too.  I was taught that it’s nice to share.  [grins]

Have a beautiful Wednesday, whatever you’re doing.  Thank you for coming and having a coffee with me, I love having your company.

Sending my love,  from here in my corner to you in yours.

 

 

To capture a Fairy in a Jar . . .

To capture a Fairy in a Jar ...  you simply have to be gentle and kind, and want to capture her (or him) with all your heart.

I originally found a photograph of a fairy in a jar on Pinterest. I fell in love with it instantly and literally stopped everything I was doing and got all the supplies out on my desk and began to make my own jar ready to capture my fairy, right there and then.

I’ll warn you now that this blog post is photo heavy.  I totally forgot to take pictures at each stage of the make, simply because I was SO into making it.  But I’ve taken a photograph from all angles of the finished fairy in my jar, so that you can see it all around and even on top, and I’ve taken photo’s in sunlight from the window in my craft room,  at dusk in my craftroom and even in the house in the darkness – at night-time, with all the lights off.   So here goes, dear reader.  Get ready for lots of photos ….

My Captured Fairy in a Jar with the lid off.  But she didn’t want to escape!  She preferred to gaze at her star and make wishes!

Showing the left hand side of the Fairy in a Jar.  You can see the grass which the Fairy is sitting in.

The right hand side of the Fairy Jar.

The back of the Fairy Jar ~ created by Cobwebs.

looking at the jar with the lid in place, from above.

I chose to keep the lid of the jar, as I wanted to have a choice of how it was displayed (lid on/lid off).  My original idea was to have the lid on during the daytime when the Tea lights weren’t alight, and leave the lid off at night when the lights were switched on.  But I actually love it both ways.

I did, at first, decorate the glass lid with white cotton fabric (like shirt fabric), which I tied on with string around the  knob on the top.  (It was glued in place).  I decorated it with buttons and flowers.  However, when I stood back to look at it, I wondered if I’d like it better if I’d have done the same thing on the lid as I’d done to the jar itself.  I lived with it for a couple of days, then stripped the cotton off, scrubbed it clean again and decorated it to match the jar.  And …. I love it like that!

The Fairy Jar without the Tea Lights lit and no flash from the camera, just lit by the light from the window.

Lit only by the light from the window.

Showing the Tea Lights inside.

You should only use battery operated Tea Lights inside a Fairy Jar.  That’s so important that I’m going to say it again:  YOU SHOULD ONLY USE BATTERY OPERATED TEA LIGHTS IN A FAIRY JAR!  This is because you’ve glued paper and or card to the inside of the jar.  Paper/Card and Candles DON’T MIX WELL  – unless you want to start a FIRE!  We don’t want any accidents … so please don’t even try out a candle inside the jar.  Please, please buy battery operated Tea Lights for your version of a Fairy Jar. You don’t have to put three in if you don’t want to.  One works … Two makes things twinkle brighter, and three, for some reason, makes Fairy Wings seem to flutter just a little.  Why is that, I wonder?  It must be Fairy magic!

Even with no lights on an only the sunlight from the window to light it in order to take the photos, the Fairy Jar still looks incredible.

Another view of the Jar from above, so that you can see it without any light other than that from the window.  Still looks lovely, doesn’t it!

My wonderful little Grandson comes to visit at the weekend and we have him for about 5/6 hours to give mum and dad a little free time to do stuff.  When he came last weekend, I introduced him to the “Fairy Shadow I caught in a Jar!”  …  I didn’t want him to hear me say I actually caught a Fairy in a jar, because … well, he knows me to be kind and loving, and anyone who’s kind and loving most certainly doesn’t catch a Fairy and stuff them into a jar!  So I explained that I’d caught a Fairy’s shadow.  That sounded much nicer, more gentle, more kind and loving.

I didn’t think he’d be over-impressed, after all it was just a Fairy, and the big thing in his life was CARS!  – however he was awestruck!  I came in from my craft room, carrying the already lit and lidded jar really carefully, and I whispered to him that he had to:  “be very quiet and careful because I’ve captured a Fairy Shadow in a Jar!”  ….  I placed the jar down on the coffee table so that he could see it.  His little face was a picture.  He got down on the floor and perched his chin on the coffee table and gazed, . . .  and his eyes grew to the size of saucers!  There was so much magic showing on his face and in his eyes.  So much ‘awesomeness’ (I don’t think that’s a word,  I think I made it up for the purpose of explaining – lol).  He looked at it for ages.  Then, moving quietly around the coffee table – he examined it carefully from all angles.  All of a sudden  … he slowly lifted his arm,  and with one finger he delicately reached out and  v.e.r.y.  gently  touched  the side of the Fairy  Jar,  almost as if he wasn’t sure if what he thought he was looking at, was actuall really, really there!   Thankfully …  I managed to capture that very moment on my camera . . .

My Grandson – aka ‘The Funshine of my Life’ – was incredulous.  He couldn’t believe what he was seeing with his own eyes.

I was totally thrilled to pieces that he liked it.  Everybody else could hate it if they wanted to,  but the fact that he liked it, was so impressed and so awestruck by it meant the absolute world to me.

I was so engrossed in the making of this Fairy Jar that, as I said previously,  I totally forgot to take photographs of each step of the making.  However …  I’ve got something better than my explanations.  A video, which you’ll find at the end of this post.

I enjoyed making this so so much.  It was fun from the start to the end.  I was going to give it away,  but, once it was made  …  I fell head over heels in love with it and couldn’t part with it.

In the video which you’re about to watch  …  White tissue is used in the making.  I however used a VERY PALE pink tissue in this project (above)  and as you can see, it worked perfectly – as you can see from the photos.  But it was simply a matter of choice.  I have a selection of tissue colours.  Something about the pale pink called to me, and I found my hands reaching for it.  So … don’t feel you have to follow the instructions to the letter.  If there’s something you want to do which will make a fairy jar yours and yours alone, then do it!  If you want to use  …red tissue then do so!  Blue tissue to make it look icy?  Go ahead!  Oh – and do post some photo’s on your blog, and then come back here and let me know so that I don’t miss your fairy, because I’d love to see more of these.  I’m already planning another one and I’ve just today found a wonderful jar in the shed which will work brilliantly!

Edit 29/6/16 – to Add:-   There is  NEW  FAIRY  JAR,  complete with photographs of how it was made,   here:  https://thecobweboriumemporium.wordpress.com/2016/06/27/a-fairy-captured-in-a-fairy-jar/    . . . .  It will open in another window for you. ~ Cobs.

 

If, after watching the video, there’s anything that you want to ask about the Fairy Jar In the photographs above, which I may have forgotten to mention, then please feel free to ask in a comment here and I’ll answer you within 24 hours.  One thing I think I haven’t mentioned is that the glitter I used on the outside of the jar was a chunky glitter, not the fine stuff, which I mixed a little card makers ‘snow’ into it, just to add that ‘frosted’ look to the whole thing.

So,  that’s me done and dusted for another beautiful day.  It’s been a little windy around here the last few days.  But thankfully we were not ‘hit’, other than a few branches in our garden came tumbling down – but nothing structurally was hit, so I’d call that blessed.

I hope you too have a truly blessed day.  Remember to stop and enjoy life – even for just a moment, and in that moment be thankful for all you too are blessed with.

Sending love ~

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Hark I Hear the Angels Calling …. or is it my My Hermes delivery lady at the door?

I’m still racing to catch up after being poorly – and although I made this one last week, I couldn’t post it until I’d given it to my My Hermes delivery lady, and since it’s now in her possession, I can now share photo’s of it!

As were all my Christmas cards this year, I made this on a 6×6″ base card with a high gsm, so that it would take the weight of the embellishments and papers I wanted to use.

I began by searching for an Angel image that I loved, and then, once found,  (image above – isn’t she just beautiful?), it was simply a case of seeking out some vintage sheet music which partnered her, and I couldn’t have found anything more perfect than “Hark I Hear the Angels Calling” – which I resized and printed out. (It’s a royalty free image – as is the Angel).

I used some vintage type paper on the outside of the card, in sort of muted shades  which I knew would sit nicely in the background, and attached some cotton  lace to the top and bottom of the card.

After printing out the Angel, I matted and layered the image onto two shades of blue linen effect card and attached it to the background using some dimensional tape.  The sheet music, I rolled and then curved it so that it sat ‘naturally’ and adhered it in place.

I added a fancy, bright silver metal corner, some faux miniature holly and berries, a white Christmas rose and a deep burgundy smaller rose, a previously gilded miniature frame, and a length of pearls – which trailed around the card, in and out of the music, around the roses and under and over the holly.  I added a little glitter here and there and the front was complete.

I’m not going to bore you to tears with how I did the inside of the card … instead, I’ll just show you what I did – because you’re all super intelligent beings, with brains far bigger than mine and you’ll be able to see what I did – so here goes:

The Bauble  ↑  is a stamped image.  – adorned with gems to make it look pretty.

“Oh!”  I hear you say . . .   “.. what is that on the inside front of the card?”  ….

Ha!  Who’da guessed!   It’s a Christmas Stocking!  (in the same shades of blue as the Angels Wings!  ….  see, … I do [sometimes]  plan these things!  lol)

I had to make it a little box as it was too chubby for an envelope!

Some close up details:

A ‘gem’  in the same colour as the deeper shades in the Angels Wings – I ‘glittered’ the gem to add opulence to it.   A wooden lock – which I gilded.  A miniature silver metal key which I did a little twinkling job on and made it shine like it was gold.

The frame around the ‘Merry Christmas’ sentiment – I only partially gilded, as I wanted it to look distressed.

I believe …  do you?  A metal charm which I kind of beat up a little to make it look aged, and then added a little verdigris twinkle around the edge to just take it up a notch.

And that’s this card done, delivered to my wonderful My Hermes delivery lady, and shared with you!

I’m back in my craft room tomorrow because I’m STILL trying to catch up!  But …  I won’t bore the pants off you with anything I produce after mid-day! LOL.

Have a wonderful Christmas Eve all.  May peace rest upon your homes today and stay with you all throughout Christmas.

Thank you for visiting.  I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your time.  It seriously means the world to me.  Thank you.

Heaps of love

Wings of Peace, Courage and Love.

In my last post I said how difficult I found making ‘Sympathy’ cards, I think because it’s so difficult to accurately gauge the deep, all-encompassing pain which descends upon someone when they suffer the loss of a loved one.  So it came as quite a surprise to find myself making yet another ‘sympathy’ card, – this one very much different from the last one.

I had my Ranger Melting Pot (aka The Cauldron) out the other day and made a few things, putting most of them on one side for projects at some other point.  One of the things I made was the Angel Wings you see on the card above.  I got the little box out where I’d stored them along with the other items I’d made and the moment I picked up the Angel Wings and held them in my hand …  I knew I should make another sympathy card, this time using them as the feature embellishment on the front.

I laid the wings onto my desk and looked at them for a minute or so.  They were lovely – but there was something missing.  Took me a moment to figure it out.  Wax.  They needed high-lighting in pearl wax so that the individual feathers came to life and caught the light.  It took just a minute to do – but they looked so lovely once I’d polished them to a shine.  (Nicer than in the photographs – but sadly I’m not a great photographer so please make allowances for me being rubbish with a camera!)

I went through my stamps to find the right one which would be suitable to use – and although I stamped out several of them (wasting card like it was going out of fashion) – none of them were right.  They were either the wrong sentiment, or they were the wrong type face for the words.  In the end I decided that I’d print my own words, using my computer and my printer.  That’s when the ‘fun’ began.

It took me  a very hot  one and a half frustrating  [insert appropriate swear word]  hours just to get that sentiment from the computer to my card!  I had to work out where I needed to place the typed words on a word type document that I was looking at on the ‘puter screen – which would mean it would be in the right place when I put my card through the printer.

(Again – this resulted in more card being put into the ‘trim off the rubbish bits and put the rest into the ‘scraps’ draw’ pile.   Grrrr!)

Seriously – it was frustrating to the point that my sensible mind telling me to:   “just give up woman, you’re not going to get this right!”  – the problem was  →  – I was determined that it wasn’t going to beat me.

Then suddenly all the planets aligned.  There was a Star to the East.  My Lottery Numbers came up and ….  well no, actually that didn’t happen  . . .   but it certainly felt like it did when the printer delivered the perfectly placed sentiment, with the right font,  right place and right colour.   Ta DAHHHH!   (Was that a choir of Angels I heard singing?  At this point I really wouldn’t have been surprised.)

I attached the wings to the card using a mix of two glues – one an ‘instant’ fix – which was the hot glue gun.  The other one a glue which needs time to dry, but dries clear and holds well.  Then it was time to deal with the inside.

I didn’t feel it needed me to add words to the inside of the card,  but instead leave it blank inside so that the sender could write a short, or long note of condolence depending upon how they themselves felt.

Instead I decided upon a single creamy white Angels feather, tied with a bow of satin ribbon, attached to the inside of the card.

And that was it.

It’s quite a simple card  (or would have been, was I not so technically challenged!)  and once I’d got the positioning right of the sentiment, it was easy to pull it all together.  However – I think it’s perfect in its unfussy, simplicity.  It conveys the right feeling, in the right way, but it doesn’t go over-board.  I think I got the balance just right on this one and I love the finished card.

I think I got the balance just right on this one.  I really love the finished card and hope you like it too.

Have a happy Sunday.  I hope the weather is kind to you and that peace rests in your heart and soul today, where ever you are. 

Have a truly blessed day, all. 

 

For those who believe – no explanation is necessary. For those who don’t, no explanation is possible.

A handmade card, but with a story behind the making of it.

Last weekend I had my  cauldron  Ranger Melt Pot out with the idea of making ‘something’ (I knew not what at that moment in time).  I didn’t have a plan.  I just knew I wanted to play with my Melt Pot.  Everything was on my desk, ready and waiting for me to conjure up something which I could make in my Ranger Melt Pot category here on my blog.  But what?  WHAT?

I sat back in my chair and had absolutely no ideas.  My mojo had gone out for drinks and not invited me.  

Ah well, I said to myself,  you’ve got the thing out now, so just mess around, and who knows, something might come from playing and making a mess.  I stamped out an image of some Angel Wings, embossed and then distressed them using denim ink and lavender ink.  Cut them out and then shaped them to given them some depth and ‘apparent’ movement.  I printed out some words onto some lightweight card – thinking that I’d put the wings in the Melt Pot and mount them  onto the card.  But .. I decided that I’d do it the other way round.  So I cut out the words into a big ’round’ –  using my EK circle cutter, – and then distressed around the edges of that circle with the same inks I’d used on the wings.

Turned on the melt pot and once my crystals had melted I began to move the large circle around in the molten liquid.  I advise CAUTION when using a melt pot – keep tools in each hand so that you’re not tempted to touch anything.   I use a pair of long-handled craft tweezers in one hand and a bamboo skewer in the other.  It doesn’t stop the urge to touch – but it makes you touch in a safe way, with the tools rather than your fingers.

Once I’d coated the front of the circle, I removed it from the liquid and just let it drip for a moment, then laid it flat to let it ‘set’ and go cold.  Unfortunately – the lightweight card was too lightweight and it curled all around the edges and curved in places.  It wasn’t what I wanted.  I cleaned up and left the coated surface on one side.

Then a couple of days ago I looked at it again and told myself to try using it and see what I’d come up with.  So here’s what I did:

Originally I chose a white 6×6″ card but changed my mind and used a 6×6 craft card instead; and some white feathers.  I placed the wings on the circle where I felt they looked best, but the circle still seemed like it was missing something.  So I chose a tiny glass bottle with a cork stopper, and put the tiniest of white feathers inside it, along with a teeny pinch of iridescent glitter, just to draw the eye to the feather, as I knew it would stick to the feather and the inside of the glass jar.  It looked really lovely – so I glued the jar to the disc, and fixed the wings in place.

I felt that the wings looked a little flat, so I used some Anita’s Gloss and carefully coated the wings then put everything to one side while I worked on the card.

Using brown and a shimmering gold (not mirror) card, I cut out circles so that I could mat and layer the wings/words/glass jar onto them.

I chose some blue ribbon in a shade which echoed the blues of the distressing around the edges of the wings and the disc, and using some permanent tape, I fixed the ribbon running it over the back and front of the card, exactly at the ‘half way’ mark.

I fixed the first layer of the cards onto the front of the card.

… then matted and layered the other discs in place, sometimes tucking a white Angel Feather into the layers.  Once the wings were dry and the glued bottle was fixed in place, I fixed some feathers onto the top layer then applied the disc topper which I’d made on top, adding just one smaller feather tucked under the outter edge of the wings.

Three close-ups of the teeny tiny white Angel Feather in the bottle.  It was really hard to capture the feather – so I chose the best three photos of a large bunch of rubbish ones that I took.

Of course – there HAD to be a surprise inside the card …  (you knew that, didn’t you! lol)

On the front page of the insert is a psalm from the bible, which speaks of Angels:  I stamped it onto some white paper, and distressed it a little, then fixed it to the craft paper insert

In case you can’t read it, it says:  He Shall Give His Angels Charge Over Thee, To Keep Thee In All Thy Ways.  (Psalm 91:11).

Then on the inside, middle of the insert . . . .

. . .  a pair of white feathered Angel Wings, and a stamped image of a feather, drifting freely.

Once finished, I really like this lovely card – which began with a disenchantment with the way the topper turned out, but I’m really glad that I made it into a card.  It looks a little flat in the photo’s, but to the naked eye it has a depth and a wonderful warmth and gentleness about it.  And to be quite honest – if someone sent me this card I’d be chuffed to bits.  Seriously chuffed to bits!

I hope you like the card too.

So anyway  …  enough of me and my crafting.  What have you been making or doing?  Leave me a message with a link to your blog and I’ll come and take a look and leave you a message too.

• You can leave messages on any post or article on my blog by  . . . 
• scrolling up to the title of that article which you want to comment on and …
• looking for the little grey speech bubble to the right of the title. (Hover your cursor over the title of a post then move it to the right and the speech bubble will turn from pale grey to a deep red colour.
• Click on that speech bubble and the comments for that article or post will open up for you to read (if there are any) and, if you’d like to,  make a comment.

Wishing you a totally fabulous weekend.  May your Angels surround you and protect you from any harm.

Angel Dust encased in glass, suspended from Angel Wings

Crafted by Cobwebs

All hand-made, in a particular mix of polymers which I like to use.  No moulds were used to make this pin/pendant.   All the feathers you see are all hand-made, no two are the same,  and each one applied individually by hand.  There is, however, one golden, metal feather nestled amongst all the other feathers.  Can you spot it?

Suspended beneath the Angel wings is a glass phial which holds a measured amount of Angel Dust.  The lid was applied and then sealed, never to be opened, so that the Angel Dust will be with you forever.   Finally, three more feathers were applied to the glass phial, each feather symbolizing Charity,  Hope  and  Faith.

I loved making this pin/pendant and now that it’s finished I love it even more.  Hope you like it too.

Thank you so much for coming to visit, and for taking the time to read.  While you’re here, please do have a look around.  There are many categories on my blog and you can find the links to those categories further up the column on the right hand side of this page.   →  →  →

Wishing you a really great rest of your day!