Florist Shop

I have just this minute finished my little Florist shop.  It all started with the fence and awning kit from Twiddleybitz.  Using the wrong side of a canvas, I built the shop around it using Balsa wood for the inside edges of the canvas and the tiny shelves.

 The plant pots and hanging baskets and even some of the flowers I made with quilling.  The little hanging baskets where then constructed using fine chain, tiny jump rings and earring hooks used in jewellery making.

The Topiary tree was constructed from a small polystyrene ball that I cut in half and attached tiny punched leaves to.

The paving stones were individually cut from tiny squares of card stock and inked around the edges before being place onto the base.  The picket fence was painted an off white and tiny amounts of flower soft was added to each paling to make it look as if flowers were growing up the fence.



Gingerbread House

Yes....I have finially finished my Twiddleybits Gingerbread house.  It has taken hours but I really love the result.  I wanted to get the look of 'Eat Me' and after my little cat ran away with a piece of roof icing and chewed it to bits, I think I can safely say I acheived the look I wanted.

I began by painting the house brown and stamping it with versa mark and applying clear embossing powder mixed with ultra fine glitter.  The result was a sugar biscuit texture.

The gingerbread men are little buttons while the lollies, candy canes and lolly pops are made from fimo.

The grass around the house is flower soft.

The little biscuits on the roof I got from a local craft show.  They came in the cutest little jars and where perfect for what I wanted.  The icing on the roof and around the windows was created using the hot glue gun and covered with crystal Kindy Glitz.

Candleabra

When I saw the new Kaisercraft Candleabra, I knew just what I wanted to do with it.  Firstly I painted it hot pink and once dry I added generous amounts of Crackle medium and left it to dry.  Then I painted the candleabra black and was delighted to see that unlike previous atempts at getting the crackle effect it actually worked. 

The roses where constructed using the rose spellbinders die and hot pink Bazil which I then shaded using black ink.  The roses are held together with a small white crystal brad.  The edges of some of the petals where then highlighted with kindy glitz.  The oak leaves where spray painted gold and added to make an floral arrangement with gold organza ribbon and tigertail and pearl beads.

I wanted to give then candles a natural look and so shaded the flames using orange, yellow and black paint.  The candles where painted white and then a small amount of glue from the hot glue gun was placed on the top of each candle to make it look as if the wax had been melting.  The hot glue was then painted white once it was dry to make it look even more realistic.

It was so much fun to put together.

Love Letter From the Heart Canvas

Recently I was asked to do a canvas by someone who wanted to express to his girlfriend how much he loved her.  He brought in a letter which he had written himself and asked if it could be mounted onto a canvas with roses some how displayed around it. 

The edge of the canvas was painted an off white and once dry, I used a paper with a light suttle design for the front.  The letter was photocopied onto a lovely cream metallic paper before being placed in the centre.  If you find yourself wanting to print onto metallic paper, print the text out onto ordinary paper first and have it photocopied directly onto it as the ink then doesn't smudge.  Other wise be sure to allow the ink to completely dry on the metallic paper first before working with it further.

The chipboard leaves were painted with acrylic paint and when dry inked with 'Tim Holst Distress Ink' to tone them down and make them look more natural.  The small artifical roses where lightly coated with a fantastic product I found while at the recent SENZ papercraft show, called Diamond dust, which gives them a look of  just being out in a shower of rain.  Unfortunately the photos just don't do the product justice, as it really is one to try. 

Once Upon A Time Bird House

This was such a lot of fun to put together... The bird house itself is a 'Dusty Attic' design which comes ready to assemble.  I've used papers from the 'Once Upon a Springtime' range and carefully cut out the little animal and fairy elements before adding them to the house with 3D foam squares.  Each section of the roof has been cut using a scalloped edge ruler and inked using 'Tim Holst Distress Ink' to give it a slightly rustic look.  Around the base of the house, Flower Soft in Xmas Green has been used.

Fairy Princess Castle

I made this project for my neice for her sixth birthday.  The castle is a Kaiser Craft off the page kit which is easily assembled and you can decorate it to what ever theme you like.  For my neice I wanted a fairy princess castle which could also be used to hold her necklaces and bracelets, for like most little girls she loves to wear jewellery.  She is also one for standing with her necklace on but with it in her mouth which she often gets told off for.  I said to her after her last scolding "Did you know that you can get necklaces and bracelets that you can really eat."  She was stunned as she hadn't heard of such a thing, and so came my idea of creating her a jewellery box for her birthday, one which could not only hold her precious jewels but also came filled with edible necklaces, bracelets and rings.

Mum's Birthday Gift

To my friends I have yet to know

My mum has just turned 72 and I decided that this year for her birthday I would give her a small handmade album using photos of her when she was younger and small documented moments of things that happened in the year that she was born. I wanted to use some of her baby photos but unfortunately over the years these have been lost.  I love making gifts for family and friends and especially enjoyed putting this album together not just from the scrapbooking aspect but from the interesting things that I learnt about 1939 during my research which I otherwise wouldn't have known.  Here are some photos of the finished album which by the way, she absolutely loved.

This was a lucky find...I was walking around the weekly market held not to far from where we live and I found this 1937 Three Pence coin.  I know its not the exact year mum was born but she was delighted with my find