Teacups with a touch of sass

Hi Everyone,

I am sure a bunch of you hit your local Joann a few weeks ago when they were clearancing out a bunch of their dies.  I scored some I had my eye on and a few I was indifferent to.  I am not a coffee or tea drinker, so the tea cup die from Tim Holtz and Sizzix was not a must own for me.  For $6 I can make anything work!

I had so much fun putting my sassy ladies in their snarky tea cups. *Warning a couple use some foul language*

My ladies are all from Lisa's Altered Art.

They all have a little remnant rub or phrase on their tag.  

The little cuts in the top of the cups are perfect for sliding the girls in.  

Using double sided paper made putting the cups together a breeze.  

Some of the girls have bling.

Some just let their expression and the quote say it all!

What would your snarky teacup say?

Jess 

Creative Artiste Mixed Media Anything Goes Challenge
More Mixed Media Anything Goes Challenge

Fall is in the air

Hi Everyone,
Ahhh, triple digits are gone so it must be Fall in Arizona.  I live right near Phoenix, so no changing leaves for me.  I grew up in Massachusetts and I think that's why Fall is my favorite season.  I don't know why but Autumn always makes me reflect on what I have and what I am thankful for.  This little wreath reminds me that there is something to appreciate every day.

I want to apologize for not taking photos while I worked.  I am really bad about getting caught up in creating and forgetting to take pictures.

 I die cut my leaves, out of manila, and used different Distress Inks to make them colorful.  I just grabbed anything that looked like I could use it-reds, oranges, yellows, greens, and browns.  I used a lot of color and really saturated the paper.  Once the ink was dry I covered the leaves in Distress Rock Candy Crackle and set them aside.

The Rock Candy gives the leaves a gorgeous crackle and shine.  You can leave them just like they are after this step and they look amazing, but I wanted to add a bit more.  I used my embossing powders to make them pop! I love how they turned out.

Next I took a huge bunch of seam binding and died it using Distress Stains.  I kept a lot of the colors I used in my leaves on the ribbon.  I wrapped a word band on the ribbon and tied a big fussy bow.  Pinecone charms add an extra fall touch.  I cut the bales off and just glued them on the ribbon.  Embossing powder on the ribbon gives it extra sparkle too.

For the final embellishment I used a round cabochon charm and some fall berries.

Try making some leaves.  They are super fun and playing with the different inks and powders will produce a different effect each time.  

Jess

Fabulous Supplies available on Emerald Creek: 

Charred Gold Embossing powder

Hammered Metal Embossing Powder

Burnt Copper Leaves

 Pinecone charms

round cabochon charm 

Distress Inks 

Distress Stains

Other supplies: 

Seam Binding

Wreath

Word Band

Word Token

Brad

Distress Rock Candy Crackle

Pinners Conference!

Hi Everyone,
Last week my Mum and I went to the Pinners Conference in Arizona.  I had been wondering about going and an Instagram friend told me to go, that she had a blast.  If you don't know about the Pinners you should check out their website.  It will give you all the info about the show.

We decided to go big and went VIP.  On Thursday evening they had a VIP party.  We got  a GIANT swag bag and the opportunity to do make and takes from several of the sponsors.  The swag bag alone made the VIP worth it.  We got spoiled.

On Friday and Saturday, we had signed up for several classes.  Some of the classes were free and some had a materials fee.  I tried so many crafts that I was interested in, but didn't really want to go out and spend money on tons of supplies only to discover I either hated it or I sucked at it.

I sewed.  My mum sews.  She sews beautiful, amazing, wonderful things. Sewing scares the crap out of me.  I like working with paper.  If I screw up cutting a piece of paper I am out maybe $1.  If I screw up cutting a piece of fabric, that's a whole lot of money I'm just tossing away.  I figured taking a simple class at the show would be an easy, no pressure way, to try sewing.  The teacher even walked by me at one point and said she was impressed.  Whew!

I made that banner.  It's not perfect, but only I can see where the goofs are and I could always cover them up with some nifty die cuts or a pompom.  

I told my mum I would like the machine she has stashed for me at her house, just in case the day ever came that I decided I wanted to sew.  

I tried embroidery.  Man, my old eyes did not like the teeny stitches or the tiny needle.  My pieces are a little wonky, but I did it.  I made all three necklaces in the kit. Heather was an awesome teacher.  She was so positive and also gave us tons of tips.  We didn't leave class with a full completed project, but I learned so much about embroidery.  I left wanting to complete my projects and excited to be able to do them.  My kit has patterns for a few more and I think I might need to make a few more of the little bird necklaces.  

I stamped on metal.  Like. A. Badass.  I have to say this class was a huge let down.  I made a fun piece, but not due to anything I was taught(and I use that term very loosely here) in class.  It was bad.   I won't go into detail, but I learned more reading an article from Pinterest than I did I class.  As it turns out, metal stamping is not hard.  You just kind of need to go for it!

  

We made stunning crepe paper flowers.  I haven't finished my project from that class yet(this photo is from her website).  If you get a chance look at Lia Griffith's flowers.  The woman is amazing. 

We learned how to make a billion different types of bread.  We learned some fun and easy dips for the holidays.  We just had fun.  

In addition to the classes there is a huge trade show.  There are make and takes all day at the various booths.  Best part for me was as a VIP we had access to all the soda we could drink.  Spending 12 hours at an event-I need unlimited soda!

Here's to trying new things, finding new hobbies, and new recipes.

Jess

Tim Tag for October

Here is my take for the October tag.  

The butterfly is layered up. I did the wings really bright on the bottom by just dripping on the alcohol ink.  For the top butterfly I used my applicator and then used black soot distress paint over it.   

Jess