Fresh Eyes! By Nicky Cresswell

As keen crafters we always want our monies worth when it comes to stash, 

and finding alternative uses a great way to do this.

Take this Architecture 1 set of stamps for example, Your thinking, buildings, architecture etc etc etc.. 

And for a long time that was all i though too until the other day when i was flicking through my stamps and my eye caught one from a different angle and BAM it hit me... 

What i was seeing wasn't a fancy sconce but with my fresh eyes i saw 

An Owl

I can't believe i hadn't seen it before, but there he was bold as brass staring up at me.

I happened to have my stash of friendly plastic out so i immediately thought Pendant.

{this owl was dull gold FP brushed with different colours of mica powder paint over different areas}

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{this owl was just a patterned FP with some black stazon rubbed over the raised areas}

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I stamped the sconce {owl} into heated friendly plastic and then let it cool and harden.

Next i cut it out leaving a little edge as best a could.

To create the pendant i attached the owl to a bamboo domino tile and wrapped more friendly plastic on the back to incase the tile and hold everything in place. This is somewhat of a tricky method as you have to be careful not to over heat and melt the owl.

I used a thin black cord stung down, across and back up through the tile to hang.

You could add a charm or beads to the cord, which i thought of only after i had threaded and put clasp findings on lol. 

You could also make these into brooches or toppers for cards. 

Try using UTEE or clay even, your only limited by your imagination.

So what will you discover with 'fresh eyes' today!

Bamboo Bling! By Nicky Cresswell

Hello my lovelies I'm back.. Did you miss me??

Wow september is just whizzing by isn't it.. soon be christmas!!!

So with that in mind i though i'd share an easy little gift idea... All you need are 5 bamboo tiles, some mica power paints, some glossy accents, a fun selection of stamps.. for this project i used the smallest birds from the 2 new birdie plates Birds of A Feather & Free as A Bird . 10 pretty beads {i've used round swarovski crystals} and 2 lengths of thin clear elastic.

Start by colouring your tiles with the mica paints.. {the mica comes in powder form but can be mixed with water to create lush glimmery paints} I have chosen to work with a rainbow colour scheme to fit in with this months 'RAINBOW' challenge of which details can be found HERE 

Once your painted tiles are dry, stamp you selected images how you wish.

I used black stazon ink, and i highlighted with an inkssential white pen.

Before you proceed make sure your inked images and the white highlighting is completely dry.

Right so now all your tiles are bone dry.. you can give each one a protective coat of glossy accents, I have only given a coat to the fronts of the tiles where i stamped. {the back side i just rubbed/buffed the excess paint off so just a hint of colour was left} But you can coat this side too if you wish.

All thats left to do once your glossy accents is dry is to thread all your tiles together.

Add a spacer bead between each tile as you thread the elastic through and once you have both ends tie tightly.. left over right - right over left knot {i'm sure there is a tec name for that knot but i don't know it lol}

{a good tip when using elastic is to stretch it first, this stops it from becoming all loose later on}

And there you have it, A nice hand crafted gift for family or friends.

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Before i go i just have time to announce the winners of my ATC giveaway draw..

{Winners selected by random.org} 

Steampunk ATC goes to 9. Piddawinkle

1st Punk ATC goes to 15. Shazza

2nd Punk ATC goes to 18. Sid

Thank you to everyone who entered and took time to leave comments, they truly are appreciated xx

Can the winners please mail me there snail mails {my e'mail can be found on MY BLOG}

Right thats your lot from me today 

But do come back again tomorrow as we have a brand new creative team member joining us...