Clay ATC Reindeer Wishes

I am TOTALLY addicted to this clay medium! 

It's just...fun. 

Granted, I had to buy one of those pasta machines thingies to roll it out with because my hands STILL don't want to work properly after carpal tunnel surgery, but hey...when there's a will...

My significant other likes to say that the carpal tunnel surgery also rendered me incapable of folding laundry and cleaning. But when I pointed out to him that my trigger finger worked flawlessly, he quickly abandoned his attempts at comedy.

I used an EF of swirly dots to texture the background and my assortment of mica powders to go nutballs with on top of that. I really can't stop myself with the mica powders. I've been sliding toward a craft intervention for years, but the mica powders may have actually pushed me over the edge.

I grouped little clay balls for color and buried those crystal beads with that treatment that makes them flash different colors. DANG...why can't I remember the name??? Grrrr.

Anyway...they don't show up very well but they add some sparkle. It was the 'moon' I consider my artistic contribution. 

Oh...get that look off your face. I mean the TREATMENT I used on the moon. I've not seen anyone else do it so I'm claiming 'firsties'. 

Using a large, clear, glass thingie you usually put in the bottom of glass vases, I created the moon. But with it being clear and the clay being black, it was pointless. So, remember the last ATC I did where I experimented with baking shells into the clay and said the worst-or best-thing that would happen is that my stove would blow up? And it didn't?

Well, I'm no quitter, people.

Using silver metallic alcohol ink, I painted the flat side, let it dry, and pushed in into the clay. Then I baked it, hoping  wondering if it would result in some type of fireworks. 

Since I'm sitting here and typing this and NOT being interrogated by arson inspectors, you can safely assume that YES...you can use alcohol inks on the underside of your crystals when using clay. Not a huge finding, mind you, but it's nice we can create our own colors now to coordinate, I guess.

I'm off to scour the house in search of other things to stick in clay and experiment with in terms of how explosion-y it might, or might not. be. 

The things I do for art. Sigh.

First Clay ATC "Pura Vida Dreams"

Well, it took me long enough, but I finally hopped on the ATC train.

My very first ATC was a Marie Antoinette piece that was okay, if a little boring in predictability. But this is one I'm simply thrilled with!

While watching lots of videos on ATC's (which is my MO...reading is lost on me when it comes to art) I stumbled upon THIS ONE by Gabrielle Pollacco. I was so intrigued with it that I jumped on board. This is the result.

The stones and beads are directly from Gabrielle's example. The shells were some I already had and wasn't sure if they'd take the heat but what the hey, right? Worst I could do is blow up my over. And for my family, that would be the best Christmas gift of all. 

No loss there, friends.

I used black clay and mica powders, 2 glass rock/bead thingies and a row of glass beads. The seahorse is cut from grunge paper. I actually followed Tim's blog where he showed a way to color this die and coat it with rock candy crackle.

Now, par for the course, I have decided to devote all of my time and energy to making clay and regular ATC's. And when THAT 7 or 8 days are over, I'll find something else to obsess over.

Merry Christmas, friends!

First 'Commission'

Okay....okay...so I'm playing a little fast and loose with the word 'commission'. 

In short, she paid the cost of the materials and agreed to feed my horse the 2 days I'm out of town. 

But HEY....there was SOME trade off,...a little....I think....

At any rate, I had a LOT of fun making this sucker!

The inspiration (and collage sheet) is from the art goddess Laura Carson. She made these and I just fell in love with them! 

She came up with the idea of using juniper (sprayed first with acrylic) and micro beads to double as seaweed and juniper painted with blue and gold lumiere paint to serve as coral.

The shell is a Lion's Paw. You can find them at Hobby Lobby for 3.99. I also purchased the majority of the shells used here at Hobby Lobby as well. My fave is the little clam with jewels at the bottom...fill with glossy accents then rhinestones and let dry! If you look carefully to the right, you'll see a real seahorse. Mummified, of course, but cute nonetheless.

I purchased a nautical lantern from Hobby Lobby to put this in but am going to let my 'buyer' (hee hee) make the decision as to whether she wants it or not. If she does, I'll post the finished results. 

I'm off to go wallow in delight at the fact that I ALMOST broke even on a craft project!! I was THISCLOSE!!! That's saying something, friends. 

What's that sound? Oh! My husband. 

I just can't figure out if he's laughing or crying. ;)

IO Season's Greetings JEWELRY!

Well, well....look who's sliding into home plate at the last second for the Impression Obsession Challenge "Season's Greetings"!

This was one of those projects that started with the phrase "I wonder if I can..." 

Anything I attempt that starts with that phrase usually ends in one of three ways:

1-Spectacularly (rare)

2-"Meh" (underwhelming-this is common)

3-With the rapid arrival of EMT and/or Rescue Volunteers. (Usually the Volunteers, as the EMT's have found I make an unusually reliable-and frequent-training opportunity. 

Fortunately, today was NOT number 3, even though it involved heated copper, spray paint and E6000.

The question tonight was in response to realizing that Impression Obsession's deadline for their challenge was...tonight. 

The challenge was "Season's Greetings", which was easy enough, but sometimes even when you own virtually every die and plenty of Christmas stamps, it just isn't enough to give you a solid idea of what you want to do.

I've been playing around with art assemblage jewelry, when I said "I wonder if I can make actual jewelry from my Impression Obsession dies?" 

And it was on like Donkey Kong, friends.

I ran the Peace and bird die through the Big Shot and cut them from copper scraps. I heated the word until it turned that gorgeous shade of gold, with a little pink and blue-which you can't see in the photo. Sigh. 

I had a large, brass mistletoe which I spray painted silver. Then I used Gilder's Paste (black) to give some detail definition. A little E6000 finished the job. 

I wanted a little pop of color. I knew I wanted red and I knew it had to be something that made sense with the word. Cursing myself in a very un-Christmas-like manner for not ordering the cardinals die, I ended up using one of the birds from the Leafy Wreath die. I cut it from copper and coated it with red stickles. 

I glued the pin backing to the piece and it was done! And I was incredibly pleased with the outcome!! When I say it looks ten times more striking in person than the photo, I mean it! 

So, turns out you CAN make jewelry with your IO dies! 

WITHOUT becoming a training subject for your local rescue units.

Products:

Impression Obsession Leafy Wreath Die DIE090-Y

Impression Obsession Peace Die DIE226-A

Brass Findings

Stickles

E6000

More Art Assemblage and ADHD!

This has to be one of my fave projects to date.

First of all, I have a bad habit of buying.  

That's right...buying. Period. In short, I spend way too much money and mostly on crap I don't need at the moment and probably will NEVER need. But, that's the way it is when you are a person with ADHD. You see something sparkle and you're in the midst of a bidding frenzy...and...well...you might as well just hang it up.

I've really been thinking about petitioning for a 'protected class' status. Because for people with ADHD, like myself, it's very hard to do things like not spend money. It's also very difficult for us to do all the things that society says we have to do...like get a job and not talk all the time and not try to be the center of attention and get our 'crazy' cured.

You know, impossible stuff like that. 

I guess I see myself as the "Norma Bates' of the "ADHD Protected Class NOW" movement.

Wait...I think that's Norma Rae. Was I thinking about Norman Bates? I never DID see what was so classic about that movie...Classic potato chips and grilled cheese...I'm in!!

See??? See???? THIS is how horrific life is with ADHD. Most days, I drown my sorrows in a half gallon of Bryer's Chocolate Ice Cream (chocolate ONLY...no creamy chocolate, or dark chocolate or any of that crap...plain chocolate or risk my wrath.) only to find that once I finish the carton, I've forgotten why I was upset. So, I have to start thinking about all the things that upset me and THAT upsets me again and there goes another half gallon of chocolate (ONLY!) ice cream so now I'm fat AND upset and...

Know what? I ACTUALLY FORGOT WHERE I WAS GOING WITH THIS! Good Lord.

That's ok...I actually have a trick I use when I do this. Since, chances are, my subject matter was ME, I just sit and think about myself and I'll find my way back eventually. Hold,please.

(elevator music-some light symphony playing Guns and Roses, perhaps)

Where was I....me...spending...eating...ice cream....spending again....craft room...

GOT IT! 

Crafting with junk jewelry that I paid too much for and purchased too much of. Whew. That was a bad one, wasn't it?

Anyway...it started with these two pieces of junk jewelry. They were originally flower brooches, I think...but they looked like coral to me. So I started sticking little ocean inspired charms in each.

The one at the top had started to tarnish a bit, which I loved, so I helped it out with some Patina Gilder's Paste. The rest was just E6000. I really love upcycling broken, junk jewelry!

Thanks for coming along...I promise you'll be impressed over the next several days...I'm in a crafting frenzy, my friends. I'd love to say it's due to a surplus of creativity and energy, but it really boils down to trying to use up a lot of stuff that's cluttering my craft room and waiting until the last minute to fulfill requests. Oh well...whatever works!

I swear...I HAVE been working!!

I want to start by saying that this was absolutely the MOST involved project I have EVER done in my entire life.

I'm serious. 

First of all, let me give credit where credit is due...

This is from Kathy Orta. I purchased the file several months ago because I wanted to make it 

for my sister for her birthday. The house, itself, wasn't that bad. What nearly did me in were the (&*(&*(&* albums!!!!

I made the one photo album by hand...there are 6 pages and each page has more pockets and fold-outs than I've ever seen in ALL my years of doing this. The other is the Tim Holtz small portfolio and between the two, it took me THREE DAYS.

At the end of all this, I didn't want to see another piece of chipboard in my life. For ANY reason.

But, my sister seemed truly delighted with it and I was so thrilled to get it OUT of my craft room, that it's sort of like having a baby....you swear you'll never do it again but about a year later, you lose your mind and develop amnesia and find yourself saying really stupid things like "it wasn't THAT bad", even though you just had the restraining order dropped by the nurse who refused to get the epidural going in a timely manner.

Anyway...Kathy has some very cool projects...many that aren't as involved. Find this and other projects at paperphenomenon.com

Anyone know what this is???

I'm going to lose my mind if I can't find out what this piece is called and, most importantly, where to find it!! TY in advance for any help you can give me!!!