Wish Upon a Star– December 2015 Our Creative Corner Challenge

Isn’t it crazy that this year is almost over?  It’s been a whole year since I joined the Design Team at Our Creative Corner and a year of Star Quality projects from everyone who have submitted their talented work have left me awed and inspired by the creative genius.So what a fitting theme Trish, the challenge host has chosen to end off the year with this month’s theme “Wish Upon a Star”. 
With Christmas coming up and the rush to find personally meaningful and personal gifts for everyone, I thought it would be a cute idea to deck the stockings hanging in the hall with a set of star themed cards. 
I must apologise for my blurry photography in this post – I found it impossible to take a picture on the tiny point and shoot without shaking. Forgive me, this pic was the best I could do!
My family have always kept the tradition of giving useful gifts at Christmas and each year we try to come up with ideas for Christmas presents that the person receiving the gift could use throughout the year.  We’re also big on handmade gifts.  So with that in mind – what I have created for this month’s challenge is a set of constellation-themed cards in an attempt to create a gift that keeps on giving. 
On the front of each card is a Zodiac configuration against a sparkly galaxy type background. The idea is that the receiver of this set of cards would be able to send the appropriate Zodiac Star Constellation card to the person who was born under that Constellation.


I cut out a window from craft cardstock and painted it to look like weathered wood. 

I patiently handwrote a star-themed sentiment on each one (this was the hardest part!)and left the inside of the card blank to use for whatever occasion it needs to be used for.


To make the cards look like a gift-pack of stationery that I intended it to be and not like some random cards that forgot to be sent - I cut a strip of vellum to use as a cigar-band sleeve to bundle the cards and co-ordinating envelopes together, and tied a piece of red and white bakers twine around that piece of vellum and finished it off with a Star embellishment.

Here are few more up close and personal crops of the process.
I downloaded constellation maps by searching for it in Google Image search.

I copied the constellation mapping by drawing the map onto black cardstock with a ball head embossing tool.
 I did this with an embossing tool so that I wouldn’t have any pencil lines to erase and to give me some sort of guide to 
where I would place the stars and rhinestones that I used as the stars. 
I drew in the connector lines with a gold or silver metallic gel pen which I sprinkled some Fine Detail Embossing powder onto while still wet and then heat embossed to create some raised dimension.


To create the galaxy background I made some glittery embossing powder.  That’s right I made the glitter embossing powder and today’s tutorial is a quick description of how I did that.



You’re going to need different colours of glitter and a bottle to chuck it in. Do that – chuck it in altogether and shake that like Bond likes his Martini.



Next you going to need a 1:1 ratio of glitter mix to Embossing Powder – I used Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel for this purpose. I shook that together so that it distributed evenly as well.

Using the ranger big embossing dauber bottle – I smear this goo all over where I want the galaxy to be.
I sprinkle my awesome glitter embossing powder over it and heat set with a heatgun.
Now you have a twinkle twinkle galaxy!
This ends my how-to for this post. Do be a star and add your “Wish Upon a Star” project to the Our Creative Corner challenge this month.  You could be up for some starry delight!
If you haven’t been over there already here are the details and rules of the challenge:

 “My challenge to you all this month is a very simple one...Stars!I have a passion for stars. Stars are incorporated into my email addresses, internet log ins, business name and even my tattoos :)I would love for you all to share your creations, full of stars!Star stamps, star die cuts, star embellishments, star shaped backgrounds, it's up to you!Use lots, or just the one, as long as there is a star somewhere, you're good to go!”

 As always there is a generous prize goodie-bag up for grabs in a draw by our sponsor for this month Tando Creative – you will be eligible to enter the draw by submitting your own “Wish Upon a Star” project – remember that the best thing about Our Creative Corner challenges is that any creative enterprise is allowed.
Remember - Shine like the star you are!

*******Candice(aka Tincan Crafter)*********

Topsy Turvy–October 2015 challenge at Our Creative Corner

Top of the Topsy Turvy morning to you.  Have you had a look at the October 2015 challenge this month at Our Creative Corner?  It is such a fun theme hosted by the lovely Lys. 


My design team contribution is this Topsy Turvy Top.

Let me take you through the process.  Lys challenge reads like this:  

“We often try to do the right way, use the suitable thing, organize our creations following definite lines or intentions… and sometimes it doesn’t go the way we wanted to. Sometimes it goes to the bin, sometimes we discover something new… and we love it!

On the right side or topsy turvy… Is there a right side in art?

So let’s play!:  whatever it is: upside down,  inverted, reversed or escaping from the right order…. Please show me one “topsy turvy” creation, and how it came to life in your hands!”

I have 2 very unfortunate quirks – Firstly, when I am urged by inspiration I get carried in the way in the creative moment and will splash and throw and fling paint and ink with abandon in the attempt to recreate the vision in my head to whatever medium I am applying it to.  Secondly – I will indulge the inspiration regardless of whatever nice new thing I am wearing and it almost never occurs to me, in the giddy delirium of the moment to wear some protective gear.

I had a new nice ice-white crisp t-shirt  on one day when a particularly compelling Jackson Pollack type vision overwhelmed me and I was forced to relieve the tension by acting on it.  The good news is that I was happy with inky splashes on that canvas and I did have a 75% hit rate in terms of contact between ink and canvas.  The other 25% found itself in random arrangements on my nice ice-white crisp t-shirt. 

So what I had was a t-shirt that meant to stay white but now had pretty splotches of inky paint on it.  I am also a big fan of festivals and festival gear, I was thinking the other day that I should update my festival wear.  The other thing is that I love taking things, rethinking it and then upcycling or refashioning it into something different.    When I saw Lys’ challenge, I knew that I could hit all her boxes if I would make and share the topsy turvy top idea I had in my head to give new life to my splotched t-shirt.  Plus I would have a new shirt to wear to the festival this weekend.

So here is what I did:

• I chose a graphic from a colouring page site to copy that I thought would be a funky, festival worthy and fun design to paint

• to transfer the graphic onto the t-shirt plaster the face-side of the print with Dala Picture Perfect (which is really thick Gel Medium).

• Smooth the print  (Picture Perfect side down) onto the shirt

• Wait for it to dry – the bottle recommends at least 6 hours.
• The Gel medium wicks the ink into itself and so the image is transferred onto the “glue” that is stuck to the shirt.
• Once it is dry.  Wet a paper towel and place that onto the back of the paper with the image on it.  Leave it to sit for about 5 –10 minutes.

• Rub the wet paper pulp off until you are left with just the image transfer in the gel medium – be gentle if you rub too hard you might rub the glue off of the shirt.

• Wait for that to dry.  Paint it with dye or Fabric Paint.

• Dye-paint the rest of the shirt if you want.

• If you want a funkier topsy turvy top, grab a pair of scissors and start cutting strips into the back of the shirt and interweave or braid the parts that you want braided.

• You got yourself a 2-in-1 number here.  You can wear the print in the front as a regular t-shirt (i.e TOPSY WAY) or turn it around and wear it like a stringy vest top (i.e TURVY WAY), if you are bold you can wear it over a bikini top like this and I admire you if this is the case – for me though I always wear a bandeau camisole of some sort, if that is what you were wondering.

• Isnt that fun?

So folks – cast your crafty Topsy Turvy Creation into the OCC lot this month and you could be the lucky lot drawn for a super prize from

and remember topsy your turvy, topsy your turvy gooood!

- Tincan Crafter (aka Candice) -

SHOW ME YOUR SCARY!!!!–October 2015 challenge at Our Creative Corner

A scary treat for everyone this month over at Our Creativc Corner.  The challenge is hosted by Laura who says:

Forget cute cats and smiling pumpkins....
we want....

For this Halloween share with us some horror inspired creations that

are sure to send shivers down our spines.

Bring out your most grotesque stamps and embellishments....
....or perhaps take on the challenge of finding a way to transform pretty stamps into something macabre.

Reach for the grungiest colours and textures....

Come over to the dark side of Halloween
Can you scare us?

Laura

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For my part I took a regular notebook and turned it into a spellbinding…..

 

that might serve up the grotesque potion recipes for some macabre mischief.

Here is a quick photorial on how I did that!!!

Now can you show us your scary???

As always, merely playing along with the challenge theme and submitting your project affords you the incredible chance of being picked as the winner of some awesome prize loot!

The challenge this month is being sponsored by

Nicecrane Designs

I had a little sneaky peak at what my fellow Design Teamies have come up with and it is sure to creatively conjure up your scariest admiration.  So please hop on over to Our Creative Corner to frighten yourself rigid!

----AND lastly----

BOOOOOOOOOOO you all!

Candice

September "Shades of Autumn" Challenge at Our Creative Corner - Fallin' off the Page

One of my favourite crafty things to mess around with is Glycerine Soap.  While I love the chemistry of Cold Process soap from scratch, there is so much room for creative versatility with Melt and Pour Soap. From making the soap, to choosing the scent, to designing the aesthetics of the soap, for me its a blend of all different kinds of fun crafty creativity.

I have been waiting for an OCC challenge that would allow me to share some soapy craft - this month's challenge hosted by Julia with it's theme of "SHADES OF AUTUMN" allowed me to do just that.  And the coolest thing about OCC is that you can share ANY type of craft. I was inspired by the rich tones and hues of autumn leaves and decided to make a batch of soap creations which reflected that.

I have titled my contribution: "Fallin' off the page".   There is that self-evident play on words there.  I also wanted to share how I use paper crafting tools in soap crafting.  I made a bunch of different soapy creations which I plan to give out as gifts soon for upcoming birthdays of friends and family.

Play along with the challenge theme this month and you could be the winner of $25 gift voucher from our generous sponsor

 

Creative Embellishments.  

Here below are Julia's rules of the challenge.

"I love the colours of autumn! Those beautiful and dramatic reds, golds, yellows, browns, greens and all shades in between. Your challenge this month is to take some inspiration from the colours in the image provided and make an autumnal inspired project."

 I used different stamping and crafting tools to make my basket of gift soaps.

For the soap with leafy imprints.  

I used some rubber and acrylic stamps from my collection.  See a quick photo tutorial of the process.

I placed the stamps flat side down into a silicone mini loaf baking pan.

After I unmoulded the soap, I made a "soap paint" by mixing shimmer powder with some glycerine and alcohol and using a long bristled brush, carefully painted each imprint or debossed leaf design.

For the clear soap with maple leaf embeds.

I poured thin layers of different colours of soap into a baking pan.

I used modelling clay cutting tools to punch out the leaves. 

The trickiest soap was the Autumn Tree.

(woops about the blurry picture)

I used a kitchen grater to grate different autumn coloured soap into tiny strips and then I minced that with a regular knife.  To get as close to a tree shape as possible I squished the coloured chips into an egg holder.  I made thin block strip of brown soap and created the trunk of the tree.

And that there is a basic run down of how I created the basket of Autmny soaps.

Looking forward to seeing what you come up with for Julia's "Colours of Autumn" Challenge.

Happy Crafting!