Happy Holidays!

I apologize for being MIA over the past week or so. It seems I got busy making holiday gifts and CHA samples, and neglected my blog!

One of the things I have been working on are special ornaments using products from Globecraft & Piccolo. I have had a few “issues” and so none of them are finished quite yet, but I thought I could share some that are already done and hanging on the tree.

I have been making these ornaments for several months now, but this is the first time I have them hanging on the tree. I put these up randomly, but look at how beautiful they are with the light shining behind them!

This one was made by a friend and given to me the other day. When I noticed how it glowed with the light behind it, I had to photograph it. It is just beautiful!

 

I also have a sneak peek of a new product Globecraft & Piccolo is bringing to CHA in January …

If I don’t get back here before Christmas, have a happy holiday!

Sunset Shores Retreat

I’m back from Sunset Shores and, as usual, we had a wonderful time.

I spent four days with some of my closest friends and made a few new ones, too. It was four days of fun, laughter, cropping, sharing, learning and eating. I spent part of Friday and all of Saturday teaching, so I didn’t get very much done, but I love to teach, so it was still fun. We even managed to fit in a movie and two Detroit Tigers games.

Although what happens at the crop, stays at the crop, I thought I would share a few photos from the weekend …

Linda is working on a page I did that she saw on display at Capture A Memory. She took photos and measurements and bought the supplies and brought it here to work on. I was so honored!

 

Croppers know how to improvise. When Lynnette, Claudia and Janet couldn’t find shot glasses, they made do with bowls!

 

Elaine completed several layouts over the weekend.

This is the view from my crop space. We may be in the basement, but there is still a view of the lake!

Vivian, the owner of Sunset Shores, always puts out an amazing spread for every meal.

 

Hungry croppers …

These are the ornaments the girls made in the class I taught. I love how different they each are.

 

Sandy used Distress Markers to color in her Elizabeth Craft’s image.

Can you believe how much stuff we bring to a crop!?!

 

Christina is working on Halloween photos …

So much fun … I can’t wait until next year to do it all again!

 

Sparkle & Shine Ornaments

I love the sparkle glitter provides. It seems a natural match for Christmas ornaments.

But, sometimes I have a hard time getting it to look just right. I’ve watched Barbara Trombley, the owner of Art Glitter, do magnificent creations with glitter and glue, but mine just never seem to turn out as well.

Until I discovered a little secret …

If you stamp on an acetate transparency and then put glitter on the back side, you will get a beautiful image without any glitter “mistakes”.

Using a stamp from Holly Berry House, a plastic ornament and some products from Art Glitter, I created this —

Isn’t it amazing!?!

I started by stamping the image on an Acetate Transparency using a Very Black Permanent Stamp Pad (both available from Art Glitter). Then, I used my heat tool to set the ink and then punched the center out so it would fit over the top of the ball.

Next, I turned the image over and used the Ultrafine Metal Tip and Designer Dries Clear Adhesive to apply the following glitters: Ultrafine Berry (4), Ultrafine True Red (1), Ultrafine Emerald (48) and Vintage Glass Glitter in Red Damask (608). I also covered the metal top in Ultrafine True Red glitter.

As you work, you’ll see the glue on the front side of the image. However, when it is totally dry, the glue vanishes and all you will see is the glitter.

While that dried, I cut strips of Fantasy Film in Waterfall, crumbled them up and then added them to the inside of the ball.

Once the transparency was dry, I cut out the image and then placed it on top of the ball and then put the clip back in place.

I didn’t like how wide the flower was, so I bent each side and glued the edge of the petal to the ball. This takes some time — Designer Dries Clear Adhesive dries quickly on most surfaces, but attaching glitter to plastic is a bit tough. I used a piece of tape to hold it in place while the glue dried overnight. Since all of the glitter is on the underside, it didn’t cause any damage when I removed it.

Of course, I was so excited with that project, I got a bit carried away and made this one, using the same technique:

For this one, I stamped the image twice and cut the green leaves out of the second one. I glittered them with the same ones mentioned above. However, since this one was keeping its center, I added Microfine glitter in Cayman (521) to the center of the top layer only. I did not place any glitter in the center on the bottom image (the one with the green leaves), since I wanted a place to attach the two images together.

Once dry, I cut out both images and used adhesive foam to attach them in the center, to provide a dimensional look. Then, I added Large Glass Beads in Solar (803) to the center of the flower. (The beads are the only thing attached to the top of the transparency, rather than the back side.

Finally, I used my Crop-a-Dile to add an eyelet to the top and then strung a piece of ribbon as a hanger.

I wish you could see the sparkle and dimension in person! It’s beautiful. I hung it on the tree in front of a light to give it even more elegance.

Happy glittering!

(I received Art Glitter products in exchange for this post).