Tin Can Lid Ornaments

Wondering what to do with those tin can lids after you take them off of the cans?  I wondered the same thing as well and came up with these Christmas ornaments.  I would suggest running out and buying a smooth edge can opener, so you or someone handling the ornaments doesn't get cut.

First, I primed each lid with Gesso, which you can find in any Craft or Art store.  I let this dry and then broke out my acrylic paints.  I chose a paint that would compliment the colors in the die-cuts that I used for the main piece of each ornament.  I gave each lid a good coating and then let that dry over night.

Next, I broke out my Cricut machine and cut some circles out of scrapbook paper that fit just inside each lid.  Since my Cricut only cuts out certain sizes I went ahead and cut out larger circles and then trimmed them until they fit.  I then glued each circle onto the colored side of the lid that it went with and let the dry for about an hour.

Finally, I took the Christmas die-cuts and put clear glue dots around the centers and then centered them on each lid.  Some of the die-cuts were bigger than the circle, but I like that.  I didn't want to cut the edges, but that is your preference.

Here are the finished ornaments:

  Have fun making your own and Happy Holidays!

Burning Impression Necklace

I am getting back into making and selling jewelry. My big project for this week is going through the jewelry I have made and revamping some of them.  I've posted four items so far this week and this is one of my favorites.  I used a Peyote stitch for the bottom portion of the necklace and then beaded the through the silver cones and added acrylic beads and glass seed beads.  I call this one "Burning Impression" because of the beautiful red, orange, and brown colors in the piece.  I am back selling in my Etsy shop and now have a new shop with TheCraftStar.

For the month of December I am offering a 10% discount on all orders; just use coupon code XMASKISS10.

Memorable Christmas Ornaments

It took me two days, but I figured out what to do with those can tops that I saved up and asked my sister-in-law to save up for me.  I found a tutorial that used the frozen juice metal lids and kind of followed that.  Instead of using some "template" that someone else was selling; I broke out my Cricket and made circles out of my pretty Christmas paper and I used Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 to manipulate some of my favorite artwork and pictures of the girls.

I spray painted the metal lids with black spray paint.  When those were dry I looped some velvet and glued that on the back and then covered the entire back with a felt cirlce.

Finally when they were all dried I brushed on some Glossy Mod Podge and beaded them with Diamond Glitter Fabric Paint.

I'm really proud of how these turned out and can't wait to see them on the Christmas tree.

These paper ball ornaments were based on another tutorial I found and was easy enough that my youngest helped me make all ten of them.  The tutorial can be found here.

Reindeer - Open Media ATC swap

These were hand drawn and then watercolored for the Reindeer - Open Media ATC swap over at AFA.  I then used gel pens and 3D Glaze pens for the black outlines and details.  My scanner was set at 200 dpi, so the colors didn't come through like I wanted, but they turned out super cool.

I love these reindeer and am sad to depart with them.  I hope I get some fun ones in return.  The one with the lights turned out to be my second favorite and the candy cane reindeer is my first favorite.

Art Dolls Holiday Characters Swap!

Here are the other three characters I finished for the Art Dolls Holiday Characters Swap.  Oh yeah,  I ordered some more "brads" in different colors to help add some flair to my future Paper Dolls.  They are time consuming to make, but I love how they turn out and sometimes I just don't want to see them go.  That is why I keep them in my gallery at ATC's For All! and on my computer.

First up we have The True Mrs. Jingle.  She is an elf that use to be a giant!  You see, the swap only allowed for dolls under nine inches and when I first made her, well, she was 10.5 inches tall.  I had to crop her legs and arms to decrease her height.  I still think she turned out super cool though.

Next, we have Jacquilene-in-the-box.  People always do "Jack" and I thought I would put my little twist and make this fun box toy a girl.  She was alot of fun to make and she slides from left to right, which is kind of different for a "doll", but definitely worth the outcome.

Finally, we have the Spirit of Christmas Present.  We were watching the Muppet Christmas Carol and I forgot how amazing the human puppet for this character was.  I fell in love with him all over again and decided that he would be my fourth and final paper doll for this swap.

Pearlized Pink 10.5 Inch Necklace with Heart Locket

So, I am trying to get back into making, promoting, and hopefully selling my jewelry once again.  I devoted alot of time to this over the last 3 years with not a whole lot of success.  I don't even want to go into where my mind goes every time I think that.  So, I decided since I have created my habit of blogging my artwork, I will once again try blogging about my jewelry.  I have over 100 pieces currently made, actually I could say over 140 pieces made, and this is one of two necklaces I created this week.

This is a 10.5" silver necklace with pink pearlized acrylic beads and red silver wire wrapped glass beads. The chain is Sterling Silver and is closed with a lovely Heart Clasp. This piece is finished off with a silver metal heart charm locket and is the perfect gift anytime of year for saying "I Love You"!

You can find this necklace in my Etsy Shop!

PR: wait...  I: wait...  L: wait...  LD: wait...  I: wait... wait...  Rank: wait...  Traffic: wait...  Price: wait...  C: wait...

Red & Black Team Bracelet Custom Order

So, here is my first custom order for a team bracelet, just not with the original idea. I am making this custom bracelet for someone who has 2 favorite teams; one with black and red and one with black and gold. I am finding out how hard it can be to do custom orders without knowing what material you are going to be using except for the special furnace glass beads I purchased specifically for this order. With Sterling Silver chain and wire, this bracelet will probably be the more expensive of the two bracelets. I like it, I just feel it might need something "else"!

Hummingbird Sillouette, Butterflies, and Spider

I took this photo of a hummingbird tonight at my in-laws house. I am currently addicted to trying to capture their photo on my 35mm digital camera. I have also tried with my up to 200mm camera. If you have ever tried to capture a hummingbird on camera you know that they are quick, never sit still, and extremely hard to photograph.


Out of 100 shots I can honestly say that maybe 5 of them are focused and clear. I was excited when I caught this shot because:

1) The hummingbird was sitting still and...
2) What a cool sillouette shot.

I have also caught on camera this week the amazing black swallowtail butterfly:

Red Admiral Butterfly:

and a very intimidating looking St. Andrews Cross spider:

I love nature and have been away too long. I am loving this new found freedom to really getting back into it.