PaperArtsy Hot Pick 1009

Keep an eye on the Hotpicks stamps from PaperArtsy, as there are some exciting new releases coming up.
One of these is HP1009, which isn't on the website yet but I believe is available from selected retailers. You can see it on the PaperArtsy blog
I have made a couple of quick samples. That flower stamp is huge! the card is DL sized and that stamp nearly fills it! I also used the little flower from the same plate. The papers are also the PaperArtsy nut and meg range.

The second piece is just a decorated Jar. I thought that quote was just perfect for a little jar. I imagine it filled with Jelly beans..

What is it with pens?

It seems like everytime I go to the supermarket I buy a packet of ballpoint pens, yet when I need them they've all disappeared!!

So I thought I'd make a pen jar, using one of the new minis from Paperartsy. I also thought this would make a nice "back to school" project so made it in colours that my son, who is just about to start secondary school, might like.

I've stayed with the stationery theme and used ordinary lined paper, a letter stencil (although the smaller letters are a PaperArtsy stamp). I have also embellished with blue staples from a fab little stapler kit that Jo bought me from Tesco.

I love using Jars, as I often think they are too nice to throw out. I recycle my glass, of course, but I prefer to "upcycle"

Craft Stamper is out today

And I have taken part in the stamping contrasts article again. This time we had the rose flower fairy sheet from crafters companion, so of course I had to make a jar fairy! ( I do have a bit of a thing about jars). For the second piece I decorated a cheap clip frame. My favourite thing about this piece his how I did the wings on vellum.
I've included a couple of sneak peek pictures here, but you'll need to get the mag to see them in there entirety and to see what other people did with the same stamps.

I also have an inchie cube in the article written by Carol

my first piece for the Stampsmith DT blog

This is my first contribution to the stampsmith DT blog. I made a jar fairy using this beautiful fairy some time ago and it is one of the most visited posts on my blog, so I felt it was time to make another one. This one is made from a spice jar.
*top tip, if you have stubborn glue on a jar label, use stazon cleaner to remove it. Is there anything, that stuff doesn't remove?*

TGIF umbrella

You know how it is, when you use a jar of sauce when you are cooking, and it's just too nice a shape to throw in the recycling? It happens to me so often. I decided to make a jar for all those bits of change that get left in various piles around the house and tie it in with TGIF's umbrella theme, and make it "for a rainy day" money.
I stamped the glass with a crackle stamp, added a lock stamp to the lid (to cover up the "best before date".
All stamps are by Inka

summer tea light

Wednesday stamper are inviting us to a summer tea party this week. What shall I bring?
There are two main problems with parties outdoors in Britain, one is the weather: it's almost guaranteed to rain! The other is the bugs, wasps, midges, yuk!
now I can't do anything about the weather, but one of the things I do to help with the bug problem is put citronella candles around the garden. I often use Jam jars for my candles. so this is what I decided to bring to the party, a decorated tea light holder.
The image is by Inka (here's the link if you are looking for it), and the leafy flourish is also an inka stamp. I have also used the free strawberry stamp from the new craft stamper magazine. I have done these on shrink plastic and suspended them from the lace, so they give a satisfying jingle in the breeze (back to the weather again!!)
I've added acrylic paint blobs to the glass, and finished with some tissue paper and some gingham...you have to have gingham at a tea party!!

p.s. I have a new computer!!

nest in a jar

On the forum I visit, we recently had a challenge to create a mixed media piece with a spring theme. This was my piece, It is a nest in a jar. I found this flat sided jar and had to use it for something. I made the nest with raffia and used a skeleton leaf in side the jar. I put one stamped egg (inka) so it stood up in the nest. I also sprinked a little flower soft into the jar for a bit of colour. I stuck the large bird from inka to the outside of the Jar. I glues some floral fabric and a fake flower to the lid,

The hardest thing was photographing it!

miniature jar fairy

the story of this piece starts with a story of marmalade. while I was shopping I really fancied some marmalade, but I knew that if I bought a whole jar I would leave most of it, but they had some tiny little jars, so I got one of those. As soon as I held it though my mind wandered to jar fairies. I have made one before, although she was actually a pepperpot fairy.

so anyway, this jar is tiny, less than 2 inches high (and quite a bit of that is lid) so my main problem was finding a fairy small enough. but then I remembered I had this one from Inka stamps

I have put a really pretty hessian flower inside the jar. I have glued green fantasy fibre for the ground. glue and fantasy fibre- what a nightmare. it went everywhere. I also put some clear fantasy fibre inside the jar to look like magic trapped in the jar. I then glued a flower to the lid.

so the question is did I subconsciously buy the marmalade just so I could make the jar fairy?

Jar Fairy

I've been wanting to make a jar fairy for ages. I've seen them dotted around in mags and blogs and I love them. After a discussion on my forum as to whether it was cruel or not, we decided that as the fairies were made of paper. it was probably okay!! now if they were real fairies that would be a different matter.

just to be on the safe side I chose a pepper pot for my fairy as it has ready made air holes.

see more jar fairies and other things I've done with jars here