Fairy Whispers

I was in the mood to create a little something the other day, and a tag fit the bill perfectly. I started with a plain manilla tag that I painted with Ranger's Pool paint dabber. I stamped on the background with Basic Grey stamps and Broken China Distress Ink.

The fairy is cut from a wrapping paper scrap. I embellished her wings with Lavender Stickles and added a little mound of grass for her to rest on using colored pencils. I added some trims and flowers at the bottom and typed a little sentiment using my old typewriter.

A decorative brad and some coordinating ribbons top her off.

Thank Heaven for Hoarders

Who else would have kept all the junk I love to buy? Like this 1951 French fashion newspaper. Or old kitchen curtain fabric.

 

My next task is to scan these images and post for you to use.

How about more trim, buttons, and an old jewelry box.

This pretty little vase is marked Bavaria. It's just so sweet! I love using little vases and jars like this as a toothbrush holder in our guest bathroom. The Bingo sheets are heading to etsy. I should put some of the little tins up there, too, but I haven't been able to part with them yet.

Halloween Cuff Bracelet

I wanted to make a Halloween cuff bracelet to wear to the Wicked Tea, but that didn't happen. So, I made one to wear for Halloween. We're taking our niece and nephew trick or treating, so this will substitute as my costume.

I used vintage and antique trims from my stash. I started with a pleated velvet trim and stitched a fancy Victorian trim on top. This trim was perfect for the bracelet because the last open loop became part of the bracelet's closure. I simply stitched an antique black glass button to the other end and put it through the loop to close.

Here's a closeup of the masked Marie Antoinette image.

I cut out the image, drew a black mask on her face, and then added Glossy Accents to protect it. The Glossy Accesnts caused the ink from the mask to bleed a little, but I didn't mind. I then glued her in the center of a vintage rhinestone brooch and adhered it to the center of the cuff.

The Bees Knees

It seems like every other project that I see in a Somerset magazine uses beeswax. Since I'm always wanting to learn new techniques, I thought I'd dive in and give it a try. I bought a chunk of white beeswax at Michael's (in the candle/soap making aisle). I didn't want to buy a wax melter just to try this technique - it was bad enough that I had to buy a chunk of wax big enough to cover every project I've ever done. I still have a couple of those wax tart burners (with the lightbulb in the bottom and the little pot to melt the wax on top), so I thought I'd try that to melt the beeswax.

The hardest part was getting the old hardened wax tart out of it, but then I cleaned it thoroughly and broke off a chunk of the beeswax. It took about 30 minutes or so to get it melted.

I took a little box and covered it with vintage paper, lace, flowers, a jewelry piece. Then I dipped a paintbrush into the melted wax and started covering the box. I made a little tag to embellish the box and covered this, too.

I think with a little more practice, I'll get the hang of what materials the wax looks best on. Now I want to work on some little trinkets to put inside the box.