Captivate .....

Decided to make a 3D shadowbox which measures 12 x 9 cms. I wanted to use a pastel pink & blue theme to keep it light and cheerful !

This is also my entry into the Craft Stamper Magazine 'Take It Make It' Challenge for April whose subject is 'Anything Goes' .....

The shadowbox comes in three die-cut pieces and I used a pearlescent pastel pink card for the box and a pastel blue for the frame. The two components were folded and glued together to form the shadowbox which I framed with some blue Stickles glitter glue.

I then chose 3 printed papers from 6 x 6 stock and trimmed out the leaves and flowers which I stuck in place at different levels within the box to produce a 3D effect.

I then stamped the Bird and hearts (Crafty Individuals) in black Memento ink and coloured as shown with Copic Alcohol Ink Markers before trimming out. I then took a wooden cocktail stick, trimmed to size and coloured with brown Copic Markers and stuck this in place with Glossy Accents onto which I attached the bird supported on foam pads.

The pink frame was then also die-cut and stuck in place over the blue front. The stamped hearts were applied on foam pads top left and a number of pink and blue sequins attached with more Glossy accents added to provide some bright elements to the design.

Finishing touches were to add some pink velvet and blue grosgrain ribbons tied through a hole at the top. The word 'Captivate' was stamped on blue card which was trimmed and matted on pink card & applied on foam pads to finish.

Sid xx

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Polymer Clay Beads

When I was in John Lewis the other day, I came across a FIMO bead roller machine. Of course, I had to buy it and when I got back from my shopping spree had a go at making some beads. I used Sculpey clay as my base and also tried some Claydium (air or oven bake). Once I had made them I brushed them with a few different Moonglow mica powders before I baked them (15 minutes at 130C) - not forgetting to put a hole through with a wooden cocktail stick before doing so !

These are my first attempts and I must admit it's a bit addictive when you get going. I will be doing more I think after this trial so watch this space !

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Green Paper Beads

I am doing a paper bead swap over on UK Stampers Forum. Each swapper has to produce 20 hand made paper beads in a colour theme. I chose green, although the paper I have used does have some blue & purple in it.


Easy to make, I used:

• Printed paper (cut into long thin triangles approx 3/4 in x 10 in)
• Wooden Cocktail Sticks
• Glue Stick
• Versamark Inkpad
• Clear UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel)

First coat the end of the cocktail stick with Versamark (as a release agent so the bead doesn't stick). Coat the unprinted side of the paper with glue using a glue stick and carefullt roll the paper around the stick, wide end first. Roll the paper centrally around the stick ensuring the thin end is well stuck down. Allow to dry.

Roll the bead into the Versamark pad to coat and dip the bead into the UTEE. This will pick up some UTEE powder. Heat the bead with the heat gun until the UTEE melts and quickly dip the stick with the bead into the UTEE to pick up more powder and reheat. Do this once more keeping the stick rotating until the molten UTEE sets. I push the sticks into a piece of polystyrene foam until they are cool.

Carefully pull off the beads from the sticks and trim ends if necessary with a sharp craft knife to finish. If the beads don't want to come off the sticks, carefully reheat and push from the bead base upto the end of the stick to release. Take care the UTEE is very hot and can burn you easily. Allow to cool before removing the now loosened bead.

Alternatively you can use the Melt Pot to melt the UTEE and then dip each bead on its stick until coted with UTEE. This is ok if you are doing a lot or using UTEE for other projects, but for a few its probably easier to dip into the powder.

Hope you like them :-)

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