I did some rusting today, found a recipe I could follow and had all the ingredients to make. Boy does this stuff smell. When it said to do in a well ventilated area they were NOT kidding. The rusting recipe I used was 1 cup bleach, 1/2 cup cider vinegar and 1 teas. salt. I wanted to rust up the muffin tins so I use one of my plant trays since it was deep enough. I had to make alot.
I sanded the tins prior to putting them into the solution. I left them in for 10-15 minutes since I really wanted to rust them up. Afterwards, I took them out and sprayed them with cider vinegar and let them dry. Think I will keep them outside for a day or two to see what happens.
I like the coloring so far. Can't wait for it to be completed so I can start my project!

All Scrapbook Steals - The Blog: March Giveaway

All Scrapbook Steals - The Blog: March Giveaway

I made these bird post cards for a swap we are doing in my group An Affair with Art on Yahoo. These were fun to do. I love using the vintage glass glitter I found at a yard sale last year. Did alittle 3-D on the flowers and used glass glaze for the for-get-me nots in the background. We had to include a little note about spring on the backs so I used my calligraphy pen and had some fun with that. Turned out pretty well, I had to make 8.

Favorite Apron

Had to buy these at a garage sale I went to on Friday, they were the funniest thing I have come across in a long time and for only a quarter, how can you go wrong. They are made from ladies undies or as my daughter calls them,grannie panties, the top and leg openings are sewn shut, ribbon sewn across the top for the ties. I have lots of fun ideas in my head on making some of these. Thinking that boxer shorts would be fun too. Lots of those in themes and seasonal images.

Vintage Tin Tile Mini Books

My girlfriend was cleaning out some of her junk and gave me a couple of these old tin tiles she no longer needed, they sat around my art room till I thought of what to do with them. I used some of the wool felt I dyed as the pages and blanket stitched around some of them for a more finished look. Then set about decorating the pages with whatever was at hand. I punched the holes using my Crop-a-Dile, that thing works great. Stitched the book together with ribbon and beads. Turned out quite nice, have some improvements I want to make on the next round.

Cleaning out a craft dresser and came upon some really old lace and tatting done by my great granny, she was probably one of the first greeners and recycle queens. Some of the pieces are off of gowns, Sunday shirts, skirt hems and collars. There are little scraps of paper with a description pinned onto them. Makes me wonder if I should use some in my art work or not. What do you think? Seems sad and a waste to just keep it in a pretty box.

I made up these laast night, going to use them in some of my Valentine's day cards. I used some of the vintage metal glitter I came across in a couple of tag sales and flea markets. I found one at the flea market and she wanted $2 for one bottle. Thought it was abit high but just bought one. The Lord is good, a couple of weeks later I came across the rest at a tag sale, she only wanted $1.00 for the whole bag of them. It is cool to see the metal oxidize and start to change colors.

I did some wool felt dyeing this past weekend and I am not sure it I like the results as well as I had hoped. The red is really easy to do but getting a blue or green to stay was not successful. They showed the dyeing technique using Mason jars, water and Tim Holtz's distressed ink reinkers. So that is what I used. Think I am going to use powdered dye next time. I been having fun with my new book Pretty Little Felts by Julie Collings. Great images and ideas but really lacking on the materials listings. Very vague on things that are the focus point of the project.
I still like the things in the book, just wish they were easier to find.

Books I Really Like to Browse

Thought I would share some of my favorite go to books. These are great for inspiration, ideas and have some excellent eye candy too. I like the instructions,the supply lists are there, I dislike when you want to know what something is or what they used and it is not listed. So, if you are wanting some fun eye candy to browse through, check these out at the local library of just pick a seat at Borders and read at your leisure.

My workspace

This is my work space, it is really busy right now but as you can see, if I like something, I tend to put it on the wall, hang it from the lamp or from the ceiling. Makes me happy.

Up and Running

Well, my arty friend Linda M-F was nice enough to help me by sharing some site to make my blog more my own. I had a good time checking them out and deciding which one I wanted to try out. I liked this look for now. Thank you Linda!