Thanks, You Are A Star! {The Altered Element}

I'm feeling especially thankful for the wonderful gifts that I've received from family and friends over the last few days so, inspired by this month's celestial theme over at The Altered Element, I've started to put together some cards.

To start, I sifted through my scraps of Bazill Smoothies Cardstock to make a card base and then found a few co-ordinating leftovers from scrapbooking projects. I then trimmed my cardstock and papers to size and added some definition to the edges by adding stitching and by using a variety of inks from the Tim Holtz Distress Inks Range.

To make my greeting, I used some Alpha Beads (which are, unfortunately, no longer in stock) along with some smaller beads from the Blizzard Glass Bead Mix as spacers between each word. These were threaded onto some Silver Coloured Copper Wire and I fixed them in place with a little superglue.

I then bent the wire around a layer of card and began fixing each of the card and paper pieces to the card base. At this stage, I decided to add a little extra sparkle to one of the papers by dotting some Cosmic Shimmer Twinkles around the edge. There can never be enough sparkle!

To finish off my card, I embroidered a star onto some card using some White Venus Embroidery Thread, cut it out and added it to the top of the card using some Mini Mounting Pads.

This will be my last Design Team project for The Altered Element before the shop officially closes at the beginning of January. It's been a huge amount of fun and I shall miss the team dearly. But, don't forget that you can still order from The Altered Element until midnight on the 1st January 2011 - so don't miss your chance to pick up some bargains in the closing down sale.

Fringe Necklace (The Altered Element}

I've spent the last week in label sticking, envelope stuffing miserableness, so you'll have to forgive me for my lack of blogging. However, I'm sneaking in one last recycled project for The Altered Element DT - a super cute, fringe necklace made with the beads from some 'recycled' jewellery and some rather lovely, leather thong.

I have a massive collection of beads that I've saved from broken necklaces or from old and outdated pieces that I've found at my local car boot sale. I've been wanting to make a necklace using some of the larger beads for quite some time now, but couldn't find a leather thong thin enough to fit through most of my beads.

However, at just 1mm thick and only 30 pence per metre, the leather thong from The Altered Element is perfect (and it comes in dark brown or natural/nude too!)

To make your own version of this necklace you'll need at least two metres of leather thong, some recycled beads (or maybe a selection like the Dress It Up Beads which come in a wide range of colour mixes.) You'll also need some end caps, some jump rings and a lobster clasp to finish your necklace.

To start, simply cut one piece of thong to the desired length of your necklace, then cut additional pieces of thong to a variety of lengths for the fringe. Add beads to each smaller piece of thong and then, keeping the longer pieces towards the middle, add them to your main length of thong using lark's head knots.

To complete your necklace, fasten an end cap to each end of the necklace, then add a clasp using a couple of your jump rings. Done!

Paper Flowers {Altered Element}

This week I have another sweet, little tutorial for the Altered Element Design Team. As you might remember, this month's theme is recycling, so I hauled out my absolutely massive box of paper scraps and dug around until I found some old sheets of music. They had been festering in my 'must use' pile for some time and were practically begging to be turned into something pretty.

What You'll Need:

Ink Mists - I used Cosmic Shimmer Mists in Bronze Blush and Rich Gold, but they're all beautiful.
Brads - I used these 6mm Round, Gold Brads but it doesn't really matter which colour you choose because you won't be able to see them. Buy colours you like and use them for something else too!
Sheet Music - If you can't find any sheet music, I'd recommend some old book pages or some Bazill Smoothies Cardstock
Scallop Circle Punch - You could also use a die cut or a round circle punch.
Craft Knife or Scalpel - Be careful with these. I'll accept no responsibility for slightly shorter than normal fingers or thumbs after you've finished.

1. Punch - Depending on the punchability (that is so a word!) of your scallop punch or your die cut, stack up your sheet music and punch through as many sheets of paper as you can in one go.

2. Pile & Poke - Split your paper circles into little piles - I've used around seven to ten circles per flower, it doesn't have to be an exact science. Then, using your craft knife or scalpel, stick a little hole - big enough for your brad to go through - in the centre of each pile of circles and pop your brad through.

3. Start Scrunching - Starting at the top, scrunch a paper circle up and around the brad.

4. Scrunch Some More - Scrunch each layer in turn. Leave the last couple of layers fairly flat, but use your fingernails to 'lift' the edges a little.

5. Spray & Splatter - When you've assembled all of your paper flowers, it's time to get messy with the mists. I normal lay out my flowers on some old sheets of newspaper or pop them into a cardboard box. (This time I popped them onto some white card, which I'll be using for another project once it's all speckled.) Spritz your flowers with the mists - making sure that you aim some of the mists around the edges of the flowers as well as over the tops. Leave to dry.

6. Beautify - Now use your recycled flowers to beautify your scrapbook layouts, mini albums, altered art or to decorate your craft room.

Recycled Bottlecap Embellishments {Altered Element}

This is my first post as part of the new Altered Element Design Team, so I've been keen to work on something that's versatile and can be used in many different types of projects. Whether you're a seasoned crafter or a beginner, you'll be able to use these cute embellishments in your jewellery, interiors or scrapbooking projects - and as a bonus they're made from stuff that most people throw away.

What You'll Need:

Glossy Accents - A versatile 3D clear, gloss medium that you can use for lots of things. There's also a Matte, Sepia and Crackle version - so good!
Cord - I actually used a lovely Leather Cording, but I think these pretty Metallic Cords would be perfect with winter colours.
Bottlecaps - If you're not a big drinker, fear not. Ask friends or relatives to collect them for you or head down to your local bar, ask nicely and flutter eyelashes. Works for me!
Spray Paint - I used Plastikote Project Paint in matt white and bronze, but if you'll be sticking your embellishments down instead of hanging them, you can skip this.
A Selection Of Bits & Pieces - I used punched paper circles, buttons, small seashells and beads in my embellishments. These Alpha Beads and Spangles & Trinkets would also be excellent and are on my wishlist for next time I make these!
Hammer & Screw - Optional for adding a hole to hang your embellishment.

1. Before The Beautifying - You might like to clean up your bottlecaps by boiling them for a few minutes to get rid of any residual beer stains and tarnish. If you want to remove the small plastic inner, boiling will also help to loosen it up, but be careful trying to take it out while it's hot. We'll be covering this up anyway, so there's no real need to try this unless you're one of those people who like things to be as perfect as possible.

2. Painting - I used Plastikote Project Paint to re-colour my bottlecaps. Just lay your bottlecaps face up on a sheet of newspaper and, with the spray about a foot away, lightly mist over your bottlecaps. A couple of light coats if better than one heavy, clumpy one.

3. Adding A Hole For Hanging - If you'd like to add a small hole to your bottlecaps so that you can use them as ornaments or jewellery charms, it's pretty easy to do. Grab yourself a screw and a hammer. Hold the screw at the edge of your bottlecap, hit it really hard a few times with the hammer and voila. (Using a screw instead of a nail might seem counter-intuitive but I find that they don't bend and are, therefore easier to use!)

4. Creating A Collage - I like to line the base of my bottlecaps with a punched paper circle. (If you haven't got a punch for this, just draw around the base of your bottlecap and cut out - or use beads and spangles to cover the base instead.) Layer up your collage using additional punches, stickers, sparkles and beads - sticking them down with a little dot of Glossy Accents to keep them in place.

4. Using The Glossy Accents - Don't shake the bottle - this will add bubbles. Just turn your bottle upside down really quickly, then squeeze onto a piece of scrap paper. Start adding to your bottlecap around the outside and then around the edges of your accents, then fill in the remaining space. Try to make sure that the hole for hanging is clear, but don't worry too much - it's easy to bang in another through the Glossy Accents.

5. Leave To Set - Your Glossy Accents will look less than glossy at first, but leave them to dry overnight (somewhere level) and by morning they'll dry to a hard, clear and glossy finish.

6. Hanging Your Charms - Use your screw to ensure that your hanging hole is free of Glossy Accents (just wiggle it about a bit - technical term) and then thread through some leather cording, knot and hang.

I'm planning on adding these embellishments to my scrapbooking pages, gifts, mini-albums and jewellery - and how cute would these be on your Christmas tree? There's so many ways to make them work in your projects!

As always, if you have any questions or have a go at making some I would love you to let me know in the comments.

And Now For The Good News.....

I'm On The Altered Element Design Team!!! I am absolutely delighted to be joining The Altered Element Design Team. If you haven't visited The Altered Element before then I think that you're in for a treat. The shop is full to the brim of the most amazing supplies - and is especially proud to stock some of those hard to find items.

I'm joining a seriously talented team of crafters and you can, of course, keep up with all of our design team projects over at The Altered Element Blog However, could I also encourage you to check out everyone's personal blogs? It will be worth it! Visit them here - Anikraft, Adorn, Crafty Makes, Welcome To My World, Mixed Media Musings, Jasmoon Butterfly, Gingersnap Creations, Crafty Dawn, Zuzu's Petals and Inspired Scilly.

And, as if that's not enough good news - I have a new job! I was due to end my current contract at the end of October and, with mum suddenly becoming ill, I had hardly managed to start looking for a new role. I managed to complete an application form for the one job that I really, really wanted. I was invited for an interview, which for obvious reasons, was difficult to attend while mum was ill. But, I knew that she would want me to attend the interview - she always did want what was best for us - and perhaps in some ways, having something else on my mind took away all my usual pre-interview nerves because I was offered the role.

I started last Monday and I can honestly say that I already feel settled. I'm doing a role that I love - working in a university careers department - and my new team are amazing.

For all this - and for the lovely comments and e-mails I've received since my last post - I am extremely grateful x