Rose Panel Bookmark

Hello fellow crafters! I hope you are having a marvelous summer! For the July theme at Die Cut Diva's we have chosen Anything But a Card, sponsored by

Dies R Us - enter so you have a chance to win a $10 voucher to the store!  One of my past Design Teams was on a blog dedicated {and aptly named} to Anything But a Card.  Unfortunately, the challenge closed and I haven't been creating as many projects other than cards.  However, this challenge has gotten my muse going again!

What I Used to Make my Project
White Card Base
Tattered Lace Rose Panel, #D307 {any of these would work as well}
STAMPlorations Literary Caffeine-ations, #STMP1155
Black Card
White Brads {stash}
Handheld Circle Hole Punch {1/8" and standard size}
Asian Inspired Tassel {stash}

I began this bookmark by cutting the Rose Panel out of black card, mounted the cut out onto a piece of white card which I then trimmed.  I punched small holes, using the handheld 1/8" circle punch, and attached white brads just to add some embellishment.  The sentiment was stamped onto white card, then trimmed and attached to the upper portion of the bookmark.  Lastly, I used a very old, Asian inspired, tassel to finish off the project.  Since I was making this for The Man, I didn't want it to be too feminine but I really wanted to use the Rose Panel die since it is the perfect size for a bookmark. I also attached a strip of cardboard to the back of the bookmark to give it a bit more stability. 

Thank you SO much for stopping by! I hope you and yours are having a wonderful summer - today was the first day that we here in Colorado have had a break from the heat!  Maybe you have had to stay indoors because of the weather where you are; this is a perfect time to get out some of your dies and make Anything But a Card to enter it in the Die Cut Diva's July Challenge! I hope to see you there!  Fondly, Christi

I am entering my Bookmark in the Following ANYTHING GOES Challenges:
Cardz TV - #58
Crafting with Friends - #72
Creative Fingers - #150
Crafting with an Attitude - #41
Crafting by Designs - July
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge
A Bit More Time to Craft - #72
The Creative Crafters - #6
Crafty Creations Challenge - #371
Through the Craft Room Door - Wk of July 24, 2018
Word Art Wednesday - #344/345

You Are Loved

Hello fellow crafters! I hope you are having a marvelous summer! For the July theme at Die Cut Diva's we have chosen Anything But a Card, sponsored by

Dies R Us - all you have to do is enter for a chance to win a $10 voucher to the Dies R Us store {and if you haven't been to the store lately, you need to go take a look! Dies R Us now carries paper, bows, inks, and basically everything you could need to craft}! It's been a while since I have made something other than a card.  One of my past Design Teams was on a blog dedicated to {and aptly named} Anything But a Card but, unfortunately, the challenge closed and I haven't been creating as many projects other than cards.  A friend was having a tough time and I made this banner for them; my intent is that no matter what is going on, they will remember that they are loved.

What I Used to Make my Banner:
White Card
Black Card
Grey Card
Lawn Fawn Louie's ABC's, #LF688 {any of these would work}
Sue Wilson Australian Collection, Melbourne #CED8105
Sue Wilson Atlantic Ocean Collection, Azores, #CED13005
Ribbon {I used a .99 cent roll called Nicole in Black Nylon}
Black Bows {stash}
Handheld Rectangle Punch, 1/4"

Since the alphabet I chose to use is fairly large, the first thing I did was cut out all the letters I needed to spell out my sentiment using white card.  Then I made

sure they fit onto the shape I used as my first layer.  It was then I realized that "loved" was a wee bit longer than I had thought, but I smooshed the letters together anyway - the charm of handmade, right? I then chose one of the dies in the Sue Wilson Melbourne set that I felt fit the letters and cut out 3 of them in black card.  For the back of the banner pieces, I used grey card and cut out three pieces using the Sue Wilson Azores set.  

Once all my pieces were cut, I began to assemble each word of the banner.   I glued all the letters onto the black die cut, then

attached the black card onto the grey card.  It was then I decided, while I was pleased with the way the banner looked, to add black bows onto the bottom of each section.  While I chose the black and grey colors to make the banner gender neutral, the bows gave it a bit of femininity. 

Lastly, I punched out two rectangles at the top of each piece and threaded the ribbon through.  The ribbon actually "attached" itself to the card, so I didn't need to knot each side, or put any sort of stopper.  Now the recipient can adjust the banner to suit their needs.

The banner was received wonderfully! They loved the banner and hung it right up in their bedroom so they could see it first thing every morning.  I had lots of fun making it and I'm so happy that my friend also liked it. Everyone should know that they are loved!  I hope you have gotten some time to make an Anything But a Card project to join in the July Die Cut Diva's Anything But a Card challenge!  A huge thanks to Dies R Us for the July sponsorship. Thanks for stopping by.  Christi 

PS: Challenges for Days is celebrating our 5 year anniversary - all kinds of goodies and prizes available for you to win! Check it out here!

I'm entering my You are Loved Banner in the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
Scrapy Land - #94, Anything Goes with Products they Sell
Not Just Cards - July Challenge Anything Goes
Happy Little Stampers - Anything Goes with Dies
Crafty Catz - #426, Anything Goes OPTION: Dies or Punches
The Corrosive Challenge - #7, Anything Goes
Unstampabelles Challenge - How Edgy Can You Be?
Use Your Stuff - #322, Anything Goes with a Title or Sentiment

Design Team Call at Anything But A Card Challenges!!

                               

You can find all the details at

Anything But A Card Challenges

IF 

YOU love Creating?

YOU enjoy exploring many types of media and projects.

YOU want to create with NO limits.

YOU enjoy all aspects of blogging. YOU want to grow with us!

THEN

Why not have a look at what we are looking for?

Variety is the spice of LIFE 

That's what there is at 

Anything But A Card

We Want YOU!

 

We have a fabulous team and we'd love to have you join us! 

 

(thanks to Julie Short who I shamelessly copied from)

Anything But a Card ~ Keys Shadow Box

ARGH! I hate it when my scheduled post doesn't post!! 

The challenge this month at Anything But A Card Challenge is one of my favorite themes, Anything Goes (#37).  I love Anything Goes challenges as they give me free reign to use some of the items I have hoarded over the years, like the shadow box I used in this project.  Well, honestly, most of what I used has been in my stash for years.  It was fairly simple to make and since I had everything on hand, it was free!

Sorry for the glare - glass!!

What I Used to Make This Project:

Shadow Box, mine was about 13” x 10” (the frame was darker, so I sanded it)

Background paper from KaiserCraft, Art of Life Collection, P1399, Always (2 pieces) 12" x 12"

8 Skeleton Keys

Washi Tape from Tim Holtz

Brown Velvet Leaves (I can’t recall where I got them, but if you search you can find plenty of options)

Small Bulb from Tim Holtz

Other Embellishments from stash & around the house

Crafters Pick The Ultimate Glue

I began with the background paper.  Since my shadow box is 13” long, I needed a bit of something to fill in where the 12” x 12” paper fell short. 

 

You can see the sides of the board - this was before I put the scalloped pieces on

The Keys

I happened to turn the paper over and found the scallop border design on the other side, so I just cut those out of the paper and used those to make up the difference.  Once I got the background settled, the placement of the keys was next. I wanted them to be the focus of the piece so in the middle they went.  I honestly am not on to measure and be precise, I always do it by eye when I make cards, but I actually measured the area around the keys so they could be placed as close to the middle as possible (as possible for me anyway).  Once I was happy with the keys, I glued them to the board and put it aside for overnight drying. 

I had already begun gathering some prospective embellishments before I began making the shadow box.  I am always thinking (obsessing?) about upcoming projects and I think a lot before I actually begin one. Of course I have those days where I just want to play, but if I have a theme, I often think for days prior to beginning the piece.  I tried doing the sketchbook thing, can’t do it, can’t draw what I want to and this frustrates me to NO end.  I will occasionally make notes if something strikes me that I fear I might forget.  And, since I started blogging as a part of teams, I do make a list of the items I use to make something so when it comes time to do this part I can be sure of what I used and if I can, I like to supply manufactures (I hate seeing something really cool and not having any idea what people used in making it).  Sorry for the detour into my creative process! I had gathered some stuff that had been hanging around; one item is particularly special for me is the pen nib.  When my Dad passed away, I found this pen nib in a drawer along with some other art materials and have squirreled it away – I think this was the perfect use for it!  Everything is real, except for the bulb and the keyhole – the keyhole was a brad and I just removed the “legs”.  The snippet of letter on the bottom right is from a real letter, the typewriter key (or is it an old adding machine key?) is real, the clock dial is real and the optic piece is from a real optometrist kit.  Flea markets & eBay are wonderful!

Playing with Placement

Playing with Placement

After I fiddled with the placement of the embellishments, and fiddled some more, I finally felt the piece was done and glued everything down.  After allowing it to dry overnight (and I am SO proud to say I didn’t get spare glue anywhere!) I placed the board in the back of the box.  Now, originally, there was a piece of cardboard as the backing, but I knew that would never work, so I asked if I could get a piece of wood cut to size.  My SO used an old cabinet that was left here when the previous owners moved out.  Love to recycle that kinda stuff! The wood fit the back so perfectly I didn’t even need to glue it to the box – I just folded the little holders and I was done!  The only thing missing is a hanging mechanism, which I will rectify on my next trip to the wonderful Dollar Tree.

The board, before I put it in the frame

I hope you enjoyed my creation, and my detour into my creative process! There is plenty of time to enter the Challenge at Anything But a Card and I do hope you will pop over to the blog and get some inspiration.  Thank you so much for stopping by! Have a marvelous week ~ Christi

PS: If you'd like to see a photo in more detail, please click it. This is true on all of my posts :)

Another view of the final product

I am entering my Keys Shadow Box in the following Challenges:
Crafting at the Weekend - Challenge 3, Anything Goes

Altered Eclectics - Anything Goes
Just for Fun Challenge Blog - #1, Anything Goes
Mixed Media Monthly Challenge - July Challenge (Around the House)
Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
The Sailing Pineapple - #11,  Anything But a Card

Summer Lovin' with Anything But a Card

I finally got a bird feeder.  When I moved, I had to leave my old one at my old house and I have been bugging anyone and everyone to get me a new one.  So, after about a year of begging, I went and bought one myself.  Now that I have my spectacular feeder, I needed somewhere to keep the birdseed.  I am not particularly strong, so the idea of lugging a bag of birdseed out to the front yard doesn’t thrill me.  So I made a birdseed (bird food) holder for my Summer Lovin’ project, the challenge now being held at Anything But a Card.

This should have been simple.  Should have been a piece of cake.  But, I got sidetracked as my SO decided we needed another cat when he went to Petco to get cat litter.  Our local shelter, The Dumb Friends League, loans out cats and dogs to the local Petco in hopes someone will see the animal and fall helplessly in love.  Score one for Dumb Friends League.  Now I have five, yes FIVE feline companions and our newest is named Sylvester – but more on him in another post.  I give you my Bird Food Jar:

See the cat on the left side? Guess who!

What I Used in my Project:
Container

Gesso

Damask Paper from MME Bestof Damask Pack

Chipboard from Basic Grey, Undressed Periphery (retired, but you can find it)

Distress Ink Pad in TeaDye

Distress Marker in VintagePhoto

Distress Paint in MilledLavender

Tim Holtz Grunge Board Letters, Plain (again, retired)

Pale Lilac Paper from SU!(retired, I think)

Cut File from my Batch of Free Files

Silhouette Machine

I eat biscotti (too much, but hey!) and the brand I eat comes in these awesome containers.  And since I eat so much, I always have an empty container handy.  So I peeled off some of the label (in hindsight, I really should of taken the time to peel off the whole label), gathered 2 12x12 sheets of the paper I thought would be pretty, measured and cut the paper and then glued the paper to the container.  I also cut out a circle of the same pattern to put on the lid.  This is going great!

I gesso all the Grunge Board and the Basic Grey Chipboard.  After that is dried, I try to paint my letters.  I know what color I want them, as the paper is a mixture of pink and brown (which doesn’t match ANY room in my house. . .) so I try to paint them with Distress Marker in Gathered Twigs – I scribble the marker on my craft sheet and spritzed some water on it to make paint.  Well, I forgot gesso kind of reactivates with water.  So I ended up with a very light tan.  OK, I’ll let that dry and perhaps I can paint on it after since there is now a base coat.  Nope.  I’ll spare you the trials and tribulation and share that I finally just pressed the letters on a Distress Ink Pad in Tea Dye.  After they dried, I used a Distress Marker in Vintage Photo to edge the letters.  Whew!

 

The Top

Now I move on to my gessod chipboard.  Again, I had an idea in my head of the color I wanted the chipboard to be.  Pink enough to pick up the pink in the paper.  I must have painted that chipboard with 45 different colors of Distress Paint.  I could NOT get the pink “pink” enough.  I used Pickett Fence with Festive Berries – nope.  Tried to dry brush Pickett Fence on the chipboard after it dried – nope.  After numerous attempts, I realized that Milled Lavender matched the paper almost perfectly.  See, I told you this SHOULD have been easy!  By this time, I have literally lost days, since the heat is here (along with our one month where it rains almost every afternoon – sort of like Florida, but without the crushing humidity) and I have to wait for the embellishments to dry.  I start to panic.  I have my words and my shipboard plaques but what am I going to decorate the container with?  Thank goodness I have this Silhouette.  I found some paper that matched, SU! Pale Plum, and set about cutting out some cute little birdies to put on the sides of the container. 

And the cat is so helpful

I glued them to the sides, glued my letters to my chipboard plaque, and attached my plaques to the container. . .only to realize I had put the birds on the wrong sides.  But yanno what? You can’t tell.  And if anyone dares to ask me why my bird food container is in pink & brown, or why the seams are visible, well, let’s just say I have a shovel and a large backyard.

Take my mistakes and use them so you don’t go bonkers – at least from crafting something. If you'd like the cutfile I used here, or in any of my projects, just ask (I share, except when , legally, I can't) I hope you are cool and comfortable ~ enjoy! Christi

PS: Maybe I'll make another one that matches my kitchen??

Before and After (told you I had a bunch of these)

I would like to enter my Bird Food Container in the following challenges:
Open-Minded Crafting Fun Challenges - #12, Anything With Wings
UnStampaBelles - #36, Mixed Media
Penny's Paper Crafty Challenges - #181, Anything Goes
Crafty Girls Challenges - #20, Anything Goes

My Art Part Heart

I love being on the Design Team for Anything But a Card - it has truly been one of the BEST things ever for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love making cards and such, but I find a great satisfaction when I make something that can sit on a shelf or be hung on a wall.  I remember the joy I felt when I discovered Wendy Vecchi and her Art Parts – how cool was this!?! All the hard stuff was done for me!  And her stamp line? Well, don’t go looking at it unless you have some extra cash – I love the entire line.  And I buy as much of her stuff as I can.  I’d like to think if we ever meet we’d be friends (and not in a crazy stalker way).  Anyway. . . this month's challenge at Anything But a Card is this beautiful color palette.  All I see when I look at this is serenity ~ so I pulled out my Wendy Vecchi Art Parts, my Distress Paints, some other goodies and went to town!

I love this and I look forward to seeing what all of YOU create.  But, in the meantime, here is my creation; maybe you'll get some inspiration and join us?

 

This project is made almost entirely of Art Parts (you can check out the entire line of Wendy’s Art Parts here, her stamps sets here  and you can find both at many retailers both online and in the stores).  What I used was:

1 Large Circle and Circle Frame

1 Large Heart

Sentiment Stamp from “Art Comforts” set, SCS110

Distress Paint in Fired Brick and Seedless Preserves

Wendy Vecchi Ranger Archival Ink in Red Geranium

Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black

Distress Crackle Paint in Rock Candy

Prima Micron Pen in Black (I think I used #2)

Brads with clear gem middles, 2

Wooden Flower & Leaves from craft store

Embossing Enamel,from Globecraft & Piccolo in Mossy Glen & Enchanted Aubergine

Embossing Fluid from Globecraft & Piccolo 

Previously gessoed old book page

My book page

First I gessoed the circle, the frame and the heart.  Once they were dry I used the circle to cut a piece of old book page that I had already gessoed and glued that on.  You don’t have to be perfect with this since the frame is going to cover the edges – thank goodness because my page was a wee short.  I painted the circle frame with the Seedless Preserves paint (straight from the bottle) & set it aside to dry.

I took a scrap piece of cardboard (thin cardboard, like the back of a paper pad), gessoed it and then stamped the sentiment on that.  Due to the roughness of the gesso, I used the Micron Pen to fill in where the ink didn’t quite hit the cardboard.  Then I took another scrap piece of cardboard and painted it with Fired Brick paint (again, straight from the bottle). Once that was dry, I glued the sentiment to the Fired Brick background, broke the arms off two silver brads with gems in the middle and glued them on. 

Almost all the parts

My heart

I took my heart, inked it with the Red Geranium, let it dry and spread the Rock Candy Crackle Paint on it – set it aside.  Got the flower and the leaves and embossed them.  Attached the circle frame to the circle, put the heart in the center, attached the sentiment to the center of the heart & finally glued the wooden flower & leaves to the top. 

I had actually thought this was done before I added the flower & the leaves – when I saw how well the Enchanted Aubergine Embossing Enamel complimented the Seedless Preserves Distress Paint, I had to figure out a way to add it.  Luckily, I came across the flower & leaves.  I think that the last touch completes the piece.  I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and had as much fun as I did making this! Blessings! Christi

 

I would like to enter my Art Part Heart in the following challenges:

Allsorts Challenge - #259, Purple Passion 

Crafting at the Weekend - #1, Anything Goes

Challenges for Everybody - #41, Anything Goes

Divas by Design - Anything But a Card 

Stamping Sensations - May, Anything Goes

I'm in the Spotlight at Anything But a Card!

(yes, this was originally posted yesterday - my boo boo - so let's just pretend you didn't see it until today, ok?)
 
As some of you know I am on the design team at Anything but a Card and I am pleased to have my turn at the Spotlight Challenge! The Spotlight Challenge gives each Design Team member a chance to let everyone know a bit more about them and since we all find it hard to talk about ourselves (OK, not everyone, but...) we get rewarded by running a mini challenge of our choice.  Take some time to learn about me and enter my mini challenge!!

I'll give you a hint -

I hope to see you there! 
Blessings ~ Christi

Spring Forward and Fly!

My post today is for the NEW challenge at Anything But a Card Challenge #34 - "SPRING Forward"!! We know Spring is dragging it's feet in arriving as ol' man winter keeps his heels dug in the snow and ice... so we are celebrating the new season with an OPEN THEME!!! Feel free to break out the bright colors and create along with Spring and Easter, or create whatever your muse desires... as long as it's anything but a card!

I love "anything goes" challenges, especially when they are for Anything But a Card - this challenge inspired me and my muse to make use of some extra parts that were just laying around. With gears being all the rage I was lucky enough to find a watch repair place that gave me tons of watch parts that he could no longer use.  After stripping all the parts down I ended up with a bunch of watch cases (I think that is what you call them), some of which were brand new.  As I was thinking about what to do with all these cases I got a fabulous idea – and that is how this pendant was born. How appropriate to use a watch case for "springing forward"!

 

Surprisingly this pendant isn't heavy. . .

Items I used in my creation:

• Empty Watch Case
• Globecraft & Piccolo (G&P) Vintage Silver and MermaidTears Embossing Enamel
• G&P Glastique Gloss Finishing Glaze
• G&P Butterfly Accents
• 2 Jump Rings
• Charms of your choice
• Crafters Pick Glue
• Necklace for the Pendant (I used Silk Cord that I got from G&P) 

Not the real one, but close

I cleaned one of the watchcases and unscrewed the back and the top. First thing I did was emboss the top case (where the watch face would be seen) with Vintage Silver and Mermaid Tears Embossing Enamel.  I coated and embossed the frame many times (if you chose to emboss any metal part PLEASE be careful, as the metal gets VERY hot, as

Embossed and coated - ready to go!

does the embossing product! Don’t touch anything until it has cooled!) When I was finally happy with the frame I added a coat of Glasstique Gloss to protect the enamel and, hopefully, make the pendant less prone to chipping.

Taking the bottom of the case (where the watch guts are), I found some decorative

paper that showcased the colors in the Mermaid Tears Embossing Enamel and punched out a 1” circle.  I centered the circle and glued it into the bottom.  I decided on a using a small butterfly for the pendant focal point from A148 Butterfly Accents.  I embossed the butterfly with a mix of Mermaid Tears, a pinch of Micro White and a pinch of Vintage Silver.  Once it had cooled I glued it to the center of the bottom case.  I searched through a bunch of old book pages to find the word “fly”, cut it out and attached that above the butterfly. 

Now my watchcase had 2 “handles” on it to hold the watchstrap.  On the top handle I glued a jump ring for the necklace to go though.  I honestly don’t think that is going to hold for very long and I will eventually solder it – once I learn how (hehehe). On the bottom handle I dangled a few charms.  Oh, and since I got Embossing Enamel in the groves of where the two pieces meet, I used glue again to hold the back & front together.

 

You can see the charms better with in the first pic, but I LOVE the colors in this one

Now, go fly and play (and don't forget to enter ANYTHING GOES at Anything But a Card!) Keep an eye out on my blog for my BLOGAVERSARY giveaways - coming soon! In fact, why not start following now so you won't miss it??

Thanks for stopping by ~ Blessings! Christi

I want to enter my pendant in the following challenges:
Crafty Calendar Challenge - Things with Wings
Rhedd and Rosie Challenge Blog - #30, Anything Goes 
Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
Fairy Tale Challenge Blog - Butterflies

Never Dull Your Sparkle ~ Anything But a Card Challege 33

The past two weeks were a huge upheaval in my life  – my studio was getting a shelf (finally trying again after the first one literally fell out of the wall) so that entailed cleaning off one of my tables and helping design where things were going to get moved to.  On top of that, my desktop computer was dying a slow death, and of course, that is the computer I have all my art stuff on.  So I spent entirely too much time backing up what I needed to save on my old computer and trying to get another old (but not as old) computer up to date to accept all my saved stuff.  And then get the printer to print and all the files & folders in the correct spots so I had a chance to find them again.  Funny, during all this upset I was thinking about the challenge at Anything But a Card. This month the challenge is SPARKLE and it led me to so many possibilities that I had ideas flowing like crazy.  But given the situation I decided to keep it simple and that helped me narrow it down.   After much deliberation I decided to make a sign that I can hang up in my studio and since I adore quotes it seemed to be a perfect idea to use one for this challenge. That is how this sign was born.

 

My plain board

Since the sign is fairly self-explanatory I didn’t think I needed a list of the items I used.  This is truly a project where you use what you have on hand. It began as an extra piece of foam board, about 8” x 5”.  Then the ideas began percolating.  Looking through all the decorative papers I have acquired I came across this perfect navy-ish blue with embossed silver stars; blue and silver are one of my favorite color combinations as you may have noticed. 

 

Beautiful paper!!

I wanted to keep the quote the focus of the sign so I kept it simple.  After using my Silhouette CAMEO to cut out the word sparkle (I used Core’dinations Glitter Paper) I searched for an alphabet.  I have a huge assortment of sticker alphabets and I knew I’d be able to find one I liked in my stash. Since I wouldn’t be able to use a sticker alphabet directly on the decorative paper because of the bumps caused by the stars, I found a piece of blue cardstock that I felt complimented the color scheme.  As I was rummaging through my alphabets I came across one that I had completely forgotten I even had; it wasn’t my first choice, but I really like how the cork circles look (from a very old set of cork stickers manufactured by Creative Imaginations).  I felt pop-dots were in order for the words on the cardstock.  Lastly I glued the word sparkle in a whimsical way and now I have this adorable sign. Granted, it isn’t hung up yet as another shelf is in the works, but I have it ready to go!

 

The finished product

Thank you for stopping by for my interpretation of Anything But a Cards monthly challenge! There is still time for you to enter YOUR interpretation and we’d love to see it!  Remember, NEVER DULL YOUR SPARKLE!   

I am entering my "Never Dull Your Sparkle" sign in the following challenges:

Pumpkin Spice - #63 Anything Goes

That's Crafty! - Anything Goes

Addicted to Stamps and More - #86, Anything Goes

Creative Inspirations - #256, Favorite Colour Combination (Silver & Blue)

Altered Eclectics - March Anything Goes

Crafts & Me Challenge & Inspiration - March Anything Goes

Rhedd's Creative Spirit - March Anything Goes

Blessings!
Christi

Love Candle Holder for Anything But a Card

Love Candle Holder for Anything But a Card Tic Tac Toe Challenge #32

When one of my teamies came up with the idea of doing a Tic Tac Toe challenge I was all for it! I volunteer on a blog that lists challenges and I have seen quite of few of then & I think its fun to make things guided by a few rules.  Not too many rules, just a few.  Here is the Tic Tac Toe board we used:

**Disclaimer - I had pictures of the whole process for this post but they have magically disappeared! So what you are actually seeing are pictures after the project was done. 

While thinking of what I wanted to create and how I wanted to incorporate the challenge into my project , I was actually leaning toward an “un valentine” theme of some sort – like maybe a wall hanging to celebrate someone’s divorce, but the closer it got to Valentine’s Day the more I wanted to stretch myself and make something happy.  While digging through my stash I spied my glass square candle holder the idea just clicked in place!  I used the middle line, vertical, for this; Recycled the tin can, my faux velvet heart and the black is the ink. 

What I used to make my LOVE candle holder:

• 1 clear glass square candle holder (2 ½” all around)
• Alcohol Inks in shades of red (I used Ranger & TRIA refills)
• Ranger Alcohol Ink Blending Solution
• Ranger Blending Tool with felt
• Scrap from one soda can (I have a bunch of cans all cut up and ready to use)
• LOVE word stamp, manufacturer unknown
• Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black
• Globecraft & Piccolo 3D Enamel Gel in Mars Black
• Scrap of waxed paper or non-stick craft sheet
• Faux velvet ribbon
• Silhouette CAMEO
• E6000 or industrial strength glue
• Crafter's Pick The Ultimate Glue

First, I washed the candle holder with rubbing alcohol to remove any residue on the glass.  Then I just began adding splotches of alcohol ink (using my blending tool and blending solution.  I love that alcohol ink dries so fast because that lessens a chance of me making the colors muddy.  So I colored my holder and set it aside to dry (overnight – I let lots of things dry overnight).

Then I needed to see if my Silhouette CAMEO would be able to cut the faux velvet ribbon.  I cut a few lengths off the roll (yes, I have a roll of it), went into my designing software & re-sized a heart to the size I wanted, stuck the ribbon on the mat and ran it through.  It took some tweaking with the blade, but finally I got all my hearts cut out.  Since these were to be put on last I put them aside.

This is the Faux Velvet Ribbon

Stamping on metal can be tricky because the metal is so smooth; it’s definitely easier than glass, but you still need to beware of possible slippage.  I took my scrap soda can and carefully stamped LOVE about 5 times using the Jet Black ink.  I let that dry.

I wanted something to look like the metal pieces were attached on to the glass holder, my first thought was to take the folding “legs” off some brads and just glue the tops on.  But the heads of the only black brads I had were too small.  So I made my own.  I took my 3D Enamel Gel and just made rows of little dots on my wax paper.  Some of them came out too thin and looked grey, but the more I tried, the easier it became to make them the size I wanted.  Again, these dried overnight.

Then I cut my metal can where the LOVE was stamped.  I used my paper cutter for this but I don’t think all paper cutters are strong enough to handle the metal.  I have a Genesis Trimmer, I have had this thing for at least 16 years and I haven’t even had to change the blade on it.  Yes, it was costly, but I feel the investment was a good one and it has paid for itself over & over again.  If you are interested in more information about them I highly suggest you go to Bonnie’s Best page HERE .  

Once I had all my metal trimmed around my LOVE sentiment and the gel drops were dry I glued the dots to the metal. To me, they look just like if I had used a real brad!  Gluing the metal onto the glass was the hardest thing for me because I have a love/hate relationship with E6000 glue.  I love the way it really makes things stick to each other but I hate the way it seems to get everywhere!  But I had to use it, so I smeared some on the back of the metal panels and stuck them onto the glass, one on each side.  I wrapped rubber bands around the panels to lessen the chance of them bending up and leaving sharp corners (remember, soda cans spend their life in a can position and I was essentially causing the metal to bend the other way). 

I still have some corners and if I had to worry about anyone getting hurt I would have glossed the whole candle holder, with the metal attached, really thickly – like using a resin – but I don’t have any little hands looking to get cut and if I am careful I should be OK.  The elastics did help bond the metal to the glass so that worked well.  Lastly I attached my faux velvet hearts to each side, under the LOVE.  Done!!

I tried a battery operated tea light and it didn’t give off enough light so for this I think I’ll use a regular votive candle until I can get a battery operated one – can I just say I had NO IDEA that there were SO many battery operated candles!! And some of them even have scent! Ah-Maz-Zing!  

I took a bunch of pictures & it is REALLY hard to get one of something that is lit!

I hope you have enjoyed what the Design Team at Anything But a Card has created using the Tic Tac Toe challenge.  There is still time to enter so go ahead get inspired, then create and ENTER!

Thanks!
Christi

I would like to enter this glass candle holder in the following challenges:
Cut It Up - #38, Valentine's Day
Rhedd's Creative Spirit - Anything Goes 
2 Creative Chicks - Re-Purpose Glass
Challenges 4 Everybody - Anything Goes
Craft My Life (All Crafts Challenge) - Feb/March Anything Goes