Walking Dead Christmas Ornament

We might be two months away from the start of season 8, but it's never too early to make some Walking Dead swag for Christmas.  (The new season starts October 22nd to be exact.)

When I was playing with my alcohol inks I decided to play around with some yellow and red which gave me a perfect canvas for this ornament.  After all the Walking Dead is all about slashing those zombies while our lovable characters fight to survive.  And so the run of red kinda reminded me of that which is why I chose to create a Walking Dead ornament with this one.

The file that I used for this ornament is one that was shared in one of my Facebook groups, and is a personal use only file.  It's the second Walking Dead ornament I've made and in case you missed it, you can view my first one here.  That particular ornament featured Rick and Carl so of course this time I had to feature Daryl.  

What do you think?  Perfect gift for a Walking Dead fan?  

Christmas Carolers

I have another quick and easy ornament to share with you today.  I decided that this year I would try using the alcohol ink rather than glitter method for my ornaments.  If you've never used alcohol ink for your ornaments check out the video how to here.  It's so simple that you'll be asking yourself why you didn't try it sooner......at least I did when I saw how easy it was.

When Silhouette was running their Christmas in July store this Carolers Silhouette file by Hero Arts was one of the many files that I purchased.  It's a fun file, easy to cut and absolutely perfect for this alcohol inked ornament.

Seek Him

Today I have a quick and easy Christmas ornament to share with you.  I really love the look that you can get using alcohol inks instead of glitter in the glass ornaments.

All you need to get started is a glass ornament, alcohol ink and a can of compressed air.  If you've never done this before you can check out the video by Tim Holtz and Ranger Ink here.

After I inked my ornament I started looking through various Christmas files in the Silhouette Design store until I came across some that I liked.  Great thing about that is that right now until the end of the month they're having a Christmas in July sale.  And for the first time ever it even discounted files that I wanted to use commercially.  😁

The file I used for this ornament is by Kolette Hall and is titled Seek Him with Wise Men Phrase.

Slytherin's Secret Potions

Since I didn't babysit my granddaughter last night I had some extra time to play in my craft room last night.  So  I took the opportunity to begin making the first of what will be many items to come for my new craft room.  You see, my two youngest boys are in process of moving out of the house and that means a free, larger room that I can take over for my craft room.  And with that means a new décor - Harry Potter themed of course.  😀

 

This project was inspired by one I saw at Over the Big Moon.  There were two posts that together made for a great potions set.  One offered free potion labels to print (which is where a couple of mine came from - others I found doing searches for them specifically), and the other was for the potions book.  Using her inspiration, here's how I created my project......

 

For the potions book, I used book I purchased from the Dollar Tree.  That way I wouldn't feel bad about cutting it up.  Measuring the cover, I cut an opening in the center of the cover using an Exacto knife.  I then used the knife to scrape around the edges of the opening to rough it up a bit.  I also sanded over the cover (front and back) to rough it up and to remove the indention of the book title from the spine.  Once satisfied with the roughness, I mixed together Ivy Green and White craft paints and with a sponge painted over the cover. 

 

While the paint dried I found a picture of Professor Snapes, printed it and then laminated it.  This would later be taped to the inside cover of the book.  I cut the book title out in vinyl and applied.  No one really knows the "exact" date that Hogwarts was founded but what everyone does seem to agree on is that it was "around" 990 AD. Some use that date and others I've seen using 993 - so I went with 993 for my book date.

 

The potion bottles were various apothecary bottles I picked up at Hobby Lobby - although you could use bottles from around the home.  Before I painted my bottles I tried roughing them up using sandpaper.  However, that wasn't working too well so I decided to try dragging them gently across my brick pavers which worked beautifully. 

 

After roughing up the bottles I painted them with different mediums.  The blue and white bottles were painted with Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint.  I also used a clear crackle paint on my Dragon's Blood bottle and then used red alcohol ink on the inside.  The brown bottle I painted using a dark brown paint mixed with a dab of water.  After applying the paint I immediately began wiping it away with a paper towel.  Once dried I came back with a gray paint (didn't have black on hand) and splatter it haphazardly around the bottle.  For my Floo Powder jar I used Krylon Glitter Blast spray paint in Diamond Dust.

 

After printing and cutting out my labels I distressed the edges with my Tim Holtz paper distresser.  I then wrinkled each one up and inked over them with Tea dye Distress Ink (Dragon's Blood I did with Fired Brick).  I then ran the labels through my Xyron and applied them to the bottles.  I then sprayed the bottles with a laquer spray paint to seal.

 

Right now only two of the bottles have "ingredients".  The Floo Powder I filled with a glow in the dark glitter and for the slug repellent I used a mixture of purple/silver glitter with a brown flock.  I haven't decided what, if anything, I'll use in my other bottles.  Since they are not as transparent I may just leave them as they are. 

Deadpool Wall Art

Since it's Friday I thought we'd do something a bit different.  Today I thought we'd shift away from the Princess theme and look at one of my husband's favorite characters - Deadpool.   

 

I belong to several different crafting groups for the Silhouette on FB.  They're all for different fandoms (Harry Potter, Star Wars, Horror, Disney, etc, etc) and it's exciting to be able to get in there and see what everyone is crafting.  Recently one of my groups shared different Deadpool files and this is one that I knew would be perfect for something.

 

Remember a couple weeks back when I shared my Pulp Fiction wall art?  I had two of these frames that my hubby found in storage.  So when I did my thing with the alcohol inks, I did it for both frames that day.  Yep, that means I've been staring at this one for a couple weeks trying to decide what would be a good design.  That's when I remembered Deadpool.

 

Now I'll be honest and tell you that I initially used a different design.  This one was only the character so I found one of the movie posters and traced the Deadpool verbiage.  After looking at it for two days, my husband and I both agreed that we didn't like it.

 

I picked.  I peeled. And I picked some more until I got every piece of vinyl off the glass.  Then I wiped it down and started over.  This time using the design you see now.  (And yes, that is the same glass.  Funny how turning it different ways and using different colored vinyl makes it look different.)

Pulp Fiction Wall Art

 

My husband loves the movie Pulp Fiction.  So, when I saw this file Pulp Fiction file over at Cuttable Designs I knew that I had create something with it.  Now hubby is not the type to wear something like this on a shirt so it would have to be something different.  Something he could display.  Since he has his own game room I thought I'd create a piece of wall art for him.

 

He recently went through a bunch of boxes he's had in storage and one was full of nothing but different award certificates he had framed.  Given that he's not been with that company for almost 10 years he decided it was time to take them out of the frames.  And when he did I snatched a couple of them to "recycle".

 

After cleaning the glass and allowing it to dry I grab my bottles of Purple Twilight and Stream colored alcohol inks.  I applied a couple drops of Purple Twilight to the applicator felt and began stamping across the glass.  I then applied a couple drops of blending solution followed by the Stream color and started stamping across the glass in the opposite direction.  As I did this I ensured that I filled in any spots missed while stamping the purple.  Then I decided to gentle smear the colors together on one side of the glass to add more textural look.  Once satisfied with the ink coverage I allowed it to dry overnight.

 

Once the ink was cured, I added a sheet of white paper behind the side that was inked and closed the frame.  Then, on the outside of the glass I applied the vinyl design.

 

And now, my hubby has a cool and unique piece of art to hang in his room.

Walking Dead Ornament

I realize it's only March but I have several boxes of ornaments screaming to be altered and turned into something other than clear glass.  Since I've been playing with using alcohol ink for wall art I thought I'd try my hand at ornaments as well.  This is just one of the half dozen I've inked.

 

Creating the ornaments was easy.  I gently added a couple drops of ink into the ornament, allowing it to run down the side and then swirled ever so slightly.  Then using a can of compressed air with the straw inserted I gave quick taps to allow the air burst to spread the ink inside the ornament.

 

Once dry I looked at how each ornament turned out and when I looked at this one I knew it was perfect for turning into a Walking Dead one.  The file I used for this ornament is one that was shared in one of my FB groups.

 

And there you have it.  My very first Christmas ornament AND project for 2017.  😁

Star Wars Wall Art

I decided to add another piece to my alcohol ink wall art collection.  Back around Valentine's Day I saw this fun Star Wars Valentine themed file over at Cuttable Designs.  At that time I wasn't sure what I'd do with it but I knew I wanted to use it for some crafty project.  Then after trying the alcohol inks for the first time I knew what I was going to do.

 

Since sharing the Harry Potter wall art I made last week I've received a lot of questions on FB about how I did it so I thought I'd break down the process here as well.

 

The first thing to do is to clean the glass with Windex and allow it to dry thoroughly before beginning the ink application.

 

I don't know if there's another brand out there or not but I used Tim Holtz alcohol ink for my project.  They're acid free, easy to apply and when applying to glass if you don't like the outcome you can wipe the glass clean with rubbing alcohol and start all over. 

 

I applied a couple drops of Sunshine Yellow to my ink applicator and began dabbing and across the glass in different directions.  I then applied a couple drops of blending solution and then a couple drops of Sunset Orange to the applicator and began the same process dabbing over the yellow as well as covering some of the 'missed' areas.  I carried this color scheme down about two thirds of the glass.

 

I then changed my felt pad and continued this process using the color Purple Twilight.  (These three colors come together in one pack - called Summit View.)  After looking at the glass from the opposite side I decided that I wanted a bit of blue in the mix so I changed my felt pad back to the first one I had used, added a couple drops of blending solution and then a couple drops of the color Stream.  (This color, my blending tool, solution and pads came together in the ink kit.)

 

After I finished with my ink applications I allowed the glass to air dry over night.  The ink dries pretty quick but since I was backing mine with paper I wanted to allow it plenty of time to cure.

 

The next morning I inserted a sheet of white cardstock between the side of the glass to which the inks were applied and the frame insert.  Then on the opposite side of the glass I applied the vinyl.

 

Now I have a fun piece of fan art to add to my wall.

Potter Wall Art

 

Off and on for years now I have been looking at alcohol inks but have always been too afraid to give them a try.  That is until now.  Admittedly I'm not even sure why I was too afraid to try them because they were so easy to use.  Not only that but if I didn't like the way the glass looked I could wipe the ink off with rubbing alcohol and start all over again.  Have I lured you in yet?  😉

 

 

In all honesty I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into so I decided that I would buy picture frames from the Dollar Tree.  That way if I didn't like the way things turned out I wouldn't be out much money. 

 

 

After scouring the aisle with all the inks I settled on purchasing the alcohol ink kit.  This way I'd have not only the ink but also the little stamping tool.  The kit also includes some glossy paper you can play with as well as a stamp set.  But since I have other plans I set the paper and stamp set off to the side.

 

 

Before I began this alcohol ink on glass endeavor though I watched a couple of youtube videos.  Just search for alcohol ink on glass.  There are all kinds of videos out there - even some that use fire in the process. 

 

 

At first I was going to try the method using fire so I went outside to the porch, and there I created my masterpieces.  The inks did not take very long to dry but since I was going to place cardstock behind them I let them sit overnight to cure.  After that I chose several files that were shared in my FB groups, cut them from vinyl and then adhered the vinyl to the front of the glass.

 

 

The only exception to this is the center picture which was created using a scanned and printed section from the Tales of the Beedle Bard book.

 

And now I'm off to enter my project into the following challenges:

 

Die Cuttin Divas - Animals - Ends February 26th

 

DL Art - February Linky Challenge - Ends February 28th