An Offbeat Bride --- the finished bouquet.

Teresa here again. 

The off beat bouquet is finished. 

I would carry this for my wedding. 

My daughter has been seen handling it as well. 

I am so proud of how this turned out. 

I took it to work this morning so I could take pictures in the sun at lunch.

Even the men in my warehouse area were impressed - this is a good thing. 

The Shopping list for each component is on the component posts. 

Part one is HERE

Part two is HERE

Part three is HERE

Part four is HERE

The shopping list for today is and easy one too

GLASTIQUE MATTE - used as an adhesive. 

Various other items as follows.

White synthetic fabric and or lace. 

Circular patterns.

pen or pencil 

Scissors

Candle

vintage and/or new buttons

fine gauge wire

glitter

white floral tape

satin ribbon

Here we go

Using highly sophisticated tools (I used jar lids) mark fabric circles of three sizes. Cut these out - note - this is very forgiving, so do not be too worried about them being perfect.

After cutting the circles, hold carefully over a flame to melt and curl the edges. I love this step - I use a scented candle and keep a wet towel close by. Here is a great link for the process to make these --

After melting all the pieces - I used lace and two layers of sheer sparkled white - stack them and sew them together in the center. 

Use an awl or a nail to make a hole in the center of these. 

Now the real fun begins. 

I chose an assortment of vintage buttons to add color pops to the bouquet. 

My process was to lay my Piccolo component on my table and pick various buttons to coordinate with each shape. 

 

Here is the dragonfly with his button assortment.

I then took a silk hydrangea stem in all white and snipped the petals off the stems. 

I used a quick brush of the glastique with a sprinkle of extra fine glitter on some.

the fine gauge wire and wired through the buttons added a circle of glastique around the hole in the center of the petal and threaded the wire through. Pull the buttons snug against the petal center and hang upside down overnight to dry. 

Each of the Piccolo shapes was added to the stacked fabric flower assemblies using the same assembly method.

I hung my assemblies from the dining room light fixture. 

Using white floral tape, wrap each stem to cover the bare wire. 

After all of the wires are wrapped, start the assembly process, I clustered three or four button assemblies around the larger Piccolo component. I tried to keep in mind the adjoining components so that my buttons coordinated. 

I also varied the depth of the button flowers so that some are in full view

 and some give just a peek of color and filler. 

 After making all the clusters, I started wiring the clusters together.

This is where I fluffed and moved and twisted things - over and over until I was happy with the arrangement. 

The picture above shows the handle area after that was done. 

I then took another long piece of the wire and wrapped the entire stem for extra security. 

I wrapped and glued satin ribbon around the handle of the bouquet for a finish. 

Then tied ribbon and a long strip of lace tucked in under the assembly and let that flow down from the bouquet. 

Here are some closeups of the finished bouquet.

The dragonfly. 

I love the blue and yellow stacked flower

An openwork rose and butterfly. 

The cross.

The darker butterfly

And the birds. 

This made up beautifully and with all the selections of Piccolos that are available, and the enamels, and embossing powders, you really can customize a bouquet to fit ANY theme of wedding. 

Please visit everyday here for even more inspiring ideas. 

Life is Beautiful .

Altered Postcard "Fly" Tutorial

[ edited to add: find the video how-to below! ]

Happy Monday, Friends!

This week I have a fun project  - an altered postcard using Globecraft & Piccolo Embossing Enamels, Gel and Piccolo Accents. You can use an actual postcard or cut your own bases from cereal boxes, chipboard or even just cardstock. Remember when I suggested you keep all the bits and pieces you weed from the main Piccolo Accents?

(I actually took video while I created this postcard (having some difficulties uploading the video), so keep an eye out for an update to this post and WATCH how this project came together below! Suggestions welcome. Please be kind...this is my first 'live action' video. lol)

Gather your supplies. You may surprised at how easy this is!

Globecraft & Piccolo supplies:
Enamel Powder Adhesive Fluid
Embossing Enamel Temple Stone
Embossing Enamel Vintage Copper
3D Enamel Gel - Satin Gold
Glastique Gloss
*Leftover bits from French Oval Frame Kit

other supplies:
Distress Ink - Vintage Photo
Archival Ink - Jet Black
Adirondack Color Wash - Cranberry
Tattered Angels Chalk Sprays - Banana Pudding, Peacock
Heidi Swapp Color Shine - Citron
White Gesso or white acrylic paint
Found Items: bubble wrap, tape roll

*you can use any leftover bits from your Piccolo Accents and frames. I save all my bits & pieces in a reclosable baggie and pick through them when I need something.

Here are the basics:

1. Spray colors. Let dry (or use a heat tool to speed it up!)
2. Use Found Items to add interest.
3. Paint edges using 3D Enamel Gel.
4. Emboss butterfly and 'fly' using Embossing Enamels.
5. Stamp 'high'.
6. Distress edges using Vintage Photo.
7. Add Piccolo bits using Glastique. Let dry.

That's it! Don't forget - if you create a project using Globecraft or Piccolo products, we'd love for you to share it on our Facebook page!

Inky hugs,
Angi

It's a GIRL

For the regular readers here, it is probably evident that my style runs towards the shabby, simple, but still unique. 

This package wrap fits all three of those words. 

And it is SO SIMPLE - with the exception of waiting for the 3D Gel to dry, I made three of these types of tags in 15 minutes. 

Let's get started. 

Shopping list. 

 - Coral Pearl 3D Enamel Gel

- Ivory Creative Inspirations Paint (I love this stuff)

- Cameo Girls Charms 

Extras

- a gift tag blank (I make these collaged ones all the time with my bitty scraps and keep them on hand)

- all purpose glue (this is clear gel glue)

- small paint brush

- embellishments to fill out the tag (I used a couple of pink buttons from the stash)

- pink yarn or floss.

Now lets get started. 

I used the Ivory Paint as a base coat for the entire piece.I even left the whole thing as one piece. 

Separate the center and the outer part.  The next step is really the only "pay attention" step.

SHAKE the Coral Pearl 3D gel really well. You can see that the lighter shimmer separates in the bottle - simply shake well to mix this back up (much like nail polish).

Coat the outer part of the charm set with the Coral Pearl Enamel Gel. (Do not get the 3D Gel down into the opening. You will understand why in a couple of steps. )

Paint the center girl medallion with layers of the IVORY Creative Inspirations paint until she is a gorgeous sparkly splendor as well.

Let them dry overnight.

The great thing about using the two different coloring methods is that there is a lot of dimension to the finished tag.

Reassemble the two pieces.

I love the marbled effect the gel has.

Add to your tag base and glue both pieces onto the tag.

Add your embellishments to the rest of the tag.

Add your ribbon and tie to a sweet baby girl gift.

A quick and simple package tie on.

I am so happy you stopped by to see how quick, simple, and inexpensive it can be to make a customized gift wrap addition.

Have a wonderful day.

Teresa

My hope is found.....

Good morning peeps --- Teresa here with a tribute to many many people. Meet HOPE. I have known I wanted to make her, and the new Aged Pink Powder gave me the very last item I needed.

She looks a lot more complicated to assemble than she actually is. So let's jump on in. Shopping first.

from the New Release Items.

- Aged Pink Enamel powders
- Aged White Enamel powder

Other Globecraft Piccolo products.
- Cranberry Wine Enamel Powder
- Poodle Skirt Enamel Powder
- Enamel Adhesive
- UV Resin
- Matte Glastique Finishing Glaze
- Snowflake Accents 
- Bejeweled Snowflake Accents


Miscellaneous Supplies
- Cross Stitch Fabric (I used a 32 Count Linen in Ivory)
- Sparkly Floss in pink
- small bit of ivory cardstock
- glitter paper for wings
- silver stamp ink (the London Fog from Sweet Stamps is really pretty)
- a tiny lace medallion for her halo (I made my own.)
- buttons to use as spacers.
- silver sewing thread
- a mounting board
- a tiny bit of gesso
- tiny bit of pink glitter

Now here we go.


I stitched the word HOPE at the center bottom of my fabric using the pink floss. (Link to a free PDF of the font)

I covered all of my Piccolos with a bit of gesso. The sides will show and I carefully made sure to cover them. Wait patiently for this to dry.

Then I embossed all of my shapes in assorted Pinks.

The ones above are Cranberry Wine (this is my current favorite)

The ones above are Poodle Skirt

The top one above is Aged Pink and the smaller one is Aged White.

I stamped my pretty angel's face and then added a bit of the Aged White Powder to her hair. I even used a paintbrush and flecked a little into areas in her hair. I cut her out to fit my medallion.

After embossing her accents - I covered her with UV Resin and set it outside in the sun to cure. In sunshine it takes about 3 minutes. 

I added a medallion behind her pretty face. I made my own to give her a halo effect. I simply glued the resin piece to this.

I cut wings from some glitter paper.  Then (using my finger) smeared the Glastique on them waited just a moment and sprinkled with some pink glitter.

The Glastique is a fabulous adhesive for the glitter. See the detail below. By waiting just a moment before I added the glitter, some of the Glastique dried and the remaining areas held the glitter.

Now all of our components are ready.

I sat down and stitched her bits and pieces to the fabric.

Stacked some, using buttons for spacers. I gasped when I started the stacking. It gave great dimension to the artwork.

After I stitched everything down, I added her face. I simply glued it on with E6000.

Then I wrapped her around an 8x10 board. I have her in a shadow box now - but she could be framed or mounted on canvas.

I love the various ways you can combine the Piccolo shapes.

A similar angel could be made from flowers, from flourishes, even from the various gears.

I do hope you will try your hand at some of these ideas son.

Grace

Good Morning. Teresa here again. When i applied for this design team, one of the things I included in the biography was that I consider myself a mixed media artist. I also use a lot of upcycled and repurposed materials. 

Today's project encompasses all of those descriptions. 

It's an altered bottle. I use a lot of bottles, jars, and other repurposed containers in my studio to store bits and pieces. I most likely would store beads in one this size, but even empty this one is just pretty to look at.

Here's the shopping list.
-  A128 Lil Flowers Leaves, Birds, and Bows Accents. (These are tiny - you get 32 assorted shapes in the packet)
- A124 Vintage Cross Accents 
- Deep Red 3D Enamel Gel
- Victorian Bronze Embossing Powder
-Mermaid Tears Embossing Powder
- Enamel Powder Adhesive 
- Glastique Gloss Finishing Glaze
- Glastique Matte Finishing Glaze

Additional Materials (Links to SweetStamps products are provided)
- Velvet Hydrangeas (these are gorgeous)
- lace and assorted trims
- a paper appropriate adhesive (I used The Ultimate)
- A paper of your choice ( Mine is a cut from an old hymnal)
- a discarded bottle of your choice (Mine is a perfume bottle from the stash)

And here we go.

Over the weekend, I prepped several of the Lil Accents. You will be seeing these in the next few projects. And it was very relaxing to work up several of them at once.

I covered these with assorted 3d Gel Enamels (the colors are amazing and this link goes to the main category of the site)

For this project, the tiny heart I used was covered in Deep Red Gel.

Using the Enamel Adhesive, cover one of the small crosses from the Vintage Cross set with Victorian Bronze Powder.

See how I have picked this straight up from my paper. I leave the thick layer of the powder on the shape. Heat it from underneath initially until it starts to melt, then finish it from the top. This keeps the powder bits from being blown off the shape. You can also control how these powders finish, any where from a rustic "grainy" finish to a very smooth yet varied finish (simply stop the heating process where you like the look)

When you get your cross embossed set it aside.

Measure and cut your paper of choice to fit around the bottle. I used a "higly accurate" method here. I wrapped it around and simply trimmed to suit me.

Apply the Embossing adhesive to the edges of the paper  and emboss for a more finished look. For this I used the Mermaid Tears Powder

Go ahead - click on the picture for a better look - this color is stunning.

Set this aside and now we really get to play.

The top for this bottle was some sort of plastic with a metallic finish. I first made sure the heat from my gun would not melt the cap. I wanted it to have a mottled textured finish to coordinate with the rest of the materials

 More Enamel Adhesive and Mermaid Tears Powder. I held it carefully with needle-nosed pliers and worked my way around the cap. Emboss a section. Turn. Emboss.

After finishing that, set it aside.

Now for some assembly.

Glue the paper around the bottle.

I added some cording to the top and bottom areas. A bit of Gold and Cream Lace. Then glue the Cross to that lace. I added the heart to the cross and coated the entire cross with Matte Glastique ( I did not want a glossy finish to this one). I snipped the larger GRACE from the song title and adhered it with Gloss Glastique. I also covered that word with the Gloss as well.

(Note - the Glastique comes in two sizes - a 2 ounce and a 4 ounce size. This is a versatile adhesive/finishing glaze. I find myself using it for so much more than these projects.)

To finish off my bottle, I made a bow from seam binding and one of the beautiful Velvet Hydrangeas, that I ordered from Sweet Stamps.

(Globecraft & Piccolo and Sweet Stamps are sister companies)

Here are some closeup pictures of the finished bottle.

Grace ---

This one shows a bit more of the Hydrangea.

And the finished bottle. 

I think this would be a nice little gift for a beautiful friend. 

Come back for more inspiration. There is a new post every day. 

Life is beautiful.