"One of These Days..."

I think we all have the tendency to say, 'one of these days, I'm going to [fill in the blank].'  For me, it's with craft projects that I was going to finish, fix or scrap.  So many projects were skillfully hidden in plain site on my craft table.  So today was finally 'one of these days'.  

Pink agate slice that I tried, unsuccessfully, to drill through last year and ended up scratching badly.  I grabbed my glass engraver and used the stencils that came with it to carve this on one side.

The carousel horse was done with etching cream last year but as I said, I scratched the surface badly with the drill, so I attempted to freehand that scalloped border around the horse.  Oh well...I tried. Should've used the stencil and made it more even.

I also broke out the little metal frames with glass squares and tried some alcohol ink on it.  I love how it looks, but I know now that the sun will fade this right out if I put it in a sunny window.

There was also an old 70s era bangle bracelet buried in the pile so I wrapped it with variegated floss. It's still too big for me though.  

I had baggies of projects to fix and finish.  The 2 necklaces had to be repaired and I just had to put the crystal back on the silver & amber hanger.  I got those silver earrings and the ring next to it in a grab bag, so I added beads to the earrings, and clapper bells to the ring.  It jingles when you move your hand around.  That other set of earrings needed something on the bottom so I added rings.  The green bead is held by a clothespin spring.  Then I added silver chain to it to make a necklace.  

All of them went in to my craft show box to try and sell next year!  Glad they are done though.  

The Pumpkin and the Lighthouse

Happy Halloween!!!!!

This is that rhinestone pumpkin that I featured a week or so ago.  I decided to salvage it when I ran out of the rhinestones, so I cut a section out of the blank side and made a little scene.

I covered the piece I sliced out in black fabric and painted orange glitter paint over it.  It fit nicely into the hollow center.  I covered the inside with spray adhesive and stuffed the fabric in.  It's not perfect, but I actually like the rumpled way it looks.  I also glued silver stars onto it.  I put the floor in and glued it in place, then I put a layer of orange glitter glass chips all around it.  Next, I got a few twigs from outside and glued those in the back.  Then I made a pointy fence out of toothpicks painted black.  Added the moon to it too.

I have quite a few Halloween and fall themed resin figurines, and I loved how this one looked the best of all of them.  I glued it in and then surrounded it with the orange glass chips too.

I really need to add some trim or some kind of edging to it but I have misplaced my lace at the mo.

I got this blue metal and glass lighthouse thing from a thrift shop and knew exactly what I was gonna do to it. First I etched shells on either side and a sunset/water scene on the back. 

I had to go to the beach to get the stones because I didn't have enough of the right size in my own stash.  I painted them with clear nail polish to make them look wet.  I glued some along the back then glued the wooden lighthouse inside, and then just glue a layer or so of rocks around it.

Then I put slanted layers of light and dark blue and white craft glass against the rocks and lighthouse to look like water and waves

Have a great and safe Halloween everyone!

Glass Etching

I couldn't wait to use the Armour Etch glass etching kit that Michelle sent me!  I'd used one like it about 10 or 12 years ago but my etching cream didn't survive the move east and I was almost out of stencils too.

This was the first one I made.

They are like potato chips....can't make just one.

I added beaded hangers to them too.

I gave this one to my mom for her birthday.

When I was spring cleaning and putting shelf paper in the kitchen cabinets, I found this vase that I'd etched in 2000 or 01.  I forgot all about it.  So I added an old necklace around the top of it.  I'm using the vase for beach glass.

I also tried the etching cream on some marbles but I wasn't crazy about the results.  I was hoping for a more  beach glass look but it didn't quite turn out how I thought.  The cracked glass came out the most frosted, but the crystals weren't.

I also tried the cream on a coloured glass bottle and it didn't work very well, even when I left the cream on for longer than the 30 seconds for regular glass. That bummed me out because I wasted a good stencil on it.  You can sort of see the design but not well.

Then I tried the stencils on some pretty polished geode slices that I found in one of my boxes the other day.  You can see the design really well here but as soon as you hang it up, it all but disappears.

Same with this one.  I am not sure if these are indeed geode slices or pieces of coloured glass made to look like geodes, but they sure are pretty.  I still have to drill a hanger hole in this one.

I have to say that I was disappointed when I went to Michael's Crafts to look for more stencils.  Apparently the Armour Etch brand is on its way out in favour of Martha Stewart brand.  It distresses me that she is literally taking over the craft supply industry and her prices are very high.  I am hoping to find the stencils on line.