I have been so busy with life lately that I've put the scrapbooking aside a little...but alas...I was able to get caught up a bit over the long weekend. I have completed my commitment to two more swaps...only one more left to go, then I'm retiring from swapping for quite a while. My head is buzzing with so many ideas that I can't put them down on paper fast enough!
BoBunny "Timepiece" Swap
One of the swaps I recently participated in was based on the BoBunny "Timepiece" paper collection. It was hosted by Krystal Booth over at Life on the {Scrap}beach. Everyone was to make six identical pages using one of the papers from the collection, send five in and get a different page back from each of the other members in the group...you all know how it works.
Well, I chose the "Paper Stripe" paper from the stack to work with and am quite pleased with what I came up with. I incorporated a corner pocket on the front embellished with a vintage clock face, foil and fabric leaves, paper roses, and (of course) some of my wire-work and a handmade crochet flower:
On the back, I used a Tim Holtz glassine envelope (cut down to size) to create a pocket under a usable frame cut from the Tim Holtz "Baroque" die. I added a crackle paint effect on the frame and embellished it with another of my handmade crochet flowers and stickpin, and some more paper roses. A small strip of lace and a key with a chain attached to the decorative edge finished my page off:
"Steampunk" Bottle Cap Swap
The second swap commitment I was able to finish was also hosted by Krystal Booth over at Life on the {Scrap}beach. We were to make six sets of three bottle caps for the group (one to be kept for ourselves). The challenge was to incorporate at least one extra embellishment on one of the bottle caps.
Well, I couldn't stop there...lol! I incorporated several extra embellishments on each and every bottle cap, and am so thrilled with how they turned out!
The first bottle cap was inspired from the Graphic 45 "Steampunk Debutante" paper collection. I used some of the paper for the background and printed one of the ladies from the collection to a size that fit in the bottle cap. After fussy cutting around the debutante, I attached her to the background using pop-dots to add a little extra dimension. I also added the "Rock Candy" stickles to her hair before finishing with some Glossy Accents and a variety of daisy spacer beads in her hair. To add that little extra "something", I looped a chain along the bottom of the cap, and tied a small piece of fibre and added a little bling to one of the jump rings. I also used alcohol inks to colour the bottle cap:
I started the second bottle cap by using alcohol inks to colour the edge of the cap. I then printed a picture of an old watch face to size, added Glossy Accents, and sprinkled watch parts on top. After the Glossy Accents had dried, I added a small Time Holtz game spinner and a small daisy spacer bead to the smaller dial. Although you can't see it in the picture, I did glue a small circle of patterned paper on to the back of the cap to conceal the back of the brad. (I don't like leaving those things exposed):
I struggled with the last bottle cap. I thought I had a great idea when I decided to create a light bulb...lol! But, man did I struggle with this one! In the end, I'm satisfied with it, but it's definitely my least favourite of the three.
I first printed a light bulb, and punched the centre of the bulb out...just so that you could see the filament. I then used Ranger's "Scattered Straw" and "Mustard Seed" distress inks to give the bulb a glow around the edges. For the first go around, I just added Glossy Accents over my image and dropped in a small filament that I made with my wire-wrapping supplies (big surprise, eh?) ...yes, I'm Canadian ...and, yes, it's true ...I say it ALL the time (even when I'm typing...lol!)
Back to the bottle cap...I wasn't too thrilled with the results, so I then sprinkled some glass sugar beads and glitter on the Glossy Accents while it was still wet. At this point, I was still not happy with the results, so I added yet another layer of glue...this time Crackle Accents ...and voila! I finally got it to a point that I liked. To finish the bottom of my "bulb", I just made a wire spiral and hung it from the bottom of the bottle cap with a few short lengths of chain:
Check out the tag I created to display my bottle caps:
I have also posted videos of both of these projects on my YouTube channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/ButterBeeScraps
Thanks for staying tuned!
