A Compendium of Curiosities II

I just purchased Tim Holtz's A Compendium of Curiosities II yesterday and was anxious to sit down and do a "lesson".  So, at 12:30 am, I sat down and made this tag.  I love it!  The weekend is coming and I hope to play with more of the techniques in this book.  I will also be getting volume I in the near future!

Perfect Pearls and Butterflies

 I will be teaching a class at Absolutely Everything in MA using butterfly die cuts and Perfect Pearls.  Here are three examples of pieces we will make in the class.  Different papers, techniques, and products are the focus of this class.  The scarey Halloween Butterfly is my favorite!

 Apple Jelly has been an obsession for me this fall!  I have used Paula Red apples from a local orchard to make this pretty blush colored jelly.  The pic below shows the nice blush color.

Apple season seems to last for a long time here in Maine...but then after the fact, you feel like it has just flown by!

Acorn Sparkle

 Can you picture these sparkle acorns on a fall wreath?  That is the plan!  I would also like to fill a glass apothocary jar with them and add a candle.  The possibilities are endless!  I used Stickles glitter glue as well as Glue and Seal (Ranger Industries product) then dipped them in plain old glitter.  Both type of glitter give different effects and colors.

 Thanks to Pinterest, I set up a potting bench on one side of my porch to allow a great space to work on gardening stuff as well as outside crafts.  My husband built a drying rack about 25 years ago and I have dusted it off and gone into acorn drying production!  I also place them in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes to kill any buggers living inside the acorns.  The house smells wonderful when I am drying acorns in the oven!

This was the start of the acorn collecting and drying.  I have filled two HUGE containers and am ready to rock and roll with glitter and acorns!

4 Seasonal Tags

I love making shadowboxes and figured out how to make shadowbox tags!  Each one is pretty easy and you can fill the tag with any embellishments, photos, and special memory pieces.  They are very addicting!

Mica Powders

I love working with Mica Powders....I have rediscovered them after many years of the little pots of shimmering colors sitting in my artroom.  The above photo shows Perfect Pearls being used on LIGHT paper.  Yes, these powders have traditionally been used on darker papers.  I have learned how to layer the powders and inks to create stunning effects!

Mica powders used on dark papers.  I love making chunky ornaments and these are so sweet to hang on doorknobs throughout the house!

Chunky Ornaments!

How cute are Chunky Ornaments???!  Using Sizzix Dies and Spellbinders dies, I have figured out how to make chunky everything! I will be teaching this class at Absolutely Everything in Topsfield, MA.  Sign up for their newsletter to get dates and sign up information!

Chunky Pumpkins!

Just because I love dies.....and just because I love chunky things....I have designed chunky ornaments, chunky shadow boxes, and chunky picture frames!  This is one of the classes in my multi class series for making chunky things from dies.  I used Sizzix Pumpkin Jack along with Autumn Gatherings Decorative Strip die to make this lovely shadow box.  It was so much fun to make and I can't wait for my fall classes to start in order to teach the technique!

 I also made a Pumpkin Tote using a wooden dowel to make the handle. It can hold candy, cards, or even fall foliage!