Ellie's canvas...

 Morning everyone, thought I would share the canvas I decorated for my great niece Ellie's christening yesterday.
I had thought about giving a different gift, but having spoken to Ellie's mum she would have been devastated if I hadn't given her a canvas to go with Reece's LOL

To be fair, its hard to go wrong with such a cute pic isn't it LOL :D fairy babes are my fave :D

I started by painting the canvas with 3 different colours of acrylic paint wiped on with a dry baby wipe. i love the way they blend and you don't have such a heavy coat when applied like this.
I searched through my scrapbook papers until I found the perfect combo, I think the shaped piece is Penny Lane by MME and the floral print is out of a baby girl paper stack - possibly DCWV but the front cover was missing LOL. The piece under the name was a very old piece left over from an old project when I first bought my cricut, which just so happened to be perfect for this project :D

They were single sided papers and I didn't really want white edges on my torn paper, so I inked the back first to colour them before distressing them with my TH distresser and more ink :D

The lace is coloured with distress reinker in a mister, then glued on with Claudine's matte medium.

The pretty flowers were a spray I picked up in Dunelm Mill when I bought the canvas and work so well with the colour scheme.

The photo was printed on to canvas photo paper and I tinted the black area with a little acrylic paint just rubbed on so it was light.
I used rock candy distress stickles on the wings and when dry I highlighted the details on the photo with a clear Sakura glitter pen.
Ellie was wearing a flower headband in the photo so I emphasised this by gluing on little paper flowers, 

I used Fancy Pants and Prima stamps with my Victorian Velvet ink pad which I also highlighted with the Sakura pen.

The letters are gorgeous Pink paislee mistables spritzed with Victorian velvet again.

when everything was dry I added lots of distress stickles randomly and to age the lace etc...
Everything was finished off with a spritz of frayed burlap distress reinker in Frayed burlap.

I hope they like it :D

Julie xx

Santas Christmas treat chest for Happy Daze

Well I really need to kick start my Christmas mojo in to gear as I am so disorganised with only being back from my hols less than two weeks!!
I thought I would share this cute idea for an alternative advent calendar which could be decorated to suit all ages.

I have made mine in to a vintage shabby chic style and plan on filling it with little chocolate treats, candy canes and promise tickets - eg. make mince pies, watch a Christmas movie etc...

I used a papier mache chest and covered it with two sheets of Pink Paislee Santas list 12x12 paper.

I started by painting all the edges inside and out with green acrylic paint so that any expose areas wouldn't be left brown.
When dry I painted the edge that is trimmed with red acrylic paint and left to dry again.

I cut the papers roughly to size and then used my nail to give score the paper in to the edges of the box to give me a cutting guide. The boxes aren't exact measurement wise, so make sure your paper is cut to fit the widest points so that you can cut them back to size.I distressed my edges with an emery board and then inked with Broken China distress ink pad then glued them in to place with Glossy Accents - I like to swirl it on then spread it out with my finger so that it reaches all the edges. I like GA for sticking paper on to objects as it grabs and dries quickly.

On the inside of the lid I added a distressed hole in the paper before adhering to the box and stuck a small piece of contrasting patterned paper on to the back to add to the shabby look.

I covered it inside and out and when finished strengthened the hinged section with tissue tape which I also inked with the broken china.

I glued on a piece of vintage lace using Claudine's matte medium - now I have a little tip when using this - make sure you clean the edge of the jar before you put the lid back on. If you don't (like I hadn't) and then don't use it for a while you will have BIG problems getting the lid off!

I also used the medium to stick the charms and prima flower on, as already mentioned its a really good strong glue LOL :D

I embossed some of the pieces with TH alterations embossing folders which I distressed and inked.

My splash of colour on the project is my lovely broken china distress stickles and the distress stain I used on the Adage ticket.

I used some letter stickers I have had for ages on the front of the box and gave them a little bit of dimension with the Glossy Accents. The promise tickets would be a great idea to keep the kids occupied over the Christmas period with ideas like make paper chains, make gingerbread, write a letter to Santa etc...

If you were making it for a crafter you could make little parcels or envelopes and fill them with little embellies - ideaology trinkets would be fabby for anybody taking part in T!ms 12 tags of Christmas. Moira sells fabby taster packs of these too so it needn't cost a fortune.

Or how about filling it with chocolate coins?

If you get cracking you will just have time to make it before the 1st of December :D

Hugs'n'snogs,
Julie xx

Death bangle for Happy Daze

Can't find the perfect jewellery to go with your halloween costume? or do you want something just a little bit different to everybody else's??

Then pick up some of these amazing wooden bangles from Moira at just £3.55 for a set of three!!! :D

They have a lovely smooth surface so are very easy to colour.
I coloured mine by rubbing on Viva decor inka gold and polishing it up.

I then stamped white tissue paper with images from these fabby Pink Paislee Phantom stamps .

I glued them on with Claudine Hellmuth matte medium being careful not to get any on the front of the image as I wanted to tint the images with distress Spiced Marmalade ink pad.

I lightly spritzed patches of the bangle with Cosmic shimmer mist - just a little warning though, the pigment is very strong in these and stains very easily.....I have very purple hands right now!!!

I glued on some little patches of grey lace with the matte medium then when dry smeared on some distress stickles in Spiced Marmalade and Chipped Sapphire.

When everything was dry I sponged on more matte medium to seal everything in place.

You could make bangles to match all your outfits with these very affordable bangles :D
Now for some close ups....


Hugs'n'spooky snogs,
Julie xx

Hocus Pocus earwire for HappyDaze

hi everyone, this week I am sharing a cute little piece of jewellery for Halloween or just for anybody with a secret dark side ;-)

It features the brand spanking new Pink Paislee Phantom clear stamps :D

They are super cool and not strictly for Halloween with the cute little cameos and bird cage.
I stamped them on to shrink plastic using a black promarker as I found archival ink too wet, particularly with clear stamps.

I added lots of beads, chains and a cute little vial coloured with red alcohol ink.

These are my latest addiction and if you want to know more about how to create your own visit Amelia Lunes Etsy shop HERE to purchase a tutorial.

Here's a few more pics for you with a little bit more detail :D

Hugs'n'snogs,
Julie xx