Queen of Hearts!

Queen of Hearts Earrings and Card Copyright 2011 Margot Potter for Jewel School
(Click on image above to read text...just do it.)


This post is part of the FaveCrafts Finished on the 15th Blog Hop, click the icon above to visit their blog and see lots and lots of crafty creations!

When we last spoke...okay when I last whined...I had just emerged from a very, very long week. I spent to today FINALLY cleaning the temporary studio. It's still filled with boxes, but the Jeweler's Bench has been cleared and my desk is no longer riddled with piles of wire bits, beads, plastic baggies, spools of wire, papers that need to be filed, mysterious empty wrappers...and the other things that tend to pile up in a studio when one is working fiendishly to meet deadlines.

This month's newsletter for JTV just went live! I am so proud of the project above. It was one of those grace under fire moments and the earrings and the card turned out even better than I'd hoped. Every once and a while that happens. My attempt at mastering the Viking Knit Tool on the other hand...not so graceful. I will prevail galdangy!

I called this project Queen of Hearts. Those of you who read this drivel on a regular basis will recall that I posted this photo sans text a while back. I still can't quite decide the gender of this Victorian cutie. Can you?! Either way, it's one of my favorite photos from my ephemera collection.

Follow this link for instructions to make these earrings and all of the beady goodness in this month's Jewel School Newsletter!

Tomorrow I'll share the link to my latest Video on Demand for JTV!

xoxo
Madge

ILoveToCreate Teen Crafts: My Dad Rocks Father's Day Card

ILoveToCreate Teen Crafts
My Dad Rocks Father's Day Card
Margot Potter
"Mom crafted, kid approved."

School's out for summer around these parts and Father's Day is coming up fast. Where does the time go?! Phew! Here's a great "I'm bored" project for your teens to do that will rock Dad's socks off on his special day. The cost of store bought cards has skyrocketed, this gives Dad a personalized work of art for a fraction of the price of a generic card from the grocery store. Ya gotta love it!


Materials
8.5"x11" card stock in turquoise and acid green
Rock Star stack or similar themed papers
Printed phrase "My Dad Rocks" using Jellyka Castle's Queen Font in 48pt. from www.daFont
Vintage paper (we used an old typing manual)
7 Gypsies numbered gaffer's tape
Scrapbook Adhesives three dimensional stickers
Aleene's original Tacky Glue or Tacky Glue Stick
Tulip Fashion Graffiti Big Phat fabric marker in black
Tulip Fashion Graffiti Paint Cannon fabric paint in black

Tools
Fiskars 2" circle punch
Scissors
Bone folder
Paper cutter

1. Print phrase.

2. Fold blue card stock in half and use bone folder to sharpen crease. Cut folded paper to 6.5w" on a paper cutter.

3. Cut green card stock to a 2"wx5"l. Cut paper with phrase to 1.5"x4.5"l. Adhere phrase to card stock using a VERY thin layer of glue. Allow to dry.

4. Punch circles. I featured the skull and some nautical stars.

5. Hand cut recycled paper circles so they are slightly larger than the punched circles.

6. Use marker and stencil to put chain link pattern across card diagonally from top left to bottom right, you will have to slide the stencil overlapping it to get the full coverage.

7. Use a paintbrush to drip black paint cannon paint on front of card. Use a stylus or other pointed tool to scratch the ink around. Allow ink to drip. Layer this as much as you like, but be mindful that this ink will create texture in the card, so less is more.

8. Adhere circles using a thin layer of Tacky Glue or Tacky Glue stick. The recycled circles first followed by your punched circles set off center, they need to be about 1.75" apart in the center to allow room for the phrase.

9. Attach gaffer's tape to left edge of card.

10. Use dimensional stickers to add phrase to front of card in between the circles on an angle pointing from upper left to lower right corners.

iLoveToCreate Teen Crafts Flower Power Frame

Flower Power Shadowbox Frame by Margot Potter for iLoveToCreate

(click on images to view close-up)

iLoveToCreate Flower Power Frame
Margot Potter
Teen Crafts
‘Mom crafted, kid approved.’

I’ve lately become obsessed with crafting flowers, as you may be able to tell from my projects for iLoveToCreate. This shadowbox frame showcases a funky fiber flower made on a loom. I’ve created a collaged image to go inside, you can place anything you like in the frame including 3-D elements because it's a shadowbox. I love the irony of a Snow Day image in a warm and flowery setting. If you wander down the scrapbook aisles you’ll find lots of great coordinating paper collections that make fun collages, just size and print a photo and add glue and glitter accents and some Tulip Glam it Up crystals.  Avalon is excited to put this pic on her desk in her new office.


(Don't forget to head on over to iLoveToCreate and vote for your favorites in their Dress Up Your Pet Contest!)

Materials
Wooden Shadowbox Style Frame (I got mine at JoAnn Fabrics)
Crafty Chica Little Paint Pack (red and white mixed to create fuchsia)
Traci Bautista’s Collage Pauge Sparkle
Textured multi-colored yarn
Thread to attach bead or button
Large matching bead or button accent
Liquid Fusion glue

Tools
Boye Bloom Loom™ Flower Making Loom
Paint brush
Foam brush for decoupage medium
Sewing needle to attach bead or button
Scissors
Sand Paper

1. Sand and paint frame with a 2/3 to 1/3 mix of red and pink paint to create a fuchsia color.

2. Follow instructions on the loom to create a fiber flower.

3. Attach a coordinating bead or button to flower with thread.

4. When paint dries, add a coat of Sparkle Collage Pauge to seal it.

5. Use a bead of liquid fusion to attach yarn to the indentation of your frame. I used two rows of yarn.

6. Attach the flower to the top left or right corner using Liquid Fusion.

7. Create a fun coordinating paper collage to go inside of the frame. This will be a great way for teens to personalize this idea. I glued the elements down with a glue stick and adhered the collage to the back of the frame with a thin bead of Aleene’s Tacky Glue around the edge.

iLoveToCreate 'I Heart U' Valentine's Day Pin Card for Mom and Grandmom

iLoveToCreate I Heart U Valentine’s Day Pin Card
Margot Potter for iLoveToCreate Teen Crafts
“Mom crafted, kid approved.”

Moms and Grandmoms really love getting handcrafted gifts and what better way to say, “I heart u” than these retrofabulous foam heart pins. These are quick and easy to make and you can opt to use photos instead of vintage images if you prefer. Attach them to a card and it’s a two for one combo that will make them smile every time they wear these adorable pins. Yup, I’ve got you covered...so let’s get crafty!

Materials
Romantic Vintage Post Card Images (or photos)
3 Open Center Foam Hearts and Smaller Foam Accent Hearts (I each of pink, red and white) (I got mine at WalMart)
3 Small Vintage or New Buttons (1 each of pink, red and white)
Coordinating Scrapbook Paper (I used K&Company Carolyn Gavin Designer Paper)
Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black
Stampendous Foliage Quad Cube TC51
Hero Arts Italian Poetry Background Stamp S1832
Aleene’s Foamtastic Glue
Aleene’s Fast Grab Tacky Glue
Pen or Pencil for tracing and marking
(Optional Collage Pauge Matte to seal images before framing)


Tools
Scissors
Bone Folder
Crop-A-Dile Big Bite

1. Select images to use inside of your foam heart frames. Here is a sheet of permission free images you may print for use with this project, these are not intended for resale. I am sharing cards from my personal ephemera collection.

2. Print image sheet.

3. Stamp heart frames with writing stamp and archival ink. Stamp small hearts with foliage stamp and archival ink. Allow ink to dry.

4. Mark the window placement. Trace around edges of heart, cut a straight edge heart using scissors inside of the scalloped edge you just traced. (If you want, you can seal the images with Collage Pauge at this step before cutting them out so they’re water resistant.)

5. Stick images inside of frames and use a plain scalloped edge heart to sandwich the image, take time to make sure the scallop edges line up.

6. Adhere small heart and buttons to edge of each frame with Foamtastic Glue. Allow to dry.

7. Fold a sheet of patterned scrapbook paper over to make a wide card. The sheet I used was 7.5”x8.5”.

Use a bone folder to make a sharp creased edge.

8. Cut a coordinating decorative strip and adhere it to the bottom edge of the card with Aleene’s Fast Grab Glue, add a thin dotted ribbon accent to top edge of strip using Fast Grab Glue. Allow to dry.

9. Mark placement of pins on card, one in the center and one on either side towards the edge.

10. Use Crop-A-Dile Big Bite to punch small holes at marked spots on card.

11. Attach the pins to the holes.

Retrofabulous Mixed Media Holiday Necklace

(Click on image to view close up)

The fab folks at EK Success sent me some of their GORGEOUS holiday stamps from the Inkadinkado line to try out. Those of you who follow my work know that I can't stop using my flourish stamp from Inkadinkado and these holiday stamps are sure to become regulars in my work too. The detail on them is AMAZING.

I began by stamping the reindeer clear stamp using jet black archival ink on a nice heavy weight cardstock in a fuchsia pink. (You could use this same idea on tissue or lighter weight paper to make some stunning wrapping paper and then whip up tags with cardstock to match!) I punched out the 2" circles and added accents of silver paint dabber with my favorite flourish and a writing stamp. I like to use stamps as textural elements so I'm not going for neatness on the accent stamps. Let the paint dry before the next step. I painted on some of Traci Bautista's Collage Pauge in Sparkle (just the right amount of glitter) and let it dry and then painted a second coat. I used a paintbrush because I like texture, but you can use a foam brush if you prefer a more even coat. I stuck them back to back with two sided tape runner tape and punched a hole in the top of each one. Then I attached to some of my fav Beadalon Quick Links chain with an array of CRYSTALLIZED-Swarovski Elements bicones (EK Success Jolee's Jewels has a great selection) and vintage beads.

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This is a one of a kind design, the black glass flower beads are vintage and a gift from a friend. I hand picked the striated pink beads from dusty bins of beads at the Paris Flea Market. Luckily I had two larger pink beads to make some swingy earrings.

I think this design definitely fits into my Retrofabulous Christmas craft theme with the pink, black and silver color palette and the swingy circle motif. Therefore it's officially named Retrofabulous Holiday Necklace.

And to think it all starting with one simply divine stamp...

I'm thinking of selling this confection in my Etsy Shoppe...I may need to wear it out first for a test run. But if you're looking for some truly unique vintage beads and findings and one of a kind Madgecentric mixed media creations you really should check my shop out. I'm hoping to get some more retrofabulous goodies in there soon!

xoxo
Madge