HAND PAINTED CHARMS

Yesterday I painted the flower above at a free demo at a local craft store. I have always love the colored enamel charms I've seen for sale and thought it would be great to find out what paints they used to make them. I was assuming it would be some special hobby enamel paint like they use to paint model cars. Turned out it was even easier than I expected.

Here's the formula:

Cover any metal charm with one drop of acrylic paint mixed with three drops of Diamond Glaze. Paint the entire charm with one color and let dry (about 3 minutes). After that coat you can paint the acrylic paint directly onto the charm. When you're done with all the painting just seal the charm with a final coat of pure Diamond Glaze and let it set overnight to cure.

Above is the flower charm I made for free. I can't wait to try this at home on some other charms. Enjoy and let me know if you try this technique too!

2009 ROMANCING THE CHARM SWAP

A shape...a color...even a delicate butterfly's wing - all can convey the spirit of romance in the hands of the right artist. In December I announced my Romancing the Charm Swap in which artists/crafters/brave souls who signed up here would each make a "romantic" charm for each player and mail them all to me. Then I would send a complete set of them out to each participant so that each player would receive enough charms by Valentine's Day to make their own piece of jewelry. Many of us had trouble getting our charms done by the due date, myself included. Overall, I think the swap was a great success and I want to share the results with you.

There were almost as many different mediums represented as there were participants.

Wendy made a charm with wire, beads and silver charms:

Linda made ones from beads and wire harvested from deconstructed necklaces:

Michele used a silver bezel, cloth and beads to make a 3-D charm of tiny pink flowers:

Melissa made a charm with pink rhinestone, little silver hearts and tiny pink and pearl beads:

Amy made little silver charms to which she added cloth and words:

Kelley and I both constructed charms from bottle caps. Kelley filled her bottle caps with sparkly stuff and a rhinestone heart:

I folded over the sides of each bottle cap and then pounded them flat. It took a lot more pounding than I had anticipated. I smeared each bottle cap with black textile paint and silver lumiere and then wiped some of it off. On the inside I glued a little rose reproduced from a bit of a vintage postcard (as a signature for "The Tattered Rose"). On the outside, I glued various paper images reduced from vintage postcards, photographs and bridge tallies. I even made my Sis, also in the swap, a little charm with a tiny colorized pic of our parents and the word "Valentine:" I used Sparkles to accent the charms. After they were good and dry, I covered each side (letting one side dry overnight before going on to the next side) with a generous helping of Diamond Glaze.

Jessica and Pat both made charms from Polymer Clay. Jessica made hers into a tiny little valentine stamp with a tiny red bead at the end and presented it on a shipping tag wound with loads of laces and ribbon for future projects:

Pat made her heart charms from red and white clay that look good enough to eat:

Wanda made a clever little charm from a little glass bottle containing little pearls, glitter, and pink and white sequins attached to a tiny frame containing the words "No. 9". I confess it took me a moment to figure out it was Love Potion #9!:

My sister Sharon and my friend Marianne both made felted charms. Sharon felted little red and pink hearts and decorated them with little beads, buttons and rhinestones:

Marianne made dangle with two tone pink beads and attached them to little glittered and cloth hearts:

Holly hand painted little love birds on shrink plastic: and built them up with different paints:

Susan made a quilted heart and added colorful little heart shaped buttons:

Corrine made micro-macrame charms into which she wove little silver hearts and beads:

Bobbi G. carved little hearts from gourds and hand painted them red with little squiggly designs and the word Love:

Barb trapped little bits of butterfly wings between glass and soldered a charm:

I made everyone a little card stock charm of the swap from the original vintage postcard I used to announce the swap. I admit that I had numerous troubles with this little baby as it was my first time trying to use the new Melt Pot I bought myself for Christmas. I covered the little card stock images by dipping them into molten UTEE. I made myself send them out even though they were not as perfect as I would have like just so everyone could see how simple a medium (and inexpensive) a design could be.

I truly hope that everyone who participated had a great time and that posting our results here may encourage others to try their hand at charm making. It was a great pleasure to give myself permission to experiment in a new medium and an even greater pleasure to see how everyone else rose to the challenge. It has made my Valentine's Day all the merrier and I hope that everyone who participated enjoyed making and receiving their charms. My great gratitude goes out to each and every one of you for making this a great charm swap! Please stay in touch and I hope all of this year's participants and anyone else who is interested will consider signing up next year for "Romancing the Charm Swap - The Sequel. Watch for the announcement in December 2009.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Cheers,

The Tattered Rose

HOMER RETURNS HOME FULL OF WISDOM, STORIES OF INTRIGUE AND A LITTLE INTERNET RAK

Last February 1, 2008, Odeana Raven left home on a mission trip that was scheduled to cover 3 countries and 2 continents. She wished to become a more rounded crow and to have adventures so that she would have stories that could compete with her two brothers. She left behind a very distraught boyfriend, Homer Crow, who was very much in love with Odeana. When Homer's worst fears were realized and Odeana was never heard from after her first scheduled stop on her trip, Homer left home last June in search of her. He left with wearing his black cloak of mourning and carrying his diary. He expected that his scheduled travels in 3 countries and 2 continents would change him very much and he wanted to record his adventures so that he could share them when he returned.





Since Homer left here, I had the occasional report of his travels - a brief message here or there that he had landed somewhere or that he was on the wing again. By the end of December I knew that he would be returning home soon and I waited with bated breath to see what progress he had made in finding Odeana and how his travels had changed him.


Last week Homer returned. His diary now carries a "Miami Vice" button on the outside. No doubt somewhere along the way, he consulted that police department for aid in locating his beloved Odeana, though his diary does not contain this account.

As per the instructions of his last host, Robin, I read his journal before opening the other packages. I could tell by the journal that he had been the guest of many gracious hosts:

Cheri drew this picture in his diary so that he could remember the lovely waters where he searched from tree to tree for Odeana. She even recorded this ballad:

Homer the Crow

Has no place to go

but to explore a stream

and Oak tress between

Every perch every branch

Scowled for Odeana, perch

for a Scout in a black shadowed cowl.

Homer will find love in his clouds above

with the watergypsy he will glide thermaltypsy

With the Melody of Wind on Merlin's Crag he will find.

Alderly edge over cheshire basin

And there a true love find.

Always, Always Homer clung to his last photograph of Odeana Raven - the last one taken before she was lost - so young - so inexperienced - and so alone:

Always hoping, against hope that she could be found. Homer's story, as documented in his diary recount his untiring efforts to find his one true love. Felicia took him to the beach to take his mind off his troubles. But he soon took back to the air and redoubled his efforts in Canada when he visited Gail. I couldn't believe him when I saw him, he left home a boy, but he came home a man! The story recorded in his diary by the many kind hosts who gave him shelter and assistance in his search, is very compelling. Thanks so much to all who helped Homer along his way!

Terry kindly made him a necklace with his True Love's name:

Cheri, Lee, Felicia, Gail and Lee gave him many garments and other additions and he returned home like this:


Isn't he splendid! I can't believe what they have all done with him. I love the way someone tied up his black tulle coat of mourning with a ribbon with silver stars and adorned it with rhinestones. They gave him a great Geri curl, eyes of amber, a red beak and feet and lavished him with a silver heart and angel necklace.

But wait...there was another package! Here's the story as Robin recorded it in the diary in Homer's own words:
"I flew off and headed west. It started to get dark and then I saw a strange Blue Glow. So I went down to see what it was. I discovered this wonderful magical place in the woods - in a Valley of beautiful pines. There was a brook and trees. In the middle of this place was a village of these magical creatures. I was met by an old grandmother crow. She told me this was the magical place of Acadia Blue. The Queen of Red dog. She said that she watches over this magical place and rules it with peace and love and all are welcome. So I explained my journey to her and who I was looking for. She said, 'Ah..yes, come down and warm yourself and have some food. ' Awhile later after I had eaten and warmed, Grandmother Crow came into the fire circle. She said, 'Homer, the Crow, come with me. I have someone you should meet. ' We went into the deep pines and to a large oak tree. The tree was a home, her home, and we went inside. I couldn't believe my eyes - sitting by the fire was my Odeana.'
Odeana was even lovelier than I remembered her. She was now dressed in a lovely lace gown and had lovely wings of blue and a long blue scarf. But there was no mistaking her - she was my Odeana!
She looked up and our eyes met. We had found each other again!"


This is the last entry in Homer's diary, but I have been able to spend many happy hours with the couple since the day they arrived here. Everyone who meets them is much taken with the couple and can't believe there harrowing tale of how they lost each other and reconnected. There is talk of a June wedding. Also, though Homer is afraid to talk of this yet, they have been contacted by Paramount Studio about the possibility of a major motion picture to tell their story.

Thanks so much to all at Altered Art of Visions and Dreams who participated in this round robin. I loved this round robin and I will remember it always. I loved working on each of your crows and i hope that you love them as much as I love Odeana and Homer.

Special thanks to Robin for making me a replacement Odeana! It was so sweet of you and I really appreciate it! You're a doll!

MORE SNOW PEOPLE!

I confess! I can't stop making snow people. I stayed home on New Year's Day and worked on three new ones most of the day. I had already given a few as Christmas gifts, but now I really think I'm getting a system for making them. There are 4 more undecorated ones curing on my counter at home. I think I love them so because I can dig through my stash and use up all kinds of little incidental items I've collected. They are kind of like a 3-D collage because I don't realize the reason for the embellishments I give them until after I am finished with them. After I finished making this one:


And had already added the little rhinestone 4 on the key she was carrying, I realized, duh, she was the 4 of wands from the Tarot deck. (!) Traditionally, if I remember correctly, that card has a celebration going on (a wedding or other celebration of some sort) and the people on the card are often depicted with wreaths on their heads. The key is clearly her wand and the 4 (well, I added that one last) just looked right to me.


I think this snow angel is my personal favorite:



She is made from an old Log Cabin Syrup bottle I bought for $1.50 at a local antique store. She was marked $3.00, but when I told the clerk what I was going to do with her she generously slashed the price in half. I love how the little handles near the top of her bottle make her look like she is wearing a long full skirt and is standing with her hands behind her back. I used silver ground glass glitter on the letter J-O-Y so they will oxide over time and become almost black as they age. I used a bit of gold bouillon for her crown. I bought a couple stems of this stuff at the rubber stamp convention I attended last year and if anyone knows where I can buy some more, please leave me a post. I'm sorry for the glare, she is hard to get a pic of because of all the glitter, but I thought she still might give some of you an idea or two.

Here's the remaining snow girl in yesterday's trio. She was made from an old pink tinted pearl tree rope and a glass ketchup bottle which I also bought at a flea market for $1. I wasn't sure that I would like this shape, but once I had started constructing my little village, it was nice to have bottles in different shapes.

It is just as well that I am almost out of bottles because I need to get busy with my plans for the Romancing the Charm swap. I have a few little surprises in store for my players if I can just get them to come out right! Happy New Year and Happy arting, everyone. I hope you have all made new art resolutions for the coming year.

Please leave me a comment. I love hearing from all of you.

Cheers, Trish G.

WINTER SNOW PEOPLE ALA CLOTH PAPER SCISSORS MAGAZINE

The November/December 2008 issue of Cloth Paper Scissors Magazine had a little team of delightful snow people on the front cover. Inside, the article by the artist, Sue Pelletier, urged us to have fun by making our own snowmen from found objects. They have been appearing all over blogland and the magazine got so much response that they published a little eletter to show us some. You can see it here. I finally decided to jump in, too! I made and gave away quite a few as gifts (which I have no pictures of), but here's a late gift I finished this morning. This lovely couple, Joy and Hope had a previous life as a Tazo tea bottle (left) and an olive oil bottle (right). The heads are paper clay covered with white glitter and decorated with black rhinestones and a little copper soldering tape for the nose. I partially filled each bottle with a pearl tree rope and then decorated the outside with rhinestones, deconstructed earrings and bracelets, and constructed a little hat for each. The Joy and Hope in the center of each bottle were made by applying silver ground glass glitter with glue to stickers and then gluing them to the bottles. As time goes on, the silver glitter will oxidize and the letters will be darker in color. To match this anticipated change, I finished the bottles with black velvet flowered ribbons. (Yes, Deann, this is ribbon I bought at ARCHIVER'S). I then covered the bottles with spray adhesive and sprinkled them with vintage mica flakes I received as part of my gift in the Christmas Cracker Swap. I am gifting this pair to my friend Mark. I had originally planned to give him the snowman with the cowboy hat (which I shaped myself), but after I had finished this pair, I just couldn't stand to break up the set.

If you have been thinking about making these, I heartily recommend that you get started. I had never used paper clay before, but it was not difficult and the end result is prettier than Styrofoam. I do have one little practice hint: Form the heads and push them onto the bottles. Cover immediately with a generous layer of Golden Gel Medium and cover with white glitter. Then leave the heads for a few days to dry before decorating the rest of the bottles. During the pre-Christmas rush, I made 4 heads without covering with the gel medium and glitter and went out shopping for a couple of hours. When I came back, it was Nightmare before Christmas. The heads had cracks all over them and looked a little spooky. I was able to salvage them, by covering them with a heavy coat of glitter and giving them scarves and hats in strategic places, but I noticed that when I covered them with the gel medium and glitter right away, none of them cracked. Thought I would pass this little tip along to you.

Hope everyone has a Happy New Year!

IT'S BEGINNING TO FEEL A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS!

This last weekend I was fortunate to get together with three girl friends I met in 1979. It was the very first semester of a tough professional school experience and we were 4 of the few women. Our trials and tribulations during those four years, bonded us together. Since that time, we've all been through a lot, but we still get together for our annual Christmas celebration. Three of us now live in the same town (although that hasn't always been so) and one of us lives about 3 hours away. Our celebration is always a joyous time and reminds me just what the holidays are supposed to be about. Last year we made a pact that we would make at least one of the presents we gave the other. While we did not have perfect compliance with that pact(although gifts, not yet completed, are still underway), it was a rewarding challenge and one I urge you to try with your own friends and relatives. We have vowed to continue our new tradition.

I want to share with you a tree topper I completed for one of the friends:


I made a color copy of an vintage confirmation photo of a young girl. I mounted the top half to cardstock and cut it so that there was a long narrow extension to glue inside the cone. Glue the cone together so the the upper torso of the photograph is above the cone stape. I also stamped a star (chinese laundry) for her halo and embossed it over and over with platinum UTEE so that it almost looked like embossed foil. I then glued sections of vintage lace around the doll and made her a belt at her waist with a black ribbon and piece of an old rhinestone necklace. I embellished her further with a 3-D piece of vintage holly in her hair and placed a piece of holly garland in her hand. I added some silver and diamond stickles to her torso to give her a delicate shine and I further accented the berries in the holly with red stickles and edged the holly garland with shiny silver lumiere paint. I hope she will be all sparkly when she graces the top of my friend's holiday tree this year.

How many of you have made Christmas gifts this year?

CHRISTMAS CRACKER SWAP! RESULTS

I signed up for the lovely Carolyn's 2nd Annual Christmas Cracker swap and I was lucky enough to be assigned Rhonda as my swap partner. I knew about Rhonda from reading Carolyn's blog - they are net BFF's. As it turns out, I found out what Carolyn already knew - that Rhonda and I have a lot in common. We love a lot of the same things and we have them in enough abundance to share. Rhonda was so generous and didn't stick to the rules which are: make a Christmas Cracker and fill it with delectable goodies you think your swap partner will like - she went the extra mile and sent me all sorts of goodies too numerous to be contained in her beautiful cracker. Here's the cracker:

It's made of a thick paper, but feels like it is covered in a shiny silver velvet jacquard. She tied it up with festive yellow and red vintage rayon seam binding.

Here's what it and her package contained:

Who wouldn't be over the moon to receive this package? Vintage buttons, little paper reindeer, vintage beaded flower, old mica glitter, an assortment of vintage tickets (!!!), old Christmas cards, and more. As the song goes, these are some of my favorite things. See the little blue tissue paper - its a little hat. I have read that the original crackers contained little treats and toys and a little tissue paper hat for each of the guests to wear at dinner. How authentic of her to have includee that hat (I wish I had thought to include one in hers!) She even sent me a "real" Christmas cracker - so named because when you pull the end they have a little charge of gun powder that goes "Crack!" I've never had a real one before so I am anxious to try it out with my friends this weekend. I just love everything. Thank you so much Rhonda! And thank you Carolyn for hosting. This was such a fun swap.

Today I received an email from Rhonda that my package had arrived safely at her place so I can share with you what I sent to her. Here's the outside of the cracker I sent her:

Here's an assortment of other stuff I sent her in her box that wouldn't fit in her cracker:

I forgot to take a pic of stuff I actually stuffed inside her cracker. It was a challenge to get it all in. If you want to see, hop on over to RhondaMum and see if she's posted a pic of it yet. And while you're there, take a good luck around Rhonda's blog. She's got a really great blog where she creates all manner of great vintage style items and her own etsy shop where she offers some of them for sale. Be sure and say Hi! to Rhonda for me.

I'm having my first Christmas Party of the season this weekend and I'm really excited to be getting together with some girlfriends I've known for almost 30 years. We agreed last year to each make each other at least one of the presents so I may have some great pics to share with you next week! Now I can't wait to see what they made!

Happy Holidays to all and may all your own celebrations and preparations be merry!