Rustification

This weeks challenge at 'Simon says stamp and show' called  Rustification has been especially inspiring for me!
A few months ago I rusted some nuts and bolts/washers/tiny screws etc, but didn't get around to using them.So this was the perfect excuse! They seemed to have rusted even further while in storage too (Which I am not complaining about one little bit ;)

These were rusted over a weekend. Dipping them into coke (Yep.. coke! Makes you wonder what it does to your insides eh) dipping them for about an hour or two, then leaving them to air dry outside for another few hours. I repeated this about 5 times.

I also had a tin case I have been wanting to alter for a while..

 

Here are the beginnings of my altered tin case. I covered it all with tin foil, and made a raised frame on the tins lid, so i could put all of the rusty bits and pieces inside. Made a frame too, with the intention of making something which matched to go inside.

Many coats of paint later, with all the rusty bits inside the frame... I decided to experiment with the PVA glue, and poured a load into the frame. It was approx 80% PVA and 20% water.

It took a while.. but 3 days later it was finally dry :)

I added a cage type grill to the front, so it gives the illusion that you can see into the tin, and its full of rusty nuts and bolts etc. 

 With the tiny frame, I hand painted a spooky image. Inside the tin I lined it with some lush fabric, and added some tiny sea shells and little charms.

 As always, I enjoyed making this :) 

 

iz x

Halloween Tag

My entry for the challenge on  frilly and funkie titled A different kind of tag- halloween or autumn themed

I used quite vibrant colours for this one, and altered it by carving into the tag (the eyes,mouth and nose of the pumpkin) and putting some yellow tissue paper behind. Also made the tag so it stands up like a little card. The tags string pulls back and latches under the bottom, so it free stands. 

 

 I had fun making this :) I just hope its altered enough for the challenge! 

iz x

Leaf-spiration - Mini book

 Today I finished my entry for the Leaf-spiration challenge at Simon says stamp and show

I went on quite a journey making this little book.. as you will see ;)

First I collected an assortment of leaves from the garden.

 Also came across some gorgeous skeleton leaves / and partial skeleton leaves which are stunning! I was so excited when I found these..

At this point I decided that all these little leaves would look cute in their own mini book.
Once I had the papers for inside, and the leather cover all ready to go, I set about adding some detail to the pages, so the leaves had a nice backdrop throughout the book.
I had a rummage through my stamps, but couldn't find any foliage/leaves suitable.So I did the next logical thing (Albeit a little time consuming) and made some !

 I am delighted with how they turned out, and they were so easy to make!

There is a mixture of natural handmade papers/ and linen blend papers throughout. On which there are most of the leaves I originally collected, as well as some little notes, to remind me where they came from etc. Over time, the leaves should dry out and become a lot flatter than they are at the moment. To me, its like capturing a day in history - through the leaves in my back garden! and my geeky self finds that very cool ;)

Here is the book assembled :)

The title of the book should really be 'little leaves' but 'little leaf' just sounded a lot cuter ;)

Iz x