Steampunk Time Bandit

From “time to time” we have chunky atc swaps on our PWA Yahoo group and it’s always so much fun to create a special one of a kind piece of art to share.  This time I was paired up with my friend Lisa.  It was great to give it to her in person and watch her reaction!  For Lisa’s chunky I covered a wooden block with some old time wrapping paper.  Then I distressed it with a brown ink pad.

The head is made from a large watch piece with the inside gears still in tact and turning.  The hands on the back of the block also move freely.  It has a black micro bead sash and a brooch from a craft store.  The arms are mismatched cabinet knobs that move back and forth and up and down.  My favorite feature is the feet.  Made of clock gears that have been inset together, if you turn one it turns the other.  It’s a neat interactive piece!

Hmmmm, I think I need to make another for myself!  Ü

Hugs, Suzanne

Happy New Year!!

May the new year bring you lots of good friends, plenty of crafting time, health, peace and love!

Hugs, Suzanne

Merry Christmas!

At Christmastime and always, I am so thankful for the amazing support of friends, family and my O’so faithful customers and fans.  Pennywise Arts is what it is thanks to all of you!

Pennywise Arts designer Julie Imsland created this sparkly Christmas greeting atc with lots of layers.  From the bottom up it goes like this:

2.5” by 3.5” dark blue cardstock base

2.25” by 3.25” light blue cardstock with a white core.  It is embossed with a Cuttlebug snowflake die and then lightly sanded so the white shows through.

Wrap the light blue piece with iridescent fiber and adhere to the dark blue base.

Silver balls were punched for the ornaments with small birds punched and layered onto them with foam tape.

Merry Christmas was stamped onto silver paper which was then covered in O’So Sticky Tape and clear micro beads.

 

I’m wishing you the Merriest of Christmases!

Hugs, Suzanne

Canning Lids In Disguise

My friend Kathi Hall showed me that neat ornaments and gift tags can be created using canning lids as a base.  I really like the weight it adds, it sure makes it hang nice.  I can’t show you the ornament that Kathy did at a shoebox party because I’ve already gifted it but here is my latest:

An image from one of our Christmas collage sheets by Michele Aiello Zendejas of Swing Shift Designs is cut out and the white edges inked with Galaxy Gold Brilliance to tone it down.

A fancy gold embossed napkin was Modge Podged onto a canning lid and trimmed  to fit.  A mixture of bronze, gold and butterscotch micro beads were glued around the inside edge of the lid with a few ivory seed beads sprinkled for good measure.  The image was added with foam pop dots and PWA Bubble beads were glued to the berries on the stocking. This was layered onto cranberry red cardstock.

I found an old plastic doily in my stash o’stuff, and distressed the edges with tan Staz On ink.  I really like the texture and “frill” it contributes.  I glued ribbon behind it for a hanger and added a piece of coordinating cardstock on the back with “To” and “From” stamped on it.  (Not shown)

Kathy found darling red gingham lids at Walmart.  They must be really popular this time of year because I couldn’t find them anywhere.

If you need a quick handmade tag our downloadable collage sheets can be sent to your inbox!  If you are in a hurry be sure to shoot me a quick email after you place your online order so I don’t miss it!  Suzanne@PennywiseArts.com I will be checking for digital orders regularly until the afternoon of Christmas Eve.  Orders placed after 3:00 pm Pacific Time on Saturday won’t be sent until Monday.

We have a lot of really fantastic images to choose from and not just for Christmas!  New Years is just around the corner with Valentines not too far behind.  ;0)

I’m wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas!  

Hugs, Suzanne

New Glass Slide Ornaments

Playing around in my craft room this week I created some new glass slide ornaments from our Christmas collage sheets.  I played with different hangers based on ideas from the domino swap as well as the wire wrapping I did on the “Over the river” atc posted on Tuesday of this week.

Left: I cut the ornament hangers into two pieces and wedged the ends between the images that are sandwhiched between the slides.  Plastic slides worked best for putting lumping things inside because they will bend just a little.

Center:  The hanger is created from a piece of 1/4” O’So wrapped over the top from front to back.  Each end touches the glass for a stronger bond.  Bead the inside of the loop before removing the liner to bead the outside.

Right:  Still not a perfected technique but I do like the wire wrapping with the beads that move back and forth.  Getting the loop to land in the middle at the top was harder than I thought it would be, but I don’t have a lot of wire work under my belt yet.

It’s definitely not to late to whip up a few of these yourself!  They take only minutes to do.  Purchase digital collage sheets from our website, print and cut out.  Place between two slides (glass or plastic) then wrap with 1/4” O’So around the edges and fold the excess tape to the front and back to make a frame.  Press into micro beads and you’re done.

Hugs and Happy Beading!   Suzanne

Creative Ways To Hang A Domino

It’s always fun to see the ideas that others come up with for hanging dominos.  Here are some from the PWA domino swap (and a couple creative ones from past years).

A fancy bead glued to the top.

A bead made from rolling clay and poking a straw through it to create the hole.

Pre drilled dominoes from Pennywise Arts.

An ornament hook glued to the back.

 

An eye hook screwed into the top.

Ribbon wrapped tightly around the edges and then cinched up through the center of a flat bead.  The ribbon is then knotted to hold fast.

 

A bead glued to the top.

Several pony beads glued to the top (side) edge.

Ribbon wrapped and tied tightly at the top with a knot.

A band of beaded O’So Sticky on the sides (glue was added so the cord wouldn’t slip out.)

A heart shaped clip bent so the bottom sticks up for a hook to attach to.

Wire poked through the holes and twisted back on itself.

When adding things to the top to use for hangers, be sure to use a super strong glue like epoxy, E6000 or Jewel Tac.  It needs to be able to hold the heavy weight of a domino and not all glues are strong enough.

Hugs!  Suzanne

Pennywise Annual Domino Ornament Swap!

Here’s a big round of applause to everyone who participated in our annual holiday domino ornament swap!  And extra hugs and kisses to our hostess with the mostest, Pam Campbell! 

And without further adieu, the lovely “Winter” themed dominoes of 2011!

Suzanne Glazier Because I didn’t want to cut the arms off of my gingerbread man  I stamped him onto tissue paper and colored it with colored pencils.  Holly and berries were also stamped and colored to fill in white spaces.  

I used Diamond Glaze to attach the tissue to the drilled domino and give it a glossy finish.  Sure Tac glue was used as “frosting” for the waves and ultra fine white opaque micro beads were sprinkled on.Red Stickles (glitter glue) added sparkle to his cheeks and I dipped the bottom edge into a snow medium that was the consistency of marshmallow cream.  (Fun! Ü)

Copper wire was poked through the tissue and into the pre dilled holes of the domino.  The ends were wrapped several times and the middle was twirled around a pencil to make it curly.

Annette Lanker chose images from our collage sheets.  She beaded the top with clear ultra fine micro beads and the sides with a mixture of red, green and gold opaque micro beads.

Debbie Shults sends “Cool Winter Wishes” from Barbie!  Her dom is covered with clear micro beads and the sides have white opaque micro beads and glitter added over 1/4” O’So Sticky Tape.

Julie Imsland colored her little elfish fellow with Copic markers.  The shovel was “fussy cut” to fit into his hand.  This cute little guy is “clear”ing micro bead snow from his sidewalk.

Karen Slusher used sparkly stickers and Diamond Glaze on her doms.  The sides were edged with 1/4” O’So Sticky Tape and silver opaque micro beads.

I can’t tell for sure if Kathi Hall’s domino is embossed or if it might be a napkin applied with Modge Podge.  Either way the effect is pretty and bright!  Kathi edged her design with 1/4” O’So Sticky Tape and masked off a strip in the middle with a rickrack pattern in red and white opaque micro beads.

 

Kathy Bledsoe’s little skater is all bundled up complete with a red micro bead stripe on her sweater.  Kathy’s unique hanging attachment gives the illusion that her domino is drilled through from top to bottom, but it’s not!  So clever!  I will show how each dom is hung in my next post, there are so many good ideas!

Kelli Green uses a holiday collage image coated with a thick clear glaze finish.  The edges are bordered with a mixture of coordinating micro beads to create a frame around the top and sides.

Laura Davis’s adorable snowman is a domino all dressed up for winter.  His hat is made of felt, face is made from tiny seed beads and his scarf is a piece of gingham ribbon wrapped around his neck and secured to the front with glue.  He’s hanging out in a micro bead snow bank edged with glitter glue.

Lori Botkin’s domino has so many creative embellishments!  It jingles from the little bells along the bottom and the miniature Christmas lights are so adorable!  

Melissa Ragsdill’s  little angel is made from two dominoes, one standard and one mini layered on white flower petals.  The head is a painted wooden button and the wings are tipped with SureTac glue and mini micro beads.

Michelle McCarthy’s design sports a cool  penguin.  The face of the domino is colored with markers then embellished with puffy snow and glittery accents.  For the sides, Michelle wrapped the edges with O’So Sticky Tape then tied silver ribbon around it.  The rest of the exposed O’So was dipped into silver and blue opaque micro beads.

 

Pam Campbell made two different designs for her doms.  This snowman is sitting in a sparkly bank of micro beads catching snowflakes.  Clear seed beads and a snowflake charm complete the dangles on the bottom.

 

Sandy Belair’s ornaments have many layers that create a fully textured and dimensional effect.  The doms were inked in a lettuce green color then covered with O’So Sticky Tape.  Red crocheted ribbon was laid onto the O’So and clear micro beads filled in around it. Gems, cording, red opaque micro beads and puffy stickers complete the festive design.

Sherry Schauble created a snowman complete with his own die cut and glittered snowflake.  His Santa hat and scarf are lined with white opaque micro beads and the sides are finished with 1/8” O’So Sticky Tape and blue translucent micro beads.

Thanks to all of you, for making our last swap of the year an excellent one!

Hugs, Suzanne