Dragonfly Express

The Dragonfly Express! (This photo was taken in full sunlight.)

This project actually had two sources of inspiration. The first was the ReneaBouquets June 2019 Mood Board Challenge, the second inspiration was the Creative Embellishments June 2019 Challenge. (Both sources of inspiration are below) I actually saw the Creative Embellishment challenge first, and I have a thing for hot air balloons. A looking at them from the ground thing, not an actually getting into one thing.

Anyhow, I also really wanted to use this dragonfly I had been working on, and a hot air balloon doesn't need any help flying, so it (slowly) transformed into a flying ship! Besides the flying in the Creative Embellishment inspiration, I also love the whimsy of the image, and the Ferris wheels made me think of actual wheels!

Creative Embellishments Inspiration

ReneaBouquets Mood Board

Process Video:

The following photos were taken in a more shaded area, because my front porch had a convenient hook I could use to get some greenery in the background and not have to hold the project in one hand while shooting with the other! LOL!!

ReneaBouquets Glass Microbeads for the dragonfly's eyes and ReneaBouquets Beautiful Beads on top of the masts.

ReneaBouquets Tiny Anchor and Creative Embellishments Pipes and Gears pieces.

And here are some photo of the dragonfly while it was still grounded! [Note: I found the dragonfly in my yard, buried in the dirt by a tree, apparently left by the previous owners. It was shortly after finding it that I came across a Finnabair DT members (I think) post in Instagram who used Finnabair's Leaves to build butterfly wings (I think it was a butterfly) and a solution to my broken wing dragonfly was born!]

Products:

• Ship
• My SVG Hut (Etsy) - 3D SVG Pirate Ship Galleon DIGITAL download
• (My SVG Hut Blog - Assembly Instructions) (Mine is smaller than the original, "intended" size)
• ReneaBouquets
• Beautiful Board 
• Tiny Nautical Anchor Laser Cut Chipboard
• Beautiful Beads
• Magic Stones
• Creative Embellishments
• Steampunk Pipe Corner
• Gear Cluster Set
• Gear Cluster Set 2
• Ranger
• Tim Holtz
• Distress Oxide
• Hickory Smoke
• Distress Spray Stain
• Rusty Hinge
• Dylusions
• Ink Spray
• Melted Chocolate
• Heidi Swapp
• Color Shine
• Tinsel
• idea-ology
• Tim Holtz
• Metallic Kraft - Stock
• Hitch Fastners
• Prima
• Finnabair
• Rust Effect Paste
• Brown Rust
• Red Rust
• Gold Rust
• Metallique Paint
• Rustic Brown
• Metallique Wax
• Brushed Iron
• Bronze Age
• Vintage Gold
• Opal Magic Wax
• Turquoise Satin
• Sizzix
• Big Shot Pro
• Tim Holtz
• Embossing Folders
• Waves
• 3D Foundry Metal
• Riveted Metal
• Diamond Plate
• Silhouette 
• Cameo 3
• Premium Blade
• Nicapa Cutting Mat
• Best
• Double Sided Tape
• Spellbinders
• Tool 'n One
• We R Memory Keepers
• Crop A Dile
• JudiKins
• Diamond Glaze
• Art Glitter Glue
• Liquitex
• Clear Gesso
• Black Gesso
• Matte Super Heavy Gel
• Apple Barrel
• Black Matte Paint
• Unknown/Unbranded
• Fishing line (used for hanging)
• Kraft Cardstock
• Chain
• Eyelets

• Dragonfly
• ReneaBouquets
• Glass Microbeads
• Black
• Prima
• Finnabair
• Mechanicals
• Woodland Leaves
• Mould
• Mechanica
• Opal Magic Paint
• Rose-Gold
• Metallique Paint
• Royal Blue
• Romance Pink
• Opal Magic Wax
• Vintage Silk
• Metallique Wax
• Bronze Age
• Wax Cire Cera
• Indian Pink
• Blue Lagoon
• Rust Effect Paste
• Brown Rust
• Red Rust
• Gold Rust
• idea-ology
• Tim Holtz
• Swivel Clasp
• Ranger
• Glossy Accents
• JudiKins
• Diamond Glaze
• Creative Paperclay
• Amazing Cast Resin
• Liquitex
• Black Gesso
• Unknown/Unbranded
• Gears

be your own sunshine

I saw a piece of paper (I'll show that later) that inspired the coloring of this tag. Plus, Simon Says Scrap's current Wednesday challenge is "Summer Sunshine." Add to the mix a quote I saw that said, "Sometimes you have to be your own sunshine," and a tag was born.

The flowers didn't come out exactly how I had hoped, but sometimes that just happens!

I started out with a piece of cardboard cut to a size 12 tag (10 1/2" x 5 1/4 I think...I have a template so I don't always have to measure or remember!) and I coated it thickly with white acrylic paint.

My tag base

After that I started gathering supplies I thought I might use and picked out colors I thought could be used to try and recreate the color and design of this piece of Echo Park paper! (I received mine in the July Card Kit from Simon Says Stamp, now to make a card with it!)

The paper that inspired it all!

Smooshing paint into all the crevices!

The honeycomb and riveted metal are from using Amazing Casting Resin in Tim Holtz's embossing folders (Watch a technique video here!). The flourish's are from a flourish circle I had cut out a few years ago with my Cameo. It was multiple layers of cardstock that didn't get glued together quite right, and was painted a light pink. I finally decided it was time to either use it or toss it! And, all of the gears on this project came from the Silhouette store.

Lots of ink & paint & Metallique Wax & Perfect Pearls on here!

After I painted everything, added some "Old Silver" Prima Metallique Wax randomly then I went back over with matching/coordinating Distress Oxides. After all that was dried I used a Crafter's Workshop 12 x 12 Template ("Sunburst") for the rays, and a circle stencil I made a while back for the...umm, circles.

All the shine on the gears for the "sun" is from Perfect Pearls "Perfect Pearl." The sun rays are Delicata "White Shimmer" Pigment Ink.

More Perfect Pearls for the circles!

Lots of "mulberry" type flowers sprayed with a variety of colors! For the oranges I mixed "Carved Pumpkin" Distress Stain with some Perfect Pearls "Perfect Pearl" and "Pewter." The different shades of yellows and oranges is due to the original colors of the flowers. The pink flowers are from Shimmerz Coloringz "Pink Stilettos," and the mint is from Heidi Swapp's Color Shine "Sweet Mint."

Product List:

• Silhouette Cameo
• Amazing Cast Resin
• Pink Paislee: Take Me Away Collection: Thickers with Foil Accents: Phrases: "Dream"
• Hip Kit Club Exclusive Alpha (May 2017 Main Kit)
• Shimmerz: AcriTonez - Pinkadelic; Coloringz - Pink Stilettos
• Perfect Pearls: Perfect Pearl & Pewter
• Tsukineko Delicata: White Shimmer
• White acrylic paint
• Heidi Swapp Color Shine: Sweet Mint
• Tim Holtz Distress Paint - Carved Pumpkin & Cracked Pistachio; Distress Spray Stain - Carved Pumpkin; Distress Oxide - Wild Honey, Cracked Pistachio, & Picked Raspberry; Embossing Folders - Riveted Metal & Honeycomb
• Ranger Mini Mister
• Prima Art Alchemy Metallique Wax: Old Silver
• "Mulberry" type flowers

Mermaid Tag

Steampunk Mermaid Tag

I came across the June Challenge over at Creative Embellishments and decided I would play along! Of course I came across it the afternoon of the 28th, giving me about 2 1/2 days to think up a project and complete it! I made it, with about 50 minutes left! Edit: Although the challenge said it closed at 11:55pm EST, when I tried to add my link, it was already closed, at only 11:16pm EST. I wish I had some of Creative Embellishments products to add to my tag, thankfully it wasn't a requirement! I do now have another place to go shopping, I'm sure the hubs will love that! LOL

Background ready for color!

I started out with a #12 tag that I made using some think chipboard and an industrial paper trimmer! (The hubs used to use it to cut aluminum for seamless eaves-troughs AKA: the gutters on your roof!) I glued down some tissue paper, my "sheet-metal," a bit of paper, and some of my seaweed. I added my texture paste clock, then gave it all a good coat of white gesso.

Amazing Casting Resin + Tim Holtz's Riveted Metal Embossing Folder

As a side note about how that riveted metal was made, go watch Mixed Media ATCs with Opal Magic Wax by Keren Tamir!

Background misted and spritzed!

After the gesso had dried on the background I used Distress Spray Stains: Cracked Pistachio and Mermaid Lagoon; Heidi Swapp Color Shine: Sweet Mint; Shimmerz Coloringz: Well Blue Me Down and Oh Say Can U Sea; and Shimmerz Vibez: Jeni B Bleu. I just sprayed rather randomly, drying between layers of colors, until I got what I wanted.

My glue of choice this whole project, Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium: Matte

For my mermaid's tail I used 140# watercolor paper, ran it through my Sizzix Big Shot using Tim Holtz's Riveted Metal Embossing Folder, then used a glue stick to randomly give adhesion points for the Foil Transfer Sheets by Ranger (Vintage pack).

Adding Prima Finnabair Art Alchemy Metallic and Opal Magic waxes to my mermaid!

I didn't have any real plan going in on where I was going to add which color of wax where, and I don't think it makes a big difference! Rarely do my crafts have an all out plan!

The Mermaid, Hat, and Seaweed all came from cut files found on the Silhouette Store!

The fish were fussy cut from a paper in Graphic 45's "Steampunk Debutante" Deluxe Collector's Edition, the seahorses and sand dollar are a Spellbinders Die D-Lites set, some of the gears are from Bead Landing, and some have no (known) brand.

The seaweed was cut from a sheet of American Crafts White Vellum, and sprayed with Heidi Swapp's Color Shine: Tinsel or a combination of Heidi Swapp Color Shine: Sweet Mint and Shimmerz Coloringz: Oh Say Can U Sea.

1st Altered Book

I had been keeping this generic black pleather journal around for quite some time but I always knew it was missing something. That something was apparently me getting the idea to alter it, originally inspired by various "Steampunk" journals I had seen. The most I had ever written in it was my name for "This book belongs to:" and a couple of thoughts on the first two pages. That was it!! Now I am going to make it something more. Over the past year I have taken a major turn toward traditional healing a.k.a. herbal healing. I got tired of seeing "if you or a loved on took this medicine and is now dead or permanently messed up you may be entitled to compensation." Money isn't going to return quality of life. Anyhow, being someone who is required to have some sort of medication on a daily basis I went back to nature, and this is going to be my "recipe" book.

 This is the new front cover. Some fabric flowers that I used Tim Holtz Distress Ink on ... they used to be much brighter colors! A couple of resin black roses, some Tim Holtz gears, a few brads ... Also, I did make that leather Triquetra on my own! I cut the slits on the background leather and wove the other strips of leather through. I am currently adding some silk ribbon embroidery to the cover as well. And yes, I am covering the pleather with leather ... well suede.

 Inside the front cover with my "This book belongs to:" window in the fabric. I had to add this fabric because after all the treatment to the pages and spine I wanted to give a clean finish.

 This is at the very center of the book. Just some rub-ons for the flowers, some self-stick butterfly boarder, and some tissue tape.

 Blank pages. It was a long process of spraying and drying. And to help with the drying and aging I utilized my oven ... and melted the glue in the spine ... but I like it better this way, it's more aged.