Money...does grow on trees?

Ok no it doesn't (more's the pity). I decided that to help me keep going on with my savings I needed a visual aid. I didn't want to go for the usual thermometer, so I did something a little different. I started by grabbing the box that the Tim holtz stamp platform (always keep the packaging!) and painting it with sparks paint. I put a patterned paper inside, and then die cut some branches and flowers. I also die cut three butterflies, coating them with gold, silver and copper wax respectively, to represent the coins we in Britain have.

As you can see, it is completely bare on the right hand side. This is because I have set myself a target. Each branch is worth a tenth of that target, and each flower is worth a fifth of a branch. So, I am just shy of halfway on my target.

I also finished my other stag. I kept it simple this time, just coated it with foam cogs, painted it with black gesso and then used silver wax. Simple, but striking.

Finally, here is the progress on the latest stitch.

I'm working through this more quickly that I thought I would, but there are still seven pages to go.

Ems

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Trying out some new dies

Well, one new die. I also tried out some black shrink plastic and butterfly dies to make some jewellery. The trick with doing this is to roll the shrink plastic and the die back and forth through your machine more than once. Black shrink plastic tends to be difficult to cut. Anyway, once I had successfully cut out the butterflies I shrunk them. The best thing to do is to shrink them on the lower setting. After they had shrunk, I painted them with the new Sparks paints I got just before Christmas, before assembling them into earrings.

The pictures don't show just how beautiful the butterflies are. It's a perfect way of doing a pair of earrings for someone.
I've also tried my hand at making a slider card. There is a mistake there, as I didn't position the background paper properly so there is a little kraft paper showing through, but overall it went well. With these ones, if you are using the spiral slider piece you need to make sure that you use foam pads in the middl…

A few completed projects...

So I finished the Tiger in the Heavens stitch finally. I have decided not to put the sequins on it, as to be honest on reflection it makes it look a little garish, and not right for the intended recipient.

So, one is finished and the next one has started. I have to say I am loving my cross stitch floor stand. It makes it so much easier, even if it is a bit cumbersome getting it up and down the stairs sometimes! Below is the next project.

I have had at least two people remark that it looks like a pair of boobs in a bikini top in the middle, but you can see from the rest of it that it isn't that - that is, unless Wallace and Gromit has suddenly become X-rated!
I've also made a card this week. I haven't been able to do much, as on Saturday I got a delivery of some new furniture, so my room is a little bit of a mess to say the least. Still, I got my G45 papers out and had a bash at a card.

As well as the G45 papers, I used a couple of SnipArt wings and some Lindy's embo…

....and I've run out of heart related puns....

First off, as always, the decluttering. All funkos this week (and next actually) They've gone to my brother.

Even my cute little Sauron!

Onto the makes. Haven't had a chance to make any jewellery yet and the stitch is not yet finished (on the final page now, which has the most french knots on) but I have made another heart.

I started by cutting two hearts out of some Tim Holtz paper. With the first I sprayed with green and brown Lindy's sprays, and glued it to the wooden heart. With the second I cut with a mixed media thinlit die on one side. It didn't work completely so I cut a bit away. I used texture paste with a brick stencil, then sprayed it with blue Lindy's sprays, adding a couple of drops of alcohol ink on certain bricks to darken it.

I love Lindy's sprays - they call them magical for a reason!

I die cut loads of gears, painting them silver before attaching them to the heart. I added a couple of pieces of ephemera, a clock, and a wing I've had in…

The Introverted Crafter

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