My Dance Card is Full This New Year!!! 2012!

Wow!

2012!!

Well Hello Everyone:)

Here we are in the New Year

at the Beginning! 

And boy is my

Dance Card Full!!!

So get your Dancing Shoes on,

as we're going to be really

busy for the next couple of months! LOL!

First off, I hope all of you had the kind of

New Year's that you all were hoping for!

I had a wonderful quiet one which was what 

both I and the husband were hoping for! 

Now, this month of January is going to be 

broken up into 3 parts! There are Giveaways and

Contests and lots of Fun ahead with some of

My Favourite Internet Shops!

So Let's Get This Party Started!!!

I Have Big News!!!

And I am So Honoured!!!

As many of you know, 

Gail Schmidt 

of

Shabby Cottage Studios

Has been a Long Time Friend here

on Birdnuts Mixed Media.

Gail's Wonderful Shop and Blog and

Internet Studio of Tutorials

by Fabulous Artists and by 

Gail herself, 

as she's a Fabulous

Artist and Digital Artist to boot!

Her shop has been a long time source for me for

all sorts of Wonderful Products and Digital Graphics.

A while back, 

Gail asked me if I would be interested

in a project with 

Shabby Cottage Studios

So for the past month or so, we've been 

working on this project.....

YIPPIE!!

I am dipping my toes into the water as

A Team Member

Artist in Residence for

Shabby Cottage Studio!

I was Gobsmacked when Gail asked me to 

come on board as a 

Member of the 

Shabby Cottage Studio Team!

So for the next few months, 

I'll be doing a 

Blog Posting Once a Month,

Highlighting a Tutorial 

done by Me, 

using some of the 

Fabulous Shabby Cottage Studio

Products that Gail has to offer!

In turn, Gail will be

Posting Links on her 

Blog, 

and in her Newsletter

and in her 

Inspiration Gallery

on her Web Site

to Highlight My Tutorial!

So lets get started as there is so much to tell you still!!!

My First Tutorial as

Artist in Residence

for

Shabby Cottage Studio:)

Inkssentials Brand

'Memory Glass Framed'

Brooches.

For this tutorial we'll be using 

Inkssentials Brand 'Memory Glass Frames' and 

Inkssentials Brand 'Memory Glass'

I'm going to show examples of my brooches

in 2 of the sizes that Gail offers in her Shop

1 x 3" inch and 2 x 2" inch sizes.

They come in 3 different colours,

Black Patina, Antique Copper and 

Polished Chrome.

There are tons of ideas for use of these frames,

but in this tutorial I'll be making my brooches

hoping to inspire you to come up with even

more ideas on their use!!

Other items I'll be using in this tutorial

from Shabby Cottage Studio are

some of Gail's Assortment of

Tim Holtz Products like his

really cool Clips and Trinket Pins, Jump Rings

and even the Fabulous Ranger 'Stickles' Glitter

that Gail has a selection of!

I will also be using some of 

Shabby Cottage Studios

Assortment of 

Charms and Metal Embellishments

Joker Brand Metal Chair Charms

and 

Vintaj Brand 'Diamnond Filigree 2 Hole Connectors'

and

Blue Moon Brand 'Lost and Found' Cage-Pink Beads

And of course I'll be using 

Gail's Fabulous Graphics Sheets!!!

She has a HUGE Assortment of

Wonderful Graphics for a plethora

of uses!!!

For making these brooches, I printed 

Gail's Wonderful Graphics 

on Card Stock so as to get the proper

thickness for fitting into the frames with the glass.

In this instance, I chose to use Gail's lovely

Body Form Tag Graphics, as I thought they

would lend themselves to a great 

Valentines Day Project:)

I sized up the Graphics Sheets using an empty

Inkssentials Frame, then when I figured out

the particular part of the Graphic that I wanted to use, 

I cut it out to a 1 x 3" piece in this circumstance,

and a 2 x 2" piece for the other size frame:)

Once I had the pieces cut, 

I used the Ranger 'Distress Stickles' Glitter

with a small paint brush to the areas

that I wanted to highlight:)

And as you can see, I didn't stop there!

Add lots of cut out pieces from the other Graphics

and some words, and even use some of your stamps

to embellish the graphic with layers to give it 

even more interest:)

Once you have your Graphics Cut-Outs ready,

pop them back to back, yes that's right there are

two sides to each brooch!!

Sandwich them in between two pieces of the

Inkssentials Memory Glass

then slide them into the Frames.

(Quick Tip:)

Be careful as it is glass that you're handling, so 

make sure you have a clean work surface, that 

not only will help keep the glass clean, but also

in case it breaks or any shards chip.

I always keep a package of Baby Wipes on hand

to clean the surface occasionally just in case:)

Now once you have your Graphics and Glass

into each Frame 

turn the frame upside down with the ring at the bottom:)

Attach a Tim Holtz 'Clip to the top of the frame,

( I added a loose rhinestone to the clip for a little extra bling:),

and using a Tim Holtz Jump Ring, attach

a Tim Holtz Trinket Pin to the Clip:)

And again using the Tim Holtz Jump Rings

attach some of Shabby Cottage Studios

Wonderful Charms and Beads:)

For those of us who do not solder....

(YET!)...

these can be a Fun and Interesting way

of making some 'Bling' for ourselves or

as gifts for others:)

You can also turn them the 'right side up'

with the ring at the top to use a jump ring

and use a chain for making into a 

creative necklace as well:)

So in Honour of Gail Schmidt

and 

Shabby Cottage Studio

giving me this 

Wonderful Opportunity 

as

Artist in Residence

I'd like to Give all of You

a 

Chance to Celebrate 

with me!

Sign on as a 

Google Follower

here on my Blog

Birdnuts Mixed Media 

and on

Gail's Blog at 

Shabby Cottage Studios

and

Leave a Comment on this

Tutorial Post

and on 

January 14th, 2012

I will pick 3 Winners 

to be Announced

on 

January 15th, 2012

to send these 

 Brooch Examples to!

Please make sure you have your

email address in your 

Comment on this post so

I can contact you for mailing

information as a 

Winner 

of one of my Brooches:)

also

make sure you sign on as

a 'Follower' on Gail's Blog Post

as well as sign up for her

Fabulous Newsletter so you'll

get to see all her updated 

Shop Information and her

Wonderful Freebie Graphics too!!

Well There Ya Go!

Yippie!!!

So please sign on and get 

Entered for the Giveaway on January 15th, 2012!!

And as I mentioned before there's lot's more coming

later this month with even more 

Giveaways and Contests with More Fabulous

Internet Shops!!

Enjoy!!!