Wednesday, January 4, 2012

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
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 
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

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 
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 
giving me this 
Wonderful Opportunity 
as
Artist in Residence

I'd like to Give all of You
Chance to Celebrate 
with me!

Sign on as a 
Google Follower
here on my Blog
and on
Gail's Blog at 
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!!!