I'VE GOT IDEAS... COME ON OVER TO SEE ME PLAY!!!

Happy Friday, everyone!!! I truly hope you're all doing great!!!   I have to say this is such a beautiful Friday for me; I woke with no ear throbbing!  Still some tenderness when I swallow but not painful as it was, isn't that fantastic?!!!  The only downside is if I belch I can taste the antibiotics -- oops, did I tell you I belched?!!!  LOL!!!

Before I get started sharing all my playing with you, I'd like to thank my friend Dawn for sending me this wonderful belated birthday card:

Thank you, Dawn!!!

If you want to meet a beautifully spiritual and inspiring woman, please visit my friend.  Her name above is a direct link to her blog, just click on it.  You'll find the most amazing layouts and miscellaneous crafts.  Someone else I've fallen in love with!!!

Okay, are you ready for fun?  Well, pull up a chair because this post is going to be a bit longer than usual.  Let's begin with the few small enamel ideas that turned out well enough -- not great -- but good enough to share.  I'll also share with you what I found out and my further opinions on this stuff:

The top example is on an acrylic tile and I was trying to imitate stained glass; it didn't come out too bad but there was still quite a bit of puddling during the outlining.  The one with the tassel is an old jewelry finding (yes, I made the tassel). On this one I let the white enamel completely dry before adding the black dots to keep it from puddling; popped it with a clear gem.  This seems to work and the enamel did not run, and couldn't mix with the hardened white enamel.  The last one was my playing with those poker chips again (remember my earlier poker chip projects?).  On this one I "barely" kissed the tip of the black enamel nip to some unhardened white enamel and attempted to swirl it.  Eventhough the black and white pretty much stayed separate, the black did run more than I would have liked.  Overall, came out better than most  of my other attempts, so I popped this one on a a round ribbon.  Not as grand as I would like them to be, but fairly decent, and I can't wait to use my stained glass replica on a card or something.  In the meantime, I'll keep playing and continue to let you know my results.

Now let's move on to these other little things I "tinkered" with:

Here I used an assortment of items:  a button, another poker chip, bottle caps, and assorted old jewelry pieces to make these embellies.  Most of them I covered and/or filled in with either Glossy Accents or UTEE (ultra thick embossing powder).  The ones I left unfilled I haven't decided yet what I want to do with yet -- everything doesn't have to be Christmas stuff, you know.

Now, here're some ribbon bows and a flower I made:

All right, now watch me have some fun with the embellies, the ribbon bows and the flower:

I haven't even began  to imagine all the combinations and other ideas I have zooming in my head!!!  And not only for cards, but box and bag toppers, ornaments, pins, albums, etc.  And, not only for Christmas as most of these are but for weddings, graduations, birthdays -- ENDLESS!!!  Use your imagination and creativity!!!  I have so many other combinations I want to get to playing with!

OH NO, my playing did not stop here.  Have you ever bought these acrylic stickers?:

Well, I won't be buying them anymore because now I'll be making my own; like these:

I put pieces of colored paper behind the the top 2 stickers so you can see they don't have to be clear.  It really took a while trying to figure out a way to do this because the ink will run as soon as you apply anything liguid to the transparency.  I tried using a sealer; I even tried reversing the print and applying the dimensional medium to the reverse side of the transparency but that didn't work because the gloss medium still seeped beneath the transparency and made the ink run.  But, being persistent and really enjoying myself, I did figure out a way!  Here's one I made for you guys:

I hope you like it!!!  Now are you ready to know how to make your own?  Okay, first get some transparencies designed for ink jet printers (other transparencies will not hold inkjet print, the ink will rub right off); I got mine from Staples.  Next type whatever you like onto your transparencies and print it out;  cut out your stickers and carefully apply clear packing or sealing tape across the print; , apply Glossy Accents for dimension or any dimensional clear medium you chose; let it dry, trim the edges with a pair of scissors, and add some double-sided tape to the back!!!  Easy-peezy!!!  You're done!  If you do some I wanna see!!!

I hope you enjoyed having fun with me and, hopefully, you were inspired with a few ideas.

Now, it's time for me to visit with you all before I get back to having more fun...!!!

I'll be seeing you!