IT'S A SNOW DAY

School was closed today because of the snow. Yahoo! I love snow days. I didn't even mind shovelling the snow. So far we have at least a foot. Everything is so pretty. Made some cards and did some needlepointing. Tomorrow it will probably be back to work but I enjoyed today.

STAMPED BUTTERFLY NECKLACE

Back to my favorite form of artwork, stamped jewelry. I purchased a large amount of dyed flat gemstones at the bead convention in King of Prussia, PA, last year. They are great to stamp on. I used Colorbox black pigment ink and black detail embossing powder to stamp the butterfly and then I sealed it with a small puddle of Diamond Glaze spread over the front of the pendant with my finger. I used dumbell gemstone beads to get that nice nubby look.

VALENTINE SET

Just in time for Valentine's Day, I've made a gift tag, bookmark and card. The background on the card and strip on the bookmark were made with a Cuttlebug folder and co'ordinations paper which was sanded. All the hearts were cut out with a Slice machine and the Basic 1 and Think Pink design cards. Add some bling to give your set some sparkle.

EASY BACKGROUND

A while back, a swapper friend sent me a card made entirely from torn and punched vellum. This morning I tried the technique for myself and was well pleased with the results. The entire background, including the sky, is torn strips of vellum. The buffalo is colored with markers and is from the Posh Native American Set available at www.PoshRubberstamps.com

FAUX PORCELAIN ORNAMENTS

A few years back, a friend gave me an ornament that she had bought at a pottery. It's white with a raised wildflower in light pink and green. Every year I put that ornament on my tree and wish I had more. Today I dug out my polymer clay and my Posh Hope & Faith stamp set and came up with these ornaments.

Condition white polymer clay by either running it through a pasta machine or hand kneading it. Role the clay out to 1/8 in. thickness. Cut with a cookie cutter or craft knife into a shape of your choice. I had a diamond shaped cookie cutter that I used. Put a small hole in the top. A coffee stirrer straw makes a perfect size hole.

Lightly tap your stamps with Colorbox fluid chalk inks. They give a nice pastel color like you would see on bisque porcelain. You don't want too much ink on the stamp. Try to pat it just on the surface of the image without getting any into the crevasses. Press the stamp lightly into the clay so that you get a light indentation. Bake as directed on the package

When cool, tie a shear ribbon through the hole for a hanger.

Asian Necklace

I finally got around to making a necklace out of a pendant I had made a couple of months ago. The pendant is frosted sea glass that was stamped with permanent ink and colored with alcohol ink and perfect pearls. A mixture of glitter and tiny beads in red, gold and black was glued around the edges. I glued a bugle bead on the back for the stringing wire to go through. The only thing I like better than making jewelry, is making Asian jewelry.

Gift Idea

Here's a nice idea for a gift for a teacher or a co-worker. Start with a small gift bag. The little 5 by 4 size. You can get them in the dollar stores in packs of two or three. Pick out a design that you like and make a set of notecards to match. I used the Posh crane and purple swirl blank cards from Hot Off the Press. I added a circle in a yellow print to match the giftbag. Add a pen and it makes a nice little gift.