Recyled soda cans

Here I recycled a soda tin to create a seasonal fall tote

bag for this month's Hero Arts Challenge. Recycling and playing with metal is as much fun as playing with paper and so you may just want to give this a try yourself!

If you have never cut a soda can do know that the sides are very thin metal and can be cut with regular scissors. Cut the main center band of a soda can into the largest flat rectangle possible. Paint the plain side and stamp with background stamp. Fold with short cut edges at top, cut top with decorative scissors. Tape side edges together with red liner tape, fold over to back and crimp. Cut another can for additional metal to create main image. Stamp on plain side and cut out. Use a blunt instrument to outline image and flip to back to emboss. Wire tendrils are curled on a pencil. The pumpkin is colored with Sharpie pens. Punch holes and add ribbon.

This background is acrylic paint but alcohol inks or stazon ink can also be used. This metal also can be embossed with a cuttlebug.

Thanks for stopping by!

It is getting crispy here

It is in the 40's this morning...so I thought I would add a little brightness to my blog. Unfortunately blogger is not cooperating this morning and will not let me post more pictures. I will try again tonight.







This bright and bold flower comes from Hero Arts.

And the winner is

I had so many wonderful folks stop by my blog over the weekend! I only wish I could give out treats like at Trick or Treat but since that is not possible I had to draw for 1 RAK winner.

The winner of Fiskateer's blog hop is............

Peg left the comment saying......
Those are so pretty. Makes me even more excited for fall.
September 11, 2010 7:51 PM

If you get me your address I can mail out your RAK by the end of the week.
Thanks again for stopping in!

Fiskateers Orange Blog Hop Sept 10-11

Blog Hop Post-I hope you have just enjoyed Laura Bray’s blog. If you a looking for the beginning of this blog hop it starts at the Fiskar’s blog

Sharing the Passion of Crafting

Welcome to my home! Come on in and have a cup of your favorite warm drink while we chat about crafting.

For years I have enjoyed expressing my creativity by making stamped cards. I love getting inky and exploring all I can do with ink. I particularly enjoy making my own card backgrounds. For me it is a great stress reducer after a hard day at work.












Like many of my cards this one began as is a single piece of white cardstock. The clock is a Tim Holtz mask and is sprayed with a homemade perfect pearls mist. The rest of the images are stamped on to this background. The bird and word happiness comes from:



Fiskar's set
For the birds














Here the Canadian Geese are leaving in flocks of 100's each day to find warmer weather. The golden leaves on my birch trees are beginning to fall but I miss the red and orange colors of trees that grow further south so I make some of my own. Let me share with you the details of these cards-the background is blended spiced marmalade and wild honey distress inks by Ranger. This background and the center layer are both sprayed with sunflower perfect pearls mixed with spiced marmalade reinker mix and water in a homemade mister.




The tag is covered with Distress crackle paint-shabby shutters. When the crackle is completely dry I add a layer of blended spiced marmalade and wild honey to fill in the edges and highlight the cracks. I stamped the black image with archival ink.

I make the leaves in batches so I can incorporate them into cards throughout the fall season. I begin by making sheets of Polished Stone with alcohol inks on glossy paper. Then I stamp leaves on them with Stazon Ink. For added shine I fin them with a coat of glossy accents and while it is still wet I add a light sprinkling of fine glitter. That is really hard to see in photos but oh so fun in person. The tag string is colored with distress ink on the blender tool.


The above tags were designed to also meet this month's challenge requirements at my friend Anne's blog-Gaal Creative. She is currently featuring lots of information on alcohol inks and other Ranger Ink products.


Here is a variation on the leaf theme with many of the same tedhniques.

While my time is limited I still jump into a few other crafting delights including sewing, home dec, metal art and many other craft and gardening projects. Hope you stop by my blog at other times to see what project I am working on.

Your comments are most appreciated... a random drawing will be made for a RAK and the winner will be posted on Sunday, Sept 12. Thanks for sharing your passion for crafting by stopping in.

Please continue on to the next blog Patti Behan 3651