A Day at the Beach

I created this matchbox shrine for a birthday RAK, and have been waiting to post about it until it arrived safely at its destination.   It was created from a standard 1-1/2" x 2" matchbox.   Most of the interior detail was painted, with a few embellishments added.

I posted a larger image and "how-to" info at my hobby site: http://hobbyloco.com/shrines.html.   There are more shrine photos over there as well.

Enjoy!

May Giveaway Day!

I just stumbled onto the Sew, Mama, Sew! May Giveaway Day!

The list of participants has just been posted. There are hundreds of giveaways going on from now through May 31st!
Good Luck!

I have been keeping a list of crafty giveaways on my hobby site: Big List of Crafty Giveaways and Contests.   If you have a crafty giveaway to add, simply post your link here with a comment & I will add you to the list!

Have a fun & crafty day!

Don't forget to enter my humble giveaway for a hand stitched finger puppet.

a promotion and a giveaway!

Things have been a bit slow around the old Etsy shop ... so how about a little promotion and a GIVEAWAY?

Here's the promotion: Mention my Etsy shop (or something from my shop) on your website or blog - with a link to the shop/item and receive 10% OFF your total order (excluding shipping)! Tell me where you posted the link in the comment box when you order & I will refund the 10% back to you! Offer good NOW through June 10th!

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Here's the giveaway: Win your choice of any individual finger puppet from my Etsy shop. There are tons to choose from (take a look).

To enter, simply leave a comment for this post by June 30, 2009.
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Bonus: Mention my Etsy shop (or something from my shop) on your website or blog - with a link to my shop/item and receive 1 extra entry into the drawing.

Be sure that I can contact you. If you don't have a blog, please include your e-mail address. Entries from individuals with a blog who don't provide an e-mail and who don't have an e-mail link on their blog will be notified if they win by a comment on their blog. I will wait 48 hours for a response and then select another winner.

I will be selecting a winner on July 1,09 by placing a slip for each entry in a bowl and drawing a winner. Good Luck!

handmade charms

I took the weekend off from stitching and made some charms for a handmade charm swap.

I happened to have quite a bit of polymer clay sitting around that I hadn't touched in ages ... so I thought I would put it to use making charms.

They weren't very difficult to make.   The hardest part was conditioning the clay for use.   After the clay was ready to use, I rolled it into small ball shapes.   I flattened the balls into disc shapes, and used some buttons and rubber stamps to press images into the clay.   After baking, I used acrylic paints to accent the embossed images and sanded them for an aged appearance.

I finished them with a glossy coat of varnish and added jump rings for attaching to a charm bracelet.

I can't wait to see all of the charm returns from the swap!