Blog Hopping with Ann Butler Designs and ETI Resin

Happy Thursday everyone and Welcome to the Ann Butler Designs and ETI Resin Blog Hop! 

Today I will be sharing with you my Butterfly Quilt Block inspired jewelry box.  I love taking inspiration from actual quilt blocks when creating projects with Ann's line of Faux Quilting Stamps!

Crafting with resin has kind of become an obsession for me.  I scour the craft and thrift stores to see what items I can find and how I can incorporate resin into them.  Here is my latest find!

Now, on to my project:

Paint unfinished wooden box with Ann Butler Designs Iridescents Line in Onyx by Earth Safe Finishes, let dry.  Repeat with a second coat.  You can't really tell in the photos, but the Iridescents paints contain a shimmer that just makes this project GLOW!

Stamp Ann Butler 2″ triangle and 1" triangle and square Faux Quilting Stamps by Unity Stamp Company in Leaves All Over; Stripes Dots Hearts and Doily Picnic on yellow, pink, light blue, green and lavender cardstock with matching Colorbox® Crafter’s Ink by Ann Butler in Sunshine, Berry, Lilac, Limelight and Aquamarine 

Stamp the 2" triangles along the edge of the paper with points touching, as shown below.  Stamp the 1" triangle and square next to each other and then add a second square to the opposite side of the triangle, as shown below.

Cut out the shapes with scissors.  Match up contrasting colors on the top and bottom of your butterfly and then attach to black card stock with Tombow Mini Power Tape (sold exclusively at Michael's).  For detailed work, I like that this adhesive runner is tinted blue, so I can see exactly where it is placed.  Cut out complete butterfly with scissors.

Once you are pleased with the design placement, add wire antennae and letter stickers spelling out FLY.   Glue down and seal the stamped cardstock, wire and stickers with ETI Ultra-Seal. Make sure that you apply a nice heavy coat and let it dry overnight. You have to seal the all of the elements, so the resin does not seep underneath and discolor your project.

Prepare your project for resin by finding a level surface that is out of the way and line with waxed paper, a non-stick craft sheet or parchment paper.  Place your project on this surface.

Next mix the resin.  Pour equal parts of EnviroTex Lite resin and hardener into the plastic cup and stir for 2 minutes with wooden stick.  Make sure to scrap the bottom and the sides as you stir.  I used my cell phone to time my mixing.  Next, pour this mixture into a new plastic cup and stir for an additional 2 minutes with a new wooden stick.

Pour the resin onto your sealed wooden box lid, scrapping out all of the resin.  Spread resin out with wooden stick to make sure that all edges and corners are covered.  The resin will self level as it dries, so making sure that your surface is level is important.

The resin had a ton of bubbles in it this time and I thought my project was ruined.  First, I tried the "huff" method and breathed over the surface with my hot breath. This did not work very well.

I remembered that Ann uses a lighter to remove bubbles in her ETI Resin projects, so I tried that and it worked like a charm!

Attach additional 1" triangles in a variety of colors around the bottom edge of the wooden box with decoupage medium for

Here is close up of my finished project.  The resin looks just like glass and encases the elements in the lid perfectly!  I also like the contrast of the dark Onyx paint with the bright ink colors.

I hope you have enjoyed my project today!  I just love the sentiment of FLY - it is inspirational and to me means that the sky is limit!  Leave me a comment below with your favorite inspirational word.  

Now it's time to HOP around and see what the other talented designers have created!

Ann Butler

Beth Watson - YOU ARE HERE

Einat Kessler - GO HERE NEXT

Irit Shalom

Larissa Pittman

Madeline Arendt

Paula DeReamer

Steph Ackerman

Tammy Santana

Vishu Reberholt

Check out the Ann Butler Design blog and the Resin Crafts blog for TONS more craftiness!

Thanks for stopping by!  -Beth

Easter Craft Round Up - Sixteen of my favorite projects!

I love all of the Holidays and I especially love Holiday Crafting! 

Creating cute bunnies and chicks to wish everyone a Happy Easter is truly one of my joys in life. 

So, I have collected SIXTEEN of my all time favorite projects to share with you today!

Easter Bunny Faux Quilt block Gift Bags on the Ann Butler Designs Blog

Peter Cotton Tail Bunny Banner on the Kunin Felt Blog featuring Canvas Corp burlap banner panels

Easter Bunny Block Family over on the Smoothfoam Blog

Easter Candy Apothecary Jar over on the Tombow USA Blog 

Felt Carrot Easter Egg Basket over on the Kunin Felt Blog

Bunny Candy Dish created from Clay pots and Saucers, painted with Americana acrylics by DecoArt

Easter Basket created from a paper mache box

Cute Bunny and Chick name cards made from Smoothfoam and fancy Boucle Yarn

Easter candy treat cups made from upside down paper party cups!

Happy Easter Bunny Medallion to welcome guests at your front door.  Made from Smoothfoam

Sassy Easter Bunny crafted from a recycled and upcycled light bulb!

Easter Bunny night light upcycled from a vintage hurricane lamp

Easter gift bags, shaped then decorated with trims and craft foam

A recycled single serve cereal container makes a quick and easy Easter Basket

Clay pots transformed into a sweet Bunny and cute Chick are a great addition to your Easter decorations

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a very

HAPPY EASTER!

Blog Hopping with OLY* FUN by Fairfield World

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!  and Welcome to the OLY*FUN by Fairfield World Blog Hop!

Oly*Fun™

It’s all fun! Oly*Fun is an easy to use material that comes in many colors and cuts. Choose a full bolt, a craft pack or small sheets. Use indoors or outdoors for school spirit, clubs, weddings, parties, and holidays. Best of all – it’s a great value!

Now, on to my project!

I received some of the new Metallic Oly*Fun™, so I grabbed some fun colored t-shirts from my stash and got to work on some spring fashions!  Trace around the collar of each shirt on a plain piece of white paper with a pencil.  Draw in your design.  I selected, triangles, half circles and rectangles.

Cut out your designs with scissors and trace onto the back of the Oly*Fun™ fabric with a Tombow MONO Twin permanent marker.  Cut out your designs and dry fit around the collar of each shirt.  The Oly*Fun™ is great for a project like this because the fabric does not fray when cut.

Once you are pleased with the placement, attach with fabric glue that is washable. 

And here is the final result!  A fun, but fashionable collection that says "Bring on Spring!"

A quick and easy project that can be completed in under an hour and a FUN project to do with the kids!

Now for the REALLY FUN part - PRIZES! 

I mentioned this was a Blog Hop, right?  So, HOP on over to the Designer Crafts Connection Blog and check out all of the great projects that we made with Oly*Fun™ AND for a chance to win some Oly*Fun™ to create with!

Fairfield takes great pride in its rich history as a third generation, family-owned and operated American business. In 2015, the company celebrates 75 years of innovative products and brands.

Make sure to check out the Fairfield World blog for tons more inspiration!

Thanks for stopping by!  -Beth

Craft Lightning Kids Busy Craft - Shaving Cream Marbling

WELCOME to the Craft Lightning challenge for March - Busy Kids Crafts!  

Craft Lightning is a series of project challenges hosted by Angie at the Country Chic Cottage, Caroline from 30 Minute Crafts and this month Stacey from Glued to my Crafts.  Each project takes 15 minutes or less to create.  Join us for an entire week of inspiration by a wonderful group of talented Designers!  Details at the bottom of my post.

Now on to my project - SHAVING CREAM MARBLING!

Gather your supplies:  Shave Cream; Food Dye; Wooden Skewers; Disposable Foil Cookie Sheets; Plain White Cardstock; Rubber Squeegee; Paper Towels and Old Towels.  I purchased disposable foil cookie sheets, but you could definitely use a jelly roll pan from your kitchen.

Squirt out a layer of shave cream.  You will need the layer to be even, so spread it out with a spatula, or I use my hand (it's quicker and easier!)

Drop food coloring randomly across the surface of the shave cream.  Experiment with color combinations!  We used the Neon Colors of food coloring, but you can mix and match.

Using a wooden skewer, swirl the food coloring around in a random fashion in the shave cream.  Don't over swirl or your colors will become muddy.

Gently lay cardstock onto very top layer of shave cream, pressing gently to get color across the entire surface.  Peel back the cardstock and place on an old towel.  Remove the excess shave cream with either a rubber squeegee or paper towels.  I found that the rubber squeegee works better, just clean off the blade after each swipe of shave cream, so you don't muddy your colors.

Hang up with clothespins or lay out on an old towel to dry.

You can also press a fresh piece of cardstock into a shave cream covered piece of cardstock to obtain a second impression!

This is a great way to keep tweens busy for hours, because each and every piece of cardstock turn out differently!  And the reveal when you squeegee off the shave cream is amazing!

The projects that could be made from these beautiful Shaving Cream Marbled papers are endless - cards, gift wrap or even a journal.  Leave a comment below to let me know what you would make with Shaving Cream Marbled papers!

Click on the Craft Lightning link below to check out the inspirational group of Designers and their 15 Minute Busy Kids Crafts!

Thanks for stopping by!  -Beth