#04 Recycle/Upcycle or a Christmas Gift PLUS DT CALL

Welcome to our Fourth Challenge.

Sadly we have lost one of our team members through pressures of life. We wish Cec all the very best for the future and thank her for her contributions. Because of this we are running a DT call, so if you fancy joining us, please add DT after your entry!! If you want to be considered for the DT but don't want to enter the challenge, just drop me a line at the address in the sidebar, or enter a previous project but please then call it DT ONLY. So we don't think you are entering the challenge and get confused!

It has fallen to me to be the hostess this month (well you can't dump it on your team at Christmas, lol)
So I challenge you this month to recycle or upcyle something. If you have something a bit old and tatty you can give it a makeover and turn it into something else, or just give it a new lease of life. We realise that this month will be particularly busy for you, so if you would rather enter something you have made as a Christmas gift, that will be fine also. Maybe you have done both? Upcycled something for a gift! Whatever your creation we are looking forward to seeing it.

We hope our fabulous Design Team can inspire you. Please pop by their blogs and show them your appreciation
Lin

My project is both recycled and a gift. It was a tatty old jewellery cabinet I bought at the local tip for very little money and gave it a re-vamp. Details on my blog.

Angela R

I have made for your delight a pocket book with tags.

I used old cardboard tubes, acetate packaging and a section of cereal box.

If you would like to see how I made this and the other pages, please visit my blog. 

Susan-scrumplescrunch

This was an old exercise book that I have upcycled with an eclectic mix of media, more details on my Blog. 
Vania

 

Carole

When I'm sample making, I end up with loads of reels of ribbon all over my desk. So I decided to make myself a ribbon reel holder from an old coaster, an empty ribbon reel, and the ends of some kebab sticks left over from another project!!

Lula

I have altered an old plastic piggybank and with some mixed media transformed  it into a steampunk piece. Pigs can fly;)

It's a Cristmas gift for my friend.

May the season bring you all the good things of Christmas!

Jolanda

I recycled a wooden box! Painted all the embellishments with white gesso.

Then some layers of Inka Gold...for more detail photos you can visit my blog:0)

Susanne

I recycled the silver glitter garland. I got it from my grandma about 6 years ago and she has been hoarded it for more than 20 years!!! Of course I have a huge amount left...

If you'd like to see how I created this canvas, you can check out my blogpost. There'll be a process-video on my YouTube channel.

I wish all of you a nice Christmas time. 

Merethe

Hi all :)

This time I have recycled a fire starter box. They are not nice to look at the way they are from the store. I have used most scrap paper and leftovers from my stash. The brown paper are from a banana box. Covered the base of the box with and had Gesso on a stencil and pressed it to the base. And also put some spots of gesso randomly. The winter bird is from Studio Light and just dies to cut it out. Layered on a piece of scrap paper in layers. Punched out some branches and had some snowflake buttons and some red thread.

Nice gifts for those who has everything.

Happy Crafting and a Merry Chistmas to you all.

Big Hugs from Norther Norway.

Merethe :) 

Shilpa

I've altered Clipboard into mixed media piece. This one was used by my daughter when she was very small. It is made up with thick chipboard.

I've used lot of art and color mediums for this.

Hop over  to my blog Neon Diary to see how I made this.

We would all like to extend to you all the compliments of the Season. We are looking forward to bobbing by your blogs and seeing all your fabulous creations, and we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support so far and we look forward to seeing you back again in the New Year with lots more crafty fun.

An InLinkz Link-up

#03 Christmas Decorations, Winner and Top 5

Hi Angela R. here, it was my turn this month to pick the winner and top five and what fun it has been visiting all your lovely blogs but at the same time very hard as there are so many gorgeous projects.
 

I hope the winner will be able to accept a guest spot with us for a future challenge as I would love to see more of your work.

 

6. Keeley

Please contact Lin at the email address in the side bar to let me know if you want to Guest for us, so we can liaise and sort out suitable dates.

And now for the Top 5. It was so difficult to choose and everyone did such a great job. Congratulations, please take our Top 5 badge, and we will be honoured if you will display it on your blog.

 

1. Studio Garage Band: What's Cookin'

 

4. Kerstin F

 

12. Sarascloset: A gift (or two) from my heart

 

13. Sarascloset: One of a kind

 

20. Studio Garage: Oh Christmas Tree

 

Thanks for continuing to support us.

Don't forget to pop back for our December challenge, you will love it.

Take care and happy crafting,
Angela x

#3 Christmas Decorations

Hi and welcome to our third Challenge.

We are still thrilled at all the support you are showing us, thank you. Our winner's post from last month can be found here

This month with the silly season rapidly approaching we would like you to show us your skills in creating something to decorate your Christmas. You might fancy, making some baubles, or maybe a Christmas wall hanging. What about a glorious wreath, or a fully decorated tree (no we don't mean take a snap of the tree in your lounge, but you might make a decorated tree as a decoration!). I'm sure you get the idea.

Anyhow, our hostess Angela R. will be bobbing around all your blogs and seeing what takes her fancy for our Winner and Top 5.

We hope our fabulous Design Team can inspire you. Please pop by their blogs and show them your appreciation, but before I post their gorgeous creations please also show some appreciation for our two Guests who were two of our Winners of our very first challenge.

Elly

Hello, my name is Elly and I've joined the crafting world via YouTube with my first creations of mini books in 2010. I started as a paper crafter and discovered the the world of mixed media as I found Michael DeMeng and Andy Skinner. After my first online workshop with Andy Skinner, I was infected creating art with acrylic paints and all the unlimited possibilities with upcycling and altered art. I love to create art any style with whatever I can get my hands on.

 Today it's my honor to share some Christmas decoration with you. I received six papermachè baubles a view weeks ago and my idea was to create some kind of extraordinary or maybe special baubles. Special means *timeworn*, vintage or something with a used - look for me.

Well, describing mixed media techniques can't be done in a short report. Even a bunch of pictures can't explain everything, but for those of you, who are interested to see the step by step, I would be happy if you visit my blog where I'm posting a tutorial for you.

Thanks for the invite and sharing my mixed media obsession.

xoxo Elly 

and our other Guest

Ester

  Hi everyone! My name is Ester and I live in western Finland. I've always been enthusiastic about handicrafts and a past few years I've been paper crafting. Mixed media and art journaling are my favorite things right now but I'm easily carried away to other interesting forms of expressing myself. My favorite supplies are stamps, stencils and spray inks with bright colors. Music is my muse, lyrics give me inspiration and I often use them as a quotes. You can visit me at my blog 

 

I made a canvas that represents my image of peaceful x-mas. Canvas was covered with gesso and snow was also made with it through a stencil. Before snow dried I added diamond dust to it. Sky was made with spray inks, water and stencil. Animals I stamped to tissue paper and colored them before adding them to the canvas, other embellishments are die cuts.

Hugs Päivi

 

and now over to our team and their gorgeous decorations

Angela R.@ Felix the Crafty Cat
  I am so pleased to be your hostess for the challenge this month and look forward to seeing all your fabulous entries. Once again we have had a great response for the October challenge, big thanks to all of you who joined in.
So here we go, hope you enjoy what my team members have produced to tempt you.
Here is my project for this month.

This is an altered clock and if you would like to see how I made it please pop over to my blog where you will find full details here. 

Susan-scrumplescrunch

A simple make from me this month - A Tree ornament made from buttons, sitting on a wooden cotton reel. I have applied gesso, paints burlap and glitter, details on my Blog.

Shilpa

I've made this Christmas tree ornament with Julie Nutting designed Wooden doll. Hop over to my blog Neon Diary for more details.

Lula

For my Christmas project I have made a gift box using lots of  mixed media products,
details on my blog  

Rita Marie

This decoration was made with chipboard, papers, chain, wires,beads, and embellishments. I glued papers down on gessoed chipboard then used distressed inks to paint and stamp with over the papers, punched holes for wires and chain, glued embellishments to it and then added beads to wire.  I also covered with beeswax.  I used some French ephemera.  I hope this is an inspirational piece for some of you to enjoy. If you would like to see more of my artwork please visit my Blog.  Thank you! 

 

Cec

This Christmas ornament for my own tree started as a styrofoam ball to which I glued strips from a paper napkin.  Then I added some vertical strips of lace, metallic mesh ribbon and soutache braid along with some oval and circular panels made from foil tape that has been embossed, painted and highlighted with gilder's paste.  I also re-coloured some filigree pieces and added those along with some pearls.  Finally I made a loopy bow for the top with a pearl stick pin and then added some beads to another stick pin for the bottom. 

Susanne
 
I created a canvas matching my Christmas decoration. I used the same papers that I used for an advent calendar and a snowflake wall ornament. Jump over to my blog to see a process video on how I created this canvas. I used my Gelatos, patterned paper, stamps and various stencils. 

Jolanda

My christmas decoration is this triptych in white/red.
I started with mod podge and design papers. I used distress paint 'antique linen' to paint the other parts. Other materials used; rub ons, structure paste & stencils, lots of embellishments...
For detail photos you can visit my blog!

Vania

Merethe A :)

These Heart frames are from Marianne design (sets with 3 hearts and a snowflake die) and the snowflakes are Martha Stewart punches. Each frame are double and glued them together with a tread inbetween. the frames are embossed with silver embossing poweder. Snowflakes x3 and just the egdes are embossed. Foldet them in half and glued egdet to egde with the first two and layered the tread in the middle and glued the third one with the egde so the tread got in the middle... Not har to make and you can use dies and punche, making ornaments and garlands to.... You can glue more snowflakes together, but minimum 3. Happy crafting and good luck :)

Angela Johnson

For my project this month I created this simple Christmas Tree hanging ornament.

I started with some recycled cereal board and a simple hand drawn tree.

I added several layers and Voila.

For more details please visit my blog.

 

Lin

I am sorry mine is so late! I decorated up three Christmas themed words from Anna Marie Designs. Please see my blog for details.

An InLinkz Link-up

#02 The Body Beautiful, Winner and Top 5

Hi everyone! I'm Marina, a member of the design team and this time it's me turn to pick the winner and Top 5 for our October challenge.

There were so many amazing projects and I had a hard time choosing. The winner will be offered a guest spot to for a future challenge.So without further ado the winner is:-

 

5 Kerstin F.

Please contact Lin at the email address in the side bar to let us know if you want to Guest for us, so we can liaise and sort out suitable dates.

And now for the Top 5. It was so difficult to choose and everyone did such a great job. Congratulations, please take our Top 5 badge, and we will be honoured if you will display it on your blog.

 

2 Schaerfchens Kreative Welt

 

 

11 Elly

 

 

15 Studio Garage Band

 

19 Margikscrap
  

 

22 Keeley
 

 

Don't forget to pop back at 12 noon GMT for our November Challenge.

 

 

#2 The Body Beautiful - Something Featuring the Human Form - Please see post for details

Welcome to our second challenge here at The Mirror Crack'd.

Thanks for all your support with our first challenge. We were absolutely overwhelmed at the fabulous comments and the even more amazing entries, and were just sorry we couldn't offer a physical prize for such hard work. However, we have picked our winners and Top 5, and we would be delighted if the Winners would agree to join us for a future Guest Designer spot.

Today we would like to see your interpretation of 'The Body Beautiful', so something featuring the human form, a hand, or an eye, a mannequin to represent a body are some suggestions you could use, but we would love to see how your imagination works and what you can create. Please remember though, NO cards.

We hope our fabulous Design Team can inspire you. Please pop by their blogs and show them your appreciation 

Marina Johan

I thought of just sharing a fun tag with you. Those fingers are just hand drawn and I had fun mixing stencils and paints to make this fun background. Head over to my blog for details. 

Lin

My Body Beautiful is a torso I decorated up for my Daughter's bedroom as a decorative item. Her skirt is detachable and in two parts so she can be dressed according to my Daughter's mood. Full details on my blog. 

Sue-scrumplescrunch

The Eye is beautiful to me, and this one has been painted up on a collage base with inks and Acrylics. I have a tutorial on how this developed on my blog. 

Carole

I have always wanted to have a go at decorating a papier mache mask - and this gave me the perfect excuse!! I have used gesso, acrylic paint, mod podge, decopatch paper, thin napkins and gilding flakes. 

Lula

For 'The Body Beautiful' challenge I have altered the wine bag, using my latest fav- gelatos, some inks and stamps along with fabric doily and metal elements. The beauty queen deserves it! 

Jolanda

I love dresses:0) So my interpretation of the theme 'The Body beautiful' was easy... I made a mixed media canvas with a lovely purple dress...used paper, cardboard, texture paste and different embellishments... 

Cec

My body reference is not necessarily beautiful unless perhaps you are a pathologist or an undertaker but the skulls suit the theme I used to create these doorknob hangers for my two little Grandchildren (a boy age 5 1/2 and a girl age 8). The hangers are made from chipboard and are covered with Gesso, glue, tissue paper and a variety of inks. The vintage skull images are accompanied by Halloween-related embellishments some of which I made by hand and some I altered. 

Vania

Vania's body beautiful is a beautiful dress form insider her elegant frame. 

Angela R

I have been keeping this Papier-Mache arm for some time waiting for the right moment to alter it and now seemed just right. Although the human body is beautiful in it's own right we continue to adorn it and in this case I chose to use some Steampunk details and dragonflies. I have details on my blog of how this was completed. 

Susanne

I created a page in my art journal using Gelatos®, PITT Pastel Pencils and Stamper's Big Brush Pens. 

Merethe

This jewelry stand I got years ago and always though she looked naked and I wanted to give her a skirt. So I did. Made my own pattern paper with stencil, gesso and glimmermist. The lace edge is made with a MS punch and I cut strips with one curved lace egde on each. Made a base to glue all those strips on, layer by layer. Feltborder on top and at the bottom on the skirt, and blac ribbon also at the top of the skirt. Finished it of with som roses sprayed with glimmermist. Ma :) 

Shilpa

I've created this mixed media canvas with Prima resin mannequin. I made her dress with lace. I've also used some of the die cuts. I've detailed tutorial at my blog Neon Diary which shows step by step process. 

Angela J

I created this plaque using a Kaisercraft Mannequin. I used some yummy Meg's Garden paper, a stencil and metallic paint, some die cuts and rub-ons, and of course some flowers. I edged my palque in Viva Inka Gold and also coloured my mannequin using the same medium. Finally, I made a bead spray to add a touch of elegance.

You have until November 3rd at Midday to get your entries into us and we hope to be as seriously impressed as we were last month. I am sure you won't disappoint us!

An InLinkz Link-up