imaginarium post

Sues Treasures 

By Sue Smyth 

Hi Bloggers
Today I have a group of little treasures for you. I love
working small sometimes, and I hope these projects
inspire you to do the same.

Queen of Hearts mini

First is a little mini album made 

from a pack of cards and Imaginarium 

chipboard as the cover.

I have cut pages to fit the frame

and have sewn them together.

Then, I have 

cut the playing cards to fit the frame and 

layered them over the top.

The frame has been painted with matt black spray paint 

and then I have rubbed over gold paint to edge it.

To frame the Queen of hearts I have used 

bamboo skewers, which have been

trimmed, painted black and wiped over

with gold paint.

The inside pages are alternated blank 

pages with trimmed cards.

I have flicked black and red paint

pens over each card to 

give shabby grungy look.

The heart is  a hand cut heart, from chipboard, that I have embossed 

with aged gold embossing powder.

While it is hot I have sprinkled

Prills over the top, when it is

cooled, the Prills will roll off

and leave behind a dimpled surface.

then rub in red paint, and dry

brush the edges with black gesso.

Then I have added trinkets.

Emerging Dragon

For the Scrapbook and Papercraft Expo 

in Brisbane, I wanted to make a few

extra projects, that did not take up 

too much room.

A dragon eggs seemed like a great idea, at

the time and I think it turned out nicely.

See below for a mini

tutorial on how to decorate 

the eggs surface.

Once I have decorated the egg

with chipboard, I have 

added rhinestones 

and crystals

This is a close up of the egg, the styro base

is covered with chipboard and 

egg shell, adhered down with 

texture paste.

Even large chipboard flourishes 

can be made to adhere to the curve of the egg.

On one side of the egg, I have cut 

a slit, which I sprayed black matt

spray paint into. As the

paint is enamel it will eat

away some of the stryofoam 

and form a cavity 

for the dragon to sit into.

I have added lead sinkers into the cavity

to give the egg some weight and

to support the weight of the dragon.

For my dragon I have

cut up a resin dragon statue with

a hacksaw.

For the tail I have molded it 

with Fimo to suit the shape

of the egg.

Bronzed Nest Gift Box 

Next is a tiny box from Marina Jewelry Designs,which I could

not resist altering.

I wanted to make an intricate piece, with a nest 

and also inside have a little surprise.

I have started with Moroccan screen chipboard 

which is adhered to the sides with 

gel medium.

With small items it is important 

to have lots of detail.

The pearl strips add that detail to the edges.

For the top, I have layered, a chipboard frame,

with metal trinkets, to form a sort

of nest for the eggs and nestled a

small butterfly on the side.

I have added small rose buds, feathers, 

small Art stones, and tiny gum nuts, on a bed 

of green moss.

How to decorate your egg

Cover a styro egg with texture paste ( a bit at a time)

set small chipboard shapes such as cogs into the paste.

Spritz with water to mold in to the curve.

Also add egg shell and clear dew drops into the paste.

Add micro beads or prills while wet.

For larger chipboard, spritz with water and layer into

the paste, use pins to secure down, and

leave in place until dry and set.

Paint egg with turquoise Dylusions, then

spritz with black dylusions spray and dry off.

Rub the surface with Graphite inka gold. Then 

a layer of purple, navy and some turquoise to 

give an iridescent appearance.

Lastly layer over the top with gold metallic paint.

Now spray with a fine spray glitter to add

sparkle.

Here I have made a plain egg with 

just egg shell and texture paste, with the same techniques, 

it shows you how simple you can do an egg.

Here is a little step by step for the gift box.

Cut chipboard border into pieces and adhere 

along the edges. 

Then paint with turquoise ink, and 

add Ken Olives Colour bursts to suit. ( I have

used Violet and turquoise)

The gold leaves have been double embossed and 

snipped into pieces to tuck into the sides of the 

nest.

To finish I have added large pearls 

to the bottom as feet.

I have sprayed the bottom with 

black matt spray paint and nestled 

a small bird, moss and faux nest inside.

Chipboard used 

Happy Crafting 

Couture Creations 2

Sea Breeze Sampler 

By Sue Smyth 

I can never resist this format of memory keeping, especially

when you have labels or postcard type papers that are just

begging to be made up into a great sampler.

This would be great for Father's Day, if you swap out 

the bathing lady in the middle lol, or perhaps he would 

like that lol

Each panel is an individual work of art, starting with the middle

panel and chipboard frame, see a how to below to make 

the aged surface. You can also convert each of 

these panels into a card, and also substitute 

photos where you wish.

I have fussy cut shells and fish and coloured

them with alcohol pens, I like to also 

flip them over on a mouse pad and use 

a large stylus to cup the shape, then

you can adhere down with 3 d foam tape. 

Here I have coloured the banner and middle of the compass

then I have applied Dimensional magic over the 

colour and adhered the trinket compass over the top.

Here I have added small shells and art stones

using Dimensional magic to adhere them down.

The shells have been coloured with pens, and 

then covered with Dimensional magic.

I have added a star fish and gauze for a nautical look.

I have coloured a little of the sea, then stamped 

the knotted rope in black ink, fussy cut the 

rope and adhere over top of panel with 3 D foam tape.

Fussy cut the light house, and adhere on a background with 3 D 

foam tape. The back ground is simply a little

teal ink smudged over the top of the panel

and a swipe of dry brushed white gesso.

Add the anchor and some art stones.

Colour the anchor and cover with Dimensional magic.

I started by cutting out the panels I needed and 

arranging them in the order I thought I might use them.

As you can see I have changed them as 

I worked on, this is just a starting point, so I know

I have enough images etc.

Trim bathing beauty and cover with Dimensional magic

then sprinkle with a little white glitter. Not a lot, just some sparkle.

Paint chipboard frame with white gesso and dry.

Add another coat, but thickly this time, using a

stipple motion to add bumpy globs of gesso, 

dry with heat gun so it blisters and bubbles.

While still a little damp,sprinkle with a coarse 

gold embossing powder, not a lot, just a sprinkle.

Heat set and cool, then add another thick layer of white gesso.

And a little more of the embossing powder.

Heat to set, keep going until you have the look you

are after.

Dry brush the edges with white gesso, and dry each panel.

This is the back ground for the light house, just a swipe

of ink and gesso.

Cut a snippet of blue netting and adhere under the 

knots to the panel.

Add small pearls around the edge of the chipboard. 

Then adhere over the bathing beauty panel.

After you colour each panel, cover with 

dimensional magic, to give it shine, dimension and to 

stop fading.

To achieve the spots of white see then panel below.

I have flicked a white paint pen over each panel, here 

and there, to great the look of sea spray and 

to add small detail to areas that need it.

Happy Crafting 

Couture Creations Materials used.

C0724905 Couture Creations Sea Breeze collection pack

C0724659 Couture Creations Sea Breeze Collecting shells pattered paper

C0724663 Couture Creations Sea Breeze collection Secrets of the Ocean Patterned paper

C0724668 Couture Creations Sea Breeze Caught in the wind patterned paper

C0724734 Couture Creations Sea Breeze collection Blue Netting

C0724732 Couture Creations Sea Breeze Collection Charm set

C0724676 Couture Creations Sea Breeze collection Under the sea stamp set