Thursday, July 19, 2012

Show & Tell, Part Two!


Last week I showed you some of your fellow readers' crafty creations made using my Epbot tutorials - and now it's time to show off some more!

First up, my Harry Potter wand display tutorial:


Cynthia O. had her heart set on her very own Ollivander's sign, so lucky for her she has friends like Chrissy & Aaron, who made her an almost exact copy of my own!


Woohoo! Check out that hand-painted detail:

Simply - dare I say it? - magical. Great job, guys.

And speaking of my Ollivander's tutorial, Michelle F. tells me it inspired her to use the same technique to make this Hogwarts crest for her son's room:

 

Awwwwesome. Michelle tells me she actually liked it better without the colors (which is why I included both pics) but her son likes it more colorful, so that's all that matters.

But wait, there's one more! Here's Kristi H.'s wand display:

I am LOVING that script, and the simpler, rustic design. Rock on, Kristi!



All of my penny jewelry posts continue to be pretty popular - and I've already featured some reader creations before - but these pieces by Laura P. knocked my socks CLEAN OFF:

So gorgeous!

And to be fair, I haven't even made a bracelet like this yet myself; I just talked about it in one of my posts. Laura bent each coin to fit her wrist, drilled all the holes herself, lacquered them twice (after a quick e-mail conference with me on which kind of lacquer to use), and then paired them with those lovely sparkly crystals. That's a Christmas design, of course, and it was her test run before making these pieces with some special souvenir coins from Israel:


Don't you just love those shades of blue, teal, and green with the copper? SO PRETTY.

Here's the matching necklace:


Dang it, now I want to break out my smashed penny stash and make more penny jewelry! (Fun fact: I usually get a few more pennies each month in the mail from you readers, so I'm amassing quite the collection for something EPIC someday. I just have to figure out what. Heh.)


While we're on the copper kick, remember my tacky ceramic seahorse make-over?


That is, the statue was tacky - hopefully my makeover wasn't. o.0


Well, Maple found a gold ceramic geisha at a thrift store that she decided to give the "Jen-Instant-Metal-and-Rust-Statue-of-Awesomeness" treatment. Ha!

Whoah. Isn't she beautiful? Maple calls her "The Lady of Tears and Song," since the patina makes it look like she's crying - and Maple tells me she's perfect for her Asian-inspired decor.


Cathy B. used some of my ACEO framing tips for this fabulous Shakespearean Hamster:

(I just love typing that: "Shakespearean Hamster.")

{UPDATE: Oops. Ok, so it's actually a guineau pig. And Amanda V. found the art here if you'd like your own!]

Cathy used clear photo corners to hold it in place over that lovely scripty scrapbook paper.

And Carisa W. mounted her ACEO using photo corners and a few gears:

I really love this shadowbox look - so many interesting pieces to look at! Plus, Carisa made those glittery designs on the frame herself using a stencil, glue, and glitter. And I am ALWAYS in favor of more glitter. And gears. And if possible, glittery gears.

I'll end with the giant ego boost I received from Erika T., courtesy of this picture:

This is Erika's living room wall, and those are three of the photos I took during the 24-hour Disney Day. Look at 'em up there, all professional-like!! Aiieee! [Head...swelling...]

Erika asked me to make them available as prints so she could do this, so if by some odd chance any of you want one, too, they're over on DeviantArt - which has a great ordering system I've used myself a few times, and the prices are pretty reasonable. (Full disclosure: I get a 15 or 20 percent kickback.)

My next Show & Tell post will be all steampunk stuff, since I've got several different versions of your goggles, ray guns, and even medals to show off. Can't wait! (And if you have something you've made that you haven't sent in yet, do eeet! Do eeet NOW!!)

27 comments:

  1. oh so much fun stuff I sent you my finished costume today:) Hope you like it.
    Sue

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  2. ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! Jen you made my day! Never in a million years did I think that something I did would end up on Epbot!

    I about hyperventilated when I saw that my geisha was there. My husband smirked at me for being so excited but thank you so much for my mood boost!

    And thank you once again for the awesome tutorial.

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  3. Sorry to ask again, but which lacquer do you recommend on penny jewelry?

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  4. Do you think the copper patina effect would work on a flat surface? I have a couple little decorative hooks that besides the hook part, are completely flat and smooth. I was debating distressing them, so maybe that would help as well.

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  5. OMIGOSH OHMIGOSH OMIGOSH!!!! You just TOTALLY made my day by putting my penny jewelry on your blog!! And today was a pretty darn good day before I saw this post (the Blue Angels were flying right by my office doing practice runs for the air show here this weekend), but wow, I haven't stopped grinning for the past two hours! Had to show my mom, and she was all proud, too. Thanks for the ego boost! And the daily inspiration. I may not be doing stuff that you've posted about, but just the whole dyi attitude and projects have given me inspiration, and courage I guess, to try other stuff on my own. Love your blogs. And wow, "knocked my socks CLEAN OFF." If that doesn't just make me feel giddy, I don't know what will. I impressed the craft queen herself. :) :) :)

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  6. Love the Shakespearean art. Though it looks more like a guinea pig than a hamster. Either way, love it and it looks amazing in the frame!

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  7. So, um, where might one find a Shakespearean Hamster of their own? I--it's...it's just amazing. I don't understand it, but I WANT it. The only results I'm getting are for Epbot. Apparently Google indexes quite quickly.

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  8. For your love of glitter and all things awesome:

    http://vofffka.deviantart.com/art/Pauldrons-and-Arm-Braces-285259985

    Sparkly leather armor. I kid you not. :)

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  9. @ Niki - The lacquer brand doesn't actually matter, but you have to make sure it's a real, honest-to-goodness oil-based lacquer. ("Lacquer" is sometimes used interchangeably with "clear coat," which is why you have to be careful.) A good rule of thumb: If it's not combustible, it's no good. :D

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  10. @ Kara - Patina on a flat surface? Absolutely! Just prop the hooks up so the glaze can run down a bit & give 'em that nice streaky appearance. You could also blot them a bit with a paper towel for a more mottled look; either way would look great.

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  11. That looks likea guinea pig from my friend Lesley from When guinea Pigs Fly! She painted us a JEDI guinea pig! But awesome as usual!

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  12. You should make a dress or skirt out of the smashed pennies. And I have no idea where that thought came from. :D

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  13. Would you mind, please, putting the Theatre picture on DeviantArt, too? I really like the grainy aspect. Thank you!

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  14. I've got it! Smashed penny chandelier. Wouldn't it be cool to use smashed pennies with a small hot air balloon imprint?
    Or, smaller scale...you could make them into little dangley bits to hang off of the edge of a glass (or metal?) bobeche (that's the fancy name for those little glass candle wax drip holders you see sometimes). You know what I mean? Oh, heck...here's a link to a picture of one:
    http://www.kaboodle.com/reviews/crystal-drop-bobeche

    With some copper wire, smashed pennies of appropriate design, maybe some pretty crystal beads like the ones in the necklace and bracelets. It'd be pretty easy to do. Of course you'd have to find a nice coppery steampunkable candle holder that would look good with a bobeche. More fun with faux finishing, right?

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  15. @ Redhead - Okey doke, I just added it! Here's the link. I can't say how the graininess will look for larger prints, but the preview over there should help you decide.

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  16. The Shakespearean Guinea Pig is INDEED from When Guinea Pigs Fly--here is a link to what I bought: http://www.etsy.com/listing/88013717/william-haykespeare-shakespeare-guinea I made it for a friend who is a theater teacher, and has a guinea pig. :) I'm so excited that it was shown here!!!!

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  17. Oh my gosh, I have the Emperor's New Clothes guinea pig from When Guinea Pig's Fly. I'm totally using this to frame it.

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  18. (Just had to give kudos for the Waterboy quote. 'Cause you know I'm all about the kudos.) :D

    --Carmiehead, the Un-Stalker

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  19. What about a coin belt using smashed pennies? http://tinyurl.com/7z2auge I see no reason why tribal fusion and steampunk can't unite for the cause....

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  20. Smashed Penny Scale Mail would be awesome!

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  21. Thank you for making your Disney prints available for purchase, they are GORGEOUS!

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  22. Carisa W.'s ACEO is by artist Thomas Canty, my favorite artist. I have a couple of sets of his cards (each set is 90 cards) and have been trying to think of a way to display them for years. I'm thinking of doing something like what Carisa did, but with a poster sized frame, so I could put all my favorites up. That would look cool next to my B&W print I have by him and my bookcase of 100+ books with his art on the cover.

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  23. Sew together some flour sack and attach a purse clasp, then somehow cover the flour sack with smashed pennies? I can see it in my head, I just can't describe it.

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  24. Thanks for the lacquer info, Jen.
    In my life, i generally feel like if somethng isn't combustible it isn't any good!

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  25. Man, I'm so bummed seeing the beautiful penny jewelry. I've been saving pennies from our family's last few years of vacations in my wallet (inspired by you) for when I had the time to make something. Then my dang purse got stolen last month and now they are gone. :(

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  26. Jen, have you seen the kitchen floor made entirely of pennies!? A friend shared a pic on Facebook, but I haven't been able to find the original! It's SO COOL!

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