Altered Spool

Hi folks, just to let you know that I have a project over on the Chocolate Baroque Design Team Blog today. There is a new stamp sheet out called Sunny Sunflowers, full of bold blooms and great leaves to make some fabulous projects. The Design Team will be posting lots of samples over the next few days, so keep checking the blog to see what they have made.

For this project I have combined the stamps with one of Lesley Wharton's super Downloads; Patterned Spools set 5, which is a lovely gold and plum colour combination. I have used a wooden cotton reel that was about the perfect size for this project. I primed this with gesso, and painted it a soft lilac colour, using Eco Green acrylic paint. I nearly always mix my own colours by combining a cream acrylic paint with a darker colour until I get the colour I want. I make sure that I have enough paint to finish my project though, as you never get the colour the same second time around! I then printed two of the spool sets onto card, and stuck two of the correct size together so that they would fit around the cotton reel. I edged the card with a little bit of Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I then stuck the downloads to the cotton reel.

I stamped three smaller flowers, and several leaves, colouring these with Distress Markers, toning the colours in with the download colours. I also stamped a couple of tiny Butterflies from the 'Butterfly Bliss stamp plate, and coloured these in as well. I stuck the flowers around the cotton reel, adding the leaves, and one of the butterflies.


I placed a large shrink plastic flower with two leaves that I had coloured on card earlier and the last remaining small butterfly onto the top of the cotton reel over a circle download. I punched a hole into the middle of the download where the hole in the cotton reel was situated.

My Husband very kindly provided me with a metal rod with three wires which he had attached through holes along the top part of the rod. I bent these to look like branches, and stuck beads on the end, and inserted the rod into the hole in the cotton reel, turning it into an earring holder.

I added leftover beads and jewellery findings to some shrink plastic images that I had made and hung these on my little 'tree'.

Here's a close up picture of the earrings:

These will be great for the Summer and only cost and pound or two to make. They are in my favourite colours, so they will go with lots of things that I wear. There is lots of space on my little holder for plenty more pairs of earrings, so I am going to rummage through my stamps to see what else I can shrink to make into jewellery.

Thanks for stopping by, xx