The Happy Room

Welcome to my Glass Heart Tealight Candle Holder Tutorial! I discovered that one of my Michael Strong Stamps (Cloisonne' Heart) was almost the perfect size for this candleholder. I purchased the candle holder at WalMart for 1.00 and brought it home and the process began.

To coordinate with the fall colors and decorating in my home, I chose Dee Gruenig's Blending Blox ink pads and used them direct to paper (just press them on your paper and pull down. Easy Peasy!). Then, I stamped with VersaMark and added brown embossing powder and heat embossed it.

The exact shape and size of the candleholder differed slightly from my stamp's shape and size, so I placed the candle holder on top of the image and drew a pencil line around it. Then I trimmed to the pencil line rather than the image line. That step made the image fit the glass holder perfectly!!

The photos below will take you throught the process, step by step. Now how can you beat a stamping project this affordable?? Michael Strong seems to always know what type and size of stamps to manufacture for these types of projects. I hope you enjoy!!

These cards were made with a technique called Gesso Resist, a fabulous Technique Junkies mixed media art technique. Images are a sheet of stamps called "Glamour Girls" from I Brake For Stamps. Although the technique has been around a while, this is my first attempt at it. WOW, I love it and I'm sure it will soon become one of my "default" techniques (ya know, the one you always return to when you're trying to make something fabulous??). I am WILD about these images!! They are "halftoned", a term which is from the printing business meaning that the images have been converted into a dot pattern. (look at a photo in a newspaper and you will see a pattern of small dots. You're seeing half dots and half paper, hence the term "halftone") There are very few stamps available today with this type of dot pattern, so I am overjoyed to have these in my stamp collection. AND they stamp like a dream! So, meet my glamour girls! Enjoy!!

1. Recycle a glass lid from a used/discarded jar candle. Remove the plastic ring from the lid and discard it.

2. Stamp the Michael Strong Stamps Cloisonné Circle image and cut it out.

3. Push the image into the lid. It will bend and curl to fit inside the opening.

4. Tie ribbon around the side of the lid. Fill the opening wih clear plastic pony beads.

5. Punch a circle from cardstock, making sure the circle size is appropriate for the opening. Glue the circle to the glass rim with fabric glue.

6. Stamp, color and cut out the circle image again and attach it to the cardstock on the bottom for a “reversible” paperweight (see example on finished “bottom view”).

My dear little friend and next door neighbor, Montana (12 years old, 7th grade) came to me asking for help with a school project. Her assignment was to make a book about the Civil War. There were some guidelines and restrictions, but the design and overall theme and look were up to each student.

Before you gasp and think that I made the book for her, let me clarify a few things. Montana has been stamping with me for 1 1/2 years. She is such a little doll, much more mature and responsible than most 12 year olds, so she has full access to my stamp room and everything in it!! What a lucky girl!! Since we have spent so much time together, Montana has become quite a fabulous little paper crafter. That having been said, she did get some help from me on the project, but only for the sake of time. Every idea, technique or design in the book is one that she could do completely on her own, with no assistance from me.

So please allow me to share with you our project: "The Civil War: A to Z". I loved the project and will always cherish the time I got to spend with my darling little friend, Montana. Didn't she do an awesome job????? And please, if you love the project, be kind enough to leave a comment for her. It will mean a lot to her, as she put her heart into every minute of making it.

(note: I didn't include every page of the book simply for space sake. The pages here are some of our favorites).

If you click on the last picture of this post, a larger version will allow you to read about the making of the book. If you have questions on how we did anything that you see, please send us an email and Montana and I will be happy to respond.