Whenever we go to the beach I love collecting sea-worn glass and pebbles and I keep a selection of my favourite pieces on display. As I've mentioned here before, if something in my house doesn't move ...it's in danger of being Banana Frogged, so it was only a matter of time before my little collection of pebbles were introduced to my collection of stamps!
The pebbles began life like this:
Then, using a Stazon ink pad I stamped one of the stars from Shimelle's 'Circus Stories' set onto a flat piece of clear sea-glass.
Once this was dry, I applied some teal coloured Blonde Moments 'Pearl Pigment' powder to the whole thing then used Glossy Accents to highlight the stamped image.
Here I stamped a heart, again from the 'Circus Stories' set, onto a smooth pebble which I'd painted using white acrylic.
I brushed on a light coloured Pearl Pigment to the whole surface, which added a golden shimmer across the black Staz-on. A darker pigment filled in the heart and then I spread a thin layer of Glossy Accents across the entire pebble. [I used my finger for this rather than clog up a paintbrush!]
Finally, I decorated this thin stone with several of the small stamps from the 'Make a Chain' set. As they were so small, and as my surface was uneven, I used my finger rather than an acrylic stamping block, to actually place the stamp onto the pebble.
Again I applied a golden Pearl Pigment and a protective layer of Glossy Accents to my stamped designs.
I really enjoyed making these and will certainly be adding more designs to my collection on my dining room sideboard.
So, why not pop out into your garden / the beach and have a look for some suitably smooth surfaced pebbles, stones and glass - then have a look through your stamp sets to see which designs will fit on to them. You could make some for yourself or else they'd make a lovely little gifts:
- Use a heart design or a sentiment stamp to give as a love token.
- Personalise a pebble with someone's initials.
- Stamp out a special word [eg: happy, love, thank you, laugh etc etc] or,
- If you have a larger stone or piece of slate you could even write out a phrase.
- Use a number set to stamp a special date - perhaps for a wedding or anniversary.
- Stamp a child's age and begin a collection of pebbles which you can add to on each birthday.
- Pop a few decorated stones into a little cotton or organza bag - either as a gift bag - or for someone to carry around with them as a charm to say 'I love you', 'Good luck', 'Thinking of you' etc.
It'd be great to hear your ideas about how you'd adapt this idea for yourself. You can leave me a message in the comments beneath and don't forget you're always welcome to drop by the Banana Frog Flickr group where you can upload your projects alongside ours.
I'm going to be back later this month with a Stamping School project and here's a few hints about what it is I've been making: it's wearable, influenced by American car number plates and involves the use of a machine you'd normally use in an office.Any ideas?
I hope that's aroused your curiosity and that I'll see you later on this month when I'll reveal all!
Until then ...... you know where to find me.
Julie :)
What a great idea!
Posted by: {vicki} | September 14, 2009 at 04:08 PM
These look gorge!
I know it's a bit 80's but wouldn't these look great in potpourri, defo time for pot puree to make a come back! lol
xx
Posted by: Leo | September 15, 2009 at 10:57 AM
I love this idea, they're beautiful! I'll be linking to this.
Posted by: Rachel | September 16, 2009 at 10:50 PM
what a sweet idea!
Posted by: michelle | September 18, 2009 at 10:21 PM
How the blazes did I miss these?? (Bloglines...I suspect you are the culprit) They're beautiful, and such a clever idea.
It's hardly surprising, though...
:)
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