Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Getting Down to Earth


To celebrate spring colors and earth day, I made this ornament from a recycled baby food jar lid and some diodes/conductors (for the butterfly antennae).






The edge was too small for my punch so I used my paper piercer.  The metal was soft enough that I was able to punch two holes for my hanger.  Since the holes were small, it limited my options for ribbon but I found this delicate organza ribbon that I was able to thread through the holes with the help of a needle.  

After edging with Ranger Alcohol Ink in the color currant, I applied flower ribbon to the outside and pink ruffled ribbon to the inside (with double sided red line tape). 


I printed the Gecko Galz circular image twice so that I could cut out the butterflies which I edged with the softer (than black) weathered wood Ranger Distress Ink.

The back is a circle of scrap paper, some flea market ric rac, and a Prima epoxy pressed flower.   






Entering this in:


Gecko Galz Yahoo Group for the April Color Challenge:  pink and yellow and one Gecko Galz product. I used a circular jewel image from the Spring Jewel Collection.  How perfect are the yellow and pink butterflies for the color challenge?


Starr Timmons is hosting the Shabby Tea Room "Week 111 April Showers" challenge this week, using this inspirational photo and asking for flowers and ribbon.


Frilly and Funky is sponsoring a re-purpose to upcycle challenge using at least two recycled items. (jar lid and conductors)

Adding another challenge:
the new Recycle, Repurpose, Reinvent site's first challenge: Anything Goes using one recycled item.  I explained in the post how I altered the jar lid. The diodes were taped to the back of the butterflies.  I used wire cutters to trim the top of the antennae to an appropriate length.  I folded under the bottom wires to add some bulk for my 3-D affect.

RRR Bonus Question


What’s the strangest thing you have been hoarding for the purpose of using it in your art and how do you plan to use it?
I have some hammered metal jewelry that I'm hoping to use on a mixed media project.
 


26 comments:

1CardCreator said...

Wow Helene this is gorgeous, who would guess it's a jar lid! Love those butterflies and the connectors are brilliant!

Heather said...

This is fabulous Helene! LOVE that trim around the outside! Love the diodes too...what a great idea! Perfect for the April Challenge!
Hugs!!

Terry said...

Helene, I a so glad you joined us at Frilly and Funkie! Love your altered jar lid and the butterflies are gorgeous! So clever to use those conductors for antennae! Have a great day!

Valerie-Jael said...

Very pretty! Valerie

Brenda Brown said...

Love those antennae on the butterflies - great creativity Helene.
hugs {brenda} xox

Linda M. Cain said...

Gorgeous colors! LOVE it!

~Linda

Netty said...

Beautiful recycling Helene, x

Silvia(Barnie) said...

A wonderful piece with great spring feeling. Love the butterflies.

Chris Stern / CS Designs said...

Helene, What a wonderfully imaginative piece. I love the diodes used as antennas on the butterflies. This would be a great project to enter in the new Recycle, Re-Purpose & Re-Invent challenge at:
http://doodleartifacts.blogspot.com/

If you decide to play along don't forget the bonus round for a chance to win a special sentiment.
:) Chris / Cs Designs

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

Hey hey hey!!! Absolutely adorable! I love the fabric...so bright and so country...gotta love that! Great recycling as well, and those butterflies are precious, but the antennae take the cake!!! Thank you tons for playing along with us at Frilly & Funkie!!!

Ellis said...

Fantastic creation! =) The antennas are perfect!
Thanks for joining us in Recycle, Re-Purpose & Re-Invent!
Hugs, Elenor DT

Sugar Lump Studios said...

love the sweet colors on this project! so pretty!

Marjie Kemper said...

Love this altered lid, Helene... you've done so much with it! The antennae are fantastic. So glad to see you at Frilly & Funkie!

hazel said...

I love your beautiful altered lid Helene, such a good idea.

Linda Coughlin, the funkie junkie said...

Your altered lids are cool as can be. Great colors and embellies, but the thing that really pops out at me are the conductors you used for the antennae - wow, how imaginative! I wouldn't even have a clue where to find something like that!

So happy to have you joining in the re-purposing fun with us this time around at Frilly and Funkie!

Dr Sonia S V said...

Awesome recycling.It would be wonderful if you can link this to the recycling challenge at Do More with less. Here is the link:http://yyam.blogspot.in/2012/04/recycling-with-sonia-suprabha-venugopal.html

Anonymous said...

Fabulous project Helene, love the all of the detail, amazing at how much you've managed to include on such a small item ! Thanks for joining us at Frilly and Funkie. Sue C x

Starr said...

What a great idea! The lid is gorgeous, you are so creative! Thanks for sharing at The Shabby Tea Room this week Helene!

1CardCreator said...

Hi Helene, I posted a card on my blog today featuring a card I made with the Flying Unicorn RAK. I am really sorry it took me so long to make it. Thank you vary much!

Lesley said...

Beautiful recycled piece Helene. Love how you have the butterflies cut for a 3D effect. TFS.
Lesley

Lili Sulastri said...

Helene, this is really gorgeous. love it.

Anonymous said...

Fantastic altered lid! Love the butterflies!

Sharon said...

Helene this is just fantastic - fabulous recycling - I just love the butterfly antenna!!! WOW!! Thanks for entering at our new Recycle, Re-Purpose & Re-Invent Challenge and for answering our bonus question!!! Hope you can join our new recycle challenge starting Monday!!!

Tammy Roberts said...

Awesome project Helene! Thank you for sharing it with us in The Shabby Tea Room!

Gerri Herbst said...

Absolutely these! So colorful and brillant at the same time! take care, gerri

Teresa Kline said...

super cute and a great idea...luv this...so glad you played along with us at F&F!

enjoy *~*

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