Stamping and beyond - a One Stamp challenge Project

Hi I am Diane from “just add glue to” blog, I am a slightly obsessive  crafter (if you’re reading this I guess you are bitten by the bug too!). One of my main passions is budget crafting and for my blog I try and make projects without any specially bought crafting material…just paper, card and glue!
But of course I have bought rather a lot of crafting gizmos and gadgets along the way and I love collecting stamps, which I think are the best investment of all, this is my main reason for supporting Lynnda with her exciting 24hr stamp challenge. She is spot on with her passion for showcasing the many ways that stamps can be used and with that in mind I have created a couple of projects which are not actually paper based.

At the  moment my time has been totally absorbed by helping my daughter and her partner renovate a cottage to live in, and like all young couples the budget is very slim, so we are also looking for ways to furnish and decorate the cottage on a shoestring and the charity shop is our main source for interesting and unique items….all crying out to be brought back to life

First was  a little broken mirror (which had actually been thrown out). A bit of glue soon sorted out the broken frame, then out came the old tester pots of emulsion to give it a new look.

Then came the fun bit…how to decorate it and the Clematis stamp  couldn’t be more perfect for home decor projects. Lynnda inspired me to have a root through my crafting stash to use something I hadn’t used for a while and I spent a happy afternoon testing papers, powders, pens, inks and paints

and I gave the poor stamp quite a hard time…..

but a testament to its quality is it’s still standing and stamping as perfectly as when I started!! In the end I bit the bullet and decided to stamp and emboss directly on the glass…..never tried this before and I held my breath as the powder began to melt
             

 ….but I loved the result (and so does my daughter).

I used Versamark and Oak House Studio white embossing powder and again a testament to the unique property of Oak House Studio stamps, is that they are so rigid it was possible to stamp without fixing it to a block, which enabled me to position it right into the corner.
WARNING! if you do try this … do not apply the heat too closely and leave the glass to cool as soon as the powder has melted.  I certainly wouldn't try this with anything precious and safety is  paramount when dealing with glass and heat!!  The embossing is quite durable but can be cleaned off with a bit of elbow grease and polish!

To finish the mirror (and cover the broken corner) I made a couple of paper flowers decorated with beads and nail varnish!! I have more details on my blog on how to create paper flowers.
I have had amazing fun using the stamp and still have many ideas that I want to use the stamp for (and have completed one other project, a matching lampshade).

Thank you so much Lynnda for inviting me to share your Stamp challenge…..I only wish I could join you in your studio I am sure you have many great ideas to try!!!!!!!