Wednesday, March 11, 2015

New Crochet Wire Necklaces for Spring 2015!

Hand crocheted on non tarnished silver plated wire are mauvey pink cultured freshwater pearls. Finished with silver tone magnetic clasp and Swavorski crystals.  To purchase, click here.

Show your team spirit with this Carolina blue and white button crochet wire necklace. Buttons are hand crocheted onto silver plated copper wire. Completed with a magnetic clasp for easy on and off. To purchase, click here.
Add a little color to your style! Fuchsia buttons are hand crocheted onto sea-foam green silver plated copper wire. Completed with a magnetic clasp for easy on and off. To purchase, click here.
Blue Fire Agate tri-strand crochet wire necklace. Currently at Eclectic Calico in Downtown, Madison. 
http://www.eclecticcalico.com/
White Cultured Freshwater Pearls tri-strand crochet wire necklace. Currently at Eclectic Calico in Downtown, Madison.  http://www.eclecticcalico.com/
Show your team spirit with this purple and white button crochet wire necklace. Buttons are hand crocheted onto silver plated copper wire. Completed with a magnetic clasp for easy on and off. To purchase, click here.
Hand crocheted on non tarnished silver plated wire are white and hot pink cultured freshwater pearls with faceted black onyx beads. Finished with silver tone magnetic clasp and Swavorski crystals. To purchase, click here.
Hand crocheted on non tarnished silver plated wire are blue opal and white cultured freshwater pearls. The piece is finished with Swavorski crystals and a silver tone magnetic clasp.  To purchase, click here.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

New Cards for Spring 2015!

Wishing you a very happy birthday card. Sold individually - please contact if interested.

Wishing you an awesome birthday. Sold individually - please contact if interested

Happy Mother's Day card.  Also available in gold or silver glitter. Sold individually - please contact if interested.

"This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it" colorful butterfly note cards - set of 6.  To purchase, click here.

Colorful Hello note cards - set of 6.  To purchase, click here.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Eclectic Calico's New Website


Ok, so it's not exactly finished yet, but I just has to share my bio that Jennifer's posted on her store's new website!

(A special thanks to my hubby, Bill, for proof reading a very rough draft and making it flow.) 

So, head on over to Eclectic Calico's new website!


Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Simple Watercolor Note Card



I've been working on this design for a while.  I just couldn't get the watercolor to flow right on the paper.  You would think this should be easy right?  I mean, it looks easy? 

Thanks to Scraps and Stamps for this instructional video, I was able to finally grasp this technique! 

For the above, I cut a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inch card from a heavy water color paper.  (Hint on finding the best deal, go to the children's art supply section and buy a pad of watercolor paper).  

I stamped, using Tuxedo Black Memento Dye Ink Pad, the thank you from Papertrey Ink's  Think Big Favorites #15 Mini Stamp Set followed by ZING opaque black embossing powder and then heat set it with my embossing tool.

After embossing, I used painter's tape to tape down the paper onto chip board (I used the back of one of my watercolor note pads).  I actually worked on four note cards at a time, as you can see from the photo.


Next, use HOT water, yes I said HOT water because it helps the watercolor paint become more saturated faster and is less gritty when painting.  So, using HOT water and a #10 watercolor paint brush, I painted the section and design on how I wanted the paint to appear on paper.  Next, using Crayola watercolor paint (no need to be fancy - they work great for these projects!), I painted a small section red, then orange, then yellow, etc.  I did not take the paint outside the water area on the card.  The water helps the paint move and blend.  Just make sure to rinse your brush well after each color.  The colors will move and blend on their own as they dry.

Let the paint is dry. I waited the afternoon - you can use your heat gun if you're impatient, but that tends to make the wet paint spread in ways that I don't like.  Once it drys, carefully peel off the painters tape.  Be careful - you can tear the paper!  Then trim all edges by 1/4" and mount to a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" note card.  I made mine from blue card stock.

Supplies needed:
4 1/4" x 5 1/2" watercolor paper
Papertrey Ink's Think Big Favorites #15 Mini Stamp Set 
Tuxedo Black Memento Dye Ink Pad
ZING opaque black embossing powder 
Heat embossing tool
HOT water
#10 watercolor paint brush
watercolor paint
4 1/4" x 5 1/2" note card and envelope