The Gentleman Crafter

A new day...

I wanted to post my CHA Clock so you could see where I was going with the gears in the robots torso. The clock an awesome design from Laura Denison, was made from Tim Holtz configuration boxes, sprockets and the Clock Face die.

This was my first experience using the Rock Candy Distress Crackle. A medium used to finely crackle the surface of whatever you paint it on. Pretty cool stuff...However...I need to learn how to apply in correctly! LOL!

The CHA Clock was one of those projects that after it's done and you know how to make it, you want to make it again. You know to make it better. A Fun Project!

Mr. Roboto's Debut...

I challenged myself to use only, Tim Holtz Idea-ology Embellishments to make this guy. I pretty much stuck to it except for the head of the robot in which I used a Graphic45 altered art box and a few bottle caps. The body is made from Tim's configuration boxes and the features made from his gear die, sprockets, buttons, knobs, keys, key plates, light bulbs, hinge clips, memo pins, numerals, pocket watch and D rings! Wheew! I keep a pretty healthy stash of Idea-ology goodies on hand but I must confess I made several trips to Joann’s, Michaels and Hobby Lobby!

I used the Zutter spiral wires at 5/8ths and crimped it to attach the bulbs to the head. I also made the hands with the hinge clips so he could hold the Vintage Valise cut from the Tim Holz die.

I glued a bolt underneath the neck and attached the head with a wing nut so that the head would not only lie completely flat but would still be able to swivel. The head opens up and hold the mini album which has pockets and tags for pictures and journaling.  The head being made from one of Graphic 45's altered art boxes.

My First Blog Post.

This is my first blog post and I'm sitting with my laptop perched awkwardly on my lap staring out to space wondering why in tar-nation I cant think of what to write! This never has been a problem for me in any way shape or form. So why now, in the quiet of the night, is it so hard? I cant help but grin from ear to ear just thinking about all the subjects I could broach! Like for example, how interesting would it be to discuss the ant that was making a picnic out of my toe a second ago? Fascinating creatures! Don't they know where my feet have been?

Or I could blog about my total love and fascination with crafting, creating, designing, planning, and producing art. At least..in my eye... art!

If you know me I have always had my hand in the creative bucket. As a child I loved to color and cut things out of paper. I loved to make "love gifts" for my Mom, who God Bless her still has a few of these "vintage works of art" stashed in the cedar chest full of other memorabilia from past days.

As an adult, I still produce hoards of these works for my sweet Mother. Hysterically, I was fortunate enough to help decorate her house for Christmas almost a year ago on Thanksgiving day. I pulled open a drawer in her dining room to find a stash of my gifts laying neatly inside. I opened up the next drawer, same thing, the next...yep the same. So, it became evident to me that Mom had been saving everything and was about to run out of room. She and I had a heart to heart and I no longer mass produce large quantities of these gifts for her. It was a sad day for me as I have always loved to lavish her with my special homemade goodies!

So today, I will now share these homemade goodies with whomever might have the misfortune to stumble upon my blog. Hopefully, I may be able to offer a bit of inspiration, a tip or two, and maybe even an idea to make this world a better place.

I Welcome you to my creative crazy world!

Jim aka MenDoScrap aka The Gentleman Crafter