Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Gotta Love a Heffalump!


My grandparents' house was filled with elephants, that I just adored. Large, carved wooden elephants, tiny wood elephants - they were just everywhere - my grandmother loved them, and I love them too. They traveled all around the world for my grandfather's work, and they collected so many cool and unusual things, many of which were animal themed.

It's impossible for me not to buy every elephant stamp I've ever seen in my life, partially for this reason. They are just near and dear to my heart.

Did you know that elephants are the only surviving family of animals in their order? It's true - all the others are extinct. The order is called Proboscidea (because of their big schnozzes and whatnot.)

One of their closest living relatives is actually another adorable, sweet beastie - the manatee!

I must now go in search of manatee stamps!

Anyhoo, the elephant from Altenew's Baby Zoo set caught my eye, because while it's a layering stamp that is sort of whimsical, the silhouettes in the set are very classy and they stand alone, so I tried two fun things with this heffalump.

First, I stamped him three or four times in Versamark, using my MISTI, to be sure I had the entire image perfectly stamped. Then I applied Pan Pastels to him - I thought since the 4th was coming up, I'd make him a patriotic elephant. I used my brightest red and blue - Ultramarine and Permanent Red. I applied them with this Sofft knife.

I did get some Pan Pastel outside the outline, but if you're careful you can use a sanding eraser like this one or even a regular eraser to remove that and clean up your edges. I actually like the softer look of not staying inside the outline, but I cleaned him up this time and made him a little crisper. I used the mermaid sequins from Hero Arts and the teeny sequins from Concord & 9th to make him blow some matching bubbles. The sentiment is also from Altenew, from Painted Poppy. He is a perfectly patriotic heffalump now. Happy Independence day!



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Speaking of happy, I am happy to be part of a fun blog hop today (with prizes of course) my friends at My Sweet Petunia and Altenew - both of them are giving great prizes away too - two mini MISTIs and 3 Altenew $30 gift certificates - and so I couldn't resist one more super out of the box thing that you can do with larger, solid images like this.

 My sister and I always SAY we're going to get together and craft weekly, and then we don't because a bunch of more boring stuff gets in the way, and that's stupid. But a few months ago, we did make some time, and we played with - wait for it - PERLER BEADS!

We had just been to the opening of Craft, here in Austin, which is a super cool space you can go craft in, take classes, rent by the hour, etc. and we had a ball melting beads there and wanted to do some more. It's a very zen-inducing activity. So I bought this bucket of beads and trays and we just goofed around for the day. I also bought some larger trays like these.

I thought that it would be fun to make an abstract, pixellated heffalump using this nice big, solid stamp - so I stamped it on cardstock and put it under my tray to help me place the beads.


 That worked great! I wanted the elephant to be in cool colors, but I wanted the background to emulate a sunset, so I added warm colors. This is what he looked like before I ironed him to melt the beads.


And here's what he looked like after.

I love how some of them totally melted and some didn't.

So if you have some kids around this summer, or some unsupervised adults like me and my sister, try using your solid stamps as a Perler pattern instead of just the basic shapes that come with the kits. It was a fun little relaxing piece of art.

So NOW - onto the hop, with some of my very favorite people on earth!





 Altenew is also having a sale for all you MISTI fans out there, and the winners of all the prizes will be announced on July 3rd on the company blogs.



Thank you so much for stopping by today - and good luck winning those prizes - leave comments everywhere!

Loveyameanitbye.



395 comments:

  1. What a fun project. Kids will love it!

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  2. Delightful post. Lovely card.

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  3. Love the sequins used as bubbles. Fun patriotic card. Love your story about your grandpa.

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  4. What a wonderful blog hop to your site. Very funny! I love your creative sharing and gorgeous card. Thank you so much.

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  5. Thanks for the chance to win. Cute card!

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  6. Look at you getting all over-the-top creative! Fun ellie :)

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  7. Love the colour blended elephant - great card!

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  8. Unsupervised adults! Nice card.

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  9. The elephant is amazing. Love the colors.

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  10. love altenew and Misti, and really want to win. thanks for the chance

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  11. Busy getting ready for a four week road trip in two days, but I HAD to participate in the hop, just in case I were to win a Misti! Fingers crossed!

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  12. "Heff! Heff! A hellable horralump!!" Love that sweet old Winnie the Pooh story!
    Your heffalump is wonderful. What a beautiful effect with the Pan Pastels!!
    <3 J

    jwoolbright at gmail dot com
    HerPeacefulGarden.blogspot.com

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  13. So very sweet and great blend of colors!

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  14. Sooo soo creative and fun it is!! :)
    Suchi xx

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  15. I absolutely love the sequin bubbles! Beautiful heffalump.

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  16. Can't beat an elephant with trunk up...Good Luck to us all.

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  17. Your patriotic elephant made me SMILE.

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  18. Inspiring! I have friends who make their own colored accent dots for their cards using perler beads. Just spread out on parchment paper and into the oven. Most of them melt into perfect little bubbles!

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  19. That's a really good idea! I love creative twists!

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  20. Never tried the beads, looks like a fun tryout for my mini-me (grandaughter) and myself.

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  21. Love the creative technique you used! Cute kids project too.

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  22. I love how you mix your colors for the elephant! And love, love your cool melted beads projects! How fun! TFS

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  23. How interesting! Thank you for the educational post and I have to say I love your elephants...one of my favorite animals! The patriotic elephant was so much fun and I loved the sequin bobbles! Plus, the sentiment was just perfect! Also, thanks for sharing the Perler Beads project--more fun creativity:)

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  24. That is amazing, wonderful card and background on the elephants, very inspiring. Thanks for the opportunity to enter and win such amazing products.

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  25. I know a little boy who would love that card! Really cute and kind of artsy!

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  26. Great patriotic card! Thanks for sharing it!

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  27. So fun. Love Elephants!! Thanks for the chance of winning a mini misti:)

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  28. This card is awesome, thanks for sharing.

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  29. I've never used pan pastels; what a fun look.

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  30. Thanks for great products, fun card

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  31. Love that elephant card! So cute!! Thanks for sharing!

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  32. Love your elephant and love your stories!

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  33. Such a fun and creative card! Elephants are one of my favorite animals too! So loveable but majestic at the same time.

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  34. I love blog hops because they are so inspiring. Thank you for the chance to win.

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  35. I remember my kids doing those beaded images loved to watch the colors melt together!!!

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  36. Love the patriotic colors! And I love the story of of why elephants mean so much to you. Thanks for sharing.

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  37. YES! we love the Heffalump in this house...our Piglet is being very Brave these days:))
    Thanks for the idea for the beads, my KIDDOS will work on this project on those TOO HOT days of summer:))

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  38. Not the usual kind of elephant, but gorgeous.

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  39. I like your fun and happy heffalump card and thanks for the reminder about perler beads.

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  40. Great work, and now I'm going to raid granddaughter's perler bead stash!

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  41. Beautiful card! And love the elephant! What a cute idea with the perler beads! Will have to try that! Thanks for sharing!

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  42. I love your elephant and your melty bead project turned out great. My kids love those. Thanks for sharing.

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  43. Super cute card!!!! Love the embellishments.

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  44. Cute creative card. Thank you!

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  45. I love your patriotic ellie and always love your stories!

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  46. Fantastic idea for a summer project for kids. Love it. Tfs Lydia and for the chance to win the giveaway

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  47. Love the Pan pastel effect on the elephant! Great card and story!

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  48. My dad always called them heffalumps too! I recently bought some altenew stamp sets but haven't had the time to play...supervised or not! Must make time!!! Love you, and love your creative FUN!

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  49. Loved your story and your card. And what a fun way to use your stamps as perler bead patterns!

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  50. Obviously, your craftiness knows no bounds? Perler beads, never heard of them til now. What fun. Anyway, your card makes me happy...have a thing for elephants myself and this one looks patriotically joyful.

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  51. Love this patriotic card! So unique! Love the story behind it too. God was so good to give us grandparents!!!

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  52. Love elephants, very cute card. Thanks.

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  53. Cool! I didn't expect that :D Nice idea with the perler beads. Thanks for sharing :)

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  54. Love your "heffalump" story and what a great card!

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  55. I love all your ideas, Lydia. You are such a talent.

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  56. Yourer card is wonderful! Thank you for sharing!

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  57. OK, if you knew how many hours I have sorted, picked up and ironed those beads! I have even had girl friend adults come and spend a whole weekend making perler bead creations~!

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  58. Creative. Thanks for another way to use perler beads!

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  59. Awesome project! Love your color combo on the card!

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  60. What a fun card! Thanks for the chance to win.

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  61. Thanks for the tip on using straps with peeler beads. I'm always looking for ways to entertain my grandson. Great card too. Very patriotic, nice.

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  62. Beautiful card, my sister loves elephants too.

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  63. Great card Lydia! I love your creations and stories. Melt beads look like fun... I might have to go find "my zen". LOLcat?!

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  64. Great project! Unique idea. I have a bunch of these from the Grandkids

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  65. Lydia your creative talents are stunning and endless! I always learn something new on your blog, thank you.......Fantastic card!!!

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  66. Very sweet looking card. Thanks for the chance to win!

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  67. what a fun idea - another way to use our stamps
    thanks for sharing
    Barb Housner

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  68. This idea is fantastic! I love it!!!

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  69. Quite the colorful heffalump. Very unique. Playing with "kids" things is always fun. (had a computer glitch - hope just one comment came through).

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  70. Love your card and your story. I took a trip to Africa a couple years ago and could not get enough pictures of elephants! Love them!

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  71. My son loved peeler beads while he was in elementary school and I have many of these beads lying around.

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  72. Elephant is so cute.. superb card.

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  73. A red, white, and blue elephant - Love it! A fun way to create something unusual! Very creative!

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  74. Cool project! I think I would like to try this, thanks for sharing!

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  75. Too, too cute! Love this elephant!

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  76. What a different way to do the elephant but cute!

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  77. great idea !! love that stamp set. thank you for sharing

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  78. I love your Heffalump - will you be creating a Woozle, next? (a la Winnie the Pooh, of course!) I love following your blog not only for your amazing projects, Lydia, but for your fabulous wit and banter! It always makes my day happier :)

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  79. Love the card. Thanks for sharing.

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  80. Thank you! Such a clever idea with the beads. Just finished VBS last week so children's crafts are on my mind; I'll have to bookmark this idea for next year :)

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  81. What a fun card! I love heffalumps, too. But I'm glad there isn't one in my refrigerator leaving tracks in the peanut butter.

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  82. My husband really has a thing for elephants. I had to show him how wonderful this is

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  83. Thanks for the elephant education and crafting eye candy.

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  84. You are so clever. I would never have thought of doing something like that. But it sure seems to work.

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  85. My grandsons love using those beads to make designs

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  86. We all need to make more time to play! What a great concept for a business!!! I hope it spreads like wildfire! I love your pan pastel creation; unexpected and lovely.

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  87. Love the look of your elephant.

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  88. Love the colors and especially the 'bubbles' ;)

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  89. Thank you for the opportunity to win a misti.

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  90. I have a special elephant I cherish, love your colours! I would love a chance to use the Misti and would love to win one! Beautiful card!

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  91. LOVE this card!! Thank you, Lydia.

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  92. Very cool, my 6 year old son will love this.

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  93. I love the sequins as bubbles reaaly cute! Great creative ideas thank you for sharing them and for a chance to win!

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  94. I think the effect is sort of tie dye looking. You have a hippie heffalump! And he is just adorable!

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  95. Love the colors of your elephant. Fabulous card.

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  96. Very pretty elephant. Love the sequins coming out of his trunk and great kids crafts.

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  97. Fun and creative projects! Thanks for the inspiration.

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  98. Two fun, creative projects Lydia! Thanks for the inspiration and chance to win.

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  99. Love your elephant card and abstract! What a cool idea!

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  100. Lovely card and such a fun idea! I love the melted bead elephant and I am sure my little girl will love it too :)

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  101. These are fun to do. I have them for the grand kids, but I really get involved when they do them.

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  102. Very cute card. I love your coloring.

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  103. What a super fabulous technique!

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  104. Nice card. I like the colors.

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  105. I love the Elephant with the sequins looking like they could be bubbles.

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  106. Love your elephant, your card is fantastic! Those melting beads look pretty cool to play with too.

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  107. What a cute idea. Thank you for sharing.

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  108. I love the colors and the theme of the card.

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  109. Beautiful elephant!! Beautiful card!!

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  110. Creative elephant!! Love your use of sequins!

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  111. Super cool projects, Lydia! I like elephants a lot, too. The MISTI is just the best thing since sliced bread!

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  112. Wow, great technique, beautiful card.

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  113. This is Fantastic!! Awesome idea!!

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  114. A great technique on your elephant card and I love the matching bubbles. So cute!

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  115. So lovely card. Love your elephant.

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  116. Beautiful card!! Your blog title took me back, my children think that they are woozles ;)

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  117. Totally fun project, such a cool idea!

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  118. love your story..great card and fun project

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  119. My daughter lives elephants!

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  120. Love the technique you used for the elephant on your card, very cool looking! Your beaded project is fun too. Thanks.

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  121. I love the patriotic elephant! I remember my grandparents with love like you do.thank you for the tutorial and the walk down memory lane.

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  122. Lovely card!!
    (i comment the other blogs as mar navarro)

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  123. Wowzers!! Fabulous way to do it!! Love that you chose an elephant too!!

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  124. Great card for the fourth love the bubbles on the card.

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  125. Well, you have been having a lot of fun. I love how all your projects turned out. You are very inspiring. Thanks to two great companies for letting us hop and thank you for sharing your creativity. kReN Kurts @ afourthlife.blogspot.com

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  126. What a fun card! Bubbles are cute!

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  127. Neat way to color images. The beads look like fun as well.

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  128. Austin is a really cool city, glad you guys got to do something fun together. Thanks for the giveaway!

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  129. And now I can say I know a bit more about Huffalumps. I always enjoy your posts and your card is awesome... as always. So much talent.

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  130. I adore elephants too and especially when I went on a couple of safaris in Kenya - lovely card

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  131. Lovely card and fantastic story behind it. My BFF's grandmom collects elephants as well and she would adore your card.

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  132. Very creative and such a fun project!!! Love it:)))

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  133. My girls like these beads, too. They are fun. So many options! Cute card, by the way.

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  134. Such a cute project...love the card and how you did the red white and blue...Thanks for sharing

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  135. I love your card and love your bead elephant, very cool

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  136. This is a wonderful effect with the Pan Pastels. Love your card & the bubble blowing elephant is too cute!

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  137. your little elephant is precious.

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  138. Eeeeee! I love Elephants too!!! They are very majestic and VERY emotional creatures. LOVE LOVE LOVE them! Love your card too. ♥

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  139. Awesome card and awesome hop. The prizes are just the frosting!!! How exciting!!! Oh, and I love Perler Beads too....and the grandsons adore them!!!

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  140. Another new-to-me technique - using perler beads. Very creative and I love the patriotic look of your elephant.

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  141. Great story...really different technique...I love it!

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  142. Almost all my grandchildren stay with me for the summer months and that would make a great project to do with them. Love your card.

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  143. Love the mermaid sequins on this card. Fun card

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  144. Lemme just say, I love Arkon mounts... In addition to one day owning a Misti, I want to one day own a Arkon mount.
    Back to reality....
    I love your card! So cute!!!!
    And LOL on Russian Brides....

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  145. Very cool design. Looks like a fun project.

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  146. Lydia I LOVE your patriotic elephant . You have such great ideas and I love to read your writings on your blog.

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  147. Very cool card! The watercoloring is beautiful, and I love the "bubbles" the elephant is blowing.

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  148. love your heffalumps! that perler idea is awesome!

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  149. Gotta love elephants ... how fun!

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  150. One of my favorite Altenew stamp sets!

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  151. Thank you for the chance to win
    Ann

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  152. Thank you for the chance to win
    Ann

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  153. Wow! What a great idea and fab card! TFS :)

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  154. Beautiful card!! Nice work!! Love your story!!
    -Berina
    Moxie Craftie

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  155. Fun project thanks for sharing 😊

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