Had to have it swap

For this swap, you had to use something that you 'had to have' at the time you purchased it, but haven't actually got around to using! There were so many things in my stash to choose from...




In the end, I chose 3 things - some charms which I love but couldn't bring myself to use; a pasta machine which I had bought with the intention of conditioning polymer clay; and polymer clay, which I bought ages ago but haven't had the confidence to play with.


I covered some mountboard (about 2.5 inches by 4 inches) with brown paper, and gave it several coats of purple Stewart Gill True Colour paint (I still seem to be on the 'purple' trip!).

I stamped it with a texture stamp in Brilliance Galaxy Gold, and didn't like it, so gave it another coat of purple!!! It does have slightly more depth as a result.

I used black Fimo polymer clay for the embellishment in the centre - Fimo is most commonly available brand of clay in the UK. I conditioned it in a pasta machine, then stamped into it with a flourish stamp. I trimmed it into a tile shape, and brushed it with purple and gold PearlEx before cooking it in my Melt Pot (which I hardly ever use).

I attached a little hanging bracket to the back, and adhered the polymer clay tile and charms to the front, using Golden extra heavy gel medium. I hope my partner like it, because I will have a little trouble letting it go!