simple dreams

Waiting for Santa Letterpress Tray - Part 3, Altering Doilies

Thank you to all who have been leaving your love and comments in various locations on the internet and thanks to Webster's Pages for featuring this project on their Inspire Me website. If you love Webster's Pages I would highly recommend joining their Ning site for inspiration! I'm not certain if you will be able to view the page I have linked you to above if you are not a member, but becoming a member has been something I have really enjoyed.

As you probably have figured out by now I love the classic elegance and diversity of the Webster's Pages line of products and will do my best to always keep their items stocked in our store.

Now on with today's how-to complete the tray post.

Doilies, doilies, doilies... yes, I have always loved them, even before they became all the rage. Now that they are we have put together collections of various assortments for you to select from. Altering the color of the doily is SO easy!

Two of the easiest methods of altering the color of the doily are with the ink blending tool and/or misting sprays. For this project I actually combined the two looks.

It is important to work carefully with your ink blending tool. Typically I will start off my paper and swirl on to the paper when using this tool, but with the delicacy of the edge of the doily I need to work blending from the interior outwards.

The final step was lightly spritzing with Sweet Clover Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist.

Today I also want to share how you could get a "2-for-1" when spritzing and use your doily as a mask. As well I would like to introduce you to the new Ranger Perfect Pearls Mists. The beauty of the Perfect Pearls Mists comes in the mixing. Ranger has done a FANTASTIC job of thinking through the mixing process by placing a little "mixer" contraption in the bottle. It takes a LOT less swirling to mix these bottles, for which I am a grateful girl :-D

As you can see in the photo above the coloring of these mists is quite transparent. If you are familiar with Glimmer Mist products and want a similar look it is extremely simple to put a slight amount of the Perfect Pearl Mist into a Mini Mister and then add a squirt of your Distress Reinker to colorize it. Double click on the photo above to see the variation between the simple Kiwi and the mix of Kiwi and Bundled Sage.

When spritzing to add color to your doily you can use it as a mask for an upcoming project. I selected one of the beautiful Webster's 6x6 pages and placed my lacey doily in position in the upper right hand corner of the paper. To hold it in place I simply used my Craft Assistant and a couple of small magnets. This helps to ensure getting a more crisp definition on my masked doily. As you can see I opted to leave the doily in place and dry the mist with my Heat It tool. Yes, I'm a girl who likes to work fast - LOL!

One of my pet peeves when working with "wet" materials is the curling of my paper. Problem solved with the tip below.

TIP: I am fortunate to have a slightly rounded edge on my work surface. By pulling my paper gentley back and forth over this edge in the opposite direction I am easily able to flatten it back out again :-D

I would like to once again remind you that if you are looking for the supplies that I used in the creating of this tray please visit this post.

It's a beautiful, record breaking, sunny day here in Seattle and so I have a grin from ear to ear as I look out the window and prepare to take Jasper for his little lunch break stroll. Thanks for stopping by and I'll see you for a few more techniquey posts regarding this tray in the next couple of days!

Waiting for Santa Letterpress Tray - Part 2, Altering Resin Applique Pieces

When I first laid eyes on the Melissa Frances Resin pieces I knew it was love at first sight. The soft elegance of these designs is oh, so classic! Immediately I knew that I would need to experiment with altering the color of them once I had them in my hot little hands and that time has finally come :-D

The white frame around my girls with Santa draws your eye and I didn't want to compete with that, but felt that the new Tree was THE perfect piece for the top left corner. What to do? With so many options to select from I decided to start with a simple technique.

I began by first spraying the piece with English Ivy Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist. I allowed the liquid to pool in the crevices and then took a paper towel and wiped the surface. The detail that emerged was absolutely lovely, but I wanted just a little more color.

After allowing it to dry slightly I then sprayed with a second and lighter color of Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, Sweet Clover. Immediately I pulled out my Heat It tool and used it to dry the surface. The gentle heat helped to set the beautiful color in place on my surface, with the soft pooling of the color adding dimension.

A little glue added with a 2-way glue pen and Sand Glitter Ritz on the star finished the piece. I then used some dry clear glue around what would be the base of the tree and added some white Mica Flakes for snow.

It's all in the little details and you know I love details - LOL! Julia was trying to get me to color the presents under the tree with Copics, but I told her that would have to wait for a new project ;-D All I can tell you is that I'm LOVING these little resin pieces and hope to share more with you in the future.

For a complete list of supplies please visit yesterday's post.

Now it's time to head out into the blustery rain and wind --- a warm house and dinner is on the horizon. Thanks for stopping in again today!

 

Waiting for Santa Letterpress Tray - Part 1, Digital Alphabet

I am LOVING the 7 Gypsies display items! When Maddi was born I made a rather lame attempt at creating a scrapbook. I never seemed to have enough time to finish anything and so over the years I gave up on the traditional scrapbook creating. Rather I have become much more into making little books that commemorate a vacation, or special event. Now that I have these display items I am having a blast using them to create special pieces for my home and office. I would also like to rave a little about the Webster's Pages Waiting for Santa and Sweet Treats collections - I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-Y  F-U-N to work with and oh so classicly elegant. OK, on with it now - I've got pictures to take of a costumed girl :-D

Today I want to introduce you to a new product we are carrying in our store :-D These have arisen out of my love for the Optical Lenses, rub ons and rosette die - LOL! Julia has been helping in so many ways here at work and she is the heart behind the alphabets we now have in our store. I asked her if she could create an alphabet in this fall's Pantone color selections. We then pulled out our paper selections to see what they would work with :-D We want to make these super easy to use and hope to share today exactly how fabulous they are!

I will be posting this Letterpress Tray project over a series of days to keep each post as simple as possible. Today we are starting with how to download the file and create the "joy" banner.

To find the alphabet's we created visit our Digital Download section here.

• Add the alphabet of choice to your cart and check out.
• After you have paid for your order you will see the page with the confirmation number pop up. On that same page will be text that says "Download Product Files."
• A screen will pop-up with the files you have purchased.
• Click on the file you would like to save.
• You will then be prompted with the question - "Do you want to open or save this file?" I would like to recomment that you save the file.
• This is the part that can be tricky for some. It is important to keep the files on your computer organized! :-D
• I have created a special file in my "Pictures" folder that I have named Digital Files. This allows me to save my files where I can find them again in the future.
• Click Save.

• Once this action is completed it will ask you if you would like to "Open, Open Folder, or Close" the file.
• Simple select open. In the top left-hand corner of the screen then select "Extract All."
• Your letters are now ready to copy and paste, insert etc.
• If you happen to close the file highlight it as shown in the figure above and in the drop down menu select "Extract All."

• To use your alphabet is as easy as copying and pasting.
• Open up a new Word document
• Highlight the letter you would like to use in the file and using your shortcut keys - Ctrl C, copy that letter.
• Move to your Word document window and using your shortcut keys - Ctrl V, paste that letter in your document.
• Repeat for the remaining letters.
• Print on Neenah cardstock

I used a nesting circle to quickly punch out my letter. We are waiting for the nesting circle punches to arrive in our store as I find this is the quickest and easiest method of preparing my circles.

Tim's rosette dies is one of my all-time faves! I love the neat little pleats that are created during the die-cut process - simple and oh so easy!

TIP: Be certain to use a strong adhesive to hold the rosette together. After a quick exchange with Tim I would like to recommend using a hot glue gun to hold these beauties together :)

Also be certain to follow the directions and have "discs" prepared for both sides of the rosette at your ready before creating your flower, otherwise it will pop right out of your hands. Quess how I know that - LOL!

To raise the rosette off the tray base I stacked a couple of thickness of plain old cardboard. Cardboard is not acid-free, but I highly doubt that this little "work of art" will be saved for posterity :-D

Oh the fun combinations that can be created! The little alphabet circles could have been rolled in glue and glitter to add even more pop. If I were putting them on a banner I would have probably done so, but in this case I really want the Santa picture to be the focal point and am trying to draw your eye to it rather than all the other fantastic little details in this tray :-D

More details will be shared over the next few days, so be certain to stay tuned and let me know what you think. Thanks for stopping in today as it is such a busy time of year. Wishing you a healthy and safe Halloween evening!

Download: Traditional Seasonal Alphabet

stamps: Tim Holtz Festive Sounds and Take Flight

paper: Webster's Paper Waiting for Santa Paper Kit, Grunge Board

ink: Distress Ink Pads - Forest Moss, Antique Linen, and Walnut Stain; Tattered Angels English Ivy and Sweet Clover Glimmer Mist

accessories: 7 Gypsies Letterpress Tray, Princesca Crystal Hardware, and Antique Silver Printer Label Holders; Tim Holtz Dies - Reindeer Flight and Rosette (both so fabulous!); Melissa Frances Tree Applique, Large Newstead Frame, Chipboard Ornaments, White Mica Flakes, Silver Glass Glitter; Webster's Pages Tinsel Trim, Fall Bloomers Deluxe Trim; Glitter Ritz - Celadon, Apple Red and Sand, Crystal Ice Stickles

Alice Visits the White Rabbit's House at Hallowe'en in Wonderland

Today let's travel down the rabbit hole and take a peek inside the strange world of Alice!

This project was created for something very special that we are working on here at Ellen Hutson, LLC. Time unfortunately is getting away from us and so I am sharing this project here instead, so that those of you who enjoy creating for fall and Halloween can recreate this little piece of wall art for your own home.

CLUE #4

Silhouettes are big this year! Silhouette your own children with a timeless keepsake that can keep you "in touch" with friends and grandparents.

ETA: Direct link to Clue #5.

I love detail - can you tell? When I was little I made a house out of cardboard, using snippets of fabric, drawing on paper and trying to be resourceful with the few supplies I had. It really wasn't pretty - LOL - but it was fun! When I got this idea in my head I knew I just had to act on it. The Hallowe'en in Wonderland 8x8 paper collection is incredible and so very easy to use to create this magical little piece of wall decor!

When you enlarge the picture above you will note the following details:

• who painted the roses red? I did of course using my Copic airbrush system :-D Hopefully the queen won't "off my head,"
• the arch of unfurling playing cards was inspired by a pop-up book I read to my girls when they were younger - simply cut out the cards from the Jabberwocky 8x8 sheet and arrange as shown,
• Alice was cut out of the tag sheet and the Queen was cut from the Jabberwocky 8x8 sheet,
• the tree and Chesire cat were from the Hallowe'en in Wonderland 8x8 sheet,
• LOVE the Scary Fence punch from Martha Stewart,
• add ivy using the same technique as shared by Susan Tierney Cockburn in this post
• pumpkins were most definitely necessary and I will show you how to create those below :-)

I used Copic Various Ink to color my Sculpey Clay. I HIGHLY recommend wearing gloves as you mix in the color. Add a couple of drops and then work your clay. It will make your clay a little gummy, but I really like the end result.

As you can see I started with Ivory Sculpey and added a couple of drops at a time.

If you stop working the clay you can end up with a very interesting marbled effect.

I rolled the clay into little balls and then added the stem and charcter with a toothpick.

Bake according to the directions. I have to admit I overbaked mine because I wasn't paying close attention (oops,) but the change in coloring turned out to my advantage. The pumpkins looked much more mysterious :-D

Inserting Fantasy Film behind the windows created a wonderful holographic, ghostly effect. I then used one of the spiderweb adhesive images and glitter to add additional charm.

There are SO many more details that will be shared in the near future regarding these awesome little Colonial houses. Like I said earlier we are working on something we hope you will be as excited about as we are ;-D

• Vintage Colonial House
• Label Style Backdrops
• Hallowe'en in Wonderland, Uncommon Nonsense
• White & Cream Crepe Paper
• Hallowe'en in Wonderland 8x8 paper pad
• Hallowe'en in Wonderland, Tags
• Sculpey Clay, Ivory
• Scary Fence Edger Punch
• Open Scallop Edger Punch
• Fall Leaves Edger Punch (used for Ivy)
• Flower Soft Wire
• Mini Gypso Flowers
• Dandelion Fantasy Film
• Fright Night Design Adhesive
• Black Microfine Glitter Ritz
• Tim Holtz Typewriter Charm
• 1/2" punch