It is our final day and I can't believe it is already here. We hope that you have been enjoying this series and we want to end it with a "bang!"
Today we are so very happy to welcome Tami Hartley (blog: i make cards) as our guest here in the CLASSroom! Over the past several months, on the occasion that I have been able to visit the Hero Arts blog, I have seen her beautiful work and it is an honor to have her sharing her talents here in the CLASSroom. Thank you Tami, for sharing your passion with us! -Ellen
SCRAP DRAWER RESCUE MISSION, by tami hartley
On this 12th Day of Christmas, I’m pulling open my crowded desk drawer labeled “Stamped Bits & Pieces.” Do you have one of these catch-all bins where you store stamped/inked odds and ends? Mine is filled with at least a decade’s worth of pieces and many of them are inky backgrounds that never found their way onto finished projects. It’s time for a rescue!
I love creating backgrounds in a variety of ways – especially by mixing Distress Inks and water on a craft mat and soaking the mixture up with plain white cardstock or watercolor paper. It’s often as much fun as making an entire card! A handful of inky backgrounds from my drawer are pictured above. I typically look at them and say “now what…?” (Sound familiar?)
Here are the secret weapons. Use these large collage background stamps right on top of any inked background to create colorful “artsy” cards in a few simple steps. These stamps do all the work and turn even ho-hum scraps into things of beauty. And it’s SO easy! We can keep it our little secret. ;)
In the photo above you can see the background I pulled from my drawer. First I intensified the color with a bit of Crushed Olive Distress Ink applied with an Ink Blending Tool. Once satisfied with the overall color, I stamped the large Flower Text stamp with VersaMark Ink and sprinkled white embossing powder on top. This is key. Embossing really makes the image pop off the background. (Tip: Be sure your background is completely dry before stamping and embossing, as embossing powder will stick to wet Distress Inks on the background!)
After heat embossing, it’s time to bring definition to the flowers and leaves with some additional color. I turned once again to Distress Inks and used them this time as watercolor paints. Using an acrylic block as a palette, simply press the ink pad onto the block, spritz with water, and paint the flowers and leaves a shade darker than the background.
Finish with a stamped sentiment, twine bow, and a dab of Glossy Accents on each flower center.
In the variation above, I used the same process but stamped the Musical Collage with Walnut Stain Distress Ink and embossed with clear powder instead of white. The Envelope Pattern was also stamped onto the background for added texture.
Both cards are flat for easy mailing.
It’s so much fun seeing these once tossed aside pieces come to life. I hope you’ll enjoy experimenting with your own scraps and stamps. Happy creating! -Tami
stamps: Hero Arts Musical Collage, Hero Arts Flower Text, Hero Arts Envelope Pattern, Hero Arts Thank You For Being My Friend
Ink: VersaMark, Ranger Distress - Crushed Olive, Shabby Shutters, Forest Moss, Broken China, Tumbled Glass, Stormy Sky, Walnut Stain
Paper: Hero Arts White Watercolor Paper, Hero Arts Snow Layering Paper
Other: Glossy Accents, Mini Mister, Ink Blending Tool, white embossing powder, clear embossing powder, twine, colored pencils
On the twelfth day of Christmas my goodie box could be:
- Hero Arts 2011 Catalog
- ClearDesign: Congrats
- Cling Large Open Flower
- Cling Large Solid Flower
- Hero Hues Color Sampler
- Hero Arts Layering Paper, Blush
- Hero Arts Folded Card Sets, Blush
- Hero Arts Envelopes, Blush
- Hero Hues Markers, Blush
- Hero Hues Ribbon, Blush
- Hero Hues Mixed Accents, Blush
- Hero Hues Art Flowers, Blush
To participate in this random drawing please leave your answer to the following question as a comment to this post. Please limit yourself to one comment only for each goodie package. The last day to submit a comment to this post will be January 6th at Midnight. We will post the winners (which will be drawn using a Random Number Generator) for all twelve days on January 7th.
Remember to visit the following 12 Days of Christmas blog candy drawings --- today is the last day to leave your comments on any of our 12 Days drawings, so be certain to post a comment to the question on each individual post to be included in that drawing before midnight tonight!
- One Stampin' Treasure
- Two Melting Tools
- Three Copic Goodies
- 3 Stamps + 1 Color Sampler = Four Memory Box Treats
- Five treats from Claudine's Lines
- Six Sizzix Goodies
- Seven Alterable Items
- Eight Oodles of Inchies
- Nine Packs of Paper
- Ten Tim's Tools
- Eleven Lovely Lockhart's
Today I have a special request for your comment --- first, please leave some "love" for Tami. Her willingness to jump in and help us at the last minute is something I appreciate so very much --- thank you Tami!
We would also like to try once again for that recommendation page that I talked about LAST year - LOL! It is so wonderful to have Julia E. on our team here at work - she has been upgrading our website, aided in getting together our very first issue of Create: Paper Arts Education & Inspiration E-magazine, and more. SO... we finally have someone on our team here at work who can help me get things like this done (and she actually knows what she is doing - LOL!). So my request on this final 12 Days of Christmas blog candy post is for you to leave a comment that shares what it is that you think about what we do at www.ellenhutson.com. We want to hear what it is that you love about us, any suggestions you may have for improvements (other than shipping costs, because in all honesty we absorb MANY $$ in shipping already and I know that you would like free shipping, but we just won't be in business any longer if we provide that for you and I am so very sorry about that) we can make - in other words we would like for you to share your true opinion of what we do and how we do it. Please share your thoughts regarding the service we provide, the product we carry, etc. Your opinion truly does matter to us!
