the CLASSroom

Hello, Monday 03.18.2013

(click on the pic to en-biggan)

The camera trend is, well, trending! BAH HA HAAAA!!! And, I totally LOVE it! I have been collecting lots of camera embellishments to go with my stamps and dies. But, I am such a naughty little hoarder... *sigh*... I decided this week, that I was going to USE them and three card designs popped into my head, begging to be made real...

So, I hope you like cameras, too... 'Cuz when the little voices give me three ideas in one fell swoop, I have no choice but to ride the wave... I didn't even ride it to the end, but I got a good start. Heh, heh, heh! 

I also share a little tip for working with the Prima Marketing Metal Paper Clips in the video--if you watch and listen, you'll see what I mean. And, since I discovered that little trick, I'm stoked.  And, I want more of those Prima shaped clips!!! I'm kicking myself I didn't get the darn birds at the same time I got the cameras--cuz y'all know how I love me some birds, too!!! *chortle*

Hope you enjoy the video! You can watch it here or on YouTube and please subscribe to our channel!  We love sharing creative ideas with you!

Thanks for hangin' with me this Mundane morning and hope you have a gooder!

SUPPLIES & MATERIALS:

 

Clear Stamp Sheet, Say Cheese	Studio Calico ClearDesign, Oh Snap from Hero Arts	My Favorite Things Die-namics, Accent It - Cute Cameras	VersaFine, Onyx Black
Memento Ink Pad, Espresso Truffle	Prima Hello Pastel Collection, Metal Paper Clips	Studio Calico, Abroad Wood Veneer, Cameras	Essentials by Ellen: Sequins, Iridescent Orange Flame
Essentials by Ellen: Sequins, Iridescent Vanilla	Essentials by Ellen: Sequins, Iridescent Daffodil	My Mind's Eye Enamel Dots, Boy Crazy	My Mind's Eye Enamel Dots, Cute from Collectable-Notable by Jen Allyson
Dylusions Ink Spray, White Linen	Accents, Glossy	Studio Calico Snippets 6x6 Paper Pad	My Mind's Eye Decorative Tape, Green & Navy
Dear Lizzy Lucky Charm 6x6 Paper Pad	Lifestyle Crafts Dies, Nesting Circles	Lifestyle Crafts Dies, Nesting Squares	Honey Bee Non Stick Scissors
Paper Shapers Circle Punch 1/2""	EK Paper Shapers Punch, 1/2 Circle	Tweezer Bee	Tweezers, Stainless
Craft Knife, Fingertip	Ruler, Tim Holtz Design	Glue Glider Pro Tool with Pro Plus PermaTac Cartridge	Glue Glider Pro Plus Refill, High Tac 58'
3D-Dots, 1/16" Thick	Essentials by Ellen: Craft-a-Board 6x12, 12p	Cardstock, Black, 10 pack	A Cardstock, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Ream
A Cardstock, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, 25 pack	A3 Cardstock, Neenah Environment Desert Storm, Ream	Paper Trimmer, Tonic Guillotine 8 1/2"	Sew Easy Baker's Twine, Black
Doodle Twine Spool, Beetle Black	Sizzix Big Shot Machine, Black & Pink	Martha Stewart Scoring Board, Mini	Teflon Bone Folder

InLinkz.com

I Do Wedding Card by Julia Stainton

It's a lovely time of year for a white wedding. We have a fresh dusting of snow and it's that special season when we celebrate love and the special people in our lives.It seems very appropriate that tomorrow we are attending what is a very special wedding in our family. My oldest son and his lovely fiancee tie the knot and I couldn't be more excited.

(image credit: Vincent Kember)

One of James and Shannon's beautiful engagement photos inspired this design. This is my favourite photo of them and I really wanted to work it into the card.

Truth be told, this card I designed wasn't the one I had planned in my head. Designing can be like that and projects can take on a mind of their own. When that happens, you might as well just go with the creative flow. While this card isn't the over-the-top floral and embellisment-laden design I had wanted to create, simple and elegant with the focus on the couple themselves is perfect for James and Shannon.

  To start off this design, I used one of my favourite photo techniques that is so easy to do and adds wonderful texture and interest. The Claudine Hellmuth Sticky Back Canvas is perfect for so many different art and mixed media techniques but it is also perfect for clean and simple design as well. Did you know that you can run these sheets right through your printer? Oh the possibilities! No specific settings needed, just put the sheet into your printer and print your photo. I love the black and white look but colour works great as well.

Once my photo was printed, I trimmed it down,removed the backing and adhered it to a piece of Craft-a-Board, a great chipboard-type product.

Next I wanted to die cut the image but as the Styled Labels die was on a angle, it was difficult to line up. I certainly didn't want to cut off the wrong part of the photo. A piece of vellum to the rescue. I die cut the vellum out with the die and then placed it over the image where I wanted it. Because you can see through vellum, it made it easy. Then I lined up the die over where the vellum lay and ran the whole thing through my Sizzix Big Shot.

I love how clean, crisp and pretty the die cut turned out.

Which in turn made it very difficult to add too much to the design. Everything seemed to take away from it. And so...

...the best solution was to keep it simple.

• a very simple sentiment using white canvas letter stickers
• a simple white on white embossed dot background
• a simple trinket pin and charm to dress it up

To finish the inside, I turned to a simple Now and Forever stamped sentiment. The  two little canvas chipboard hearts were created with more sticky-back canvas and Craft-a-Board to coordinate with the front.

 Wishing you a lovely and creative weekend! Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom!

Supplies:

 

InLinkz.com

12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist 2011 - Day 12 by Ellen

'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house...

This is the theme of my last tag of the year. Day 12, Tag 12 - the end of our 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist for the year 2011. We hope you enjoyed the twists that we shared here in the CLASSroom this year. Yes, it is a labor of love that pushes us through each year. It is a "mission" each day just to get these completed in a manner that we hope inspires you.

Today it is my desire to share several more ways for you to use tissue paper in your projects, as well as share one more resist technique with you!

Don't you find these contemporary, yet rustic little dwellings, sitting in a snowbank with Santa flying overhead simply cute!

Adhering tissue paper to a surface can be done in ways atypical to the usual glues and adhesives. If you would like to add color to your project Claudine Hellmuth's Studio Line is the PERFECT way to add your tissue paper! First cut the dwellings from Craft-a-Board. Apply a layer of Studio Paint.

For variation and interest I added a second color in a streaky manner. You could stamp patterns or use stencils to add variation as well. I was trying to keep today's projects simple and colorful.

Immediately, while the paint is still wet, attach your tissue paper to your project by placing it on the painted surface and applying pressure evenly over the entire surface. Magically the color appears through the tissue paper in a wonderful muted way.

Aren't these just the sweetest mix of colors - right now I am picturing myself in a tranquil setting on the Italian coastline where their homes are so magically colored. How divine!

To add snow to the rooftops follow the same technique I showed a few days ago. Using Picket Fence Distress Crackle Paint apply along the roofline and drag a piercing tool through the paint for a random appearance. Sprinkle silver and clear glass glitter (Twinklets Diamond Dust) into the wet paint. Allow to dry.

Streak Picket Fence Distress Stain randomly over a manila tag.

Add "icicles" to the manila tag surface by randomly streaking Rock Candy Distress Crackle paint on the surface. Apply enough so that you get random cracking. The more you apply, the larger the cracks, with thinner layers providing smaller cracks. Allow to dry.

This surface is absolutely fabulous and very "icy" looking, but I had more to show you ;-D

Using an ink blending tool, in a circular motion, add both Tumbled Glass and Stormy Sky distress ink at random to your surface.

Stamp snowflakes in both Stormy Sky and Tumbled Glass.

Make a corner of a soft towel or paper towel damp and wipe the excess ink from the surface where the Rock Candy Crackle paint is applied. Your snowflakes will start disappearing into the night sky.

To create your snowbank use a piece of tissue that has the tiny pinked edge formed by the cutting blade on the packaging on one side and a haphazardly torn edge on the other side. Crumple your tissue paper and then straighten back out. Apply Tumbled Glass distress stain in a random way and dry with a heat tool.

Cut a piece of manila cardstock to fit the width of the tag from the edges of the houses. Tear a random pattern in the top of this snowbank.

On the side opposite of the Distress Stained tissue paper, apply a layer of Gloss Multi-Medium.

Pleat, crumple, and mash the tissue paper to fit and adhere to the manila cardstock snowbank you created above.

Apply another layer of Gloss Multi-Medium to the surface by pouncing with a paintbrush. Sprinkle with both silver and clear glass glitter. Allow to dry.

I love having both 1/16" and 1/8" dimensional squares for adding depth to projects. When you need to layer items one on top of another you can achieve a "flat" look by combining the adhesive squares dependent upon where it is being attached to your project.

As you can see, one of the edges of my blue house is mounted on the tag and the other is mounted on top of the other dwelling. By placing the thicker dimensional on the side that is mounted directly to the tag it keeps my house level. Yes, the perfectionist in my is always coming out and I thought I would share this little trick with you in hopes that it will help other perfectionists out here in cyberville - LOL!

Tip: Create a more unifed balance by spacing these dwellings of different sizes and shapes in an assymetrical way. In other words, don't center the red house or it will not look right. It's all about breaking up your space into thirds and fifths - the Roman mean. Yep, that puts me right back in Italy and I'm going back to the Cinque Terre - ha, ha!

I needed to use my second set of hands, my self-closing tweezers, to knot my baker's twine and add the little jingle bell.

Since it is Christmas Eve I decided to add one simple "window" to my dwelling, but needed to alter the color ever so slightly to coordinate with the house on the left and Santa's face - Delicata Gold ink to the rescue!

One last parting shot of our last tag of the season. We hope that you have enjoyed your time here with us and with that we would like to close with... Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

stamps: Tim Holtz Winter Sketchbook 

ink: Distress Ink - Tumbled Glass and Stormy Sky, Distress Stain - Picket Fence and Tumbled Glass

paper: Manila Cardstock, Craft-a-board, Terminology Tissue Wrap

accessories: Studio Line - Dab of Yellow, Yellow Pastel, Modern Red, Dash of Red, Sky Blue, Landscape Green, Glossy Multi-Medium; Off White Twill, Silver Tinsel, Santa Christmas Ornament (these are absolutely darling and the size is perfect for crafting!), Picket Fence Distress Crackle Paint, Silver Glitter Glass, Twinklets Diamond Dust, Bakers Twine, Jingle Bell, Game Pieces

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It's our last day of blog candy, but the party is far from over! Be certain to join us again tomorrow as we get our Hero Arts preview party started. Due to the "inconveniences" of today (yes, my studio is in complete disarray as the neighbors flooded toilet made an amazing mess in our office and warehouse - who would have thought a toilet contains that much water!) I am not certain when we will be able to get our first post up, but it is on to Plan B for the short term as I try to wade through this - ha, ha! Gotta laugh about it or I just might be sitting in a puddle crying - double ha, ha!

To be eligible for the random drawing of the goodies shown above please leave a comment here on this post by noon Pacific Time, Wednesday, December 14th. 

One last reminder that the goodies in the 12 Days Tag Time will be on sale until tomorrow morning at 9:00am, so if you have been inspired to try something new and different please head over to take advantage of the savings.

Thank you all once again for joining us here in the CLASSroom. We sincerely hope that we have brought a bright spot to your holiday season, that you have been inspired, and hopefully, have picked up a couple of new ideas to use in your creating!

12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist 2011 - Day 7 by Julia Stainton

I've always believed the saying that inspiration breeds more inspiration. I love being inspired by other crafters and for today's tag, number 7 in our 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist, is definitely inspired by Tim's tag. I hope you enjoy this version that takes some of the techniques and elements and makes them work for my style and what I have on hand.

 

The other night I was watching a Christmas special and the set was beautiful white, silver and a hint of blue. I decided I just had to create a project using that color scheme so that is what I went with today. Here's what I did...

First of all I was inspired to use Kraft Glassine but I didn't have any on hand. What I did have though was a Kraft Glassine Envelope and as it is fairly close to a tag in size and shape, decided to make it into my tag base for my project. I started off by crumpling it up for some texture.

I don't have any alcohol inks on hand so I decided to play around with my kraft glassine envelope and see how it would take white paints and inks. I love how this really lightened the glassine kraft color.

To get my finished look I first rubbed in Picket Fence Distress Stain onto the envelope/tag and then heat set it. I wanted a snowy look so I then misted it with Calico White mist and then heat set again. Lastly I stamped the tag with snowflakes in white pigment ink and then heat set it.

Next I moved onto my snowflake accent. I die cut it with my Big Shot from Craft-a-Board and then painted it with Brushed Pewter Distress Crackle Paint. This step takes the longest to dry. I admit I was a bit impatient and this photo is before it was totally dry and cracked.

Altering embellishments with Alcohol Inks was an idea that intrigued me but again, I didn't have any. Copic Ink Refills to the rescue! You can use them the same way. I squirted some into a bag and then colored the pearl tips of my trinket pins. For all of you who support Ellen's Store, you'll know that she ships many of her liquid products in small plastic zip bags. Save them as they are perfect for this purpose!

My little tag was created by pressing some Distress Stain onto my Craft Mat and then swiping the paper across it.

It may be difficult to see in the picture but the flower is accented with dabs of Diamond Stickles for an icy look.

Finally here's a top view of how it all goes together.

I hope this tag inspires you and gets you into a frosty holiday mood

Supplies: Tim Holtz Kraft Glassine Envelope, Snowcap White Pigment Ink by Ranger, Mr. Huey's Calico White Color Mist by Studio Calico, Picket Fence Distress Stain and Tumbled Glass Distress Stain by Ranger, Tim Holtz Grunge Flakes stamp set and Tim Holtz Odds and Ends stamp set by Stampers Anonymous, heat gun, Snowflake Die by Sizzix, Wedding Shoes Flower by Prima Marketing, Diamond Stickles by Ranger, Tinsel Trim by Webster's Pages, Brushed Pewter Distress Crackle Paint by Ranger, Pearl Trinket Pins by Maya Road, twine, Hinge Clip by Advantus, Small Doilies by Essentials by Ellen, Jet Black Archival Ink by Ranger, Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink by Ranger, B00 Frost Blue Copic Refill

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Oh how I love a pretty tag - and Julia S never fails to create beautiful projects with loads of depth. I love how she was able to alter the Kraft Glassine using a completely different method! Please she your love with her this holiday season - by leaving a comment on this post you will be eligible for the random drawing of the stamp set, Kraft Glassine envelopes and Calico White spray above! Please leave your message no later than noon on Friday, December 9th to be included in our random drawing.

12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist 2011 - Day 6 by Ellen

Inspiration comes in interesting ways! It always amazes me how memories in the recesses of one's mind come to the forefront when creating. When I first peeked at Tim's tag this morning I paused - I knew that it reminded me of something, but I could not put my finger on it. Christopher Radko makes some of the most beautiful glass ornaments and the bright colors just struck a cord in my mind, but that wasn't it. It was when one of our sweet customers stopped in, exclaiming that it looked like a Mexican ornament, that it truly dawned on me what memory was trying to find its way to the surface.

(remember to double click on the photos if you want to see them in more detail)

It was a trip to Old Town San Diego when my girls were little! We purchased two very sweet little Mexican Tin Ornaments for our Christmas tree. I always like to purchase a Christmas ornament when we take a trip, so that when we decorate our tree each year it brings back fond memories of time spent with my family. Well guess what... we haven't had the time to decorate our tree yet this year and my mind was blanking... and yet the idea was still there!

Are you tired of me using the Inkssentials Metal Foil yet? LOL! When Tim used it today I knew that I wanted to try another idea I had discovered and will be sharing that "blooper" discovery with you after the tags are completed. Today's creation pushes that blooper a step further!

Adhere a piece of Metal Foil to the Craft-a-board (picture showing this is on Day 4 Tag.)

Place in embossing folder making certain that the debossed area is pushing down into the metal foil.

This particular embossing folder is exquisite! I love the textural difference of the metal foil where it is untouched vs. embossed!

Now being the complete tease that I am, I wanted to post the picture above and say - here is the completed Day 6 tag. I LOVE how simple and beautiful it is!!! You could crank out a TON of these!! But, I had an idea and I carried on :-D

Apply Snow Cap Alcohol Ink Mixative to the felt applicator and dab the entire tag with it.

Then, one drop at a time, use Various Refills (which are alcohol inks) to color in the debossed areas. I used a fine tipped old paintbrush to paint in the color. It is not critical that you stay within the lines, but working in a "neat" manner will make it easier in the long run.

As you can see the color flows fairly well within those debossed areas.

Apply all colors before moving on. I like working on my non-stick craft sheet. Cleanup is super easy - to clean your paintbrush put a small amount of alcohol ink blending solution or rubbing alcohol into a tiny container and swish the brush clean between colors. Then use the solution to clean up any mess on your non-stick craft sheet when your project is complete.

Alcohol ink dries quickly! It still may feel a little tacky, but you can proceed. Put your project on a piece of scrap paper (don't sand directly on your non-stick craft sheet or you may destroy it) and sand the top surface of the tag. Using a corner of the small Lucky Squirrel sander you can also rough up the painted interior of the flowers if desired. It is so fun to see the satiny foil appear through the white mixative!

Use a soft cloth to remove dust from sanding.

I love that the Webster's Pages trims are mounted on a clear backing. This allows you to easily see what your project will look like if you apply these fun jewels. Add additional bling to the flower centers.

I hope you like today's interpretation of Tim's tag and for those of you who love simplicity and are way behind, just stop at step 1! So simple and gorgeous, or detailed and colorful - you pick!

ink: Snow Cap Alcohol Ink Mixative, Various Ink Refills - R29, YG67, Y17, V17, Colorless Blender Solution

paper: Craft-a-Board

accessories: Tim Holtz Tags & Bookplates Die, Sizzix Basic Grey Winter Botanicals Embossing Folder, Inkssentials Metal Foil, Sanding Block - Tim's and Lucky Squirrel, Alcohol Ink Applicator, Webster's Pages Botanical Christmas Dazzle Me strip, Yellow Gemstones Large and Small, Violet Silk Ribbon, Red Tassle

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What is the favorite new tool/product that you have tried recently? By sharing your comment below you will automatically be entered in our random drawing for the goodies shown above. Be certain to leave your comment before noon on Thursday, December 8th to be included. Thank you for once again joining us as we celebrate creativity at this festive time of year!

12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist 2011 - Day 4 by Ellen

Welcome to Day 4! The inspiration I took from Tim's tag today was the beautiful cracked detail! The first thing that popped into my mind was the beautiful old glass vintage ornaments that I have seen in photos and so I decided I would try and play with that idea.

I am going to apologize right now for the quality of my photos and promise I will try to take some better pictures during the daylight hours tomorrow. I'm not certain what I did, but the white balance on my camera was definitely not accurate and combine that with the sparkle and sheen... well the quality of my photos tonight is definitely off. I considered going back down to work to reshoot them, but admitedly I'm just too tired - so I decided to share them as is and try to get better photos tomorrow.

OK - so this is a new day and a new photo. The color is much more accurate in this photo, but now you can't see the pretty sparkle - LOL! Oh well, it's all good because I know that you all have wonderful imaginations :-D

To begin adhere the Inkssentials Metal Foil to Craft-a-Board. Craft-a-Board is a product that works BEAUTIFULLY with embossing folders and diecuts. It adds stability to your projects and yet allows all the detail to show.

Use Carved Ornaments #2 to cut out the ornament shapes.

The detail of this embossing folder also reminds me of the patterning I have seen on vintage ornaments. Align the ornament within the folder using a small piece of tissue tape to hold it in position. Run it through your diecut and embossing machine.

Use the alcohol ink applicator and YG63 Various Ink refill to colorize the metal foil. Drip several drops of Various Ink onto the felt pad and dab on the ornament surface.

Lightly sand the raised surface of the ornament. It is incredible how gorgeous the detail looks when the burnished satiny silver appears above the light green.

Apply a light layer of Rock Candy Crackle paint to the surface. Using the Ranger scraper remove the excess Rock Candy by dragging the scraper across the surface. You could also use an old credit card or Starbucks card to achieve the same result.

By removing the excess Rock Candy it exposes the satiny silver finish better and the thinner layer of Rock Candy will crack into the most beautiful fine scale which works perfectly with this embossed pattern. It truly does look like an old vintage ornament.

Add a little extra Rock Candy Crackle paint to the top edge of the ornament and the very bottom. Sprinkle Vintage Glitter Glass on these areas. Allow to dry. Rock Candy Crackle paint takes a LONG time to dry - LOL! This is experiment #4 I believe - when we have completed the 12 days series I hope to do a "bloopers" post. I think you will be highly amused and begin to understand why these posts go up so late each night ;-D

I tried so hard to get a picture that captures the gorgeous cracked detail, but argh - my pictures just are not good today - hopefully you can envision the absolute beauty in this little decoration.

Using the technique that Tim shared today I swiped Picket Fence and Bundled Sage Distress stains on my non-stick craft sheet. Spritz your tag with water and then pull it through the inks on the craft sheet.

When creating my tag base I decided to experiment with the combination of Picket Fence and Bundled Sage. I was curious if there would be a difference between the tags if I added Picket Fence or left it out. I was quite surprised that there was a subtle difference between the two tags. Can you guess which one has the Picket Fence stain added?

It's the tag on the left - the Picket Fence seemed to give a more subtle, "grainy" appearance. It is so fun to compare! I'm certain if you were using a darker stain color that it would be even more defined.

Ink the snowflake stamps with Bundled Sage Distress Stain and randomly stamp the tag background. The difference when stamping using an image inked with Distress Stain vs. an ink pad is quite noticable. Distress Stain will give you a looser, more watercolor like look (shown on the left), whereas your stamp pad will define the image clearly (shown on the right).

Cut the evergreen foliage using the Tattered Pine Cones die from excess plastic packaging. It is fun to know that there is a recyclable use for the packaging from the dies. If you do not have any Clearly for Art works in a very similar manner.

Use Snow Cap and Silver Metallic dabbers to ink the foliage. Then lightly heat the plastic and shape. You need to work quickly as the plastic cools it hardens into whatever form you have created. Good news is that you can always reheat and reshape.

One last parting shot that also has really bad coloring - LOL! Be certain to double click on the photo and it will pop bigger so that you can see the cracked detail. Please use your imagination to input the color above to coordinate perfectly with Bundled Sage, then add an incredible sparkle and a silvery satin quality and you've got it :-D Sorry for the bad photos but I do hope that this inspires you to try playing with these fun techniques!

stamps: Winter Sketchbook

ink: YG63 Various Ink Refill, Picket Fence and Bundled Sage Distress Stain

paper: Neenah Solar White, Craft-a-Board

accessories: Tim Holtz Tags & Bookplates, Carved Ornaments #2 and Tattered Pine Cones Dies, Lifestyle Crafts Whimsy Embossing Folder, Inkssentials Metal Foil, Alcohol Ink Applicator, Melissa Frances Pale Green Glass Glitter, Rock Candy Crackle Paint, Webster's Pages Vintage Netting, Vintage Satin and Lace, Lavish Trimmings, Snow Cap and Silver Metallic Dabbers, Sanding Block, Baubles

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I love dies - there are SO many to pick from! Tell me which dies you currently use frequently - by doing so you will automatically be entered in our random drawing for the Carved Ornaments #2 Dies shown above. You have until Tuesday, December 6th noon Pacific Time (one comment per person please) to share your comment.  We look forward to hearing from you!    

Maribelle Burnished Velvet Butterfly Tag

Today I wanted to share a project created using the beautiful Memory Box Maribelle and Selena Butterfly Dies, as well as the lovely Butterfly Delights Die. Having always loved butterflies these dies are ones I am having SO much fun creating with. Over the next few days I hope to share several other methods of creating using these dies, so be certain to stay tuned for more ideas --- I couldn't help myself :-D

 

Burnished Velvet is a technique that we have shared numerous posts here on our blogs. By using the search mechanism located in the upper right hand corner of the blog the following posts and typing in the words "burnished velvet" these posts came up to refresh your memory.

 

To begin today's project I covered Craft-a-Board with Be Creative Tape. These low profile dies will typically cut all the way through Craft-a-Board, but not when adding extra layers of adhesive or decorative paper. Using the Selena Die I ran it through my Vagabond first and then completed the cut with the Fiskars Fingertip Knife --- it was super easy to cut through the remaining thickness!

Cut out the Black Outline of the Maribelle Butterfly from Black Glossy cardstock.

 

Remove the tape backing, position the Maribelle Butterfly exactly over top the Selena Butterfly, and use the backing to press the outline firmly in to place.

Sprinkle Grasshopper glitter on to a portion of the wings and shake off excess. 
 

Apply Peacock Blue glitter to the outside edges of the wings and shake off excess.

Next apply Ice Blue glitter over the remaining uncovered portion and remove.

I then came back over the Peacock Blue portion and a slight portion of the Ice Blue with more Peacock Blue glitter and burnished it in place. This allowed for some of the Peacock Blue to mix with the Ice Blue and help soften the line. I know with practice I would be able to get a better gradation between the colors, but this was my first attempt and I felt that it I should share some of my "imperfections" with you. This way you can see that I don't always get it right - LOL! 

Repeat on the opposite side with the Grasshopper glitter.

I LOVE this beautiful sparkly butterfly! 

To create the tag I first cut out my tag using the Tags and Bookmarks die from Tim Holtz. I then positioned the Butterfly Delights die atop the tag, holding it in place using tissue tape, and created the cut outs. I love the border dies that create tese fabulous cut outs - you can then use the little butterflies to flutter them about on another project or put them into your gift bag as confetti.

As I said earlier, stay tuned for more fun ways to create using these gorgeous butterfly dies!
 

paper: Memory Box Key Lime Distressed Dots, Glossy Black Cardstock, Craft-a-Board

accessories: Memory Box Dies - Selena, Maribelle, Butterfly Delights; Tim Holtz Tag and Bookplates Die, Maya Road Turquoise Ruffle Edge Trim and Sheer Scrolls Ribbon, Be Creative (Sookwang) Tape, Grasshopper, Ice Blue and Peacock Blue Glitter Ritz

Old Jalopy Father's Day Card by Becky Olsen

Father's Day is in just a few days, can you believe? Sometimes coming up with masculine ideas can be a little intimidating for me. I love making cards with all the girly fluff and eye candy, but thinking of ways to let the men in my life know how much they mean can be a little more difficult. I was pondering this dilemma and remembered the Old Jalopy die cut that Tim Holtz designed for Sizzix, and the question of where to start was answered.

First the die cut was cut out in Craft-a-Board. Then start at the bottom edge and lay down a strip of Marketplace Tissue Tape. 

Then cover the rest strip by strip with Tim Holtz Marketplace Tissue Tape.

Use an exacto knife to remove the excess tape from the edges and windows of the jolopy.

Color the windows from the other pieces of the die cut with Copic markers and then coat with Glossy Accents and set aside to dry.

Color the other pieces of the car from the die cut with Copic markers and adhere in place on the car. Stitch May Arts black silk ribbon onto the bottom of a card base that has been covered in October Afternoon paper from the Seaside collection. The sentiment was done with Cosmo Cricket black Tiny Type. 

Adhere the jalopy with Scrapbook Adhesives dimensional foam, and insert the windows at this time as well (if they are dry).

This sweet ride is ready to hit the road now, and I am really excited about how cute it turned out. Not the same thing as a girly, eye candy kind of card, but one that no doubt will give a jump start to your special dad's heart.

B-

Summertime with New Lockhart Stamps and Mykonos Paper

I just have to giggle this morning as I write this post - most obviously I hid my "clue" in the picture on Facebook well. Yes, it is new Lockhart stamps that I am so excited about! Lockhart stamps were my first "babies" here in our store. I would head out and teach coloring classes using these images and would love every minute of it. I still love every minute of the time I get to spend coloring these delightful images. The details make me smile and feel all warm inside.

Over the next three days I will be sharing a new project each day, showcasing the new images AND we have a special give-away here for you today, so be certain to read all the way through this post and leave a comment to the question below to become eligible for this random drawing.

 

Ready To Plant... I am SO ready to plant this spring! I really would like to have some of my favorite home-grown tomatoes again this year, but the weather - oh vey! So for now I will have to satisfy myself with coloring pretty garden images :-D The shape of today's tag was inspired by the fabulous little tags available in the new Mykonos collection. The colors in this collection just scream summertime to me and so I began to color my series of projects with these beautiful papers sitting next to me.

 

As always I begin to color my image by "picking out" the details in my image using a light colored Copic marker.

I then come back in and add darker highlights such as the red, as you can see I am beginning to do in the petunias above. There are times when I am uncertain what colors I will want to use on certain pieces of the image, such as the wheelbarrow, and so I leave them alone until I get further into my color selection.

 

Once I have all my colors in place I then come back with the lightest color to blend them all together. If the range of the color values is too large I will scribble some of the darkest color in the area I am blending on my non-stick craft sheet and using the lightest color I will pick this color up off the sheet with the tip of my marker and bring it back into the design to blend the colors. This will create depth in your image with the varied color values.

 

I used two coordinating patterns and the tag series shape as inspiration. A layer of squash cardstock is used on the reverse center section to "disguise" the inky backside of my colored image and add sturdiness.

A button was created using Craft-a-Board and covered with Squash cardstock. I adhered the cardstock to the Craft-a-Board using a small amount of Matte Multi-Medium.

To create the stitching I simply punched holes in my tag using Tim's Design Ruler. The perfectly spaced holes make it so very easy to create simple stitching patterns on your paper. Then thread good old-fashioned and inexpensive DMC floss on a needle and stitch.

The rain is coming down outside yet again today - crossing my fingers and toes that tomorrow brings sunshine so that I can spend some much needed time in my garden. :-D

 
stamps: Lockhart Ready to Plant

ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

paper: 7 Gypsies Mykonos 6x6, Neenah Solar White, Memory Box Squash Cardstock

accessories: Memory Box Button Die, Craft-a-Board, Design Ruler, Retractable Craft Pick, Matte Multi-Medium

Do you like to garden? What is your favorite plant --- is it a flower or a garden vegetable? By taking the time to share your thoughts with us in the comments section below you have a chance at winning this fun little prize package of (3) new Lockhart images, the 6x6 pack of Mykonos paper and the new Memory Box Button Die!

You have until 12:00pm PDT Monday, May 30th to leave your comment and be eligible. (One comment per person please.) We will do our random drawing on Tuesday morning and announce the winner here in the CLASSroom as well as on our Facebook Fan Club page.

Thank you for stopping in here at the CLASSroom - we wish you a happy Memorial weekend and thank all those who help protect us by serving this country!

Father's Day Card Using The Metallic Foil Multi-Medium Transfer Technique

Do bells and whistles ever go off in your head when you see a technique? Claudine recently shared a fun video showcasing a Multi-Medium Transfer Technique and bells and whistles went off in my head - this technique would be PERFECT for creating a masculine themed card for the men in your life! 

With Father's Day right around the corner I felt the combination of October Afternoon's Rocket Age would make the perfect fit with this fab technique!

 

I also wanted to show you the goodies that come "Inside the Package" in the Miscellany kits from October Afternoon. It was so much fun to select the ticket and rocket from this collection to add to my card today. I am hoping to create some additional pieces in the next few days to show you some other options - there are so many items (buttons, ribbon, tickets, cards & chipboard) to select from in these fabulous collections!

 

With Claudine's permission we are sharing her video here today. Her blog is filled with magical techniques using her fabulous line of products! Claudine is also teaching an on-line class covering "Composition" which is open for enrollment right now - so head over to Claudine's blog to learn more about it and enroll today!

 

I thought I would also show a few step-by-step photos to share my little "twist" on this technique. Rather than using actual tin I opted for something I had right here in my studio - the new Inkssentials Foil tape. I printed a picture on my laser printer (it is my understanding that inkjet printing does not work the same) of a moon using the mirror image mode since there is writing on the picture I used.

Apply multi-medium directly to the Metallic Foil as shown in Claudine's video.

 

It is absolutely critical that you allow your sample to dry completely. I left mine overnight and found it in this curled up state this morning. No worries... it works just fine!

Spritz to wet thoroughly. 

Using your pointer finger gently rub the paper fibers until your image is revealed. Continue to spritz and gently rub until your image is fiber free. 
 

When working with the foil you will need to hold down the edges as you work and be careful not to bend wrinkles into it.

Cut out a piece of Craft-a-Board to fit the moon. Use a Silver Paint Dabber to create a metallic edge on the Craft-a-Board. Simply remove the backing and the self-adhesive foil can be adhered to this more sturdy base.

You will also use this same Dabber to paint the chipboard rocket. While the paint is still wet simply take a large Artist Brush and smooth the paint for a wonderful "space-age look."

The picture above is one I have wanted to share for some time. I love using adhesive dimensionals when I add embellishments to my cardfronts. The two depths of these dimensionals (1/16" 3-D Dots and 1/8" 3-D Dots) allows me to have varying heights and create a more interesting look overall.

Jenni Bowlin's Spice Tin ink pad is a fabulous navy color and works together with so many of the Navy papers we carry. I couldn't believe I did not have a "dad" stamp in my stash! A ClearDesign alphabet saved the day!

 

Tiny Type stickers and 7 Gypsy studs were the final touches to this masculine look.

Creating for men is always a bit tricky, but I think that this technique will blast you into the stratosphere with the men in your life - ha! ha!

 
stamps: Hero Arts ClearDesign Typewriter Letters

ink: Jenni Bowlin Spice Tin Ink Pad

paper: October Afternoon Rocket Age 8x8 Paper Pad and Miscellany Kit, Memory Box Parchment Cardstock

accessories: Studio Matte Multi-Medium & Artist Brush, Inkssentials Metal Foil Tape, Cosmo Cricket Red Tiny Type, Tiny Attacher, 7 Gypsies Display Trim Studs

Melissa Frances Bridal Shower Card

It finally feels like springtime --- YEAH!!! Springtime brings summer weddings and tomorrow I have the honor of attending my niece-to-be's bridal shower. I wanted to create a special card for her. Melissa Frances has the most beautiful wedding inspired sticker collection called Dearly Beloved. The minute I saw it, I knew that it would be perfect with the gorgeous gray Jill has selected for their wedding.

It is the simple embellishments and trim that give this project the fabulous texture that makes me smile! Don't forget that you have until tomorrow at midnight to purchase some of these lovelies on sale - be certain to use promo code embellish at checkout time!

I was feeling that this style was a little outside "my box" but I am absolutely thrilled with the final result. As I stated it started with the bride and the color gray. 

 

I used the coordinating 5th Avenue 6x6 papers as the background.

What could be more perfect for a wedding look than loads of lace? My plan was to play the silky, smooth feeling of the silk and satin, against the matte, cottony texture of the crochet trims. The result is really quite lovely! This would also be a wonderful way to use up those little bits of ribbon ends!

Use Fabritac to apply a single line of adhesive for each piece of ribbon and/or lace. Snip the ends even with the edge of the card and apply Fray Check to the edges. Allow to dry.

 

To create the focal point I used Tim's Styled Label to cut a shaped piece of Craft-a-Board and applied Pearl Dabber to the surface. The sticker was popped up using 3D Dots and I felt THE perfect embellishment is the new Antique Silver Display Trim Corners. These corners come with adhesive already applied and are simple to attach to cards, display trays, scrapbook pages and so much more. LOVE the new studs as well, but had to slap my hands and go with the less is more attitude because it really felt that less was more! :-D

 
paper: Melissa Frances 5th Avenue 6x6 Paper Pad, Dearly Beloved Stickers, Memory Box Dove Gray Cardstock, Essentials Craft-a-Board

accessories: Antique Silver Display Trim Corners, Tim Holtz Styled Labels Die, Pearl Adirondack Dabber, Crochet Trim, Baby Pom Pom, Mini Ovals, Vintage, Vintage Scallop,  Satin Pleat Ribbon, 1/4" Silk Ribbon, Fabritac, Fray Check

Framed Stencil Flower by Sharon Harnist

Today I wanted to show how you can easily create an easel frame for any sized project.

I started this framed piece of artwork with this fabulous Hero Arts Cling-Stencil Flower stamp.  I stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto Copic's X-Press It Blending Card and colored it with the RV series of Copic Sketch Markers listed below, which matches the smaller flowers on the patterned paper I chose. I cut out the flower and then stamped and colored an additional flower, which I cut out only the center of, and stacked it with foam tape on top of the whole flower.

I loved this piece of Webster's 6x6 Petite Trendsetter paper and wanted to used the whole piece -- as opposed to cutting it down to fit into whatever sized frame I might have on hand (and probably not the right color!).  So this is what I did:

I rounded the corners of the 6-inch patterned paper using Crop-a-Dile's Corner Chomper.  Then I cut 6.25" pieces of Ellen's Craft-A-Board and the fabulous new Core-dinations Color Core Cardstock-Black and adhered the black cardstock on the Craft-a-Board, to create a sturdy base.  The patterned paper was matted with a 6-1/8" piece of Neenah Natural White cardstock and then adhered with foam tape on top of the black base.

To create the easel for the back of the frame, I just used a photo frame I had on hand and traced the shape onto Craft-a-Board and cut it out:

 

If I had thought far enough ahead, I probably would have used brads to secure the easel to the back of the Craft-a-Board frame before adhering the patterned paper to the front, but I didn't!  So instead, I scored 1/2" from the top of the easel and then used Ranger's Mini Glossy Accents to adhere the easel to the back of the frame -- this stuff will hold ANYthing with a fabulous permanent bond!

Make sure to line up the bottom edge of the easel with the bottom corner of your frame, so it will stand up correctly (mine IS aligned -- it just appears not to be, because it's folded up a little).

To create the small glittered frame around the "be true" sentiment printed on the patterned paper, I used two smaller Spellbinders Labels Thirteen Nestabilities dies and die cut a frame from sturdy cardstock:

Then I used the same YG63 Copic marker I used on the flower and colored the die cut cardstock frame -- be sure you color the outside as well as the inside edges of the frame, for a nice finish.  This just ensures that none of the white cardstock frame base will show through the glitter.  Then I ran the frame through my Xyron machine, covering it in adhesive, and applied the Glitter Ritz Opaque Micro Fine Chartreuse Glitter glitter.

The frame was popped up with foam tape over the sentiment and the large flower accented with Ranger Star Dust Stickles.

Now just think of all the different sizes and shapes of easel framed artwork (or scrapbook pages!) you can create . . . Enjoy! ~ Sharon

Stamps: Hero Arts Cling-Stencil Flower,
Paper: Copic X-Press It Blending Card, Webster's 6x6 Petite Papers-Trendsetter, Core-dinations Colore Core Cardstock-Black, Neenah Natural White cardstock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black,
Copic Markers: RV13, RV14, RV17, RV19, YG63, T5
Accessories: Essentials by Ellen Craft-A-Board, Spellbinders Labels Thirteen Nestabilities dies, Glitter Ritz Opaque Micro Fine Glitter-Chartreuse, Ranger Star Dust Stickles and Mini Glossy Accents, Crop-a-Dile Corner Chomper, Tonic Tim Holtz Non-Stick Serrated Scissors, Scrapbook Adhesives 3D Foam Squares,

Spring Photo Tray by Sharon Harnist

Time for an update of my seasonal Photo Tray for Spring & Summer!  You can find my other seasonal Photo Trays here (Fall) and here (Christmas), if you care to get some other ideas of how this tray can be used.  I use temporary adhesive on each of the 4" x 6" panels within each tray section, so they can be removed and the tray used over and over again!  I used this gorgeous new Prima 6x6 paper pad-Madeline, for an easily coordinated tray.

In the top left section, I used Spellbinders largest Labels Large Nestabilities die to cut the photo of my oldest daughter (showing off her new glasses!) -- notice that pretty embossed edge of the photo!  I love using dies to cut my photos into unexpected shapes -- I think it gives my scrapbooking a nice professional touch.  

The flower accent was cut from coordinating Madeline paper using Tim Holt Bigz Die-Tattered Florals.  It's quick and easy to cut all the coordinating flower pieces you need in just one die!  I stacked the pieces together with 3D Foam Squares, and accented the center with a Hero Arts Medium accent pearl.

In the upper center section, the bird cage was die cut from a sheet of cork that was backed with a sheet of Be Creative tape:

Then I just cut away pieces of the adhesive backing from where I wanted the cork to adhere to the butterfly patterned paper in a curved dimensional shape.  The adhesive sheet helps give the cork more stability, to retain its curved shape and makes it super easy to adhere to the paper.  Then I just trimmed the patterned paper around the cage and laced it up with Brown Twine, and walah . . . caged butterflies!

This Tim Holtz Caged Bird die contains two images:

Here's how I used the bird in the upper right section:

For this sweet bird die cut, I adhered Creative Imaginations Real Cherry Wood Cherry to Craft-a-Board to give it more stability and then die cut it -- I love the texture!  It's popped up on foam tape.  I loved this wonderful scalloped sentiment piece that is from another piece of the Madeline paper. It says: "True beauty lies within. I know that yours will shine so brilliant it will be blinding."  Something I hope my beautiful daughters learn in life.

 
My favorite section is fabulous dress I created!  I used Tim Holt's Bigz Die-Sewing Room dress form to cut Craft-a-Board, which was then sponged with Antique Linen & Brushed Corduroy Distress Inks:

Then I adhered a large Prima Cherry Rose Trim to the dress form -- one flower was all that was needed of this gorgeous trim:

I trimmed the flowers to fit the dress form, and then finished it with a Hero Arts Small Accent Pearls necklace.  My oldest daughter said she wants a dress like this!

The final two sections on the lower right were accented with huge Spellbinders Nested Butterfly die cuts.  I cut the largest butterfly in half and adhered the halves in each section and then topped it with the middle butterfly die that was adhered on top of the section divider and finished with Hero Arts Medium accent pearls.  Some Maya Road Cream Small Organza Rose trim was used in each section, to help tie them together.  In the left section, I used pieces of the fuschia Tattered Flowers die cuts that were left over from the top left section, topped with one of the small organza roses.  The small label cut out in the left section is from another piece of the Madeline paper, cut in half:

The photo of my youngest daughter was cut with a circle die.  I hope this tray helps to give you some ideas of different ways you can use this wonderful 7 Gypsies Black Photo Tray!

~ Sharon Harnist

Paper: Prima 6x6 paper pad-Madeline, Magenta Cork sheet, Essentials by Ellen Craft-a-Board, Creative Imaginations Real Wood Cherry-Thin,
Ink: Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Inks-Antique Linen & Brushed Corduroy, Ink Blending Tool; 
Tools: Sizzix Tim Holt Bigz Die-Tattered Florals, Caged Bird & Sewing Room; Spellbinders Nested Butterfly, Labels Large Nestabilities & Circle Nestabilities die sets
Accessories: 7 Gypsies Black Photo Tray, Prima Cherry Rose Trim, Hero Arts Medium & Small Accent Pearls, Maya Road Cream Small Organza Roses, Jillibean Soup Brown Twine, Be Creative (Sookwang) Sheet adhesive, Scrapbook Adhesives 3D Foam Squares, Glue Glider Pro Repositionable tape, 

Easter Lily Cake Box YouTube Videos, with Susan Tierney Cockburn and Ellen Hutson

We thank you for your questions, patience and interest in the video we did for this month's newsletter. Many of you have tried to view the video, but due to computer, browser, and who knows what other issues you have had difficulty viewing the entire video. In an effort to make certain that we don't leave anyone out we are redoing the entire post here in the CLASSroom. We have now uploaded the video to YouTube in three segments due to the length, so please view each segment individually below. Thank you again for your willingness to learn with us and for your patience! So let's begin with "Take #2!"

We have also announced the winner of the Easter Lily Blog Candy here - congratulations go out to Shelley Smith. Please contact us at customerservice@ellenhutson.com with your snail mail address so that we can get your goodies right out to you.

How many of you are passionate about flowers and/or gardening? How many of you can no longer garden the way that you once did? It has been too many years now since I have been able to climb all over my hillside gardening. Before my hip injury I was passionate about my flowers and covered my hillside in beautiful perennials. Some still remain, but they are not in the same "shape" as they once were, so perhaps this is the reason paper flowers appeal to me so much. I can make these in my craft room without squatting AND at any time of the year :-D

One of my greatest blessings in life has been the friendship and bond I have had the good fortune of developing with Susan! It is such an honor to have her join me for today's lesson in paper flower making. Susan has pioneered the art of paper flower making for the past 15 years. Her work is such an inspiration and it is always so much fun to collaborate with her on projects!!!

 

This beautiful cake box is the project we worked on together for this month's newsletter. We hope that you enjoy the video we created to share with you today and that it empowers you to give flower making a try. In this video Susan will teach you how to create the beautiful lilies showcased above and below, sharing many wonderful tips throughout. Please grab your favorite drink and settle in for this 45 minute class with Susan as she shares many of the fabulous techniques she has innovated to bring this art form to us. 

 

 

  

Step-by-step written instructions for creating beautiful lilies are included in Susan's first book The Paper Garden. I cannot begin to tell you how helpful her books have been to me as I learn to create beautiful blooms! If you are a visual learner like me you will also find this book a wealth of information.

CREATING THE CAKE BOX

Now that you know how to make the flowers for this project I am going to share just a few basics regarding the construction of the cake box.

I prefer to attach my decorative paper to the Craft-a-Board before die cutting the pieces using the 3-D Cake Box Die. By affixing the paper to the Craft-a-Board with Be Creative (Sookwang) tape I am assured that I will have a perfectly covered project.

To create today's project I used Lilybee's 12x12 paper. For the scalloped top and base I applied decorative paper to both sides of the Craft-a-Board before die cutting. 

For the cake sides, decorative paper was applied to only one side of the Craft-a-Board. Being careful to position the paper so that the decorative side is cut all the way through, and the Craft-a-Board only scored, is important. To do this place the paper, decorative side to the die, and then send the die through your Vagabond or Big Shot using the crease pad. This will give pieces as shown above and below.

Carefully bend each piece along the score line before attaching them together to get a more uniform look.

 

You will also need to cut and score three pieces of cardstock to hold the cake pieces together. Using a strong adhesive affix the cardstock to the die cut pieces on the back or Craft-a-Board side as shown above.

 

Attach each piece one at a time.

 

When you have all three pieces attached, form the piece into a circle, affixing the last edge.

 

Next you will need to attach the base - the piece with the four tabs. I find it easiest to insert this piece from the top. Push it down through the center until it is firmly positioned in the bottom of the circular piece. Using a pair of needle nose tweezers insert a Glue Dot behind each of the flaps and affix these to the cake tube.

To adhere the scalloped top and base I prefer to use Ultimate Glue. The base is easy to affix due to the large surface you will be attaching it to. Apply Ultimate Glue to the base of the cake and position the scalloped piece holding it in place for a few seconds until you feel it is firmly in place. The cap or top is a little trickier. I run Ultimate Glue all the way around the top of the circular form and then position the scalloped top in place. The glue allows you to move it slightly until you have it in the desired position, then hold it for a few seconds until the glue grabs hold. Allow to dry for at least 30 minutes before continuing your work on the base.
 

To add interest to my cake base I attached a strip of white silk ribbon and then added pearls to either side of it. I also ran a strip of pearls around the top.

I wanted to include just a few close-up photos of the finished project so that you could better see the detail on these beautiful Easter blooms. 

The lily was one of Susan's first punch designs back in 2006. Sadly there are others who have taken Susan's work and called it their own, but the truth of the matter is that these designs, the techniques and wording, are copywritten by Susan --- I am so proud and honored to share her designs with you. With Easter right around the corner and spring knocking at our doors it has been a thrill to be able to share this beauty with all of you. Thank you so much for joining us! 

 
ink: Copic Markers -YG00, YG63, YG95, YR14, Y15, Y17

paper: Lilybee Designs 12x12 Picket Fence and Stationery Designer Paper, Craft-a-Board

accessories: Punch Bunch punches - Mega Lily, Large Alta Flake, Mega Big Sky Flake, Small Caladium Leaf, Small Birch Leaf; Punch Bunch Papercrafting Tools and Magnum Power Punch Aid; The Paper Garden, Sizzix 3-D Cake Box Die, Faber-Castell PITT Pastel Pencils - #104 and #170, Flower Soft - Earth, Toffee, Russet Red, Sunshine Yellow; 12" strip White Pearls, 1/4" White Silk Ribbon, Be Creative (Sookwang) 4 1/2" Tape or Sheets, The Ultimate Glue

Paper Lilies Dress Up Art Parts

I am hoping that you have had time to head over to Kim Kesti's blog and share some love with her - if not please do so, she is an absolutely remarkable woman! That sweet, sneaky girl changed up my desire to share our love with her in the "comment" section and turned it around where you have shared your words with us here at Ellen Hutson LLC. Your words of kindness about the amazing women who I have the privilege to work with here and in the CLASSroom, as well as your beautiful words about who I am as a person bring tears to my eyes. Yes, I am passionate about sharing creativity with others because I truly believe that creativity helped to save my sanity and I want to share that with others - so thank you from the bottom of my heart for your love, financial support (through your purchases) and kindness - it is appreciated more than you could ever know!

If you haven't had the opportunity to enjoy the incredible video Susan helped us make I would like to encourage you to visit this post over on In Touch (our newsletter archive blog) and leave some love for her there as well! Today I would like to share a much more "simple" project for those who may be creating paper flowers for the first time. Sometimes one very simple element can make a huge difference on a project and I think that the paper flowers do just that, so I hope that you enjoy this simple twist.

 

This project is created for yet another woman who has supported me over the past couple of years with her kindness. I felt that the words were so powerful and applied so strongly to the support she has shared with me. My desire is to share my appreciation with her through this project.

 

As Susan stated in her video I did challenge her to work with white paper only :-D. As someone who places a huge value on resources, my desire is to always try and share more ways for you to utilize the tools you may already have in your craft room and in this case I was thinking specifically about Neenah paper, the many Copic markers and now the new Faber-Castell products you have purchased from us. So hopefully here is yet one more way for you to use these awesome markers, pencils, pens, etc.

Before beginning a project in which I am trying to achieve natural coloration I google the flower I am trying to mimic. In this case I found this gorgeous lily picture.

 
I used the smallest petal on the Lily punch to create this little bloom. Begin with the lightest value marker and stroke up from the base of the petal to the tip. After adding the darkest value, color back over the entire petal with the lightest color to blend the colors. 

 

I have really been enjoying the Pastel Pencils to add additional veining and depth in my flower petals.

 

As shown in the video I used the sponge to mute the color somewhat. Isn't it amazing how well the colors work with the Cosmo Cricket papers!

 

Due to the small scale of the calyx on this bloom I simply cut the Alta Flake down in size before adhering the petals.

Just a quick shot of all the colors I used in creating this lily. 

 

As you can see I have added little flecks of color to the petals to mimic the real life lily. The ubber fine point on the Faber-Castell Artist pen is perfect for adding this element.

Susan also taught me an alternate way to make stamens for my lilies and I would like to share it with you. I simply colored a small rectangle of paper. Snipping it down and leaving it connected along the base.

I then used my quilling tool to roll it. I realized after the fact that I forgot to snap a second picture after changing my mind and creating a second stamen with the pistil's colored in E08 - oops.

For detailed directions on creating a lily I would like to encourage you to watch the video in this post  - Susan's work is simply magical.

 

For the remainder of the project I simply covered Art Parts and the Sewing Dress Craft-a-Board base with decorative paper, added my sentiment, a chipboard cameo (made using Maya Road pieces painted with Studio Paint) and some other simple, yet elegant embellishments and my piece was complete.

My desire is that one little bloom will show my appreciation. Thank you for once again visiting us here in the CLASSroom and don't forget to head over and leave some love for Kim Kesti and Susan Tierney Cockburn AND win a chance at some fun little goodies!

 
stamps: Tim Holtz Stuff to Say

ink: Jet Black Archival, Antique Linen Distress Stain, Antique Linen Distress Ink Pad, PITT Artist Pen - #133 and PITT Pastel Pencil - #193, Copic Markers - YR30, R81, R83, R85, YG00, YG63, YG67, YG95

paper: Cosmo Cricket Upcycle 6x6 Paper Pad, Craft-a-Board

accessories: Punch Bunch Mega Lily, Slotted Tool, Sample Pack Art Parts, Maya Road Cameo Mini Chipboard, Vintage Black Pearl Pin, Tim Holtz Mini Tassel and Ornate Book Plate, Hero Arts Foliage Dots, Everyday Ribbon, Studio Matte Multi Medium, Studio Painterly Pink Paint, Eco Green Crafts Clam Shell Paint, Ultimate Glue, Flower Soft - Earth

Learn With Me! by Kim Kesti

It is always such a huge honor when our invited guests agree to teach here in the CLASSroom! Today we would like to give an ENORMOUS welcome to Kim Kesti as she shares her creative ideas here in the CLASSroom. Kim is constantly inspiring her readers on her blog think fast, as well you will find her work as a Paper Crafts Go-to Gal on the Moxie Fab and Paper Crafts Connections blogs.

Once again we have a special "something" for those who take the time to visit Kim over on her blog - so head over to think fast and leave a comment for Kim! We will be doing a random drawing and announcing the winner together with Kim on Monday, April 18th, so don't delay - read her post here and then head over to her blog and be inspired!

Kim is a VERY busy designer and mom and to have her take the time to share with us here... all I can say is a simple and huge THANK YOU Kim! -Ellen

 

LEARN WITH ME! by Kim Kesti

I’m so excited to be here with you in the Ellen Hutson CLASSroom. I am a huge fan of all the teachers here and hope I can bring a little bit of my own experience and personality to share with you today.

My name is Kim Kesti and I’ve been paper crafting for about five years. I currently work with Paper Crafts magazine as a Go-to Gal, it’s the best job in the world! I love trying new techniques and even after five years, there are so many things I want to learn. Won’t you learn with me? (I kind of sounded like Mr. Rogers there, didn’t I?)

My main “style” of paper crafting is pretty bold and graphic. I tend to like simple patterns and straight lines. But, I was recently introduced to the Tim Holtz Distress Inks and I think I am in love. Although the project I am showing you today is clean and simple in nature, I adore how the Distress Ink just gives it that little touch of vintage. Plus, I think the look perfectly suits these Hero Arts stamps, don’t you?

 

First, I stamped my image in my favorite Memento Tuxedo Black. 

Then I grabbed my Ink Blending Tool from Ranger and my Vintage Photo Distress Ink. I used the blending tool to add ink to the edges of all my stamped images. I learned the trick to making the ink smooth is to work from the outside edge toward the center, always moving your blending tool in a circular motion.

  

This technique gives such a pretty, soft edge to your images. It works exactly the same way on patterned paper, too. I was so happy with my stamped images that I decided to create a little set of blank note cards as a gift.

 

This Cosmo Cricket Social Club paper could have been made with these stamps in mind, don’t you think? Love them together.

  

Here’s a close up of how the ink just softened those edges a wee bit. Really nice.

  

Of course, every card set needs a little tag, right?

I created a simple tag with the Memory Box Eggshell cardstock, a piece of the Social Club Ready, Set, Chip  and a sweet little scrap of 7Gypsies Paper Tape. I tied the set together with some twine and an old button. Fun!

Would you like to see one more coordinating project? (I know, I’m on a roll now). It’s basically the same format I used on my cards, but I made this little guy into a mini notebook.

  

I think it was this camera image that inspired the idea. That stamp is so awesome. To make the notebook, I adhered the cardstock panel to a piece of Craft-a-Board. Oh my – love the Craft-a-Board! It’s my first time using it and I already know I need another pack! Hee, hee.

One tip on using the Bind It All: pre measure your finished size to make sure the holes are spaced properly. I’ve learned the hard way to always double check the size first. It’s such a shame to punch your finished project and find out one of the holes is half way off the edge, right?

  

You can see in the photo that my notebook is sized to fit six punched holes across just about perfectly. Sweet.

 

I also wanted to show you how easy it is to figure out where to cut the coil. I place my coil right on to my project, then snip right where the punched piece ends. (Use the instructions that are included with the Bind It All to finish the notebook).

  

Well, there you go. A cute little set of cards and one notebook to match. I think this would make a great gift, don’t you? 

Thanks for trying something new with me! I hope to be back someday to share again.

Kim Kesti

 
stamps: Hero Arts Vintage Stamps

ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Distress Ink Vintage Photo

paper: Cosmo Cricket 6” Mini Deck Social Club, Cosmo Cricket Ready Set Cup Social Club,  Memory Box Eggshell, Lagoon, Squash and Persimmon Cardstock

accessories: 7 Gypsies Paper Tape Christmas Wrap, Zutter OWire ½” Antique Brass

Faber-Castell PITT Pastel Pencils make Gorgeous Blooms

Did you know that Faber-Castell Pastel Pencils are yet another fabulous coloring tool AND they work on dark colored cardstock? When receiving in new products I like to experiment and after doing the post on the Metallic Gelatos it occurred to me that perhaps the Pastel Pencils would look good on black cardstock as well. I was SO excited to see the results and am thrilled to share a few projects with you. I tried to change up the look of each project just a little so that if you like shabby/vintage more than contemporary you would be able to get a feel for how it would relate to these different styles. So let's begin!

 

The title of my post is a play on the new Memory Box stamps called Gorgeous Blooms - these truly are beauties when colored!

 
To begin I decided to emboss the bloom using Silver Pearl. This really helps the bloom jump off the paper.

 

Begin by coloring the image using #193 as shown above.

 

Add a little #226 and blend the colors with the foam blending tool in the Essential Tools Kit.

 

To add even more depth I then added some white pastel #101. Once again blend the colors with the blending tool. I have "allocated" different corners on my blending foam for each different color family so that I don't muddy my colors. I also found that I could remove excess pastel from my blending tool by rubbing it on a soft cloth.

I love the coloring on these blooms.

 

Next I tried embossing with Adirondack powders in various colors.

 
For this bloom I colored with a combination of #143 (blue) and #193 (red) blending them to create purple and then topping it again with white.

 

My last tip for today is to answer the question how I create some of my die cut embellishments. Today I secured four different patterned Lilybee papers to a piece of cardstock. Make certain to avoid placing adhesive along your sewing lines. Then stitch.

 

Next apply Be Creative (Sookwang) adhesive to Craft-a-Board. Remove the Sookwang backing and adhere your decorative paper to the Craft-a-Board. The beauty of the deep Sizzix dies is that you can easily cut through these layers! I have used Tim's new Movers and Shapers Mini Hearts die to create the cut out in the center of this patterned design. I have reserved the darling little heart for a future post ;-D
 

This yellow bloom was colored using #106, #109 and #101.

Tip: If you do not have time to allow your project to sit and are worried about the Pastels rubbing off I do recommend the Krylon Matte Finish Spray. Be certain to go outside when spraying this product - I don't want anyone getting sick!

The beauty of these Pastel pencils is that they work like magic on dark cardstock, BUT they also are beautiful on light cardstock. Yes, I have been working on a project together with one of my colleagues that I am REALLY excited about for our April Newsletter and we use the Pastel pencils on light colored cardstock. So if you haven't signed up to get our newsletter please do. We are hoping to have this project ready for it!

Thank you for once again visiting the CLASSroom and I hope you leave inspired to pull out some dark cardstock and your PITT Pastel pencils!

 
stamps: Memory Box Gorgeous Bloom and Gorgeous Mini Bloom, Miracles of Springtime, and Lilybee Designs This & That Clear Stamps

ink: Distress Embossing Ink Pad, Archival Jet Black

paper: Black Cardstock, Memory Box Currant, Lavender, and Squash Notecards, Currant Distressed Dots, Lilybee Design This & That and Picket Fence 6x6 paper pads

accessories: Faber-Castel Essentials Tool Kit and PITT Pastel Pencils - Neutral, Red/Yellow and Blue/Green;   Krylon Matte Finish Spray, Martha Stewart Diamond Fence Punch and Bakers Twine, Memory Box Hot Pink Pearls, Tim Holtz Movers & Shapers Mini Hearts and Base Tray, Silver Pearl Embossing Powder, Adirondack Embossing Powders

"Gotcha Day" Cake

There is no day more special in one's life than when a child is welcomed in to a family. The love that children provide and bring to our lives is magical. These little blessings come in so many ways! A wonderful ritual that family's who bring their special little people and babies in to their lives through adoption, is to celebrate that extraordinary arrival day. Filling that special family day with hugs, love and fun can be so wonderful.

I am so very honored and blessed to have a very dear friend who brings such joy and happiness to those she knows. Susan Tierney Cockburn  created this exceptional treasure for a special little girl who brings so much joy to her life, and I have had the honor of taking a picture of this treasure and sharing it with you.

 

I love absolutely EVERY detail of this beautiful, celebratory cake - the magic of the little girl and the frog sitting amongst the flowers atop this cake, the date, the springtime papers...

You can see the love that Susan shares as she creates these pieces and I want to assure you that you CAN create these beautiful flowers as well! The directions that Susan has shared in the books she has authored (Paper Garden and Paper Bouquet) are precise and easy to follow. We are currently working to put together a more informative website as we acquire the different punches and tools that Susan has been instrumental in designing for this craft.

Susan's Garden started many years ago in the dead of winter, I cannot tell you how much these beautiful blooms cheer me as the gray winter passes. Paper flowers were brought to life by one of the kindest and most honorable women I know. Keep checking back to our store as we continue to put together pictures and a plan that makes it easier for you to recreate these magical blooms and spread the magic Susan creates with others.

 
Paper: Graphic 45 Once Upon a Springtime

Accessories: Punch Bunch punches, Tim Holtz Upon A Time Die, Sizzix Scoreboards Cakebox Die or Essentials by Ellen: Precuts Cakebox

ATC Fun and Random Drawing for Ellen's ATC

ATC's have always intrigued me, but I must admit this is a new adventure for me - I cannot remember ever creating one before (insert big eyes!) I had no idea what the "requirements" are for an ATC and so I began with what I know. I know that Claudine has ATC sized Sticky Back Canvas, so I went and grabbed one to use for this project :-D

So what is an ATC? I decided I'd best figure that out and there is NO better resource than the CLASSroom - right?!? Note the wonderful categories on the side index - yes sir, ATC or Altered Trading Cards are right there amongst the mix. A little reading was in order - I encourage you to follow this link and read more about ATC's if you have never created one and are intrigued. 

 

With Sticky Back in hand I decided to do a transfer, but what could I try that might be an interesting lesson. I decided to test the punched edge to see what type of interest this would add to a project.

 

Apply a generous amount of Matte Multi-Medium to the canvas face and then a small amount to the printed side of the patterned Prima paper. Rub the paper firmly to affix to the canvas and let it dry. Yes, this is the hardest part --- allowing it to fully dry is imperative!

 

Once completely dry mist the paper until you see the paper change color. In the photo above you will note how the paper in the center is not moist enough - this will not rub off easily. Once again use the flat part of your finger as I showed in the Transparency transfer to remove the excess paper. You will notice how the top edge does not have the decorative paper transfered to the canvas - this is because there just wasn't enough adhesive in that location to affix the decorative paper properly. I love that random look and so when applying the adhesive to my canvas I allow some portions to be drier than others to get this random application. You will also note that I really did try and define that punched edge by applying plenty of adhesive to that area before the drying process began.

 

Remove as much of the paper "fuzzies" as possible. If you would like to get rid of that white cast brush a very light coating of matte multi-medium over the finished piece. The part on the left is still not covered so that you can see a comparison.

 

I knew I wanted to add some fairly heavy embellishments to my ATC and so I decided to use Craft-a-Board as my base. Craft-a-Board and Color Wash are a match made in heaven! In my spray box I misted the surface with Stream Color Wash and some plain water until the surface was soaked. Using a brayer I then went over the surface. This grabbed a little of the color from previous sprayings and achieved the most gorgeous color mix. Hopefully soon I will have the time to do a "Use Your Spray Box To It's Full Advantage" post. :-D

 

Inking one of my favorite Hero Arts backgrounds with Walnut Ink was the finishing touch for my ATC backing.

 

I don't know if you recall my foray into Shimmer Sheetz the other day, but the flower shown above is one of those experiments :-D I simply punched the flower from the Shimmer Sheet and then heated it, curling the petals while it was warm. Susan, who happened to be in my studio that day (yes, I'm a lucky lady!) grabbed an embossing stylus and put a vein down the center of each petal. We then used the Crafter's Pick to add a hole. This flower turned out to be THE perfect color embellishment for this project - I love when a happy coincidence occurs! Using a Tim Holtz foliage piece together with a brad I attached the flower as shown above.

Remember that you can alter the length of chain on most of these embellishments. Simply removing a few of the links made the length much more appropriate.

 

What could be more perfect for an ATC than an Odds and Ends ticket (using a Stamp-a-ma-jig helps me get these tickets in the best position on my ticket strip), together with a mini paper clip and a bird for that little bird house?!?

 

Yes, my little ATC is REALLY lonely in this adorable Mini Library Drawer. If you collect ATC's then this little drawer is THE perfect place to store your collection.

I believe that the point of ATC's is to just create for art's sake and then trade them, so with that I will be giving my lonely little ATC to someone who might enjoy having this lonely little character - LOL! I know that there is absolutely no way I can make enough to trade but I can give the one away that I did make... if you would like to be included in a random drawing for this little ATC you must show me your ATC's! At the end of this post we would love for you to share one of your ATC projects! Link us up and inspire other's to just create art for arts sake :-D

 

stamps: Hero Arts Cling Fabric Design Background, Tim Holtz Odds and Ends

ink: Distress Walnut Stain Ink, Archival Coffee, Stream Color Wash

paper: Memory Box Bayou CS, Prima 6x6 Madeline, Craft-a-Board

accessories: Studio Line Natural ATC Sized Sticky Back Canvas and Matte Multi-Medium, Prima Vintage Bird Trinkets, Tim Holtz Crafter's Pick, Ticket Strip Die, Foliage, Mini Paper Clips, Swivel Clasp; Hero Arts Self-Adhesive Cream Ribbon Strip, EK Success Deco Scallop Punch, Iridescent Black Shimmer Sheetz, Martha Stewart Flower Punch and Stamp, 7 Gypsy Antique Brass Reinforcer and Mini Library Drawer

You have until March 2nd to create an ATC and share it with us here to be included in a random drawing for my ATC. I would love to hear from you --- tell me if you create and trade ATC's. If so how many do you typically create? Thank you and have a wonderful day!

ETA: Please feel free to add your ATC to the Gallery and link to it there!

Love is in the Air #1 - Shimmer Sheetz Texture

Today starts the first of our 4 Tags of Love series for 2011! We would like to welcome you once again to our little tag mini series where we focus on some fun techniques and share them in a love-filled tag format. I can tell you that each tag will be VERY different from the next, so I hope you will continue to join me for the full series.

 

Today's tag is inspired by a technique that I learned while at CHA from Judy Kauffman, the creator of Shimmer Sheetz. I cannot begin to tell you how amazing this background looks in real life! The combination of the Shimmer Sheetz and the Glitter Ritz is incredible! I wish that I would have the ability to better capture this in photos, so you are just going to have to trust me that it just makes you say... WOW!

 

To begin attach Be Creative Sookwang tape to a piece of Neenah Classic Crest Solar White cardstock. Using a teflon bone folder or a brayer go over the entire surface to adhere the adhesive well. Then cut out your tag.

Cut a piece of Shimmer Sheetz to fit slightly larger than the size of the tag. Run the Shimmer Sheetz through an embossing folder, I used Tim's Damask Texture Fades.

 

Next remove the tape backing and affix the Shimmer Sheetz to the sticky surface. Place on your work surface and brayer over the entire surface to adhere the raised surface of the Shimmer Sheetz to your cardstock tag.
 

Carefully remove the Shimmer Sheetz from the tag surface doing your best not to finger print the sticky surface of the tag. I like to use my teflon bone folder as I work to help hold the tag as I remove the Shimmer Sheetz. As you remove the "sheetz" you will note that the surface of the mylar sheet is attached to the tape only in the portions that were raised.

Now for a little magic!

 

For a high contrast look use Black Glitter Ritz and dump it over the entire surface of the tag. Tap to remove excess.

 

Then use your finger to embed the glitter into the adhesive --- remember, this is the burnished velvet technique (you can read more about burnished velvet here.)

As you can see I made two tags - note the subtle difference. By flipping the Shimmer Sheetz and using the opposite side you get the reverse image.

Can you imagine the possibilities?!? Tone on tone, high contrast, Perfect Pearls rather than glitter... I can hardly wait to hear what you think and when you try it I would LOVE to see your projects - so be certain to share them in the Gallery!

 

Are you tired of me sharing the wonders of Craft-a-Board yet? LOL! I wanted to keep my focal point simple so that the background would not get lost.

I stamped this gorgeous Iron Orchard Designs image from Unity Stamps using a Pearl Paint Dabber and allowed it to dry.

 

My first attempt I misted the Craft-a-Board with Cranberry Color Wash. I felt it was just a hair too dark and so decided to experiment with the Color Wash. By mixing 1/2 Color Wash and 1/2 water the intensity of the color was reduced to perfection!

Hmmm - can you imagine the beautiful range of monochromatic colors you can create!

 
I then cut around the image and inked the edges using an ink blending tool and Concord Grape distress ink, stitched some silk ribbon to the tag and affixed some gemstones and this darling Whimsy Heart (LOVE these!)

The last step was to punch a butterfly from the remaining Shimmer Sheetz. Yes, Shimmer Sheetz can be die cut and punched! Imagine the possibilities!

I would love to hear from you! Have you ever worked with Shimmer Sheetz before and if so what did you create with them? Thank you for joining me here for my first of four tags!
 
stamps: Unity Stamps Iron Orchird Designs - Be Still Beloved Collection

ink: Dusty Concord Distress Ink

paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Essentials by Ellen Craft-a-Board

accessories: Iridescent Pink Shimmer Sheetz, Black Glitter Ritz, Be Creative (Sookwang) 4 1/2" Tape or Tape Sheet, Webster's Pages Pink Heart Whimsy, Black and Pink Gemstone Crystals, Martha Stewart Classic Butterfly Punch, Damask Texture Fades Embossing Folder

Valentine Chandelier by Sharon Harnist

I must admit this wasn't my original idea -- I recently came across this wonderful Valentine Chandelier and wanted to make my own version of it -- a little more vintage-themed one, so here's my take on it!  Sorry these photos are not better -- it's hard to get a good photo of things that are constantly turning and twisting!

For the base of the chandelier, I used one chipboard heart "page" from Maya Road's Heart Chipboard Album:

These hearts are a nice size -- approximately 6.50" at the widest point and almost 6.25" tall.  With eight "pages", you can either make a lot of these type of projects, or a very full Valentine album!  Alternately, you could use some of Ellen's Craft-a-Board or Crystal Clear Plastic to fashion whatever shape you'd like your chandelier to have.  That's what I was originally going to do, until I saw how nice and large this heart album was!

I covered the chipboard heart with patterned papers from 7 Gypsies' Lille 6x6 paper pack -- I love the warm tones and vintage collage style of these papers!

The 6-inch paper will not quite cover all of the heart chipboard -- it must be turned at an angle into the corner of the paper and then just some tiny slivers of the chipboard will still show.  The rose trim I used around the edge of the heart chipboard shape finished covering the chipboard just fine. But if this bothers you, the Lille papers are also available in a larger 8-inch size!

 

I trimmed the edge of the heart with Cream Small Organza Roses, adhered with Copic's X-Press It Double-Sided High Tack Tape (shown below is the top side of my paper-covered chipboard heart, untrimmed and the bottom side, shown trimmed with the cream roses):

 

For the photos, I used Ellen's fabulous selection of Assorted Doilies:

See those cute heart doilies in the pack?  They are the perfect size (approximately 4" x 4") for about a 2.50" x 3" photo!  So I made them into "frames" by cutting my black & white photos into heart shapes and adding some Zva Clear Swirl Crystals to dress them up: 

 

I backed the doilies with patterned paper, to give them more stability & weight, and make them pretty on the reverse side, too!  I sponged some Antique Linen Distress Ink on the white doilies, so they would match the vintage patterned papers a little better.  Instructions for the red tissue flowers are below with the Bingo card and the little "love bird" was die cut with Spellbinders smallest Nested Bird die set.

 

I used a Jenni Bowlin Red Adore Mini Bingo Card and since the back of it is plain white, I machine stitched more of the Lille paper onto the back and then trimmed the edges with pinking shears.

 

To accent the front of the Bingo card, I made a tissue flower by die cutting several layers of red tissue paper with Spellbinders Nested Peony dies.  After die cutting, just stack the layers of tissue paper together and secure them in the center (I used Tim Holtz's Tiny Attacher) and cover the staple with a large pearl or rhinestone.  Then fluff up the layers of tissue paper -- quick and easy!  Alternately, you could use a brad to secure the center of the flower.

The "wonky" hanging hearts were die cut with Tim Holtz's Heart Wing Bigz Die (shown below): 

from Memory Box Cranberry cardstock (solid heart) and then topped with the swirly heart die cut from Lille papers (these are two separate shapes on the die):

 

More solid hearts were die cut from Memory Box's Red Biscotti cardstock, aged with Antique Linen Distress Ink so they would match the Lille papers better, and accented with red gemstones. To make it quick and easy to die cut matching images (that you want to have a nice front and back), fold the cardstock in half (Memory Box is colored on one side and white on the back), so the white is on the inside. After die cutting, just adhere these two mirror images together and you'll have a colored heart on both sides! To adhere smaller die cuts like the swirly heart above, I like to use a mini bottle of Ranger's Glossy Accents -- it's a great liquid glue!  The bottle is easier to hold, the small applicator makes it easy to control the "glue" in tight spaces, and it dries quickly.  The double heart at the bottom of the photo above was cut on the fold of the cardstock and then opened up and backed with another piece of patterned cardstock.

 

If you've never used any of Tim's or Sizzix's Bigz dies and don't have either Sizzix's or Tim's die cutting machines but have a Cuttlebug, these dies work perfectly and easily in it!  I just use a Cuttlebug B plate on either side of the die and get perfect cuts every time, even with cardstock doubled like I've done here.

 

The birds were die cut with Spellbinders Nested Bird die, again from doubled Memory Box Cranberry cardstock, and I made the wings from Tim Holtz's Heart Wings Bigz Die!

To assemble the the chandelier, I lined up all my elements in four different columns and played with the placement.  Then I threaded an embroidery needle with fishing line and strung each of the four lines separately, leaving enough fishing line at the top and bottom of each string to allow for tying.  Using my Crop-a-Dile, I punched holes at the point of the heart and on the top of the heart, at each of the curves.  A piercing tool was used to place a hole in the center of the heart for the fourth line.

NOTE: When adhering the heart and bird fronts and backs together, I only placed a strong adhesive on the edges and not in the middles, so I would be able to string the fishing line through the centers of the double-sided cardstock shapes.  These "sandwiched" shapes were then easy to slide up and down the fishing line, to determine good placement and then stayed in place very well.

To anchor the doily heart frames to the fishing line (since I had not thought ahead and glued all of the photos and backing papers to the doilies and didn't leave a space through the middles!), I sewed the fishing line through the bottom of the front of the heart, along the back, and then back through the top of the heart to the front side.  Until the exact placement of the frames was determined, this let me slide the frames up and down the fishing line easily:

   

Once the proper placement was determined, I placed Mini Glue dots on the back of the heart frame where the fishing line was "sewn" through the cardstock.  To make the Glue Dot a little prettier, I sprinkled Glitter Ritz Warm Highlights Transparent Microfine glitter over them!

To weight the ends of the fishing line, I used these beautiful Melissa Frances Diamond Chandelier Drops:

 

The Chandelier Drops also help to weight each line, so they hang nicely.  And the darling butterflies are Jenni Bowlin Vellum Embellished Butterflies in Red! 

Finally, to make the hanger at the top of my chandelier, I used ivory satin ribbon threaded through each of the three outer holes (knotted separately on the bottom of the heart base) and knotted them together at the top. I hope I've explained the construction of this chandelier well - if not, please let me know if the comments and I'll answer your questions! Thanks for visiting the CLASSroom today!  ~ Sharon

 

Paper: 7 Gypsies-Lille 6x6 paper pack, Memory Box Cranberry Cardstock & Cranberry Biscotti Cardstdock; Essentials by Ellen Assorted Doilies, 
Ink: Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink-Antique Linen,
Copic Markers
Tools: Tim Holtz Bigz Die-Heart Wings; Spellbinders Nested Bird & Nested Peony die templates; WRM Crop-a-Dile, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher,
Accessories: Jenni Bowlin Vellum Embellished Butterflies-Red & Mini Bingo Cards-Red; Maya Road Chipboard Album-Heart; Prima Small Organza Roses-Cream; Melissa Frances Chandelier Drops-Diamond; Hero Arts Assorted Gemstones-Red; Ranger Ink Blending Tool & Mini Glossy Accents; 3/8" Glue Dots; Glue Glider Pro with Perma Tac adhesive, Copic X-Press It High Tack Double-Sided Tape; Zva Clear Swirl Crystals, Glitter Ritz Warm Highlights Transparent Microfine glitter,
Other: fishing line, red tissue paper, pinking shears, sewing machine + ivory thread, embroidery needle

12 Days of Christmas: Day 6 - Sweet Borders Album By Julia Stainton

This past year, I'm finding myself in a place I never thought I'd be.I seriously cannot get enough of die cutting. The more I play around with my die cut machine and various dies, the more I realize that the possibilities are endless.

One of the products that I absolutely love to die cut is Craft-a-Board or chipboard. They are basically the same product but I love that Craft-a-Board is a very light off-white color and can be altered in so many ways. The idea of creating a Craft-a-Board mini album popped into my mind a few weeks ago and I just had to put it high on my to-do list. I was thrilled with how this project came out and how much fun it was to create.

One of the most fun things about this project is the use of the Tim Holtz On the Edge dies for creating different shaped borders on edges. To create these unique pages, simply cut as many 6x6" pages as you wish out of Craft-a-Board. I've covered mine with 6x6 papers from the beautiful Sweetness line by Pink Paislee.

 

After you cover the pages, die cut the right edge with any of the On the Edge dies for a beautiful look.

These dies also cut Crystal Clear Plastic Sheets which make lovely inner pages as well. In the above photo you can see this clear sheet in the album and I've placed some gorgeous Sweetness rub-ons on these clear pages to embellish them.

 

Here's a page with the Flourished Edge Border...

And another with the Bracket On the Edge die.

To put the album together, punch holes with a Crop-a-dile and use binding rings to keep it together. I love using these rings as you can always expand your book whenever you wish.

Varying the edges makes for a beautiful book.

I couldn't resist using a few more beautiful Sizzix dies to embellish my cover. Becky Olsen makes the most stunning roses using the Tattered Florals die. You can find her stunning tutorial in Ellen's Premiere Ezine.

Every album needs a theme and I decided mine would be my family. The Prima Letters are a beautiful and easy way to add text. They take ink extremely well and I've sponged on Tattered Rose Distress Ink here.

Supplies: Craft-a-Board & Crystal Clear Plastic by Essentials by Ellen, Sweetness 6x6 paper pack & Sweetness Rub-ons by Pink Paislee, Pearl Flourish by Zva Creative, twine, Tattered Florals and Tattered Leaves dies by Sizzix, Tim Holtz Scrollwork & Bracket On the Edge Dies by Sizzix, letters by Prima, Tattered Rose Distress Ink by Ranger, sanding block by Advantus, Vintage Pearl Trinket Pins by Maya Road

Do you like to die cut too? I hope I've inspired you with a few new ideas. Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom and happy cranking!

On the sixth day of Christmas my Sizzix package could be:

• Texture Fades Embossing Folders, Burlap and Swirls
• Textured Impressions Embossing Folders, Floral Flourishes and Vines
• On the Edge File Tabs Die
• Precut Mat Board 3-D House
• Precut Craft-a-Board Tea Cup
• Precut Craft-a-Board Cake Box

 
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.

We would love to have you share one of your favorite crafting moments from this past year with us today - leave it in the comments section below to be eligible for this random drawing.

Remember to visit the following 12 Days of Christmas blog candy drawings --- be certain to post a comment to the question on each individual post to be included in that drawing!

• One Stampin' Treasure
• Two Melting Tools
• Three Copic Goodies
• 3 Stamps + 1 Color Sampler = Four Memory Box Treats
• Five treats from Claudine's Lines

12 Days of Christmas: Day 3 - Copic Airbrushed Graffiti Style Cards

Watching trends is something I really enjoy. This past year I have noticed that there are a ton of "tattoo art" shows on TV, as well as airbrushed looks being shared in some of the graphic design magazines I enjoy. I haven't brought myself to watch any of the shows yet, but was thinking that it would have been handy for this post - LOL!

For today's post I thought I would try and create something that has quite a different look for me and create a project that might appeal to a teen in your life. Maddi offered her arm as a spot to try a temporary alcohol ink tattoo, but I thought it would probably be best to just create a card :-D

 

Most "heart" tattoos I have seen have been a combination of red, pink and purple and so I used that as my guide to start this project.

 

To begin I stamped the new Hero Arts fabric background (LUV IT!!!) using Pearl Paint Dabber as my "ink." Remember how I shared that acrylic ink can act as a resist when used with dye ink, well I wanted to see what would happen when alcohol ink was added. Since I was going for a rather ethereal look I felt this would be a fun combination.

 
To get the image to pop I used an ink blending tool, with Spun Sugar and Worn Lipstick Distress Ink.

As you can see I don't always go with my first choice - LOL! To stamp over the acrylic paint I prefer to use Archival Ink. You need to select a permanent ink for this to work. I snapped the photo and then realized that this text would not be ideal for the look I had in mind, so I started over and used the new "friend" dictionary stamp. Rather than take photos all over again I thought I'd just admit that I changed my mind part way through :-D

 

Using the Winged Heart die I cut masks from the Art Magnetic Masking material.

I then positioned my heart and wings and pulled out my airbrush system. The airbrush is PERFECT for creating a graffiti look and the best way to control the spray pattern is by using it in conjunction with masks. Someday I hope to do an entire article (or two, or...) on creating masks to control your airbrush spray but today I thought I would once again share how wonderful these magnetic masks are. The air from the spray does not move a magnetic mask :-D They are so very easy to place and relocate until you get them into the position of your choice. AND they are reusable!

The Craft Assistant was placed on my work surface, then my stamped cardfront and the magnetic masks snapped into position atop my cardfront.

I began by spraying around my mask with the darkest purple, V17.

 

I then removed the wings and airbrushed using V15 for a slight contrast in color next to the heart.

 

As you can see the look is quite striking! The Copic ink is translucent enough to see through, yet adds more depth than regular ink because it does "stick" to the acrylic paint.

To add emphasis I free-handed additional detail using a Copic Brush Multiliner.

 

A teen card would never be complete without glitter!

For added depth and sparkle I cut the "scrolly" heart, from the same die, out of Craft-a-Board which had Be Creative (Sookwang) tape adhered to the surface. I removed the tape backing and sprinkled with Burgundy Microfine Glitter, burnishing the glitter into place.

 

The last little trick I would like to share is one I learned from Claudine. To ink up regular stamps you can put a little Studio Paint on your non-stick craft sheet and use an ink blending tool saturated with paint to "ink" your stamp. I figured if you can ink a stamp that way, why not just stamp with it?!? I love the little block design that resulted :-D Hmmm - what other shapes could one cut these little sponges into?

 

I felt it was still lacking something and so I grabbed the Ranger White Opaque Essentials pen and added even more contrast to the wing outline. The crown was completed by painting Pearl Dabber on the Craft-a-Board die cut, embellishing it with black gemstones. A little sewing to outline the focal image and this graffiti style card was complete.
 

stamps: Hero Arts Dictionary Greeting, Cling Fabric Design

ink: Archival Jet Black, Distress Ink Pads - Spun Sugar and Worn Lipstick, Copic V15 and V17, Brush Multiliner

paper: Neenah Solar White, Craft-a-Board

accessories: Tim Holtz Heart Wingz Die, Pearl Paint Dabber, Air Compressor, Air Brush System, Be Creative (Sookwang) Tape Sheet, Burgundy Microfine Glitter, White Opaque Pen, Black Crystal Gemstones, Craft Assistant, Art Magnetic Masking Material

On the third day of Christmas, my true love sent to me (OK, so perhaps we are not your true love, but maybe crafting is - LOL!)...

• a Copic Airbrush System,
• a DVD showing how to use the Airbrush System,
• and a Copic Multiliner .03

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.

It so very easy to participate in our 12 Days of Christmas. Today all you need to do is leave a comment telling us what your favorite part of stamping is, or what your favorite technique is. I'll start - my favorite part of stamping is coloring... it is SO relaxing! :-D

Don't forget the following 12 Days of Christmas blog candy drawings --- be certain to post a comment to the question on each individual post to be included in that drawing!

• One Stampin' Treasure
• Two Melting Tools

12 Days of Christmas: Day One - One Stamping Treasure

Welcome to our 12 Days of Christmas! There is no partridge in the pear tree here, but we will be putting flowers in a tea cup. Remember to read through to the end of this post and leave a comment to be eligible for today's blog candy! You may also want to visit previous year's 12 Days of Christmas posts for some wonderful inspiration.

During our 12 Tags series I asked what you would like to learn about. Many of you answered that you wanted to learn more about Ranger's Color Washing sprays. Well... they finally arrived and so today I am hoping to share with you some of the beautiful things you can create using these ink sprays.

 

Most of the color in today's picture is achieved by using the Color Wash sprays. To begin I want to share with you the special feature that these sprays are rather permanent when heat set! They are PERFECT for use on fabric and so today I am sharing some of the little treasures I tried them on.

Before beginning I made a trip to the fabric store. I hope to have future posts to share the use of some of the other fabrics I purchased, but today I'm going to focus on the products I picked up from behind the cutting counter. The Joanne's, which is a 15-20 minute drive from my office, was my stop for these goodies. Be certain to pull your number early in your quest on any trips during this busy time of year and soon you will have your turn.

Purchase all sorts of "odd" things! Crinoline (used to make those poofy skirts - yes, it is behind the cutting counter so insist they look!), Pellon, Fusible Lining, Tulle, Linen, Cotton. Any 100% natural fiber fabric will take the dyes of these sprays well and you will be able to create some beautifully colored projects. Experiment with the man-made fibers as well because you will achieve some interesting results!

I have to admit that I am so grateful for the textile training I received during college. It has come in handy on so many occasions as I experiment with the wonderful stamping products we have - but experimentation is the key to discovery, so don't be afraid to try new things!

 

Today I used both Crinoline and Pellon. Use the Tattered Florals Die to cut out three sets of fabrics for each flower.

As you can see I used two products today - Cranberry Color Wash for the dark tones and Viva Pink Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist for the lighter color. I needed a lighter color and wanted to see how these two products would mix. Incredibly is my answer!

First I sprayed one set with Cranberry Color Wash. 
 

Next I sprayed a set with Viva Pink and then placed these petals into the Cranberry spray droplets that remained on the non-stick craft sheet. Gorgeous combinations of color were the end result.
  

I just had to share this next series of pictures. I am in LOVE with the Craft Scrubbie. No longer do I worry about getting inky fingers - head to the sink, scrub your fingers using the "Scrubbie" and voila --- clean fingers!!!
 

Now it's time to cut the petals to create your flower. For each flower:

• Cut down between two petals, to the center - then cut a small circle in the center.
• Cut out one petal and then cut a small circle in the center of the petals.
• Cut out two petals and create a small half circle where the center once was.

You should now have five pieces as shown above.

 

I prefer to cut down the petal before gluing each section together as shown in the photo above. Be certain to leave enough room to attach the opposite petal to form a circle (or cone.)

 

For the two petal and one petal sections roll the crinoline, pellon, or fabric of choice before applying the adhesive.

I prefer using Beacon Adhesives FabriTac for these types of projects. It holds extremely well and dries quickly!
 

Prepare petals and allow to dry.

 
You should have five pieces completed as shown above for each flower.

 

Start with the largest piece as your base. Place adhesive around the open circle as shown.
 

Insert the next smaller section as shown above. Be certain to offset the petals from the first piece for a natural look. Add adhesive and repeat until all pieces are used.

 

Upon completion I allow my flower to sit base up so that the adhesive can dry without sticking to things. Flower should look similar to the one in the background upon completion.

 

As you can see the smaller, pellon flower takes the spray in a completely different manner. The pellon almost looks like felted wool once dry, BUT let me tell you... this is so much easier than felting! The petals shown above is pellon sprayed with Cranberry Color Wash. It is interesting to see how the man-made fibers take the spray. Experimentation is key!
 

Next I want to share how you can use the gorgeous stick pins as flower center. I began by using three petals. Apply adhesive around base of petals and wrap.
 

Off-setting the petals, add three more petals.
 

For this dainty style flower I mixed pellon and crinoline - alternating the layers. Creating these flowers is the same as for the first flower above, the only difference is that there will be more layers and therefore more cuts. Cut the petals as stated below:

• Pellon - Cut down between two petals, to the center - then cut a small circle in the center.
• Crinoline - Cut out one petal and then cut a small circle in the center of the petals.
• Pellon - Cut out two petals and create a small circle where the center once was.
• Crinoline - Cut out three petals and create a small circle where the center once was.
• Pellon - Cut out four petals and create a small half circle where the center once was.
• Crinoline - Cut into three sections of three petals.

Glue as in first example and then insert pin with petals as shown in the photo above.

 

To create the tea cup Sizzix recommends folding the second tea cup back against the score line as shown in the photo above. I have found that this comprimises the design and so rather than cutting my second teacup using the crease pad I simply cut it out and then on the correct side I score through one layer of the Craft-a-Board. Compare the two looks and you will see why I am particular - LOL!

 

I have found that acrylic paint makes a WONDERFUL resist to inks.  For this teacup I used the Pearl Dabber to ink these fabulous crochet stamps. I masked the handle and stamped my teacup with the trim pattern.
 

Allow the paint to dry and get prepared for some magic!
 

Spritz with Lettuc Color Wash. The Craft-a-Board absorbs these colors in an absolutely delicious way. With a little finessing I think that you could achieve a wonderful gradient effect, but for this project I simply spritzed the exterior and interior.
 

I use a paper towel to dab the excess Color Wash from the paint stamp design to allow it to pop even further.
 

TIP: Bend pieces so that interior of score lines are exposed. Spritz and allow to dry.

Paint the handle, cup lip and saucer edge using Aged Gold Metallic Paint. Allow to dry.

 

Apply adhesive as shown on instructions. I applied to one side of the teacup only and then prepared my styrofoam fill.
 

Trace shape and cut out styrofoam. Spritz the top of the styrofoam and allow to dry.
 

I also prepared some mulberry leaves using Butterscotch Color Wash and Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls Mist.

I pulled apart one of the brand new Webster's Pages Floral sprigs and attach some of my flowers to the wire stems. I added wire stems to all of my leaves as well. Insert the wire stems and pins into the foam. Your flowers will be firmly in place. Add a little FabriTac adhesive to some petal edges as shown above and then sprinkle with Twinklets Diamond Dust. Shake off excess.

Insert styrofoam into teacup.

 

The Butterscotch color wash was also used to dye the tag to emulate a tea bag. The sentiment was stamped using Palette Noir ink. Palette ink is one of my all-time favorites for utilizing on "odd" surfaces.

This little "pretty" can be used at a tea or luncheon to decorate each place setting or give as a gift to "warm" someone's day if they are not feeling well. So many possibilities!!!
 
stamps: Studio 490 In Love with Art, Inkadinkado Inchie Greetings

ink: Adirondack Color Wash - Cranberry, Butterscotch and Lettuce; Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls Mist, Viva Pink Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, Palette Noir

paper: Essentials by Ellen Craft-a-Board

accessories: 3-D Teacup Die, Inkssentials Craft Scrubbie, Webster's Pages Waiting For Santa Floral Pick,

 ***Please note - please check in the alterable items category at www.ellenhutson.com, shortly for precut teacups, and other Sizzix die shapes. We realize that many of you simply don't have the resources for all of these dies and may only want to create one or two projects using some shapes. We (my daughter Maddi is cranking away :-D) are currently working on preparing some kits especially for you. So check back soon!

We can't have the 12 days of Christmas without some gifts ;-D So start humming the tune...

On the First Day of Christmas my goodie box could be...

• Just So Artsy stamps to play with!

 

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.

What new discoveries have you made or techniques have you learned by visiting us here in the CLASSroom? Knowing that we do make a difference helps give me the energy to just keep at it ;-D

Let It Snow Projects by Julia Stainton

Snowflakes are one of those beautiful timeless images that never go out of style. I love using them not only for Christmas projects but also throughout the winter. Snowflakes are classic.

Where I live we've had unprecedented amounts of snow. It's definitely a winter wonderland and so I've been inspired by nature around me to create a few snow themed card designs to share with you today. I hope you'll enjoy the different styles and techniques.

The first card is a fun and trendy design. I started off by creating a tree from some Pink Paislee paper.

 It has a beautiful embossed design and by applying some Crushed Olive Distress Ink with a sponge, it tints the paper and also brings out the embossed design.

This card was so much fun to create as I used some Webster's Pages fabric to create an overlay in this design. Notice how stitching the fabric over the tree adds depth and makes it look like it is snowing.

Supplies: Holiday Sayings stamp set by Hero Arts, Basic White 6x6 paper pad by Basic Grey, sewing machine, twine, Mitten Weather chipboard by Cosmo cricket, Vintage Inspired Netting by Webster's Pages, Jet Black Archival Ink by Ranger, Crushed Olive Distress Ink by Ranger, Crystal Star Trinket Pins by Maya Road, Parisian Anthology Fancy Filigree paper by Pink Paislee

 The next snowflake project uses some simple stamping and embossing. The beautiful snowflake images are stamped onto a piece of Craft-a-Board and then heat embossed with Clear Embossing Powder. Craft-a-Board makes a wonderful chipboard substitute. The white color is perfect for inking, painting or leaving as is.

 Often when creating a resist, I sponge on ink but I wanted to create a slightly different look and used Glimmer Mist to spray on the project.

The shimmer of the Glimmer Mist and the glossy embossed snowflakes looks so beautiful in person.

Supplies: Grunge Flakes stamp set by Advantus, Holiday Sayings Stamp Set by Hero Arts, Clear Embossing Powder & Jet Black Archival Ink & Distress Embossing Pad by Ranger, Sanding Block by Advantus, Solar White Cardstock by Neenah, Bayou cardstock by Memory Box, Craft-a-Board by Essentials by Ellen, Deep Plum & Caribbean Blue Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels

 I've saved my favorite project for last. I love white on white designs. To create the background, I've taped some Tim Holtz Tissue Tape across a white cardstock panel and then trimmed the edges.

Next I painted these sweet Maya Road Snowflakes with some Picket Fence Distress Crackle Paint and allowed them to dry. When painting and misting I love working on a Non-Stick Craft Sheet. It makes clean-up a breeze. If you don't own one, do yourself a favor and buy yourself one for Christmas. It makes a fabulous work surface. In the final photo you can see how beautiful the snowflakes look when the paint has dried and cracked.

 One of my favorite products from the past year are the Pink Paislee Artisan Elements. There are so many things you can do with them. I decided to keep this one it's off-white color and stamp a sentiment on it with Jet Black Archival Ink by Ranger. Heat set the ink after stamping for a permanent impression.

And here's the close-up of the final project. The combination of different textures makes this white on white card work. If you wish to see more detail in any photo, click on it to enlarge.

Supplies: Solar white cardstock by Neenah, Mini Snowflake Chipboard by Maya Road, Vintage Pearl Trinket Pins by Maya Road,  Innoscence line flower by Prima, white embroidery thread, White Vintage Buttons by Jenni Bowlin, Picket Fence Distress Crackle Paint by Ranger, Holiday Sayings stamp set by Hero Arts, felt snowflakes by Hero Arts, Sparklers by Webster's Pages, Jet Black Archival Ink by Ranger, Tidings Tissue Tape by Advantus, Pink Paislee Ornaments Artisan Elements

While all these snowflake projects are Christmas cards, you can change up the sentiments to make them work all winter long. A fun frosty design may be just what you need to send some warmth and cheer this winter.

Sending you all my very warmest wishes for a blessed Christmas and a wonderful year to come.

12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist - Day 12

What an incredibly inspiring two weeks! I have really enjoyed learning more about some of the latest products Tim has designed and his thoughts as to how to use them. Today I played with a ton of ideas that I hope I have time to post about in the days ahead. With limited time I decided I could only finish one tag today - I hope you enjoy this experiment. One of THE most important things I hope you learned this week is to just give things a try, even when you don't know what the result will be. It is this experimentation that allows you to explore your own creativity.

Oh how I wish that I could capture a better photograph of this tag because the sparkle is beyond belief.

I have loved trying to cut all sorts of things with these new dies. Today I wanted to explore with gold foil (you could substitute other foils or metals as well.) I began by adding Be Creative or also known as Sookwang tape to the back side of the gold foil. I then adhered this to Craft-a-Board.

Run it through the Big Shot.

Next place the ornament in an embossing folder and run it through the Big Shot again. The very cool thing about Craft-a-Board is that it adds sturdiness to your projects, but also embosses perfectly!

I am now switching out to the second ornament because I did an additional experiment with the ornament above and I am still waiting for it to dry. I can hardly wait to see what it looks like when I return to work tomorrow!

Using a felt applicator, ink with Various Ink Refills BG72 and B23. Ink back side of ornament.

Drip Various Ink, colors BG72 and B23 (or any other alcohol ink) directly on to face of ornament. Allow it to spread and just blow on it to move it around.

Remove excess ink using felt applicator, leaving plenty of ink on surface. Barely touch the felt to the surface to pull up excess ink. If you leave too much ink on the surface it can have a sticky feel to it.

I loved the way it looked but was still concerned about it being a little sticky and so I sprinkled some holographic embossing powder on the surface and the melted the powder with my Heat It tool.

Oh my, oh my!!! WOW!!! Incredible! You asked for other alcohol ink techniques and I think this is a must try for anyone who likes to experiment.

To balance the bling I cut a piece of backed Be Creative tape (the sheets come backed) using the Scrollwork die. I then cut it slightly smaller than shown above and attached it to the Jovial paper and applied Sand Microfine Glitter Ritz and burnished it in place with my finger (search Burnished Velvet using the search mechanism in the top right hand corner of our blog for more information.)

I then did the same with the reinforcement, inked it with embossing ink and dipped it in UTEE creating a sparkly reinforcement similar to the red one created a couple of days ago. Super blingy I tell you and so pretty!

This is the base tag.

Affix a bling swirl to the ornament, tie on some Vintage Netting and embellish with a Sparkler button, baubles and seam binding.

May your holidays sparkle as much as this tag! Wishing you all a wonderful holiday season ahead!

ink: Copic Various Ink B23 and BG72; Distress Embossing Ink, Adirondack Stream Dye Ink

paper: Basic Gray Jovial 6x6 Paper Pad, Inkssentials Manila Tag #8

accessories: Tim Holtz Carved Ornaments and Scrollwork Dies, Regal Flourish Texture Fades, Bauble; Gold Foil, Craft-a-Board, Be Creative (Sookwang) Tape Sheet, Webster's Pages Vintage Inspired Netting, Vintage Sparkler Button, 7 Gypsies Adelaide Seam Binding, Zva Coffee Flourish, Holographic Embossing Powder, Sand Microfine Glitter Ritz, Clear UTEE

One last day of blog candy! We would like for you to be able to make some of your own ornaments, so we are giving you the Carved Ornaments Die, Damask/Regal Flourishes Texture Fades, and some Craft-a-Board. You will be able to make some VERY cool things using these tools!

The drawing for this tag closed in December 2010. Thank you!

To be eligible for the random drawing for this batch of goodies all you have to do is leave a comment below. I would love to hear what you are most excited about trying from the techniques that, Tim or we shared. We are going to leave this drawing open until Wednesday morning, because Tuesday morning is going to be busy already with Hero Arts drawings. Don't forget to take a quick peek at what we shared on our Hero Arts Scavenger Hunt page and leave us a message!

Remember to get your shopping done before 12/15/2010 midnight if you want to purchase items in our 12 Tags of Christmas category and use the 15% discount promo code - timstags.

Christmas Past Wall Hanging

So happy you took some time to join us in the CLASS room today!

I have a fun holiday decor item that I would love to share with you. The Christmas Past collection from Graphic 45 has so many beautiful patterns and colors that work seamlessly together, those along with a few bits and baubles from the Tim Holtz Idea-ology line came together to make a wall hanging that would be great for a focal place on a wall, hanging from a special door or placed on a wreath hanger for your front entryway.

I used Craft-a-board as the base and various sheets of paper from both the 8"x8" pack of Christmas Past and the 12"x12" as well. All the pieces were inked with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink with a foam applictor around the edges and the holly leaves and berries were cut out by hand, inked and then had Distress Stickles applied for extra texture and dimension.

Punch a hole in the top and set an eyelet, use Jump Rings to attach Muse Token and a Swivel Clasp with the Typewriter Charms spelling "JOY".

Attach Game Spinners to Timepiece clock face with a brad and then adhere in place.

To create the wire hanging piece I used Vintaj 28 wire on the spool (the finer gauge, if you want it be sturdier use the 18 gauge) and cut four pieces of the length that I wanted and then twisted them together. For the coil that is over the top I wrapped the wire around a small paint brush handle and then threaded it over the twisted wire piece. Then attach to the Hinge Clips by threading through the holes and then twisting into place.

Use Scrapbook Adhesives Dimensional foam adhesive to attache the leaves and berries and any other little bits you may want to add, I used some Blank Canvas Studio Paint to fill in the letters on this Philosophy Tag and then attached it to the project with a Trinket Pin.

  
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend that maybe allows for a little personal crafting time :o)

B-

Jovial Christmas Blocks and More by Julia Stainton

The holidays are such a wonderful season to craft for. There is something special about handcrafted Christmas cards, decorations and gifts that both the giver and the recipient enjoy. This is one of those projects I was enjoying so much, I spun the scraps into two more items before I could bear to leave my craft table.

It all started with this little Noel blocks idea I've had in my head for quite some time. These little blocks are 1" square and are best covered with scaled down papers such as the 6x6 mini paper pads. This project and the following uses the Basic Grey Jovial 6x6 paper pad.

To create the block project, cut little 1" squares of patterned paper and adhere to your blocks. I found the blocks to be just shy of an inch and the Titanium Black mini Scissors by EK Success were really great for trimming closely. After covering all sides of each mini block, they were so easy to embellish with tiny accents. The noel sentiment is created with the Tim Holtz Stencil Type. You can adhere these blocks together in a permanent arrangement or just set them up each year the way you wish.

So my project was done but I had all these darling little scraps of paper on my desk. What's a girl to do but to put them to good use? First off, I had all these 1" strips left over from covering the wood blocks. They quickly made themselves into a card front. From the larger scraps I created my own "chipboard" stars with Craft-a-Board from Essentials by Ellen and some star dies.

 

A tag size piece of Craft-A-Board left on my desk inspired the remaining project.

 

It's covered with patterned paper and then die cut for a negative star shape. Hmmm... What if I backed the tag with Crystal Clear Plastic and stamped my sentiment in the window... It was quick and fun and I'm happy with the result. I wonder whose present this will adorn this year.

 

Supplies: Classic Solar white cardstock by Neenah, 6x6 Jovial Paper Pad by Basic Grey, Craft-a-Board by Essentials by Ellen, Crystal Clear Plastic by Ellen Hutson LLC, Nested Star Dies, twine, Tiny Attacher by Advantus, 1" Square Wood Blocks, Bean Stalks Twine Red & Brown by Jillibean Soup, Holiday Sayings Clear Design stamps by Hero Arts, Jet Black Archival Ink by Ranger, Frayed Burlap Distress Ink by Ranger, Kiwi Chandelier Crystals by Heidi Swapp, Tim Holtz Stencil Type by Advantus, Red Vintage Sew-on Buttons by Jenni Bowlin, Tim Holtz Mini Pins by Advantus, rose silk ribbon by May Arts, Cropadile by We R Memory Keepers, Vintage Pearl Trinket Pins by Maya Road, Black Wood Bingo Numbers by Maya Road

Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom and enjoy getting ready for the season ahead!

 

Boo Halloween Banner by Julia Stainton

I'm totally loving banners. They are so much fun to create as you can make them as large as you want or start small and add more pennants as you find the time.

Today's project is a Hallowe'en banner for my home. Each of the pennants is 5"x7" and is created on a Jenni Bowlin Bingo Card. I know it's difficult to get an accurate idea of the size and detail as blog width ends up making the banner photo very small. To counter this, I'll be sharing each pennant individually as each is a unique creation in itself. Each pennant is larger than card front size and was so much fun to create. Please click on the smaller images to bring them to their full size for a better look.

To create the banner, each bingo card is decorated. You could stop at this point and create a mini album or a scrapbook page accent but I've punch a hole in the top corners and strung them together with some hem tape ribbon.

To keep continuity in the banner project I repeated a few elements on each design. I wanted each to be unique but still tie the project together.

• each pennant is created from a coordinating Jenni Bowlin Bingo Card
• the edges of each pennant are highlighted by "inking" them with a Black Adirondack Paint Dabber
• each pennant has some Graphic 45 Halloween in Wonderland accents
• each pennant has die cut leaves that I've sponged with distress ink

Now for each of the pennants I'll show you a closeup for the detail and highlight some of the design elements of each one...

• star is created by die-cutting Craft-a-board with the Classic Star Nestability die and then covering it with Melissa Frances Silver Glass Glitter
• a fun Tim Holtz Keyhole accents one of the o's in Boo
• the bat accent is a Tim Holtz Fragment that has been masked with a bat from the Tim Holtz Seasonal Masks and then painted with a Black Paint Dabber

 

• Tim Holtz Tissue tape crossed over the bingo card resembles crime scene tape
• a little Memo Pin holds a Kiwi Chandelier Crystal
• the Paper Rosette Sizzlets die makes a darling black flower rosette from black cardstock

• add dates or word accents with Tiny Type and Graphic 45 letter stickers
• The black cat is another use of the Tim Holtz Seasonal Masks

• Ellen's new Ellen's Essentials Doiles are so much fun to use as an achor for a group of embellishments and accents
• Add a fun chipboard button to the rossette center for extra dimension

• the fun Halloween ticket stamp is one of many occasions found on the Tim Holtz Odds and Ends stamp set
• frame your stamped image by stamping it onto a large kraft ticket

So there you have it.

Lots of fun techniques and ideas to try in one fun project. You could also rework it for a different occasion such as Christmas, a baby shower, or whatever you wish. You can find lots of fabulous and varied Bingo Cards by Jenni Bowlin here to use as a base.

Supplies: Halloween Bingo Cards & Vintage Halloween Chipboard Buttons by Jenni Bowlin, black cardstock, Jabberwocky patterned paper & Halloween in Wonderland Tags by Graphic 45, twine, Silver Glass Glitter by Melissa Frances, Tiny Attacher , Memo Pin and Market Place Tissue Tape by Tim Holtz for Advantus, Pitch Black Paint Dabber, Jet Black Archival Ink, Crushed Olive Distress Ink, Barn Door Distress Ink & Wild Honey Distress Ink by Ranger, Tattered Leaves die by Sizzix, Orange Halloween Felt by Hero Arts, Medallion Flower by Maya Road, Classic Star Nestability Die by Spellbinders, Tim Holtz Odds and Ends Stamp Set by Stampers Anonymous, Tim Holtz Fragment and Hinge Clip by Advantus, Tim Holtz Seasonal Masks, Vintage Pearl Trinket Pin and Leaf Trinket Pins by Maya Road, Paper Rosette Die by Sizzix, Assorted Doilies by Essential's by Ellen

Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom and happy creating!

October Calendar by Sharon Harnist

 
 
I know October is a third over already, but I'm just now finding time on this school and Columbus Day holiday to finish my October calendar!  So I thought I would share that with you all today.  You may remember when I introduced you to my 2010 calendar for this year, here.  It's a mini-book style, made out of 4-inch square pieces of Ellen's fabulous Craft-A-Board!  You could prep one of these calendar books for next year to give as a gift, leaving space for the recepient to add photos of their own as the year goes along, if you wish!

I started by cutting two pieces of Craft-A-Board 4-inches square and then round the corners with Crop-a-Dile Corner Chomper:

 

Next, I chose papers from Cosmo Cricket's Matilda Mini Deck and covered the Craft-a-Board with them, using a glue stick.  Then I stamped Karen Lockhart's sweet new Basket of Leaves with Memento Rich Cocoa ink onto Copic's new X-Press It Blending Card.  I noticed Ellen has several affordable package options of this fabulous new cardstock available now -- you can find them here!  Your Copic markers will blend wonderfully on this new cardstock and you won't see any feathering of marker color or stamped lines like you might on other cardstocks. 

Here's a quick step-out of the Copic markers I used on the basket image, chosen to match the Matilda papers (click on any photo for a larger view):

 
L - E31 on the basket, YR21 on the basket cross weaves and leaves, pumpkin & apples.  R - E33 & E35 on the basket and fruit stems.

 
L - YR16 on some leaves and pumpkin.  R - YR18 to deepen the pumpking and some leaves.

G82 & G85 on leaves and one apple.

Sorry I didn't get a photo of the last few steps:

R24 on last apple.
E31 & E33 on what I decided would be pods or nuts in the basket and to finish the basket rim, some E37.
YR16 & YR18 on the flowers on each side of the basket.
W1 & W3 to shade under the basket and for the blowing leaf trails.
Gold Atyou Spica Glitter Pen accents everything.

I cut out the image and popped it up on foam tape.  Now, take a look at my finished colored image next to the papers I chose:

 

I love the bright white of the Copic X-Press It Blending Card -- it produces very crisp and vivid colors.  But notice how different it is (bright white) than the ivory of the patterned papers and Neenah Natural White cardstock that I printed my computer-generated calendar on?  Now this may not bother some people, but it bothers the perfectionist in me, LOL!  So what to do?  Here's where your hand-dandy Copic E50 Egg Shell comes to the rescue!

 

I used it to color any of the remaining white areas of the basket image.  In the photo above, I started on the right side of the image, up to where the tip of the marker is pointing -- the left side of the image still remains white, so you can see the difference the Egg Shell marker makes!

And here's a close-up of the finished image -- hopefully you can see the nice sparkle the glitter pen adds (click for a larger view):

 

I used Martha Stewart's Picket Fence Edger Punch and Maple Leaf Punch to punch more Matilda paper for accents on this page.  The leaves were edged with Copic E35, crumpled and added with Mini Glue Dots.

For the right side of my calendar, I cut the Cosmo Cricket Matilda pumpkin background paper a little smaller than the 4-inch Craft-a-Board and colored the edges of the Craft-a-Board with Copic G85 marker.  Next, I die cut my computer-generated calendar with a Spellbinders Labels Four die and sponged the edges with Ranger Antique Linen Distress Ink.  It is popped up on foam tape.  

 

Cosmo Cricket's Tiny Type Brown sticker letters make the 'october' word on top of my calendar.  Using Spellbinders Nested Maple Leaf die, I die cut & embossed green plaid Matilda paper, sanded the edges, and then machine stitched it.  Strands of ribbon make "hinges" to hold the two calendar pieces together like a book!

Thanks for joining us today -- Happy Columbus Day!  ~ Sharon

 
Stamps: Lockhart Basket of Leaves
Paper: Cosmo Cricket Matilda Mini Deck & Tiny Type Brown letter stickers, Copic X-Press It Blending Card
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Ranger Antique Linen Distress Ink
Copic markers: YR21, YR16, YR18, R24, E31, E33, E35, E37, E50, G82, G85, W1; Gold Atyou Spica Glitter Pen
Accessories: Essentials by Ellen Craft-a-Board, Crop-a-Dile Corner Chomper, Spellbinders Labels Four & Nested Maple Leaf die sets, Martha Stewart Picket Fence Edger Punch & Maple Leaf Punch, Sanding Block, Mini Glue Dots

Hocus Pocus Test Tube Treat Holder

I keep seeing these test tubes arrive and depart here in the warehouse and have wanted to create using them for over a year! EEK!

How to present these has been part of my fascination... I think. Test tube holders are either really expensive, drab looking and/or way too large or small. Our lunch time conversation yesterday turned to the many different ways to hold these test tubes. The template that I have designed is based on the fabulous advice of all the girls here at work. Have I told you how lucky I am to have such fabulous women to work with?!! So I decided to create a template for all those of you who purchase these from us :-D Simply download and use the dimensions attached below. As well, we will be adding this file to the description of the test tubes in the store so that you can easily find it in the future.

You are going to hear me raving about Craft-a-board again today - LOL! Two days ago I created the Halloween treat box base using it. I absolutely love how this product is sturdy enough to really hold it's shape for making a wide assortment of projects. I shared how you can cut part way through using the Zutter Kutter. WELL...  guess what!!! Most of you don't have Zutter Kutter's BUT you do have an Xacto Knife and steel edge ruler :-D

It dawned on me that if I used my Fiskar's tool together with the Tim Holtz ruler I may have discovered a solution for the others to be able to create the sturdy boxes I have been utilizing. Oh the feeling of jubilation when it worked like a charm! As you can see I held my ruler firmly in place and then gently, yet firmly cut through the first layer of the Craft-a-board surface.

This picture shows the reason I am so very excited about this. By cutting through the top layer only you can create crisp, clean folds!!!

If you find that you have cut too deep you can always use adhesive or tissue tape to reinforce your fold lines, but I did not have to do that at all on this project. In fact it worked better than the Zutter Kutter :-D

This photo shows my test tube holder base with all lines, what I am going to call "deep scored" (the top layer of the Craft-a-board being cut through and the bottom layer remaining intact.)

There are many ways to color the Craft-a-board. One of the quickest and easiest is to use an ink blending tool and dye inks. I love the color palette of the Distress Inks and so they are frequently my first go-to-ink for anything involving the blending tool. I inked the edges of the Craft-a-board and then the portions of the holder that were not going to be covered with decorative paper.

For more ways to use Craft-a-board simply click on the category link on simple dreams, In Touch and here in the CLASSroom.

Another product I cannot remember ever using before is rub-ons :-O Yes, the girl who likes to try everything hasn't tried rub-ons! As we have continued to explore and expand the lines that we carry in the store these have puzzled me.

Decorating a rounded surface can be somewhat tricky for those of us who are stampy stampers and so I stepped off the edge, so to speak, and broke open my first package of "Press Ons."

Sitting at my table puzzling over how I would hold it in place without moving it Cathy came to my rescue. I used basic removable office tape to hold it in place as I worked :-D

Using the Basic Grey Rub-on Roller I carefully applied my first Press-On. Success! I am hooked! Those optical lenses are now calling my name and I think I must find a way to make a few "dangly" Halloween decorations :-D

The next piece to the mental puzzle of creating the perfect test tube holder was creating the hole that would hold the tubes firmly in place. My circle was a little to large and then it dawned on me. I have seen these funky pinked edges on store packaging. I trace the location of my circle on to my decorative paper as shown above, making certain that it would be positioned in just the right spot.

Look at how perfect the Cosmos flower fits this circle! It was meant to be.

Another rub-on was added to the cork and a gemstone to add just that little bit of bling.

A little more bling with a strip of adhesive and Glitter Ritz, as well as the perfect little amber circle bling and now I have a very fun little vessel and holder in which to present my gift. Purple Nerds to the rescue momentarily for this picture, but soon I will have this filled with some crafting goodies to gift to someone very special.

We hope that you enjoy this little treat holder. Think of all the possibilities!!! You could stamp the decorative paper, add a focal image, drop a tag from it and so much more!!! Add an inch or two to the overall width, cut in additional holes, and you can easily hold two or three test tubes. I would also like to encourage you once again to give Craft-a-board a try. It has SO many uses --- I will continue to do my best to share the many ideas I have to help you bring a higher level of quality to the items you create. Thank you for joining me here in the CLASSroom - now go and get creative!

template: Download Test Tube Favor Stand Template

paper: Pink Paislee Hocus Pocus 6x6 Paper Pad

ink: Dusty Concord Distress Ink Pad

accessories: Martha Stewart Test Tube Favors, Craft-a-board, Fiskars Fingertip Knife, Tim Holtz Ruler, Pink Paislee Hocus Pocus Press-ons, Basic Grey Rub-on Roller, Copper Circle Rhinestone Borders, 1/4" Be Creative Tape, Apricot Glitter Ritz, Cosmos Flower Punch

Owl-o-ween Trick or Treat Pencil Box

I LOVE the days that our customers stop in to pick up their will call orders and they bring along projects they are working on. Ann, thank you so much for sharing your adorable treat box!!!

Nothing could be more fun than this little creation!

Ann is making these for an entire class - I know they will absolutely love this treat!

Well... I couldn't resist giving this a whirl. I pulled out a rather boring pencil box to get measurements to design this template. When I am back at work tomorrow I will measure my box and add the dimensions here. Then using Craft-a-board and my Zutter Cutter I was able to quickly design the base for this box.

Craft-a-board is an inexpensive, fantastic alternative to chipboard!

The Zutter Kutter has a very cool feature which allows you to cut part way through thicker materials. To cut through the Craft-a-board I use the regular setting. To cut a deeper score line in the Craft-a-board I set the dial to "3". This creates a cut which allows you to easily create beautiful boxes!

Then using Distress Inks and an Ink Blending Tool I sponged the surface to coordinate with the Hallowe'en in Wonderland spider web paper.

Above are the Copic colors I used to color the oh, so cute Tufted Owl.

Resisting opening the latest sketchy tree die from Tim Holtz was futile - it was just too perfect. Cutting the tree and then wrapping it around the box to position the owl within the harvest moon... well - I just had to do it :-D

A little added sparkle (Rock Candy and Wild Honey Distress Stickles), along with Black Enamel Accents on the eyes adds dimension for the finishing touch.

Ann, thank you once again for inspiring me and providing THE most fabulous of ideas!

stamps: Memory Box Tufted Owl, Hero Arts ClearDesign Happy Halloween

paper: Graphic 45 Hallowe'en in Wonderland 8x8 pad, Neenah Natural White, X-Press Blending Card

ink: Archival Jet Black, Distress Ink Pads - Weathered Wood, Faded Jeans, Scattered Straw, Wild Honey

accessories: Craft-a-Board, Nostalgic Tissue Tape, Black Enamel Accents, Rock Candy and Wild Honey Distress Stickles, Tim Holtz Branch Tree Bigz Die

June Beach Calendar by Sharon Harnist

 

I haven't shown you all my desk calendar for this year ... so I thought it was time to remedy that!  I've been making it with 4-inch coasters, attached together with ribbon "hinges", so it can stand up like a book on my desk.  Well, I finally ran out of those 4-inch coasters, so Ellen's Craft-A-Board came to my rescue!  I cut two pieces 4" x 4" and rounded the corners with the 1/4-inch side of WRM's Crop-a-Dile Corner Chomper.  Then I covered the CAB with Cosmo Cricket's DeLovely 6x6 patterned papers ... so bright, cheerful & summery!

 

I thought Karen Lockhart's Beach Chair image would be perfect for this month starting off the summer season ... I can't wait to be on a beach chair in the sand at the beach somewhere, and will be dreaming of it until the end of the month when I get there!  I stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto Neenah Classic Crest Natural White cardstock and colored it with these Copic markers:

 

Next, I trimmed the image to 3.25" x 3.25", punched the corners with Martha Stewart's Sand Dollar Corner Punch and the straight edges with Beach Shells Edger Punch ... I love how this frame turned out!  Then I masked off the shell edges and airbrushed Copic BG11 on the background:

 

The edges of the shell frame and blue paper behind it were inked with Antique Linen Distress Ink and here's the easy way I accomplished this:

 

Here's a great Ranger tip I came up with:  Antique Linen Distress Ink is my favorite Distress Ink color and I use it on the edges of about 80% of my work!  So while browsing Ellen's store, I came across this empty Ranger Standard Foam Pad and I wondered how it would work as pad to ink the edges of my artwork.  So I inked one end of the foam pad with my Antique Linen Distress Reinker and now I have a quick and easy pad to grab and ink the edges of anything!  This foam pad is soft and gives a softer look to inked edges than the standard felt pad of the Distress Ink pads.  Now I certainly may not be the first person to think of this, but I certainly was bouncing in my chair when I discovered it worked so well!

 

One hint: It won't take as much reinker as you might think to soak the pad, so go lightly at first, letting the ink gradually absorb into the pad and testing it after each addition -- until you have it inked as you'd like.  I made the mistake of putting way too much reinker on the first time and ended up blotting off quite a lot of the ink because it swiped onto the edges of cardstock darker than I usually prefer.  I also have room on the other end of the pad to for a different color -- I hope you have fun with this idea!

 

Next, I printed my computer-generated calendar onto Neenah Classic Crest Natural White cardstock, trimmed it to 3.25" wide, and used the same Martha Stewart punches on the lower edge of this piece and the Corner Chomper on the top corners.  The month name of "June" was spelled out with Cosmo Cricket's Cream Tiny Type Letters ("dream" on the beach chair image is also from this set of stickers) and Copic BG11 airbrushed lightly on this background, too. 

 

The finishing touch is a top border of Neenah Natural White cardstock punched with the border punch again, inked with Antique Linen Distress Ink, and then the whiter star-shaped punched-out pieces of cardstock glued back onto the border for some contrast and texture!

I hope this June calender gives you a few helpful hints for your summer papercrafting and helps to put you in the spirit of summer!

Stamps: Lockhart Stamp Company-Beach Chair
Paper: Cosmo Cricket DeLovely 6x6, Neenah Classic Crest Natural White cardstock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Ranger Antique Linen Distress Reinker; Copic markers: E30, E33, BG11, BG72, RV14, Y15, W1
Accessories: Copic Airbrush System-1, Essentials by Ellen Craft-A-Board, WRM Crop-a-Dile Corner Chomper, Ranger Standard Foam Pad, Martha Stewart Sand Dollar Corner Punch & Beach Shells Edger Punch, Cosmo Cricket Cream Tiny Type Letters

Hero Fun Polyshrink - By Lisa Strahl

I had a lot of fun playing with Hero Arts images this week.  The range of styles that Hero is currently offering is really exciting.  Because I am a technique junkie, I often see images in terms of how versatile they are - how many different techniques can I apply to one image? 

My post today focuses on the first two images that I ordered from the Winter 2010 CHA Release.  They were my "gotta have it" stamps!

The first image is simply called Large Line Flower and is a nice big stamp measuring 4x4 inches.  Polyshrink techniques are a little easier with large images like this one to ensure that the finished piece is still big enough to be a focal point on the card. 

Polyshrink Line Flowers

Prepare the Black Polyshrink by sanding it gently in straight lines horizontally and then vertically.  It's important to use a Polyshrink Sanding Block as the grit is just right.

Stamp the Large Line Flower with New Canvas Palette Ink and allow to dry.

Trim the image close to the frame with sharp scissors or a small guillotine trimmer for precision. 

Shrink according to package instructions.  If you shrink in the oven the image will shrink the more evenly as compared to a heat tool.  I used a heat tool!  The shrunk piece is shown below and measures about 1.75 x 1.75 inches.

Painting on a glossy surface can be a challenge, especially a black one!  I used Wild Plum Adirondack Dimensional Pearls mixed with a little water on my craft sheet and one of the smallest Studio Line Brushes to color the flowers.
 

I added Glossy Accents (Ranger) to the flower as well as some small clear jewels.  The Polyshrink piece has been layered on Iris Cardstock (Hero Arts).

...and the sentiment does not always need to go on the outside of the card.  Sometimes a little surprise tucked inside can be fun!  This sentiment is from the Life is Not Perfect  stamp set as was watercolored with Pink Sherbet and Raspberry Adirondack Ink.

 

 

Spritzed Background Dandelion Artist Trading Cards

Randomly mist a full sheet of Craft-a-board beginning with a Mini Mister filled as follows - 3/4 water, 2 full droppers of Scattered Straw Distress Ink Reinker and a pea size scoop of Pearl Perfect Pearls.  Shake and mist.

Continue spritzing with a mister filled as above with Broken China Distress Reinker and Pearl Perfect Pearls.

One more time with Aged Mahogany Distress Reinker and Blush Perfect Pearls.  Keep adding color until it is beautiful and sparkly!  Heat set.

There is going to be lots of ink left around the edges of your Non-Stick Craft Sheet.  Use that ink to create more backgrounds by pressing smaller pieces of Craft-a-board directly to the sheet and "printing" the color to the surface.

 

Here is the background after many layers of added color.  Just something that I will set aside and use another time when I need some inspiration.

Here is a shot of the full sheet finished.

Next I cut the sheet into ATC sized pieces - 2.5 x 3.5 inches.  I am completely amazed at the serendipity of the color combinations!  Gorgeous and each one is different.

 

This is the other stamp I just had to order as soon as it was available.  It's called Dandelion Frame and it is just gorgeous!  I stamped it with Jet Black Archival Ink on the ATC backgrounds.

I finished them with a sentiment from the Vintage Butterflies set which reads "Life involves passions, faiths, doubts and courage".  I also added some small black gemstones in the flower centers.

This set is all ready for my ATC swap group this month!  I love being ahead of the game and these were so quick to make.

 

I do wish you courage in whatever you are facing this week!

Cheers, Lisa 

3 Ways to ATC - By Lisa Strahl

Monday, Monday...nah nah nah nah nah nah.  Another full week here at my house, but I had a loverly weekend and enjoyed an evening coffee outside with my hubby last night.  Perfect.

I have a few Artist Trading Card themed projects for you today.  Even if you are not an ATC kind of crafter, I think you will find lots of inspiration from the teachers here at The CLASSroom this week.

ONE OF A KIND

My first ATC is an "art for art sake" piece.  I created this when I just sat down to play with stamps and paper and ink that I loved.  See the supply list right below the photo for more details.

Stamps:  Botanical Bliss set and Stitches Scrapblock (Cornish Heritage Farms)  Ink:  Pearlescent Chocolate Brilliance (Tsukineko), Vintage Photo Distress (Ranger)  Paper:  Cotton Candy (Memory Box), Natural White (Neenah)  Other:  Circles and Ovals Fragments (Tim Holtz), Paper Distresser and Piercing Tool (Tonic), Ink Blending Tool (Ranger), Crackle Accents and Glossy Accents (Ranger), Chino Pearls(Kaisercraft), E77 Maroon Copic Marker, Brown Waxed Linen Thread  Finished Size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches

SWAPS OR MASS PRODUCTION

My second ATC could be created on mass or at least a few at a time if you are a person who makes 4 or 8 cards.  I like to create on a single layers when possible which is why I chose Craft-a-Board as the base for my ATC.  Collage Elements I (Kim Hughes) are the images featured.

Begin by sponging Juniper Adirondack Pigment Ink (Ranger) in a circular motion over the entire Craft-a-Board ATC with an Ink Blending Tool.  Heat set.

Repeat the process with Terra Cotta Adirondack Pigment Ink.  This time ink only a portion of the background.

One more time with Purple Twilight Adirondack Pigment Ink - again just sponging certain areas.

Stamp the polka dot background stamp from the Collage Elements I stamp set in the pattern shown with Jet Black Archival Ink (Ranger).  The round acrylic block can be found here.

Add some text.

And some flowers and stamp words as shown in the finished project photo.

You may have noticed the silver rim around the edge of the ATC in first photo for this project.  That was created with a Silver Krylon Leafing Pen.  There is a little trick I use to get the ink flowing.  First, it is important to shake the pen well - there is a little ball that will help the mixing.  If you press the tip to your Non-Stick Craft Sheet several times the ink will begin to flow and you can build up a pool of ink on your sheet. 

This will allow you to pick up more as you need it easily.  Heat set when done.

Create centers for the flowers with Mint Green Liquid Pearls and allow to dry.

 

Layer Kioshi 6x6 Papers (Basic Grey) together for the card front and create a line of faux stitching as shown with the Tim Holtz Design Ruler and Retractable Craft Pick.  Use a Black .05 Multiliner Pen to trace between the holes you have pierced to create a "faux stitch".  Place Mango and Lavendar Pearls along the stitch line.

PREMADE BACKGROUNDS

My last tip of the day is one that may surprise you.  I make a lot of ATC's and Inchies.  I also really, really, really *love* 6x6 paper pads because they are created for the scale of projects that I like to create.  Are you sitting down?  Have you swallowed that mouthful of coffee?

When I purchase a new 6x6 pad, the first thing I do is pull out one of each sheet and cut it into ATC and Inchie bases as follows:  

I am using a piece of Kioshi to illustrate.  Cut at 3.5 inches.

Take the 3.5 x 6 inch piece, turn it and cut at 2.5 inches, two times.  (Illustrated in the next two photos.)

 

You will have a 1 x 3.5 inch strip left.  Trim off the 1/2 inch and then trim the remaining porting into three 1 x 1 inch squares.

Now cut the remaining piece measuring 2.5 x 6 as shown - cut at 3.5 inches.  You will be left with a 2.5 inch square.

Here are the pieces you will have created - 3 ATC's (2.5 x 3.5), 3 inchies (1 x 1), a 2.5 x 2.5 inch square to use as a mat or could be cut down to a Twinchie (2 x 2 inches).  I even save that little .5 x 1 inch piece and adhere it to an Inchie Square.  Now I have ready made backgrounds that just need a little embellishing or stamping to create a fabulous ATC or Inchie.

Here is a photo of all of the ATC's I cut from the Kioshi 6x6 Pad:

 

Do you have any idea how this little fan of ATC's makes me?!  Ack.  Love it.  The other benefit of cutting into the paper right away is that you get to *know* it.  AND, your hoarding tendencies will be curbed because you have already cut it.  :P

If you are still with me after this lengthy post, good for you!

Cheers, Lisa