the CLASSroom

Twinchie Watercolor Cards by Jill Foster

We are thrilled to welcome back Jill Foster! Jill's color sense is amazing incredible and we are so excited that she is sharing some "how-to's" with us today as she showcases on of the brand new Penny Black images we just received in. Using Inchie Arts Twinchies art board as a canvas and Faber Castell art supplies she creates cards with mesmerizing colors!

I would like to once again share Jill's blog, Inspired By. She designs for Penny Black Stamps, Faber-Castell's Design Memory Craft and Inchie Arts  - so you will find loads of ideas on how to use these products there! We would appreciate if you would help us thank Jill for sharing her talents with us here in the CLASSrooom. Please leave your comment on Jill's blog on her post about being a guest here. As our way of thanking you for taking the time to do so you will have a chance to win some of the fabulous products she used in this post! You know you are in the right place if you see the following picture.

Thank you Jill for sharing your creativity with us here in the CLASSroom today! -Ellen

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Twinchie Watercolor Cards by Jill Foster

I am so excited and honored to be sharing a set of cards created with three of my favorite, go-to products: Penny Black stamps, Inchie Arts matboard squares, and Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft coloring mediums.  And my favorite part is that they all work so well together!

To begin, I started with an Inchie Arts Twinchie Square and stamped it with Penny Black 40-238 Floral Applique.  I love to stamp larger images on the mat board squares so that only parts of the image peek out on the small squares.  It gives the image a whole new look!

Next color the image using Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft Art Grip Aquarelles.  No need to take too much time, scribble coloring works great for this step.

Once you’ve laid down your color, blend it using water and a paint brush.  It instantly turns to paint, and, because I’m working on a strong matboard square, there is no warping no matter how much water I apply.

Next, add a touch of color to the edge by coloring with a Gelato onto the edges of the Twinchie and then blending with your fingertip. 

To create a soft background, begin by coloring directly onto your stamp with a Faber-Castell Stamper’s Big Brush Pen.  Huff (breath) onto the stamp and then firmly press it onto white cardstock.

Now color on to the stamped image with Gesso (you can use your fingers if you want to get messy or use a paintbrush).  Apply the Gesso unevenly, allowing some layers to have a thicker application and some a very light application.  Once dry, color on top with Gelatos and blend with your fingertip.  For a white-washed look I used a Coconut Gelato.  

If you want a bright background, follow these same steps but substitute a colored Gelato for the Coconut one.

   

I hope you have a fantastic and creative day and that I’ve inspired you to give a few of my favorite supplies a try. Happy stamping!

Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft: Art Grip Aquarelle Watercolor Pencils (Red, Yellow, and Blue Packs: 126, 121, 117, 154, 108, 153), Gelatos (50's Diner, Tropical, Red, Yellow, and Essential Packs: Banana, Blood Orange, Aqua Dolce, Snow Cone, Mango, Tangerine, Red Cherry, Coconut), Stamper's Big Brush Pen 273 Warm Grey IV, Textural Accents Sampler (Gesso)

Penny Black Cling Stamp, Floral Applique	Penny Black Cling Stamp, With Flourish	Penny Black Cling Stamp, Life's Messages	Penny Black Clear Stamps, A Bunch
Penny Black Clear Stamps, Friendship	Twinchie Squares, White	A Cardstock, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, 25 pack	Art GRIP Aquarelle Watercolor Pencils, Set of 9, Blue
Art GRIP Aquarelle Watercolor Pencils, Set of 9, Yellow	Art GRIP Aquarelle Watercolor Pencils, Set of 9, Red	Gelatos Designer Set, Tropical	Gelatos Designer Set, 50's Diner
Gelatos, NEW Set of 4, Yellow	Faber-Castel Gelatos Set, Red	Pitt Big Brush Pen, Subtles, Set of 3	VersaFine, Onyx Black
NEW Archival Ink Pad, Jet Black	Natural Hemp Cord On Spool, 10lb	Mixed Accent, Earth

InLinkz.com

An Inchie Valentine by Julia Stainton

Cold winter days makes the perfect time to cozy up and celebrate one of the "warmest" holidays of the year, Valentine's Day. Today's project is a little valentine I put together for my sweetie.

Sometimes you have an idea of exactly what you want to create when you start and other times, well...it's a bit of a journey to the end project. This is one of those journeys and it was inspired by a stamp set I just had to have.

The sentiments in this beautiful Wplus9 Cupid's Arrow stamp set were ones I just had to have and look at all the sweet little accompanying images! This was my first foray into using Wplus9 stamps and I was so pleased with them, it definitely won't be my last!

The biggest problem I faced with this set was just what sentiment I would use. I loved them all. The fonts and typography and phrasing were so cool. So...

What to do? Use them all (or most of them) of course!

Enter my next idea, color blocking the card so that I could include as many images and sentiments as I wanted. Inchies are a great way to color block and it's been a very long time since I've pulled mine out so it was meant to be.

I combined a variety of White Twinchie Squares with White Inchie Squares to form a 4"x4" pattern. You may notice that I have some rectangle shapes in there as well. They are simply Twinchies cut in half with the Tonic Guillotine Paper Trimmer.

I have to admit this next photo takes in a lot of steps. Oops! I got a little carried away and forgot about the camera. Don't worry because they are easy.

1. Stamp images and sentiments on squares with Jet Black Archival Ink and Vermillion Archival Ink by Ranger. Heat set with a heat gun.
2. Sponge edges of Inchies and Twinchies with Worn Lipstick Distress Ink or Dried Marigold Distress Ink.
3. Adhere to 4.25" square card made from Solar White Cardstock.
4. Punch holes in unstamped squares with Cropadile to allow for insert of brads.

Color in large font words to accent them. I used the Rose Bud Memento Marker. Go over the words again with a Clear Glaze Pen to add some shine and highlight the letters.

Sponge edges of Cosmo Cricket Natural Burlap Brads with Distress Inks. Insert through holes onto cards.

Quick Tip: Place a Glue Dot behind each brad to keep them straight and in place.

Thanks so much for joining me today in the CLASSroom! Have a creative weekend!

Rolled Roses by Sharon Harnist

Good morning and welcome to the CLASSroom on a crisp Fall day! I recently stocked up on some beautiful new colors of WoolFelt Ellen now has in the store and wanted to share with you how thrilled I was to find how wonderfully it cuts with low profile dies! These are 20%-35% wool blends and the colors are fabulous!  Here's a card and tutorial I put together for you, on how easy it is to roll your own roses:

So let's get started on those roses!  First, die cut the colors you want to use.  Here, I used My Favorite Things Large Royal Rose and these felt colors (top to bottom, left to right): Fuchsia, Baby Blue, Shady Grove and Red:

TIP:
Have threaded needle or your adhesive ready, before you start rollling!

1. Use Locking Hemostat Pliers to grasp the outer petal, facing the pliers inward towards the flat cut edge of flower.

2. Holding pliers with dominant hand, slowly roll petal fairly tightly against the index finger of other hand:

The tighter you roll, the smaller your flower will be; looser roll = larger flower.

3. Once you get to the large round "center" of the flower, this will become the base of your flower: 

4. To secure the flower, you can either put glue on the center and then hold the flat edges of the flower against the glue until it dries, use Craft Glue Dots, or since I was working with felt (or any fabric), I chose to stitch it together.

Here's how I did that:

(Photo above): Starting on the bottom of the flower, holding the round center against the flat edge of the petals, run a stitch all the way from one side through all the bottom layers, to the other side.

Turn the flower a 1/4 turn and start stitch again, but go only half way through, going up through the center of the flower. Start the next stitch down through the center of the flower and out the other side (going in the same direction as when you started). That seems to be enough to hold all the layers of the flower securely!

For the scalloped lower portion of the card, I used Tim Holtz's On The Edge-Scallops die.  But My Favorite Things has this similar Wonky Scallop Border, if you'd rather stick with a low profile die.

The darling little house is from Paper Smooches' Promenade stamp set. I stamped it on an Inchie Arts Ivory Twinchie Square and colored it with Copic Sketch markers (BG72, E43, E44, G85, R29, RV09, Y35).  I chose a card base of Memory Box Mango notecard to bring all the colors of this card together. A bit of Lemonade Baker's twine finishes off this card.

Thanks for joining me today . . . I hope you'll find lots of fun uses for these pretty felt roses!

Stamps: Paper Smooches-Promenade; Hero Arts Clear-Everyday Sayings; 
Paper: Memory Box Notecard & Envelopes-Mango; Hero Arts Layering Paper-Latte; 
Dies: My Favorite Things Die-namics-Large Royal Rose; Sizzix Tim Holtz On The Edge-Scallops; 
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa; 
Copic Markers: BG72, E43, E44, G85, R29, RV09, Y35
Accessories: Inchie Arts Twinchie Squares-Assorted (Ivory); Simply Swank Locking Hemostat Pliers, Wool Felt-20%: Baby Blue, Fuchsia, Red; Wool Felt-35%: Shady Grove; Sew Easy Baker's Twine-Primary; Craft Glue Dots; 

Lockhart Lanterns by Sharon Harnist

Labor Day weekend usually signifies the end of summer and that autumn is on its way (although someone definitely needs to notify Mother Nature to turn the heat off down here in Texas!). So I felt these darling Lockhart Party Lanterns would be a nice way to say goodbye to summer and hello to the recepient of this card:

I stamped the group of three lanterns three times across the bottom of a Solar White panel and then colored them with Copic Markers (BG13, RV63, YR12) and festive, sparkly Copic Atyou Spica Glitter Pens (Lemon, Melon, Orange, Pink, Turquoise), to match the pretty Lily Bee Buttercup patterned papers I chose.

TIP: Keep what you would consider your "springy/summery" patterned papers close at hand year round for festive party invitations and birthday cards!  You might also want to consider stocking up on these end-of-the summer papers when they go on clearance!

A Memory Box Mango notecard, which matches the patterned paper, was used as a quick card base.  I matched up the lanterns with this great Hero Arts ClearDesign Say Hello sentiment and stamped it with coordinating Memento Rose Bud ink onto a white Inchie Arts Inchie + Square. The square was framed with a black Scallop Square die cut.  Yellow Stickles dotted around the lanterns finishes the card.

I hope the end of summer has come to your part of the country but if not -- enjoy the last of the long warm days & nights!

~ Sharon

Lockhart Party Lanterns	Hero Arts Clear Design-Say Hello	Cardstock, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, 25 pack	Memento Ink Pad, Tuxedo Black
Memento Ink Pad, Rose Bud	Copic Sketch Markers	Copic Atyou Spica Glitter Pens	Inchie Arts Inchie + Squares, White
Memory Box Cardstock, Mango	Memory Box Licorice Cardstock	Sizzix Framelits Die Set, Scallop Squares	Ranger Stickles, Yellow

InLinkz.com

Boo Time by Sharon Harnist

Autumn is right around the corner and that always puts me in the mood for cute Halloween images. Karen Lockhart just released her new Fall & Holiday stamps and I used four of her images to create these sweet Twinchie (2-inch square) magnets:

I stamped the Happy Ghost and Spider Web with Memento Lulu Lavender dye ink onto X-Press It Blending Card. Using the lighter ink to stamp helps to make the images seem more realistic. The ghost was shaded with BV0000 and BV00 Copic Sketch Markers and his eyes accented with Lilac Atyou Spica Glitter Pen (hopefully you can see that by clicking on the photo below for a closer view):

The  Boo sentiment was stamped onto Memory Box Persimmon cardstock and then traced with Black Spica Glitter Pen. The cardstock was trimmed with pinking shears and adhered to an Inchie Arts Black Twinchie Square. The ghost and web were popped up with Copic Double-Sided Foam Mounting Tape to give these magnets cute charm (I'm always amazed at what foam tape can do for your artwork)!

The web was also accented with BV00 marker and Lilac Spica Glitter Pen. The Itty Bitty Spider was connected to his web with a line hand drawn with a fine black Copic Multiliner and he accented with Black Spica Glitter Pen. The cardstock behind the web is Memory Box's beautiful Boysenberry cardstock.

Add some Inchie Magnets to the back of the sturdy 2-inch Black Twinchie matboard squares and you've got yourself some cute refrigerator art, ready to hold all those important back-to-school papers and photos (or to give to your new teachers)!

Thanks so much for visiting the CLASSroom today!  

~ Sharon

Happy Ghost	Boo	Spider Web	IB Spider
Blending Card by X-Press It, 25 Pack	BB9 Cardstock, Persimmon	B7 Cardstock, Boysenberry	Memento Ink Pad, Lulu Lavender
COPIC Sketch Marker BV0000, Pale Thistle	COPIC Sketch Marker BV00, Mauve Shadow	COPIC Spica Glitter Pen, Clear	COPIC Spica Glitter Pen, Black
COPIC Spica Glitter Pen, Lilac	COPIC Multiliner Fine 4 Piece Set, Black	Twinchie Squares, Black	Inchie Magnets
High Tack Double-Sided Foam Mounting Tape, 1/2"

InLinkz.com

Twinchies + Dies for a Valentine Design by Julia Stainton

Thinking of new ideas to try out is half the fun when creating. The other day I came across some Twinchies and was brainstorming on some new ways to use them. As I love negative shapes, punching a design out of the center of them came to mind. Of course punches won't work well with such a heavy material but how about dies? Now this was an idea that I could see working!

Most dies are much larger than Twinchie size but as I went through my supplies, I found that most of the Tim Holtz Movers and Shapers dies would work perfectly. Fabulous! Even better, there were some sweet hearts and keys that I had and with Valentine's Day around the corner, I could make my guy a card with them.

Here's what I came up with...

 

 

Since it's a masculine design, I decided to go with a more black and white neutral palette for this design. The pattern and dimension keeps the design interesting.

If you're never tried the Movers and Shapers dies, they are small, magnetic and you use them with a Base Tray so that you can place them exactly where you want them. I love the flexibility and they are quite addictive to use!

To die cut the Twinchies, I placed the dies cutting edge up on the tray and then placed the Twinchies on top. You then place a Sizzix cutting pad below the tray and then one over the top to form your "sandwich". It cuts like a dream through my Sizzix Big Shot.

As you can see, these dies cut very cleanly through heavy materials. Love that! One other thing to note about cutting out these negative shapes...while I didn't include the key and hearts in my current project, they are perfect for keeping to use for another quick project at a later date.

A little inking and stamping are always fun and here's my Twinchie Die Cuts after I've altered them a little.

I have to admit I've been hoarding my Basic Grey Little Black Dress 6x6 paper pad for quite a while. What was I waiting for?! The papers are so beautiful and easy to use together. They look lovely as a base on my 5.25" square card design.

To finish off my design, a kraft ticket and a few buttons...

...and some twine, pins and roses.

 

Have fun die cutting some Twinchies and let me know what you think!

Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom and have a wonderful creative weekend!

Supplies:

Solar White Cardstock by Neenah, Asorted Twinchies by Inchie Arts, Cling Friend Definition stamp by Hero Arts, ClearDesign Say It All stamp set by Hero Arts, Little Black Dress 6x6 Paper Pad by Basic Grey, Mini Hearts and Mini Lock and Key Set Movers & Shapers Dies by Sizzix, Vintage Paper Roses by Maya Road, Vintage Black Pearl Trinket Pins by Maya Road, Kraft Mini Tickets by Maya Road, twine, black buttons by Basic Grey, Jet Black Archival Ink by Ranger, Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink by Ranger

Bookmarks From Scraps by Sharon Harnist

Happy Wednesday, everyone!  I love Memory Box’s line of Notecards and Envelopes -- they are easy to grab for a quick card base and have the pretty matching colored envelopes included!  Often, I cut down these A2 card sized card bases (5.50” x 4.25”) and make smaller notecards -- 4.25”, 3.50” or 3” square, and am then left with these scraps:

So I recently set out to make something out of these leftover scraps (most were 2” x 8.50”) and the first thing that came to mind was bookmarks!

         (Click on any photo for a larger view)

To make these bookmarks for my girls sturdy, I adhered my Memory Box colored scrap notecards (unfolded) to 2” x 8.50” pieces of Ellen’s Craft-a-Board. On the left above, I used Meadow and Wisteria, and on the right I used Currant and Licorice. I used more pieces of my leftover notecards (the reverse/inside of Memory Box notecards and cardstock is white) and punched with Open Scallop Edger Punch to make the white scalloped edging.

Next, I stamped a few Lockhart stamp images (Bennie Bear and Crown of Royalty) with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Copic X-Press It Blending Card and colored them with these Copic markers:

Next, I cut out the images and adhered them to Inchie Arts White Inchie + Squares.  For the bear, I colored a white Inchie + Square with YG01 and YG03 Copic markers -- I love that I can make any color of Inchie, Inchie +, or Twinchie Square I want, just by coloring a white one!  I adhered the crown image to a Black Inchie + Square.

Then to personalize each bookmark, I used Kim Hughes’ Paper Smooches Alphadot clear stamps to spell out each girl’s name, “Good Reads” and “Was Here”.

By changing this basic idea around and using more “grown up” or seasonal stamps and paper/cardstock colors, these will also make great gifts for teachers, friends and family for any of the upcoming holidays!

Thanks for visiting the CLASSroom today!  ~ Sharon

Stamps: Lockhart Stamp Company-Bennie Bear #1011, Crown of Royalty #2125; Paper Smooches by Kim Hughes Alphadot clear stamps; 2.50” Round Acrylic Block with Grid;
Paper: Memory Box Notecards & Envelopes-Currant, Licorice, Meadow, Wisteria; Copic X-Press It Blending Card;
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Ranger Adirondack Dye Ink-Purple Twilight;
Copic Markers: Bear-YG01, YG03, BV02, BV04, E41, E42, E43; Crown-RV00, RV55, T0, T2
Accessories: Essentials by Ellen Craft-a-Board; Inchie Arts White Inchie + Squares and Black Inchie + Square; EK Success Open Scallop Edger Punch; 

WCMD 2011 - Inchie Challenge by Sharon Harnist (EHWCMD3)

Hello, everyone ... I hope you are enjoying today's challenges and getting some cards made on World Card Making Day!  One of my favorite products/techniques to work with are Inchies, so my challenge to you today is to make a Fall themed card using an Inchie to spotlight a larger image!  IF YOU DON'T HAVE INCHIE ARTS INCHIE SQUARES, YOU MAY USE A 1-INCH PIECE OF CARDSTOCK.

For my card, I chose my favorite new Fall Lockhart Stamp Company images, this fabulous Autumn Gate.  I stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Copic's X-Press It Blending Card twice.  I hand trimmed around one image and then lightly colored the image a little with some lighter muted Copic colors (E30, Y00, YG61, YR00, T0, T1), to replicate what this gate might look like at dusk.  Normally when doing a spotlight technique, the larger image is left uncolored, but I liked the tiny bit of color on mine.  You may do either on your challenge card.

For the spotlighted "Give Thanks" wreath, I used a piece of cardstock with a 1-inch square punched out of it to use as a template to place over the second stamped image, to determine exactly what part of the image I wanted to use:

I used a pencil to trace around the square template and then I cut out the 1-inch image, leaving the right edge of the banner and bow extending beyond the edges.  I colored the 1-inch image with these Copic markers: (E31, E33, V15, Y15, YG61, YG63, YR12, and Orange, Melon & Lemon Atyou Spica Glitter Pens).  Alternately, you could just stamp the part of the image you want to highlight onto the Inchie Square (or 1-inch piece of cardstock), and/or punch or trim your cardstock image to be one inch square.  I then adhered the cut out image to an Inchie Arts Dark Cream Inchie Square and mounted the Inchie to my larger image.  The Inchie Square gives a wonderful bit of dimension and depth to the Spotlight Technique.  If you are using a 1-inch piece of cardstock for your spotlight, you may want to pop it up on foam tape, to make your spotlight stand out from the rest of your image.

To finish my card, I die cut a Maple Leaf from Memory Box Jack O Lantern cardstock, crumpled it up and then sponged it with Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink.  It is mounted with 3D foam squares to the Memory Box Paprika notecard base.  A black button and Black Baker's Twine complete my card.

I hope you have fun trying this Inchie Spotlight Technique! ~ Sharon

Stamps: Lockhart Stamp Co-Autumn Gate, 
Dies: Memory Box Maple Leaf die; Sizzix Tim Holtz On The Edge Die-Scallops, 
Paper: Memory Box-Paprika notecards (card base), Jack O Lantern cardstock (leaf); My Mind's Eye Lost & Found 6x6-Sunshine, Copic X-Press It Blending Card; 
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Ranger Distress Ink-Brushed Corduroy; 
Copic Markers: E30, E31, E33, V15, Y00, Y15, YG61, YG63, YR00, YR12, T0, T1; Orange, Melon & Lemon Atyou Spica Glitter Pens,
Accessories: Inchie Arts Assorted Neutral Inchie Squares; Black Baker's Twine; black button; Scrapbook Adhesives 3D foam squares; Ranger Ink Blending Tool; 

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INCHIE CHALLENGE

For our Inchie Challenge simply create a Fall-themed card using an Inchie Square or 1-inch piece of cardstock to spotlight one area of your stamped image.

Once you have completed this challenge please be certain to link directly to that specific project in our WCMD Challenge Blog Candy post!

BLOG CANDY

Fall is filled with traditions -- what tradition do you look forward to each fall?  Be certain to leave your answer and some love for Sharon on this post to be entered in a random drawing for the fun goodies shown below.

 
All comments must be made by 11:59pm Pacific Time on Sunday, October 2nd to be eligible.

Fall Altered Frame by Sharon Harnist

The calendar says it's officially Fall ... at least in some parts of the country (still not here in Texas, though)!  So I thought to help me get into a Fall frame of mind, I would make a Fall photo frame!  Here's what I came up with:

To start this project, I decoupaged (using Royal Coat Decoupage) some neutral papers from Authentique's 6x6 Glowing patterned paper onto a 12-inch MDF photo frame from a local craft store (I liked the nice, large 5" x 7" opening).  I always put a final coat of decoupage glue over the top of the patterned paper, to make it more resilient.  

I finished the edges of the frame with Studio Sable Brown Acrylic Paint.

To make the cascading leaves, I die cut leaves out of several fabulous colors of 100% wool felt Ellen carries: Butter, Dark Sage, Rhubarb and Terra Cotta, using Tim Holtz Tattered Leaves Bigz Die.

The Bigz dies can easily be used in the Cuttlebug, by using a sandwich of B plates:

This felt is wonderfully thick, but this die cuts it like butter!

Next, I cut a small dead branch from a tree and attached the die cut felt leaves to the branch, using Fabri-Tac glue.  Since I covered the front side of the branch up with all of the leaves, here's a photo of the backside of the branch, so you can see how the leaves are attached:

The branch was secured to the frame using one of Tim Holtz's Hinge Clips, so I could have the option of maybe switching out this branch with a different seasonal decoration in the future.  Plus, the clip holds things nice and securely!  

The clip was attached to the frame using Glossy Accents -- it's also a great quick-drying permanent glue!  To accent the clip, I tied some black and brown Baker's Twine to the top.

To accent the top right corner of the frame, more leaves were die cut from Nutmeg felt, machine stitched, and accented with a large brown button tied with brown twine.

For the FALL tiles at the bottom, I used Inchie Arts Neutral Inchie Squares (Dark Cream) and embossed them with Tim Holtz's Bricked Texture Fades Embossing Folder.  

(The Inchie on the left above has not been texturized yet).  Then I painted the Inchies with Copper Adirondack Acrylic Metallic Paint Dabber and topped them with Maya Road Mini Alphabet Chipboard Letters that were painted with metallic Gold Paint Dabber.  

To distress and age the brighter metallic paints, I used Walnut (or any dark brown) Stain Distress Ink to darken them.  Here's a comparison of what the tiles and letters looked like before adding the Distress Ink (items on the right in the photo below) vs. the distressed versions on the left:

To finish this frame, I chose a few cute patterned papers from My Mind's Eye Mischievous 6x6 pad and made a photo mat, ready for a new Fall photo with a couple of mischievous little girls I know (namely my 9 and 11 year olds)!

Thanks for joining me today ... Happy Fall!  ~ Sharon 

Paper: Authentique 6x6-Glowing; My Mind's Eye 6x6-Mischievous;  
Dimensions 100% Wool Felt: Butter, Dark Sage, Nutmeg, Rhubarb, Terra Cotta 
Ink: Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Inks-Walnut Stain + Ink Blending Tool; 
Dies/Embossing: Sizzix Tim Holtz Bigz Die-Tattered Leaves, Tim Holtz Texture Fades Embossing Folder-Bricked, 
Accessories: Inchie Arts Neutral Inchie Squares (Dark Cream); Maya Road Mini Alphabet Chipboard Letters-Noah; Ranger Glossy Accents, Studio Acrylic Paint-Sable Brown, Adirondack Acrylic Metallic Paint Dabbers-Copper & Gold; Royal Coat Decoupage; Tim Holtz Hinge Clips; Beacon Adhesives Fabri-Tac glue; Glue Dots; We R Memory Keepers Neutral Fancy Floss Baker's Twine (black & brown);  
Other: 12-inch MDF wood frame, tree branch 

Embossing Folders & Gelatos by Julia Stainton

When a new product hits the market, it's always fun to explore all the possibilities for creating with it. I've been enjoying the creative medium of the new Faber-Castell Gelatos. They are kind of a cross between a crayon and lip gloss. I know that sounds different but it's a wonderful creamy medium that is water-soluble and has a beautiful pearl tone base to it.Gelatos work great on light surfaces but they really shine on dark. This got me thinking. What could I do with black Inchies and Gelatos?

I hope you like this spin on a few techniques all put together into one.

Father's Day is coming up as June is just around the corner. Inchies, embossing and dark texture make a great Father's Day card for Dad.

 

To do this technique, you'll need an embossing folder, some inchies,  paper or chipboard and Faber-Castell Gelatos. Open up your embossing folder and color the inside top of the folder with the Gelatos. I just used random colors and scribbled it on. Apply well but don't press hard so that you get as little color as possible in the cracks. This will help the embossed design stand out.

Place your inchies or other paper into the embossing folder and run through your die cut machine. I love how this not only colors your inchies but embossed them as well. Great texture! Rinse off your remaining Gelato residue when finished and your embossing folder is just like new.

As you can see, you get a great metallic shine to your surface.

To complete the card, I've altered two embellishments to better fit my card style. Buttons can be sanded to reveal the inner white core to add a vintage look to the project.

I've also altered the Prima letters from a light cream color to a rich copper with the Krylon Copper Leafing pen.

Wishing you a safe and wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!

Supplies: black cardstock, Black Inchie Squares by Inchie Arts, twine, Green Leaf Trinket Pin by Maya Road, Black Button by Basic Grey, Sanding Block by Tim Holtz, Ivory Alphabet by Prima Marketing, Copper Leafing Pen by Krylon, Gelatos by Faber-Castell, Collage & Notebook Texture Fades Embossing Folder by Sizzix, Campfire 8x8 paper pad by October Afternoon

 

 

Hope...

A wonderful woman and special friend was recently diagnosed with Breast Cancer and immediately underwent a double mastectomy this past week. As friends we wanted to do something special for her to help her through these rough times.  

I absolutely love this Memory Box image and wanted to use pink, but not have it be overpoweringly pink. At an antique store I recently purchased an old french dictionary - I love these types of finds :-D I pulled out the page that had the French word for "to hope" on it and used it as the background. I know it has a scrambled appearance, but it is that scrambled appearance that I love. Sometimes hope is somewhat elusive and hard to find, but through the garbled darkness it can emerge with support and love from friends and family.

 

Spotlighting the spring blossoms on the natural cork gave the card an earthy feel. I colored the stamp with #174 Chromium Green Opaque Faber Castell Big Brush and impressed the image on to the cork square. I then scribbled #129 Pink Madder Lake on my non-stick Craft Sheet and using my watercolor brush diluted it before painting in the flower petals. While still wet I came back directly over the top and added some deeper color into the blossoms as shown below.

 

To highlight the word "hope" and help it emerge from the page I outlined one edge with a black .03 Copic Multiliner.

Wanting to keep with the simplicity of the image I cut one edge of a piece of Raspberry cardstock using Tim's new Mini Scallop On the Edge die and assymetrically mounted it on my card front.

 

I also had to share this beautiful angel created by artist Kelly Rae Roberts. We are sharing angels; covering a tree with beauties that will hopefully provide encouragement, love and lend support. The words on this image and the way that Kelly Rae creates is so beautiful --- I just had to share this "have faith" angel with you in case you know someone who could use a lift. May our real guardian angels watch over Beth, protect her, encourage her and heal her.
 

stamps: Memory Box Hope Collage

ink: Faber Castell PITT Big Brush Pen - #129 Pink Madder Lake and #174 Chromium Green Opaque, Memento Tuxedo Black, Distress Antique Linen, Copic .03 Multiliner

paper: Memory Box Raspberry and Kraft Cardstock

accessories: Tim Holtz Mini Scallop & Pinking On the Edge Die, Magenta Mosaic Cork Square

12 Days of Christmas: Day 8 - Parisian Inspired Inchies and an Inchie INKling Challenge

Creating with inchies is probably one of THE quickest ways to create a series of cards! I can tell you that editing the pictures and writing this post took so much longer than creating these cards - LOL! I would like to challenge you to try creating a card this next week using this concept.

When the Parisian Anthology line was first debuted I fell in love with it - the simple color base that could twist in so many directions, but leans towards one of my current favorites (Bayou --- it takes me to an ocean beach everytime I look at it), the simple clean lines of the little stamps, the unusual little embellishments, or just the simple elegance of it... not certain which appeals to me more.

I knew that I REALLY wanted to share it in conjunction with Inchies today!

 

Crisp, clean and elegant are the words I would use to describe these cards - it goes back to the simplicity of black and white with one color family. Love it!

You do not need "inchie" stamps to create inchie focal points or inchies. Yes, inchie stamps are wonderful and I absolutely love them, but you can look at any of your images and figure out a way to use them.
 

I felt that this first card was just the "ticket" to a perfect dinner invitation - ha! ha! Do you see the little hostess "walking" through the inchies with her invisible serving platter? As you can tell I did not use the entire stamp and I love the way it looks.

Always look at your Inchie Arts Squares before stamping - one side has a beautiful finish that is perfect for stamping and coloring. I used Archival Jet Black ink to achieve this beautiful crisp look. Always make certain that your stamp pad is well inked for optimum results.

I then used Adirondack Pool and Slate ink, together with an ink blending tool to add a little definition to each "tile."

TIP: The border was created using the open scallop punch. Repeating your border punches or combining different punched edges can add so much interest to your card fronts.

 

Layering also adds interest! I LOVE the little "notes" that come with the Parisian Anthology line - they make creating a focal point so very easy. I simply punched the bottom edge to add interest and then layered a black Twinchie Square together with an Inchie + Square, a small doily (yes, our doilies are tiny and can be used so very easily on card fronts), and a portion of a leftover flourish from a different project.

TIP: Think about how you can divide up the larger pearl and rhinestone flourishes to add interest to card fronts. These are not just designed for scrapbook pages :-D

Inchies are GREAT for creating cards with spotlights, adding an easy focal point and bringing dimension to your card fronts!

 
stamps: Pink Paislee Parisian Anthology

ink: Jet Black Archival, Adirondack Dye - Pool and Slate

paper: Pink Paislee Parisian Anthology Notes, Tickets, Small Doily, Memory Box Notecards - Bayou and Pool, Licorice Cardstock

accessories: Inchie Arts - White 1" Squares, White Inchie + Squares (1 1/2"), Black Twinchie Squares (2"), EK Success Punches - Open Scallop and Deco Scallop

On the eighth day of Christmas my Inchie supply collection could grow by:

• Inchie Squares, White
• Inchie + Squares, Neutral
• Twinchie Squares, Black
• Inchie Idea cards
• Inkadinkado Inchie Clear Stamps, Morphic Patterns
• IB Candy Heart
• IB IB Rose Bouquet
• 1" Square Punch

 

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.

Have you joined in the fun? Have you created an inchie or inchie inspired project? Leave us a comment and let us know how you use your "inchie" items (or any tiny items if you haven't "inchied" yet.)

With this post I am also putting out an Inchie INKling challenge for you to play along with! You have TWO WEEKS to become a member of our gallery and add a project (or more than one project if you are so inclined - the more projects the more opportunities you have to win) to our first INCHIE CHALLENGE in "the Gallery". There will be a fun surprise "in store" as we will be selecting a winner from these entries using a random number generator. So here is the challenge:

• create an inchie that uses black/white/and one color of your choice.
• rubber stamping must be a part of your entry and we would appreciate if you would use rubber stamp manufacturers that we carry in our store - Lockhart Stamp Company, Memory Box Company, Hero Arts, Stampers Anonymous, Claudine Hellmuth Creative Layers, 7 Gypsies, Pink Paislee, Maya Road, Webster's Pages, etc.
• You have until midnight PST January 16, 2011 to share your challenge entry. We will select the winner using a Random Number Generator from the entries at that time and post the winner on the gallery challenge as well as here on our blog.

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
• Six Sizzix Goodies
• Seven Alterable Items

World Card Making Day Inchie Challenge by Cindy Lyles (EHWCMD6)

We're creating texture Inchies today - if you have never tried creating an Inchie how about trying one today!?!

Steampunk was my operative mode of thought when creating today's altered notebook project, featuring....textured Inchies!

To create the textured Inchies for this project, a Sizzix Embossing Folder was used, and two, white Inchie + Squares (these are 1.5 inches square) were sandwiched and run through a die cut machine.  This produced a wonderful and incredible impression on the Alpharag Artcare matboard.  One could run several Inchies through an embossing folder at a time to keep on hand, and use whenever you need a bit of texture in one of your projects; just add Distress inks to suit your project colors, as was done below.

Next, Distress Inks in Wild Honey, Crushed Olive and Antique Linen were applied using an ink blending tool, to one embossed Inchie + Square, and Aged Mahogany and Antique Linen to the other.  The recesses created by the embossing folder are nicely emphasized with the addition of these wonderful Distress inks.

The rosette was created using Graphic 45 Society Page and one of Sizzix's newest dies, the Paper Rosette - it allows one to create a 2-1/2 inch diameter paper rosette with incredible speed!

I opted to create a covered notebook for these embellishments - all from Tim Holtz's Idea-ology line - here's a close-up:

The covered notebook base uses Graphic 45 Pen in Hand.  Black cardstock is Memory Box Licorice.

Here's a photo of the notebook inside.  Finished dimensions (closed) are 5 inches by 8 inches. 

Thank you for visiting the CLASSroom on World Card Making Day, and hope you have a great time participating in the CLASSroom challenges today!

breakout of Tim's hardware: Game Spinners, Hitch Fasteners, Philosophy Tags, Sprocket Gears, Swivel Clasps, Washers, Timepieces.

INCHIE CHALLENGE

For our Inchie Challenge simply create any project (card, notebook, scrapbook page, and so forth) using an Inchie or Inchies that you've added texture to!

Once you have completed this challenge be certain to post a comment on this post, as well as a link to your project, in our WCMD Challenge Blog Candy post!

BLOG CANDY

Thank you for stopping by our corner of WCMD today! After you have finished drooling on your keyboard be certain to leave a comment to be entered in a random drawing for the delicious goodies shown below. Do you own an electronic cutter and if so, which one?

All comments must be made by 11:59 Pacific Time on Sunday, October 2nd to be eligible.

Black, White and Pink INspiration!

Following up with Ellen's post on Monday about "Black, White and Yellow INspiration", I decided to give her suggestion of a black, white and hot pink color scheme a try since it's one of my favorites!  Thanks for the inspiration, Ellen!

 
  
I chose Lockhart Stamp Company's Roses In The Window stamp to do a spotlighting technique with an Inchie Arts Ivory Twinchie Square.  I began by inking up the stamp (upside down on my table top) with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  Then, with the stamp still sitting on the table face up, I was able to place the Twinchie Square over the window portion of the stamp exactly where I wanted it and pressed the Twinchie Square into the stamp.

Next, I used Copic markers to color the window image by concentrating most of the color on the roses & foliage, with just some other light accents on the curtains (RV00) and window detail (W1).  Here are the Copic marker colors I used (and Melon Copic Atyou Spica Glitter Pen):

 
  
The next step was to stamp the full window image onto Neenah Classic Crest Natural White cardstock and die cut it with Spellbinders Nestabilities-Labels One die.  I also shaded some of this full image with the W1 marker.  Next, I used my Copic RV17 marker to carefully color the embossed outer edge of the die cut image:

 
  
Then I used Zig's 2-Way Glue Fine Tip Pen around the pink border of the die cut and covered it with Glitter Ritz's Warm Highlights Transparent Micro Fine Glitter.  Alternately, you could use the colored glitter of your choice but I find using a colored marker first, then transparent glitter over it, sometimes works a little better for me. 

Next, I adhered the Twinchie Square to my die cut image using my new favorite adhesive I haven't talked much about yet -- the Glue Glider Pro. This permanent adhesive is strong enough to hold most anything -- even the weight of the Inchie Arts 2-inch square piece of matboard!  Then I popped up the label die cut image with foam tape to my Memory Box Licorice notecard base covered with a 4"x4" piece of Jenni Bowlin Vintage Black Line Mini Paper on the right and a piece of Vintage Red Line paper on the left side.  I placed a row of Hero Arts Assorted Crystal Gemstones (pink, darkened with my Copic RV19 marker) along the seam of the two papers, for an added pop of color.

 

I tend to leave sentiments off card fronts so I can use the card for whatever purpose I'd like in the future, just by adding an appropriate sentiment to the inside.  But the left side of this card would be a good spot to add a sentiment tag turned vertically.

 
Stamps: Lockhart Stamp Company Roses In The Window
Paper: Jenni Bowlin Mini Papers Vintage Black Line & Vintage Red Line, Neenah Classic Crest Natural White cardstock, Memory Box Licorice notecard
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Copic markers-RV00, RV14, RV17, RV19, G12, G14, G16, W1; Melon Copic Atyou Spica Glitter Pen
Accessories: Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels One, Inchie Arts Ivory Twinchie Square, Hero Arts Assorted Crystal Gemstones, Zig 2-Way Glue Fine Tip Pen, Glitter Ritz Warm Highlights Transparent Micro Fine Glitter, Glue Glider Pro, foam tape

Max and Whiskers Trio

Hello dear friends of The CLASSroom! 

I have created a trio of cards for you today that feature inchies and kitties, what could be better?

 

This adorable paper collection by Basic Grey was released several months ago, but I think the themes and colors are timeless for dog and cat lovers alike.  This collection is also suited so well to children with it's sweet whimsy.

These designs are quick to make by using papers from the Max and Whiskers 6x6 Paper Pad, a little ribbon and the Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type stickers in Black and Brown to customize your sentiment.

Another tip I wanted to share is to use the Neutral Colors Inchie Squaresto mat your paper inchie kitties.  Both the black and white would have been quite stark against these cards, but the Light Grey and Dark Grey were perfect matches to tie the card together.

You can also see that I have layered the middle inchie above the other two.  I did this by applying 1/16 inch foam squares under each corner.

If you enjoy working with Inchies I would invite you to visit Ellen's Inchie INKlings blog for sketches and a great community of creative people from all over the world.  I am going to post the two sketches for the above cards here on The CLASSroom today - you are welcome to play along with us for a chance to win an Itty Bitty stamp by Karen Lockhart!  Simply create a card with either of these sketches and link to this post for a chance to win.

Inchingly Yours, Lisa

Variation on an Inchie Theme by Susan Roberts

ETA: I apologize for not seeing this amazing post in the cue and setting it to go live on Saturday as I took a "creative leave", so we are getting two fabulous posts today! Thank you so much Susan! -Ellen

On today’s project Inchies and Twinchies were used with a couple of Spellbinder’s Nestabilities shapes to die cut approximately halfway through them.

On this Twinchie an Oval Nestabilities (next to smallest oval in the "Classic Large" oval set) was used.

The middle section was then peeled away exposing a felt-like center.

 

This was done with a couple of Twinchies.   One of the ovals was embossed using Tim Holtz's "Swirls" Embossing Folder and then glued back into place on the Twinchie.  Except for the embossed areas, the oval section is flush with the Twinchie when put back into its “spot”.

With the second Twinchie the felt-like center was left exposed for an interesting look.

 

The oval was placed onto another unaltered Twinchie for some dimension.

Here are all three variations together showing the mix and match.

For the card, three Inchies were used.  These were die cut using Spellbinder’s Circle Nestabilities (smallest circle in the "Standard Small" circle set).  Once the center circles were removed, both the Inchies and the center circles were colored with Copics and stamped with a couple of small floral images.

 

After coloring and stamping, the center circles were glued back flush into the Inchies.

These are so easy and quick to make and really deliver a fun accent.  The sentiment, border, floral images and doll are all from Hero Arts “Dolls” stamp set.

Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom today.

Happy Crafting!

------------------------------

Supplies:

Stamps: Hero Arts “Dolls”

Paper: Memory Box Cardstock “Sunflower” and “Holly Berry”; Neenah “Solar White”; Cosmo Cricket “Garden Variety”

Copics:

Miscellaneous:  Inchies and Twinchies; Spellbinder's Circle and Oval Nestabilities; Tim Holtz "Swirls" Embossing Folder; Hero Arts Art Flower, Hero Arts Pearls

Inchie Photo Art Frame by Julia Stainton

Summer is on it's way if it hasn't already arrived yet. The new Cosmo Cricket Delovely line inspires bright and fun projects and makes me think of summer and teen projects. Pairing up a 6x6 mini papers pad with Black Inchies, a photo and some Craft-a-board makes a fun photo frame alternative.

To create this project I first started with 16 Black Inchies and arranged them into a square.

On some of the inchies, I adhered 3/4" squares cut from the the Cosmo Cricket Delovely Mini Deck.

Leaving the four center squares blank, I stamped some pretty Hero Arts images in white craft ink onto the remaining inchies. By using the black inchies instead of white, it really makes the colors of the paper pop. the images shown here are from the Antique Engraving and the Earth Flowers stamp sets.

 

To add the photo to the center of the project, print out or cut to a 2" square size and then cut into 1" squares. This will work best if you keep the cuts away from the main features of a face.

I decided I didn't like my original spacing between the inchies and moved them closer before adhering them well. Once all my layers were adhered together, I glued them to a 6" square piece of black cardstock.

The Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type letters make a quick and easy sentiment.

 

While looking for the perfect embellishments for this project, I came across some of the Green at Heart Bloomers by Basic Grey in my stash. I was amazed at how well the colors matched up and I seriously love these fun stitched fabric flowers. They look like custom handmade embellishments without all the work.

To give this project stability, I adhered the layers onto a 6x6" square of Craft-a-Board. I love this sturdy and oh so useful product for so many things. To keep this frame propped up, I created an easel back the same as I did for the Craft-a-Board frame here. If you click on the above photo to enlarge it, you'll be able to see the Craft-a-Board layer.

 

I chose to make this project into a fun paper frame but you could also use it for other things. Punch the top or the project with a Crop-a-Dile and thread with ribbon to hang it up. If you cut more 6x6" squares of Craft-a-Board you could bind them together with the Bind It All to create your own mini album or notebook.

Thanks for joining me today in the CLASSroom!

Colorful Butterflies by Sharon Harnist

 

Can you get any more colorful than this?  I don't think so!  I LOVE these gorgeous bright summery colors in Cosmo Cricket's DeLovely Mini Deck!  To start this card, I used the May 15th Inchie INKlings Inchie card sketch #6 for inspiration. 

My card base is the DeLovely paper with rounded corners, adhered to a Memory Box Currant notecard.  The yellow base for my Inchies was created with Spellbinders Labels Four, by first die cutting & embossing the yellow paper, trimming off all the embossed edges, and then adhering it to a pink mat cut with the same die.

The butterfly Inchies were created by punching Eclipse Masking Tape with Martha Stewart's Monarch Butterfly punch.  To achieve successful results, apply the masking tape on printer paper, turn the paper over so the masking tape is on the bottom side of the paper, turn the punch over so you can see the metal underside and punch the paper.  I found punching this way (two butterflies on the left in the photo below) gave cleaner results than punching from the Eclipse side of the paper (right butterfly).  When the punch pushes the Eclipse tape into the paper, it doesn't cut as cleanly and you'll be left with some of the inside areas (that are supposed to punch out) still attached.

 

NOTE: This punch is one of Martha Stewart's collection considered to be a "double punch", as it punches a shape with "holes" in it. This punch will not punch the butterfly out all the way. Your shape should remain attached to the paper with two little "tabs" which you will need to cut (you can probably see where the butterfly is still attached at the tops of the wings. This will prevent the punchout from getting stuck in the punch. Simply use your paper snip scissors or an X-acto knife to free your beautiful Monarch butterfly!

 

Next, I placed the butterfly masks onto my Inchie Arts White Inchie Squares and sprayed them with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist (this one is Viva Pink):

 

I didn't have a shade of green Glimmer Mist to match my papers, so I airbrushed Copic YG23 onto this Inchie Square and then made it shimmer with Old Lace Glimmer Mist:

 

Caribbean Blue Glimmer Mist was used on the other Inchie -- hopefully you can see all that pretty sparkle in the photo below!

 

I was very pleased with how well the Inchie Squares "hold" the Glimmer Mist and didn't warp from even the heaviest of applications of the colorant!

To finished my card, I used Copic markers B02, R85 and YG23 to color the edges of the corresponding Inchies and I stamped Hero Arts ClearDesigns All Occasion Messages with Ranger Jet Black Archival ink onto each of the Inchie Squares.  The yellow popped-up diecut is accented with Zva clear crystals and May Arts Fuchsia wide silk ribbon ties it up!

The bonus to this technique is that you can also use those butterfly masks you made and turn them into another similar card, or break them up and use them on smaller note/gift cards!

 

This is a Memory Box Key Lime notecard trimmed to 3.50" square. Inchie is accented with Spellbinders Big Scalloped Square-Sm Nestabilities diecut.

Thanks for being with us on our colorful journey here in the CLASSroom!

 
Stamps: Hero Arts ClearDesigns All Occasion Messages
Paper: Cosmo Cricket DeLovely Mini Deck, Memory Box Currant & Key Lime notecards
Ink: Ranger Jet Black Archival, Copic markers B02, R85, YG23
Accessories: Copic Airbrush System, Inchie Arts White Inchie Squares; Martha Stewart Monarch Butterfly punch, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist-Caribbean Blue, Viva Pink & Old Lace, Eclipse Masking Tape, Spellbinders Labels Four & Big Scalloped Square-Sm Nestabilities dies, WRM Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper, May Arts Fuchsia wide silk ribbon, Zva clear crystals

Thank You Blocks by Kim Hughes

Color blocking is a timeless look that I took advantage of today when creating my card.  

 

Supplies:

Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Butterscotch

Hero Arts: Cling Messages, Set of 3, Gemstones, Small Blossom, Fancy Felt, Buttons,Spring, Gemstones, Smooth Clear Round, Art Flowers, White & Cream, Card Buttons, Flowers

Cosmo Cricket 6" Mini Deck Paper Pad, Garden Variety, Cosmo Cricket 6" Mini Deck Paper Pad, Delovely, Cosmo Cricket Buttons, Garden Variety

Inchie + Squares, White

Dew Drops Bottle, Plumeria

Maya Road: Ribbon, Ruffle Edge Trim, Cream, Mini Chipboard Set, Houses

Vintaj: Bead Cap, Blossom 6mm

Basic Grey Woolies, Sugar Rush

inchies are so perfect for this.  Cover them with paper, paint on them, stamp on them...have fun!

 

Use the squares as temporary building blocks to work around
 

punch a butterfly, embellish a cute metal flower and cover a house chipboard shape with paper to represent an arrow
 

cut down a clear clock and tuck into a corner
 

embellish the yellow square with a clear flower button...and the flower with a sweet dew drop

change up the colors...or create a monochromatic look!

Have a BLAST!!

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 

Sweet 16 - Be Creative Glitter Stickers

There is a VERY special young lady in our household and she has a big day coming up this week! Yesterday as I stood besider her in the bathroom I looked in the mirror only to realize that she is now taller than I am. Not only is she beautiful on the outside, but her beauty radiates from within. As a mom it brings tears to my eyes when her teachers, and other parents, tell me what a kind and thoughtful daughter we have. But what surprises me is when her friends tell me that someday, when they are all grown up, they hope that their daughters will be like Maddi. My children are such a huge blessing in my life and I cannot begin to imagine my life without them. Each and every day I watch them grow into the young women they will become and feel grateful for being given the opportunity to be their mom. So without further ado - I love you my sweet Maddi and I am so very proud of the adult you are growing into. Nothing can state better the sentiment of this card - Happy Birthday my sweet 16-yr-old. Thank you for being you!

Now enough of the proud mom stuff - LOL! Nothing speaks "sweet 16" better than bold, bright, fun colors and a little glitter :-D It is amazing to me that when I put boundaries on what it is that I am going to create how easily it all comes together. This week the challenge I gave myself was to use the same products that our team will be using here in the CLASSroom - Hero Arts, Inchie Arts and Cosmo Cricket. I immediately knew what I wanted to use - Delovely, it is so very lovely. Combine it with some of the bold Hero Arts stamp designs and a few Inchie squares and you will have a perfect card for your teen.

A very hot trend is to use glitter letters and numbers on our cards. Today I am going to share a little secret with you - you can easily make your own custom glitter sticker letters/numbers in any color you would like using Be Creative Tape and any color of glitter. We are going to be carrying some Ultrafine glitter shortly that will coordinate with the paper colors we carry, but for now I used some of the fabulous, regular Martha Stewart glitter we carry.

To begin I cut squares from the Be Creative sheets using the Tim Holtz Sizzlits Alpha Vintage Market Die. The sheets are so easy to use because they come already backed. I haven't tested to see if I can adhere the regular tape to a different surface before cutting, but it is something I will be experimenting with. For now I just went with what I guessed would work. You know me - always testing and experimenting - LOL!

First remove the portion of the tape that the adhesive is not sticking too. I played around with trying to figure out which side the adhesive would stay adhered to and it appears to me that it is the side I have facing up when I punch - but I'm just not certain yet. You may need to experiment with this depending on what type of die you are using.

I removed the white backing and using a tweezer located the number in position. Next burnish the number in place using a teflon bone folder. As you can see on the number "1" I did not get a clean cut - this worked to my advantage. As I removed the backing, the adhesive stayed on the number one and not the surrounding area. If it had I would have snipped around the number, but as it was I was able to easily use the extra paper like a little "handle."

 

Sprinkle glitter over the adhesive and then burnish in place with the teflon bone folder. Use a soft brush to remove the excess.

WARNING: This is section is NOT a recommended technique - so proceed at your own risk - you may destroy your punch! BUT I just couldn't help myself and had to give it a try - LOL! Guess what it worked :-D

Curiosity killed the cat you know and being a curious one myself I just had to try this next technique. It is not recommended that you punch through the tape with regular punches, never mind highly detailed ones like the Deep Garden Trellis! BUT I had to test it for myself and found the results to be simply breathtaking.

Once again I used the Be Creative Tape sheets due to the backing being in place. I punched my design in the tape being very careful to remove any excess bits of paper or adhesive that appeared on the underside of my punch with each pass through. One of the incredible things I discovered about these punches is the amazing detail in the way that the punch is designed. The engineering is so well thought out. These detailed punches do not punch through your paper in all one area. The punch is designed so that there are peaks and valleys to allow the punch to pass through only small portions of the design at one time. I would like to suggest that you take a look at the bottom of your punches - it really was an eye-opener for me. So cool!

Once I had my design the width I felt worked best I removed the backing. What I found was that this time the brown backing needed to be removed (just the opposite of my Sizzlet punched image) and the adhesive remained on the white portion as shown above.

I positioned my design and then once again burnished it in place. I followed the same procedure with the glitter - applying it and burnishing it in place, then using a soft brush to remove the excess.

As you can see the detail of the punched designs is incredible! Following are some cutting techniques I have tried, or plan to try:

• Sizzix, Sizzlet and other steel blade dies,
• Low profile dies such as the Nestabilities,
• Punches - these are ones I canNOT fully endorse because of the possibility of ruining your punches, but...my oh my are these every cool,
• Cricut or Silhouette electronic cutters - I'm going to be giving this a try soon. I can hardly wait to see what the results will be.

The other experiment that needs to occur is what types of media I can apply once I remove the second side of the adhesive. Following are just a few of the products worth experimenting with:

• Glitter (of course)
• Fun Flock (I punched out a little bunny and applied white fun flock, adding a little pom pom tail - OH SO CUTE!)
• Perfect Pearls
• Dried, crushed flowers and leaves
• Flower Soft - Ultrafine may be way cool - I can hardly wait to try!
• Gold Leaf - wowsers this will be gorgeous!

So many ideas - so little time :-D You all have to help me out here by playing with these ideas and giving me your feedback - LOL!

Next, was the selection of my image. One of the beautiful things about the 6x6 pads is the wonderful scale of the images on these papers. I selected a Hero Arts image that was bold and beautiful. I love the fact that the images come mounted on a storage sheet that I can also use to locate the perfect portion of paper to stamp my image. 

 
Stamping the image three times on different papers made for the perfect layered flower! I LOVE the design of this Hero Arts image for paper piecing!

Using a 2-way glitter pen I added details to the leaves and top flower. Sprinkling the same turquoise glitter as used on the numbers and trellis. I allowed the adhesive to dry and then once again used a soft brush to remove the excess glitter.

Tip: When threading buttons I keep a needle threader handy and simply insert my DMC Embroidery floss using this handy, dandy tool. 

The final details include Black Inchie+ Squares covered in decorative paper, a Tiny Type sticker (these are fabulous stickers and such a great value!) and a silk ribbon tab.
 

stamps: Hero Arts Big Flower Pattern

paper: Cosmo Cricket Delovely 6x6 Paper Pad, Memory Box Sunflower Cardstock

ink: Memento Tuxedo Black

accessories: Be Creative Tape Sheets, Tim Holtz Alpha Vintage Market Sizzlet Die, Martha Stewart Turquoise Glitter, Pink Tiny Type Stickers, Black Inchie Square, Black Inchie+ Squares, 2-way Glue Pen, Teflon Bone Folder, Fuschia Silk Ribbon

Be certain to visit our "*Weekly Special" section and use promo code HAIACC upon checkout when purchasing any of the Cosmo Cricket, Hero Arts and Inchie Arts products we have used in this weeks posts!

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

Inchie Gift Book by Lisa Strahl

It's Monday.  Who's ready?  Need coffee.  Lots of coffee. 

I am going to jump right in this morning and tell you that I love, lovey, love Graphic 45.  It's just easy for me to work with.  I don't have to think.  A happy place.  The project I created for you today is a fold out, Artist Trading Card sized, inchie'ish type book that I plan to give to a friend because she can appreciate an "art for art's sake" project.

I wanted to cover my ATC sized container as quickly and easily as possible, so measured the length of the case with my design ruler and cut an 8.5 x 11 inch sheet of Be Creative Tape to size on my trimmer.  The advantage of the sheets as opposed to the roll is that you have backing on both sides of the tape, which means you can die cut it or cut it on a trimmer.

 

Pull off the brown backing a little at a time and simply apply around the surface of the case.  Easy peasy.  Remove the white and blue backing and adhere paper which has been cut to the same size.

 

Paint the top of the case with Pitch Black Adirondack Paint Dabber using one of the many handy brushes in the Studio Line Brush set.  It dries completely within a few minutes.  You can heat set it if you are impatient!

I made a little bouquet of Gypso flowers that have been lightly inked with Sepia Archival ink.  I love to make arrangements and couldn't help but sticking this vintage Jenni Bowlin pin into the center.  Once again I am using those Tiny Type stickers, just can't get enough.  I want to say what I want to say and they allow me to do that.

I also added a thin strip of paper that is the "b" side of Botantical News and embellished it with a row of black pearls.

 

I used a little brown ribbon to hold my fold out book closed inside the container.  The inchie square on the front cover is embellished with layered brass flowers by Vintaj.  I used Black Inchie Squares which were sanded after adhering the paper to give the effect of a worn tile.

A close up of each page is shown below.  Please scroll to the end of this port to see a full supply list.

Each Black Inchie Square has been covered with an image from the Botanticabella Tag sheet, sanded, coated with a layer of quick drying clear nail polish (to ensure the colors do not bleed), adorned with a Tiny Type sticker, embellished with a Clear Spica Glitter Pen and then covered in Glossy Accents and allowed to dry overnight.

 

 

My hope is that this little booklet could be display on a shelf or mantle and then tucked away for safe keeping in it's case.

Thanks so much for joining us today in the CLASSroom.

Cheers, Lisa
-----------------------

Supplies:

Botanicabella Collection:  Botanical News, Antiquity, Botanicabella Tags (Graphic 45)

Black Inchie Squares(Inchie Arts, LLC)

Brass Flower Stacks Fastenables (Vintaj)

Ivory Gypso Mini Flowers(Prima)

Tiny Type Stickers, Black and Brown (Cosmo Cricket)

Glossy Accents (Ranger)

Clear Spica Glitter Pen(Copic)

Cream Stick Pins(Jenni Bowlin)

Sepia Archival Ink (Ranger)

8.5 x 11 Tape Sheets (Be Creative)

Brown Crochet Ribbon, Classic Trim Collection (Webster's Pages)

Pitch Black Adirondack Paint Dabber (Ranger)

Studio Line Brush Set (Ranger)

Strip of Black Pearls(Kaisercraft)

Precision Sanding Kit (Basic Grey)

Inchie Update

It is an absolute thrill to share this news with you. I don't know how many of you know that Lis is EXTREMELY passionate about all "little things." Please join me in welcoming her to our Inchie INKling blog - finally we will have updates for all those of you who are intrigued by little things.

Please join us for her welcome back post!

Twinchie Owl by Lisa Strahl

Can you believe that I am blogging FROM Ellen's office?!?!  It's been much too long since I came to visit my dear friend and just had to make the trip.  I have two words for you SHOPPING SPREE!  Woot!

I am thrilled to share a fun little Twinchie today featuring Memory Box papers and stamps.  A Twinchie is simply any piece of art or creation that measures 2x2 inches.  I love focusing in on creating in these small spaces and then applying them to a card, home decor or altered project.

Begin by stamping the Scalloped Owl on five different papers from the Memory Box Spearmint Collection.  These papers are perfect for paper piecing on stamps because the scale of the patterns are small.

Fussy cut the pieces of the owl.  Be sure to decide ahead of time where you want the outlines of the stamp to remain and take that into account with the next piece you are going to cut.  You will cut some outlines off and leave some on.  You will need to use VERY sharp detail scissors - these are my favorite.

Piece your owl back together.  I like to use Dries Clear Adhesive to adhere these tiny layers together.  I wanted some dimension to his wings so I just glued them down at the top.  Highlight the papers with Clear Spica Glitter Pen.

Stamp the Words to Birds Collage and then the Build a Tree images with Coffee Archival Ink.

 

Add pearls to the tree branches.

Stamp the Sassy Petites word set onto Classic Natural White Neehah cardstock and cut out the words Witty, Chic and Fresh - that is how this owl looks to me!

 

Now, if it were me I would stop right there because I love all things Inchie Art, BUT, I know that most of you love a practical application so here is a simple card. 

The thing that I adore about Memory Box cardstock is that it is super smooth and wonderful to stamp on.  It is also duplexed which means that it is colored on one side and white on the other which means that the inside of your card looks very professional and "finished".  I used Vanilla Bean and Bayou for the layers behind the owl and the folded card is Meadow.

That's it for me today.  Ellen is in the next room creating and I am missing all of the fun!

Cheers, Lisa 

On the Boardwalk Canvas Wall Hanging by Julia Stainton

I don't know about you but right now, I am dreaming of summer. It's about time for a season change is it not?

While I'm still stuck in the snow, the new Graphic 45 On the Boardwalk line has perfectly captured the timeless joy of summer on the shore. Bliss! I thought I would combine it with another idea I've had spinning in my head for a while...creating a wall hanging from an 8x8 Prima Canvas Album page. You can take one right out of your album if you don't mind losing a page or they can also be purchased in a separate package in both 6x6" page and 8x8" page sizes. For this project, I've used the 8x8 page size.

 

To create this wall hanging I simply used a canvas page at set it with the grommets at the top of the project. Roughly lay out your design by cutting out images from the Graphic 45 On the Boardwalk line. I used the Coney Island and High Style Holiday papers. If you look at the above photo and my finished project, you'll notice that the images are transferred in reverse. Because of this, I only used images without text with the image transfer technique. The others were stitched or adhered in other ways.

 

The image transfer is a really fabulous technique to try and much easier than it looks. I especially love images transferred onto fabric like this canvas album page. To transfer the pattered paper images right onto the fabric, simply brush the areas that you wish to cover with a good coat of Studio Gloss Multi-Medium. Press the images face down into the wet medium and smooth out any wrinkles or air bubbles. Allow to dry thoroughly.

You can also find other tutorials using this technique at these links.... Photo Transfer Album Page and Sticky Back Canvas Image Transfer.

 

Once your transfer medium is totally dry, you can then start removing the paper layers. I like to use a Mini Mister filled with water to spritz the paper and soften it. Rub away the layers gently with your finger. If needed, apply more water and work at it until all the paper is removed, revealing the image transfer. Don't worry if the transfer isn't perfect. Mine weren't and I think it adds to the vintage charm of the project.

Adding a few different elements to a design is always a great idea for a collage design. Here I've stamped right onto some spaces on the canvas using these postal images from the On the Desk stamp set by Cornish Heritage Farms. Black Archival Ink by Ranger is a wonderful ink for stamping on canvas and other surfaces. Heat set for a permanent finish.

 

As I mentioned above, images with words were added without the image transfer. The Twinchie Squares, Assorted made a great surface to create an accent. The paper elements were trimmed to 1 7/8" square and the edges sanded with the Tim Holtz Sanding Block.

 

You can see in this photo that I stitched right through the Twinchies to my canvas base. This secures them on tightly. If you don't want to stitch, simply adhere them with more of the Studio Multi-Medium brushed on the reverse. You can also see in this photo that I zig zag stitched around each transferred image for definition. The large Beach square was stitched onto the project as well as the main title element of the project.

To hang up this wall hanging, twill tape was threaded through the grommets and knotted. I adore these new Jenni Bowlin Vintage Style Buttons. They are gorgeous and add some texture interest to the project.

 

To finish things off, I added in a little Adage Ticket pinned with a Trinket Pin that says Memento on it. A Game Spinner points to the Beach for an additional vintage element.

Have fun trying out this unique decor piece or make your own variation. A little creative time is always great for beating the late winter blues. Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom!

Graphic 45-Hero Floral Door Hanger by Sharon Harnist

I seem to be into door hangers lately -- I like that they can be hung from a door or decorative hook and also used as a piece of wall art!  This one was made using Spellbinders Labels Eight Nestabilities die that measures approximately 5.50" x 4".  I die-cut my base out of good 'ole Craft-A-Board -- I love this stuff!  Then I cut this beautiful Graphic 45-Le Romantique 8x8 paper with the same die and adhered the two together.

The Hero Arts Big & Small flower was stamped onto more coordinating peach & green Le Romantique papers (twice) and then easily & quickly cut out using my pinking shears:

A few more straight snips with scissors between the petals and this big flower was done!  I colored the flower center with Copic E35 marker and put a large Glue Dot in the center and covered it with Martha Stewart's copper glitter.  The petals of both flowers were curled with my fingernail and layered together.

This great Hero Arts sentiment (from the Life Is Not Perfect set) was stamped with Adirondack Espresso ink onto an Inchie Arts Wheat Twinchie Square -- these squares are the same wonderful museum-quality matboard as Inchie Squares, but are 2-inches! 

 

I topped the Twinchie with another piece of the Le Romantique paper that was punched with Martha Stewart Arch Lattice Edger Punch.  I also rounded the corners of the Twinchie easily with the 1/2" Corner Chomper.  I was about to call this project "done" but then spotted these beautiful Zva crystals in my drawer and they just begged to be used!  Good news is that Ellen will be carrying Zva's beautimous bling in the store but the sort of bad news is that they haven't quite arrived yet!  So please keep checking back!

To finish this door hanger, I punched holes in the top and tied up some pretty lace.

 
Stamps: Hero Arts Big & Small, Life Is Not Perfect
Paper: Graphic 45-Le Romantique 8x8
Ink: Ranger-Adirondack Espresso dye ink, Copic marker-E35
Accessories: Spellbinders-Labels Eight Nestabilities dies, Essentials by Ellen-Craft-A-Board, Inchie Arts Assorted Twinchie Squares (Wheat), Crop-a-Dile Corner Chomper, Prima-Jaqueline Lace, Martha Stewart Edger Punch-Arch Lattice, Glue Dots, Martha Stewart Essential Colors Glitter Set-Copper, Zva Crystals (arriving soon!)

 

Vintage Page by Kim Hughes

I don't make nearly as many layouts as I used to, so I decided to dabble a bit.  Creating scrapbook layouts really are so fulfilling to me and I plan to create many more this month.  I pulled out products that spoke to me first and searched for a coordinating photo.  I know that many designers work in the opposite direction.  They start with the fun photo and coordinate around that.  I love creating that way as well..there is no right and wrong way and everyone can scrapbook, seriously.  So, if you are new to it, maybe you could start with a 6 x 6 size and work your way up to 12 x 12.

Supplies:

Inchie + Squares, White

Ranger: Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Lettuce, Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Espresso

Jenni Bowlin: Rhinestone Buttons, Black

Studio 490, Art from the Heart, Studio 490, Art Rules

Maya Road: Trinket Pins, Vintage Pearl

Graphic 45: Le' Romantique, My Beloved, Le' Romantique, Tender Missives, Le' Romantique, Loves Labyrinth, Botanicabella, Tags, Botanicabella, Secret Garden, Botanicabella, Garden Suite

Pearls, Champagne

Cut-N-Dry Stamp Pad Foam

I started out with the decision that I would create a "frame" for my small photo to give it more of an impact.  Inchies are perfect tiles that can easily be customized to coordinate with any project, plus they add dimension.

 

I inked up the large stamp first, alligned up my frame and pressed the stamp onto the squares at the same time.
 

I then added a soft touch to the edges with brown ink.  It gives them a vintage look, but they also look "clean" because they are not overly distressed.
 

I chose some scraps for accent papers (the edges are inked as well)  Scraps from 12 x 12 layouts are wonderful to use on a card....always keep that in mind.
 

I decided to cut down the polka dots a bit by dding a large mat to the bottom of the page.  I cut a decorative edge in the top to add interest. 
 

I then pushed the papers and tag accents around until I was please with each placement.
 

Before I adhered my paper and accents, I stamped a fun border
 

Graphic 45 has the most gorgeous rosebud paper, so I decided to cut some out to use as accents.
 

Once I added my cut flowers to the page, I embellished my tag with twine and a push pin.
 

Finishing touches include pearl stickers and a vintage button
 

I added touches to the top of the page to balance it out.

I added a touch of glitter with a glitter pen, and before it could set, I rubbed it around with my finger, the result is subtle, but sweet in person.

I will go back and add my title and journal at a later time.  This s a photo of my Mom, who is dear to me, so I will keep the details private.  I hope that I have encouraged you to create a scrapbook page.

Have you thought about creating pages as a gift.  leave a frame for a photo, include letter stickers, a journal block and pen maybe?  You could add to their album through the year and have them "fill in the blanks"

Thanks for stopping by :)

Back to Basics - Ink It Up by Lisa Strahl

Monday.  It's Monday once again.  I hope you had a good weekend and maybe even had time to create or play.

We are starting a new series today called Back to Basics.  Each week one of the CLASSroom teachers will be sharing their experiences with basic paper crafting and stamping supplies.  There are many ways to achieve successful results and it is a guarantee that we all do things a little differently.  By no means are my methods the only ones, just the ones that I have found consistent results with.

Let's get started with how to get the best possible impression with your stamps.  I am going to focus primarily on ink as it relates to line art versus detailed images, silhouette image and suggestions for clear versus rubber stamps.  The paper or surface you are using is also very important, but that's a post for another day!  What I will say is that generally, the smoother the paper, the easier it is to get a good impression with any given ink.  My advice for paper and ink combinations is to test, test, test.  If you try a pigment ink and it doesn't work, try a dye or vice versa.  For this post I am using Neenah Classic Solar White.

My #1 tip for you is called the "Swirl and Tap".  I am real stickler for an even and solid image and this technique is the best way I have found to achieve that.

It is a good idea to clean your stamps well the first time you use them.  My favorite is a strong cleaner like Stewart Superior Ultra Clean and a dry white terry cloth.  This will help to remove any residue left over from the manufacturing process or lint/dirt that may have transfered to the stamp during shipping.

RUBBER STAMPS

First the swirl.  Rub the ink in a circular motion with medium pressure over the entire surface.

Next, the "tap".  Now tap the entire surface, pressing the ink to the stamp.  By pressing the ink to the stamp you have much better control because you can feel the resistance against your other hand.  If the stamp is on the table, you really don't know how much pressure you are exerting.

The tapping motion brings the ink up to a "bead" - it ensures that there is enough ink applied evenly over the stamp.  With this detailed rubber stamp called Leopard and Beauty, I used Brilliance Pearlescent Chocolate Ink.  This is my all time favorite ink for detailed rubber images - it is SO crisp!  This color is such a rich brown, without too much red.  Another ink I really like for detail rubber images is Adirondack Pitch Black Pigment Ink.

Here is the image stamped.  One note on the actual stamping - I use finger tip pressure to ensure that I don't press to hard which can cause you to lose detail in the image.  It also helps to stamp on a foam mat of some kind, like a mouse pad.

Next let's discuss silhouette images or images that have large areas of solid rubber.  This Zebra Pair is a great example.  It would be very obvious if the ink did not give an even, solid impression for this image.  For this type of stamp on card stock, my all time favorite ink is Jet Black Archival by Ranger.  This is my go to ink.  It works for me, for the most number of techniques.  The biggest exception is that it is not compatible with alcohol based markers like Copic.  Of course, I used my "swirl and tap" method again.

I encourage you to click on the stamped image to see just how bold and full the coverage is.

I went on to create an ATC (Artist Trading Card) with this image by creating a mask using Judikins Eclipse Paper and airbrushing various colors of Copic Markers and Spica Glitter Pens to create an African sunset.  The Copics I used are: YR24 Pale Sepia, E39 Leather, and V15 Mallow.  The Spicas I used include Lemon, Orange and Clear.  That perfect little sentiment is from a stamp set called Beacon of Hope.

CLEAR STAMPS

I am pleased to share that Ellen only carries the highest quality clear photo polymer stamps.  Why is that important?  If you have ever bought clear stamps I would be willing to bet that you can tell that there are variations in how they stamp and how they stick to the block.  The highest quality clear stamps accept more types of ink and make a good impression.  With clear stamps, like rubber, it is a good idea to clean them first and think about the surface you are stamping on as I have described above.

For this detailed dragonfly from the Antique Engraving Set by Hero Arts, I again used Adirondack Pitch Black Pigment Ink and stamped onto a white inchie.  For most pigment ink, a quick heat set is a good idea.

I then stamped the image again on paper from the 6x6 Frond Collection Paper Pack by Memory Box, fussy cut out the wings and adhered them with a very thin but super sticky strip of double sided tape.  The "come fly away" sentiment (Botanical Bliss set) is stamped in Eggplant Adirondack Pigment Ink.  The finishing touches include Glossy Accents applied to the body and the entire inchie edged with the Silver Krylon Leafing Pen.

 
Next up is line art clear stamps.  You have several choices for these images including Jet Black Archival Ink (Ranger), Graphite Black Brilliance Ink (Tsukineko) and Pitch Black Adirondack Pigment Ink.  There are others of course, but these are my favorite.  I stamped the little owl image from the Say Hello Stamp set by Hero Arts.

I wanted to stamp a single word from the Sassy Petites stamp set  and didn't want to cut this set up so I simply masked off the area around the word "sparkly".

Remove the masking paper to reveal the one inked word.

Use the masking paper again to create a "handle" for the back of your inchie and press the inchie to the stamp.

Here is my finished "Sparkly Owl" inchie.  I used the 6x6 Spearmint Memory Box Paper Pack, added Diamond Stickles and Lemon Yellow Liquid Pearls to the wing and highlighted the rest of the owl with the Clear Spica Glitter Pen and embellished with two small pearls.

 

Thanks so much for joining us today @ the CLASSroom!

Lisa

Heart Cupcake Decor by Sharon Harnist

 

I have some Valentine framed art for you today . . . I thought my hall entry table was missing a little something for the holiday!  Would you believe this 6-inch frame started out looking like this:

 

I found a great buy at the Target Dollar Spot on 3 of these white frames (the opening is 3.50") in a package for $2.50 -- I couldn't pass them up!  Now, I'm not too big on all-white things but I knew I could somehow paint or alter these.  I recently finally acquired an Air Compressorfor my Copic Airbrush System and decided this project would be the kind where the air compressor would work out great -- as opposed to using up about half of an Air Can 180!

I used Copic E42 & E44 to airbrush a base coat on the white frame, then I used R24 to splatter (by using the brush end of the Copic marker, you'll get a more speckled spray pattern) a little red here and there so the frame would match the colors in my artwork -- I love how it turned out!

 

For the background paper in the frame, I stamped Hero Arts' Heart Flourishes background stamp with Tuxedo Black ink on Neenah Natural White cardstock and then colored it with these Copic markers:

 

Next, I airbrushed Copic E42 around the edges of the cardstock, to give it a more aged look:

 

I placed the paper inside the frame (under the glass).  On the outside of the frame, I placed an Inchie Arts Inchie + wheat colored square, stamped with a portion of Karen Lockhart's "Peas be mine" sentiment stamp.  Then I stamped this sweet new Lockhart Cupcake With Sprinkles onto Neenah Natural White cardstock and colored it with these Copic markers:

 

The cupcake was cut out and popped up on foam tape on the Inchie + Square and the top heart cherry glittered.  To make the paper flower, I die cut several pieces of the leftover background paper I made and Memory Box Cranberry cardstock with Classic Scalloped Circle Nestabilities.  Next, I spritzed the papers with water and crinkled them up:

 

The nice thing about Memento ink and Copic markers is that the water won't make your colors run!  Once dry, I layered the scalloped circles together with foam tape and adhered the flower to the frame.

 
Stamps: Hero Arts Heart Flourishes, Lockhart Stamp Company Cupcake With Sprinkles & Peas Be Mine sentiment
Paper: Neenah Natural White cardstock, Memory Box Cranberry cardstock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black ink pad, Copic markers (E42, E43, E44, R21, R22, R24, R29, R000 R81, R83, R85)
Accessories: Copic Airbrush System, Airbrush Compressor, Inchie Arts Inchie + Neutral Squares(wheat), Spellbinders Classic Scalloped Circle Nestabilities dies, Ranger Star Dust Stickles

12 Days of Christmas - Day 3: Inchies The Miniature Canvas by Susan Roberts

Welcome to Day 3 of the CLASSroom’s 12 Days of Christmas.  When I first fell in love with Inchies, I mentioned that they were like “miniature canvases.”  Well today making that literal, I have used Sticky Back Canvas and adhered it to the Inchies.   Copic markers have been used to color on the canvas and also directly onto the Inchies.

 

(Click to Enlarge)

Since canvas is a fabric it will absorb a lot of the ink from the Copic marker which will then bleed outside of the lines of the stamped image.  To prevent this from happening I used my heat gun (an iron could also be used) to heat up the canvas before coloring.  Since Copics are alcohol-based, the heat evaporates the alcohol quickly.  This prevents almost any bleeding.  (Note that a very light touch of the Copic marker is still needed to prevent too much ink from being absorbed by the canvas.)

 

Here are two images which were colored side by side.

The left image (Photo 1 below) was left alone while the right image (Photo 2 below) was heated right before coloring.

Photo 1

Photo 2

Looking closely you can see some remarkable differences.  Look at the girl’s arm on Photo 1.  See the bleeding that occurred?  But on Photo 2 there is a distinct line where the blues/greens and the skin tones meet but do not blend.  Look at the top left where her hair meets the same blues/greens.  On photo 1 the colors have blended.  On Photo 2 there is actually a bit of uncolored space on the canvas where neither the hair color nor background colors have covered it.  There was no bleeding even on this tiny space.  The blouse is another example.  See how the colors have completely blended on Photo 1.  In Photo 2 there are distinct areas of shading and light.

The actual Inchie on my card is a third colored image.  It is a combination of both methods of either heating or leaving the canvas alone on those areas such as the background where I wanted some blending of the colors to occur.

 

 

On the second and third card I colored the canvas with Copics to achieve a blended background color to coordinate with the Basic Grey “Nook and Pantry” patterned paper that was being used.  Experimenting was fun!

Once the desired color was achieved, I stamped directly onto the canvas while the sticky back was still on it and then cut it out leaving some extra border around the image.

 

Next I removed the protective backing on the canvas and placed it on the Inchie centering the image.  The Inchie provided a guide for further trimming.

 

The sticky back on the canvas is very forgiving.  It is easy to remove the canvas and reposition it or remove it completely.

This is what I did so that I could trim the canvas a little more... just enough so that when the canvas was placed back on the Inchie there was a small border.

 

Lastly, I colored the Inchie edge and border around the canvas and slightly onto the canvas itself allowing it to bleed a little into the image.

 

This particular Inchie is placed on the inside of the card.  It’s always fun to stamp some matching envelopes, too.

 

I love the added texture of the canvas on the Inchies!

 

 

On the third card the edge and border were not colored.  The girl was partially masked and stamped directly onto the Twinchie.

 

 

The Twinchie is mounted onto the card with just a few dimensionals.  Because of the sturdy nature of the Inchies/Twinchies there is no collapsing of the panel.  I love that!

 

 

I truly love playing with these little treasures.  There are so many fun possibilities.  Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom today.

Happy Crafting!

Supplies:

Stamps: CHF "Inchie Style" and "Scene It Mountains"

Papers: Basic Grey "Nook and Pantry" Patterned Paper; Neenah Classic Cream Cardstock

Inks: Memento "Rich Cocoa"; Copics

Accessories: Inchies and Twinchies; Silk Ribbon 1-1/4" Wide; Lace Ribbon "Cynthia"; Studio Sticky Back Canvas; Art Flowers

THIRD DAY BLOG CANDY

On the third day of Christmas my goodie box could be:

• three Inchie Art packets - Inchie, Inchie +, and Twinchie Squares

 
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. 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 size "canvas" intrigues you most and why? Some suggestions just as a starting point would be ---Inchie, Inchie +, Twinchie, Altered Trading Card, Card Size, 6x6 scrapbook page, 12x12 scrapbook page, other.

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

• Favorite Scoring Tools
• Two Soldering Starters

Hero Arts Preview Party - Remember Rainbows by Susan Roberts

Today I am sharing a Hero Arts set called "I Care Frame Messages".  I was immediately drawn to the rainbow image in this set.  As my online nickname "rainy" would suggest, I love the rain and rainbows and just can't help but gravitate to those images.

I started by stamping the image with Graphite Black Brilliance ink on a card base made with Crystal Clear Plastic.  The Basic Grey "Nook and Pantry" patterned paper is added to the inside of the plastic card base.

The outside border on the main image panel has been cut away so that that portion of the image stamped on the plastic shows behind the main image panel once it is adhered to the card base.

The butterfly is part of another image in this set as well.  It has been stamped directly onto the patterned paper, cut out and adhered to the card with glue dots.

The original plan was to use the spotlight technique with an Inchie by coloring it in and leaving the rest of the image in black and white.  However as you can see, I couldn't help myself and just had to color in the whole rainbow!  So this is a modified version of the spotlight technique.  lol  Only the Inchie has a colored sky!

I had some fun with the Art Flowers as well.  I love coloring them with Copics to get a closer match to whatever paper or ribbon may be used.  For complete coverage be sure to color both sides.

Using four different flowers, I layered them, folded them in half, stapled them and then stuck them behind the raised image panel securing them in place with a couple of glue dots.

 

Isn't that fun!  It makes it look as if there are twice as many as there actually are.  No one will ever know... unless you tell them!

A piece of white cardstock has been added to the inside of the card for a hand-written message.  It is hidden by the patterned paper so that it does not show when the card is closed.

Finally I just have to mention this FABULOUS May Arts silk ribbon.  Seriously, this stuff is heaven!  The rhinestone embellishment is a Flower Center from Prima.

Thanks for dropping by the CLASSroom today to join in our preview party. Make certain that you return later today for Julia's post and remember sometimes "old is new again" at least here in the CLASSroom. Pull out some of those oldies today as you are inspired by all the new you are seeing and get busy creating as you wait for your new goodies to arrive. Happy Crafting!

Tag 9 - Mosaic Christmas Tag by Lisa Strahl

Tag 9 already, can you believe it?

When I talked to Bek today I just had to share with her how clever I thought her tag was yesterday.  That window was so uber cool.  Nice job girlie!

I have been just dying to play with the new Inchie Art products- Plus Size inchies (1.5 inches), Twinchies and in lovely neutral colors.  Today's tag was my perfect excuse...

 

First order of the day is to decide on a layout for the inchies, twinchies, etc.

 

Stamp images from the Mini Holidays, Floral Tattoo and Festive Sounds stamp sets in permanent brown ink such as Coffee Archival (Ranger).

 

Create a "handle" for your inchie with Eclipse Tape.

 Press it to the stamp.

 

Repeat this and stamp all of the images.

 

 

 

Sponge Faded Jeans and Peeled Paint Distress Ink around the edge of the pieces with Cut 'n Dry Foam.

 

Sponge Walnut Stain Distress Ink around the edge of the tag.

 

Adhere all of the pieces to the tag.  Stack the Santa image onto a second Twinchie.  

 

Embellish the images with Melon and Sky Blue Glitter Spica Pens.

 

Embellish with Lime Green and Arctic Ice Stickles.

 

Stamp the reverse side of a Word Key with permanent white ink using the Christmas sentiment from the Night Before Christmas stamp set.

A few details: the metal pieces are Sproket Gears, Muse Tokens, Long Fasteners, Foliage, Game Spinners, Hitch Fasteners, Jump Rings and Bead Chain.

 
...of course I can't resist adding some of that gorgeous lace trim to finish it off.

And with that friends, I wish you a wonderful Wednesday!

Garden Fresh card by Kim Hughes

So I am sure that some of you have snow outside of your window at the moment, but fresh vegetable images make me smile...hope they do the same for you.

Supplies:

White Tags, #10 (X-Large)

ink: Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Espresso

CHF: Scrapblock, Fiery Floral

Inchie + Squares, White

Cosmo Cricket 6" Mini Deck Paper Pad, The Boyfriend

Copic E00, R27, YG63, YR24, YR21

Cut-N-Dry Stamp Pad Foam

Karen Lockhart Gardener's Know the Best Dirt, IB Peas, IB Radishes, IB Carrots

 

Start by folding the tag in half to form a card base.  Stamp the floral pattern onto the tag with a powder blue ink.  Stamp the 3 vegetables with brown ink onto 4 inchie squares.   Chalk the edges with brown ink.  Use craft foam for a soft look.
 

Then color the entire tag surface with Copic YR21
 

...and on top of that layer with a Copic YR24.  This will tone down the white and give the tag an aged look.
 

Color the stamped vegetables by first coloring them all with YR21 so that they all have the same colored base.

 

Once you have colored each image, color over the entire surface with EOO.  This will help to blend all of the colors and give it an aged, warmer look.
 

I added some shading with YR24 and YR21 to give each image a soft glow.

I cut two thin strips of patterned paper, inked the edges on both sides, and colored the white side with YR21 to dull it down.  Tie a knot through the tag hole.

Stamp sentiment onto the same patterned paper, cut down, ink edges and add to the left side of the card.

Add two brads to the top left of the card to balance out the color.

Some other options for this idea is to create a journal cover (great Christmas gift idea), or use the tag as intended and combine it with a floral gift.  You can change out the customized paper knot for a fun ribbon accent.  Thanks for stopping by today.  :)

Inchie Twinchies by Susan Roberts

These new little Inchie+ and Twinchies are just as fun to play with as their Inchie sibling.  In fact with 3 sizes and all the wonderful neutral tones now available, there is even more opportunity for some creative adventures and mixing and matching.

 

On my first card I decided it would be fun to use the Inchies themselves as the focal point.

 

I punched half circles along the edges of a black Inchie+, at the corners of an Inchie and holes through the center of both.

 

The two Inchies were connected with a large flat brad making a perfect platform for a cute little Art Flower and Pearl.

 

On the second card the Inchie+ and Twinchie are not altered in any way but are instead left completely original in their fabulousness.

 

They make a perfect backdrop for the Art Flowers and Button.

 

The green Art Flower was colored with a yellow Copic Marker to better match the Graphic 45 designer paper used on the card.  The top flower shows the original color of the flower.  I love being able to alter/color the Art Flowers to match any dp.

 

The third card also used a Twinchie and 2 Inchies as a backdrop and also as an accent for the flowers (hand drawn and colored with Copics).

 

However instead of just stacking the Inchies, they have been offset to create a slightly different look.

 

The flourishes were made using an Ornare Template and Piercing Tool.  A Copic Multiliner (0.1) was used to create the faux stitching.

 

I so love the many mix and match possibilities with these cute little Inchies and hope that you can have some creative fun with them, too.

(Click image for larger view.)

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Stamps:  Card 1:  Cornish Heritage Farms “Kim Hughes Silhouette Blooms I”, “Rice Paper Backgrounder”, and “Scene It, Mountains”; Card 2:  Cornish Heritage Farms "Mona Lisa Moments Christmas Expressions"

Supplies:  Inchies, Inchie+ and Twinchie Squares; Ornare Piercing Tool and Template; Graphic 45 Designer Paper "Christmas Past Glad Tidings", "Renaissance Faire, Triumphant", "Renaissance Faire, Enlightened", Off White 1-5/8" Twill Ribbon; Jellie Ribbon Lace; Art Flowers; Pearls; Copics; Button