the CLASSroom

Creating with Kraft by Julia Stainton

I just can't get enough of kraft product. It's a good thing it's so popular with paper crafting manufacturers as there is always  good supply for me to have on hand.

When you first look at Kraft, well, it's pretty humble. Just a plain neutral, greyish brown color. One might think it even boring. Perhaps the beauty of Kraft lies within it's simplicity. Kraft is classic. Kraft goes with almost everything and with almost every style. How can you resist something so versatile?

Today I have two Kraft-based cards to share with you. I hope you enjoy the Krafty-inspiration.

My first card is very simple and elegant. Yes, Kraft looks great in it's very simple form and while we often think of Kraft with a vintage or home-spun look, it can be very elegant as well.

This card is made from a recent cardstock addition to the Ellen Hutson shop. It's called Desert Storm by Neenah and while it isn't labeled Kraft, it is my new favorite Kraft cardstock to use. I've been looking for a good source for Kraft and I love how beautiful and strong the Desert Storm is.

Ever think of heat embossing Kraft cardstock? Stamping it with Versamark Ink and embossing it with clear embossing powder gives a beautiful and elegant look.

Lately I've been excited to find lots of Kraft patterned paper on the market. Ellen carries a few different manufacturers of it but I narrowed it down to this kraft paper pad from My Mind's Eye to create with.

One of my favorite styles to use Kraft on is a vintage or shabby style look. This card is soft and subtle with a tone on tone look and some small white accents for highlights.

Kraft cardstock looks great with ink sponged on the edges. Because it is a midtone color you can use a white pigment ink or a nice soft brown distress ink. For this card I've used a white pigment ink on all the Kraft edges.

Many chipboards also coordinate perfectly with Kraft. For this card I've layered many different Kraft products together along with the laser-cut chipboard bird. Inking the edges defines the layers and adding lots of texture keeps the design interesting.

If you're looking for Kraft products, you'll find the ones I've used linked below. The search function also works really well in the Ellen Hutson on-line store when you are looking for something specific. Simply type Kraft in the search box at the top left corner on the store site.

Thanks for joining me today in the CLASSroom! Happy "Krafting"!

Basic Grey, Clippings Cling Stamp, Square Pattern from Hero Arts	ClearDesign: Find Joy	NEW Archival Ink Pad, Jet Black	Distress Ink Pad, Brushed Corduroy
Adirondack Pigment Ink Pad, Snow Cap	A3 Cardstock, Neenah Environment Desert Storm, 25 pk	Cardstock, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, 25 pack	My Mind's Eye, 6x6 Paper Pad, Kraft Funday Everyday Fun
Tim Holtz, Tiny Attacher	Innoscence, Wedding Shoes	Innoscence, Snow Peony	Trinket Pins, Vintage Pearl Butterfly
Trinket Pins, Vintage Pearl	Kraft Mini Tags	Kraft Note Envelopes, White Polka Dot	Kraft Ticket Strips, Large White
Trinket Pins, Vintage Kraft Flag	Chipboard 6x6, Birds	Accent Pearls, Medium	Applique, Petite Frames Assortment

InLinkz.com

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

Inside the Package - Magenta Cork and Chipboard

When I first began stamping years ago Magenta stamps were some of the first I fell in love with when shopping at my local stamp store. Little did I know that they had other awesome products that work together with stamps! So today I want to share just a couple of images from the products we received into our store recently and a few experiments I did with them.

 

Magenta's cork is self-adhesive making it so easy to work with! The images are laser cut making the detail so very precise! I have placed both an Inchie Square and a Twinchie Square atop the cork on the right so that you can see the scale of these pieces AND help you to see some of the possibilitles. Can you imagine an image "spotlighted" with one of these squares?

We have flowers, birds, butterflies, buttons, borders, pennants, mosaics and single sheets available for you to select from!

 

If you plan on coloring your cork with Copic Markers I would recommend stamping with Memento ink as I did above. The ink did not bleed when I colored it in - yeah!
 

As you can see the result is SO beautiful!

 

I also wanted to test some of the other colorants we carry. You can compare the finished results with the little original test square in the lower right hand corner.
 

I began by stamping this western image from Tim's new collection on the cork using Archival Ink - I wanted to use an ink that would be resistant to watercolor products. It worked brilliantly.

 

Curiousity when I thought I had ruined the butterfly below led me to trying the "removal" process - I wondered if the color could be removed. I wet the area surroundng the image with my waterbrush and then used a paper towel to dab the surface. Oh how fun to see how the color could be altered!

 

I also tried Glimmer Mist. A mixture of blue and purple was sprayed on the surface and allowed to dry. The result was somewhat murky and so I thought I would try adding more color. I ever so carefully colored my image with Copic Markers (being certain to stay in the lines because Archival Ink and Copic markers haven't been the best of combinations for me) and then added Broken China Distress Stain around the edges. Oops - not so pretty - LOL! It was waaaaay too dark for my satisfaction.

 

So once again I altered the color using my waterbrush and a paper towel to blot color away.

 

The image on the left doesn't show the pretty sparkle that shimmers from the cork surface. I spritzed this image with Old Lace. The image on the right also shimmers - it is much prettier in person. Taking pictures of sparkle is SO hard!
 

I had to test the Faber Castell pens! I stamped the first image on the left using Archival Ink and started coloring with my Big Brush Pen. You can see the difference in the blossoms if you look closely. The blossom on the right of the image is the first one I colored. I felt it was too uniform in color and wanted more depth, so I colored my Big Brush on my non-stick craft sheet and then used a waterbrush to dilute the color and paint in the blossoms. Coming back in with the Big Brush pen while the surface was still damp created a beautiful result.

Next I colored my image with a dark green Big Brush pen and stamped it on the cork. Then watercolor the bloom using the diluted mixture from the craft sheet and darken it with the Big Brush pen.

 

Colorwash altered the color of the cork dramatically.

Unfortunately I picked an image that was far too delicate - oops. So I tried once again to see if I could change the coloration of the square. I misted it with water and then blotted. This also muted and softened the color. 

Experimenting is part of the fun in learning about new products. I hope that my experiments help you to think outside the box when it comes to these cork products. I also hope that my oopsies help you to see what works well and what doesn't.

 

The other product that is new to me are the lazer cut chipboard pieces. Once again I placed a Twinchie and Inchie in the corner to allow you to envision the scale. These come in 12x12, 6x6 and individual image packets. The bird on the top left is the front side of the chipboard piece and the bird on the top right is the back side.

 

There are also some very cool photo holders. I popped out a couple of the butterflies in one to show you how you can place decorative paper, or photos behind the openings. You can then insert photos or tags into the little "prongs" that removing the butterflies results in. I look forward to creating a unique home decor item with this holder!

I didn't have a lot of time to experiment on the chipboard. I quickly stamped a background from Tim's new Reflections collection and grabbed my Distress Stain and wiped it across the surface. Gorgeous! Oh the possibilities - Studio Paint, Crackle, Copics, hmmm - what do you think I should try?

 

The last photo I wanted to share a comparison between the Magenta Chipboard and Art Parts. As you can see Art Parts are much thicker, but these two products seemed to take the Distress Stain in much the same manner. I think the combination of these two products is going to be magical - I can hardly wait to combine them in a project!

I hope this gives you a little insight into these fun new items. Please let me know if you have any questions and I will do my best to continue to experiment and post my results for you all to see.

Have a wonderful day! (or perhaps better said - evening/night) Thank you for stopping in here at the CLASSroom once again.

 
stamps: Tim Holtz Reflections and Wild West, Unity With Sympathy

ink: Archival Jet Black, Memento Tuxedo Black, Faber Castell Big Brush, Distress Stain - Vintage Photo and Broken China, Color Wash, Copic Markers

accessories: Magenta Cork and Chipboard (scroll through this page to see all the options) 

Stamping on Cork and Coloring with Copics

Cork - I love the natural earthiness of this product and have been looking for a quality cork for some time. I was thrilled to discover the Magenta cork! It comes already backed with adhesive - this makes it so easy to attach to your projects. Not only can you add these images to flat surfaces, BUT you could also adhere these to rounded surfaces! Oh so fun!

 

Sadly I needed to create a sympathy card for dear friends who recently lost their son in a tragic accident. The sentiment in the Unity "WIth Sympathy" set is so beautiful. I know that words cannot bring solace during such hard times, but my hope is that love and memories will carry them through these hard times.

 

To begin I stamped the Floral Trio on the cork using Memento ink. I then colored in the image using the same technique as I do when I color on paper. I found that the colors actually intensify and the yellow cast of the cork comes through the ink creating a lovely coloration.

Copic Colors Used: YG00, YG63, YG17, V01, V15, Y21, Y24

 

The new Book Covers stamps are a must-have in my opinion! There is something about the face of an old book that I absolutely love. The small image is sized perfectly to fit with the new Small Creative Covers Art Parts and the large one fits with the Large Creative Covers Art Parts! I can hardly wait to try creating a project with these. Also the binder rings from Tim Holtz Advantus line are scaled perfectly as well! I love it when things are well thought out and work together!

I first inked the stamp with distress ink and then randomly inked the stamp with Vintage Photo Distress ink, evening it out using an ink blending tool. This gave a more weathered appearance to the book cover.

Using clear embossing powder and applying heat made the image really pop off the Kraft cardstock and give a very realistic "old book" feel.

The edges were then further distressed with Antique Linen.

 

The 7 Gypsies seam binding we carry in the store is SO fun to work with. To get the wrinkled appearance I simply spritz it with water, wad it up in my hand and then use my heat it tool to quickly dry it. Perfectly wrinkled ribbon every time!
 

A little trim, an accoutrement button and a handcut sentiment tag completed my card.

Give your kids a hug tonight and be certain to let them know you love them!

 
stamps: Magenta Flower Trio, Tim Holtz Book Covers, Unity With Sympathy

ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Distress Embossing Ink, Vintage Photo and Antique Linen Distress Ink, Copic Markers (see list above)

paper: Boysenberry Notecard, Hero Arts Kraft Cardstock

accessories: Magenta Cork, Accoutrements Button, Savannah Seam Binding, Prima Alencon Trim H, Clear Embossing Powder