the CLASSroom

Transparency Tricks by Julia Stainton

Transparencies or overlays have been a long-time favorite crafting product of mine. The shine, the patterns, and the way they add an extra layer of dimension without hiding what's underneath all play into making them intriguing to design with.

I love the new Cards Overlay sheet by Alison Kreft for Webster's Pages. It's a 12x12 transparency sheet that can be used on a layout as is, or cut up to make ATC sized accent transparencies. I chose to do the latter and have designed three cards so show different and easy ways to adhere transparencies. Some crafters find them intimidating to use as they are not sure how to adhere them, but it's really so simple.

Obviously, you can't use regular adhesive when adhering clear items as the adhesive can be seen right through them. This first card layers a chevron printed transparency over layers of patterned paper. It gives a fun look because you can see the different prints through the transparency.

For this card I used my favorite, and the easiest way I know to attach the transparency to the card. A couple staples at opposite corners is fast and holds it on perfectly.

For the second card I wanted to try something a little different. The beautiful birds inspired a more simple and dreamy look.

An experiment seemed to be in order so I went searching through my crafting stash.

Two colors of Distress Stickles were squirted onto the reverse side of the transparency...

...and then smeared together with my finger to cover the entire reverse side of the transparency. Make sure you get right to the edges and then flip over and adhere to a card front. Lay it flat to dry so that the transparency doesn't slide.

 Once dry, your transparency will be adhered and you'll be left with a beautiful glittered background.

Another quick way to adhere a transparency is with washi tape or fabric tape. I've used Maya Road Fabric Tape here to add this fun journaling style transparency. To keep it extra secure you can add a little adhesive on the reverse side of the overlay where you plan to add the fabric tape as it will cover it.

Here's the detailed view. Transparencies are very easy to adhere embellishments over the top of. I like to use a hot glue gun for the heavier embellishments but stickers work fun on their own.

Finally, I'm sure I've shared this trick before but it's worth repeating. One sheet of Fabric Thickers can be changed into any color you want with Copic Markers. It's as simple as coloring them in.

Have a fabulous weekend and thanks for joining me today in the CLASSroom!

Supplies:

InLinkz.com

Spring Butterfly Wreath by Julia Stainton

Paper crafting products have so many different uses. I'm always amazed at how much you can do with them. Today I'm celebrating Spring with a home decor creation, a sweet altered wreath.

To start off my project, I picked up a 12" styrofoam wreath. This makes the wreath nice and light but also makes it easy to pin accents into it.

Covering the wreath is fast and easy using Maya Road Fabric Tape. I've used Blossom Pink here but it also comes in so many other beautiful colors. A large wreath like this will take a couple packages of fabric tape. Simply peel off the backing from the fabric tape and wrap it around the wreath. Simple.

Next step I wanted to create some butterfly accents that would look like they were fluttering off of the wreath. These Maya Road chipboard butterflies are perfect for that. To alter them I first colored them with some Copic Markers.

For these butterflies I've used Y13 Lemon Yellow and R83 Rose Mist.

 

To add some sparkle and glitz to the butterflies, I covered the surface with Glossy Accents and then sprinkled on some clear glitter and allowed them to dry.

Attaching the butterflies on an angle can be a bit of an adhesive problem unless you turn them into pins. Doing this allows you to place them into the foam wreath like floral picks on any angle you wish.

Using a pair of pliers, I pull the heads off the top of the button trinket pins. I've kept the little button tops to be used in another project.

Push the pin into the chipboard butterfly to create a custom pick.

When arranging flowers and other items onto a wreath, start with the larger items first. I've used a hot glue gun to adhere the Maya Road floral embellishments.

Add in the mid-size flowers, then the butterfly chipboard picks to the wreath. They simply pin into the styrofoam wherever you wish.

 

Stamp words onto little linen banners and then pin them to the wreath as well as accents.

As always, click on the images to see them in greater detail.

Have a little fun trying out new and unique projects with your paper crafting supplies.

Thanks for joining me today in the CLASSroom! Have a great weekend!

 

Supplies:

 

InLinkz.com

Imagine Paris Tag by Julia Stainton

I seem to be hooked on tags these days. Last time I was in the CLASSroom I went the art journaling route with a bunch of tags to make a mini album for my daughter. Today's post uses a tag as well. Inspired by a big beautiful black tag and the chalkboard trend, I've gone vintage collage style with them.

There are many ways to stamp on dark surfaces. You can use embossing powder,or a pigment ink, but I've found that paint always works really well. I've been a fan of stamping with paint for years. The interesting thing with stamping with paint is that it never turns out exactly the same each time. I think that adds to much to the vintage style. That perfectly beautiful imperfection.

I love using the Adirondack Paint Dabbers for inking up a stamp with paint. You can use a foam brush with any acrylic paint and brush it on the stamp, but the paint dabbers make it so easy and there is no cleanup. Simply dab the paint with the foam applicator onto the stamp and then press onto your surface. These dabbers also work really well for "inking" the edges of your paper to define them.

• step one - stamp the ATC and apply paint to the edges of the ATC and the Tag

Tip: Wash your stamps off immediately as the acrylic paint is extremely difficult to get off if you allow it to dry. This is the voice of experience and it was painful.

• step two - stamp postage marks onto the black tag
• step three - adhere torn coffee filter paper with Multi-Medium...wrinkle the paper when applying it for added texture

Note: Multi-Medium is a fabulous adhesive and and essential mixed media product. Just brush it on the back to adhere or on the front to add a glaze.

• step four - adhere adhesive lace and then stamped ATC
• step five - tie tag with twine and tie on button

• step six - adhere flowers and insert trinket pins
• step seven - pin metal tag to flower

Tip: When creating a black and white project, add one pop of color to brighten it up.

Thanks so much for joining me today in the CLASSroom! I hope you'll give stamping with paint a try. Have a fabulous weekend!

Supplies:

InLinkz.com

Easter Window Card by Julia Stainton

It's an early Easter this year! We don't have to wait for April as Easter falls on the last weekend of March. This means that it can also sneak up on you and it's coming up quicker than you might think.

Do you make cards for Easter? I have a sweet window design to share with you today. It's actually more of a Spring theme with an Easter sentiment but you'll definitely see touches of Easter in the oval (egg) shaped window and the pretty lavendar and soft yellow color scheme.

Window cards are a little more work than regular card designs and so I don't make them as often as I should. I confess to being a very lazy crafter. I had so much fun creating this one though that another will be on my to-do list very, very soon.

What originally inspired this design was a sheet of Secret Garden 12x12 paper from Graphic 45. This particular one is called Springtime and one side is patterned and the other has the most gorgeous little images that can be cut apart as images, accents and journaling card type embellishments. It's seriously amazing just how many projects could be made from one single sheet.

And HELLO?! It's only a dollar. I just couldn't resist.

To go along with it I also purchased the Secret Garden Chipboard pieces. I wanted to use this particular frame for it's oval shape and it would make a great focal point for my card design. It's pretty basic. You just punch it out of the chipboard sheet. So why the image? I wanted to show you a little trick.

See the little paper "spurs" that are left after you punch it out? You want to get rid of those for a nice finish on your project. To do that, simply file off the extra paper bits with a Sanding Block or the Basic Grey Precision File Set.

As a picture is worth a thousand words...I have lots of step outs for you today. This first one is basically how I start designing a project. I lay some of the pieces together to see how the design layout will work. You'll notice that some of the pieces I started with didn't make the final cut. That's OK. Just go with the flow.

Here's where I start putting the card layers together. And actually, it's also where I decided that this card needed a window and not just another layer.

Once the layers are all adhered together I planned out exactly where my window needed to be and then traced the inside of the oval onto the card front in pencil. As this is just a touch smaller in size than what I want the opening to be I just cut a very tiny amount outside the circle.

I wish I'd had an oval die that matching up in size perfectly but I didn't so hand-cutting was the only option. This is good to know though so that you make a window and size and shape that you desire.

Because there are so many layers of paper and cardstock, you may have to cut the oval out a few times with your craft knife. The first time I cut it only removed the top layer of patterned paper as you can see in the above shot. You'll find that after you cut one oval, the next layers go really quickly.

To get a nice smooth edge to all those layers of cut paper, I pulled out my Precision File set again and just filed them smooth. This makes it almost look as if it were die cut.

Place your frame on and you have a nice window card design.

You can leave it open or you can also put in a piece of Crystal Clear Plastic to make it easier to adhere your embellishments.

It's always nice to finish the inside of a card but it's really essential with a window card design. Here's the beautiful image panel that I finally decided on adhere to the inside of the card. I'm very fond of florals and birds and so that's what I went with.

To finish off the inside of the card, stamp the sentiment and add a few little flowers and pearls as an accent.

 

The card front needs some embellishing too. I adore the new Maya Road Wood Birdcages and this one worked perfectly for the front of this card. Add in a few more pins and accents and it's complete!

Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom and have a lovely weekend!

Supplies:

 

InLinkz.com

I Do Wedding Card by Julia Stainton

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

(image credit: Vincent Kember)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Supplies:

 

InLinkz.com

Favorite Finds from CHA Winter 2013 - Video

Hi, everybody!

In lieu of a Hello Monday video, we're sharing some of the things we found at the CHA Winter 2013 show!  

CHA is the Craft & Hobby Association Trade Show that occurs every winter, typically down in Anaheim, CA. The show is open to the trade only (retailers, manufacturers, and other industry related businesses) and showcases products and lines that manufacturers are debuting for the new year.

Ellen and I arrived a day ahead of the show, and took classes to learn more about some of the exciting new products being released, such as the new Ranger Distress Paints!  This water based paint is very unique and features some very interesting properties, unlike any other paint we've ever worked with before! Watch the video to see and hear more about these paints and some of the other items we were *monkey clapping* over! 

You can enjoy the video here, or on YouTube!

Thanks for joining us, and we hope you enjoyed getting a glimpse of some of the coming new products!  Keep your eye on the "Coming soon from CHA Winter 2013" category to see what will be arriving soon!

Snow Smiles by Julia Stainton

Christmas is over and life is slowly returning to normal. Cleaning up my craft room, I decided to pack up all my holiday craft supplies until next year. Mid-way through I just had to stop myself though. All those beautiful snowflake products shouldn't be put away yet. They aren't just for the holidays. I decided instead to think of ways to use them now.

We were thankful to get some snow just in time for Christmas and while it's not a lot, it's enough to have fun in. Before my daughter left to go back to school, she was kind enough to give in to my nagging and let me take some pictures of her before she left.

One of my crafting resolutions for the new year is to get back to doing more scrapbooking. I'm sure I'll be sharing some of my layouts in the CLASSroom this year and hope they inspire you to try your hand at it.

Most of my layouts use a lot of patterned paper but I wanted to keep with the idea of the beautiful simplicity of snow and nature. Plain cardstock can be a little boring but mists and stamping make it easy to punch it up a little. I've misted this kraft cardstock with a Calico White opaque mist and then stamped on some random white snowflakes. I'm glad I didn't put that holiday set away!

Next came the process of adding my photos and creating a design. It's a simple layout with the embellishments added in around the photos. When creating a layout, it's best to pick one photo as the focal point. You can do this by making one of them a little larger than the others.

White and Kraft always look beautiful together and they work well for a winter themed layout as well.

Some Jenni Bowlin flag stickers make a great place to add in the date of the photo shoot.

After creating the layout, I went back and added pearl stickers to the centers of the stamped snowflakes to make them stand out.

 Finally, the title is adhered over a journaling tag. My journaling is added below the accent photos with a Copic Multi-liner Marker.

Thanks for joining me today in the CLASSroom! Wishing you a very creative 2013!

 

Supplies:

 

InLinkz.com

Embossed Metal Christmas Wishes by Julia Stainton

 Just a few more days left until Christmas and time for me to squeeze in another holiday card design. I thought I'd use it to wish you all a very merry Christmas and a happy new year as this is my last CLASSroom post for 2012. It was a year of lots of changes, both good and bad, and I'm hoping that 2013 brings many blessings to your home as well as my own.

 This holiday card design was also a great time to get back into my craft room and try out a new product, the Tsukineko Sheet Metal Pieces. When I first saw it in the Ellen Hutson shop it immediately sparked my interest and I had to try it out.

The package said this product could be embossed and die cut so I decided to put it to the test. Well, actually, I haven't die cut it yet. That will have to wait for test project #2. But I did emboss it. I wasn't sure how well it would emboss...metal in a plastic folder you know and all that. Using a Tim Holtz holiday embossing folder, the metal ATC is sandwiched in the middle and then run through a Sizzie Big Shot machine. One pass was all it took to get a beautiful embossed metal surface. Nice!

The metal was lovely and shiney and could have been left at the embossed step but I like to step things up a bit now and then. So out came the Gesso. Gesso is a primer that prepares surfaces for accepting paint. It sticks to almost anything including metal. If you simply painted the metal surface with white acrylic paint, you would end up with the problem of flaking paint.

Simply brush the gesso over the metal and allow it to try. I used a heat gun on mine and that sped up the process. I don't like watching paint dry! Grin.

When the gesso is 99% dry, buff off the excess from the raised embossed surfaces. You can also sand it off or lightly scratch it off depending on the look you are going for. It's pretty quick and easy and I love how it looks like an old sign or a pressed tin ceiling.

On to the main base of the card, I picked out three sweet prints from the Aspen 6x6 paper pad by Basic Grey. Soooooo pretty.

Now here's a fun fabric tape ribbon idea. I ADORE the new Maya Road fabric tapes. They can be used just like washi tape, to make a fun border, to make a background among other fun ideas. You can also make the fabric tape into ribbon by peeling off the backing, folding it over onto itself. It then can be tied into a very pretty bow...

A little tinsel, a pin and a star trinket pin finish off the design.

 Thanks for joining me in the CLASSroom today! Wishing you a wonderful Christmas and a year of blessing to come!

Supplies:

 

InLinkz.com

12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist 2012 - Day 7 by Julia Stainton

Welcome back to the CLASSroom and another tag from our 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist series. Today we're more than halfway through the series and I'm excited to be sharing a tag creation with you.

 

My Peace Snowflake tag features lots of holiday sparkle and some very easy techniques. Let's get started!

For my tag base, I've created a textural and shimmery embossed tag. I love how the color changes as it turns in the light.

1. Emboss the manila tag using a snowflake embossing folder and a Big Shot machine.

2. Color the tag by swiping it with a Distress Stain Dabber. I just drag the sponge end across the tag allowing the color to hit the higher embossed areas. Dry with a heat gun to speed up the process.

3. Rub a Versamark Inkpad across the surface of the tag. Sprinkle with Holographic Embossing Powder. Apply heat with heat gun until the embossing powder is melted.

Next steps are to create a pretty embellishment using a die.

4. Die cut the Snowflake Rosette Strip die from a sheet of patterned paper.

5. Pleat the snowflake in an accordian fold. Adhere ends together with dry adhesive.

6. Flatten snowflake out and adhere to scrap paper.

7. Adhere snowflake applique. Insert trinket pins.

8. Apply stickles along pleats to add glitter.

9. Adhere loops of tinsel trim behind embellishment.

10. Adhere to tag.

11.Dab Distress Stain onto Peace chipboard sentiment. Dry with heat gun.

12. Coat chipboard with Versamark ink and sprinkle with Holographic Embossing Powder.

13. Heat embossing powder to finish the shimmery surface.

14. Adhere to bottom of tag.

15. Adhere lace to bottom of tag.

16. Loop twine through top of tag.

It's done! Sparkly and pretty without being too over the top.

Hope you're enjoying each day of the 12 Tags of Christmas! Happy holidays and happy creating! 

InLinkz.com

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We are so fortunate to have Julia here in the CLASSroom sharing her inspired ideas with us on a constant basis - thank you for sharing your creativity with us! Please help us thank Julia for this stunning, sparkly goodness by leaving your appreciation below in the comment section. Leave your comment below to be eligible for the random drawing of the $25 gift certificate to our store www.ellenhutson.com - be certain to do so before noon on December 13th to be eligible (one comment per person please.) Be certain to return tomorrow to "fawn" over the oh, so cute tag a special lady has prepared for you!

Wild for Word Bubbles and Wood by Julia Stainton

Hey! What's up?

I have a fun, simple and trendy card to share with you today. Even better is this design works well for either gender so it's perfect to have on hand for when you need it.

This card mixes up three trends that are really popular right now...

1. word bubbles
2. washi tape
3. wood

It's amazing to see all the places these trends are popping up and from so many different manufacturers. Stop by Ellen Hutson LLC and type any of them in the search function and you'll see what I mean!

I've been dying to play around with word bubbles lately and so that's where I started off this card design. This sweet and fun washi tape is from the October Afternoon Midway line and so I paired it up with a couple of fun prints from the coordinating Midway paper pad. The Washi Tape is easy-peasy to apply and I love how you see through it. It's also a great way to visually break up a design and to transfer from one paper print to another.

These sweet wood word bubbles are a perfect mix for my card design. Cute, huh?! Cute, cute, cute! They are from Studio Calico and not only are they an embellishment, they are a great way to add in a sentiment as well. I love them in their natural wood state but when placed on the card, they were getting a little lost on the background print.

Enter the red dye based marker. You can alter one of these sweet little wood veneer cuts in the blink of an eye. Simply color with a marker and allow to dry. The wood is very porous so no worries if you're in a hurry, it will be dry in no time.

The second word bubble, I wanted to use a different color and decided to test out how well Distress Stains would work on the wood. My result...just as quick and easy as the dye marker. Fabulous!

If you want to speed up the drying process, you can use a heat gun but seriously, it's pretty quick on its own. I used a simple liquid adhesive to adhere them to the design.

Almost done! A little wrap of twine, a clothespin and a trinket pin finish it off. Notice the repetition. The star pin echos the star shape print of the green patterned paper. The word bubble appear on the washi tape and the wood. The wood is repeated in the word bubbles and the clothepin.

Oh yes...lastly, that corner chomper makes the rounded corners on the bottom of the card a breeze.

Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom! Have a fabulous weekend!

Julia

 

Supplies:

 

InLinkz.com

Halloween Reflections by Julia Stainton

With Halloween right around the corner, it seemed like the perfect time to play with some new papers and product. One of these products in particular has me really excited about it.The new Tim Holtz Mirrored is a reallly great reflective material that comes backed with adhesive and is thin, flexible and can be die cut. My mind is whirling at all the possibilities.

And what's Halloween without a spooky mirror? Perfect timing, I say, to try it on a Halloween card design.

The thing I was really excited to try out with Mirrored was so see how reflective it was and how well it die cut. I paired it up with the October Afternoon Witch Hazel line. There are so many great vintage prints in this line. I'm not big on anything too ghoulish so this line is just perfect in my opinion.

It really impressed me how cleanly and easily the Mirrored product was able to be die cut. The above picture shows the die cut mirrors. It comes with a protective film over the mirror so leave that in place until you are ready to use it on your project. Make sure you leave the film on for die cutting. The left die cut still has the film on it and the right die cut has it peeled away. I wish the pictures captured just how shiny and beautiful a mirror finish this product has. I'm thrilled with it!

 

In this next image I'm peeling away the protective film on the left die cut. The right die cut has been flipped over and the adhesive backing is being peeled away. It's so easy to adhere this product.

Next onto creating the card. I've layered three of the beautiful prints together and sanded their edges for a worn distressed look. Worn and distressed and old always goes with Halloween in my opinion.

Lastly I used the coordinating Witch Hazel chipboard stickers to make a quick banner over the mirror. The adhesive chipboard buttons can be stacked for added dimension.

Thanks for joining me today in the CLASSroom! Have a spooktacular Halloween!

Supplies:

Tim Holtz Mirrored	Gold Super Star Pins	Witch Hazel Chip 'n Stick Buttons and Banners	Witch Hazel 8x8 paper pad
Harvest Corn Twine Cording	Tim Holtz Sanding Block	Styled Labels Movers and Shapers Die	A3 Cardstock, Neenah Environment Desert Storm, Ream
Sizzix Big Shot Machine, Black & Pink

InLinkz.com

WCMD 2012 Challenge 5: Trend Watch Challenge by Julia Stainton

Most of us watch trends in some form or other. We enjoy wearing new clothes in an up-to-date style, we pay attention to trends when decorating our homes, trends in music and media and there are even trends in our speech patterns that change as years go by.The same is true with crafting, we often enjoy following trends as well. Just like in life, the key to trends in crafting is to pay attention to trends and incorporate the ones that work well with your style. Trends are fun for new ideas and inspiration but staying true to what you love makes the most sense.

Today my card incorporates a couple of trends I've been enamoured with lately. I love chevrons and shaped dies and they are both hot crafting trends right now. A challenge is only fun if there is lots of participation so the trend I'm going to challenge to play with is the shaped dies trend. It's so hot that pretty much every crafter owns a die cut machine these days and I can't wait to see all your ideas for using them. They are addicting and I know in seeing your designs, I'm probably not going to be able to resist addding a few more to my stash.

Chevrons are so much fun to incorporate into projects but they can be a little tricky to cut out. That's the beauty of the MFT Stamps Cheveron Stripe Die. It cuts them out quickly and perfectly. I've cut these chevron strips from a pad of 6x6 patterned paper from Studio Calico.

As this die comes with two sizes in one die, you can use the larger chevrons or the smaller or combine them to make a pattern like I've  done here.

I wanted to add some stamping to this design but wanted to keep it subtle and not take away from the die cutting. This stamp set by Basic Grey from Hero Arts gave me the solution. The sentiment is stamped and then punched to create an accent. Did you notice the canvas banner strip? That's also created with a stamp. Using one of the Ranger Archival Ink pads I stamped onto some sticky back canvas and then cut it out. A few easy embellishments finish off the design.

Thanks for joining me for this World Cardmaking Day challenge. I hope you're enjoying lots of creative time this weekend!

Sizzix Big Shot Machine, Black & Pink	Chevron Stripe Die by MFT Stamps	Heyday 6x6 paper pad by Studio Calico	A3 Cardstock, Neenah Environment Desert Storm, Ream
Clippings Best of the Best Clear stamp set	1.5" circle punch	Natural Studio Sticky Back Canvas 8.5x11	Trinket Pins, Vintage Pearl Butterfly
Vintage Round Pearl Trinket Pins by Maya Road	Venetian Orange Archival Ink by Ranger

InLinkz.com

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TREND CHALLENGE

It's time to get your trend on - this challenge is to use a trendy shape such as the chevron, hexagon, triangle, etc on your project. You can use a die to cut that shape or even freehand it if you don't have a die. Go for it - we are excited to see what you create using a trendy shape!   Once you have completed this challenge please be certain to link directly to that specific project in our WCMD Challenge Blog Candy post!

Once you have completed this challenge be certain to post a comment, as well as a link to your project, in our WCMD Challenge Blog Candy post! Please be certain to link directly to each project when uploading your link.

BLOG CANDY

What is your current favorite trend?

Be certain to leave your answer in the comment section on this post to be entered in a random drawing for the following goodies. All comments must be made by 11:59pm Pacific Time on October 7th to be eligible.

Stamping on Wood by Julia Stainton

One of the biggest trends over the past few years has got to be wood and woodgrain. I for one am thrilled that it is still going strong!

Wood is definitely a classic and can be paired up with so many things. I love its texture, it's warmth and it's flexibility in design. Wood is perfect for masculine designs as well as feminine. What's not to love?!

 

Some of the most recent popular wood crafting items are the laser cut wood embellishments. Very cool! Today I decided to design a card featuring the new Maya Road Wood Shipping Tags.

They come in a package of 8 tags in 4 sizes. I've used the two largest size tags in this project and all these tags are perfect for stamping on.

I've used a Hero Arts stamp set and some Ranger Archival Ink to stamp on these tags. Stamp on them in the same way you would stamp on paper. I find the Archival Inks to be the best for stamping on surfaces such as wood and fabric. Just stamp the image and then heat set with a heat gun.

Quick Tip: When stamping on two side by side items, place them approximately in position when stamping the images so that you get a nice balance of design and color.

The card looked pretty with just the tags on it but I decided it needed a little something more for some subtle texture. A woodgrain embossing folder was just the trick. This folder wasn't quite large enough to cover the 5x5 inch card so I left the top area blank by sliding down the folder to where it looked best. I find that by dividing the card in thirds is a great place to make a transition so that is approximately where I placed the top of the folder.

Here's the cardstock once it's been embossed. The cardstock I used has a white core so by sanding it after this step, I got a nice highlighted texture that you can see below.

This card could easily be altered to fit the season. Think how changing the colors up to warm yellows, reds and oranges would make this into a stunning fall themed design.

Thanks for joining me today in the CLASSroom! Have a wonderful weekend!

Supplies:

InLinkz.com

You Rule! by Krystie Hersch

Hello!  Fall is in the air and school is in full swing!  My family has been busy getting adjusted to our school year routine.  My kids have awesome teachers again this year, and I want to start the year off by buttering them up, umm, expressing our appreciation to them!  hehe!  

When I saw these little rulers, I knew I had to make a 'you rule!' card!  Although I made it with teachers in mind, I think it's great for kids, too.  My six year old thinks this is the best card ever.  :)

Tip:  Although these rulers are lighter than you might expect, any time I am using a large embellishment on a card, I cut the card base so that the fold is at the top.  That will keep your card from falling over when the recipient has it displayed.  

I started the card by die cutting my letters and the heart.  I ran a red Copic marker around the edge of the heart.  I sometimes do this with dies to give it a finished look.

I knew I wanted my main panel to look like notebook paper.  I found piece of grid paper in a pad from My Mind's Eye that was perfect.

To transform it into notebook paper, I just used my Crop-A-Dile to punch holes all along one side.  I just used the grid paper as my guide for spacing.  Next, I snipped from the edge of the paper at each punched hole and bent the paper to give it a torn look.  

I used the Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher to add the tiny staple in the corner, just a cute little detail.

I adhered the letters with a Quickie Glue Pen, and used regular liquid glue on the ruler.  

Thanks for stopping by today, and to any teachers reading, you rule!  

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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

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Double-Embossed Copic Background by Sharon Harnist

Experimentation is one of the best aspects of papercrafting, I think.  Here's what one recent experiment turned up -- a Copic Double-Embossed Background:

To achieve this look, DRY EMBOSS a piece of Neenah Solar White Cardstock with an embossing folder -- I used Lifestyle Crafts Floral Embossing Folder (and wouldn't you know it -- I didn't check to see if this particular one was in stock before creating my card and it's currently not available! But Ellen has a SLEW of other embossing folders to choose from, HERE):

Next, HEAT EMBOSS the background by gently swiping a Versamark ink pad or Ranger Distress Embossing Pad over the top of the raised dry embossed background.

TIP: Using a freshly inked emboss pad will achieve different results.  My older pad was definitely in need of reinking and I was having to press too hard to get the ink applied to the raised dry embossing. Thus, more ink got into the crevices and flat base of the cardstock than I intended/wanted, so you may achieve different results! I will definitely be ordering a Versamark Reinker and trying this technique again soon!

Next, use Clear Embossing Powder and Heat It Craft Tool to heat emboss the background, then have fun by using your Copic Airbrush System and a few Copic Sketch Markers (I used BG53, RV55, and YG03) to airbrush the background:

Then take an alcohol prep pad (alternately, you could use Copic Colorless Blender Various Ink on a tissue or paper towel) and gently wipe off the surface of the raised embossing until you achieve results you like.  The Copic ink will easily wipe off the slick surface of the heat embossing, but still remain on parts of the cardstock that were not heat embossed (or use a lighter touch and only remove Copic ink from the raised areas)!

This is where I wished the flat areas of my background had not picked up as much emboss ink as it did, but that's okay -- I like the softer pastel results I got!

To finish my card, I used Copic's High-Tack Tissue Tape to securely attach the background to my black card base and here's why: a large area of heat embossing will usually warp cardstock (even though I heated the background from the underside, to try and help counter react some of the warping) and the high-tack tape works very well to keep the background flat against the card base.

Next, I used Maya Road's Vintage White Paper Roses and airbrushed them to match my card . . . I love that all the colors perfectly coordinate!

Lastly, I stamped a Hero Arts Everyday Sayings sentiment with Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto more Neenah white cardstock and die cut it with these pretty Sizzix Framelits Fancy Labels dies. While the cardstock was still in the die, I airbrushed my lightest pink Copic RV52 around the edges of the sentiment.

I popped the sentiment frame up with Copic's X-Press It Double-Sided Foam Mounting Tape over another black die cut frame.  Black Baker's Twine finishes off my card. Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom today!  ~ Sharon

Stamps: Hero Arts Clear-Everyday Sayings;
Dies & Embossing Folders: Lifestyle Crafts Floral Embossing Folder; Sizzix Framelits-Fancy Labelsdies;
Paper: Memory Box Notecard-Licorice; Neenah Solar White Cardstock; 
Ink: Tsukineko Versamark ink pad & Memento-Tuxedo Black; 
Copic Sketch Markers: BG53, RV52, RV55, YG03
Copic Airbrush System & Windstorm Sparmax Air Compressor;
Accessories: Ranger Clear Embossing Powder & Heat It Craft Tool; Sew Easy Baker's Twine-Black; Maya Road Vintage White Paper Roses; X-Press It Double-Sided Foam Mounting Tape & High-Tack Tissue Tape;
Other: Alcohol prep pad or Copic Colorless Blender Various Ink; 

Stamping Fun with Dew Drops by Julia Stainton

 

Ink pads can often be the unsung heroes of the stamping world. One of the best things you can do as a stamper is get to know your inks. What are they good for... what are they not? Can I use them for things besides just regular inking of stamps?

The Tsukineko Memento Inks are some of my favorite inks. They work excellent on clear stamps as well as rubber and the Tuxedo Black is perfect for using with Copic Markers. I love these inks so much that I started with the Dew Drop size and have since purchased full-sized pads. I've still hung onto the Dew Drops though. Why? Well today I'm going to show you a few fun tricks with these small droplet shaped ink pads.

Petals:

My first project highlights the fun small shape of these ink pads. The Dew Drop makes for a great petal. You don't need a stamp to create these bright fun flowers. Simply stamp the ink pad itself. As you can see above, leaves are easy to create with just one press of a green Dew Drop.

To create evenly spaced petal for the flowers, I first start out by four petals at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock.

In each space I then space out and stamp two more petals...

...until the flower looks like this.

Sweet and simple.

Swiped Background:

Another little idea that I tried experimenting with was another direct to paper trick. By pressing down your ink pad and then swiping it across the page you get a fun and quick artistic background. I've used five different Memento Dew Drops to get a rainbow effect.

Variegated Background:

Memento Dew Drops have a really great size and shape. The small size makes them easy to take with you, and they are perfect for inking small stamps. You can also use them to create a variegated background which would be difficult to achieve with a larger size pad.

To create this fun background, ink up a background stamp by dabbing on color with coordinating hued ink pads. The small rounded end works great for dabbing on the color. Once your background stamp is completely inked, stamp onto some cardstock and finish your project.

Tip: Start inking your variegated background using the lightest color to prevent color transfer between pads. Once your are done inking the stamp, press off some color from the dew drops ink pads onto some scrap paper to make sure any color transfer is removed.

Thanks for joining me today in the CLASSroom! Have a wonderful and creative summer weekend!

Julia

 

Supplies:

STAMPS: ClearDesign: Essential Messages Stamp Set , Anytime Messages Stamp Set, Cling Classic Fabric Design Stamp by Hero Arts

INK: Jet Black Archival ink, Pear Tart Memento Dew Drop Ink Pad, Rose Bud Memento Dew Drop Ink Pad, Tangelo Memento Dew Drop Ink Pad, Summer Sky Memento Dew Drop Ink Pad, and Lilac Posies Memento Dew Drop Ink Pad by Tsukineko

PAPER: Solar White Cardstock by Neena

TOOLS: Corner Chomper Tool , Clear Acrylic Block with Guides, Big Shot by Sizzix, Movers and Shhapers Base Tray by Sizzix, Movers and Shapers Mini Heart Set by Sizzix

EMBELLISHMENTS: Crystal Trinket Pins by Maya Road, Vintage Wood Mini Butterflies by Maya Road, Rock Candy Distress Stickles by Ranger, Buttons by Basic Grey, Wedding Shoes Innoscence Flower by Prima Marketing

ADHESIVES: Craft Glue Dots Sheets, Mixed 3D Foam Squares

OTHER: twine

Simple Summer Stamping by Julia Stainton

 Those lazy days of summer are here and wow...it's hot outside. In weather like this I like to enjoy making the most of it. I'm a die-hard crafter no matter what time of the year so I'm still creating but find summer is a great time for making things clean and simple.

Here's the simple summer card I have to share with you today. When I first saw this stamp set I just knew I had to have it. The woodgrain, the circles, that darling little bird....lots of possibilities.

 

If you look at the set there is a wide variety of images. I love this as it really makes a stamp set versatile. But sometimes this can also leave you wondering how to tie it all together. I have a couple tips to share with you today.

First of all... LAYER your stamps. I don't mean lots of layers on the card as I've actually only used two here but layer your stamps by overlaying the images when you stamp them. If you look up to the original photograph, you can see that everything in my design touches.

Even the sentiment is anchored in by overlaying the ink over the chevron image. There's always exceptions. Many times the sentiment looks best on it's own but stamp with a definite plan in mind. By having design elements touch in a project, it ties it all together.

Secondly, REPETITION is another great element of design. By using a shape such as a circle repeatedly, it makes a more cohesive design. There are three circle elements in this design, the circular frame, the wood button and the circular woodgrain stamp. I've carried the repetition into using this woodgrain stamp in three different ways.

One of the ways I've used this woodgrain stamp is to stamp the kraft heart trinket pin. These pins by Maya Road are so stinkin' cute that I just want to use them on everything.

The kraft trinket pins come flat so that you can stamp or alter them as you wish before putting them together. I'm inked up my woodgrain stamp with Vermillion Archival Ink and stamped the little kraft heart as my first use of the stamp.

Archival Inks by Ranger are my absolute favorites for their range of use, depth of color and crisp impressions. One drawback they do have is that they can stain your stamps. This really does not bother me in the slightest. The results far outweight the staining but I thought I'd bring it to your attention just in case you are someone who gets a little anxious over things like that.

The above stamp has been well-cleaned but is still rather red. It will fade over time. The color won't transfer off...

...this stamped image in green was stamped with the above stained stamp. No color transfer at all.

So onto my second use of the woodgrain stamp...a circular border. I like to use an acrylic block with grid lines for all my stamping. By lining up the circular stamp directly on the center of the block, it makes it easy to stamp evenly along the edge of the card.

Using clear stamps along with the grid makes it so easy to get a perfect border. To vary the pattern on the woodgrain, I've turned the block 180° each time for a more interesting look.

The final place I've used the wood grain stamp is for the leaves. I've stamped the image on white cardstock this time with Pear Tart Ink. Making paper leaves is quick and easy with a circle punch. First punch out a circle and then place it back into the punch. Slide to you get the size of leaf you want and punch again.

You should be able to get two leaves from each circle you punch. For this project I've used a 1.5" circle punch but this works with any circle punch. The large the punch, the larger the leaves.

Here's a closeup of the focal point. It's punched out an adhered with dimensional foam adhesive.

Thanks for joining me today in the CLASSroom. Hope you've enjoyed these simple techniques. Stay cool and happy crafting!

 

Supplies:

STAMPS: Studio Calico My Happy Stamp Set from Hero Arts

INK: Jet Black Archival ink, Vermillion Archival Ink and Aquamarine Archival Ink by Ranger, Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink by Ranger, Pear Tart Memento Ink by Tsukineko

PAPER: Pool Cardstock, Solar White Cardstock by Neenah

TOOLS: 1.5" Circle Punch, 2.5" Circle Punch, Clear Acrylic Block with Guides

EMBELLISHMENTS: Vintage Kraft Heart and Butterfly Trinket Pins by Maya Road, Wood Alterable Buttons by Maya Road

ADHESIVES: Craft Glue Dots Sheets, Mixed 3D Foam Squares

OTHER: twine

 

Land of the Free Mini Canvases by Julia Stainton

Independence Day is coming up and inspired by the new Maya Road Star tins, I thought a patriotic project might be a fun one to work up for my American friends. I hope you enjoy it!

Mini Canvas Frames have to be one of my all-time favorite products in the Ellen Hutson LLC store. They are 4"x4" in size and are the perfect size for making fun altered canvas projects and just right for experimenting on. A great feature of these canvases are they are triple primed meaning you can get right to the fun stuff. As well they come two in a pack, are super high quality and as the canvas wraps right around to the back, you don't even need a frame for them. Unless you want one of course.

 

Today's tutorial has lots of photos to take you through all the steps. A picture is worth a thousand words, right?...so I've taken a few to make it easy to follow. The first step is to paint one of the canvases with blue Studio Acrylic Paint.

While that is drying, you can stamp a nice collage of images onto the other canvas. It's already triple primed as I mentioned earlier so you can just stamp away. I like using the Ranger Archival Inks for stamping on canvas and then heat set the ink for permanence.

Creating stripes is easy to do when you mask off an area. Tissue Tape makes a beautiful accent but it also works perfectly to mask with. Apply the tissue tape on the areas you want to remain white and paint the rest in red.

After the paint has dried, you can remove the masking tape and your canvas should look like the above photo.

While that continues to dry, it's back to the blue canvas. Once it's surface is dry you can stamp on it with paint applied to a background stamp. I love doing this with an Adirondack Paint Dabber as it makes it super easy to cover the area. Stamp canvas and set aside to dry.

Once both canvases are dry you can add a lovely crackle finish if you like the vintage look. Apply Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint over each of the canvas and give it an hour or so to dry.

The Distress Crackle layer will add a beautiful vintage distressed look. To highlight it, sponge the surfaces with some Distress Ink. If you'd like to check out the detail, just click on the above photo to enlarge it.

Finally we get to the Maya Road Star Bottle Cap that inspired the project. Most paints flake off metal so I've painted the inside of the bottle cap with Gesso. I've filled the inside of the star with a knotted length of burlap tirm and added some other sweet embellishments.

Here's a detail of what the star canvas looks like finished.

To complete the striped canvas, I've painted some chipboard letters with the matching blue Studio paint and adhered them to the canvas.

You can display these canvases horizontally as in the first photograph but after completing the project, discovered that it looks great arranged vertically as well.

Hope you've been inspired to create some patriotic art for your home this summer.

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

Supplies: White 4"x4" Canvas Frames, Studio Gesso by Ranger, Snow Cap Adirondack Paint Dabber, Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint, Dash of Red Studio Paint and Smidge of Blue Studio Paint by Ranger, Studio Artist Brushes, Jet Black Archival Ink, Vermillion Archival Ink and Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink by Ranger, Cling Music Background,  Large Newspaper Background DesignBlock, Basic Grey Carte Postale by Hero Arts, Patti Mini Alphabet Chipboard Set by Maya Road, Star Bottle Cap, Vintage Paper Roses, Linen Burlap Trim and Ticket Transparencies by Maya Road, Heart Trinket Pins, Crystal Star Trinket Pins, Kraft Flag Trinket Pins and Wood Bingo Motifs by Maya Road, Love Banner Clear Stamp Sheet by Maya Road

Seamless Tiers Card by Julia Stainton

Having images flow from one layer to another is a fun visual trick that adds an interesting element to a design. A couple weeks ago I shared how to do this with patterned paper but how can you do it with stamping? It can be very difficult to line things up perfectly when stamping in layers. Almost impossible if you will. There are all sorts of stamping methods for lining things up but I must admit that I dislike any technique that takes too long.

Today I'm sharing a fun technique I learned years ago that I've always loved. It's so long ago that I can't remember how I came across it and what it might be called so I've made a up a name for it that describes it in my mind....Seamless Tiers. Each layer of stamping flows from one layer seamlessly to the next. When I first saw this technique I was quite amazed and then surprised at how easy it is to do.

To start off with you'll need three layers of cardstock. I've designed this card as a 4.25x5.5" vertical card but this technique also looks beautiful on a square card design. Very classic. Make sure each of your layers evenly stack with an even border.

 Next I chose my stamps. This technique looks beautiful color but I love how graphic it looks in black and white so I chose some Hero Arts stamps that coordinate in style and and also look beautiful in a simple black image.

Just before you begin stamping you want to make sure all of your layers are lined up perfectly on top of each other and lightly adhered so that they don't shift. I used some Micro Glue Dots for this. You want an adhesive that you will be able to take apart the layers in a later step.

When beginning stamping a collage, it's always a good idea to stamp the sentiment first if you have one so that you get the placement just where you want it. The other stamps can fit easily around the sentiment. Next comes the larger images as the smallest can fit into any spaces you might need filled at the end.

Here's my finished stamping. Note how the depth of the cardstock leaves a small unstamped area  around each layer. Matting the layers with a thin mat will cover that up.

Take the layers apart, adhere the largest stamped layer to the cardstock base. To cover up the faded edges, mat the other two layers with a very fine mat in black cardstock. I like to use a mat that is 1/8" larger than the height and width of the layer. When adhering the layers, carefully line up the images to get that seamless look.

I loved this card in simple black and white but decided to add the slightest subtle touch of color the the images as a highlight. Pastel Pencils are a quick way to add soft color to each flower center and you can also match up the white roses by adding some pastel color to them as well.

 Thanks for joining me today in the CLASSroom! Have a wonderful and creative weekend!

Supplies: Cling Etched Flowers Stamp, Essential Messages Stamp set and Indie Bloom Butterflies and Wildflowers stamp set by Hero Arts, Jet Black Archival Ink by Ranger, Solar White Cardstock by Neenah, Black Cardstock, Vintage Paper Roses by Maya Road, twine, Vintage Black Pearl Trinket Pin by Maya Road, Yellow PITT Pastel Pencils by Faber-Castell

Sweet Baby Gingham Card by Julia Stainton

 

 Gingham is such fun and timeless pattern. It makes me think of summer, picnics and it's also perfect for sweet baby clothes. Today I have a fun little baby card design to share with you featuring the gingham patterns from the Lily Bee Design Double Dutch line.

I didn't have a particular baby in mind when I created this card so I wanted it to be rather generic and suitable for both boys or girls. Yellow, green and blue seemed to be a pretty neutral color scheme and the three colors are side by side on the color wheel giving it a nice subtle look.

To create my onesie accent, I turned to a Maya Road mini album. Yes you CAN use these sweet little albums for other things. The smaller ones are perfect as accents on cards or layouts.

To cover the chipboard shape, I just adhered the patterned over the chipboard and then filed away the excess paper. The Basic Grey Precision File Set is my favorite tool for sanding chipboard edges. Don't worry about the little hole left in the chipboard from the album binding. Once it's covered with paper, no one will know it's there.

Now for what I really like about this design...the gingham patterned paper matches up perfectly and seamlessly. Because all three papers are from the same line and are the same scale, they are exactly the same. To easily line things up, make sure you cut from the same corner. I cut two squares 4.75" in size from the top left corner. The green paper was then cut into half both ways to have squares that would perfectly line up over the blue.

Stamp your sentiment onto the chipboard onesie before adhering it to the design. I've used a favorite Hero Arts set called Say it All. It's perfect for covering almost any occasion you can think of.

One of the latest additions to my favorites list is the Burlap Rose you see embellishing this design. They come rolled and folded and that neutral texture is so pretty.

 

Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom. Have a fabulous weekend!

Supplies: Double Dutch 6x6 Tiny Tablet by Lily Bee Design, Kraft Layering Paper cardstock by Hero Arts, Cleardesign: Say It All Stamp Set by Hero Arts, Solar White Cardstock by Neenah, pinking shears, Precision File Set by Basic Grey, Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink by Ranger, Jet Black Archival Ink by Ranger, Vintage Linen Burlap Roses by Maya Road, Wood Mini Spools by Maya Road, White and Yellow Stars Trinket Pins by Maya Road, twine, vintage buttons

Watercolored Canvas by Julia Stainton

Canvas is such a wonderful textured fabric that is so popular in the papercrafting world right now. Is it any wonder with its beautiful texture and limitless possibilities? Recently I ordered some Canvas ATC's. That's Artist Trading Cards if you are unfamiliar with the term.

ATCs are usually 2.5" x 3.5" in size. Many crafters collect and trade them and they are a great little panel to experiment on.  I had thought to use them as a base for embellishments. I've done that and it's a great way to use them. The other day I decided to take a more artistic approach and use them to make a little stamped canvas panel for a birthday card for a friend. I'm pretty excited with how it turned out so I'll show you how I did it.

First of all I used a Craft Sheet to protect my work surface. This will get slightly messy with inks and water so this makes it super easy to clean up. I'm using a Hero Arts Basic Grey Stamp from the Konnichiwa line called Floral Blossoms. Using Jet Black Archival ink I inked it up and stamped my canvas ATC. Heat setting at this point will make your ink permanent.

Next I've added in my first layer of color. To do this I first mist the canvas with water so that the color will bleed all over the canvas and give you a beautiful watercolored look. A Mini Mister is perfect for applying water over your canvas. Apply inks to your canvas with a waterbrush and just get lots of color onto the canvas. It really doesn't look too exciting at this point but don't worry. It's easy to pick up ink by squishing your ink pad lids into the ink pad and then using the lid as a palette. After this step, use a heat gun to dry the canvas well.

Next build up the color slowly by adding in more color and shading with ink on your brush. You can also use dye-based markers to add in more precise details.

White gel pen makes it easy to add white highlights for a finishing touch. I really like the look of stamping over the entire piece when done with some text or a subtle background stamp. I've over-stamped this piece with the Old Letter Stamp in Aquamarine Archival Ink.

When creating a detailed panel, I always love to keep the focus on my mini work of art. That means a nice clean and simple white card base and a couple simple accents.

Thanks for joining me today in the CLASSroom!

Happy creating!

 

Supplies: Stitches ATC Canvas by Prima Marketing, Floral Blossoms Basic Grey Konnichiwa Cling Stamp by Hero Arts, Old Letter Writing Stamp Set by Hero Arts, All Occasion Messages Stamp set by Hero Arts, Jet Black Archival Ink by Ranger, Aquamarine Archival ink by Ranger, Crystal Trinket Pins by Maya Road, Wood Buttons by Maya Road, Crushed Olive Distress Ink, Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink, Tumbled Glass Distress Ink, Worn Lipstick Distress Ink, Wild Plum Adirondack Ink and Sunshine Yellow Adirondack Ink by Ranger, Rose Bud Memento Marker by Tsukineko

Misted Canvas Valise by Julia Stainton

There are just so many darling canvas bags, wallets and other goodies in the Ellen Hutson LLC shop that I just had to give one a creative whirl. Today's project uses the Maya Road Valise and it's a sweet little bag with a wrist strap that can carry a few essentials with you on the go.

I've used some mists, stamps and markers to alter it and make it my own. The canvas is the perfect...well...CANVAS for some creative experiments.

This is what I started with. OK. Well, above you'll find the newer version of what I used but it's basically the same project. I actually love the snapped flap on the newer version.

First step is to add some color and design to the canvas. I started off by using a dotted template that you can see below along with some Strawberry Shortcake Glimmer Mist.

You lay the template over the canvas and then mist. Repeat on the front side as well.  I love using pinks and oranges together to I then misted the entire canvas piece with some Tiger Lily Glimmer mist. Don't worry about perfection. It's supposed to look artsy.

You'll want to make sure that your canvas is really dry before moving onto the next step. You can use your heat gun a little if you like to hurry things along. To add stamping details to this valise, I've used the Maya Road Soar Butterflies stamp set and stamped it randomly in Jet Black Archival Ink. I know that I usually mention that this is the best ink for canvas and fabrics but it bears repeating in case a stamper is just joining us. Archival Inks work so well and definitely give the cleanest image without bleeding.

Once you've stamped the images where you want them, you can come in and add extra color to the line images. I've used the Faber-Castell Pitt Brush Markers to color in the butterflies. The ink in these markers is india ink and it is waterproof and works well on canvas.

To create the flower detail, I've cut out a blossom from the Milk Daisies Vintage Lace Trim and then trimmed out the inner circle of the lace so that it doesn't cover up the magnetic catch.

Finally, to finish it off, I've added color to the flower detail with the Faber-Castell Pitt Brush Markers again. You can even color in the thread on the button to coordinate the design.

 Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom and have a fabulous weekend!

Supplies:  Canvas Valise by Maya Road, 6x6 Mini Swiss Dot Template by Crafter's Workshop, Tiger Lily Glimmer Mist, Strawberry Shortcake Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels, Soar Butterflies Stamp Set by Maya Road, Jet Black Archival Ink by Ranger, Milk Daisies Vintage Lace Trim by Maya Road, Faber-Castell Pitt Brush Markers

Song of Spring Card by Julia Stainton

Spring is right around the corner. Literally! Just a few more days until winter is officially over. I for one, am thrilled!

Today I have a spring-themed card to share with you and a fun and quick trick with patterned paper. Did you ever think to use patterned paper for your main image? With so many great papers out there incorporating beautiful vintage images, it's a great way to use them.

Today's project was inspired by this beautiful bird image. It's just a piece I cut out of a lovely piece of sheet music patterned paper from the Sidewalks line by October Afternoon. Instead of stamping an image, I'm going to use this piece for the main focal point of my design.

I wanted to add in a little color to the image so I've highlighted a few of the elements in some Faber-Castell pencils. I've actually used the Art-Grip Aquarelle Watercolor pencils and just quickly added some light color. These pencils can be used like watercolors when you add some water. I didn't add water in this instance but you can use them both ways.

After adhering all my layers together, I wanted to add an embellishment cluster. I've been really addicted to the Maya Road Tulle Pleat Ribbon Trim lately and it makes a beautiful base for embellishments. To adhere it,I placed a Gluber onto the card where I wanted my tulle. After removing the remaining backing, I adhered the tulle around the Gluber twice into a spiral shape and trimmed off the excess.

I could then adhere my flowers to the middle of the tulle for a lovely accent.

Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom today and have a fabulous weekend!

Supplies: Sidewalks 8x8 Paper Pad by October Afternoon, Aquarelle Watercolor Pencils by Faber-Castell, Tiny Attacher by Advantus, Classic Cream Cardstock by Neenah,  1.5" Gluber by Cosmo Cricket, Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink by Ranger, twine, Vintage Round Pearl Trinket Pins by Maya Road, Vintage Paper Posies by Maya Road, Ruffle Blossoms Yellow by Maya Road, Milk Tulle Pleat Trim Ribbon by Maya Road

Raindrop Wishes by Julia Stainton

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens...

Ready for a sweet spring card and a new technique I dreamed up that just may be one of my new favorite things? I'm actually sitting here trying to think of what I'm going to call it. How about the Stamped Template Technique? I think that covers it.

 

Here's my card. I've created a lovely panel of perfectly spaced raindrops on the plastic layer. There is no way that I could eyeball this and get it even like this. If you can... well, all I can say is wow!

I've actually used a stamped image as a template to place each raindrop evenly. There is no stamping directly on the card (except for the sentiment) but yes, I've used a stamp. Here's how I did it...

First of all you need to stamp your image to use it as a template. I've used the Cling Dots background by Hero Arts (fabulous versatile stamp) and stamped it in a dark ink on a scrap piece of paper. This is now your template.

This technique is so easy to do. I've laid some Crystal Clear Plastic over the stamped template and then using the dots as a guide, add dots of Glossy Accents on top of each dot on the template. You can also use a stamped template with vellum or any thin, see-through paper.

Keep adding in the dots until the entire surface is covered. Add your dots left to right and top to bottom so that it doesn't smear. Of course, if you're a leftie...make that right to left.

You are going to want to rush a little but please, do yourself a favor and make sure the dots are totally dry before moving your plastic. Here's what it looks like. I just love how the dots catch the light. I just can't help myself from taking lots of photos of these dots. Hope you don't mind.

Next step is to die cut your blue cardstock, stamp it and adhere to your card. Staple on your dried dotted plastic for the raindrops and then add in your embellishments.

I've covered this super sweet Maya Road chipboard set with a tiny scrap of patterned paper and the cloud were whitened with some Picket Fence Distress Stain.

Hope you enjoyed this technique and hope you have a fabulous weekend!

Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom!

Supplies:

Key Lime Notecards by Memory Box, Water Cardstock by Memory Box, Cling Dots Background stamp by Hero Arts, All Occasion Messages Stamp Set by Hero Arts,   Jet Black Archival Ink by Ranger, Glossy Accents by Ranger, When Skies are Grey Mini Chipboard set by Maya Road,  Tiny Attacher by Advantus, Styled Labels Movers & Shapers Die by Sizzix, Head Over Heels Tiny Tablet paper pad by Lily Bee Design, Crystal Clear Plastic from Essentials by Ellen, Picket Fence Distress Stain by Ranger

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

Round the Clock Love Note by Julia Stainton

Valentine's Day is the next big holiday and I thought I'd get a head start creating a vintage style valentine. I just love a romantic style.

The new Hero Arts Special Time stamp set works really well as a love note. This card actually doesn't have any of the traditional heart icon on it but still works well as valentine.

Here's some of the creative highlights of this design...

First of all I started with some pieces of Resist Canvas by Prima. Each package has a lot of shapes and they are all die cut and embossed with white embossing. All you need to do is add color.

Because I'm on a Distress Stain kick lately, that's what I added in my color with. The Distress Stains are super easy to add color with by just pressing the dabber end onto the surface. I've used Worn Lipstick and Spun Sugar together here for soft tonal variation.

This sweet cavas resist branch is another piece that comes in the package. I like adding all the colors on together while they are wet so you get subtle blending.

Something to note about this canvas is that it comes with a paper backing on it to make it stiffer. It almost looks like sticker backing but this product is not adhesive backed so don't try to peel it off. Just put your adhesive directly on the backing.

I love these darling clock images. The smaller clock is stamped in Jet Black Archival ink directly onto the canvas.

Here's a trick to add interest to a sentiment...stamp an image behind it in a soft color. Here I've stamped the larger clock. It's ok that just a portion of it shows. You don't always need to use an entire image.

These little Maya Road roses are a beautiful embellishment. I've colored then by dabbing them with Distress Stain and also cut off their wire stems. I find it easier to simply adhere them exactly where I want them with a Glue Dot.

 

Thanks so much for joining me today in the CLASSroom!

 

Supplies: Cleardesign: Special Time stamp set by Hero Arts, Worn Lipstick, Spun Sugar, Peeled Paint and Old Paper Distress Stains by Ranger, Jet Black Archival Ink by Ranger, Kraft Cardstock, Londonderry Resistant Canvas by Prima, Chewing Gum Dye Ink by Jenni Bowlin, Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink by Ranger, Vintage Paper Roses by Maya Road, Crystal Trinket Pins by Maya Road, twine, Gramma's Doilies Vintage Findings by Maya Road, 5th Avenue Tag Collection by Melissa Frances

Photo Transfer to Canvas by Sharon Harnist

Hello and welcome to the CLASSroom! With Valentine's Day approaching, I wanted to do something "love" or Valentine themed with some recent photos I had taken of my daughters.  After stumbling across a photo transfer to canvas technique, I decided to combine the two ideas into this fun home decor craft!

(Photo credit: Susan Karlsson from Five Days Later Studio)

You will need these supplies:

1. A photograph copied or LASER toner printed (NOT home inkjet printed) onto regular 20 lb. copier paper. It is the toner in regular (or color) copiers and laser printers that makes this transfer technique work. Just remember the photo will be reversed, once transferred, so if you want your canvas to turn out exactly like the photo, you will need to print the photo in reverse.
2. Stretched canvas on a 1.50" wood frame, any size you wish to work with -- Ellen has several to choose from. I used the triple primed (white) kind like these 4x4 Pair. Ellen also carries these sizes 10x10, 4x6, 5x7 of natural canvas (unprimed). I have to assume they would work just as well since I know this technique also works on the same type of natural canvas FABRIC (See **Note at the bottom of this post).
3. Claudine Hellmuth's Studio Multi-Medium Matte (or I used Gloss) 
4. Paint brush,
5. Scraper to smooth out any bubbles 
6. Mister filled with water
7. Sponge, soft cloth or your fingers!

Since I was going for a Valentine look, I turned my photos a sepia color and then re-colored the red accents so they would stand out. (You can find a quick tutorial for that here). You can use sepia, black & white or full color photos -- whatever you like, it doesn't matter.

Once you have the photo copied and trimmed to the size you want transferred, paint a generous amout of the gel Multi-Medium all over the canvas.  You want enough gel so that the photo is thoroughly saturated, but not so much that it's dripping down the canvas!

Next, place the photo face down onto the Multi-Medium and smooth out any bubbles or wrinkles from the center, out, with the scraper. Be careful not to pull or tug too much, as the thin copier paper might tear easily. Make sure all areas of the photo are "adhered" to the canvas well (click on any photo for a larger view):

My original photo is on the right above, left is the canvas painted with Multi-Medium and the photocopied photo smoothed and "adhered" to the canvas.
A word of warning here: If your scraper picks up any gel Multi-Medium that may ooze out from under the edges of the paper, wipe the scraper off and DO NOT spread it around on TOP of the copied photo! With gel medium on top AND under your photo, this will cause a white spot where the paper is really "glued" to your canvas (I had a few of those spots)!

Then, let dry!  It will probably take a few hours, depending on the size of your photo and how much gel medium you used. To be safe, I let it dry overnight.

Once the Multi-Medium is dry, generously mist the paper with water and start to carefully wipe/peel away the paper with a soft cloth, sponge or your fingers -- whichever works best for you. But "carefully" is the keyword here -- if you rub too hard, you will rub off the photo! But having some of the photo rub off isn't the end of the world -- I think it makes the canvas look like it is a real "painted" look and some of the image missing gives the canvas character!

I started with a soft cloth in the first step but then switched to my fingers in later repeated rubbing (see below).

Water is your friend here -- if the paper is stubborn and doesn't want to peel off easily, re-wet it and let the water soak in, then try gently rubbing the paper off again. Let the canvas dry again.  

If it dries looking "cloudy" (like the photo above) you may have to repeat the process a few more times, to work off all the layers of paper (this is where my fingers could feel the paper better and work it off easier, so not to rub off the photo!).

Once thoroughly dry and you are satisfied with your results, paint a final protective sealing coat of the Multi-Medium over the top of the canvas. Don't worry, it will dry clear!

I added my girls names with painted chipboard letters. To do this, I painted the letters with a base coat of Claudine's Studio Painterly Pink acrylic paint (that's my drying canvas in the top of the photo below!):

Then I used Claudine Hellmuth's Modern Red acrylic paint (it's a little more on the peachy orange end of the red scale), because it matched the red colors in my photos:

and painted it onto Hero Arts Antique Brocade Cling Stamp and stamped over the pink painted letters, for a two-toned pattern look:

The finished letters were glued onto the canvas with Glossy Accents (you can also see the great canvas texture you get with this technique!):

Here are close-ups of the completed canvases -- oldest daughter:

And youngest daughter:

NOTE: For a different look, try using Claudine Hellmuth's acrylic paint COLORS for this transfer technique ... Claudine says they work, too! You can find a tutorial Claudine did HERE.

** NOTE: After completing my project, I discovered both Julia and Ellen have used this same basic technique here in the CLASSroom before (great minds think alike)! You can find Julia's Dec 2009 project HERE where she used a black & white photo on a FABRIC canvas album for a lovely vintage look. And Ellen created an adorable photo pennant banner HERE with fabric canvas -- she had success using a color copy of her photo she printed with her home inkjet printer!

I hope you'll have as much fun with this technique as I did!

~ Sharon

Additional Supplies:
Maya Road David chipboard letters,
Claudine Hellmuth Painterly Pink & Modern Red Studio Acrylic Paint
Hero Arts Cling Stamp-Antique Brocade,
Ranger Glossy Accents,
 

Anniversary Celebration: Sketch Challenge by Julia Stainton

Welcome to another challenge at the CLASSroom Anniversary Celebration! I am so thankful to be part of this fabulous place of inspiration, learning and an incredible team. Congratulations Ellen on five wonderful years!

Today I have a fun sketch challenge to get you creating this holiday weekend. I think you'll enjoy it! Feel free to flip or turn the sketch and let your creativity run wild! I've designed it to be a 4.25"x5.5" card size but you can also make it taller or alter it to be a square card design. I can't wait to see what you come up with!

Here's my take on the sketch....

As you can see, I stayed pretty true to the sketch and had fun getting into the holiday mood. Christmas is coming soon, don't you know?!

The circular element on this sketch is a great place to stamp or, as I've done, turn it into an embellishment. I like to cut the side pieces in random sizes and it is a great place to use up scraps. Make sure you keep the edges in nice clean and square cuts so that you can butt each layer up to the next for a really smooth seamless look.

To create my sentiment, I've used some Tim Holtz Kraft Resist letters. I love how vintage they look and they are fabulous for inking any color you want. I've sponged Barn Door Distress Ink on them to make them coordinate my project.

The Baker's Twine is tied around my card and a gorgeous Maya Road Antique Button Trinket makes the card extra special.

Enjoy the rest of your Thanksgiving weekend and happy creating!

Julia

 

Supplies:

Solar White cardstock by Neenah, Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink by Ranger, Barn Door Distress Ink by Ranger, Deck the Halls 6x6 paper pack by Melissa Frances, Snowflake Transparency by Maya Road, Tertiary Sew Easy Baker's Twine by We R Memory Keepers, Kraft Resist Chipboard letters by Tim Holtz, Antique Button Jewels Vintage Trinkets by Maya Road 

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Come join in the fun and create a card using the fun sketch Julia provided above! Once you have completed your project please be certain to link directly to that project using the InLinkz tool provided at the end of this post. You have until 11:59pm Pacific Time Wednesday, November 30th to complete your project. All entries for this challenge will be included in a random drawing for the special prize package shown above.

Very Vintage Christmas by Julia Stainton

I'm not sure if it is all the new and fabulous Christmas product in the Ellen Hutson LLC store or whether is was Julie Ebersole's stunning Holiday card found here on the CLASSroom earlier this week, but I've been so inspired to create for Christmas! If you're feeling the same way, why not join me today for a tutorial on creating some sweet and vintage Christmas ornaments. If you're not quite there yet, that's OK, file the idea away for closer to the holidays.

One of my very favorite styles to design in is vintage. For me, vintage and Christmas just go hand in hand. I love creating holiday cards but I really thought it would be fun to create some vintage-style Christmas tree balls that I could pull out and use each year.

First I started off with a clear glass ball I picked up in my travels. If you have small children in the house, you can even do these with plastic or paper mache balls and get the very same look...just a little more child-friendly. Can you tell I've had more than my share of children who LOVE redecorating the tree? It's not always pretty.

The Claudine Hellmuth Studio Gloss Multi-Medium is an all-round great product. It's perfect for decoupage and adhering things as well as so many other uses.I've just brushed it onto the glass ornament and then laid on torn pieces of tissue paper and then smoothed it out with more Multi-Medium and my paint brush. To easily hold onto the ball but keep my hands clean, I just placed my finger down the neck of the ball.

Once it's all smooth and well-adhered, I applied another generous layer of Multi-Medium and then sprinkled it with some Krystallos Vintage Glass Glitter. It's absolutely stunning looking glitter! Allow to dry before moving the glass ball.

One thing you may want to notice is the Non-Stick Craft Sheet I am working on. It's perfect for messy projects using liquids such as glue, paint or mists. It just wipes clean and totally protects my work surface.

The ornaments are simply beautiful on their own but it's always fun to add a sweet tag. It makes it easy to give these away as a gift. I've created my own little tags using the Sizzix Tiny Tabs and Tags die. I always love cutting a bunch of these from different cardstocks while I have my die out and storing these sweet tags to have on hand. It's so much easier and quicker that way.

Each tag was inked and then embellished. I've tied on some silk ribbon and some beautiful Maya Road Dangling Chandelier Beads.

On the other ornament tag, I decided to stamp some beautiful Christmas images from the Graphic 45 Christmas Emporium Stamp Set 3.

And here's a final closeup. Anyone in the mood for some Christmas crafting?

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

 

Supplies: glass Christmas ornaments, Paris Collage Tissue paper by 7 Gypsies, Claudine Hellmuth Gloss Multi-Medium, Claudine Hellmuth Studio Artist Brushes, Krystallos Vintage Glass Glitter, 1/4" white silk ribbon, Tiny Tabs & Tags Die by Sizzix, Non-Stick Craft Sheet by Ranger, Dangling Chandelier Trinket Beads by Maya Road, Wood Vintage Snowflakes by Maya Road, twine, Jet Black Archival Ink by Ranger, Christmas Emporium Stamp Set 3 by Graphic 45, Vermillion Archival Ink by Ranger, Snowcap White Pigment Ink by Ranger

WCMD 2011 - Sketch Challenge Julia Stainton (EHWCMD4)

Welcome to World Cardmaking Day fun at the CLASSroom! I'm excited to be bringing you a sketch challenge to get you creating today. Everyone loves a sketch challenge, right? I love creating sketches and I especially love a sketch challenge so I hope you'll join me and have some fun!

Here's the sketch...

 
Feel free to click on the image to enlarge and print it out.

I hope you enjoy this sketch. It's a square card that has many possibilities. I can't wait to see how you interpret it. Please feel free to turn it or flip it to suit your needs.

For my sample card for this sketch, I decided to put together a few of my favorite things. I love stamping with white ink on Kraft cardstock. It's such a classic and subtle look and isn't the Hero Arts Lace Background stamp stunning?

I was originally thinking patterned paper for the squares when I designed the sketch but decided to use squares of Printed Canvas to add texture to the design. The Ultimate Glue works really well for adhering this canvas to the card design.

To add in the circle to my design, I've traced a punched circle in pencil onto my card and then stitched over it. You can also try hand-stitching for this sketch detail or use your imagination.

To add color to my design, Glimmer Mist is perfect for altering flower embellishments. I love being able to customize them to each project.

The sentiment on this card uses both chipboard letters and stamping. I only wanted part of the sentiment (the word friend) and so I very carefully just inked up the one word and stamped it onto the canvas. To get a perfectly crisp impression when stamping on canvas and other fabrics, try using the Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink. I find it works the best of any ink I've tried for this.

Supplies: Kraft Layering Cardstock by Hero Arts,  Lace Background Stamp by Hero Arts, Thank You for Being My Friend stamp set by Hero Arts,  Printed Canvas by Prima Marketing, Caribbean Blue Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels, Twine by Jillibean Soup, Snowcap Adirondack Pigment Ink by Ranger, Wedding Shoes Innoscence Flower by Prima, sewing machine, Jet Black Archival ink by Ranger, Leaf Trinket Pins by Maya Road, Alterable Ledger Alphas by Jenni Bowlin

Thanks for joining me today in the CLASSroom and happy World Cardmaking Day!

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SKETCH CHALLENGE

Come join in the fun and create a card using the fabulous sketch Julia provided above!

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

We know you use fun supplies when creating, BUT we want to hear what is the most unusual found object (repurposed object) you have incorporated in to a paper crafting project. Please leave your answer to this question and some love for Julia in the comment section on this post for a chance to win the delicious goodies shown below.

 

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

Canvas Purse by Sharon Harnist

You may remember this Canvas Wristlet I created a few months ago for my oldest (11 year old) daughter, which she loved!  But since I have two daughters, you know what happened ... yes, my 9-year old wanted to know where hers was!  So I found a different Canvas Alterable Wallet Ellen carries that I thought would work well for a little girl's clutch and it did!

Here's what the wallet looked like before altering:

It measures roughly 5.50" x 3.75".  I chose two coordinating colors of pretty pom-pom trim and attached one color to the front flap of the wallet (tangerine), and the other color to the inside of the flap (cherry pink), using Fabri-Tac Permanent Adhesive:

Since my girls love ANY kind of animal, she chose this sweet canvas/embroidered bird set to decorate her purse (you get both of birds in the package) -- I liked the denim color:

I used the Fabri-Tac again, to adhere the blue fabric bird to the front of the wallet.  The wings are detached, so you can choose to include them on your project or not, or perhaps mix and/or match or color the plain canvas wing a contrasting or coordinating color.  I opted for the coordinating fabric wing.

The canvas flower also comes detached from the wallet, so you can choose to use it or not on your wallet AND to make it easier to alter the front and then place the flower over the snap clasp.  I placed it a little off center, to give the bird a place to rest.

The inside of the wallet is just that -- two separate slots that would traditionally be used to hold credit cards and/or money, with an additional larger "pocket" to hold a little larger items (a lipstick or mirror, perhaps, or little girl trinkets!), along with a small zippered interior pocket:

 

To decorate the back of the wallet, I used one of the flocked butterflies I had left over from these canvas back-to-school tags I created.  It irons on quickly ... it took me longer to locate the iron and ironing board and get them all set up!

And best of all, the interior slots will also hold an iPod Touch, with plenty of room for earphones inside:

The detachable strap can also be used to clip this little wallet onto a belt loop or backpack ... for the girl on the go!  This is another fun, quick & easy project that your child can help you make -- I hope you'll try it and share your results!  ~ Sharon

Maya Road Canvas Alterable Wallet, 
Prima Canvas & Embroidered Birds, Cherry and Tangerine Pom-Pom Trim, Iron On Flocked Butterfly,
Beacon Adhesives Fabri-Tac Permanent Adhesive, 

Custom Lace by Julia Stainton

Creating with the focus on embellishments is one of my very favorite ways to papercraft. I love the texture and arranging them on the project and especially, finding creative ways to use them.

Today's project uses the beautiful Basic Grey Out of Print Lace Stickers which are stunning on their own. I decided to have a little fun playing with them and adding color to one of the stickers for a very unique look.

To start off with, I simply cut the sticker with the backing away from the rest of the package. The backing makes a great work surface and allows me to play around with the design arrangement before commiting to my final design.

To add in color, I turned to some of my favorite Copic Marker hues. Coloring lace is so easy. While leaving it on the backing, simply dab on color in the areas you wish to highlight. Using the brush end slowly build up the color by allowing the ink to soak into the lace until you get a look you are happy with.

 

Here's a detailed look at the lace and the card.

I love using tickets to anchor a design and this fun ticket is cut from a 12x12 patterned paper from Memory Box.

Supplies:

Solar White cardstock by Neenah, Out of Print Lace Stickers by Basic Grey, R83 Rose Mist, R85 Rose Red, BV01 Viola, BG11 Moon White and YR09 Chrome Orange Copic Markers, Fancy Floss Baker's Twine by We R Memory Keepers, Cling Daisy Label Stamp Set and Woodgrain Pattern Background Stamp by Hero Arts, Jet Black Archival Ink and Milled Lavender Distress Ink by Ranger, Valise Ticket's Please Cardstock by Memory Box, Green Leaf  Trinket Pin by Maya Road, Tiny Attacher by Advantus, Hello Luscious Stitched Brad by Basic Grey

Thanks for stopping by and happy creating!

Summer Bliss Card by Julia Stainton

The beautiful warm and lazy days of summer are here. For some that means more crafting time but for others like me, that can mean less. The kids are home and the lake is calling. I still want to find time to create. I still want the cards to be "me".

A great way to create cards and projects in the busy summer is to start with premade embellishments. Ellen carries a phenomenal selection and today I was drawn to create with some gorgeous Melissa Frances chipboard pieces. I could have created this card without the distressing and altering additions and it would have been perfectly beautiful and easy, just the way it was.

If you're like me though, you like to personalize things and truly make them your own. You like to get a little inky and play around with products that can quickly add dimension and alter a piece.

Here's a few things I did to step this card up just a little and still be able to put it together quickly.

1. Stamping: The large background chipboard piece is quickly stamped with a ledger stamp to anchor my cluster area and just add a little extra something.

In the above photo you can see the stamping and also take a peek at how the other embellishments looked before they were altered.

2. Ink: The quickest and easiest way to alter something is to brush or sponge it with ink. I've used white craft ink on this sweet little chipboard butterfly.

3. Crackling: I love a cracked glass finish. The garden lady chipboard piece was covered with Ranger Glossy Accents. Ranger's Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint would also work perfectly for this.

I admit to being a little impatient on this step for it to dry and used a heat gun to speed things up. If you allow it to dry naturally you will get MUCH better crackling on your item.

4.Stickles: Adding Stickles from Ranger is a great way to add a quick dab of shimmer and shine. I've used Rock Candy Distress Stickles to alter this white flower and add some very subtle texture. I love the Distress Stickles line when designing in a vintage style as the look is much more in keeping with the style.

Supplies: Cream Cardstock by Neenah, twine, 5th Avenue Chipboard Accents by Melissa Frances, Trendsetter/Ladies & Gents Petite Papers by Webster's Pages, Glossy Accents by Ranger, Rock Candy Distress Stickles by Ranger, White Pigment Ink, Mini Kraft Tickets by Maya Road, Leaf Trinket Pins by Maya Road, Doilies Designer Threads by Webster's Pages, Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink by Ranger, Sepia Archival Ink by Ranger, Cream Ribbon Lace by Hero Arts, Wedding Shoes Flower by Prima, Receipt Stamp by Jenni Bowlin, Chipboard Butterflies by Magenta, Tiny Attacher by Tim Holtz

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

Canvas Fun by Sharon Harnist

 

Canvas is a hot current trend and Ellen carries a HUGE selection of almost any kind of canvas item you'd like to try out . . . from pre-printed or blank canvas tags, to albums and 3-D items, purses or camera bags, even canvas laminated chipboard!  I decided to try out this Maya Road Alterable Canvas Wristlet (measuring approximately 3.5" x 4.5"), because I thought it would be the perfect size for my daughter's iPod Touch (or even a cell phone) and I was right ... it fit perfectly!

To dress it up, I chose these fun, bright and cheerful Prima Canvas Embroidered Fabric Flowers:

The bonus here is that not only do you get the printed fabric flower in the package, but also a plain canvas flower to use on another project (and there will be more from me, I'm sure!).

Upon examining the structure of these flowers, I discovered the petals of the printed fabric flower (but not the canvas flower) were all stitched separately, and then glued together well to form the flower.  I gave two of the petals a firm tug to take them off, so that three of the petals, center and stem would all fit on the back of the wristlet:

I used Fabri-Tac Permanent Adhesive to secure the flower to the back of the wristlet, wrapped the stem around to the front of the wristlet, and then finished off the front with one of the two remaining petals.  My experience with Fabri-Tac is that it holds extremely well, but you could also hand stitch the petals into place, if you wish.  The wristlet can even be clipped to jeans or shorts belt loop or a backpack, ready to hold the iPod or phone, complete with earphones!  There is also a pocket on the front, to hold money, credit card, etc.  I also like that with this whole project being made of canvas and fabric, it's totally washable!

Hummm . . . Mom just might have to borrow this wristlet for her own iPhone or iPod for her walks or bicycle rides!  What a great gift this would make for any pre-teen or teen . . . they could even make this project themselves!  ~ Sharon

 
Maya Road Alterable Canvas Wristlet (3.5" x 4.5"),
Prima Canvas Embroidered Fabric Flowers,
Beacon Adhesives Fabri-Tac Permanent Adhesive,