the CLASSroom

Love is in the Air by Sharon Harnist

Since Valentine's Day is next week and I needed another Valentine card, I thought I would dedicate today's project to a few of my most loved papercrafting supplies and tools!  Here they are, in no particular favorite order (I tried to limit it to 10 but failed!):

 1. Hero Arts Stamps: Year Round Sentiments ClearDesign
 2. Washi Tape: Lifestyle Crafts Shape 'N Tape (Gray)
 3. Dies: MFT Die-namics Fishtail Flags & Sizzix Framelits Hearts 
 4. Copic Markers: R85 
 5. Memento Inks: Gray Flannel  
 6. Doilies: Sizzix Tim Holtz On The Edge Distressed Doily Die
 7. Neenah Natural White Cardstock: for soft ivory card base
 8. Pink hues of cardstock: Memory Box Bubblegum and Raspberry, 
 9. Buttons 
10. Copic Foam Tape - 1/4"
11. Corner Chomper 
12. Glue Dots: Craft and Mini 
13. Sewing 

And here's the card I came up with (click on any photo for a larger view):

Another favorite of mine -- horizontal cards. Do you have an orientation preference for cards?  Mine has always been horizontal! I started with my favorite ivory cardstock (Neenah Natural White) for a base, rounded the bottom corners with the Corner Chomper, then die cut the doily out of the same. This is an edger die (meaning only half of a doily), so I die cut two of them, which gives the oval shape that fits perfectly on a card front!

Next, I die cut Gray Shape 'N Tape with MFT Fishtail Flags and custom colored the tape to match the rest of my card with one of my favorite Copic marker colors, R85:

The tape covers the seam of the doily halves. Next, I die cut two colors of my favorite pink and raspberry Memory Box cardstock four times with the heart die and machine stitched them down the center. Then I folded the sides of the heart up and separated the layers with 1/4-inch Copic Foam Tape, to give the heart dimension. The heart is secured to the card with Craft Glue Dots:

My newest favorite Memento dye ink pad color, Gray Flannel, was used to stamp this darling Hero Arts XOXO sentiment. I used ivory embroidery floss to string and tie the buttons together, then secured them to the card with Mini Glue Dots.

I hope you have some fun this weekend with some of your favorite papercrafting products, too . . . Happy Valentine's Day!

~ Sharon

{Supplies}

A1 Cardstock, Neenah Classic Crest Natural White, 25 pack	Sizzix Tim Holtz On The Edge Die, Distressed Doily	My Favorite Things Die-namics Stax, Fishtail Flags	Shape 'N Tape, Gray
Copic Sketch Marker, R85	Sizzix Framelit Dies, Hearts	Memory Box Cardstock, Bubblegum	Memory Box Cardstock, Raspberry
Hero Arts ClearDesign, Year Round Sentiments	Memento Ink Pad, Gray Flannel	Hero Arts Buttons, Mixed Blush	High Tack Double-Sided Foam Mounting Tape, 1/4"
Glue Dots Sheets, Craft	Glue Dots, Mini (3/16")	Crop-a-Dile Corner Chomper Tool

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Paper Piecing Backgrounds by Julia Stainton

Paper piecing. It's one of those timeless techniques that is fun to do with line art images. But did you know that you can paper piece background stamps?

There are so many great collage style background stamps on the market these days. Hero Arts makes a lot of beautiful ones and they are perfect for stamping simply. With color blocking being so in style these days, it's also fun to paper piece them for a unique look.

Today my card design is just in time for Valentine's Day and uses a paper pieced background technique. Stay with me. I'll show you how easy it is to do.

I like to take three coordinating colors of cardstock to create my collage. I find that a white, a cream and a kraft cardstock work really well for a subtle effect. Stamp the same background image onto each of the cardstock pieces in the same ink. Here I've used Sepia Archival Ink.

Cut our your images and decide which of the colors will be your base. I chose Kraft for the base and then cut up the image in both the white and cream stamped images into the areas that were naturally broken up in the original design. When you do this, try and plan ahead so that you vary and balance the cardstock colors. Sponge the edges with some distress ink and adhere your layers over the kraft stamped image.

Add more detail as you go along. I've also paper pieced a heart image from another stamp set as it seemed to go along with the design and style perfectly.

Once your background is finished, you can adhere it to a cardstock base. I then planned out how I wanted my design to be laid out. Move the elements around your design until you get the placement as you want it.

By using a the word heart on the key embellishment, I could incorporate it right into my sentiment for a fun detail.

I liked the Memo Printed Letters but found they faded into the background too much. They needed to stand out more so I turned to my Copic Markers to alter them by simply coloring them before adding them to the design.

Lastly I colored in the wood on the Wood Bingo Motif piece to coordinate the design.

I hope you have fun trying out this twist on an old stamping technique! Thanks for joining me in the CLASSroom!

Supplies:

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Chalkboard Technique by Sharon Harnist

Hello All -- and Happy New Year to you, since this is my first CLASSroom project for 2013! Today I wanted to share with you the fun chalkboard technique I've been playing with lately:

When I started this project, I wished I had a larger die to use (that would fill an A2 card front) and remembered another fun technique I wanted to share today, how to expand the size of your dies!  So let's get started . . .

1. Start by cutting a piece of black cardstock to the width of the die you want to use but longer than you want the finished size, to give you a little wiggle room.

2. With the cutting edge of the die facing down (I'm using Fancy Labels Sizzix Framelits Die), slip one end of the cardstock into the center of your die (feeding it from the top of the die), down under the cutting edge and position it straight. The other end of your cardstock will be on top of your die and won't be cut. (I'm just showing the next smaller size of this die set in the photo above, so you can see the shape of it). Run through your die cutting machine with normal sandwich.

3. Slide the die down to the other end of your cardstock (the right end in the photo above), to the length you want your final die cut, and run through your die cutting machine again. I lengthened my die cut by a little over an inch!

4. Stamp your images with Versamark ink and emboss with white embossing powder. I used My Favorite Things' Pure Innocence Angel stamp set:

TIP: Lay your stamps face down on your die cut, so you can position the images before stamping. Then place your acrylic block on top of the stamps to "pick them up", ink them, then stamp all at once, for perfect placement!

5. Add more details and continue building your scene with other stamps, using Hero Arts Snow Chalk Ink pad. I used some swirly elements from Hero Arts ClearDesign set, Cheer Up. The white embossed images are crisper and whiter, while the images stamped with white ink are softer and a little duller, adding variety to your project.

6. You can also add some hand-drawn details with a white pencil. I added a rectangle around the sentiment and some extra lines on the sides of my swirls.

7. When you are finished with your scene, go back and stamp the first white embossed images with the white ink, shifting the stamps slightly so they create a shadow effect. This helps make your images truly look "chalky" (photo above)!

8. To finish, add some "chalk smudges" with your finger -- tap it onto your white ink pad and smudge here and there, for a realistic effect. I  created a "cloud" for my angel to stand on and went around all the edges of my chalkboard, too:

I finished my card by mounting my black chalkboard piece with Copic Foam Tape to a card base of Hero Arts Mixed Layer Papers-Blush. Flower accent was cut with Tim's Tattered Florals Bigz die from red WoolFelt, sewn with a Hero Arts Blush Mixed Button. I thought this color combo would work well for Valentine for one of my daughters!

I hope you have fun with these two techniques ... thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom today!  ~ Sharon

{Supplies}

Cardstock, Black, 10 pack	Sizzix Framelits, Fancy Labels	Clear Acrylic Block, 5x7	MFT Pure Innocence Clear Stamp, Angel
VersaMark Inkpad	White Embossing Powder	Heat It Craft Tool	Hero Arts Chalk Ink Pad, Snow
Hero Arts ClearDesign Stamp Set, Cheer Up	Faber-Castell Pastel Pencil, White	High Tack Double-Sided Foam Mounting Tape, 1/2"	Sizzix Tim Holtz Bigz Die, Tattered Florals
WoolFelt, 12"x18" Red	Hero Arts Buttons, Mixed Blush

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Hello, Monday 01.07.2013

(click on the pic to en-biggan)

I am an absolute sucker for things postal related--it was love at first sight with this 3D Mailbox Die!

Had to use the Galvanized card stock because I think it makes it look just like the real deal in miniature!  EEP!!! Can't take it!!! 

Along with some chocolates, I also made a sweet and quick little note to tuck inside, complete with Washi tape using the new Shape & Tape!  It's just like Washi Tape only in sheet format! You can die cut it, cut it with your scissors, punch it, trim it with your paper trimmer--they even have a "Tape It" set of dies designed especially for working with the Shape & Tape! It comes in a variety of colors and patterns but you can also custom tint it, like I show in today's video! WOOT!!!

I have a few little tips in the video for assembling the mailbox, once you've die cut all the pieces--nothing jaw-dropping, but just "nice to know", if ya' know what I mean. *grin*

Enjoy the video here, or in HD on YouTube! And, don't forget to subscribe to our channel!

Thanks for joining me today and I sure hope your Mundane is a happy one! *wink*

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SUPPLIES & MATERIALS FEATURED:

 

Technique Tuesday Clear Stamps, Love Always Wins by Ali Edwards	NEW Archival Ink Pad, Vermillion	Paper Accents Glassine Envelopes, 1.75 x 2.75	A Cardstock, Essentials by Ellen: White Linen #100 Cardstock, 25 Pack
COPIC Sketch Marker R29, Lipstick Red	Shape 'N Tape, Black	Lifestyle Crafts Dies, Mailbox	Curious Metallic, Galvanized Cardstock
Magnetic Snaps, Small	American Crafts Elements, Mini Brads, Black	Tweezers, Stainless	Ruler, Tim Holtz Design
Craft Knife, Fingertip	Be Creative (Sookwang) Tape, 5mm (1/4")	Sizzix Big Shot Machine, Black & Pink	Sizzix, Cutting Pad, Extended
Sizzix, Solo Platform & Shim

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Hello Monday 12.31.2012

(click on the pic to enbiggan)

Some beautiful watercolor images recently inspired me to pull out my watercolor tools/supplies and mess around in the studio. Mind you, I don't watercolor the traditional way... This is the Julie-Ebersole-slop-the-paint-around-and-leave-some-white-space-here-and-there technique. How's that for a mouthful?! *chuckle*

You can use watercolor paper for this, but I have a fondness for this paper HERE because it actually has a smooth (but toothy) surface and you get nicely crisp and even impressions when you stamp on it. SWEET!!!  It also accepts colored pencils and other dry coloring mediums beautifully, because of that toothy, but not lumpy/bumpy surface! It's also a nice 100# weight--so *plush*!!!

Also lovin' the Stickles Dry Glitters--this stuff has an incredibly fabulous sparkle!!! *monkey clapping*

Enjoy the video here or in HD on YouTube!

Thanks for joining me today!

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SUPPLIES & MATERIALS:

Technique Tuesday Clear Stamps, Loving Words by Ali Edwards	Studio Calico, Mister Huey's Color Mist, Pretty Pink	Studio Calico Mister Huey's Color Mist, Boss Lady	Studio Calico Mister Huey's Color Mist, Custard
Studio Calico Mister Huey's Color Mist, Sherbet	Studio Calico, Mister Huey's Color Mist, Leaf Green	NEW Archival Ink Pad, Jet Black	Essentials by Ellen, Julie's Smooth Bristol, 10pc- 8.0 x 11
Studio Calico Mister Huey's Droppers	2 Way Glue, Chisel Tip	3D-Dots, 1/8" Thick	Stickles Dry Fine Glitter, Diamond
Stickles Dry Fine Glitter, Silver	Plastic Paint Palette	Tim Holtz Water Brush, Broad Brush Nib	Tim Holtz Water Brush, Detailer Brush Nib
Waterbrush, Small	Be Creative (Sookwang) Tape, 3mm (1/8")	Mini Clothespins, Natural, 25pk	American Crafts Elements, Mini Brads, Silver
String by the Spool, Metallic Silver	Lifestyle Crafts Dies, Nesting Hearts	Lifestyle Crafts Dies, Nesting Squares	Crop-A-Dile Power Punch, 1/16"
Martha Stewart Scoring Board, Mini

InLinkz.com

Memory Box Valentine by Sharon Harnist

Since Valentine's Day is right around the corner, I thought I'd better get busy making some cards for the holiday of love!  Here's a sweet one, using some of my favorite new products!

Sorry for the kind of strange lighting in the photo above, but by turning down some of my studio lights and using only one from the side, I was able to better capture the gorgeous white embossed card base!  When Ellen first introduced her new Essentials by Ellen Letterpress 110 lb White Cardstock, I couldn't wait to try it!  Just look how crisp this pretty Lifestyle Crafts Floral Embossing Folder turned out:

If you click on the photo above for a larger view, you should be able to see the pretty original cotton texture on the right side of the cardstock and then what happens when it is embossed on the left side of the photo -- The cotton fibers in the paper are compressed and the texture becomes a little smoother.  I hope this comes over in the photo, because it is SOOOO gorgeous in real life!

This was the first time I had used some of Memory Box's fabulously delicate cut-out dies and boy, was I impressed!  They cut so cleanly and just look at those beautiful delicate scrolls (and see -- the embossed background isn't as noticeable in my full studio lighting, unfortunately)!

I used the La Rue Heart die, cut from a Memory Box Currant Notecard; and Pepita Border die, cut from Memory Box Meadow Cardstock.  To attach these intriquet die cuts, I used Mini Glue Dots where I could, and then Zig's 2-Way Squeeze & Roll Glue Pen on the tiny cut outs:

Then I wanted an additional "light and airy" embellishment to complete my card, so I started playing around with some of Ellen's Assorted Doilies and came up with this doily flower.  Here's how to make it:

1 - Fold a 4-inch doily almost (just a little less) in half, right side over to the left:

2 - Next, fold the doily in half again, up from the bottom:

3 - Then (I forgot to photograph this) -- using Tim Holtz's Tiny Attacher, staple down inside the folds, over on the lower right side (by grasping the inside folds of the doily with your left hand):

3 - Then fold up the pointed underside of the doily.  This will give the flower a "base" to sit on and make it a little shorter and flatter:

4 - Finally, turn down the outer "petals" and fluff the inner petals into a shape you like:

I used Craft Glue Dots to attach the doily flower to the card and placed a large pearl brad (from my stash) in the center.  You could use a button or large gemstone, too.

I hope this gives you some last minute Valentine ideas, too!  ~ Sharon

Paper: Essentials by Ellen Letterpress 110 lb White Cardstock and Assorted Doilies; Memory Box Currant & Meadow Notecards & Envelopes (or coordinating Memory Box Cardstock colors)
Memory Box Dies: La Rue Heart & Pepita Border dies
Accessories: Lifestyle Crafts Floral Embossing Folders; Advantus Tim Holtz's Tiny Attacher; Craft Glue Dots & Mini Glue Dots; Zig 2-Way Squeeze & Roll Glue Pen; 

Lemon Drop Love

When we first received in these fun little alphabet dies I fell in love with the project pictured with the Lemon Drop die, where the word "hi" is accentuated. I realized that the letter placement of this fabulous little alphabet from Lifestyle Crafts would make a very cute Valentine as well and if you leave off the heart it would make a cute little thank you (I owe you - or I O U) for a favor received.

There are a ton of different ways to highlight the letters in this alphabet "background." I love sparkle and so I opted to use glitter to create the focal sentiment, but you could also pop out all the letters and highlight certain ones by placing different colored cardstock behind the letter or color in different letters with your markers, or cut out different colored cardstock with the die and pop out the white ones inserting the colored ones. SO MANY options - I love it!

Run the alphabet die through your die cut machine being very careful to keep it on a firm, flat surface when moving it. Then using tweezers remove the letters you want to highlight.

Apply Be Creative (Sookwang) tape to the back side of your letter sheet as shown above.

Apply a piece of Be Creative Tape to the back side of another piece of Neenah Cardstock and cut out the letters you would like to highlight. Remove the tape backing, apply glitter and burnish (or gently rub) the glitter into the surface of the tape. Insert the letters in your large letter background.

Apply glitter strips using Be Creative Tape in the 1/4" width.

Place a Hero Arts pearl heart in the center of the O. Highlighting the O with silver glitter allowed me to frame the sweet little heart to draw more attention to it. Once again a very simple, sweet design for the Valentine in your life.

Tip: This particular alphabet is scaled beautifully for creating sentiments on your card fronts with the die cut letters and Ann, one of the lovely ladies here at work pointed out that the quotation marks would make fabulous little molars for a tooth fairy card or page! So fun!!!

Thank you for joining me here again in the CLASSroom - have a fabulous weekend!

paper: Galvanized Curious Metallic Cardstock, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White

accessories: Lifestyle Crafts Lemon Drop Alphabet, Glitter Ritz - Fire Red and Silver, Be Creative (Sookwang) Tape 4 1/2" and 1/4", Hero Arts Pearl Heart

Impressed?

Have you tried our Letterpress paper? Do you like it? Inquiring minds would love to know - ha, ha!

It is simple, quick, easy and cute! So many ideas are constantly flying through my head and yet I have not had the time to get into my studio to share them with you. Even though these ideas can be completed in a short spurt (at least if you go with your original idea ;-D --- more to come on that in a later post, because this idea created another, and then another, and...) life has been racing along at speeds unknown and so today I just took a moment (or two - ha, ha) to create a couple of designs to share with you.

Letterpress doesn't always need ink and I think this simple little number is over-the-top sweet just the way it is!

Begin by cutting out three heart chains from Art Magnetic Masking Material. I used Tissue Tape to attach them to my cutting plate so that they would not move. I then positioned my guide and attached it to the underside of the cutting plate with a piece of tissue tape. This guide ensures that I will position my letterpress paper in just the right spot - I need to create one with black lines so that it is easier for you to see in my pictures.

For a complete refresher on how to create your sandwich when creating Letterpress looks with Art Magnetic Masking Material please review this post.

Then cut out three hearts using the Heart Chain die. Use a pencil to define the second heart edge on the back side and snip it with your detail scissors to create this cute little pair.

Awww - a feeling of satisfaction - idea shared :-D

paper: Essentials by Ellen: Letterpress Cardstock; Memory Box Holly Berry

accessories: Memory Box Heart Chain Die, Essentials by Ellen: Art Magnetic Masking Material

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,
 

Love is in the Air #4 - Shabby Dabbers and See Through Transfers

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!!! Today is the last day of my little Love is in the Air Tag Technique mini-series. My hope is that once again you are simply inspired to just create and try new things - tags are such an easy format in which to do this!

With this thought I am going to challenge you - using any technique from this series or our 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist (just click on the following links to see your choices and find directions for the different technique options) you have one week to create a tag using one of these techniques and share it in the Gallery. Please be certain to contact us at customerservice@ellenhutson.com if you have any questions or are having trouble uploading your project!

ETA: As noted in the Gallery you have until Midnight Pacific Time on Sunday, February 21st 2011 to join in our challenge.

Following are a list of techniques to select from:

1. Shabby Dabbers - directions included in this post
2. See Through Transfers - directions included in this post
3. Copic Stained Glitter
4. Nostalgic Blended Batik
5. Shimmer Sheetz Texture
6. Colorwashed Craft-a-Board
7. Studio Paints and Transparencies
8. Studio Line "Decoupage"
9. Shabby Grungeboard
10. Studio Line Stamped Texture
11. Copic Airbrushed Graffiti
12. Alcohol Ink Holograms
13. Bigz and or Movers and Shapers Die Foam Stamps (create your own stamp)
14. Transparency Accents
15. Hot Glue Embellishments
16. Pattern Play (use a tissue paper pattern or pattern directions in your creation)
17. Magnetic Masks or Stencils
18. Sticky Back Canvas Flowers
19. Inky Texture Folders
20. Enameled Metal Embellishments
21. Dabber Resist
22. Metallic Dabber and Alcohol Ink Magic
23. Glossy Accents and Stickle Glue for Clear Embellishments
24. Clear Embossed Resist
25. Tissue Tape and Alcohol Ink
26. Create your own Custom Felt Stamp Pad

We will be selecting a random winner from all those who participate - that winner will receive a $50 certificate to shop in our store!

Tag #4... how does time pass so quickly?!? I have wanted to play with the Graphic 45 Once Upon a Springtime collection since it arrived and even though it is filled with flowers and fairies I felt that it was so very Valentiney (is that even a word?) in feel and knew that one of my tags was going to incorporate it. 

To begin I cut a grungeboard heart using the Heart Wingz die. I love how this heart is lopsided! Now if you don't like an assymetrical look you can cut out the coordinating "scrollwork" heart and flip it, layering it to make a symetrical heart! I should have taken a picture to share this concept and if I get time I'll come back in and show you, but because I am working from home on a Sunday evening I don't have all my tools - bummer. 

 

Place your grungeboard element in a texture folder and run it through your machine. I am loving my new Vagabond - all I have to do is push a button! SO easy! It really is a very strong machine - Erica and Julia here at work have their own little story. They actually embedded a die in the cutting plate due to an incorrect sandwich --- now that's power! bwahaha!

Paint the entire surface of the embellishment with a light colored paint dabber and allow to fully dry.

Once completely dry, sand the surface - this will remove most of the paint from that top raised layer. Then use an ink blending tool and Distress ink to add color to the sanded surface. Result... instant shabby delight!

 

This next technique was a bit of an experiment. I have created transfers now on numerous occasions by using my Multi-medium to affix inkjet prints or patterned paper to transparencies, but I have never tried mixing it with color before.

I place a very small amount of Studio Line paint on my non-stick craft sheet and mixed it together with a generous amount of Glossy Multi-medium.
 

Paint this mixture onto your plastic or acetate sheet. As you can see I started with clear glossy multi-medium at one end and the special mix with paint on the other end. Yes, the scientist in me had to experiment - ha! ha!

Place a piece of decorative paper on top of this mixture and brayer or rub in place. This next step is critical - you MUST allow it to dry completely! Don't be tempted to start the next step until it is completely dry.

 

Once it is completely dry you will then soak the patterned paper and peel off the top layer.

 

Then gently use the flat portion of your finger to rub the remaining fibers from the surface. Work slowly and carefully so that the transferred image remains in place. If you rub too hard you will remove the transfer.

You may need to wet your surface from time to time with a mini mister to keep the fibers moist and workable. Continue working until you feel the fibers are gone.

To get rid of the last little fuzzy bits, simply apply additional multi-medium to the surface.
 

For the next step I attached the decorative paper, text side up to a Craft-a-board tag and allowed it to dry.

I then used glossy multi-medium to affix my transparency to my tag. As you can see the text shows through the transparency completely in the areas where I used only multi-medium. In the areas where I had mixed Studio Paint and Gloss Multi-medium the transparency has a slight opacity to it, but you can still see through it. I love this combination - it makes for a very interesting final look.

 

Fussy cut out a fairy and add Rock Candy stickles to her wings.
 

Add embellishments and ribbon - keys, pearls, whimsy flowers - such pretty little pieces! I have to admit that I have found a new glue that I am REALLY like for attaching my ribbon. It is Beacon's Fabritac. It is a little stringy, but it dries so quickly and I am able to use it easily each time without having to unclog my bottle tip - HUGE yeah for that :-D
 

ink: Distress Ink - Tea Dye and Walnut Stain

paper: Graphic 45 Once Upon a Springtime Frames and Primrose Cottage, Craft-a-Board

accessories: Shell Pink Dabber, Grungeboard, Rock Candy Stickles, Baubles, Prima Flower, Printable Transparency, Studio Line Gloss Multi-Medium and Painterly Pink Paint, Antique Brass Key, Antique Brass Reinforcer, Silk Ribbon - Mauve and Olive

Love is in the Air #3 - Copic Stained Glitter Hero Heart

Today's tag takes yet another totally different twist! What is more perfect than a VERY glittery heart for Valentine's day? I have been wanting to try this for some time now and I can hardly wait to share this idea with you, so here goes...

 

You all know how much I love my Copic markers - LOL! This particular technique has been brewing in my head, but hadn't been realized on paper and so I am excited to share it with you today.

This is a perfectly girly project --- I hope you enjoy it :-D

Begin by applying Be Creative (Sookwang) tape to Neenah Solar White cardstock. Remove the lining from the tape and cover the entire sticky surface with warm highlights glitter. Use your finger to burnish the glitter into the surface of the adhesive. As you burnish, the glitter becomes firmly embedded, and it will not come off onto your marker when you color --- so be certain to firmly burnish the entire surface!

 

Because I wanted my stamped image to have a slightly raised, glossy embossed surface I removed the stickiness and static from my surface with the Puff Static Away before proceeding.

This next step is one that I had to try several different inks before determining the best way to stamp my image on to the glittery surface. I tried a wide range of ink pads with lack-lustre success before deciding to try the Studio Line of paints. I placed a small dollop of black paint on my non-stick craft sheet and then used my ink blending tool as an applicator. Simply dab the foam surface on the ink blending tool into your paint until the foam is completely covered. Transfer the paint to your stamp by simply dabbing on the stamp image surface.

While the paint is still wet immediately cover the image with clear embossing powder. Heat until the powder melts and becomes shiny and clear. The awesome thing about the Be Creative tape is that heat does NOT affect it - yeah!!!

 

Begin by coloring with your lightest Copic colors - the result is almost ethereal. When coloring on the glitter I used a VERY light touch, working carefully so that I would not damage the tip of my marker on this slightly rough surface. When burnished well the surface does become incredibly smooth and velvety, so be certain to burnish well before starting.

 

Add deeper colors and come back in over top with your lighter colors to blend. The gemstones add that final special, sparkly touch!

 

Copic colors used: RV00, RV17, BG11, BG15, BV02, BV04, YG00, YG23, 100

 

The next step is to develop the accent strip. Once again I am using a Burnished Velvet masking technique. Begin by punching a design in the Be Creative (Sookwang) tape backing as shown above. Apply a strip of 1/2" tape and remove the backing. Place the mask over the exposed surface and using another piece of backing affix mask as shown below.

 

Apply Warm Highlights glitter and remove excess. Burnish glitter before removing mask.

 

Apply a second mask as shown above - this mask was added to define the letters shown above. I could have cut out each letter and applied them with tweezers, but by doing this in two steps it was SO much easier. Apply Warm Highlights glitter on exposed edge and burnish in place.

 

Remove mask and apply glitter to exposed sticky surface (this will highlight the "x & o"). Remove excess glitter and burnish.

 

Color one pin with Copic marker RV17 - I just love how easy it is to make coordinating embellishments with my Copic markers!

 

So there you have it - one VERY sparkley love tag. This technique almost has the appearance of stained glass, therefore the title "stained glitter."

Tomorrow is the last tag in our mini-series... I can tell you that you WILL want to join us on Valentine's for the last of our Love is in the Air series and you may just want to share your thoughts between now and then ;-D

 
stamps: Hero Arts Cling Hearts and Flowers

ink: Copic Markers - RV00, RV17, BG11, BG15, BV02, BV04, YG00, YG23, 100

paper: Memory Box Taffy CS and Pixie 6x6 Paper Pack, Neenah Solar White CS

accessories: Tim Holtz Tag and Bookplate Die, Be Creative (Sookwang) Tape Sheets and 1/2" (12mm), Warm Highlights and Ice Blue Microfine Glitter Ritz, EK Success Arrow Border Edger Punches, Martha Stewart Hugs and Kisses Edger Punch, Studio Charcoal Black Paint, Ink Blending Tool, Clear Embossing Powder, Adelaide Seam Binding, Heart Trinket Pin

Love is in the Air #2 - Lille goes to Paris with a Nostalgic Blended Batik Technique

Today's tag takes a completely different twist from yesterday. I love this about this art form - yesterday was more glam and glitz, whereas today it's more about the vintagey goodness you can create!

I don't know if you remember when I posted my excitement over the new Lille line from 7 Gypsies and how I felt that it would be an awesome fit with Valentine's Day. If you don't have the time to create for Valentine's Day you could always just make a romantic card or tag for your special someone for an anniversary or just because as well.

 

Wouldn't it be SO much fun to head off to Paris for a romantic adventure?!? If not for real than perhaps it would be just the "ticket" to find a French Restaurant to rendezvous at OR you could create your own special dinner event in the coziness of your own home!

 

The technique I am sharing today is called Distress Ink Nostalgic Blended Batik. To begin I stamped Tim's Valentines ticket from Odds and Ends using Distress Embossing Ink multiple times on Manila cardstock. Apply clear embossing powder and heat set. Be certain to heat until the powders melt and become shiny and clear.

 

Then using an ink blending tools, ink over the entire set of images including the embossed design with Distress Ink using a circular motion. Apply the colors individually and in a random pattern as shown above.

 

Place a piece of newsprint or porous paper over your stamped images and iron over it on high heat. This causes the embossing powder to melt once again and be absorbed by the newsprint. Continue ironing and slowly remove the newsprint while it's still hot. If it cools the newsprint will be firmly attached to your project - LOL! SO be certain to remove it while the embossing powder is still hot and melted. Keep ironing it over again until it lifts off easily and when you view it there is no sheen on your project. Be certain to keep moving your newsprint to a "clean spot" as you work so that you do not reapply the embossing powder back to your project.

 

I love the diversity of these tags!

 

I punched a small circle from the Lille paper and colored in one of the flowers, punched it out and inserted it into a typewriter charm. Adding these fun little embellishments to your projects makes them come alive!

 

Stamp the Eiffel Tower on Manilla Cardstock and cut out. The center of the Eiffel Tower was cut out using my little Fiskars fingertip knife. This knife is the perfect way of cutting out those tiny, awkward spots. Affix a heart to the tower for added romance.

The background for my tag was created by randomly applying Matte Multi-Medium to my #8 Tag. The odd outline of attached paper makes the project more vintage in feel. By attaching my printed designer paper to the tag, allowing the adhesive to dry and then tearing away the excess paper I was left with this awesome vintage feel. Next apply Distress Ink using an ink blending tool. Stamp the flourish using Barn Door Distress Ink and then apply Rock Candy Distress Stickles with your finger randomly over the image and edges. Allow it all to dry before attaching your embellishments, twill and baker's twine.

Thank you for joining in my romantic adventure - LOL! I hope that you can use these techniques to create a vintage wonder of your own!

 
stamps: Memory Box Eiffel Tower, Tim Holtz Odds and Ends and Fancy Flourish 

ink: Distress Embossing Ink, Distress Ink - Barn Red, Tumbled Glass and Stormy Sky

paper: 7 Gypsies Lille 6x6 Paper Pack, Inkssentials #8 Manila Tag

accessories: Hero Arts Heart Accent Pearl, Tim Holtz Typewriter Charm, Tiny Attacher and Rock Candy Distress Stickles; 1/2" Circle Punch, Studio Matte Multi-Medium,  7 Gypsies Princesca Crystals

Love is in the Air #1 - Shimmer Sheetz Texture

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

 

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

Now for a little magic!

 

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

ink: Dusty Concord Distress Ink

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

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

Bennie Bear Valentine Greetings

Copic and Imagination International have all sorts of wonderful new educational tools coming out this spring, as well as providing you with new learning opportunities with the Intermediate Level Certification program. One of the latest topics of learning has been the sharing of additional information regarding shadows. I am looking forward to getting the new book, written by Marianne Walker, in to our store (watch in the education section for new DVD's and books) and I will most definitely be studying it to learn more about how she approaches shadows. Before that happens though I thought I would throw my hat in the ring and share some basic information with you as to how I have tried to help the younger set learn more about shadows.

Before continuing I just have to share a little side-story that just brings a huge smile to my face. When Maddi, my daughter, was a baby and just learning to sit and play with the toys around her, we were playing in her room. The bright overhead light next to her closet was creating a shadow of her body on the floor. It was so well defined that you could see a complete outline of her body on the carpet. She reached over and tried to pick up her shadow by her ears. As she would lean over, it would move. It was absolutely fascinating and magical to watch her for the next few seconds as she discovered her shadow and how it moved and changed. Oh how I wished that I would have had a video camera running, but I was not about to leave that special moment and so it only replays in my mind and brings back such sweet memories.

 

For today's card I wanted to keep it sugary sweet and what could be sweeter than Karen's adorable Bennie Bear holding a box of truffles for his sweetheart?

You will find that some of my ways of teaching are so very basic. This is because I truly do enjoy working with kids and sharing basics. I hope that the information I share will be useful and not too "elementary." I don't know if I have ever mentioned that I once was a certified teacher. Graduating from college with a double degree I first followed my passion to educate by teaching third and fourth grade students.  After changing careers and utilizing the second degree by following my heart, I became a professional interior designer, but I did not lose that passion for educating children and so I have volunteered in my daughter's school as an art docent. So much of the way I teach has been geared towards children. I know that you are not children and so sometimes I worry that I'm being a little too basic, but I think it works for those who are visual learners.

 

Understanding shadows by using diagrams can be VERY helpful, but there is nothing like the true "science" behind experimenting with those shadows. What I would like to encourage each of you to do is actually "study" real shadows. If you have never really studied and "seen" shadows it is hard to emulate them in your work. For today's post I grabbed one of my daughter's teddy bears and a flashlight.

As I shot the pictures and had my husband hold the flashlight in varying positions it was easy to capture a wide variety of shadow positions and lengths. You will even notice a secondary shadow based on the direction coming from the overhead light. When coloring my image I decided to eliminate that shadow.

Simply play with a flashlight and an object, snapping photos as you go to reference when you go back to begin coloring shadows.

 

Please try to ignore the secondary shadows created by snapping these pictures. I thought it might be easier to share this shadow "lesson" by being able to move teddy out of the way, but now he is creating his own shadows in these photos - LOL!

The first example I created was a more elongated shadow. I begin by creating a very soft outline using my lightest marker - in this case W00.

 

I then moved Bennie out of the way so that you could see the outline I had drawn.

 

I then colored in the shadow using a range of markers from W00 through W2.

 

Everything was going swimmingly as I worked on my image softening the edges with a colorless blender to make the shadows disappear along the edges and then my OOPS moment. I put the wrong cap on my marker and accidentally put the darkest color to the edge. No correcting that error. So on to attempt number two.

This time I decided to try a different photo and used the image bear above as my example.

Remember that shadows are darkest right next to your object and get lighter as you move away. If your light source is close by your shadow will be much more crisp, if your light source is a long way away your shadow will be barely visible.

 

Shadows move and change depending on the direction of the light, how close the light is to the object and so much more. Experimentation, playing with your flashlight and then snapping photos can be THE best learning tool when it comes to figuring out shadows. The key once again is to simply enjoy the process and not make yourself crazy if it doesn't go right the first time! Simply give it a try and have fun - as you practice and experiment I can assure you that you will get better. It is like everything in life - you have to try it, then you have to practice and pretty soon you will start looking at what you have created and simply grin from ear to ear because you will think, "I did it!"

Thank you for once again stopping in here at the CLASSroom - I hope that you learned something and perhaps had a moment in the day where you just smiled!

 
stamps: Lockhart Bennie Bear and IB Candy Heart, Memory Box Happy Valentine's Day

ink: Memento Tuxedo Black and Rich Cocoa, Copic Markers - W00, W0, W2, Colorless Blender

paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, Memory Box Cherry Blossom Notecard and 6x6 Pixie

accessories: EK Success Deco Scallop Punch, Pink Small Organza Roses Ribbon

Valentine Chandelier by Sharon Harnist

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

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

   

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

12 Days of Christmas: Day 4 - Four Different Heart Cards

I love the crisp, clean look of Memory Box Company stamps and papers! Rather than sharing four birds with you on this fourth day of Christmas I opted to use four hearts instead :-D Hopefully this post will help you get a jump start on your Valentine's projects - there are some basic stamping techniques, as well as a couple of fun little experiments.

 

The color scheme for today's post was selected from the latest Memory Box paper collection - Pixie. I am absolutely loving the diversity in this collection and had fun using it to inspire this collection.

One of the first techniques I learned as a stamper was to use a water-based marker to color my stamped image. You can read more about this technique in Julia's Back to the Basics post here. 

 

As I looked through the Pixie pack of papers I was struck by the paper shown in the picture below. For some strange reason I was inspired to try stripes on this gorgeous heart. I simply selected four different Copic markers and added strips of color to the heart as shown above. I was thrilled to see that the ink from the Memento markers did not bleed at all when I used the Copic markers over the top of the image.

 

I then cut the heart out and mounted it back on Solar White Neenah and cut it out again.

 

To complete the look I used some of our silk ribbon, along with some of our thank you ribbon and added the word "love," also inked with the Memento Marker.

 

The next technique was inspired by Jennifer McGuire. I believe that I saw a video that she did on the Hero Arts blog. In that video she used the Distress Ink pads together with White Opal Liquid Pearls. It dawned on me that if you could do this with Distress Ink, why not try it with Memento Markers.

I colored on my non-stick craft sheet and added a drop of White Opal Liquid Pearls.

 

Next I misted it with water and then used a Studio paint brush to mix the color as shown above.

 

To "ink" the stamp I simply stamped in the pearly paint as shown.

 

As you can see the stamp simply glistened.

 

The results are stunning!

 

I piereced around the heart and then added my stitching with some silver metallic beading thread.
 

 Once again I used our silk ribbon, thank you note ribbon, a Mitten Weather button, a Tiny Type sticker and some of the Pixie paper. Simple and beautiful!

 

For the next image I experimented with a combination of the above techniques. First I inked the stamp with my marker, I then painted over the flower centers and the solid flowers using my White Opal and marker paint mixture.

 
I love the varigated look of this experiment.

 

I added even greater contrast to the solid flowers by using Copic markers (R46 and a Colorless Blender) to add depth to the pink flowers. Next I added yellow (Y00 and Y15) to the flowers so that they would coordinate with the delicious plaid included in the Pixie collection. 
 

Yellow silk ribbon and a Mitten Weather button were the finishing touches on this card.

 

The fourth card went back to simple embossing. To add some zip to the overall look I selected four different colors of cardstock that coordinated with the Pixie collection. I secured these squares to a Solar White base, used an anti-static puff to wipe the surface, stamped the image using Distress Embossing ink and heat embossed with White Opaque embossing powder. Color blocking is hot... give it a try on one of your next projects and then upload it to our new gallery!!!

 
stamps: Memory Box Daphne Heart, Love and Hearts

ink: Distress Embossing Ink, Hero Hues Blush Memento Markers, Copic Markers (YG00, YG23, BG11, Y00, Y15, R46 and Colorless Blender)

paper: Memory Box 6x6 Pixie; Taffy, Raspberry, Bayou, Sunflower, and Key Lime Cardstock; Neenah Solar White

accessories: White Opal Liquid Pearls, Mini Mister, Studio Brush, Pink Tiny Type Stickers, Fuchsia and Yellow Silk Ribbon, Buttons, Opaque White Embossing Powder, Puff Static Away

On the fourth day of Christmas my goodie box could be...

• one Leaf Canopy stamp,
• one Adore Peony Collage stamp,
• one Daphne Heart stamp,
• and a Memory Box Company Color Sampler

 

To participate in this random drawing please leave your answer to the following question as a comment to this post. Please limit yourself to one comment only for each goodie package. The last day to submit a comment to this post will be January 6th at Midnight. We will post the winners (which will be drawn using a Random Number Generator) for all twelve days on January 7th.

Today's question centers around our new gallery. We would love to have you join us there. Do you like to participate in challenges and if so what types of challenges would you like see us host?

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

• One Stampin' Treasure
• Two Melting Tools
• Three Copic Goodies

a mini masterpiece by Kim Hughes

Stamps and paint makes it easy to create a "painted picture".  What would take hours painting by hand can take minutes to create by layering various stamps.

 

Supplies:

Studio Acrylic Paint, Traditional Tan, Studio Acrylic Paint, Sable Brown, Studio Acrylic Paint, Dab of Yellow, Studio Acrylic Paint, Dash of Red, Studio Sticky Back Canvas, 8.5" x 11"

Making Memories, Findings, Buttons, Silver

Glitter, Multi Ultra Fine Crystal

Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Espresso

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

Collage painting is fun to do!  Set up the stamps you like, and keep the lighter colors in the background and get darker as you add each layer.  Start with the base.  Paint a script stamp with tan and press it onto canvas paper.

 

Punch some holes in scrap card stock to use as a mask.  Add red paint to a weave pattern stamp and press over each circle

Next, stamp the flowers with brown paint to the right.

Create a frame by adding yellow paint to a houndstooth pattern stamp.  Add paint to the stamp after you stamp each side.

 

Crop around the picture and add a border along the bottom with the same tan paint as the base script pattern.  This will help to tie the colors in.
 

stamp sentiment with brown ink
 

add glue over the stamped heart and sprinkle red glitter over it...allow to dry.
 

add a final border along the bottom to tie in the brown.
 

to protect the painted canvas panel, place it under a clear plastic sheet.  Grab a mouse pad and poke a hole in each corner with a paper piercer or tack.

create custom glittered brads by adding glue to the brad tops and dipping them into brown glitter...allow to dry before poking them through the pierced holes in each corner

 

embellish with 3 clear buttons.

You can leave off the sentiment and display this mini masterpiece on your wall.  It would also make a sweet gift to hang on a front door...just add "welcome"where the sentiment is.

Thansk so much for stopping by today :)

Sewing on Cards by Sharon Harnist

Today I'll be showing you how sewing on your cards can create interesting effects and accents!  In my first example, I created a unique background by stitching a harlequin pattern onto a Memory Box Cranberry notecard base.  To help guide my machine stitching, I lightly scored the pattern onto the card base and then stitched on those lines.

 

Using the same color of thread as my card base creates an elegant tone-on-tone effect.  Memory Box's Crystal Chandelier was stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento ink onto Neenah Natural Whitecardstock and the flames colored with Red Copic Spica Glitter Pen. 

Clear adhesive crystals accent the chandelier and the sentiment was stamped separately, using a Stamp-a-ma-Jig for perfect placement.  The image was die cut matted with Labels ThreeNestabilities dies (and Licorice Memory Box cardstock).  The pieces were layered with foam tape to the card base and then tied up with black ribbon.

 

In this example, I used a Classic Heart Nestabilitiesdie (remember, this die set has been discontinued by the manufacturer, so when Ellen's stock is depleated there won't be any more!) and embossed it onto a Memory Box Sugar Plum notecard, and then used that image as a guide to machine stitch with brown thread the heart shape.  Think of all the shape possibilities you have with shaped dies for this technique!

 

I also machine stitched two ivory straight lines on the left side of the owl tab (click on the photo for a larger view), to help create an "anchor" to the image.  The Memory Box Owl Love You image was stamped with Memento Rich Cocoaink onto Neenah Natural White cardstock and then colored with Copic markers E31, E35, G40, G82 & R81. 

I rounded the edges of the owl image with Zutter's 1/4" Corner Rounder and mounted it with foam tape to the card.  The cute "owl always love you" sentiment is included on the end of the owl rubber stamp image wood block!  I used Martha Stewart's Cosmos punch on some Memory Box Gossamer paper and glue-dotted it to the heart shape.  The edges of the owl image and card were sponged with the Rich Cocoa ink.

 

In the example above I stitched Memory Box Gossamer patterned paper to a Memory Box Granny Smith notecard, after distressing the edges of the paper with Tim Holtz' Distresser.  The stitching also holds the lace onto the card -- a perfect "adhesive" solution for laces or trims that have an open weave to them, where other adhesives would show through the lace.

 

Memory Box's Cake Stand was stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa ink onto Memory Box Gossamer patterned paper and then colored with Copic markersR81, R85 & G82.  I trimmed the image with my paper trimmer, layered it onto more Granny Smith cardstock and machine stitched around the edges.  The stitching creates a simple edge and added interest to the focal image.

 

Don't forget the insides of your cards -- Above, I added zig-zag stitching to help accent Memory Box's "hope your valentine's day is sweet" sentiment!

You can also use stitching to accent stamped images:

Above is Memory Box's Sonoma Print image stamped with Memory Box Tuxedo Black ink.  In the photo below (click on it for a better view), you can see where I added a machine stitched "stems" to the floral image:

 
 
You can also use machine stitching to create added interest to your die cuts.  Above, I die cut the image with Classic Ovals-Lg Nestabilities and then used the embossed edge of the die cut as a guide to stitch.  On intricate shapes, just take your time and go slowly with the machine, turning the wheel by hand if you have to, to get the stitching exactly as you'd like it.  Pivoting the cardstock (just lift up the machine's foot while the needle is in the cardstock, and then lower the foot again before stitching) is also a great help.  A (Labels Nine Nestabilitiesdie was used to cut a black cardstock mat for this image).

I hope these examples help to get you sewing on your cards!

EDITING TO ANSWER A FEW (GREAT) QUESTIONS!

I use my “good” regular old (very basic) Singer sewing machine, but don’t use it very much for fabrics anymore, so I wasn’t worried about "ruining" or otherwise affecting it. I’ve not had any problems with my machine since I started using it for paper crafting about 3 years ago. If you don’t want to chance using your good machine, smaller inexpensive machines can be found. The most popular is a Janome Sew Mini which retails for about $50-$60. A Google search will yield many shopping results!

I haven't ever tried to stitch together more than two layers of cardstock or patterned paper, so I can't attest or recommend trying more!

You do want to be careful about where and how much adhesive you use on paper pieces that you will be sewing.  Try to place the adhesive (and just small amounts) away from any areas that you will be sewing, or the adhesive will gum up your needle and you WILL have problems (speaking from experience)!

I use a "heavy duty" needle that is recommended for my machine.  Just check it periodically to make sure it doesn't have adhesive on it and if it does, clean it with Goo Gone, Scrapper's Solution or rubbing alcohol. 

I use upholstery thread, which is "thicker" than an all purpose thread -- I like the bolder look of it and have fewer problems with it breaking.

If you have any more questions, please ask away and I'll answer them back here!

 
Stamps: Memory Box wood mounted Owl Love You, Cake Stand, Hope Your Valentine's Day Is Sweet, Sonoma Print, Crystal Chandelier, You Light Up My Life
Paper: Neenah Natural Whitecardstock, Memory Box Gossamer 6x6 pad. Memory Box Notecards-Sugar Plum, Granny Smith and Cranberry.  Memory Box Licorice cardstock
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa & Tuxedo Black, Copic markers & Copic Red Spica Glitter Pen
Accessories: Spellbinders Classic Heart Nestabilities, Classic Oval-Lg Nestabilities, Labels Nine & Labels ThreeNestabilities dies. Zutter 1/4" Corner Rounder, Martha Stewart Cosmos punch, clear crystal gemstones, Prima Lace, Ranger Ink Blending Tool, Tim Holtz Paper Distresser, Stamp-a-ma-Jig, Martha Stewart Scoring Board, Tonic Guillotine Paper Trimmer, Mini Glue Dots
Other: Sewing machine and thread

Heart Cupcake Decor by Sharon Harnist

 

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

 

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

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

ATC Home Decor by Sharon Harnist

 

If you don't know people interested in swapping ATCs, or if you're like me and just can't bear to part with some of your creations (!) -- why not make them into home decor items?  Here, I simply made my Valentine-themed ATC and then placed it on a plaque.  There's another suggestion for ATC swaps ... you can make them seasonal and then use all the cards you've swapped in a grouping for your seasonal home decor.

Here's what the plaque looked like when I found it on clearance at the craft store -- I knew it had good potential for altering!

Basic Grey's Sugar Rush paper matched the colors of the plaque perfectly, so I just decoupaged the paper to it and then added some of Maya Road's pearl trinket pins to the beads, to make them a little more special:

 

Again, I gave my ATC some shape by die cutting some of the pink solid Sugar Rush paper with a Labels Four Nestabilities die -- the second to the largest die in the set measures almost exactly 2.50" x 3.50" (ATC size).  Then I stamped Karen Lockhart's wonderful new Love Angel with Memento Rich Cocoa ink and colored her with the Copic markers pictured below. 

 

TIP: I like to use the Cocoa ink as opposed to black whenever I want to keep my final colored image a little on the softer side -- to match the softer pastel colors of the paper I'm working with.

To achieve a nicely graduated shading like I did on the Angel's dress, start with a base coat of your lightest Copic color (BV0000).  Doing this first will "prime" the paper and make the next colors blend easier:

 

Then add the middle shade of your 3-color grouping of markers (BV000) to the bottom two-thirds of the dress:

 

Next, add the darkest color in your grouping (BV02) to the very bottom of the dress:

 

The last step is to go back with your first lightest color and blend everything together.  You can then add back in a little bit of the darker color at the bottom of the dress, if it needs more definition.  Sometimes I repeat the last two colors another time, just to get a little deeper color saturation.

I cut out and mounted the angel with foam tape to the Nestie die cut, which is also on foam tape:

 

To give the die cut stability, I backed it with some of Ellen's fabulous Craft-a-Board.  I love that it is a beautiful shade of cream and cuts easily most of the time with Spellbinder's dies -- see it peeking out of the edges of the pink Labels die cut?  Much nicer than traditional chipboard!  The more open kind of die like the Labels Four I used here usually cut very easily all the way through the board on a first pass through your die cutting machine (mine did here).  More detailed dies may take a few more passes through your machine or require a little snipping of the Craft-a-Board in spots where it may not have cut all the way through -- but that's just the nature of low-profile dies. 

TIP: If a die isn't cutting through the Craft-a-Board (or ANY thicker material, such as GrungePaper) all the way, use this sandwich in the Wizard die cutting machine to help get a better cut (from the bottom, up):

-Spellbinders White Master cutting mat
-Die, cutting side up
-Material to cut
-Eyelet Setting Plate (copper colored metal plate that comes with your Wizard)
-White Master Mat

 

I used Glossy Accents to adhere the die cut paper to the die cut Craft-a-Board -- it gives a good, quick bond.  The tiny hearts the Angel is dropping are the punched-out centers from Martha Stewart's Lace Heart Edger Punch, attached with Quickie Glue Pen and shimmered with Copic's Clear Spica Glitter Pen.  The Angel's wings and hearts on her dress were also covered with Clear Spica and Pink Spica was added to the heart she is carrying (hopefully you can see all that shimmer if you click on this photo to make it larger):

 

I think I know two little girls who will love to have this revamped plaque hanging in their room (if they can get it away from Mom)!  It will be good for Valentine's Day or any day you want to spread a little love!

 
Stamps: Lockhart Love Angel
Paper: Basic Grey Sugar Rush, Neenah Natural White
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa ink pad, Copic markers, Copic Clear & Pink Spica Glitter Pens
Accessories: Craft-a-Board, Labels 4 Nestabilities dies, Martha Stewart Lace Heart Edger Punch, Maya Road Vintage Pearl Trinket Pins, Royal Coat Decoupage Finish, Ranger Glossy Accents, Quickie Glue Pen

Valentines Tag #4 - Sugary Love Tag by Lisa Strahl

What fun this little Love Themed Tag feature has been!  It's a joy to work with my friend Bek and to see how we can use the same supplies and come up with completely different projects.  Very cool methinks.

My tag today features the Valentines line by Basic Grey called Sugar Rush (the 6x6 inch paper pad), a stamp set that Becky designed when her and I worked for CHF called Domestic Love and LOTS of other extra goodies.  :)

I decided to work with the Clear Paintables, Frames 2 sheet from Prima.  The artwork for these paintable transparencies is absolutely gorgeous.

I trimmed the paintable to the size of my tag. 

Once again the red that I needed did not quite match the paint I had, so I mixed Dash of Red and Painterly Pink Studio Paint by Claudine Hellmuth.  I have said it before and need to say it again, this paint is a joy to work with.  It makes me look like I know what I am doing!  Next, turn the transparency over and paint the rose.

 

Paint the leaves with Landscape Green.

Fill in the frame with Pastel Raspberry Liquid Pearls and allow all of the these to dry and set. 

Stamp the man and woman with Jet Black Archival Ink on the back side of the paper called Pulled Taffy.  It stands as a one sided sheet in the Sugar Rush 6x6 paper pack.

Trim the image and secure it behind the transparency with 1/8 inch Scor-Tape.  

Trim the paper called Cinnamon Bear to match the tag, make sure that you adhere from the top of the tag toward the bottom as the tag is longer than 6 inches.  We will cover that open portion later. 

 

Apply more double-sided tape to the bottom edge of the tag to secure the transparency.

Apply the 1/2 inch double sided tape to the bottom edge of the tag over the transparency. 

Apply the green crochet trim from the Webster's Pages Classic Trim Collection. 

...and then the pink trim from the same package. 

I couldn't help but add one of these heart shaped pearls as an earring. 

Punch a crown from the reverse side of the paper called Fireball (again, this is a single sided sheet in the 6x6 Sugar Rush paper pad.)

 

Add single jewels to each of the spikes on the crown.

 

And a row of jewels to the pink trim.

Cut the word "amour" from the Fireball paper and adhere with double sided tape as shown.

I created my own jewel flourishes to suit my project from a regular package of jewels where the lines are straight.  I also added a Sugar Rush Stitched Brad in the center of the rose. 

I hope you get to do something romantic with that special someone in your life this Valentines Day.  I must tell you that my hubby purposely does NOT give me anything on the 14th.  Wait, wait!  Don't get upset just yet...he always surprises me at least a week early.  The card usually says something like, "I don't need a special holiday to tell you how much you mean to me".   Awwww.  And every year I am surprised!

I am so excited that I get to see Bek and Ellen on Saturday, as we all meet in Anaheim at CHA Winter.  Can't wait!  Thanks for sharing these few days with us CLASSroomies!

Love Window Meets Early Bird by Debbie Olson

  

Beautiful image, beautiful paper--these two just had to meet! I colored Karen's delightful Love Window image with the Copic markers shown below, choosing my Copic marker colors from the Cosmo Cricket Early Bird paper mini deck. (You can click on any picture to enlarge it.)

 

I've made so many step-by-step coloring tutorials that I thought I'd carry this post a different direction--matting and aligning borders. I chose a small scalloped border die to cut the Early Bird papers. I always start with a longer piece than I plan to need so that I have plenty of room to trim my scallops evenly on each end.

 

Above, I have cut but not embossed the edge of the patterned paper.

Here I have also cut the mat layer, again, making it larger than necessary. I find that if I trim it to size too early, I almost always end up not perfect with either the top edge of my mat layer, or with the scallop on the bottom. If only the bottom edge has to be aligned correctly, and the other layers will be cut down to size, you have a much better chance of getting it exact.

Here I've trimmed only the top edge, leaving a 1/16" reveal. Next I will trim both ends, making sure that I end on the same part of the scallop on both ends with my cut. (In the case of this die, I can have a full scallop on both ends after it is cut.)

 

Here I am zig-zag stitching my matted border on after first tacking it in place with adhesive. I usually set the width of the zig-zag to overlap the 1/16" mat layer on both sides.

  

Finally, here is a detail of my Love Window card, with those little red-matted scallops tying in with the scale and color of the flowers. I hope that this is helpful to someone; thanks for visiting the CLASSroom today!

Cherub Mini Canvas by Julia Stainton

Now and then I just want to get out some paints and play around. Explore some creativity in a style and medium I don't often play with. It's fun to step outside the box and try new things. You never know what you may discover. You almost always learn something, even if it is what not to do. I'd like to encourage you this new year to step out of your box and try something new. Here's what I did the other day.

The little 4x4" Canvas Frames are the perfect size for experimentation. They are similar in size to cards, take little time to create and make lovely little gifts or accent pieces. I love using them with the Studio Paint line. To get started on the project, I first brushed the surface and sides of the canvas with the white Blank Canvas paint. The surface of the canvas comes primed but the reason I did this was to blend on color right into the white pigment. If you're looking for a graduated color and brush stroke look, feel free to blend right on the canvas like I did. I used Landscape Green and Sky Blue.  At the same time, paint the sides of the canvas so that you don't have to remix colors. You'll want enough paint on the canvas to have it nice and wet but still be able to see some of the canvas texture through it.

The reason you want the paint wet is that it is how you are going to adhere the clear Prima Paintable to your project. Trim the portion of the Paintable you wish you use to just under 4x4" square. Press it into the wet paint and allow to dry. For this project I've used one of the images from the Cherub Frames Clear Paintables Sheet.

To get this canvas to have a little extra color and make it a little more interesting you now want to add pigment on top of the canvas. By mixing the colors you choose with the Studio Line Multi Medium Gloss you can add a hint of color but still keep most of the transparency so that the design will show through. For this project, I used Painterly Pink mixed with the Multi-Medium for the flesh color, Sable Brown and some more Sky Blue. I also added streaks of the tan around the edges to give an aged appearance.

After all your painting is dry, cover the surface of your piece with a coat of Glossy Multi-Medium and allow to dry. Apply a coat of Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint to the entire surface and allow to dry. This will give you an antique cracked glaze finish. Because of the slick finish underneath, some of the crackle will flake off but I like the look. After the glazed has dried and cracked, take a sponge and apply some Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink to highlight the edges and emphasize the cracking finish. Another great alternative would be to use the Ranger Crackle Accents product.

 

I like to add layers of elements to my projects and added the love sentiment to the bottom of my canvas. The Tim Holtz Grungeboard Minis are a great size for cards and small projects. To continue with the antique finish, I painted my Grungeboard letters with White Picket Fence Distress Crackle Paint.

After drying, I sponged them with some ink and adhered to the project with Glue Dots. As a final touch, I tied some twine around a Maya Road Word Charm and adhered it to the O.

Thanks so much for stopping by the CLASSroom! Take some time to explore your creativity!

Bee Mine ATC by Sharon Harnist

 

I have some more ATC (Artist Trading Card) tips for you today.

1. Use a die to give your ATC some shape.  Here, I used Labels Seven Nestabilities to cut patterned paper for my base.  The second to largest die in this set is exactly 2.50" x 3.50".

2. Don't be afraid to use all the same elements on an ATC as you do larger cards.  Here, I've used a button, gemstones, cut-outs, Copic marker, glitter glue, lace ribbon and staples!

TIP FOR ANY PROJECT: Use solid colors of the patterned paper collection you are working with to stamp your images.  Then you'll be assured the stamped pieces will coordinate well with the rest of your project.

 

3. To give cut-outs or die cuts more depth, ink the cut edges.  Here, I used dark brown Brushed Corduroy Distress ink, to help the cut-outs blend in with the paper pattern.  Copic W1 was used to give the "B" some shadow and more depth.

I used Copic markers YR31 & E55 to color the bee and then glittered her wings and popped her up on foam tape.

   

4. Keep the scale of your embellishments smaller on your ATCs than on larger projects.  Here, I used tiny gemstones and a smaller button.

5. Tim Holtz's Tiny Attacher stapler is a perfect size for ATCs and a great solution to attach an open patterned lace, when any kind of glue or tape would show.  Here, I used a staple on each end of the lace to attach it to the ATC.

I hope you all are enjoying trying out ATCs ... thanks so much for visiting today!  ~ Sharon

 
Stamps: Cornish Heritage Farms The Rummage Bin-Sweet Bee Uncut or Precut
Paper: Webster's Pages Petite Papers-Postcards From Paris & Sweet as Cherry Pie 6x6
Ink: Ranger Distress Ink-Brushed Corduroy, Adirondack Dye Ink-Cranberry & Espresso. Copic markers- YR31, E55 & W1.
Accessories:  Spellbinders Labels Seven Nestabilities dies, Prima Ribbon Lace-Saucy, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher, Acrylic Block, Clear Crystal Gemstones, Martha Stewart Baker's Twine-Red, Button, Star Dust Stickles

12 Days of Christmas - Day 4: I Love You Technique Tag

Welcome to the 4th day of Ellen's 12 Days of Christmas celebration! I am sharing a couple of techniques that are fun for any occasion, but the product combination makes a really cute Valentine's Day project.

Start with a white #8 tag, Wild Plum Adirondack pigment ink, the Tulle Damask Scrapblock and some Clear Embossing powder. Ink up the Scrapblock with the pigment ink and then stamp onto the tag. Sprinkle the clear embossing powder onto the tag and then melt with the Heat It tool.

Press Tattered Rose and Worn Lipstick Distress inks onto your Craft Sheet, spritz with water from a Mini Mister and then mix some Rust colored Perfect Pearls into the colors with a large Studio brush.

Brush onto tag, it looked more interesting to me when it was uneven, but do what appeals to you most.

Accelerate drying process with Heat It tool.

There are nice pearly drops on your Craft Sheet from where the brush moved the medium around, lay the tag onto those and gently press with your hand to pick them up with the tag. Dry with Heat It tool again.

On a white sheet of Neenah card stock, stamp the adorable Memory Box owl with the Espresso Adirondack pigment and then sprinkle with the clear embossing powder and melt with Heat It tool.

Press the Tattered Rose and Worn lipstick Distress inks onto the Craft Sheet and spritz with the Mini Mister. (This step could be done before the tag base if you wanted to use the ink more sparingly.)

Use a small Studio brush, fill in the Owl with the lighter colored areas first.

Then fill in the darker areas.

Fussy cut the owl out with small, sharp scissors.

I used a small touch of Spiced Marmalade ink for the beak, but it could just have easily been filled in with a marker.

Just a quick touch with a slightly damp brush onto the pad and then a dab to the beak and it is done.

For the "Love Note", stamp with the Espresso Adirondack pigment ink onto a piece of the white Neenah with the small bracket block from the "On the Desk" set from the Rummage Bin. Stamp the sentiment "Note This:" with the same ink right on top of the other stamp. Sprinkle with the clear embossing powder and melt with the Heat It tool.

Stamp the AlphaNumber Backgrounder onto white Neenah cardstock with Red Pepper Adirondack pigment ink.

Trim out the letters that spell "I LOVE YOU" and adhere them to the note with Quickie Glue Pen. I used a pair of tweezers, but have been dreaming of this pair of tweezers that have a non-stick surface.

Stitch on the Regia lace by machine or hand.

Place varied sizes of Opaline pearls along the top of the lace.

Tie a bow out of Pink Silk ribbon and then place a couple of Maya Road Trinket Pins into the knot for a finishing touch.

The lovely sparkle and shine with the fabulous texture from all of the embossing is something that I could share with you in real life, so beautiful! One way to see, is to try this yourself ;o)

Have fun playing!

FOURTH DAY BLOG CANDY

On the fourth day of Chirstmas my goodie box could be:

• four stamps from Cornish

 
To participate in this random drawing please leave your answer to the following question as a comment to this post. Please limit yourself to one comment only. The last day to submit a comment to this post will be January 6th at Midnight. We will post the winners (which will be drawn using a Random Number Generator) for all twelve days on January 7th.

Please tell us one of the favorite things/techniques/tips you have learned here in the CLASSroom and tell us if there is anything on your "I would like to learn list."

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

• Favorite Scoring Tools
• Two Soldering Starters
• Three Inchie Art Packets

Sweet Serenity card by Kim Hughes

I think that Memory Box stamps are divine and their Valentine's release is no exception

 

Supplies:

Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Espresso

COPIC Sketch Marker RV11, Pink, COPIC Sketch Marker R21, Sardonyx

Memory Box stamp Lovey Dovey Tree

Memory Box 6x6 Cardstock, Gossamer

Basic Grey Opaline Half Pearls, Wine/Champagne

Saturday Evening Post, Vintage Butterflies

other:

Zva Creative foam circles

Stamp the Memory Box tree onto pink patterned paper and color each heart with a R21 Copic marker.

 

Color around the edge of each heart with an RV11 Copic marker
 

and blend the 2 pink shades with another coat, using the R21 Copic marker

 

This is what the back side of your paper should look like when complete
 

Cut down the pink paper and mat onto brown patterned paper that is a 5 x 5 card base.  Machine sew around the edge.  Then cut a strip of striped paper to 1 x 5...machine sew 2 stitches along the bottom
 

Use scissors to cut slits and stop before you reach the stitches.  Bend up the frills with your fingers to add dimension
 

draw a cloud shape onto the pink patterned paper and cut the shape out
 

Use 3 round foam dots and cut them down so that the cloud has even coverage.  Add the cloud accent to the top of the card
 

Stamp the sentiment onto the same white paper and cut it down.  Tuck behind some of the faux grass strips.  Stamp the tree once again onto pink patterned paper, color like I mentioned above and cut out the small heart and use as an accent.  Add brown pearls to the accent heart and tree.
 

This card can not only be given at Valentine's day but just about any other time of year as well.  The tree is a wonderful image to paper piece as well.  I hope you have a fabulous holiday.  Thanks so much for taking the time to stop by.  Hugs to you all.

Butterfly Wishes by Kim Hughes

 

How often do you give your loved ones a card for no reason?  I know that I don't do it often enough.  So, I decided to start today, with this card.

Supplies:

ACardstock, Neenah Classic Solar White

Basic Grey Buttons, Wisteria

Gemstones, Smooth Clear Round

Basic Grey 6x6 Patterned Paper Pad, Wisteria

COPIC Sketch Marker G82, Spring Dim Green

Silk Ribbon, by the yard

Cosmo Cricket 6" Mini Deck Paper Pad, The Boyfriend

Martha Stewart Craft Punch, Classic Butterfly

Scrapblock, Vintage Text

Distress Ink Pad, Frayed Burlap

Memory Box stamp: You Make My Heart Flutter

other:

scalloped edged scissors

vellum

brown pen

 

start by punching a butterfly from scrap paper and choose your base paper.  I inked up my Vintage Text Scrapblock and stamped over the butterfly punch.

 

Once I added the pattern onto the butterfly shape, I traced the image with a brown pen.  Repeat.

 

I then colored 2 clear crystals with a Copic marker so that it will coordinate with my base paper.  These gems are for the butterfly bellies.

 

I stamped the sentiment in the lower right corner of a white card stock base.  I thought that vellum would add a soft touch to my card.

I brought in some red and purple for a unique color combo.  I used scalloped scissors to add a decorative edge.  Draw a straight line on the back of your paper for easy cutting.

 

hide the adhesive behind the vellum, where the patterned paper on top is seen.

 

Assemble your card and add button accents.  My silk ribbon had creases in it from being folded, so I heated up my straight iron and pulled it through...creases gone immediately.

I am so happy that you stopped by, thank you :)

Cherish Accordion Mini Album

The accordion mini album was actually made a couple of years ago. It was back in the day that I thought I would be able to get it all together to put kits together and then share ideas using those kits. I would make the project and then finally order the pieces to complete that project, only to have the intended date for completion rocket past me. So rather than putting kits together you are seeing odds and ends, 12x12 cardstock and all sorts of various oddities showing up in our store as we find time to get them on-line. The collections are old, but they are still oh so wonderful to create with. What's old is "new again" - LOL!

This is an album idea that I thought would make a wonderful valentines or Mother's Day gift. I made it with the intent of giving it to my mom once I had finished putting the kit together. Hopefully it is not too late to share it now. This book was put together using 12" x 12" pieces of Blush paper that you can now find in our store - LOL! Start on this page and go to the next as well to find this collection.

 

It all begins with four pieces of 4"x6" Craft-a-board. This whole book was created based on the Folk Heart stamp. When Karen shared this image with me I totally fell in love with it. I stamped the image on Arturo paper and watercolored it with Lyra and Stampin' Up! watercolor crayons. I don't know how many of you remember the good old days when I actually had the time to hand watercolor every single thank you note I sent. Those must be collectors items by now - totally LOL! If you have one then this is the exact same coloring I used on that image. I covered a die cut letter C with coordinating paper and used my Snap Stamps to complete the word Cherish. Yep, those were the good old days - Snap Stamps - who would have thought they would disappear from existence. I still miss being able to use them. They were SO very flexible!

OK, enough reminiscing about those golden years Ü

To begin I covered each piece separately, beginning with the "back" sides as shown. I love the fact that Basic Grey's papers all coordinate so beautifully - it makes it a piece of cake to complete a project. Cut these pieces to 5"x7". Adhere them to the Craft-a-board back, miter the corners, wrap the paper around to the front side and then adhere the paper to the front side.

Next cut the brown "spines" to a size of 2" x 6". I attached the dark brown "spines" on the back side first and then wrapped them around attaching them also to the front side.

 

To create the sentiment tags I used Cuttlebug dies and the pink cardstock - yep, this was the day before Nestabilities and the awesome tags (thanks to Debbie for those!) we now have. If I remember correctly I believe the sentiments were A Muse, but I'm not certain if they still manufacture these.

I then cut four 4"x6" pieces from pink cardstock. Before attaching these I added the layers to them as follows:

• page 1 - 4"w x 2 1/2"h striped pocket. Insert brad with flowers before attaching to pink cardstock using staples. Create two polka dot tags 2 1/8"w x 4 1/4"h in size. Add a decorative accent to the top edge using scalloped decorative scissors and piercing.
• page 2 - cut right edge with scalloped decorative scissors. Put sentiment piece together and staple in place. Create decorative corners from coordinating paper.
• page 3 - attach 3/8" x 6" dotted paper to 1 3/4"w x 6"h brown cardstock strip. Embellish with staples. Attach to left edge. Create secret "pocket" from 2"w x 6 3/4"l damask paper. Embellish with pierced scalloped pink accent strip. Use small Basic Grey magnet to keep it closed.
• page 4 - Cut 3 1/4"w x 5"l heart paper. Attach sentiment tag embellishing with staples and a mini heart. Stamp Lock Heart on decorative paper centering on design. Color key to accent it.

Once you have all pieces adhered together mark the location for the holes using a pencil . These were centered 1/2" from each edge. Use a Crop-a-dile to punch the holes and then insert the large eyelets. Add eyelets to the tags as well.

  

Place your pieces down on a flat surface and tie them together using ribbon. Tie the center two together with the knots on the interior. Flip and then tie the two end pieces in place. Add your photos, hardware and fibers.

As a side note I just have to tell you the story of my girls. As toddlers we played the "kissing game" with our girls. As they would climb up the stairs we would stop on each step and rub noses or give them a little kiss between each set of bars. With each new set of bars we would do it all over again until we would reach a point where we were standing on our tippy toes and could no longer reach them. We would then laugh and reach for their little noses with our finger with the final kiss from our fingertips. Needless to say they would always say, "Again! Again!" We are so blessed to have two beautiful, sweet, healthy girls who love one another. It just gives me warm fuzzies to look at these pictures once again and see the love shared between them. I'm one very lucky mom!

Let's Play Checkers Valentine

With this latest Lockhart release Karen has brought back more than just a few childhood memories with the introduction of some old favorite games. It seems that games have changed these days. We always love to pull out board games to play with family and friends when we get together, but the variety has changed. I think perhaps I need to pull out some of the "oldies" and teach my children the games we used to play!

Trying to create out-of-the-box Valentines is something I have been trying to do this year. It's fairly easy to make the heart variety, but when you put your mind to work other ideas just start to flow. Sometimes they get a little unusual as in this one today, but you can most certainly not accuse me of only making pink and red valentines - LOL!

 

When playing checkers you always start with two colors of game pieces - so I thought I would play off that idea and use little Twinkle Hearts to take the place of those pieces. I guess we arrived at a stalemate being only two "checker hearts" are remaining on the board Ü

It has been a long time since I used this layout. This card design is simple to create. Simply cut your cardstock 4 1/4" x 8 1/2". Score at 1 1/2" and 5 1/2" along the 8 1/2" length. Then cut the flap tops at an angle as shown in the picture above.

 

Layer a coordinating piece of Cupcake Cardstock beneath the Checkers board and on the top card interior. I also added another little triangle of the lagoon on top of the cupcake sprinkles to add some "zip" to the card interior. Add the sentiment "just waiting for you," along with another mini heart, and your own special end to this thought on the interior of the card.

Supplies Used: Lagoon, Sunflower and Licorice Memory Box Cardstock; Basic Grey Cupcake Paper Pad, Twinkle Mini Hearts, Lockhart Checkers

valentine greetings by cindy lyles

Today's project is ideal for mass-producing - the layout is from an old SU catalog, and the only time-consuming area is cutting out the heart; however, the image could be stamped directly onto the white cardstock panel to save time.

 

This is the card base:  Memory Box Sugar Plum card base was punched with a spiral punch (SU) on the left side, and the patterned paper panel is Memory Box Sugardrop.  Silk ribbon was tied around the patterned panel prior to adhering to the card front.

 

The large heart (Memory Box Heart with Sprinkles) image was stamped onto Cotton Candy cardstock with deep red ink (Adirondack Cranberry).  Heart Notes image was stamped with black ink over the heart, then image was cut out and adhered with foam dimensionals.

Valentine Greetings image is from Memory Box.  Mini hearts were stamped (Adirondack Cranberry) on a white cardstock panel, top was torn, then bottom corners rounded.  The mini hearts image is located on the end of the same stamp as the large heart (Heart with Sprinkles) - convenient!

 

Card interior - more mini hearts, and a heart punch using up a scrap of the Sugardrop patterned paper.  (Papertrey Ink sentiment).  Happy Heart day will be here in a blink!

Bubblegum Love

Hearts, flowers, chocolate... they all say Valentines in a very loud voice! Sometimes the use of the "typical" image is not what we want though and so when Karen shared this new image and sentiment idea with me I knew this was one that I was truly looking forwards to!

 

What could be more perfect than to use the Bittersweet papers to make this have a Valentine feeling?

 

To begin I colored the Gumball machine in pink (R81).

 

I then used RV34 to add a little more color to the edges of the design and by simply adding a second and third layer of R21 I was able to shade the image. I really liked how the image appeared with the "definition" between colors and so rather than blending it in to a smooth surface I left the colors more defined.

 

Being I needed a different color of gumball in order to select my "special one" I used different browns ranging from carmel to chocolate for the mundane ones. My special one I made a more brilliant raspberry color. Adding a few opaque highlights and a little glitter helps round out the gumballs.

 

Tip: When picking my colors it is easiest if I start with a plan. In this case I wanted to use the Bittersweet papers and so I selected Copic colors that coordinated with the colors in my papers.

 

Being that the raspberry gumball did not show up as well as I wanted it to, I added a pearl to make "the one I wanted" more appealing and visible. So think outside the box this Valentines and let your special someone know that you picked through a lot of gumballs before you selected him (or her Ü)!

Make It Fuzzy with Fun Flock by Susan Roberts

This month at Ellen Hutson, LLC the Stamp of the Month is this Karen Lockhart Peapod of Hearts.  I couldn't resist adding some pretty pink Fun Flock to this adorable image.

Since the areas I wanted to cover with the Fun Flock were quite small, I used a Quickie Glue Pen.  This allowed me to control exactly where the glue was applied.  When applying Fun Flock to larger areas a slower drying glue is best.  This allows you a little more time to "move" the flocking around a bit if needed.  (I used a piercing tool for this.  But something like a toothpick would work as well.)  Once the glue was applied, the Fun Flock was sprinkled on.  I pressed down on the flocking and then tapped off the excess.  (You can also blow or shake it off.)  Always make sure that the stamped image can be seen.  (This is where the "moving" comes in.)  Being able to see the lines around the flocking helps to define what the fuzzy is all about!

Here I applied just a touch of Fun Flock to the center of the flower.  A quick drop of glue, press, blow and you have a pretty pink fun and fuzzy center! 

The sentiment is a Karen Lockhart stamp.  Both the sentiment and the peapod were stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  Copics (YG000, YG03, YG06) were used to color the peapod.  Every other heart was colored with a Stardust Glitter Pen.  The cardstock is Neenah "Solar White" and Memory Box "Parsley".

Baby Valentine

With Valentines right around the corner I thought I would share an idea that popped in to my head the other day. What cuter way to let someone special know that you are excited for their upcoming future than by sharing a special "baby" Valentine with them. 

When I receive new images it is funny how the wheels just get turning and for some reason I thought that this little rattle could be used as Cupid's Bow, running through a heart. Sure enough it fit quite well with the new Memory Box Heart! In hindsight it dawned on me that I should have made it appear to run "through" the heart, but that is something that I think you could easily do if you would like to make something similar.

 

Karen Lockhart shared this cute little heart template with me over a year ago, but I just didn't have time to do anything with it. I'm not certain where she found it, or if she created it - but I can't take credit for coming up with this design. What I have done to make it easier for you is, I have created it in PDF format so that you can easily put it to use this Valentines. Just click on the link highlighted below.

This heart is THE perfect size for creating this cute little Valentine pouch out of a piece of 6" x 6" paper. So guess what that means - it works perfectly with plain paper and a Scrapblock as well! For this heart I used Robin's Egg cardstock together with the Daisy Chain Scrapblock.

What was even more incredible was that the shape was perfect with the Scalloped Heart Nesties (I apologize for running out of these yet again - I should have known better and ordered differently being I know that Valentines is right around the corner. More are on order, but I am not certain when they will be arriving.) I cut the patterned heart from Urban Prairie paper using my largest Scalloped Heart.

The largest solid yellow heart, that I lined the interior of my pocket with, was cut by hand from a coordinating yellow paper in the Urban Prairie line of papers and the smaller yellow heart was cut using a Classic Heart shape (which unfortunately we are also almost out of, if the previous link doesn't bring them up it means we are now out  - I'm so sorry about this.)

Download Heart Template

 

TIP: If you have a template already cut out of cardstock it is SO simple to trace around it using the small tip of a dry embossing stylus. This will keep you from that inevitable step of erasing, if you trace with a pencil first. See how the stylus marks your cardstock well enough to see your cut line!

If you are using a printed template using the document above, adhere the template to your cardstock with temporary adhesive. Cut out along solid lines and then score on dotted lines.

 

I adore solid images because they allow me to use them in so many different ways. I first inked up the image above using two different colors of pigment ink. One color alone didn't quite blend with the other products I was using and so by adding a slightly bluer green around the edges it helped to bring my colors closer together. I then kissed or stamped the solid image on to the uninked Ornamental Vines backgrounder. I could have added yet another color of ink to my backgrounder before they "kissed" (this just makes me giggle - stamps kissing - ha, ha!) but being I wanted the rattle to be the focal point I elected to stay with a solid color.

 

I stamped the rattle on white cardstock and colored it with a combination of Copic markers (Y21 and BG72) highlighting the image with Prismacolor color pencils and added a little bling.

The ribbon slider tag was cut from this same yellow paper and I used the new "just waiting for you" sentiment for the message. Rather than inking the little heart at the end of the sentiment I placed a Twinkle Heart in its place to help draw more attention to the sentiment. The ribbon holding it in place is from the Basic Grey Recess collection.

I challenge you to try making a heart shaped valentine this year! Use the template above and share a link in the comments section below so that everyone who comes here to visit can see your creation as well! Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom again today. -Ellen

Masculine Valentine - How about Dinner and a Movie?

First I must tell you that my dear and talented Cindy has come to my rescue! She will be helping me with the Inchie INKling blog!!! So please head on over to see her fantastic creation!

When I get new stamps they always inspire me to try something new and different. The latest Lockhart release has done just that! (These are now available for sale in our store and we have created a new category in the store called "New Lockhart" to help you easily locate the new images!) With all the new-old game boards I can hardly wait to make up some invitations for game nights. When we were snowed in during Christmas our neighbors invited us over for board games. It was so much fun - so I think I need to make some thank you notes as well! It's never too late, right?!? Hopefully I will get to that before the week is out, but being that the idea below just popped in to my head so easily I decided to go with it.

Sometimes making a masculine Valentine can be tricky, so I thought why not make one that you can share in advance of Valentine's and use as a special invitation. So the first card I created today was to share this idea so that you could start making something similar for your special someone. You could also spin this idea off and turn it into a coupon book as well! Hmmm - perhaps that will be another project I try and create before Valentines!

 

As you can see I kept the colors fairly crisp and clean, but being I was using an "old" film strip I added a little vintage flair by distressing my papers and twill.

 

To begin I used a transparency and laid my film strip die cut face up on top of the transparency. I then used my airbrush to add a hint of N7 Copic ink to the surface. This helped to age my "film".

 

Above is what the film strip looks like after airbrushing. This is actually the first strip I created and I felt that it was much too dark for my application and so I created another that was much lighter, but then it wouldn't photograph as well - LOL! Using my Stamp-a-ma-jig for precise placement I used the new IB At the Movies (isn't this just the most adorable little stamp - I believe that it is going to see a lot of use at my house Ü) and stamped it on the transparency using Palette Noir ink. It is critical to use an ink that will dry on transparencies and Palette is definitely my favorite for working on glass, plastic and even fabric.

 

I then cut and embossed the film strip using licorice cardstock. To give it more of a realistic look I then sanded the raised surface. After cutting the transparency to be the same size as the film strip I stapled the two together. I could have stamped and colored an image to place beneath the transparency, but I was truly loving the vintage look of the old black and white film. Instead I cut a strip of the Natural White Neenah and aged it using the ink blending tool and Tea Dye Distress Ink.

 

Next I created my tickets using the versatile Ticket Counter stamp set, once again stamping them on the Natural White CS. This was followed by stamping the Fine LInes Backgrounder at an angle on the notecard front. Rather than using my first stamp impression I stamped it off three times on scrap paper before stamping on my notecard front. This really helped bring the black down to a level that was more suitable for the look I was creating.

 

You can see the three impressions on the paper above - LOL! Rather than putting a fresh paper down I just placed my twill on my work surface and randomly stamped one of the sentiments from the Ticket Counter on the twill. The twill that we carry in our store is fantastic for stamping on. It is one of the primary reasons I selected it - that and the ability to run it through the printer to add sentiments. As you can see I once again used Palette ink.

 

So let's get started on making our plans for Valentines Day - it will be here before we know it.