the CLASSroom

12 Days of Christmas - Day 6: Six Dies To Cut With by Sharon Harnist

 

The countdown begins in just a few hours ... to a new year and a new decade!  Are you ready for it?!!  On the Sixth Day of Christmas we have a set of six dies to cut with and here, I've used two out of the same set of Labels Four Nestabilities to make a glittery frame for my New Year countdown clock!

To make the frame, I used Ellen's Art Magnetic Masking Material to hold the two metal dies securely in place while running them through my die cutting machine:

 

I ran the paper frame through my Xyron machine and then sprinkled Martha Stewart's chunky tinsel glitter in Copper all over. We can't have a New Year's celebration without a little glitz and glimmer, now can we?!!  I thought this wonderful tinsel glitter was just the right "confetti" feeling I was looking for!  The glittered frame is popped up on foam tape.

TIP: Choose a piece of similarly colored paper to use with this chunky glitter. The larger glitter usually won't totally cover the paper so if some of the paper color shows through, it will compliment the glitter color nicely.

 

Next, Maya Road's Clock Sheer was adhered using a large glue dot to a piece of gray paper that was also cut with the Labels Four die.  Mini Glue Dots were the perfect size to adhere the clock hands (also from the Maya Road Clock Sheers) and golden Dew Drop.  The Happy New Year sentiment and numbers were made with my label maker.  My card measures 5.50" square.

Wishing you all a safe and wonderful evening ringing in the New Year! 

 
Paper: Basic Grey-Ambrosia 6x6 pad, Memory Box Licorice cardstock
Accessories: Art Magnetic Masking Material, Spellbinders Labels Four Nestabilities dies, Maya Road Sheers-Black & White Clocks, Martha Stewart Tinsel Glitter-Copper, Mini Glue Dots and Large Glue Dots, Golden Berry Dew Drops,
Other: Xyron, Dymo Label Maker, foam tape

SIXTH DAY BLOG CANDY

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

• six dies to cut with

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

What products would you like to see us carry in our store? We are always trying to meet your needs and if there is anything that you would like to purchase through us please let us know. If we do carry the supplies you love then leave us a "love note" here - LOL! We appreciate your kindness and comments so very much and I just wanted you to know that there are many times when your thoughts brighten my days :D Thank you for supporting us! ---Ellen

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 Soldeirng Starters
• Three Inchie Art Packets
• Four Cournish Stamps
• Five Fab Fine Art Fixings

 

12 Days of Christmas - Day 5: Fab 5 Art Findings by Kim Hughes

5 Golden Rings is always my favorite part of the 12 days of Christmas song, so I was thrilled to find out that I had day 5 :)  I chose to highlight a 5 petal flower with 5 fun embellishments.

 
Supplies:

Backgrounder, Polka Dots

Florals, White Rounded - Heidi Swapp

Mona Lisa Moments, Birthday Centers

Distressed Stickles, Antique Linen

Creative Candy Twinkle Stickers, Mini Dot

Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Pitch Black

Nestability Dies - Labels Four

Dew Drops Bottle, Cowboy

Basic Grey Brads, June Bug Glazed, Basic Grey Opaline Half Pearls, Teal/Aquamarine, Basic Grey Brads, June Bug, Basic Grey 12"x12" Collection Pack, Nook and Pantry

Studio Acrylic Paint, Sable Brown, Studio Acrylic Paint, Charcoal Black, Studio Acrylic Paint, Blank Canvas

 

Cut the decorative edges shape with a Nestability and use as a perfect template on the corners of the card base.  Trace onto the back of the paper with pencil and cut along the line
 

gently ink the edges
 

gather a paper plate to blend paints
 

mix white, brown and black paint with stickles.  The Stickles will add a subtle metallic look.

 

add paint to the polka dot backgrounder and press onto the card base
 

Paint the flower, allow to dry and fold edges of the flower to add dimension.  Add paint to the paper edges and stamp sentiment.  Embellish the flower center with 5 random embellishments. Complete with a paper leaf with painted edges as well.   This is a playful card that I hope you will try out and have fun with.

FIFTH DAY BLOG CANDY

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

• Five Fab Fine Art FIxings

 
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 share with us what is on your wish list this coming year - old tools, new tools, specific stamps... what is it that you are excited about purchasing and trying?

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
• Four Cornish Stamps

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

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

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

 

(Click to Enlarge)

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

 

Here are two images which were colored side by side.

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

Photo 1

Photo 2

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

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

 

 

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

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

 

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

 

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

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

 

 

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

Happy Crafting!

Supplies:

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

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

Inks: Memento "Rich Cocoa"; Copics

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

THIRD DAY BLOG CANDY

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

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

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

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

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

• Favorite Scoring Tools
• Two Soldering Starters

Ellen Hutson LLC Inventory Reduction Sale

Just a quick reminder to all those who are looking for some after-holiday bargain shopping! Tonight, starting at midnight Pacific Standard Time (that is 3:00am on the East Coast) our inventory reduction sale begins. It is a one day only sale, Monday, December 28th, in which you can save 20%!!! Please note that once an item is no longer available it will show as being currently out of stock --- so shop early!

When you reach the checkout window, please enter promo code: countless3

ETA: Please note that the original code countless2 did not work correctly. We apologize for this error. Thank you for your patience.

This offer cannot be combined with any other coupon code and is valid on EVERY in-stock item in our store (except COPICs.) Be certain to check out the SALE! category for REALLY good prices.

Please note that upon completion of your order the discounted price will be listed on the individual product line and not at the end of the invoice.

Please join us by shopping at www.ellenhutson.com or contact us at [email protected] with any questions you might have. It is going to be very busy around here, but we will try our best to get back to you in a timely manner.

12 Days of Christmas - Day 2: Soldered Necklace Pendant by Debbie Olson

 

Welcome to the Second Day of Ellen Hutson, LLC's Twelve Days of Christmas feature! Today we're on two soldering starters. I made a double-sided necklace pendant--does that count as two pieces? They can be worn with different outfits, so I'm counting it as "two soldering starters." 

I started with the Simply Swank Necklace kit, which makes two 18" necklaces. Because I wanted a longer chain to go with V-necklines, I went with a 20" length and will finish the remaining part of the chain as a shorter necklace. The kit comes with both trapezoid and rectangular glass, as well as jump rings, catches, head pins, and beads with which to decorate the pendant and the chain, if you wish. 

Using my trapezoid glass pieces as a template, I chose a basic black pattern for one side of my charm, and a more intricate pattern for the second side. Papers that I used were from Graphic 45's Fashionista line, Debutante and En Vogue. Tip: When you trim your papers, make sure that the papers do not extend past the glass. If they do, you will not be able to get the copper foil tape to adhere perfectly to the glass edges. 

 

Here I have wrapped the glass/paper sandwich in 5/16" copper foil tape, a little wider than I normally use, but I wanted plenty of solder on both sides since the piece is double-sided. I burnished the foil firmly against the clean glass, using an old bone folder. It is now ready for solder.

I have now soldered the edges and attached jump rings to the top and bottom of the pendant, as well as attaching a jump ring and catch onto the ends of the chain. On the catch end, you can see that I got the necklace links too hot while I was tacking a gap in a jump ring. (A loop had filled with solder, and I was trying to melt it out.) I went back and replaced the clasp after cutting off the two discolored links.)

 

Shown above is the black side of the pendant (before I repaired the discolored links). 

 

In the picture above, I have added some dangling beads (all included in the kit, except for the tiny seed beads at the bottom). The most helpful tool for creating loops in order to hang the beads from jump rings is the Concave Round Nose Pliers. I cannot even tell you how much I love these pliers! They are the simplest tool for creating a nicely rounded wire loop--I wish I had discovered them sooner, and I would have used more beads along the way. 

I could have added black, clear, and silver beads along the chain with the beads and head pins included in the kit, but I'm a pretty basic person. I think I'll wear it more often with it being a bit simpler. I'm looking forward to creating the second necklace from the kit, and perhaps I'll get braver with the beading on that one. Thank you for visiting the CLASSroom today! Don't forget to read on to participate in our blog candy for our two soldering starters!

SECOND DAY BLOG CANDY

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

• two soldering starters

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

What hobbies/crafts other than rubber stamping and card making do you currently enjoy? Have you tried soldering yet? Do you enjoy gardening, baking, cooking, quilting, knitting, crocheting, sewing...??? If it is rubber stamping and card making that's OK too - simply leave a comment telling us what you enjoy doing to releive stress.

Don't forget the First Day of Christmas drawing - Ellen's Favorite Scoring Tools. Be certain to answer the question on that post to be included in that drawing!

12 Days of Christmas - Day 1: Favorite Scoring Tools

It's the first day of Christmas and we are so glad that you have come to join us once again. We spent Christmas Eve and day laughing, playing games and doing puzzles. Oh what fun we had! Thank you for your patience today as you waited for our first day post!

I had hoped to create and write this on Wednesday, but I was seriously lacking energy. This sinus infection has been hanging around since September and it finally socked me right between the eyes on Tuesday, taking me down for the count. BUT you can't hold me down for too long when I know I have things to do, places to go and people to see - LOL! So here I am wanting to once again share my favorite scoring tools with some lucky winner. I'm hoping that you can all be winners in a small way by being able to utilize the free template that is included in this post :)

As I thought ahead to the holidays right around the corner I felt that the templates I am going to share with you today will be useful in a number of ways.

 
Some people are big in to celebrating the New Year and so this could make for a fun and festive party theme. Fill the little favor boxes with confetti, or as I did --- chocolates! Chocolates are a sweet answer to any occasion - LOL!

I also felt that it could be quite fun for Valentine's, with a twist on the whole Cinderella's shoe concept. Fill it with treats for your man and tell him that you feel like his Cinderella, or if that is just too corny for you then ... think about using it for any bridal showers that will be coming up in the new year ahead. Not only will the "glass slipper" be something different, but more importantly these little favor boxes are VERY affordable to create and can fit a myriad of little goodies. 

To create these two templates I find it absolutely essential to use my Scor-It, (or in this case my Mini Scor-it) as I create the score lines for these projects. Many have asked me how the new Martha Stewart scoring board, the Scor-Pal and Scor-It board compare. I can honestly tell you that I feel that there is a place for all of these tools, BUT when it comes to scoring, the only true scoring device is the Scor-It. It doesn't just crease your paper, but creates a mountain and valley "crease," which is essentially what a professional scoring machine does. The advantage to this type of score is in its final appearance. It is something I have reflected on many times over the years, but something that I will always come back to when I create a template that requires accuracy.

When the Martha Stewart Scoring board arrives back in inventory I am going to share with you why I do feel that there is a place for this tool in your collection, but in my opinion it really isn't for the "perfectionist" scoring I prefer. I will always turn to my Scor-It for that.

So let's begin with our projects.

GLASS SLIPPER

For the "glass slipper" I used an earlier high-heel shoe template I designed and created to share with Creating Keepsakes. It is always so much fun to see the shoes that you have created using this template for party favors and little gifts. I would like to once again share this template with you. I would like to remind you that this template is copyright and for your personal use only.

Download High Heeled Shoe Template here

I have shared step-by-step directions for creating this shoe in this post. Today I will only be sharing a few of the steps that I feel are important when creating this "glass-slipper" version.

Print the template above on plain copy paper. The static electricity from the medium-weight plastic does a fairly good job of holding the template to your plastic. I elected to cut and separate all the pieces before doing my final cutting so that it would be easier to be precise in my final cuts. I then left the copy paper in place as I scored all of the lines. As you can see I scored and folded the toe piece on of my shoe before adding the decorative element to the plastic.

    

One of the techniques I LOVE to use with the plastics we carry is to add texture to the surface utilizing embossing folders. As you can see I inserted my toe piece into the Cuttlebug folder, ran it through my Big Shot and voila - fabulous, crisp texture was added to my toe piece.

Next I needed to figure out how I was going to "deal with" the adhesive lines, being this plastic is most definitely Crystal Clear! My solution was to adhere an additional piece of red-liner tape on the outside portion of the shoe in line with the adhesive placed to hold the shoe together. I attached all of my red-liner adhesive before beginning because it is so much easier to work on these flat surfaces.

The only adhesive I forgot to add was the adhesive around the toe piece. As you can see it was not too difficult to do, but again it would have been so much easier to apply it to the flat piece before hand. Follow the directions in the post linked above to put your shoe together.

This is where you bring in the sparkle to your "glass slipper." I opted to use our Diamond Dust, together with the white fine glitter from the Essential Glitter collection. Remove the red-liner from your remaining adhesive strips and apply the "glass" and "glitter." Apply strips of Gemstones and a finaly sparkly button and your prince will await!

 

Needless to say I think the most difficult aspect of this creation was taking the pictures - LOL!  

SELF-CLOSING FAVOR BOX

It was so much fun to see the excitement you shared over the little gift bag I shared a few posts ago. Designing templates is one of those "almost" no-brainers for me. A very long time ago I learned to sew and fell in love with "designing" my own Barbie clothes. Just one of my goals in the New Year ahead is to put that skill to good use. In college one of the projects that was a requirement for a class I took was to design a tailored ensemble from scratch - no pattern. Wrapping my mind around how to do that was no simple task - LOL! What it did do though was create a whole new skill set for me.

As life changes and progresses and one moves from one area of life to the next it is fun to bring past skills back in to use. It was the witches shoe that started my "career" here in the papercraft industry - who would have thought that a shoe could be such an altering life experience? We have some very fun things in store for you here at Ellen Hutson LLC - just sayin' - LOL!

So for today's post I want to once again share with you a template that I believe can be put to VERY good use. Affordable, reuseable and cute --- what more can a girl ask for :D This template was inspired by one of the Martha Stewart Favor boxes we carried in our store this past year. The fact that the boxes store flat I felt was such a huge feature. I'm guessing that there is probably similar templates out on the internet, but I wanted to create my own from a single sheet of cardstock and then be able to utilize the 6"x6" designer papers to add to the overall feel.

Begin by opening the attached template. It will help guide you when cutting, measuring and scoring.

Download Self-Closing Favor Box

I have had the Scor-It sliding rule for some time now, but didn't really understand what it's purpose is. I knew it was for creating diagonal lines, but didn't quite "get-it." It was not until I created this project that I discovered how incredibly useful it is. I wanted to create my corner to corner diagonal score but I couldn't "see" where the corner was hitting on the Scor-It board. I tried feeling through the paper, but that didn't work and then it was that I realized - oh my goodness... the sliding ruler shows me exactly where my corner ends!!! I can now do very precise diagonal scores on my boxes!!! Yippie. I don't know how to explain it other than to show you the picture above. I slid my cardstock underneath the ruler and aligned my corner with the ruler and the tip with the metal bar. Voila :D

Score all four corners as shown on template.

I wanted to create a window in my favor box. Once I had my lines all scored it was easy to position my die (this die is similar to the one I used) and cut out the window.

At this time I crease and fold along all score lines, utilizing my teflon bone folder to help create precise folds. My preference for the teflon bone folder is VERY strong. The fact that it does not create shiny surfaces on your paper as you firmly press along the score lines makes for a beautiful finished project. It also does not stick to any adhesive used in creating your projects.

I also use my teflon bone folder when reinking the surfaces of my "sticky" ink pads, such as my Glue Pad and VersaMark pads. To be able to easily wipe it clean after use is fantastic. It is always sitting on my work surface and used many times through the course of creating a project.

You will want to cut two strips of decorative paper for your favor box that measures 3" x 6" if you would like to add an inexpensive touch to your favor box. One of these will be used on the box interior and the other will be affixed on the top of your box.

Just think how many box tops and liners you can get from one pad of 6"x6" paper - LOL! Score these strips of paper. The one that fits inside will need to be scored at 1 3/8" and then again 2 15/16" further down the strip. This piece will need to be cut so that the last remaining fold will also measure 1 3/8". The final length of this piece is actually 5 13/16" in length.

The other strip will be used on the outside of your box. Score at 1 1/2" and then again 3 1/16" further down the strip. Once again cut a coordinating "window" in the "square" of this paper strip. I then opted to used a punch to shorten the length of this piece and create a decorative edge for the front of my box as shown.

It was about midnight last night when I realized that I should shoot a couple more pictures to show you how the box is put together and how it can store flat when not in use! Am I goofy or what?

Apply adhesive to the corners as indicated.

Now pop the box up into shape. Affix the (+) side magnet to the front as shown. I found that I needed to add an extra glue dot to this magnet. If it isn't covered with a layer of decorative paper it has a tendency to pull loose when adhered with it's own self-adhesive.

Cut out a 2 7/8" square of medium-weight plastic and adhere to the top of your box. Affix the (-) side magnet to the front panel as shown. This magnet will be covered with decorative paper as shown below.

I attached the coordinating "button bling" using a glue dot.

It was after I had begun shooting this series of pictures that I decided I needed to add just one more row of bling.

Fill your box with your favorite goodies. Here at work we were gifted some adorable chocolate mice --- THANK YOU Cindy! Not only were they incredibly delicious, but we got so many wonderful giggles from eating them as well!

WOW - this is one long post. You aren't finished yet!!! Your mission should you choose to accept is to leave your comment below to win a set of my absolute favorite scoring tools. Currently we are out of the regular Scor-It due to the fact that it is soon coming out in a very feminine pink color and inventory has not  yet arrived. Some of the proceeds from the sale of these scoring boards will be going to raise funds for National Breast Cancer Foundation! We are hoping that they arrive in our store soon. So in it's place I am substituting my next favorite scoring tool - the Mini Scor-It, along with the Large Teflon Bone Folder.

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

What templates would you like to see us create? Or which template that we have already created is your favorite? Leave your answer in the comments section and you will automatically be included in our drawing. Good luck everyone!

O Come Let Us Adore Him by Julia Stainton

Merry Christmas! I hope you are enjoying a beautiful Christmas . I have an inspirational card to share with you today with some ideas that you can incorporate in your projects, all year through.

I love adding clear layers to cards. They can help break up the design or highlight a particular area on your project. In this case, the clear layer does both.

To create the main part of the card, I pulled together some beautiful prints from the Jolly By Golly 6x6 paper pad by Cosmo Cricket. This is such a fabulous line to get both traditional and fun looks from. The card base is a Robin's Egg Notecard by Memory Box.

The three patterned papers were laid out and then stitched together to form the layout for this card. Simple stamping onto patterned paper is a beautiful look and so easy to do. I've used Black Memento Ink stamped directly onto the green patterned paper. Black and white silhouettes are so beautiful and are also super trendy right now so the image is all you need. For this project, I've used Manger Scene by CHF, but Three Wise Men, We Three Kings or Trumpeting Angel would look beautiful as well.

To create the clear star overlay/ornament, I used the Crystal Clear Plastic and die cut it with the Nestability Stars dies .

 

To accent the edges of the star, I used a white Adirondack Paint Dabber to easily swipe paint around the outside edges of the plastic. The sentiment from the Christmas Expressions stamp set by CHF was then stamped on the center of the star in a solvent ink.
 

To finish off the design, I tied a big bow from Light Blue Silk Ribbon and then hung the star with a length of twine. A Maya Road Trinket Pin finishes off the embellishment.
 

 

Thank you for stopping by the CLASSroom! From all of us at Ellen Hutson LLC, we'd like to wish you and yours a very happy Christmas and a wonderful year to come.

Christmas Cookies & Punch-Around-The-Page by Sharon Harnist

Hello and a very Merry Christmas Eve to you all!  Since it's Christmas Eve, I thought I would share a Christmas cookie card with you today!  Along with a tutorial on how to use Martha Stewart's Punch-Around-The-Page punches!

 

Karen Lockhart's darling Cookies for the Neighbors image was stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa ink onto Neenah Natural White cardstock and colored with the Copic markers pictured below and Spica Glitter Pens in Gold, Melon & Pink:

 

For a perfect Punch Around The Page border or mat, you will need to start with any combination of these sizes of paper: 3.25", 5.00", 6.75", 8.50" 10.25" or 12".  So you could make a photo mat that is 5" x 6.75" or a square page or card embellishment that is 3.25" square or 5" square, etc, or edge your 12" scrapbook page.

After cutting your paper or cardstock to the selected size (here, I used 3.25" square), begin by punching the corners first.  Be sure to flip the corner holder "wings" on the punch out -- the punch arrives to you with them folded in, for more compact storage:

 

The edger punch will also arrive to you with its sides folded up (a great space-saving attribute for compact storage!), so you'll need to fold those down first.  Next, slide your paper into the edger punch and align the punched corner with the special marking on the edger punch that is right next to the lever/punch housing (you can use either the left or right side -- whichever is most comfortable to you):

 

Continue punching the straight edge by sliding your paper over and aligning your first punched images with the markings on the flat edge of the punch.  With this size of paper, though, I only had to punch the edge once to complete the pattern:

 

Repeat on all sides of your paper and you'll have a beautifully edged paper!

To finish my card, I trimmed a Memory Box Sugar Plum notecard base to 4.25" square and put a 4" piece of patterned paper on top of that.  I cut out the cookie image and layered it onto my "crown" mat with foam tape.  I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas holiday with your loved ones ... thank you for visiting today! ~ Sharon

 
Stamps: Lockhart Stamp Company-Cookies for the Neighbors
Paper: Neenah Natural White cardstock, Memory Box-Spiceberry 6x6 & Sugar Plum notecard
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, Copic markers (pictured above) & Spica Glitter Pens
Accessories: Martha Stewart Punch Around The Page Set-Crown, Zutter 1/2" Corner Rounder, foam tape

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.

Last Minute Gift Bags by Ellen Hutson

It is so fun to see you all enjoying the projects, games and tutorials that we have been presenting. We appreciate that you continue to join us here in the CLASSroom during this busy time and hope that your holiday season has been filled with happiness!!!

It always seems that I need last minute gift bags and so I thought I would share one of my little "quick" creations with you.

Start with a simple 9" x 12" office envelope. I purchased a whole box of white ones just for making gift bags - LOL! You could also use manila ones if you want a more "natural look. Cut the top flap off so that you have an even edge with no glue or clasp.

Then use a decorative punch to create a pretty "top" on your envelope. For this bag I used one of the Deep Edger punches, Floral Vine. I must admit that I am absolutely addicted to some of these beautiful new punches and the new "eyelet" looks are some of my favorites. Eyelet, a trend I have been predicting for some time, is being seen on so many levels right now and I am loving it! The new "doiley" stamps from Hero Arts, as well as these awesome punches, were greeted with glee - LOL!

Next score the bottom and sides an equal distance from the edge. For my gift bags today I scored one inch up from the bottom and one each from each side. Using my teflon bone folder I then folded the envelope along these score lines and creased it in back and forth. This helps make it easier to "ease" your bag into shape.

It is so very easy to create different proportion bags. The key is to measuring the distance from the bottom and sides and score the lines consistently in both of these areas. For example, if you select 1 1/2" for the bottom, then the sides should be 1 1/2" from each edge; or 2" on the bottom and 2" on each side.

Next I scored the lower corner "squares" diagonally.  This score line helps me create a more perfect bottom - LOL!

I then pop out the envelope into a bag shape and create the little "ears" on the bottom of the bag.

Turn the bag over and apply adhesive to the bottom sides of these "ears" and then firmly press them back against the bottom of the bag.

To finish these off I created simple gift tags using the Eskimo Kisses Woolies together with simple diecut tags and gorgeous silk ribbon. 

This little white basic can be finished in so many different ways. I look forward to sharing some of those ideas with you in the future. One can never have too many simple gift bag ideas!!! So grab those office envelopes and see what you can create ;)
   

Hero Arts Preview Party Day 3 by Sharon Harnist

 
Hello -- we are thrilled you are here again today with us for Hero Arts' 2010 catalog preview party!  Most of us naturally think of cards when we think of stamps, but I'd like reiterate today how well stamps can work with your scrapbooking, too!  I used Hero Arts Clings-Heart Flourishes background stamp and a ClearDesign-Truly Appreciated sentiment to create this 6-inch scrapbook page. 

This sentiment originally read "Sending you lots of hugs" but I just inked the "lots of hugs" part and used that.  This way, the sentiment feels a little less like it should be on a card and a little more appropriate for a scrap page. 

I like to use some of my 6-inch pages as a magnet for my refrigerator, so I backed my page with Ellen's Craft-A-Board and Inchie Magnets, so I can put these sweet faces on my fridge to look at every day!  Here's how the rest of this project came together:

I have a nice selection of Memory Box notecards and wanted to share how I utilize these for larger projects.  I opened up the lighter pink Begonia notecard and stamped it with the Heart Flourishes background, using Adirondack Mountain Rose ink (which matches the darker pink Begonia notecard!).  Then I trimmed it to 4.75" square.

I also opened up the Begonia notecard and punched it along the 8.50" edges with Martha Stewart's Simple Scallop.  This allowed me to trim the scalloped pieces to 1-inch wide and 6-inches long. Then I placed the scalloped strips on the edges of the 6-inch piece of Craft-A-Board and mitered the corners where the scalloped pieces meet.

Next, I used Copic marker R20 to color in the hearts on the background stamp.  I printed my photo in sepia tones and trimmed it to 3.50" x 4".  I rounded the corners with Zutter's 1/2" corner rounder and layered the photo onto more of the Begonia notecard.  The edges were inked with Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink.

The sentiment was stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa ink onto more Begonia notecard and die cut with Spellbinders Ribbon Tags Trio Two die.  Then beautiful light pink May Arts 1-1/4" silk ribbon was run through the ribbon slots.  Some Hero Arts pearls were added to the corners, to finish it all off.

I think I might know what Grandma will be getting for Christmas <wink>!!  We hope you've enjoyed all the new Hero Arts previews here on the CLASSroom!  ~Sharon

 
Stamps: Hero Arts Clings-Heart Flourishes, ClearDesign-Truly Appreciated,
Paper: Memory Box Begonia & Peony notecards,
Ink: Ranger Adirondack Mountain Rose dye ink pad & Brushed Corduroy Distress ink pad, Memento Rich Cocoa ink pad, R20 Copic marker
Accessories: Craft-A-Board, Inchie Arts Inchie Magnets, Spellbinders Ribbon Tags Trio Two die, Hero Arts Small Accent Pearls, Martha Stewart Simple Scallop Edger Punch, Zutter Round It All 1/2" Corner Rounder, Ranger Ink Blending Tool, May Arts Pink 1-1/4" wide satin ribbon

Hero Arts Preview Party Day 3 by Debbie Olson

 

Welcome to day three of the Hero Arts 2010 Catalog Party here in the CLASSroom! The make and take kit that I started with was the Watercolor Silhouette Grass kit. I ended up with three versions--one close to the instruction sheet, one turned horizontally and simplified a bit, and one using some vintage patterned paper for a different look.

 

I ended up using everything in the kit except for the distress inks. I love distress inks! But since I wanted to stamp the sentiment over the grasses, I needed to use a lighter green. Also, I wanted the wheat on the blue notecards to be pale, so I chose a lighter blue for those too (Adirondack Lettuce for the grass, cloudy blue for the silhouette image in the background, and Denim for the sentiment). 

 

This was the card that was closest to the suggested pattern. I handled the sentiment a bit differently simply because I really liked the grasses and didn't want to cover them up! I used a Ranger Mini Mister filled with water and a few drops of blue ink to spray a hint of sky after stamping the grasses.

 

For my second version I changed the orientation of the card and left off the pearls. I was hoping for a distinctly masculine variation. here.

 

Of course I couldn't stop with clean versions; I had to make one that was slightly shabby and feminine! I used the same blue notecard base, but added a bit of Antique Linen Distress ink on the edges. Paper is some Graphic 45 Domestic Goddess paper, Yours Truly, while ribbon is Ivory silk. I stamped the sentiment in Adirondack Raisin ink.

Are you enjoying the Hero Arts Preview Party? I know that I am! Thank you for visiting the CLASSroom today.

Hero Arts Preview Party Blog Candy

When I opened the box of stamps that arrived on Friday I was greeted with the following beautiful catalog. As I leafed through it's pages I realized that this might be an item that you would all appreciate. The examples are absolutely stunning. So a thought came to mind... let's share a couple of these with our readers!!!

We are so thrilled to have the brand new stamps in our store and if you haven't read my previous post where "divine" intervention has me now intrigued and mesmerized by the clear stamp options --- well, we will also be carrying a bunch of our favorite clear stamps!

To see this beautiful catalog in digital form you can click through to the Hero Arts website here.

Only a few of you have left a message on our Facebook Fan Club Page and I do not want to exclude those who do not have a Facebook account, so I am going to ask the same question here. Which new Hero Arts stamp/stamp set is your favorite and why? Please leave your comment below before midnight Monday, December 21st to be entered in a random drawing for the Hero Arts Catalogue shown above.

Hero Arts Preview Party - scented sachet box by Cindy Lyles

It's the second day into Ellen Hutson's 2010 Hero Arts Preview Party!  The project for this post utilizes crystal clear boxes meant to house cards for gift giving, but we're going to fill it with a medley of heavenly, scented spices!

 

I'm using bay leaves, cedar tips, star anise, cinnamon, rose hips and cloves.  The fragrance is lovely!

 

The clear boxes Ellen has in the store come with clear circle stickers.  Use these to seal the flaps closed to keep the sachet spices in the box securely.

Once encased in the clear box it will look something like this - nice and neat!  This is the back side, or the side that looks perfect and the side you can not see the side flaps.  For the next step below, be sure to flip the box over.

 

Using a piercing tool or nail or anything sharp, pierce the side of the clear box in which one can see the flaps.  We're going to cover this side with holes.  It is far easier to pierce the plastic when it is filled with the sachet spices versus without.

The aroma of this medley can be quite overpowering.  With this gift idea, the recipient can slip the decorated box into a drawer to scent the contents, or leave out on a shelf for enjoyment. 

Stamp the tree image from Hero Arts Tree, Birds and Messages set onto Memory Box Endive cardstock using black ink.  Trim with detail scissors.

Using a Ranger white gel pen, color the flowers in the tree.

Using a clear glaze pen, color in the leaves.  This creates a nice shine and highlight.

Stamp the 'good friend' sentiment with black ink onto white cardstock and trim.  Ink edges with Distress Antique Linen ink using an ink blending tool.

Repeat using Distress Vintage Photo ink.  Repeat around the trimmed tree as well.

Add Hero Arts Silver Metallic Decor accents to the white flowers, and adhere tree to a Memory Box Pea Pod cardstock base.  The mat is Memory Box Mocha.  Adhere tree with dimensionals.

Prima Nikki lace was machine stitched to a corrugated strip (recycled from a shipping box) then wrapped with crochet thread and a Hero Arts button.  The bow on the button is secured with a tiny dot of Ranger's Matte Accents. 

This unit was adhered to the clear box, covering the side with the holes.  Thank you for stopping by the CLASSroom for Ellen's 2010 Hero Arts Preview Party!

Hero Arts Preview Party - thanks card by Cindy Lyles

We're continuing Ellen Hutson's Hero Arts 2010 Catalog Preview Party!  The project for this post is a simple thank you using an adorable bird from the Tree, Bird and Messages (CL182) set.

The card base is white cardstock, and a 5-1/2" length of corrugated cardboard is recycled from a shipping box, adding a bit of texture.  May Arts burgundy silk ribbon creates a classic feel to this card.

The Hero Arts bird was stamped onto white cardstock using Tuxedo Black Memento ink, and colored using Copic markers, starting with the lightest marker first.

 

Next, several green Copic markers were used - again - using lightest to darkest.  Bird was then trimmed using detail scissors.

Labels One was used to die cut and emboss a piece of Memory Box Dill and a piece of white cardstock.  The white cardstock die cut was stamped with black ink using the 'thanks' sentiment and the bird from this set.

Stamped the lovely flourish that comes with this set in the upper left corner of the card front using black ink.  Adhered bird with dimensionals, and added a few Hero Arts pearl bling.  Finished card size is 5-1/2" x 4-1/4".  Hope you are enjoying the Hero Arts Preview Party!

Scavenger Hunt Clue #1

Thank you for joining us here this morning. We hope that you enjoy the next little game as you cruise the the internet for your next clue. Remember that there is a little reward for everyone at the end, so please enjoy yourselves!!! Good luck everyone --- let the race begin...

Are you "In Touch" with the fabulous Studio Line Paints by Claudine Hellmuth? Head over to our blog with monthly tutorials to pick up the next clue and a little education.

ETA: For those joining us late you can read the full set of directions in this post.

We have our first three winners :) Remember though - there is a prize for everyone who plays! So take your time and enjoy the hunt. Be certain to return here later today, for additional inspirational posts and yet another blog candy opportunity!!!

Hero Arts Preview Party Day 2, New Cling Stamps by Becky Olsen

We are so excited to be participating in the Hero Arts Preview Party!

I am sharing three new images with you. These little birds are so cute, I stamped the first on a white Twinchie with Walnut Stain Distress Ink, colored with my Prisma color pencils and then lightly shaded all the edges with Antique Linen distress ink. The patterned papers are from the Basic Grey Nook and Pantry collection.

How sweet is this little guy? I thought a little "blue" bird would be perfect to let someone know that you were missing them. More Nook and Pantry paper to create this color combination, the pop of red playing off the blue is so fresh and cheerful, it looks so beautiful on the Memory Box Vanilla Bean card base.

This was my husband's favorite project, he really appreciated the simple elegance of the rose with the vintage feel of the lacy patterned paper. The roses are paper pieced, it gives such nice depth to the image, this gives a very timeless look for an all occasion card. The image was stamped in Pesto Adirondack onto white Neenah and mounted onto Endive Memory Box cardstock.

Are you having fun and getting inspired yet? Keep visiting through the next few days, there are even more peeks of what is in store!

B-

Hero Arts Preview Party - quick hello card by Cindy Lyles

I bought my very first wood mounted, red rubber stamp when I was a teenager, and that was a loooooong time ago!  It was a Hero Arts stamp, and they were a very popular company back then as they are today.  With their new releases for 2010 I am still drawn to their images.

For today's projects I'll be focusing on one set from Hero Arts and it is called Tree, Bird and Messages (CL182) from their ClearDesign line.  Quality photopolymer stamps, made in the USA.

To begin, I started with a 5-1/2" wide scrap of Memory Box Parsley cardstock, and very lightly with a pencil, drew a curved line for a hill.  Cut along the line with pinking shears, and using a sanding block (learned this from Debbie Olson). 

Memory Box cardstocks have a white core and are perfect for this technique.

Placing the first pinked hill on top of the Parsley scrap for visual placement, I lightly traced a line for a second hill.  Trimmed this second hill with pinking shears and sanded.

Stamp the tree with black ink onto Memory Box Endive cardstock and trim with detail scissors.

Adhere the second hill directly to the Iris card base, and the first hill and tree using dimensionals.  Add Hero Arts Blossom bling to the tree and other areas of the card.  Stamp Hello sentiment onto Memory Box Begonia and embellish with a flower from Hero Arts' Neutral Art Flowers.  Finished card size is 5-1/2" x 4-1/4".  Thank you for joining the Hero Arts Preview Party today!

Hero Arts Preview Party Scavenger "Pre"Hunt Directions

Welcome! I don't know if you have had the opportunity to take a tour through the Hero Arts blog hop. It is oh so fun to see all the fabulous projects being created and there are some delicious prizes along the way!!! If you haven't had the opportunity be certain to do so.

Once you have completed the blog hop you will want to head over to the Ellen Hutson LLC Fan Club page and leave a comment on a special post I have started on our fan club wall ;)

We hope that you are also enjoying the creativity that our designers have put in to the posts they are sharing here in the CLASSroom. There are more to come and the projects are spectacular as always!

Now on to what I have been hinting about! As a mom who has enjoyed putting together scavenger and treasure hunts for my children's birthday parties I have tried to think of a way that I could once again do something fun with you, our readers and customers. I'm not certain how "slick" this will work, but I hope that you will all enjoy yourselves if you participate tomorrow. This post is to give you the opportunity to prepare for our hunt if you would like to participate.

We are going to go exploring around the internet searching for clues. These clues will take you from one "stop" to the next. You will want to work through the hunt as quickly as possible, because at the final destination you will find a series of four special codes. The first place code will offer a 25% discount on everything in your shopping cart at the time of purchase. The first one to enter the code and complete their order will receive this first discount. It will be good for one order only.

If you try that first code and it doesn't work and you receive a message that states it has already been used, then try the second code. If that code doesn't work and you receive the message that it is no longer valid, then try the third code. The second place code will offer a 20% discount and third place a 15% discount on everything in your cart at the time the order is placed. Again the second code and the third code are only valid on one order each.

We have absolutely no control over who will receive this code. It is going to be the behind the scenes computer system that picks whose order is first, second and then third. So please don't be sad if you aren't the first ones through the system - this is for fun only and we hope that you enjoy yourselves!

(Please note that we will not be able to change or add to your order if an item is not included at the time of purchase – so please think ahead.

I will watch for these codes to appear and when I see the third order come through I will come back and post here to let you know.

The good news is that there is also a fourth code for ALL who participate in our scavenger hunt! This code will offer you a 10% discount on everything that you are purchasing. There is no huge hurry on using this code because it will be valid until midnight on Monday, December 21st, 2009.

Please shop carefully because these are all one-time use codes. As well they cannot be combined with any other promo code. You may want to shop early because it is for in-stock merchandise only. But if you are a late-comer to our party you can still play along!

You will also find a spot (or two) along the way that you are going to want to return to once you have completed your shopping. This will be a spot where you should leave a comment to be entered for some randomly drawn blog candy.

Just as a quick side-note - we did get the new Basic Grey collections, Memory Box Valentines release AND Maya Road products in! They are up, with sketchy descriptions --- but we really wanted you to be able to enjoy all these goodies at once. We have worked SO hard today - LOL! I'm going to go home now and put my feet up for a few minutes and then finish up before dropping into bed. These late nights have been seriously exhausting :D

Remember – this all starts at 10:00am Pacific Standard Time (1:00pm Eastern Standard Time) on Saturday, December 19! SO head on back tomorrow morning for a spin around cyberville as we share our clues!

Stamping with Hero Arts by Julia Stainton

There are so many different ways you can use one simple stamp set that I thought I'd feature a few ways here today. One of the most basics is a floral set that can be used for many different occasions. When I started stamping years ago, I was amazed at the endless possibilities with some ink, stamps and paper.

The set that was utilized throughout this post (shown on the left) is reminiscent of a brand new set (shown on the right) that is now available through Hero Arts, Stencil Art. Most of the ideas shared below can easily be replicated with this new set if you do not currently own the stamp set used below.

 

When I think of Hero Arts I think of simple, clean and classic design. This mostly white design allows the beauty of the stamps to shine front and center. An easy way to make a sentiment special is to stamp an image with light colored ink and then stamp the sentiment over it. The circle is die cut using the Circle Spellbinders die. A doily, some beautiful white silk ribbon and a Hero Arts Clear Button embellishes the design.

I love stamping white on Kraft Cardstock. For this design I've used the same image but paired it up with a different sentiment. Flourish-style images are great for embellishing corners to get a frame effect. The thought bubble was created by die cutting the stamped white cardstock with an oval Spellbinders die. The Hero Arts darling little pearl stickers in graduated sizes add to the look.

One of my favorite things to do with solid image stamps it to ink them and get a watercolor effect. The perfect papers for this are the Arturo Notecards. Simply ink up the stamp with the dye ink colors you wish to use, spritz the stamp with water in a Mini Mister and get your impression. It's a lovely soft watery look. The Hero Arts Metallic Decor Silver embellishments add a unique and modern decoration.

Sometimes small images can be difficult to use if you're not sure how to use them. Repetition can be a great way to fill the design. For this card, I repeatedly stamped the floral image into a grid for a clean graphic look. Each time I made an impression, I turned the block to vary it up a little. How did I get it nicely spaced? The Magnetic Precision Mat makes it easy. Place the card so that the main intersections of the grid line up where you want them on the card. A clear acrylic block with guidelines can be lined up with the grid on the mat. You may have to eyeball it a little but it's a quick and pretty even way to accomplish it.

You may have noticed that the card isn't standard size. I love changing up the size. Every card you create does not have to be 4.25" x 5.5". For this project I sized the cardstock to fit into a 3.5 x 6.5 tag envelope. Stamp your envelopes for a quick way to make them special.

The large flourish stamp from this set makes a great border. For this fun card I've stamped it on an angle to create fun lines. The Memory Box Lagoon notecard front is cut away around the outside of the flourishes giving you a peek at the inside. The inside panel is covered with some sweet floral paper from the Basic Grey Lemonade 6x6 paper pad. Another little piece is punched out with a circle punch and layered behind a Hero Arts Clear Button tied with twine.

While my Lemonade pad was out I thought I'd have a little fun with some simple stamping combined with patterned paper. You can add stamps to any look you want and they are easy to color coordinate by changing the inks. My sentiment panel is die cut with a Spellbinders labels 
die from kraft cardstock and stitched over layers of patterned paper.

Another fun and easy way to add stamping to a project is to create your own custom ribbon. I've stamped the ribbon with a straight flourish stamp from the set over some pink twill. The clear block and stamp make it super easy to line up and repeat stamp until the ribbon is covered.

Have some fun with some simple stamping and think of some new ways to create with a great basic set.

Thanks so much for stopping by the CLASSroom! Don't forget to return tomorrow at 10:00am Pacfic Standard Time for some "Scavenger Hunt" fun!

Hero Arts Preview Party - Remember Rainbows by Susan Roberts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

Hero Arts Preview Party --- Day 1 Hero Arts Clear Stamps Arrive in the Ellen Hutson LLC Store

Today's the day that many of you have been waiting for. Each year Hero Arts does one MAJOR release and today is the day you get to see it. We are thrilled to be participating this year and hope that you enjoy the beautiful artwork our team is creating for you with the Hero Arts stamp line! Don't forget to join the Hero Arts blog hop as well. Thirty different artists have created some beautiful art to inspire you as well!!!

In addition you are going to want to set your clocks to return here tomorrow, Saturday morning, at precisely 10:00am Pacific Standard Time (on the East Coast it will be 1:00pm.) We will be doing something that we have never tried before --- I am trying to create something fun for all of you who shop with us and frequent our blog. We will be doing a scavenger hunt! Yes, it will perhaps be a little tricky at times, but there is a reward at the end for anyone who wants to make a purchase in our store. As well, you never know what types of surprises might pop up along the way ;)

Just a quick couple of hints to help you prepare:

• get your shopping cart ready, because the first ones through our scavenger hunt will receive a very special reward, (there will be a little something for everyone who prepares their carts and wants to shop though - just sayin' ;)
• sign up for our Facebook Fan Club, 
• get a good nights sleep - ha! ha! (I think I should perhaps be telling myself that before I write the final clues, because my guess is that I may think I have made something easy to follow, when the reality might be quite different. BUT I will give it my best try to make this fun for all who play along :D)

Now on to what I think is a pretty funny story.

I guess you could say that we are participating with the Clear Stamps Hero Arts carries due to divine intervention - LOL! Many of you know that I don't prefer clear stamps - I have just found that I have had to restamp the image numerous times before I would get a good image. I felt that I couldn't do the same types of techniques that I can do with red rubber stamps. I have been a bit of a red-rubber snob is to put it mildly - LOL! So in placing my order to participate with the new release I opted to participate with the Cling and Wood Mount stamps only. Well... when I received the Make n' Take box last week --- guess what. Big mistake... (or so I thought - LOL) Included in my box was the Cling product AND (oh horrors) the CLEAR products... NO wood mounted stamps!!!

I sat there not knowing what I was going to do, because I needed to send these products out to all of our designers to make samples for our preview party here on our blog. I sat there and sadly looked at them and then said to Cathy, "Well, being as I have never stamped a clear Hero Arts stamp before let's go and see what this clear thing can do." I inked up my image and stamped it on my Neenah cardstock. Shock followed! Needless to say the image was not "squishy," it stamped beautifully! I thought perhaps it was just a fluke and so I tried again. I then had Cathy try. Next we pulled out another clear stamp that I had sitting in a drawer --- comparison is key in my mind and I had to know if I had been completely off base in my thinking. I had Cathy do the test. What did she think. Well I am happy to report that it is not just me being biased - she felt that the other old image was definitely more squishy and did not stamp nearly as well. I am only guessing here, but I think that what I did discover is that there are many qualities of clear stamps... and perhaps the quality of clear stamps has improved remarkably since my first experience years ago.  

Needless to say the phone call that ensued with Hero Arts was much different than I initially anticipated. Instead of asking what had happened, I asked if we could please be added to the list of stores who would be purchasing the clear stamps.

So the good news is --- all those totally adorable, whimsical, cute images that Hero Arts manufactures in the clear stamp version only are now in our store. We are trying to make our descriptions and titles clear, so that there will be no mistake as to which product is clear, cling or wood mounted. I know that there are others like myself (at least the old self) who are red-rubber purists :D. Having pictures provided that visually show this difference is a huge help as well.

The story doesn't stop here though. In all the excitement of trying to get the products out to the designers quickly I did not realize that the Clear stamps Hero Arts had sent were not all new designs. I don't know their clear stamp line at all most obviously :D Why they included some older images I'm not quite certain, but they did, and the girls have created some magical projects with stamps we do not have in our store - LOL! It's all good though - I know that their creativity will inspire you :D

CLEAR STAMP INK PAD SELECTION

To begin I wanted to share a little information regarding this product. Being completely unfamiliar with it I felt that I had some exploring to do. You know me - "little miss tester." I pulled out six different stamp pads to see how the image would stamp for me using various inks. I am absolutely thrilled to report that every single one of them gave me a beautiful, clear detailed image. Following are the ink pads I tested:

• Tsukineko Memento, Tuxedo Black
• Palette, Noir
• Adirondack Dye, Pitch Black
• Adirondack Pigment, Pitch Black
• Archival, Jet Black
• Distress Ink Pad, Black Soot

I had always believed that Chalk Inks are the best ink to use with Clear Stamps and I don't even carry chalk inks in the store. So it is such a thrill to report to you that all of these ink pads stamped fabulously. The KEY is to have a nicely inked pad when working with any stamp. Dry ink pads = not so lovely impressions. I did freshly ink each stamp pad before beginning my test to make certain that I was comparing apples to apples.

Once I receive in the bold, silhouette style Clear Image I will be doing further testing. I promise I will check back in when I complete those tests :D

I have shared the picture of the brand new stamp set Big and Small above to show you the wonderful system that Hero Arts has devised for storing their clear stamps. As I began to pull the image away from this storage system I was most definitely a little fearful. It was SO sticky... I was afraid that I would tear the image as I removed it. I am so very happy to report back to you that each image I have removed (which unfortunately is not a whole ton because I only have a couple of sets to try this with) has not torn.

Secondly I discovered, as I released the image, that a perfect copy of the stamp is printed on the storage system! Thank goodness... because I have a tendency to not return my stamps to their homes immediately and then I can't remember where they belong (Insert slightly red face here. For anyone who happens to stop by and see my studio lately you can attest to the piles of stuff that needs to be put away. Can someone please make my days have more hours? Pretty please with sugar on top!) Having this printed surface will be so very helpful.

This picture is to share yet another realization that was part of my clear stamp, light-bulb, discovery process. The storage sheet folds back against itself ---- no more sticky stamps attacking everything that is within touching distance and no more losing the cover sheet as you wonder where on earth you set it down. Yippie, skippy --- I do have some further suggestions I might just have to share with Hero Arts some day though. You know me... always full of big ideas - LOL!

Here is the quick card I created as I continued playing with this fabulous new design. Hero Arts has done a fabulous job in helping us prepare for today. With the box of goodies they sent out to us came some Make n' Take instruction sheets. The card shown above is an improvisation on one of the cards they created as an example to assist us in our creative process.

 

I also wanted to test the clear stamps with VersaMark ink. So I pulled out my Champagne pad and some embossing powder. The detail stamped clearly and it worked like a charm! Then to add just a little more "pearly" texture to my creation and coordinate with the Pearl embellishments that Hero creates I used some White Opal Liquid Pearls. I felt that the liquid pearls would be too thick and so I squeezed a little on my non-stick craft sheet and then added some water to thin the mixture. This was then painted over the flowers for a beautiful, satiny tone-on-tone look.

Stamping on colored paper and then coloring with Copics or Prismacolor color pencils, is a technique that I have not used in a long time! It was a very nice reminder to see a sample in which someone did just that. You don't always have to stamp on white paper when coloring an image. You can stamp on colored paper and let the color stand alone, or add texture and highlights with a variety of coloring products.

When I saw that the original sample had a wonderful little "tag strip" I decided to try utilizing the Twill that we carry in our store and "test" the clear stamps on a fabric-like surface. The ink I used to stamp the sentiment from the new set Truly Appreciated was Pitch Black Adirondack Pigment. I then tested the Archival Jet Black ink. Both worked beautifully - in fact I do think that perhaps the Archival ink looked better, but silly me I ended up "testing" it with my finger and smudged the ink - LOL! Lesson learned - heat set the ink on the twill after stamping! I knew that... why on earth did I make a mess of such a pretty project :D

I hope that you have enjoyed my little exploration into the world of clear stamps. I guess the moral of this story is... you can teach an old dog new tricks... at least this old dog :D

Stay tuned today and please come back to join Susan and Julia. They will be revealing some absolutely spectacular creations with "old" (but new to us - LOL) Hero Arts stamps. You will enjoy their creations so much --- they are once again spectacular!!!

Also don't forget... Saturday, December 19th at 10:00am Pacific Standard Time - join us for a first ever Scavenger Hunt done the Ellen Hutson LLC way :D

Merry Kissmoose Tag by Sharon Harnist

 
All of the gorgeous tags Lisa & Becky made definitely put me in the mood to try one, too!  This sweet moose always cracks me up, so I thought he'd be a good choice for a Christmas tag for my girls -- they will love him!

I began by covering my #8 manilla tag with Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses paper, adding some pink Prima Natural Botanical paper to the bottom of the tag for texture.  The pink glittered strip at the bottom of the tag was nessisitated by the 6-inch pad of Eskimo paper not being long enough to cover the tag -- I trimmed the bottom of the tag with scalloped scissors and then glittered it with a Quickie Glue Pen and Martha Stewart glitter.  I love how it turned out!

To create the glittered frame, I die cut ivory cardstock with the largest two sizes of Labels Four Nestabilities dies.  I just positioned them together with removable tape and cut the frame with one pass in my die cutting machine.  Alternately, you could use the instructions in THIS POST to place your dies on Ellen's Magnetic Masking sheets, which will hold your dies in place. Then I just ran the die cut through my Xyron machine and glittered it with Martha Stewart's lovely pink Tourmaline glitter -- yumm!  It is attached to the tag with dimensional foam tape.

The pink Prima Botanical Paper was held in place at the bottom of the tag with Tim Holtz' Tiny Attacher, formed in the shape of X's.  Moose was stamped with Rich Cocoa and then colored with the Copic markers listed below. The sentiment was stamped together, cut out and attached with foam tape to the top of the tag. Gorgeous pink silk 1-1/4" satin ribbon finishes off my tag ... I hope you enjoy it!

 

Sharon

Stamps: CHF-Kim Hughes Christmas Critters
Paper: Basic Grey Eskimo Kisses 6x6, Neenah Natural White cardstock, Manilla Tag #8
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa ink pad, Ranger Brushed Corduroy Distress ink pad & Adirondack Watermelon dye ink pad. Copic markers E31, E33, E35, E25, R81
Accessories: Spellbinders Labels Four Nestabilities dies, Martha Stewart Essential Colors Glitter-Tourmaline, Prima Botanical Paper-Natural Obsessions Bright Tones, Quickie Glue Pen, May Arts 1-1/4" Silk Ribbon-Pink, Ranger Ink Blending Tool, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher, 1/2" hole punch
Other: Xyron machine, scalloped scissors, foam tape, 1/4" hole punch

Super Lucky Box by Kim Hughes

Favor boxes are such a great size to play with!  You can fill this box with candy, jewelry, instant lottery tickets, an actual fortune cookie maybe?  This little gem of a box can be given to a friend, family member or a co-worker...the possibilities are truly endless.  Put something in this box to tell someone that you are lucky to know them.

 

this box has a magnetic closure built in...love that!

Supplies:

Karen Lockhart stamp: Fortune Cookie

CHF: Backgrounder, Asian, Kim Hughes, Sweet Spring (Easter, St. Patrick's Day)

Copic: YR21, YR24

Basic Grey Brads, Porcelain Glazed, Basic Grey Buttons, Lime Rickey

Cut-N-Dry Stamp Pad Foam

ink: Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Espresso, Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Terra Cotta, Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Lettuce

Use this idea on either of these favor boxes: Martha Stewart Goodie Box, Combo Kit, Martha Stewart Favor, Flourish Box, Ivory

Start by stamping the shamrock in green, , add a subtle shadow by stamping the image lightly next to the main image

Then stamp the word "lucky" in brown on top of the image.

 

Cut a piece of scrap paper to serve as a mask to cover the plastic window.  The paper is 1 1/2" x 1 1/2".  Use re-positionable tape t gently adhere it to the plastic.
 

Next, ink the Asian patterned stamp with orange ink and press box onto inked stamp
 

Stamp the same pattern in green, this time face the box face uo and press the stamp onto the box.  Do not use an acrylic block.  Just rub across the back of the stamp with your fingers, making sure to get good coverage of the pattern across the top of the box.
 

Sponge the same green ink onto the entire surface of the box, top, sides and inside the lid.  When you are ready to ink the inside of the lid, transper the scrap square to the back side and use the mask once again to protect the clear window.
 

Stamp the fortune cookie onto white card stock and cut it out.  Color with YR21
 

and add dimension by coloring the darker areas with YR24.  This stamp tells you where the shaded areas are with small dots.  Once you darken with YR24, go back and color the cookie once again with YR21
 

add stamped accent to the top of the box and bend the little white paper up a bit to add dimension.

add mini brads to button holes and add to the box clasp.

 

favor boxes are great for baby showers, wedding table decorations and so much more, but why not think of them for everyday use as well.  They are super cute and can hold the sweetest little gift.  Christmas is slowly approaching...these are great for thoughtful teacher's gifts.  Have fun creating!

*FYI....Ellen will be introducing a new template design on December 26th, so please be on the lookout*

Christmas Countdown Sale!

It's almost Christmas - I can't believe it!!! In preparation for counting inventory and making room for the next season's supplies we need to clear our shelves. So head on over to our store to see what bargains you can find :D Thank you for shopping with us --- we hope that you are able to enjoy a warm cup of coffee, tea or cocoa durig this chilly time of year as you do so!

ETA: This particular sale noted above is on all Christmas goodies - just click on the image and it will take you directly to the sale category. Click on each image to determine the savings for that item :) Thank you for helping us reduce our Christmas items!
 

Holiday Tag Mini Album Centerpiece

Try saying that five times fast! What a mouthful, but when I was trying to decide what to name this post, that was the only thing that really describes what it is that we are doing. This is a really easy project that you can make as simple or as embellished as you wish.

This is the mini-album side, a great way to share wonderful memories with everyone who visits.

And here is the center piece side, it is festive and reminds me to slow down and appreciate the joy that the season brings.

To get started we need a variety of different sized tags, 2 of the #10 White, 3 of the #8 White and 2 of the #5 White. Lay them out so that they stair step in sizing.

Then stamp them with the "Aged Sheet Music" Scrapblock with "Fired Brick" Distress Ink.

When you are done stamping all the tags on one side, flip them over and stamp the other side the same way.

Now we are going to mix some paint to cover our Basic Grey chipboard with. Use the "Dab of Yellow", "Smidge of Blue", and "Landscape Green" to mix a lovely shade of Christmas green.

Paint your "Basic Grey [un]Dressed Chipboard letters" with a few coats to get nice coverage.

When the paint has dried, apply a pretty thick layer of "Peeled Paint" green Stickles using a brush.

Let dry and then appreciate the beautiful sparkle!

Now to get to work on the mini album side. I used the 6 x 6 "Eskimo Kisses" pack, it is a great size and has multiples of of everything. Select a few of the designs and arrange to find a combination of colors that is pleasing to you.

Trim to fit each of the individual tags. You will notice on the larger tags that the middle is not covered. I just trimmed my pics to cover that part. Adhere the paper to the tags, and then place your pictures on as well.

Sponge "Fired Brick" onto "Grid Mark" Invisibles letter stickers, and then place on tags.

This is the part where the magic happens!

Use your sewing machine that is set to the widest zig zag stitch, and holding the tags side by side with the bottoms even, stitch them together. Repeat between each of the tags, and when you are done you end up with an accordion album that stands on its own and a great looking center piece.

Such an easy thing to do, and you get such a fantastic result!

Now we are going to embellish a little bit. I drew a holly leaf, cut it out and then used it to trace all of the leaves I would need. This is where you can do as much or as little as you would like. In hindsight I wish I had ordered the "Woolies" and the "Pops" that match, but I know I can go back and add them if I still desire, so I am not too worried about it. There are a ton of ways to add more stuff, if you are patient you could also do some fussy cutting.

When you are done tracing, start trimming. I used small-ish circle punches for my berries. The holly leaves on the two sides are different sizes and so are the berries.

Apply with your favorite wet adhesive, and maybe some foam adhesive if you want to add some dimension. 

I had some extra yarn from one of my recent crocheting adventures that matched perfectly so I used that to tie up the top of the tag, I like the home spun look of it. Use a ribbon that you have around, or color some white silk ribbon with a Copic marker to match if you don't have anything else to use.

This is a close up of what one of the larger tags looks like.

When one side is done being decorated and the adhesive has dried, flip it over and work on the center piece side.

A few holly leaves and berries were all that I wanted on this, but some buttons and brads would also look fantastic as well.

Have fun with it and make it yours!

When you are done you will have a beautiful and priceless centerpiece that is sure to be a wonderful conversation piece with family and friends alike.

Thanks for stopping by to visit us at the CLASS room, and be sure to stop by the Christmas Countdown sale! I promise you will find a few things that you "need"!

B-

Day 11 Blog Candy Winner

Thank you for sharing your comments with us! I did have to chuckle on a number of occasions - here I was thinking it was so incredibly apparent what I was pointing towards, but when I read your responses --- I did just have to grin. So much for my thought process - LOL! Perhaps I need to contact Ranger and see if they do want to proceed on an idea that's in my head - ha!ha! You are all wonderful and I thank you for sharing your enthusiasm and support! Yes, of course we are going to share all sorts of fun new products as well as new adventures in the weeks ahead, but that wasn't what I was thinking :D

I thought that the key to my hint "good things to come," the stamp set and the colors I utilized, would make my hint transparent. Oops - LOL! 

I firmly believe in doing our very best to continue with educational patterns that inspire you. The last thing I want to see happen is for you all to come to our store and purchase these fabulous products, have them arrive at your home and then sit there! We want to teach you, inspire you and have you get those products out of the box and use them together with us. This is such a busy time of year and I know that many of you will have ordered these supplies thinking you would create with us right now, but then reality sets in.

SO... yes, we will be doing more tags with the first being a series in which we will share a Valentine's theme we are working on --- "Love throughout the year!" Sharing love at Valentine's is wonderful, but we want you to think outside that box just a little... those Valentine images need some loving throughout the year, not just in January and Februrary. Some fabulous new Valentine releases are just around the corner, so get ready for some fun ahead!!! Keep those supplies you have ordered from us handy, because you are going to want to utilize them once the holiday "hurrieds" have past. OR if you haven't ordered supplies you might want to pick some up ;)

In our newsletter this month I will be revealing a VERY full schedule for the weeks ahead... you are not going to want to miss out on this one. So if you haven't signed up for our newsletter yet, please do so by going to the home page of our store and scrolling to the bottom. All you need to do is enter your email address in the "Join Our Mailing List" box and you should then be set to receive our monthly newsletter as well as any special announcements we make each month.

Now on to the winner of our sweet treats!!!

 
Here are your random numbers:

15

Timestamp: 2009-12-14 17:44:51 UTC\

Pat said:

loved the ruffled ribbon upside down....so cute!

 

Pat we are sending you an email momentarily to get your snail mail address :D We hope that you enjoy crafting with these new supplies!!!

pantry lemons by Cindy Lyles

Basic Grey's yummy Nook and Pantry collection highlights a luscious lemon image from Karen Lockhart for today's post.

To begin the Lockhart Lemons and Bay Leaves image was stamped onto white cardstock using Memento Rich Cocoa ink.  Image was colored with Copic Y15 and G82 - very light colors - and keeping a spot on each lemon bare for highlights.

Continuing to avoid the white highlight on each lemon, darker Copic markers were added to the bay leaves and lemons.  I allowed the dots (on each lemon) of the stamped image to dictate where to add the Copic Y19.

Light toned Copics from the first step were used to blend the darker colors.  I continued to avoid the white highlights on each lemon.

Copic Y19 was used on each lemon again where the dots are located, then the palest of pale yellows - Copic YG0000 - was used to blend each lemon, going over the highlight.

Avoiding my morning coffee to have steady hands, I carefully cut the entire image out then set aside.

 

Stamped Lemons and Bay Leaves image with Versamark onto Vanilla Bean cardstock and heat set white embossing powder.  (Heat tool is from Ranger, decorated with inks.)

Cut out bowl only then set aside.  Proceeded to consume coffee.

Stamped Bay Leaves and Lemons image using Memento Rich Cocoa ink.  Die cut then embossed image using Labels #8, then highlighted with Copic markers.

Additional Nook and Pantry 6x6 papers were used to decorate the card interior and envelope lining.  Card interior uses a fun EK Success Edger Punch.

Onto Labels #8 stamped image, layer cutout of colored lemons using foam dimensionals, then adhere embossed bowl in place with regular adhesive.  A Copic Spica pen in Buttermilk was added to key areas of the image.

Light teal bling was added to the Labels #8 layer, and mounted onto a Vanilla Bean labels #8 layer underneath.  Additional layers of Basic Grey's 6x6 Nook and Pantry papers were layered, the thin layer uses an EK Success Edger Punch.  A gorgeous Nook & Pantry stitched brad was mounted near the top, and the entire unit was layered onto a Peony card base.

Finished card size is 4-3/4" square (12cm square).  Thank you for stopping by the CLASSroom today!

Tag #12 May the Spirit of Christmas Fill Your Heart by Becky Olsen

 What an exciting ride the last 12 days have been! Lisa's tags are amazing, and I have learned so much from my own creative process. So while I have been sharing, I have been enjoying this wonderful time and had experienced growth in unexpected ways, a wonderful gift in return. We are so grateful that you have joined us in this fantastic adventure, and I do believe that there are more on the way, so keep your eyes open!

The last tag is called "May the spirit of Christmas fill your heart". And this is what it looks like when it is finished.

We are going to start by working on the heart layer. Get a brush, I like the wide one from the "Studio Artist Brush" set. Scoop a little of the "Pewter" Perfect Pearls onto the end of the brush and then tap onto your "Craft Sheet".

Spritz water from your "Mini Mister" beside the Perfect Pearls.

Swirl the water and Perfect Pearls together and let it bead up on the Craft Sheet.

Lay your #8 White tag down on top of the Perfect Pearls and smooth across the back of the tag.

This is what it looked like when I lifted it up.

Set with the Heat It tool.

Spritz tag with water from the Mini Mister to loosen it up a little.

Set with Heat It tool.

Stamp "Swirling Snowflakes" with "Perfect Medium" and then sprinkle "Clear Embossing Powder" over the top.

Melt with the Heat It tool.

This is what it looked like when I was done.

Stamp the "Vintage Text" Scrapblock onto another #8 White Tag with Pigment "Pitch Black" ink.

Apply "Antique Linen" Distress ink to edges with the "Ink Blending Tool".

Stamp the stitched border from the "Primitive Christmas" with "Espresso" Pigment ink around all the edges.

Trim if you have sides that aren't even. Now the base tag is ready for some layers!

Lets get back to the tag we started with. Apply "Aged Mahogany" Distress ink to the entire tag using a piece of "Cut n' Dry" foam.

Spritz with the Mini Mister lightly.

Set with the Heat It tool.

They are hard to see in this picture, but now there are lovely little spritz marks that look a little like snow in this context, so pretty!

Draw a heart on the back that is about half of the tag in size.

Trim around the heart shape.

Apply more Aged Mahogany ink to the edges with the Cut n' Dry foam.

Carefully wipe over the embossed areas with a soft cloth. This removes the ink from the top of the embossed areas with out damaging the ink that was applied to the tag.

Stamp the calender piece from the Rummage Bin "Christmas Night" set onto a new #8 White tag.

Stamp the number 25 from the "Evergreen Holiday" with Aged Mahogany ink and then sprinkle with Clear Embossing Powder. Melt with Heat It tool.

Trim around the entire piece.

Apply "Old Paper" Distress ink with the Ink Blending tool over the entire piece.

Apply "Antique Linen" with the Ink Blending Tool on the edges.

Run edges along the top of "Walnut Stain" and set with Heat It tool.

Stamp the Holly Berry Branch from the Christmas Night set with the Walnut Stain ink, then set with the Heat It tool.

Apply "Peeled Paint" Distress Stickles carefully over the leaves. The stickles will cause the ink to bleed if it gets moist. Stay within the shape of the leaves and it will be fine.

Apply "Burgundy" Stickles onto the holly berries. Again be careful and apply lightly with in the berries.

This is what it looks like from the side.

On a new #8 White tag stamp the "Jolly Holly Santa" with Aged Mahogany Distress ink, sprinkle with clear embossing powder and melt with Heat It tool.

Trim around the santa.

Press "Antique Linen" and "Tattered Rose" onto the craft sheet and lightly spritz with Mini Mister.

Carefully paint his face with the Antique Linen first and set with Heat It tool.

Then paint the Tattered Rose onto the nose and cheeks.

Set with the Heat It tool.

Use "Quickie Glue Pen" to fill in hat, mustache and beard areas.

Sprinkle "Cotton Ball White" Fun Flock onto the image and lightly press with your finger tips.

Carefully shake off excess.

Use "Matte Accents" to attache a little white pom pom if you have one. I snipped one from some pom pom trim I had on hand, but they are readily available at most local craft shops.

Fill in holly leaves with Peeled Paint Distress Stickles.

Fill in holly berries with Burgundy Stickles.

On a leftover piece of tag, stamp the sentiment from the Mona Lisa Moments "Christmas Expressions" with the Pigment Espresso ink.

Trim to around the edges.

Apply Old Paper Distress ink over the entire piece with Ink Blending tool.

Apply Antique Linen Distress Ink with Ink blending tool to the edges of the piece.

Stitch x's onto side of sentiment with green floss that is similar in color to the Peeled Paint Stickles.

Pierce holes in a circle around the number 25.

Stitch with the green floss.

Apply foam adhesive to the backs of all the pieces.

Start by applying the heart at the top and then the calender at the bottom. Then place the santa over the top of both. Last, tuck the bottom right of the sentiment under the santa.

This what it looks like with all of the dimension. Now we are going to tie a big silk "Burgundy" ribbon bow on the top.

And now we are finished. Thanks so much for visiting today and for spending some of your precious holiday time with us. We hope that we have inspired you to play with your products, and encouraged you to think outside of the "box" when it comes to tags and design.

We wish you a very Merry Christmas!
B-

Ribbon Garland for Displaying Your Tags

We had a few people email Ellen and ask if we had any solutions that would help you display your projects with style. I came up with a ribbon garland that is quick and sure to compliment any style of decor.

So here is a quick tutorial that will show you how to get it done. This design and concept was created by me, so if you do want to share with your friends and family (and I really want you too!) please give me credit and link to this post and Ellen's shop. Thanks for your cooperation in this!

This is what the garland looks like finished, if you would like to see the image larger, just click on it.

First decide how many tags you want to display and then measure the ribbon accordingly. This is sized to the #8 tag, so there is 5" between each of the clips. So measure 5" of ribbon for each tag, and then add 6" to each end to leave room for attaching to whatever you wish to hang it from.

Next, attach the Hinge Clips by stitching with an embroidery floss that is similar to the color of ribbon you are using for your garland. My ribbon is white, so I used a white floss.

Start by coming up through the ribbon from the back through the center of the Hinge Clip and then going back into the ribbon from the front over the top of the Clip and down into the ribbon to the back side.

Cross the floss over and bring the needle through.

Cross the needle back over again and tie the knot off.

Repeat going up and back down at least three times to secure the Clip.

Tie another knot by looping the thread back through the floss and inserting the needle through the loop and then tighten. Trim floss.

Tie two bows as shown in the previous tutorial and then place where you would like it to be on the ends of the garland.

Turn the ribbon carefully over while holding the bow in place. Stitch into place.

Tie the knot off when done stitching.

Attach tags and then hang where you can show all your hard work off!

A few of the things that I learned that will make things easier for you, use a sturdy ribbon. The silks that are so gorgeous are much to fragile and don't have enough "body" when hung up. Using a ruler while measuring out the ribbon and marking each of the spots for the tags as I went cut my work in half, I didn't have to measure twice. I would also attach the tags onto the ribbon lower so that is doesn't pull the bottom under from the weight of the suspension.

So I hope that this comes in useful to you, it sure did for me!
If you do try it, I would love to see! If you can, share a link in the comments of this post so I can visit you and leave a compliment, that would be wonderful!

Happy Holidays!
B-

Tying a Bow Tutorial

I just wanted to share a quick tutorial on tying a bow. If you need to tie a bow and not have it hold something together, this is a great way to do it.

First start with two loops that are the same length and leave the same amount of ribbon that hangs from where the knot is.

Cross the loops to form an "X" with the ribbon, make sure to leave a little space where you can pull the top loop through.

Carefully push the top loop through the little hole that you had left.

Grab the loop with the other hand and gently pull it through.

Gently pull both loops until they are even in size and the tension on the knot is taught.

Now you have a lovely little bow just waiting to be attached to your special projects!

If you have any questions leave a comment and I will do my best to answer.

Happy Holidays!
B-

Tag 11 - Painted Santa By Lisa Strahl

Dear friends, I can't believe this is my last tag!  Where has the time gone?  Sharing this series with Bek and Ellen's readers has been nothing but a pleasure.  (Ok, I could do without this flu bug I am fighting.)  But never fear, there are tags to be made and I took an extra nap this afternoon just so I could finish well.  Thank you so much for all of your kind words, they did lift me up yesterday.  :D

This tag was another labor of love, although hard to photograph at times.  I always craft in the late evening, just the time of life I am in, with day time work and little ones.  Please forgive some strange angles I needed to use to keep the glare off of the project.

 

 

Press the Aged Mahogany, Shabby Shutters and Vintage Photo Distress Ink Pads in a triangle pattern to the Non-Stick Craft Sheet and spritz with a Mini Mister.  Mine is always filled with Pearl Perfect Pearls (say that three times fast!) and water to add some bling.

 

Press the Size 8 Tag to the ink...

 

...and give it a quarter turn.

 

Turn it over and heat set with the Ranger Heat It Craft Tool.  Feel free to use some paper towel to remove any excess ink you don't like.

 

 

Repeat this process over and over until your tag is covered to your satisfaction.  I usually press into the ink about 8 times, focusing on different areas each time.  Be sure to heat set between each layer of color.

 

What on earth is this, right?  I wanted to add some texture to this background, but a stamped pattern was going to be too much for all of the other stuff I had planned.

Cut three lengths of Black Crocheted Ribbon the circumference of the Medium Inky Roller - adhere with some double sided tape.  Remove some of the stickiness by handling it with your fingers a few times so you can remove it later.

 

Squeeze a good amount of paint from the Adirondack Gold Paint Dabber onto your Craft Sheet.

 

Get your brayer good and "painty".

 

Roll in ONCE over the tag, pressing firmly.

 

 

I just LOVE this effect.  Added texture, but it's not distracting in any way.

Determine the right size game spinner (the smallest gold one) to fit this date sticker from the Salvage Sticker Assortment (I know Ellen has these at the warehouse and they should go up on the store in the next day or two.)

They were a little stark for the project so ink them with Vintage Photo Distress Ink using Cut 'n Dry Foam and heat set. 

Using the matching brad, attach the spinner to the sticker.  Hammer it with the ball end of the Texture Hammer, smash that brad!

 

Ink the larger month sticker with Shabby Shutter Distress Ink.

Put the date sticker over the month sticker, attach with the brad and cover the entire piece with Glossy Accents.  Note: The spinner points to the 24th and December.

Dab gold paint onto the Santa image from the Santa's Wish Stamp Set.

Brayer over the paint with a clean brayer to ensure the paint is distributed evenly. 

Stamp onto a tag and heat set.

Fussy cut it out. 

Press the Peeled Paint Distress Ink Pad onto the craft sheet and pick some up with a Small Niji Waterbrush.  Watercolor the holly leaves on the image.

Watercolor Santa's hat and coat with Aged Mahogany Distress Ink.  My favorite part about this technique is that the paint resists the water and ink which means that it shows through and shimmers.  So lovely!

And give him some rosy cheeks with Tattered Rose Distress Ink. 

Whiten his beard with the Inkssentials White Gel Pen.

Cover the white part of his hat with Glossy Accents. 

And dust with Twinklets. 

Stamp the lamp post from the Festive Sounds Stamp set with Jet Black Archival Ink on a Crystal Clear Sheet, heat set and cut out with detail scissors.

Paint the back side of the image with Adirondack Pearl Paint Dabber with the smallest Studio brush. 

 

Press the painted side of the post to the tag as shown.  Add double sided tape to the bottom off Santa and add some foam squares behind his hat so he has some stature.

And once again, attach some of that lovely Black Crochet Ribbon with the Tiny Attacher - I am COMPLETELY addicted to this tool!!!  Can you tell?  *giggles*

Fill a Typewriter Key Charm with Frosted Lace Stickles and set aside to dry.

Once dry, attach to the end of Santa's hat with a silver brad. 

Attach your clock/month embellishment as shown with a strong adhesive.

Adhere a stripe of star shaped Twinkle Stickers. 

Finish it off with the Merry Christmas sentiment from the Santa's Wish stamp set and top it off with 1 1/4 inch Ivory Silk Ribbon.  I just love how soft and almost romantic this Santa turned out.  It's as if he is hiding and you discover him as your eye wanders around the tag.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for having me.  I am blessed.  

Day 11 Blog Candy

When life hands you lemons you turn it in to lemonade! Life has handed Lis lemons and she is sicker than can be. So Lis, PLEASE take care of yourself and feel the love that is being sent your way!!!

SO... we are going to make a little lemonade for you here today and tide you over as you anticipate the last two tags, with a stunning page from Julia's beautiful album, and some yummy blog candy to sweeten your day!

So your mission should you chose to accept it is... to leave a comment here on this post telling us:

• at least one thing you have learned during the 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist,
• make a guess at what you might think I am referring to with my statement "good things to come,"

Please limit yourself to one comment and leave it before midnight on December 12th, 2009 to be eligible for this random drawing.

In addition I would like to once again suggest that you leave comments on ANY post here in the CLASSroom dating back to December 3rd - just sayin' you know ;)

Canvas Album Part Three, Photo Transfer by Julia Stainton

I've been back working on new pages for my Canvas Album and am really excited with how this fun photo transfer technique turned out on the canvas album. Photo transfer is a technique that takes a photo or image and transfers it to another surface. You can use a photo transfer technique onto paper, a hard surface or in this case, the canvas fabric. It's a super cool way to get a photograph onto a wide variety of surfaces.

Photo transfer is really a very easy technique with great results if you just follow the directions. You can use a photograph or other image. Most photo transfers give a great vintage look. Due to the fact that usually a black and white image is used and the artistic look of this medium, it gives a slight aged  and imperfect look.

The first thing you do when starting to transfer a photo is make a copy of your original onto white printer weight paper. You don't want it too heavy as you will eventually have to work off the layers of paper fiber. Laser printed images or photocopied images work best because of the toner based ink. Some inkjet printer inks will work but I did not have any success with mine and it's probably just as easy to go make a photocopy. Another thing you'll want to bear in mind is that whatever your image looks like, it will be reversed after the photo transfer technique. If that doesn't matter to you, just photocopy away. If there is text or because of hairstyles etc. you want to have it the correct way, make sure you print the photo in reverse first before photocopying it. I did this for the photos below to keep my parents' image as close to realistic as possible.

 

The photo transfer technique can be done with many types of paint but I had great results with the Claudine Hellmuth Studio Glossy Multi Medium. I wanted a clear look but you can mix in some of her colored acrylic Studio paints with the medium for a tinted look if you wish.

 

Brush the Multi-Medium onto the canvas page making sure you get the canvas well-covered. You'll need enough so that the paper with adhere well to it.

 

Trim your image close to the edges and apply over the Multi-Medium. Use a Ranger Craft Scraper or an old credit card to smooth out the paper and make sure you have a good bond. And then the hard part. Wait.
 

It actually dries quite quickly and depending on your application will dry in 15-30 minutes. You'll want it to be dry to touch and look like the photo below.

 

Spray the paper with water using a Mini Mister and then gently remove paper by rubbing with a soft cloth or sponge. Remove paper layers slowly and gently so as to not harm the image underneath.

 

Here's what the transferred image looks like. Isn't that cool?

 

I photographed this shot on an angle so that the light would pick up the canvas texture for the photo.

So now I'm ready to finish up my canvas page. To get an idea of the layout I laid out 2" squares of Basic Grey Porcelain paper and a Manila tag across the bottom.

The embellishing is always one of the fun parts for me. The tag is stamped with images from the Ornamental Beauty stamp set in Black Memento ink, Worn Lipstick Distress Ink and Shabby Shutters Distress ink to create a journaling space. Beautiful lace is stapled onto the end of the tag with the Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher. A Fragment highlights the Bride and Groom sentiment from the Wedding Centers stamp set by CHF.

 

Each of the squares is sponged with ink and then stitched to the canvas page. The middle square has been stamped with another image from the Ornamental Beauty set and then colored with Copic Markers.The tag is tied with some gorgeous white silk ribbon, perfect for anything but especially weddings.

 

To "tie in" the photo with the rest of the design, I decided a stitched "frame" would be nice around the photo transferred image.

And here's the finished page...

 

My next canvas page post is another fun photo idea that I think you'll want to try. Join me January 1st for it as Ellen has a superb surprise in store for you to go along with it. In the meantime, if you're looking for the other Canvas Album posts, you can find them at Part One and Part Two.

Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom!