the CLASSroom

Cute Magnetic Message Station by Kim Hughes

I love hanging pictures on my wall as a kid (and I still do) I hope that this is a project that you can see yourself doing with a special child or two in your life.  I altered a Maya Road embellishment tin...and it was OH SO EASY to do.  Weather your little one would display photos of her and her BFF or that dreamy boy that she oogles at school (along with his phone number possibly), this project can be enjoyed for any child at any age. 
 

supplies:

Zva Creative: Ice and Fire Crystal, Jet

Silk Ribbon, Ivory 1 1/4" wide by the Yard

Chipboard Foundation (any Maya Road tin will work)

Nested Butterfly

Essentials by Ellen: Art Magnetic Masking Material

Jenni Bowlin Memo Book, Orange, Mini Papers, Homespun

Ribbon, Vintage Crochet Trim, Wave, White, Ribbon Lace, Donegal

Martha Stewart Craft Punch, Classic Butterfly, Martha Stewart Craft Punch, 3-in-1 Classic Butterfly

start by punching and die cutting butterflies from a magnetic sheet.  They work beautifully with a metal tin.

I also punched the same shapes from patterned paper.  I thought that black crystals would be fun to add to the butterfly centers, so I cut them from a full flourish.

I cut down 2 journal papers to fit on the inside of the tin and rounded the edges with a corner rounder punch.

The paper butterflies are adhered to the magnetic base in the center only so that the wings will stand out and add dimension.  I then added white lace to the inside walls of the tin with a liquid glue.

I added liquid glue along the outside edge and adhered green lace along the rim.

a little dab of liquid glue once again..to the tip of each lace design is all it takes to adhere them to the inside of the tin.

Here is what it looks like when it's complete.  Covering that metal edge gave it a finished hand made look.

I punched a hole in the bottom so that a tag message could be hung.  You can mass produce possible message tags that can be hung from this magnetic wall hang. Messages like knock first, I am not home, go away or text me maybe?

It's easy to add ribbon to the back to hang on the wall or a door knob. 

Make more than one and arrange them side by side on the wall (some vertical, some horizontal)  Make them into shadow boxes.  Embellish the clear lid and showcase keepsakes in the box and display on your wall.  I hope that I shared enough basics to make this project your own.  Have fun!

Glittery Edward Eyes By Lisa Strahl

I just love it when the stars align and things come together.  Today's post is three things:  1) a technique post that I have been dying to share with you, 2) fits nicely into Ellen's current promotion to craft with your kids and teenagers and 3) falls on the release date for The Twilight Saga movie, Eclipse.

A few weeks ago I mentioned to Ellen that I had this crazy idea to do something with the Cornish Heritage Farms stamp called Elvis Eyes.  All of my wood mounted stamps are on shelves near where I sit in my studio.  I was walking past my Elvis stamps one day and saw Edward's eyes staring back at me!  That smoldering gaze, those long eyelashes.  Oh, Edward.  *giggles*

Now, if you are not a fan of the movies or books, I bet you know someone who is and chances are that they are a teenager!  (...and a few "older" ladies who might just be fans too)  The key to understanding why I am using this technique is that Edward has sparkly skin in the sunlight and to that end, we are going to glitter Edward today with a wonderful Transparent Microfine Glitter called Warm Highlight.  The technique called Burnished Velvet was developed by two dear friends of mine - Haroldine the Tape Lady and Deanna the Glitter Lady.  Ellen wrote an awesome post that talks about how she spent time with Haroldine and Deanna recently.

Burnished Velvet is basically where you press Glitter Ritz Microfine Glitter onto Be Creative double sided tape and rub it with your finger to "burnish".  The result literally feels like velvet!!  So amazing.  Once you try this stuff, you will wonder what you ever did without it!

Supplies:

-Elvis Eyes stamp (Cornish Heritage Farms)

-Be Creative Tape Sheets

-Glitter Ritz Mircofine Transparent Warm Highlight Glitter

-Lemon Spica Glitter Pen(Copic)

-Jet Black Archival Ink (Ranger)

-Eclipse Masking Tape(Judikins)

-Double Ended Tags die (Spellbinders)

-Licorice and Cranberry (Memory Box)

First, I wanted to simplify the image by masking off some of the detail on the nose and between the eyes.

Eclipse Masking Tape to the rescue!!  (...and another indication that this project was meant to be.  What are the chances that I would need to use a product today named Eclipse!)  Eclipse tape is a sticky enough, but not too sticky a tape that you can use to cover and mask things.  It won't damage your project and is easily removed.  I cut a piece to fit between the eyes and then inked up my stamp as normal.

Remove the tape and voila, the image is inked just where it needs to be.

Edward is stamped onto Neenah Classic, Solar White card stock.

Now, of course Edward has golden yellow eyes so the Lemon Spica Glitter pen was perfect!  Remember that you can dab the pens in the same area over and over to saturate with glittery ink.

The next step is to cover the area with Be Creative Tape.  I trimmed a piece to fit on my Tonic trimmer from a tape sheet.  Remove the brown backing and press to the sheet.

Using a bone folder to something with a flat edge, burnish the tape to the card stock.

Remove the blue and white backing, being VERY CAREFUL not to touch the tape with your fingers and shake the glitter over the entire surface.

Remove the excess glitter with a soft clean brush.

Use your finger tip tip to burnish the glitter into the tape.  This brings up the shine on the glitter, it's really amazing what a difference it makes!

My final step was to use the Lemon Spica pen OVER the glitter to make his golden eyes even brighter.  The sentiment was computer generated in a Twilight font (just Google it) and cut using Spellbinders Double Ended Tags die.  I glittered the sentiment using the same technique as above, before I cut it out.  The glittered panel is framed with Cranberry card stock and mounted on a Licorice base (Memory Box).

Oh, Edward indeed!  I hope you got a kick out of my Twilighty little card - who knows, you might even convince a teenager to stamp with you!!

Trend Watch - Bird Watching by Becky Olsen

Every morning during this time of year, we are awakened by the sounds of birds chirping and chattering with each other right outside our window. We feel pretty lucky that we live in a neighborhood that is rather quiet and established so we get a pretty wide range of feathers to peep at! The robins have built nests in the backyard for years and often as the babies are learning to fly they end up on our deck catching a break. The quail love to trot through the side yard and hide in the dense plants while they are looking for their meals. The hummingbirds flit from tasty flower to tasty flower all around the house. The sparrows are particularly fond of the front yard and the nests they build in our spruces are right up against the large pane windows of the the living room so we have bird television for the cats in there! All of this wild life aside, what does that have to do with crafting you might ask...

I think that the trend of birds that has been growing stronger with each progressive season has come because of art mimicking our lives. We see these fantastic creatures that brush the skies with their tiny wings everyday and they inspire us to do the same. So let's explore the trend of birds in crafting, and maybe we will see how they might be used in even more of our projects than before.

Hero Arts has this set called Decorative Birds that have tons of personality in a fun four piece set.

Inkadinkado created this delightful Clear Inchie Stamp set called Birds that is wonderful for creating inchie sized projects.

Wanting to stamp but would like a few more options in shape and size in your bird? How about this huge set that was designed by Kim Hughes for Cornish Heritage Farms called Pretty Birds? It comes in a design sheet or pre-cut, and is one of the most commonly used set of stamps in my stash!

 

Graphic 45 has a fantastic image of a bird on this gorgeous piece of Botanicabella Birds in Paradise patterned paper. Just think how gorgeous this would be in a frame or on a piece of canvas as a piece of home decor, stunning!!

And if you are ready to get messy and play, this Flight of Fancy set of Glimmer Screens is definitely for you! the possibilities become truly endless when you incorporate masks into anything you are creating.

Thinking about adding a little bit of hardware to your next project? Tim Holtz knows how to bring trend to the table, and with the darling birds from this set of Adornments charms, you will be soaring in style!

 

This set of chipboard birds with mix and match wings makes my heart flutter! It is a mini set called Birds with Cages and works beautifully on cards or any other project you might have on your desk that needs a little bird.

Prima created these fabulous Canvas Fabric Birds, one is in a fun blue color and the other is just waiting for you to add your imagination! Paint, stamping, pens, ink or anything else your mind has in store can be done to this bird!

And for the ultimate in creative freedom, pick up the Nested Bird shaped dies for your die cutting system. With these you can create adorable birds out of fabrics, Claudine's Sticky Back Canvas, specialty papers, ribbons and so much more! And after they are cut the fun doesn't end there.

You can cut two opposites and make wonderful little hanging ornaments to decorate with or cut a bunch of them out of a heavier card stock, adhere them together and then cover with peanut butter and bird seed to hang outside of a window as a bird feeder!

The bird seed can be applied in a thin layer

Or a thicker layer than even this, up to you and whatever size of helper you may have!

Just make sure the cats can't get to your visitors ;o) This is a quick, fun and easy project that everyone from the youngest of crafters to the older will enjoy. And the opportunity to bird watch together is one that is hard to pass up!

Birds are a fun trend because of the amazing variety of product styles you might see, they range from the exquisitely elegant and intricately detailed to the simple and sweet. I hope you take a few minutes to relax and do a little bird watching and then maybe a little bird creating.

B-

Altered Camera Bag by Debbie Olson

 

Welcome to the Classroom! I recently replaced my camera and needed a larger bag for the new one and its lenses. When I saw the large Prima blank canvas camera bags, I chose one as the perfect new camera home; I was very pleased with the quality of the bag and the thickness of its padding when it arrived. As part of Ellen's Crafting with Your Kids week, this project is something that a teen might love. Think of the possibilities for expressing oneself! (The camera bag is also available in a smaller size too for cameras without multiple lenses.)

Altering canvas isn't quite as scary as it sounds. Keep in mind that if you really mess up, you can always gesso over it and start again. In fact, I can tell you all about that "starting again" part: more about that later. I had observed artist Traci Bautista demonstrate her art journaling at the Copic booth at last CHA and was amazed at how free and flowing her drawing motions were. In a positive way, she reminded me of how non-judgmental an elementary student doodling instead of taking notes in class can be--whatever happens on paper or in this case, on canvas, is good--better than notes, in any case! 

So when I stared at the blank bag, Copic Multiliner in hand, I was thinking "Traci. . ." Guess what? It's harder than it looks! I should have at least sketched on paper first to get an idea of where I was going. (Traci didn't do that. She just made cool art as naturally as breathing.) Of course, Traci has experience in freeform arts, and I--well, in spite of an art background, am one of those perfectionistic, uptight artisans. . . I need planning and structure. I want control of my medium. Here is my first try, with no underdrawing. I sketched freehand on the front of the camera bag with the Multiliner and then colored with my Copic markers.

 

Big Mistake. The flowers were all too close to the same height, and the type was atrocious--bad letterspacing, poor planning. . . On to Plan B, which I didn't have yet. 

I knew that I could gesso over the pocket and paint with acrylic paints. However, I really wanted to use my Copic markers to color my image, and Copics are not supposed to be used on top of acrylic paint. (If you do it, use them quickly, only over absolutely dry paint. Airbrushing is a much better idea; then you won't damage your marker tips.) 

So what was Plan B? I remembered having some of Claudine Helmuth's Sticky -Backed Canvas in my stash. Love that stuff! I used various widths of Copic Multiliners, an archival pigment ink pen compatible with Copic markers, to draw over my lightly penciled sketch lines. After the ink was completely dry, I used a gum eraser to remove my pencil lines and then made sure that ALL eraser particles were removed before I started to color.

 

Next, I started coloring with my Copic markers. Coloring canvas is different from coloring paper, but it is not hard to adjust if you know what to expect. Cloth is very absorbent and tends to wick the ink out of the lines. Rather than coloring around the perimeter and working your way into the shape, start in the center and work your way out, allowing time for that wicking action to spread the ink. It is important not to oversaturate the canvas since you will have a hard time getting rid of coloring overages. 

 

Here are the markers and pens that I used; the one that you can't see in the back is a Black Copic Multiliner SP BS (Brush Small). I really liked it, but you should be aware that it is more of a flexible brush tip--not a standard hard tip. You control the width of the line by hand pressure. It is perfect for doodling applications.

 

Here is my completed replacement panel. I stitched randomly around the edges before removing the paper backing from the sticky canvas. That made removing the backing a twenty-minute job, and I'm not sure I would recommend doing it that way again. (Aren't you glad that I made the mistakes so that you do have to? ;-}) I also sponged a bit of distress ink around the edges to make the panel tie in better with the creamier color of the natural canvas. Since I had filled in the rest of the panel with color, the edges were really the only place that stood out as noticeably white, but I certainly got more vibrant color when working on white as opposed to the natural canvas. The texture is a finer texture as well--a bit easier to color that the original front panel had been. Keep in mind that working on canvas is harder on your marker tips than working on paper, and uses more ink as well. Since replacement tips and ink refills (Copic Various Inks) are readily available, it was worth the extra wear on my marker tips, and the sticky backed canvas was a great surface since I was using fairly large Copic Multiliner point sizes.

 

I was happy with the pocket panel at this point, but I needed some cover for the rest of the bag. Please Note: rather than depending solely upon the sticky-backed canvas to stay put on something that would get quite a bit of wear and tear, I added some Helmar Gemstone Glue to the edges to make sure that the canvas would stay attached. This glue stays flexible and is washable too. I pulled out an assortment of masks and started airbrushing with my markers. Airbrushing is not recommended for cloth that will be washed since it does not soak into the cloth as far as it does when you color with your markers. I am not planning to wash this bag, so it should be fine.

Note: Not all of these masks are available in Ellen's store; in fact, the black masks have been discontinued, so if you want one of the patterns left in stock, you should get it. The Tim Holtz masks (such as the flourish) are still available, but the Heidi Swapp masks (Polka Dots) won't be available again that I'm aware of. The circles and stars were given to me by someone at CHA; they are manufactured by Crafter's Workshop. Also, the camera bag contains a long adjustable strap as well, but I haven't decorated it yet.  

 

 

My bag is an ongoing project. I think it needs some black ink on the airbrushed body of the bag as well, but I thought I might save that either for doodling when the mood strikes, or for autographs. I bet Marianne would draw on my bag if I asked nicely! 

Thanks for stopping by the Classroom today, and I hope that perhaps you will consider altering a blank canvas piece as well. If you are not feeling brave, hand the bag to your teen along with a multiliner!

Stamping Backgrounds & Creating Rub-on Transfers by Julia Stainton

I love creating and creating your own papers and rub-ons is a really fun thing to do. The unique possibilities are endless. I hope you'll have fun learning with me today and be inspired to create a few things of your own.

When starting this project, I first started with creating my own background papers with some Neenah Classic Solar White cardstock, a Backgrounder and a couple Scrapblocks and some ink. Custom patterned papers are so easy to create and I love being able to create any color I wish. In fact, I think that these large stamps are my absolute favorites to create with.

One thing you have to deal with when using a large stamp is inking it well. You want to achieve a nice even image. I never use a block with these stamps but just lay them face up on the work surface.

 

I have a really juicy new Distress ink pad and a fairly new stamp. You can see how the ink has beaded up on it. This does not leave the best impression and the sample below on the right was what it looked like stamped. You can click on the photo to get a larger view of it.

To get the more even look of the left side impression, I cleaned the processing residue well off of my stamp and then inked the surface. I find that rolling over the stamp with an Inky Roller Brayer is a great way to even out and achieve a higher quality image. This beautiful stamp is the Vintage Chintz Backgrounder by Cornish Heritage Farms. On this card it is stamped in Tumbled Glass Distress Ink and Lettuce Adirondack Ink by Ranger.

The other part of this project I want to talk about is creating your own rub-on transfers. I love rub-ons as they have a unique look from stamping and you can use them across different paper elements without breaking up the image.

Using Grafix Rub Onz, you can print off your own rub-ons. Use a computer project to design your own if you wish. I've used some of the embellishments from the Scrap HD program and created a rub-on sheet of my own. All those fun designer images can be made into rub-ons and sized however I wish. I'm in love with the myriad of possibilities.

Here's a peek at some of the possibilities. I selected them and then...

...dragged them onto my digital work area. Aren't these cool? I have to admit though, when designing this sheet I forgot that the text must be in reverse as the transfer process fixes it that way. Oops! I'll remember next time.

 

After you print out your rub-ons, just follow the package directions. You'll apply the adhesive to the film and then press is down well. I find the Basic Grey Rub-on Roller works perfectly for this.

I think it's so cool that I made my own Jenni Bowlin image rub-ons. This sweet bird is applied over three different layers easily.

 

Backgrounders and Scrapblocks are great for backgrounds but if they have text on them, you can also use them for sentiments. This Life Scrapblock is one I designed with some of my favorite quotes and sayings on it. To stamp your sentiment, just ink up the one portion of it that you want to stamp with a Memento Marker. 

I used a few other products to create this design... Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink by Ranger, the Vintage Text Scrapblock by Cornish Heritage Farms, the Labels Four Nestability Die, a beautiful lace flower from the Madrigal Blossom White package by Prima, a Crystal Trinket Pin & Kraft Ticket by Maya Road and a Crystal Binding Ring Dangle by 7 Gypsies.

 

Here's a close-up of the final project.

Have fun exploring your creativity by creating your own design elements. Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom and have a fabulous weekend!

Glitter Baby Page by Sharon Harnist

 

I decided to make a traditional 6-inch scrap page today and used an element I'm in love with at the moment ... glitter!  It's a good thing I have little girls who appreciate glitter and bling, too!  :D  To make this page, I started by stamping three different background stamps onto three different colors of Memory Box Cardstock: Taffy, Granny Smith & Iris:

 

The CHF Backgrounders I used were: Geometric Flowers II, Polka Dot Large & AlphaNumber.  I used Ranger Distress Inks in Worn Lipstick, Sabby Shutters & Tumbled Glass.  Next, I cut a piece of white cardstock 5.75" square and used this as my base to piece the stamped colored cardstock in an arrangement I liked, and rounded the corners with the 1/2" side of my Crop-a-Dile Corner Chomper.

Next, I used Spellbinders Big Scalloped Square Nestabilities die (largest die in the small set) and cut four pieces of Sweet Corn Memory Box cardstock.  Then I layered all four scalloped die cuts behind the colored scrap page base, overlapping one scallop -- this created a perfect 6.25" frame for my page!

To create the photo frame, I used Spellbinders Big Scalloped Oval Nestabilities dies-Lg and Classic Oval Nestabilities dies-Sm and layered them together on my magnetic cut mat, to cut a piece of the Sweet Corn cardstock:

 

Next, I used The Essential Glue Pad to ink up the Polka Dot Large background stamp and stamped the frame with it, then covered the dots with Martha Stewart's Essential Colors Crystal Fine Glitter:

 

Hopefully you can see the pretty sparkly surrounding my sweet oldest daughter's face when she was 5 months old (click on photo for a larger view):

 

The frame is popped up with foam tape over the photo.  Prima E-Line 4 Petal & 5 Petal flowers adorn the upper right corner and Zva Crystals accent the flower center and line dividing two of the stamped cardstocks.

The "baby" title was made from Maya Road's Chipboard Alpha-Noah letters.  I gave them a coating of Adirondack Pigment Ink in Snow Cap:

 

(The letter "b" on the left wasn't covered yet, so you can see the difference it made).  While the ink was still wet, I sprinkled the Crystal Fine glitter over the letters and let it dry:

Here's how the letters turned out:

 

The little tag was cut with the smallest Spellbinders Tags Trio die from Lavender Memory Box cardstock and then I made a rub-on with my daughter's name, age & date by using Grafix Rub Onz ... this was the first time I had used this product and I can see all the fabulous possibilities it possesses!  A little bit of white silk ribbon finishes this page.

Thanks for stopping by!  -Sharon

 
Stamps: Cornish Heritage Farms Backgrounders-Geometric Flowers II, Polka Dot Large, AlphaNumber
Paper: Memory Box Cardstock-Taffy, Granny Smith, Iris, Lavender & Sweet Corn
Ink: Ranger Distress Inks-Sabby Shutters, Tumbled Glass, Worn Lipstick & Adirondack Pigment Ink Pad-Snow Cap; Tsukineko The Essential Glue Pad
Accessories: Spellbinders Big Scalloped Oval Nestabilities dies-Lg, Classic Oval Nestabilities dies-Sm, Big Scalloped Square Nestabilities-Sm, Tags Trio; Maya Road Chipboard Alpha-Noah, Martha Stewart Essential Colors Glitter-Crystal Fine; WRM Crop-a-Dile Corner Chomper, Grafix Rub Onz, Zva Crystals, Prima E-Line Flowers-4 Petal & 5 Petal

Canvas pocket mini album by Kim Hughes

I fell in love with these canvas pockets instantly when I saw them in Ellen's store!  Sure, you can fill them with cute and fun stuff...but why not fill them with photos, notes and memorabilia?  Mini albums are made of so many different materials, so how about canvas pockets?
 

Supplies:

On the Wings of a Dream, Fabric Bags, Combo Pack

Canvas, Tree Form

Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Lettuce, Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Aqua, Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Terra Cotta, Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Stream

Alphabet, Ivory letter stickers

Devine, Felt Stem, Rose Bush

Ribbon Lace, Donegal

Ribbon, Vintage Crochet Trim, Wave, White

Ribbon, Vintage Crochet Trim, Scallop, Brown

Backgrounder, Climbing Leaves, Backgrounder, Houndstooth, Backgrounder, Polka Dots, Backgrounder, Wood Grain

I lined each pouch up to the left side and machine stitched along them all...creating a mini, album.
 

Then I created my own patterned papers with some of my favorite Backgrounder stamps.  These papers wil be used for photo mats and journaling.
 

Here's how they look when cut from the 12 x 12 cream card stock page
 

I folded the orange paper into a card (photos can be added on the inside along with a little note, or this can be the card that goes with this mini album gift)
 

I decided to have them all coordinate and tie them in together with a single felt silhouette flower piece.  I love the chocolate brown against these fresh colors.

I took a look at the front and placed my lace along the pocket edges and tested some white lace to see what color woudl look best.  I felt great about the shade of brown that I chose first.
 

So, I colored the white lace with a Copic marker and glued each piece to the pocket.
 

I decided to use a scrap from my stamped blue polka dot paper.
 

I traced them backwards onto the back of the polka dot paper, cut each piece out and added them to the chipboard shapes.
 

I used the same Copic marker to color the canvas stickers to spell out "i adore you" on the front of the middle pocket.

I embellished the middle green pocket with 2 white roses.  Each tag has a twine bow topper.  This would make a great gift. You can fill it with a group of hand made "thank you" cards, love notes or photos.

Thanks so much for stopping by :)

Shaken, Not Stirred! Various Ink Technique By Lisa Strahl

Time to continue with our Various Ink Refills Series here on The CLASSroom!  Today we are going to add a little twist using the Copic Colorless Blender Solution. 

If you missed the first tutorial, please click here to read a more in depth explanation of the basic Polished Stone Technique.  The three Various Refill colors I used are RV34, BV00 and V12.  Allow the colored ink to dry before starting the next step.

You can create a fabulous "water mark" effect on your alcohol inked projects with your Various Colorless Blender Refill.  Simply shake blender over the the surface and watch the ink move and change.

My favorite ink to stamp over any alcohol ink is Archival in Jet Black, Coffee or Sepia by Ranger.  This lovely Memory Box image called Poppy Collage was stamped with Coffee Archival.  I layered it simply with Wisteria paper (Memory Box) and then mounted it onto a Vanilla Bean Note Card with matching envelope.

Have a lovely, inky week friends!

Lisa

Getting Some Vintage Groove Going by Becky Olsen

First I am going to start by being very honest and letting you know that I am not much for wearing a lot of jewelry. So when I tell you that I am completely enamored with the Vintage Groove line and all of the potential it has for me to express myself creatively with my jewelry, I hope that conveys my excitement for the potential of these fun pieces!

For an elegant look that has a little whimsy with it we are going to be using the Vintage Groove Strand Combo of Abalone and Pearl,

the Vintage Groove Hardware Antique Brass Jump Rings

The Vintage Groove Hardware Earring Wires

and the Vintage Groove Hardware Antique Brass Clasps to make a matching earring and necklace set.

 

 

I really recommend using a tool set like the Vintage Groove Tool Set, it has the most commonly used and useful tools in it and is priced really well. You don't have to get these though, you might have some Chain nose pliers in your possession already and that is what we need to open and close the jump rings on these pieces.

To begin you need to remove two sections of the link and flower chain. So that you have a flower in the middle and two of the abalone links on the sides.

Using smaller brass jump rings attach the pearl strands onto either side of the abalone links, and then use two more smaller jump rings to attach the brass clasp onto the back.

When you are done with that part the completed necklace will look like this. It is a longer choker length and sits on top of my clavicle in the hollow of my neck at 16 inches long.

For the earrings we will use the abalone and flower links that we removed from the original piece.
Use one of the medium brass jump rings to attache the abalone and flower piece to the brass earring wire. Remember that it is easiest to open and close a jump ring by twisting the two sides apart and then twisting them back into place.

This is what your finished earrings and necklace will look like! So vintage elegant, with that touch of whimsy, and they can be worn with almost anything! I am so excited to make more pieces with this line of product and wear this layered with those pieces.

So what do you think? Is this something that you would have fun trying? Do you think it is easy, just right or not easy enough? Let me know if you are as excited about the jewelry pieces as I am!

B-

Sticky Back Canvas Bracelet

Ranger U was an incredible experience! One of the techniques that I learned from Claudine Hellmuth has been in my head bursting to get out. As soon as she shared this technique I had to run up to her and share how much I was looking forward to creating a bracelet with this idea! Finally three months later here I am with my bracelet :-D

I hope you enjoy this incredible technique as much as I have!

 

To begin I cut a strip of canvas that was 8 1/2" x 2 1/2". I really wasn't certain where I would be going with this project. Yes, I do create by the seat of my pants - LOL!

I removed the backing and placed my Glimmer Screen against the sticky surface as shown below.

 
Press the screen firmly in place, using the backing from the Be Creative tape or the backing you just removed to avoid getting finger prints all over the adhesive. It is important to keep your fingers away from the adhesive to avoid damaging it and making it more difficult for the embossing powder to stick.

Pour the embossing powder over the entire surface.

Remove excess by tipping it off and gently blowing off any excess.

Now using the teflon coated tweezer bees carefully remove the screen.

As you can see I hold my sticky back firmly down along the edges as I carefully peel the screen off.

A small amount of embossing powder may get into your white area, but if you have selected a darker color for this area it will disappear when you heat set the powders.

Now pour the Walnut Stain embossing powder over the exposed adhesive.

This is how it will appear when you gently remove the excess powder and gently blow the excess powder from the surface into a garbage can.

Heat set your powders and then punch a 1/8" hole into each end with a crop-a-dile and set an eyelet into each end.

I needed an oval jump ring and so I used the antique brass chain that we carry and used several rings together with a lobster clasp to complete my closure. You will want this piece to fit fairly snug. My gorgeous model has a smaller wrist than I do and so it appears a little large on her wrist. Having it fit correctly will keep it from twisting and banging on your wrist.

I then needed to finish my piece by sewing my gorgeous embellishment in place. Alas I did not have the correct color thread. Copics to the rescue as usual - LOL! Simply coloring with a BG78 made my white thread the perfect color.

I added a few sticky-back pearls. I'm not certain how well these will hold in place, but I just couldn't resist trying :-D 

Other embellishments that I think would be fabulous in the center of this beauty are resin pieces, brass pieces, and flowers (can't you just see a beautiful wrist corsage?!?)

 

Julia was my gracious model because I have a very difficult time snapping photos of items if I happen to be wearing them - LOL! Her nail polish coordinated perfectly with this piece. I picked a very trendy color combination in hopes that it would coordinate with today's outfits. The good news is that it will be so very easy to change the background canvas piece because it is so inexpensive. You can then repurpose these items when the color trends change.

I look forward to hearing about your adventures with Sticky Back Canvas and embossing powder - it is a perfect combination! Now it's time to try it with glitter - LOL!

 
  
Sticky Back Canvas, Adirondack Stream Embossing Powder, Walnut Stain Distress Embossing Powder, Tattered Angels Fanciful Stencils Starter Kit, Jill Schwartz Vintage Groove Mosaic Shell Charm, Antique Brass Chain Extension and Brass Clasps, Chino Pearls, Crop-a-dile

  

canvas frame book by Cindy Lyles

This book was a tremendous amount of fun to create - Tim Holtz has created and developed so many wonderful goodies that took me on a delightful journey for today's project.

To begin, I started with a package of four-inch canvas frames (they come two frames per pack plus hardware) and using a popsicle stick I placed a bit of Willow Adirondack Dabber paint onto each canvas.

I am working over a non-stick craft sheet for today's project.

I added a bit of Pool Adirondack Dabber paint as well, and didn't totally mix the colors - but rather worked them into the canvas, blending with happenstance.  I used a cut piece of Cut-N-Dry Foam.  Cut-N-Dry Foam is a closed-cell foam, so the paint just sits on the surface of the foam and is not fully absorbed.  Allow canvases dry.

*a quick creative note:  use the leftover paint on the foam and swipe onto a sheet of white cardstock until the paint on the foam is depleted.  Use this painted cardstock as you create the inner pages of your book.

Tim's Nature's Discovery set was used on a piece of 1" x 3" Lagoon cardstock using Jet Black Archival ink.  Ellen carries the best acrylic blocks in many sizes for these type of cling-style stamps.

The edges of the stamped 1x3 cardstock piece were inked using Distress Walnut Stain and an Ink Blending Tool. 

The 1x3 piece of inked Lagoon cardstock was inserted into a chrome Memory Frame, along with two pieces of glass.  A Memory Capsule sits upon the inked cardstock piece, with a few additions from Tim's Idea-ology line:  metal snaps, mini pins, washers, and a Word Stick that reads 'life' was adhered directly inside the Memory Capsule using a brad.

Several sheets of Memory Box's beautiful Kraft cardstock, cut 11" x 3-3/4", scored every 3-3/4", were adhered together to create an accordion for the book interior.  This can be as many or as few sheets as you desire.  The beauty of this design is the pages are double thick, so you can really pile on the embellishments for the interior pages without worrying about weight.

To adhere the accordion pages, start with one end, and adhere firmly.  I used my Glue Glider Pro as my adhesive.

Finish with a 3-3/4" square of Lagoon cardstock as a cover.  Repeat with the book back.

One of the highlights of Tim's Idea-ology release at last CHA was metal feet!  These are called Foundations, and a package consists of four feet.  I adhered these using E-6000 in a well-ventilated room, and to free my hands I wrapped a big rubber band around the feet and book to secure while the adhesive dried.  I allowed this to dry overnight.

Tim's Elegant Flourishes die from Sizzix was used on a Mask Sheet. 

The smaller flourish was laid over the book front, and I added Distress Broken China using an Ink Blending Tool.  This is what it looked like after removing the mask.  Delicious!

Binding the book - I learned this from a class I took with fellow Jersey girl Jen Starr years ago:  using wire nails from any home improvement store (#18 x 5/8") I hammered Tim's buttons, called Accoutrements, into the spine.  Black waxed linen thread was used in a figure eight design to secure one canvas to the other.

Because the pages I plan to create for this book will be loaded with dimensional embellishments, I added a thick notepad (as shown above) to the book before creating my figure eight with the waxed linen, to compensate for the future thickness of the book.

A look at the book's clasp.  The silver hook and eye screw into the canvas sides easily.  Hook is on the left and the eye is on the right.  This hardware arrives with each package of four-inch canvases. 

I removed the head from the smaller size of Tim's Swivel Clasps (save the head for later!), and attached a Locket Key to the midpoint of the Swivel Clasp chain.  The heart from Tim's Adornments was added to the chain end.

A keyhole from Tim's Locket Keys was adhered using Glossy Accents, as was the completed Memory Frame unit.  A Curio Knob was added above the keyhole using E-6000.

The head from the Swivel Clasps from the step above was added to the Memory Frame top loop, along with another one of Tim's yummy buttons/accoutrements.

The book back features Tim's new Timepieces, a Sprocket Gear (adhered to the Timepiece using Glossy Accents), and a metal flower from Foliage, all held together with a brad (brads come with the Foliage package), then adhered to the book using Glossy Accents.

The accordion pages fan out nicely, ready to be embellished.  Thank you for stopping by the CLASSroom blog today!

Masked Canvas Card by Julia Stainton

One of my favorite products to play around with is Sticky Back Canvas. The texture is fabulous and there are so many things you can do with it. The canvas can be inked, stamped, sprayed, printed on or painted on.

For this project I decided to try a masked and painted background. A great way to alter your Sticky Back Canvas is to start by adhering it to a Non-Stick Craft Sheet. You can mix your paint right on the sheet and protect your work surface and then simply wipe it clean when you are done. Before adhering your canvas, I like to distress the edges to get that fabric look with a Paper Distresser.

I first painted the canvas with a light coat of Landscape Green Studio Paint and thinned it out with some water spritzed in with a Mini Mister.

 

After this coat dried, I then placed a Floral Mask over the canvas and then repeated the process with Sky Blue Studio Paint.

 

Here's what it looks like dry. I love the soft look and the beautiful texture. The Tim Holtz Mini Cirque Alpha stamps are a really cool font and I love the style of these stamps. I can't wait to use them again and try out all the possibilities. They are stamped on this project in Jet Black Archival Ink. I really love this ink for a deep solid image and for stamping on difficult surfaces such as this canvas.

 

I was really excited to find that these Basic Grey Bling It On Alpha Series Rub-ons transferred so well onto the painted canvas. These are fabulous rub-ons and I love how Basic Grey coordinates the rhinestones for each sheet on a clear plastic over each rub-on for easy placement.

 

To add a really unique touch to your embellishments, try altering them to make them your own. Here one of the rub-on flowers is placed onto a Canvas Button by Prima.

 

After applying the rub-on I combined the button with a Black Silk Ribbon bow and finished it off with a Pewter Jenni Bowlin Stick Pin.

Have fun playing with your crafting products and I hope this will give you a few new ideas to try. Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom and have a wonderful weekend!

Summer Canvas by Sharon Harnist

 

Summer is definitely in full swing here in Texas and I realized I didn't have any summer "refrigerator art" for my fridge!  So I decided to remedy that with this 6" x 6" Summer canvas.  I began by printing my 4" x 6" photo on Claudine Hellmuth's Studio Sticky Back Canvas.  This was the first time I tried printing a photo on the canvas and was pleasantly surprised at the photo quality:

 

(These were my girls, ready to hit the swimming pool on the first day of Summer!)  Then I adhered the canvas to a 6" x 6" piece of Ellen's Craft-a-Board, to give it stability.  Next, I painted the Stamper's Anonymous Tim Holtz-Floral Tattoo stamp with Claudine Hellmuth's Studio Paint in Classic Teal and stamped onto the canvas:

 

Then I painted the top and lower edges of the canvas and Craft-a-Board with Yellow Pastel Studio Paint (the color is really a prettier soft yellow in person -- my camera was just having trouble with it!):

 

I was pleasantly surprised at how well Ellen's Craft-a-Board took the paint along the lower edge, without peeling or buckling -- this was the first time I had tried paint on it!

Next, Maya Road's Mini Alphabet Chipboard-Noah "summer" letters were painted with Sky Blue Studio Paint and then sprinkled with turquoise Martha Stewart glitter while the paint was still wet:

 

Ranger's Glossy Accents was used to adhere the sparkly chipboard letters to the top of the canvas:

 

To finish the bottom of the canvas, I airbrushed white Prima Tamera lace with Copic BG45 Sketch marker (I thought the lace resembled water waves!): 

 

and added a Zva crystal swirl:

 

This canvas has magnets on the back and as I said, will decorate my refrigerator this summer with my two cuties!  You could also display this canvas on an easel in your home or attach a ribbon hanger to it and either hang it on a wall or doorknob.  When you are finished displaying it, it can then be tucked into a scrapbook album.  I hope you'll have fun with this technique of printing your photos on the Sticky Back Canvas ... it was lots of fun to play with!

 
Stamps: Stamper's Anonymous Tim Holtz-Floral Tattoo
Paper: Claudine Hellmuth Studio Sticky Back Canvas 8-1/2"x11"
Ink: Copic BG45 Sketch marker
Accessories: Essentials by Ellen Craft-a-Board; Claudine Hellmuth Studio Paint-Classic Teal, Sky Blue & Yellow Pastel; Maya Road Mini Alphabet Chipboard-Noah; Martha Stewart Essential Colors Glitter Set-Turquoise; Ranger Glossy Accents; Prima Tamera Lace; Copic Airbrush System; Zva crystal swirl
Other: HP inkjet printer

a mini masterpiece by Kim Hughes

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

 

Supplies:

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

Making Memories, Findings, Buttons, Silver

Glitter, Multi Ultra Fine Crystal

Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Espresso

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

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

stamp sentiment with brown ink
 

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

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

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

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

 

embellish with 3 clear buttons.

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

Thansk so much for stopping by today :)

Trend Watch - It's a Frame Up by Becky Olsen

I am having so much fun researching and preparing these trend watch posts. It is a fantastic feeling to go from a list of observations, then researching and finally sharing what it is I have found! I hope that some of you are finding just as much enjoyment from this as I am, and usually when I am done I find myself thinking about how I can use the trend topics in my projects in a whole new way!

This week we are looking at frames! There is an amazing variety of products that will come up when you search the word frame. Of course the obvious use of a frame is to put them around pictures, but with such a delightful array of options why use them for just that?

This Vintaj Frame would be amazing worked into a jewelry piece!

The Melissa Frances frames are vintage fabulous and add great dimension to anything that you use them on!

Spellbinders has quite a few easy to create frame shapes, almost one for every season and reason!

 

 Hero Arts delivers! Vintage, fresh, and whimsical are all in their wheelhouse, so get to stamping a frame into your art! With limitless colors and finishes this is an easy add that is right on track.

The Invisibles line of products is also incredibly versatile. Just add your ink (or not!) and it is ready to go!

Ranger designed a Memory Frame that is so easy to use! It has the appeal of the soldered look with the ease of a snap and go design! Layer and trim your project, insert into frame and close. That easy! jewelry, bookmarks, canvas embellishments and so forth are just a few steps away.

This Tim Holtz Film Strip Ribbon isn't what we think of typically when we think of the word frame, but each of those little frames could hold a tiny picture, a small scrap of paper or a miniature sentiment.

Want a more custom frame look and have the time and energy to give your project some love? How about a mask frame that can be used over and over again to give you that great look! Glimmer Screens from Tattered Angels can be used with most mediums and are especially terrific with the Glimmer mists!

Add a frame as texture with Sizzix Embossing Folders, a cool and subtle look that can give great visual pop to every project!

The Times Noveau Frame Die Cuts from Graphic 45 would make a fantastic mini-album base, or a beautiful window card besides the obvious use as a frame for a family heirloom photo.

And Webster's Pages went over the top with this paper line called "Life's Portrait". They used an exciting and very fresh color palette with frames integrated into the design of most every piece of paper in the group! So beautiful and easy to use as well.

In this detail shot of my project you can see a few different frames. They make a beautiful cluster and reinforce the frame theme from the paper.

The paper had plenty going on with all of the trendy shaped frames and really great colors so I decided to keep the layout pretty simple and let the product do the heavy lifting of telling the story at hand.

There are still lots of frames to discover and even more ways to use them! I hope you find this post as exciting and inspiring as I did and that it gives you plenty to think about the next time you see a frame!

B-

Vintage Masculine Card by Debbie Olson

 

Good morning and welcome to the Classroom! Today I have a vintage masculine card to share. 

 

I started with the Stamper's Anonymous Urban Tapestry set, an On the Edge Brackets die, thin real wood, and some Basic Grey Origins papers. 

 

Although I liked the floral background for my focal image, it seemed a bit too distracting and overwhelming. I sponged on a thin layer of canvas paint to tone down the background; you can see the before and after in the picture above.

 

Here I've stamped the bird and branch in Adirondack Espresso ink; the paint underneath muted it more than I expected, so I used Versamark to overstamp the image and emboss in clear embossing powder to add some sheen and texture. You can also see where I used the bracket die to cut the wood and its mat before stitching it to my card front. (Both the die and the sewing machine worked well on the thin wood veneer.)

 

The focal image still needed something, so I chose the frame stamp and stamped and clear-embossed it in the top left corner, adding tea dye distress ink on top to make it show up.

 

My little corner fragment wasn't enough to make the focal image really pop, so I added a couple of Vintaj Brass corners--I love that brass! Yes, I put a bow, but it is tiny--hopefully acceptable, even on a guy card.

In contrast, I had used the same Urban Tapestry stamp set and bracket edge die on the card above with an entirely different feel. That's why we love our stamps, right? Thanks for stopping by the Classroom today!

A Red, White and Blue Summer by Susan Roberts

The focus in the CLASSroom this week has been on Lockhart stamps, Hero Arts papers and Ranger inks.

 

This wonderful Lockhart Roses, Daisies and Polka Dots stamp is apparently very versatile!  As I peeked in on the CLASSroom post from yesterday, I saw that Julia had also used this same image for a very delicate and sweet card.  I chose, however, to paint the image with Ranger’s Adirondack Dimensional Pearls which gave it a much bolder and well… pearlized look.

 

The image was stamped on Arturo paper with Ranger’s Archival Jet Black Ink.  Using wax paper as my palette, a small amount of paint was squeezed onto it.

 

This paint can be used straight or diluted with water.  It can also be blended to make custom colors.  In this case I diluted and blended the Cranberry and Red Pepper paints to achieve the red needed to best match the Grenadine Hero Arts folded card.  I used the Niji Waterbrush, and it worked beautifully with these paints.  However the Studio Artist Brushes would also work if your preference is a traditional style brush.

 

The beautiful sheen of these paints is difficult to capture in a picture.  Here is a photo taken while some of the paint is still wet.  I let each color dry before applying a different one to help prevent the blending of colors where no blending was desired.

 

For the flower centers the Dimensional Pearls paint was used straight… no diluting.  The paint dried true to its name and gave each flower a raised dimensional center.

 

 

 

And for a finishing touch, Hero Arts has these beautiful matching envelopes.  I just love this decorative envelope flap.  The paper comes in 8-1/2” X 11” sheets or ready made A2 folded cards.

 

Thanks so much for stopping by the CLASSroom today.  Happy Crafting!

 

Stamps: Lockhart Roses, Daisies and Polka Dots and Summer Days

Papers: Hero Arts Folded Cards in Grenadine and Azure Layering Paper; Neenah Solar White; Arturo Cards

Inks:  Ranger’s Adirondack Dimensional Pearls in Cranberry, Red Pepper, Denim, Lettuce and Butterscotch and Ranger’s Archival Jet Black Ink

Accessories: May Arts 1-1/4" Wide Silk Ribbon; Nestability Die Classic Star (smallest die); Martha Stewart Floral Vine Deep Edger Punch; Basic Grey Rhinestones

Vellum Floral Window Card by Julia Stainton

One thing I've always loved about Lockhart stamps is their sweet delicate look and detail. To best show off this feature I thought it would be fitting to create a delicate card with soft details. Today I'll show you how to create a sweet window card and an easy vellum technique.

This Lockhart Roses, Daisies and Polka Dots stamp is a beautiful and timeless image. It was stamped onto a piece of heavy vellum with Jet Black Archival Ink and then heat set with a heat gun.

To get a lovley subtle coloring technique on vellum, you can turn the image over and color from the back side. This makes it very easy to preserve the distinction of the black stamped image and allows colors to blend softly on the reverse side.

Begin by adding in color with dye or Copic Markers. I've used Memento Markers here in the Ocean, Juicy Purple, Greenhouse and Girls Night Out Packs.

To add in opaque white for the daisies, the Ranger Inkssensials White Opaque Pen is perfect for this. If you are coloring your vellum on top of a white surface you probably won't notice much difference until you place your vellum over a color. For the watery look, first color your stems with the greens and then blend over with the soft blue for the water.

This is a great technique for people with less hand control as coloring from the reverse side is very forgiving.

And here's the coloring once the vellum is flipped back over.

To create the window card, I started off with some Daffodil Layering Paper by Hero Arts. The great thing about this cardstock is it coordinates with the Hero Arts Inks and is has a white side and a yellow. I originally folded the card the usual way with the color on the outside and the white on the inside.

I ended up folding it the opposite way with the white outside to make a soft yellow shine through the vellum window and highlight the image.

To create the window, I punched out the circle with a Circle Standard Large Nestability Die.

 To add a sweet embossed scallop, I placed a Classic Scalloped Large Circle Die on the cardstock. The "sandwich" goes together with plate, embossing mat, cardstock outside facing down, die lined up with the die cut circle, then the final plate on top.

A lacey eyelet look was what I was going for and the Crop-a-dile worked well in punching from the middle around the circle. Just line up the punch with each embossed scallop.

Finally, adhere the vellum panel in the window from the inside with some adhesive. I had very good success with the Glue Glider Pro Permanent adhesive and it can barely be seen under the vellum.

To further accent the image, I added in a little Glossy Accents over the water section of the vase to add to the look. A Pink Jenni Bowlin button tied with Farmer's Market Twine adds a simple embellishment.

 

I hope you'll have fun trying out this fun little card project. Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom and have a wonderful weekend!

June Beach Calendar by Sharon Harnist

 

I haven't shown you all my desk calendar for this year ... so I thought it was time to remedy that!  I've been making it with 4-inch coasters, attached together with ribbon "hinges", so it can stand up like a book on my desk.  Well, I finally ran out of those 4-inch coasters, so Ellen's Craft-A-Board came to my rescue!  I cut two pieces 4" x 4" and rounded the corners with the 1/4-inch side of WRM's Crop-a-Dile Corner Chomper.  Then I covered the CAB with Cosmo Cricket's DeLovely 6x6 patterned papers ... so bright, cheerful & summery!

 

I thought Karen Lockhart's Beach Chair image would be perfect for this month starting off the summer season ... I can't wait to be on a beach chair in the sand at the beach somewhere, and will be dreaming of it until the end of the month when I get there!  I stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto Neenah Classic Crest Natural White cardstock and colored it with these Copic markers:

 

Next, I trimmed the image to 3.25" x 3.25", punched the corners with Martha Stewart's Sand Dollar Corner Punch and the straight edges with Beach Shells Edger Punch ... I love how this frame turned out!  Then I masked off the shell edges and airbrushed Copic BG11 on the background:

 

The edges of the shell frame and blue paper behind it were inked with Antique Linen Distress Ink and here's the easy way I accomplished this:

 

Here's a great Ranger tip I came up with:  Antique Linen Distress Ink is my favorite Distress Ink color and I use it on the edges of about 80% of my work!  So while browsing Ellen's store, I came across this empty Ranger Standard Foam Pad and I wondered how it would work as pad to ink the edges of my artwork.  So I inked one end of the foam pad with my Antique Linen Distress Reinker and now I have a quick and easy pad to grab and ink the edges of anything!  This foam pad is soft and gives a softer look to inked edges than the standard felt pad of the Distress Ink pads.  Now I certainly may not be the first person to think of this, but I certainly was bouncing in my chair when I discovered it worked so well!

 

One hint: It won't take as much reinker as you might think to soak the pad, so go lightly at first, letting the ink gradually absorb into the pad and testing it after each addition -- until you have it inked as you'd like.  I made the mistake of putting way too much reinker on the first time and ended up blotting off quite a lot of the ink because it swiped onto the edges of cardstock darker than I usually prefer.  I also have room on the other end of the pad to for a different color -- I hope you have fun with this idea!

 

Next, I printed my computer-generated calendar onto Neenah Classic Crest Natural White cardstock, trimmed it to 3.25" wide, and used the same Martha Stewart punches on the lower edge of this piece and the Corner Chomper on the top corners.  The month name of "June" was spelled out with Cosmo Cricket's Cream Tiny Type Letters ("dream" on the beach chair image is also from this set of stickers) and Copic BG11 airbrushed lightly on this background, too. 

 

The finishing touch is a top border of Neenah Natural White cardstock punched with the border punch again, inked with Antique Linen Distress Ink, and then the whiter star-shaped punched-out pieces of cardstock glued back onto the border for some contrast and texture!

I hope this June calender gives you a few helpful hints for your summer papercrafting and helps to put you in the spirit of summer!

Stamps: Lockhart Stamp Company-Beach Chair
Paper: Cosmo Cricket DeLovely 6x6, Neenah Classic Crest Natural White cardstock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Ranger Antique Linen Distress Reinker; Copic markers: E30, E33, BG11, BG72, RV14, Y15, W1
Accessories: Copic Airbrush System-1, Essentials by Ellen Craft-A-Board, WRM Crop-a-Dile Corner Chomper, Ranger Standard Foam Pad, Martha Stewart Sand Dollar Corner Punch & Beach Shells Edger Punch, Cosmo Cricket Cream Tiny Type Letters

Relax card by Kim Hughes

ok, so the sentiment isn't actually "relax" but my card does make me want to take a break and enjoy life.  Our challenge was to combine Karen Lockhart images with Hero Arts paper and Ranger.  So while my end result isn't my ordinary style, I am happy with it.  I am hoping that you will take a way a few tiny tips.

1. how to layer papers
2. writing with Stickles
3. un-mounting red rubber stamps
4. straightening out curved sentiment stamps
5. paper piecing stamps
6. adding a pattern to solid papers
7. pick up those scissors and have fun!

Supplies:

Karen Lockhart: Live Each Day on Purpose, Chair, Wicker, Millinery Embellishment, Rose

Ranger: Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Butterscotch, Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Espresso, Distressed Stickles, Dried Marigold, Distress Ink Pad, Tea Dye

Hero Arts paper: Hero Arts, Layering Paper, Cerulean, Hero Arts, Layering Paper, Celadon, Hero Arts, Layering Paper, Grass, Hero Arts, Layering Paper, Daffodil, Hero Arts, Layering Paper, Powder, Hero Arts, Layering Paper, Latte, Hero Arts, Layering Paper, Pine, Hero Arts, Layering Paper, Eggshell

Start by stamping a floral pattern with brown ink onto a lighter shade of brown paper

 

use the same ink to stamp the chair directly over the pattern and line it up so that pattern will appear on the cushion part of the chair.
 

(sorry about the blurred photo) 

stamp the chair onto cream paper with Tea Dye distress ink.  I chose a light colored ink because I wanted to create a cream colored wicker chair.  Looking back, I think I would have preferred to stamp it with brown ink

cut out the stamped images

and adhere the brown cushion to the cream chair

 

stamp a pattern with Butterscotch ink onto yellow paper.  I like this subtle look
 

rub the paper through your die cut machine and cut a circle 

Use distress stickles to add a face.  Once again, had this to do over again, I think I would have opted for brown or black stickles to create the face,  I think the orange is cute but I am not sure I should have introduced another color into my palette

 

whip out those scissors and I don't mean the decorative ones...this will give it a more personal look and feel.  draw a line 1 inch from the end on the back of 3 shades of green paper and cut triangles along the paper, and stop at the line.
 

Karen's curved sentiments are cute and perhaps it would have went well if worked around the cut "winds" but I really wanted a straight sentiment.  So I un-mounted my wood mount stamp.  Most red rubber stamps can be removed quite easily.  if you have a hard time, try some Un-do or paint thinner maybe?
 

We are going to temporarily adhere the red rubber stamp to an acrylic block.
 

Maneuver the stamp to form a straight line.  It might not be possible to get a perfect line, but it's usually worth a shot.  Either way, it creates a whimsical effect.  I reunited my stamp to it's wood mount with no problem when I was finished.
 

I cut slits from some blue paper.  You can do this free hand or draw some curves with a pencil on the back of the paper

add the darker teal paper to a lighter shade.  I think cutting a negative curve is easier than cutting them out and adding them to the top of paper.  You can pop up the top layer if you like to add more dimension.
 

layer green grass papers at the bottom of the card

add sentiment strip under the chair that is popped up with dimensional adhesive.  I hope you learned something new today.  Thanks so much for joining me :)

Tuesday Technique Recipie - Pearlized Polished Stone by Lisa Strahl

Welcome to Tuesday Technique here on The CLASSroom! 

I have had the pleasure of working through over two dozen techniques featuring the refill ink, called "Various Ink" for Copic Markers.  You may or may not realize that the refills are a tool you can use in your creations even if you never own a Copic marker and hate coloring!  The alcohol based ink is *so* versatile on more surfaces that any other ink on the market.

I hope you will join me here on Tuesdays for the next while as we explore this vibrant and beautiful product.  The first technique I want to share is the basic Polished Stone Technique with a small twist, we are going to add some shimmer and bling by making it "pearlized".

Copic Pearlized Polished Stone Technique

Supplies:

-Non-Stick Ranger Craft Sheet (Ranger)

-Alcohol Ink Applicator Tool and Replacement Felt (Ranger)

-Pearl Metallic Mixative (Ranger)

-Various Ink Refills in R20 Carmine, R37 Blush and Y21 Buttercup Yellow (Copic)

-Various Ink Colorless Blender Solution (Copic)

-White Glossy Card Stock (Ranger)

-Jet Black Archival Ink (Ranger)

 

Step 1 - Squeeze Various Ink "into", as opposed to "onto" the felt applicator.  Don't drip the ink on because you are likely to add more ink than you need.  Press the tip of the refill to the felt and squeeze for a few seconds.  I have added three colors to my applicator in a triangle pattern.  Why a triangle?  Why three?  In short, odd numbers are more pleasing to the eye and the triangle pattern will give you the most even, yet randomized pattern.

*Here is where the pearlized part comes in!  Squeeze a drop of Pearlized Mixative OVER TOP of the three colors on the applicator.*

Step 2 - Something I have discovered is that pressing the applicator to your Non-Stick Craft sheet one time before moving to your paper will help to even out the ink and give you the best possible first impression.

 

Step 3 - Pounce the applicator onto the glossy card stock with enough force that you are pounding it with some force.  After teaching dozens of students how to use alcohol inks I have discovered that most are too timid at first. Get your frustrations out!  Hit that paper hard!  As you go, turn the tool with almost every application to the paper.  This will help to keep the pattern random.

 

 

Step 4 - Next we are going to introduce Colorless Blender to the technique.  CB will soften the colors and of course blend and even the the pattern even further.  Add several drops of CB to the same felt that you had the original colors on.  Repeat the pouncing application over the surface the same way you applied the colored ink.  These pieces are ready to be stamped, die cut or embellished!

 

What about all of that beautiful ink left on our Craft Sheet?  Read on dear friends!

 

 

Some of the ink on my mat was still a little wet, so I pressed my card stock to the sheet repeatedly to achieve this effect.

If the ink has completely dried up, shake or Spritz Various Ink Colorless Blender over the ink and press the glossy card stock to the mat.  You will achieve a much more blended look as pictured here.  Very soft and subtle compared to the first generation printing.

I finished my original piece by stamping the Pretty Pattern Backgrounder in Jet Black Archival Ink (very important to use a permanent ink, dye or water-based inks will not work).  The focal is embellished with Black Crystals and Cream Lace.  The sentiment comes from the set called Classic Essential Expressions which has 62 mix and match phrases and is on sale for $22.49 right now!

Envelope Mini-Album by Becky Olsen

We are going to be making a mini-album from some super cute Hero Arts envelopes, paper and stamps. The Hero Arts envelopes are in Grass, Mandarin, and Grenadine. The "Spring Blossom" patterned paper is what we will be using to add some beautiful color to our mini-album and it will provide a common thread that will tie the whole album together.

For the page inserts we will be using some "Manila" Basics from Basic Grey.

Start by trimming off the top flap shape and set aside for the inset piece that we will be making with it.

Trim the next part of the envelope down to where the top of the envelope is.

Adhere the piece that we trimmed off of the envelope onto a 4" x 5 1/2" piece of the Manila paper that has the dots.

Run a little adhesive along the bottom, and the adhesive that was already on the top shaped part (yup, I licked it!), leaving a little room at the top for the shape.

Now trim along the envelope edge to keep that fun bracket shape of the original envelope.

Now use a circle punch to add a little dimension and an easy place to open the envelope to put the insert in.

Stamp the large flower from the "Big Flower Pattern" with Distress embossing ink and then sprinkle and heat White Embossing powder. Repeat this whole process to make as many pages as you would like in your album, this one has nine, three of each color.

The next step is to punch the holes for binding it all together. I used the Zutter Bind-it-All for this task. Place the setting on "B" or the continuous setting and put a few of the envelopes closed edge down into the machine.

Apply pressure on the lever to punch the holes.

Next line the holes up using the guide on the top of the machine and the little black knob on the back of the guide to hold the envelopes in place and then punch again.

I wanted the holes to be even so I flipped my envelopes around and punched an extra hole in the top of the album by lining everything up and punching one last time.

This is what it looked like when I was done punching it.

Lay your wire coil down next to the holes and makes sure that each hole has a wire to go into it and then snip the remainder off. I used a White 5/8" wire for this project.

Put your back page on top of the front page and then clamp the wires together using the sizing set in the machine.

The wires will be all closed, and very neat looking!

To hide the binding seam, flip the back page around to the back.

Now the mini-album is ready to decorate and make your own with pictures, journaling in the inserts and plenty of room for the little extras that make it special!

The final project is one that is fun to make as a brag book for yourself, or as a special gift for teachers, family or change it up and use some masculine products and make one for that fantastic dad in your life!

Happy memory keeping!!

B-

Soldered Charm Bracelet by Julia Stainton

It's always fun to try out new ways to explore your creativity . This soldered charm bracelet has been a project I've been wanting to create for quite a while now. It's always fun to wear your creative projects and I thought the beautiful Webster's Pages vellum would make a great charm feature.

If you're interested in trying out soldering, Ellen Hutson LLC has a great variety of Simply Swank product. I'd suggest starting with the Simply Solder Creative Kit as it has everything you need to get started. Ellen has a fabulous in depth tutorial on soldering in a previous In Touch Newsletter here.

The Simply Swank Solder Charm Bracelet includes the glass, bracelet and fittings necessary for creating the bracelet. All you'll need in addition is soldering supplies. Between each little piece of glass I've cut out and placed little pieces of Garden Gala 6x6 vellum and die cuts by Webster's Pages. The vellum is fun to use as it allows the light through the charm and also you only need one image per glass piece. If you decide to use paper which also looks lovely, you will want two images for each charm. Because these charms are very tiny, you'll need tiny images and the Webster's Pages 6x6 papers are perfect for this.

Soldering takes practice and I'll be the first to admit I could use more of it. Just like it takes a while to perfect your stamping or other crafting techniques, the same is true for soldering. One important piece of information that somehow I overlooked at the start of my soldering journey was that it is crucial to take good care of your soldering tip.

Here's a few things I learned...

• never leave your soldering iron on when you are not using it...not even for a short time
• continually wipe off your tip on the wet sponge when working to keep build up and impurities from affecting your work
• cover your soldering iron tip with solder well before turning off your iron to prevent oxidization
• oxidization can be filed off or removed with a metal brush
• make sure your tip is not oxidized to ensure smooth flow of the solder
• don't try soldering if your tip has worn out

 

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

Ice Resin, Mold n' Pour and Beeswax Altered Artwork

Creating pieces to give as gifts or hang on your walls can be so much fun! This past weekend I had the pleasure of playing with some of the new products that we have brought into the store. These are all tools/media that will allow us to expand our teaching possibilities and our creativity. Adding new techniques and ideas keeps my mind fresh and alive and so I hope that you enjoy some of the new additions we have made and that you get up the courage to just give them a try!

Resin is all the rage! The objects and effects that can be created are SO very cool. Today I will be sharing some beginner tips, as well as show you how it is that I created the butterfly for the piece shown below. Hang with me because this will be a "class" of epic proportions - LOL! There is so much fun stuff to share with you.

At Ranger U I fell in love with so many new tools! Today I am going to share how to create with the Mold n' Pour. The molds that you create can be used with resin, UTEE, beeswax, candles, soap and who knows what else - LOL!

Mold N' Pour

Prepare your work surface and all the necessary tools before you begin. This product comes in two parts and once you mix it you only have a few minutes to create your mold before it starts setting up.

As you can see I am working on my XL Misting Mat. You can also work on a non-stick craft sheet or any other non-stick surface. I prefer to remove portions of the mixture from the container and roll them into balls before proceeding. This allows me to eyeball their size - you want these balls to be the same size. I have my object ready - in this case I decided to use a Vintaj butterfly. I clipped the jump ring to create antennae before combining my Mold n' Pour putty.

Working quickly I combined my two different colored putties and knead them together. As you can see in the photo above there are still streaks of white showing - this putty is NOT ready to be used. Continue kneading and mixing the putty until it is a uniform color. Remember that it sets up quickly so don't overwork it. I find that working with smaller amounts is easier, so my suggestion would be for you to experiment first with a small item as your object.

As you can see in this photo it is now a uniform color. Roll it into a smooth ball.

Press your object straight down into the putty and let it sit. I like to press my object about 3/16 - 1/4" into the putty. Now walk away ladies - LOL! It is just too tempting to squish around in this wonderful "stuff." Return in approximately 10-15 minutes and press your fingernail into that pretty round edge. If you do not leave a print then you are ready to remove your object. It is better to be patient and wait too long than pull your image out early and damage your mold.

The detail is incredible!

This next mold was MUCH tricker. It wouldn't have been if I hadn't been stingy with my Mold 'n Pour :-( The good news is that my error forced me to experiment more. I wanted to see if I could salvage/fix my mold and I came pretty close to it being precise. This Hero Arts rubberstamp image is approximately 3 3/4" square. I should have probably used 3/4, or even the entire container of Mold 'n Pour, rather than the 1/2 container I used. Lesson learned - don't be stingy :-D

I kept the cling style stamp mounted on the plastic as I worked so that I would not damage the "cling" aspect of this stamp.

As I prepared to create this mold I determined that I would need a large flat surface to press my putty evenly into place over the surface of the stamp - the 5x7 acrylic mounting block was perfect for this.

On the right side of the image above you can see a damp, white washcloth. This is a trick I learned from Lisa this past weekend. I have gone through mountains of paper towels when creating. I don't like the fact that I am being wasteful, but because I like to work with clean hands as much as possible so that I don't "dirty" my projects I needed a solution. Using two washclothes - one wet/one dry - my need for other cleaning tools has been greatly diminished. I LOVE this solution - thank you Lisa!

I worked quickly, but sadly was horrified when I realized that I was short on material. It was in that instant that I had to decide if I should quickly look for a suitable replacement or just go for it. I decided to proceed in spite of this deterant and quickly using my fingers to spread the molding material over the stamp. I immediately pressed my acrylic firmly against the putty to flatten as best possible. As I worked I could see the "putty" setting up right before my eyes. I haven't figured out yet whether the cool broad expanse of the rubber made my material set more quickly than normal, but it set up FAST! So perhaps it would have been best to spread the material on my non-stick surface before putting it on the stamp. I just don't know yet, but will try this next time.

I could see that I had gaps around the edges as well as holes in the middle, but rather than give up I decided to press forwards and see what would happen. I mixed a little more putty and applied it over the holes in my mold. (I did not remove my stamp to "check" - I knew I had holes.) Again I used my large acrylic block to press down on my mold.

I allowed this to sit for 10 minutes. I then removed the acrylic block and flipped the entire piece over, mixed a little more putty and pressed additional Mold 'n Pour against the sides to create my base.

After allowing it to once again sit I removed the rubber stamp image and was left with a VERY cool mold! I immediately took my dry wash cloth and rubbed the surface of my rubber stamp to remove the excess putty that was slightly stuck to the surface. I don't know what would have happened if I had allowed it to dry completely, but being I like to clean as I go, this worked well for me. As you can see there are "hints" of the mold still in the crevices, but I do not believe that it will impact my stamp in any way.

Creating molds is ADDICTIVE! You can use buttons, metal embellishments, rubber stamps, and so much more. I have read that you can even use hard candies such as Lifesavers - how cool is that?!? Suze and Tim talked about carrying Mold n' Pour with them when they go antique shopping. They ask permission to mold some of their finds along the way! Oh how fun that would be!!!

So now that we have our molds - let's play with them :-D

ETA: These molds can be used over and over again. Suze shared that she has boxes labeled with different styles of molds. I can see doing something similar once I have a few made.

Working with Ice Resin

I thought I would begin by trying to explain to you what Ice Resin is. Ice Resin is a two part resin that when mixed forms a crystal clear, jeweler's quality grade product. This resin is different from the water-based, dimensional sealants such as Rangers Glossy Accents, SU Crystal Effects or Judikins Diamond Glaze that we typically use in paper crafts. These dimensional sealants are excellent products for many purposes, but they do not offer the durability and waterproof finish that resins do. Ice Resin is also very different from the meltable embossing powders such as UTEE, that are popular for molding and sealing. UTEE liquifies when heated and hardens when cooled. It is typically rigid and susceptible to cracking. As well the clear versions of UTEE are prone to yellow as you work with them.

Resin is a much harder and more durable product that retains its clarity. With resin you can create a "dome" on your projects that acts as a magnifying lens of sorts.

It can be used together with metal, polymer clay, metal clay, paper, glass and numerous other products. Today we are going to start simply - we are going to create the butterfly I used on my art piece.

Before beginning it is incredibly important to read all your directions first! I would also like to encourage you to visit the Ice Resin website. There are numerous articles written that will answer many of the specific questions you might have.

One of the recommendations I tried as I worked with the Ice Resin the second time was to warm Part A of the Ice Resin mixture in hot tap water before beginning. It worked like a charm - it was not nearly as granular looking as the resin I created in my first batch. It was so much easier to mix with Part A warmed.

Another recommendation that I followed closely was to work in small batches. You will be AMAZED at how many different pieces you will be able to create with 1 oz of mixture! Have numerous projects ready to go before mixing your resin!

Ice Resin comes with little plastic mixing containers that have precise measurements listed on the sides. The first time I mixed my Ice Resin I used two separate containers. The second time I realized that I didn't need to us two containers - I could just use the measurements on the sides to make certain I was mixing correct quantities.

Before mixing in one container you will want to clearly think through your measurements and perhaps even mark the outside of your container with a sharpie marker, showing the precise stopping point for each part. You will need to work very carefully when pouring directly into your container though - there are no second chances with this method - LOL!

The smallest batch Ice Resin recommends making is 1/2 oz. I think that this is a great way to start your experimentive/creative process! You will truly want to try so many different things. It is best to work in layers for many applications, allowing the resin to cure before proceeding - therefore mixing small amounts is what I believe is the best way to go. I had several pieces I am currently working on and decided that a total of 1 oz. would be best for my use this time even though today's project only used a few drops. Hopefully I will have more to share with you soon :-)

Wait until Part A is warm and pour 1/2 oz into the container. Followed with 1/2 oz of Part B. As you can see it fills this little container right to the top. If you do not feel comfortable working in such a tight space be certain to have another clean plastic container that you can throw away at the ready before you begin. I work carefully and so just work from this little container.

It is recommended that you work in a well-ventilated room and wear gloves that you can also throw away once your project is complete. If you don't work carefully you can make a lot of things sticky - LOL! They do say that if resin comes in contact with your skin that it can cause minor irritation. I did get a little on one of my fingers, but immediately wiped it on my wet washcloth with no side effects.

Once you have the two parts mixed together you are going to stir, and stir, and STIR! You can see a visible difference in the photo above compared with the shot two photos above. I stir for approximately 5-7 minutes. You want to have a nice clear liquid before you stop stirring. Allow the mix to rest for another five minutes and many of the bubbles will rise to the surface and pop.

1 oz. is a LOT of resin and so I had numerous projects at the ready. Again, today I am going to share only one of those projects. Once you have used all your resin you will be throwing your container away - it is recommended that you not use "dirty" tools.

Using my popsicle stick I transferred a few drops of resin to a plastic spoon. Prior to beginning I had filled my mold with water and then poured that water into my spoon to see exactly how much resin I would need. I then dried my spoon and mold before proceeding. As you can see it takes VERY little resin. To the clear resin mix I added a small amount of Tarnished Gold embossing powder. Once again remember that less is more - it is easier to add a little more powder than it is to add more resin.

Stir the powder into the resin with your popsicle stick. Be certain to use a clean popsicle stick with the mixing of each new element. You will find that adding the embossing powder thickens your resin slightly. As soon as I had finished mixing I poured my resin mix into my mold.

Typically you will have approximately 30 minutes to work with your fully mixed Ice Resin. It is recommended that you work in a room that is approximately 72-74 degrees Fahrenheit.

Other additives you can use that I have used to color or add interest to my Resin are Perfect Pearls, glitter, mica, and flower soft. Ones I haven't yet tried that are recommended are - oil pigments, chalk pastels, spices, dried floral ingredients, gold leaf, and I'm guessing that there are so many more.

I try not to overfill my molds. My preference is to leave a small space at the top of the mold. To aid in bringing bubbles to the surface you can use your Heat It tool and hold it above your project (approximately 9-12 inches above) and you will almost instantly see a little popping effect happen in your piece. Do not heat for extended periods of time or hold your heat tool to closely - you do not want to damage your work of art :-D Check back over the first hour or so to see if any additional bubbles have come to the surface and pop them with a pin.

Allow the resin to cure in the mold for at least 6 hours. I poured my molds at approximately 5:00 in the evening and then upon returning to work this morning I was able to easily remove the objects. At this point the resin is still not fully cured and somewhat maleable. If you wanted to use resin on a curved surface this would be the perfect time to mold it to the item you will later mount it on. Due to the fact that the resin is not fully cured you will want to be careful not to touch any of the highly glossed surfaces as you might fingerprint them.

As you can see the detail in the image is amazing!

It has been months since Winter CHA when I first saw the Vintaj Altered Blank Canvas pieces. It is with great excitement that I share my first vision for this product. To precisely locate where I wanted to punch my holes I used my Tim Holtz center ruler. Simply mark the points where you want a hole.

The Crop-a-dile is perfect for punching holes in this metal! So very easy.

To create my background I used the wonderful mold created above. I could have poured my melted Beeswax on my non-stick craft sheet and pressed my stamp (be certain to coat your stamp with Distress Embossing Ink beforehand to make the removal of the wax easier) directly into the Beeswax and allowed it to cool, but using a mold I have more control. I used my Kool Toolz spatula to help locate the placement of the wax in my mold.

Allow the wax to cool and remove it from the mold.

Ink a background stamp with Archival Ink and stamp directly on the brass altered blank canvas. Be certain to use an ink that stays on metal such as Palette or Archival. You will need to heat set the Archival Ink, which works magnificently with this application because I wanted my metal hot to attach my wax embellishment.

Allow the metal to cool ever so slightly (you don't just want a puddle of wax on your canvas - LOL!) and press the wax embellishment firmly against the metal. It will melt slightly and as it cools it will adhere to the metal.

I absolutely LOVE the look of the wax on the metal, but being I had a specific color scheme in mind I then brushed my image with Perfect Pearls.

The wax was still slightly warm (but not liquid) as I worked and so I quickly pressed my resin butterfly into the wax and allowed the entire project to then cool and set. You can see in the photo above the reason for my color selection of Perfect Pearls. Bringing together different colors of metals is so very fun. It is just a matter of balancing the colors. 

Mixing the different elements that we carry in the store can make for a very interesting project. You will find a vast array of products to select from. The Vintage Groove line from Making Memories by Jill Schwartz is complete and ready to assemble. There is a significant difference between the Vintaj line and the Vintage Groove line. Vintaj is a natural brass product that is heavy and very well made. It is easy to embellish and makes high quality pieces. Vintage Groove has a lot of the preassembly done and is much lighter weight. It is a funky and easy to use product line, but at times I have needed to reassemble the pieces using a better quality glue. This has not deterred me though as I find it suitable for embellishing cards and adding funky twists to the projects I am creating. Each has its own unique advantage and I have found that combining the elements gives an extremely interesting final product.

I quickly covered a 6x6 canvas with Le Romantique paper and used twill as my outer frame, mounting my brass image on the face. What an elegant, feminine piece of artwork this is - perfect for a ladies dressing area.

It was so incredibly fun adventuring into new territory with this post. I hope that you enjoyed learning about these new tools and techniques and that you will be able to pick and chose from them to add new twists to your creative process! Be certain to take advantage of the special savings we are offering on many of these products this week if you are interested in trying these techniques!

 

stamps: Hero Arts Cling Floral Brocade, CHF Spanish Script Backgrounder

paper: Loves Labyrinth Le' Romantique

ink: Jet Black Archival Ink

accessories:  Vintaj Altered Blank Canvas - 3x4, Vintaj Butterfly Charm, Vintage Groove Ephemera Bead Drop Pendant, Vintage Groove Antique Brass Jump Rings, Mold n' Pour, White Beeswax, Melting Pot, ICE Resin, Tarnished Gold Embossing Powder, Perfect Pearls - Forever Red, Heirloom Gold, Perfect Bronze  

Variation on an Inchie Theme by Susan Roberts

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

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

Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom today.

Happy Crafting!

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

Supplies:

Stamps: Hero Arts “Dolls”

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

Copics:

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

Pretty Party Paper Lanterns by Kim Hughes

Summer parties are SO much fun to host.  Why not hang some sweet paper decorations around to add to the ambiance?  I used 6 x 6 papers but just think of how cool larger versions of these paper lanterns will look mixed in with the smaller ones.

supplies:

Webster's Pages, Seaside Retreat 12x12 Paper Kit, Webster's Pages, Petite Paper Pad, Garden Gala/Seaside Retreat, Webster's Pages, Petite Paper Pad, Lullaby Lane/Life's Potrait

Prima roses

start by folding the square 6 x 6 paper in half.

and cut slits down the entire piece of paper.  Make sure to cut along the fold.  Simply staple the "cone shape" together on each end

I used a trimmer and cut in 1/2 increments, but you can also use scissors


adhere along both ends to attach both papers.  I used liquid glue but a staple will hold them in place nicely.

I cut a 12 x 12 paper down to 5 x 12, rolled it up and added it inside the paper lantern.

Meet the edge and staple in place.  Repeat on the bottom.  Remember that the paper lantern was created with 6 inch paper, so by adding a shorter piece in the center, it helps it fan out.


accordion fold four 6 x 6 papers and score at 1 inch along the entire sheet.  Fold back and forth.  Adhere all 4 sides for a square paper lantern.

add a paper handle to all 3 lanterns.  Each are 1 inch wide.  I added 2 strips together for the larger paper lantern.  Embellish each handle with twine and an accent rose.

Hang beads down from the bottom...or perhaps rolled paper strips?  It's easy to create coordinating straw toppers, place mats or invitations.  Just use a coordinating paper collection. I hope you make 10 zillion of these cuties!  Thanks for stopping by :)

Weekly Update

It is so much fun to see what everyone is creating in the CLASSroom this week! Each week I put out a "challenge" of sorts to our amazing designers - I give some options that I would love to see them work with and they just rocket it to the moon!

One of the things that we are doing in conjunction with this challenge is to create a weekly special that coordinates with the products they are using. We hope that this special will help a little when they entice you with their amazing work. 

I must admit that the delay in this weeks promotion is due to the fact that I was actually having a whirlwind of fun!!! It was such an amazing weekend - it is the first time in four years that I have had the pleasure of spending time with Lisa in her home! We created until my arms and shoulders hurt - LOL! We explored Ice Resin, Vintaj Natural Brass, Mold n' Pour, Beeswax, Be Creative Tape and the new Microfine Glitter product that will be our store shortly. Oh what fun!!

The little pendant shown in the picture above is one of the pieces I created this weekend as we experimented. I used Webster's Pages paper, together with Vintaj Natural Brass and Ice Resin. Magical I tell you - creating is magical!!! I am now a very happy girl again :-D

Simply double click on the picture above to take you to the items included in our promotion or click on the following link:  *Weekly Special.

I hope that each of you had a relaxing weekend and creative weekend and that the beauty the girls share with you this week brings happiness to your day!

Thank you,

-Ellen

Tuesday Technique Recipies by Lisa Strahl

Hello friends!

Hopefully you visited the CLASSroom yesterday and read Becky's post which explains that we are changing the weekly schedule a wee bit.  You will see Becky on Mondays now and I will be here Tuesdays.  Techniques will still be the first order of business here on Tuesday's and I hope I can fill Becky's very big tennis shoes. *wink*

You are bound to see a variety of jewelry or soldering related posts this week and it is my desire to bring you many ways to alter the metal pieces that make up those projects.

I have numbered the finished pieces in photo #2 to help you keep the supplies and techniques sorted out.  Hope you enjoy!

Here is a smattering of the pieces I had to work with.  They are all carried in the store including Vintaj, Ideology and Vintage Groove.

 

This board represents the many ways you can use your metal pieces to their full advantage.

 

Piece #1 - Paint Resist Buckle (paint, then buff off raised areas of the piece with a dry to slightly damp paper towel depending on how quickly the paint has dried)

Supplies:  Adirondack Paint Dabbers, Navigation Arte (Vintaj)

 

Piece #2 - Melted Bees Wax Dragonfly (create dragonfly mold, melt wax in Melting Pot, pour into mold,  cool, remove from  mold, trim excess around the edges, embellish piece with Perfect Pearls and brush with Glossy Accents to make it sturdier)

Supplies:  Queen Dragonfly Charm, Mold n Pour, White Bees Wax, Melting Pot, Finger Tip Craft Knife, Bronze, Green Patina and Forever Green Perfect Pearls, Glossy Accents

Piece #3 - Metal Inclusions in Ice Resin - this is an entire post for another day!  Ellen is planning to do a tutorial and share some fabulous projects she made with Ice Resin soon.

Piece #4 - Krylon Altered Charm (colorize the charm with a different color Metallic Pen to coordinate with your project)

Supplies:  Krylon Metallic Pens in 5 Colors, Adornment Charms

Piece #5 - Copics and Distress Powder on Metal(colorize metal with bold Copic colors)

Supplies:  Copic Markers and Various Ink Refills

Piece #6 - Powder Keg Embossed Flower (press flower into Distress Embossing Ink Pad, randomly sprinkle different colors of powder over the flower, heat set)

Supplies:  Adirondack Embossing Powder, Distress Embossing Ink, Vintaj Flower Charms

 

 

Piece #7 - Alcohol Ink Crown (apply Alcohol Ink directly to the piece, heat set, rub Black Archival Ink pad over raised areas of the charm and buff with a dry paper towel to reveal the original color of the charm)

Supplies:  Adornments Charms, Jet Black Archival Ink

 

 

Piece #8 - Metallic Paint Wings (Use your finger or a small paint brush to apply Metallic Paints to the charm, buff raised areas with dry paper towel)

Supplies:  EcoGreen Crafts Metallic Paint, Adornments Charms

Piece #9 - Perfect Pearls Sun Charm (press charm into Perfect Medium, dust Perfect Pearls onto the piece, spritz lightly with water filled Mini Mister to set the pearls, heat set to dry)

Supplies:  Perfect Pearls, Perfect Medium Ink Pad, Mini Mister

 

Piece # 10 - Chalkboard Mist Button(Spritz piece with Chalkboard Mist and allow it to seep into the cracks, heat set)

Supplies:  Chalkboard Glitter Mists, Accoutrement Buttons

 

Piece # 11 - Studio Paint Heart (paint metal piece with Studio Line Paint for a highly pigmented color finish)

Supplies:  Studio Line Paint, Adornments Charm Set

 

Piece # 12 - Sanded and Hammered Blank (sand blank brass square from side to side, hammer textures using the three different heads for the Time Holtz Texture Hammer)

Supplies:  Vintaj Basic Altered Blanks, Basic Grey Precision Sanding Set, Texture Hammer

 

Piece # 13 - Ice Resin with Distress Embossing Powder (create mold using Adornment bird charm, mix Walnut Stain Distress Embossing Powder into Ice Resin, fill mold, cure overnight)

Supplies:  Adornments Charm set, Mold 'n Pour, Ice Resin, Walnut Stain Distress Embossing Powder

I hope you have been inspired to alter your metal this week!

Lisa