the CLASSroom

Better Together: Copic Airbrushed Background & Coloring by Sharon Harnist

Hello crafters! Today I'm showing you a background I created for the United We Flourish Better Together birds with masking and Copic airbrushing, behind a custom "stretched" frame I created with the Strands die!

(Click on any photo for a larger view)

Here's how this card came together . . .

The branch on my card was created by "stretching" the length of the 3" x 3" Strands die to 4.50"! Here's the die:

To do this, I die cut the Strands die towards the left center of a 5.50" x 4.25" panel of Neenah 110 Lb. Solar White cardstock. Then I slid the die over to the right side of the cardstock panel, flipped both over so I could adjust the die to where the die cut strands lined up as closely as possible to where the die would cut a second time:

Then I partially die cut just the right side of the cardstock showing above, by placing my top die cutting plate (shown above) a tad short of where the paper was already die cut, so you end up with this:

Then I chose one of the lower strands that (almost) connected the closest, and finished snipping the strand so it was continuous.  

Then I just snipped away the rest of the unwanted strands, leaving my one long strand to serve as a branch for my birds:

Next, I used my Misti to line up the United We Flourish Better Together birds on an additional 5.50" x 4.25" Neenah 110 Lb. Solar White panel on which I had lightly traced my branch.

Once the birds were lined up, I replaced my die cut Strand "branch" frame on top of the blank panel and stamped the birds on top of both panels:

Now to add some color!  I created a mask with wide Eclipse Tape and airbrushed Copic G21 to the lower part of the stamped panel:

I created an additional mask of the birds (here's where your Misti comes in handy -- just stamp the birds again onto your masking paper!), positioned the mask over the birds, and airbrushed the "sky" with Copic B21. I intentially airbrushed some areas a little darker, to create the look of clouds:

Once the masks were removed, here's what I had (pretty white birds to color!):

Then I had a ton of fun coloring the birds with these Copic markers:

Aren't they adorable?!!  My homemade branch frame was colored, then the frame placed over the airbrushed and colored bird panel. I finished the card by coloring the two end bird's tails on the frame and added the sentiments.

I hope you'll try this die cutting technique, to stretch (literally!) your die uses!

SUPPLIES: ---------------------------------

United We Flourish Stamp & Die Combo, Better Together by Hero Arts

Essentials By Ellen Designer Dies, Strands by Julie Ebersole

Memento Ink Pad, Tuxedo Black

COPIC Sketch Marker N1, Neutral Gray No. 1

COPIC Sketch Marker N2, Neutral Gray No. 2

COPIC Sketch Marker N3, Neutral Gray No. 3

COPIC Sketch Marker N5, Neutral Gray No. 5

COPIC Sketch Marker W2, Warm Gray No. 2

COPIC Sketch Marker W1, Warm Gray No. 1

COPIC Sketch Marker W5, Warm Gray No. 5

COPIC Sketch Marker Y15, Cadmium Yellow

COPIC Sketch Marker B21, Baby Blue

COPIC Sketch Marker G21, Lime Green

COPIC Sketch Marker R22, Light Prawn

COPIC Sketch Marker R24, Prawn

COPIC Sketch Marker R27, Cadmium Red

COPIC Sketch Marker E30, Bisque

COPIC Sketch Marker E31, Brick Beige

COPIC Sketch Marker E35, Chamois

COPIC Sketch Marker E55, Light Camel

Neenah Cardstock, Neenah Heavyweight, Classic Crest Solar White 110 lb, 25 pk

My Sweet Petunia MISTI Laser Etched Stamping Tool (8-1/8 X 10-1/2)

COPIC Airbrush Starter Set 1N

Sparmax Airbrush Compressor, TC-501N Achieve

COPIC Airbrush Kit, ABS-3

Judikins Eclipse Tape

Sizzix Big Shot White & Gray

Fiskars SureCut Deluxe Craft Paper Trimmer (12")

EK Tools, Precision 5 Inch Scissors with Sheath

Teflon Bone Folder

X-Press It Tape Runner

Back to Basics: Masking by Sharon Harnist

Using some of Julie's newest Essentials by Ellen Holiday 2015 stamp sets just released this week, I'll be showing you how to do some basic masking today, to create a Fall scene!

Here are the steps:

1. In order to get the vine and leaves to appear that they are in the foreground in front of the pumpkins, we need to stamp them first.

I stamped these (from Julie's Mistletoe & Holly stamp set) with Memento Bamboo Leaves onto X-Press It Blending Card since I knew I would be doing Copic airbrushing and coloring later. I used the pumpkin stamp as a guide as to where I should stamp the leaves, then moved it out of the way and stamped.

2. Next, create a mask of the stem and leaves by stamping them onto masking paper and cutting them out. Here I am using an orange sticky note so you can see it better than the usual white masking paper.  Stick the mask paper onto the stamped leaves and stem:

3. Next, I inked the tall pumpkin from Julie's new Got Candy? stamp set in Memento Tangelo and the stem with Bamboo Leaves and stamped it over the previously stamped and masked leaves:

4. I left the leaf mask in place and created a mask for the tall pumpkin, covered it:

then stamped the short pumpkin in the same manner and ink as the tall pumpkin:

Final results:

Replace all masks for the next steps . . .

5. Using Taylored Expressions Build a Scene-Rolling Hills, I die cut vellum to use as a mask for the grass.  I like using vellum for large area masks because it is easy to see through, for positioning. Just apply removeable/temporary/repositionable adhesive to the back side of the vellum (or just hold down the vellum securely in each spot as you are airbrushing).  In order to airbrush the grass, you'll need to use it "upside down", covering the sky that you DO NOT want airbrushed:

Using Copic YG95 in my airbrush system and air compressor, I airbrushed the grass. Here's how the grass looks without the mask:

6. Remove the grassy hill vellum mask from the sky and cover up/mask the grass you just airbrushed, for the next step. 

7. To begin the sky, airbrush a little bit of Copic B00 low near the grass line and about 1 to 1-1/2 inches above the grass, to create a horizon:

8. Next, I used Taylored Expressions Build a Scene-Rolling Clouds to die cut more vellum to create a cloud mask for the sky.  

Place the cloud die cut vellum mask with the cloud humps facing upward towards the top of the card background, about 1-1/2 inches above the horizon/grass line (over the first bit of sky you airbrushed).  Airbrush just a little of the Copic B00 above the cloud mask (about a 1/2-inch wide/upward strip):

Continue moving the cloud mask upward, varying the height/distance above the previous cloud line, and varying the position and angle of the cloud mask. Each time, you will only airbrush about a 1/2-inch wide strip of color above the mask, concentrating the most color very near the mask.

Remove the masks and see how dimensional your scene looks, all on one layer!

9. Color pumpkins with a base coat of lightest YR12:

10. Shade pumpkins with mid-tone YR14:

11. Add deepest shading to pumpkins with YR18. Color leaves and stems with YG93 and YG95. Add shading to the grass under the pumpkins with YG95:

12. Die cut Garden Fence from Neenah Desert Storm cardstock; cut apart and adhere to cardfront, on each side of the pumpkins. Adhere background to an A2-sized card base created from Neenah 110 Lb. Solar White cardstock.

13. Stamp "Thank You" sentiment from Julie's Essentials by Ellen Autumn Acorns stamp set with Memento Rich Cocoa ink onto the small tag from Taylored Expressions Build a Tag 3 die set. Tie tag with gold metallic string and adhere to fence.

I hope you will have fun building scenes and trying out some of these masking techniques!  ~ Sharon

Essentials by Ellen Clear Stamps, Got Candy? by Julie Ebersole

Essentials by Ellen Clear Stamps, Mistletoe & Holly by Julie Ebersole

Taylored Expressions Dies, Build a Scene - Rolling Hills

Taylored Expression Dies, Build A Scene - Rolling Clouds

Taylored Expressions Dies, Build A Tag - 3

My Favorite Things Die-namics, Garden Fence

Blending Card by X-Press It, 25 Pack

Neenah Cardstock, Neenah Environment Desert Storm, 25 pk

Neenah Cardstock, Neenah Heavyweight, Classic Crest Solar White 110 lb, 25 pk

Memento Dew Drop Ink Pad, Bamboo Leaves

Memento Dew Drop Ink Pad, Tangelo

Memento Ink Pad, Rich Cocoa

COPIC Airbrush Starter Set 1N

Sparmax Airbrush Compressor, TC-501N Achieve

Fiskars SureCut Deluxe Craft Paper Trimmer (12")

Martha Stewart Scoring Board, Mini

Sizzix Big Shot White & Gray

String by the Spool, Metallic Gold

COPIC Sketch Marker YG93, Grayish Yellow

COPIC Sketch Marker YG95, Pale Olive

COPIC Sketch Marker YR12, Loquat

COPIC Sketch Marker YR14, Caramel

COPIC Sketch Marker YR18, Sanguine

COPIC Sketch Marker B00, Frost Blue

Inkadinkado Stamping Mask Paper, 5x7, 12 pk

3M Post-It Labeling Tape, 2 in x 36 yd

Beautiful Backgrounds 5-Airbrushed Stencil Orchid by Sharon Harnist

Happy Friday, everyone!  As we leave May behind and get ready for summer, I was feeling bright and festive and wanted to share a fun background that will enhance your summer party invites, thank-you notes, or birthday cards!

Here's how to create this quick and simple background, using a stencil and the Copic Airbrush System (click on photos for a larger view):

1. Choose a stencil which contains a simple pattern that can easily be repeated, such as these Large Polka Dots or any other shapes with spaces between them, such as stripes, chevrons, waves, etc. Using washi or any other repositionable tape, tape the stencil into place over Copic X-Press It Blending Card and airbrush your first color (I used YR21).

2. After the first color is done, gently lift up the stencil and reposition it so the stencil openings are now in between the first airbrushed color; tape the stencil back down to your work surface and airbrush second color (I used BG000):

3. The finished airbrushed background with two colors. If you don't have the airbrush sytem, alternately you could color through each opening of the stencil with Copic markers, or use an ink pad and sponge ink color through the stencil.

TIP: To clean your stencil, use rubbing alcohol, alcohol prep wipe, or hand sanitizer.

4. Next, I stamped Pink Ink's Graceful Orchids #2212 with Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto Copic X-Press It Blending Card and added the "celebrate" sentiment from the Essentials by Ellen Wish Big stamp set, inking only the word and leaving off the long trailing lines. Then I die cut the stamped images with Taylored Expressions Label Stacklets 3 and while the cardstock was still in the die, I airbrushed more of the YR21 Copic marker around the edges.

To color the beautiful orchids, I was inspired by this photo I found in an Internet search and tried to mimic the coloring:

5. I started by base coating each petal with RV52, leaving a white edge on the inside of each petal.

6. Next, I used my darker RV55 to color the centers of each flower.

While researching orchid colors, I also discovered the anatomy of an orchid (which I previously knew nothing about, so I thought I would also share!):

7. To differentiate the three sepals from the two petals, I used lighter RV52 to pick up color from the darker RV55 and colored the sepals on each flower a little darker than the petals:

8. Next, to make the faint lines on the petals and sepals, I used each of the corresponding colors (i.e. lighter RV52 on the lighter petals and darker RV55 on the darker sepals) and made the lines with tiny rows of dots. This way, they are not just stark straight lines drawn on the flower. Darkest RV69 was used to deepen the color of the flower centers.

9. I used the green combo of YG61-YG63-YG67 to color the leaves and stems:

10. I used the combo of BG000-(same color used on the polka dot background)-BG01-BG02 to color and shade the vase.

Lastly, W1-W3-W5 were used to color the air roots and shadow under the vase.

To finish the card, I die cut a larger Label Stacklets 3 mat from Neenah 110 lb. Solar White cardstock and colored it with the BG000 marker, so it would match the background dots and vase perfectly! The colored image is popped up on Copic Foam Tape over the background.

I hope you'll have fun with this background technique!  ~ Sharon

Pink Ink Wood Mount Stamp, Graceful Orchids

Essentials by Ellen Clear Stamps, Wish Big by Julie Ebersole

Taylored Expression Dies, Stacklets - Label 9

My Favorite Things Stencils, Large Polka Dot

Memento Ink Pad, Tuxedo Black

Neenah Cardstock, Neenah Heavyweight, Classic Crest Solar White 110 lb, 25 pk

COPIC Airbrush Starter Set 1N

Sizzix Big Shot White & Gray

Teflon Bone Folder

Glue Glider Pro Plus Refill, High Tac Value Pack 58'

Martha Stewart Scoring Board, Mini

Fiskars SureCut Deluxe Craft Paper Trimmer (12")

High Tack Double-Sided Foam Mounting Tape, 1/4"

COPIC Sketch Marker YR21, Cream

COPIC Sketch Marker BG000, Pale Aqua

COPIC Sketch Marker RV52, Cotton Candy

COPIC Sketch Marker RV55, Hollyhock

COPIC Sketch Marker RV66, Raspberry

COPIC Sketch Marker RV69, Peony

COPIC Sketch Marker YG61, Pale Moss

COPIC Sketch Marker YG63, Pea Green

COPIC Sketch Marker YG67, Moss

COPIC Sketch Marker BG01, Aqua Blue

COPIC Sketch Marker BG02, New Blue

COPIC Sketch Marker W1, Warm Gray No. 1

COPIC Various Ink Refill W5, Warm Gray No. 5

Blending Card by X-Press It, 25 Pack

Merci by Sharon Harnist

Hello, everyone!  I hope you all enjoyed the new Spring 2015 Essentials by Ellen stamp and die release and blog hop this week!  I have another project for you today that uses Julie's pretty new Wild Garden dies and 12 Days Companion Greetings stamp set (all bold products are linked below in the supply section):

Die cutting all the elements from Neenah 100 lb Solar White cardstock not only makes the die cuts nice and sturdy, but quicker to create as well, since you are only cutting from one cardstock color!  You may find using a metal adaptor plate in your die cutting machine sandwich will help to you get good, clean cuts from intricate dies such as these, on heavyweight cardstock.

Next, I colored the die cuts with these Copic Sketch Markers:

To create the background, I airbrushed Copic BG53 for the sky and G43 for the grass (below left) onto a 5.50" x 4.25" Copic X-Press It Blending Card panel. If you don't have an airbrush system, alternately you could sponge Distress Inks onto white cardstock. 

Next (above right), I did the Copic equivalent to slinging (with your hand) water onto a Distress Ink background, using Copic Colorless Blending Solution.  I love the results!

To finish the card, I die cut the background panel with the scalloped panel from MFT's Blueprints 20 and then embossed the stitched rectangle panel onto the background, using a thick rubber embossing pad and opening my Sizzix Multipurpose Platform to Tab 2 and ran it through my Big Shot.  

The pretty "Merci" sentiment is from Julie's new 12 Days Companion Greetings stamp set and was stamped in Copic-friendly Memento Tuxedo Black ink. This set is full of fabulous sentiments that could easily be substituted on this card!

Finally, I popped the background onto a white card base with Copic Foam Tape and used Clear Wink of Stella on all the flower centers.

I hope you have a lovely weekend and try out this die cutting technique!  

~ Sharon

Essentials by Ellen Clear Stamps, 12 Days Companion Greetings by Julie Ebersole

Essentials by Ellen Designer Dies, Wild Garden by Julie Ebersole

Cheery Lynn Designs Metal Adaptor Plate

Neenah Cardstock, Neenah Heavyweight, Classic Crest Solar White 110 lb, 25 pk

My Favorite Things Die-namics, Blueprints 20

Blending Card by X-Press It, 10 Pack

COPIC Airbrush Starter Set 1N

COPIC Colorless Blender Solution 200cc Bottle

Cheery Lynn Designs Embossing Pad Kit

Sizzix Big Shot White & Gray

Zig Wink of Stella Glitter Brush Tip Marker, Clear

High Tack Double-Sided Foam Mounting Tape, 1/2"

Sizzix Multipurpose Platform, Extended

Memento Ink Pad, Tuxedo Black

COPIC Sketch Marker BG53, Ice Mint

COPIC Sketch Marker G43, Pistachio

Beautiful Backgrounds by Sharon Harnist

Hello, happy Friday and since this is my first post of the new year, Happy 2015!  Have you seen Ellen and Julie's CHA antics over on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook? They've been taking Ranger classes today and inspired me to get inky and go vintage! So here' s today's project:

I set out to create a custom background paper by using My Favorite Things Sheet Music Background. I stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto Neenah Desert Storm cardstock:

Next, I stamped two sizes of of MFT's Damask Designs with Versamark into the background and clear heat embossed them. Then I used Copic R24 Sketch Marker in my Copic Airbrush Starter Set 1N (which you can use wither without or with Sparmax Airbrush Compressor) and lightly airbrushed around the damask embossed images.

NOTE: Alternately, if you don't have the airbrush system, you can sponge dye ink (such as Distress Ink) around the embossed image.

Above, you can see the top left corner's three damask images where I then started to lightly take the Copic ink off the clear embossing by using a cotton swab dampened with Copic Colorless Blender Solution. All the other damask images show what the Red Copic ink looks like on the clear embossed images -- it is your preference if you want to leave or remove it. I chose to remove it this time, so the damask image would appear softer.

Next, the pretty MFT Birthday Sentiment was stamped with Memento Rhubarb Stalk ink onto Neenah Classic Cream cardstock and die cut with MFT Fishtail Flags Layers Die-namics, then machine stitched with gold thread. The outer edges of the sentiment banner were sponged with Antique Linen Distress Ink and a 1" Round Ink Blending Tool.

To finish the card, I die cut a pretty Hybrid Camellia Flower from Bazzill Red Hots (darker red used for outer flower petals) and Peppermint (lighter red, used for the flower center) Card Shoppe Cardstock. You can find a video tutorial on how to assemble the flower on the product page here. A Quilling Tool is your secret weapon to make rolling the center portion easy!

The flower and banner were popped up on Copic X-Press It Foam Tape and the background adhered to a card base of Bazzill Peppermint cardstock.

Thanks so much for joining me today -- I hope you are able to get inky this weekend, too!  ~ Sharon

 

My Favorite Things Cling Stamps, Sheet Music Background

My Favorite Things Clear Stamps, Damask Designs by Mona Pendleton

My Favorite Things Die-namics, STAX Fishtail Flags Layers

My Favorite Things Die-namics, Hybrid Camellia Flower

Bazzill Card Shoppe Cardstock, Peppermint, 10 pk

Bazzill Card Shoppe Cardstock, Red Hots, 10 pk

Neenah Cardstock, Neenah Environment Desert Storm, 25 pk

COPIC Sketch Marker R24, Prawn

COPIC Airbrush Starter Set 1N

Copic Airbrushing with Operation Write Home's Sandy Allnock

I am thrilled that Sandy Allnock is joining us today here in the CLASSroom. It is my good fortune to have met Sandy not long ago and to have her living nearby is a double blessing! Over the past couple of months it has been my honor to get to know Sandy better - her loving kindness, immense talent, wonderful sense of humor and giving nature are so appreciated! 

Sandy is the founder of Operation Write Home and has been responsible for sharing over 2.75 MILLION, YES MILLION, handcrafted cards with our troops who have been deployed around the world. There is a current call for help - the deadline is October 18th - so if you have any high quality Christmas cards please consider getting them into the mail pronto! You can find full details here. The images that Sandy has created together with Hero Arts for Operation Write Home are simply adorable - your purchase of these images helps to support this worthy organization! I fell in love with her latest images when attending Hero Arts event this past September and can hardly wait for them to land in our store - it should be any day now!

The Copic Markers for Card Makers at Online Card Classes in which Sandy was one of the primary instructors has wrapped up, but it is not too late to garner LOADS of information and sample materials to improve your coloring skills! With lifetime access to all the projects and files this is a class definitely worth taking! The wealth of information there makes my jaw drop!

Sandy's blog is also full of Copic colored treasures! This special lady can color to WOW you! Her posts are so informative and packed with fabulous tidbits to help you color better AND she has a video channel! I would like to invite you to head over to Sandy Allnock's blog now and help us thank her for sharing her creativity here in the CLASSroom with us! As our way of thanking you for taking the time to visit Sandy's blog we have a package of goodies awaiting you there. Please leave a comment on her post about being a guest here by October 20th to be included in the random drawing she will be hosting on her blog. You know you are in the right place if you see the following picture of our giveaway.

Thank you so much Sandy for sharing your talents with us here in the CLASSroom today and even more importantly thank you for your friendship! -Ellen

---

Hello everyone! I'm Sandy Allnock, and I'm excited to bring you a tutorial today using brand new fundraiser stamps by Hero Arts - your purchase of Arrow Messages and The Fox Says Stamp & Cut Sets generates a donation to Operation Write Home. I'm the founder and Executive Director of the organization...so I especially appreciate your help in fundraising!

In the video below, I'm sharing the Craft Assistant and Magnetic Masking Material exclusive here at Ellen Hutson LLC. I'll be using them with my Copic Airbrush System (made up of the ABS3 and a compressor), but you can use these tools for all kinds of masking with sprays and other ink applications.

There are so many uses for the masking products, I'm excited to explore more! Keep an eye out for more videos with ideas.

A few other things I mentioned in the video that I wanted to link you up to:

• Stamp storage: I showed you my stamps in Stamp Storage Pockets. I love this system - all my stamps are now in consistent, clean and tidy, sortable matching packaging. Brilliant! And I also wanted to make you aware that Ellen Hutson LLC now has Storage Envelopes - these are the same size as the stamp pockets, but are way thicker. If you've ordered anything out of the new line of Essentials by Ellen, then you'll know just how fabulous these are.
• Copic Airbrush Buyers Guide: Great info to help you decide at what level you want to jump into Copic Airbrushing.
  • Copic Airbrush Buyers Guide video
  • Copic Airbrush Buyers Guide blog post
• Operation Write Home: If you've not heard of the charity before - we send beautiful handmade cards to deployed service members so they can keep in touch with home. Our website is filled with all you need to know -- guidelines, holiday deadlines, accepted themes, packing and shipping your cards, and even info on writing AnyHero letters <-- a way that anyone can join in and encourage a service member.

Hope you enjoyed what I've shared...please feel free to leave questions and comments. And be sure to click that "like" button on YouTube in honor of my Ciara :)

Hero Arts Stamp & Cuts, Operation Write Home, The Fox Says	Hero Arts Stamp & Cuts, Operation Write Home, Arrow	Copic Airbrush System Starter Kit 1N	Copic Airbrush Kit, ABS-3
Sparmax Airbrush Compressor, TC-501N Achieve	Essentials by Ellen, Art Magnetic Masking Material	Essentials by Ellen, Craft Assistant	Essentials by Ellen Storage Envelopes, 25pk
Avery Elle Stamp Storage Pocket, 25 pk	Scotch Double-Sided Foam Mounting Tape	3M Post-It Labeling Tape, 2 in x 36 yd	Memento Ink Pad, Tuxedo Black
Hero Arts Dye Ink, Black	COPIC Sketch Marker B23, Phthalo Blue	COPIC Sketch Marker B37, Antwerp Blue	COPIC Sketch Marker FV2, Fluorescent Dull Violet
COPIC Sketch Marker RV29, Crimson	YR04 Chrome Yellow copic Marker	COPIC Sketch Marker YR09, Chinese Orange	COPIC Sketch Marker Y17, Golden Yellow
COPIC Sketch Marker YG06, Yellowish Green	COPIC Sketch Marker YG17, Grass Green

InLinkz.com

Patriotic Luminary by Sharon Harnist

I saw a cute idea on Pinterest for a patriotic luminary and wanted to re-create it for the upcoming U.S. holiday, with the supplies I had on hand . . . These were the results!

I think we all have a stash of jars either on hand or in the recycle bin, so this is a great way to recycle them AND make a cute gift for friends, neighbors, family OR to add a prettier flare to your summertime patio mosquito repellent candles! My jar was a hamburger dill pickle jar, about 5" tall and 3" in diameter.

There are probably a lot of different ways this project could be accomplished, but here's what I did, like I said -- with supplies I had on hand:

1. After throroughly scraping off the jar label and washing the jar, I wiped it down with alcohol to make sure all sticky residue was removed. Then I masked off the top and bottom of the jar with 2-inch 3M Post-It Labeling Tape (any area I did NOT want to be painted white). I left about 1/4 of the back of the jar "open"/unpainted just so a little more candle light would show through it, but you could certainly paint it all around (click on any photo for a larger view):

I painted on one coat of Gesso, let it dry, then painted on another coat in the opposite direction (just to try and avoid streaking). I like the slight "linen" look this yielded. (Photo below shows the first coat drying):

2. Again, with what I had on hand, I found this My Favorite Things Waves Stencil in my stash.  Had I planned better and wanted to be perfectly "American Flag correct", I may have used any number of straight line stencils Ellen carries, but I like that mine looks like it is waving in the wind!

3. After the Gesso dried, I made about a 2" x 2" square mask from the 3M Post-It Labeling Tape and applied it to the upper left of the white area (this is the area that will be painted blue later).

4. I taped the wave stencil over the whole white area and then airbrushed Copic R27. This is one of the beauties of flexible stencils ... they will bend around most anything!

5. Next, I removed the wave stencil (rubbing alcohol will clean it up quickly) and 2-inch square mask, and then masked around the square so I could do the blue airbrushing.

6. Airbrush the square area with Copic B37.

Next, I'll tell you what I thought would work (but didn't!) and what I did to fix it! I die cut masking tape with MFT's Scattered Stars Die-namics and then used it to apply paint through:

I placed the star mask over the blue airbrushed square and painted on another coat of Gesso. Either my mask wasn't stuck down well enough, the Gesso was too gloppy, or my brushing skills are lacking/too messy (most likely!), because somehow I ended up with globs instead of nice crisp stars!  Soooo to fix that, I quickly wiped off as much of the Gesso as I could and re-airbrushed blue back over the square.

Seeing all those tiny stars still stuck to my die cutting plate above, I decided to lift those off and stick them to the blue airbrushed square (yes, each individual little one!) . . . it worked perfectly!

To make sure the stars would stay stuck to the luminary (since they are cut from a removeable paper), I sealed them on with a coat of Ranger Gloss Multi Medium.

To finish the luminary, I tied Tim Holtz Silver Tinsel Twine & Winter Tinsel Twine (Red) around the neck of the jar, then tied on a Jenni Bowlin Vintage Cream Button with blue striped twine.

Here's a look at the luminary lit up in a semi-dark room (along with my summertime framed subway art!):

I hope you have a lovely upcoming holiday and are enjoying your Summer!

~ Sharon 

3M Post-It Labeling Tape, 2 in x 36 yd	3M Post-It Adhesive Roll, White, 1x400 in	My Favorite Things Die-namics, Scattered Stars	Faber-Castell Gesso
My Favorite Things Stencils, Waves	Copic Airbrush Kit, ABS-3	COPIC Sketch Marker R27, Cadmium Red	COPIC Sketch Marker B37, Antwerp Blue
Ranger Multi Medium, Gloss With Brush, 1 oz.	Tim Holtz Tinsel Twine, Silver	Tim Holtz, Tinsel Twine, Winter	Doodle Twine Assortment, Primary
Jenni Bowlin Vintage Sew-On Buttons, Cream

InLinkz.com

White Lilies and Anja’s Border

Good Wednesday morning and welcome to the CLASSroom. I have lots of flower dies and punches to play with but sometimes need a little help to know how to make my flower look more natural and authentic.  Doing a Google search for photos of a particular flower brings up more inspiration than you can believe.  Here is a link to the lily photo search that I did for my project today.

Here are a couple of photos that inspired my white lilies made with the My Favorite Things Lily set.

I loved the softness of the pale green stamen and lovely white flower petals and thought they would look so pretty paired with the Marianne Design Anja’s Border and the small foliage die from the Massa Leaf Frame. The Hansa Yellow Shade 220.3 PanPastel was a perfect match for the center of the flowers and the Bazzill Juicy Pear for the stamen.

Apply PanPastel to the center of each flower section with a mini applicator.

Turn the flower section face down on the molding pad and form the petals with the smaller end of the stylus.

Turn the flower section face up on the molding pad and push down in the center with the small stylus to push the petals up.

Apply a small dot of glossy accents to the center of the base flower and attach the second flower  inside it and hold in place until set.

Color the tips of the stamen with a Pale Olive YG95 Copic marker.

Roll the stamen around the tip of the tweezers, apply a small amount of glossy accents to edge and hold in place to secure.

Apply glossy accents to the center of the flower and set the stamen in place with the tweezers.  Hold it in place for a moment until secure.

Form the leaves of the foliage using the molding pad and stylus.  Alternate by forming some leaves from the front and some from the back to give a natural appearance.

Place the cardstock on the magnetic platform and place the Anja’s Border die face down to cut to create the decorative layer. 

Attach mounting tape to the back of the decorative layer and attach it to the card base.

Attach foliage with glossy accents to create the base for the floral spray.

Attach the three lilies to the foliage and card base with glossy accents.

I’m so glad you stopped by the CLASSroom and I hope you enjoyed my tutorial. 

My Favorite Things Die-namics, Lily	Marianne Design Dies, Anja's Border	Poppystamps Dies, Massa Leaf Frame	Sizzix Accessory, Tool Kit inspired by Susan Tierney-Cockburn
Sizzix Accessory, Magnetic Platform for Wafer-Thin Dies	Sizzix Big Shot Machine, Powder Blue & Teal	PanPastel Ultra Soft Artist Pastel 9 ml, Hansa Yellow Shade 220.3	COPIC Sketch Marker YG95, Pale Olive
PanPastel Sofft Mini Applicators, 12 pk	Accents, Glossy	Scotch Double-Sided Foam Mounting Tape	Bazzill Card Shoppe Cardstock, Juicy Pear, 10 pk
Bazzill Card Shoppe Cardstock, Marshmallow, 25 pk

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Sending You Sunshine Card by Sharon Harnist

Spring is starting to make an appearance down here in the south, so to go along with Daylight Savings Time "Spring Forward" this weekend here in the U.S., I thought I would bring a little sunshine to the CLASSroom today with this sweet card:

Coincidentally, I had started the base of this card with My Favorite Things' Petal Pattern Stencil a few days before Jean Manis did her wonderful review of stencils here in the CLASSroom last week. So if you haven't already, you may want to read her informative article for some more tips when using stencils.

Here's how I made the background for my card:

1. Secure the stencil to Neenah Desert Storm cardstock with washi tape and then spread Wendy Vecchi's White Embossing Paste through the stencil using a folded index card, or you could use an embossing paste spreader (personally, I prefer something I can just dispose of, instead of have to clean up!):

I see the store is temporarily out-of-stock on Wendy's embossing paste, but Dreamweaver White Embossing Paste would work the same.

Here's what the background looks like with the stencil removed. Be sure to immediately clean the embossing paste off the stencil.

2. Once the embossing paste is dry (about 1 hour), place the stencil back over the cardstock/dried paste and secure with washi/removable tape again. Add color to the centers of the flowers with the Copic Airbrush System and Copic Y17-Golden Yellow Sketch marker:

Clean the Copic ink off the stencil using regular household rubbing alcohol (at least 70%) or Copic Colorless Blender Solution.

3. Next, I used Sizzix's Stephanie Barnard Framelits Circle Flip-Its #2 Card Die Set to cut a card base out of Hero Arts Poppy Layering Paper (at the top of the photo below). This fabulous die set makes flip-flop style cards SO easy to make! I used the coordinating front panel dies to die cut my stencil embossed background and then used Copic High Tack Double-Sided Tissue Tape to securely adhere the front panels to the card base:

4. To finish the card, I used Hero Arts Clear Everyday Sayings stamp set to stamp the sunshine sentiment with Versmark and then heat emboss with white detail powder onto Hero Arts Layering Paper-Mixed Sunshine (Mandarin). The additional layers behind the sentiment were die cut from more Mixed Sunshine Layering Paper (Daffodil), using most all of the scalloped dies that are included in this wonderful, big 11-piece die set! The layers were stacked and adhered with Copic Foam Tape:

5. I added one more mat layer of My Favorite Things Dainty Doily Duo-Circle Die-namics, cut from Neenah Natural White cardstock behind the sentiment. Here's what the card looks like open:

I hope sunshine and warmer weather is on its way to you, wherever you may be!
~ Sharon

MFT Stencils, Petal Pattern by Mona Pendleton	A3 Cardstock, Neenah Environment Desert Storm, 250 Sheet Ream	Dreamweaver Embossing Paste, White 4oz	Studio 490 Embossing Paste by Wendy Vecchi, White
Copic Airbrush jSystem Starter Kit 1N	Sparmax Windstorm Airbrush Compressor	COPIC Sketch Marker Y17, Golden Yellow	COPIC Colorless Blender Solution 200cc Bottle
My Favorite Things Die-namics, Dainty Doily Duo-Circle	Sizzix Stephanie Barnard Framelits Die Set, Circle Flip-Its #2	Hero Arts Layering Paper, Mixed Sunshine	ClearDesign: Everyday Sayings
Stampendous Embossing Powder, Detail White	VersaMark Inkpad	Heat It Craft Tool	Tim Holtz, Tissue Tape, Journeyman
Copic High Tack Double-Sided Foam Mounting Tape, 1/2"

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File Folder Cards with WRM Envelope Punch Board by Sharon Harnist

Like a lot of you, I jumped on board and purchased the fabulous new Envelope Punch Board by We R Memory Keepers last year. And then my family started cleaning up and packing things away in order to sell our house and move!  Months later (late last year), when I was finally able to get it back in my hands, I made sure to set it aside so I could have a chance to play with it.  Since I am horrible at actually mailing most of the cards I make, I set out to see what else I could do with this crafty tool. An Internet search revealed a HUGE myriad of fabulous items that can be made with this innovative tool besides awesome custom envelopes ... I urge you to do the same!

Since I've always loved the look of a file folder greeting card, this particular idea really appealed to me -- especially since I've been meaning to purchase a die that would give this same look!

The bonus with making your file folders with the Envelope Punch Board is that you can adjust the file tab to whatever size and position you'd like!  It's very easy -- here's how (click on any photo for a larger view):

INSTRUCTIONS FOR A 3-TAB FILE FOLDER CARD:

Start with a normal card-sized piece of cardstock for the base of your file folder card -- a half sheet of 8.50" x 11" = 8.50" x 5.50". 

1. You can choose to notch the far right and left corners, depending on the look you prefer and you can either do it at the beginning or end. Here, I did it first but it may be easier for you to align the edge of the cardstock with the ruler if you punch this corner last. You want to put the edge of your cardstock right in the center of the little punch opening you see in the lower center of the round blue punch "button".

2. Move the left edge of your cardstock over the 1-3/4" mark of the Envelope Punch Board and punch.

3. This is the completed left file folder tab.

4. To make the right and middle tabs, flip the left side of your cardstock over so the tab is now on th right and repeat steps 1 and 2 above.

5. By creating the second end tab, you've also created the middle tab.

Next, decide which position of tabs you want to create. In the photo below, the right side of my file folder is a center tab, so I just used my paper trimmer to take off the left (or top) and right (bottom) tabs. So on the left side of my folder, I removed the center tab. Now when the folder is closed (left side folded to the right), you'll be able to see the center tab:

To add extra authenticy to the folder, I scored down the normal 4.25" center mark of an A2-sized card, and then 1/4" on each side of center.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR A 2-TAB FILE FOLDER CARD:

(For the times you may need a larger tab)

1. Align the left side of the cardstock at the 2-3/4" mark, punch. Then punch the ends, same as step 1 above:

To decorate the front of my card, I stamped Penny Black's beautiful Floral Applique slapstick cling with Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto Copic X-Press It Blending Card and colored it with these Copic Sketch markers: RV63, RV66, YG23, YG25, YG17, and Y21.

For the background, I used E41, E42 and E43 to color around the flower on the lower part of the panel (I wanted to soften the white cardstock to blend and match it to the Neenah Desert Storm kraft colored card base). Then I flicked the lightest E41 from the flower upward, to create a transition into the blue sky I airbrushed with BG000. After flicking the E41, I softened the top edge and blended it out to white, using the 0-Colorless Blender:

Having that little bit of E41 Pearl White "buffer" right up against the flower allowed me to airbrush the BG000 sky up to the Pearl White without having to mask the flower and without fear of getting BG000 overspray on the already-colored flower (yes, that's the lazy way because I don't like cutting masks!).

After stamping the Hero Arts Celebrate Everyday sentiment on the tab, here's what the file folder card looks like open:

To finish the card front image, I used the corner rounder that's included on the top of the Envelope Punch Board's punch button and accented the top right of the colored image with Ellen's Iridescent Vanilla Sequins, secured with Mini Glue Dots.

To add to the authenticity of my file folder, I used the tabs I cut off the back side of the folder and adhered them to the front tabs, to act like the reinforced tabs you see on some file folders!

This birthday card is for my husband's Aunt whom we are celebrating her 90th birthday this weekend! I know she did a ton of filing in her 35-ish years of working, so I don't quite know if she'll look forward to this card or not!  But she usually loves whatever I make her, so I think she'll probably appreciate it! Thanks for joining me today!  ~ Sharon

We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board	A3 Cardstock, Neenah Environment Desert Storm, 25 pk	Blending Card by X-Press It, 25 Pack	Memento Ink Pad, Tuxedo Black
Penny Black Cling Stamp, Floral Applique	Celebrate Everyday STamp Set by Hero Art	Martha Stewart Scoring Board, Mini	Copic Sketch Markers
Copic Airbrush jSystem Starter Kit 1N	Sparmax Windstorm Airbrush Compressor	Essentials by Ellen: Sequins, Iridescent Vanilla	Glue Dots Sheets, Mini

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Die Cut Custom Copic Background by Sharon Harnist

Since this is my first CLASSroom post for the new year, I wanted to wish you all a wonderful 2014 and start off the year with one of my very favorite kind of projects -- a calendar!

I know this is a tad bit late for January, but hopefully this project will give you some great ideas for future monthly projects!  The area I'm focusing most on today is a custom background paper, made with any die ... here's how it's done:

1. I started by cutting the size of background paper I would be using -- originally, I planned on an A2 sized card so I cut a piece of scrap cardstock 4.25" x 5.50". The cardstock color doesn't matter, as it will just be used as a template.

2. Next, you will be creating a template so place your die (and cut) the piece of cardstock the way you want your pattern to appear later on your finished project:

In my test runs, I used this Memory Box Beaded Snowflake Die but ended up just using My Favorite Things Let It Snowflake die set on my calendar. Ellen carries plenty of other snowflake dies that would also work well for this technique -- you can find all snowflake dies HERE.

3. Then place your template over the piece of cardstock you will use for your project (I used Neenah Natural White for both my template and my project -- my apologies, I should have used a different color for the template so you could tell them apart better), using a temporary adhesive to hold down the template:

4. Next, I used the Copic Airbrush System to airbrush B00 Copic Sketch marker through the die cut template. Alternately, you could use a dye ink and sponge applicator to sponge color through the template:

As I mentioned above, I ended up using a smaller scale snowflake die for my project:

I created the calendar piece using My Favorite Things' Journal It-Calendar Basics clear stamp set. I stamped the calendar onto a piece of my custom snowflake background paper with Memento Rich Cocoa ink, die cut it with MFT's Pierced Rectangle STAX, then started stamping the date numbers beginning with all the "1's". I found it easier to stamp all of one number at a time:

It went pretty quickly this way:

Next, I stamped this sweet MFT Trim the Branches Snowman, omiting his hanging ornaments (another way to get more mileage from your holiday stamps!) with Rich Cocoa ink onto Neenah Natural White cardstock:

And colored him with the Copic Sketch markers shown below. I used BG0000 to outline the snowman's body to give him an icy feeling, and C1 to create shadows under his hat, eyes, nose, mouth and scarf:

Mr. Snowman was hand trimmed, leaving a snow mound for him to sit on, and popped up on Copic Foam Tape.

To finish my calendar, I glittered two of the snowflakes I die cut earlier with Tim Holtz's Clear Rock Candy Distress Glitter and popped them up on rolled up Glue Dots -- this is a great way to give a little lift to elements on your project and the bonus is they are clear and therefore less likely to show on smaller items. I wish I could capture how truly gorgeous this glitter is in person -- hopefully clicking on the photo below will let you see just a little of its beauty:

Finally, I used a Fishtale Flags STAX die to die cut a piece of my favorite Lifestyle Crafts Teal Blue Shape 'N Tape to accent the top right corner of the calendar.

I hope this technique gives you all kinds of ideas on how to use your dies to create custom backgrounds! ~ Sharon

My Favorite Things Clear Stamp Set, Pure Innocence-Trim The Branches Snowman	My Favorite Things Clear Stamp Set, Journal It-Calendar Basics	Memento Ink Pad, Rich Cocoa	Sizzix Big Shot Machine, Powder Blue & Teal
Memory Box Dies, Beaded Snowflake	My Favorite Things Die-namics, Let It Snowflake	MFT Die-namics Stax, Pierced Rectangle	My Favorite Things Die-namics Stax, Fishtail Flags
Glue Glider Pro Plus Refill, Repositionable 40'	Copic Sketch Markers	Copic Airbrush jSystem Starter Kit 1N	Copic High Tack Double-Sided Foam Mounting Tape, 1/2"
Crop-a-Dile Corner Chomper Tool	A1 Cardstock, Neenah Classic Crest Natural White, 25 pack	EEE5 Cardstock, Lagoon	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Glitter,Clear Rock Candy
Glue Dots, 3/8"	Paper Trimmer, Tonic Guillotine 8 1/2"

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Scrappy Poinsettia Color of the Year 2014 by Sharon Harnist

As we near the end of the year, I always like taking a look back to re-visit some of my favorite stamping techniques. One of my all-time favorites has always been watercolor ... combine it with Copics and I'm in love!  :)

I'm also in love with these two cuties, so while they were in good humor recently, I caught them in front of the Christmas tree and decided to capture the moment in print and a scrapbook page! Another one of my favorite trends/styles from this year has been chalkboard. So to create the 8-inch page background to resemble a chalkboard, I stamped this fabulous mixed font Hero Arts Clings Be Jolly background with Versamark ink a few times onto Ellen's Black A5 Cardstock and heat embossed it with Detail White Embossing Powder. Alternately, you could stamp with white pigment ink and clear emboss it, but I originally thought I might want to highlight a few of the words in the background with Copic markers (but then decided against that).

TIP: No matter how careful you are with white embossing powder on dark cardstock, you are probably going to get some bits of white powder somewhere it's not intended -- even with using an anti-static embossing bag! So my trick is to use a Copic marker color that matches your cardstock and just dab over the unwanted white embossing and it will disappear into the background! I usually use the less-used chisel end of my marker to do this, because the embossing powder may contaminate and/or clog your marker tip.

I love using unexpected colors for things every now and then, so when I started this page I thought it would be fun to use the new 2014 Pantone Color of the Year, Radiant Orchid. I tried matching it to what I thought would be the closest Copic version (my best online viewing guess) and came up with a combination of RV63, RV66, and V06 (which looks closer to me in real life than these electronic representations):

Isn't that Penny Black Warm Wishes poinsettia stamp gorgeous?!! Here's how I made it:

To begin, I stamped the poinsettia with VersaMark ink onto Essentials by Ellen 8.5" x 11" warm white watercolor paper paper and heat embossed it with Ranger Clear Embossing Powder and Heat It Craft Tool. The reason you want to use clear embossing powder here is that a white embossing powder might tend to get tinted with some of the Copic ink, whereas I've had less of a problem with that by using clear powder.

Next, I placed drops of my chosen Copic Various Ink Refills on a Plastic Paint Palette and used a Niji Waterbrush, filled with Copic Colorless Blender Solution, to pick up the colors and brush over the poinsettia, beginning with RV63-Begonia:

Since I knew I would be cutting out the poinsettia, I didn't worry too much about coloring outside the lines. You can color right over the embossed lines – the embossing powder resists the ink, leaving all of your lines nicely defined! Then I went back with the darker RV66-Raspberry Various Ink Refill and added some shading:

The poinsettia was hand trimmed and popped up with X-Press It Double-Sided Foam Mounting Tape over the photo.

To create the photo mat, I used My Favorite Things' largest Mini Album Square Scallop STAX die to cut more of the watercolor paper, then airbrushed the edges that would show with Copic V06 Sketch marker. The reason to use the airbrush here is two-fold: it covers a large area quicker and will use less ink than coloring with the marker tip directly on the absorbent watercolor paper (which tends to drink up/wick the ink faster when the marker tip contacts the paper). I ended up airbrushing a little of the RV66 marker over the top of the V06 here, to tone down the purple a bit:

To finish the page, I tied white wide silk ribbon around the page, with a silver jingle bell and tag stamped with the 2013 year. The "Holiday Memories" is a fabulous MFT December Memories word die, cut from more of the watercolor paper. Use a fine tip glue pen to adhere these thin types of die cuts:

 

As this is my last CLASSroom post before Christmas, I'd like to wish you all a very merry one! ~ Sharon

{Supplies}

Penny Black Wood Mount Stamp, Warm Wishes	Cling Be Jolly Background Stamp by Hero Arts	MFT Clear Stamps, Document It-Days and Dates	MFT Die-namics STAX, Mini Album Square Scallop
MFT Die-namics, Blueprints 1	MFT Die-namics Accent It, December Memories	Essentials by Ellen, Jennifer's Watercolor Paper, 8.5x11	Essentials by Ellen A5 Cardstock, Black
VersaMark Ink Pad	Stampendous Embossing Powder, Detail White	Ranger Embossing Powder, Clear	Heat It Craft Tool
Sizzix Big Shot Machine, Powder Blue & Teal	Plastic Paint Palette	Waterbrush, Small	COPIC Colorless Blender Solution 200cc Bottle
Copic Various Ink Refill, RV63	Copic Various Ink Refill, RV66	Copic Sketch Marker, V06	Silk Ribbon, White 1 1/4" by the Yard
Copic High Tack Double-Sided Foam Mounting Tape, 1/2"	Zig 2 Way Glue Pen, Squeeze & Roll

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12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist 2013 - Day 8 by Sharon Harnist

I've been looking forward to this time of year for quite a while ... I simply adore tags and Christmas is my favorite crafting holiday, so combining two of my loves with Ellen's annual 12-tag tradition is priceless to me! Aren't you loving all of the different inspiration styles from all of these fabulous women? I sure am, and we're only 2/3 of the way done!

My tag this year uses one of my favorite techniques I came up with last year, Double-Embossed Copic Background (<= You can see another project made with this technique here in the CLASSroom by clicking the link at left).  Here's my tag:

And here are the steps:

1. Create tag base. I wanted my “snow swirls” to be white, so I traced a #8 manila tag onto Neenah Solar White Cardstock and cut it out. Now here's where the double embossing comes in . . .

2. DRY EMBOSS the tag with Regal Flourish Texture Fades embossing folder in the Sizzix Big Shot machine (click on any photo for a larger view):

3. Next, HEAT EMBOSS the background by gently swiping a watermark ink pad (I used Versamark Dazzle Frost) over the top of the raised dry embossed background. Use Clear Embossing Powder and Heat It Craft Tool to heat emboss the background.

4. Use the Copic Airbrush System and a few Copic Sketch Markers to airbrush color over the whole tag background. I used B00-Frost Blue over most of the center of the background, then darker BG57-Jasper towards the edges and in the centers of the swirls:

E43-Dull Ivory was airbrushed around the edges of the tag, to give it an aged/distressed look.

6. Then take an alcohol prep pad (or a cotton ball dampened with rubbing alcohol; alternately, you could use Copic Colorless Blender Various Ink on a tissue or paper towel) and lightly/gently wipe off the surface of the raised embossing, removing color from the swirls until you achieve the results you like. The Copic ink will easily wipe off the slick surface of the heat embossing, but still remain on parts of the debossed cardstock that were not heat embossed:

7. Use Copic's 1/2-inch High-Tack Tissue Tape to securely attach the tag background to Ellen’s Craft-A-Board (or any contrasting color of cardstock you'd like. I wanted to display my tag, so I wanted a sturdy base) and trim around the tag … here's why: A large area of heat embossing (and just the large amount of dry embossing from this pretty folder) will usually warp cardstock (even though I heated the background from the underside, to try and help counter-react some of the warping). The high-tack tape works very well to keep the background flat against the tag base. Set aside.

8. Adhere Neenah Desert Storm cardstock to Ellen’s Craft-A-Board with X-Press It Clear Gel Glue; die cut with Reindeer Flight Bigz die. Cover reindeer with a thin layer of Copic’s X-Press It Clear Gel Glue (I didn’t cover the cardstock completely, leaving some of the kraft cardstock showing, for a distressed look) and sprinkle with Glitter Ritz Microfine Stardust glitter. I love this glitter –- it’s kind of a mix of both antique silver and antique gold! Set aside to dry. Once dry, sponge edges of reindeer with Brushed Corduroy Distress ink.

9. Die cut Holly Branch from Craft-A-Board. Paint holly leaves and branch with Peeled Paint and Vintage Photo Distress Crackle Paints; set aside to air dry (the paint usually doesn't crackle quite right if dried with a heat tool). Once dry, sponge edges with Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink. 

Color berries with Copic R27 Sketch marker, then cover with Rock Candy Distress Stickles; set aside to dry.

10. Change color of bronze metal Believe Philosophy Tag (the original is shown below, left) by painting it first with Peeled Paint Distress Paint dabber, making sure to get paint deep into the words and numbers grooves. Blot off some paint from the flat surface of the metal tag with a tissue. Allow to dry (or speed up the process by heating it with a heat tool). Dab Picket Fence Distress Paint on top of the green paint, for a snowy effect:

11. Color 1/2-inch Silver Jingle Bells with Picket Fence Distress Paint. Add Rock Candy Distress Stickles to tops of bells; let dry. Tie bells with Maya Road Sparkle Silver Twine Cording to May Arts 1-1/4-inch White Silk Ribbon threaded through top of tag:

12. Die cut Neenah Natural White cardstock with Tim Holtz Sizzlits Vintage Lace Deco Strip Die; adhere along tag bottom.

13. Using Clear Gel Glue, adhere Polar White Flower Soft to top edges of holly leaves, branch, and paper lace. Allow to dry.

14. Assemble die cut Craft-A-Board pieces to tag as shown, using rolled Glue Dots.

15. Adhere the reindeer over the holly with Copic's X-Press It Double-Sided Foam Mounting Tape.

Thanks so much for joining me today, I hope you will enjoy trying some of these techniques! ~ Sharon

{Supplies}

Sizzix Tim Holtz Bigz Die, Reindeer Flight	Sizzix Tim Holtz Bigz Die, Holly Branch	Sizzix Tim Holtz Sizzlits Deco Strip Die, Vintage Lace	Ranger Distress Crackle Paint, Peeled Paint
Ranger Distress Crackle Paint, Vintage Photo	Distress Paint Dabber, Peeled Paint	Distress Paint, Picket Fence	Essentials by Ellen: Craft-a-Board 6x12, 12 pk
Sizzix Tim Holtz Texture Fades Embossing Folder, Damask & Regal Flourish	Sizzix Big Shot Machine, Powder Blue & Teal	VersaMark Dazzle, Frost	Ranger Embossing Powder, Clear
Heat It Craft Tool	Copic Airbrush jSystem Starter Kit 1N	Copic Sketch Marker, B00 Frost Blue	Copic Sketch Marker, BG57
COPIC Sketch Marker R27, Cadmium Red	Copic Sketch Marker, E43 Dull Ivory	Copic X-Press It High Tack Double-Sided Tissue Tape, 1/2"	Copic X-Press It Clear Gel Glue
Glitter Ritz Microfine, Stardust	Distress Ink Pad, Brushed Corduroy	Ink Blending Tool	Distress Stickles, Rock Candy
Tim Holtz Philosophy Tags	1/2" Silver Jingle Bells	Silk Ribbon, White 1 1/4" wide by the Yard	Maya Road Twine Cording, Sparkle Silver
Glue Dots, 3/8"	Copic High Tack Double-Sided Foam Mounting Tape, 1/2"	Flower Soft, Polar White	A Cardstock, Neenah Classic Crest Solar White, 25 pack
A1 Cardstock, Neenah Classic Crest Natural White, 25 pack	Inkssentials Surfaces, Manila Tag #8	A3 Cardstock, Neenah Environment Desert Storm, Ream

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Prize Info:

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Please join us in thanking Sharon for once again sharing her creative style with us! Leave your comment below to be eligible for the random drawing of the $25 gift certificate to our store www.ellenhutson.com - be certain to do so before noon on December 13th to be eligible (one comment per person please.) Tomorrow brings another fantastic design by Teri Anderson, so be sure to check back then!

 

Fall Shaker Card by Sharon Harnist

Hello and happy World Card Making Day!  I can't think of a better subject than Friends to focus on for the day so in keeping our friend, Julie HRR and her family in our thoughts and prayers, this card is dedicated to her:

This is a fun Fall shaker card and couldn't be easier to create, with a few simple products!

I recently discovered a FABULOUS new Essentials by Ellen in the store -- Woodgrain Embossed 110 lb. Cardstock . . . can you say WOW?!!  I started off my 5-inch background by using Mother Nature's mask -- a dried leaf I found in my yard!  I simply held it in place on the woodgrain cardstock while airbrushing Copic Sketch Marker YR23 around the edges, moving the leaf around the background and repeating.  See the beautiful woodgrain of the cardstock starting to emerge?

Next, I airbrushed Copic E23 over the top of the YR23, creating a ghosted, dimensionally colored background:

Ultimately, I decided the color of the background blended together a little too much with the patterned paper I was using, and decided the ghosted background wouldn't be seen as much as I would have liked on this project, so I opted with airbrushing the entire background with just the YR23 marker.

To give the background more depth and accent the woodgrain, I lightly sponged Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink over the top of the entire background. To hold this 5-inch heavy (110 lb) woodgrain paper onto my 5-1/2-inch card base made from from Hero Arts Mixed Earth Layering Paper, I used Copic's high-tack 1/2-inch Double-Sided Tissue Tape.

Next, I used this wonderful Friend quote from My Favorite Things' Clear Stamp Set Chalkboard Greetings, and inked it with these Memento Markers (Bamboo Leaves, Cantaloupe, Morocco, Peanut Brittle & Potter's Clay): 

The sentiment was stamped onto Neenah Classic Cream cardstock. 

Now for the fun shaker part!  I die cut these pretty Memory Box Jasper Leaves wreaths from Memory Box Crimson, Mango and Jack-O-Lantern Notecards and Persimmon Cardstock:

Then I snipped off some of the leaves from each of the wreaths, filling this great little gadget -- Impression Obsession's Large Square Shake It Pouches with the leaves, using them for my shaker material:

The Shake It Pouches are little containers made from a clear plastic material, about 1/8-inch deep, with a 1/4-inch self-adhesive lip around on the edges for you ... shaker cards couldn't be simpler now! The large square I used measures 2-1/2 inches and they also come in a smaller, 1-5/8-inch square and two sizes of round!

Once your shaker material is in the "well", be sure to check the "fullness" of your shaker BEFORE adhering in place -- it will probably take less shaker material than you think. Before filling the shaker pouch, I placed it over my stamped image and marked the placement with a pencil. Then I cut out my sentiment. After checking your shaker material and making any adjustments, just peel off the adhesive liner and place your stamped background over the top, sealing in the shaker material.

Impression Obsession also makes coordinating die frames, both square and round, for these shakers (can you see me bouncing in my chair?!!)  Each die set will make frames for both sizes of shaker pouches!  I used the Square Shaker Frame and die cut an orange pattern from the My Mind's Eye Happy Haunting 6x6 Paper Pad.

To finish my card, I placed the die cut shaker frame up on Copic Foam Tape, over one of the left over Jasper Leaves wreaths. 

I hope you'll have fun creating on World Card Making Day and please be sure to read Ellen's message in the post below mine!  

~ Sharon

My Favorite Things Clear Stamp Set: Chalkboard Greetings	Memory Box Dies, Jasper Leaves	Impression Obsession Dies, Square Shaker Frames	Impression Obsession Shake It Pouches, Large Square, 10 pk
My Mind's Eye 6x6 Paper Pad, Happy Haunting	A Cardstock, Essentials by Ellen: Woodgrain Embossed #110 Cardstock, 10 Pack	Cardstock, Neenah Classic Crest Classic Cream, 25 pk	Hero Arts Layering Paper, Mixed Earth
Memory Box Cardstock, Jack O Lantern	Memory Box Cardstock, Crimson	Memory Box Cardstock, Persimmon	Memory Box Cardstock, Mango
COPIC Sketch Marker YR23, Yellow Ochre	COPIC Sketch Marker E23, Hazelnut	Sparmax Windstorm Airbrush Compressor	Copic Airbrush jSystem Starter Kit 1N
Ink Blending Tool	Distress Ink Pad, Brushed Corduroy	Memento Marker, Bamboo Leaves	Memento Marker, Cantaloupe
Memento Marker, Morocco	Memento Marker, Peanut Brittle	Memento Marker, Potter's Clay	High Tack Double-Sided Foam Mounting Tape, 1/2"
High Tack Double-Sided Tissue Tape, 1/4"

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Fall Custom Copic Background by Sharon Harnist

Hello and happy Fall! I'm excited to be back in the CLASSroom today after my family's move further south in my home state of Texas. At least in some parts of the country I hear Fall is starting to make an appearance -- down here in the southern coastal part of the U.S. I think it's still quite a way off (which is fine by me)!  Nevertheless, it's my favorite time of year -- I love the crisp mornings and the deep, rich colors of Fall, so I wanted to challenge myself to try and get some extended versatility from what may be considered more Spring/Summer stamp images -- like these pretty ones from Penny Black's release earlier this year that I hadn't had a chance to ink up yet!

I made another one of my 6-inch calendars, by creating a custom background paper with my Copic Airbrush System. Here are the easy steps:

1 - Cut a 6-inch piece of Neenah Natural White cardstock, then airbrush your different chosen Copic Sketch Marker colors in any pattern you'd like. I use my Copic ABS-3 with my Sparmax Windstorm Airbrush Compressor, but you could also use the all-in-one Airbrush System 1N which includes a large can of air:

Here, I used YR68, YG95, BG57 and V17 Sketch markers. Notice all of my chosen colors are amongst the higher end of the brightness scale, ending in the 5 to 8 number range -- meaning they have close to the same amount of gray added to them so they'll have a better chance of coordinating together. Use the chisel end of the marker for a smooth application of color:

2 - Next, to tone down the colors a little bit and give them more of a Fall feel, I lightly airbrushed E27 over all the colors. I used the brush end of the marker, for a more splattered "grainy" look:

3 - After airbrushing, pounce and rub Inkadinkado's Embossing Magic Bag (shown on the right) all over the area to be embossed. The airbrushed markers can sometimes leave the paper surface feeling a little "tacky" and the bag will be sure to remove that tackiness so the embossing powder will only cling to the intended stamp image.

On the left in the photo above, I've already stamped Penny Black's Clear Lace Trims stamps (I just left them on the clear storage sheet) with Distress Embossing Ink and covered the images with Ranger Seafoam White Embossing Powder.

4 - Here's what the pretty borders look like after heating them with Ranger's Heat It Craft Tool:

Next, I stamped Penny Black's Cling Garden Assistant with Memento Rich Cocoa ink onto Neenah Cream cardstock and colored her with these Copic Sketch markers: E00 & E11 (skin); YR21 & E23 (hair & flowers); YG93, YG95, YG97, YR65 and YR68 (floral patterns), E25 & E27 (hats). She was hand trimmed and popped up on Copic Foam Tape.

5 - For the 6-inch base of the calendar, I used Hero Arts Pool Layering Paper but the color wasn't quite as deep as I would have liked, so I darkened the edges that would show with Peacock Feathers Distress Ink and Ink Blending Tool with Foam pad:

6 - After die cutting Memory Box Mango Cardstock with Tim Holtz's Scallops On The Edge Die, I sponged the edges with Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink, to deepen that color as well:

7 - Finally, the custom background I created was also die cut (with the other holey scallops included on the same Tim Holtz Scallops die) and added to the orange scalloped background layer:

As I've suggested before -- if calendars are not your thing, you can use this same project idea as a scrap page (I finally remembered to snap a photo before adhering Ellen's 2013 Ring Binder Calendar PDF Download!). I printed the calendar on Neenah Natural White cardstock at 80%, which yields an approximate 3.25" x 3" calendar. 

8 - The calendar was finished with Ellen's Iridescent Pool and Iridescent Melon Essentials Sequins.

I hope you have a lovely first-of-Fall weekend!  ~ Sharon

{Supplies}

A1 Cardstock, Neenah Classic Crest Natural White, 25 pack	Copic Sketch Markers	Copic Airbrush Kit, ABS-3	Sparmax Windstorm Airbrush Compressor
Inkadinkado Embossing Magic Bag	Heat It Craft Tool	White Embossing Powder	Distress Embossing Pad
Penny Black Clear Stamps, Lace Trims	Penny Black Cling Stamp Set, Garden Assistant	Memento Ink Pad, Rich Cocoa	Classic Cream Cardstock by Neenah
High Tack Double-Sided Foam Mounting Tape, 1/2"	Hero Arts Layering Paper, Pool	Memory Box Cardstock, Mango	Distress Ink Pad, Peacock Feathers
Distress Ink Pad, Spiced Marmalade	Ink Blending Tool	Sizzix Tim Holtz On The Edge Die, Scallops	Ring Binder 2012-2013 Calendar PDF
Essentials by Ellen: Sequins, Iridescent Melon	Essentials by Ellen Sequins, Iridescent Pool

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Copic Blender Bleaching by Sharon Harnist

Happy weekend to you all! I have a fun Copic technique to share with you today, that you can use with just about any rubber (or clear acrylic!) stamp. I used it on this tri-colored birthday tag:

It's pretty quick and easy, so here we go with the tutorial:

1. Airbrush one of Inchie Arts' new 3" White Art Squares with Copic R83 marker along the bottom third portion:

2. Then airbrush Copic Y21 in the center of the square:

3. Finish with Copic BG13 on the top third of the Art Square.

4. Use an alcohol prep pad to as a "stamp pad" and wipe it all over the Fantastic Birthday cake stamp. You could also use Copic Colorless Blender Solution, but the alcohol prep pad is a little more cost effective and works in the same manner as the Blender Solution would, by "removing" or pushing aside the color. Plus, it saves your Blender Solution for refilling your markers!

5. Then, quickly stamp onto the airbrushed Art Square. It will take just a few moments, but you will see the alcohol start to "develop" and remove the airbrushed Copic color! You can use a heat tool to speed up the process:

6. To prep the tag, use the birthday sentiment stamp as a spacer (or go ahead and stamp with Memento Tuxedo Black ink first), then start placing the My Mind's Eye Decorative Black Washi Tape washi tape (I LOVE these new 8-roll packs of two colors of coordinating tape!). I started with the chevron pattern at the top, used the Art Square as a spacer so I would know where to place the polka dot tape towards the bottom, then covered the sides with the striped tape:

7. Use Copic High Tack Double-Sided Tissue Tape to securely adhere the heavy weight matboard Art Square to the tag:

8. To trim the bottom of the tag, I custom colored White Pom Pom Trim with Copic BG13 Various Ink Refill, to match the airbrushing at the top of the Art Square.

9. Place the pom pom trim inside a snack-sized ziplock bag, along with a few drops of -0- Colorless Blender Solution and "knead" the baggie from the outside so the solution distributes over all of the trim. This will help ensure the next step of color will distribute more evenly throughout the trim. Then squeeze in a few drops of the BG13 Various Ink Refill and knead the bag again:

If you happen to get some heavier patches of color in spots, just squeeze in a few more drops of Blender Solution.

10. Remove the trim from the bag and blot with a tissue or paper towel; let dry.

11. Attach trim to bottom of tag, using the Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher.

12. Tie Maya Road Sparkle Silver Twine to top of tag.

And there you have a fun, unique birthday gift tag!

Thanks so much for joining me today!

~ Sharon

{Supplies}

HA ClearDesign Fantastic Birthday Stamp Set	Memento Ink Pad, Tuxedo Black	Copic Sketch Markers	Copic Various Ink Refill, BG13
COPIC Colorless Blender Solution 200cc Bottle	Inchie Arts 3" Art Squares, White	Copic Airbrush jSystem Starter Kit 1N	My Mind's Eye Decorative Tape, Red & Black
Pom Pom Trim, White, 3yds Precut	Tim Holtz, Tiny Attacher	High Tack Double-Sided Tissue Tape, 1/4"	Maya Road Twine Cording, Sparkle Silver

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WCMD 2012 Challenge 3: Sketch Challenge by Sharon Harnist

Hello and welcome to the CLASSroom for World Card Making Day Challenge 3 ... I'm so glad you joined me today for a sketch challenge!  I LOVE using sketches, they make the process of creating a card SO much easier, I think . . . half of the hard work is already done for you!  All you have to do is choose some paper or cardstock, a stamp or embellishment and you're all set to go!

There's a Fall chill in the air so for my card today, I chose this beautiful Big Pumpkin image from Lockhart Stamp Company:

It was stamped on Copic X-Press It Blending Card, die cut with MFT Die-namics Stax Traditional Tags and then colored with the Copic markers (Y21, YR01, YR12, YR16, YG03, YG63, E50, E21, E23, B0000).  Here are a few step-out photos for you (click on any photo for a larger view):

Start with Y21 in the centers of the pumpkin sections, where the pumpkin is the roundest (standing out closest to you) and would reflect more sunlight:

Next, base coat the entire pumpkin with lightest YR01 (I did try to avoid coloring over the Y21 entirely, so that the very centers would still retain the yellow color, but blended the edges of the Y21 where it met the YR01):

Then add deeper shading with YR12 in the crevices of the pumpkin:

Go back and blend everything with lightest YR01 and then add darkest YR16 to the far left and right sides of the pumpkin that would be furtherest from you, and near the bottom of the pumpkin:

Finally, add a few shadows with E23 along the bottom of the pumpkin.  Next, color the pumpkin stem with E21, E23 and vines with YG63.  Color the flowers and their centers with Lemon and Orannge Copic Atyou Spica Glitter Pens.  Finally, airbrush the sky background with B0000 and the ground with E21.

I used a date stamper and word **celebrate** to stamp on the end of my tag, along with the date of the recepient's birthday. To make the perforation marks on the end of the tag, I used Tim Holtz's Design Ruler and a paper piercer.

Here's your sketch to follow:

I hope you have fun with it!  For my flags, I used My Favorite Things' Fishtail Flag Die-namics Stax dies, but you could also hand cut your paper or use pieces of ribbon.  Enjoy!

So what's my answer to the question below that YOU need to answer?  I think you can probably guess . . . my favorite papercrafting tools are Copic markers!!  

~ Sharon

Lockhart Stamp Company Big Pumpkin	AC Dear Lizzy Roller Date Stamp	Blending Card by X-Press It, 25 Pack	Echo Park 6x6 Pad, For The Record 2-Tailored
Memento Ink Pad, Tuxedo Black	Memento Ink Pad, Rich Cocoa	Copic Sketch Markers	Copic Atyou Spica Glitter Pens
My Favorite Things Die-namics Stax, Fishtail Flags	My Favorite Things Die-namics Stax, Traditional Tags	Copic Airbrush jSystem Starter Kit 1N	High Tack Double-Sided Foam Mounting Tape, 1/2"

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Other: Paper piercer, chocolate rick-rack trim; linen thread

---

SKETCH CHALLENGE

Now it’s your turn! Create a card using the sketch above as inspiration! Once you have completed this challenge please be certain to link directly to that specific project in our WCMD Challenge Blog Candy post!

BLOG CANDY

What is the tool you use most when papercrafting?

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

Double-Embossed Copic Background by Sharon Harnist

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ready Set Grow by Sharon Harnist

Hello and welcome to the CLASSroom today!  I got a few things planted in my yard over the long holiday weekend and it put me in the mood to create something about growing, too!  I don't think I ever colored this sweet Lockhart Ready to Plant image when it first came out this time last year, so I thought it was the perfect choice. I stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto Copic X-Press It Blending Card and then colored it with these Copic Markers:

I recently discovered that Ellen started carrying this wonderful line of Sizzix Framelits dies and I couldn't wait to try them! I started off with these Fancy Labels:

While my colored image was still in the die, I airbrushed it with Copic BG11 for the sky and G40 for the grass. Then I die cut a matching frame out of this fresh, springy My Mind's Eye Be Happy-Follow Your Heart 6x6 patterned paper. I hand cut little flags of coordinating paper and machine stitched them to my card base.

The card base is a fabulous new cardstock by Neenah: Environment-Desert Storm! The product information about this pretty cardstock says: 
"Neenah's Environment Papers are made with 100% green electricity. The smooth surface is wonderful for creating designer looking cards." I like that!  It is 80 lb. weight and definitely IS a lovely smooth cardstock AND such a pretty warm, light kraft color!

I finished my card with light pink seam binding custom dyed with Copic Various Ink Refills R21 and R22. Pinking shears were used to trim the bottom edge of the card.  Are you ready for all the pretty flowers of summer?  I sure am!  Thanks for visiting today!  ~ Sharon

 

Stamps: Lockhart Stamp Company Ready to Plant #2151; 
Paper: Copic X-Press It Blending Card; Neenah Environment-Desert Storm; My Mind's Eye 6x6 Be Happy-Follow Your Heart; 
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; 
Copic Markers: BG11, BV02, C4, C6, C7, E31, E35, G40, G43, R21, R22, Y08
Copic Various Ink Refills: R21 & R22
Dies: Sizzix Framelits-Fancy Labels; 
Accessories: Copic Airbrush System 3 (ABS-3); Sparmax Windstorm Airbrush Compressor; 
Other: pinking shears, light pink seam binding, sewing machine + thread

Copic Airbrushed Direct To Rubber Background by Sharon Harnist

I have a fun Copic background technique to share with you today, using a solid stamp and your Copic Airbrush System!

 

I love the rain or water-like effect this background ended up having!  Here's how to achieve it:

1. Airbursh a solid background stamp.  Here, I'm using Hero Arts cling stamp, Large Blossom.  On my first attempt I used Copic Y21 marker and the result was the golden image in the lower right of the photo below:

 

Very soft and pretty!  I wanted to try a little bolder color, so for my second attempt I used B23 and loved the outcome!  Airbrushing will evenly and easily cover the whole stamp quickly.  If you don't have the airbrush system, you could alternately just color the whole background with one or more marker colors.

2. Since the alcohol solution of the marker color will evaporate and quickly dry after aibrushing or coloring on the stamp, you will need to reactivate the color before it will stamp.  To do this, after airbrushing the background stamp, use a Mini Mister filled with Copic Colorless Blender Solution and spritz the stamp generously, from about 10" away.  QUICKLY stamp the image onto Copic's X-Press It Blending Card.

 

Next, I colored the image with these Copic markers and a little Lemon Atyou Spica Glitter Pen:

 

The card was finished by trimming and mounting it onto Memory Box Sunflower cardstock and then mounting it with 3D Foam Squares to a Memory Box Ocean notecard. 

Edited to add Step 3 -- Cleanup!
To clean your stamp, you can use Copic's Colorless Blender solution, but either alcohol prep pads or straight rubbing alcohol applied to a tissue, paper towel or cloth, or hand sanitizer are less expensive and work just as well!  Be sure to then clean your rubber stamp with your normal stamp cleaner, to remove any alcohol residue and help recondition it -- the alcohol can be drying to the rubber. 

The Hero Arts sentiment was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and finishes this simple card.  I hope you try this technique and let me know how you like it!  ~Sharon

 

Stamps: Hero Arts Cling: Large Blossom & Clear Design: Find Joy,
Paper: Copic X-Press It Blending Card; Memory Box Sunflower cardstock & Ocean notecard OR Cardstock Collection: Summer Brights,
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black,
Copic Markers: B23, V0000, V12, V15, V17, G21, G24, G28, Y21, Colorless Blender Solution, Lemon Atyou Spica Glitter Pen,
Tools: Copic Airbursh System-1, Sparmax Windstorm Air Compressor,
Accessories: Ranger Mini Mister, Scrapbook Adhesives 3D Foam Squares,

Emboss Resist by Sharon Harnist

Today I wanted to cover a few different ways to accomplish the emboss resist stamping technique (even with your Copics!) with this 8-inch Spring wall art:

 

For the base of my wall art, I used a square 8-inch piece of scalloped acrylic I had on hand but any of these 8-inch fabulous shapes of Maya Road chipboard backdrops Ellen carries would make great bases, too! 

    

I covered my base with this gorgeous Graphic 45 Springtime 8x8 paper -- SO pretty, I love all the patterns in this collection, especially these whimsical fairies!

 

The "spring" letters are Prima's Ivory Textured Alphabet Stickers, airbrushed with Copic YG63 marker.  The flower was die cut from more Springtime paper, with Tim Holtz's Tattered Florals Bigz die.  This flower is quick and easy -- I used one piece of the Primrose Cottage Graphic 45 Springtime paper and die cut all the flowers on this die.  Then I simply flipped every other flower over and used the reverse "newspaper" printed side.  Each layer is stacked with EK Success 3D Dots thick foam tape.  A cream button, also airbrushed with Copic YG63 marker, finishes the center of the flower.

Doilies are a hot trend in papercrafting right now, and Ellen has put together some fabulous sets of her own paper doilies that you could also easily use for this project:

   

But for those times that you may want a patterned doily, what better thing to have than a die that you cut whatever color or pattern of paper to make your own doily!  Ellen carries several dies that will do this -- you can find them listed in the store HERE. 

Today I used Spellbinders Eyelet Pendant die to cut some coordinating turquoise Springtime paper and then used Copic BG72 marker to color the raised embossed areas around the outer edge of the doily, before removing it from the die:

 
 
The green dotted scalloped piece was cut with Spellbinders Big Scalloped Border Petites dies and then green sheer narrow organdy ribbon was threaded through the holes in the border, and finished with a Jenni Bowlin Cream Vintage Sew-On Button.  A pretty Zva crystal swirl accents the left side of the wall art.

 

On the right side of the wall art, I stamped this sweet Hero Arts Essential Messages sentiment with Adirondack Espresso dye ink on more floral patterned Springtime paper, die cut it with Spellbinders Labels Thirteen Nestabilities die (I trimmed the right side off), and then added a little leftover Zva bling that I trimmed off the swirl from the left side of the wall art.  Maya Road Small Organza Pink Roses accent the sentiment.

 

Now for the emboss resist!  For any emboss resist technique, you will need to begin by stamping your image (I chose this adorable Hero Arts Cling-Dancing With Flowers) with a watermark ink -- I chose Versamark (shown above).  Then use any color of heat embossing powder you would like -- I chose Clear Embossing Powder, and heat set it. Normally, most emboss resist techniques are done on solid white or neutral cardstock and then colored ink rubbed/sponged around the embossed image.  But I wanted to try the look on patterned paper, so the pattern would show through!

 

I sponged Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink around the image.  When you are finished sponging the ink, be sure to use a clean tissue to wipe the excess ink off the embossed image.  Or you may opt to cover the image with a sheet of clean copy/printer paper and with an iron on low setting, heat the image until the embossing heats up enough to melt off and onto the copy paper.  This method may be especially helpful when using the Copic marker technique below.

I also wanted to see if I could accomplish this technique with Copic markers, so I airbrushed Copic Y28 marker all around another stamped/clear embossed image:

 

and then sprayed Copic Colorless Blender Solution in a Mini Mister on tissue, to wipe away the marker from the embossed image (or you may use the iron heating method described above, to remove the embossing).  This was the result:

 

I was pretty excited this worked so well . . . think of the possibilities!  To finish the focal image, I trimmed the image and then machine stitched it to a gingham Springtime patterned paper, timmed with pinking shears.  I hope you enjoy trying this technique!

 

Stamps: Hero Arts Cling-Dancing With Flowers & ClearDesign-Essential Messages,
Paper: Graphic 45-Springtime 8x8 paper pad,
Ink: Ranger Adirondack Espresso dye ink & Tim Holtz Distress Inks-Brushed Corduroy; Tsukineko Versamark ink pad,
Copic Markers: BG72, YG63, Y28, Colorless Blender Solution,
Tools: Sizzix Tim Holtz Bigz die-Tattered Florals; Spellbinders Eyelet Pendant & Big Scalloped Border Petites dies, Labels Thirteen Nestabilities die; Ranger Heat It Craft Tool.
Accessories: Maya Road chipboard backdrop, Copic Airbrush System-1 & Sparmax Windstorm Airbrush Compressor, Prima Ivory Textured Alphabet Stickers, Ranger Ink Blending Tool & Mini Mister, Clear Embossing Powder & Heat It Craft Tool; Maya Road Small Organza Roses-Pink, EK Success 3D Dots thick foam tape, Jenni Bowlin Cream Vintage Sew-On Buttons, Mini Glue Dots, Zva crystal swirl,
Other: pinking shears, light green narrow sheer organza ribbon, sewing machine + ivory thread,

12 Days of Christmas: Day 11 - By Sharon Harnist

A new year brings a new release from Lockhart Stamp Company . . . wait until you see these darling new images!  I chose three new images and three new sentiments to share with you today:

 

These cards and tag were all created with papers from Cosmo Cricket's 6" Mini Deck-Pixie Licious . . . I thought they were a good representation of Spring and whimsy that would coordinate well with the whimsical style of Karen Lockhart's stamps.

How sweet is Bennie Bear?!!  I think he's my favorite of this new release!  Combined with this darling I'm here if you need me sentiment, I thought he would make a great encouragement card for a child or friend.  Or wonderful new baby cards!

 

I stamped Bennie on Copic's X-Press It Blending Card -- if you haven't tried this wonderful cardstock yet, you will be very pleased with how easily your Copic markers blend on it (and how easily mistakes erase/blend right off of it!).

Bennie's sweater was colored with Copic BG11 & BG72, then BG75 was added to the deepest crevices & folds of the sweater, and along the neckline of the sweater where it would naturally cast a shadow underneath the deep cable knitting:

 

COPIC TIPS: Don't be afraid to add quite a bit darker colors for shading, as it will make those areas recess and give your image a more realistic look.  Bennie was colored with E30 & E31, and E35 used for the deepest shading (in the folds where his legs meet his body, along the bottoms of his legs where light would be blocked by the tops of his legs, and under the sleeves of his sweater where the sweater would cast a shadow on his arm).

Along the same lines as adding darker color to the deepest folds of skin or clothing, keep features like Bennie's protruding nose and feet amongst the lighter colors you are using, since they are closer to you.  This will instantly make his nose appear closer to you.  Visualize where your light source is coming from -- I usually have mine coming from the upper right, as it's easier for me (being right-handed), to add darker colors over on the left side of images.  W1 & W0 were used for Bennie's cast shadow on the floor.  Using the W1 first, then softening the edges with W0, will fade the shadow along the outer edges nicely.

I finished the image by circle die cutting it.  The background was airbrushed BG11 while the image was still in the die (*See more about airbrushed background Copic Tip below).  I die cut a scalloped border from coordinating Cosmo Cricket striped paper and placed tied buttons in the centers of the scallops.

These darling Ducks will make great Easter or new baby cards, or when combined with this new Ducks in a Row sentiment, a fantastic "sorry I'm late wishing you a happy birthday" or late for anything type of card!

 
 

*COPIC TIP: On these cards I stamped my images and die cut them first, then airbrushed the backgrounds.  Then I used my Copic 0 Colorless Blender marker to remove any overspray that may have gotten on the images.  I find this is quicker than stamping and fussy cutting out a mask!

 

The ducks were colored with Y11 and shaded with Y21 and the areas receiving the most light (tops of heads & bodies) were left white.  An orangey YR21 was used for their beaks & feet.  G21 for grass & leaves and V01 for flowers.  BG11 & E31 were airbrushed for sky and ground; W1 was used for ground shadows. The image was oval die cut and is popped up on foam tape.  Crop-a-Dile's Corner Chomper was used to round the top corners of the card -- it cuts through multiple layers of cardstock and paper like butter!

This Caught A Bug? in a jar cracks me up -- and it's sure to cheer up anyone you know that may be ill!  I thought he'd make a good tag to tie onto a jar of homemade soup to share with a sick friend:

 

Bug is colored with Copic G20, G21, V01, & V05.  BG10 was used in the corners of the jar, where it would have the deepest color and BG0000 was used on the rest of the jar.  The cork was colored with E30 (lightest top of the cork), and the sides shaded with E31.  The part of the cork inside the jar was also colored with E30 & E31, then BG10 colored over it to make it darker and give it a realistic look that it's really inside the jar.

 

The image was die cut with a Labels-Lg die and popped up on foam tape over the scalloped circle tag base. 

I hope you'll take a look at the rest of this new Lockart stamp release and answer the question below, for your chance to win a fabulous Lockhart stamp package!  ~ Sharon

Stamps: Lockhart Stamp Company Bennie Bear #1011, I'm here if you need me #10080, Caught A Bug? #4006 & Caught A Bug? Sentiment #10079, Ducks #2135, Ducks in a Row #10078,
Paper: Cosmo Cricket 6" Mini Deck-Pixie Licious, Copic X-Press It Blending Card, Memory Box Lagoon notecards, 
Ink: Tsukineko Memento-Tuxedo Black,
Copic Markers: BG10, BG11, BG000, BG72, BG75, E30, E31, E35, Y11, Y21, YR21, V01, V05, G20, G21, BG10, BG000, W0, W1, 0 Colorless Blender marker, Clear Atyou Spica Glitter Pen
Acessories: Copic Airbrush System & Air Compressor, Spellbinders Labels-Lg, Oval & Classic Scalloped & Classic Circle Nestabilities, Big Scalloped Border Petites; Hero Arts Art Buttons-Spring (green) & Summer (teal), Crop-a-Dile Corner Chomper, EK Success 3D foam dots,
Other: white embroidery thread, plum satin ribbon

ETA: We are aware of the gramatical error in the newest sentiment and are happy to share with you that Karen is working on it immediately. With all things in life, little mistakes happen - the good news is that we always do work to fix them as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience and support.

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

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

• African Violets in a Teacup
• Bennie Bear
• Caught a Bug?
• Caught a Bug? (Sentiment)
• Clear Lake Chair
• Ducks
• Ducks in a Row
• English Garden Flowers
• I'm here if you need me
• Ribbon Heart
• Lavender in a Teacup

 

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

What is now at the top of your paper crafting wish list?  Is there a specific product or product line that you are enamoured with?  Please share in the comments section below to be entered in this random drawing!

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

• One Stampin' Treasure
• Two Melting Tools
• Three Copic Goodies
• 3 Stamps + 1 Color Sampler = Four Memory Box Treats
• Five treats from Claudine's Lines
• Six Sizzix Goodies
• Seven Alterable Items
• Eight Oodles of Inchies
• Nine Packs of Paper
• Ten Toys from Tim's World

12 Days of Christmas: Day 3 - Copic Airbrushed Graffiti Style Cards

Watching trends is something I really enjoy. This past year I have noticed that there are a ton of "tattoo art" shows on TV, as well as airbrushed looks being shared in some of the graphic design magazines I enjoy. I haven't brought myself to watch any of the shows yet, but was thinking that it would have been handy for this post - LOL!

For today's post I thought I would try and create something that has quite a different look for me and create a project that might appeal to a teen in your life. Maddi offered her arm as a spot to try a temporary alcohol ink tattoo, but I thought it would probably be best to just create a card :-D

 

Most "heart" tattoos I have seen have been a combination of red, pink and purple and so I used that as my guide to start this project.

 

To begin I stamped the new Hero Arts fabric background (LUV IT!!!) using Pearl Paint Dabber as my "ink." Remember how I shared that acrylic ink can act as a resist when used with dye ink, well I wanted to see what would happen when alcohol ink was added. Since I was going for a rather ethereal look I felt this would be a fun combination.

 
To get the image to pop I used an ink blending tool, with Spun Sugar and Worn Lipstick Distress Ink.

As you can see I don't always go with my first choice - LOL! To stamp over the acrylic paint I prefer to use Archival Ink. You need to select a permanent ink for this to work. I snapped the photo and then realized that this text would not be ideal for the look I had in mind, so I started over and used the new "friend" dictionary stamp. Rather than take photos all over again I thought I'd just admit that I changed my mind part way through :-D

 

Using the Winged Heart die I cut masks from the Art Magnetic Masking material.

I then positioned my heart and wings and pulled out my airbrush system. The airbrush is PERFECT for creating a graffiti look and the best way to control the spray pattern is by using it in conjunction with masks. Someday I hope to do an entire article (or two, or...) on creating masks to control your airbrush spray but today I thought I would once again share how wonderful these magnetic masks are. The air from the spray does not move a magnetic mask :-D They are so very easy to place and relocate until you get them into the position of your choice. AND they are reusable!

The Craft Assistant was placed on my work surface, then my stamped cardfront and the magnetic masks snapped into position atop my cardfront.

I began by spraying around my mask with the darkest purple, V17.

 

I then removed the wings and airbrushed using V15 for a slight contrast in color next to the heart.

 

As you can see the look is quite striking! The Copic ink is translucent enough to see through, yet adds more depth than regular ink because it does "stick" to the acrylic paint.

To add emphasis I free-handed additional detail using a Copic Brush Multiliner.

 

A teen card would never be complete without glitter!

For added depth and sparkle I cut the "scrolly" heart, from the same die, out of Craft-a-Board which had Be Creative (Sookwang) tape adhered to the surface. I removed the tape backing and sprinkled with Burgundy Microfine Glitter, burnishing the glitter into place.

 

The last little trick I would like to share is one I learned from Claudine. To ink up regular stamps you can put a little Studio Paint on your non-stick craft sheet and use an ink blending tool saturated with paint to "ink" your stamp. I figured if you can ink a stamp that way, why not just stamp with it?!? I love the little block design that resulted :-D Hmmm - what other shapes could one cut these little sponges into?

 

I felt it was still lacking something and so I grabbed the Ranger White Opaque Essentials pen and added even more contrast to the wing outline. The crown was completed by painting Pearl Dabber on the Craft-a-Board die cut, embellishing it with black gemstones. A little sewing to outline the focal image and this graffiti style card was complete.
 

stamps: Hero Arts Dictionary Greeting, Cling Fabric Design

ink: Archival Jet Black, Distress Ink Pads - Spun Sugar and Worn Lipstick, Copic V15 and V17, Brush Multiliner

paper: Neenah Solar White, Craft-a-Board

accessories: Tim Holtz Heart Wingz Die, Pearl Paint Dabber, Air Compressor, Air Brush System, Be Creative (Sookwang) Tape Sheet, Burgundy Microfine Glitter, White Opaque Pen, Black Crystal Gemstones, Craft Assistant, Art Magnetic Masking Material

On the third day of Christmas, my true love sent to me (OK, so perhaps we are not your true love, but maybe crafting is - LOL!)...

• a Copic Airbrush System,
• a DVD showing how to use the Airbrush System,
• and a Copic Multiliner .03

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

It so very easy to participate in our 12 Days of Christmas. Today all you need to do is leave a comment telling us what your favorite part of stamping is, or what your favorite technique is. I'll start - my favorite part of stamping is coloring... it is SO relaxing! :-D

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

• One Stampin' Treasure
• Two Melting Tools

Christmas Photo Tray by Sharon Harnist

Remember when I made this Fall photo tray project?  I promised a Christmas version and here it is!  When I made the Fall tray, I used repositionable adhesive to hold each panel in the tray.  That made it easy to remove each section and store them until next Fall, enabeling me to change out this tray seasonally!

 

Once you decorate one of these trays, you'll be hooked -- they are so much fun! Here's how I created each section, starting at the top:

 

On the top left is Spellbinders Wreath die, cut from a Memory Box Dill Notecard.  I sanded the embossed areas of the die cut, then added Christmas Red Stickles for berries.  Jillibean Soup Red Twine ties up the the wreath that is adhered with  EK Success 3D Dots.

 

In the center of the wreath, I placed our family monogram using Ellen's Traditional Seasonal Alphabet Digital Download -- a red letter H tied up with a bow coordinated perfectly with these gorgeous Webster's Pages Waiting For Santa Petite Papers I used!  The darling Christmas Wish List in the center section is a fabulous Melissa Frances Retro Printed Chipboard piece!  I thought it might be fun to have my girls write their wish list to Santa here!

 

For the top right section, I made a Tim Holtz Paper Rosette and topped it with another piece of the Retro Printed Chipboard.  The Christmas tree is a fabulous dimensional Melissa Frances resin Christmas Tree that I airbrushed with these Copic markers:

 

The YG63 was used to base airbrush coat the tree, then YG97 used to add depth directly with the brush tip.  These colors were still a little too bright for the papers, so I finished the piece with a light airbrushing of E25 to give it a more antiqued look.  The tiny tag in the middle far right side, tied with red twine is another MF chipboard piece!

 

On the bottom left section, I hand trimmed a letter "A" ornament from the Webster's paper (both my girls' names start with an A!) and popped it up with foam squares on top of a Martha Stewart Large Snowflake punched piece of cream Webster's paper.  The center section has another Melissa Frances Retro Printed Chipboard snowman that says "Holiday Memories" and is accented with a Melissa Frances Candy Cane.

 

The photo of my girls was framed with Spellbinders Snowflake Frame, cut from more Webster's Waiting For Santa paper.  The bottom right section has another Retro Printed Chipboard "the Season's Greetings" large postage stamp adorning the Webster's paper.

 

Thanks for visiting the CLASSroom today -- I hope this Christmas home decor piece puts you in the holiday spirit on this almost first day December!  ~ Sharon

Paper: Webster's Pages Petite Papers-Waiting For Santa, Copic X-Press It Blender Card, Memory Box Dill Notecard,
Dies & Punches: Spellbinders Wreath & Snowflake Frame; Sizzix Tim Holtz Paper Rosette Decorative Strip Die, Martha Stewart Large Snowflake punch,
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Copic Markers: YG63, YG97, Y26, R39, E25
Accessories: Copic Airbrush System, 7 Gypsies Black Photo Tray, Melissa Frances Christmas Tree Applique, Retro Printed Chipboard & Candy Canes; Traditional Seasonal Alphabet Digital Download, Ranger Stickles-Christmas Red, Jillibean Soup Red & Brown Twine, Sanding Block, EK Success 3D Dots, Glue Dots-Mini & 3/8",

Orchid Wish Card by Julia Stainton

Do you see a stamp that you just have to have? There is just something about it that speaks to you and you can't wait to get creating with it. When I first saw this beautiful Phalaenopsis stamp it reminded me of my mother. She always grew orchids and had such a way with them. I don't have her green thumb but I grow a few in my home today as they never fail to make me think of her and smile.

Today's card pairs up the beautiful Phaleanopsis stamp by Lockhart Stamp Company and gorgeous papers by Pink Paislee. I'm so excited that Ellen is now carrying this wonderful manufacturer.

Airbrushing a background for your image is a great place to start coloring your image and also anchors it visually. I like to leave some white space in the design so I've just airbrushed around the image with a light application of Y21. The flowers are colored in with RV32, RV34 and R89. Orchid leaves are a dark glossy color and I've used YG97, YG95, YG93 and YG03 to shade them. The terra cotta pot is colored with YR14 and YR24.

A really cool product that I know you are going to love is the Artisan Elements by Pink Paislee. These embellishments are gorgeous dimensional stickers that you can ink, paint, distress, etc. to create your own custom accent.

Today I've airbrushed the artisan element with YG95 and added in some highlights by directly coloring prominent areas with YG03.I like to cut the element out of the packaging leaving the backing intact. This makes it easy to alter and also move around your project to decide which spot looks best.

Supplies: Neenah Classic Solar White Cardstock, Phaleanopsis stamp by Lockhart, Tiny Type Black by Cosmo Cricket, Bayberry Cottage 6x6 paper pad by Pink Paislee, Artisan Elements Swirls by Pink Paislee, Copic Markers and Airbrush, Inkssentials White Opaque Pen by Ranger, Tuxedo Black Memento Ink by Tsukineko, Labels 8 Nestability Die Set by Spellbinders, Pewter Antique Stick Pin by Jenni Bowlin

Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom and joining me today!

Paper Flowers by Susan Tierney Cockburn and Ellen Hutson

Today's post is going to be a LONG one, but I think you will want to make certain to read all the way to the end as we have some very special blog candy today :-D

First off I would like to remind you to join in the fun of our flower parade by adding a link to your flower creation. Go to Becky's August 2nd post and link us up :-D

One of the greatest blessings of my job is the wonderful women who are a part of my life! It is with both sadness and joy that I share with you that Kim Hughes will be taking on some wonderful new adventures in life. Kim's creativity will be missed here in the CLASSroom, but I am so very supportive of her new ventures and wish her much success as she joins the talented Provocraft team - Congratulations Kim!!! The good news is that our friendship will always remain and I look forward to the times that she will come back as our guest. We love you and will miss you here in the CLASSroom sweet Kim!

As I shared above it is the friendships, that I have developed from being involved in this dream of sharing creativity with others, that are so very precious to me. It has been a couple of years now since Susan and I met. Today was one of THE most special days - creating together with Susan, collaborating on this project, makes me smile inside and out!

Susan Tierney Cockburn has been creating beautiful paper flowers since she was confined indoors during a snow storm many years ago. Gardening and baking are two of her passions and she excels at both! My family gasps with delight each time I come home with that special white box with it's gold seal - they know that something absolutely delicious awaits them. To see more about what I am referring to you MUST visit Susan's culinary blog! We thank you Susan for sharing your love and incredible culinary skills with us! AND today I thank you for sharing your beautiful flower making techniques with me and with all of you.

Susan has developed the art of creating the most exquisite flowers from punched shapes. She has researched in depth each flower variety and then worked until she has perfected the art of that flower. She is the author of multiple books in which she shares the "how-to" create these beauties. We carry her latest book in our store and one VERY lucky person will be the recipient of an autographed version by leaving Susan a comment on this post!!! In my opinion this is a must-have book in your library if you are passionate about gardening. Creating these miniature little versions of the flowers we love is so very rewarding.

Today we are going to share Susan's techniques for creating this beautiful hydrangea grouping!

Begin by punching little natural white hydrangea's using the Martha Stewart 3-in1 Hydrangea punch. Use a pen, such as a Sakura glaze pen, to push down on the center of each flower to shape or create a "cupped" shape. Add color to the centers with a YG00 Copic marker. Once you have completed all of these little blooms create your base.

 

We used the very tip top of a small styrofoam egg. Typically Susan uses a small styrofoam ball as her base, but we made do as I didn't have one. Styrofoam is quite versatile and Susan squished it down slightly to flatten the tip slightly. It is important to cover the styrofoam using a circle of Mulberry paper. This serves two purposes. It gives a nice green base for whatever peeks through the surface and it helps keep the glue from absorbing into the styrofoam.

 

Use a white craft glue such as Flower Soft's glue or Crafter's Pick Ultimate glue. It is easiest to apply the glue using a toothpick and holding the small petal with a self-closing tweezer as shown above.

Place each petal on to your base.

We used a toothpick to hold it our base in position as shown above. This allowed Susan to place the petals down to the bottom part of the base without disturbing the other petals while they were drying. Continue to position petals until the entire surface is covered.

There are many ways to color the hydrangea petals - today we decided to use the Copic airbrush system. You know me - I love to airbrush :-D

As you can see Susan brought a variety of gorgeous hydrangeas from her garden to inspire our color selections. If you look at each picture you will see the fabulous variety that can be created.

I began with B63, then B66, V15, B69, R59 and ended with B39. Use short bursts of air and keep spinning your hydrangea bundle as you work to allow the ink to vary. It looks so much more natural that way.

I began with B63, then B66, V15, B69, R59 and ended with B39. Use short bursts of air and keep slowly turning your hydrangea bundle as you work to allow the ink to vary. It looks so much more natural that way.

Then Susan added Ultrafine Flower Soft to the centers by putting a small dot of glue in the center of each blossom. Again use your toothpick to complete this portion. This was a combination of Sage and Vanilla.
 

Next Susan created the large sized leaves. Susan had some prepunched leaves with her, but we could have used the Martha Stewart Rose Leaf to come close to this shape. Using a stylus Susan creates veins in the leaves.

Next she added depth to the leaves using an ink blending tool and Forest Moss ink.

  

We didn't have the same paper to punch out the Ivy leaves, so we created what turned out to be THE perfect Ivy paper. Tattered Angels English Ivy mist to the rescue. We spritzed it on to Natural White Neenah cardstock, dried it with our Heat It tool and then punched out the little leaves.

Once again we created veins - the first vein runs the length of the leaf, then flip it over and add four additional angled veins.

 

Next Susan holds the leaves with the self-closing tweezers and pinches them to shape them. We decided we needed to add a little more yellow green. To keep these little treasures from blowing away during airbrushing create a circle from the remaining cardstock.

Add color to the ivy vine (OK so it really is a Flower Soft wire :-D) with a Copic marker.

 

Wrap the wire around the bird cage curling the ends by wrapping them around the tip of the stylus. Position the ivy leaves along the wire and allow to dry.

Alter the white mat with distress ink.

 

As you can see these minature versions are incredibly realistic.

Whenever you see delicate paper flowers you can envision Susan working in her garden. Many of us have learned and will continue to learn from this beautiful woman who I am privileged to call my friend. So whenever you see a delicate paper bloom you can think of Susan's garden - she is the mastermind behind this beautiful art form!

Today we are sharing Susan's book, Paper Bouquet with one of you. To participate simply leave a comment on this post before midnight Saturday, August 7th. We will use the random number generator to select our winner. Please note that our winner will not be posted until Tuesday, so please do not worry - we will not forget :-D So please leave some love for Susan and Kim in this post to be entered.

Thank you for joining us again today!

paper: Neenah Classic Crest Natural White, Webster's Pages 6x6

ink:Copic Markers (see picture above), Tattered Angels English Ivy Glimmer Mist, Antique Linen, Pumice, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain and Forest Moss Distress Ink Pads

accessories: Martha Stewart Punches - 3 in 1 Hydrangea, Rose Leaf and Fall Leaves, Craft-a-Board, Real Wood Cherry, Sticky Back Canvas, Tim Holtz Caged Bird Die, Chandelier Crystals, Antique Brass Jump Rings, Teensie Butterfly, Sage and Vanilla Ultrafine Flower Soft

Feminine Birthday Blessings by Sharon Harnist

 

Hello and thanks for visiting today!  As we continue with our "Goodbye to CHF" week here on the CLASSroom, I have a new card to share with you that uses three of CHF's wonderful lines of stamps -- The Rummage Bin, Kim Hughes & Mona Lisa Moments.  As of this writing, all the products I used were in stock but you'll need to hurry if you'd like to add any of these stamps to your collection, as they are disappearing fast!

I thought I would use one of my favorite Rummage Bin sets, Primitive Christmas, to show how it can be used for other occasions, too.  I used the journaling block from the set and stamped it with Memento Rich Cocoa ink onto Neenah Natural White cardstock -- don't worry about the sleigh, we'll cover it up later!

 

Then I used different sentiments from Mona Lisa Moments-Classic Essential Expressions that would pertain to a birthday and stamped them onto the journaling lines using Worn Lipstick Distress ink. Some of the phrases I used were Happy Birthday, Birthday Blessings, Celebrating You, Birthday Wishes, Oh Happy Day, and Wish Big.  With more than 62 phrases to mix and match in this set, you'll always have the perfect sentiment to choose from!

 

To make the journaling card match the patterned papers I chose, I lightly airbrushed it with Copic R20 marker.  The edges were distressed a little, using Tim Holtz's Paper Distresser and inked with Antique Linen Distress ink.

 

Next, I stamped the solid leaf and outline flowers from Kim Hughes-Collage Elements, using Adirondack Lettuce dye ink & Worn Lipstick Distress inks.  I colored the flowers with Copic markers R20 & R22 and then decided to experiment with some of the fabulous new Glitter Ritz glitter Ellen recently added to the store.

 

I wanted to test the results of using different adhesives for the Transparent Microfine Glitter-Warm Highlights, so I tried Ranger Glossy Accents on the flower on the left and Art Glitter Designer Dries Clear Adhesive on the right flower.  Each dried perfectly clear, which is a great thing when working with transparent glitter because anything you use under transparent glitter will show through.  That can be a good thing when it pertains to seeing underlying color but a bad thing when it pertains to adhesive!  As expected, the Glossy Accents left a finish that was more shiny and the Art Glitter Adhesive's finish was more matte.  Hopefully you can see all the pretty glitter by clicking on the photo below for a larger view:

 

See how the Copic shading still shows through the glitter, once it is dry?  Awesome stuff!  To finish my card, I adhered strips of Basic Grey's darling new Olivia 6x6 patterned papers onto thin cardstock and then die cut them with Spellbinders Labels Eight largest die.  EK Success Donut Chain Edger Punch was used to punch more pink paper from the Olivia pad and it was added to the lower part of the card, dividing the paper patterns.  This piece was adhered to a folded card base that was also die cut with the Labels Eight die.

Thanks for joining us today! ~ Sharon

 
Stamps: CHF The Rummage Bin-Primitive Christmas, Kim Hughes-Collage Elements, Mona Lisa Moments-Classic Essential Expressions
Paper: Basic Grey Olivia 6x6, Neenah Natural White
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa; Ranger Adirondack Lettuce dye ink & Worn Lipstick & Antique Linen Distress inks; Copic markers R20 & R22
Accessories: Copic Airbrush System, Spellbinders Nestabilities-Labels Eight die set, EK Success Donut Chain Edger Punch, Art Glitter Designer Dries Clear Adhesive, Ranger Glossy Accents, Glitter Ritz Transparent Microfine Glitter-Warm Highlights, Tonic Tim Holtz Paper Distresser

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!

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

Colorful Butterflies by Sharon Harnist

 

Can you get any more colorful than this?  I don't think so!  I LOVE these gorgeous bright summery colors in Cosmo Cricket's DeLovely Mini Deck!  To start this card, I used the May 15th Inchie INKlings Inchie card sketch #6 for inspiration. 

My card base is the DeLovely paper with rounded corners, adhered to a Memory Box Currant notecard.  The yellow base for my Inchies was created with Spellbinders Labels Four, by first die cutting & embossing the yellow paper, trimming off all the embossed edges, and then adhering it to a pink mat cut with the same die.

The butterfly Inchies were created by punching Eclipse Masking Tape with Martha Stewart's Monarch Butterfly punch.  To achieve successful results, apply the masking tape on printer paper, turn the paper over so the masking tape is on the bottom side of the paper, turn the punch over so you can see the metal underside and punch the paper.  I found punching this way (two butterflies on the left in the photo below) gave cleaner results than punching from the Eclipse side of the paper (right butterfly).  When the punch pushes the Eclipse tape into the paper, it doesn't cut as cleanly and you'll be left with some of the inside areas (that are supposed to punch out) still attached.

 

NOTE: This punch is one of Martha Stewart's collection considered to be a "double punch", as it punches a shape with "holes" in it. This punch will not punch the butterfly out all the way. Your shape should remain attached to the paper with two little "tabs" which you will need to cut (you can probably see where the butterfly is still attached at the tops of the wings. This will prevent the punchout from getting stuck in the punch. Simply use your paper snip scissors or an X-acto knife to free your beautiful Monarch butterfly!

 

Next, I placed the butterfly masks onto my Inchie Arts White Inchie Squares and sprayed them with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist (this one is Viva Pink):

 

I didn't have a shade of green Glimmer Mist to match my papers, so I airbrushed Copic YG23 onto this Inchie Square and then made it shimmer with Old Lace Glimmer Mist:

 

Caribbean Blue Glimmer Mist was used on the other Inchie -- hopefully you can see all that pretty sparkle in the photo below!

 

I was very pleased with how well the Inchie Squares "hold" the Glimmer Mist and didn't warp from even the heaviest of applications of the colorant!

To finished my card, I used Copic markers B02, R85 and YG23 to color the edges of the corresponding Inchies and I stamped Hero Arts ClearDesigns All Occasion Messages with Ranger Jet Black Archival ink onto each of the Inchie Squares.  The yellow popped-up diecut is accented with Zva clear crystals and May Arts Fuchsia wide silk ribbon ties it up!

The bonus to this technique is that you can also use those butterfly masks you made and turn them into another similar card, or break them up and use them on smaller note/gift cards!

 

This is a Memory Box Key Lime notecard trimmed to 3.50" square. Inchie is accented with Spellbinders Big Scalloped Square-Sm Nestabilities diecut.

Thanks for being with us on our colorful journey here in the CLASSroom!

 
Stamps: Hero Arts ClearDesigns All Occasion Messages
Paper: Cosmo Cricket DeLovely Mini Deck, Memory Box Currant & Key Lime notecards
Ink: Ranger Jet Black Archival, Copic markers B02, R85, YG23
Accessories: Copic Airbrush System, Inchie Arts White Inchie Squares; Martha Stewart Monarch Butterfly punch, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist-Caribbean Blue, Viva Pink & Old Lace, Eclipse Masking Tape, Spellbinders Labels Four & Big Scalloped Square-Sm Nestabilities dies, WRM Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper, May Arts Fuchsia wide silk ribbon, Zva clear crystals

Father's Love Frame by Sharon Harnist

 

I made this hinged frame & poem combination gift for my husband for Father's Day, out of sturdy Craft-a-Board ... here's how:

Beautiful pieces of Webster's Seaside 6x6 Petite Papers were used to cover the Craft-a-Board, the corners rounded with the Corner Chomper and edges inked with Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink.

 

To create the photo side, I used Spellbinders Big Scalloped Square Nestabilities-Lg & Labels 12 dies to create a photo frame out of Craft-a-Board.  You can cut both of the dies together, taping them in place -- just be sure the dies aren't touching each other:

 

I cut another frame from coordinating Webster's paper and covered the Craft-a-Board frame with it.  It's popped up on foam tape over the photo (photo was die cut with with the same Big Scalloped Square Nestabilities die).

 

Here's my favorite part: For the poem side, I traced my youngest daugher's hand onto Art Magnetic Masking Material and cut it out, to make a mask!  The magnetic material also cuts very easily with most dies.

 

Using Ellen's fabulous new Craft Assistant, I was able to move the hand mask around on my paper, to find the perfect spot.  The Craft Assistant is black coated metal that holds the magnetic mask securely in place for airbrushing, misting with color sprays, or sponging ink color on -- and then it's very easy to wipe clean after using it!  Next, I airbrushed Copic BG11 marker over the mask:

 

I printed the computer-generated poem out on regular printer paper first, and then aligned my patterned paper in just the right spot over the poem, securing the paper in place with repositionable adhesive.  Then I ran the paper back through my printer, printing the poem in a chocolate color. 

 

I love the soft outline of my daughter's hand on the paper and the poem's reference to hand-held walks!  On the back of the frame, I dated it with the age of my daughters.

 

I finished the frame with Small Hinges secured with brads and a few seashells!  Here's the poem, if you'd like to copy and paste it to use.  (I found the poem online somewhere and now cannot find where, so my apologies for not knowing who the author is or if the author was even listed):

FATHER’S LOVE

Loving eyes that shine with pride,
Thoughtful words that teach and guide.
Rowdy games and quiet talks,
shoulder rides and hand-held walks.
Always there for smiles or tears,
a beacon through the troubled years.
The days have passed before our eyes,
wondrous times with laughs and sighs.
And though the child has gone away,
Father’s love is here to stay.

 

Paper: Webster's Petite Papers Triple Pack-Seaside/Garden/Nature
Ink: Ranger Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink, Copic BG11 marker
Essentials by Ellen: Craft Assistant, Art Magnetic Masking Material, Craft-a-Board
Accessories: Copic Airbrush System, Spellbinders Nestabilities Big Scalloped Square-Lg & Labels 12 dies, WRM Crop-a-Dile Corner Chomper, Simply Swank Small Hinges, Ranger Ink Blending Tool, Brads, Tonic Tim Holtz Non-stick Serrated Scissors

Magnetic Masked Butterfly - By Lisa Strahl

It's Monday and time for another week of work, school and keeping up with life in general.  I hope you had a chance to relax on the weekend and do something that you love.  It's amazing how just a small amount of "me" time will make huge difference in how well my week goes.  Today I spent a few hours in a hammock in our back yard reading.  It was perfect!

I created some Artist Trading cards last week for a swap that were airbrushed with Copic markers and it inspired me to do some airbrushing again this week.  The main point that I want to share with you about this ATC is that I stamped it on Craft-a-Board.  The best way I can describe it, is that it's a really smooth creamy chipboard that takes ink like a dream!

 

I want to share a design with you that uses Magnetic Masking Material.  These 8.5 x 11 flexible magnetic sheets have with a white topcoat that allow you to stamp and then cut out the shape.  It is thin enough to be cut with most die cut systems, dies and electronic cutters including the Cricut.  I am going to use it with the Craft Assistant which is a metal craft plate that acts as an extra set of hands. It assists by holding the magnetic masks firmly in position while I airbrush.

Stamp desired images on the white side of the magnetic sheet and trim out with sharp tip scissors.  Usually when I am cutting am image out I leave a white border, but in this case I am trimming right on the line or even just slightly inside.

Stamp the image again, this time on the paper you wish you airbrush on.  The stamp set I am using in Antique Engraving (Hero Arts) and the paper collection is Origins 6x6 Paper Pad (Basic Grey).

Place your stamped image on the Craft Assistant and then place your hand cut magnetic mask over the image.  It will stay in place even with the force from the airbrush!  So cool.  I have airbrushed around the butterfly with G28 Ocean Green Copic Marker using the chisel tip which produces a finer mist of ink.  I do use the Sparmax AC-101 Windstorm Airbrush Compressor and have to admit that I LOVE it.  It truly works like a dream and I use it a lot!

 
 

I will keep this mask and use it over and over again.

 

To finish the card:

-color the circle details on the butterfly with Lemon and Melon Spica Glitter Pens (Does anyone else notice that those two words use the exact same letters?  I am such a geek.)  Apply Glossy Accents over the areas you just colored and allow to dry.

-stamp the sentiment "My soul is in the sky" with Jet Black Archival Ink from the Vintage Butterflies stamp set (CHF)

-prick to small holes with the Tonic Retractable Craft Pick just above the butterfly's head and insert some of the wire stems from the Ivory Mini Gypso Flowers (Prima) and secure them with tape on the back side.

-die cut a Large Classic Scalloped Rectangle from Vanilla Bean Cardstock (Memory Box)

-attach small Offbeat brads to each corner of the rectangle

-adhere a Green at Heart button with Mini Glue Dots

-adhere the Origins flourish corner layer to a Vanilla Bean Note card which is sold with the matching colored envelope (show in the photo)

-adhere the focal image to the flourish corner layer with 3D Foam Squares

One more quick and simple project using Arturo Note Cards and Craft-a-Board to create your own letter press designs.

Stamp Artsy Blooms (*Please note that Ellen only sells this image Cling Mounted) image onto the Arturo Note Card with an ink compatible with Copic such as Memento or Adirondack.  Color the image as desired.  Most letter press is printed with solid and even colors, no shading.  We all spend lots of time learning to shade with our Copics, but they are fabulous to create a block of color too!

Stamp the image again, this time on Craft-a-Board and fussy cut it out.  Do leave a small white border around the edge of the image this time.

 

Create the following sandwich for your die cut machine:  plate, embossing mat, stamped Arturo paper, Craft-a-Board cut out image, plate.  I used a few pieces of Judikins Eclipse Tape to ensure that the image doesn't move while going through the machine.  It's so thin that it won't leave a mark on your paper and sticky enough to "stick" but not leave any residue behind when you remove it.

In case you can not tell from the picture, the image is embossed deeply over and just to the outside of the entire image. 

Told you it was quick and simple!  I just created a set of these as a gift for some one and left them blank so that they could be an any occasion card.

Well, that's quite enough yaking from me for today.  Have a great week!

Cheers, Lisa

Spring Charm Card by Julia Stainton

Now and then, it's fun to create a card that is a little more than just a card. Today's Spring Charm card features a little 2 inch square charm set in a Memory Frame. This little frame makes a sweet gift as it is easily unattached from the card. Clip it on bag, hang from a ribbon as a decor piece or thread with a ribbon to make a beautiful bookmark.

To start off this project, I airbrushed in a background for the sweet image using the Copic Airbrush System. I actually used three colors of Copic Markers, B0000, B00 & B000, to get a very subtle variation of color. Unfortunately, it doesn't show up well photographed but it is noticeable in person.

The Birds Nest Wreath by Lockhart is a gorgeous classic image that is lovely to color.

 

Here it is colored. The details are tiny so don't worry about shading.

 

The Ranger Memory Frame I used for this project is 2" square and the perfect size for mounting your image on a Twinchie. I used two of them to the get depth for the frame and adhered the image to one and a piece of coordinating patterned paper on the other.

To add a little dimension to my project, I altered a Grungeboard Butterfly. Tim Holtz Grungeboard Minis set has a great assortment of tiny pieces that would work great for this project. The butterfly is painted with Picket Fence Distress Crackle Paint and allowed to dry.

 

After the butterfly is dry, I sponged it with Shabby Shutters Distress Ink and adhered it to my Twinchie image.

What I think makes this project special is the shaker aspect of the frame. The Ranger Memory Capsules are a really fun way to make the frame special and to be able to include some sweet embellishments to your project.

 

Here's what the frame looks like all put together. To make the fun shaker frame, I added in some Spring Blooms Dew Drops by The Robin's Nest. The frame is easily clipped tightly over the capsule/twinchie sandwich. For some added movement, I clipped on a Crystal Binding Ring Dangle from 7 Gypsies.

The card base it kept simple to focus on the pretty charm. The card base is kraft cardstock from Memory Box, and the layers die cut from Neenah Classic Natural White cardstock, and papers from the Cosmo Cricket Mini Decks, Material Girl and Earth Love. Each layer has been die cut with a different sized Labels Twelve Die by Spellbinders.

 

To attach the frame to the card, I pierced the card and threaded through some twine to tie it on with.

 

To add additional stability that still allows the frame to be removed, I rolled up a couple Glue Dots and adhered them to the frame.

 

Here's a close-up of the final project. I hope it inspires you to add a creative charm to a project you're making.

Thanks for visiting me in the CLASSroom. Have a great weekend!

Back to Basics: Background Stamping by Sharon Harnist

"Back to Basics" is a relatively new regular feature here in the CLASSroom ... twice a month, each of the teachers will be highlighting and going back to the basics of stamping.  We hope this will help out any newcomers to stamping and also help others revisit some basics you may like to be reminded of and try out once again.  You can find all of these archived Basics courses by clicking on "Back to Basics" over in the top left sidebar of this page.

Today I'm going to highlight one of my favorite things, background stamping.  Since there are many options of beautiful patterned papers on the market today, a lot of us may have steered along that path (myself included!), so I wanted to revisit how pretty, functional, quick & easy background stamping can be.

 

My first sample uses a whole clear stamp set of sentiments for its background, Hero Arts All Occasion Messages clear stamp set:

I just left all the sentiments on the clear acrylic sheet they come on, put some removeable adhesive on the back of it, stuck it to a 5x7 Clear Acrylic Block, and stamped it with Hero Arts Hero Hues-Latte Chalk Ink onto a Hero Arts Earth Folded Card. I rounded the corners of the notecard with We Are Memory Keepers' Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper and placed a strip of Webster's Pages Petite Papers-Garden Gala/Seaside paper along the left folded edge. 

 

Next, I covered this sweet chipboard bird from Maya Road's Birdcage Chipboard Book with more of the Webster's paper and adhered him to the card front.  Some twine tied around the branch and a Hero Arts Neutral Felt Flower finishes off this card ... quick and easy for ANY occasion!

 

My next card uses Hero Arts Outline Flowers wood-mounted stamp (please excuse the harsh orange color above -- it's not really that glaring, but I can't seem to get it adjusted!):

It measures 4.50" x 5.75".  I stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black ink onto a Hero Arts Sunshine Folded Card.  If you haven't checked out these wonderful notecards yet, you definitely should: They come in a pack of 12 notecards, 4 each of 3 colors for just $2.99.  At just .25 cents each, these are a fabulous bargain!

Next, I colored the flowers with these Copic markers: Y38, YR31, W1, W0 and Spica Glitter Pen in Melon.  I love the way this background turned out ... just as pretty as any patterned paper, I think, AND in the colors of MY choosing!

 

I love the look on this adorable owl's face!  He's from Hero Art's Owl Trio of wood mounted stamps.  I stamped him on Neenah Classic Crest Natural White cardstock with Tuxedo Black and colored him with the same Copic markers.  The "Thank You" sentiment is from the All Occasion Messages set I used above as a background.  I rounded the corners of his focal piece and then machine stitched around the edges, tied the piece with ribbon and mounted it with foam tape to the background.  A Hero Arts Art Flower-Summer finishes the focal piece and a few tied Hero Arts Card Buttons-Summer complete the background. I like that I can make this same card over and over again, varying the colors of the flowers and notecard, and achieve a totally different look every time!

 

My third sample is an example of using a large single stamp, not necessarily a huge overall background stamp, as a smaller notecard background.

This Hero Arts cling stamp, Friend, measures approximately 3" x 3.75" and was stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa onto a Hero Arts Blush Folded Card.  I trimmed the horizontal top-folded card down to a 3.50" x 4.25" notecard and colored the image with these Copic markers: R81, R85, YG06, YG07, W1.

 

A beautiful Prima Innoscence Snow Angel flower was added to the largest stem and Hero Arts Small Accent Pearls and Ranger White Opaque Pen accent the smaller flowers.  So how many large stamps to you have in your collection that may seem too large for a standar A2-sized card?  Use them to fill up a smaller notecard!

 

My last sample uses this beautiful Hero Arts Antique Writing cling background:

It measures 4.50" x 5.50".  I started with Glossy White Cardstock and dropped Copic Various Ink Refills in B45 & V15 onto it, starting with V15:

 

And then adding B45:

 

I kept adding drops of color until I achieved the depth I was looking for:  

 

After allowing the Copic alcohol ink to dry, I buffed it with a tissue (this removes any possible residue from the surface of the paper and buffs it back to a glossy finish). Then I stamped the butterfly background with Ranger Jet Black Archival ink. Once dry, I matted the background with Memory Box Ocean cardstock and then adhered the background to a Memory Box Licorice notecard.

 

I stamped the largest butterfly in the background again with Memento Tuxedo Black onto Neenah Classic Crest Natural White cardstock, colored it with Copic markers V12, V15, B32, B45 & E25 and cut it out.  The butterfly's wings were bent and the whole thing glittered with Star Dust Stickles.  It was attached with Glue Dots to the background.  A piece of Prima Jaqueline Lace was Copic Airbrushed with Black-100 marker and attached with Tim Holtz's Tiny Attacher, to finish the card. 

 

This same technique could easily be applied to any number of background stamps -- just choose one that has an element that can easily be cut out and attention brought to it, such as the Outline Flowers background stamp I used on the owl card above.

 

I hope these ideas help bring you back to the basics of background stamping!

{Bird Card}
Stamps: Hero Arts All Occasion Messages clear stamp set
Paper: Hero Arts Earth Folded Card Set, Webster's Pages Petite Papers-Garden Gala/Seaside
Ink: Hero Arts Hero Hues-Latte Chalk Ink
Accessories: Maya Road Birdcage Chipboard Book, Hero Arts Neutral Felt Flowers, WRM Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper, Sanding Block, 5x7 Clear Acrylic Block, twine

{Owl Card}
Stamps: Hero Arts Outline Flowers & Owl Trio wood mounted stamps
Paper: Hero Arts Sunshine Folded Card Set, Neenah Classic Crest Natural White cardstock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black; Copic markers Y38, YR31, W1, W0 & Atyou Spica Glitter Pen-Melon
Accessories: Hero Arts Card Buttons-Summer & Art Flowers-Summer; WRM Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper, sewing machine, ribbon

{Friend Card}
Stamps: Hero Arts Cling-Friend
Paper: Hero Arts Blush Folded Card Set
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa; Copic markers R81, R85, YG06, YG07, W1
Accessories: Prima Flower-Innoscence Snow Angel, WRM Crop-A-Dile Corner Chomper, Hero Arts Small Accent Pearls, Ranger White Opaque Pen

{Butterfly Card}
Stamps: Hero Arts Antique Writing Cling
Paper: Ranger Glossy White Cardstock, Neenah Classic Crest Natural White cardstock; Memory Box Licorice notecard & Ocean cardstock
Ink: Ranger Jet Black Archival ink pad, Memento Tuxedo Black; Copic Various Ink Refills: B45 & V15 and Copic markers V12, V15, B32, B45, E25 & 100
Accessories: Copic Airbrush System-1, Prima Jaqueline Lace, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher, Ranger Star Dust Stickles, Glue Dots

Stuck on You Part Three - Liquid Adhesive Ideas by Julia Stainton

While adhesives aren't the most exciting part of your project, they can be a great way to add special touches to your creation as well as holding everything together. Today's project is the third installment of the Stuck on You series andfeatures some quick and easy ways to use liquid adhesives to embellish your designs.

A great adhesive for embellishing is a glue pen. For my project I used the 2 Way Glue which gives you a little more adhesive.

For extra fine detail, the Quickie Glue Pen is also a great product. Either one is a great choice, can be used interchangeably and they are just a matter of personal preference.

 

I love these adhesives as they are very easy to use, non-messy and accurate as well as being very portable. As a little goes a long way, these adhesives will last you for a very long time. To ensure longevity, make sure you tightly replace the cap after using.

Here's how I created today's project...

 

To create the image panel I first cut the Neenah Classic Solar White cardstock to the desired size and airbrushed the background in layers. Eclipse Tape is a great product for this. Just tear off a piece and airbrush starting at the horizon line, moving the mask each time and darkening the color. If you look at a landscape, you'll notice that color fades as it gets further away so the darkest and most intense colors should be at the top and bottom of your image.

Here's what it looks like finished. You'll notice I moved the mask and used a couple different pieces torn differently to vary the look.

 

Copic colors for this project: BG02, BG45, BG10, G40, YG93, Bg93, YG63, E31. Because I wasn't trying to perfectly blend the colors, I used slightly different shades.

 

The Hero Arts Bicycle is a darling stamp. I stamped it onto the landscape using Black Archival Ink and then added touches of color with my Copic markers. I love the depth and intensity of this ink. Planning ahead to my end card layout you'll see paper from the very darling Nutmeg 6x6 paper pad by Cosmo Cricket.

 

Here's where I finally got to add in the adhesives. The Two Way Glue Pen is fabulous for adding glitter to a stamped image. I used Carnelian from the Martha Stewart Glitter Set.
 

The Two Way Glue Pen is also great for adding interesting detail to patterned paper. Here I've traced the clouds with this liquid adhesive and then applied Polar White Flower Soft for a fluffy look.

 

The other great liquid adhesive I used on this project is the Making Memories Ribbon Glue. Often dry adhesives don't adhere ribbon well for long periods of time and this glue is easy to use and has staying power. It's nice and thick so it won't be oozing up through your twill and ribbon fibers.

 

To finish off my card the Hello, friend sentiment comes from the Friend Centers stamp set by CHF. A little knot of twine on the handlebars with a Glue Dot and some tiny Basic Grey buttons add a sweet look.

I'll be back next week for one more Stuck on You tutorial. You can find Part One and Part Two by clicking on the links.

Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom today!