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(click on the pics to enbiggan)
All you need is a little piece of plastic and a mister bottle for this fun and easy watercolor technique featuring the Avery Elle Liquid Watercolors!
LINK: Watch in HD on our YouTube Channel HERE! Please like & subscribe! We appreciate it so much!
I love the sparkle the tiny star sequins and Stickles give each of these!
Thanks for stopping by today and hope you have a muy Happy Mundane! ;)
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One of my favorite techniques of 2016 has got to be gold foiling. It's so lovely and that shine and glam look make me so happy. Add that to the fact that it always seems a little like magic when you use a heat foiling technique, I'm always looking at new ways to use it.
Recently I've been intrigued to try foiling on other materials and I wanted to try foiling on acetate sheets. Adding the foil to the shine of the clear layer really looks awesome! Today I have two cards to share using foil on acetate, one a simple layer and the other made into a shaker card.
First of all I pulled out a Heidi Swapp Art Screen to try out as well. These screens can be used with paint on paper or other surfaces but I wondered how it would work with a toner pen, the Heidi Swapp Minc Toner Pen.
To use the art screen peel it off the backing carefully and adhere to the front of the acetate sheet. I'm using the Heidi Swapp Minc Acetate Sheets but others may work, so if you want to use a different acetate just test it carefully first. The Art Screen comes with adhesive on the back to make it easy.
Once the toner pen was primed, I colored in the sentiment through the screen print.
Once it was totally covered I carefully peeled away the backing.
And this is what it will look like.
*Important Note* The toner pen ink may clog the art screen. I carefully cleaned the toner ink away with some paper towel and some Copic Blender Solution.
Just like any foiling project, cover the toner area with foil...gold side up...and run through the Minc.
I then designed the lovely gold foiled layer as the top section of the card held together with a gold bulldog clip. The patterned paper is the beautiful C'est la Vie 6x6 paper pad and I've die-cut it with the Taylored Expressions Stitched Rectangles Stacklets Dies.
Once it's all together I finished off the card with some sweet Maya Road Small White Paper Flowers and lovely buttons from Lilac Lane.
My second card was created in much the same manner except for two new features. One, I hand drew on the love you sentiment with the Minc Toner Pen on the Acetate. This is create for personalizing a project and don't worry too much about your hand-writing...the gold foil makes it all look great!
I've used some of the same papers here and the same rectangle dies to make the shaker card element. You can use two of the rectangle dies to make a die-cut frame from cardstock, then line the layer with the foiled acetate. Behind this layer is lots of pretty sequins and they shake within the panel that has been raised and adhered by dimensional foam strips.
Thanks so much for joining me today in the CLASSroom! I wish you all a very Happy New Year and that 2017 will be filled with blessing and creativity.
Julia
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Hi! It's Carly here for #throwbackthursdays, a time when we seek (& find) inspiration in past projects from The Classroom here at Ellen Hutson LLC.
Today I created a card for my sweet little pen pal who's about to turn 5 on the 4th of July. I wanted my card to be interactive & fun so I started by searching "shaker cards" in The Classroom. Here's some of the cool articles I found:
Satur-YAY! 04.30.16 - See Through Shaker
I loved Julie's balloon shaker using negative die cutting and I loved Carissa's idea of keeping it clear! Here's the card I created:
I started by scoring a 8-1/2 x 5-1/2 piece of solar white at 2 and 6.
I used the Savvy Stamps Dies, Happy Birthday Stacked to cut Happy Birthday from the middle panel of my card.
Then I adhered a piece of acetate on the inside of the middle panel.
I adhered all my letter centers on to the acetate. I also folded my card together just temporarily and used a circle die to cut a half circle notch from the end.
To create my card pocket, i placed a strip of foam adhesive on the inside bottom of the middle panel and tape on the side panels. Then I just folded it together. The foam adhesive along the bottom will make it easier to pull my shaker pocket in & out and it will leave room for a little treats.
For the inside shaker pocket, I used the Fuse tool to seal 3 sides of two 3-3/4 x 5-1/8 pieces of acetate.
I mixed my shaker pieces in a coffee filter...sequins, itty bitty die cuts and the Savvy Happy Birthday Stacked.
I poured the shaker pieces into my pocket and sealed the 4th edge.
To complete the pocket, I created a little pull tab on the end from glitter tape. And I added a little blue splatter to the front of my card with Peacock Feathers Distress ink.
Now I just need to add stickers & little goodies and send it to my friend.
Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!
xo, Carly
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Hi everyone! Welcome to Satur-YAY! We're celebrating the weekend by getting our craft on! Today I have a fun see through shaker card for you. The window goes all the way through the card...you can see right through the entire card. Cool, right?
I'm using the Advent stamp set and the Zipper Panel die set from the Essentials By Ellen line. The intricate sentiments from the Zipper Panel die set are some of my favorites. And they look SOOOOO amazing cut from gold glitter card stock.
In the video below, I'll show you how to use the We R Memory Keepers Fuse Tool to create a custom sized and shaped shaker pocket. These types of shaker pockets allow you to create a more flat shaker card.
Since these cards are for graduates, I thought it would be fun to make some in school colors as well. My daughters school colors are mainly black and gold. They're actually brown and gold, but the kids hate the brown so they pair the gold with black instead. Teenagers. ;) My niece's school colors are green and white. So I chose some green seed beads along with some sparkling clear and gold sequins for her card. You can use any colors! Or choose softer colors for a baby card.
As always, I hope this project inspires you to get in to your crafting groove and get creating. I'd love to see what you're making. Be sure to share it on social media and use #EllenHutsonSaturYAY when sharing so I can check it out.
Thanks for stopping by today! Happy Satur-YAY! It's time to get your craft on! Until next time, I hope you have a fabulous day!
<iframe width="420" height="236" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dtz3OYM9JP4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
You can watch this video in HD on our YouTube channel by clicking HERE.
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Hi Friends! It's Carly here for #throwbackthursdays! I'm super excited to be crafting again after a few weeks spent moving and unpacking. Well it was really like one day to move and I'll let you know if I ever finish unpacking, LOL!
Today's card was really inspired by the die used to make it, Savvy Stamps Dies, Let It Sparkle. I love this die and I've been dying to create a shaker card with it!
I started with a piece of Solar White a little larger than the die. I applied Stick It to both sides of the cardstock. If you haven't tried Stick It yet it is awesome for intricate dies, like a super thin piece of double-sided adhesive.
Then I die cut the Stick It/cardstock combo. I didn't need a shim but I did roll it through my Big Shot twice.
I carefully removed all the little letter centers and then pulled the top liner paper off to reveal the Stick It adhesive. To the Stick It I applied copper transfer foil and burnished over it.
I removed the bottom liner paper and applied a piece of clear plastic.
I used thin strips of foam adhesive around the edge of the die cut. I love the Scrapbook Adhesives Foam Sheets because I can cut them to any size. My shaker box was ready...
I did a super quick watercolor wash on the front of my card with Distress Ink Spun Sugar and Worn Lipstick with a few copper splatters.
Then for my shaker material, I used sequins inspired by the Pantone Colors of the Year, Rose Quartz and Serenity. And for extra shaker-goodness I added some Prills. I had picked up some Minnie (white) Prills and I was excited to test them out. They add a great shake!
I decided I needed a little more copper on my card so I used some copper alcohol ink and a little plastic bag to color some of my white Prills.
I piled my shaker goodies on the top of my watercolored card and then centered my shaker box on top.
You can find some awesome tips about shaker cards in The Classroom archives. Check out these articles:
A Basic Shaker Card by Julie Ebersole
In Detail: Product Reviews & News – Sequins and a Shaker Card by Jean Manis
Have a great day!
xo, Carly
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Hi! Carly here and I'm so excited to be joining you for Day 10 of The 12 Tags Of Christmas With A Feminine Twist! I feel extra lucky to not only be creating my first tag in The 12 Tags Of Christmas With A Feminine Twist tradition but the amazing & talented Kelly Alvarez from Lawn Fawn is my partner today! Today we both created tags based on this sketch:
(For complete challenge information head to this post.)
I used some of my favorite Lawn Fawn and Essentials by Ellen goodies to create this:
1. I started by cutting a 3-1/4 x 6-1/4 tag from my favorite cardstock, Smooth Bristol.
2. I wanted to watercolor the circular background shown in the sketch but I wanted them to look like circles, lol, so I used some of my Lawn Fawn circle dies as guides. I used Distress ink Peacock Feathers and Cracked Pistachio.
3. I stamped the Lawn Fawn Yeti in VersaFine Oynx Black. Then I colored his body with a Zig Clean Color Real Brush Marker in Cool Gray 099, blending with a waterbrush.
4. I colored my Yeti's face, hands and feet with Zig Clean Color Real Brush Marker in Light Blue 036, blending with a waterbrush.
5. I watercolored my Yeti's mouth with Distress ink Abandoned Coral.
6. Then I thought my Yeti needed a little glam so I put a little Stickles Star Dust onto my non-stick craft sheet and applied it to his body with a waterbrush. You could also apply Stickles directly from the bottle but I like the control the waterbrush gives me.
7. To create my little trees I stamped them in Stazon Jet Black on Crystal Clear Plastic. Then I used alcohol inks to watercolor them. The technique is super easy - you put drops of alcohol ink into a palette and allow it to air dry. Then you use the Alcohol Ink Blending Pen to color on the backside of the plastic (you can also use a waterbrush filled with Blending Solution. For the trees I used Botanical and Bottle Alcohol inks.
8. I stamped ear muffs from the Lawn Fawn Yeti Set Go set in Versafine Onyx Black and colored them with Zig Clean Color Real Brush Marker in Light Violet 081.
9. I used the Yeti Set Go coordinating dies to die cut all of my stamped & colored pieces - my Yeti, ear muffs and trees.
10. I created the cord snowflakes on my tag by punching holes and threading Lawn Fawn Hemp Cord in Aquamarine, through the holes. Super easy!
11. I added a few itty bitty stamped snowflakes in Cracked Pistachio Distress ink and a sentiment from the Essentials by Ellen Merry & Bright stamp set.
12. Then assembled the pieces of my tag.
for Carly's tag
We are honored to have Kelly Alvarez, owner of Lawn Fawn, joining us again this year! Kelly's cheerful, bright nature comes across in every single one of her creations! The no-line coloring Kelly features using the sweet little fawn wearing her festive hat takes center stage (or in this case, center drift). Inspiration is in abundance on the Lawn Fawn blog and "no matter how you slice it" there is always loads of excitement to be shared there.
Thank you Kelly for sharing your sweet tag and inspiring us with your creativity!
for Kelly's tag
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Happy Thursday! It's Carly here for #throwbackthursday!
I recently picked up some Crystal Clear Plastic to use for shaker cards and I was wondering what else it might be good for. I discovered the Classroom actually has a category devoted to "Crystal Clear Plastic" and while exploring that category, I found the most amazing product by none other than our amazing captain, Ellen herself:
Ellen's article is a must-read! And checkout her gorgeous project! After I saw it, I found a snowflake die and created my own ornaments ASAP!
1. I started by die cutting 6 snowflakes from the Crystal Clear Plastic with the My Favorite Things Snowflake Splendor die set.
2. I stamped 3 of the snowflakes with the Essentials by Ellen Bokeh Dots stamp set and the Glue Pad. I sprinkled Celadon Glitter Ritz on to the wet glue, shaking off the excess and returning it to the jar. Then I set my glittered snowflakes aside to dry.
3. After my glittered snowflakes were dry, I folded all my snowflakes in half.
4. I adhered my snowflakes together with just a bit of Glossy Accents in the middle. Before gluing the last snowflakes together (think snowflakes 1 and 6), I added my ornament hanger in the middle (a loop of metallic silver cord with jingle bells knotted on the bottom).
After creating my own crystal clear ornament, I was excited to make more dimensional snowflakes and I thought it would make a cute addition to a holiday tag. What do you think?
1. To create my tag, I cut a tag from Desert Storm cardstock and stamped the little dots from the Bokeh Dots set (the same one I've used for the clear snowflakes,) with silver.
2. I stamped & embossed my sentiment and "sparkles" in white. And I added a little white splatter to the bottom.
3. For my dimensional crystal clear snowflake, I used 5 crystal clear plastic die cut snowflakes that I stamped & glittered.
4. I adhered my folded snowflakes together but instead of connecting the last snowflakes together (think 1 and 5), I adhered those to the tag.
5. I finished my tag with a silver foil circle at the top to create a reinforcer, some clear sequins, silver cord and jingle bells.
Have a great day!
xo, Carly
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(click on the pics to enbiggan)
Hope you had a wonder-full Christmas with family and friends! Can you believe we're right on the verge of 2014 already?! Time is flying far too fast!
I'm still *madly* in love with sequin confetti cards and had to make a New Year's version! I've also been itching to play with my new Mama Elephant Inline Letters Stamps and the coordinating dies--such a great contemporary look!
Here's a great tip for getting optimal results with this particular set of stamps + dies:
Instead of trying to stamp the letters/numbers onto the die cuts the traditional way, place your inked stamp rubber side up on your work surface and then press the die cut letters to the stamp.
Waaaaay mo'h bettah that way! Ask me how I know... *wink*
Enjoy the video here or over on our YouTube Channel and thanks for watching & subscribing! Be sure to switch to 720p for best viewing quality, too!
Happy New Year!
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With Christmas just around the corner, I find myself scrambling to get everything done. Each year I have to come to the realization that I'm just not going to get everything crossed off my list and that is true for my Christmas creating to-do list. It's a fact that I just have to accept. Life is so busy.
One of the things I do to manage my lists is to make a short list of my must do things and the things that I really want to get done. Designing a project using this World Ornament stamp that I ordered was one of those things I've been wanting to do since I first saw it released. It's a beautiful classic stamp that will be used from year to year. I think it lends itself well to watercoloring or other color media but I was really excited to try paper piecing it.
I love paper piecing. It's such a pretty technique and it works for so many images that I love to revisit it again and again.
When paper piecing you need to decide how many layers of color you need in the design. For this project you need a background paper, a blue paper for the water areas and a small green print for the land. Stamp the same image onto both the blue and green patterned papers.
This always the fun step for me...watching it build and all come together. Because the water is the predominant part of the image, I cut out the entire globe in blue. The next step is to carefully cut out the green land areas from the image stamped on the green paper. Once they are cut out, carefully glue them on top of the blue globe image.
Tips:
Design your card base and stamp your globe onto the background patterned paper. This will mostly be covered up but it is essential to get the loop at the top of the image.
Once everything is glued down, I decided to add a little bit of glitter to make things more festive. Stickles is a wonderful way to add glitter exactly where you want it without the mess of dry glitter.
Crystal Clear Plastic is a great product. I've layered it here over the card front and then stitched around it. The beautiful shine it gives to the card really takes it up a notch. On top of the plastic I've added in the sentiment with some Thickers. Lining up the letters was easy with the lines of sheet music across the background paper.
To finish things off, a little hemp twine and a button add a subtle embellishment to the design.
Thanks so much for stopping by the CLASSroom!
Wishing you the gift of joy and peace this holiday season!
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It's an early Easter this year! We don't have to wait for April as Easter falls on the last weekend of March. This means that it can also sneak up on you and it's coming up quicker than you might think.
Do you make cards for Easter? I have a sweet window design to share with you today. It's actually more of a Spring theme with an Easter sentiment but you'll definitely see touches of Easter in the oval (egg) shaped window and the pretty lavendar and soft yellow color scheme.
Window cards are a little more work than regular card designs and so I don't make them as often as I should. I confess to being a very lazy crafter. I had so much fun creating this one though that another will be on my to-do list very, very soon.
What originally inspired this design was a sheet of Secret Garden 12x12 paper from Graphic 45. This particular one is called Springtime and one side is patterned and the other has the most gorgeous little images that can be cut apart as images, accents and journaling card type embellishments. It's seriously amazing just how many projects could be made from one single sheet.
And HELLO?! It's only a dollar. I just couldn't resist.
To go along with it I also purchased the Secret Garden Chipboard pieces. I wanted to use this particular frame for it's oval shape and it would make a great focal point for my card design. It's pretty basic. You just punch it out of the chipboard sheet. So why the image? I wanted to show you a little trick.
See the little paper "spurs" that are left after you punch it out? You want to get rid of those for a nice finish on your project. To do that, simply file off the extra paper bits with a Sanding Block or the Basic Grey Precision File Set.
As a picture is worth a thousand words...I have lots of step outs for you today. This first one is basically how I start designing a project. I lay some of the pieces together to see how the design layout will work. You'll notice that some of the pieces I started with didn't make the final cut. That's OK. Just go with the flow.
Here's where I start putting the card layers together. And actually, it's also where I decided that this card needed a window and not just another layer.
Once the layers are all adhered together I planned out exactly where my window needed to be and then traced the inside of the oval onto the card front in pencil. As this is just a touch smaller in size than what I want the opening to be I just cut a very tiny amount outside the circle.
I wish I'd had an oval die that matching up in size perfectly but I didn't so hand-cutting was the only option. This is good to know though so that you make a window and size and shape that you desire.
Because there are so many layers of paper and cardstock, you may have to cut the oval out a few times with your craft knife. The first time I cut it only removed the top layer of patterned paper as you can see in the above shot. You'll find that after you cut one oval, the next layers go really quickly.
To get a nice smooth edge to all those layers of cut paper, I pulled out my Precision File set again and just filed them smooth. This makes it almost look as if it were die cut.
Place your frame on and you have a nice window card design.
You can leave it open or you can also put in a piece of Crystal Clear Plastic to make it easier to adhere your embellishments.
It's always nice to finish the inside of a card but it's really essential with a window card design. Here's the beautiful image panel that I finally decided on adhere to the inside of the card. I'm very fond of florals and birds and so that's what I went with.
To finish off the inside of the card, stamp the sentiment and add a few little flowers and pearls as an accent.
The card front needs some embellishing too. I adore the new Maya Road Wood Birdcages and this one worked perfectly for the front of this card. Add in a few more pins and accents and it's complete!
Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom and have a lovely weekend!
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(click the pics to enbiggan)
I've been having a ball with sequins and wanted to share a few card ideas I've been playing with in the studio that incorporated these pretty, PRETTY things!!! I just can't get enough of them! The iridescent sparkle and shape make them a perfect accent--they also make fabulous filler in a full card-front shaker pocket! SWEET!!!
Seriously, I am obsessed with sequins as much as I am with Washi tape! Eep!!!
Also, I wanted to mention a few extra tips:
Enjoy the video here or in HD on YouTube and thanks for subscribing to our channel!
Thanks for joining me!
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Are you enjoying this series as much as I am? I cannot begin to express my thanks to the wonderful women who are participating in this year's series of tags. Today's guest designer, Jennifer McGuire, needs very little as way of introduction as I know you all know and love her as much as I do. Not only is this lovely lady clever, but she is kind and generous. It is with much affection that today I share with you the amazing talents of my friend Jennifer McGuire. If perchance you haven't already marked her blog you can find it at Jennifer McGuire Ink AND if you have not yet had a chance to take one of the classes she co-teaches with Kristina Werner on their site Online Card Classes you are missing out on some very well-done education!
When Jennifer offered to create a video showcasing today's technique I was over the moon excited to share it with you! Today she uses her magical touch on Tim Holtz Mirrored product - I already have envisioned a bobble-glass ornament wreath using this technique after watching this video!
Thank you Jennifer for your constant support, friendship and the absolutely stunning tag and technique you shared with us today!
The dimension in this glorious tag was created by stamping with white Staz-On on clear plastic and then mounting with foam dimensionals to create depth. The Mirrored die cuts were colored with Copic markers to add texture and color. Be certain to watch the video that Jennifer has created especially for us!
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I must admit this wasn't my original idea -- I recently came across this wonderful Valentine Chandelier and wanted to make my own version of it -- a little more vintage-themed one, so here's my take on it! Sorry these photos are not better -- it's hard to get a good photo of things that are constantly turning and twisting!
For the base of the chandelier, I used one chipboard heart "page" from Maya Road's Heart Chipboard Album:
These hearts are a nice size -- approximately 6.50" at the widest point and almost 6.25" tall. With eight "pages", you can either make a lot of these type of projects, or a very full Valentine album! Alternately, you could use some of Ellen's Craft-a-Board or Crystal Clear Plastic to fashion whatever shape you'd like your chandelier to have. That's what I was originally going to do, until I saw how nice and large this heart album was!
I covered the chipboard heart with patterned papers from 7 Gypsies' Lille 6x6 paper pack -- I love the warm tones and vintage collage style of these papers!
The 6-inch paper will not quite cover all of the heart chipboard -- it must be turned at an angle into the corner of the paper and then just some tiny slivers of the chipboard will still show. The rose trim I used around the edge of the heart chipboard shape finished covering the chipboard just fine. But if this bothers you, the Lille papers are also available in a larger 8-inch size!
I trimmed the edge of the heart with Cream Small Organza Roses, adhered with Copic's X-Press It Double-Sided High Tack Tape (shown below is the top side of my paper-covered chipboard heart, untrimmed and the bottom side, shown trimmed with the cream roses):
For the photos, I used Ellen's fabulous selection of Assorted Doilies:
See those cute heart doilies in the pack? They are the perfect size (approximately 4" x 4") for about a 2.50" x 3" photo! So I made them into "frames" by cutting my black & white photos into heart shapes and adding some Zva Clear Swirl Crystals to dress them up:
I backed the doilies with patterned paper, to give them more stability & weight, and make them pretty on the reverse side, too! I sponged some Antique Linen Distress Ink on the white doilies, so they would match the vintage patterned papers a little better. Instructions for the red tissue flowers are below with the Bingo card and the little "love bird" was die cut with Spellbinders smallest Nested Bird die set.
I used a Jenni Bowlin Red Adore Mini Bingo Card and since the back of it is plain white, I machine stitched more of the Lille paper onto the back and then trimmed the edges with pinking shears.
To accent the front of the Bingo card, I made a tissue flower by die cutting several layers of red tissue paper with Spellbinders Nested Peony dies. After die cutting, just stack the layers of tissue paper together and secure them in the center (I used Tim Holtz's Tiny Attacher) and cover the staple with a large pearl or rhinestone. Then fluff up the layers of tissue paper -- quick and easy! Alternately, you could use a brad to secure the center of the flower.
The "wonky" hanging hearts were die cut with Tim Holtz's Heart Wing Bigz Die (shown below):
from Memory Box Cranberry cardstock (solid heart) and then topped with the swirly heart die cut from Lille papers (these are two separate shapes on the die):
More solid hearts were die cut from Memory Box's Red Biscotti cardstock, aged with Antique Linen Distress Ink so they would match the Lille papers better, and accented with red gemstones. To make it quick and easy to die cut matching images (that you want to have a nice front and back), fold the cardstock in half (Memory Box is colored on one side and white on the back), so the white is on the inside. After die cutting, just adhere these two mirror images together and you'll have a colored heart on both sides! To adhere smaller die cuts like the swirly heart above, I like to use a mini bottle of Ranger's Glossy Accents -- it's a great liquid glue! The bottle is easier to hold, the small applicator makes it easy to control the "glue" in tight spaces, and it dries quickly. The double heart at the bottom of the photo above was cut on the fold of the cardstock and then opened up and backed with another piece of patterned cardstock.
If you've never used any of Tim's or Sizzix's Bigz dies and don't have either Sizzix's or Tim's die cutting machines but have a Cuttlebug, these dies work perfectly and easily in it! I just use a Cuttlebug B plate on either side of the die and get perfect cuts every time, even with cardstock doubled like I've done here.
The birds were die cut with Spellbinders Nested Bird die, again from doubled Memory Box Cranberry cardstock, and I made the wings from Tim Holtz's Heart Wings Bigz Die!
To assemble the the chandelier, I lined up all my elements in four different columns and played with the placement. Then I threaded an embroidery needle with fishing line and strung each of the four lines separately, leaving enough fishing line at the top and bottom of each string to allow for tying. Using my Crop-a-Dile, I punched holes at the point of the heart and on the top of the heart, at each of the curves. A piercing tool was used to place a hole in the center of the heart for the fourth line.
NOTE: When adhering the heart and bird fronts and backs together, I only placed a strong adhesive on the edges and not in the middles, so I would be able to string the fishing line through the centers of the double-sided cardstock shapes. These "sandwiched" shapes were then easy to slide up and down the fishing line, to determine good placement and then stayed in place very well.
To anchor the doily heart frames to the fishing line (since I had not thought ahead and glued all of the photos and backing papers to the doilies and didn't leave a space through the middles!), I sewed the fishing line through the bottom of the front of the heart, along the back, and then back through the top of the heart to the front side. Until the exact placement of the frames was determined, this let me slide the frames up and down the fishing line easily:
Once the proper placement was determined, I placed Mini Glue dots on the back of the heart frame where the fishing line was "sewn" through the cardstock. To make the Glue Dot a little prettier, I sprinkled Glitter Ritz Warm Highlights Transparent Microfine glitter over them!
To weight the ends of the fishing line, I used these beautiful Melissa Frances Diamond Chandelier Drops:
The Chandelier Drops also help to weight each line, so they hang nicely. And the darling butterflies are Jenni Bowlin Vellum Embellished Butterflies in Red!
Finally, to make the hanger at the top of my chandelier, I used ivory satin ribbon threaded through each of the three outer holes (knotted separately on the bottom of the heart base) and knotted them together at the top. I hope I've explained the construction of this chandelier well - if not, please let me know if the comments and I'll answer your questions! Thanks for visiting the CLASSroom today! ~ Sharon
Paper: 7 Gypsies-Lille 6x6 paper pack, Memory Box Cranberry Cardstock & Cranberry Biscotti Cardstdock; Essentials by Ellen Assorted Doilies,
Ink: Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink-Antique Linen,
Copic Markers
Tools: Tim Holtz Bigz Die-Heart Wings; Spellbinders Nested Bird & Nested Peony die templates; WRM Crop-a-Dile, Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher,
Accessories: Jenni Bowlin Vellum Embellished Butterflies-Red & Mini Bingo Cards-Red; Maya Road Chipboard Album-Heart; Prima Small Organza Roses-Cream; Melissa Frances Chandelier Drops-Diamond; Hero Arts Assorted Gemstones-Red; Ranger Ink Blending Tool & Mini Glossy Accents; 3/8" Glue Dots; Glue Glider Pro with Perma Tac adhesive, Copic X-Press It High Tack Double-Sided Tape; Zva Clear Swirl Crystals, Glitter Ritz Warm Highlights Transparent Microfine glitter,
Other: fishing line, red tissue paper, pinking shears, sewing machine + ivory thread, embroidery needle
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The holidays are such a wonderful season to craft for. There is something special about handcrafted Christmas cards, decorations and gifts that both the giver and the recipient enjoy. This is one of those projects I was enjoying so much, I spun the scraps into two more items before I could bear to leave my craft table.
It all started with this little Noel blocks idea I've had in my head for quite some time. These little blocks are 1" square and are best covered with scaled down papers such as the 6x6 mini paper pads. This project and the following uses the Basic Grey Jovial 6x6 paper pad.
To create the block project, cut little 1" squares of patterned paper and adhere to your blocks. I found the blocks to be just shy of an inch and the Titanium Black mini Scissors by EK Success were really great for trimming closely. After covering all sides of each mini block, they were so easy to embellish with tiny accents. The noel sentiment is created with the Tim Holtz Stencil Type. You can adhere these blocks together in a permanent arrangement or just set them up each year the way you wish.
So my project was done but I had all these darling little scraps of paper on my desk. What's a girl to do but to put them to good use? First off, I had all these 1" strips left over from covering the wood blocks. They quickly made themselves into a card front. From the larger scraps I created my own "chipboard" stars with Craft-a-Board from Essentials by Ellen and some star dies.
A tag size piece of Craft-A-Board left on my desk inspired the remaining project.
It's covered with patterned paper and then die cut for a negative star shape. Hmmm... What if I backed the tag with Crystal Clear Plastic and stamped my sentiment in the window... It was quick and fun and I'm happy with the result. I wonder whose present this will adorn this year.
Supplies: Classic Solar white cardstock by Neenah, 6x6 Jovial Paper Pad by Basic Grey, Craft-a-Board by Essentials by Ellen, Crystal Clear Plastic by Ellen Hutson LLC, Nested Star Dies, twine, Tiny Attacher by Advantus, 1" Square Wood Blocks, Bean Stalks Twine Red & Brown by Jillibean Soup, Holiday Sayings Clear Design stamps by Hero Arts, Jet Black Archival Ink by Ranger, Frayed Burlap Distress Ink by Ranger, Kiwi Chandelier Crystals by Heidi Swapp, Tim Holtz Stencil Type by Advantus, Red Vintage Sew-on Buttons by Jenni Bowlin, Tim Holtz Mini Pins by Advantus, rose silk ribbon by May Arts, Cropadile by We R Memory Keepers, Vintage Pearl Trinket Pins by Maya Road, Black Wood Bingo Numbers by Maya Road
Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom and enjoy getting ready for the season ahead!
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They're versatile and super cute...I adore the sweet ATC size. They can easily
be added to a card or tag base and they make me feel extra artsy when I create
them!
Supplies:
Ranger: Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Butterscotch, Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Cranberry, Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Terra Cotta, Distress Ink Pad, Walnut Stain
Basic Grey Brads, Green at Heart Glazed
CHF: Backgrounder, Open Circles, Scrapblock, Vintage Text
Martha Stewart Craft Punch, Classic Butterfly
Basic Grey Opaline Half Pearls, Wine/Champagne
Crystal Clear Plastic, 8" x 8" sheets
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist Spray, Walnut Gold
Hero Arts: Cling Curly Flowers, Cling Circle Doily, Cling Messages, Set of 3, Cling Reversed Flowers and Leaves
Pull out a piece of the clear plastic and dab the edge of the ink pad onto the surface.
repeat with an orange ink pad
and a third time with cranberry ink
dab a few drops of glimmer mist and rub the stamp onto the clear , inked surface.
stamp onto a manilla tag multiple times, picking up ink as you go
complete with a stamped sentiment. Clean clear sheet with baby wipes and use again
Ink up the top of the patterned stamp with the darkest color to the lightest, making sure to overlap each color
Bring out the plastic sheet once again and ask off the center section. Stamp with cranberry ink first. Then cover the columns on the right and left and ink the center with orange ink...complete with covering the middle and stamp with yellow ink
cut the tag to ATC size (2 1/2 x 3 1/2) and stamp the bottom
complete by adding a touch of color with a Copic marker, a punched butterfly and some pearl/brad accents
Have a wonderful day :)
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I only say "super" because this card is more than an ordinary card. It's an accordion shape which means that it's technically a mini album or brag book. But this little nugget can be carried proudly around in a wallet as well. Well, maybe if Dad empties everything in it, but none the less, he can carry it around with ease if he likes.
Supplies:
Arturo Cards and Envelopes, White
Jenni Bowlin: Journaling Cards, Homespun, Mini Die Cut Circle Label Papers
Tim Holtz, Grungeboard, Minis 5"x8" Sheets 7/Pkg
Cosmo Cricket 6" Mini Deck Paper Pad, The Boyfriend, Cosmo Cricket 6" Mini Deck Paper Pad, Garden Variety, Cosmo Cricket Tiny Type Stickers, Black
You will need 3 Arturo envelopes for this project. One to make the accordion shape and another to use as a template and frame.
This is how the two envelopes will be adhered to one another. One one side there are 3 pockets and on the reverse side, there are 3 solid sides.
Cut the third envelope in half and cut a frame from it. Cut down clear plastic the same size to create a photo frame.
stitch along the sides and bottom, leaving the top open to slip a photo in and out. Then you can adhere both folded envelopes together
Take the second half of the envelope and cut off the "pocket" piece and use it as a template.
trace it onto patterned paper and add it to the posket sides of the album
Insert polka dot papers onto the back sides of the album, behind the pockets.
To create the cute embellishments, simple color grungeboard shapes with a Copic marker
I added a punched circle to the larger star to help bring the color around to the inside of the project.
Here is the reverse side. I added papers to the left panel...the center is the photo frame panel that I created with the envelope frame and clear sheet. I used a Jenni Bowlin journal spot for the cover. I wanted a little more "personality" in the focal square, so I cut down a circle paper
I added a "dad" sentiment along with some accent buttons
wrap it in a ribbon and tie a knot in front. It's much easier than you may think. Just in time for Father's Day! I included a Starbuck's gift card in the center pocket, but you can replace that with more photos or maybe a little note from your kids to Dad? That left panel that has paper on it can be a photo mat...you may have more than 2 children like me...or possibly include a photo of you or your pet?
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Perfect Pearls Dusting is a technique I learned at Ranger U from Tim Holtz. Perfect Pearls are pearlescent powders, available in a multitude of colors from ellenhutson.com. They feature a built-in resin, allowing them to adhere to inks that do not dry immediately, to name two we are using today: Distress Inks or Perfect Medium.
For today's card I am simply brushing the powder over a stamped image to create a shimmery, yet masculine background.
Tim created a video demo utilizing the vast wonders of Ranger's Perfect Pearls here.
To begin I stamped the clock image from Tim's Elements of Time randomly over a 5-1/2" square card (folded) of Licorice cardstock using Ranger's Perfect Medium.
Perfect Medium is a 3" x 3" pad that works similarly to VersaMark or other watermark inks. It was designed by Ranger to be the perfect accompaniment with Perfect Pearls pigments, and it can be used as a resist ink, embossing or watermark ink as well.
Perfect Pearls Heirloom Gold was dusted over the stamped areas using a clean, soft paintbrush.
To completely remove all traces of loose pigment powder from the cardstock, I found sweeping a large, clean makeup brush (designated for craft room use) works wonders.
Next, the clock image was stamped onto white cardstock using Jet Black Archival Ink, and punched out using a 1-3/4" circle punch.
Punched clock was inked with Distress Antique Linen using an ink blending tool...
...then the edges inked using Distress Vintage Photo ink.
I punched a circle using Crystal Clear Plastic - medium weight and a 1-3/4" circle punch. I finished this clock embellishment with a few pieces from Tim's Idea-ology line, detailed a few photos down.
Stamp the sentiment and clock from the Elements of Time set onto white cardstock using Jet Black Archival Ink.
Ink up the same way as the clock - first with Distress Antique Linen ink...
...followed by Distress Vintage Photo ink.
Distress the edges of the cardstock sentiment using Tim's paper distresser. This tool is a quick and efficient way to distress cardstock, photos, chipboard, and so forth. The blade is titanium.
Ink the distressed, frayed edges of the cardstock sentiment using Distress Walnut Stain ink.
Stamp the sentiment again onto a white cardstock scrap using Jet Black Archival Ink, and cut out key words or phrases. Completely ink the trimmed words with Distress Aged Mahogany using an ink blending tool.
Add Tim's Mini Fasteners to the mahogany strips once adhered in place over the aged sentiment panel.
Finished card - measures 5-1/2" square. To create the clock embellishment, align the cardstock and plastic circles, then punch a hole through the center of both layers using a 1/16" hole punch. Layer one of Tim's Sprocket Gears and a Game Spinner using a brad that is included with the Game Spinners.
The diamond and stripe decorative cardstock is A Fine Specimen and Shutter Speed from Graphic 45. I used a Labels 8 die (the largest one) on the diamond print.
This cardstock combination is excellent for sympathy cards as well.
The card front sentiment could be a birthday or even retirement. Sentiment is from Hero Arts Birthday Messages. Thank you for stopping by Ellen's CLASSroom blog today!
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Today I am sharing a Hero Arts set called "I Care Frame Messages". I was immediately drawn to the rainbow image in this set. As my online nickname "rainy" would suggest, I love the rain and rainbows and just can't help but gravitate to those images.
I started by stamping the image with Graphite Black Brilliance ink on a card base made with Crystal Clear Plastic. The Basic Grey "Nook and Pantry" patterned paper is added to the inside of the plastic card base.
The outside border on the main image panel has been cut away so that that portion of the image stamped on the plastic shows behind the main image panel once it is adhered to the card base.
The butterfly is part of another image in this set as well. It has been stamped directly onto the patterned paper, cut out and adhered to the card with glue dots.
The original plan was to use the spotlight technique with an Inchie by coloring it in and leaving the rest of the image in black and white. However as you can see, I couldn't help myself and just had to color in the whole rainbow! So this is a modified version of the spotlight technique. lol Only the Inchie has a colored sky!
I had some fun with the Art Flowers as well. I love coloring them with Copics to get a closer match to whatever paper or ribbon may be used. For complete coverage be sure to color both sides.
Using four different flowers, I layered them, folded them in half, stapled them and then stuck them behind the raised image panel securing them in place with a couple of glue dots.
Isn't that fun! It makes it look as if there are twice as many as there actually are. No one will ever know... unless you tell them!
A piece of white cardstock has been added to the inside of the card for a hand-written message. It is hidden by the patterned paper so that it does not show when the card is closed.
Finally I just have to mention this FABULOUS May Arts silk ribbon. Seriously, this stuff is heaven! The rhinestone embellishment is a Flower Center from Prima.
Thanks for dropping by the CLASSroom today to join in our preview party. Make certain that you return later today for Julia's post and remember sometimes "old is new again" at least here in the CLASSroom. Pull out some of those oldies today as you are inspired by all the new you are seeing and get busy creating as you wait for your new goodies to arrive. Happy Crafting!
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Dear friends, I can't believe this is my last tag! Where has the time gone? Sharing this series with Bek and Ellen's readers has been nothing but a pleasure. (Ok, I could do without this flu bug I am fighting.) But never fear, there are tags to be made and I took an extra nap this afternoon just so I could finish well. Thank you so much for all of your kind words, they did lift me up yesterday. :D
This tag was another labor of love, although hard to photograph at times. I always craft in the late evening, just the time of life I am in, with day time work and little ones. Please forgive some strange angles I needed to use to keep the glare off of the project.
Press the Aged Mahogany, Shabby Shutters and Vintage Photo Distress Ink Pads in a triangle pattern to the Non-Stick Craft Sheet and spritz with a Mini Mister. Mine is always filled with Pearl Perfect Pearls (say that three times fast!) and water to add some bling.
Press the Size 8 Tag to the ink...
...and give it a quarter turn.
Turn it over and heat set with the Ranger Heat It Craft Tool. Feel free to use some paper towel to remove any excess ink you don't like.
Repeat this process over and over until your tag is covered to your satisfaction. I usually press into the ink about 8 times, focusing on different areas each time. Be sure to heat set between each layer of color.
What on earth is this, right? I wanted to add some texture to this background, but a stamped pattern was going to be too much for all of the other stuff I had planned.
Cut three lengths of Black Crocheted Ribbon the circumference of the Medium Inky Roller - adhere with some double sided tape. Remove some of the stickiness by handling it with your fingers a few times so you can remove it later.
Squeeze a good amount of paint from the Adirondack Gold Paint Dabber onto your Craft Sheet.
Get your brayer good and "painty".
Roll in ONCE over the tag, pressing firmly.
I just LOVE this effect. Added texture, but it's not distracting in any way.
Determine the right size game spinner (the smallest gold one) to fit this date sticker from the Salvage Sticker Assortment (I know Ellen has these at the warehouse and they should go up on the store in the next day or two.)
They were a little stark for the project so ink them with Vintage Photo Distress Ink using Cut 'n Dry Foam and heat set.
Using the matching brad, attach the spinner to the sticker. Hammer it with the ball end of the Texture Hammer, smash that brad!
Ink the larger month sticker with Shabby Shutter Distress Ink.
Put the date sticker over the month sticker, attach with the brad and cover the entire piece with Glossy Accents. Note: The spinner points to the 24th and December.
Dab gold paint onto the Santa image from the Santa's Wish Stamp Set.
Brayer over the paint with a clean brayer to ensure the paint is distributed evenly.
Stamp onto a tag and heat set.
Fussy cut it out.
Press the Peeled Paint Distress Ink Pad onto the craft sheet and pick some up with a Small Niji Waterbrush. Watercolor the holly leaves on the image.
Watercolor Santa's hat and coat with Aged Mahogany Distress Ink. My favorite part about this technique is that the paint resists the water and ink which means that it shows through and shimmers. So lovely!
And give him some rosy cheeks with Tattered Rose Distress Ink.
Whiten his beard with the Inkssentials White Gel Pen.
Cover the white part of his hat with Glossy Accents.
And dust with Twinklets.
Stamp the lamp post from the Festive Sounds Stamp set with Jet Black Archival Ink on a Crystal Clear Sheet, heat set and cut out with detail scissors.
Paint the back side of the image with Adirondack Pearl Paint Dabber with the smallest Studio brush.
Press the painted side of the post to the tag as shown. Add double sided tape to the bottom off Santa and add some foam squares behind his hat so he has some stature.
And once again, attach some of that lovely Black Crochet Ribbon with the Tiny Attacher - I am COMPLETELY addicted to this tool!!! Can you tell? *giggles*
Fill a Typewriter Key Charm with Frosted Lace Stickles and set aside to dry.
Once dry, attach to the end of Santa's hat with a silver brad.
Attach your clock/month embellishment as shown with a strong adhesive.
Adhere a stripe of star shaped Twinkle Stickers.
Finish it off with the Merry Christmas sentiment from the Santa's Wish stamp set and top it off with 1 1/4 inch Ivory Silk Ribbon. I just love how soft and almost romantic this Santa turned out. It's as if he is hiding and you discover him as your eye wanders around the tag.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for having me. I am blessed.
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Well all I can say about Becky's tag is that I hope she sends it to *ME* for Christmas!
Today's tag features more traditional Christmas colors, but hopefully keeps that soft and romantic feel with the use of watercoloring and vintage trims.
Place the tag over the portion of the Graphic 45 paper you want to cut out and trim around the edges with a Judikins Craft Knife. Adhere the paper to the front of the tag.
Stamp and heat emboss the lamp post from the Festive Sounds stamp set with Detail Black Embossing Powder on a tag using the Ranger Craft Tool.
Put a small amount of Heirloom Gold, Sunflower Sparkle and Pearl Perfect Pearls Pigment Powder on the Non-Stick Craft Sheet. Spritz with water.
Mix the Heirloom Gold into paint and apply to lamp standard.
Fill the "glass" portion of the light with the Pearl (white) color and then while it is still wet, add some Sunflower Sparkle and allow it to bleed into the white.
Allow the paint to dry and cut out the image with sharp tip detail scissors.
Stamp the image again with Jet Black Archival ink on Judikins Eclipse Tape.
Cut around the left side of the image and place on the tag.
Ink the music background from the Festive Sounds stamp set with Fired Brick Distress Ink.
Stamp the image on the tag on an angle. Remove the Eclipse Paper and set aside.
Stamp the Christmas Carols sentiment from the Festive Sounds stamp set with Jet Black Archival Ink on a tag and cut it out.
Spritz the image with a Mini Mister filled with Perfect Gold Perfect Pearls and water - heat set.
Press the image onto an watermark or embossing ink pad. Dust with Clear Embossing Powder and Heat set.
Apply Candy Cane Stickles as berries to the sign.
...and Green Stickles to the edge and leaves.
Color the words on the image with Red Spica Glitter Pen.
Stamp the Santa image from the Mini Holidays stamp set on a Crystal Clear Sheet and heat set.
Cut out.
And paint the back side with Blank Canvas Studio Paint.
Press to the tag while the paint is wet.
Apply foam tape to the lamp standard and adhere to the tag.
Paint Santa's coat and hat with A Dash of Red Studio Paint. Allow to dry.
Apply small dots of Flower Soft Glue over Santa's bead and hat and dust with Polar White Flower Soft.
Cover the glass portion of the lamp with Glossy Accents.
Attach Crochet Ivory Ribbon with the Tiny Attacher stapler.
Apply strong tape on both edges of the tag and foam tape in the middle.
...and add the sentiment piece over it.
Adhere three Red Twinkle Sticklers to Santa's hat.
Punch a hole in the top of the tag and cover with a sprocket gear (Ideology) and tie with Ivory 1 1/4 inch ribbon.
Wishing you a wonderful week creative friends, please do come visit us again tomorrow!
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First I would like to thank you for your support of our Anniversary Celebration Sale. We really appreciate your purchases and the girls are working quickly to get your orders out to you promtply, in hopes of having your items to you before the long Thanksgiving weekend!!!
Good things will be continuing to happen and we will be celebrating here shortly. Sadly I can only accomplish one thing at a time - LOL! Thank you for your patience as we fly through this week and head in to the fun ahead.
I am trying to work in overdrive to get the new Martha punches up on the site, as well as the items that continue to arrive to restock items that disappeared so rapidly. Keep checking back on the site if you had your eye on something that disappeared - hopefully it will arrive before the end of the day Friday. I will do my best to get those items up so that you can use our special discount code.
When we first received the medium weight Crystal Clear plastic I went in to testing mode. I immediately found out that I could cut the plastic with the open style Nestabilities, but hadn't tried it on the more intricate designs. I thought that it would probably just stretch the plastic. Well, yesterday we received a phonecall from a customer regarding the material and so I quickly ran in to my studio and cranked a snowflake through my Big Shot. Yippie, skippie - it was fabulous!
Following is the sandwich I used:
Cutting Sandwich
1. Multipurpose Platform - Tab 2 (use the entire platform)
2. Clear Acrylic mat
3. Tissue or copy paper
4. Medium Weight Crystal Clear Plastic
5. Spellbinders die, blade side downPaper or cardstock
6. Clear Acrylic mat
7. Roll through Big Shot
You will need to cut six pieces for the ornament shown below.
Today I will share two different ideas that I quickly put together today to show you how you can utilize these plastic snowflakes. We are expecting more of the Snowflakes in tomorrow, so please hang tight and check back throughout the day if you are looking for the snowflake design I used today.
Trying to photograph sparkly, clear objects is a tad challenging. I hope that you can see the beauty in this picture.
Being by reinking you glue pad. I always apply a fresh layer of glue, utilizing my teflon bone folder to spread the glue. Then ink your stamp. I elected to use this gorgeous medallion from the ornamental beauty set, but backgrounders and Scrapblocks would work extremely well!
You can view a picture of the plastic inked with glue below in the glitter section. Yes, the stamped snowflake is in on top of the silver leaf above. It was absolutely impossible to get a good picture, so you have to just trust me. This particular bunch of silver leaf has been used previously and so it is finer scale than what comes in the package. I always save the leftovers and put them back in a ziplock bag when I am finished using it. I placed a layer of silver leaf in my tray and set my snowflake, glue side down, on top of this mix making certain that all areas had silver leaf cover the adhesive.
Allow your snowflake to sit in this mixture until the glue has dried. It doesn't take that long, perhaps 15 minutes. I must admit that I cover my snowflakes and then walk away to do some work, so I'm not certain how long it takes to dry.
Then using an old bristle style brush gently burnish the surface. This is the snowflake before burnishing and...
after. To score these beauties be certain to work on the reverse side and follow the directions below. To complete the ornament you need three silver-leaf snowflakes and three plain plastic snowflakes. If you put two leafed snowflakes together you will lose the beauty of the stamped design.
This photo is to show you the snowflake "undressed", as you can see there are little plastic fibers around the edges. I just pull these off with my fingers. You will also find that the littlest of pieces sometimes remain intact. I use a good old-fashioned round toothpick to push these out.
Then using my bone folder as a ruler I use the smallest point on my stylus to score the snowflake. Using my teflon bone folder I then fold it in half, pressing it to make a nice, clean fold.
Using Glossy Accents, glue a clear snowflake and a silver-leafed snowflake together. Allow to dry. Then glue these three pieces together leaving one side open.
Insert the silver cord as shown above, string the chandelier crystals and bring the cord back up to the top side. Allow the ornament to dry completely before handling it. Check it for the next 5-10 minutes making certain that it is properly aligned firmly adhered all the way to the center.
Use the silver cord to tie your ornament to your tree.
Simple, old-fashioned elegance - what more could a girl want?!?
Well... perhaps glitter is more your style. Cut out your snowflake in the same manner and ink with the glue pad as shown above.
This is a view of the freshly glued/inked snowflake. I love the Martha glitter containers with the little "sprinkler tops." These tops are easily removed and the spout on the tidy tray fits perfectly back into the tops of these bottles.
Sprinkle the glitter over the surface and gently press the surface the snowflake to push the glitter in to the glue. Allow to dry for a few minutes.
Remove from the tray and then using a very soft make-up brush remove the excess glitter. This is the photo immediately after removing it from the tray.
Yet another beauty to add to my color-coordinated tree :) If you haven't had the opportunity to visit my blog simple dreams and see how the Fantasy Butterfly Ornaments were created - here is the link. If you are thinking about adding a personal touch to your tree, gifting a friend with an ornament or adding a unique touch to a gift package I hope that you enjoy the possibilities that the medium-weight Crystal Clear plastic affords!
stamps: Rummage Bin Ornamental Beauty
ink: Tsukineko Essential Glue Pad
accessories: Medium Weight Crystal Clear Plastic, Silver Leaf Flakes, Chandelier Crystals, Martha Stewart Essential Glitter, Glossy Accents
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Today's post utilizes Ellen's Medium Weight Crystal Clear Plastic and I've die-cut them using Nestabilities Labels Eight.
I began with Basic Grey's Nook and Pantry papers, and cut a few from Labels Eight. For the card inside, you deserve the best day ever sentiment is from Hero Arts. A beautiful, embroidered stitched brad will form the pivot for the swing card.
The largest die from Labels Eight was used to cut the Medium Crystal Clear Plastic. Cut two: a front and a back for the card. The brown Nook & Pantry paper is the next label size down, and the two blue-green and white layers are the third label size down.
Distress Vintage Photo ink and an ink blending tool were used to lightly ink and age the edges of the Nook & Pantry patterned paper.
Both Vintage Photo and Antique Linen were used to age white cardstock to an authentic aged hue. This is achieved nicely and easily using the ink blending tool.
Sentiment layer was aged with both Distress inks, and mounted over more Nook & Pantry paper to form the back of the card.
The second blue-green layer is used on the inside of the top layer, to conceal the adhesive from adhering the top clear layer. (I did this on the card back as well with another layer not shown, just to keep it all neat in appearance.)
The ever-versatile Happy Birthday sentiment is from Memory Box, as are the lovely Daffodil pearls. Tamera lace was machine-stitched onto the aged white label prior to adhering it to the clear card front.
Thank you for stopping by the CLASSroom today!
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This "beauty" has been saved on my laptop in my "Blog Post pictures to be edited" category for over a month now. I think it is absolutely ironic that Sharon used the exact same Webster's pages paper in her post yesterday. Perhaps it's because this collection is so strikingly beautiful and so easy to use in so many different ways. I am thrilled to tell you that we will be adding the new 6x6 pads of this luscious paper manufacturer to our collection. I can hardly wait!
I always have so many different things I would like to try and then share with you once I know for certain that it will work. This "experiment" was to test a couple of different things. First I wanted to play with Various Ink Refills. For those who are unfamiliar with this product they are the alcohol inks we use to refill Copic markers. There are so many fun uses for them other than filling markers, but it seems to take me much longer than I would like to share all these little details. Today I finally have this opportunity.
Secondly I absolutely love the beautiful pearlized mists that can be created with Perfect Pearls, Distress Reinkers and water. I have been wondering how they would work with the Craft-a-Board. I am tickled with the results!!! WAY COOL! (at least I think so - LOL!)
I must admit that I can't stop gazing at this particular creation when I walk past it at work. This technique is begging me to explore it further.
To begin I removed one side from the wonderful plastic we carry. This plastic is fabulous for making your own embellishments, focal points and scrapbook pages. The larger size is begging me to create a wipe-off calender. Is anyone up for that challenge? I want to do this so badly, but there just doesn't seem to be enought time in the day!!! Is anyone out there up for that challenge?
I prefer to use Palette Noir for stamping on plastics. You will need to allow this to dry for some time before proceeding to cut out your image. When doing a project like this I will stamp my image (Shady Tree, Large Bloom) well in advance and just walk away from it, coming back to it later that day or the next day. So plan this project with a little lead time in mind. I then use my little snips to cut out my image. I have shared the image above to give you an idea as to how to cut out intricate shapes.
When cutting out designs that are "tight" as is the area between the bloom and the foilage you can see above that I cut the long lengths in to the fine point first. This allows for some flexibility in the material and makes it easier to bend it so that you can get precise cuts. This plastic is a little too thick to use the Fiskars cutting blade or retractable blade on, but the scissors work great!
Once complete you will want to remove the backing from the other side as well. I leave it in place during cutting to minize getting finger prints all over the surface. When cutting I also prefer to hold my project by the edges for the same reason. Finger prints are no fun to remove - LOL! Now you can more easily see the colors that you will be applying.
I then place drops of Various ink on the corners of my felt pad. I find that I have more control over where the ink goes when I work from my corners only. As you can better see in the photograph below I used a couple of different shades of blues.
When applying alcohol ink to your clear stamped project be certain to ink your design on the opposite side of your stamped image. Alcohol ink will "eat away" your stamped image when stamped on plastic if applied directly to this image no matter what ink you use. If any of you have an ink that you have used on plastic and then applied alcohol ink to without this happening I would love to learn more about it!
I am sharing the above photo for a couple of reasons. This was my first attempt at applying the alcohol ink. As you can see when comparing the above photo with the one directly below the color is more "puddled" above. When touching the alcohol ink pad back on a surface that is already covered with alcohol ink you will "push" the first layer of alcohol ink to different locations. Sometimes this is exactly the look you are going for, but in this case I wanted a really deep, smoother color in the center.
The wonderful thing about alcohol ink is that it is forgiving! Simply take a paper towel and apply a small amount (note I said small!) of Colorless Blender Fluid to dampen one corner. Simply wipe your project clean and you can start from square one once again.
This is much more the effect I was going for! It reminds me of the Morning Glory Pool in Yellowstone National Park.
To get this smooth, clean effect quickly apply the ink around your flower, working quickly so as to not let it dry before you apply the next impression.
If you happen to extend your blue on to the area that is supposed to be green, use your Colorless Blender marker to precisely remove the color. This is how I was able to remove the blue from the flower centers!
Two create your own custom frames use the square and label nestabilities together. I use a magnetic sheet to assist in keeping my dies perfectly aligned. Cut out your Craft-a-Board as shown below.
It was six years ago that I first discovered a beautiful watery mists at a stamping convention where I learned of a product called Glitz Spritz. Glitz Spritz needed to be mixed with a hairspray solution. We then started creating our own with Pearl Ex and hairspray mixtures. When I was exposed to Tim Holtz's beautiful "concoctions" I was totally hooked. The fact that Perfect Pearl mixtures do not need hairspray is huge! Hairspray would clog the mister and make me crazy - now I can make any color mixture and combination that strikes me and for much less $$$ then purchasing Tattered Angels Mist in numerous colors. The flexibility of being albe to create my own color combinations is awesome! So today I also share how these custom mixes work to alter the color of Craft-a-board.
As you can see I selected two complimenting colors - turquoise Perfect Pearls with Shabby Shutters Re-Inker.
The little "tea" spoons from my girls' old tea sets have become so useful in my crafting - LOL! They are the perfect size for measuring Perfect Pearls and adding them to a Mini Mister. Next insert an entire dropper full (not one drop, but the entire dropper) of Re-inker in to the Mini Mister. Fill up the remainder of the bottle with water, leaving about a half inch at the top of the bottle so that you will have room to shake up the mixture. Now put on some good music and do a little shaking (or perhaps a lot of shaking - insert grin). Each time you use this mixture you will need to give it a good shaking.
As you can see I placed my project on top of a paper towel, on top of my non-stick craft sheet.
Complete the project with a little lace, some gorgeous jewels, stickles, punched edge, piercing and a little more stamping (Aged Sheet Music) on the Lagoon base card.
I would like to encourage you to start putting those Various Ink Refills to more use than just filling your markers. They are SO much fun to play with!!!
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There is such a simple elegance about toile, so I decided to create a card that speaks volumes without adding a sentiment.
Supplies:
Arturo Cards Single, Soft White
Basic Grey Buttons, Urban Prairie
Crystal Clear Plastic, 8" x 8" sheets
Studio Acrylic Paint, Sable Brown
Basic Grey 6x6 Patterned Paper Pad, Sultry
other:
twine and lace
start by stamping the toile pattern onto a clear sheet with brown paint. Once dry, cut it down to approx. 3 x 4 1/4. Cut the Arturo card to be 4 1/4 tall and cut off the front of the card, leaving 1/2 from the left side.
Distress all edges
when you add the 2 papers together, it adds a lot of dimension and character.
add a strip of adhesive down the inside of the card and press clear sheet onto it.
and then cover with colored paper to conceal the adhesive. You can choose to write in this ares if you don't want your message seen from the front of the card. You can also write your message on the back of the card
choose lace that is the same width as the left paper strip and use fabric adhesive or your favorite liquid glue
Embellish with a flower accent in the lower left corner.
Thank you so much for stopping by. :)
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Katrina piped up the other day with, "I wish it would snow!" Oh dear I thought, not yet!!! Snow is so magical when it comes down here in Seattle, but it is definitely WAY too early! Today I thought I would share a project that might translate into a fun scrapbook page, mini booklet, or just some wall art for the upcoming holiday season.
There is something about a see-through project or layout that is so very intriguing. This project has been in my head ever since I laid eyes on the Joyeux Noel (Christmas Snowflakes) stamp set and the Crystal Clear Plastic. I love this picture of my girls headed down the hill on their sled. It is rare that it snows here in the Seattle area, but when it does, the sled gets pulled out instantly. Maddi has always been such a great big sister, bringing Trina along for the ride.
Then I found the Hero Arts Felt Snowflakes - what a wonderful textured combination these make - the felt frame, Snowflake Gemstones and clear smooth plastic!
To create my frame I used the new Labels 1 set. I am still crossing my fingers and toes that we will have them at the end of October. I know it is frustrating for you to see us using these, but I just had to, I couldn't control myself. In the meantime you could use your square dies to make a similar look to this. I use my magnetic placement mat when I am trying to make certain that the spacing on my dies won't shift. My Wizard sandwich is as follows:
Unfortunately my felt was just a little too thick for the footprint of this die and so I needed to finish the last snips through the felt with a pair of scissors. This final cut is always so much easier than trying to trace and then cut out felt. I always end up with odd shapes when I cut felt by hand.
To stamp on the Clear Plastic my white ink preference is the Palette, New Canvas. It is critical that you allow your project time to dry overnight. Otherwise you will end up smearing ink everywhere. I then flipped my project over so that the stamped surface would be on the back and added some Snowflake Gems and Clear Gemstones to the front. Finally I added a couple of Felt Snowflakes to the "frame". If I could do it all over again I would add a running stitch by hand around the inside of the felt frame, just to give it a little more definition. Next time I guess Ü
Thank you for stopping by today - I hope this gives you another idea as to how to use stamps on the Crystal Clear Plastic.
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