the CLASSroom

12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist 2014 - Day 3 by Kittie Caracciolo

Good Wednesday morning and welcome to the 3rd day of 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist. Christmas is my favorite crafting holiday and making a tag for this special annual event is something I look forward to. I had fun creating a tag with a see thru window adorned with a decorative holiday spray made with a poinsettia and holly.

I covered a #8 Manila tag with a piece of designer paper from the Graphic 45 Twas the Night Before Christmas and scored Neenah Heavyweight white cardstock attached with ATG adhesive.  I trimmed the corners and punched a hole with a 1/4”  circle punch. I wanted the window to appear to be on a wallpapered wall with wainscoting.

I love the arched window in the Impression Obsession Door and Window set. I cut two sets of doors and windows to use on the front and back of the window opening.  The door and window comes in two pieces so I attached them together with 1/4” double stick tape. 

Using the window as a template I drew lines on the inside of the window to use as a guide for cutting the opening.

Using my craft knife I cut 1/8” of an inch all the way around outside of the drawn lines to create the opening for the window.

I wanted the window on the front of the tag to be popped up slightly for dimension.  I applied thin strips of mounting tape all the way around and attached it over the opening.

I applied double stick tape around the edge of the second window and attached it over the opening on the back side of the tag.

Applying a window to the back covers the rough cut edges for a neat finish.

The Tattered Lace Christmas Florals set is so lovely. I love making projects with poinsettias and this set had just the perfect size for my tag. I used a stylus and molding pad from the Sizzix Accessory Tool Kit to form the petals.  The layers were placed face down on the pad and pushed down lightly to turn them up.

Next the layers were placed face up and pushed in at the center with the smaller stylus to arch the petals.

I layered the flower sections together attaching with glossy accents and holding each section in place with my leaf tool for a few seconds to make sure they are secure. 

I cut two sections of Holly Flourish and punched out several 1/8” circles to use for berries.  I attached them on the leaves all around the flourish with glossy accents.

I placed the holly flourish on my molding pad and added a little dimension by pushing down on each leaf with the small stylus.

I cut the the holly sections in half to use for my design. I applied glossy accents to the bottom of each piece and attached to the window frame, holding in place with the leaf tool to secure.

I love the large holly leaves in the Christmas Florals set. I lightly curled them with my fingers and attached them to the window with glossy accents to create a firm base for the poinsettia.

The poinsettia was attached with a generous amount of glossy accents.  Not only do I hold it in place at the center but I also put the pick in under the leaves in a few places and push down to make sure the flower is secure. 

I attached another large holly leaf and a few Fir Sprigs to fill in and soften the arrangement.

I created a smaller floral spray at the top of the tag using more holly and some evergreen from the Pine Pair and attached with glossy accents. 

I attached a red multi loop bow to the top of the tag with glue dots for a festive finishing touch.

Thank you so much for joining me in the CLASSroom for my 12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist holiday window tag. 

Inkssentials Surfaces, Manila Tag #8	Graphic 45 Twas the Night Before Christmas, 8x8 Paper Pad	A Cardstock, Neenah Heavyweight, Classic Crest Solar White 110 lb, 25 pk	Bazzill Card Shoppe Cardstock, Caramel Apple, 10 pk
Bazzill Card Shoppe Cardstock, Peppermint, 10 pk	Martha Stewart Scoring Board	ATG Kit, Advanced Tape Glider	Nesting Paper Punch, Circle 1/4"
Impression Obsession Dies, Door/Window	Be Creative Tape, 5mm (1/4")	Comfort Craft Craft Knife by Ingvild Bolme	Scotch Double-Sided Foam Mounting Tape
Tattered Lace Dies, Christmas Florals	Sizzix Accessory, Tool Kit inspired by Susan Tierney-Cockburn	Impression Obsession Dies, Holly Flourish	Nesting Paper Punch, Circle 1/8"
Impression Obsession Dies, Fir Sprig Set	Impression Obsession Dies, Pine Pair	Sizzix Big Shot Machine, Powder Blue & Teal	Sizzix Accessory, Magnetic Platform for Wafer-Thin Dies
Non-stick Micro Serrated Scissors	Accents, Glossy

InLinkz.com

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Please help us thank Kittie for this spectacular, floral beauty by leaving your appreciation below in the comments section. To thank you for taking your time to do so you will be eligible for the random drawing of the $25 gift certificate to our store www.ellenhutson.com. Leave your comment before noon on December 13th to be included (one comment per person please.) We look forwards to your return tomorrow and hope you are enjoying this years beautiful tags!

Easter Window Card by Julia Stainton

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!

Supplies:

 

InLinkz.com

The Journey with Susan Tierney Cockburn

 

Life is a Journey and like Dorothy, I am thankful for the friends, I’ve met along the way, who have taken this journey with me.  This concept is key when I was inspired by Eileen Hull’s “suitcase” die cut by Ellison/Sizzix and, like Dorothy and the friends she met along her way, I’ve found my way back home thanks to my friends. These last eighteen months, after losing our daughter Kelly to breast cancer, it’s been my friends who have given me support, helped me find love in my heart again, and shown me courage to help me continue on my journey.

One of my dearest friends, Ellen Hutson, who I’ve come to lean on considerably, has even designed a ruby slipper to complete this profound project of mine.  I’m in awe of every one of her shoe creations, but I have to say, this ruby slipper is the best ever!  It became the perfect “vessel” to show off my red poppies--the ones that put Dorothy and her companions to sleep and the symbol of my state of mind after such a great loss.

Lastly, I have to mention Graphic 45’s “Magic of Oz” paper that finishes the project.  The gingham design for Dorothy’s suitcase is a perfect match and the “cards of the characters” gives the box a familiar look to enhance the story.  However, it’s not just a story I’ve watched on television as a child based on the book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, but a greater meaning I’ve discovered watching it as an adult.

These little suitcases can hold the most wonderful “treasures”!  And, just like my mother, I love chocolate, and always have a stash when I need some!

The Scarecrow’s Suitcase--he thinks he lacks a brain, but his common sense helps guide this unusual group and develop a plan to save Dorothy in their quest to reach the Wizard so she can return home to Auntie Em and Uncle Henry in Kansas.

The Cowardly Lion--a sweet character, afraid of his own shadow until his friends need him.  He has the courage to help Dorothy in her most perilous situations.

The Tin Man--probably my favorite, who longs for a heart from the Wizard.  However, he has the biggest heart of all and puts his friends first when they need him. I felt as if a piece of my heart was gone when Kelly died and relate to the Tin Man seeking one.  My friends have put warmth back into my heart as I continue on my journey.

I hope you all think about the friends in your life that you take with you on Life’s Journey when you look at this project--I know I do and feel so blessed by their presence.

Ruby Slipper Downloadable Template with PDF Instructions - coming soon!

Eileen Hull’s Suitcase die cut by Ellison

Ranger: Foil Tape Sheet

Distress Ink: Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain

Cherry Veneer Paper

Craft-a-board by Ellen Hutson

Crinoline fabric (about 1/8 yd), Raffia, Sculpy Clay, Viva Pearl Pen/Black, Masonite box, Montana Gold Acrylic Paint/7090 Coke, Brads - Copper, Silver, Bronze, Red

Graphic 45 - “The Magic of Oz” Yellow Brick Road and Journey to Oz

Flower Soft - Shamrock Green and Ultra Fine Black 

Crafter’s Pick “The Ultimate” glue

Copic Markers - R14, R29, 100

Poppy:  Punches - Punch Bunch: Medium Begonia Petals, Small Alpine Snowflake, Small Sun, Small Grape Leaf

Neenah Solar White Cardstock, Green & Black cardstock

Very Vintage Christmas by Julia Stainton

I'm not sure if it is all the new and fabulous Christmas product in the Ellen Hutson LLC store or whether is was Julie Ebersole's stunning Holiday card found here on the CLASSroom earlier this week, but I've been so inspired to create for Christmas! If you're feeling the same way, why not join me today for a tutorial on creating some sweet and vintage Christmas ornaments. If you're not quite there yet, that's OK, file the idea away for closer to the holidays.

One of my very favorite styles to design in is vintage. For me, vintage and Christmas just go hand in hand. I love creating holiday cards but I really thought it would be fun to create some vintage-style Christmas tree balls that I could pull out and use each year.

First I started off with a clear glass ball I picked up in my travels. If you have small children in the house, you can even do these with plastic or paper mache balls and get the very same look...just a little more child-friendly. Can you tell I've had more than my share of children who LOVE redecorating the tree? It's not always pretty.

The Claudine Hellmuth Studio Gloss Multi-Medium is an all-round great product. It's perfect for decoupage and adhering things as well as so many other uses.I've just brushed it onto the glass ornament and then laid on torn pieces of tissue paper and then smoothed it out with more Multi-Medium and my paint brush. To easily hold onto the ball but keep my hands clean, I just placed my finger down the neck of the ball.

Once it's all smooth and well-adhered, I applied another generous layer of Multi-Medium and then sprinkled it with some Krystallos Vintage Glass Glitter. It's absolutely stunning looking glitter! Allow to dry before moving the glass ball.

One thing you may want to notice is the Non-Stick Craft Sheet I am working on. It's perfect for messy projects using liquids such as glue, paint or mists. It just wipes clean and totally protects my work surface.

The ornaments are simply beautiful on their own but it's always fun to add a sweet tag. It makes it easy to give these away as a gift. I've created my own little tags using the Sizzix Tiny Tabs and Tags die. I always love cutting a bunch of these from different cardstocks while I have my die out and storing these sweet tags to have on hand. It's so much easier and quicker that way.

Each tag was inked and then embellished. I've tied on some silk ribbon and some beautiful Maya Road Dangling Chandelier Beads.

On the other ornament tag, I decided to stamp some beautiful Christmas images from the Graphic 45 Christmas Emporium Stamp Set 3.

And here's a final closeup. Anyone in the mood for some Christmas crafting?

Thanks so much for joining me today in the CLASSroom! Have a wonderful weekend!

 

Supplies: glass Christmas ornaments, Paris Collage Tissue paper by 7 Gypsies, Claudine Hellmuth Gloss Multi-Medium, Claudine Hellmuth Studio Artist Brushes, Krystallos Vintage Glass Glitter, 1/4" white silk ribbon, Tiny Tabs & Tags Die by Sizzix, Non-Stick Craft Sheet by Ranger, Dangling Chandelier Trinket Beads by Maya Road, Wood Vintage Snowflakes by Maya Road, twine, Jet Black Archival Ink by Ranger, Christmas Emporium Stamp Set 3 by Graphic 45, Vermillion Archival Ink by Ranger, Snowcap White Pigment Ink by Ranger

WCMD 2011 - Holiday Card Challenge by Ellen Hutson (EHWCMD2)

Welcome! We are now on to challenge #2 and we are going to get you working on your holiday cards!

What could be more fun then combining a current trend with a holiday card? Ombre is everywhere - fashion, home decor and most definitely paper crafting! So for today's card I wanted to share how to create a very sparkly ombre look.

 

I am loving the Memory Box dies and used three separate dies for this project - the Classic Ornament, Crisp Bows and Bitty Scallops. Doesn't this Crisp Bow make THE perfect ornament hanger when turned upside down? (I am going to let you in on a little secret - we have another brand new release arriving soon and you are going to LOVE what is in store --- yes, I have to tease just a little. I wish I could share the details, but I'm sworn to secrecy. Watch Facebook for updates in the next couple of weeks! :-D)

 

To begin I adhered some Be Creative Tape to a piece of Natural White cardstock and then diecut the ornament in the Vagabond.

Remove the backing and apply glitter to one half of the sticky shape. Carefully pick it up and gently shake the glittered surface to disperse the glitter unevenly into the center section. Then dump the remaining glitter off the surface avoiding the lower half of the ornament. Burnish only the top 1/3 of the ornament with your finger to embed the glitter into the sticky surface, leaving the center section untouched.

Leaving this center section alone will allow the second color of glitter to join in with this first color for a perfect ombre look. 

 

Add the second glitter color on the lower half and shake the ornament ever so slightly to allow the red glitter to mix with the center section. Again dump the excess glitter off the lower edge of the ornament to avoid getting red glitter on the top 1/3 of the ornament.

Your project should look similar to the photo above. Now burnish (burnishing means to rub the glittery surface with your finger --- by rubbing the surface with your finger you will embed the glitter in to the adhesive and achieve a beautiful, velvet like surface) the entire ornament surface. I went back over the surface several times with my finger to make certain the glitter was firmly embedded in the adhesive before proceeding with the next step. I did not want any stickiness to be left for the gold leaf to affix to. 

 
Adding dimension to this glittery surface is easy when using Design Adhesives. I like to cut the individual shapes out of the adhesive strip before applying to make it easier to keep my designs separated.

Remove the backing from the adhesive element and position. Place the backing behind the ornament and then press the adhesive firmly against the glitter surface and rub in to place using your finger.

 

Trim away excess adhesive and remove the backing to leave adhesive exposed.

Apply gold leaf flakes to all the exposed Design Adhesive elements and press the gold leaf flakes firmly into the adhesive using your finger.

The easiest method of removing the excess gold leaf from your project is to use an inexpensive bristle brush as shown above. Swirl the brush over the surface of your ornament and the bristles will remove the excess gold leaf and at the same time burnish the gold leaf into the adhesive. There is nothing that looks as elegant and expensive as gold leaf!

TIP: Collect excess gold leaf in a tupperware container and save for use next time! It is incredible how long this product will last if you save your bits and reuse!

 

Can you imagine this glitter ombre technique as a sky behind a manger scene, beautiful evergreen trees, Christmas bells... the list goes on and on, and on!

So now it's your turn - head into your craft room and pull out your holiday season celebration stamps and papers. Create a card or project for Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and/or any celebration your family recognizes during the holiday season! Join in the fun!!!
 
stamps: Hero Arts Music Collage

ink: Adirondack Meadow Dye Ink, Antique Linen Distress Ink

paper: Neenah Classic Crest Natural White, Graphic 45 Christmas Emporium 8x8 Paper Pad, Memory Box Crimson Notecard

accessories: Glitter Ritz - Apple Red & Kiwi Green, Be Creative Tape, Fancy Frames Design Adhesive, Gold Leaf Flakes, Memory Box Dies - Classic Ornament, Crisp Bows, and Bitty Scallop, Pearls

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HOLIDAY CARD CHALLENGE

We hope that this challenge helps give you a jump start on your holiday cards :-D Create a card to use this upcoming holiday season!

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 your favorite current trend and do you see it reflected in the paper crafting world? 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 Sunday, October 2nd to be eligible.

Making Jewelry From Graphic 45 Metal Staples by Becky Olsen

The other day I was working on a project using the Metal Tag Staples by Graphic 45 and had layed them down on my studion table a certain way that caught my eye. What would they look like if they were used as pieces in a necklace, and how could I make that happen? So I got out a few more of the Metal Staple pieces and started playing and arranging until I came up with a configuration that I found visually appealling and that could also be easily done.

I started by rolling the edges of the Metal Flower Staples to make a rose that I could use as the center of the piece. It took three of the large flowers to make this beautiful flower.

Next I got out some of the Metal Hinge Staples and attached Jump Rings that were from the Tim Holtz Idea-o-logy collection then got sections of the Vintage Groove Antique Brass Chain laid out as well.

This is what it looked like after I got the pieces organized.

The metal is pretty heavy and also has some edges that could be uncomfortable, and I also needed a way for the piece to be held together that was reasonably flexible and where the flower could be attached. This led me to create a bib style platform using some Dimensions Spruce colored felt.

To get the shape of the bib I laid out the tags and flower on the felt, removed the flower and traced around the felt with a permanent marker. I then trimmed the shape out of the felt and adhered the metal pieces to the felt using E6000. I think that Fabri-Tac would also work, as that is my go to fabric adhesive, but I have run out and need to re-order. The flower was adhered directly to the felt as well, and I was very generous when I applied the adhesive. It did bleed through the felt, and when it was in the last stages of drying I applied another thin layer and added a very small piece of scrap felt to cover that spot to provide more comfort when I wear it.

This is what the finished piece looks like on the table. As you can see, I shortened up all the chain pieces to make it a length that let it hang better.

Okay, no laughing! I am sans make-up and a the bags and circles under my eyes tell the tale that I might not have been getting adequate sleep of late. The real story  is how unique and fun this piece is, and I think it could work with many different looks because of the neutral antique brass color.

The real test was what the daughters would think. They have a no holds barred approach when it comes to giving me their opinions. They really liked how it looked finished (concerns had been expressed in abundance when the pieces were on the desk) and were very complimentary on how it hung and liked the scale of it as well. 

I personally think that it is fabulous, and am pretty proud of myself for seeing something different in products that I really love! So I am going to put a little challenge out there to all of you crafty fashionistas, create something that is unexpected from your stash. If you feel like leaving a link, I would love to see where you take this challenge and will come by and take a look-see :o)

Happy Crafting!

B-

Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutante Shadowbox by Becky Olsen

Steampunk is an intriguing trend that continues to grow, it brings together hard metal and soft vintage with whimsy and elegance. No paper line embodies those elements like Steampunk Debutante by Graphic 45.

I had been wanting to make a shadowbox using this line for quite a while, and finally took a few minutes this weekend to make a little Mother's Day gift for myself  :o)

The base piece I used was an inexpensive shadowbox frame that I bought at IKEA. But most any other frame of this type would be just as effective.

The back layer was made by fussy cutting out a few different layers from the gorgeous papers in the 8" x 8" Steampunk Debutante paper pad.

I added some Game Spinners to a Sprocket Gear for this piece. I scored the bottom 1/4" of the edge, applied some 714 Scotch ATG adhesive and placed it very close to the front of the glass of the box.

The gears were fussy cut out and a few Sprocket Gears, Foliage and Washers were used to create that mechanical look. Again I scored the edge and applied the adhesive and attached it to the left edge on the side of the box about 1/3" away from the edge.

To soften all of the metal additions, I fussy cut some butterflies to sprinkle randomly around the inside and outside of the frame and some flowers to soften the frame.

By layering all of these elements and using the interior of the shadowbox to build dimension I ended up with a project that I just love and can still have more little pieces added to if I felt so inclined, or make a few different variation of to display as a fun art cluster.

Playing with different looks and trends is adventurous. I had a great time making myself a little treat and learned some fun new tricks along the way.  Maybe this will inspire you to try something new or adventurous in your crafting.

B-

Once Upon a Springtime Treat Wrapper by Becky Olsen

I am so ready for Spring, and with snow falling on my hyacinth and daffodils it seems that a Springtime made from paper might be all I have for a few more weeks. I love decorating for this season with brighter colors and the Once Upon a Springtime line from Graphic 45 delivers loads of inspiration with gorgeous images and fresh colors. With this delightful inspiration in hand I thought it would be fun to create treat wrappers that could be used as place cards for a more formal event or made in many different sizes that could be hidden about when it is time to hunt for the goodies that a certain celebrity bunny might have left lying around the yard. (hopefully not covered in snow!)

To begin cut a piece of Melissa Frances Cream Crepe Paper at 10" x 5" and placed a piece of 1/4" double sided Be Creative tape along the center of one edge that is about 2" from each of the ends.

Remove the protective backing from the tape and and carefully adhere to the other end forming a tube. I tied it with some simple garden twine, but it would be stunning with most any of the gorgeous May Arts silk ribbons, or you could use the white silk ribbon and use Copic Marker refill ink to die a unique color.Trim the ends of the crepe paper to have a little fringe if you like.

Now that the end is tied up you can fill with most any kind of treat or surprise that suits your whim. Tie up the other end and then trim.

Now is the fun part, decorating the outside of the wrap! I cut a piece of Primrose Cottage at 4" x 5" and adhered it around with another piece of the 1/4" Be Creative double sided tape. I then cut a piece of Tiny Treasures at 2" x 5" and adhered it the same way. A piece of Neenah Classic Cream card stock was stamped with the images from the Hampton Art Once Upon a Springtime Cling set 2. First the postage in Antique Linen and then the sweet rabbit in Walnut Stain Distress ink.

The rabbit was then colored with a few various Copic colors and then adhered to the top of the wrap. Fussy cut a few of the flowers out from the sheet of Primrose Cottage, adhere and then share a little Springtime with everyone who could use a little too.

B-

"Gotcha Day" Cake

There is no day more special in one's life than when a child is welcomed in to a family. The love that children provide and bring to our lives is magical. These little blessings come in so many ways! A wonderful ritual that family's who bring their special little people and babies in to their lives through adoption, is to celebrate that extraordinary arrival day. Filling that special family day with hugs, love and fun can be so wonderful.

I am so very honored and blessed to have a very dear friend who brings such joy and happiness to those she knows. Susan Tierney Cockburn  created this exceptional treasure for a special little girl who brings so much joy to her life, and I have had the honor of taking a picture of this treasure and sharing it with you.

 

I love absolutely EVERY detail of this beautiful, celebratory cake - the magic of the little girl and the frog sitting amongst the flowers atop this cake, the date, the springtime papers...

You can see the love that Susan shares as she creates these pieces and I want to assure you that you CAN create these beautiful flowers as well! The directions that Susan has shared in the books she has authored (Paper Garden and Paper Bouquet) are precise and easy to follow. We are currently working to put together a more informative website as we acquire the different punches and tools that Susan has been instrumental in designing for this craft.

Susan's Garden started many years ago in the dead of winter, I cannot tell you how much these beautiful blooms cheer me as the gray winter passes. Paper flowers were brought to life by one of the kindest and most honorable women I know. Keep checking back to our store as we continue to put together pictures and a plan that makes it easier for you to recreate these magical blooms and spread the magic Susan creates with others.

 
Paper: Graphic 45 Once Upon a Springtime

Accessories: Punch Bunch punches, Tim Holtz Upon A Time Die, Sizzix Scoreboards Cakebox Die or Essentials by Ellen: Precuts Cakebox

UTEE and Perfect Pearls On Graphic 45 Metal Flower

This time of year is so exciting, all of the new products that are showing up in the store, and all of the wonderful inspiration is so much fun! Ellen does such a fantastic job of scouring the tradeshow for products that we are all sure to adore, and also elevate our artistic experiences. I am so grateful for that, it gives me the opportunity to stretch my imagination and to hopefully find ways that inspire others to get excited about playing as well. The new Staples line (scroll to the bottom of the page to find these) from Graphic 45 is one of those that gets my mind snapping and crackling with ideas! And I am thrilled to be sharing one of these ideas today!

The Le Cirque paper collection (available in both 12x12 and 8x8) is what the card is made from. I fussy cut a few of the beautiful flowers out and adhered them to the card, some were attached with dimensional foam adhesive.

To create the flower, start with the large metal flower and one of the metal buttons.

Some UTEE, Embossing ink, Perfect Pearls, Heat it tool and a Perfect Medium pen are a few of the other things you need to make this project. Also, be sure to work on a heat safe surface like a Ranger Non-Stick craft sheet.

Begin by pressing one side of the flower into the top of the embossing ink pad and flip it onto the heat safe mat and sprinkle some UTEE onto it covering the top. Using a puffy brush load the tip lightly with Perfect Pearls and then lightly tap the brush against your finger to sprinkle over the flower. Carefully slide the flower to a clean part of the mat and then heat with the Heat It tool until the UTEE melts.

The UTEE suspends the shimmering Perfect Pearls in a gorgeous and slippery looking finish. I wish that you could see the play of the blue in real life, it is really stunning. But of course if you try this, you can see for yourself and have that wonderful "aha!" moment.

To create a similar finish on the button, take one off of the card, and splay the closure like you would if you had used it in something. This makes it so it can balance on its own while you heat it, you cannot hold it while melting the UTEE. After you have the button ready, use the Perfect Medium Pen to "color" any areas that you want to have the UTEE/Perfect Pearl finish. Then use the puffy brush to tap the UTEE mixed with some of the Perfect Pearls onto the areas that you used the pen on and then set it down on the heat safe surface and melt with the Heat It tool.

Use the finished pieces as a gorgeous embellishment for a card, scrapbook page, home decor project or a stunning piece of jewelry.

Thanks for spending some time with me in the CLASSroom, I hope that you have found some fun inspiration in what I have shared today.

B-

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,

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

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

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

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

Following are a list of techniques to select from:

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

 

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

ink: Distress Ink - Tea Dye and Walnut Stain

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

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

12 Tags of Christmas with a Feminine Twist - Tag 3

This morning after I absorbed Tim's tags AND videos I had one of those "duh" moments - LOL! Tissue tape is made of tissue - goodness, gracious I can be blonde sometimes. I had discovered on my own that it tore easily, was easily repositioned once placed, and could be used to cover some pretty odd shapes, such as the large clothespin we carry. I also found out that it had a waxy like coating and that the best way to color it was with alcohol ink, using either an alcohol ink felt applicator or my airbrush system. I didn't realize that Distress Inks would adhere once heat set, so that was a great educational tip. I have also discovered that paint will adhere as well and have aged it using my dabbers. I have a beautiful project that I made in the beginning of October but I just haven't had the time to post it - yikes!

I loved the challenges Tim provided today - using tissue tape to create a flower and collage a background. I could have selected a different die, but I LOVE this little bird. What is it with birds? I am SO very afraid to be contained in a closed environment with them, but I put them on absolutely everything :-D

Tip #1 - When working with the tissue tape, do not let it go back on itself as you work on your project. Why you may ask? Simple... if you are of the age that reading glasses are necessary - it takes FOREVER to find the end again -LOL! Handy tip I'm sure - ha! ha!

Randomly apply your tissue tape to either cardstock, grungeboard or as I did, Craft-a-Board. Again, if you haven't tried Craft-a-Board I encourage you to do so. It is SO affordable and you will be amazed at what you can do with it!!!

As you all know I love my Copics and so I have not invested in yet another set of Alcohol Inks. One of the most popular things you wanted to learn about was how to use Alcohol Inks. I want to share that any method you use for your Copic Alcohol Various Ink Refills can be applied to the Ranger Alcohol Inks. I will continue to try and share information regarding how to use Various ink in other ways once these tags are complete. I would also like to encourage you to try the "search mechanism" in the top right hand corner of our blog. Simply type in the words "Various Ink" and many articles will show up in which Various inks have been talked about.

As you can see I have added the alcohol ink to my applicator in a different way than what is typical. The reason for first dripping it on my non-stick craft sheet was to allow the two colors to mix somewhat before I applied them to the felt. The purple tones in the Copic colors are pretty true in value, or in other words very bright. I wanted the purple that I was using to coordinate with the Graphic 45 christmas papers. By mixing the V17 together with W4 I was able to gray down my color and have it coordinate beautifully.

Don't be afraid to mix colors! If you are afraid of ruining your project apply your applicator to a piece of scrap paper before setting it to your final project.

Dab and swirl, dab and swirl until the entire surface is covered. Then run this piece through your Big Shot using the Caged Bird die. The finished size of the piece above is approx 2 3/4" x 5 3/4". This allows me to cut my bird out with very little waste.

Tim sparkled his birdie up using Rock Candy Stickles. I love the Stickles, but felt that I should try something else to see what would work. My first attempt was to attach Be Creative Tape to the surface before cutting out my bird. That was a bit of an experiment - LOL! Be Creative tape (otherwise known as Sookwang tape) is VERY sticky! When I went to remove the top coat I literally pulled up all the tissue tape leaving my Craft-a-Board bare. Another duh moment because I already knew that tissue tape is easy to remove once applied. So on to experiment #2.

As you will see experiment #2 was successful :-D Covering the bird and wing with a thin coat of Matte Multi-Medium and then...

covering the surface with Ultrafine Warm Highlights created a magical effect! The beautiful thing about the Transparent Highlights is that you can see the imaging from below. The warm golden, sparkly surface is mesmerizing.

I dumped off the excess and then used my finger to gently rub the surface to help the glitter adhere, as well as "sand" off excess to create an absolutely stunning little creature.

I then coated just the tip of the wing with Matte Multi-Medium again and dipped it in the gorgeous Melissa Frances Vintage Shards.

Capturing the beauty in a photograph is nigh to impossible and so I hope that you can get just a hint of what it looks like in real life.

Now on to my tissue tape flower. Tim did a wonderful job explaining the process in his video. I began with a 5/8" circle punch because I wanted a rather petite flower.

The only problem I had was trying to adhere my tissue tape to my cardstock dot without it coming back up again. Being solution driven I ended up plastering the surface with glue dots. It worked GREAT!

As you can see I went around a little over two times. I then followed Tim's lead and lifted the center piece up just a little to lay down some hot glue. Yes, my trusty old hot glue gun is being utilized more than usual with some of these new products. I highly recommend the glue gun to secure your rosettes (created using Tim's fab new rosette die) as well.

To bring my flower into balance with the remainder of the tag I edged it using alcohol ink.

I next rolled it on the Embossing Ink pad and then in Tarnished Gold embossing powder (LOVE this stuff!)

Just a little more sparkle to balance out my birds wing! Once again I used Matte Multi-Medium randomly applied with a paint brush and topped the flower with a sparkly Webster's button.

A little more sparkly Webster's ribbon was position beneath the button, a gorgeous little accent piece from the 8x8 paper pad clipped to the tag and the bird popped off the surface in a triagular shape to create my focal point. One little design tip I would like to suggest is that when positioning your elements on a small surface like this you will want to overlap the pieces that are your focal point to create balance and draw your eye to one place. It also enhances the piece to let these elements float off the edge of your tag.

To add the final balance of my purple element I put just a little bit of purple paper on my to/from tags and added some purple twine. The little "believe" sentiment, a pearl and some gorgeous metal foliage were the finishing touches.

Once again I would like to encourage you to try one of these techniques using tissue tape. I know that a LOT of you already own some, so I hope you will join in the fun and please don't be sad if you don't have everything - just make do with what you do have and improvise. How about pulling out that trusty old masking tape?!? AND if you can't make an entire tag, just make an element and save it for use on a tag or card later :-D

Thank you for stopping in again today and for keeping the encouragement coming with your comments. I must admit I am tired and have a lot on my plate right now, but doing these tags is SO much fun, so I'm commited :-D I'll be coming back into the office again tomorrow and on Sunday so that I can try to continue to inspire you and share in the fun. Have an awesome weekend and enjoy a few creative moments!

stamps: Hero Arts to/from

ink: Various Ink Refills - V17 and W4, Archival Coffee, Distress Antique Linen, Distress Embossing Ink

paper: Graphic 45 Christmas Past Deluxe Edition 8x8 Pad, Craft-a-Board

accessories: Tim Holtz Caged Bird Die, Tidings and Nostalgic Tissue Tape, Foliage, Baubles, Alcohol Ink Felt Applicator Tool; Martha Stewart PATP Vintage Lace, Melissa Frances Tarnished Silver Glass Glitter, Tarnished Gold Embossing Powder, Matte Multi-Medium, Warm Highlights Ultrafine Glitter, Believe Vintaj Tag, Ivory Silk Ribbon, Webster's Pages Scalloped Sparklers, Webster's Pages Waiting for Santa Trim

WOW - thank you to everyone who visited today and left a comment - I am using the love you shared to get me through the day today :-)! It has been a hectic and exhausting week after the snowstorm we had last week, a long road-trip to visit my Mom through the Rocky Mountains for Thanksgiving (worth every minute of the 30+ hours on the road) and enjoying the companionship of my dog and daughter here at work. I'm READY to sleep in in the morning!

A huge congratulations goes to Patti! Thank you for your comment and questions yesterday Patti - you helped me to realize that I really needed to add more information to my explanation. I hope that you have had the opportunity to go back and reread the information. I have your Typepad message flagged in hopes of getting back to you today - I didn't even have a chance to check with Erica to see if she was able to let you know that I tried to add more information :-D

Please send your snail mail address to us at [email protected] and we will get these fun toys out to you and you can give this technique a try!

Today our prize is inspired by Tim's Tag - how about a stamp set and some tissue tape everyone! We have Winter's Sketchbook and Tidings Tissue Tape for today's goodies!

Simply posting a comment below will enter you in this random drawing - you have until tomorrow evening as I write my post to enter. You can post a comment each day on the current post for a chance to win some fun goodies, so be certain to stay tuned for another 9 days :-D

Thank you for joining me here in the CLASSroom!

Christmas Past Wall Hanging

So happy you took some time to join us in the CLASS room today!

I have a fun holiday decor item that I would love to share with you. The Christmas Past collection from Graphic 45 has so many beautiful patterns and colors that work seamlessly together, those along with a few bits and baubles from the Tim Holtz Idea-ology line came together to make a wall hanging that would be great for a focal place on a wall, hanging from a special door or placed on a wreath hanger for your front entryway.

I used Craft-a-board as the base and various sheets of paper from both the 8"x8" pack of Christmas Past and the 12"x12" as well. All the pieces were inked with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink with a foam applictor around the edges and the holly leaves and berries were cut out by hand, inked and then had Distress Stickles applied for extra texture and dimension.

Punch a hole in the top and set an eyelet, use Jump Rings to attach Muse Token and a Swivel Clasp with the Typewriter Charms spelling "JOY".

Attach Game Spinners to Timepiece clock face with a brad and then adhere in place.

To create the wire hanging piece I used Vintaj 28 wire on the spool (the finer gauge, if you want it be sturdier use the 18 gauge) and cut four pieces of the length that I wanted and then twisted them together. For the coil that is over the top I wrapped the wire around a small paint brush handle and then threaded it over the twisted wire piece. Then attach to the Hinge Clips by threading through the holes and then twisting into place.

Use Scrapbook Adhesives Dimensional foam adhesive to attache the leaves and berries and any other little bits you may want to add, I used some Blank Canvas Studio Paint to fill in the letters on this Philosophy Tag and then attached it to the project with a Trinket Pin.

  
I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend that maybe allows for a little personal crafting time :o)

B-

Boo Halloween Banner by Julia Stainton

I'm totally loving banners. They are so much fun to create as you can make them as large as you want or start small and add more pennants as you find the time.

Today's project is a Hallowe'en banner for my home. Each of the pennants is 5"x7" and is created on a Jenni Bowlin Bingo Card. I know it's difficult to get an accurate idea of the size and detail as blog width ends up making the banner photo very small. To counter this, I'll be sharing each pennant individually as each is a unique creation in itself. Each pennant is larger than card front size and was so much fun to create. Please click on the smaller images to bring them to their full size for a better look.

To create the banner, each bingo card is decorated. You could stop at this point and create a mini album or a scrapbook page accent but I've punch a hole in the top corners and strung them together with some hem tape ribbon.

To keep continuity in the banner project I repeated a few elements on each design. I wanted each to be unique but still tie the project together.

• each pennant is created from a coordinating Jenni Bowlin Bingo Card
• the edges of each pennant are highlighted by "inking" them with a Black Adirondack Paint Dabber
• each pennant has some Graphic 45 Halloween in Wonderland accents
• each pennant has die cut leaves that I've sponged with distress ink

Now for each of the pennants I'll show you a closeup for the detail and highlight some of the design elements of each one...

• star is created by die-cutting Craft-a-board with the Classic Star Nestability die and then covering it with Melissa Frances Silver Glass Glitter
• a fun Tim Holtz Keyhole accents one of the o's in Boo
• the bat accent is a Tim Holtz Fragment that has been masked with a bat from the Tim Holtz Seasonal Masks and then painted with a Black Paint Dabber

 

• Tim Holtz Tissue tape crossed over the bingo card resembles crime scene tape
• a little Memo Pin holds a Kiwi Chandelier Crystal
• the Paper Rosette Sizzlets die makes a darling black flower rosette from black cardstock

• add dates or word accents with Tiny Type and Graphic 45 letter stickers
• The black cat is another use of the Tim Holtz Seasonal Masks

• Ellen's new Ellen's Essentials Doiles are so much fun to use as an achor for a group of embellishments and accents
• Add a fun chipboard button to the rossette center for extra dimension

• the fun Halloween ticket stamp is one of many occasions found on the Tim Holtz Odds and Ends stamp set
• frame your stamped image by stamping it onto a large kraft ticket

So there you have it.

Lots of fun techniques and ideas to try in one fun project. You could also rework it for a different occasion such as Christmas, a baby shower, or whatever you wish. You can find lots of fabulous and varied Bingo Cards by Jenni Bowlin here to use as a base.

Supplies: Halloween Bingo Cards & Vintage Halloween Chipboard Buttons by Jenni Bowlin, black cardstock, Jabberwocky patterned paper & Halloween in Wonderland Tags by Graphic 45, twine, Silver Glass Glitter by Melissa Frances, Tiny Attacher , Memo Pin and Market Place Tissue Tape by Tim Holtz for Advantus, Pitch Black Paint Dabber, Jet Black Archival Ink, Crushed Olive Distress Ink, Barn Door Distress Ink & Wild Honey Distress Ink by Ranger, Tattered Leaves die by Sizzix, Orange Halloween Felt by Hero Arts, Medallion Flower by Maya Road, Classic Star Nestability Die by Spellbinders, Tim Holtz Odds and Ends Stamp Set by Stampers Anonymous, Tim Holtz Fragment and Hinge Clip by Advantus, Tim Holtz Seasonal Masks, Vintage Pearl Trinket Pin and Leaf Trinket Pins by Maya Road, Paper Rosette Die by Sizzix, Assorted Doilies by Essential's by Ellen

Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom and happy creating!

Doily Flower Tutorial

It isn't even Halloween yet, but that doesn't mean you can't get a head start on preparing for the holiday season. Designing your holiday cards can become overwhelming, but with a few easy techniques you can wow the people on your card list.

The first thing you could do to take a little of the stress out of the designing process is to use some fab products that are ready to go. The Graphic 45 Christmas Past Frames are beautiful, elegant and provide a great value from each sheet of images! There are seven frames on each sheet, and you can make a card from each of them. If you feel the smaller frames aren't a size that you would feel comfortable making a card from, then use them for gift tags for those special boxes.

First start by building your card base, this one is just a touch bigger than the frame that is on it. It was cut from the Hero Arts Layering Paper in Kraft  at 7" wide by 5 1/2" tall. It was then folded in half to make the card base. To make the card top just apply Tea Dye Distress ink to the edges of the frame and the image insert that is inside of the frame. Then adhere the frame to the card first and then adhere the image using 3-D foam adhesive.

 To make the doily flower we start by misting with English Ivy glimmer mist from Tattered Angels a doily from the Essentials by Ellen Small Doilies set.

When it has dried pinch the four sides in together and then carefully pinch into a point.

 When you have it all gathered and pinched, staple with the Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher.

Then carefully open and flatten. Now it is ready to either embellish further or use on your project.

To finish up my doily I punched a couple of circles from some more of The Christmas Past collection from Graphic 45 and then spritzed some Butterscotch Adirondack Dimensional Pearls that had been mixed in a Mini-Mister with some water onto the gorgeous vintage style Melissa Frances Crepe Paper.

This is a fun and easy way to use doilies, and by just changing the color of the mist you can get many different looks that work for almost every crafting occasion.

Easy to make quite a few at once and a really great texture to add to those cards that were made from the frames, easy peasy! A great way to get a head start on those holiday greetings.

B-

Owl-o-ween Trick or Treat Pencil Box

I LOVE the days that our customers stop in to pick up their will call orders and they bring along projects they are working on. Ann, thank you so much for sharing your adorable treat box!!!

Nothing could be more fun than this little creation!

Ann is making these for an entire class - I know they will absolutely love this treat!

Well... I couldn't resist giving this a whirl. I pulled out a rather boring pencil box to get measurements to design this template. When I am back at work tomorrow I will measure my box and add the dimensions here. Then using Craft-a-board and my Zutter Cutter I was able to quickly design the base for this box.

Craft-a-board is an inexpensive, fantastic alternative to chipboard!

The Zutter Kutter has a very cool feature which allows you to cut part way through thicker materials. To cut through the Craft-a-board I use the regular setting. To cut a deeper score line in the Craft-a-board I set the dial to "3". This creates a cut which allows you to easily create beautiful boxes!

Then using Distress Inks and an Ink Blending Tool I sponged the surface to coordinate with the Hallowe'en in Wonderland spider web paper.

Above are the Copic colors I used to color the oh, so cute Tufted Owl.

Resisting opening the latest sketchy tree die from Tim Holtz was futile - it was just too perfect. Cutting the tree and then wrapping it around the box to position the owl within the harvest moon... well - I just had to do it :-D

A little added sparkle (Rock Candy and Wild Honey Distress Stickles), along with Black Enamel Accents on the eyes adds dimension for the finishing touch.

Ann, thank you once again for inspiring me and providing THE most fabulous of ideas!

stamps: Memory Box Tufted Owl, Hero Arts ClearDesign Happy Halloween

paper: Graphic 45 Hallowe'en in Wonderland 8x8 pad, Neenah Natural White, X-Press Blending Card

ink: Archival Jet Black, Distress Ink Pads - Weathered Wood, Faded Jeans, Scattered Straw, Wild Honey

accessories: Craft-a-Board, Nostalgic Tissue Tape, Black Enamel Accents, Rock Candy and Wild Honey Distress Stickles, Tim Holtz Branch Tree Bigz Die

World Card Making Day Inchie Challenge by Cindy Lyles (EHWCMD6)

We're creating texture Inchies today - if you have never tried creating an Inchie how about trying one today!?!

Steampunk was my operative mode of thought when creating today's altered notebook project, featuring....textured Inchies!

To create the textured Inchies for this project, a Sizzix Embossing Folder was used, and two, white Inchie + Squares (these are 1.5 inches square) were sandwiched and run through a die cut machine.  This produced a wonderful and incredible impression on the Alpharag Artcare matboard.  One could run several Inchies through an embossing folder at a time to keep on hand, and use whenever you need a bit of texture in one of your projects; just add Distress inks to suit your project colors, as was done below.

Next, Distress Inks in Wild Honey, Crushed Olive and Antique Linen were applied using an ink blending tool, to one embossed Inchie + Square, and Aged Mahogany and Antique Linen to the other.  The recesses created by the embossing folder are nicely emphasized with the addition of these wonderful Distress inks.

The rosette was created using Graphic 45 Society Page and one of Sizzix's newest dies, the Paper Rosette - it allows one to create a 2-1/2 inch diameter paper rosette with incredible speed!

I opted to create a covered notebook for these embellishments - all from Tim Holtz's Idea-ology line - here's a close-up:

The covered notebook base uses Graphic 45 Pen in Hand.  Black cardstock is Memory Box Licorice.

Here's a photo of the notebook inside.  Finished dimensions (closed) are 5 inches by 8 inches. 

Thank you for visiting the CLASSroom on World Card Making Day, and hope you have a great time participating in the CLASSroom challenges today!

breakout of Tim's hardware: Game Spinners, Hitch Fasteners, Philosophy Tags, Sprocket Gears, Swivel Clasps, Washers, Timepieces.

INCHIE CHALLENGE

For our Inchie Challenge simply create any project (card, notebook, scrapbook page, and so forth) using an Inchie or Inchies that you've added texture to!

Once you have completed this challenge be certain to post a comment on this post, as well as a link to your project, in our WCMD Challenge Blog Candy post!

BLOG CANDY

Thank you for stopping by our corner of WCMD today! After you have finished drooling on your keyboard be certain to leave a comment to be entered in a random drawing for the delicious goodies shown below. Do you own an electronic cutter and if so, which one?

All comments must be made by 11:59 Pacific Time on Sunday, October 2nd to be eligible.

Graphic 45 Hallowe'en In Wonderland by Becky Olsen

For this fun altered project I started by planning a crafting day with a fun friend (she had found the amazing candle sticks on clearance, don't know where, sorry!) a Hallowe'en in Wonderland 12" x 12" paper pad, Claudine Hellmuth's Multi Medium in Matte, and a few Tim Holtz findings. We giggled, fussy cut, got sticky and ended up thrilled with the end results! I took pictures of each side and some close-ups of interesting details that I will describe how to create.To begin I covered all four sides with the Curiouser and Curiouser paper using the Multi Medium to adhere the paper and get a smooth adhesion. Then I fussy cut images from the Through the Looking Glass paper and chose the sides to adhere them to that continued to tell the story.For this side I used the fussy cut images of the White Rabbit and Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum. I wrapped wire around the handle of a smaller paint brush to get the spiral and then attached it to the side. I then punched out two of the White Rabbit tags and adhered them back to back and put the top through the end of the wire.  

  

For the bottom of the tag I got out a Tim Holtz Typewriter Charms and placed the letter "A" in there (for Alice of course!)The charm was attached using a Tim Holtz Mini Paper Clip that had been placed in the bottom hole of the tag. 

From the view of another side you can see how fun and dimensional that little coiled wire and tag piece is!On this side another fussy cut piece was adhered and I twisted another piece of wire to make a little holder for a Tim Holtz Word Key.    

 

The key is attached to the wire piece using a Tim Holtz Swivel Clasp.

 

Here is a close-up of the twisted wire piece.

 

On the third side you can see how the little wire piece is like a sign hanger. The Cheshire cat and Caterpillar are on this side, and so I used a Tim Holt Hinge Clip that was adhered with a glob of Studio Multi Medium Matte that was left to dry for a bit and then I wound some wire into a circle and put it through the clip. I attached some more Mini Paper Clips and also used a Tim Holtz Spinner piece, and a Tim Holtz Muse Token for the bottom.

 

 

The Tim Holtz Trinket Pin is what is attaching this fun charm to the wire circle.

And as you can see I wrapped the wire around the top quite a few times to create texture and for this section The Mad Hatter was adhered and then another long coil was created by wrapping wire around the handle of a paint brush. I threaded a Tim Holtz Word Stick through and around the wire coil and placed it close to the top of the Mad Hatter.

 

 

When I was going through all of my Tim Holtz goodies I was trying to find the words that reminded me of Alice in Wonderland. It was very fun creating these little vignettes on a single piece that was still cohesive looking.

I love it because it is different from whichever direction you look at it from. It is my first decoration of the season, and I am trying to find a cool pillar candle that is purple that I can put on top. I will likely end up wrapping more wire around that and maybe another little bauble or two from my Tim Holtz toys.I hope that this inspires you to get out your items that would be fun to alter and get some beautiful Graphic 45 to help you along with your projects.

B-

Belated Fall Birthday In Wonderland

I loved to do themed birthday parties for my family when I was younger - LOL! OK, I still love to do them, but I just don't seem to have the same amount of time as I once did. For Maddi's 5th birthday party we did an elaborate Alice in Wonderland themed party in which Maddi wore a special Alice in Wonderland dress I had sewed. I dressed up as the White Rabbit, my DH was the Mad Hatter and other friends took on the role of the other characters in this fun tale. I painted large props with characters and scenery for games and created loads of beautiful colored tissue paper flowers. Our back yard was quite the Wonderland.

When Graphic 45 released this line of papers I knew immediately that I would have to do something birthday oriented. It was shortly after, that I saw Karen Lockhart's latest release and knew that the Pumpkin Cupcake was THE perfect fit.

I felt that this card needed a "hole" to represent Alice falling down the rabbit hole. I am so literal - LOL! I don't know where these goofy ideas come from, but they do and so I just need to run with them.

I first applied the black rabbit paper, then a strip of adhesive, next the striped paper and last another strip of adhesive. Next I cut the circle out using a Nestability.

Black ultrafine glitter was applied to the adhesive strip and burnished in place using the burnished velvet technique. I am absolutely loving the touch of elegance this glitter gives my creations!

Humor makes me happy and I am always trying to come up with little quips and so I created my custom saying using a font called Harrington in Office Word. I punched out the sentiments with my tag dies and distressed with Antique Linen.

Rather than using a letter in the Tim Holtz Type Charms I simply punched out one of the fun embellishments on the Hallowe'en in Wonderland Tags sheet. We carry the 1/2" circle punch specifically for this purpose. A girl can never have enough options for those little charms. :-D

I sewed the last of my tags to the Jabberwocky paper and closed my card to place the Pumpkin Cupcake perfectly in the center of the hole. It was shortly after placing the cupcake that I realized I could have and perhaps should have created a little "flame" to place atop the cupcake.

One little tip that I would like to share in creating this cupcakes coloring to coordinate with the Graphic 45 papers is to color your image with your true bright Copic markers and then once you have the look completed color over the surface of the entire pumpkin with a W2 marker. This helps to bring down the brightness of the colors and allows the colors to blend more accurately with the colors in the papers. Always remember that you can alter your Copic colors with your neutrals!

If you have a fall birthday you might specifically want to be late in sending out a birthday card :-D Never pass up a good reason to be a little late - your birthday recipient will be tickled to receive something on the day that it is not their birthday just to extend the days of well wishes. Or use a similar idea as an invitation to a last minute Halloween party. There are loads of options and with the popularity of Cupcakes and Alice in Wonderland you just can't miss :-D

stamps: Lockhart Stamp Company Pumpkin Cupcake

ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic Markers (and Prismacolor Pencils)

paper: Graphic 45 Hallowe'en in Wonderland 8x8 paper pad and Tags, Memory Box Jack O' Lantern

accessories: Nestability Circle, Tags Trio, Labels Trio, 1/2" Circle Punch, Tim Holtz Typewriter Charms and Mini Pins, Be Creative 1/4" Tape, Black Ultrafine Glitter

Celebrating 50 Steampunk Style

Yesterday was a BIG day at our house - J.J. (my DH) turned 50! So in the spirit of humor I created this humorous card to cheer him on. There were loads of funny quotes that I found, but this one really hit home as I LOVED this page from the Steampunk Debutante collection and felt it was so in line with the latest running joke in our home about the "need for glasses." We just can't read any longer without those wonderful little glasses, YET we can never find our little glasses even though they are absolutely everywhere throughout our home - LOL!

(Finished Card Size: 5 1/2" x 5 1/2")

To create the white on black effect I created a text-box in Word filling it with black and selecting white as my font color. I felt the Old Typewriter font (which I found at DAFont - this is one of my favorite sites for finding free fonts to utilize in my personal cards and pages) was certainly steampunkish enough.

 

I have shared a picture above so that you could better "see" how it is that I formulated my text strip.

Tim Holtz embellishments were the perfect finishing touch for this masculine, steampunk style card! When you purchase the Steampunk collection of papers I highly recommend that you select from some of the awesome accessories from either Tim Holtz or 7 Gypsies. They will make creating more authentically a breeze when using these papers. 7 Gypsies has even blinged up some of their sprockets to make them more "girly." Gotta love it!!!

Thank you for stopping in here at the CLASSroom today. If you have the time I think that it would be great fun if you left my DH some advice (be it humorous or other) or well-wishes here on this blog post to help us celebrate this milestone in his life. :-D

It has been a HECTIC week and it is well-past due that I get to drawing the winners for our flower parade, so off I go. I hope to be back with those names later today. Have a wonderful weekend and I'll be back!

ink: Bundled Sage Distress Ink Pad

paper: Graphic 45 Steampunk Debutante 8x8 Paper Pad, Memory Box Licorice Cardstock

accessories: Tim Holtz - Game Spinners, Timepieces, Sprocket Gears; Ink Blending Tool

font: Old Typewriter found at DAFont

CHF Keys to My Heart by Susan Roberts

By now most of you have probably heard that Cornish Heritage Farms is closing up shop.  So today I have been playing with a few of the CHF stamps that as of this typing are still available in Ellen’s Store at a huge 50% off the regular price!

This first card uses CHF’s Beach Party and Mini Triangles Backgrounders as well as the Mona Lisa Moments, Key Expressions Set.

Because the Beach Party Backgrounder has cute little solid tree, surfboard and car images, I thought it would be fun to color each with different colored markers.  I spritzed it lightly with water before stamping.

Isn’t this cute!

Graphic 45 designer paper from the On the Boardwalk Collection was used for both the base background and the darling malt shop girl.  I always like to use a dark marker to color in the edges after cutting out an image from dp.  This really helps to “pop” it once adhered to the card.

CHF’s Mini Triangles was also stamped onto the Beach Party Backgrounder image and the Faux Linen Ribbon was “fringed” on each end for some added interest.

The second card uses a sentiment from the Mona Lisa Moments, Thomas Kinkade Scripture I Set.

Again, Graphic 45 designer paper was used with a piece from the Le Romantique Collection.  Hero Arts Dandelion Frame was stamped directly onto the dp.

Ultra Fine Flower Soft was used on the dandelions.  I sprinkled on a generous amount of Flower Soft and pressed it down into the glue.

Once the glue is dry you can vigorously shake and tap the paper to remove any excess Flower Soft.

Thanks for dropping by the CLASSroom today.

Happy crafting and don't forget about Ellen's fabulous Goodbye CHF sale!

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

Beach Party Card:

Stamps: Cornish Heritage Farms General Motors Beach Party Backgrounder, Mini Triangles Backgrounder and Mona Lisa Moments, Key Expressions Set

Papers: Memory Box Vanilla Bean Cardstock and Envelope; Neenah Classic Cream Cardstock; Graphic 45 On the Boardwalk Collection

Inks: Memento Rich Cocoa and any Water Based Markers

Accessories: May Arts Yellow 1-1/2” Faux Linen Ribbon; Webster’s Pages Aqua Bloomer

Kinkade Card:

Stamps: Cornish Heritage Farms Mona Lisa Moments, Thomas Kinkade Scripture 1; Hero Arts Dandelion Frame

Papers: Memory Box Licorice Cardstock; Neenah Classic Cream Cardstock; Graphic 45 Le Romantique Collection

Inks: Archival Jet Black

Accessories: Ultra Fine Flower Soft and Glue; Nestability Dies – Rectangle Long, Classic Large and Small; KaiserCraft Black Flatback Pearls

Sweet Sweet Summer by Julia Stainton

What do you love about summer? I love so many things but a lot of the favorite memories of summer seem to revolve around food. Fresh corn on the cob, strawberries, tomatoes and hamburgers top my list. The long summer days and beautiful weather make it a great time to get together with family and friends.

The Graphic 45 Domestic Goddess line celebrates home life and the other day I came across the beautiful Domestic Goddess Farmer's Market paper in my stash and it just begged to be created with. Inspired by the beautiful vintage food labels, I created this layout. Feel free to click on the photo to enlarge it and get a better look.

Instead of layering photos on top of patterned paper, I wanted to make them an integral part of the design and designed a more graphic styled layout. You may also know this technique as color blocking. I started off with a 12x12 sheet of Basic Grey Basic Manilla paper. The warm tones go well with the vintage look of the labels and the lines add some subtle interest as well as making lining up the grid straight easy to do. I had a rough layout idea in my mind and decided where to place the photos first. It's much easier to start with the photos, rather than trying to fit them in last.

The ledger lines of this paper were great horizontal markers and I chose a line for the top and bottom of my design area. The right and left margins were lightly drawn in with pencil. This makes it easy to get a nice clean block for the design. I love creating layouts on the Basic Grey Magnetic Precision Mat Kit as it makes lining up paper perfectly so easy to do.

Here is the work in progress. I've cut apart the Farmer's Market sheet and added in my favorite labels. A few of them overlap slightly and a few have been trimmed to fit well. Place the largest ones first to make it easiest.

You'll notice I have three empty spaces left at this point. Normally I would fill these in with pieces of patterned paper but three empty spaces makes a great visual triangle so I decided they would be great spaces for my embellishments to fill.

The title and journaling was designed to be a vertical block of type on the left side of the design. Black Tiny Type combined with the Prima Ivory Alphabet makes up the title. This alphabet has a beautiful canvas-like textured surface and takes ink well. The Admit One accent is a Maya Road Kraft Ticket that has been trimmed to size and stapled with the Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher.

Over one of the spaces on the design, I've layered some beautiful textured Prima embellishments. The White Mulberry Rose Leaves have been sponged with Shabby Shutters Distress Ink by Ranger. The black flourish is a snippet of French Swirl Voila die cut felt and the fabric flower is the Prima Calcutta Minis Seashell Flowers.

 

My buttons details consist of twine, Tim Holtz Tissue Tape, Farmer's Market Cherry Twist twine, Jenni Bowlin Chipboard Buttons and a sweet Maya Road Heart Trinket Pin.

Do you have timeless summer memories? Have fun keeping those special memories by designing them into a special layout. Thanks for joining me today in the CLASSroom!

Ice Resin, Mold n' Pour and Beeswax Altered Artwork

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

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

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

Mold N' Pour

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

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

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

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

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

The detail is incredible!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Working with Ice Resin

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

paper: Loves Labyrinth Le' Romantique

ink: Jet Black Archival Ink

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

Back to Basics - Patterned Paper

When I first started stamping, I used absolutely no patterned paper.  As I began to purchase it (it was so beautiful that I couldn't help myself), I actually found myself a little intimidated by it.  What was I supposed to do with it?  How do I integrate it into my projects?  So today I thought I would cover just a few "basic" ways that I use patterned paper on cards.

This first card uses paper from Graphic 45's Collections "Le Romantique" and "A Proper Gentleman".

 

Both the brown and plaid pieces are used as a background for the main image.  However the brown paper was first embossed and then sanded.  Since the paper core is white, the sanding creates a dramatic and very easily achieved look.

If you look closely, you can see a tiny clock image that has been punched from one of the papers and popped up on the "1".  So fun!

The image on this card is from Tim Holtz's Stampers Anonymous "Pen and Pencil" set.  The word is taken from a sentiment from Tim Holtz's Stampers Anonymous "The Countdown".

The second card uses an image from the Hero Arts "Owl Trio" and sentiment from Hero Arts "Birthday Messages".

 

The owl has been paper pieced and the flowers have been created using paper from Cosmo Cricket's "Material Girl" mini deck paper pad.

When paper piecing an image, I first stamp the image on a transparent sheet.  I can then "try" the image on different patterned papers and decide which paper best suits that image.  This also helps to decide where to stamp the image on any given paper.

After cutting out the image, I carefully color the edges with a marker.  This helps redefine them.

 

The flowers were made from coordinating patterned paper using the "Blossom" Nestability Dies.

The edges were lightly distressed and again colored with a marker to help pop each piece.

The third card uses sentiments from Cornish Heritage Farms' Mona Lisa Moments "Motivational Centers" and "Wedding Centers".

With the addition of the little homemade "diploma", these sentiments work well for a graduation themed card.  I love being able to take images and sentiments and give them a wider range of use other than what was originally intended for them.  Here the sentiments are stamped directly onto the patterned paper.

The patterned paper used on this card is Memory Box's "Frond".  It has been punched with Martha Stewart's "Crown" border punch.  The border was doubled up on the main panel.  All edges were sponged with Ranger "Tea Dye" Distress Ink.

Patterned paper can add so much color, design and interest to a card.  I hope that your visit today has encouraged you to create something fun using some of the beautiful patterned papers available today.

Happy Crafting!

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

31 Happens Card:

Stamps: Tim Holtz's Stampers Anonymous "Pen and Pencil" and Tim Holtz's Stampers Anonymous "The Countdown"

Papers: Graphic 45 "Le Romantique Collection" and "A Proper Gentleman", Memory Box Cardstock "Vanilla Bean", "Neenah "Classic Cream",

Inks: Memento "Tuxedo Black" and "Rich Cocoa", Ranger "Tea Dye", Copics

Accessories: Tim Holtz Grungeboard Minis, Tim Holtz Mini Paper Clips

One-of-a-Kind Birthday Card:

Stamps: Hero Arts "Owl Trio" and Hero Arts "Birthday Messages"

Papers: Cosmo Cricket "Material Girl", Memory Box Cardstock "Persimmon" and "Granny Smith", Neenah "Classic Cream"

Inks: Memento "Tuxedo Black", Copics

Accessories: Cosmo Cricket Ribbon, Cosmo Cricket Buttons

Graduation Card:

Stamps: Cornish Heritage Farms Mona Lisa Moments "Motivational Centers" and "Wedding Centers"

Papers: Memory Box "Frond" and "Vanilla Bean", Neenah "Classic Cream"

Inks: Memento "Rich Cocoa", Ranger "Tea Dye" Distress Ink

Accessories: Martha Stewart "Crown" Border Punch

Inchie Gift Book by Lisa Strahl

It's Monday.  Who's ready?  Need coffee.  Lots of coffee. 

I am going to jump right in this morning and tell you that I love, lovey, love Graphic 45.  It's just easy for me to work with.  I don't have to think.  A happy place.  The project I created for you today is a fold out, Artist Trading Card sized, inchie'ish type book that I plan to give to a friend because she can appreciate an "art for art's sake" project.

I wanted to cover my ATC sized container as quickly and easily as possible, so measured the length of the case with my design ruler and cut an 8.5 x 11 inch sheet of Be Creative Tape to size on my trimmer.  The advantage of the sheets as opposed to the roll is that you have backing on both sides of the tape, which means you can die cut it or cut it on a trimmer.

 

Pull off the brown backing a little at a time and simply apply around the surface of the case.  Easy peasy.  Remove the white and blue backing and adhere paper which has been cut to the same size.

 

Paint the top of the case with Pitch Black Adirondack Paint Dabber using one of the many handy brushes in the Studio Line Brush set.  It dries completely within a few minutes.  You can heat set it if you are impatient!

I made a little bouquet of Gypso flowers that have been lightly inked with Sepia Archival ink.  I love to make arrangements and couldn't help but sticking this vintage Jenni Bowlin pin into the center.  Once again I am using those Tiny Type stickers, just can't get enough.  I want to say what I want to say and they allow me to do that.

I also added a thin strip of paper that is the "b" side of Botantical News and embellished it with a row of black pearls.

 

I used a little brown ribbon to hold my fold out book closed inside the container.  The inchie square on the front cover is embellished with layered brass flowers by Vintaj.  I used Black Inchie Squares which were sanded after adhering the paper to give the effect of a worn tile.

A close up of each page is shown below.  Please scroll to the end of this port to see a full supply list.

Each Black Inchie Square has been covered with an image from the Botanticabella Tag sheet, sanded, coated with a layer of quick drying clear nail polish (to ensure the colors do not bleed), adorned with a Tiny Type sticker, embellished with a Clear Spica Glitter Pen and then covered in Glossy Accents and allowed to dry overnight.

 

 

My hope is that this little booklet could be display on a shelf or mantle and then tucked away for safe keeping in it's case.

Thanks so much for joining us today in the CLASSroom.

Cheers, Lisa
-----------------------

Supplies:

Botanicabella Collection:  Botanical News, Antiquity, Botanicabella Tags (Graphic 45)

Black Inchie Squares(Inchie Arts, LLC)

Brass Flower Stacks Fastenables (Vintaj)

Ivory Gypso Mini Flowers(Prima)

Tiny Type Stickers, Black and Brown (Cosmo Cricket)

Glossy Accents (Ranger)

Clear Spica Glitter Pen(Copic)

Cream Stick Pins(Jenni Bowlin)

Sepia Archival Ink (Ranger)

8.5 x 11 Tape Sheets (Be Creative)

Brown Crochet Ribbon, Classic Trim Collection (Webster's Pages)

Pitch Black Adirondack Paint Dabber (Ranger)

Studio Line Brush Set (Ranger)

Strip of Black Pearls(Kaisercraft)

Precision Sanding Kit (Basic Grey)

Back to Basics: Positioning your Stamped Images with Acrylic Blocks and the Stamp-a-ma-Jig by Julia Stainton

One of the most frustrating things for beginning stampers is getting the image stamped exactly where they want it. It can take a lot of practice, especially for sentiments, to get them straight. It's my turn to write a back to basics post and I thought I'd show you a few tips on how to use some simple tools to get more professional results. It's all super easy and takes very little time to make a difference in your work.

Many stamps these days are sold as unmounted rubber or clear polymer stamps. I find these the easiest to position and are a great place to start. Both of these types of stamps need an acrylic block to cling to so that you can stamp them.

 

 

While many acrylic blocks come without lines, I find that my favorites are the ones that come with a grid on the such as the 2.5 inch Round Block and the 3x4" Rectangular Block. While it may seem logical to purchase the largest block available as it will fit all stamps, you will find that sizing your block closely to the size of your stamp allows you the most control and cleanly stamped image.

The reason the grid lines are so beneficial when stamping is for positioning your rubber on the block and also for lining up for stamping.

Here's a beautiful rubber unmounted stamp from the Floral Tattoo set by Stampers Anonymous. The corner shape of it makes it easy to place on your acrylic block and then stamp in the corner of your paper. I'm using the Le' Romantique 8x8 paper pad by Graphic 45 for this project. If your acrylic block has a grid line near the edges, place the edges of them image along them and then line up with the corner of the paper.

To ink up my stamps, I like to lay them face up and then tap on the ink from the pad rather than pressing the rubber down onto the ink pad.

Line up your stamp, press down and then remove.

Sentiments can be the trickiest stamps to get lined up and usually, the most obvious if not done correctly. Depending on where you've stamped the sentiment, you may be able to trim the layer straight but it's better to get it right the first time as you may not be able to fudge it if you are stamping right onto your finished design.

To stamp this red rubber stamp from the Mother's Day Centers set by CHF you need to carefully position it as you cannot see through it to do so. As you can see, I've used a smaller block here that is close to the size of my stamp for crisp results. If you line up your sentiment or one of the lines thereof along a grid line, this will help you tremendously. You can stamp on a practice paper first to make sure you have it right before committing the impression to your final project.

Line up a grid line with the bottom edge of your paper to get a perfectly level sentiment.

Here's the punching detail from this card. I've used the Swirl Edger Punch for this ornate edge.

The embellishments.

 

And the final project.

Additional supplies used: Neenah Classic Cream Cardstock, Cream Ruffle Edge Trim by Maya Road, Frayed Burlap Distress Ink by Ranger, Black Memento Ink by Tsukineko, Vintage Sew On Buttons by Jenni Bowlin, twine & floss, Vintage Sparklers by Webster's Pages

If you are using clear polymer stamps, they are the easiest to position. Many times you can just use your eye as you can see through the block well to position your image. I would suggest using the grid line approach above for sentiments though to get them perfectly straight.

I love stamping with wood block stamps as they always give a beautiful quality impression. The one drawback with these stamps is positioning. The Stamp-a-ma-Jig is a wonderful and inexpensive tool that you will find invaluable. Besides stamping sentiments it is great for placement when creating a scene, masking and many more complex techniques. I mainly use mine for sentiments though.

The Stamp-a-ma-Jig comes in two pieces...the positioner and an imaging sheet. I've had mine a long time so mine is black but it is totally the same product. If you are like me and tend to lose things, you can buy replacement imaging sheets. I was in a bit of a pinch so I made do with cutting a piece of Crystal Clear Plastic down to size and using it.

 

This Enjoy the Moment stamp is by Hero Arts and is wood mounted. This means you do not use an acrylic block.

One thing you'll want to do with your wood mount sentiment stamps is to turn them over and take a look at the rubber before stamping. If it's a new and high quality stamp like this Hero Arts one, the rubber should be on perfectly straight. If for some reason your rubber has been stored in a warm environment or stored carelessly with other stamps pressing on it, the rubber may have skewed on the wood base. Make sure it is level before stamping.

To use the Stamp-a-ma-Jig, you first position your tool and place the imaging sheet tightly into the notched corner of the tool.

Stamp onto your imaging sheet to get an impression to line up.

Place your imaging sheet over the area you wish to stamp on, lining up your sentiment or image placement as you wish it to look.In this photo it looks a bit off as the imaging sheet raised the bottom right corner when I took my hands away to photograph it.

Holding the imaging sheet in steady, place the Stamp-a-ma-Jig tool tightly up against imaging sheet.

Remove the imaging sheet and placing your wood block into the corner, stamp your image. 

Here's how the sentiment looks stamped on this Farmer's Wife Jenni Bowlin paper.

 

And here's the final project.

Additional supplies: Neenah Classic Cream Cardstock, Trendy & Front Porch Mini Papers by Jenni Bowlin, Frayed Burlap Distress Ink by Ranger, buttons by Basic Grey, twine, Coffee Archival Ink by Ranger, Doilies by Little Yellow Bicycle, Tim Holtz Mini Pins by Advantus

I hope these few hints will make a difference in your stamping. Just remember, the more you practice the easier it will get. Thanks for joining me today in the CLASSroom.

Happy Creating!

G45 Boardwalk Tray by Sharon Harnist

 

Since I love all things beach-related, I decided to take Graphic 45's wonderful new On The Boardwalk 8x8 papers and revamp an old 12" x 17" wooden serving tray I had.  This is how it started out:

 

The black base of the tray was still in good shape and blended well with the papers I chose.  I used the 8x8 pad of Boardwalk paper because that's what I had on hand, but I easily could have used the 12-inch versions.  I began by laying out the papers in the pattern I wanted to cover the bottom of the tray.  The 8-inch square in the middle is Coney Island and the 2.75" strips on each side of that are from High Style Holiday <those are the 12-inch versions). The grid pattern of these papers allowed for easy mixing and matching and cutting it to the correct size I needed. 

 

I used strips of Seaside Chic on the sides and top and decoupaged the papers to the tray, using Royal Coat Satin Decoupage to adhere the papers and once that was dry, as a top coat to protect the papers.  The blue "ocean waves" at the bottom are the She Sells Seashells patterned paper, die cut with Spellbinders Heirloom Scroll Border-Lg die.  When the paper was still in the die, I used Ranger Broken China Distress Ink to sponge on the embossed areas showing through the die template -- I love that the swirl pattern in this die resemble waves!

 

To finish the tray, I hot glued seashells around the edges.  I think this tray will make a great beachy accent for my hall entry table this summer or perfect to serve drinks or snacks out on the patio!  Just think what all YOU already have that you could revamp with these gorgeous Graphic 45 papers!

 

Paper: Graphic 45 On The Boardwalk 8x8 OR 12-inch On The Boardwalk collection, OR individual papers: Coney Island, High Style Holiday, She Sells Seashells, Seaside Chic
Ink: Ranger Broken China Distress Ink
Accessories: Spellbinders Heirloom Scroll Border-Lg Die, Royal Coat Satin Decoupage,
Other: Recycled old wooden tray, sea shells, hot glue gun

Window Cards by Kim Hughes

Lately I am trying to make the most of my supplies, but find that it's best to really take a close look at my products to see if they have multiple uses.  I found that the negative from a die cut sheet makes a nice little window frame.
 

Supplies:

Stamper's Anon: Studio 490, Art Rules, Studio 490, Well Worn Art, Studio 490, Art from the Heart

Graphic 45: Botanicabella, Tags, Botanicabella, Dragonfly Duet, Botanicabella, Eden's Symphony, Domestic Goddess 12x12 Paper Pad

Basic Grey Opaline Half Pearls, Indigo/Sky

Maya Road: Clocks, Black and White

Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Espresso

 

start with a card base and adhere all papers

After removing the die cut tag (of course it's best if you make use of it), place it on the back of your card cover and trace.

 

Once you cut the decorative shape out, you will be left with a cute window.
 

Next, go back to that die cut sheet and cut the "frame" from the main piece.  Adhere it on the front of the window.

Apply some ink to age/distress the papers.

 

add a fun stamped border along the bottom.  The rubber is such great quality that I don't use a block, I just ink it up and press on the back with my fingers.  I tend to feel more control stamping like this at times.

 

finish off the inside with the musical paper and stamp flowers in the corner

stamp 2 accent flowers onto the red gingham paper and stamp the flower once again onto the lighter pink paper.  Cut them all out...but only use the conter of the lighter pink paper

 

Wrap twine around the window and tie a bow.  Embellish the stamped flower border with dark pearls.

Complete the card by adding Glossy Accents to the flower center and allow to dry


 

How about creating the same card but for that man in your life?  Just use the design above, change the colors and accent a bit and voila, it's all sort of masculine.  Keep this in mind when creating any card...start with a card you love and change it up to accommodate a chid's birthday, sympathy or friend maybe?

Collage with Graphic 45 and Stampers Anonymous by Lisa Strahl

Hello ladies!  Did anyone get to enjoy the sunshine on their face like I did this weekend?  The vitamin D does a girl good I tell ya.  ;^)

I put together two projects for you that flow out of Bek's AWESOME collage article that was featured in the In Touch newsletter last week.  First up is a collaged Artist Trading Card using only stamps and featuring none other than the Mona Lisa.  I want to share a few tips that I find helpful when creating collages:

The very first order of business is to stamp all of the images I want to work with. Why do I do this, especially since I have a index on the storage sheet?  Even though I am a visual person, there is something organic about the stamped image.  I suppose I am getting to know my images better.  I began my stamping all of the images from the Mini Classics set (Stamper's Anonymous) on Classic Cream Cardstock (Neenah).

The first step helped me to decide which images I wanted to use.  Stamp the flourish image in a random pattern using Mountain Rose Adirondack Ink (Ranger).  I also have to give a shout out to the round acrylic blocks holding the stamp - they make positioning my images so much easier!  They come in three sizes: 2.5 inches, 3.5 inches and 4.25 inches.

The flourishes are pretty, but a little bit to stark against the cream paper so I sponged the same color ink over the entire surface using Cut 'n Dry Foam in a circular motion.  Now it's soft and pretty!

Next up is stamping the Mona Lisa in Coffee Archival Ink (Ranger).  I chose and dark and bold ink so that Mona did not get lost against the background of flourishes.

I finished the collage as follows:  stamp the Imagine sentiment from Just Word Art Studio 490 (Stamper's Anon) in Stream Adirondack Ink; stamp the same flourish again but this time in Pool Adirondack Ink (which is a tone lighter than Stream), stamp the distressed checker pattern from the Ultimate Grunge stamp set in Terra Cotta Adirondack Ink.  Finally, frame the ATC by sponging Pool ink around the image and then a frame closer to the edge with Stream ink.

The second project features Graphic 45 paper and more Stamper's Anonymous images.  I created a special gift for someone that comes in it's very own coordinating box.

Apply Copper Adirondack Paintusing the dabber top to this ginormous flourish stamp from the Fabulous Flourishesset.  It measures 4x7 inches so chances are that you don't have a block and in this case that is just fine! 

 

I wanted to share a tip about cling mount stamps that you might not have considered.  There are occasions where I do not put my stamps on a block at all.  In this case, I was stamping on a very uneven surface and the flexibility of the rubber allowed me to press the stamp unevenly, there by getting in all of the nooks and crannies where the chipboard is scored between the pages.

Details and Product Info:

-background paper on the left is the reverse side of Around the World(Transatlantique) and was applied to the chipboard with Matte Multi Medium (Ranger); the right side is painted with Traditional Tan Studio Line Paint (Ranger)

-the image of the two women is from the Haute Couturepaper (Fashionista)

-stamps include Fabulous Flourishes as mentioned above, sentiment is from the Paisley Prints stamp set stamped in Jet Black Archival Ink, and the pen nibs from the Mini Classics stamped in Cranberry Adirondack Paint

-Black Banner ribbon lace(Prima), Cosmos flower punch (Martha Stewart) sponged with Caramel and Jet Black ink, black brad from the Eerie Collection (Basic Grey)

-backgrounds prepared the same as above

-image of the woman from the Fashionista Tags Sheet

-stamps include sentiment from the Mona's Sketchbook set and Fabulous Flourishes again - this time stamped in Denim Adirondack Paint Dabber

-Metallic Copper Crochet Ribbon (May Arts), Donegal Lace(Prima), black jewels (Hero Arts)

 

Last but not least this cute little oval box was decorated with Globe Trotter and Around the Worldpapers (Transatlantique).

I hope you inspired to try a collage project this week!

Cheers, Lisa

Stamps and Roses by Debbie Olson

 

Good morning! For today's CLASSroom post I had fun playing with some new Graphic 45 Romantique papers, Stampers Anonymous Urban Tapestry stamps, and Tim Holtz Alterations dies (On the Edge Brackets and Tattered Florals). My card is oversized, almost 5" square. (I have some 5-1/2" square envelopes that I was hoping to be able to use, though I think I let my leaves stick out a bit far to fit into the envelope after all.)

 

After  choosing my papers and stamps, I started with the Brackets die and cut my card base edge, mat layer edge, and patterned paper edge. Lining it all up was a bit tricky, but a few light pencil lines helped.

 

Next, using another patterned sheet from the Graphic 45 Romantique 8" x 8" pad, I used the Tattered Flowers die to cut several flower layers, which I sanded and distressed with Old Paper Distress ink.

 

I used the largest flower to cut a green flower and then cut it apart to make leaves. On the left you can see the flower center and the one "leaf" that I haven't cut off yet.

 

I stamped some greenery from the Urban Tapestry set on the lower right corner of my card front, where I wanted to put the flower. The center of the flower (which I changed out at the end) is from Prima's Say It in Studs Coffee pack. I also used the green distress ink to ink the edges of my leaves before creasing them with my fingernail.

 

I stamped the sentiment from the Urban Tapestry set , notebook-punched its top, and distressed its edges. Then I added some Tattered Rose distress ink with the stipple stamp in the same set.

 

I love the tattered flowers die! It is imperfect enough to look realistic. Thank you for visiting the CLASSroom today.

Graphic 45-Hero Floral Door Hanger by Sharon Harnist

I seem to be into door hangers lately -- I like that they can be hung from a door or decorative hook and also used as a piece of wall art!  This one was made using Spellbinders Labels Eight Nestabilities die that measures approximately 5.50" x 4".  I die-cut my base out of good 'ole Craft-A-Board -- I love this stuff!  Then I cut this beautiful Graphic 45-Le Romantique 8x8 paper with the same die and adhered the two together.

The Hero Arts Big & Small flower was stamped onto more coordinating peach & green Le Romantique papers (twice) and then easily & quickly cut out using my pinking shears:

A few more straight snips with scissors between the petals and this big flower was done!  I colored the flower center with Copic E35 marker and put a large Glue Dot in the center and covered it with Martha Stewart's copper glitter.  The petals of both flowers were curled with my fingernail and layered together.

This great Hero Arts sentiment (from the Life Is Not Perfect set) was stamped with Adirondack Espresso ink onto an Inchie Arts Wheat Twinchie Square -- these squares are the same wonderful museum-quality matboard as Inchie Squares, but are 2-inches! 

 

I topped the Twinchie with another piece of the Le Romantique paper that was punched with Martha Stewart Arch Lattice Edger Punch.  I also rounded the corners of the Twinchie easily with the 1/2" Corner Chomper.  I was about to call this project "done" but then spotted these beautiful Zva crystals in my drawer and they just begged to be used!  Good news is that Ellen will be carrying Zva's beautimous bling in the store but the sort of bad news is that they haven't quite arrived yet!  So please keep checking back!

To finish this door hanger, I punched holes in the top and tied up some pretty lace.

 
Stamps: Hero Arts Big & Small, Life Is Not Perfect
Paper: Graphic 45-Le Romantique 8x8
Ink: Ranger-Adirondack Espresso dye ink, Copic marker-E35
Accessories: Spellbinders-Labels Eight Nestabilities dies, Essentials by Ellen-Craft-A-Board, Inchie Arts Assorted Twinchie Squares (Wheat), Crop-a-Dile Corner Chomper, Prima-Jaqueline Lace, Martha Stewart Edger Punch-Arch Lattice, Glue Dots, Martha Stewart Essential Colors Glitter Set-Copper, Zva Crystals (arriving soon!)

 

Vintage Page by Kim Hughes

I don't make nearly as many layouts as I used to, so I decided to dabble a bit.  Creating scrapbook layouts really are so fulfilling to me and I plan to create many more this month.  I pulled out products that spoke to me first and searched for a coordinating photo.  I know that many designers work in the opposite direction.  They start with the fun photo and coordinate around that.  I love creating that way as well..there is no right and wrong way and everyone can scrapbook, seriously.  So, if you are new to it, maybe you could start with a 6 x 6 size and work your way up to 12 x 12.

Supplies:

Inchie + Squares, White

Ranger: Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Lettuce, Adirondack Dye Ink Pad, Espresso

Jenni Bowlin: Rhinestone Buttons, Black

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

Maya Road: Trinket Pins, Vintage Pearl

Graphic 45: Le' Romantique, My Beloved, Le' Romantique, Tender Missives, Le' Romantique, Loves Labyrinth, Botanicabella, Tags, Botanicabella, Secret Garden, Botanicabella, Garden Suite

Pearls, Champagne

Cut-N-Dry Stamp Pad Foam

I started out with the decision that I would create a "frame" for my small photo to give it more of an impact.  Inchies are perfect tiles that can easily be customized to coordinate with any project, plus they add dimension.

 

I inked up the large stamp first, alligned up my frame and pressed the stamp onto the squares at the same time.
 

I then added a soft touch to the edges with brown ink.  It gives them a vintage look, but they also look "clean" because they are not overly distressed.
 

I chose some scraps for accent papers (the edges are inked as well)  Scraps from 12 x 12 layouts are wonderful to use on a card....always keep that in mind.
 

I decided to cut down the polka dots a bit by dding a large mat to the bottom of the page.  I cut a decorative edge in the top to add interest. 
 

I then pushed the papers and tag accents around until I was please with each placement.
 

Before I adhered my paper and accents, I stamped a fun border
 

Graphic 45 has the most gorgeous rosebud paper, so I decided to cut some out to use as accents.
 

Once I added my cut flowers to the page, I embellished my tag with twine and a push pin.
 

Finishing touches include pearl stickers and a vintage button
 

I added touches to the top of the page to balance it out.

I added a touch of glitter with a glitter pen, and before it could set, I rubbed it around with my finger, the result is subtle, but sweet in person.

I will go back and add my title and journal at a later time.  This s a photo of my Mom, who is dear to me, so I will keep the details private.  I hope that I have encouraged you to create a scrapbook page.

Have you thought about creating pages as a gift.  leave a frame for a photo, include letter stickers, a journal block and pen maybe?  You could add to their album through the year and have them "fill in the blanks"

Thanks for stopping by :)

Communique Steampunk Birdie

I have the pleasure of giving a very warm welcome to the first of many products being added to Ellen's store from EcoGreen Crafts.  We have lots to share with you about the story behind this company, but for today I focus in on just one product, the Artables Bird on a Pedestal and the movement behind it's creation - Steampunk.

Julia Andrus, the product developer and creative genius behind EcoGreen Crafts has a passion for all sorts of wonderful vintage things.  She has had an amazing career in this industry and is embarking on something new and very exciting.

What on earth is Steampunk?!  Julia defines it as this: "art that is based on elements from the Industrial Age era (1850’s to early 1900’s) combined with fantasy or out-of-context elements".  She taught a class at the last Winter Craft and Hobby Trade Show that I very much wanted to attend.  So much so, that I talked Ellen into taking it with me.  She is always up for something new and said sure!  I ended up not being able to attend, but she decided to go anyway and was SO glad she did, because she discovered this genre that I have such a passion for too.  P.S.  Here is a link to Julia's Steampunk Birdie from the show.

There are so many things I love about creating with this Steampunk style.  For this post I focused on how useful the Graphic 45 paper line and the Ideology Line of trinkets and metal are for this type of project.

I did not do step out photos on the paper mache technique, but it was very easy.  I simply ripped up papers from the Communique Collection including Party Line, Society Page and A Fine Specimen and then applied Dries Clear Adhesive with a paint brush and layered onto the bird.  It was Plato that said, "necessity, who is the mother of invention".  I have many other products that I *should* have used to decoupage these papers on, but I couldn't find ANY of them.  The Dries Clear product was sitting on my desk and will now be my go to for this type of project.  Something about the consistency was perfect!

The birdies face and head is adorned with a few metal elements that just tickle my fancy!  The eyes are the screw side of the Hitch Fasteners inserted into the bird.  I added a little black jewel for her pupil.  Her nose is adorned with a Game Spinner.

I have no idea how or why it seemed like this little gal needed a hat, but she just looked bald and we can't have that!  I played around with a few ideas and in the end settled on this vintage button from my mom's collection.  When I set it on her head, it kind of tilted to the side like a burret - how PERFECT!  My little french bird with a burret!  Sorry, I will stop using exclamation points, but I am reeeally excited about this project.

She was a little too "clean" and needed some soot, so I applied some Noir Palette Ink with my finger.

For the wings I adhered images from the Typography paper (Graphic 45) with Glossy Accents to some large fragment ovals from the Ovals and Circles Set.  A note about Glossy Accents - this is an amazing product, but like all things has it's limitations.  Because it is a water based product it can react with other water based products and some papers.  I learned recently that if you seal the area with fast drying clear nail polish that the ink will not run. 

Finally, the top half of the Hitch Fasteners were adhered to the Fragment with Mini Glue Dots, giving the impression that it is holding the wing on.

A note on adhesive with the feather and the fragment wing.  I used this super sticky double-sided tape.  Thank you to Miss Kim for sending me a bag of feathers over two years ago.  Completely serendipitous and perfect for this project.

This element is made up of three pieces of the Ideology Line - Ball Chain, Swivel Clasps and Muse Tokens.  I applied Traditional Tan Studio Paint and just a tiny bit of Dash of Red with my finger to the round tag piece to highlight the word.

This might just be my favorite part of this birdie.  I fussy cut a whole bunch of pens from the Pen in Hand paper (Graphic 45) with really sharp tip scissors.  I applied Glossy Accents to all of the pens and nibs, but did coat them with clear nail polish first as I mentioned earlier.  There were also adhered with a 1/8 inch double sided tape and then I formed them with my fingers.  The Glossy Accents help them to keep their shape.

 

The beautiful thing about this type of project is that you can make it completely your own.  It's your creative personality that will come out - you can be as conservative or eccentric as you like!  There are no rules.  I would love you challenge you to try a Steampunk project and link back to this post.  I would love to see your interpretation!

It was a joy to share this with you today, Lisa

Stuck on You Part Two - Art Product Adhesives & B Mine Collage by Julia Stainton

Choosing the right adhesive for the job can be a daunting task. To put a lot of work into a lovely creation and then have it fall apart is always incredibly disappointing. For the month of February I'll be sharing some adhesive tips combined with my projects for a "stuck on you" theme.

Today's project uses two different products that you may not have thought about using as adhesives. They are both great products from Ranger that you can use as an adhesive as well as for other uses. Don't you love a product that is multi-faceted? And just as exciting is finding an adhesive that will work well, allow you to express your creativity and not come apart down the road.

The two products that I've used for this collage project are Ranger's Glossy Accents, a dimensional glaze, and the Claudine Hellmuth Multi-Medium. You may or may not have thought of using these for an adhesive but they work especially well on hard to adhere items. While they are both liquid adhesives, they are not as difficult to use as you might think and I find the adhering power well worth the short drying time involved.

This project starts off with yet another 4x4" Canvas Frame.I adore these mini canvases. They are so great for trying out techniques in bite-sized projects and they make a fun alternative to a card. To adhere to a canvas, you want a fairly good adhesive and the Claudine Hellmuth Multi-Medium is a great product for collage and adhering to difficult surfaces like canvas as well as paper. Simply brush over your surface and apply your layer. The gloss or matte variations work equally well.

 

This project called for a vintage look and here I've used a scrap of paper from a vintage book. For an alternative you can also use paper stamped with the Vintage Text Scrapblock or some text patterned paper.

 

Build up the layers by adhering more layers with the Multi-Medium. I've used pieces from the Antiquity and the Happy Homemaker patterned papers by Graphic 45.

 

To add an accent I once again used the Multi-Medium as the adhesive. This Hero Arts Art Flower was quite dimensional but by brushing repeatedly with the medium, it smoothed out.

Stamping on clear items is always a fun accent. The bees from the Sweet Bee stamp set were stamped with Archival Black ink onto a Tim Holtz Fragment and then heat set with a heat gun.

Here is where the second adhesive in this project comes into play. Ranger Glossy Accents is a great adhesive for strength and also because it dries perfectly clear. It works well on transparencies and this Fragment to form a firm bond. I've squeezed some on the back and then pressed it onto my project.

 

The Tim Holtz Typewriter Charms are a favorite accent of mine. They are easy to personalize with the accompanying sticker letters and you then apply the clear adhesive dot over top.
 

I wanted to adhere mine directly over the Fragment and the Ranger Glossy Accents was a perfect adhesive again in this case.
 
 

Here's how it looks.

I wanted to attach a Tim Holtz Keyhole to this project as well. Because of the canvas frame, it wasn't possible to attach it with brads like I normally would have with paper. Insert the brads to fill the holes and spread the prongs. Once again, Glossy Accents to the rescue as a strong adhesive for use with metal.

 

The sides of the canvas still needed finishing and this ribbon lace added some nice texture and definition to the project. By brushing on the Multi-Medium to the sides of the project, it was easy to adhere this lace firmly.

I hope this tutorial has allowed you some insight into adhering in difficult situations and using different adhesive products. If you missed part one of this series, you can find Stuck on You Part One - Glue Dots here. I'll be back next week with more adhesive options.

Thanks for stopping by the CLASSroom and happy creating!