Road to Creativity

K technique for A-Z techniques

2012-02-01T22:50:00.001-07:00

This month is the K technique on ArtVentures. I was going to do the "kissing" technique but decided instead to use the Kaleidoscope stamping technique which I "winged" since I could not find any tutorials.

I started off by not being happy with my prototype using a tiny stamp so I went over the image with some pigment inks to create a background. After heating setting them, I took these pieces and lightly drew lines horizontally and diagonally to create 8 triangle areas on the ATC.

Using the stamp that looks like a wing from the Stampscapes Butterflies (sheet 3) unmounted set I inked it with Kaleidacolor Dye Ink and stamped it around the ATC background in each triangle.

I then inked some scrap card stock with the same colours of pigment inks used on the backgrounds and embossed it with Kaleidoscope embossing powder. I punched out a shape from these scraps and attached them to the centre with a glue dot.

For the ATC I am keeping for myself I used a background piece made with fluid chalk inks and Dr PH Martin iridescent gold ink and the same technique as the others just to see how it would look on a different background.

I decided not to add anything further and let the techniqe show through.

J technique

2012-02-01T22:28:00.000-07:00

Continuing on with the ArtVentures A-Z techniques for the J technique I decided to do the Jenny's Coat.

This is similar to the Joseph's Coat but instead you start with a piece of decorative scrapbook paper. ( I would recommend using something with a lot of colour). I used a piece of Magenta Style paper which had blocks of colour but the main one was an ochre, with greens and maroon throughout.

I attached the paper to a piece of card stock cut to ATC size, then stamped and embossed a background stamp with clear embossing ink and embossing powder. After that I brayered over the piece with black Versafine ink, then buffed it with a paper towel, which removes the ink from the embossed areas revealing the coloured decorative paper.

I stamped a Hero Arts Jewel shape from a coordinating colour of card stock and added glossy accents to give it dimension and the look of a jewel. I then stamped a Hero Arts J and a sentiment from the same stamp set. Attached all of these to the ATC when dried.

Heart Strings card

2012-02-01T22:15:00.000-07:00

The card of the month swap theme on AFTCM was Heart Strings and as always the interpretation was up to us.

I started by cutting out 3 different heart shapes with a Sizzix die. The largest was covered with a piece of an old book page and I coloured it and the second one with Smooch Siren ink. The smallest has some book print on it and was coloured with both Smooch Siren and Gold ink. I took some gold and red metallic thread and wound it around the largest and smallest hearts- "heart strings".

For the background I used Cathie Allan's Stamp Smooch technique then her Sparkle Marble technique over the top.

I made some flowers using a the Tim Holtz die and the same colors of ink used on the background. I punched out some hearts and leaves and added them to the cards, along with some of the metallic thread. I added a little piece of a border die from Memorybox, which is actually a winter border but I added some centres to the star shapes to make it look like a vine with flowers.

To finish the card I attached it to a black cardstock base.

Mardi Gras Mask

2012-02-01T21:57:00.000-07:00

On AFTCM we had a swap to make a Mardi Gras Mask using any type of medium.

I started by cutting a mask shape from a piece of cardboard insert. I covered it with some decorative scrapbook paper by glueing it on with watered down school glue.

I added some continuous beads around the eye holes. After that set I added some trim around the edge of the mask.

I love butterflies so of course, I had to add one to the mask. I already had one cut out in blue from a Cheery Lynn Designs die so all I did was add some gems in various spots.

To complete it I added an autumn leaf and flower to each side and some ribbons to hold the mask in place.

Altered Eyeglasses

2012-02-01T21:50:00.000-07:00

On AFTCM we were challenged to alter some eyeglasses for a swap.

I have several old pairs of glasses in my stash and chose to alter one with alcohol inks.

I started by adhering some circular stickers to the lenses then applied different colours of alcohol inks to each portion. I then added some gems around the frame.

I think they have kind of a psychedelic look to them and they were a lot of fun to create.

The first picture was taken with the camera so the colours are more true. The second one was done on the scanner and shows more detail as far as the embellishments, but the colours look different.

I is for

2011-12-12T20:48:00.000-07:00

This month's alphabet for our A-Z techniques on the ArtVentures group is I. I could not think of anything so just got some supplies out and played around.

I started with watercolour paper and and stamped a Hero Arts stamp with Versamark. I coloured the image with Perfect Pearls. I then painted the piece with Dr. PH Martin’s Radian watercolor inks, and heat set it.

When it was dry I stamped the image again with Tsukineko Opalite ink and applied interference Pearl-ex over the image.

To complete the ATC I added a flower and a leaf which I die cut, embossed with pigment inks and embossing powders, then stamped onto it while still hot to make a pattern.

Because I was experimenting, I made several different cards. For each one I started with the same colour family of Perfect Pearls and watercolor ink, then the same palette of Opalite ink and tried to used the same interference Pearl-ex, however with that I only had red, green, blue an violet.

The interference background is hard to see in the pictures, but it is really nice when held up to the light and the original Perfect Pearls also shows up through the inked background.

Christmas cards

2011-12-09T22:59:00.000-07:00

I made a bunch of Christmas card this year and this is a few of them that I remembered to scan.
For this card I used the Holly stamp from Frogs Whiskers Ink and the Christmas word is Clearsnap Design Adhesives and foil.

On this card I made a wreath using the solid holly stamp from Frogs Whiskers Ink , birds from Hero Arts and the saying is Stampin' Up.

The background on this card is done with a stamp wheel and Clearsnap Fluid Chalk inks. The Ornaments are die cuts from Memory Box.

The background is a Hero Arts stamp done with glitter embossing powder. A die cut from Spellbinders. The other stamps are by Paper Inspirations and Stampendous.

The background is done using Cathie Allan's "stamp smoosh" technique and the Frogs Whiskers Poinsettia. The small poinsettia is by Magenta and the saying is Inkadinkado.

Another stamp smoosh background with the Frogs Whiskers Poinsettia and corners by Magenta stamped with Tsukineko Brilliance ink.

The stamp saying is by Quiet Fire Design. The Snowflake and label die is Spellbinders and the border is Memory Box.

The background stamp is a Stampscapes stamp, snowman is Darcie's and the stamp is Stampin' Up over a Spellbinders snowflake die cut.

Tim Holtz tags of Christmas

2011-12-09T21:56:00.000-07:00

Each year I have thought of doing Tim's tags but just never seemed to find the time. This year I decided to try to squeeze in a few. So far I have only done Days 1-4.

I do not have all the supplies that Tim used so I substituted, which is what Tim suggested prior to posting his tags.

Day 1: I used the inks and embossing powders that Tim used, however I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder, a Peace Die cut which a friend sent me, a scrap of a Christmas Carol for the banner a tiny scroll, and a real pine cone with a bit of plastic greenery. The "baubles" are just a couple of beads with wire attached.

Day 2. I did not have the patterned Kraft paper or any of the other supplies so I used other items. I stamped a word stamp on plain Kraft Paper with white embossing powder then coloured it with the distress inks. I added a piece of corrugated cardboard that was covered with a book page, coloured it gold and added it to the bottom with some stars. The tree is a dollar store scrapbook item. I used one of Tim's other word doodads at the top.

Day 3: The only supplies I had for this tag was the inks, so I used a Christmas word background stamp and embossed it with red an green embossing powders. I added the Poinsettia instead of the holly.

Day 4. The only things I had for day 4 were the tags, some of the ink colours and the snowflake die and the flourish stamp. I did the background using Tim's instructions. For the snowflake border I used a Memory Box die and embossable window plastic.

For the snow person I stamped on a piece of grunge board and cut it out, applied the crackle paint and then stamped it again when it was dry. In hindsight I should not have inked the heart portion of the stamp, but don't feel like doing it over again. This snow person had no hat so I made some earmuffs for it. The scarf is a little piece of fabric.

Artful Bag

2011-12-08T23:27:00.000-07:00

On AFTCM we are doing an Artful Bag which is a bit larger than an ATC (Artist Trading Card)

I thought of making mine out of fabric, but my sewing skills are not very good any more, therefore resorted to paper.

I discovered a little pad of wallpaper samples and made the bag from that. I found a good tutorial and used the instructions to create my little bag.

After creating the bag I printed off images from Moonlight Journey and Elizabeth's blog; cut them out and glued them to the bag. I stamped a couple of word stamps on some cardstock that I coloured with Old Paper Distress ink by Ranger, and attached them above the images, then added some black cord as handles.

I put some ATC blanks and die cuts in the bag for my partner to use.

Free Holiday printables

2011-12-01T18:47:00.000-07:00

Lisa Vollrath is sharing her printables again this year. To see what is available to use in your art just follow the link. If you like vintage images you will love these.

A-Z techniques

2011-11-23T22:17:00.000-07:00

This month's technique is H. I could not find anything new so decided to do a heat embossing technique which I learned in a class a few years ago.

The main image is a sticker and it is masked off on the outside edges, clear embossing ink and embossing powder is applied and heated. A stencil is placed over the piece and clear embossing ink is dabbed on, embossed with clear embossing powder.

The piece is coloured with fluid chalk inks, then sprayed with Adirondack sprays. The embossing is then removed by placing another piece of cardstock over it and ironing with a hot iron. The word saying was embossed with pigment ink and pearlized embossing powder.

The sticker was masked with a post it note, anti-static powder applied, then clear embossing ink and then covered with sparkle embossing powder, and heat set.

Each one varies as I used some Christmas stickers by Magenta Style and theye wer all different and I chose ink and spray colours to compliment the stickers.

Note: Should you decide to try this make sure you do not use the see-through stickers. They have to be good quality ones which are durable and can take the heat of the embossing gun.

G is for .....

2011-09-21T23:00:00.000-06:00

Continuing on with the ATC ( artist trading cards) A-Z techniques in ArtVentures, the next one is G, and I chose Gesso Newspaper Transfer for my technique.

I started with laying down a coat of gesso on some watercolour paper. The technique tutorial uses hot press, but I only had cold press so that is what I used. I tore up some scraps of newspaper and applied it over the gesso, waited a bit then pulled it off; continued doing this placing the newsprint in different ways, until the piece was covered. Note:This is really a "trial and error" to determine how much gesso to apply and how long to leave the newsprint on the surface.

I then applied various colours of Dr. PH Martin watercolours over the paper after the gesso dried, (the tutorial uses fluid acrylics, but again I had none so I substituted the watercolours).

After the pieces were dry I cut out an black and white image which is a freebie on Elizabeths blog, then coloured it with damp paintbrush and distress inks and attached it to the ATC.

To complete the card I edged it with a gold marker, applied some gems and German Scraps trim. I did not have any gold, so I coloured some black pieces with a Krylon gold paint pen. I also did not have enough of one pattern, so used two different styles, therefore a couple are a bit different.

O'Halloween House shape

2011-09-15T23:22:00.000-06:00

A third Halloween swap on AFTCM was to create a house shape with a Halloween theme. Did I mention that I don't really do much Halloween art? The reason I joined these swaps is because I liked the ideas and the challenge.

I discovered a template at this blog a couple of years ago, and decided to use it for my house shape. I printed it then traced it on to a transparency, then using the transparency I traced two copies on to 130LB cardstock and cut them out.

The first one, I coloured with Frayed Burlap Distress ink and Black Soot on the chimney. I used the bottom half of a door stamp from Stampourri inc, which has a wood grain, and stamped it lengthwise all over the house shape with Black Soot Distress ink.

I coloured the little fence with the Black Soot then filled in the remaining white areas with Clearsnap Orange pigment ink. I coloured the window frame with the orange pigment ink and outlined it with a dark brown marker. I attached a piece of transparency behind the window and added the image behind it.

I stamped two little bushes (also by Stampourri inc) and coloured them with my Lyra pencils and Smooch ink. I printed some Halloween images from Digicats and Dover Art
and added some Glossy accents to some of them to give them dimension. I attached these to the fence along with a couple of stickers mounted on some cardstock scraps.
To complete the house I punched a circle and placed a spider image from a sheet of scrapbook paper behind a scrap of transparency-added some glitter to the web with a gel pen.

The roof edge was covered with sequins, then I added glossy accents to ensure they stayed in place and sprinkled some autumn colored glitter over the top.

For the second piece, I coloured the house with Dusty Concord Distress Ink, with Tea Dye and Black Soot around the edges and top. I stamped a Shutter stamp (Stampourri) across the surface with Black Soot Distress ink.

I coloured the fence with Black Soot and filled in the remaining white areas with green pigment ink and coloured the window frame with the same colour of pigment ink then dabbed on some Black Soot to give it a worn look. Attached a scrap of transparency behind and an image.

Punched a hole for a top window, embossed a piece of transparency with clear embossing powder and placed it behind the area with an image inserted underneath.

I coloured a little Maya Road chipboard tree with Tea Dye Distress ink and glued it to the fence, and added a cat and a sticker which was attached to scrap cardstock to give it more body.

For the roof edge, I covered it with some Black Embossing Puffs to give it a darker and more dimensional look. Final touch was to attach a little bat to the chimney.

Trick or Treat Toilet Paper book

2011-09-15T21:55:00.000-06:00

Another Halloween Swap on AFTCM is to create a mini book using toilet paper rolls with a Trick or Treat theme.

I had saved several toilet paper rolls and decided to use 6 of them to create my book. I flattened them by hand, ran them through my pasta machine then coloured them with dye inks. I then cut some Halloween scrapbook papers to fit around them and glued them on. Cut some coordinating colours of cardstock to insert inside the pages.

To complete them I printed images from Dover Art Publications and Words from Lisa Vollrath's freebies, and glued them to each page, along with and some dollar store stickers. The ghosts on the inside front page are a piece of "ribbon" I bought at my local rubber stamp store.

I created the background for the covers by covering some printer paper with dye inks, sprayed it with Goosebumps spray then when dry, added another colour of dye ink over the top. I cut some cardboard a bit larger than the toilet paper rolls, and attached the backgrounds, then finished the insides with some orange cardstock. Added some dew drops to the edge (clear ones I coloured with alcohol inks and markers), and images, words and stamps (Stampscapes and Tim Holtz).

Punched 2 holes in all the pages and the covers. To bind the book, I used clear zip ties, coloured with a black alcohol marker. (I got this idea from the wonderful creative Cathie Allan who writes for The Canadian Scrapbooker, Scrap and Stamp, demos for Clearsnap, and teaches fantastic fun classes!).

To complete the edges I added some eyelash fibre, and some ribbon that I coloured with Clearsnap fluid chalks and pigment inks to get the colour I desired, then added some buttons and spiders to them.

For the inside of the pockets, I created some tags. I used dye and brilliance inks for the backgrounds, and added images from Dover Art, and digicats blog, sayings from Lisa Vollrath and on one I used my one and only Halloween stamp. The stamps in the background are Stampscapes and Tim Holtz.

Halloween in a Teacup

2011-09-15T20:49:00.001-06:00

On AFTCM there are a few Halloween swaps on the go, one being Halloween in a Teacup.

I was going to do a 3-D version, but due to postal costs decided to make it a double sided type of card with a pop-up in the middle.

I was low on ink in my printer, so I created my own template for a Mug and made handle a pumpkin shape. I coloured the front with dye inks using the direct-to-paper technique using a Clearsnap stylus and foam tips. Stamped the Stampscapes stamp around the top then added images from Dover Art and Vintage Paintworks. Cut out the nose, eyes and mouth on the "pumpkins" with some punches.

The back is coloured with pigment ink and stamped with Stampscapes & Stampendous stamps, added a touch of Smooch ink to the rays in behind the pumpkin witch. Images are from Dover Art.

I remembered that I had a bunch of "googly eyes" and decided to add them to the pumpkin handles.

The inside is stamped with Magenta and Stampscapes stamps, then images added from Dover Art and Lisa Vollrath's sayings.

Apparel Swap continued

2011-08-22T17:44:00.000-06:00

The latest apparel swap on AFTCM is a Pretty Parasol. I had several "brilliant" ideas for this one, mainly because I wanted to make something practical and not just decorative, however, I just could not figure out the logistics for what I had in mind.

As a result, I printed off a template of an umbrella and transferred it to some 130LB cardstock twice, and glued them together. To reinforce the handle I had some thin Popsicle sticks and cut them to fit and glued them between the two layers.

I stamped and embossed a Judikins background stamp on the umbrella in clear embossing ink and powder, then coloured it with some vivid inks, then buffed it with a paper towel to remove the ink from the embossed areas. I added some fringe and "gems" to the bottom edge of the umbrella, and embossed the top portion in with gold embossing powder.

I coloured a scrap piece of cardstock with dye inks and stamped the Hero Arts sentiment in dye ink, and cut around it and glued it to the umbrella. I covered the centre of some roses trim with Stickles; when dry attached it to the umbrella.

I added some glittery foil paper to the front of the long portion of the handle and some plain gold to the back. On the handle I added some flocking with glossy accents.

I also wanted to decorate the back of the umbrella and unfortunately I had tried to emboss it but at the time I did not realize that my inkpad need to be re-inked, so the embossing powder did not adhere to the ink. Instead I coloured it with chalks and it has a bit of a watermark look. I stamped a Tim Holtz sentiment stamp in Versafine black, then added small butterfly and tulip stamps by Magenta, then a tiny one by Stampscapes in various colours. To finish it I embossed the top in gold, and outlined the edge with a gold marker.

Altered Gum Box

2011-08-22T17:15:00.000-06:00

On AFTCM I joined a swap to alter a gum box. My first prototype worked out fine, except I slit the portion where the lid closes and it was too bulky and did not close properly. Luckily I had another gum box and by then I knew who my partner would be and chose some decorative paper in a colour that I know she likes.

The box is fairly simple as all I did was cover it with the patterned paper and added some nailheads along the edge. (In hindsight, I should have just glued the paper to the box then cut it out, but I cut out the paper then attached it to the box). To have it close I attached a piece of ribbon with a fancy paper clip and a brad.

On the inside I put some hand decorated cardstock pieces and some pictures, and hope the recipient will be able to use them on some projects, as they are quite small due to the size of the box.

A-Z techiques

2011-08-22T17:05:00.001-06:00

Continuing on with the A-Z techniques in ArtVentures the latest letter is F. Mine is F for Foiled background, Fresco inks and Faux Pressed Flowers.

For this one I did a foiling technique on the background. I covered an ATC blank with some text paper from an old book, then sprayed it with walnut ink spray. After it dried I swiped a glue stick over it and when it was tacky I applied different colours of transfer foil over it.

For the main image, I had some ovals that I had punched out of left over cardstock and I applied various colours of Fresco inks to them, to co-ordinate with the flower colours. I then stamped a floral stamp on each one.

I took some paper flowers and attached them with a glue stick, then embossed the piece with the brocade Cuttlebug embossing folder, then added it to the ATC. To complete it I added some glitter to the centre of each flower. Some of the flowers were not in the colour palette that I liked so I coloured them with some Smooch ink.

Apparel swap

2011-07-26T20:43:00.000-06:00

This month's apparel swap on AFTCM was a floppy hat. Well, I started out with a floppy one which was a disaster, and since our list Mom Tolegranny, always tells us to "think outside the box and use our imagination" that's what I did. I decided to make a fascinator.

I started with a small foam plate and covered it with some homemade tissue paper background paper. I added some flowers to the top, some netting at one edge, then some ribbon trim.

To finish it off I glued a small portion of a bead strand and some feathers.

Gate fold Card

2011-07-26T20:22:00.001-06:00

I joined the AFTCM monthly card swap for August, the technique being a gate fold card.

I started by colouring some card stock using Cathie Allan's Stamp Smoosh technique with Clearsnap Fluid Chalk inks. I cut them to fit on the outside panels of the card and added an image with a stamping wheel and Versafine Onyx black ink.

I stamped the Hero Arts stamp and the Inkadinkado Sentiment on a scrap piece of the background card stock. and attached it to the front of the card, added a butterfly to keep the card closed. I was not happy with the front as after scanning it I realized that the top portion of the panels was all "wonky" so I redid the front.

For the inside I did the stamp smoosh technique in different colours and stamped another Hero Arts stamp all over it, then attached it to the inside side panels. Cut a piece of cardstock and stamped the Wordsworth sentiment stamp with the Versafine Black Onyx stamp pad.

ABC technique for August

2011-07-26T20:10:00.000-06:00

I decided to make my E technique ATC for the ArtVentures swap we are doing on a monthly basis and chose the Emerging Colour technique.

You stamp all over white cardstock with various colours of dye ink with a small stamp. Once the ink is dry, stamp another image over the cardstock with clear embossing ink and emboss with clear embossing powder.

Brayer dye ink over the image once it cools, and rub off the excess ink using a paper towel, and the previous stamped coloured images "emerge". Stamp additional images around the main image using a darker coloured dye ink.

This started out with an aqua dye ink brayered over it and I stamped a swirl stamp with Verasafine Majestic Blue. I felt that the swirls overpowered the card and brayered over the card again with a deep blue dye ink. As a result the swirls became a resist image, which I rather liked. To finish the ATC I stamped a Tim Holtz stamp saying on vellum with eggplant pigment ink and embossed it with purple eggplant embossing powder, ripped the edges and adhered it.

Shrink Plastic Charms

2011-07-26T19:57:00.000-06:00

I entered a swap on AFTCM to make shrink charms which is an ongoing swap using various medium.

The poppy was done on white shrink plastic and coloured with markers prior to shrinking.

The flower was done on clear plastic, originally with pigment inks as the colouring medium. They rubbed off, so I coloured it with a sharpie marker and added a gem in the middle to finish it off.

The Butterfly was coloured with Brilliance Inks and nibs applicators after shrinking; this was also clear plastic but a different brand from the one used on the flower.

The last one, was done on clear shrink plastic and coloured with alcohol inks.

Fabric Book

2011-07-26T19:35:00.000-06:00

As usual, I jumped in with both feet and joined a swap on AFTCM to create a fabric book with the theme of Poets and Poetry. I may well regret this as my sewing skills are not the best since I have not used my sewing machine for many years. As a result my book was put together with tape, glue and fusible webbing.

I chose several different poets and their poetry for each of the pages. I incorporated embellishments that related to the poems on each page. The first image is the cover and the back cover is just fabric and lace so I did not scan it. I sincerely hope that my partner will not be disappointed with the book.

ABC Technque for July

2011-06-15T20:23:00.000-06:00

I was in the mood for playing around so decided to create my Alphabet D swaps for the ArtVentures group. I found a technique using used dryer sheets that I thought I would try.

I started by stamping an image in Ancient Page Coal Black, and coloured it with my Lyra colored pencils. I applied some double sided Stick n Peel to the cards, then placed the dryer sheet over it after removing the second backing piece. I smoothed it down with my brayer, then cut off the excess.

I sprinkled it with warm toned glitter ritz and smooshed it around the piece. I covered it with a piece of the backing and brayered it again. This technique seems to be best with strong colours on the image. It is a bit hard to see the image and if I were to do it again I think I would use Versfine Onyx black to stamp the image to make the outline stand out better, All in all I am pleased with the technique and it is much better "in person".
The top one was the first one I did, then I changed the colours on the birds head for the other ones I made.

At the Movies

2011-06-15T20:15:00.000-06:00

On AFTCM we are doing a 4" X 4" Card front, which we use our own idea in creating. I decided to make one with a pocket to hold some items.

I started with white cardstock and stamped an Impression Obsession background stamp in Versafine Onyx black. I attached this to a folded piece of black cardstock. I then attached the back with double-sided foam tape to create a pocket.

I stamped a Cary Grant stamp image by Digital Princess, cut it out and attached it to the front. I attached a piece of the Tim Holtz film strip ribbon with Vellum Tape. Embossed some cardstock scraps with glitter ritz and punched out three stars and attached them with glue. I found some neat Movie themed 3-D pieces at my local scrapbook store and used the Movie camera one to finish the piece.

I inserted a couple of stamped images into the pocket.

ABC Techniques

2011-06-15T19:46:00.000-06:00

The latest ATC alphabet technique in the ArtVentures group is the letter C.

For this one I did a crumpled chalks background (I call it this because I don't remember the correct name!)

I took some cream cardstock and then applied Clearsnap Fluid Chalk inks with a piece of crumpled up Saran Wrap, moving it around as I dabbed it on. I did three different colours of the fluid chalk inks. I prepared a couple of extra pieces and stamped an Inkadinkado flower, cut it out and attached it to the ATC with double-sided foam tape.

I stamped another inkadinkadoo saying and a no name Dollar Store stamp directly on the ATC with Versafine Onyx Black ink. To complete the card I edged it with a marker.

Ezee Pzee May Design Team Project

2011-06-04T10:00:00.001-06:00

The May kit included frames, butterflies and other items. We were to create some kind of a wall hanging using all the pieces.

Since I don't really have a lot of wall space left in my rooms I decided to make two projects.

For the first I created a tryptych type display from the three long frames. I started by painting the frames black, didn't like it so added some gold stamped images-still not happy!! I painted them black again and took my Opalite Cypress Frost and Golden Mist ink pads and rubbed them over the black ink.

I had some background card stock pieces that I had made a while back, ran them through my Cuttlebug and then rubbed some metallic rub-on wax over the raised areas. I inserted these behind each of the frames.

I painted two birds the branch and a butterfly with acrylic paints. Since the butterfly had nice cut out pieces I took some Sookwang tape, placed the butterfly on it and cut around it, then filled the openings with Glitter Ritz.

For the birdcage I painted it brown and then added some different colours of Perfect Pearls to give it a rusted look. I then added an old piece of chain as a hanger for the cage.

I used some little hinges to hold the pieces together.

For the other frames I decided to do a wall hanging. I covered the frames with some scrapbook paper then rubbed some Tea Dye and Black Soot Distress ink around the edges. I took a piece of card stock that I had done a Lumiere Paint credit card scraping technique on and cut it to fit the inside of the frames. On a left-over piece I stamped a saying with Versafine Onyx Black and taped it to the additional chipboard piece that was placed over the top frame.

I had two small canvases that I used for the inside of two of the frames. I first covered them with various scraps of scrapbook paper then added different colours of acrylic paint. When Dry, I stamped a script stamp with White ink.

I covered three hearts with scrapbook paper and then punched out an additional one from the same paper and added it to heavy card stock. Decorated them and added them to the canvases and the top frame insert.

The Scrolls were done with the rusted technique (as in the first project for the birdcage) and attached to the canvases. To complete the canvases, I colored two flower charms that I got from my friend Chrissy, with two colours of Smooch Ink, then attached a flat bead to each of them, and added them to the canvases.

I attached some ribbon to the back of the three pieces with a hanger.

Fantasy Film ATC'S

2011-05-28T19:13:00.001-06:00

On DCI we are doing a swap using Fantasy Film in some manner on ATC's. I have not used it a lot and did some research.

I found a "stained glass" technique at After Midnight Stamps, where you lay scraps of different coloured Fantasy Film on a craft sheet, add some embossing powder, place another craft sheet or on top and iron them together. I used this technique then die-cut some butterflies with a Sissix die-cut then ran them through a Cuttlebug embossing folder.

For the background I embossed a background from Tim Holtz Pappilon Stamp set, with white pigment ink and embossing powder. I added peach and yellow Vivid inks over it using the Clearsnap stylus and white tips. I outlined the edges with a red marker.

I added some gems to the body of the butterflies and a piece of thin wire to simulate the "feelers", and attached them to the ATC.

I die-cut some letters from orange scrapbook paper and added the word Fly to each one.

Unfortunately the glimmer of the Fantasy Film does not scan well, but it really is a lovely effect, and because of the different colours in the "stained glass" they are all different.

Ezee Pzee Blog Hop

2011-05-01T11:58:00.004-06:00

It’s time for another Ezee Pzee product reveal and blog hop! If you arrived here from the Ezee Pzee Facebook group then you are on the right track. If you’ve arrived here some other way, then go here to start at the beginning. I think you're really going to enjoy seeing the new products from Ezee Pzee as well as the exciting projects that the Dezign Team has made.

To participate in the blog hop (and maybe win some candy) is ezee! Visit each design team member's blog and leave a comment. You will get one entry into a draw just for visiting and leaving a comment at each Dezign Team Member's blog. Post on your own blog and include a link to the Ezee Pzee blog hop will earn you another entry into the draw (just make sure to leave a comment letting us know that you added the link!). One random winner will get their choice of any 3 (three) Ezee Pzee sets!!!

So, what are you waiting for? The blog hop starts Sunday, May 1st and ends one week later on May8th. If you lose your way at any time here is a full list of all of the Dezign Team blogs with links:

Ezee Pzee Facebook page (not on Facebook? No worries, you won’t be penalized as long as you leave a comment at every other stop along the way)
Rena ( that's me!) My project for this month is in the previous post.
Dana
Diana
Jennifer
Katie
Shelley

If you leave a comment as an Anonymous ID, please add your name so we can contact you, and come back on May 9th to see if you won.

Good Luck and good "hopping" !!

Ezee Pzee Design Team Project Reveal

2011-05-01T11:55:00.002-06:00

This month's project is a little jewel box. I decided to keep mine fairly simple, partly because it seems like every thing I touch lately goes awry.

I had some woodgrain paper in my stash and covered the outside with it. After attaching it to the pieces I stained it with some dark stain and rubbed it off, then added some varnish over the top.

In the April kit there were some nice border pieces, a flourish and a lovely filigree heart, and I thought I would use them on the box.

I covered them with some foiling glue and when it dried I added variegatd metal leafing on the heart and the flourish, and on the other pieces a mixture of several colours of leafing. For the lid I added a mixture on some metal corner pieces from my stash.

I placed some little sticker pieces on the lid to simulate nail heads, and added some little metal rose beads to complete the heart and the flourish.

The inside was covered with velvet paper and the inside lid with holographic paper.

I was striving for the look of an old jewellery box which had been handed down through a family and had some little flaws on it after years of wear.

H is for....

2011-04-26T20:46:00.000-06:00

On Art-Ventures we are continuing on with our monthly alphabet swap, where the letter can be a technique, theme, medium or colour.

Since I had just finished making a bunch of hat pins and had a hat template from a previous swap, I decided to make a hat.

After cutting out my cardstock in the shape of a hat I was going to do the heated oil pastels technique, but it did not work well, possibly due to the type of oil pastels I was using. Therefore, I changed it and did the heated pearls technique. I covered the cardstock with cheap glue, flicked on several colours of Pearlex till I liked the look and heated it with my heat gun. I heated it until all the bubbles laid flat.

For the brim, I punched out a border in lilac cardstock and cut out a piece of holographic paper, and taped them down. I punched out several daisies and placed a brad through the centres and attached them to the holographic paper.

I stamped and embossed some butterflies with red pigment ink and pink embossing powder and cut them out, and attached them with double-sided foam tape.

I added a little piece of a flourish gem to the centre of the hat. I stamped a ticket stamp then added a portion of a word stamp in the empty area. I attached this with double-sided foam tape, leaving the overhanging portion clear of tape.

To complete the hat, I added one of my hat pins which has a butterfly bead on it. My H is for Hat, Heated Pearls, Happiness, Hole punch and Holographic paper.

Hat Pins

2011-04-26T20:29:00.000-06:00

On AFTCM the list Mom proposed a fast swap - Hat Pins.

I managed to find some corsage pins at Michaels and I have lots of beads on hand, so I started creating. I chose to colour the heads of the pins to match the bead colour families, and did it with alcohol and Pinata inks.

I unfortunately was not thinking about the fact that we are to send 6 the same to the hostess and just went on my merry way creating and enjoying the process. Here is the selection I made, but I have made another batch to send for the swap.

These are easy to make and I had fun looking through the beads and deciding what to put on each one.

Apparel Swap

2011-04-26T20:21:00.000-06:00

on AFTCM we are continuing the apparel swap and the next one is a dainty evening glove.

The only template I found had no thumb so I used that with the idea that the glove is placed face down with the thumb underneath.

After cutting out the template I adhered some blue cardstock and a piece of vellum which has roses on it. I added some lace to the bottom of the glove. I took a piece of Sookwang tape and added Glitter Ritz to both sides, placed a piece of tape at the edge of the lace and scrunched up the glittered tape.

I attached a portion of a gem flourish and added a home made flower made out of used dryer sheets coloured with Glimmer mists. I added a left over piece of the glittered tape to the centre.

Clay Charms

2011-04-26T20:14:00.000-06:00

On AFTCM we are doing a monthly charm swap and for April the charms were to be stamped clay and two were to be sent to our partner.

I couldn't decide what I wanted to do so I made four charms. After conditioning my clay I stamped some images into it then coloured them with various mediums.

The charm on the left is done with copper paint, a small circular embellishment added and a flower gem. The Green one is done with Mica Magic inks. The blue one was coloured with pearlex and gems added to the butterfly body. The little maple leaf one is air-dryed clay and was coloured with markers and watercolour paints, then painted with some clay sealer.

Only two of the charms were sent to a partner.

A is for .....

2011-04-26T20:00:00.000-06:00

On Art-Ventures we are doing a monthly Alphabet ATC swap, where the Alphabet denotes the technique used. We have started with A in April.

I chose to use Adirondack color wash sprays for the background on my ATC's. I soaked a sheet of cardstock with water and sprayed Lettuce and Denim across the page. The colours wick and blend into each other. After it dried I cut it into ATC's.

I stamped four different stamps on the background with Onyx Versafine ink. I printed off the image of the Woman from Moonlight Journey and attached it to a piece of scrap cardstock to give it body, cut it out and adhered it with double-sided foam tape.

To complete the card I coloured some clear gems with Pesto alcohol inks and glued them along the side.

I added two of the ATC's to show the variation in the spray.

In My Easter Bonnet ATC's

2011-04-07T20:09:00.000-06:00

The latest swap I joined on AFTCM is to make two ATC's (Artist Trading Cards) with the theme In My Easter Bonnet.

I printed off a couple of images then went from there in creating the cards.

The first one is fairly simple: I took a piece of maroon cardstock and stamped a Hero Arts background stamp in Tsukineko Versafine Onyx Black ink. I cut out the image and mounted it on a piece of black cardstock and adhered it to the ATC. To finish the piece I took a piece of Sookwang tape, covered it with Merlot Glitter Ritz and burnished it well; removed the backing and added more Glitter Ritz to the opposite side. I added it to the card on top of another piece of Sookwang tape that was placed on the card (this idea is one that I learned from Cathie Allan). I had a nice brad in my stash that I added to the "ribbon" and placed a tiny bead in the centre.

The second card is a background that I tried that which was on the Hero Arts site. I am certainly going to try this one again as I love the effect. Because I liked the background so much, I decided to be very sparse with the amount of items that I added to the card.
Therefore all I added was little girl and a basket of Easter eggs mounted on scrap cardstock and cut out.

Criss Cross Card

2011-04-07T17:14:00.000-06:00

On AFTCM group we are doing a criss-cross card swap in a vintage theme. I usually only make cards for special occasions, but this seemed a bit different so I decided to join.

I took a piece of cream coloured cardstock and stamped a Hearts in Touch stamp and coloured it with Lyra pencils. I stamped and embossed a couple of Hero Arts stamps at each side. I then went over the whole piece with clear embossing ink and dabbed smooch ink and worked it in with a Clearsnap stylus applicator. I placed it on a piece of pink cardstock and cut a little edge around it.

For the criss-cross "envelope" part I started with a light tan cardstock, and cut out the flaps that fold over. I then put the flaps in my Cuttlebug and embossed a paisley pattern. I coloured this portion with distress inks. It looked unfinished after I glued the flaps down, so I added some paper lace to the edges.

I stamped a long piece of white cardstock with creamy brown and warm red fluid chalk inks and added another piece of paper lace over the centre, then attached it around the envelope portion.

To complete it I added a paper flower, some embossed punched leaves and a couple of small paper roses. I hope my partner will like the card since I don't really "do" vintage much.

Ezee Pzee Design for March

2011-04-03T10:00:00.001-06:00

This month's Ezee Pzee project was planter. I started by sealing the pieces and painted the inside of the box. I then attached some Mariposa Scrapbook paper to the outside of the pieces and glued it together.

I coloured some of the flowers with acrylic paint then embossed them and added washers and stickles. The large daisy type flower was coloured with smooch ink and H2O's. The centers of the flowers are some little embellishments I found at my local stamp store and others are washers that I coloured with alcohol inks, and some are some coloured reinforcements for 3 ring binder pages.

I stamped the Pedlars Pack butterfly on cardstock that I coloured with various shades of green, two in black & two in gold. I added some of the strings of beading to the centres. All of them were attached to the box with double sided tape after bending the wings a bit.

The large flower from Ezee Pzee is done with pigment ink, fantasy film, clear Utee and Opal embossing powders then stamped into with a turquoise pigment ink while hot. I glued one of the embellishments to the centre and added a leaf that fell off one of the other flowers.

For the opposite side I found a saying that I liked and printed it off. I then took a chipboard label holder and covered it with green acrylic paint, embossed it with two colours of distress embossing powder then with Perfect Pearls. I placed the saying behind it and put two screw brads through the ends; attached it with double- sided foam tape.

Inside the planter I scrunched up a plastic bag and then cut a piece of corrugated cardboard to size and put it on top. I decided to place the flowers in little flower pots that I had on hand and to make them stay in place I glued some sea glass to the bottom of the stems, put some foil wrap around them and place them in the pots. i added some Indian Moss over the top to cover the foil.

The pots stood up quite well and I added a little butterfly, some ladybugs and a wee frog.

Altered Box

2011-03-31T21:45:00.000-06:00

On AFTCM we are doing an altered Box Swap. A while ago I bought a little box at the dollar store so I chose to use it.

I took some Mariposa Paper and attached it around the box and on the sides, and added some black German Scraps trim around the edge of the closure part. I took a little Dragonfly brad, removed the backing and coloured it with sharpies and attached it to the knob which I painted black.

I stamped some little butterflies on some book text paper then attached them to some cardstock and cut them out. I embossed them with some clear embossing powder and added them to the box with pop dots. I had the little punchie flowers left over from another project and just added some gems to the centre and applied them to the box. I stamped the saying and attached it with double-sided foam tape.

I had some wooden scrolls in my stash and painted them with black acrylic paint then when they dried I added some black foil over the top; which I attached to the sides of the box. I took some little self-adhesive beads and painted them black with a sharpie and added them around the scroll

I also made little mini book to go inside. I made a mistake in the size and could not bind it and did not want to start all over again, so I just placed a coloured binder clip on it to hold it together. I was thinking that way the recipient could use the pages as tags or for other purposes.

I made some of the pages with the Mariposa paper and the rest are done with stamped backgrounds. One of the stamped pages is blank as I thought my partner could use it to add images or stamps.Both the box and the pages are butterflies, flowers and children-some of my favourite things.

Fan

2011-03-31T16:48:00.001-06:00

The AFTCM group is continuing the apparel swap and this month it is a Fan. I had several ideas for the fan but most of them were disasters and I was getting too frustrated to continue trying to figure out the instructions so fell back on an ordinary fan with folds.

I took some old large calendar pages and fan folded them in two directions. I laid them in a spray box and sprayed them with Adironack Cranberry and Pesto spray. When they dried I stamped images with Onyx Black Versafine ink and a Magenta and Hero Arts stamp to cover the dates and some of the writing on the calendar pages.

I attached the pieces together with Sookwang tape and placed a Popsicle stick in the middle, which I coloured with a black sharpie.

I attached ribbon along the top with some 3M 465 tape. Since there was a hole at the top of one piece I attached some coloured reinforcements to it to make it sturdier and attached some charms with a piece of light-weight cording and a jewellery ring. To finish the edges I attached some lace with tape.

To cover the rough edges at the bottom of the fan near the "handle", I embossed some tape from the hardware store and coloured it with a gold Krylon pen, and put it around the end. I added a tiny tassel at the bottom of the Popsicle stick.

Rolodex Swap continued

2011-03-26T16:28:00.000-06:00

February theme for the AFTCM Rolodex was Hawaii and for March it was Ireland.

For the February one I printed off an photo of Hawaii in the sunset, glued it to the Rolodex card and cut out the slits. I printed off a template of a palm tree, cut it out, coloured it and attached it on the left.

I stamped the Leaf and the two word stamps (PSX and a dollar store) and attached them to the Rolodex card. The little sequin flowers on the leaf represent a Lei.

The background on the Ireland one was done with fluid chalk inks using Cathie Allan's "Stamp Smoosh" technique. The clover leaf with the ladies and the saying is from Lisa Vollrath's free images. The stamped clover leaf is dollar stamp from Michaels.

Folded Artist Trading Card

2011-03-26T16:03:00.000-06:00

On the Art-Ventures group Carol suggested a folded ATC Swap, which is a bit different than normal folded ATC's and the idea is based on the ones in Bernie Berlin's Artist Trading Cards book in the section titled Ultra Cards. For this swap we can do any kind of folds, but it must end up being folded down to fit in an ATC sleeve.

I love the Umbrella Man stamp by Tim Holtz and decided to use it on the front of my ATC, and I guess the theme is a journey or seeking something.

I cut a piece of white cardstock measuring 7.5" X 3.5" and folded it in three to measure 2.5"X3.5" when closed. I coloured the front with green shades of fluid chalk inks and stamped the TH stamp in Versafine onyx black, added some grass and a vine.

I cut around the top half of the image and left a portion at the bottom the would fold over. The right side fold was done in the green tones and I stamped the Hill scene (A stamp in the Hand), the people and the Tim Holtz saying.

The inside portions are all coloured in purple. At this point I was finding that the Umbrella part was a bit wobbly so I stamped it again and added it on the back, but was not happy with how it looked. I was trying to think of a way to make it sturdy and still look good, so I stamped the image again on the wrong (rough) side of a transparency with Stazon ink, making it a mirror image & cut it out and glued it on the backside of the cut out piece; stamped the grass again along with a Tim Holtz word stamp.

The centre inside panel was stamped with a Magenta scenic stamp and the Stampscapes people. The right panel is the grass stamp, another Stampscapes stamp and a Tim Holtz stamp.

This is the ATC folded up and ready to mail once the partners are announced.

Altered Sardine Can

2011-03-18T21:10:00.000-06:00

Another swap that I joined is to alter a sardine can. I actually had no idea what I was going to do for this swap until I came across a free vintage picture of a lifeguard on Robin's blog while surfing for something else. I decided to re size the image and use it for my project.

I started by painting the outside of the can, then added some K & company paper to the bottom inside. I have a booklet of travel images from Hot off the Press so I cut them out the compass and signs, stamped a little sandcastle and added Judikins Diamond Glaze over them.

While these were drying I put Antique distress powder and embossed it around the inside edge of the can to look like sand. I attached shells at the bottom of the can, coloured a toothpick and attached it to the water sign; added the other images.

I coloured the lifeguard with distress inks and a paintbrush, then added multiple layers of double-sided foam tape to the back to make him raised enough to stand on top of the shells.

I found the beach sign in my stash and coloured it with alcohol inks, placed some tiny screw brads in the holes and attached it to the top with hot glue. Unfortunately this is not the best picture as the scanner has a picked up a glare on the signs that were covered with the diamond glaze.

Birdcage Tags

2011-03-18T20:48:00.000-06:00

On AFTCM I am participating in a tag swap, where we are to make two different tags featuring bird cages.

The first tag was done on glossy cardstock. I stamped a Stampscapes image with watermark stamp pad and brayered over it with Big N Juicy ink. Stamped the Crafty Secrets bird cage and the branch and embossed them. I stamped the little birds, cut them out and attached them to the bird cage with double-sided foam tape.

I stamped and embossed the saying then added an additional piece of cardstock at the bottom.

The second tag is the one I did for the Ezee Pzee design team. The little circle had come loose and in my quest for a good glue I used a new one that I had purchased. Unfortunately, I used too much and had set a heavy object on top of the circle for it to dry. Not a good idea as the glue oozed out...great glue but should have been more thrifty with the amount!! Another disaster as when I removed the circle with the glue I also managed to pull of the top of the birdcage.

Since I did not want to redo the whole tag I had to improvise. I used a mini washer for the top of the cage, added the wire back, stuck a paper flower over it and attached the circle again, using jewellery glue this time. Actually I think this is one of those "mistakes being a creative moment" since I think it looks better now.

Steampunk Watch

2011-03-09T19:29:00.000-07:00

The AFTCM group is running a swap for an altered Steampunk Pocket Watch and as usual I jumped in with both feet and joined.

The watch I bought is quite small so I had a hard time finding things to place inside. I used a small cog, a spiral cirlce, a star & square embellishment, a washer, a small spinner and a page pebble that had words underneath. I coloured some cardstock and stamped and embossed some script in copper embossing powder and glued it to the watch back.

I coloured the washer with some Perfect Pearls and the cog with alcohol inks. I glued all the pieces to the cardstock. To finish the piece I added a little bird charm to the outside.

The spinner and the bird kept falling off even though I tried almost evey type of glue. I even tried super glue which was a bit of a disaster. The bird still fell off and left residue all over the top of the glass piece. I tried rubbing alcohol and Goo-Gone but no luck. Since the glue bottle suggest soaking your fingers in hot water if they get stuck together, I decided to place the watch in water. Again, another disaster!! It removed the glue but also removed most of the finish. Sot this is "what not to do" when creating!

I do hope my partner will not be disappointed with the watch and will think of the outside as being well loved, used and worn.

February Ezee Pzee Design Team Projects

2011-02-21T14:17:00.001-07:00

The February kit came filled with all kinds of goodies, the main one being a bird house that we had to decorate and "build".

I started by painting all the pieces of the bird house in nice bright colours. For the front I took an old plastic doily and applied embossing paste, then when it dried I highlighted it with yellow paint.

For the flower on top I coloured it with Smooch ink and added a little pearl as the centre. The little birds were stamped and attached with foam tape.

For the next project I took an acrylic tag and embossed it in my Cuttlebug and inked it with green Stazon, then highlighte some of the areas with copper Goldfinger wax. I covered the Ezee Pzee flowers with some book text and coloured it them with Distress Ink. I painted some washers and painted them with copper paint and glued them to the centre. The Ezee Pzee bird was painted with copper, crackle finish and red acrylic paint.

The next project is a little chipboard square that I had in my stash that was painted and covered with various embossing powders. I coloured the Ezee Pzee flower with orange paint and Perfect Pearls, and added a pearl to the centre. The Ezee Pzee butterfly was coloured with orange and green Perfect Pearls. The letters were originally pewter so I coloured them with a gold Krylon leafing pen.

The second Ezee Pzee butterfly was covered with Be Creative tape, then I cut around it
and removed the backing. I punched out some flowers from the backing tape and placed them on the butterfly. I covered the whole piece with Glitter Ritz, then removed the flower pieces and added a second colour of Glitter Ritz. To complete it I added some gems and a piece of copper wire for the "feelers"

For the last Ezee Pzee butterfly and flower, I decided to make an Artist Trading Card. I took a piece of a worksheet that I had used to spray Smooch Spritz on previous projects and attached it to an ATC blank. I stamped a Magenta image first in black ink then with Brilliance Silver, and edged it with a silver Krylon leafing pen. The flower was coloured with Smooch Ink and some Perfect Pearls. The butterfly is coloured with Pearlex. I aded some micro beads for the body and a piece of black tie down for the "feelers". I coloured a little saying embellishment with the Smooch Ink.

The Kit also included an acrylic piece with a bird on it. I chose to incorporate this into a card. I coloured the background with pigment inks and stamped the Impression Obsession cover the page stamp in Versafine ink and edged it with a marker. I added circle coloured in orange and attached it to simulate the sun. The acrylic piece was coloured with alcohol inks and attached over the "sun". I then stamped the Hero Arts saying on another piece of cardstock and edged it with the marker. I placed a scrap piece of the background on the card and attached the saying; adhered the panel to the card.

The final piece is the last Ezee Pzee bird I decided to do a tag for an upcoming swap in my AFTCM group. I started by inking the background with a Magenta stamp using Cathie Allan's stamp smoosh technique using 3 different colours of fluid chalk inks.

I stamped the Diamond stamp (Hero Arts) in a darker blue at the top and bottom of the tag.

I had some wooden birdcages by Kaisercraft and took one of them and painted and embossed it using a technique by Shelly Hickox from her blog which has a tutorial on it.

I coloured the Ezee Pzee bird with the lighter and darker blue fluid chalk inks and stamped a text stamp over it with Versafine onyx black, then embossed it with clear embossing powder. I added some Judikins Diamond Glaze to the branch.

The little Ezee Pzee circle was coloured with a dark blue pigment ink. I coloured a piece of cardstock, stamped the Crafty Secrets word sing then placed it on the circle and embossed it in clear ink and embossing powder.

Prior to attaching all the elements, I edged the tag with a blue marker.

Vintage Love Letters Postcard

2011-02-18T19:54:00.000-07:00

I signed up for a postcard swap on AFTCM. I coloured the background in yellow, red and creamy brown fluid chalks. I then stamped the couple, masked it then stamped the text stamp over the top. I then stamped all the other images to fill up the postcard. All the stamps are by Non Sequitor.

This is ready to be mailed to my partner.

Mad Hatter

2011-02-18T19:42:00.001-07:00

On AFTCM we did a Mad Hatter swap as a continuation of the apperal shapes.

I coloured the background with fluid chalk inks and added a piece of velvet ribbon on the brim.

I printed off some images from a website that allows the use of the Disney images for personal use. I printed off a little watch face face and added a page pebble over the top. Using my labeler machine I printed off "I'm Late" twice. Printed the ticket stub and added some Vintage Photo distress ink to it. Added the key with some fibre attached to it.

The Ezee Pzee blog hop winner is........

2011-01-26T21:28:00.000-07:00

We had 33 entries (people who commented at every stop on the blog). Shelley put the number into the randomizer and the winner is:

Michelle - http://www.blogger.com/profile/05350428694095284981

Michelle you need to send your information to engravit@albertacom.com so we can get your blog candy out to you!!!

Congratulations to Michelle and thank you to everyone who participated!!

Ezee Pzee Blog Hop

2011-01-19T15:22:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the very first Ezee Pzee Blog Hop! I think you are going to enjoy seeing the new products from Ezee Pzee as well as the exciting projects our Dezign Team has created.

To participate in the Blog Hop (and maybe win some Blog Candy) is Ezee Pzee! Visit each design team member's blog and leave a comment. You will get one entry into a draw from some pretty amazing blog candy just for visiting and leaving a comment on each blog. Posting about this blog candy on your own blog will earn you another entry into the draw (just make sure you leave a comment here letting us know).

Do you know what you are hopping for? Take a look- Some Ezee Pzee die-cuts along with a few other products such as Stickles, Spritz, ink pads, paper.

So what are you waiting for? The blog hop starts January 19th and ends on January 25th. Here is a list of the design team members blogs with links.

Rena ( that's me!) My projects for the Blog Hop are in the previous post.
Dana
Diana
Jennifer
Katie
Shelley

If you leave a comment as an Anonymous ID, please add your name so we can contact you, and come back on Jan 25th to see if you won.
Good Luck and good "hopping" !!

Ezee Pzee Design Team Project Reveal

2011-01-19T15:19:00.000-07:00

The January Ezee Pzee kit consisted of several die-cuts, with some extra items which included a die-cut of wheat, a piece of slate and a feather. There was a caveat attached that we had to use all the items in our kit.

Lovely wooden album covers were included with our kits and I took my cue from that, thinking that we had to make a photo album.

Now, I must admit I am not a scrapbooker so this project was a real challenge for me. Also, we are not big "picture takers", except when we are on vacation and then they are usuallly scenic shots. I went through the pictures on my computer and selected several that I liked, resized them and printed them.

Project #1
This is the cover of the album. Since it is wooden I did not want todo too much to it. All I did was paint it with some wood stain, added some colour to the lettering and attached the Ezee Pzee leather Maple Leaf and a little piece of ribbon that is in the shapes of maple leafs.

My first page is of Lily (a Dachshund) and Tigger the cat. Neither of these are our pets but we agreed to babysit them while their "parents" were away.

The background is done withClearsnap's Fluid Chalk inks, the Word stamps are by Hero Arts, the paw one-unknown. The little bone is a button that I had in my stash. The curlicue and the circle are Ezee Pzee die-cuts. The curlicue is coloured with Smooch ink and the little circle is covered with Glitter Ritz to simulate a ball.

The second page I used the colours from the picture to make the background. I stamped and embossed the Impression Obsession stamp with white ink and embossing powder, went over the whole surface with Fluid Chalk ink and sprayed it with Adirondack spray, then ironed it between two sheets of newsprint to remove the embossing powder. I attached the picture to a piece of red cardstock, then to a piece of white cardstock and stamped the Inkadinkado "kisses and hugs" with Versfine ink. I coloured the paper lace to coordinate with the page and attached it to the left. The Ezee Pzee die cut flourish was embossed with Distress embossing powder and dusted with Perfect Pearls.

Page three is my son and I on a day out when we went out for supper. The background is done with pigment inks on which I stamped the flourish background with Adirondack dye ink. I then framed the picture with a coral coloured Cuttlebug embossed piece then with a blue piece and stamped a Hero Arts script stamp around the edge with Brilliance frost white.

I stamped the Inkadinkado Word Stamp with Versafine ink, added some coral fluid chalk around the word, edged it with a blue marker and attached it to the page. I took some paper flowers and stamped over them with the HA script stamp and set them aside. I coloured the Ezee Pzee flower shapes with Smooch ink then stamped them with the script stamp and Brilliance Ink and added a little pearl as the centre.

Page four is my Husband Joe in his truck while on a visit to my Sister. The background is fluid chalk inks, and I stamped some hearts in alabaster white to give a soft background. After placing the picture on the page, I stamped the words in white ink and embossing powder then went over them with fluid chalk ink. The words happiness and sweet are by Inkadinkado, Ride is individual Hero Arts Alphabets and the word MY is Tim Holtz die-cuts which I embossed with red pigment ink and clear embossing powder. The final touch was to add the beautiful Ezee Pzee leather leaves from a previous kit.

Page five, another fluid chalk ink background done in the 'stamp smoosh' technique I learned from the wonderful Cathie Allan. The pictures are of myself and my cousin-in-law who has been become one of my best friends. The frames are some from my stash. The Ezee Pzee flourish was embossed with Judikins Twinkle embossing powders. I used the piece of shale on this page because it made me think about the beautiful Rocky mountains in Jasper and Banff National Parks.

Page six is the newest addition to my family-my great-great nephew Cohen. The background is a resist done on white glossy cardstock with watermark and Big and Juicy ink brayered on top. The large C is a Hero Arts stamp that I stamped, cut out and embossed with Judikins Twinkle embossing powder; the other letters are chipboard pieces covered with Glitter Ritz.

The little buggy is a Cuttlebug embossed piece that I rubbed Tsukineko Versamagic Ink over to highlight the raised portions. The Ezee Pzee photo corners were painted with acrylic paint and Smooch ink and a gem added. The little rattle was an item I had in my embellishment container.

Page seven is from a camping trip to Jasper and yes it really did snow in July!

The background is iridescent paper that I embossed with the Cuttlebug snowflake embossing folder. I punched out the border with a Martha Stewart punch and added it to the top and bottom. The letters are a Tim Holtz die cut that I covered with Stickles.

The Ezee Pzee tree was coloured with Smooch ink and the little pearls added. I used my labeler machine to print out Jasper National Park.

In August 2010 we had a family reunion with my Sister, Brother-in- Law, their children and grandchildren. This picture is their 3 daughters and oldest son. The background is another resist page with the Big and Juicy ink brayered on glossy white cardstock. The letters at the top of the page and the jewelled flourish are stickers that I found at the dollar store. Instead of framing the image with cardstock I took a mica tile and stamped and embossed a Magenta butterfly on the edges. I adhered it over the photo with glossy accents.

I coloured some glossy cardstock and stamped the Hero Arts stamp on it and punched it out to add to the bottom left. The Ezee Pzee flower die-cuts were inked with pigment ink and embossed with clear embossing powder, and the same Hero Arts stamp was used to add the words. I coloured three buttons with a Krylon leafing pen and glued them to the flowers.

Every year we spend the September Labour day weekend with my Husband's side of the family. We play games and share lots of good times with them and our extended family.

For this page I chose a shaving cream background and stamped a Magenta Flourish stamp with Versafine ink. The Lost and Found frames and PSX and Inkadinkado words were stamped and embossed with gold ink and embossing powder. The Ezee Pzee die-cut was coloured with Smooch ink and the flower portion covered with Adirondack paint and a flower brad inserted in the middle.

Page 10. My beloved nephew Jamie passed away suddenly in October 2010 and I wanted to do a page in his memory. He truly loved his family and was so loved in return and we all miss him so much-we have very large holes in our hearts.

For this page I did the background in orange tones and greens. It was not until I had done it that I realized orange was one of Jamie's favourite colours. The picture is one that my niece sent of her with Jamie and it so reflects how I think of him; smiling and joking.

The Hero Arts words were stamped and embossed in black then fluid chalk inks applied over the top, and edged with a marker. The frame is a piece of yellow cardstock that was embossed with a cuttlebug folder, and fluid chalk inks applied over the top.

The Ezee Pzee tree die-cut was coloured with smooch inks and then I added some Glitter Ritz on the trunk and branches. To complete it I printed off "Jamie" and the dates on my labeler machine and attached them to the leaves.

Page eleven is a picture of my great niece and great-great nieces from Scotland and was taken at the Valley Zoo when they came for a visit.

The background was stamped with a thistle stamp and Alabaster fluid chalk and sprayed with Memories mists. I then stamped the thistle again around the bottom with green fluid chalks.

I stamped and embossed the Sunshine Designs flower stamps several times and coloured them with coloured pencils and Smooch ink. I added a sequin to the centre of each flower. The little punch out flowers are from a piece of cardstock that I had covered with glitter.

The word at the top is a portion of a Paper Inspirations stamp, stamped and embossed in green then covered with coral fluid chalk ink. The Ezee Pzee die-cut was embossed with opal embossing powders and stamped into with a stamp while hot to give it dimension.

The final page is our Christmas tree taken a few years ago. I did the background with a Hero Arts pine needle stamp and fluid chalk inks. The frame is done with pigment inks and a snowflake stamp. Both were edged with markers. The chipboard letters were painted with white acrylic paint, added frosted lace Stickles then covered them with Cool Highlights Glitter Ritz. The three small snowflakes are white brads covered with Diamond Stickles. The large snowflake is an Ezee Pzee die-cut which I painted with white acrylic paint and added the Diamond Stickles over the top.

Project #2 and3 As I said at the beginning of this post, we had to use all the items in our kit so I had to come up with something to make with the remaining two items, the feather and the wheat die-cut.

The feather became an Artist Trading card. I took a ATC background piece that I had made a year ago as the base. I stamped a Canada Goose postage stamp on glossy cardstock and placed it on the background, I attached a Maple Leaf brad and placed the feather under it and across the stamped image.

The wheat die-cut was made into a pendant. I took a pendant blank and stamped onto it with Stazon white ink. I then took the wheat die-cut and covered it with yellow pigment ink, added some Opals embossing powder and heat set it. I added Fantasy Film over this layer and clear UTEE embossing powder. Repeated this step twice and stamped into it while hot. This gave the piece a little bit of definition. I glued a gem to the top and glued the die cut to the pendant blank.

Secret Santa Gift

2011-01-14T16:20:00.000-07:00

On Artventures I participated in a Secret Santa swap where we made one gift and send it to our partner in time for Christmas. My partner was Maggi and I decided on a Christmas theme gift.

I had watched a video on the Hero Arts site where the designer used a switch plate to make an ornament and thought I would try something similar.

I had an old double switch plate cover that my DH gave me, so I covered it with some beautiful Poinsettia scrapbook paper by Magenta . I added some vellum snowflake paper to the background for the inserts.

I stamped and embossed the little Christmas tree (Hero Arts)added a few pearls as ornaments and attached it to the background. Added some gold snowflakes and the alphabets chipboard which were covered with Glitter Ritz glitter.

I then coloured the little elf from Ezee Pzee, put some coloured paper behind his eyes and ears, then added beads for his nose and the package, and a pearl to his hat.

This is at it's new home with Maggi, who had it displayed over the Christmas season.

Gothic Arch

2011-01-14T15:03:00.001-07:00

The latest swap on AFTCM is a Gothic Arch with the theme of "Under the Sea".

I started by making my template on a piece of cardboard, then traced it on to a piece of 130lb cardstock.

I coloured the background with some dye inks then stamped the Postal Shell stamp in dark blue.

My idea was to make the piece look like an underwater cave, so I added embossing paste and gold mica flake paste around the edges. I then, coloured it with metallic blue paint and some mica watercolours.

I stamped the seashell stamp again on acetate with white Stazon ink and added some glitter to the back and attached it to the arch with some Glossy Accents.

I coloured some cardstoc with dye inks and stamped the fishes in Ancient Page Coal, then cut them out and attached them with some double-sided tape. I made some water bubbles by dropping glossy accents on a sheet of label backing paper (shiny side up) then when they dried, removed them and added them to the arch above each fish.

I wanted to add something else and found a mermaid that fit my colour scheme perfectly, printed it off; adhered it to cardstock and cut it out and attached it to the edge of the "cave".

To complete the arch, I added some starfish gems that I found at my little Dollar store, and some seashells that I brought back from a trip to Scotland a few years ago.

Rolodex Swap

2011-01-14T14:55:00.000-07:00

On AFTCM we are doing a monthly Rolodex Card swap, with a different country featured each month. For this month the country was Greece.

I was lucky to get some Rolodex cards cheap at Staples and a friend who had been to Greece very kindly shared some of her pictures with me.

I printed of the pictures from my friend Christine and also some pics of the Greek flag. I added the pictures to the card then cut out the inserts with an Exacto knife. I took a punch with the Greek Key motif and punched out pieces of coordinating cardstock and attached them to the sides.

I then printed out the name of the Greek village with my labeler and attached them to the card.

Cinderella Slipper

2011-01-14T14:48:00.000-07:00

I joined a swap in AFTCM where we make a 3-d or flat Cinderella Slipper.

The template was obtained from Terri's blog which includes a video on how to put the shoe together.

I traced the template onto some light cardboard and then covered each piece with some of my Faux Washi paper that I had in my handmade papers. Here is a link to how to make this paper on Trish B's site.

Once I had the shoe put together, I added some lace to the front, along with some fancy metal trim. I also added some plain metal trim around the top of the back portion of the shoe.

I wanted to add a flower but the ones I had did not work well. I discovered a tutorial/video on making flowers on Joanne's blog and decided to give it a try. I sprayed my petals with Smooch Spritz prior to putting the flower together. To complete the flower I punched out some leaves from a piece of Cuttlebug embossed cardstock, sprayed them with a coordinating colour of Smooch Spritz.

I added a heel using a child's alphabet block that I cut down, but it was a bit "wonky" so later on I removed it and added two wooden circles coloured with a plum fluid chalk ink.

great blog candy give away

2010-12-17T17:20:00.000-07:00

Erika, over at Taylored Concepts has a really large prize up for grabs. And I do mean large. You really got to see this giveaway.

Second Ezee Pzee Design Team Project

2010-11-22T22:54:00.001-07:00

For my second project I decided to use a canvas. I started by colouring the background with some USArtquest Mica watercolour paints. After it dried I stamped and embossed a large flourish stamp in gold.

I covered the right side of the canvas with gel medium and placed some fantasy film over the top and heat set it with my embossing gun, then stamped and embossed the flourish stamp over the top again.

I added some snowflakes on the left with a stencil and molding paste. When they dried I painted them with the pearl white mica watercolour paint, then added some iridescent foil over the top. At the bottom I adhered the Tim Holtz musical tissue tape and painted over it with the mica watercolour paint to make it blend in more. To finish the sides and top I applied some opalite embossing powder and heated it.

The Ezee Pzee toy soldier was first coloured with colorbox fluid chalk inks, his face with acrylic paints, and the hat band and strings were painted with a gold leafing pen. I wanted it to be more vibrant so painted it with some varnish. I attached gold metallic cardstock behind the epaulets and the areas in the front of the uniform, then added glossy accents to fill the areas. The buttons are little green pearl embellishments.

Since I did not have the cut-out piece for the mustache I had to draw my own on black cardstock and embossed it with clear embossing powder. I had a bunch of the little googly eyes from previous craft projects and added them (sorry he is a bit cross-eyed as they kept moving when I scanned it LOL!).

I added a piece from an old earring as an emblem on his hat and a feather to finish it off.

First Project for the Ezee Pzee Design team

2010-11-22T22:33:00.000-07:00

I received my wonderful box of goodies from Kathy at Engravit the company that makes the Ezee Pzee die cuts. It was filled with an array of items to play with and I got started with the first project.

I decided to make a Christmas card as I am way behind on my list.

I took a piece of 130Lb cardstock and did the "stamp smoosh" technique which I learned from Cathie Allan, using Clearsnap's Fluid chalks. I stamped and embossed the Poinsettia stamp then coloured it with Smooch Inks. I edged the panel with a red marker.

The little Elf was coloured with Acrylic Paints and I added some distress ink to the toy bag to give it definition. I added some smooch ink over the top of the Elf's clothing and the bow. I attached metallic cardstock pieces behind the words, and the elf's ears and eyes, and a bead for his nose.

The saying was stamped and embossed on an extra piece of the background and edged with the marker.

Ezee Pzee play time

2010-11-18T17:38:00.000-07:00

As you may have noticed I was chosen for a spot on a design team called Ezee Pzee by Engravit. I was really happy to be on the team as this is a local company and they have a good variety of chipboard pieces.

Prior to being chosen I had bought a pack of the chipboard and last night I decided to play with a couple of them.

For the first item, I took the little mitten and sealed it with some SoJonia sealer, then painted it with some green metallic paint. I added some lovely red velvet rick-rack as the cuff. I have some winter saying rub-ons and applied one of them to the body of the mitten.

I took a piece of cardstock that I had stamped ( a scrap I was not happy with!) edged it with a red marker, then applied three snowflake stickers that I got at the dollar store. I attached the mitten with some sturdy 465 3M tape.

In this same package there was a little sleigh/sled and I could not think of how to use it, then I finally decided to make a Christmas Card with it.

I took a piece of white cardstock and stamped and embossed the snow covered tree and added some Stickles glitter to simulate snow. I coloured the remaining portion of the cardstock with some light blue chalk for a sky look. I discovered some Christmas frames with other embellishments at the dollar store, and chose one with red elements and applied the frame over the stamped image. This was applied to a red card front with double-sided foam tape.

I took the sled and sealed it then painted the main part with red acrylic paint and coloured the runners with a silver Krylon leafing pen. I coloured a piece of thin twine with a dark brown fluid chalk stamp pad using a Clearsnap stylus and black foam tip. I attached it to the front of the sled add some little gold and green embellishments to the sides. Again I added some Stickles glitter around the sled. To finish it I used another one of the rub-ons on the body of the sled.

I took a photo turn and attached a screw brad in the hole and attached it to the side of the frame, and hung the twine over it, and adhered the sled with some double-sided foam tape at the bottom of the card.

Canvas ATC"S

2010-11-18T17:13:00.000-07:00

In my Art-Ventures group, Carol S proposed a swap for ATC's on canvas. Luckily I had a couple of canvas ATC bases and joined the swap. As it turns out only 3 of us joined in so I had sufficient to complete the swap.

I decided to do the same technique but in different colours.

I painted the bases with gesso and let it dry. I coloured the first one with green paint, let it dry then added blue over the top. I let it dry a bit then spritzed it with rubbing alcohol and then dabbed over it with a cloth, allowing some of the green to show through. For the second one, I painted the base with orange, let it dry then added a burgandy red over it and followed the same procedure as the first, allowing some of the orange to show.

After they dried completely, I embossed them with a dreamweavers stencil and embossing paste and set them aside. When they were dry I used leafing on both. On the the orange/red one I applied a variagated orange colour, then I added some green apple smooch ink to the vines and to cover some of the areas missed by the leafing I coloured with Pumpkin Smooch ink.

On the blue one I coloured the vines with the Green Apple Smooch, but the silver on the flowers was a bit glaring so I coloured over them with some Ocean Soul Smooch ink, let it sit for a few seconds then gently wiped them with a kleenex.

To complete the cards I printed and cut out two images from Moonlight Journey and placed some little frames over them. Both were coloured with some metallic rub-ons in coordinating colours to match the backgrounds.

Scraplings

2010-11-15T22:50:00.000-07:00

I joined another swap to make some two Scraplings. Basically these are miniature card which are normally 1.25" X 4.25" because they are made from off-cuts after making a card or other project. The premise is to use all your scraps to complete the Scrapling.
This is a great way to use pieces that you would normally throw away.

This particular swap has a red/green/white colour scheme, but how we create it is entirely up to us.

I ended up making three as I was actually enjoying the whole process.

For the one on the left, I stamped an image with Vivid ink, outlined it with a green marker and attached it to the green cardstock. I added a red die-cut and a pearl embellishment which I coloured with alcohol ink. I wrapped some green thread around the card and added some white pearls. To complete it I stamped the saying with fluid chalk ink and attached it with double sided tape.

The middle one was just a fun idea I had as the image is one of my favourites. I stamped the base with some green Versafine ink using a background stamp. I stamped the face with warm red fluid chalk ink and cut it out. I added some velvet rick-rack at the bottom then inserted the face just above it. I stamped and embossed the word Zen and the Z's on a piece of scrap cardstock and coloured it with the red fluid chalk and outlined them in green. I made a crown out of a stamped scrap piece of paper and added it above the Z's. For the final touch I took a punched flower, another scrap piece and added a little paper gem to finish off the bottom.

The last card was stamped and embossed in white on the red card base. I took a sticker and attached it to a piece of white cardstock and clear embossed it. I coloured around the sticker with two colours of green fluid chalks. I then stamped a swirly snowflake stamp in red over the area, and wiped off the overstamping on the sticker. I framed it by using Be-creative (Sookwang) tape and Hunter Green Glitter Ritz. I had some little butterfly embellishments but felt it needed something so I attached a couple of tiny beads for the body and glued it to the top. I added some gem pieces to the bottom to complete it.

I am not sure which two I will be sending to my partner but I guess I can decide that when the swap closes.

I'll Be Home for Christmas Tags

2010-11-11T13:09:00.007-07:00

On AFTCM I joined a swap to make two tags for a partner with the theme I'll Be Home for Christmas. The size and interpretation of the theme is entirely up to us.

The first tag I made, I fell back to using one of my favourite colours-blue. I had some cardstock that I had already coloured using stamps and fluid chalk inks with a touch of gold. I cut this to size in the shape of a house and stamped the image by Paper Inspirations with Versafine Black Onyx ink and coloured some of the areas. I stamped a piece of vellum with the Hero Arts Music Sheet stamp and attached it to the top to simulate a roof. I then edged the piece with a blue marker.

On the same cardstock I added some Brilliance Pearlescent Lavender ink, cut pieces to fit around the edge of the image then stamped the various word stamps using stamps from Hero Arts and TPC Studios and attached them to the sides and bottom with double-side foam tape.

For the top I stamped "Believe" from a Tim Holtz stamp and edged it in gold and attached it with the double-sided foam tape. I then punched some snowflakes, added glitter and glued them to the top and sides of the word.

To make the second tag I started by cutting the cardstock template in a house shape with a chimney. I coloured the background with red and green Clearsnap fluid chalk inks. I stamped an Inkadinkado snowflake flourish stamp and embossed it with green glitter then repeated it in a couple of areas and embossed it in white.

For the chimney I used a portion of a Christmas stamp by Stampington and Co., stamped it twice and added it to the left-hand side and added glitter to the top to simulate snow. I also added some metallic tape to the top of the roof.

I took a small chipboard frame and embossed it with pearl green embossing powder and stamped a holly stamp into it while hot. I added some red Stickles for the berries, then inserted the picture of the little girl courtesy of Trish B, added a piece of transparency over the top to protect it and attached it to the tag.

I coloured a piece of cardstock with green fluid chalks, stamped and embossed the saying by Rubber Stampede and attached it with double-sided foam tape. To complete the tag I added the little poinsettia embellishment.

I hope my partner will be pleased with the two tags.

Easel ATC

2010-11-10T23:41:00.000-07:00

On DCI I am participating in a swap where we are making an ATC with an easel.

I started by printing of some Bingo ATC backgrounds by Lisa Vollrath. I then stamped and embossed a Tim Holtz flourish in Gold on the right-hand side. I coloured the edges of the ATC with Vivid and Adirondack inks to add some depth.

I cut some light blue/gray cardstock to fit the top of the ATC and coloured the edges with the same inks. I then stamped and embossed the word stamp Postcard (Lost and Found Stamps) in gold. I attached this to the top with double-sided tape.

I printed off an image from Moonlight Journey's Autumn sheet and cut out the girl after adhering it to some cardstock and attached it with double-side foam tape.

I took some printer paper and coloured it with the same inks as the ATC and stamped a word stamp (Lost and Found) then ripped it in half and adhered it to the bottom of the card. To finish it off I coloured some paper flowers with Smooch Ink, added a little heart shaped gem to the centre and attached it to the top of the scroll.

I then made the easel and attached the ATC to the top portion. I added some decorative paper to the inside of the easel. I cut another piece of the blue/gray cardstock coloured the edges with the blue inks, punched a circle from different decorative paper and placed a little embellishment in the centre. I attached this at the bottom to make a stop-guard for the ATC.

Home Decor for Christmas

2010-11-10T23:10:00.000-07:00

I have not taken any classes since my local rubber stamp store closed last year, but we now have another store Scrap 'N Bean that is offering various classes, so I decided to take this one last week, you can view the class picture at Engravit (scroll to the bottom of the page).

The three blocks of wood are covered with decorative paper then distressed by sanding and adding ink to the edges. The Embellishments are covered with Judikins glaze and coloured with alcohol inks, the snowflakes are Ezee Pzee die-cuts which have been cut down into various sizes and attached to the piece.

I added my own twist to it. I added glitter to the snowflakes and added some Magenta beads as berries on the leaves. I still have to add ribbon and raffia to the edges.
Sorry the picture does not do it justice as it came out quite light when I photographed it.

Altered CD Jewell Case

2010-11-08T13:10:00.002-07:00

In the AFTCM group I am doing a swap where we alter a CD case and make a booklet to go inside with a winter theme.

I started by cutting some lunamatte paper to fit inside the front portion of the CD cover folded in half; which would be the booklet. I used two pieces so it would not be too bulky.

I stamped images, coloured them with Copic and Tombo markers, added glitter to some of the pages and added colour with my inkpads and Clearsnap stylus, and edged some with my markers. I finished it by sewing the centre together with some blue metallic thread.

For the front of the case I covered it in some silver toned paper. I stamped a Magenta image with brown memories ink added some white and silver glitter around the edges, I attached this to the centre. For the left edge I stamped and embossed the saying and edged it with a marker, and added some snowflake stickers.

For the inside right I took a piece of cardstock cut in a circle the size of a CD and covered it with black paper. I inked it with several colours of Opalite inks then stamped a snowflake background (Pedlars Pack) with Brilliance Moonlight White. I then took a snowflake cut-out and stamped and embossed a snowflake image on it an attached it to the centre of the circle. I added a little tree brad at the top and taped the circle to the area where the CD would be placed.

I also wanted to include a little extra item with the CD case. I recently bought some die-cuts made by a local company Ezee Pzee (Engravit.net), one being a snowflake. I took this and embossed one side with Peacock glitter embossing powder. On the other side I painted it with white acrylic paint and then embossed it with a different colour of glitter embossing powder. This is hung over the tree brad and can be removed to use on the Christmas tree or as a package topper, or whatever else the recipient chooses.

I also painted the black portion of the CD holder with a silver Krylon leafing pen, as I felt that the black was a bit glaring against the images.

This will be mailed and on it's way to my partner sometime this week.

One of a Kind Dimensional Door Swap

2010-10-22T20:06:00.001-06:00

Carol S is hosting a swap on Art-Venturers for a One of a Kind Dimensional Door Swap. The rules are:

it must have a door/gate/arch that can open,
reveal something behind the door,
and be so thick that it can not fit in a regular envelope with normal postage

As usual, I jumped in with both feet an joined the swap!! For my first attempt at getting the depth on the ATC I did the base with my picture, then I added the top using a piece of foamcore. Now this might have worked for the thickness, but I had trouble trying to figure out how to attach a door or window and also how to conceal the ragged edges of the the foamcore.

Back to the drawing board; I retained the base picture that I was originally going to use, which is from Ceremony-Share, but instead of leaving it "as-is", I added some colour to it with Stabilo Chalk pencils. Printed and cut out an image from ArtbyJean, and mounted it with double-sided foam tape. I added a wee circle "thingy" and a part from old jewellery at the top.

I started thinking about what to do to make this thick, so I took some popsicle sticks and cut them to size to fit on the edge of the base ATC and attached them with some Sookwang tape.

For the top of the ATC I took a piece that I had coloured with some Perfect Pearls and some other mediums, and measured out the door and cut it on the top and middle. I embossed some columns on the sides and some small stamped images at the top and bottom.

I added tiny screw brads along with some faux metal pieces for the edges on the door. To hide the back of the brads I added an embossed piece of cardstock to the back of the door. For the door closure I chose to use string clasps, but instead of string I used some stretchy metallic thread and adhered a couple of flat beads.

House shaped ATC

2010-10-22T17:39:00.001-06:00

On DCI we are doing a swap for a House shaped ATC with or without a chimney, and the artists choice of themes.

I recently saw a video by Maria Loomis for a vintage tag technique and decided to use it for my background. I actually started by colouring my ATC with Vivid inks then embossed it in my Cuttlebug. I added both Tattered Angels sprays and Smooch Spritz to it. I added Vintage Photo and Soot Distress Inks to the edges.

I took a piece of transparency and stamped the HIT stamp with Stazon ink and adhered it to the background with Glossy Accents. I glued the image of the little girl onto some cardstock to give it body, then attached it to the background. Printed off the clock face and added a little sticker to the centre then attached it to the top of the ATC. I found some gorgeous ribbon at my local stamp store and attached a portion to the side and then coloured part of it with Smooch green Apple Ink.

To accentuate the roses at the bottom of the little girl I added some red micro beads.

To complete the ATC I coloured some cardstock with Vivid inks spritzed it with Smooch Spritz and stamped a saying. I then cut this in to pieces and attached to the ATC.

This is the one I kept for myself and the colour palette is a wee bit lighter than the ones I mailed to all the participants.

A card for a special friend

2010-09-14T22:30:00.000-06:00

A dear friend of mine who has been widowed for a number of years is getting married this month, and I decided to make a wedding card for her and her groom.

I first stamped the couple (Inkadinkado) and coloured it with Lyra colour pencils. I made a mask and covered the stamped image with it, the did the background.

The background was done with Fluid Chalk inks, then I stamped Mica Magic Yellow Gold with a heart stamp in various areas.

I just bought a gorgeous flourish stamp by Hero Arts, and decided to use it on the card. I left the mask in place on the cardstock and stamped the flourish with Pigment Goldrush ink and embossed it with Ancient Gold Embossing powder. After heat setting, I removed the mask.

I played around with various ideas to put at the top left corner to finish the card. I tried various stamps using my stamp positioner to see how they would look, but did not like any of them. I finally decided on using die cut letters, (cut out 3 times and glued togehter to make them thicker) to spell out LOVE. Again, I fiddled with various mediums on them, and finally settled on embossing them with the same Ancient Gold embossing powder.

I edged the card front with a marker and adhered the panel to a card base in a mustard yellow colour.

Accordian Artist Trading Cards

2010-09-14T22:18:00.000-06:00

As usual I jumped in with both feet and joined a swap for an accordian atc. Was not sure if I was on the right track but I sat down and made it.

The theme was architecture, so I used stamps of buildings, houses and other related items as well as free images I had saved on my computer. So her is what I ended up with after playing around for a few days. First pic is the cover.

The back cover just contains my name and email addy as well as the group name, with a little stamped piece on the edge to cover the accordian binding.

Calendar Pages-Prototype #2

2010-09-02T14:59:00.000-06:00

I was back in my craft room last night and still not sure about the first prototype that I made, so I started playing around with an another idea, part of it being inspired by Cathie Allan's article in the October issue of Scrap and Stamp Arts.

I decided to make a page that would reflect a little bit about Remembrance Day (Veteran's Day in the US) and did the stamp smoosh technique again using blue tones at the top for the sky and red, creamy brown and yellow at the bottom.

I printed the poem In Flanders Fields written by John McRae, a Canadian Doctor who served in WW1, and placed it on a piece of red card stock. I stamped the birds (Tim Holtz) on the "sky" portion to represent the larks mentioned in the poem.

I have a lovely Poppy stamp (Embossing Arts) and thought I would use it. I started with a piece of white cardstock and used the "smack down" technique from Cathie's article using a large and small tulip stamp by Magenta Style and gold pigment ink and Mica Magic burnt orange.

I placed the cardstock in the Cathie Allan Postion-it and stamped the poppy head in Blackbird fluid chalk. I coloured it in with some of the burnt orange ink and the tip of a smooch ink applicator. I highlighted with gold lame smooch ink, did the centre with mollasses smooch ink, then added siren smooch ink over the entire piece. With the cardstock still in the positioner I stamped the image again with the blackbird fluid chalk ink. I did three of these and cut them out.

I took a piece of white cardstock and cut it to look like a cross and added a little red punch flower to it, and placed it on top of the poppies. This again has all the images taped on it as I am still debating about what to do for this swap.

Any comments or critique appreciated. Let me know which one you like best if you were the recipient of this calendar page since I am still torn as to which way to go with the pages.

Calendar Pages-Prototype #1

2010-09-02T14:36:00.000-06:00

I joined a calendar swap and started working on my prototype for the month of November.

Where I live we quite often have snow in November, so I was thinking of a cold or snowy picture when I started creating this page.

I started by taking some 80Lb cream cardstock and Clearsnap fluid chalks inks and did a background using alabaster, ice blue and lavender using the Stamp Smoosh technique I learned from the wonderful Cathie Allan. You load a solid stamp with ink and smoosh it around on the card stock until all the ink is gone and keep repeating this until you are happy with it.

Using Tsukineko Imperial Purple ink, I stamped the church stamp and added the large tree at the left, both from Stampscapes Since we have a lot of Birch trees here I decided to add a few using a stamp (Stampendous) stamping the first image, masking it off and then adding more to make a grove of trees.

It looked a bit naked so I took a stamp with a road, hills and trees (A stamp in the Hand), masked off part of it and stamped it below the church.

I also decided to add a moon using a negative image of a punched circle. I started by colouring it with a grey coloured pencil, added some Twinkling H2O buttercup. then Pearl-ex express white pearl and iridescent violet. This stuck out like a sore thumb so I took the fluid chalk alabaster and dabbed it over the moon with a stylus and white applicator, which toned it down.

Since this is a prototype the calendar grid is only taped on till I decide whether or not I am completely happy with what I created.

Witches Hour Torso Tags

2010-08-28T23:10:00.005-06:00

I just joined a new group Art for the Creative Mind and have already signed up for a couple of swaps. One of the swaps is where we make two torso shaped tags with the theme Witches Hour i.e. Halloween.

The first one I coloured with Clearsnap fluid chalk inks but it was not intense enough, so I spritzed the top and bottom with Glimmer Mists and went over the centre with some Mica Magic Burnt Orange ink. I stamped the Stampscapes Crooked Limb stamp with the Smokey Gray Versafine ink pad, then I added the images and saying from Vintage Paint Works which were one of the free downloads on their site.

To complete the tag, I added some little confetti stars at the top and some maple leaf punchies at the centre and bottom.

For the second tag, I started by punching out a circle and placing the negative part on the tag, and colored it with some yellow pigment ink then some silver over a portion of it, then added some iridescent violet mica watercolour paint over the same area.

I masked the circle with the punched out piece and using the tonal applicator stamp (Stampscapes), I added colour, starting with Clearsnap's Vivid yellow along the centre up to the top, then Marvy Matchables inks in Salvia Blue, Blue, Pale Violet and Green.

I stamped a Stampscapes fir tree, crooked limb stamp and a cloud stamp with Clearsnap's Coal Black Ancient Page. The Owl image is from Vintage Paint Works. The remaining images are from Dover Publications; (You can sign up and receive free samples each week from them by following the link).

Although I don't normally make any Halloween art, I did enjoy making these two tags.

E is for...

2010-08-25T21:13:00.001-06:00

On Art-Ventures we are continuing on with the Alphabet swap that we started on CCSwaps. This month is E for....

I have several blank notebooks so thought I would use one of them for this swap. My E is for embossing ( both dry and heat), Electric Blue Smooch Spritz and embellishments.

I started by taking a cardboard insert that I saved from something I bought, cut it to size and on the white front I used Clearsnap fluid chalk inks (Yellow Cadmium, Lavender and Deep Lagoon) and the "stamp smooch" technique that I learned from Cathie Allan.

I heat set it and then stamped the flourish stamp by Magenta using Clearsnap Platinum MetaleXtra Pigment Inkpad and Platinum Embossing Powder, at the top and bottom of the page. I outlined the page with Krylon silver ink and attached it to the front of the notebook.

I had some pieces of cardstock that I had previously embossed with my Cuttlebug and I chose a navy blue piece that had words embossed on it. I took a Versamagic inkpad and rubbed it across the piece. Was not entirely happy with it so then I sprayed it with Clearsnap's Electric Blue Smooch Spritz; attached this to the centre of the cover.

I took a piece of an old book page and smooshed Milled Lavendar distress ink over it and edged it with Black Soot distress ink, then took some water and rubbed it over the edge to blend the colour in to the paper. When dry I added this to the front of the embossed piece.

I cut out an image from Moonlight Journey and attached it to the middle of the embossed piece. I had some tiny die-cut swirls in my stash, so I embossed them with the platinum ink and embossing powder and glued them to the edges of the image. I had some chrome buttons that I cut the backs off and attached them to the right hand corner and the bottom of the notebook.

I hope my partner will be pleased with this.

Completed Vision Book Received

2010-08-25T20:26:00.000-06:00

I received all my pages for the DCI Vision Book and have bound them (although not very well). Because it was so fat it was hard to keep it in the binding machine, but I am so thrilled with all the pages and so glad to have been a part of this swap with all these wonderful talented artists!

Here are all the pages that I received:

DCI Fat Vision Book pages completed

2010-07-22T20:22:00.002-06:00

After checking some local stores as well as some while we were away for a few days, I managed to find some additional embellishments for my Fat Book. I found some little coins and some brads (bathing trunks and lounge chairs) and some flag cocktail picks. I also made a little compass with shrink plastic and grommets painted with a copper krylon pen and found some other things in my stash.

I changed the colours on some of the stamped images and added some other details.
I hope all the ladies will be pleased with my take on this.

This is the page back and front with the added embellishments. They will be mailed to the participants in the next couple of days.

Fat Vision Board Book

2010-06-24T20:23:00.000-06:00

I signed up for a fat book swap on DCI which is based on a vision book and has to have lots of embellishments both on the page and dangling from the sides which means it will not close completely when bound. Each person was assigned a specific theme.

I have a lot to do in July and thought I would get a head start on this, although to be honest not sure about it as the only vision board examples I could find are just a bunch of pictures collaged on a strata.

I have done a mock up of what I think it should be for this swap, without the embellishments dangling off the side as I still have to buy some for my theme, which is Travel.

When I think about travelling, I think of the scenery first, the sky, sea, mountains, lakes and sunsets, so I started by colouring my page in colours that remind me of those things. I then stamped a bunch of pieces that represent different modes of travel, a postcard, and a travel type image. I also stamped some film strips and printed off tiny pictures of various scenic areas, and of course a camera, since when travelling pictures are a "must" to preserve all the memories. Found some stamp embellishments in my stash so added one of those, stamped a small image on to card stock then on to a small chipboard piece. Also smashed some bottle caps, stamped a postage franque (frank) on card stock coloured with Vivid inks, punched it out and placed it in the bottle cap. These few items have added some dimension to the page. The little lighthouse is stamped, cut out, then covered with Glossy Accents, however, I may do it in a different colour as it blends in to the background too much.

So far nothing is glued to the page, just taped on since I am still playing with the whole layout and might change or add some things-- still not sure if I am on the right track with this!! Any constructive criticism, ideas or thoughts would be appreciated.

Fabric Charms

2010-06-19T16:13:00.004-06:00

Another swap on the Stitches Coven group; we are to make 5 similar charms constructed out of our handmade fabric which consists of layering fabric and other materials together using Misty Fuse or in my case Heat and Bond.

I started off with a hot pink organza as the base, added some different colours of moon paper. The next layer was some glittery gauze type paper from Magenta Style along with some Mulberry paper. The next layer was some fancy threads and red netting.

After constructing this I cut out two strips and added Pellon to the back, then cut two strips and sewed the long edges with my tiny serger. I then cut these two pieces into different sizes and sewed the other edges with my Tiny Serger. I decided to use different colours of eyelets, and punched the holes with my Japanese Screw Punch then attached the eyelets with my eyelet setter.

Will be sending these off to the hostess in the next week.

Fabric Paper Postcard

2010-06-16T20:00:00.000-06:00

The second swap in Stitches Coven is to make a postcard using homemade fabric or fabric paper. I chose to use the fabric paper. The paper was made by using a Jaycloth as the bottom layer, then placed pieces of gift wrap over it with watered down white school glue. Then I added some tissue paper that I had previously coloured over the top. Normally the tissue is plain white and the colours added afterwards.

I cut the paper to 4"X6" for the postcard size then cut additional strips, and punched out three circles.I attached paper flowers and beads to the circles with invisible thread. I took the two strips and stamped them with some Mica Magic inkpads to add a wee bit of contrast.

I added some batting to the 4"X6" piece and stitched it in squares on my sewing machine. I then took the two strips and attached some ribbon behind and sewed the pieces to the ribbon. I attached the strips to the postcard with some Wonder-Under making sure the ends were tucked in well. I then sewed the little circle flowers to the postcard.

I cut a piece of fabric the same size as the postcard and attached it to the back with Wonder-Under and then sewed around the whole piece with my tiny serger.

Heart Swap

2010-06-15T17:25:00.000-06:00

I signed up for a swap on Art-Ventures where we are required to make a decorated heart. I started with the heart I had done for the Julia Andrus Book Study -Corrosive Effects. I wanted to brighten it up a bit and added some Siren Smooch Ink over the surface.

I had some little heart pieces with beads on wire, that I had not used and decided to do the faux sea glass ( Julia Andrus-Paper Transformed) on the hearts. I used pigment inks on each one then added clear embossing powder. I rubbed them with perfect medium and applied Pearlex powders, then clear embossing powder, heated them and sprayed with water to pit the surface. I wound this around the heart.

I dug out some little flower shaped beads and added a "gem" to each one and glued them on the heart. I took a picture of a little girl (sorry can't credit the site as this image is from my computer which is in the shop for repair) and cut it down to fit under the heart. I coated it with Judikins MicroGlaze which protects the image from water.

I attached some dangly beads to the bottom, then cut out a piece of cardstock in the heart shape and adhered it to the back.

Fabric Postcard

2010-06-09T22:09:00.001-06:00

I recently joined a new group that is doing different things with fabric and are currently running a fabric postcard swap.

I have not sewn in years and just got my sewing machine repaired. To be honest, I think I need to relearn how to use all the fancy stitches and bells and whistles!! I also don't have a great variety of fabrics at the moment so I had to use what I had on hand.

I started by sewing a few different pieces of fabric together than added a glittery organza type fabric over the top and stitched some fibres over this. I took some pieces of fancy lace items and coloured them with fabric paint and sewed them on. I then attached some little roses on by hand. The edge looked a bit raggedy so I attached some trim around it. Still not 100% pleased with it.

Took time today to figure out how to thread my Singer Tiny Serger; bit frustrating but finally figured it out thanks to the step by step pictures in the booklet that came with it. As I was not happy with the edging on the piece I took my tiny serger and went around the edges and think it looks a lot better now. At least I am much happier with the look of it.

Mini Memory for Chris

2010-06-09T21:59:00.001-06:00

The final recipient for the Mini Memory swap on DCI is Chris. Her theme was Wings, and colours were shades of purple & silver/gold.

I had bought some items at the art supply store, one being a box type item that I thought would work perfectly.

I started by creating a background paper piece with Brilliance inks in shades of purple, gold and silver with a swirly stamp, cut it to size and glued it inside the box. I painted the box edge with gold acrylic paint and added some corner pieces which have butterflies on them that I coloured with Alcohol ink.

I printed off an image of a little baby girl with some books, and made it 3-d to stand out, and added some glossy accents to the book pieces. On the first attempt I had coloured a peice of a clear ruler, a domino and a little flower piece and attached them to the bottom. Added the word Wings at the top and then placed a butterfly behind the little girl. This was what it originally looked like.

Well, I was not completely happy with it so added some golden acrylic gold mica flakes around the edges and being impatient used my heat gun to dry it. Bad mistake!! I melted the ruler in the process, and as a result had to come up with something else.

I removed all the embellishments at the bottom. I stamped some flowers in Pearlescent Lavendar Brilliance several times and made some small roses, touched them up with some silver and some glitter and placed them on the bottom underneath the little girl. I also added more glitter to the butterfly wings. The mistake turned out to be a good thing as I am much happier with the final outcome.

Mini Memory for Vickie

2010-05-13T15:02:00.001-06:00

Vickie is the person chosen for May's Mini Memory on DCI. Her theme is Wings and colours are Purple and Lime Green.

I started with a back cover of an old book and removed the paper from it. I painted it with gesso then added dimension with a stencil and molding paste. I painted over it with green and purple acrylic paints and added iridescent violet over the purple section.

I found the little arch thing at the dollar store and since it was silver, I coloured it with Pinata` ink in a purple colour. I did the same thing with the scabble pieces to spell out FLY.

I took some purple prima flowers and added brads with green dots on them to the centres, twirled some wire to simulate vines and glued them to the board. I had some left over paper which was a piece of a magazine column that I had stamped on with Versamark, gessoed, dried, then coloured using a Colorbox stylus and purple stamp pad. I put this behind the little arch piece then glued it to the board.

The little bird is from Magenta and it is painted with purple acrylic, crackle medium and lime acrylic paint. The final touch was a little gem for the eye.

I have stencils ......

2010-05-11T14:22:00.001-06:00

The latest technique we are doing in CCSwaps is using stencils. I had all kinds of ideas, but decided to use them in the traditional way.

I took a piece of cardstock and placed a large wall stencil over the top and applied Brilliance inks. I then stamped a word stamp with Brilliance Pearlescent Beige. The butterfly is a rub-on.

I took a 12'x12" piece of cardstock and folded it to make a stationery holder. With another stencil I stenciled some pansies on small pieces of cardstock and again stamped the word stamp with the Brilllinace ink and added some punched circles for the centre of the flowers. I attached these to the bottom folds

I added some cording to close the folder and placed the large stenciled cardstock piece on the front cover. Unfortunately, I was not thinking and the cover piece started to rip from the pressure of the cord. Rather than starting all over again, I tried various thing to reinforce the area, and finally settled on cutting a little light weight key in half and gluing it on with the cording coming through it.

On the inside, I placed some stationery and some envelopes. Some of the envelopes are decorated, but I can't take credit for them as they were some I received many years ago in swap.

D is for

2010-05-11T14:09:00.000-06:00

We are continuing on with the Alphabet series and this time it is D. I chose distressing ink, dimension, dictionary words and Dream as my theme.

Lacking for any better ideas I decided on making a notebook. I started with the front cover and took a piece of cardstock and did direct-to-paper with the colorbox stylus and distress inks. I then stamped the image from Third Coast Rubber Stamps with Versafine inks. I masked it and stamped the wings (Tim Holtz) first with Brilliance sky blue then overstamped with Mica Magic gold. I left the mask in place and stamped the Dream background stamp with versafine ink.

I stamped a stars with gold mica magic. I had stamped a word stamp at the top left but did not like the effect so took some sequin waste and gold paint to cover it.

The word dream is done with chipboard letters from the dollar store embossed, some stamped into while hot and one is covered with silver tape that I embossed in my Cuttlebug and coloured wih alcohol ink.

For the inside cover I took another piece of cardstock and covered it with dictionary words and covered it with an acrylic paint wash and edged the sides with copper acrylic paint. I then added stamped images (Tim Holtz) and the quote stamp (Quietfire Designs). The little girl image is a piece I had in my stash for years, and it was from a magazine ad for collectors plates.

The back is just covered with some scrapbook paper that looks a bit aged and distressed.

Inchie Swap

2010-04-23T14:29:00.000-06:00

I signed up for an Inchie Swap on CCSwaps. I first thought of making a little notebook but Carol is doing that for her swap so thought I would do something different.

I have a stash of beautifull embossed papers and decided to use them instead of hoarding them. I started by punching circles form the various papers and punched small holes for them to be used as tags.

Two of white ones I coloured with Twinkling H2O's then sprayed with Glimmer Mists. Another one, I coloured with Fluid Chalks and sprayed with the Glimmer Mists. The other two white ones were coloured with Fluid Chalk inks.

One black piece was coloured with Fresco chalk inks the second with Versamagic inks then sprayed with silver Glimmer Mists.

The final piece is a Pinata~ ink background stamped with a snowflake stamp in gold. Thought this one was appropriate for the little girl that I used on the inchie who looks rather angelic.

The inchies were made from scraps of my homemade background papers and various freebie images. The Dragonfly was a scrap of plumbers tape that I had embossed in the Cuttlebug that I punched then coloured with Adirondack pens.

I may add something to the binder ring that I attached to mke it a bit more attractive.

More spray starch fun

2010-04-10T21:54:00.000-06:00

Had another play with the spray starch technique earlier today.

The right one is glossy black cardstock, which was an embossed piece from my failed frosted embossing, so rather than throwing it out I sprayed the starch then pounced ont some pearlex with a brush. I really like this one as the embossing powder underneath gives it a nice texture.

On the second one I took mica watercolours from USArtquest and painted them on white matte cardstock. I sprayed the starch and added gold and rust pearlex over it.

It is too bad that the photos don't give you the full impact of the nice sheen from the pearlex and other mediums.

Book Study-Frosted Embossing

2010-04-10T21:47:00.000-06:00

The latest technique Carol introduced was the Frosted Embossing. Check her blog as she was more successful with this technique than I was.

I did mine on dark green cardstock and one on black cardstock, both were matte.

As directed I embossed the image with clear embossing ink and clear embossing powder and brushed on Perfect Pearls while still hot. On the dragonfly I used forever purple and gold. On the medallion one I used Kiwi. I think these were a bit of a failure, but feel we should share the good and the bad in our art.
I also tried this on white cardstock but it did not work.

To me this does not look much different than if I had stamped the image then embossed it with Pearl Embossing powders such as the ones sold by Stampendous

My thoughts on this:

I don't think it would be a technique I would use a lot.
You should use a bold stamp with some detail
It would be a hard technique to use with a large stamp, as the embossing powder does not stay hot long enough, and if you heat it too much then it embeds the ep into the paper.
If using dark card stock I would recommend a very bright/light colour of Perfect Pearls or perhaps an iridescent one.

Now, this is only my opinion; you might try it and have more success than I did and love it. To each his own!

Book Study continued-Garden Walk

2010-04-05T21:56:00.001-06:00

The latest technique from the Paper Transformed book study is called Garden Walk.

Julia's instructions are to drip alcohol ink colors one at a time over glossy paper. Finish with a sprinkling of alcohol ink blending solution. She says "do not use an applicator for this treatment". I found that by following this method I ended up with big circles/blobs, whereas Julias are a bunch of tiny and larger circles, reminiscent of a coloured stone pathway-hence the name "garden walk".

I was determined to get mine at least a wee bit closer to what hers looked like and so I let the Alcohol Inks dry a bit then added more drops of the colours. I also took the AI bottle and just gently hit it on the end of my finger while holding it in my other hand (hope you understand what I mean) and this gave me a bit more of the smaller drops.
I just kept layering on the AI's and held the blending solution a bit higher up from the cardstock when "sprinkling" it on. The one at the top left is about as close as I could get to how Julia's was in the book.

The second techique where Julia suggests putting some of the Metallic AI on then adding the blending solution was a total failure (the one on the lower right ) and looks absolutely nothing like hers in the book. I wonder though if she perhaps let the blending soloution drip and move around by holding the cardstock and moving it about?

I made these on ATC size cardstock so will be using them for some future swaps. I think I may try this again later on and perhaps let each layer dry completely then add more drops of the AI and see if that will get it closer to Julia's.

Spray starch technique

2010-04-05T21:29:00.002-06:00

I had run across a blog where they used spray starch to make a background, but did not disclose how it was done since she used the technique from an issue of the Techniques Junkie newsletter.

Funnily enough right after that, Deb Lovett who sent the technique to TJ belongs to one of my groups and shared the "how-to" with us. Just click on her name and it will take you to the tutorial.

i experimented with different mediums for this technique. I used walnut sprays, glimmer mists, Posh inks, and memory sprays as well as the pearlex. Some I just sprayed a second time with the spray starch and others I put the scrunched plastic wrap over while still wet. I used glossy cardstock for all of these, but apparently you can use matte cardstock, so I may have another try with that.

April Charm

2010-04-04T14:17:00.000-06:00

I decided to use some thing from my stash for the CCSwaps April charm.

I started with some metal tags and covered both sides with some old book page pieces and coloured it with distress inks. I added some gem pieces then covered the piece with Glossy Accents.

Unfotunately the piece did not scan well and it looks like there are a bunch of air bubbles, but it is not at all like that in "real life". It is actually smooth with some colour depth around the maple leaf gem.

I was not really happy with this one so I decided to do something different. I took some clay, conditioned it then stamped into it with a text stamp, then hit the highlights with some Mica Magic Gold ink. I took a little flower embellishment and coloured it with Cranbberry Alcohol ink, and added a little pearl on a wire in the background. Much happier with this one and it will be making it's way to my swap partner next week.

A surprise for Autumn

2010-04-01T17:28:00.000-06:00

Autumn had signed up for the Mini Memory swap on DCI, but dropped out as her life was a bit hectic. I had gone gung-ho on this swap and had all mine made early on. Since I had made one for Autumn prior to her dropping out I decided to send it to her as a surprise.

She had chosen women's faces and blues/greens and patinas for her theme and colours.

I started by painting a coaster with various blues and greens and copper. I added some embossing powders and stamped into it while hot with a flourish stamp. I took a chipboard flourish and embossed it with copper and green glitter embossing powder and added some gems.

I stamped the "Woman with a Pearl Earring" from Chapel Road (one of my favourite stamps) and coloured it with Lyra pencils; attached it with double-sided foam tape.

I took a book plate die-cut and embossed it with distress embossing powder, rubbed some off and added various Patina Perfect Pearls over the top. Stamped a portion of a background stamp on a piece of cardstock coloured with fluid chalk inks and placed it underneath the book plate and attached it to the coaster.

I hope Autumn will enjoy my little piece of art and it will be a nice surprise.

Mini Memory for Mel

2010-04-01T17:10:00.001-06:00

April's Mini Memory recipient is Mel on the DCI group. Her choice was any theme with aqua and blue as her colour choice.

I started with a coaster from our Don Cherry's pub, covered it with gesso then rubbed aqua and blue inks over it after embossing it with a Cuttlebug embossing folder.

I coloured a little frame with some blue metallic acrylic paint and attached it to the centre. I added a game piece that my friend Muzzy had sent me on a card a few years ago (used with her permission). I took an old pair of earrings and removed the backs and placed the roses with the game piece inside the frame.

I had some Maple Leaf brads (to continue with the shape of the coaster) and embossed them with some navy blue embossing powder, removed the backs and glued them around the frame. Still needed "something" so put some blue stickles around the edge.

C is for

2010-04-01T17:03:00.000-06:00

On CC Swaps we are continuing with the Alphabet for a theme, technique or medium. the one I did is C for crackle, corners and Cat.

I started by painting the back of a mini canvas with acrylic paint, then crackle medium then a coat of white acrylic paint. I then rubbed it with some distress vintage photo ink.

I cut a piece of acrylic to fit in the "frame" then cut a piece of 130 lb card stock and coloured it with Brilliance Sky Blue ink and stamped with Ancient Page Coal. I inserted the stamped piece and the acyrlic in the frame portion.

I then took some corner pieces and coloured them with Pinata Burro Brown ink and glued them to the corners.

I stamped the little cat with Onyx Black Versafine and embossed it with black embossing powder; coloured it with a light grey Prismacolor pencil. I colored the bow and added glossy accents for dimension. I placed some thick pop-dots on the acrylic and attached the little cat to simulate him looking out the window. The acrylic has a bit of a glare at the top, so it is hard to see the little bird.

Book Study-Corossive Effects

2010-03-29T16:49:00.001-06:00

We are continuing to play with the techniques in Julia Andrus' Paper Transformed book. This time around Carol chose corrosive effects. You can see step-by-step photos on Carol's blog. Her choice of colours were different from mine so you can see the different effects you can achieve using other paint colours.

For this technique you mix an acrylic medium (such as gel medium), acrylic paint and sand or embossing powder together and paint it on wood, chipboard or layers of cardboard/cardtsock die cuts.

I took a mixuture of orange, red and brown acrylic paint, gel medium and some mixed embossing powders and painted it on a heavy cardboard frame and heart, a wooden flourish and some layered pieces of cardstock. I added some metallic paints over the smaller pieces and on the larger ones I used Perfect Pearls.

Just to see what would happen I used my heat gun on the flourish and the heart. It embossed a bit of the embossing powder that I used, but I rather like the effect as it made me think of some old pieces that were by the sea and corroded with salt.

I have embossing powder..

2010-03-29T16:40:00.000-06:00

The swap using various mediums is continuing on CCSwaps. This month it is-"I have embossing powders and I know how to use them".

I decided to revisit and old technique that I had learned a few years ago. I took a piece of light grey cardstock and stamped with a Hero Arts stamp in white pigment ink and winter white embossing powder. After heat setting it, I went over it with purple fluid chalks using the Clearsnap stylus and foam tips.

I took another piece of cardstock two inches longer and folded it over at the 2 inch mark, embossed and coloured again with a different Hero Arts Stamp. I attached the two pieces together with double-sided tape.

I stamped and embossed an image by About Art Accents and a fan image by Inkadinkado and attached them to the front. I then took a piece of the same cardstock and stamped the word stamp by Above the Mark and coloured the piece with the fluid chalk ink and outlined it with a marker. I cut out a slot and added a piece of purple metallic cardstock behind, then adhered it with double-sided foam tape.

I stamped, embossed and coloured the inside of the front page. I then took some text weight paper and attached two pages to the inside and added another stamped embossed piece to the front of the pages on the inside. So far there are only two of us signed up for this swap and the other player loves Oriental images so I am sure she will be happy with this.

Colour Me!

2010-03-29T16:19:00.018-06:00

I joined a swap on CCSwaps where we make an item using our favourite colours. Mine are green and blue the colours I tend to use the most in my art.

I started with a piece of 100 lb Lunamat cardstock and stamped various images by Tim Holtz and Hearts in touch using Marvy Distress and Versafine inks. I then stippled over the top with stipple brushes and dye inks. I then stamped the word stamp by Stampers Anonymious with Ancient Page Coal.

I took two pieces of 130lb card stock and did the "stamp smoosh" technique (mentioned in other posts) with fluid chalk inks. I outlined all the pieces with a marker.

The inside is done with a text-weight lunamat paper and stamped with Tim Holtz stamps in blue and stippled with greenye inks. This insert is two pieces of the paper joined together and scored to make four (4) pockets. The edges are joined with pieces of the lunamat paper stamped coloured and scored to fit the ends and the middle.

I attached a coordinating ribbon to the inside and then attached the panels to the insert.

I took 4 tags and coloured them with dye and distress inks and stamped images on them and placed them in the pockets. I did not add fibres as I thought I would let the recipient choose the ribbons or fibres for them.

I only scanned one side of the open booklet as I did not feel like getting out my camera. When fully open the middle is a mountain fold and you can see all four tags in the pockets.

Dream Destination - Africa

2010-03-29T16:05:00.001-06:00

For this month on CCSwaps the dream destination is Africa.

I used some leaf stamps for my background as they were the only thing I had to simulate the type of background I had in mind. I used Clearsnap fluid chalks in bisque, tangerine and Burnt Seinna on two pages and on the others I added dark moss.

I stamped the image from Coronado Island on a kraft coloured piece of card stock and cut it out. I added the frame then attached the image in the centre. The words are from a large Sandi Miller Art stamp that I cut out after I stamped them. I took some chip board letters from the dollar store and coloured them and stamped over them and attached them with Sookwang tape.

The inside images are from a UK site and the words are from the same Sandi Miller background stamp.

To attach the two pages together I cut two pieces of cardstock that I had coloured and stamped, scored them and attached them with double-sided foam tapes. It then added a couple of little faux rivets that I made from clay and coloured with Mica Magic ink.

The back piece is a picture framed with a slide mount which I covered with some scapbook paper, then stamped a PSX Pixie Expressions stamp around it.

My Favourite Stamp

2010-03-14T23:36:00.000-06:00

Another swap I chose to join in CCSwaps was making something with a favourite stamp.

Well, that was a hard choice as I have quite a few favourites. I chose to use one image and one word stamp that are both favourites.

I placed a piece of handmade mono-printed background paper in my stamp positioner and stamped the image using Clearsnap Ancient Page Coal, which is a permanent dye ink. I then coloured the image using Tsukineko Brilliance Gamma Green, Ranger Archival Tangerine and Clearsnap Ancient Page Primrose inks using Ranger Cut n' dry Nibs.

With the piece still in the stamp positioner I stamped it again with the Ancient Page Coal. It still needed more depth, so I stamped it again with Clearsnap Mica Magic Burnt Orange.

I then edged this with a crayola metallic marker. I stamped the "Believe" word and embossed it with copper, and cut around it. Both were attached to the front and I added a couple of extra strips of the mono-printed paper.

I took some printer paper and made a background using Cathie Allan's stamp smoosh technique with 3 fluid chalk colours. I attached this to two pieces of cardboard and punched the holes and bound it with the Zutter Bind-it-all .

I attached some ribbon around the back and inserted a Phone Message pad inside which I got on sale at Michaels.

Beading experiments

2010-03-14T23:14:00.000-06:00

In a recent neckalce swap on CC Swaps I received a lovely beaded necklace which inspired me to try making one.

I have a friend who will be celebrating a milestone birthday soon, so thought I would perhaps give her a necklace for a gift.

Here are the two I made, one of which I also made matching earrings to make a set.

Pin Swap

2010-03-14T22:55:00.000-06:00

On CCSwaps we are having a brooch/pin swap. Now I do not profess to be a great jewellery maker but I will give most things a try, so I signed up for this swap.

I started with a blank jewellery piece that I had in my stash. I cut out an Image from Moonlight Journey and covered it with Judikins Microglaze. I then cut out a piece of acrylic in a circle to fit over the image and adhered it with Glossy Accents. I glued this to the centre of the blank. I added some tiny glass beads around the piece then attached a bead to the bottom.