March Scrap Your Stash Blog Hop :: Spring Tag

Hello and welcome to the next stop on the Practical Scrappers Blog Hop where we're Scrapping Our Stash! You should have found your way here from Lisa Peeples. You're not going to want to miss a single hop along the way, so head over to the Practical Scrapper Blog to start from the very beginning!

For this month, I dug out an older Spring themed set from the talented Tim Holtz. I just love this rabbit image, but have never used it -- Self diagnosed hoarder! The stamp was embossed onto kraft paper and layered onto a watercolor tag. 

I used a waterbrush and Distress Ink pad to create the watercolor background. After it dried, the florals from the stamp set were added to the tag bottom with black ink. My favorite part of the tag is the pearl embellishments made with a Viva Pearl Pen. What a simple, affordable way to create faux embellishments. 

Thanks for joining me for this month's hop. Next up is Alison Day. Happy hopping! 

SUPPLIES :: Paper Cut Watercolor Cardstock / American Crafts Mint & Dark Kraft Smooth Cardstock / We R Memory Keepers Sheer Metallic Vellum / Tim Holtz Stamps / StazOn Jet Black Ink / Ranger Seafoam White Embossing Powder / VersaMark Watermark / Viva Pearl Pen Ivory / ZIG Gold Metallic Writer / Martha Stewart Edge Punch / AccuCut Tag Die Cut

Practical Scrappers August Card Sketch :: Plus Watercolor Tutorial

Good morning! Practical Scrappers is welcoming August with a brand new card sketch. We'd love for you join us... Post your own creation on our Facebook page. I can't wait to see what you create!

Here's the card I created:

I created a faux polaroid frame by cutting a square of light green paper smaller than a black rectangle. The flower image was stamped with black embossing powder, while gold was used for the sentiment. The first part of the sentiment took the place of three pieces of bling... I loved that it was smaller than the hello! 

The green and purple papers used for the square and banner came from the Chalkboard collection by We R Memory Keepers and had an ombre watercolor look to them. To incorporate that theme to other elements of the card, I used this amazing video tutorial from Kristina Werner.

I used Tattered Rose, Dusty Concord, and Old Paper Distress Inks for the background. It was extremely easy and FAST! I created a few additional backgrounds (it was just too fun), but no two were the same! You just have to watch the video above and give it a try for yourself!

I used a few of the droplets of ink left on my craft mat, along with a paint brush, to add a small amount of color to the embossed flowers. It has a subtle color that really highlights the image. 

Thanks for stopping by... And don't forget to check out what my fellow Design Team members created with this month's sketch on the Practical Scrappers Blog!

CARD SUPPLIES 

Cardstock: Paper Cut (Watercolor, Black)

Patterned Paper: We R Memory Keepers (Chalkboard Collection)
Stamps: Penny Black (Flowers Sweet, Friendship)
Inks: VersaMark Watermark, Distress Inks (Dusty Concord, Tattered Rose, Old Paper)
Embossing Powders: Ranger (Gold, Fine Detail Black)

Use It Tuesday -- 50th Challenge!

Good morning! I'm so excited you've joined me today. Use It Tuesday is turning 2, and we're partying hard during our 50th challenge! 

Challenge 50: Create a project using an un-inked stamp. Bonus points if you use GOLD! 

I'll admit, I have several un-inked stamps. So this challenge was going to be an easy one... until I had to decide which one to use! I decided to break out this set from Tim Holtz. The background stamps in this set feature reverse imagery. That's right - The words are backwards. I always liked the idea of stamping the background directly onto the embossing folder, but never found a folder I wanted or could use with such a technique. What a great excuse to go shopping! 

After a walk around Creation Galore's store, I came across this beautiful swirl embossing folder by Sizzix. I stamped the script background three times directly onto the embossing folder, inserted the cream cardstock into the folder, and ran it through my machine. When it came out, the script does not show up on the embossed edge, creating multiple layers easily. 

I applied Antique Linen Distress Ink to the embossed design with the ink pad directly. To add some depth, I added Forest Moss to just the edges of the cream cardstock with the applicator tool. 

For the gold element of the challenge, I embossed this flower stamp from Penny Black onto vellum. I also added some gold cord around the sentiment, and tied a bow. 

Thanks for stopping by today... Make sure you head over to the Use It Tuesday blog to see more inspiration and play along!

Experimenting with Alcohol Inks :: Perspective

Good morning! Creating With Alcohol Inks is one of my favorite classes to teach at Creations Galore. There are endless techniques and projects you can create with this medium. During my last class, I played around with a few new techniques, resulting in the card below. 

I placed a large drop of ink in 3 colors onto the felt applicator tool. Rather than pouncing the felt across the glossy paper, I placed the tool onto the paper and twisted it in a circle. The patterned that resulted looked a lot like flowers. So I grabbed my Copic Multiliner and created some doodles over the ink circles. 

The butterflies were stamped onto colored vellum. After cutting them out, I folded the butterflies in half, adding glue to only the fold. This creates dimension and the illusion the butterflies are flying off the card. 

I added the same stamps to the inside of the card, and completed the front with a sentiment. 

Have you tried Alcohol Inks? It's such a fun medium. If you're local, I'd love for you to attend a class. The next Creating With Alcohol Inks class is Monday, November 5th. You can find out more information here. Thanks for stopping by my blog today! 

CARD SUPPLIES
Cardstock: Paper Cut
Stamps: Tim Holtz (Spring Sprung, Good Thoughts)
Inks: StazOn (Jet Black), Copic Multiliner, Adirondack Alcohol Inks (Pool, Salmon, Lettuce)

Life Is Beautiful :: New Background Technique

Hello bloggers! I'm currently in the process of developing new classes for the fall and winter months at Creations Galore. This means lots of experimenting. I went to work creating backgrounds with embossing powders and inks. The result was not at all what I had envisioned; however, I loved the results. Take a look:

To create this background, I first stamped Vintage Wallpaper with Versamark Watermark onto glossy paper. I heat set the clear ink in hopes it would act as a resist. And it did! I added Rusty Hinge Distress Stain over the stamped design. Lastly, I used a paper towel to move the ink up and down the paper, creating streaks and adding color to the resist. The result was a brightly colored vintage background. What do you think?

The sentiment comes from the Life is Beautiful set from Market Street Stamps and was stamped on vellum with StazOn ink. I absolutely love the MyStik Vellum Adhesive from Scrapbook Adhesives. You truly cannot see the strips of adhesive, making vellum one of my favorite materials to add to a card.

Thanks for stopping by... I hope you'll be inspired to do some experimenting of your own.

CARD SUPPLIES
Cardstock, Vellum: Paper Cut
Inks: StazOn (Jet Black), Versamark Watermark, Distress Stains (Rusty Hinge)
Stamps: Market Street Stamps (Vintage Wallpaper, Life is Beautiful)

Vellum Hearts and Distressing Techniques

Had some fun distressing this patterned paper with various inks. I first added Tea Dye Distress Ink around the outside edges with the foam applicator tool from Ranger. After that, I lightly set my Memento dye ink pad onto the patterned paper, adding the flecks and various lines. I added the harsh lines to the very outside edges of the paper as well. I made a second card, making sure to keep lines away from where I wanted to stamp the sentiment. 

I thought the combination of the empty bird cage and vellum heart expressed the sentiment in a real and beautiful way. What do you think? 

CARD SUPPLIES

Cardstock, Vellum: Paper Cut 

Patterned Paper: Melissa Frances (Leah)

Crochet Ribbon: We R Memory Keepers

Heart Punch: EK Success

Birdcage Die: Lifestyle Crafts

Inks: Distress Ink (Vintage Photo), Memento (Rich Cocoa)

Ranger Ink Blending Tool

Experimenting With New Paper & Inks

Masculine cards are always the hardest to create. This week I pushed myself to create something a little rugged and manly. How do you think it turned out? 

The new Distress Markers from Ranger and Tim Holtz arrived in our store, Creations Galore. After watching a video of Tim demonstrating the markers, I wanted to give water based markers a try. I grabbed a few Tombow markers and a waterbrush, along with this great stamp from Northwoods, and created this scene. 

I've never used any paper other than watercolor with Tombow markers. But using Tim's direction, I took out a piece of Matte Coat cardstock from Paper Cut. It's a dead ringer for the Specialty Stamping Paper (matte coat) that he uses. I was amazed at the watercolor look this technique gave the stamped image... and quite love it. I'll need to try this again soon!

To try this technique without watching the full video (although you should!) squiggle a bit of each color marker on a craft sheet or acrylic block to create a palette. Dip your waterbrush into the ink you wish to use and paint with it. I mixed a few of the colors on the craft sheet as well to get less intense oranges and reds.

I added Tea Dye and Black Soot Distress Ink around the edges with a foam tool. Due to the coated surface of the paper, the Distress Inks became almost metallic yet still rustic. Manly card officially complete! 

CARD SUPPLIES
Cardstock: Paper Cut
Stamp: Northwoods
Inks: StazOn (Jet Black), Tombow Markers, Distress Inks (Black Soot, Tea Dye)
Brads: Gary Berlin (Copper)

TOMBOW PALETTE
Base Green: 249 Hunter Green
Detail Green: 098 Avocado
Wheel: 899 Redwood, 925 Scarlet
Pheasant: 977 Saddle Brown, 847 Crimson, 098 Avocado

A Late Night Post

It's been quite the long weekend at the end of quite a long week. I may feel tired and unrested, but tomorrow's Monday and I'm determined to be ready. Tonight I'm choosing to have a positive outlook. I refuse to dread tomorrow or complain about its happenings. Rather, I'm pressing onward toward a fresh start, the beginning of something grand... Let's make this week exciting. Let's work with diligence and pride. Let us SEIZE THE DAY. 

And just in case my mini-speech and card weren't enough to encourage you to look positively at Monday morning, here's the Newsies to give you that extra push.

A little sneak peek...

I've been busy teaching classes this week, and I can't wait to share all the pictures and projects with you. I was invited to teach a few sessions of scrapbooking to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade girls for Course Day at a local school. And today I shared my love of alcohol inks with some young-girls-at-heart at Creations Galore. What fun it is to dig in, get crafty, and witness others expressing their individual styles and creative thoughts. More to come!

dancing in the rain

it's a rainy day here in wisconsin, which always puts me into a crafty mood. i found it the perfect opportunity to experiment with some tim holtz products i've yet to do too much with. it wasn't until after taking a picture of the card that i noticed how appropriate the sentiment was for today. 

after creating this card, i'm officially in love with the tissue wrap from tim holtz. perfect for tags, watercolor collages, boxes and frames.... not to mention make beautiful gift wrap. i guarantee i'll be turning this into a make n take for creations galore... everyone needs to give this product a try.

so you can get crafty too:
tim holtz tissue wrap-terminology
distress stains-antique linen, walnut stain, weathered wood
distress ink-walnut stain w/foam tool
background stamp-market street stamps
sentiment-tim holtz