I Love the Great Lakes

If you are in Michigan, you are never more than 85 miles from one of the Great Lakes.  I visit them every chance I get.

Whether we are swimming, rock hunting, watching ships, exploring lighthouses or just sitting with our toes in the sand, I enjoy every minute of my time at the lakes.

I made this tag to showcase my love of Michigan’s Great Lakes.

I found the cork tag at Michael’s. I coated the backside with a very thin layer of Picket Fence Distress Paint. It helped soften the deep orange-brown color and I think it looks similar to tree bark …

I used Kreaxions Punch 902 with the “A” plate inserted in the punch. The plate comes with the punch and prevents the corner from punching out — nifty, eh!?!

I trimmed my strip of paper down so it was close to the edges of the punched out areas. I placed another strip of cardstock behind to create contrast.

I took the tiny flowers that came out of the punch and colored them with Fossilized Amber Distress Ink.

Then I glued them on top of the white strip, turning the flower so the blue petals still showed underneath. I added some tiny gems to the centers and then adhered the entire strip to the heart tag and trimmed off the edges.

I punched two additional flowers from the blue paper and added them and gems to the strip. And, finished it off with letters cut from a Tim Holtz die.

What do you think?

Don’t Miss the Fun

When I teach papercrafting classes, I remind students that they are artists. They may not have a degree that says so, but if you can take a concept out of your head, send it through your fingers, and create something that moves another person, you are an artist.

One of the benefits of not being professionally trained, is that you may not know the “rules,” so you are free to simply create without anyone telling you you cannot do something. Things may not work or they may come out beautifully, but it does not matter. It is all about making what your mind calls “art.”

That freedom to create is the inspiration for this card I created for my newest design team — Just Imagine Crafts — Kreaxions Punches.

I started with a circle cut out using the Kreaxions Circle Cutter and stamped the saying with Archival Ink.

Then I trimmed the circle with the cutter and added a few more.

I colored all of the pieces with Distress Ink and then ran the circles through my Xyron. And I made a card base with black cardstock and cut some glitter paper to use as the front.

I ran a brayer over the circles to make sure they adhere well to the glitter paper.

Finally, I used dimensional foam adhesive to adhere the saying.

Happy Birthday, Mom

It has been a while since I made a card … I did not even get Christmas cards out this year. But, my mother-in-law’s birthday was last month and she always deserves a homemade card, so I got to work.

I started by coating a plain sheet of white cardstock (cut to size) with Distress Ink. I sprinkled a bit of water, dried it and reapplied some ink. I repeated the process a few times until I got this result.

I then added a bit of ink with a stencil from Sweet Stamps (a Michigan Company).

Using Archival Ink, I stamped the image from Local King Rubber Stamp.

Then, I used another stencil (this one from Dylusions) to add a bit of Transparent Gloss Texture Paste. It will drive crystal clear, but add thick, shiny hexagons. You can see them in the photo below.

Then, I adhered it to a white card base and it was done … I love it — bright and filled with fun, inky techniques.

 

Abstract at the Beach

Our task for this month’s Elizabeth Craft Designs Designer Challenge was to create something using one of the new dies: Bricks, Pebbles or Circles. I opted for Pebbles and created an abstract scene of a ship at sea.

I started with a white card and then added the background paper from Basic Grey.

Then, I added Elizabeth Craft Designs Transparent Double Sided Tape Sheets to the back of the Blue Metallic Shimmer Sheetz — the tape is thin e enough to cut in the Big Shot and makes it much easier to adhere the waves onto the paper. The new Precision Platform from Sizzix makes this simple and easy to cut. I used the Outdoor Edges die from Elizabeth Craft Designs to create shimmery waves.

Next, I cut out the Pebbles die from scrap paper and used it like a stencil on the corner of my card. I added Texture Paste to create the look of rocks on the side of the water.

Once dry, I inked them with Distress Ink. (If using embossing paste, you will need to use permanent ink … only Texture Paste picks up the color of the Distress Inks.)

In keeping with the abstract quality of the card, I wanted to use the leftover pieces of the ship, rather than the outline. I pulled the outline sticker off and placed it on paper for another project. Then I cut the remains out of the sticker sheet and peeled off the outside edge.

I then cut a portion of Transfer Sheet slightly larger than the sticker and covered the sticker with it. I used a bone folder to rub all of the parts onto the back of the Transfer Sheet, like this …

Then I put the ship where I wanted it and rubbed it again with the bone folder. Once done, I carefully removed the Transfer Sheet and put it back on its backing to use again.

I then added a few other stickers off the Peel-Off Sheet and my abstract scene is complete … what do you think?

Click here to see what the other designers created this month.

 

Along the path

I’m on the Elizabeth Craft Designs blog today with this card. Check out how I created the stones.

Layering Flowers

This month, Elizabeth Craft Designs asked us to create something with flowers for the Designers’ Challenge.

I decided to create some layers of flowers, but didn’t want it to get too bulky, so I started with a stencil.

I made my own stencil by positioning some of the Elizabeth Craft Designs floral dies on a piece of acetate (clear plastic) and running it through my die-cutting machine.

Then, I used the stencil and a bit of Distress Ink to color my background paper.

I used the same flower dies to cut out Shimmer Sheetz and then used the coordinating die with Adhesive Velvet. I also cut the sentiment out of Adhesive Velvet because it is so easy — no glue needed on those tiny letters!

As a final touch, I added some Glitter Dot Peel-Offs on the stenciled flowers and then mounted it to a card base.

What do you think?

 

The 3-Day Card

Things do not always go the way you plan — even in you are making cards.

For this month’s card swap, I wanted to make a pretty background and then stamp an image in the middle of it. It looked beautiful in my head.

I started by smearing several colors of Distress Paint onto my non-stick craft sheet. I spritzed it with water and then drug sheets of Specialty Stamping Paper through it. I randomly blotted them with paper towel and then dried with a heat gun.

The results were cool, but I wanted more. So, I smeared Distress Ink onto my non-stick craft sheet, spritzed it with water and ran the pieces through. I also added a bit more Brushed Pewter Distress Paint so I could get more metallic shine in the pieces. Again, I randomly blotted with a paper towel and then heat dried.

That was cool, but I didn’t think it was quite done. So I spritzed it with Perfect Pearls Mists.

After that dried, I was happy with the background and ready to stamp. So, I pulled out my stamp, made one impression and realized there is no way it would work. The stamp was too delicate to compete with the crazy background.

At this point, I was devastated. I had invested all of that time and energy into making 12 backgrounds and my idea was a total failure. I spent an entire day stressing over what to do. I was determined to use the backgrounds, but had no idea what to do.

With no vision in mind, I began pulling stuff out. I grabbed a stencil and some Metallic Silver Embossing Paste and coated the top of each card with it.

The next day, I added a few strips of Tissue Tape. Then, I punched out circles, die cut the word “Hello” and adhered them to the cards. I added a few Tiny Attacher Staples and some Glitter Dots.

Each card was slightly different, but I think they turned out well … even if they did take me three days to make!

 

 

Fun with Stencils

Welcome to a new month and a new challenge with Scrap It Girl … Stencils and Masks. I love stencils and I wanted to try them with a variety of mediums, including paint, paste and ink.

I started by coloring a piece of white cardstock in a variety of Distress Ink colors.

Then I used a stencil from The Crafter’s Workshop and Distress Paint to add a bit of chicken wire.

(the blue came off of the stencil. I thought it was just stained, but it came off. I left it there as a little character.)

Next, I used another Crafter’s Workshop Stencil, along with Dreamweaver’s Glossy Black Embossing Paste to add a few weeds.

Then, I punched out a circle and used Distress Ink and a Wendy Vecchi stencil to add the word “Happy”.

I covered chipboard letters with Distress Paint. I used Removable Glue Dots to keep the letters in place while I painted.

Then I adhered the front to a card base, put on the letters and added a few bees from Little B.

It’s bold and it is very different from my usual creations. I am still not sure if I like it or not … what do you think?

Now it’s your turn … create a project with masks or stencils and post it to Scrap It Girl. You could win an amazing collection of prizes! Good luck!

 

With an Asian Flair

The Designer’s Challenge this month for Elizabeth Craft Designs is to create a project with an Asian theme.

Asian is definitely out of my comfort zone, so this was a tough one for me. It took me several days to develop a plan, but in the end, it all came together and I absolutely love it … in fact, it is one of my favorite cards yet!

I started by making my own background paper … I wanted something that looked like water. I took several Distress Ink pads and swiped them on a non-stick craft sheet.

Then I spritzed it with water and drug my background cardstock through the ink.

 

Heat dry and then repeat until you get the desired affect.

I swiped the edge with Distress Ink and adhered it to a black card base.

Then I covered Elizabeth Crafts’ Peel Offs in Cool Diamond Silk Microfine Glitter and colored them with Copic markers. I cut them out and adhered them to the card.

Next, I cut out the koi (Elizabeth Craft Designs die) from Shimmer Sheetz and the layered piece from black Adhesive Velvet Paper (Elizabeth Craft Designs). I added pop dots to the back side.

 

Then I used a border from another set of Elizabeth Craft Designs’ Peel Offs at the bottom of the card. To get it straight and all the way to the edge of the card, I let it run over onto my desk and then trim it after.

Then I adhered the koi and cut out the word Hello from the velvet paper and placed that on the front.

Since the inside was black, I added a sheet of white paper and some Asian corners (they are on the same sticker sheet as the borders).

Be sure to visit Elizabeth Craft Designs’ Blog today to see the rest of the designers responses to the Asian challenge! They are amazing … just saying!

Created by Sydney

This is Sydney. She is my cousin’s daughter parrot. Becky, my cousin, has five parrots and each one is awesome, but Sydney is special. She is an amazing bird. She talks, she sings opera, she laughs at jokes. Sydney even senses emotions and responds accordingly.

I recently spent a few days with my cousin and while she at work, it was just me and the birds. While I was upstairs in Becky’s studio, Sydney, who was downstairs, called me repeatedly. We spent hours yelling through the house and mimicking each other. “Hi” “Hi” “Helllloooo” “Hellloooo” etc.

But, one day I was particularly sad (I suffer from chronic depression). That day, Sydney started calling me “Baby,” singing to me, and telling jokes — I couldn’t understand what she was saying, but I figured it out when she started laughing. After a few hours, I really did feel better. I figured the change in Sydney was because she was getting to know me better, but the next day we were right back to “Hi”.

Anyhow, Sydney likes to go up to the studio when Becky is creating. She has a special cage on Becky’s desk where she works on her own cards and creations with leftover cardstock and adding-machine tape. I “stole” some of Sydney’s adding-machine tape when I came home so I could turn her work of art into one that would forever hang on my wall.

I started with a blank canvas that I painted with Distress Paint. (Distress Paint is like acrylic paint, but while wet, it reacts with water. And I love the feel the paint has after it dries.)

 

Then I used stencils, Distress Paint, Ranger Archival Ink and Wendy Vecchi Studio 490 Embossing Paste to create a background.

Then, I went over the top with a light layer of paint and some Distress Ink to help calm down the boldness a bit.

Next came Sydney’s work … I sprayed the adding-machine tape with Glimmer Mists and crinkled it up. All of the tears and cuts along the edge are Sydney’s work. After it was dry, I sprayed it lightly with Ink Refresher to keep it soft and malleable while I was gluing it to the canvas.

Next, I stamped some quotes and sayings from Wendy Vecchi Studio 490 onto white cardstock. I cut them apart and used Distress Ink to color them.

 

 

 

I added a photo of Sydney and some feathers from some of Becky’s birds.Then I added a variety of doo dads and flowers to finish off the piece.

I also made one for Becky to hang in her studio …