Trying New Things

My cousin and I have an awful habit. We go on a major shopping spree during the Great Lakes Mega Meet and then come home and neglect to use what we bought.

This year, she gave me two weeks to use what I bought. I’m not sure this made it under the deadline, but I created this card in response to her challenge.

The picket fence stencil, the Crackle Texture Paste, the bird stamps and the bird Mat Minis are all from Wendy Vecchi Studio 490. I love how the stamps match the Mat Minis … it makes it so easy to create dimensional objects.

The Crackle Texture Paste is really cool … in order to get the best crackle, you need to use it over a metallic embossing paste (embossing paste and texture paste are interchangeable words … when I refer to it, I use the term on that particular jar.) I had copper at home, so that’s what I tried this on.

I applied copper embossing paste through the stencil. Let it dry. Then relined up the stencil and applied a thick layer of Crackle Texture Paste and let it dry … the thicker the paste, the thicker the cracks.

I love this look, so expect to see it on a lot of my creations in the future!

What about you … do you make it a point to use new products right away or do you just use them to build your “collection”?

Stamp It Stencil It Genius

One of the things I plan to offer regularly on my blog are product reviews and tutorials. With fewer independent stores, we are forced to purchase the majority of our products online. The problem is, no one shows us how to use the products and we cannot see and touch them ourselves. While I cannot let you see and touch things on my blog, either, I can try my best to critically review and share as much as possible about the products to make it easier for you to make a purchase decision. Some of the products I will feature I sell in my retail store. Others I do not, but I will provide you with links so you know where to get them.

The first product I want to start with is not new. It has been around for several years, but since I did not understand how it worked, I have not purchased it before. At the Great Lakes Mega Meet, I finally got up the courage to tell Wendy Vecchi, the genius who created this product, that I didn’t get it. She showed me the part I was missing and my head exploded!

This inventive product is called Stamp-It Stencil-It. It comes with a cling mounted rubber stamp and a matching stencil. You can use either piece on its own. But the magic happens when you use them together. The stencil actually acts as a mask for coloring in the flowers quickly and easily.

Since it is called, Stamp-It, Stencil-It, Wendy says you stamp it first. Then you line up the stencil and use it to mask off the leaves while you color the flower and then mask off the flower while you color the leaves. Notice in the photo above how, when lined up with the flower, the leaves are covered. This allows you to take an ink blending tool or makeup sponge and color the flower quickly and easily. Genius!! (just be careful not to go off the edge of the stencil).

The technique works so well that I was able to use the stencil to add Transparent Gloss Texture Paste over the middle flower to make it glossy and beautiful.

And here is the finished card … the flowers and leaves are colored with Wendy Vecchi’s Archival Inks. The background is colored with Distress ink.

You can order the inks and texture paste from me. The Stamp-It, Stencil-It sets are available from Stampers’ Anonymous. There are dozens of ink colors and even more stamp sets to pick from. I brought several home with me. And, yes, I wish every stamp came with one of these stencils!

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 …

 

A bookmark for my birthday

Today is my birthday.

I was also due for a post for Linnie Blooms today.

So, I decided to make something only for me — trying a few techniques to see if they would work along the way.

Here’s what I created …

 

Head over to Linnie Blooms to find out how I made this wonderful bookmark.

Scrap It with Stencils!

This month’s challenge at Scrap It Girl is to work with stencils.

I have been a fan of stencils for years, but I fell in love with them all over again after Wendy Vecchi showed me all of the cool things you can do with embossing paste. I took a stencil, embossing paste and a bit of Glimmer Mist to create this 10×10 canvas …

Click on the image for a closer look …

I sprayed the mist on the canvas first. After it was dry, I applied Wendy Vecchi’s embossing paste with the stencil. As it dries, it absorbs some of the color from the Glimmer Mists. Very cool!

i then added papers by Bo Bunny, stamps by Tim Holtz and Wendy Vecchi, a wreath by Memory Box, buttons by 7 Gypsies, washi tape, lace and feathers (from my chickens). I love it … what do you think?

Want to play with stencils? Create a card, project or scrapbook layout showcasing your use of stencils and enter it into this month’s challenge at Scrap It Girl. You could win a great prize package!

A box for chickens

My idea for this project came from Arlene Cuevas, one of the amazing members of the Graphic 45 team. As soon as I saw her creation, I fell in love and wanted to do something similar. Check out this blog for a link to the two step-by-step videos that show you how to make it.

I was merely waiting for something to decorate to copy her technique. And, when my mom gave me an embroidered doily with chickens on it, I knew it was the perfect thing to frame.

Naturally, I put my own spin on it and went through a little trial and error, but eventually my project came out looking like this:

I started with a plain black shadow box I got on sale at Michaels.

I coated the entire box with white gesso.

Then, I used Wendy Vecchi’s white embossing paste and a stencil from Christy Tomlinson Designs to cover the entire frame and provide some texture.

This is where my project took a turn …

I wanted to see what would happen if I used Piccolo 3D Enamel Gels to help provide some background color. I started with Dark Green.

And then added Clementine.

Then I glued on a bunch of random flowers, metal pieces, ribbon, keys, buttons and more to the front of the box and coated everything with gesso. This covered up all of the odd colors … my flowers were navy, hot pink, gray and peach! I kept the gesso light on the sides so the colors would show through.

Next I added a bit of Bright Yellow …

And some more green and orange … I taped off the glass front (it couldn’t be removed from the frame) and sprayed it with blue Glimmer Mist. It came out darker than I wanted, but it looked OK. (I don’t have any photos of that stage because it was a bit of a disaster).

Needless to say, Glimmer Mist does not dry on top of 3D Enamel Gel. Ever.

I tried heating.

I tried sitting it in the sun.

After a week, I was still getting blue on my hands every time I picked up the piece. I really didn’t want to start over since I had quite a bit of time and money invested in this, but I knew I couldn’t hang it on the wall as it was.

Deciding I couldn’t hurt it anymore than I already had, I ran it under the faucet. The water washed most of the Glimmer Mist off — at least the parts that refused to dry.

And I ended up with this:

The perfect box to showcase the doily my mom gave me!

Here are a few close-ups …

The flowers took on the look of molded plastic. Very cool when you think of it …,

 

The front is pretty, but the sides are amazing … I love the patina I got.

Thanks Arlene for the inspiration! I still plan to follow your instructions to do another one that more closely resembles yours!

 

A Sneak Peak: Military

For my latest project for Globecraft & Piccolo, I created an amazing embossed metal background out of cardstock in just three steps!

Click here to find out how I did it.

Stamping Shrink Plastic

It is Thursday (or will be in the morning) and time for another technique.

This week, we are returning to shrink plastic to learn a few additional ways to decorate it — namely with rubber stamps and Copic Sketch markers. (If you would like to learn how shrink plastic works, click here to read the last Technique Thursday post.)

Many recommend lightly sanding the plastic so it accepts ink. Personally, I never have good luck with this method. I’m not sure if I sand too much or not enough, but I always end up with scratches on my plastic that are visible after shrinking and through my ink.

Instead, I like to work with products that easily adhere to the plastic. StazOn is perfect for these techniques, but Ranger Archival Ink in black will also work if it is heat set. The trick is to heat the ink enough to make it permanent, but not enough to shrink the plastic. Usually, if you hold the heat gun farther from the plastic, you can accomplish this. Of course, if you don’t plan to color the image, you can set it and shrink it at the same time!

The ability to use rubber stamps on shrink plastic opens up a whole new world of options to add to your cards, scrapbook pages and jewelry. You may wish to practice stamping on a piece of packaging plastic or similar smooth surface before stamping on shrink plastic. The surface is slippery and your stamp will want to dance along the plastic, which will create a blurry image. So, I brace my elbows on the table and very carefully place the stamp on the plastic and then just as carefully lift it back off without allowing it to move sideways. You do not have to push on the stamp the way you do when stamping on paper.

For this card, I used a background stamp by Wendy Vecchi of Studio 490 to decorate the tag I cut out of shrink plastic with a Tim Holtz/Sizzix die. The image remains clear while shrinking and can add the perfect embellishment to a card. Here’s a closer look at the tag:

I used a similar technique here, using a butterfly die cut from Sizzix and a background stamp from Studio 490. I love how tiny the pattern gets when it shrinks.

You can also stamp an image and then color it with Copic Sketch markers, although there are a few “rules” to keep in mind for this technique. First, the plastic will not allow you to blend your colors like you can on paper. Simply choose a color and use long strokes, preferably from one side of the image to the other without stopping. If you want more color, let it dry for a few minutes and then go over it again. Otherwise, you will continually smear, puddle and remove your ink.

Second, keep in mind that StazOn and Copic inks do not like each other and using them together could ruin your Copic markers. However, if you use clear shrink plastic, you can stamp on one side and color on the other. That way, your inks never touch, but you get beautiful charms like this:

This is an image from Flower Soft. If you click on the image so you can see it larger, you will see some streaks in color. That happens and you just have to accept it as part of the charm of this technique.

Here’s another I did using a Riley stamp. With the addition of a swivel clasp by Tim Holtz, this will make an adorable zipper pull for my nephew.

But, there is more than one way to color with Copics. One of my favorite techniques is to use the Copic Airbrush System to spray on the color.

On this card, I used Tim Holtz/Sizzix dies to cut out the images, airbrushed them and then shrank them. But, since Copic inks are transparent, you could also stamp an image in black and it will be visible after airbrushing it.

Then, I got a bit carried away and came up with this …

Since I wanted a varied color, I sprayed the plastic with three different yellow/orange hues. Then, I used a template by The Crafters Workshop to airbrush the leaves and bugs in place. I didn’t do anything fancy — just held the template where I wanted it and sprayed it in green. I wasn’t worried if I had any overspray — I figured it would add to the organic nature. Then, I shrunk the plastic and added a strip of cardstock to make a mini book.

I did have a bit of an issue … when I put an acrylic block on top of the heated image to flatten it, some of the ink stuck to the block. When I did the back piece, I tried it upside down. I didn’t get any ink on my block, but I did get some on my nonstick craft sheet. You can see the little speckles where the ink was removed in the photo above, but I think it adds to the earthiness of the piece, don’t you?

Now, it is time for you to try these techniques for yourself. I will be at Capture A Memory in Flint Township from 2-6 p.m. Thursday so you can try rubber stamping, coloring or air brushing on shrink plastic for yourself. I’ll also have all of these samples, and a few more, with me, so you can get a closer look and ask any questions you may have. Hope to see you there!

Shrink Plastic & Alcohol Inks

Technique Thursday is finally here!

Technique Thursday is a joint effort between Capture A Memory in Flint Township and myself. Each Thursday, I will share a new technique with you — along with instructions, tips and ideas. Then, from 2-6 p.m. I will be at the store with all of the supplies waiting to help you try it out for yourself — for free! I hope you stop by and try out this week’s technique: Shrink Plastic and Alcohol Inks.

I love to play with shrink plastic. Like the Shrinky Dinks we had when we were kids, shrink plastic is a thin plastic that comes in clear, black and white. It can be stamped, inked, painted, punched, colored, cut and more to create adorable pieces of jewelry, charms or accents for your card, scrapbook or altered art. Since there are so many options with shrink plastic, I’m going to take all four Thursdays in April to share techniques with you.

This week, we’ll be talking about using punches and dies to create a charm or accent piece. Then, we’ll use Adirondack Alcohol Ink to color them.

To start, cut out the image you desire. Here, I used a 1″ square punch and Mini Gears dies from Tim Holtz/Sizzix. Notice how thin the shrink plastic is … If you want to turn your design into a charm, be sure to cut a hole in it at this point … you won’t be able to after it shrinks. The Crop-A-Dile works well. Use the smaller punch for jewelry and the larger punch for hanging things with jump rings, twine or floss.

At this point, you have two options. You can heat it and then color it or color it and then heat it. The butterfly on the left was colored with Alcohol Ink after heating. The butterfly on the right was colored before heating using the exact same colors of ink. Notice how much more intense the color gets when it shrinks.

To shrink, set the plastic on your Nonstick Craft Sheet (this will help protect your table from the heat) and shrink it with a heat tool. You’ll need tweezers to help keep the image in place. It will curl as is shrinks and flatten back out when it is finished. Sometimes it’s helpful to flip the image over a few times as you heat it, too. Once it is done shrinking, turn off the heat and immediately place something on top of it to flatten it out completely. (I normally use an acrylic block, but I have been known to use a stamp pad or the back of a wooden stamp, too.)

Here is another before and after to show you … The image on the left is before heating. The one on the right is after heating. As the plastic shrinks, it thickens up, making a perfect plastic accent. You can also see how much the image shrinks and how intense the color gets.

These are some jewelry pieces I made. The squares are with a 1″ square punch. The charm is from the Tim Holtz/Sizzix Tiny Tabs & Tags die. For the circles, I punched a small circle first, then punched a 1″ circle around it. Then, I used the Crop-A-Dile to punch a 1/8″ hole in each piece. I then colored them with alcohol inks and heated them. The holes are tiny … too small for a jump ring, but perfect for a piece of wire. I strung them with some beads to make this quick bracelet:

Don’t you love the translucent colors created?!

One more tip: Alcohol inks will fade in the sun. To make sure these pieces last, you will want to spray them with a non-alcohol-based UV sealer before making your bracelet.

I also created this little card with a Studio 490 background stamp and word stamp and the Tattered Flowers die by Tim Holtz/Sizzix. These were white and I used Sunshine Yellow alcohol ink to color them. After shrinking, I adhered them to the card (Art Glitter’s Designer Dries Clear Adhesive and Glue Dots both work well for this) and then added some Stickles for an extra punch.

And this is what I did with the little gears, Tim Holtz paper and a KaiserCraft stamp.

So, are you ready to try shrink plastic? Stop by the store today from 2-6 p.m. to create your own little charm or accent.

Check back next Thursday for some more shrinking fun — we’ll use stamps and Copic Sketch markers to color and airbrush some designs. Just wait until you see how cute those stamped images are when they are shrunk!

Easter Tubes

I absolutely love Easter paper. Those little bunnies and chicks are just so cute!

Unfortunately, I never seem to have really good Easter photos to scrapbook. So, I have learned to improvise.

Instead of scrapbooking Easter photos, I used the Easter papers to make these adorable little holiday gifts:

Aren’t they adorable filled with Starburst Jelly Beans?!

I used papers by Three Bugs in a Rug and Best Creation Inc. to make them. Then, I added some My Mind’s Eye Twine, ribbon and little Peeps cutouts made with a Lifestyle Crafts die. (Click on the photo for a larger version).

For the tops, I used the Tim Holtz Tattered Flowers die. Before I cut out the flowers, I used a Wendy Vecchi technique and Ranger’s Glue and Seal to adhere the papers to Clearly for Art by Studio 490. Then, I cut them out and heated them with a heat tool. While warm, they can be molded in any way you desire and when they cool, they retain their shape no matter what. It’s a really neat technique that I have used a lot recently. Check out Wendy’s blog for more information.

Here’s one of the flower tops: 

I used a bit of Distress Ink and a brad for the center.