Ink Stained Sketch 20090717

Happy Friday Everyone!!

I hope you've all had a great day!

We ended up going to an antique tractor show in Winamac IN ~ it's great...lots of neat old tractors, flea markets and good food :) It was a beautiful day in the middle 70's with a bit of a breeze. Couldn't ask for anything better. I found a few good buys for my new room so I'm excited.

Today's sketch includes one of my most loved embellishments....TAGS! I love those buggers, they are so versatile and can be bought pre-made, die-cut or hand crafted from any scrap of paper you have on hand.

Now I've left the center strip open to your interpretation but I'm thinking it could be made from fabric, pattern paper, lace, felt, etc. You might even kick it up a notch or two by layering several of these materials to create lots of depth and dimension!

Ink Stained Sketch

20090717

Remember, if you create a card using this sketch and would like to share it you can post a link or send me a scan of your card :) I'll be happy to share it with everyone here!

Take care and have an INKY weekend :)

I'm hoping to have a painted weekend!! We're going to tear apart my son's bed then rip out the carpeting so I can paint the floor!!!! Then it's off to paint and start fillin' it up! I SOOOOOOOOOOO can't wait :)

Ink Stained Sketch 20090626 Results

Well, I had planned on having several cards to share with you today but since my studio is STILL torn apart waiting for help from dh. SOOO, that's a no go.

Ink Stained Sketch 20090626

But, Phinny is here to save the day!!! She made and shared two awesome looking cards using the sketch from 6-26 with us.

Both cards are very beautiful but I have to say the first is definitely my fav...the blues work perfectly to highlight the sky in the main image and really makes the yellow in the wings pop.

Awesome work Phinny!!

Thanks so much for sharing!

Remember if you make a card using one of the Ink Stained Sketches be sure to send me a link or a scan and I'll post it here along with the rest.

Tomorrow I'll have a fresh Ink Stained Sketch to share with you to get more creative juices flowing.

Sunday I'll be sharing more vintage postcards.

Then, next week I'm going to start the week off by sharing a fun technique courtesy of my garden....hhhmmmmmm what could it be?!?!?! ;)

Be sure to check back then!!

IT'S HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!

It wasn't supposed to start shipping until next week but I just rec'd my first shipment of my book!!!!!!!!

I was thinking when the UPS man pulled up ~ I didn't order anything what is he doing here...then I thought ~ now what did DH order?!?!?!

But, it WAS for me :)

WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For those of you that pre-ordered a copy I'll be packaging them up and getting them out asap! I hope to have most of them packed up by Monday :)

YEAH!!!!!!!!

Off to do the happy dance!!!!!!!!

Christmas in July - Winter Coin Book!

Well, down to the last installment of Christmas in July. Today I have a Winter themed coin book to share with you. If you've never messed with a coin book before I highly suggest giving one a try. It's so much fun trying to come up with small photos, charms, embellishments, etc. to fill in all of those nifty little holes!

Any coin book will work but I like the ones with larger holes...quarter or half dollar books are my fav's.

Since this is a pretty personalized craft I'm not going to add any instructions, you can pretty much just do whatever feels good. There are no limits to the goodies you can add or techniques you can employ ~ just relax, experiment and have fun!

Here is my Winter Themed Coin Book....

Neat huh? You could spend as much or as little time as you want/have on one of these books. They would make great gifts for family or friends who live near or far! Remember by varying the themes and color schemes these books would also make awesome gifts for Birthdays, Anniversaries, or virtually any occasion!

Now, as a final Christmas/Winter hurrah you have until 7-21 to post at which time I'll draw a winner for a surprise pack of all sorts of winter/Christmas embellishments :)

Good Luck Everyone!!

Hanukkah Plaque

Today's Christmas in July project is a fun Hanukkah plaque made from recycled chipboard and Stampbord Tiles. If you've never played with Stampbord products you're missing out on some fun. It's a unique clay coated hard backed board or tile that is perfect when paired with all sorts of rubber stamping and inking techniques. Stampbord has an in depth explanation about this way cool product. In addition to stamping, these tiles are also great for carving but that's another technique, another time.

Hanukkah ~ Festival of Light

NOTE: This can easily be transformed to fit virtually any theme. Simply change the color scheme and stamped/rub-on images & words to suit your needs!

Supplies:

Stampbord Tiles

Alcohol Inks

Blending Tool

Krylon Leafing Pen

Dimensional Pearls

Acrylic Dabber

Adirondack Dye Ink

Archival Ink

Rubber Stamps

Themed Rub-Ons

Coins

Glossy Accents

Micro Beads or Beadazzle Beads

Chipboard

Cardstock

Instructions:

1. Determine how many tiles you will be using and a basic pattern to determine placement. Draw a cheat sheet so you remember how they all fit together.

2. Add 2-3 drops of coordinating Alcohol Ink to the Blending Felt. I used Denim & Stonewashed. Apply the ink to each tile.

3. Apply rub-ons or stamp Hanukkah images on most of your tiles. (Note - save one or two to add dimensional coins to.)

4. Glue faux coins onto remaining tiles.

5. Use the Krylon Metallic Paint Pen to add gold detailing around all 4 sides of all of the tiles.

6. Apply a generous coat of Glossy Accents to the top of each tile. This seals and protects your images/rub-ons and also adds a nice shine. Set tiles aside to dry.

7. Cut scrap chipboard to desired sizes. I like to graduate my pieces as follows: main chipboard in the center, add 1" for the blue piece and 1/2" for the gold piece. For example the main chipboard might measure 5x7, blue piece - 6x8, gold 6 1/2 x 8 1/2". You may of course change your sizes to accommodate your theme, tiles, or the chipboard you have on hand.

8. Color the largest piece of chipboard 1/4" around the edges using the Krylon Gold Paint Pen. Let dry.

9. Paint the middle piece of chipboard 1" around the edges using Dimensional Pearls - Denim. Let dry.

10. Cover the last piece of chipboard with white cardstock. Stamp desired patterns using dye inks and stamps. I used a vine/leaf stamp from Fancy Pants and an ATC background to mimic punchenella.

11. Use a "dry brush" technique to apply gold acrylic dabber paint to the edges of main chipboard.

12. Glue stampbord tiles to the main piece of chipboard. Let dry.

13. Attach all 3 pieces of chipboard together.

14. Drizzle Glossy Accents in each corner around the tiles, down the edges, etc. in 2 corners. Cover using Micro Beads or Beadazzle Beads. Let dry & shake off excess.

You may attach desired hanger of your choice!

Your plaque is ready to be enjoyed!

Like I mentioned before this project is very easily altered to fit virtually any theme you might like. Great to personalize for family and friends but don't forget to make one for yourself ;)

If you'd like to be entered into the Christmas In July Give-A-Way contest all you have to do is post!

I'll draw another winner tomorrow :)

Christmas in July Winner #4

Hey Guys!

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend...

The winner of Christmas in July #4 is

.....

.....

AlteredStateStudio!!!

alteredstatesstudio said...
You are so amazing! Those candles are soooo cool! I would never have thought of that! Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful technique!!
July 11, 2009 8:21 AM

Congratulations!!!

You have your choice of any of the candles shown on Friday or a surprise goodie :) Please e-mail me your choice along with your snail mail addy.

Postcards 20090712 - Christmas Postcards!!

In keeping with my Christmas in July theme I thought I'd share some Christmas Postcards I have in my collection!

If you would like you can click on any of them and it should take you to Flickr. Please feel free to use these postcards for your own personal use but please don't compile and sell them in any fashion.

Enjoy!!

Love the colors of this one...looks like they used the Ink Blending tool - LOL!!

Never would have associated clover with Christmas!

One of my foreign postcards...not sure what it says but I hope it's nothing bad - LOL!!

I have some wintery scenes for next week ;)

Tomorrow I'll be sharing a fun Hanukkah project and I have even more fun things in store later on in the week!

Be sure to stop in and see what "cool" things I have planned!

Stamped Christmas Candles

I know I've shared this technique in the past but I'm telling you these make the perfect hostess gift during the holidays! And since it is for the holiday time of year what better to embellish with than Stickles! Yep, add a bit of sparkle and bling to the images for that extra special touch.

Now, one of the reasons I love this project is it's relatively inexpensive. You can buy plain white pillars most anywhere for just a couple of dollars and you're more than likely to have the rest of the supplies on hand. A great bonus during these tough times!

Supplies:

Pillar Candles (any size)

White Tissue Paper

Archival or Staz-On Inks

Holiday Themed Rubber Stamps

Heat Gun

Embellishments - Dresden Trim, Stickles Glitter Glue, Brads, etc.

Instructions:

1. Place your tissue paper on scrap paper (the ink will bleed through to your table otherwise).

2. Ink your stamp using one or more colors of permanent ink*. When I add multiple colors I place the stamp on the table and use only the corner of the ink pad to dab the ink where I want it. I always start at the center of the image and work my way towards the outer edges. This helps prevent mixing the inks as you go.

*You MUST use a permanent type ink so the image doesn't run when you are melting it to the candle.

3. Stamp the image on the tissue paper and let it dry completely.

4. Trim excess tissue paper away from your design.

5. Pre-heat your heat gun so it's really hot for the next step.

6. Wrap the stamped tissue paper around the candle. Begin heating the candle by waving the heat gun over the tissue paper and candle. The wax should begin to immediately start melting, as it does you will notice the tissue paper seems to disappear into the melted wax.

7. Continue heating until the entire image has been adhered to the candle. It should cool immediately.

Now of course you can stop at this point and have a perfectly fine gift but you know me...gotta add a bit of extra pizazz ;)

8. (Optional) Apply Stickles Glitter Glue or Distress Stickles to various areas of your design to make the image pop! Add multiple colors for some real fun :)

9. (Optional) Once the glitter has dried, add some Dresden Trim, Ribbon or trim for an added bit of decoration.

ENJOY!

Here are some close ups of each design shown....

This is my fav. part of this image!!

You can match virtually any color of ink with Stickles....

Distressed Stickles & Regular Stickles at once.

Stamped & Masked Design

Patina & Copper Stickles for highlights!

The best thing about this project (besides being quick and inexpensive) is you don't have to do it all at once. You may only have a few minutes to work on these at a time say for instance you might stamp all of your images ahead of time, apply them to the candles in your next sitting and finally embellish at a later date.

It's a very flexible and inexpensive gift project that packs a wallop!

You'll have until Monday to post your comment to be the next winner in the Christmas in July Give-A-Way!

Good Luck and have a wonderful weekend everyone!!!

Christmas in July Winner #3!!!

Hi Guys!

I hope you've all had a wonderful Friday! It's been busy around here ~ they were calling for rain this afternoon so we were racing around trying to get all of our hay made and in the barn. Well as it turns out we STILL don't have rain yet!! I guess the good thing is it's done and we don't have to worry about it now.

Anyway, I have another Christmas in July winner :)

The winner for today is.....

Pamela D.!!!!!!

Pamela D. said...
I really liked your craft today. I added your blog to my favorites list and check it on a daily basis. I have fallen in love with alcohol inks and I even dyed my heat gun like you did. Thanks for giving us so much inspiration! Pamela D.
July 10, 2009 12:07 AM

Congrats Pamela!

You have your choice of the plaque from yesterday or a surprise Christmas embellishment :) Please send your choice along with your snail mail addy to me so I can get your goodie out in the mail to you!

Thanks so much for reading and playing along!

For the next winner everyone will have all weekend to post and I'll draw the next winner on Monday :)

Good Luck All!!!

To All A Good Night!

Today's Christmas in July project is a "green" project in a fashion. The base can be virtually any recycled bit of chipboard or plaque. I used an old plaque from the 70's with some of that nasty decoupage on it that I picked up at Goodwill for .25! I scraped off the existing image and it was as good as new!

And To All A Good Night

Supplies:

Plaque (new/used/recycled) or Chipboard in desired size

Distress Metallic Crackle Paint

Christmas-y Rub-ons and/or Alpha rub-ons

Santa Rubber Stamp (Paper Inspirations)

Distress Inks

Archival Ink

Cut & Dry Nibs

Cardstock

Ribbon

Instructions:

1. If you are recycling an old plaque, remove as much of the old image as possible.

2. Paint the plaque using the Distress Metallic Crackle Paint (I used tarnished brass). Let dry naturally ~ do not speed drying by any means. It will ruin the paint!

3. Stamp image onto cardstock using Archival Ink.

4. Apply color to stamped image using Distress Inks and Cut & Dry Nibs. (I didn't have time today but I will make a demo on this technique in the near future). Crumble (for the wrinkles if desired) and ink the edges.

5. Mount stamped image onto coordinating color of cardstock.

6. After plaque is completely dry, apply rub on images and words as desired. If you don't have rub-ons to suit your need, you may also stamp your images & words using archival ink or Acrylic Paint Dabbers.

I used "To All A Good Night" but other says could include:

Ho Ho Ho

We Believe

Merry Christmas

Tis the Season

Home for the Holidays

Santa is Comin' to Town

Peace be with You

7. Mount image on the plaque and attach ribbon!

It takes a bit of time to make but it will be a much appreciated gift by all!

Remember if you'd like to be entered to win prize #3 in the Christmas in July Give-A-Way

just post on this thread and you're all set!

I will draw the next winner tomorrow when I post the next project!

Good Luck Everyone!