Thursday, April 15, 2010

Applegate Moments In Time Collage

Today's little project combines a bit of collage, rubber stamping and of course some INK!

The center piece for this little bit of fun is one of my favorite collage sheets I have ~ The Applegate Family 1 from Retro Cafe Art! I just LOVE this image...it's just perfect :)

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Supplies:

Frame Mat

Vintage Sheet Music

Collage Image - Retro Cafe Art

Rubber Stamps - Queen Kat Designs

Distress Ink - Ranger

Ink Blending Tool - Ranger

Stickles Glitter Glue - Ranger

Rock Candy - Ranger

Ideaology Trinkets

Instructions:

1. Gently crumble the sheet music and flatten back out.

2. Apply Victorian Velvet and Stormy Sky Distress Inks to various areas of the sheet music.

3. Attach the sheet music to the frame mat. Cut an "X" in the center of the frame, fold back each flap and secure.

4. Rub Vintage Photo Distress Ink along the edges of the frame. Use the Ink Blending Tool to drag some of the ink towards the center.

5. Stamp "Moments in Time" and Bird images. Color with Distress Inks, apply Stickles to desired areas, trim and add to frame.

6. Add embellishments as desired.

7. Apply a layer of Rock Candy to the collage image. Let the Rock Candy dry completely. Distress the image further by using your finger nail or other tool to flake off some of the Rock Candy in a couple areas.

8. Affix the image to the back of the frame and cover with a piece of cardstock or chipboard.

ENJOY!!

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So there you go...

Have a great evening friends!!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Your Input Counts!!

I am so excited...I don't know how long it's been available but I just saw it posted on my editing page and thought I'd give it a shot.

At the bottom of each post you will now see a little row of boxes ~

Love It!, More Please and No Thanks.

This is a great option to let me know what you think of any given project, technique, etc. even if you don't have time to post a comment or want to take the time to e-mail. Just check the box and your "vote" is recorded.

Originally all of the options blogger gives are positive but you can modify them so I did. The first two ~ Love It! & More Please ~ are self explanatory but I added a "No Thanks" button to let you tell me if you don't like something.... I am *hoping* that there won't be too many of the "No Thanks" but if there are I will know that I need to change some things - LOL!!

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that your thoughts really do matter to me and I am going to try my hardest to make this a place you love to visit time and again.

YOU'RE the reason I do what I do :)

Spring Stepping Carousel

Happy Wednesday!

Hard to believe we're already half way through April...seems like it was just Valentine's Day?!?! Guess that's a sure sign I'm getting old huh? Funny thing is ~ I don't FEEL old!

Oh well, as promised I finished the directions on how to assemble the Carousel I shared on Monday.

Spring Stepping Carousel

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The base for my carousel is a heavy duty chipboard spool my dh gets from one of our clients. I'm sure you could use something else but a few people have asked me about these spools. I hate to sound like a commercial but I do have some of these spools listed on my Etsy store if you're interested. We have to buy them so I'm not charging any extra...just what we have to pay.

Supplies:

Spring Stepping Stamp Set - Whimsy Stamps

Archival Ink - Ranger

Distress Inks - Ranger

Adirondack Acrylic Dabber - Ranger

Stickles Glitter Glue - Ranger

Niji Waterbrush

Aleene's Super Thick Tacky Glue

EK Success Border punch

Chipboard Spool (Dh gets these for me...I am currently selling a few on my Etsy Store)

Paper Covered Wire or Dowel Rod

(optional) - Tin

(optional) - Crepe Paper Trim

(optional) - Faux Gemstones

(optional) - Glass Glitter - Meyers Imports

Instructions:

1. Paint the entire spool with white acrylic paint.

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2. Paint three pieces of paper covered wire or dowel rods cut to size. Glue these poles to the spool with a strong glue of your choice. Don't worry about the glue showing...we will cover it up in later steps.

3. Stamp the horse image 3x using Archival Ink. Stamp 3 extra sets of tulips (located at the bottom of the horse stamp) again using the Archival Ink. Color all of these images as desired. I used my Niji Waterbrush and Distress Inks. Add Stickles Glitter Glue to highlight various areas of each horse.

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4. Stamp the vine image multiple times on a sheet of white cardstock measuring 6 1/2" x 11" long. I used several shades of green Distress Inks.

5. Trim the vine stamped sheet as follows: 4 - 1" strips leaving 1 - 2 1/2" strip.

6. Use the border punch to cut the 4 - 1" strips of cardstock...this will become the trim along the top and bottom of the carousel. You will need to piece together 2 strips for each the top and the bottom trim. Apply to the edge of the spool with Glue Dots or a fast drying liquid glue.

7. Cut the 2 1/2" strip of vine stamped cardstock into triangles. These triangles will be assembled into the domed roof for the carousel. I used a 1 1/2" width for the bottom of my triangles.

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8. Assemble the triangles in a circular form minus one triangle. Tape the triangles together on the bottom side. Trim off the center points leaving a small circular hole in the center. Tape the two ends of the circle together, by doing so you will now create the domed top.

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9. Attach the domed top to the spool using liquid glue. 10. Cut a diamond shape from white cardstock. Crease in the center to make a pennant shaped flag. Stamp the sentiment on both sides. Stamp the vine using multiple shades of green ink and distress the edges with the Ink Blending Tool.

11. Fold the pennant around a dowel rod or piece of paper covered wire. Place a small piece of wire in between the two sides and glue shut around the dowel rod. Once the glue has dried bend the wire/flag so it looks like it is flapping in the breeze. I added a small bead to the top of my flag but it's not necessary. Now place it in the hole you made when you created the domed top and glue to secure.

12. Cover all of the seams and the flag pole base with Stickles Glitter Glue.

13. Glue the stamped/colored horses to the poles and let dry. You may need to hold the horses on the poles until the glue has a chance to set.

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You can stop here or continue to embellish as follows:

14. Add faux gemstones and extra stamped tulips around both the top and bottom of the lace trim.

15. Apply a layer of glue to the floor of the carousel and sprinkle with Glass Glitter. This will help cover any glue that was used to attach the polls.

16. If you would like to add a base to your carousel you can do so at this time. I used a small metal tin ~ simply glue it to the spool base using a heavy duty liquid glue. I chose to add a crepe paper trim which matched the horses to hide the tin.

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And you're done!

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I know it sounds like ALOT of work but it really does go quite quickly once you get going.

Besides that it's really cool once you're finished ;)

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Couture Cardstock Winners!! (Finally!!)

Gosh...not sure what happened there but my post showing the winners for the Couture Cardstock Swatch Books never got published...it's still showing as a draft?!?!?

Sooooo, long over due here are the winners in no particular order as drawn by Random.org.



Betz61 said...
I think if I could pick just one it would be the once upon a time collection but the postscript would come in a close second behind. You always teach me something I just love visiting your blog. Thank you.
March 28, 2010 12:25 AM



JeanFB said...
I love the "collections." The new Parisian Ephemera collection is right up my alley. I also like the PostScript collection - I haven't used parchment-style paper in quite some time, but now I'm thinking.... could this be the "new" kraft? After all, everything old is new again... sometime! :) Thanks for a chance at some goodies. Great interview, too - this is a new-to-me company.
March 24, 2010 5:37 PM



NancyH said...
First of all - I love your blog!! Thanks for the great techniques and information on new products, etc. It's always fun to check out your blog. My favorite color collection would have to be the Serenity - although, it was a hard choice since all of them are beautiful!!
March 25, 2010 1:15 PM



Char- The Mad Shopper said...
I love the Leather paper in Kettle. The Apparition is nice too.
March 25, 2010 10:23 AM



Congratulations Everyone!!

(please e-mail me your snail mail addy so I can get these luscious papers out in the mail to you)

BFF Altered Book - Mini Album Challenge #4

YES!

Another installment in our BFF Altered Book/Mini Album!!

I hope you've all had a chance to play along if not maybe you can catch up at a later date.

BFF Altered Book

Challenge #4 -

The saying for today is:

4. When you're scared, we will high tail it out of here.

And the challenge is:

Use the Distressed Glue Technique I shared on Saturday!!

And here is my take on the challenge....

Supplies:

Distress Inks

Ink Blending Tool

Cardstock

Aleene's Super Thick Tacky Glue

Instructions:

1. Apply desired color(s) of Distress Ink to your cardstock.

bff4 006

2. Add glue and smear it around over the ink. I like to use Aleene's Super Thick Tacky Glue (more on the glue below).

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3. Let the glue dry completely.

4. Apply a darker color of Distress Ink over the entire piece of paper... This will fill in the areas where you didn't apply the glue. The area that was covered in glue will allow the lighter colors of ink to show through.

AND YOU'RE DONE!!!

How easy and cool is that!

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And here are my finished pages....

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I have a special treat to share with you....one of my Ink Stained Friends...Kim Wilhelm has taken up the BFF Album Challenge and has allowed me the pleasure of sharing her first page spread with you all!! She is going with a cowgirl theme in her album and here is a link to her blog...Inspiration of the Day.

Kim Wilhelm BFF Album

THANKS KIM!!!

Now a bit more about the glue used in the Distressed Glue Technique. I originally tried this using Aleene's Super Thick Tacky Glue. I use this glue more than any other because it holds great and doesn't run like thinner glues. Well I decided to experiment with thinner types of glue just to see how well it would work.

My first experiment was with Glossy Accents. It worked pretty good over all. You have to be VERY careful that you don't get too much GA on the tag. It's super spreadable so a very small amount will cover LOTS of ground. If you add too much glue you'll cover up too much of the paper and not have enough uncovered left to distress.

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The second test I did was with a thinner white glue ~ Aleene's Quick Dry Glue (similar to Elmers). Again, I got WAY too much glue on this tag and ended up with somewhat of a mess trying to wipe the excess off ...picture glue on every finger tip, then my palm then the side of my hand all trying to wipe up the excess glue - LOL!! Nobody can say I don't get into my art ;) As you will notice not much distressing on this tag because of it.

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So I'm thinking it's either Aleene's Super Thick Tacky Glue or VERY add sparingly thinner glues. I might even go so far as to suggest dabbing a bit of the thinner glue on your finger and applying where desired to ensure you don't end up covered in glue trying to remove the extra - LOL!!

I'm not done experimenting with this technique...I've got a few other ideas I want to try out to see how they work. I'm thinkin' there are some way cool things you can do with this.

Tomorrow I hope to have the directions for assembling the carousel finished and photos taken.

Till then friends...

Have a crafty evening!!

Monday, April 12, 2010

Whimsy Stamps

Today I am thrilled to have a fun and exciting rubber stamp company to share with you...

Whimsy Stamps!

I have been anticipating sharing this company with you since I saw their cute and yes "whimsical" stamps.

Denise Lynn the co-founder of Whimsy Stamps was kind enough to answer a few questions about her family owned and operated company...



How long have you been stamping?

Personally I've been a stamper for about 5 years now. I began my journey with Whimsy Stamps in November of 2008. It's been very exciting to see our ideas come to life in our rubber stamps designs. And I've had the opportunity to meet and work with wonderful people!

How did you get started designing rubber stamps?

I've always wanted to create my own rubber stamp designs, but I'm not an artist. I love stamping and card making and I love to have variety, but I wasn't finding all the images I wanted to work with, so together with the help of my husband, we started Whimsy Stamps. We enlisted the talents of Katie Sowa and Crissy Armstrong as well as my husband to create the stamp lines you see today! We are also lucky to have a talented word artist in Ann Vento of Raindrop Echo Designs who has created beautiful sentiment collections for us. For additional information on all of Whimsy Stamp designers be sure to check out their Artist Page!

Where do you get your inspiration from for your stamp designs?

Our Kids Collection was inspired by our own two children, Connor and Emma. Being the stamper, I give my husband ideas and he makes them into the images for Whimsy. Katie is fabulous at creating fun and original characters, which you see in the Animals and Mythical Collections. I suggest an idea and she makes it happen in a very whimsical way! Crissy brings her own wonderful ideas and talents to the table and is gracious enough to share them with Whimsy in the Crissy Armstrong Collection! And, Ann can take my ideas for sentiments and turn them into beautiful word art. We are so fortunate to have each of these special and talented illustrators working with us! It's so much fun to go to work everyday!

What are your favorite stamps?

My absolute favorite stamp is a new carousel horse designed by Crissy Armstrong and it's just the most beautiful and sweetest image all in one! Another one of my favorites is Summer Day Emma. I love that we have stamps created in the likeness of our children and in this image Emma sits amongst the flowers with the breeze blowing her hair. I can almost see her doing just that now...and I can't wait for summer! I love of all of our stamp designs because they are fun and playful and they make me smile when I see them!

Anything special you’d like the readers to know about your stamps/designs/company?

We strive to bring our customers fun and whimsical stamps that are original in design while taking great care to provide a high quality product. All of our stamps are deeply etched red rubber with EZ Mount foam already attached. Once the stamps are trimmed, they are ready to use with your acrylic blocks! We hope to bring lots of new rubber stamp designs in the coming months, but we are also getting ready to release some designs in digital format for all of those digital stamp lovers out there!

Are you an Angel Company?

Yes we are! We love for our customers to use our products to create any and all hand-stamped projects. We ask that credit be given to Whimsy Stamps and/or our artists whenever possible. More information regarding our Angel Policy can be found on our website.

What forms of payments do you take?

Currently we use PayPal to process all of our payments and buyers can use debit cards/bank accounts, Visa or Master Card, American Express or Discover Card. You do not need to have an account with PayPal to check out from our shop. All payments processed with PayPal are completely secure and Whimsy Stamps is a verified seller with PayPal.

Do you ship internationally?

Yes we do happily ship internationally. Rates are subject to change, but we strive to provide reasonable shipping costs to many locations throughout the world using the USPS and Priority or First Class Air Mail. If you have trouble checking out on our site due to your location, please contact us and we will make sure your country is added to our ship to list. We also have retailers in the UK, Australia, and Sweden.

A bit about their stamps....

Whimsy Stamps are unmounted deeply etched red rubber stamps backed with thin EZ Mount Foam (some are on the thicker type EZ Mount Foam). If you've ever worked with EZ Mount Foam before you know how nice these types of stamps are to use. All you need to do is trim from the sheet and you're ready to stamp.

I have to say I was very impressed with the designs offered by Whimsy Stamps. Being an animal lover myself I found the Animals Collection hilarious!! These aren't your normal, every day, run-of-the-mill, cuddly creatures you might expect. They are fun and funky little friends that will instantly bring a smile to your face! Some of my favorites include: Whimsy Frog (what a smile!!); Whimsy Moose; their adorable Whimsy Narwhal Whale; and the Whimsy Owl (it looks like I feel in the mornings -lol!!!). Of course there are many other darling animals to choose from for all your stamping needs.

The collection that REALLY caught my eye was the Crissy Armstrong Collection. Specifically the Carousel Horses are amazing and so very detailed! Beautifully rendered, true to life and graceful images inspire great designs. I was lucky enough to be able to work with Spring Stepping but the other carousel horses...Cool Ride, Proud Momma, Untamed Love and Wings of Hope are just as beautiful.

For ideas on how to use the stamps mentioned as well as the rest of the stamps in their collection you need to check out their awe inspiring Gallery.

Now I mentioned earlier that I had the chance to work with their Spring Stepping carousel horse. I knew instantly what I "HAD" to make with this stamp set... a Carousel of course! It took me a while to get everything just so but I was able to finish it and wanted to share it with you today.

BUT first I want to share a couple other projects before I show you - LOL!!

You might recognize this tag as the one I made using the Glue & Distress Ink technique from Sat. I need to add a bit of bling to it as well as a few extra goodies but this is as far as I got at this point.

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This card is a fun little creation I made by adding a bit of Stickles Glitter Glue and cut using my Nesties.

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and now my


Spring Stepping Carousel!

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Each horse was colored using Distress Inks and a Niji Waterbrush. I added various colors of Stickles Glitter Glue for a bit of sparkle.

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The lace around the bottom and top of the carousel was stamped using the vine accessory stamp in the same set. It was stamped with various shades of green Distress Ink. I also used an EK Success border punch and added extra flowers (from the bottom of the horse stamp) and faux gemstones.

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The paper for the top of the carousel was also stamped using the vine and Distress Inks. After it was cut and pieced together I added Lime Stickles Glitter Glue along the seams. The sentiment on the flag is one of two which are included in the set.

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I mounted the carousel on a metal tin that I wrapped with a stitched crepe paper trim. Great for stashing a little surprise or hiding a little treasure :)

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I am working on writing up a supply list and directions on how to assemble this carousel. I will post them as soon as I am finished along with a few extra pics.

NOW....

I have an extra special treat!

Denise was kind enough to send not only


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Trimmed and slightly used...

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but she also sent


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So....You have not one,

not two

but THREE chances to win!!!

Three you might ask...yes!

You could win Spring Stepping, Whimsy Snippets #2 or my Spring Stepping Carousel!!!

What do you have to do to enter?

Simply post a message below telling us which stamp or stamp set is your favorite Whimsy stamp.

You could also be eligible for a second entry if you post a link to this page on your blog, Facebook page or Twitter.

For the second entry to be valid you will need to come back and post a link sharing where it was posted.

You will have until April 23rd to post!

Good Luck Everyone!!

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Vintage Postcard Sunday ~ Lake Kinderhook, NY

So glad everyone likes the Glue/Ink technique!

I'm really excited about it as well. I have had fun experimenting with various colors, layers of glue, etc.

And yes, it's going to be Tuesdays BFF Technique for those of you that asked - LOL!! I'll share some additional examples of the technique then as well.

Tomorrow I have a very special project planned to share with you. I was so inspired by a set of stamps I rec'd from Whimsy Stamps that I couldn't contain myself...you're not going to want to miss it!

Today however I have several vintage scenic postcards to share with you of the beautiful Lake Kinderhook in New York.

I've never been there but if these images are any indication it looks like a wonder place to visit! What I love about these postcards is that it looks like it goes from morning, through the day to sunset and later in the evening! I've never had a complete set like that.

Anyway, hope you enjoy them!

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Have a wonderful evening friends

and

be sure to check back tomorrow!!

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Glue + Distress Ink = WAY COOL!!!

What do you get when you combine liquid glue, Distress Inks and the Ink Blending Tool?!?!?

A cool new experiment that went oh so right!!!!

I am so excited...I HAVE to share this with you. I was going to wait till next week when I had time to make up more examples and take better pictures but I just cannot wait! This is so much fun!

By the name of my blog you know I like to get messy...

Well I usually have 3-4 projects going at once ~ you know dry time and all...can't stand to wait so I fill that time with other things. Normally I end up with various glues, inks and paints on my fingers. If it's a really good day there might even be some collage medium or other "goodies" stuck to me.

If I'm not careful I get this extra stuff on my fingers everywhere...sometimes where it actually belongs ~ other times where it doesn't.

It's these other times that inspired me to experiment with glue...Now, I'm not sure if this technique has been done before or not so all I can say is it's new to me and maybe you too!

Enjoy!!

Distressed Glue

Supplies:

Distress Ink

Ink Blending Tool

Paper/Cardstock/Tag/etc.

Liquid Glue...I like Aleene's Super Thick Tacky Glue (tell you why in a minute)

That's IT!!!

Instructions:

1. Apply desired colors of Distress Ink to the paper using the IBT.

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2. Add glue...just place it in a few spots or in several. Totally up to you....

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3. Now, smear it around! Yes!! I love this part...it's so much fun ;)

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4. VERY IMPORTANT!!! LET THE GLUE DRY!!! If you don't it will make a terrible mess...with your IBT, Ink Pad, paper, etc. It's just not something you want to mess with.

5. After the glue has dried completely apply another layer of Distress Ink in whatever color you would like to use.

(Look at the awesome distressed design already coming through!)

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6. After you have applied the ink, wipe away the excess ink which has pooled on the glued areas (it won't dry on the glue) and you're done!!

Check it out....

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And another quickie example...

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The reason I mentioned that I like to use Aleene's Super Thick Tacky Glue for this technique is the texture! This glue is so thick that while you can spread it really thin it's fun to leave thicker areas because you can see those differences in the finished results. Notice the upper right hand corner of the green ~ you can actually see the streaks and crevices that I left in the thicker areas.

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Now for the blue below I just applied the glue directly to the white cardstock. You can see that the ink did slightly color the glued areas and left the other areas darker. So, if you're short on time you can completely skip step 1!

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Well what do you think?

Fun huh?

Quick, easy and stunning results ~

doesn't get much better than that :)

I'll have more examples to share with you next week...

Till then friends have a wonderful weekend!!

Friday, April 9, 2010

Streuter GlueFoil & Paper Punches

If you remember yesterday I mentioned that the new GlueFoil colors are thin enough to be cut with hand held paper punches.

WELL ~ that generated a couple e-mails from people wanting to see proof - LOL!!

Honest, you really can and here is a scrapbook lay-out to prove it!

Winter Wonderland

The snowflakes are all EK Success Kaleidoscope Snowflakes.

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Streuter - 2010 Winter CHA 018

I used a Martha Stewart (EK Success) Border Punch on the silver edge.

Streuter - 2010 Winter CHA 017

The label holder & frame are both Sizzix die-cuts.

Streuter - 2010 Winter CHA 017

Streuter - 2010 Winter CHA 017

So there you go....

You really CAN use paper punches on metal!

I wouldn't lie to you now would I ;)