Thursday, June 6, 2013

Tri-Fold Shutter Card Instructions

I received lots of nice comments on the Cape Cod Tri-Fold Shutter Card
I made for last weeks Club Scrap Blog Hop. 
A few people asked how difficult it was to make it. 
Luckily it's way easier than it looks so here you go....
CS - May 014



Tri-Fold Shutter Card

Instructions:

1. Cut a sheet of cardstock 6x12" ~ this will make a 4x6" finished card size.

2.  Score the paper and 2", 4", 8" and 10". 

shutter card 001


3. Make a cut line 1.75" from the top of the card between the 2" - 10" score lines.  Make an identical cut 1.75" from the bottom of the card again between the 2" - 10" score lines. 

NOTE: My cut lines don't go clear to the fold lines....I'm not comfortable cutting that close with my rotary cutter soooo....

shutter card 002

I finish up my lines with an exacto knife just to be sure I don't cut too far.

shutter card 003

4.  Now it's time to fold!  You want to the 2 & 4" score lines as shown... 

shutter card 004

5.  Now you fold the 8" & 10" score lines opposite of the first. This will give you 3 alternating mountain/valley folds in the center of the card!

shutter card 005
And that's it!!!  I told you it was easy :)
 You now have all of those areas to decorate and embellish! 
Since I stared off with pattern paper I left the 4 smaller rectangles empty and stamped an image for the front and three larger center rectangles.  The small rectangle to the right of the sentiment is actually a piece of pattern paper from the Cape Cod kit and the large lighthouse was cut from another sheet of pattern paper in the same kit.

The black dots are Viva Pearl Pen.

shutter card 006

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

Why Teach? Answers to a few questions...

O.k... I am going to answer a couple questions I've gotten recently and also put on my salesman's cap (which I'm not good at).

Since I announced that I am going to "teach" some on-line classes at Scrapbook News and Review I've had a few people e-mail asking if I was going to continue to blog and/or why I was doing these classes.

The Blog....

Well, let me start by saying that nothing is going to change with the blog.  I'm going to continue to ink it up and share projects, techniques, product info & reviews, cards, and more with you all.  It's what I do :)

You might have noticed that some days I post later in the day than usual but that's because it's coming into hay season and things are a bit busy here around the farm.  While the guys are in the fields I'm doing more than I normally would with our small business ~dh repairs & sells industrial sewing machines + we also do custom sewing for a few of the places we work with.  I usually handle all the office stuff while dh goes on calls & ds sews.  During the summer I have to fill in sewing and make deliveries as well so things get a bit wild here.

Rest assured the late posting has nothing to do with teaching, it's got to do with running out of time in the day for everything - LOL!!  I need a watch with about 27-28 hrs in a day. 

Why Teach???

Now, on to why I am teaching.  I have in the past taught IRL classes here and there but most of the craft/scrapbook stores within 2 hr driving distance around here have closed up shop so I haven't done much in the last few years.  I enjoyed it because I love to share what I've learned over the years and I've been told that I have a natural ability to make things easy to understand.

I miss not being able to delve deep into a particular product, technique, etc.  I've tried it here on the blog a few times over the years but by the time I get to the 3-4th day the visits drop WAY off...  I don't want to bore you all so I try to keep things down to one or two days at the most to keep it interesting, ever changing and enjoyable, which I've tried to do for 5.5 years now.    It's fun but I really do like to immerse myself in various techniques which are just way too time consuming to post here.

I've resisted offers from various places to teach on-line before because I don't like people to have to pay for knowledge.  I finally relented because a) it allows me to take the time and really get in depth on a particular subject and/or technique and share as much as I can; b) I can spread my love for art and remind everyone that they have an artist inside if they could just unlock the key to their creativity and c) the money I make from the classes will allow me to share more with you!  Lord knows the craft fairy doesn't drop free goodies in your lap everyday and it can get expensive - LOL!!  Teaching is a great way for me to be able to do all of those things and still hang out with you guys.

So, that's why I decided to teach @ SNR.

Salesman's Cap ...

O.k... that being said I'm going to try to be a good sales person and tell you a bit about my Adventures in Alcohol Ink Class. 

It's a very in depth class that is filled with lots of information compiled into 5 different areas ~ starting off with talking about the various products and tools, moving onto basic techniques.  I then share Design Basics...ways to use the alcohol inks to create an array of backgrounds; the class then moves onto A Variety of Surfaces - showing you various techniques of how to use AI's on different materials and how they look/react.  I finished up the class with 8 additional techniques and an Art Gallery showing how all of the techniques can be incorporated in different projects.

I know the class is a bit pricy at $30.00 but there is page after page of information that will be available to you forever.  Once you buy the class it's yours and you'll always have access to it (unlike some other class sites which have time limits).   The class it's self is laid out just like the tutorials on the blog with step by step photos and instructions plus there is also a group/forum that you'll have access to as well where you can post comments, ask questions and share your creations with others.

I hope that if you've been debating about it that you'll give it a shot. 

I've got another class coming up soon ~ Cards for Guys - Non-Traditional Colors.   This class I talk about color basics and how to choose colors to match your images, pattern papers or themes.  We also create 4 different cards. 
 
So, there you go...
answers to a few questions
and
hopefully a "nice" salesman's pitch - LOL!!
 
 

MY New (old) Tractor

LOL...Did that get your attention? 
Well, I am very excited about MY new tractor I got last weekend. 
It's a 1937 Allis-Chalmers Unstyled WC
It's not really new, it's very, VERY old...
March 26, 1937 to be exact (it's cast right into the motor).


I know it looks rough but it's in pretty good shape for as old as it is.  It needs tires and engine work which both are fairly easy to find/do.  The important (and expensive) stuff is all there...good radiator, sheet metal, etc. We bought it off of e-bay and dh & ds went to pick it up last Saturday.

I'm going to get bigger back tired and a different seat :)

Why do I need a tractor?  Well, honestly I don't but I had one of these tractors when we were first married 25+ years ago.  I LOVED that tractor and got to plow, disc, cultivate and rake hay with it but it was worn out and needed far too much work to be cost effective if we repaired it.  So at that time we sold it and that was the last tractor that was really mine.

Dh & the boys have all sorts of tractors for various jobs around the farm, much larger than this tractor, but once it's finished they say I could ted the hay (fluff it up) with it.  I don't care if all I do is drive it around for the heck of it, I'll finally have a tractor I can say is all mine again - doesn't take much to make me happy - LOL!!! 

Now comes the hard part...waiting for it to be all fixed up!

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Blackened Canvas - Part II

o.k., this is what the canvas looked like when we left off yesterday....


The next step is to paint the entire canvas black.  I know it sounds scary but it is a blackened canvas :)
I like to use 1 part water to 3 parts acrylic paint so it's a little bit easier to work with.  The thinner paint is much easier to get into all the nooks and crannies created by the gesso, modeling paste, tissue and whatever else you decide to throw on there.

Blackened Canvas 019
Now it's time to think about some more dimensional items. 
I just get lots of "stuff" out and start playing.  The photo is the one I'm going to add to the piece once it's finished so I put that on there to determine placement.  I used some faces I made from paper clay, a filigree piece and some old bits of jewelry I had.
You can use whatever you have on hand.  There is no right or wrong on this puppy!
Blackened Canvas 020
After I determined where I wanted everything I went ahead and glued it down using my glue gun.  You could use regular glue but I didn't want to wait.
Blackened Canvas 021
Once your pieces have been securely glued down, paint all the extras with more black paint.  I like to use a long bristle paint brush for this, it helps get into all the tight places your pieces might have.
Blackened Canvas 022
And here's how it looks so far....
Blackened Canvas 023
Once the black paint has dried, it's time to add some metallic color!  You can use paints, metallic rub-ons, Inka Gold, Guilders Paste, etc.  Pretty much anything that has a metallic sheen and can be applied with a brush or your finger goes.    I don't think I'd use metallic mists ~ that would provide more coverage than what we're going for.
This purple metallic paint from Stewart Gill fit the color scheme I was going for (purple, green & copper).  To apply paints (any type) you want to use a dry brush technique.  I painted a swatch of black on my kraft paper to test paints so I used it to brush off most of the paint leaving just a touch on the bristles.
Blackened Canvas 025
Lightly brush the remaining paint over the canvas. 
You only want to hit the high spots for the most part...this  layer is to make all of that awesome texture from the pattern tissue, facial tissue and cotton ball bits pop.
Blackened Canvas 026
Next it's time to add highlights to the gesso/modeling paste and the dimensional goodies you added to the canvas.  I used Inka Gold (purple, copper) and metallic rub-ons (green). 
Blackened Canvas 027
So here are all the goodies highlighted.
Blackened Canvas 028
Now to finish it off by adding the main image.
Blackened Canvas 029
And
here it is!
I love how it turned out.
I am calling it Mysterious.
Blackened Canvas 030
Here is the close up of the cotton ball bits...
Blackened Canvas 031
And this is the modeling paste face (andy skinner stencil) with the punchenella along the top and side.  This was totally unintentional but I think she looks like a ghost image of the photo.  The punchenella area is like her hair/veil and the flower jewelry piece is like the head piece she is wearing.
Blackened Canvas 032
Here is what the facial tissue texture looks like.  You can even see the tiny cross hatching from when they pressed the layers of tissue together!
Blackened Canvas 033
And finally the modeling paste corner piece.
Blackened Canvas 034
I LOVE this technique and will be making more of these.
How about you?
Care to try your hand???
If you give it a try, be sure to post a link, we'd all love to check it out.

Monday, June 3, 2013

Blackened Canvas Art

O.k.... I don't really know if there is a name for this type of art but I'm going to call it Blackened Canvas for now since most of the time they have a black layer in the mix.  I've been intrigued by the combinations of texture, black and metallic paints but have yet to try one so I figured now as a good a time as any.

What am I talking about?  Well, Andy Skinner is the first place I saw them or something similar to them.  His is I'm sure lots of complicated techniques because many of his pieces are cast but the texture is AMAZING!



Similar art.....


DSC02411 back resize

and
art from Mark Perry - The Male Crafter...


Mark actually made a series of videos sharing how he created this very canvas - Mark Perry Canvas.
He also had some cool techniques but unfortunately some of the supplies (the modeling paste & glue) is from England.  I tried a few combinations of various modeling paste and glues but nothing got the same chemical reaction that his did.

Anyway, now that you know the look we're going for, I thought I'd show you my take on things....

First, instead of a canvas I'm working on an old game board.  You know how I like to recycle "stuff" into art.


and I'm also going to use pattern tissue paper as my initial layer of texture.


First I started off by adding a bit of collage medium ~ I like Collage Pauge but you could use Mod Podge or even white glue (like Elmers).


Next I crumbled up the paper and pressed it into the glue.  I made sure I left lots and lots of wrinkles since texture is the key to this art.


I used my heat tool to dry it quickly.


Trim off the excess tissue...


Then I tore up a facial tissue (you could use TP as well) and a cotton ball. 
I know, sounds weird but stick with me here.


Next I applied more glue where I wanted to add the facial tissue bits. 
Then I added bits of the facial tissue and dabbed on a bit more glue




I did the same thing with the shredded cotton ball.



Next I used an Andy Skinner stencil to create a couple dimensional textured pieces using modeling paste.



and in the corner I used a piece of punchenella to add more texture. 
Finally I used my finger to apply more modeling paste around the cotton ball area (just because it looked lonely up there).


 And here is where I'm going to leave it dry over night.
Just to be sure the under layers of glue have completely dried before I move on with more layers of glue.



Saturday, June 1, 2013

New Graphi 45 - Steampunk Spells!!

I am so excited...
 
I'm not sure where I caught wind of this but have you seen the new set of papers coming out at Graphic 45????
 
It's called Steampunk Spells
and
it's A-frickin'-mazing!!!
 
It's a blend of Steampunk and Halloween....
I so totally can't wait :)
 
Check out some of the goodness...
 
The stamps for the set....
 
Cling Stamp Steampunk Spells 1Cling Stamp Steampunk Spells 3
Cling Stamp Steampunk Spells 2
 
and a few of the paper designs....
 
Steampunk Spells
Nevermore
Mechanical Marvels
 
I have SOOOOOOO got to have this!!!
I love it.
 
From what I've heard it comes out sometime in mid-June....
only 2 weeks!!!
 
I pre-ordered mine from Frantic Stamper, which is very appropriate as I am very frantic to get my hands on this stuff....