Vintage Valentine #1

Since Valentine's Day is quickly approaching I thought it would be fun to create a few Vintage Valentine's this week!

Today we're going to play with vintage sheet music and German Glass Glitter!

Supplies:

Vintage Sheet Music
German Glass Glitter
Gesso
Rubber Stamps (sentiment & script - Just For Fun)
Distress Ink - Vintage Photo
Ink Blending Tool & Foam
Archival Ink - Crimson
Cardstock
4" Lace Heart Paper Doily
Ribbon
Heart Patterns (below)

Heart Pattern: This is the pattern I used to create this card.  The pattern is made to be printed on an 8.5x11" sheet of cardstock.  The middle heart can be used in place of the Heart Lace Doily I used in the finished example.

Instructions:

1. Print out the heart patterns on cardstock.  Cut out each heart to use as a template.

2. Fold a sheet of 8.5x11 colored cardstock in half.  Place the largest heart template along the fold line.  Trace around the heart making sure to leave two edges over the fold as shown.

3. Stamp script image over the entire card front.  I used Vintage Photo Distress Ink for this example.

4. Apply more Vintage Photo DI to the edges using the Ink Blending Tool.  Set the card aside.

5. Trace the smallest heart on to a piece of vintage sheet music.

6. Mount the sheet music on a piece of cardstock to add strength as old sheet music tends to be brittle and easily torn.  Cut out the heart after the glue has dried.

7. Apply a layer of gesso over the vintage sheet music heart.  This will mute the sheet music a bit so the stamped sentiment will show up a bit better.  You could use white acrylic paint sparingly so you don't completely cover the music.

NOTE: I like to apply a thin layer with my finger tip then wipe away the excess with a tissue.

and here the gesso'ed heart is next to the original sheet music...

8. Stamp desired sentiment in the center of the music heart.

9. Outline the heart with a clear drying white glue.  I like to use Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue but you can use whatever you have on hand.

10.  Sprinkle the german glass glitter over the glue.  Carefully press the glitter into the glue and shake off the excess. 

REMEMBER: Glass Glitter is VERY sharp!!!  Use caution when handling this glitter.

Set the heart aside until the glue has dried.

11. If you don't have one of the lace heart doilies cut the middle sized heart from a sheet of cardstock.  To add dimension and interest use decorative scissors to cut the heart from the cardstock.

12. Mount the vintage sheet music heart on the middle sized heart (or Lace Heart Doily) then mount this onto the heart shaped card base.

13. Add a ribbon bow.

  

Astrology Stamp Winner & Stuff

Happy Monday!

Can you believe we are starting the last full week in January already!  Man I don't know about you but this month has just FLOWN by.  Does that mean I'm getting old?  I certainly hope not...I don't feel old ;)

Well, I don't want to keep you all waiting too long so without further delay the winner of the January Get Inked stamp set ~ Vintage Astrology is....

Crafty Creations!!!

crafty creations said...


Amazing stamps - so versatile - fabulous inspirational pieces - I'd love em - I'm an aquarian - my birthday is quite soon so these would be a brilliant prezzy

January 22, 2011 4:50 AM

Congratulations!!!

Please send me your snail mail addy so I can get your stamps out in the mail :)

I also wanted to share what I was playing around with this past weekend....

It's an old printers drawer that had some serious issues. I got it in a two for one deal so it was well worth it.  Since it was so far gone I didn't mind doing a little revamping on it to work for my stamps.

 The back board was damaged so my dad replaced that with a nice new sheet of wood.

It had several dividers that were half broken ~ the top was gone but the lower portion of the divider was still intact. So I broke the bottoms off  and made space to fit some of my favorite stamps and other "goodies".  

It's not quite full yet but I have some things in mind that I'd like to find to finish it off. 

AND

I don't know if you've ever tried Dove chocolates or not but they are wonderful.  I normally don't like chocolate (unless it comes with peanut butter or caramel) but Dove is really good...It actually melts in your mouth.  I had bought my first package back in October (because of the whole pink thing) but kept forgetting to buy more.  I noticed at that time that each chocolate had a nifty little message inside. 

Well, I finally remembered to pick up a package today. I sat down to create the card project for today but decided to have a chocolate before I got started and this is what it said inside....

How perfect is that?!?!

That is perfect since I was sitting down to do something I truly love!

Ranger has Cardstock!!!

Did you see that Ranger is now going to offer two sets of cardstock that coordinates with the Distress and Adirondack line of inks????

How cool is that?!?!

Which do you like the best?

I like the Distress best because I use those inks all the time.

Would you like to win a set of this great new cardstock before it's released?

Well Core'dinations and Ranger are giving away the new cardstock to 40 lucky people.

If you'd like to be entered to win head on over here....

Win Ranger Cardstock 

and enter to win!!!

Good Luck Friends!!

Stickles Glitter Glue - 4 Season Thank You Cards

As you know I love love love Stickles Glitter Glue and with the addition of 9 that's right NINE new "flavors" to choose from there is even more to love.  So I thought for the next few Saturday's I'd bring you a different card or project featuring these fun sparklie glues!

This week I'd like to share this set of classy Seasonal Thank You cards.   

I decided that I wanted this set to be a notch above every day cards so for the card base I used a beautifully textured watercolor paper which I roughed up the edges with my MM Distress Tool.  I used the same sentiment (Crafty Secrets) for all four cards; each sentiment was mounted on cardstock that matches their season.   I then selected a variety of chipboard shapes (combination of hand-cut; die-cut and pre-cut) that I covered with black or white acrylic paint.  Each shape was then covered with a variety of Stickles Glitter Glues (New colors of Stickles are noted with an "*").

Spring 

Lily of the Valley

Stickles Glitter Glue - Frosted Lace, Mystic Green*

Summer

 Hibiscus Flower

Stickles Glitter Glue - Purple, Thistle*, Firefly (green)*, Yellow

Autumn

 Fall Leaves

Stickles Glitter Glue - Paprika*, Gold, Copper, Cinnamon, Burgundy, Mystic Green*

and

Winter

 Snowflakes

Stickles Glitter Glue - Icicle, True Blue*, Midnight Blue*, Thistle*

This set of cards given individually are a beautiful way to express your thanks but given as a set they make a great gift idea for anyone for virtually any occasion!

Technique Calendar Recap

I've had lots of people ask for one central location to access the techniques comprising this years technique calendar so I have listed each month plus a link to the technique.  Plus they will also be listed at the top of the right hand column for a bit.

Enjoy!

Technique Calendar Prep

January - Alcohol Inks - Groovy Ink

February - Embossing Powders - Gradient Embossing

March - Adirondack Dye Ink - Watercolor Tiles

April - Distress Inks - Wax Paper Resist

May - Liquid Pearls - Liquid Pearl Resist

June - Adirondack Color Wash - Stamped Labels

July - Stickles Glitter Glue - Blasted Stickles

August - Perfect Pearls - Painting w/ Perfect Pearls

September - Adirondack Dimensional Pearls - Paste Paper

October - Sticky Back Canvas - Hot Glue Resist

November - Inkssentials White Pigment Pen - No-Brainer Bandanna Technique

December - Beeswax - Beeswax Collage

I hope if you didn't have a chance to make the calendar along with us that you find the time to give at least one or two of the techniques a try...

everyone needs a break from life to have a little fun gettin' inky ;)

Just For Fun Friday - Animal-tines!

Believe it or not it's Friday already!  It doesn't feel like it here because Bob had Tues & Wed off from school due to bad weather (ice!) so I'm lost in the middle of the week somewhere.  BUT It is Friday and that means it's Just For Fun Rubber Stamps Friday!  This week continuing with the Valentine's Day theme I wanted to show you how to incorporate some of your animal stamps into your V-Day cards. 

So today I bring you Animal-tines ;)

The colors are really off on this card.  I tried several times to capture the true colors but between the ribbon and Liquid Pearls the flash kept over reacting.  The cat was painted with several different colors of Liquid Pearls.

A little birdy told me they love you!

and my favorite...

This was so much fun to make. 

There is a little twist to this card...do you know what it is?

Do you know how I stamped it? 

I'll be back later this afternoon to share what is so different about this card ;)

Be sure to stop over at the Just For Fun Blog to see what the rest of the Just For Fun Design Team Girls have been up to this week!

Valentine's Day Card @ Meyer Imports!

I am so tickled.... John ~ the glass glitter guru over at Meyer Imports posted one of my Valentine's Day cards on their blog today ... More Valentine Ideas!  Be sure to check it and all their great ideas out :)

And if you haven't done so you HAVE to check out their store ~ Meyer Imports!  They have LOADS of gorgeous glass glitter for sale in multiple grain sizes. In addition to glass glitter they have glass beads, earth flakes and so much more!

If you've never used glass glitter before stick around...I'm going to be sharing a few projects using glass glitter next week!

Ranger Tech. Calendar - December - Beeswax

I have been so looking forward to this calendar page...

BEESWAX!!!

If you've visited here before you know how much I love playing with beeswax and today is no different.  It is just soooo much fun and the results are spectacular!

Ranger offers two varieties of beeswax...Natural which has a yellow cast to it and white which dries to a translucent finish.  Personally I like the natural best.  The finished results have a time-worn vintage feel that I just love.

Beeswax Collage

Supplies:

Beeswax (your choice Natural - White) - Ranger
Melting Pot w/Project Pan - Ranger
Paint Brush
Collage Images
Chipboard
Exacto Knife (optional)
Printed Calendar Page

Instructions:
1. Plug in the Melt Pot, place a Project Pan into the Melt Pot, replace the lid and let it heat up for a few minutes.

2. Pour some of the beeswax pellets into the Project Pan, replace the lid and let it melt.

3. Print and trim several mini Christmas collage images.

4. Since I'm using plain chipboard for my base I thought it would be fun to add a bit of the Christmas Tissue Tape prior to starting the collage.  Much of it will be covered with the various images but enough will peek out from behind for a bit more interest.

Note: I didn't add any to the lower right hand corner because I have a nice big Santa that I will be using to cover that corner.

5. Normally I would apply a layer of beeswax to the chipboard prior to adding images for better adhesion but since my images were printed on regular copy paper it won't be necessary.  The copy paper is thin enough that the wax immediately soaks through to the chipboard.  If you are using thicker cardstock type paper you will need to apply this initial layer.

6. Begin applying the images to your chipboard by simply placing the image on your chipboard and paint with the melted beeswax. 

7. Continue to layer additional images until the entire piece has been covered.

8.  Next I added my large Santa that was printed on a thicker cardstock.  To do so I applied a layer of beeswax to the exposed chipboard, placed the image in the warm wax and covered with a second layer of beeswax. 

9. If there are areas of your collage that have too much wax you can simply scrape off the excess with a utility knife as demonstrated in the photo.

10. To remove the sticky feel of the beeswax you may apply a bit of powder or I like to use Perfect Pearls.  Simply use the Perfect Pearls brushes to apply and dust away the excess.

And here is my finished collage....

This is SUCH a fun technique! 

I know some of you still shy away from the beeswax but I promise it is very easy once you get started and it is oh so much fun!  I wish I could invite you all over for a day just to play with it cause I know you'd love it.

Ranger Tech. Calendar - November - Inkssentials White Pigment Pen

Today's technique is my version of Robin Beam's Bandanna Technique.  She very artfully welds the white pigment pen to add nifty little bandanna style doodles to virtually any image making them look great. 

Well, I'm not so good at doodles...I really stress out over it.  I just do not know what to draw soooo here is my solution....I simply outline everything and add little dots or lines to fill in parts of the image.  This is the Bandanna Technique Light  or the No-Brainer version ;)  LOL!!!

No Brainer Bandanna Technique

Supplies:

Adirondack Color Wash - Ranger
Inkssentials White Pigment Pen - Ranger
Archival Ink - Ranger
Cardstock - Georgia Pacific
Stamp - Stampin Up
Printed Calendar Page
Embellishments

Instructions:

1. Ink up your cardstock using various colors of Color Wash Spray.  I am using Sunset Orange, Butterscotch, and Cranberry.   Let the cardstock dry completely.

Note:  You can see in the background I ink up tags with the excess Color Wash.  They are great to have on hand to add to gifts, write little notes on to tuck into packages, etc.  No waste :)

2. Stamp desired image(s) using Archival Ink.  Let the ink dry completely ~ If the ink isn't dry the pen WILL NOT work... It must be used on completely dry cardstock.

3. This is the time consuming part...simply outline each and every bit of the image.  I know it sounds like a pain but it's so worth it.  As you can see I've added a few dots here and there but for the most part it's all outlines!

And here is what it looks like after I've outlined everything....

Cool huh?

And here is my finished November calendar page....

Told you it was easy and stress-free too ;)

If you were afraid to try the Bandanna Technique before I promise this is way easier and is a snap!

Ranger Tech. Calendar - October - Sticky Back Canvas

I have to tell you since I set the supply list for the calendar I have been wracking my brain trying to come up with a new and different technique to use with the Sticky Back Canvas.   Yes, you can sew on it,  you can paint it and stamp it and ink it but I wanted to do something different.  I wanted this calendar page / technique to be unique and something that you can't necessarily do with plain cardstock.  I thought and thought and thought and I finally came up with something....

Hot Glue Sticky Back Canvas Resist

Supplies:

Sticky Back Canvas - Ranger
Color Wash Spray - Ranger
Hot Glue Gun
Dry Cloth
Stickles Glitter Glue- Ranger
Calendar Page

Instructions:

1. Plug the hot glue gun in and let it heat up.

2. Use the hot glue gun to "draw" your design on the Sticky Back Canvas.  Since I'm working with October I thought a spider web would look cool.  You could try skeleton leaves, geometric shapes, or even words and sentiments!

TIP:  To help eliminate those pesky strings you get when using hot glue end your line on the non-stick craft mat by rubbing the tip on the craft mat.  Works like a charm!

3.  Let the hot glue cool completely before moving on to the next step.

4. Spritz the canvas/glue with desired color(s) of Adirondack Color Wash or your own mix of ink.  Quickly spritz with water to help blend the ink(s).

5. Immediately dab the wet canvas with a dry cloth to remove excess moisture.  The longer you let the water sit on the canvas the more it will wick under the hot glue.  If you act quickly it won't wick at all.

NOTE:  You will notice in my finished example that the ink wicked under almost all of the hot glue...this is because I was taking photos of each step. 

6. Let the canvas dry naturally or speed drying by using a heat tool.

7. **Magic Step**  Peel all of the hot glue off of the canvas to reveal the design left on your canvas.  This is the step that sets the Sticky Back Canvas apart from paper.  If you tried this with regular cardstock, chipboard, etc. it would tear and destroy the entire design.   It is so much fun because you never quite know how it's going to turn out!

And here is how my canvas turned out....

Extra Tips:

* Try coloring your canvas with one or more lighter colors of ink before you apply the hot glue to the canvas.
* Use multiple inks to color your canvas design.
* Highlight your design with Stickles, White Pigment Pen or Markers.

And here is my finished calendar page....

So, what do you think?

Do you like this technique?

Fun huh?

Well if you'd like to give it a try, now is the time...

I'm going to give away a bottle of Color Wash Spray, some Sticky Back Canvas, a Hot Glue Gun and a supply of Glue Sticks so you can experiment a bit on your own!

To be entered to win simply post a comment below.

You have until 1-28-11 to enter to win!

Good Luck Everyone!