A Card with a Gift

It is time for a new challenge at Frilly and Funkie.  This time, Kathy is the hostess and is calling it Get in on the Action.  She describes it this way.

Adding an interactive element on a card, tag, layout or canvas adds a bit of fun to any project. For this challenge, create a vintage or shabby chic project that incorporates an interactive element of one sort or another in the design. You can add a pocket and tag, a hidden tag, a hinged page, a flap, a flip, a tuck spot, a special fold or any kind of interactive element that appeals to you. Be sure to tell us in your post what makes your project interactive, as it may or may not be apparent in a photo.

I have made a card and my interactive item is a little pocket that contains a wee gift for the recipient - a tea bag.

My card was created with cream card stock from Staples for the blank and has patterned papers from the Graphic 45 paper collection called A Ladies Diary all of which were distressed and the edges inked with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

First I added a background panel of the paper and then I added a doily that was cut from a Crochet Doily die and some of the cream card stock and inked with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

The pocket came next and was simply constructed by scoring the bottom and sides of a rectangle of cream card stock.  Once I added double-sided adhesive to the narrow strips, I removed the tape from the bottom and folded it up first and then did the same with the sides.  At that point, I realized the narrow hinges weren't going to be strong enough to hold the pocket in place so I also added a rectangle of card stock to the back before I adhered it to the background panel.

To decorate the pocket I dyed some venise lace with a combination of Vintage Photo and Gathered Twigs Distress Ink.

The tea bag holder was made by folding a rectangle of card stock and adding hinges to the pocket part inside.  To keep it closed I added a tiny Velcro pair that I dyed with some Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  I did remember to ink the folded edges before I added the patterned paper even though the photo does not show that

The outside was decorated with a strip cut from the Graphic 45 paper and a strip with vintage tea pots from The Graphics Fairy that I added to a Word document and printed.

To close the tea bag holder I inked a tiny adhesive Velcro pair with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and added them to the inside as shown.

I turned a filigree medallion into a pull for the tea bag holder by first inking it with a mixture of  Salmon, Sunset Yellow and Snow Cap Mixative Alcohol Ink but it did not look like what I was hoping for so I ended up pressing the medallion into a Versamark pad and then coating it with Tree Branch Embossing Powder.

I found a little tea pot charm in my stash and changed it from silver to black by coating it with Pitch Black Alcohol Ink and then added it to the medallion.

Once the pocket was added with the insert, it was time to add more decoration.  First I used some green Kraft Core Shattered Collection and the Garden Greens die to make some leaves.  I added a loopy bow made from some checkered ribbon and then filled the space with a variety of paper flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts.  A few teeny punched butterflies were added here and there.  I enhanced their bodies by adding dots with a black metallic gel pen.

I finished the inside of the card this time with a panel of black card stock, a panel of patterned paper and a verse about gifts of tea that I found online.

I hope you will Get in on the Action and join us for the challenge.  One randomly chosen winner will receive a $25 gift certificate to go shopping at The Funkie Junkie Boutique.  The Design Team will choose their top picks with the overall top pick receiving an invitation to be a Guest Designer at a future date.

Bright Resist

It is time to introduce the new challenge at Frilly and Funkie called Dare To Resist.  Autumn is our host for this one and she describes it this way:

Happy Valentine's Day dear readers! For the next two weeks, as we break away from our Valentine creations, we'd love to see you incorporate a favorite resist technique in your vintage or shabby chic project. There are so many options, perhaps you will try something new. Whether it be gesso resist, Vaseline resist, alcohol resist, embossing resist, or watercolor resist, we dare you to resist!

We have had a miserable winter with lots of snow and cold and only a few days with sunshine so I decided to make a card that was lovely and bright to cheer myself up.

I started with some white card stock for the blank and added a panel of polka dot paper from a Graphic 45 pad called Voyage Beneath the Sea.  Next came some orange check paper from my stash.  Both papers were distressed before they were added.

To make the resist feature, I cut a scrap of white card stock into a panel and added Crazing Collage Medium thickly through a Flourish stencil to cover it and then allowed it to dry naturally.  I apologize for the photo but it was difficult to get a decent photo of this on the white card stock.  If you click on the photo, it will bring up a larger view that shows the design a bit better.

Once the panel was dry I sprayed it with Lemon Zest, Bubblegum Pink and Squeezed Orange Dylusions and watched the resist present itself.  I distressed the edges and added this panel to the card.

The next step was to make my flowers.  I used Tammy Tutterows Pinwheel Posies die set to cut a number of petals from crinoline using two of the dies.  The crinoline petals were dyed using Lemon Zest and Bubblegum Pink Dylusions and while they were wet, I scrunched them up and held them together with paper clips until they were dried.  Then the petals were layered and stamens were added to the centres.  Along with the stamens, I added a half pearl covered with clear micro beads to the centre of the large flower.  Some mini sweetheart roses were also dyed pink.

I cut a little scrap of paper from the Graphic 45 paper into a tiny tag and stamped a flourish from Daisy Art onto it using Jet Black Archival Ink.  The edges were distressed and a bit of paper cord ribbon was added to it.

I cut some white leaves from the Garden Greenery die set and scraps of white card stock.

To assemble the card, I added the flowers and the leaves with a loopy bow.  Next I added some lace topped with a Quote Chip.  The little tag was added next along with a polka dot button and an altered filigree metal piece that I recycled from an old project.

I hope you will join us for this fun challenge - you could be a random winner of a gift certificate to The Funkie Junkie Boutique or the Design Team's top pick, which means you will receive an invitation to be a Guest Designer.  The challenge runs until February 27th at 11:55 pm EST so you have lots of time to create.

Create Collage

Today is the start of the new challenge at Stamps and Stencils and I am hosting this one and am calling it Off to Collage.  Here is how I describe it:

No I am not sending you to school but thought it might be fun this month to make a collage. You can use any substrate such as canvas, corrugated cardboard, wood, or canvas boards for instance and add any items to it as long as you include some stamping and/or stenciling.

I have been wanting to get and use some of Seth Apter's products for the longest time and recently bought a die set and a couple of stamp sets so I decided to use them to make a collage inspired by Seth.  I had so much fun making this that I totally forgot about taking process photos along the way so I have done close-ups instead.

I started with an 8"x10" canvas board (Artist's Loft) and gave it a coat of White Gesso (Liquitex) followed by a coat of Lake Wanaka Fresco Finish Chalk Acrylic (Paper Artsy).  Using a sponge I added Mudstone Acrylic Paint (Delta Ceramcoat) randomly over the canvas. and then did the same with Clear Blue (Accent), Seafoam (Folk Art) and Espresso (Craftsmart) Acrylic Paints.  I also added some circles using the lid from a mini spray bottle and Jet Black Archival Ink (Ranger).

Next came some stamping using Jet  Black Archival Ink and stamps from the Faded Fragments and Border Lines sets (Seth Apter).I also used some Translucent Embossing Paste (Wendy Vecchi) and a mini dots stencil that my husband cut for me to add some stenciling.

I cut a small piece of corrugated cardboard and removed the top layer to expose the ridges.  Next I dry brushed a bit of the Lake Wanaka paint over the ridges and then added s bit of Bleached Sand Acrylic Paint (DecoArt).

I used the Drip Dry Die (Seth Apter) and scraps of card stock to cut the large drippy circle and four of the smaller one, which were then glued on top of one another to make a thick set.  I made them look rusted by painting on some Brown Rust Paste and Red Rust Paste (Finnabair).

When I opened the rust paste I was dismayed to find that they had really hardened up and they were still 3/4 full.  I figured I couldn't lose anything so I added a few drops of water and then put them in the microwave on a really low power setting to soften them up and it worked.  I was able to use them although the next time I open them they may be as hard as a rock because you know what can happen to food that have been microwaved.  Just to be safe and not have the rust flake off, I coated the pieces with some matte Mod Podge.

I added some copper chain (Bead Landing) to a frayed canvas strip and mounting it on the canvas and then added the cardboard topped with the rusted die cuts.

Next I used Jet Black Archival Ink and a stencil called Typo (Tim Holtz) to add the word Create to some canvas ribbon (Fancy Gap Pottery and Fabric Outlet).

To make the little centre panel on the bottom, I painted a piece of chipboard with Seafoam paint, sponged on some Bleached Sand and then stamped the little circles from the Faded Fragments set.  I added some frayed canvas and a heat sync that I confiscated from my husband's workshop.

The panels on each side were made by painting chipboard with the Seafoam and Bleached Sand paints and then adding some Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint (Tim Holtz).  The little pieces mounted on them were also confiscated from my husband.  They are the turn screws that you used to use to add connectors to your computer back in the olden days before USB ports. 😃 I altered the colour of the ends with some Copper Mixative Alcohol Ink mixed with some Blending Solution.  Then I wrapped them with a variety of fibers and wires adding a some altered washers and nuts as I went.  This is a Seth technique that my friend Jenny Marples introduced me to.

I got some money at Christmas for crafty shopping so when all of Seth's new products are available to ship, you can bet I am getting some more.  Meanwhile I have a list - a list that is getting larger every day.

I hope you will join us at Stamps and Stencils and show us a collage that you have created.

I am going to enter this project in the following challenge:

More Mixed Media Challenge - Anything Goes (Optional - Blue)