Embossing More Than One Way

It is time for a new challenge at Frilly and Funkie and this time the wonderful Jenny is our hostess and wants us to "Enjoy Your Embossing".  Here is how she describes the challenge:

"Make a vintage or shabby chic project of your choice and remember to include some embossing. Use your favourite embossing methods (wet, dry, heat, or any other techniques you want to share) - just enjoy your embossing!"

I have used a couple of types of embossing on this card.  I started with some card stock from Staples for my blank and then added a panel of paper from a Maja Designs pad called Vintage Spring Basics.

Next I ran some card stock through a Cuttlebug embossing folder called Victoria, cut it into three strips and inked the edges of each with Dusty Concord Distress Ink before I adhered them to the background.

I stamped the sentiment from Wendy Vecchi's All Occasion Art on a scrap of white card stock with Jet Black Archival Ink, inked the edges with Dusty Concord DI and layered it on top of a panel of another paper from the Maja pad tucking a little strip of venise lace underneath.

The filigree leaves were bronze but I pressed them into a Versamark ink pad and then covered them with Wendy Vecchi's Fern Green embossing powder and heated the powder to melt it.  I had done it originally with an old embossing ink pad and the result was mottled but when I did it a second time with the Versamark pad, the result looked like enamel - fabulous.

The flowers were stamped three times with a stamp from the Wendy Vecchi set called Daisy Art onto some Maja paper using Versamark, then sprinkled with Recollections Snow Embossing Powder and heated.  Once dry, I fussy cut the flowers and layered them with pop dots.  The top layer was cut between petals and shaped a bit before it was added so the flower would not look so flat.

The bow is made from seam binding that has been dyed with Dusty Concord DI, tied with some burlap string to which I have added a little key charm.  I made a little butterfly from Martha Stewart Crafter's Clay and a silicon mold, inked it with Dusty Concord DI and then rubbed some purple wax paste from Jaygot that I have had in my stash for eons. Finally I scattered a few pearls from my stash around.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Crafty Boots  - Ribbon or Lace
House of Cards - Embossing and/or Color Inspiration (I chose embossing)
Fashionable Stamping Challenges - Thanks/Gratitude
Sweet Stampin - Vintage or Shabby Chic
Creative Knockouts - Embossing Delights
Moving Along With The Times - Embossing (Wet or Dry)

The following products used in the creation of this card came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique where you will get lots of the newest products and the BEST customer service:

Guest Designer at My Sheri Crafts

I was honoured to be asked to be a Guest Designer at My Sheri Crafts for the challenge starting today.  The challenge is called Feelin' Fussy and they want to see some fussy cutting on your project.

The timing of this challenge was perfect for me as it allowed me to make this card for my fabulous daughter's birthday, which was yesterday.  I won't tell you how old she is because then you would know how old I am and very few people are privy to that information :)

I started with some Recollections card stock for the blank and added a couple of panels of patterned paper from a new Prima pad I got called Nature Garden that I distressed with my scissors. 

Next I added a strip of eyelet lace that came from my late Mother's sewing room and topped it with some ribbon from an embellishment pack called Say it with Crystals by Prima.   I also added some of the crystals but they come attached to some lace so I cut them off first.

I inked a Wilton paper doily with some of Wendy Vecchi's Tea Rose Archival Ink and then topped it with a scalloped circle die cut from Nellie Snellen that I ran through a Cuttlebug embossing folder called Script and then inked the highlights with Cracked Pistaschio Distress Ink.

The flower is from Wendy Vecchi's Daisy Art set and was stamped three times on a scrap of card stock using Ranger's Coffee Archival Ink.  All three were fussy cut and then coloured using Prismacolors (Peach, Deco Peach, Nectar and Beige Sienna) blended with Gotrick OMS.  The first flower was adhered directly to the embossed circle.  The next flower was adhered using pop dots in a number of places.  The third flower was clipped to allow for some shaping and then adhered using just one pop dot in the centre.  I added some Recollections micro beads for the centre.  Note:  When I come across a section of an image that I want to fussy cut but it is either enclosed by part of the image or is too tight for my scissors to get in there, then I just use an X-Acto or other sharp craft knife on a self-healing mat to get that section cut.

The butterflies are made from Martha Stewart Crafter's clay and silicone molds.  They were inked with Cracked Pistachio DI and then rubbed with some Aquamarine Treasure Gold wax paste to add a bit of shimmer.

The sentiment was computer generated and then punched with a Martha Stewart mini tag punch, inked with the Tea Rose Archival Ink and adhered with a brad from Making Memories that has been in my stash for eons.

Thank you to Sheri at My Sheri Crafts for this lovely opportunity and I hope you will start fussy cutting and create something to share in the challenge.

I am going to enter this in the following challenges:

Just Add Ink - Add Something New (paper)
Cardz 4 Galz - Something New (paper)
Crafty Girls Creations - Anything Goes
The Sisterhood of Crafters - Something Old, Something New (eyelet lace, paper)
Get Creative Challenges - Something New (paper)
Our Crafty Corner - Anything Goes
The Crazy Challenge - Celebrations
Tuesday Throwdown - Add Dimension

A Night at the Opera

It is time for a new challenge at Frilly and Funkie and I am the hostess this time and am calling it Sing, Sing, Sing.

Make a shabby chic or vintage project with music as the central theme. You can add musical instruments, music paper, sentiments about music or even vintage images with a music theme.

I should probably write a disclaimer - I can't sing or play a musical instrument but I do love to listen to music, especially jazz and 1940s and 50s big bands but not rap, most country or heavy metal.  I also don't really understand opera but I do like classical music and am really impressed with the voices of the great opera singers.

Now on to my card.  I have never used this image by Rick St. Dennis so I thought this might the perfect time to colour her and build my card around her.  She looks like she is all dressed for a night at the opera - or perhaps she is the star.

I started with some card stock from Staples for the blank and then added a background panel of paper called Golden Age from a Graphic 45 paper pad called A Gilded Lily.

The next panel was scrap card stock that I inked with Tattered Rose and Spun Sugar Distress Ink and then added some texture paste through a Tim Holtz stencil called Flourish.  Once it was dry I mixed some Lindy's Magicals Fuzzy Navel Peach with some cc and painted that on.  I dyed some lace with Antique Linen, Tattered Rose and Spun Sugar Distress Ink and added that under the panel.

Next I added a panel of cream card stock that I ran through a Tim Holtz texture fade called French Script and then inked the highlights with Wendy Vecchi Tea Rose Archival Ink.  The vintage opera poster was added next and came from Italianways.com.

The musical note strip was die cut for me by Pamellia on one of my visits to her and I inked it with some Black Soot Distress Ink.

I coloured the gorgeous and very well dressed lady with Prismacolors that I blended with Gotrick OMS.  She is popped up with some foam dots.

The floral corner and the button were rubbed with some Rose Quartz Treasure Gold wax paste and I added a little feather from my stash.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Crafter's Cafe  - Square Cards
We Love Vintage - Anything Vintage (with lace - if I read the translation correctly)
Ruby's Rainbow - Show Us Something New (image)
House of Cards - Embossing and/or Color
Simon Says Stamp - Stencil It
Paperminutes - Anything Goes
Shopping Our Stash - Something New (image)
Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

These products used in the creation of this card came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique where you can pre-order some of the best new products from the CHA show:

Oh So Blue

It is time for the next monthly challenge at Stamps and Stencils and I am the hostess this time.  I decided to call it Oh So Blue and here is how I described the challenge:

This time of year it is easy to start feeling blue now that the festivities surrounding Christmas are over and winter is making its presence known with less sun and more miserable weather so instead of giving in to it let's celebrate blue. Create a primarily blue mixed media project that includes some stamping and/or stenciling. You may add one other colour to your creation but it must be mostly blue. 

For a split second I regretted the theme of this challenge because blue isn't my favourite colour but it was my Mother's favourite colour so I thought she would have loved this, especially since she was very creative/artistic.  She liked blue so much that in addition to her blue clothes and her blue dishes, she had an 800 piece collection of blue glass that I inherited when she passed away.  Since it wasn't something that excited me and I sure didn't want to dust all that blue glass, I chose a few special pieces to keep for myself and give to my siblings and then I sold the rest.  Sadly, many of the pieces were reproductions and not worth as much as she thought but she had fun collecting them all and it made her happy so that was a good thing.

On to my project and I decided to make an art journal page.  There are no process photos because I did this during the holidays and quite frankly did not think of it - oops.

I have been using a Canson Mixed Media wire-bound book as my art journal but have found that I need to glue two pages together because they have a micro perforation and they are not particularly heavy.  So I did that again and it was looking quite fine until I added a coat of Liquitex Super Heavy Gesso.  When it dried, I saw vertical strips of bubbling in random spots.  I debated starting over but then decided to leave some as is and split some open on the top layer to provide a little interest and dimension.  It is also rather warped and while I am going to add it back into my book as it is I would welcome any and all suggestions on how to prevent that.

Next I used some Golden Light Molding Paste through a Dylusions Dotted Flowers Stencil and a TCW Mini Geometric Art Layers Stencil to create some texture.  I also added some drips with Golden Clear Tar Gel.

Then I gave the page a coat of Lake Wanaka Fresco Finish paint.  On top of that I added a coat of Space Cadet Fresco Finish paint, removing some of it with a baby wipe after a few seconds.

Once the paint was dry I spritzed it in random spots with Tumbled Glass Distress Spray Stain.  Then I added some Dylusions Vibrant Turquoise Ink Spray and followed that with some Sun Up Blue Pearlescent Acrylic Ink from Daler Rowney (the camera really picked up the shimmer from this ink).

Next I used some Jet Black Archival Ink from Ranger to do some stamping with a Recollections script stamp called Haunted and a butterfly set from Hampton Arts called Vintologie.

The next step was to fussy cut a couple of large butterflies from some Tim Holtz Tissue Wrap called Melange that I have had in my stash for ages.  I glued them on the page and coloured them with Blueprint Sketch Distress Ink using a water brush.

The word "fly" was stamped using Jet Black Archival Ink and an alphabet set from Studio G that I found in the clearance bin at Michaels.  The remaining words for the sentiment was made on my computer.  All the text pieces were inked with Blueprint Sketch.

I thought the ink on the text and the butterflies looked a little lot purple and when I cleaned the water brush tip on a piece of paper towel, it split and I could see the pink in it so I knew I was right - drat.  Shaded Lilac DI does the same thing I discovered a while ago.  Anyway, since I really wanted blue and everything was glued down at this point, I just carefully went over the Blueprint Sketch with Weathered Wood Distress Ink to try to tone it down a bit.  It is definitely better than it was but still not as blue as I hoped.  I think Tim should have called this one Blueberry and we would have all known it was purple.

Finally I drew around the edges of the butterflies with a white Prismacolor pencil and then used some Wendy Vecchi Cornflower Blue Archival Ink and the top from my little water spray bottle to create some circles.

This page looks better in real life and I am happy with the texture on the page while still keeping it flat enough to put in my book.

I am going to enter this in the following challenges:

Shopping Our Stash - Color Me Monochromatic (or Pink)
We Love 2 Create - Anything Mixed Media/Creative Goes
Rhedd's Creative Spirit - Altered Art or Mixed Media

Tag Trio

It is time for a new challenge at Anything But Cute and this time Anne is our hostess and she is calling it "Ring Out The Old, Bring In The New".  She describes it this way:

To celebrate the New Year, we would like you to create a mixed media card or project using something 'new', perhaps you got some fabulous new craft item for Christmas or you have something new that you have not used yet - just remember to tell us what the new item is!

My husband is retiring and he started to bring things home from his locker and bits and pieces from his desk. He brought a whole bunch of small tags (Avery Shipping Tags #6) and I thought I would use them for this project since they are new to me. They are rather thin so I wish I had glued two together to give them a bit more stability but if I am careful I can probably do that now as long as I am willing to refinish the background since I did both sides.  OK, so I am not adding another tag - too much work.

I didn't take photos of my process but I will explain in my narrative how I created the tags.

I started by coating each one with Liquitex Clear Gesso on both sides.  Then I inked them with Twisted Citron, Carved Pumpkin and Mustard Seed Distress Ink all of which are new colours that I just purchased.

Next I sprayed them with some Lindy's Starburst called Ramblin Rose Pink, dripped some Tim Holtz Barn Door Distress Spray Stain on them and added some Liquitex Red Oxide Acrylic Ink with a natural sea sponge.

I did some stenciling with Wendy Vecchi Fern Green  Archival Ink and a TCW stencil called Mini Circles along with Wendy Vecchi Tree Branch Archival Ink and a TCW stencil called Mini Chicken Wire Reversed.

Next I added some stamping on the fronts only with Jet Black Archival Ink using a stamp from Kaisercraft called Sheet Music and a stamp from the Tim Holtz Ultimate Grunge set.

Now it was time to embellish and for this first one, I adhered some old book paper to a scrap of card stock and traced around a couple butterflies on a Heidi Swapp stencil using a .005 Pigma Micron Pen.  I fussy cut the butterflies and then inked one with Wendy Vecchi Orange Blossom Archival Ink and one with her Dandelion Archival Ink.   I layered them and added some pearls for the body.

I dyed some seam binding and some cheesecloth with Carved Pumpkin and Mustard Seed DI.  Then I added a little strip of corrugated cardboard over the cheesecloth that was painted with Medium Yellow acrylic paint from Folk Art.  Then I coated it with Gloss Mod Podge and highlighted the raised areas with some Classic Treasure Gold wax paste.  I added some small beads to the top of the cardboard.

The key is new came from the clearance section at Michaels.  I altered it with some Poppyfield Alcohol Ink.  The button is from my stash and the text is computer generated and then inked with Carved Pumpkin DI.  The fiber around the seam binding is really old and has been in my stash for so long I do not remember who made it.

On this next tag, I adhered more old book paper to a scrap of card stock and used an EK Success punch to punch out three flowers.  They were inked with Wendy Vecchi Red Geranium Archival Ink and then outlined using the Micron Pen.  I stacked them and added a button from my stash.

I ran a scrap piece of orange card stock through a Cuttlebug embossing folder called Victoria and then punched flowers with a smaller EF Success punch.  The raised areas were highlighted with Rose Quartz Treasure Gold wax paste and a pearl was added for a centre.  All the flowers were mounted on a strip of red burlap.  The bronze butterfly was altered with a mix of Sunset Orange and Lemonade Alcohol Ink.  The text was done the same as the first tag and I finished the top with the same seam binding and fibre.

On the final tag, I created the butterflies in the same manner as the first but just reversed the colouring.  The strip of cardboard was painted with Pumpkin acrylic paint from Deco Art.  The arrow is from my stash and was altered in the same manner as the key.  Again the text was done the same as the first tag and I finished the top with the same seam binding and fibre.

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

Allsorts Challenge  - What's New
Crafty Friends Challenge - Use Something New
Crafty Calendar Challenge - Something New
Live and Love Crafts - Something New

Saturday Step X Step for Frilly and Funkie

Today I am presenting the Saturday Step X Step at Frilly and Funkie.  Here is a sneak peek at what I am going to show you.  Pop over to Frilly and Funkie and you will get all the details.

Holiday Hues

It is time for the new challenge at Frilly and Funkie and Pamellia is our hostess this time.  She is calling it Holiday Hues and describes it this way:

" Make a shabby chic or vintage project using your favourite holiday colour palette for whatever holiday you choose."

Since I realized at the last minute that I had one more card to give out, I decided to stick with a Christmas card in red and gold, which are the colours I decorate my tree and house in every year.  The papers I decided to use are a vintage red and not the usual bright Christmas red.

The background papers are all from A Christmas Carol by Graphic 45.  The vintage image was a freebie from Linda Coughlin.  all the papers were distressed with my distressing tool and some were popped up with foam dots to add some depth.

The snowflakes were cut using the Tim Holtz Paper Snowflakes die set from some card stock scraps.  They were then painted with Champagne Gold Metallic paint from Deco Art.  Pearls were added to a couple and a button from my stash was added to the third.

I dyed some seam binding with Ages Mahogany and Fired Brick Distress Ink and made a loopy bow that was tied with some burlap string that held some little bells.  The bow was layered on top of some cream coloured woven jute ribbon.

The word "joy" is another laser cut from my husband and I used the same Distress Inks to colour it.  I added a little row of pearls to finish the card off.

I hope as you get back into your craft room after all the festivities of the past while, that you will join us for this challenge. 

I am going to enter this in the following challenges:

A Vintage Journey - Vintage Christmas
Dragon's Lair Designs - Vintage Christmas
Sparkles Forum Challenges - Your Favourite Christmas Colours
Through the Purple Haze  - Christmas
My Time to Craft  - Last Minute Christmas Makes
Fussy and Fancy - Happy Holidays
As You Like It - Favorite Christmas Colors and Why - red & gold because they are traditional

The following products used in the creation of this card came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Inspiration Post for Stamps and Stencils

Today I am presenting an inspiration post at Stamps and Stencils and here is a sneak peek at what I am doing.  To find out what this is, how I made it and how I used it pop over to Stamps and Stencils and get all the details.

Mixed Media Christmas Card

The December challenge starts today at Anything But Cute and Niki is our hostess this time.  She is calling it You've Got Happy Mail.

She describes the challenge this way:

"We all like Happy Mail right? That feeling of being spoiled rotten when you receive a handmade card from someone is better than being wrapped up in a soft blanket near a fire, sipping on a hot latte. So, for this challenge I would love to see your mixed media Christmas cards, tags, ATC's or whatever papercraft you are mailing to a friend! Just make sure they are inspired by the spirit of the season!"

I love this theme and was especially happy to know that I could meet my commitments as a Design Team member and add to my stash of cards for family and friends.

The vintage image that I found somewhere online became the driving force behind this card design.  I used a piece of card stock to make the background.  First I covered it with Peeled Paint Distress Ink and then I took my natural sea sponge and dabbed on some Antelope Brown and Silver Moss Ink from FW.

The snowflakes are from a Recollections set and are stamped on a piece of transparency with Adirondack Snow Cap Ink, covered with Recollections Snow Embossing Powder and carefully heated.  If you wave your heat tool over the embossing powder and don't get too close, you will not melt your transparency.

Next I die cut some pine branches from Impressions Obsession and inked them with Evergreen Bough and Forest Moss DI.

The poinsettia was cut from a Marianne Creatables die and painted with Pearl White Metallic acrylic paint from Deco Art.   The petals were shaped and layered and then some little white beads were added to the centre.

I added a row of lace from my stash across the bottom and then added my vintage Santa image.  I dyed some seam binding with a mixture of Forest Moss, Evergreen Bough and Peeled Paint DI and made a loopy bow that I tied with a piece of burlap string.  I rubbed a little charm with some Renaissance Treasure Gold wax paste and hung it from the burlap string.

Then I used my fingers to dab some Golden Light Molding Paste on the Merry Christmas, which was cut from mat board by my husband on his laser cutter.  Once it was dry, I coated it with some Stardust Stickles.

This challenge runs until January 4th so I hope you will join us with your mixed media happy mail.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Cardz 4 Galz - Vintage Christmas
Scrap and Craft - Christmas Cards
Time Out Challenges - Snowflakes are Winter's Butterflies
Stampavie and More - Shabby or Vintage
The Crafty Addicts - Anything Goes/Celebration
A Snowflake's Promise - Winter/Christmas
Holly Jolly Christmas Challenge - Embossing
Always Playing with Paper - Make a Non-Traditional Christmas Card
Craft-Dee Bowz - Anything Goes with a Handmade Bow
Glitter N' Sparkle - Include a Bow

Grungy Tree

The new challenge starts today at Stamps and Stencils and Julia is our hostess and she is calling the theme Grungy Christmas.  She describes it this way:

"I love Christmas but I'm a little shy when it comes to the bling, glitter and tinsel bit. We'd like to see you step away from the normal Christmas colours and create a mixed media piece which has a real touch of grunge. Think alternative colours, layers, antiquing and all things which are not pristine red and green! Remember to add in some stamping or stenciling too!"

This is also my first challenge as a new member of the Stamps and Stencils team and it tested me - a lot.  First of all, grungy doesn't really fit my tree and home decor, which are in beautiful sparkly red and gold with a few touches of white.  Then I had a couple of fails along the way, which I will tell you about as I go along but I did discover that I am not a quitter and you might learn from my mistakes.

I started with a 7" x 9" flat canvas from the dollar store.  The next step was to lay out all the elements I had collected to make my tree, which I love by the way.  I have used some wooden bits and pieces cut for me by husband on his new laser cutter, gears, buttons, screws, charms, electronic parts (also provided by husband), nuts, washers, flowers, soda pop pull tabs, etc.

Once I had a design I was happy with I took a photo of it with my phone.  Why you ask - because I never seem to remember where I intended to put things when I take them off to get ready to glue them on and of course then nothing fits so the photo solves that problem.

I took everything off and gave the canvas a coat of Liquitex Gesso.  Then I added a layer of crumpled tissue paper with Mod Podge.  The next step was to use some Golden Light Molding Paste through a snowflake stencil.

Then I glued all my bits and pieces down with Liquitex Matte Super Heavy Gel.  I covered everything with another coat of Gesso followed by a coat of Champagne Gold Metallic acrylic paint from Deco Art.  Since Julia doesn't want traditional red on our projects, I added some coppery highlights with some Rose Quartz Treasure Gold wax paste.

So now here is where the first fail comes in.  Despite the fact the texture snowflakes in the background looked OK before I started to paint, they didn't show through with all the gold paint.  Since I could see them (barely), I laid the stencil over them and added some silver metallic paint but they didn't take the paint evenly.  Since this is a stamping and stenciling challenge blog and I couldn't see my stenciling, I decided to go to bed and sleep on it.

When I got up in the morning, I made the decision to take whole background off.  I grabbed an X-Acto Knife and very carefully made a cut all the way around the tree because remember, I love the tree.  Then I proceeded to take off the tissue paper and was happy to discover that it was almost like rubber from the Mod Podge and I was able to peel it off in sections - whew.

Now I had a white background that still had a bit of texture so I painted it with some Bleached Sand acrylic paint from Deco Art using a tiny brush to get next to the tree elements.  Then I covered the tree with a paper triangle and splattered some Gun Metal Grey Metallic paint from Folk Art and some of the Champagne Gold on the background.

The next step was to stamp snowflakes from a Recollections set randomly over the background using a Versamark embossing pad and then covering them with Stampendous Detail Gold embossing powder and heating them. 

Then I decided it needed some snow so I took a palette knife and spread some of the Golden Paste on it and when it was dry, I painted it with Pearl White Metallic acrylic paint from Deco Art.  I decided to have more snowflakes on the ground so they were stamped onto card stock and fussy cut.

So this was the next fail because after I took a photo of it I looked at it online and it didn't really make me happy - in truth it made me downright grumpy.  I slept on it for many more nights and then decided the background was still not right so I came up with version 3.  It is a good thing I still like the tree or by now this would be resting in the circular file marked "G".

I painted the whole background with Liquitex Black Gesso and then took a sea sponge and dabbed on some Deco Art Gun Metal Metallic acrylic paint.  Then I took some Wendy Vecchi Crackle Texture Paste and did the snowflakes through that same Mini Snowflakes stencil from The Crafter's Workshop.

Now I think I have a grungy tree with all its eclectic bits and pieces and I have a grungy background with grungy cracked snowflakes so I have decided to quit here and call this my Night Tree.

I am going to enter this canvas in the following challenges:

Mixed Media World - Anything Goes
Altered Eclectics  - 25 Days to Christmas

Ye Olde English Christmas Card

The new challenge starts today at Frilly and Funkie and Nancy, our hostess this time is calling it Tis the Season.

"Create a vintage or shabby chic holiday themed project - whatever winter holiday you celebrate!"

I recently picked up the Graphic 45 paper pad from The Funkie Junkie Boutique called A Christmas Carol along with a smaller pad of coordinating papers so I decided to use them to make a card for this challenge and add it to my stash for this year.  I must say that this went together pretty quickly with very few steps.

As always, time is running short so I know that soon I will be making a series of mass-produced cards.  One of these days I will learn to start in January and set a monthly goal for myself - maybe in 2016.

I chose 4 papers and used one for a background, one for a panel and 2 for tags.  All the papers and images have been inked with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  I dyed some seam binding with a mixture of Aged Mahogany and Fired Brick Distress Ink and added it to the top of one tag along with some fibre from my stash.  I added a button with some burlap string to the other tag.

Then I set about fussy cutting two copies of the tickets in the upper left corner and popped them up with foam dots.  The other images were all fussy cut and added.  To finish off the card I added the mini poinsettias from my stash and some Kaisercraft green pearls.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

A Snowflake's Promise - Anything Goes with a winter or Christmas theme
Artistic Inspirations - Anything Goes with a twist of Christmas
Get Creative Challenges - Holidays
Card and Scrap - Anything Goes
My Sheri Crafts - Christmas Spirit

The following products used in the creation of this card came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Altered to Ornament

The new challenge begins today at Frilly and Funkie and I am hosting it this time and decided to call it An Altered State.

It is time to transform something you have sitting around or can pick up for a song and make it one of your works of art. It could be a frame, a bottle, an old cigar box, a discarded CD - the list is endless. Just make sure your final transformation is vintage or shabby chic.

Since I have started my Christmas preparations, I decided to make some ornaments.  The first one (and my personal favourite) started as a wooden snowflake that my husband designed for me and cut on his laser cutter.

I coated it with a layer of Gesso and then with some Champagne Gold acrylic paint from the Deco Art Metallics line.

Once I got it painted I realized that there was no hole at the top to hang it with or at the bottom to add the bead chain so I asked my handy husband to drill the holes and his drill slipped and one of them was off centre.  He drilled another pair and will change the design file so the laser cutter will do the holes in the future and they will be perfect.

In the meantime I had to come up with a solution for covering the pair that didn't look good.  I tried just filling them with more paint but that didn't work so I coated the whole thing with a mixture of course sand and texture paste.  I expropriated the sand from the bag we keep in the garage for filling in between our interlocking bricks.  Once this layer was dry, I just repainted it with the metallic acrylic paint and I love the effect.  Tip - to keep the holes from getting filled with texture paste, just stick a toothpick in them while you are working.

Next I created and attached two bead chains made from a variety of beads in my stash from Arton Bead Supply and from Michaels. The small chain at the top has a jump ring at the end so it can be attached to the tree. I wire everything to my tree but the jump ring would also be needed if you use a metal ornament hangers.

I found some free Christmas sheet music online, changed the colour to red and printed it on each side of some heavy paper. Then I cut small squares and inked them all over with Antique Linen Distress Ink and the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. The squares were then formed into cones and the point was nipped off so they would not overlap in the centre when they were attached to the snowflake.

Next I altered the colour of a filigree flower using a mixture of Cranberry, and Poppyfield Alcohol Ink blended with some Gold Mixative. The filigree flower was attached to the centre. I used some pearl stickers to create a circle on a piece of transparency and added it with a bead in the centre.

My next ornament started life as a used CD.

I printed some more of the music paper, cut two circles slightly larger and attached them back to back after I inked them all over with Antique Linen DI. Tip - In order to find your hole (I only used one this time), just attach one circle, re-punch the hole and then add the second circle and re-punch the hole again.

I made a bead chain to hang the ornament with and attached it next. Then I cut a mat from some gold card stock in my stash using Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Squares die. I fussy cut an image from the Graphic 45 paper pad called Christmas Carol and added that on top of the mat.

Next I used a poinsettia die from Marianne Creatables to cut a poinsettia from some the Graphic 45 papers. Because my poinsettias hang over the edge and the back of the paper was patterned, I just painted it with some Dark Scarlet acrylic paint from Deco Art. I added some shimmer to the petals once they were shaped by mixing some red glitter with crystal glitter paint from Craftsmart and painting it on. A few flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts and Excelsior Wholesale were added along with some pearl stickers from Kaisercraft.

The final ornament, which is designed to fill one of those pesky long spaces on my tree started with three wooden circles that were leftovers from when my husband cut beer paddles.

I coated them with Gesso and then glued some crumpled tissue paper to them with Mod Podge. Then I rubbed them with some Red Geranium Archival ink and gave them a spritz with some Cherry Pie Dylusions.

Once they were dry I dabbed them randomly with a mixture of Cranberry, and Poppyfield Alcohol Ink blended with some Gold Mixative and then lightly inked over them with some Black Soot DI. Finally I added some gem strips from Recollections that have been hanging around in my stash for ages. The circles were attached to each other with screw eyes that I also altered with the alcohol ink and some beads from my stash.

I am going to enter the first ornament in the following challenges:

A Snowflake's Promise - Anything Christmas/Winter
Stamps & Fun = Creativity - Music Paper
We Love 2 Create - Anything Creative/Mixed Media Goes
Allsorts Challenge - Anything But A Card
Altered Eclectics - Anything Altered/Mixed Media Goes (No cards or ATCs)

The following products used in the creation of these ornaments came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Exciting News

Just wanted to pop in to tell you some exciting news.  I have been selected to be on the Stamps and Stencils Design Team and I couldn't be happier. 

This is a very talented team of ladies led by the wonderful Sue Carrington, who has been my personal inspiration since I first met her four years ago.  I remember spending the day with her and learning all sorts of techniques, which was so much fun since I don't have access to any classes where I live.  I wasn't a very quick learner because it took me a couple more years to get enough supplies assembled and the courage to move into more mixed media but I am here now and love it.

My first inspiration piece for Stamps and Stencils will be for the December challenge but in the meantime there is a great challenge there now called Remember, Remember that you should check out.  You still have time to create something and enter the challenge. 

While you are there take a look at the fantastic frame that my friend Pamellia of My Little Craft Things created as their Guest Designer for this month.

It's Ornamental

It is time for a new challenge at Anything But Cute and this time I am the hostess and am calling the theme It's Ornamental.

Since the holiday will be coming up pretty quickly, we want you to create a mixed media ornament for your Christmas tree or a Christmas decor item for your house or table.

About 4 years ago I decided it was time to hand over the tree with all the kid-friendly and kid-created ornaments to my Grandchildren and get a new tree that I could decorate in a more adult fashion - besides I was tired of stringing all the lights on it and wanted a pre-lit tree.  I really want it to be chock full of ornaments so I decided this was a perfect time to make more.  My tree is red and gold with touches of white.  For this challenge, I stuck with the red and gold.

This ornament started as a wooden tree cut by my husband on his laser cutter - I am loving his new toy.  I coated it with gesso and then covered everything with some Golden Light Molding Paste that I dabbed on so it would be bumpy.

Once the this was dry I added some other wooden shapes cut for me by my husband and some lace strips.  I have discovered that Liquitex Matte Super Heavy Gel makes a terrific adhesive for this sort of application.

Everything was then given a good coat of Deco Art Champagne Gold Metallic Acrylic paint and then dabbed lightly using a sea sponge and some Dark Scarlet Acrylic Paint from Deco Art and some Antique Gold Acrylic Paint from Folk Art.

Then I added lots of beads and gems from my stash.

I made a second ornament and this time after the Molding Paste was dry I added some chain, nut covers stolen from my husband's work shop, buttons, bead caps and wood shapes.  Then I painted everything with Dark Scarlet Acrylic Paint from Deco Art.  The next step was to add a bunch of gold beads from my stash.

To make the base of this tree since it didn't have a base in the raw form, I covered a Styrofoam ball with gold sequins and then used Xmas Red Stickles in the centre of each one.

I thought this one was a bit flat looking so I gave it a spritz of Tattered Angels Pearl Glimmer Mist.  I think I like the gold tree better but both will look good on my tree and fill more spaces so I am happy.

I hope all of you will create something for your holiday tree or home decor and share it with us.  You have until December 4th and that will be just in time for decorating.

I am going to enter the gold ornament in the following challenges:

City Crafter - Getting Ready for Christmas
Altered Eclectics - Anything Mixed Media or Altered (no cards or ATCs)
Rhedd's Creative Spirit - Anything Mixed Media or Altered (no cards. scrap pages, ATCs)
Sparkles Forum Christmas Challenge - Christmas Decorations
Mixed Media World - Anything Goes on Wood
We Love to Create - Anything Creative/Mixed Media Goes
Allsorts Challenge  - Christmas
Winter Wonderland - Anything Christmas Goes

Walking Through the Snow

It is time for a new challenge at Frilly and Funkie and this time Sue is our hostess and is calling the challenge Let There Be Light.  Here is what she has to say about it:

One of the things I don't like at this time of year is the lack of light to craft by in the evenings. So, for this challenge include something in your project that makes reference to light, this could be a street lamp, rays of light or even gradients of colour that get lighter! 

I decided to incorporate my light element in a Christmas card.  I started with some white card stock from Staples for the blank and then took another scrap piece to create the background.  I inked it with Stormy Sky and Weathered Wood Distress Inks and then flicked some water on it.

The lamp post was cut by my husband on his laser cutter and I coated it with black Gesso, silver acrylic paint and Black Soot DI in that order.  Then I covered a small piece of a transparency with a mixture of Sunset Orange and Lemonade Alcohol Ink and adhered it to the back of the lamp.

The trees were cut with the Tim Holtz Woodlands die and inked with Iced Spruce and Forest Moss DI.  I used some texture paste to create the snow but it sucked up the colour from the DI so I painted over it with White Pearl Metallic paint from Deco Art.  I could not get the shimmer to show in my photos but trust me, it is there.

The snow banks were cut by hand from card stock, covered with texture paste and painted with some of the White Pearl Metallic paint.

The image is from The Graphics Fairy and was printed twice, fussy cut and inked with some Vintage Photo DI before one image was added over the other with some pop dots.

The tiny snowflakes are leftovers from a Martha Stewart border punch and I painted them with some of the White Pearl Metallic paint.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

A Snowflake's Promise - Anything Goes with a Christmas or Winter Theme
City Crafter  - Getting Ready for Christmas
The Crazy Challenge - Vintage
Card and Scrap - Christmas
Christmas Cards All Year Round - Oh Christmas Tree
Natalie and Amy's Challenge - Winter Scenes
Crazy 4 Challenges - C4310 - Christmas
Allsorts Challenge - Christmas
Moving Along With The Times - Leaves and/or Trees

The following products used in the creation of this card came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Friday Focus - Graphic 45

It is my turn to present the Friday Focus at Frilly and Funkie and this time it is about Graphic 45.  Here is a sneak peak at what I made but click here and you will be taken to the Frilly and Funkie blog to get all the details.

Halloween Mixology

Another new challenge is starting today at Frilly and Funkie and Shelly, our hostess this time is calling it Something Wicked and here is what she has to say about it:

"With Halloween just a few days away, we want to see your spooky vintage or shabby chic creations."

Linda, the owner of The Funkie Junkie Boutique sent us all some of the best Halloween-themed charms to use for this challenge and when I saw the little ones my brain actually kicked into gear for a change and I remembered I hadn't used one of my Tim Holtz stamp sets yet and it would be perfect to pair with the charms and make a drink set for someone who loves to make cocktails and also likes to throw Halloween parties.  Since that isn't me (I am a red wine or scotch on the rocks gal) and I don't do Halloween parties, I am going to have to search for someone to give/sell it to.  I did have lots of fun making it.

I made the wine glass charms first.  I altered all the charms using alcohol ink, One Step Black Metal Paint from Deco Art, Black Soot Distress Ink and Treasure Gold Pewter wax paste.  I added a jump ring to the top of each charm.  Then I cut a 4 inch length of wire for each one formed a loop at one end and threaded half of the beads, then the charm and the rest of the beads on the wire.  I finished by forming a circle and bending the open end over so it would fit inside the loop.  For the life of me I could not find anything to form the circle around so I had to do it by hand and this time they are not lovely smooth circles.  If you can find something to wrap them around that is the right size, I would recommend going that route.  Of course, I doubt anyone is going to care that my circles aren't perfect after a few drinks.

Now it was time to create my book.  I had a spiral bound notebook from the dollar store in my craft stash and decided to alter it so I removed the spiral first.It has a green plastic cover on the front and I covered that with Chalky Finish paint from Deco Art and used Black Gesso to cover the cardboard back cover.

Next I used some Black Embossing Paste through the Tim Holtz Harlequin stencil on the front cover.  Then I used some ink sprays - Lindy's Stamp Gang Violaceous Violet Moon Shadow Mist, Ramblin Rose Pink Starburst and Blazing Sun Glitz Spritz - on all the covers, outside and inside.   I also dabbed on some metallic acrylic paints - Deco Art Harvest Copper and Folk Art Peridot.

I dyed some cheesecloth in Black Soot DI and glued some on the front.  I thought it needed to be a bit darker so I dry brushed it with some Black Gesso.

The next step was to print some vintage text paper from Creavapeur and stamp Tim Holtz's Chemist on it using Jet Black Archival ink.  I coloured him with Bundled Sage, Rusty Hinge, Scattered Straw and Antique Linen Distress Inks using a water brush.  The edge was torn to give a rough look and inked with Black Soot DI.

I stamped the bottles from the same stamp set onto some scrap card stock with Jet Black Archival ink and coloured them with Rusty Hinge, Dusty Concord, Crushed Olive, Frayed Burlap and Pumice Stone Distress Inks.  I fussy cut the images and created two separate images so I could pop one up with pop dots.  The mortar and pestle have some sand glued to it to give it a rougher stone look and all the rest of the images were coated in Glossy Accents.  It is hard to see how shiny they are in the photos but maybe that is a good thing because I got a couple of bubbles despite my efforts to avoid them.  But wait, vintage glass has bubbles in it so forget that I made some sort of mistake, I was actually creating vintage glass - that's my story and I am sticking to it.

Next I altered some spider charms using Sunset Orange and Rust and Alcohol Inks and then dry brushing some Black Gesso on them.  I added them with some tiny seed beads that were also coated with Black Gesso.  The book title was computer generated and inked with Black Soot DI.

The bookmark is a charm glued to a large paper clip.  The charm was altered with the same alcohol inks but I didn't like it so I added some Pewter wax paste from Treasure Gold and a bit of Black Soot DI.  I wish I had added some Black Gesso to it too but I had already put it away so pretend I wasn't lazy, close your eyes and envision a spookier bat.

Finally I rolled the spiral back into the book and my drink set was ready to go.

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

Try It On Tuesdays - It's Frightening/Halloween
Artistic Inspirations - Anything Goes (twist - Halloween)
Where The HeArt Is - Anything Goes/Use Some Stencils
Altered Eclectics - Anything Goes (must be mixed media/altered, no cards or ATCs)
Country View Challenges - Add Some Texture
Rhedd's Creative Spirit - Anything Mixed Media Goes
That Craft Place - Halloween

The following items used in the creation of this project came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Autumn Leaves

The new challenge begins today at Frilly and Funkie and is hosted by Nancy.  She is calling it Autumn Splendor and describes it like this:

Create a vintage or shabby chic project using the rich colors of autumn. Include an autumn leaf somewhere in your project.

I started by pulling a paper pad from Maja Designs called Nyhavn and chose three papers that I thought had a warm fall feel to them.  I found a complimentary piece of card stock in my stash to use as the card blank and then distressed the edges of the panels and added them.

Next I cut some fancy flourishes from scrap card stock using my Cameo and added it along with a little piece of ephemera that came in a goodie pack from The Funkie Junkie Boutique.  I used some Sunset Orange Alcohol Ink to change the colour of a filigree corner giving it three coats to get the depth of colour.

I made the leaves by laying a piece of wax paper on my ironing board (don't forget to put an old towel down first), adding some shavings of wax crayons and then adding another piece of wax paper on top.  Then I carefully and lightly ironed the wax paper to melt the crayons taking care not to let it ooze out the edges and not to leave the iron on any longer than it took to melt and spread the wax.

Once the wax pieces were cool, I cut them into leaves using the Tim Holtz Tattered Leaves die for the oak leaf.  The maple leaves were hand cut after I traced around a piece of clip art.

Once the leaves were in place, I added some burlap string and some dyed seam binding that was holding the little goodie package closed (perfect colour, perfect timing).

Then I made some flowers from scraps of card stock using a Marvy Uchida punch in two sizes.  The little flowers were inked with Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink and the large flower was inked with Aged Mahogany DI.  Beads from my stash were added for centres.

Finally I took the shank off a tiny bee button and added it to one of the leaves.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Brown Sugar Challenge - Shabby Chic
Fussy and Fancy  - Autumn Colours
Simply Create Too - Autumn Splendour
Crafting For All Seasons - Autumnal Hues
Creative Moments - Anything Goes/Autumn Colours

The following products used to create this card came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

31 Days of Halloween

It is time for a new challenge at Anything But Cute and this time Sara Emily is our hostess and she has chosen to call it 31 Days of Halloween.

She describes it this way:

If you love Halloween like I do, it's more than just one day out of the year, it's a season! For this challenge I would like you to make a mixed media card or project for Halloween. It can be spooky or not, but you MUST include the number "31" somewhere in your project. We can't wait to see the creative ways you'll be incorporating this number in your mixed media piece! 

I decided to alter a bottle that I picked up at a local thrift store for next to nothing.  Here are some views of the other three sides.

I started by coating it with Americana Decor (by Deco Art) Chalky Finish Paint called Carbon.  The chalky finish paint sticks fairly well to glass and gives a base for adding other materials.  I then added a piece of black lace around the middle of the bottle.

The next step was to print and fussy cut some vintage Halloween labels that I found on the internet (I forgot to write down the sources so I can't give credit - my apologies).  Then I cut a copy of each one from scrap card stock slightly larger than each label.  I temporarily attached the copies to three sides to get an idea of placement along with a rectangle on the front.  These scraps allowed me to work on the bottle without damaging the actual labels but still leaving me with a flat spot to attach the labels when I was ready.

Next I mixed Liquitex Black Gesso with Golden Light Molding Paste and covered the bottle using a palette knife to pat it on so it would be bumpy.  Then I used Mod Podge to glue pieces of cheesecloth randomly on the bottle.  Once these texture elements were dry, I covered the cheesecloth with Black Gesso.

The next step was add different spray inks - Lindy's Stamp Gang Pegleg Pete Purple Moonshadow Mist and Wild Honeysuckle Coral Starburst.  I also dabbed on some Folk Art Metallic Silver and Peridot acrylic paint.

I created the front chevron from some Tim Holtz paper called Regions Beyond and used Jet Black Archival Ink to add a skull from a Recollections stamp set called Witch's Dust Halloween.  The 31 are wooden pieces that I coated with Black Gesso and then with Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle.  Once they were dry I dabbed on some Treasure Gold Pewter wax paste.

The front chevron and the other three labels were distressed on the edges and inked with Black Soot Distress Ink and attached to the bottle in the spots that were being saved for them by the scrap pieces of card stock.   If there were any gaps in the texture around the labels where the card stock scraps had been, I used the end of the palette knife and some of my black paste to carefully fill those in.

I wound some black burlap string and some copper wire from Artistic Wire around the neck of the bottle.  Next I used beads from Michaels, Arton Bead Supply and Dollarama to make three charms and hung them from the wire using a jump ring.

Once the bead charms were in place all that was left was to add gems, some black glitter spiders from Michaels and some bead clusters.  The black beads are from Michaels while the coppery beads are from my stash but were leftovers from one of the many bathing suits I decorated when my daughter was a competitive synchronized swimmer.

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

Altered Eclectics - Anything Mixed Media Goes (no cards or ATCs)
Our Creative Corner - Horror
Rhedd's Creative Spirit - Anything Mixed Media Goes
That Craft Place  - Mixed Media Anything Goes
We Love 2 Create - Anything Mixed Media/Creative Goes