Smash Cover

I bought a smash book over 4 months ago and have thought a number of times about actually using it.  I was a little uninspired as it's not my usual 'style'.  I like to get inky and dirty and layer etc, etc.  BUT the most wonderfully talented Cindy Porter (I'm so lucky she's my friend!) is on the Helmar Design Team and recently posted a tutorial using techniques I was a little familiar with, but with her own interpretations and an awesome result!!  All credit to Cindy for her amazing tutorial and inspiring me to finally do something!! Cindy's blog post is here.

Lucky for me I got to do this while Skype Scrapping with another gorgeous talented friend of mine - Fiona Butler, whom did the cover of her Smash Album at the same time!!

Here's a step by step on my Smash cover - using Cindy's technique as my base, and my little changes :-)

Before (with the plastic cover removed):

Remove the plastic and lay the book flat on your craft sheet.  Pour some Tacky Glue/PVA on the cover - nice and thick. Use a pallet knife to spread it around - and your finger to get ridges and texture...

Cindy used a candle to heat her tacky glue and get the 'soot' - I was too impatient so got out two (yes 2!) heat guns and heated my cover.  It bubbled and popped and shrank and did all sorts of interesting things!!

Then I added some Chipboard from Twiddleybitz, more glue, and heated again:

I then sprayed with a couple of green mists, and heated again:

Drying the mists as I went.  The darker areas are where the glue had shrunk and the mists soaked into the paper on the front cover.

When it was dry on the surface I added silver Inka Gold to bring out the lovely textures created by heating the glue.

And with the materials I used:

Ingredients:

Smash Journal

Helmar Tacky Glue

Claudine Hellmuth Multi Medium Gloss

Twiddleybitz Chipboard Title - "A Beautiful Life"

Twiddleybitz Chipboard - Long Flourish No Tail (FLOR022)

Viva Inka Gold - Silver

Lindy's Stamp Gang - Freaky Franken Lime

Crafty Notions Colorspray - Luscious Green

Pallet Knife and Heat Gun.

Thanks for stopping by - I hope you like my project - once again, thanks to the very talented and creative Cindy Porter!

Never more than a thought away...

I revisited some old stamping techniques from years ago this week... Re-inspired by the new Tim Holtz Masking sheets to make your own Masks!

Taping the edges of the mask down with tape was unnecessary as the mask is sticky backed BUT as the mask did not have a large border, the washi tape protected the card a little like masking tape on walls when painting!

First colour of distress ink - Milled Lavender, sponged on top:

 Then the second  - Dusty Concord; and third - Seedless Preserve:

Black Archival Ink from Ranger on the Kaiser Stamp for a lovely crisp image:

And then again on a 'verse stamp' - removing the mask first and stamping outside the inked area creates another focal point:

Use a section of your mask to use the same inking effect to tie-in your envelope, BUT ink with the central colour first and then you can blend the colours either side into the middle and you will avoid the colour "halo" you can see through the top colour on the card.

 

And the finished card - inked around the edges with the three colours too!

ALSO - 

 I couldn't help visiting the Tuesday Ladies at My2Angels while on my lunch break, and couldn't resist getting all creative - with a lolly bag!!!

• Grab a paper bag (eat the lollies!!) 
• spray with Key Lime Pie Glimmer Mist 
• then with a stencil cover a thin coat of Blackberry Ferro
• sprinkle purple passion sugar beads while wet. press in with a sheet of chippy and a heavy book 
• add small daisy flower charm to pin and curl end over - attach with glossy accents
• spray the green gardenia with olive glimmer mist and attach with glossy accents over the same place as the pin
• add a bit of claudine hellmuth multi-medium on the flower and sprinkle over with diamond dust.
• add white opals liquid pearls to centre of flower charm

Thank you for stopping by - I hope you've enjoyed this post and the techniques used!!

Jennifer

:-)

Speedy Recovery

I'm not a big baker's twine fan but I will admit it was the perfect embellishment for this card using the Darkroom Door "Old Truck" Photo Stamp.
I stamped it a number of times on the shimmer card, first using vintage photo distress ink and then black stazon.  I shaded using brushed corduroy, vintage photo, and even black soot.  I used black stazon for the ink on the edges of the cardstock too giving each layer some nice definition :-)
The embossed panel under the photo has the impression defined by using the vintage photo ink as well.

I love this new stamp from Sparkle and Sprinkle too - I bought it through Alison Ellis Design while at Paperific.

Ingredients:
Twiddleybitz Shimmer Cardstock
Tsukineko Stazon Ink - black
Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Corduroy, Vintage Photo, Black Soot
Darkroom Door - Old Truck photo stamp
Sparkle and Sprinkle Verse Stamp from Alison Ellis Design
My2Angels Baker's Twine - Brown and White

Thanks for stopping by!
Jen
:-)

Mum, with a bit of "Flair"!

I made this card for Mum for Mother's Day.  I used a new die I bought at Paperific last weekend and an alphabet die-set I bought a couple of years ago and have only used once!  I used the latest Wednesday Sketch from My Favourite Things for inspiration. MFTWSC123

I used some scraps of green patterned paper and some red and white cardstock on the pre-made cards and envelopes.  I used more scraps for cutting out the letters for "Mum".  To make it easier to stick them down as they're so thin, I stuck some double sided Jac Paper to the green card before I put it through the big shot, then it was simply peel and stick! For the flowers and Flair I used hot glue.

And for the inside of the card...

Ingredients:
Twiddleybitz - White C6 card and envelope
Sawyer's Place Washi Tape - Red polka dots, Cherries, White matt.
Sawyer's Place Flair - Cherries from Bianca Summer Collection
My2Angels - white flowers
Memory Box Co - Ringed Buckle Die 98186 (Red Flower)
Alphabet Dieset by - Provocraft
Stamp it - May this day 2437E
Alison Ellis Design - Double sided Jac paper
Stazon Ink - Olive Green
Adhesives - Stix2Anything
Hot Glue Gun
Miscellaneous red and white cardstock and patterned paper

TFL - Mwah! XXX
Jen

Tip 3:Punching with Washi

I have discovered another way to get even more out of my Washi Tape - It is perfect for punching!
1.  Grab an edge punch - any brand will do so long as you can get a continual pattern or design.
2.  Adhere a strip of washi (long enough for your project)as close as you canto the edge of some removable backing (I used the backing from some sticky paper from Sawyer's Place) or transparency - but remember you're gonna punch holes in it so don't use your non-stick craft sheet!

3.  Punch your border all the way along the washi tape.

4.  Trim any little bits that didn't cut all the way through.  You will notice most, if not all, the 'confetti' will fall out.

5.  Peel from the backing and temporarily adhere to some transparency so you can experiment with placement on your project... (as seen in Tip 1)

6.  Adhere to your project and embellish.

See - easy peasy and so effective!!!

Ingredients:
Twiddleybitz - Kraft Card and Envelope
Cream Cardstock
Alison Ellis Design Patterned Paper
Sawyer's Place Washi Tape - gold
Edge/border punch
Flourish With A Bling - Flower from Elise pack
Alcohol Ink - Pebble (to colour the centre of the flowers)
Scenic Route Paper Co - Rub ons
Stazon Ink - Black
Adhesives by Stix2Anything
I would love to see your creations using Washi tape and border punches - please say hi and leave me a link to your creation in the comments below!
TFL - Mwah! XXX
Jen

Happy Birthday - Nikita

A certain young man has his very first girlfriend and it was her birthday yesterday.  I made this card for him to give to her today.  Blue is a favourite colour, so I went with White, Blue (Teal) and Silver as the colour scheme.

The close-up shows theTeal Cromwell Washi Tape fits beautifully centred on the Silver Washi Tape:
I also trimmed the top and bottom off some spare Teal Cromwell Washi Tape to get a lovely thin strip to edge the silver...

Ingredients:

Sawyer's Place Washi Tape - Cromwell in Teal!!

Sawyer's Place Washi Tape - Limited Edition Silver

White Cardstock

Alison Ellis Design - Silver Rose A4 Patterned Paper

ManorHouse Creations - Winters Song: Embers Flower

Stix2Anything Silicone Adhesive and Double Sided Tape

Miscellaneous Silver Envelope

Inside Greeting: Hero Arts Birthday Stamp - using Ranger/Tim Holtz Peacock Feather Distress Ink.

Thank you for stopping by - I hope you feel as inspired by this little card as I do!!

Jen

:-)

1st Valentine's Day

So for the first time - my son wanted to give a Valentine to a girl.  I made him a little card, then made one for my other two children to give if they wanted to... now to go make mine before my date tonight!!

 This for my eldest son's Valentine...

 And a close up of the gorgeous bling and floral flourish...

Ingredients:

Twiddleybitz - White 13cm square card and envelope

Twiddleybitz - Ornate Frame - set of 2 (fso002)

Bo Bunny Little Miss - Patterned Paper

White Doily

Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Tattered Rose

Sawyer's Place Washi - Gold

Flourish With A Bling - Grace Pearl Flourish - Latte

My2Angels - Hand-made Floral arrangement - Pink

Kaiser Stamp - Valentine set

Adhesives by Stix2Anything

Stazon Ink - Brown

Miscellaneous Large Bow

And this next one for my Daughter - I think her Dad's getting this one...

 A close up of the flower cluster on the Twiddleybitz Chippy heart:

Ingredients:
Twiddleybitz - White 13cm square card and envelope

Twiddleybitz - Heart from "Bag of Love" set (boas013)

Adirondack Paint Dauber - Snow Cap

Alison Ellis Glitter - White Fizz

Kaiser Patterned Paper

Adhesives by Stix2Anything

Miscellaneous Flowers and Ribbon

This one for my 8 year old to give anonymously to a girl in his year level:

 I love this shot of the flower spray on an angle with the focus changing:

Ingredients:
Twiddleybitz Card - C6 Black
Miscellaneous Red envelope
Cardstock - white
White Doily

Kaiser Stamp - Valentine set

Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Barn Door

Stazon Ink - Black

Sawyer's Place Washi - Bianca Floral Scroll

Sawyer's Place Washi - Black & White Scroll

Flourish With A Bling - Bella Rhinestone Flourish: silver

Adhesives by Stix2Anything

Miscellaneous Flower Sprays

Miscellaneous tape

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Jen

:-)

Dec 25th - Faux Washi

Hello Everyone, I'm here today with my first official post for Stix2Anything!

Being on a tight budget, versatility is a very important thing for me, so today I wanted to show you how versatile the Stix2 products can be!

I have stencil tape, it's a low tac tape designed to adhere, be removed, and re-adhere a number of times for using in stencilling (holding the stencil in place while using different medium for effect)
I'm sure you've seen the popularity explosion of Washi tape - well I have so many stamps - and over 80 ink pads that also I'm compulsive and purchase Washi tape - I also make my own using stencil tape!

First you design your card and decide on the colour and style you need.
Then you adhere a length of the stencil tape to your non-stick crafting sheet and colour with your ink and sponger - experiment with different types of ink and application techniques as water-based inks will have a different effect to alcohol based inks etc... and also taking into account the tape is cream in colour, not white - to begin with.

Then use a permanent ink to stamp your design on the tape - I've used stazon and made sure to stamp off my tape as well so that it's less rigid and 'ribbon-looking' if you know what I mean!
(and don't worry, the permanent ink does come straight off with a bit of stazon stamp cleaner :-))

so now we have made our washi tape we adhere it to our card/project (remember it may still be slightly transparent)

and here's a closeup -

To make the card I have used a pre-scored and folded card - inked the edges of the card and the patterned paper panels with the same colour ink I used for the tape.
I used Stix2 double sided tape to attach the paper panels to the front of the card.
I stamped my 'Dec 25' greeting in the stazon ink for longevity and again used the inks around the edges of the diecut.
This was then attached to the front of the card using the Stix2 adhesive foam tape.

This was a very simple card but the focal point is the eye-catching home-made faux washi tape :-)

I hope you like my first card and enjoy making your own washi tape!
Be sure to visit the Stix2Anything website to grab some stencil tape and get creating!
Jen
:-)

Ingredients:
Adhesives - Stix2Anything double sided tape, adhesive foam tape, stencil tape
Stix2Anything non-stick crafting sheet
Twiddleybits pre-scored and folded white card 13x13 cms
Patterned paper by Alison Ellis Design
Joy stamp by Sparkle n Sprinkle - available through Alison Ellis Design
Tsukineko Stazon innk - Olive Green
Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Ink - Picket Fence
Kaiser Stamp Set CS727 - Dear Santa Collection
Mpress nesting scallop die

Star Banner - Riley

I recently created this banner for Riley - he is definitely star material!  Each part of the banner represents a different part of him or something he likes/enjoys.

To cover the chipboard stars with the white patterned paper I covered them in pva:

 I used my speedball to push out airpockets and excess glue.

 I then cut around them with my craft knife.

The I coloured them with Distress Stains and wiped off any excess with a tissue.
The silver embossed stars are resistant to the colour...

Then I filed the edges:

 Punched the hole with my eyelet punch:

I used my Distress Stain to colour my white ribbon and again the embossed stars resisted the colour - and then I hung them to dry overnight. I was afraid I'd get too excited trying to dry them with a heat gun and melt the ribbon!

Once I'd panted the car red I used black liquid pearls on the tyres, and orange and yellow for the flames:

Car Star Ingredients:
Twiddleybitz - Star Banner
Twiddleybitz - Small Car Minni Minor (TRA004)
Twiddleybitz - School Dayz Kids (SCH003)
Alison Ellis Design - Star Paper
Adirondack Paint Dabber - Citrus & Red pepper
Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Stain - Mustard Seed
Ranger Liquid Pearls - Pumpkin, Daffodil, Onyx Pearls
Flourish With A Bling - Silver Rhinestones
Black Artliner 0.2
1" circle Punch
My2Angels - White Star Ribbon

"R" Star Ingredients:

Twiddleybitz - Star Banner

Twiddleybitz - R (TAB00R)

Twiddleybitz - Dog form Farm Yard Friends (ANI002)

Alison Ellis Design - Star Paper

Adirondack Paint Dabber - Snow Cap

Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Stain - Faded Jeans

Ranger Liquid Pearls - Dark Chocolate, Daffodil, Onyx Pearls

Flourish With A Bling - Silver Rhinestones

Flourish With A Bling - Pearl, Blue

Flourish With A Bling - Luke Flourish, Blue

My2Angels - White Star Ribbon

Brown Cardstock

"I" Star Ingredients:

Twiddleybitz - Star Banner

Twiddleybitz - I (TAB00I)

Twiddleybitz - Cogs n Gears (TABCOG)

Alison Ellis Design - Star Paper

Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Stain - Peeled Paint

Ranger Liquid Pearls - Daffoldil

Adirondack Paint Dabber - Snow Cap; Red Pepper & Peeled Paint

Flourish With A Bling - Jessie Flourish, Red

Flourish With A Bling - Pearl, Blue

My2Angels - Bike Charm

My2Angels - Ball Chain

My2Angels - White Star Ribbon

"L" Star Ingredients:

Twiddleybitz - Star Banner

Twiddleybitz - L (TAB00L)

Twiddleybitz - Dinosaurs Pk4 (DIN001)

Alison Ellis Design - Star Paper

Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Stain - Mustard Seed; 

            Fired Brick; Vintage Photo; Peeled Paint

Ranger Liquid Pearls - Avocado

Adirondack Paint Dabber - Snow Cap

Flourish With A Bling - Pearl, Red

My2Angels - Stick Figure Charm

My2Angels - White Star Ribbon

"E" Star Ingredients:

Twiddleybitz - Star Banner

Twiddleybitz - E (TAB00E)

Twiddleybitz - School Dayz Kids (SCH003)

Alison Ellis Design - Star Paper

Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Stain - Faded Jeans

Ranger Liquid Pearls - Daffodil, Ruby Red, Baby Blue

Adirondack Paint Dabber - Snow Cap

Flourish With A Bling - Luke Flourish, Black

My2Angels - Cap Charm

My2Angels - White Star Ribbon

Black Artliner 0.2

"Y" Star Ingredients:

Twiddleybitz - Star Banner

Twiddleybitz - Y (TAB00Y)

Twiddleybitz - Tab Stars (TABSTA)

Alison Ellis Design - Star Paper

Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Stain - Peeled Paint; Faded Jeans

Ranger Liquid Pearls - Daffodil

Adirondack Paint Dabber - Snow Cap; Silver

Flourish With A Bling - Jessie Flourish, Red

My2Angels - Ball Chain

My2Angels - White Star Ribbon

Dymo Labeller

I coloured in the island chipboard with paint and distress stains.  I used liquid pearls to give dimension to the grass and the palm trees, and age and deterioration to the treasure chest, and adding the skull n crossbones charm to finish it off.  I used crackle paint for my sand to give texture: 

"Pirate" Star Ingredients:

Twiddleybitz - Star Banner

Twiddleybitz - Pirate Island And Treasure Chest (PIR003)

Alison Ellis Design - Star Paper

Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Stain - Mustard Seed; Peeled Paint; Vintage Photo

Ranger/Tim Hotlz Distress Crackle - Scrattered Straw

Ranger Liquid Pearls - Avocado; Dark Chocolate; Onyx Pearl

Adirondack Paint Dabber - Gold

My2Angels - Skull n Crossbones Charm

My2Angels - White Star Ribbon

Figuring out how to hang all the stars on the ribbon was probably the hardest part as I wanted them to all be attached differently!  The key to getting it right is working out the spacing, pinning to hold the spot and allowing for movement when hung - and thinking about if it will be hung tightly or loosely...

Congratulations if you are reading as you managed to get all the way through - well done!!  I'd love to see your banner so be sure to go to the Twiddleybitz Ning and upload yours to the gallery so I can see it too!!

Thanks for joining me :-)

Jen