Embossing with coredinations

Today my project was about using up a craft item that has been in my stash for quite some time. I've been holding onto this piece of coredinations core color paper for only about two years now I think??  I think that's the craft hoarder coming out in me haha. 

I purchased the multi pack of Tim Holtz embossing folders "Greetings and Greens" recently and was struggling a bit on what to do with the wreath folder. I knew I loved it but that love wasn't translating into an actual project until that little piece of paper entered into my mind. I mean how perfect to use with that folder right! So I set out on a mission today to create a card that was fairly simple but eye catching at the same time. I love the rough texture of the design mixed with the bling of the glitter tape. 

Here's how I created this card.

I cut out a piece of the core color card stock to fit exactly inside the embossing folder. The size turned out to be 4.5 x 5.5. I lined it up in my embossing folder, making sure the raised side of the folder would be popping the black side of the card stock "up". So when you insert it into the folder make sure the black side is facing the front of the folder.  I ran it through my big shot and then took the piece of paper and began sanding the raised parts. I have a sanding tool that looks just like a nail file which works great on this type of embossing. Actually a nail file would probably work just fine but be gentle as you can rip the paper. I bent the paper a bit as I was sanding it to help bring out the green core in those hard to get to areas.  I finished it off by sanding around the edge of the paper. 

Next step was to add stickles to the sanded piece.  I used ruby slippers, frayed burlap and picket fence on the various areas of the design. I put this aside to dry.

I took a basic piece of red card stock and cut it to fit my card base. The size is 6.25 by 4.75 as my card measures 6.5 x 5. I like to see a bit of the black behind my red background. I ran the red card stock through the other folder from my Tim Holtz embossing folder package (Greens). This one has a lovely holly and berry background. 

I cut two strips of white glitter tape and adhered it to the top and bottom of the red card stock piece. I glued this down to my card base and then added pop dots to the back of the black embossed piece and added on top. That's it! 

My challenge to you is that if you have a piece of this coredinations color core cardstock use it in an embossing folder. The result is awesome! 

Pinterest inspiration

Hi my name is Michelle and I am a Pinaholic. I love to pin things on Pinterest!! 

A cute little tag popped into my Pin feed and I just had to make it. I mean who doesn't love a little snow on their Christmas project right? The pin came from blogger "justmeprints" on blogger. Thank you Elena for the great project!

I was attracted to the simplicity of the design and of course the Kraft factor. Kraft paper to me is the cats meow!! Such a great base for just about any project. 

Here is my project. 

Here's how it came together.

I started off by cutting a piece of Kraft paper using my Avery-Elle Double Pierced rectangle die (second to largest die). Then I used my Simon Says Stamp snowfall stencil and added the flakes in the background. For this I used Artists Loft modelling paste over the stencil. I like it because it dries quick and has a really nice texture. Put aside to dry.

Next I took my Memory Box "Stitched Holly Leaves" die and cut out multiples of the holly leaves in Vellum. Using a plain red card stock I cut out multiples of the berries as well. 

Once the paste was dry I embossed the Stampin Up "Peace" word onto my Kraft paper. This stamp is from their "Wonderful Words II" stamp set. The embossing powder I used is called "green metallic sparkle". Unfortunately this company is no longer in business but for a similar powder you could use Stampendous "Aqua tinsel" sparkly embossing powder.  I inked up my stamp with Versamark and stamped it onto the bottom of my cut out, added the embossing powder over the stamped image and applied heat with my heat tool. 

Around the edges of the cut out I applied Distress "frayed burlap" using my sponge tool. 

To have a spot to tie my twine through I just punched a hole through the top.

Adding my holly and berries I used my Sakura 3D Laquer but you can use any kind of adhesive such as Tombow multi

Mono glue or Glossy accents. Apply a little Stickles in Ruby Sluppers on the berries and put aside to dry. 

Finally take a bit of bakers twine and tie a bow at the top using the punched hole as your anchor. Apply pop dots to the back of your embellished paper and apply to a blank Kraft card. The cards I used are 4 x 5.5 inches. 

Have a great day!

Michelle

Peace on Earth

Recently I was inspired by a very talented artist and a recent project she posted on Instagram.  She goes by the name of "aidaville" . If you haven't checked out her photos you should because her projects are nothing short of amazing. Such an inspiration!  She made this project below and it spoke to me in so many ways. The use of texture, colour and layers is just gorgeous. If I received something like this I would treasure it forever. Beautiful work Aidaville. 

So she inspired me to create this canvas.

I couldn't get that globe die by Tim Holtz out of my head!! It spoke to me ... Like almost literally. Today I had a moment about 3/4 of the way through creating this and I just went ... Ahhhhh. You know that moment where you are working on something and all the planets seem to align and you get that deep down, in the deepest part of your soul, feeling like this is what you were put on this earth to do? Yes that happened to me today. I was excited and just plain happy and I'll tell you what made me have that moment. 

I had completed it up until the point where all my pieces were adhered down. All I had left to do was add the bling and by bling I mean the little bird and the gem at the bottom right. I placed them where I wanted them but I felt that something was still missing. I need another darker coloured item to balance out the canvas. I searched through my metal stash and there it was. The "believe" token. That was my ah ha moment. Don't we all believe and wish that someday there will be peace across the earth? I hope for that each day. I believe that we all have the power to reach that peace if we all believe together. This world would be so much more fabulous if we just got along. The chain on the token is my hope that we will one day break that chain of despair, fighting and hate. 

So this was my "peace" so to speak. That one creation where I felt like all the classes I took (Maresa you're amazing), all the amazing crafty people that inspire me each and every day (Tim Holtz,  Aidaville, Heidi Swapp to name a few) and my mojo all came together onto this canvas. Today I am proud that I broke through my chains and was able to create this. So enough of my rambling here is how I did it.

I started out with a pre painted silver canvas. First I did some distressing around the edge of the canvas with my file. 

Then I drew on some Ground Espresso marker around the edges and smudged it in. 

I stamped some TH Snowflakes on the background using a combination of Versamark Cloud white chalk ink and Versamarked and Embossed clear silver powder.

I added some Range distress crackle paint in various places using my palette knife. 

I put that aside to dry. 

Next I used my TH Handwritten Holiday 1 stamp set to stamp the "Peace on Earth" sentiment on a piece of vellum. You will notice that the layout of the stamp is different than how it comes. I'm going to say this really quietly " I cut the words apart" Eeeeks!! First time doing that ... I blame another designer for that idea ... Not saying names!!! I laid out my newly cut stamps onto a clear block and stamped on vellum using Versamark. I added detail white embossing powder over top and applied my heat gun to set. Next I cut out my flag freehand around the sentiment.

I cut out the globe using a paper that is good for alcohol inks. Sorry I'm not sure the brand but most craft stores have this paper available. 

Next I applied a mixture Distress Stains to my craft mat. I used Brushed Pewter. Crushed Olive and Peacock Feathers. Once I tapped it on there I added water with my Mini Mister and swirled through it a bit with my palette knife to blend the colours just a little bit.

I took my globe cut out and literally put it face down onto the ink on my mat. I tapped it in the ink until my globe was all coloured. Put that aside to dry.  Once dried I applied a layer of Versamark and Clear Chunky Deep Impression Embossing powder and heat set it to dry. 

I inked the edges of the globe with Frayed Burlap distress ink and my sponge tool. 

Using my Distress Stains I again covered my craft may with colour this time adding in Iced Spruce as well. Once the colour was down I spritzed it with water using my Mini Mister. I gave it a lot of water because I wanted to place a full 9 x 12 sheet of watercolor paper on it to absorb all the ink and I wanted the whole sheet to be full of color. You end up having to lift up the sheet and place it back down to make sure the whole sheet is covered with color. 

I put the sheet aside to dry. 

From my Tim Holtz Merriment paper stash I cut out the Santa image. I put some Peack Feathers distress stain over the image to give it a blue hue. I dried it with my heat gun. Then I took a Tim

Holtz fragment and covered one side with Glossy Accents and placed it over top of the Santa image making sure I had no air bubbles between the fragment and the paper. Put aside to dry.

Taking my sheet of dried watercolored paper I cut out the foliage with my Tim

Holtz Alterations Festive Grennery die. 

Assembly time. 

My first placement was of the Peace on Earth flag. I put a piece of Sookwang tape along the left edge and applied it to my canvas (attachment nag the flag pole from below first. Next I waved the flag so it lifted near the middle. I put a pop down down where I wanted the flag to attach to the canvas. I cut out a flag pole from Tim Holtz frosted plastic sheets. I inked the edges a bit with my foam applicator and Peacock Feathers ink pad. I also did this on the flag. 

I randomly adhered my cut out foliage pieces around the flag. You will notice some funky little stars on my project. These are by My Favorite Things and are called Die-Namics Lucky Stars. This company really does have some of My Favorite Things"! I cut those out of a silver card stock. All my pieces were glued down using 3D Crystal Laquer. Glossy Accents is also a wonderful project to use.

Next I applied pop dots to my globe and set it in place. Then I glued down my fragment. I added a bit more foliage around the globe and fragment.

Lastly I took my believe token and applied white and Broken China paint to the token to get it into the grooves of the words and numbers. The excess paint on top of the token can just be wiped away leaving the paint in the recesses of the token. 

I took some seam binding ribbon and inked it up with my 3 colours of distress stain (same as above). I gave it a bit of heat with my heat gun to dry. I attached the token and chain to my ribbon. Lastly I took a hat pin from Prima and attached the ribbon piece to my canvas. I just poked it right through my canvas and put a piece of tape acros the back to secure it. I did have to bend the pin a bit so it was not sticking straight out from the canvas. 

Lastly, I applied my little gem, also from Prima to the bottom right. 

My apologies for my lack of photos this time. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. 

Well thank you for stopping by and I hope this project inspires you like Aidaville's did to me. Don't forget that each one of us has the power to do something great each and every day. Whether it's smiling at a stranger or sharing what inspires you with the world we all have a chance to bring kindness and hopefully one day peace on earth. 

Cheers,

Michelle

Box card sampling

I'm back for a quick blog today about my first experience working with SVGCuts and boxed cards.

I made this little beauty from a file I downloaded from SVGCuts today. 

http://svgcuts.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=395

A fellow crafter had these amazing little cards on display at my recent retreat and although I don't normally fall for these types of cards I was amazed at how cute they are!!! I definitely fell for boxed cards lol.

I downloaded the file for this card from the SVGCuts site and chose to use Bo Bunny's Rejoice paper line that had been gifted to me by my friend Deb from All Ways Scrapbooking. Great little home based business! Visit her online shop here: http://www.allwaysscrapbooking.com. Of course I had to add a little touch of Tim Holtz to my project. I used the Remnant rubs called Gilded Holiday for the "peace love joy" on the front flap and his Alterations embossing folder with the poinsettias on it for my gold background piece. Both of these were from an amazing store called Memories and More. Love those gals. You can fine their site here: http://www.memorycrafts.ca

I was floundering a bit trying to figure out how to load and cut this file on my Cricut Explore but after going to the help section on SVGCuts I soon found a video showing me exactly what I needed to do on my specific machine.  So helpful!!! Great video SVGCuts. 

Another great thing about this SVGCuts file is that there is a video tutorial on how to assemble these little beauties on the site. In depth and step by step instruction! So helpful!

After assembling the card I added a little Liquid Pearls in Garnet and Brass to finish.

Thanks for popping by!

In the Christmas spirit

Last weekend I joined 23 other ladies in a crafty fun weekend at a beautiful little lake called Gardom Lake just outside of Enderby, BC.  If you've ever been to this neck of the woods you know how beautiful and lush the forest are here.  To me it's a magical little place with paths meandering through the forest and log cabins that make you feel like you are miles and miles away from anywhere.  The retreat was a 3 night card making fest for me and my focus was all around Tim's mini blueprint Christmas stamps and his holiday wreath.

I created numerous embossed and watercolor cards that reflected the beauty around me.  I kept things simple but elegant using Rangers Queen's gold embossing powder and Tim Distress Markers in: Fired Brick, Tattered Rose on the poinsettia's and holly berries. 

I used Pine Needles and Forest Moss on the pine branch and on the holly leaves.  
 

For the center of the poinsettia and for some of the stamp descriptions I used Spiced marmalade and Fossilized amber.

 My background paper is by Authentique from their Tidings collection.  I love love love this paper!  I walk around telling people to feel it, which may sound strange, but if you know Authentique you know that the quality of their paper is nothing short of amazing.

My instructions are quite simple.  I cut out the watercolor paper and the patterned paper using my Avery-elle double pierced rectangle dies.  I used the largest rectangle for my patterned paper and then the next size down to cut out my watercolor paper.

I stamped the images on my watercolor paper with Versamark and then added Rangers embossing powder.  I heat set it and then put it aside.  I did this step numerous times so I could get my cards all done at once.

Then i took my distress markers and added just a little bit of color to my stamped images.  Once I added the color I took my watercolor pen and added movement to the color.  Basically I blended the two colors together.  It doesn't take a lot of color on your stamped images to get a really great effect so use your markers sparingly when adding color to your stamped image.  I will try preparing a video (first time eeks) to show you how I add color to my stamped images.

I stamped each card using Tim's Mini Handwritten Holidays stamps.

I drew on the stamp with a mix of my Forest Moss and Pine Needles markers and then stamped directly onto the card before it dried.  No worries if it dries up on you too quickly because you can just give it a very light mist of water and it will reactivate the ink so you can stamp it.

Finally I mounted the background piece onto a kraft blank card and then layered the watercolored image on top.

Although these were quite simple to create I love the end effect of less is more.

Have a wonderful day!

Birds and the Bees repost

Hi all,

I'm back today with a project I created about 9 months ago. I was involved in an ATC challenge themed "Birds and Bees" and I was lucky to borrow my good friend Barb's Bird Crazy stamps by my favourite guy Mr. Tim Holtz.  Here is my original project from Pinterest.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/A7fBcAAQQI0CZIQMkeYAAAA/

I had the bird part covered but was perplexed as to how to incorporate the bee part into my ATC. Finally I had this crazy, and aren't these birds all about crazy, idea to stripe my bird like a bee. Voila, birds and bee all rolled into one! Now to come up with a quote for the card. Lucky me that Barb was around and came up with the quote "to bee or not to be". How fitting! Thanks Barb!!

My handsome bird/bee has drawn a bit of attention on Pinterest so I thought I would recreate him, with a couple of tweaks, for my blog and here it is. 

First I embossed a piece of watercolour paper with my new Tim Holtz/Sizzix embossing folder "Sparkle". Then I coloured in the center of each sparkle with my Mermaid Lagoon distress marker. I gave the paper a few spritz of water with my mini mister to help the distress ink spread. Then I put that aside to dry. 

I stamped Mr. Bird twice onto my watercolor paper. One is for the main bird and the second is for his wing, beak and eyes. I cut those out and set aside. 

My first colouring was the bird base with the stripes on it. With a light coloured pencil I drew my stripes onto the bird as a guide. 

Then I coloured in my yellow and black stripes. Next I coloured in the wings, beak and tuft of hair. Even though these will be covered by my second layers I still like to colour them in as that layer will be popped up.  

Final step was to color in the second layers. 

After colouring I assembled my bird. I added pop dots to the second layers of the bird and placed them onto the first layer. I did take a gelly roll white pen and added a bit of highlighting to that second layer to add some depth. 

Using my Dymo machine I spelled out my quote in two different fonts. I find it adds a bit more visual interest if you mix up your fonts a bit. I cut those out into individual words. 

I placed them onto my background sparkle embossed paper once it had dried. I used a Faber Castell Pitt pen to make the words stand out on the white background. The words were a little too light without the added black. 

Lastly I added Mr. Bird and there we are. 

I hope this inspires you to think outside the "bird" and to try something a little different. 

Fall'ing for minis

Fall is definitely within our reach! Cooler nights, leaves changing colour and more time to spend in my craft corner! Woo hoo!! I love summer but fall is just so beautiful and it gives me even more of an excuse to spend time in my craft corner! 

Today's project was inspired by the amazing Hero Arts. 

I recently purchased the Lia Build a Wreath Hero Arts stamp set from one of my favorite stores, Memories and More. It's so adorable! So many tiny little stamps that have so much possibility.

  

I started out by cutting a piece of heavyweight watercolor paper using my Avery-Elle Double pierced rectangular dies. These are my new favorites!

I very lightly traced a circle into my paper to use as a template for my wreath. I inked and stamped one stamp at a time onto my circle. In total I used 7 stamps from the set. I stamped each stamp 5 times in random angles around the circle.  For colour I used my Tim Holtz Distress markers to ink the stamps. I inked and then stamped quite quickly so that the ink didn't dry on the stamp. Here are the colours I used. Plus I also used Fossilized Amber for a little pop of brightness (not shown)

Once the wreath was complete I added the bird to the bottom of the wreath. I stamped it three times using a different color each time. As a final touch I used my Hero Arts mini wood stamp - Hello and added Liquid Pearls in Garnet to emphasize the berries.

I hope you've enjoyed my short and sweet tutorial. Happy Friday.

Michelle

 

Aloha Fall

Fall is slowly creeping into our midst but in my creative world summer has arrived. 

My project today is inspired by the newly released My Favorite Things Polynesian Paradise stamps and die set. While I normally tend to lean towards the distress style of crafting I couldn't help but fall in love with this cute little set.  Little doesn't seem like the right word for all the amazing amount of goodness in these sets. This set is packed with fun little sayings and characters. How about the little turtle!! So fun

Here is what the stamp and die set look like.

How great is it that you get all those pieces and what amazing options.

Here is a overview of the products I used to make my card and the steps.

First I used my Avery-Elle "elle-ments" Double pierced rectangles die set to cut out my watercolor paper for the background. I can't express just how much I love these dies. That little bit of added stitching around the sides is the best! 

Next I added a cloudy background to my watercolor paper using the Memory Box - Mini clouds stencil and Rangers Texture Paste in Transparent matte. I wanted a very light texture in the background for dimension. 

I coloured in the background ever so slightly using Tim Holtz distress markers. I swiped three rows of colour over the paper and then generously misted it with water using my mini mister. The colours I used were Blueprint Sketch, Stormy Sky and Iced Spruce. I put that aside to dry. 

Next up I coloured in my aloha girl and flowers also using the Tim Holtz Distress Markers. Here is a pic of the colours I used on the girl and the cloudy background. I cut her and the flowers out of watercolor paper as well. 

Cloudy sky and flowers.

Hula Girl

I cut out the Aloha saying using my Avery-Elle dies and then stamped it with Mowed Lawn and Seedless Preserves Distress Markers. 

Once the watercolor background had dried I took my Walnut Stain Distress Marker and added the sandy base that is under her feet. I just scribbled some colour on and then took my watercolor brush to spread it out. 

I assembled all the pieces together using a combination of pop dots and Sookwang tape. I popped up the Hula girl, flowers and Aloha. 

The card base and purple background are from Craft Smith paperpack and card packs.

Hope you are enjoying your Labour Day!

Michelle

Watercolor Crazy

Back in the spring I started experimenting with watercolor backgrounds using the Tim Holtz distress markers and boy am I having fun with it. My first card was a Father's Day card which turned out so great! 

I followed it up with another card.

Since then I have grown my distress marker collection immensely! My poor debit card! 

I purchased the Poppy Stamp Boddington Tree Cluster die recently and thought it would be fun to use the cutout on my existing watercolor technique. The results were great. Instead of stamping with black ink this is another great option. 

At this point I have realized that watercolor makes me happy! I have so much fun seeing how the colours blend and matching different cours together. 

Hope you enjoy my projects!