CHA - Chicago

I will be leaving later this week to attend my first ever CHA convention. I am lucky to be taking two on my design team members with me and a dear friend. Look forward to sharing some of the ideas we bring back.

Father's Day......

Geeze - for a person who makes cards, do you think I could actually get some made on time..... Well, here I am making my Fathers Day cards 2 days before.


This first one is for my husband. I stamped Ship Collage by River City Rubber Works on vellum and colored the image on the back side with alcohol markers. I then adhered it to a slightly larger piece of white, then red, then tan cardstock.


I cut red cardstock slightly smaller than my square card so I would have a fine white border. I passed the blue cardstock through my corregator before mounting it on to the red.

My tip for using a corregator - trim the sides to the desired size bit leave the length about a half inch longer. The corrugator uses up length and if you cut it to size your finished piece will be too short. You can trim the length if necessary after its corrugated.

I adhered the corrugated panel and the image to the red base. I created tabs with my MiGill punch (you could also put one end of a paper strip in a circle punch). I stamped Happy Fathers Day (from Stamping Sensations - I love that set) on the white and edged it slightly with red ink. I mounted the tabs and added big eyelets through all the layers (go Cropadile!). Then I just mounted on my square white card.



This card is for my Dad (gonna arrive late...sigh...)

The layout and process was very similar, it just an A2 card instead of square and has a few less layers.

The background was made by combining wax paper technique with the alcohol ink polished stone. I crinkled up wax paper and ironed it on to glossy cardstock (protect your iron!). Then I dabbed Stonewash, Denim and Stream Alcohol Inks and blender solution over the surface.

Now - to actually get some gifts!

Teacher Thank You Notes

I needed to make 3 thank you notes to give to my children's teachers. I don't really like to make multiples of the same card over and over (short attention span I guess).


But I really wanted to use this cat image from Pink Cat Studio. Somehow the cat reminds me of a teacher. Maybe its the glasses, or maybe the calm, unruffled look (so unlike me when I hang out with my kids for too long). So I decided to play around with variations on a theme. I decided to alter the color scheme and the technique on the cat's clothes, but keep the card layout the same for all of them. I also kept the same blue panel on all of them to add to the challenge.


Here is the trio.....



For this first one, I used alcohol based Prismacolor markers to color the entire image. The patterned paper is the DCWV Pocket Full of Poises Pack.

For this card, I colored the cat and glasses with the Prismacolor Markers. Then I used a very fine stylus to doodle a design on the sweater and scarf. I colored the sweater and scarf with Prsimacolor pencils. The doodled design appears white.

For the last card, I again colored the cat and the glasses with the Prismacolor Markers. Then I paper pieced the scarf and the sweater using the background paper. By stamping and cutting out the scarf and sweater on different parts of the patterned paper, I got the different colors. The patterned paper is the DCWV Pocket Full of Poises Pack.

It was kind of fun to see how changing the color and technique changed the card. I might try something like this again sometime. It might make a very nice gift set of coordinated thank you notes.

Butterfly Kisses

Happy Friday to you all!!! We've been having beautiful Spring weather here on the East Coast, so I decided to pull out my Butterfly Kisses stamp set and put them to use! I stamped the butterflies on vellum paper and embossed them with a glittery white EP. I then watercolored the back of the image with a waterbrush and my Wild Plum and Sunshine Yellow Adirondack Ink Pads. IRL it almost looks like stained glass, so pretty and elegant. The background behind the butterflies is a Cuttlebugged piece of cardstock and I went over the embossed areas with my Clear Stardust Gelly Roll pens (these are soooo cool!) to give it some extra sparkle. I used various images from the same set to stamp a background onto the green base with a Versamark pad.

The sentiment is also embossed with the glittery white EP, I then used a smidge of sheer ribbon and a bit of silver cording to finish it off!! I hope you enjoy and have a Fabulous weekend!!

Tumbled Tile Coaster

I love working with these tumbled tiles to make coasters. I like how they feel so substantial and alcohol inks work beautifully on them.


These coasters could be a pretty quick and easy Father's Day gift - and if they are careful, the kids could even help create the colored background (but remember, alcohol inks are permanent inks).


How I made this tile:


You can find tumbled tiles in most home improvement stores. The tumbled tiles are better than glazed tiles for coasters since the can hold moisture better. It is a good idea to look through the tiles and choose ones that are smooth and have few holes so any stamped images will stamp cleanly.

Other supplies you will need are:

• A selection of Ranger Alcohol Inks in the colors you desire. Include one of the Metallic Mixatives if you wish,
• An alcohol ink applicator
• Alcohol ink blender solution
• Ranger Archival ink for stamping your image
• Stamp
  

Before beginning, put a small amount of Blender Solution on a paper towel and clean off the tile to make sure there is no dust or oil.


I wanted my coaster to have an aged stone look. I chose Carmel, Ginger and a small amount of Denim for my colors. I also wanted a little glitz, so I also used a small amount of Copper Metallic Mixative. Different people have different methods of applying the inks - here is what works for me.


I choose a primary color (Carmel) and apply the most of this color to a clean felt pad. Then I choose a secondary color (Ginger) and apply less of that. Then I choose a third color and apply a small amount of that to the pad. I add a small amount of blender solution (the more solution you add, the less intense the colors will be).


I "pounce" my applicator on the tile surface, turning it as I go to keep the colors random. I just keep pouncing until I'm happy with the coverage (don't forget to color the sides of the tile as well). If the colors are not intense enough, you can add more alcohol ink to the felt. If you really don't like what you are creating and want to start over, you can clean off the tile with blender solution. It will still be somewhat stained, but lightly enough so you can try again.


If I want to add some Metallic Mixative (in this case copper), I add a SMALL amount to the same felt pad I've been using and add a little squirt of blender solution. Then I pounce on the metallic in the same fashion. A little metallic goes a long way.


Let the alcohol inks dry completely. Then ink up your stamp with the Archival Ink and stamp it onto the tile. Keep in mind that the tile surface may not be perfectly smooth, so you may need more pressure than usual to get a good image.


I put the tile in a 300 degree oven for about 15 minutes to heat set everything. This step may not be necessary, but it makes me feel more secure.


The last step is to put something on the back of the tile to prevent the tile from scratching furniture. I like to use the cork shelf liner available at home improvement stores - but you could also use felt.


This tile uses the Ship Collage stamp by River City Rubber Works. The stamp and all the alcohol ink supplies are available from Rubber Inspirations.

Tres Chic!

Bonjour mes amis! Comment allez-vous? :)

I recently was lucky enough to win some great Ranger products. Naturally, I just had to try them out! Two things that I received were Memory Glass and Memory Foil Tape (Brass). These are two products that I had never used so I was ready for it to be a challenge, however it was much easier to use than I thought. I decided to make a glass pin using Adirondack Alcohol Inks (Lettuce, Wild Plum and Stream) and the Ooh-La-La stamp set.


First, I applied lines of each color of ink on to the applicator. I added some drops of Blending Solution to blend the colors. I gently tapped the inked up applicator on to the glass, being careful not to over mix the colors and set it aside to dry. The alcohol inks dry very quickly so this only took a few minutes. I stamped the perfume bottle and Tres Chic on a 2x2 inch piece of white cardstock using Archival Ink (Jet Black). I took the inked glass piece, the stamped cardstock and then another glass piece and sandwiched them together. I went around the edges with the foil tape and then burnished it with a paper creaser to make sure it had a good seal. I added an adhesive pin back to the other side and Voila! A Tres Chic pin! :)

Magnetic, Acrylic Post-It Holder

A couple of weeks ago I was at Target and I saw a 2 pack of Acrylic Photo Frames with magnets on the back. They were something like $2.50 for the pack of 2. I snatched them right up and brought them home waiting for just the "right project". So the other day when I sat down to stamp, that "right project" popped into my head. I proceeded to pull out my new pack of Great Expectations Paper and cut it to 4x6 since that was the size of my photo frame. I then took out my new Ooh La La Stamp Set stamped the perfume bottles onto white cardstock using black ink, then I colored it with colored pencils. I mounted that onto some light greenish cardstock and put it onto my paper I had previously cut. Then I chose my sentiment. I decided that the Just A Note from Everyday Greetings was just the right one to use. So I stamped that, also in black on white cardstock, mounted it onto the same green cardstock I had used before and then mounted that. Then I slipped that into my frame. Now for the last step. I applied my post-it notes to the frame by using Tacky Tape. I love that stuff! It's good for everything! I sat back to admire my work. But it was missing something. So I got out my package of RSVP Pens and cut a strip of my printed paper to fit, rolled it up and stuck it inside the pen. Now I had to figure out how to attach it to the frame. I decided to get out that trusty Tacky Tape again and use it to attach a piece of Light Pink Grosgrain Ribbon to the inside of the frame so that I could just tie the pen on. And there you have it! A Magnetic, Acrylic Post-It Holder with matching pen.