Dragonfly with alcohol inks on a collage background

I needed a special card this week and so went looking in my stash of collage backgrounds to see if anything would be suitable.  I chose this serendipity background which has been embossed with the Lattice embossing folder.  I die cut the dragonfly from it and wanted to fill the space with a striking dragonfly die cut.  This is my fourth attempt and I am very happy with it!!  I die cut the dragonfly (Spell binders) from silver foiled cardstock and coloured it with alcohol inks.  I punched 1/16 inch holes to create a flight path for the dragonfly and then backed my serendipity background with some turquoise metallic paper which shows through the flight path and the die cut dragonfly hole.  I glued this large element to a kraft card front.  I applied glue dots to the back of the body my dragonfly die cut once it was dry and glued it into the hole.  I lifted the ends of the wings a bit to give the dragonfly some dimension.  Love the way it turned out!!              Therese

Embossed metal tutorial

Embossing metal is fun and easy requiring only a few items which you probably already have on hand. It makes creating customized 3D embellishments for your projects possible and they look so authentic.  

First of all, you will need a piece of foil.  It needs to be reasonably thick so I often use foil pans which can be bought inexpensively or you might even find in your recycle bin.  You might also want to consider any foil seal you find on a variety of cans or containers.  The one above came off of a coffee tin but you can sometimes find them on cans of nuts or yogurt.  You will also need a block of wood.  Here I am using a wood mount from a stamp which I have unmounted but it could be one from the toy box or the workshop.  

Just rub the edge of the wood block over the foil to remove any wrinkles or embossing and make the surface nice and smooth.  

 Once it is nice and smooth, cut your shape out.  Here I cut a circle for creating the badge I was making for a card.  I used my Nestibilities but you could easily use any other die or even hand cut the shape you want.  

Embossing requires a forgiving surface beneath your metal. Here I have used a piece of fun foam but a stack of newspaper works just as well.  

I wanted a star in the middle of my shape so I centered a star die cut (SX) on the back of my shape and lightly traced it on to the metal using a pencil.  You could hand draw your image or place a printed image over it and trace lightly to transfer the image to the metal. Be sure to reverse any image or words before you emboss so it will be right reading on the front. 

Next, I embossed the image into the metal by tracing the shape with my pencil pressing medium hard.  You have to be careful because if you press too hard you will pierce the metal.  You are better off to trace the shape several times more lightly rather than to press too hard and risk making a hole where you do not want one. 

 You can see above what the star looks like on the front - the outline is raised up - embossed - in the metal.  

 I turned it over and embossed a few more details - dots, another frame and shapes in between the arms of the star.  

This is what it looks like from the front.  You can see here that I debossed (indented) the shapes between the arms of the star by applying pressure with my pencil from the front.  So as you go on, you can choose to emboss from the back and deboss from the front any of the elements you wish to add to your creation.  

You can see from the finished piece that I added some embossing inside the star as well as dots on the outside edge while I debossed all the shapes between the arms.  You could certainly also choose to pierce your metal embellishment.  I would suggest using a push pin over a stryrofoam tray to get uniform holes.  I would suggest piercing from the front so that the ragged edges created end up on the back of your creation.  Consider colouring your embossed metal embellishment using permanent markers like Sharpies or alcohol inks.  

I used 3D foam tape to adhere my shape to my scalloped circle but you could also use brads, staples, stitching, nails or eyelets to secure your 3D embellishment once you have created it!! 

Have fun!!! 

Therese

Cards for my exchange group!

I created these two cards for my card exchange group for this month.  I had a few extra images left over from this class sitting on my desk so I used them for these cards.  I love this gift wrap/decorative paper!!!  For the card on the left, I glued my decorative paper to a dark blue card front and added a layered image of fall leaves (Anne's Cards) which was watercoloured and layered onto a coordinating blue cardstock.  I layered an oval watercoloured laser printed greeting over a blue green oval punchie (SU) and adhered it over the bottom edge of the image.  

For the card on the right, I glued the decorative paper to my card front and found that it was just a bit short on the right hand side so I decided to add some bling.  I coloured some clear rhinestones using alcohol ink in Butterscotch and glued them in place once they were dry.  That worked!! I layered my laser printed greeting (SU) to an orange rectangle which I created by butting two cardstock scraps to each other, taping them together and then trimming to size.  I left some space on the right hand side and punched little stars out on that side.  The stars did not show very well so I backed them with a navy scrap before I glued my image to the card front.  I had two little rhinestones leftover from my strip so I coloured them with Sharpies and added them to my greeting.  I then glued my little star punchies to my card front around my greeting.  Adds a bit of texture to the background!!  

These are off to my partners!!

Therese

Raised N postcard with a twist

We have an ongoing swap on one of my groups - postcards with raised letters.  I thought I would give "raised" a bit of a twist and created a postcard where you raise the N using a ribbon!!  Very cool technique I have in the past used with tags and cards.  I created the front on blue cardstock by first drawing wavy lines in pencil and tracing them using a fine tip black sharpie.  I punched the hole for my ribbon, drew in my letters, filled them in and then zentangled the rest of the spaces.  I added the foil elements with a bit of a black strip of cardstock to set them off from the artwork.   I created my back on green cardstock - just postcard elements hand drawn along with my swap information.

 
Next, I created my N.  I started with a small piece of alcohol ink background that was the right colour, hand wrote "never" all over the front and then hand drew the N and filled it in.  I ran a large black marker around the edge just to give it a bit of definition.  I then created the U I needed to hold my N between both layers and glued the front to the back using double sided tape which left a pocket in the middle which will hide my N until someone pulls on the ribbon.  As you pull on the ribbon the N element slowly rises!!  Very cool!!  You can find a tutorial for the pull up mechanism here on SplitCoast Stampers.  It will be off to my partner in the next few days!!

Therese

4x4 chunky book page - golden strength

 Started on this swap page a few days ago and finished it off this morning.  I am really happy with how it turned out.
I started by gluing silver foil (chocolate = arts supplies) to both sides of a 4" x 4" cardstock substrate leaving wrinkles and texture.  I scribbled some brown and maroon Sharpie marker over the surfaces and then added butterscotch alcohol inks and blended them. Really like the highlights in the gold!!!  After a bit of internet research I downloaded both of the images and printed them on transparency.  I love the strength quote -great affirmations.  The other is a universal image for strength.

I trimmed the images and found that when placed over the gold foil the reflections were a bit distracting in my quote so I added a strip of handmade washi tape across the back which really helped to highlight the word Strength.  I played with my elements until I was happy with their placement, added three short pieces of ribbon at the top right of my front and stitched down the right hand side which secured all the pieces in place.  I added double sided tape at the bottom edges of both transparencies and then added another thin strip of washi tape to each side.  To finish securing the back I added double sided tape below the printing so it would not show.  For the front I found these three foil wine bottle seals in my stash, trimmed them nicely and added them using large glue dots over my transparency which I had secured with double sided tape.  It is fun to play!!!  My swap will be on its way to my partner today!!
Gardening has taken more time in the last few weeks because it was so hot and no rain.  We finally have had two good rains!!  Catching up on swaps in the next few days before having a visit with grandchildren.

Therese

Paper bead art charms!

 I am participating in a "3 for 3"personal swap with a member of one of my groups, Art Charms. The theme for this swap was Paper Beads.  I decided to expand on the paper bead idea and came up with three different charms.
For these on the left, I cut silver foil card using the Tattered Flowers (TH SX) die being sure to flip my paper so I could glue them back to back!!  I cut a middle layer out of regular cardstock and trimmed out a sliver so I could insert my double eye pin which I created using silver papers clips which you can see below.  Once the glue was dry I applied alcohol inks to first one side than the other and also did the edges.  I love the look!!!! I created danglies for them using head pins and E beads.

 For these charms, I used chipboard circles which I sliced in half, trimmed out a little section for the head pin and glued them back together!!  I coloured both sides and the edges using Sharpie markers and punched 3/4" circles from decorative paper then glued one to each side.  I love the dynamic look of this alcohol ink paper !!  Used the rest of it on one of  these cards.  I added a black initial on each side and finished them off with matte sealer.

I glued a small piece of decorative paper to a rectangle of regular white paper and rolled these beads on thick wire so that the decorative paper would be on the outside.  Does not require a very big piece to cover the outside of a bead and that is the only place it really shows.  I trimmed them to size, coloured the ends with a Sharpie, inserted my eye pin and created a loop on the other end.  I added little pieces of washi tape to decorate the outside and created coordinating danglies from head pins and E beads.

You can see here that I used pliers to straighten a paper clip, created loops on each end and then cut them in half.  They were plenty long enough to create my art charms.
These were very fun to make!!!!  I am stringing a metal penchant chain to the inside of a frame and will be showcasing my swapped art charms in it!!

Therese

Alcohol ink & ATC birthday card

This card features an ATC I made a few years ago.  I had these scraps of alcohol ink background left over from a "make & take" at the local scrapbook store - Scrapbook Lane - which is located in the Pharmasave in town!!
I cut some of the scraps into 1" squares and glued them down the two sides of a black card front and then measured the space in between and cut two pieces for top and bottom to complete the frame.  I added the ATC in the center using 3D foam tape.
The ATC was created using a slide mount (SX), an image printed on transparency, an alcohol ink background and a quote handwritten with a silver gel pen.  You can check out the details here.
I stamped the tiny greeting (SU) just below the ATC using black ink.
I love the vibrancy of this card!!

Therese

"Through the Looking glass" chunky book page

I joined a swap on AFTCM for a fat book page with the theme of "Through the looking glass"!!  I decided to use a frame placed over silver foil for the looking glass.  I downloaded a frame from Graphics Fairy and digitally removed the horses that were inside the frame. I compiled my collage in Corel Draw - starting with the frame, inserting a tree (GF) and creating a stained glass look all the way around it using elements I created. Once I was happy with the look, I laser printed it on a transparency and trimmed it to 4"x 4".  I used alcohol inks and sharpie markers to add colour my design and then left it for a full day to dry completely!!  Once dry, I layered it onto a piece of silver foil which I cut just a bit longer to aid in binding if necessary and attached my looking glass to it using two little mini black brads on the frame.  I added an alcohol ink background to the back and bound the layers using black and white washi tape along the edges.  I added some very cool little metal fasteners which crimped on with pliers  - added just the amount of the industrial look I wanted.  I tied black and white bakers twine to one of them before adding it.  Really happy with how it turned out!!
It is off to my partner in tomorrow's mail!!

Therese

Alcohol ink play!

It has been a couple of weeks since I went and played with alcohol inks with my sister while she was on holidays!!! Time is flying by!!  We had a wonderful day!  I demoed the "Polished Stone" technique and we made several sheets.  We also played with applying the ink in several different patterns - swirls, plaid, stripes, etc. - each attempt created very different backgrounds. We worked on both glossy cardstock and photo paper. The ink was absorbed differently between those two but both worked well.

 I came home with a pile of paper along with a variety of embellishments too.  We applied alcohol inks to foiled card, foil tape, plastic buttons and charms, plastic die cuts, tiles, etc.  It was a fun creative day and it was great to spend time with my sister and her friends.
Therese

Sympathy card with polished stone

A friend has lost a loved one this week! It is never easy when someone passes away.  We are often at a loss as to what to say and do.  I have made a card and will be sending it on it way tomorrow along with a variety of thank you cards which is something I can do.
I used a piece of polished stone cardstock I had in my stash and stamped it with a wildflower silhouette stamp (SU) using Concord Distress ink.  I stamped it first in the center and then again to one side then the other.  I used an eyelet border punch (SU) on the bottom edge and sponged all the edges using the same purple stamp pad.  I added a length of yellow ribbon gluing the ends to the back using double sided tape and tied a short piece to it using a single knot which makes a simple looking bow.  I adhered this layer to a yellow card front and added an oval colour printed layered punchie greeting over the ribbon.

Therese

Dragon scale necklace

A dragon scale necklace I created for my grand daughter for Christmas!!  She was reading a dragon book earlier this year and I thought she would enjoy a reminder of the experience.  I cut the scales out of shrink plastic, punched the holes and then coloured them with alcohol inks. I love the wonderful variations I was able to get.  I shrunk them with my heat gun and shaped them over a metal teaspoon (old to be used for crafts only) while they were hot!!  I attached them to a silver chain using split rings and attached a little heart charm on the back which I signed on the inside.
It turned out better than I imagined!!

Therese

Acetate and sticker card

On AFTCM, I joined a swap that requires that I create an elegant acetate card that includes a sticker.    It took a bit of time to come up with the layers for this card to insure that no glue or brad tangs were showing but it finally came all together.  I started by cutting a piece of acetate that when folded in half fit in a large envelope.  I cut another piece of acetate for my focal element, applied my sticker - a vase of beautiful sunflowers - to the front.  I used alcohol inks on the back of this layer to create a soft watercolour look.  I lifted the vase part of the sticker and added a piece of yellow vintage seam binding over the acetate and glued the ends to the back.   I layered some decorative reflective foil to the back of this acetate and attached it using some double sided tape behind the sunflowers. I added this element to the card front using four brads through all the layers.  To cover up the brad tangs I added an embellished layer of green cardstock slightly larger than the element to the inside of the card front using four large glue dots on the brad tangs and a couple piece of double sided tape in the center area.  I had punched the one side of the green cardstock using a scallop border punch (SU) and pierced the scallops using a push pin.  To the inside back of the acetate card I added an embellished layer of white cardstock using large glue dots in the corners.  I had previously border punched one of the edges and added some dots and stitching using a coordinating blue gel pen.  To cover up the sight of my glue dots on the back of the card I added four small sunflower stickers.  To finish it off, I tied a small length of seam binding to the piece on the front with a single knot and tied on a sticker embellishment which I created using two round tag shaped clear stickers with a little sunflower sticker sandwiched in between.
Really love the dimension and interest created by that reflective foil I placed behind my acetate.  It has been in my stash for YEARS!!!!!!!!  Saved this foil wrapper from a KitKat bar when Lost World was the movie to see!!
Enjoy the last of the summer before the kids head back to school!!

Therese

CD charms

We are having a charm swap on AFTCM!!

This time we needed to use a CD to create our charms so I sanded off the shining layer, added some colour with Sharpies and/or alcohol inks and cut them apart!! Once cut, I laid the pieces on a heatproof surface (corrugated cardboard covered with foil) and heated them until they cleared up, their edges softened and they bubbled a bit. They look like glass!! I layered up the scraps and those made really cool looking charms as well. On the left, those that are finished. I have a variety to choose from - two going in the mail tomorrow!!

These are the ones that I made that I thought were acceptable for being considered for "charmdom"!! I have a half dozen rejects which I am not sure what I will do with. Maybe try redoing them or painting them - we'll see.

These ones are the first I made and in the final evaluation I decided were probably too big to be considered charms!!

Fun! We are going to have some great looking bracelets by the end of the year!!

Therese

"Glass" beads

I made these beads!!!

While surfing Craft Gossip this morning I found this post about making beads from soda bottles and thought they looked very interesting so I checked the recycle bin for supplies - NONE!!!!!!!! All the plastic went out last week!! So, on my way home from my walk this I was on the look out and found three empty bottles which I promptly washed and disinfected so I could play!!

These are so cool!! They look so much like they are made of glass. I made all these beads from one center section of a medium plastic bottle. The ones I found had #1 in the triangle on the bottom. I cut the flat mid section into strips about 3/4" x 4", coloured them
with permanent Sharpie markers, rolled the strips around a pair of long needle nose pliers, tied them off with wire and used my heat gun on medium to heat the plastic to form a bead. The plastic shrinks and becomes thicker and in the process forms a bead. After this little bit of experimenting, I prefer to roll the bead so the inside of the bottle is on the outside of the bead. I applied colour to one side, the other side and both sides - they all look good. If you use a lot heat, the plastic will bubble and create a completely different looking bead - check out the top left light green bead in the first photo.

I expect that some of these cool beads are going to end up on a mixed media charm bracelet!! Starting to collect a few interesting charms that will look wonderful together!!

Thrifty Tip: Make cool beads using what is in your recycle bin!! If you don`t have Sharpies - any alcohol based markers will do like Copics. You could also use alcohol inks, liquid acrylic inks or acrylic paints though I would apply them to the side that will be inside the bead to leave the outside shiny and clear.

These would be great on book bindings, make great charms for a bracelet, or be very cool beads for making jewelry. You can customize the colours to your project or outfit!!

Have fun!! Leave me a comment and a link if you make some beads!!

Therese

My Art - September cardmaking - alcohol inks

These cards feature tags cut from plastic packaging!! Free art supplies! Gotta love it!!
I used a tag die (Sizzix) and my Cuttlebug to cut out the tags from the clear plastic. Stamped them with black StazON on the front and then applied alcohol inks (Ranger) to the backs in a variety of colours!! They are so vibrant!! To help them stand out from the card fronts I added a white vellum tag to the back. I attached the two tags at the very top with a LITTLE piece of double sided tape. This keeps them centered on each other once they are strung onto the fiber. You have to be careful when you put the double sided tape on the back side of the tag. You cannot remove the double sided tape without also removing the alcohol ink so if you accidently place the tape off the edge of the tag just trim away the excess to the edge of the tag. It was so fun picking colours to highlight the colours in the tags! Each card has an embossed layer - leaves (CB) and roses (SU) and some coordinating fiber!! Layered greetings can easily be added to these cards in a neutral colour.

Therese

My Art - Numbers ATCs

Participated in a Numbers ATC mingle in one of my groups and decided to use my CB numbers embossing folder. Having played with metal in my classes with my students I decided to use metal foil from my latest chocolate treat!! If you need justification for your chocolate consider it buying art supplies with the chocolate being a total bonus!!
In this case, the bar comes with a silver foil liner which I glued to a piece of cardstock - use scrap or mistake cardstock because it will never see the light of day again. I cut the piece into the right sized layers for the ATCs and then ran them through the CB with the Numbers embossing folder!! I used alcohol inks to add colour to the embossed metal layer! Used printed transparency images under slide mounts as accents. Added some vellum beneath the transparency to make the images more visible. Added quotes around the edges using gel markers. Sent off a couple and offered the others to the students in my class as a little gift from me at my last class!! Still have a few leftover for trading!!

Therese

My Art - Embossed metal ATCs

Artist Trading Cards using embossed metal!! Several different techniques in this set.
Row 1 - two on the left: I decorated lengths of metal duct tape using ink and alcohol sealed with an acrylic finish. These were glued to cardstock before they were embossed. These have to be left at least over night or more to be completely dry before you put them through your Cuttlebug embossing folders to add texture. In the end, the finish washed out of the embossing folders with soap and water with a tooth brush but it was a bit time consuming. The quotes were printed on transparency, mounted below the bookplates and trimmed. The bookplates were attached to the ATC with brads. I did add a layer of vellum between the two to make the quote more legible. Really like the look of this embossed metal!!
Row 1 - one on the right: This one used the same tape as above but instead it was applied over elements that were glued to the blank ATC. In this case, from bottom up - a strip of fiberglass screening, a scalloped circle, a circle punchie with a snow flake punched out of the middle. I glued the tape down the center of the ATC over all the layers and applied pressure with my finger to bring out the texture of the layers below. Rubbing with anything other than a finger removed the finish and gave a bit of a distressed look to the metal which was cool. To distress the snowflake even more I laid a piece of wax paper over it and traced with with a pencil. I found the wax paper nicely pick up the finish and left no residue of finish on the piece. Neat little trick that I discovered by accident.
Row 2: I used a red aluminum (Christmas baking arrived in this one) container which was straightened with pressure and a wooden spatula handle (wood works the best for not marring the surface and giving a smooth finish). Once it was reasonably flat I cut out the smoothest areas and cut hearts using a Sixxiz die and my Cuttlebug. These were provided to the students along with pencils and a little pad of newspaper. The front was embossed with any markings made on the back with the pencil. The pad of newspaper had just enough give to get some decent embossing. The more pressure applied when making the markings the deeper the embossing. So everyone made their own markings and attached their hearts to the layered ATCs with 3D foam tape. Added words or quotes which were printed on labels to make them like stickers using fonts from the internet or their own hand writing. For very affordable aluminum for embossing consider buying an aluminum pizza or cookie sheet from the $$ store. I expect you could add colour with alcohol inks or inks, alcohol and acrylic sealer like I did with the duct tape above.
Row 3: These two were embossed with the same technique as Row 2 using stamped images on the one side instead of free hand markings. It does give you much more options for creating images which you cannot draw yourself. You could, of course, draw your own images with a Sharpie marker and emboss them. Just remember that all the images are reversed on the front side so words need to be written backwards. I added a bit of colour with Sharpies to the embossed metal on these two.
The students enjoyed embossing their metal hearts and choosing words to go with them. They fit perfectly in their Chunky ATC boxes though I expect the boxes maybe be used for several other purposes - apparently just the right size for small electronics like I PODS and cellphones!!
I will use this technique again for creating fun elements for my cardmaking!! Experiment and try something new!!

Therese

My Art - Christmas cards

I created this card for my regular Cardmaking class for November - Christmas cards!! I do love playing with my Christmas stamps and seeing what I can create. For this one I created an alcohol ink background on glossy paper with a painters tape mask on the bottom to create a snow bank of sorts. The ink did leak a bit behind the tape but still gave enough of a masking to create the snow effect I was looking for! I used SU reinkers - Night of Navy and Brocade Blue. Really like the watercolour effect of this technique! Embossed the trees from Lovely as a Tree set over the background!! Love it!! Added a silver embossed greeting on the navy card and a snowflake brad to bridge the two!! Though it is not very visible I did layer the trees onto silver foil paper as well. Matches with the embossed image and greeting very well. This was a quick card and would work very well for a production card. You could vary the colours of the sky, the cardstock and the greeting for different seasons as well. Very versatile design.

Therese

My Art - cards, cards, cards

It is raining in Ontario!! I had a great all occasions cardmaking session on Saturday morning where we made twenty cards each!! I tried to vary the colours in each group of cards and brought a variety of greeting stamps so each person could customize their cards to suit their needs.
This set of cards features a piece of Polished Stone that has been stamped with an image to create the accent for the card. I used SU Classic Dye pad reinkers and regular rubbing alcohol to create my Polished Stone pieces.
FUN!!
For some I cut my half sheet (4.25"x 5.5") into six and stamped only one image. The the others I cut the half sheet into 4, stamped the images randomly with coordinating ink and then cut them apart. I have made this design before and cut the piece into 4 even pieces. This time I thought I would change it up some and cut the piece into uneven pieces and/or used a curvy line. Some of the girls used decorative scissors to cut theirs apart and it that was very effective.
I really love the watercolour effect of Polished Stone and with deeper colours it can be very dramatic. I would recommend having a session of creating some pieces of PS and keeping a few on hand for when you need a quick card!! I wish I had brought my camera to record all the different cards that were created!!

Therese

My Art - Cardmaking with Alcohol inks

The large accent on this card was created using foil, cardstock, alcohol inks and embossing (CuttleBug -D'vine Swirl). I glued the foil - regular out of the kitchen drawer - to a sheet of cardstock. I cut it apart and embossed the pieces. Applied alcohol inks to the foil. Fun!!!! On hindsight I found that the inks seeped through the foil which was stressed by the embossing and into the cardstock. Next time I will apply the alcohol inks to the foil and emboss after they are dry. This makes a very sparkly, rich looking accent. Layered the accent and then glued to the front of the card leaving the bottom edge hanging over the front of the card. (3.5"x 11" folded at 6 1/4"). Added a circle (1 1/8") and a flower to the rectangular ribbon slide with a brad to create an embellishment for the card. Would be great for a special occasion - wedding or anniversary!!


Therese