The Scenic Route

Each month I'm doing a technique from Tim's blog so for January I decided to try my hand at making a plaid background. I followed his directions from 2009's 12 Tags of Christmas Day 3 to make a sample on a #8 tag with directions on the back. This will be be stored in my binder for future reference. Then I made a #10 tag which I embellished. I won't go through the entire technique but you can follow the link above to see it from the man himself! Below, I will tell you about my experience & some of the things I tried.

I had limited colors of alcohol inks but it was amazing at the combinations I came up with.  I will say this is addicting & I kept doing "just one more".  My Cranberry came out pink & I just couldn't get it to be a darker.

These are my practice pieces & are a little smaller than a #8 tag.  I tried dropping blending solution on the top right piece so there would be a place to stamp.  It ran a little & I probably should have used another drop or two to make it a little lighter.






These two are about the size of a #10 tag.  Since it was a larger surface I had trouble holding it straight at first.

Making these diagonal samples were really fun but I need a little more practice so they're straight.

You do want to use less Black Soot, a little does go a long way. When putting the ink on the felt, it will wick some so be careful or you'll have a very wide stripe.

The 2 hardest things are keeping the blending tool straight while pulling it across the CS & reversing the direction. 1.) I think I may try to adhere the glossy CS to something then use a straight edge to guide the blending tool. 2.) Tim's direction said to turn the tool around AND reverse the direction. Unless I read it wrong I thought it meant to pull the tool towards me then push it away from me, in the other direction. I just couldn't do the reverse motion but I think it came out good by turning the tool & only pulling it down the CS. Of course I probably could have turned the CS too!

Although I used a craft mat, I also placed a piece of scrap paper under the CS. I found this helps keep my craft mat from staining. The blending solution does take it off but if there are any cracks or cuts it's hard to get the alcohol ink off.

SUPPLIES:  Tags - Ranger #8 Kraft, Ranger Inkssentials #10 Manilla; Tim Holtz Adirondack Alcohol Ink - Sunshine yellow, Denim Blue, Meadow, Cranberry, Pitch Black,  ; Blending Solution; Ink - Ranger Archival Jet Black, Tim Holtz Stormy Sky, Tim Holtz Frayed Burlap; Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Stamps - Reindeer Flight, Classics #1 Classics #3, Classics #4, Classics #16, Flurry & Pine Background; Misc - Ranger Inkssentials Glossy Card Stock, Tim Holtz Adirondack Blending Felt, Ranger Ink Blending Tool Handle, Idea-ology Mirrored Stars, Idea-ology Pinecones, Loop Pins, Idea-ology Crinkle Ribbon, Scor-Pal Scor-Tape 1/2", Ranger Glossy Accents, Tonic Paper Distresser, Ranger Non-Stick Craft Sheet.

A Lovely Bunch of Coconuts

My latest recipe card is for coconut cream pie & it came from my nephew, Sean. I made the pie for my youngest son's birthday & decided it would be a good companion recipe card for Pam's Pie Crust that I did a few months ago.

It's hard to believe I didn't have any DSP that fit the recipe so I made my own background with a flourish stamp...can you envision the monkey swinging through the trees? The coconut tree trunk is a 1/2" strip of CS that was torn in small pieces then overlapped & adhered back together. The leaves were hand drawn then fussy cut.  I used fringe scissors, cutting at an angle to finish them off. I collaborated with my bestie, Lisa to design the coconuts.  We used a grass stamp on CS then embossed it with a flat EP.  Once cool, 3 circles were punched out then fussy cut around the edge so it didn't have a perfect shape. We used a stylist so it had a slight curve then they were added using dimensionals. The monkey was colored with Copics then fussy cut out & is holding a sauce pan brad.

Thanks for looking & hope you enjoyed my project!

SUPPLIES: SU Cardstock - Chocolate Chip, Vanilla, Wild Wasabi, Pumpkin Pie, Crumb Cake; Ink - Ranger Archival Jet Black, Tim Holtz Shabby Shutters; Stamps - Hot Off The Press Cute Monkey, Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Sketch Elements, Judith & Heather Grass ; Misc - SU Fringe Scissors, Eyelet Outlet Pan Brads, Heartfelt Creations Flower Shaping Essentials, Copics E53 & E57, Tombow 992, WOW Clear Embossing Powder.