April Flowers

This is my tag for The Craft Shack's April Technique Tag Tim Holtz Style Class.  We are re-visiting Tim's past techniques & this month we did distressed enamel from Day 7 of 12 Tags of Christmas 2007.

I did like the green Tim used, so following his instructions I smooshed Shabby Shutters over a #10 tag, then clear embossed before the ink dried.  Once cool, I went over it with Frayed Burlap.  I just love the enamel look.

Since the background was something "old", I decided to go with everything new for the image on the panel!  I stamped a flower from Tim's Illustrated Garden on another tag using Wilted Violet & Peeled Paint Oxides then clear embossed it.  After it cooled, I blended Frayed Burlap over top then stamped the sentiment from the Good Thoughts Set in Jet Black Archival Ink.  I cut it out then distressed the edges before matting it in black.  I added a photo corner then popped it up on the background.  Just love how the Oxides look!

To embellish, I used "4" from the Mini Numerals & since it was shiny I toned it down with Hickory Smoke Paint.  I also painted the Numbered Brad "17" (because yesterday was 4/17) so it would stand out on a piece of Thrift Shop Ephemera.  I added a Word Key & an ornate corner painted with Hickory Smoke too.  The butterfly was inked with Wilted Violet & spritzed with water.  The crinkle ribbon was inked with Wilted Violet & Peeled Paint.  When I made the fluffy bow I mixed jute string in to give it a little more interest.

Grandmother's Flower Garden Surprise Pop-up ATC

I designed this ATC for The Craft Shack's monthly ATC Club.  A couple of the girls had seen another surprise pop-up ATC I had done several years ago, Scary Halloween & wanted to do the technique so I decided to do it in May before everyone got busy with summer activities.  I had originally found instructions for a Surprise Pop-Up Card  on Splitcoaststampers in their tutorials & I watched Beate's video tutorial at the bottom.  I was going to size it down for an ATC but discovered in the comment section Cyndi Evans had already written them but I did make a few changes which are listed below.

When the ATC is closed & laying flat it doesn't look like anything special but...















Once you pull the twine you see a surprise message!














From the side you can see how it works a little better.












Here are the measurements I used:

• Base CS – 3 1/2" X 2 1/2"

• Slider base CS - 3 3/8" X 2 3/8"

• DSP – 3 1/4 " X 2 1/4"

• White (for message) CS  - 3" X 2"

• White slider CS– 3" X 2" (I used heavier weight CS)

• Stabilizer - 6" X 1/4" copier paper

You'll also need a paper trimmer with scoring blade, adhesive runner, 1/8" double sided tape, 3/8" circle punch, an eyelet eyelet, Crop-a-dile, corner rounder, twine or ribbon, stamps, ink and embellishments of your choice.  The Sweet 'n Sassy stamps I used are listed at the end.

I would recommend watching Beate's video (link above) for the complete instructions on how to put it together but below are a few things that worked best for me when I made the ATC size:

1.  I used a lot of mono adhesive when I put the DSP on the slider base because of cutting it.

2.  When I made my cuts, I cut with the DSP up for smoother edges. I also gently ran my blade up & down a few times before picking the blade up since it's a little thick.
3.  The vertical cuts on the slider base started 3/8"' from the slider base top (before putting on the main base) & in 1/4" on each side.  I cut down  2 3/4".  (See photo below right)

4.  I used the score blade on my trimmer since it's thick.  I had problems staying in the groove when I tried using my score board.  My glue tab is 1/4" wide.

5.   Before I punched the half circle, I adhered the stabilizer as close to the score line as I could. When punching make sure you don't punch all the way through the stabilizer (see photo below left).

6.  Your cuts may not be precise so I would make sure the slider is the right length before adhering to the 1/4" glue tab.  It should cover the glue tab & not be able to be seen at the top when not pulled up.

7.  I stamped the surprise message before adhering anything.  Then I laid it on the base & held the slider base over it before adhering to make sure the message showed where I wanted it..  I had to trim the message piece a little.
8.  In the video Beats tells you not to put embellishments on the glue tab.  I did only because the piece of grass CS was a little flexible. 

I hope you give this a try & if the first one doesn't work don't give up!  As you can see from the one pictured above, I made a few prototypes before I was happy!  TFL!!

Supplies:  SU Certainly Celery CS, Whisper White CS, Springtime Vintage DSP, copy paper, Fiskars Paper Trimmer, Scrapbook EZ Runner Adhesive, 1/8" Scor Tape, Tombow Glue Pen, We R Memory Keepers Crop-a-dile Hole Punch & Eyelet Setter, Lawn Fawn Grassy Border Die, Memory Box Wrought Iron Fence, Sweet 'n Sassy Flowers in Bloom Stamp Set, Sweet 'n Sassy Flowers in Bloom Die, Sweet 'n Sassy Everyday Miracles Stamp Set (sentiment), Copics (R81, R85, YG61, YG63, B21, B32, B34, E27), Clear Wink of Stella Brush (butterfly), Gold Wink of Stella Brush (flower centers), Versafine Onyx Black Ink, Memento Tuxedo Black Ink

Learn From Yesterday - Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of 2016 Technique Remix - April

It's been a busy month & I'm a little late doing my version of Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of 2016 for April.  I'm also going to show his techniques to a group at The Craft Shack & then we'll post them on his blog! Tim's remix was faux mosaic from March 2012 & paint resist from November 2015. He has a new product, Ranger Distress Paper Mosaic & I will say after reading the original process, I think the kit was probably easier to use. I followed his basic instructions so I won't put the entire process here, instead I suggest clicking on the link above to see how the techniques were done & watch Tim's video. I used different colors, etc so I did put those below with close up photos.

Faux Mosaic:
I decided to use Tim's BigZ Watering Can Die cut from chipboard instead of the usual manila tag.  The grout has a lot of texture & is gritty but was easy to put on the chipboard using a palette knife.

I used snippets from Tim's Wallflower paper pack.  Once the glue dried, I sponged over the grout with peeled paint ink.  I didn't like the color because it blended in with the fence too much so I went over it with chipped sapphire...much better! Be careful when you wipe the ink off the tiles or your color will come off the grout too.

Paint Resist:

I used the old "paint resist" method (didn't have his new paper). I used white picket fence paint on a "wood" stamp, dabbed it all over with peeled paint & hickory smoke stain.  I tore the top, used a distresser on the edges & inked with it ground espresso.  It's spritzed with water & spattered with black soot paint.  I needed a quote so I cut one up from Idea-ology Occasions Small Talk & added a handle to the garden gate.

The base tag was easy, I sprayed the tag with water, walnut stain & ground expresso stain. Once dried, it was attached the panel to the tag. Then I added a clock.

The Tattered Flowers are cut from the same paper as the mosaic. I applied a light coat of gesso then rubbed them with various colors of crayons & crumpled them for a distressed look. I used Glossy Accents to adhere the gears to the flowers & then to the tag. For texture, strips of burlap are woven between the flowers. I sprayed them with Biscotti Perfect Pearls to add a little shine & sparkle.

I thought it needed a little something more so I die cut a crazy bird, applied gesso & colored with him with crayons. The watering can is positioned so the bird & flowers could be "watered".  I used Glossy Accents to make water drops on the bird & flowers. I don't think he likes getting wet...he looks so sad!  I finished it off by tying burlap & pine twine at the top!


As usual, I learned several new techniques & enjoyed them all...TFL!!

Let 'em Eat Ice Cream

Last year, nine of us from our group, the NEPA Gigglers, decided to do a seasonal ATC swap. We are doing them quarterly so some of us will do 2 ATCs for a total of 12 & we'll place them in a 7 GYPSIES Artist Printer's Tray. This is my ATC for our spring ATC which is the 1st in the series.

We had specific SU colors to use:  Pink Pirouette, Soft Sky, So Saffron, Wisteria Wonder, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White.  If needed, we could use small amounts of nueturals as accent colors.

"Lickable" by The Cat's Pajamas is stamped in black ink then colored with SU markers. Once the image was fussy cut out, I drew lines on the cone & put Glossy Accents on the scoops of ice cream. When I cut him out, his whiskers were cut off so I glued slivers of SU Basic Black were they were. The image is popped with dimensionals so I could put a tail on him which is part of a cotton ball. The grass is a Martha Stewart Punch.  Of course, he'd rather have ice cream than a carrot so he threw it to the curb!

TFL!