Keep Calm and Merry On

This is one of those cards that totally mystified me until I made one. It's called a Free Standing Pop-Up Card and it is one of 70 tutorials on the new Technique Junkie 3D and Fun Folds CD. Like so many things, I WISH you could see it in real life - it's so cool!

This is what is so awesome - it folds flat to mail! Oooh, wrap your mind around that. I honestly could not figure out how it all worked until I made one. The base of the card is constructed with Kraft Core'dinations paper. I cannot tell you how much I love that paper! The true color of it is actually closer to burgundy - my camera is horrible at photographing red. I added a contrasting strip of teal Kraft Core'dinations to the front, along with a snowflake border I cut using the Sizzix Snow Flurries die. I love the way it pops up when the card is open!

Okay, I'm not gonna lie...I thought I was pretty darn clever for coming up with this! First, I cut a piece of chipboard using Tim Holtz's Mini Labels die. Using a Bottle Adirondack Paint Dabber, I 'inked' the Keep Calm stamp from Artistic Outpost's London Underground collection, avoiding the crown and the word Carry. I stamped it onto the label. Next, I used a Red Pepper Dabber to 'ink' (I never know how to say that!) the Merry portion of the Merry Christmas stamp from Artistic Outpost's Frosty and Friends stamp collection, and a small snowflake from their Sleigh Ride set. I very carefully stamped them in the appropriate spots. I love the way the Merry font contrasts so well with the rest of the sentiment. Behind that is a British flag that was stamped with the Bottle Dabber.

 The top of my tag is decorated with holly leaves and berries that were cut from Kraft Core'dinations using the Sizzix Festive Greenery Die. I added some ribbon that was tinted with Antique Linen Distress ink, and highlighted the berries with a little Fired Brick Distress Stickles.

If you're interested in purchasing the 3D and Fun Folds CD, you can use this link. It contains 70 projects - from pop-ups to boxes to cards and more. It is a blast if you enjoy paper crafting! Each tutorial contains step-by-step photo instructions, making cards like this a breeze.

Make sure you check out Inspiration Emporium for all the products I used here. Remember, tomorrow is the start of Tim Holtz's 12 Tags of Christmas - you need to lay in those supplies! Please make sure to use my coupon code - stamptramp - to save 10% off your order.

Now, I'm off later for an emergency glitter run and a little Vietnamese dinner with my man. Surely I'm not  the only stamper who has glitter emergencies, am I? :-)

Ode to Joy

This week, Simon Says Stamp and Show wants us to see Stars! Yet again, I was NOT going to do anything in my studio today besides clean up and get organized before Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas starts. Well...you know how that goes. One thing led to another and here we are.

A couple years ago I came across two cartons of vintage, never used zinc canning jar lids - the kind with the porcelain inside the cap - so cool! I wasn't sure what I would do with them, but I couldn't pass them up. Now, I know why I bought them; they make great ornaments!

To create my ornament, I covered the back with a piece of music-themed paper from the Idea-ology Lost and Found paper pack Next, I cut a star from chipboard and covered it with glitter. My little Reindeer was cut from Grungeboard with the Sizzix Mini Reindeer and 25 die set. This time, I decided to give her a little rest from the glitter and, instead, sponged her with Brushed Corduroy Distress ink. Over the top, I added a layer of Inkssentials Glossy Accents. I love the way it acts like varnish - bringing out the depth and enhancing the color of the inked Grungeboard. Pretty!

Tip! Did you know you can change the color of plain metallic chenille stems with Adirondack alcohol ink? You can! Just pounce it on with your Ranger Alcohol Ink Applicator. How cool is that? I made my little deer a silvery-green wreath to wear by tinting my silver stem with Bottle and Pesto inks.

I finished off my vintage ornament with a Faux Crazed Porcelain tag. You can find my tutorial for it here. The tag was cut with one of my new favorite dies - Sizzix Tiny Tabs and Labels. That is one of the most useful dies I have. I stamped my tag with a Joy stamp from Kaisercraft (sorry, not sure of the stamp set name). Love that stamp, though!

I have to apologize for my pics today. It is dark and grey and gloomy here. It's supposed to snow, but I haven't seen any yet! Update - it is allegedly snowing! Yay!

All the supplies linked above can be found at Inspiration Emporium. If you hurry, you can take advantage of their 20% off coupon code!! Enter 'thanks' at checkout to receive your discount. This expires TONIGHT at Midnight PST, so you still have a few hours! EXPIRED! But, you can still use my coupon code - stamptramp - and save 10%. Not too shabby! :-)

You also still have a little time to enter the Inspiration Journal monthly challenge. Read all about it here!

Oh, Deer!

Do you ever get one of those ideas that just won't go away? I have a million things to do right now, but I couldn't do anything until I'd exorcised it from my brain!

I'm sure you've seen the deer heads that seem to be everywhere in the design world these days. Last night I got it into my head that I could make one using Tim Holtz's Reindeer Flight die - and it worked! By cutting them from thick mat board and stacking them, I was able to create a facsimile of a mounted deer (I forgot the antlers tho - oops!).

I thought about trying to round the edges, but decided I liked the boxier look. After I stacked and glued them, I covered the mat board with strips of paper, using Claudine Hellmuth Studio Matte Medium. The ornament base was made from one of the houses from the Sizzix Artful Dwellings die. The great thing about this die is that it's a Movers and Shapers die, so I could add my Mini Styled Labels die to the center of it and cut a perfect window - love that!

After cutting the little house, I stamped over it with various snowflake stamps from Artistic Outpost's Sleigh Ride stamp collection, using a Snow Cap Dabber. When that was dry, I sponged over it lightly with Antique Linen and Brushed Corduroy Distress inks, carefully wiping the ink from the stamped images. The back of the ornament was stamped with a music image from Artistic Outpost's Ephemeral Backgrounds and Brushed Corduroy Distress ink.

To finish off my ornament, I cut a banner from white paper using Tim Holtz's Tattered Banners die and stamped it with a sentiment, again, from AO's Sleigh Ride stamp set. Finally, I added a little strip of trim that was cut using the Sizzix Vintage Lace die to the bottom, and a little Grungeboard star to the top.  Oh, and the little wreath around her neck is one that I got at Hobby Lobby and bleached - love that look!

If you want to purchase the supplies I used, you still have time to take advantage of Inspiration Emporium's generous 20% discount! Just enter 'thanks' at checkout. This offer ends at Midnight on November the 28th, so act fast! This is the perfect time to get all your supplies for decorating, card and tag making, and gift making. And, don't forget - just a few days and Tim's 12 Tags of Christmas will be starting!!

Today, I'm linking up with Hels' Sunday Stamper - Stars, and Terri's Deck the Halls Sunday. Hope you all had a great holiday -  have a fantastic week!

A Frosty Grungy Monday

I didn't know if I would get a chance to participate in this week's GM challenge, but I had a little free time this afternoon and decided to whip something up. Our inspiration piece was Tim Holtz's gorgeous embossed metal pumpkin from Ranger's Great Pumpkin challenge. After several unsightly attempts at embossing and alcohol inking metal, this is what I ended up with!

My wee reindeer was created by adhering an Inkssentials Metal Foil Tape Sheet to a piece of chipboard and then cutting it using the Sizzix Mini Reindeer and 25 die set. It was embossed with the Sizzix Snow Flurries Texture Fade, and inked with Denim Adirondack alcohol ink. I also added a little Rock Candy Distress Stickles and a little extra sprinkle of chunky glitter. To help it stand out, I added a mini rosette that was cut from white cardstock using the Sizzix Mini Paper Rosette die.

I have really wanted to try making this sweet tealight gift set from the latest Technique Junkie CD - 3D and Fun Folds. It goes together really quickly and would make a perfect little hostess gift or stocking stuffer. My background stamp is from Tim Holtz's Seasonal Silhouettes stamp set.

Of course, I jump at any excuse to use the Vintage Lace die! Here, I've added strips to all of the candles. I think it really dresses them up. The snowflake stamp in the center of the candle is also from the Seasonal Silhouettes stamp set.

I am thoroughly tickled with how this turned out! If you're interested in purchasing the 3D and Fun Folds CD, you can use this link. The CD features full step-by-step tutorials for this and 69 other great projects. It would make a fantastic gift for your favorite crafter (or yourself!).

All the supplies listed above can be purchased from Inspiration Emporium. As a way of thanking you for your business over the past year, they are offering a coupon code for 20% off your order! Just enter 'thanks' at checkout for your discount. Since this is Small Business Saturday, it would be a great time to shop at this fantastic store!

A Frosty Jar and a Coupon!

Hi everyone! Now that Thanksgiving is over, I don't feel one bit guilty about sharing a Christmas project! I worked on this last week and just put the finishing touches on it today and I am in LOVE. Do you ever have one of those projects that actually turns out better than you'd imagined? That's what happened with my snowman. I was inspired by Hels' Frosty the Snowman theme for Sunday Stampers - I'm a little slow, but I finally got it done!

I'd been saving this jar for some time (I am a horrible pack rat!). I came across it while looking through some cupboards and a little light went off! I'd just seen some of Sue Pelletier's original altered snowman bottles and decided to make one with a little scene in it. Oh...I am so in love with this, lol!

I thought that it would look neat to use the large background stamp from Tim Holtz's Seasonal Silhouettes as a background. So, I stamped it on acetate with a Juniper Dabber and inserted it into the jar - I love that it just disappears! I added a little bleached tree (check out this great tutorial from Terri!) and a little glittered deer that I cut from chipboard with the Sizzix Movers and Shapers Mini Reindeer and 25 die (no longer available). After they were in place, I sprinkled some snow and added a few vintage mercury balls and some pearl beads.

The head was created from a styrofoam ball. I squished it up a little and painted it with a layer of gesso. When that was dry, I painted the whole thing with Ranger Picket Fence Distress Crackle paint. If you look reaaaally closely, you can see the cracks. Very cool! I wasn't sure if it would work or not and I love how it came out. The bits for the eyes and mouth are actually the holly berries from Tim's Festive Greenery strip die. Cut from black cardstock, they make perfect little 'rocks'! The nose was fashioned from a rolled piece of Kraft Core'dinations. The hat is made from a piece paper from the Idea-ology Lost and Found paper pack. It was embellished with a little bleached wreath and seam binding that was tinted with the new Evergreen Bough ink from the Limited EditionWinter Distress set.

Oooooh, one of my favorite parts! The silver trim was created by cutting white cardstock using the Sizzix Vintage Lace die. I painted it with a silver Dabber and then coated with with silver glitter. So pretty! The lid underneath was painted with a Juniper Dabber - I love that shade of green. My snowman's scarf is seam binding that was dyed with Vintage Linen Distress Stain.

Finally, I added these little jingle bells that I found at Hobby Lobby. I coated them with a little chunky glitter to give them an icy look. I'm also sharing this over at Terri's Deck the Halls Sunday - make sure you pop over, there are some great projects!

UPDATE 12/1/16 - I'm slowing going back through some of my older posts and redoing the links, since some of the products and businesses are no longer available/in business. I'll try to link to similar products and, if the product is no longer available, let you know that as well. Thanks!

Tim Holtz Rubber Stamp CHRISTMAS WORDS Stampers Anonymous X1-1763 Tim Holtz Sizzix VINTAGE LACE Die Strip 657481 Tim Holtz Idea-ology SILVER TINSEL TWINE TH93025 Tim Holtz Idea-ology CRINKLE RIBBON TH93020 Tim Holtz Idea-ology WOODLANDS Trees & Wreath TH93049 Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain ANTIQUE LINEN Ranger TSS42136 Ranger Paint Dabber SILVER METALLIC RAD43836

InLinkz.com

Thanks so much for stopping by - enjoy your weekend! :-)

Thankful

I just wanted to take a moment to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving! I am so thankful for everyone who takes the time to visit my blog and leave supportive comments. You have no idea how much they mean to me!

The little hanging above was created using the Tim Holtz Thankful Silhouettes stamp set. I used Terra Cotta and Cranberry (how appropriate!) Paint Adirondack Dabbers and stamped onto a piece of rough muslin. The muslin was stitched to a piece of burlap and then attached to a ribbon-tied stick with Trinket Pins.

How cute are these?! They're little pearl acorns that I made by coloring large pearl beads with Terra Cotta and Butterscotch Adirondack alcohol inks. I popped the real acorns out of the cap and replaced them with the pearls. They are so pretty - I think they would make adorable little Christmas ornaments too!

Happy Thanksgiving from Cheepers too! Don't forget to check back tomorrow - I have a really pretty project to share with you and a coupon code for Black Friday!

A Very Merry Tutorial!

A couple months ago I posted a Halloween-themed altered bingo card and promised I would post a tutorial on how I did the letters. Well, it's taken me a little while, but I finally got it done! This time, I've used my letters on a Christmas themed piece. I hope you enjoy learning how to make these - they are so fun and add a nice sparkle to your projects!

Supplies: Ranger Ultra Thick Embossing Powder (UTEE) - clear. Versamark or other clear embossing ink, Ranger Distress Stickles in desired color (I used Fired Brick), Ranger Distress ink in coordinating color (I used Fired Brick), Letters cut from chipboard or heavy cardstock (mine were cut using the Tim Holtz/Sizzix Vintage Market Strip Die), Chipboard squares, Decorative Paper, Heat Gun; Idea-ology Sanding Grip, Glue Stick, Tweezers.

Step One: Cut small squares from chipboard and adhere them to your decorative paper using a glue stick. Trim excess paper.

Step Two: Sand edges using Idea-ology Sanding Grip. Ink edges if desired.

Step Three: Cut letters from chipboard or cardstock. Ink well using Distress Ink.

Step Four: When dry, cover surface with a heavy layer of Distress Stickles. Allow letters to dry completely.

Step Five: Ink the entire surface of your chipboard piece with Versamark.

Step Six: Coat the inked chipboard piece with UTEE, tap off excess. Heat UTEE until it melts. While melted UTEE is still hot, quickly dip it into the powder to apply another coat. If UTEE has cooled too much, reapply Versamark and recoat with powder. We are building a thick layer of enamel for your letter to sink into.

Step Seven: With your heat tool, heat the second coat of UTEE until it melts. Using your tweezers, QUICKLY lay your letter on the melted surface and press down. **Be very careful during this step! Melted UTEE is very hot!** If your letter is crooked and the UTEE has cooled, you can use your heat tool to remelt the UTEE and move your letter around.

That's it! When your piece has cooled, you can us it on anything from cards to tags to ATCs.

Here is another view of the tile - you can really see the sparkle much better here! To create hangers for my piece, I used Idea-ology Charm Clips and Long Fasteners. I gave them a frosty look with a Snow Cap Dabber and a little glitter.

I love this Santa from Artistic Outpost's Frosty and Friends! He's been colored with Fired Brick Distress ink and given some sparkle with Fired Brick Distress Stickles. His fluffy beard is covered with Sugar Sparkly Fluff, and his hat trim was glittered up with Rock Candy Distress Stickles. After I stamped and colored him, I trimmed him and layered the piece onto a rosette that was cut using Tim's Paper Rosette die. Here's a quick tip - I needed the rosette to be a bit larger (so he would fit), so, after folding and gluing the ends together, I stretched the rosette out and glued it onto a larger circle. Since the center would be hidden, it didn't matter what that part looked like!

Finally, the bottom of the card was finished with vintage rick rack and a piece of ruffled trim from Idea-ology's Lavish Trimmings. The center was embellished with an Idea-ology Philosophy Tag that I painted with my Snow Cap Dabber and mint green acrylic paint.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Please let me know if you try it - I would love to see your finished work! Don't forget, everything I used can be found at Inspiration Emporium AND you can use my code - stamptramp - to save 10% off your order.

One more reminder - you still have time to enter the Inspiration Journal monthly challenge. This month we're inviting you to use 'tools' in your creations. For example, I used an Idea-ology Sanding Grip, Heat Tool, and my Vagabond in my project. Any of those would qualify as a tool. Get busy! You have until November 30th to join!

Simon Says Stamp & Show a Ticket

I'm so excited to share one of my favorite projects from the new Technique Junkies 3D and Fun Folds CD. It's called a Fantasy Box and it is seriously one of the coolest things ever. When it's closed, it looks great, but the real magic is when you take off the lid...

And your simple box opens to reveal four secret compartments! Seriously, how cool is this??? I used papers from Tim Holtz's Idea-ology Paper Stash to cover the outside and inside, and also for my lid and little boxes. Do you believe this is all created from paper? One of my favorite things to do is 'build' things from paper. That's what is so fun about the CD - 70 projects you can create out of paper!

These little boxes are great for holding all my little Idea-ology findings. Wouldn't this be an amazing gift for a crafty friend? To decorate my edges, I cut lace trim from white cardstock using the Sizzix Vintage Lace die (this die is fast becoming one of my faves!). I inked it with the new Gathered Twigs ink from the Limited Edition Fall Distress Collection and then sanded it off a bit with my Idea-ology Sanding Grip.

Simon Says Stamp and Show wants us to use tickets this week. One of my favorite uses for the Idea-ology Adage Tickets is to use them with an Idea-ology Ornate Plate - they fit so perfectly.  After I adhered the ticket, I filled the depression with Inkssentials Crackle Accents. I saw Lori do this awhile back and filed the idea away to use some day. Thanks for the inspiration, Lori!

If you'd like full, step-by-step photo tutorials for this and 69 other projects, you can purchase your CD by clicking on this link. With Christmas around the corner, this would be a great gift for a stamping/scrapping friend - or yourself! :-)


As always, all of the supplies I used can be purchased at Inspiration Emporium. Don't forget, you can use my coupon code - stamptramp - to save 10% off your order!

Grungy Monday #27

For this week's Grungy Monday,  Linda challenged us to revisit one of the technique tags from day 6 of Tim Holtz's 2007 12 Tags of Christmas. I went a little goofy on this one. I decided to cut a mask using the new Sizzix Vintage Noel die. Since it's a word and not a pattern, it kinda got lost a bit in the background. To 'fix' it, I highlighted it with a white Inkssentials gel pen. Not content to mess it up just with that, I thought maybe burnishing around the edges of the word would make it pop out more. Not sure about that...it looked pretty good at 9 o'clock last night, when my eyes were a little blurry... ;-)

What I do love is my little pine cone. This is my third attempt at using Tim's new Tattered Pinecone die and I think I have it almost figured out, lol! This time I used Kraft Core'dinations paper - love the look of it. I also added a little bit of Snow Cap Dabber paint here and there, to give it a snowy look.

I was playing around with my new Mini Reindeer Movers and Shapers die a few days ago...trying out my Faux Crazed Porcelain technique (seriously, I'll try that technique on anything that will stand still long enough!). I had this piece lying on my desk and thought it was the perfect substitute for the Grungeboard that Tim used on his tag. The stamps behind my reindeer are from Tim's Reindeer Flight stamp collection. The trim was cut from white cardstock using the new Sizzix Vintage Lace die.

You can find everything I used at Inspiration Emporium by clicking the links above. Don't forget to use my coupon code - stamptramp - to save 10% off your order. Now is the perfect time to order all of the new Christmas stamps, inks, dies, and more! There is also a new monthly challenge on the Inspiration Journal blog. This month it's all about tools. Check it out - you could win a $50 shopping spree!