Simon Says Stamp...Paris, Plus a Honey of a Tutorial!

This week, the Simon Says Stamp challenge gave us our choice of Paris, London, or New York as our theme. I chose Paris, because I really wanted to use this balloon from Artistic Outpost's Paris Exposition stamp set. How adorable is it all honeycombed up?! It was definitely a bit of a challenge since it was so small, but it was not as hard as you might think.

I can't thank you guys enough for all the wonderful comments on my 12 Tags challenge tag! Without further ado, here is the tutorial you all asked for:

Super Simple Honeycomb

Supplies: StazOn or other permanent ink, glue stick, inking tool, hot air balloon stamp from Stampers Anonymous, Distress ink, tissue paper, white cardstock.

Step one: Using StazOn, stamp balloon portion of hot air balloon stamp on tissue paper 7-9 times (the more pieces you use the smaller your honeycomb openings will be. I used 7 for this example). Ink well with Distress ink.

Step 2: Cut out balloon portion of stamped image, trimming closely. I love how they look like petals! Idea for later, perhaps? Hmmmm....

Step 3: Fold each balloon in half. Even though this stamp isn't perfectly symmetrical, it's close enough. Notice that, since you used a nice, juicy StazOn pad and lots of Distress ink, the pattern and color show on both sides!

Step 4: Note - this is going to look tricky, but it's really easy! Take a folded balloon and, using your glue stick (the drier the adhesive, the better, you don't want it soaking thru!), run a line of glue down the folded edge. Add another little horizontal strip near the top, and one near the bottom. Stack another folded balloon on top and press to adhere.

Step 5: Open the folded balloon and add a small horizontal line of glue in the center. Refold and make sure it's adhered. Repeat this process until you've used all of your folded balloons. Each glued piece should alternate - one glued at the top and bottom, the next glued in the middle, and so on.

Step 6: When you're done stacking and gluing, it should look something like this. You can check your glue points along the way to make sure it's all opening up correctly.

Step 7: Stamp the balloon image on white cardstock, color with Distress ink, and cut out. This will be your base.

Step 7: Cover entire cardstock balloon with glue.

Step 8: Carefully align the folded, stacked tissue balloons on top of the cardstock balloon, the cut edge should be on the outside, the fold should be in the center. It doesn't matter which side you lay down first. Press to adhere.

Step 9: Carefully open up your tissue paper and press the other side down. You can use a craft stick or something similar to reach in and smooth it down, if necessary.

That's it! I hope this was somewhat easy to follow. It's so much easier to show than to tell! Feel free to email me with any questions, or leave one in the comments.

Here is another peek of my original tag using this technique. I think I glued at slightly different points, but it still works! As long as you alternate your glue points, you will get the honeycomb effect.

Here is the technique done on a much smaller scale! Isn't it adorable? This time I used a liquid glue and did not like it one bit. It doesn't take much moisture to get tissue paper saturated - definitely go with a glue stick for this! Just like my original tag, I stamped the rest of the image on a piece of scrap clear packaging and fit the two pieces together. This time, I used my heat gun to slightly soften the banners and then curled them while they were warm. The banner at the top was cut from white paper with Sizzix' Tattered Banners die, and stamped with another image from AO's Paris Exposition. So pretty!

I love using heat embossing on pieces like this, but don't want a shiny finish on something that looks so vintage. To tone it down, I lightly sanded the embossing after it cooled with my Idea-ology Sanding Grip.

After I made this, I wasn't sure what it was, exactly. Should it be a card? A hanging? I decided to add an easel to the back that was cut from chipboard using the Sizzix Small Easel die and make it a stand-alone art piece. I just trimmed a little off the top and it was a perfect fit.

The frame for my piece was created using the large Movers and Shapers Cabinet Card die, and the small Mini Cabinet card die. After it was cut from chipboard, I painted it with a Pitch Black Dabber and then sanded it when it was dry.

So sorry this has turned into a book, lol! I hope some of you decide to try this technique. If you need any of the materials I used, they can be found at Inspiration Emporium via the links below. If you're looking to save a little $$$, use my coupon code - stamptramp - to save 10% off your order!

Supplies

Artistic Outpost Paris Exposition	Stampers Anonymous Remnants	Sizzix Vintage Cabinet Card Die	Sizzix Mini Cabinet Card Die
Sizzix Small Easel Die	Sizzix Tattered Banners Die	Ranger Dabber - Pitch Black	Festive Berries Distress Ink
Ranger Silver Embossing Powder	Idea-ology Sanding Grip

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