Pop 'N Cuts Goes Grungy

I have a confession to make. I am now a confirmed pop-up addict. I fully blame Karen Burniston for this condition. Her 3-D Scallop Circle die whet my appetite, the 3-D Spinning Platform pulled me in deeper. Now, the Pop 'N Cuts has sealed my fate. Why make a plain card when you can make one that will blow someone's mind?!

This is the first card I've made since receiving the Pop 'N Cuts dies. Oh my goodness - it's such a fun and easy system! One of the great things about it is it cuts the card base as well as the pop-up inside. For the outside of my card, I cut kraft cardstock using the Pop 'N Cuts base die without an insert. I embossed the front using Tim's Steampunk Texture Fade and then applied dabs of Frayed Burlap Distress Crackle paint. I inked over the whole thing and generally grunged it up.

For the focal point, I cut the label from Karen's Sizzlits Love set out of kraft cardstock, painted it with a Pitch Black Dabber and then covered it with the new Ranger Brushed Pewter Distress Stain. When it was dry, I embossed it with Tim's Riveted Metal Texture Fade. I layered it onto a piece that I cut apart from the Pop 'N Cuts insert. It was also painted black, and then sanded. This is a birthday card for my brother, so I added a 50 cut from metal-covered chipboard that was first embossed using the Dot-Matrix Texture Fade. To give it a distressed look, I added lots of different alcohol inks and sanded it here and there.

The bottom was tied with the new idea-ology Paper Twine. I added a little tag that I cut from kraft cardstock using the tag die, also from Karen's Sizzlits Love set. The letters (his initials) were cut from kraft using the Alphabetical die. The whole thing was covered with Pitch Black Distress paint and then sanded off.

Here is the view when open. How cool is that pop-up?! I love that the insert is also a Movers and Shapers die. That means I can use any of Karen's Movers and Shapers magnetic dies and I can also use any of my Tim Holtz Alterations Movers and Shapers dies too. That makes customizing your card so much fun!

For the insert, I first painted kraft cardstock (yes, I do use a LOT of kraft!) with Pitch Black Dabber paint. When it was dry I covered it with the Brushed Pewter Distress Stain and then embossed it with Tim's Riveted Metal Texture Fade and sanded. I use the black dabber to add swipes of paint here and there. I had done this technique for one of my CHA Stampers Anonymous card using black cardstock, but I was out. I decided to play around using black paint instead and see if it would work. I did photograph my steps for a future tutorial if you'd like one!

Ooooh, my favorite part! I used Tim's Mini Gear die to cut out the center of the pop-up. Using the same die, I cut out a gear from chipboard and painted it with gold and black Dabbers. I added a piece of acetate behind the opening and then reinserted the die cut. I added more gears to the pop-up, along with a bunch of idea-ology bits and pieces. Fun!

The Happy Birthday was created in the same way as the tag on the front. This time I backed the letters with a piece of kraft cut using the Tattered Banners die. Forgive me if I use this technique on just about everything from now on!

Karen has a fantastic video that explains and show the amazing versatility of the Pop 'N Cuts system. I highly recommend it!



Most of the supplies I used can be purchased at Inspiration Emporium via the links below. Don't forget to use my coupon code - stamptramp - to save 10% off your order!

Sizzix Word Play Die	Sizzix Alphabetical	Sizzix Tattered Banners Die	Sizzix Gadget Gears	Sizzix Mini Gears Set
Sizzix Steampunk Texture Fade	Sizzix Diamond Plate & Riveted Metal Texture Fades	Dot-Matrix Texture Fade	Inkssentials Metal Foil Tape	Black Soot Distress Ink
Ranger Fall Limited Edition Distress Ink	Jet Black Archival Ink	Frayed Burlap Distress Crackle Paint	Adirondack Hazelnut Alcohol Ink	Slate Alcohol Ink
Meadow Alcohol Ink	Caramel Alcohol Ink	Adirondack Snow Cap Ink	Alcohol Ink Applicator Tool	Silver Adirondack Dabber
Ranger Dabber - Pitch Black	Gold Adirondack Dabber	Idea-ology Philosophy Tags	Idea-ology Tiny Fasteners	idea-ology Game Spinners
Idea-ology Long Fasteners	idea-ology Jump Rings	Idea-ology Wire Pins	Idea-olgy Mini Gears	Scotch Tape Glider
Vagabond	Tim Holtz Paper Distresser	Distress Embossing Powder - Walnut Stain	Idea-ology Sanding Grip

InLinkz.com

CHA Part 2 + Reminder!

As I was going back through my CHA pics, I realized I still had a few more I wanted to share. Plus, I remembered that I meant to add Tim's idea-ology Make and Take to the stash of stuff I'm giving away. See this post for your chance to enter! (the contest is over). I decided to leave it open until Midnight Tuesday the 31st to give anyone who hasn't left a comment to do so. I'll announce the winner on the 1st!

How sweet is this tag? Even better, I got a chance to meet and chat with Paula and Deb, the 2 Gypsy Girls! I have been a fan of theirs for ages and it was such a treat to actually get to meet two such talented artists. They were wonderful (and very patient)!

Speaking of wonderful, another treat was getting to meet two of my blogging buddies - Louise Granlund (Kard Krazy blog) and Sarah Hemphill (Vintage Figments). Louise used to have the Tag Tuesday challenge (miss that one!) and you can pretty much find her in any stamping mag you pick up. Sarah is a pro at 'doing' the show - right now she's having a give away on her blog for a pretty awesome CHA prize package! They were both just as nice and fun and I'd imagined them to be.

Suzanne Czosek is one of my favorite artists. I was so sad I didn't manage to meet her at the show. :( Louise, Sarah, and I had ooh-ed and ahh-ed over this piece in the Stampendous booth. Imagine my surprised when I saw it posted on Suzanne's blog after the show! The photo does not do it justice. It is amazing!

For all you steampunk fans out there, this was probably one of the most creative, beautiful pieces I've ever seen! Created by the talented Candy Rosenberg, it was truly a showstopper and (no surprise) won Fan Favorite. Each time I look at it I see something new!

I loved the new Art Parts that Wendy Vecchi was demoing. They are so cool! She also has a great idea on her blog about making a faux metal background with the new Metallic Distress Stain. I love that stuff!

Here is another sample board - this time in the Ranger booth. I'm not 100% sure on the artists on this one - I think it's Tim, Tammy, and maybe Debi. I have two cards on the bottom left that were made using some of the new Stampers Anonymous Christmas stamp sets. That poinsettia is perfect for the brushless watercolor technique.

I'll leave you with one more sample board. I don't know about you, but I LOVE samples! I am always amazed at how people can have the same supplies but come up with different things. The two girly, sparkly things on the left are mine (the joy and the tree). I think the rest are all by Tim. I love getting to see his artwork in person.

Ok, I think I'm all CHA-photo'd out! Make sure you leave a comment on my original give away post by tomorrow at midnight central time - comments on this post are appreciated :) but won't count in the drawing.

Good luck and thanks so much for visiting!

Eileen Hull Weekend & Giveaway!

Good morning, everyone! I am so excited to share a project I made for the Sizzix Eileen Hull Weekend. Make sure you check out the Sizzix blog for lots of inspiration using Eileen's fantastic dies. I also hear there are prizes to be won!

For my project, I combined two different ScoreBoard dies - the Teacup and the Caddy. I call it the Tea Caddy! Brilliant, huh? I was pretty thrilled to see that they would fit together. :)

To create my tea caddy, I started by cutting the pieces from chipboard and then painting them with a Snow Cap Adirondack Dabber. The back piece was embossed using the Alterations Stripes Texture Fade and then lightly sanded.

When I think of tea, I think of Great Britain, and when I think of GB, I think of Artistic Outpost's Union Jack stamp. I stamped the flag using markers and then overstamped it with the sentiment - how perfect does that flag fit?! Next, the edges were sanded a bit using Tim's Sanding Grip. I am a PG Tips drinker so I filled a cellophane bag with a few and tied it with a ribbon that was dyed with Faded Jeans Distress Stain. Keeping with the royal theme, I added a little idea-ology crown tied with some of the new Paper Twine. The whole thing was assembled using my Scotch Tape Glider.

Wow, I just realize this totally fits the theme over at the Inspiration Journal blog! This month we're celebrating Red,White, and Blue. If you join in, you could win a $50 gift certificate! Click here for the deets.

Most of the supplies I used can be found at Inspiration Emporium via the links below. Make sure you use my coupon code - stamptramp - to save 10% on your order!

Sizzix Harlequin & Stripes	Idea-ology Adornments	Idea-ology Crinkle Ribbon	Distress Markers	Snow Cap Paint Dabber
Jet Black Archival Ink	Faded Jeans Distress Stain	Scotch Tape Glider	Idea-ology Sanding Grip	Vagabond

InLinkz.com

I hope you enjoyed my little experiment. I think there are so many ways this idea could be used. I can't wait to play a little more with both of these dies!