Saturday, March 30, 2013

Treasure Each Day

On of the things I love about Karen Burniston's Accordion 3D die is how it makes my favorite stamps, dies, and embellishments come alive. Brett Weldele - the artist who created the fantastic Time Travelers stamps for Tim Holtz - commented on the Steampunk card I made a few days ago and I told him I'd try to make one with his stamps. Once I said it, I realized just how perfect they'd be for this type of card!

I knew I wanted to experiment a little with linking some of Tim Holtz' cool idea-ology findings from one panel to the next. Because of the way this die goes together, it's easy and, I think, adds a really interesting element. Since there is so much going on in this card, I decided to take a few pics as I was making it, so that you could see that it's not as complicated as it might seem!

1. Begin by cutting two panels from black cardstock using Karen Burniston's Accordion 3D die. I wanted mine to be taller than normal, so I used Karen's double-high instructions. Cut three metal foil sheets using the companion Bracket Frame and Label die, following the double-high instructions again.
2. Emboss the foil using Tim Holtz' Diamond Plate Texture Fade. Carefully apply to the outer frame. I recommend peeling just a bit of the backing off to get it started - that way you have more control over the alignment. Repeat on both sides of one panel and one side of the other panel.

3. After applying metal tape to cardstock, cover completely with Black Soot Distress Paint.
4. Using a paper towel (or tp, which is what I usually use - it's cheap and handy!), pounce the paint. You don't really want to remove it, you just want to give it some texture. Let dry.

5. Use Black Soot Distress Paint to 'ink' the gentleman stamp. Stamp onto kraft panel. Clean stamp immediately! Let dry.
6. When dry, color with Distress Markers, as desired. *Not shown - apply silver Dabber paint to the gear stamp from the same set. Mask man and stamp panel with gears. Reapply paint and stamp other panel.

7. Die cut a piece of chipboard using the Mini Pocket Watch die. Paint with Distress Paints. Adhere Chit Chat stickers and cover with a layer of Crackle Accents. Let dry completely.
8. Adhere the kraft panel to the card. Add measuring tape Tissue Tape to the center. Print photos and adhere behind a piece of Film Strip Ribbon. Attach with Tiny Attacher. Adhere pocket watch to card with a foam square to add dimension. Affix a Mini Gear to the edge with a Tiny Fastener. Finally, apply Remnant Rubs to an Enameled Tag and secure to card with a Long Fastener. *Note - because I was being clever and die cut my panels at the same time, I ended up weakening the flip fold. To keep it from completely separating, I fortified it with a piece of Tissue Tape. Problem solved!

9. Apply a strip of Wonder Tape to the tab on the left panel. Adhere right panel to tab.
10. Pull the center panels in front of the fold and secure the tabs with more Wonder Tape. Thread an idea-ology Custom Fastener through a Word Stick and then through a Sprocket Gear. Attach to card as shown. Attach a Swivel Clasp to the gear. Attach the other end to the pocket watch.

Here's another view of the finished card. Another thing I love about using the Accordion die for cardmaking is that I can double the amount of embellishments! It also makes the perfect display piece. This card is for my brother's birthday, but I think it would make an amazing Father's Day card or even an anniversary card.


I just figured out that you can embed Vine videos into blog posts. Fun! Things are always better in real life, and this way, you can get a better idea of what it looks like. I think I'll start doing this for all my posts. Please let me know if the video works for you and what you think about it!

All of the supplies I used can be found at Inspiration Emporium via the links below. Don't forget to use my coupon code - stamptramp - to save 10% off your order! Oh, and guess what? They have the new Metallic Distress paints in (seriously, how amazing are they???) AND they're giving away three sets! Pop on over to the IE blog to enter.



Thanks so much for stopping by today - have a fantastic weekend!
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Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Time Machine Birthday Card

UPDATE! Since a few of the dies I used for this card are no longer available, I've created an updated version using new dies by Karen Burniston. You can find the new version here: http://shellyhickox.blogspot.com/2014/08/glittery-steampunk-pop-it-ups-card.html

I am SO excited to finally get to share this project with you all! It's a birthday card I made for my dad using Karen Burniston's Accordion 3D and Bracket and Frames dies, along with all of my favorite dies, Texture Fades, Distress Stains, stamps, and embellishments from Tim Holtz. So much goodness in one card! You can find the full tutorial on the Inspiration Emporium blog HERE.

Here is the view when open. The gears appear to be floating, but they're all secured to acetate panels. Such a genius idea! I wish I could take full credit, but it was something that Karen mentioned to me a few weeks ago. Not only is Karen ridiculously talented, she is extremely generous with both her praise and her ideas!

I love the look of the measuring tape background on kraft paper. It looks almost like wood! The Clock Key die and the Gears Texture Fade are two of my favorite new products released at the past CHA show. And how cute is that little man stamp? Love him!

Here is the other end of the card - the gears were so much fun to play around with. I used Grungeboard, Foil Tape, and the Word Play die to create the numbers. One of my favorite techniques from Tim!

Here is another look at the card when open. It's so hard to really see how dimensional it is. I did a super quick video with my phone, just so you could see how it opens and closes:



All the supplies I used can be found at Inspiration Emporium via the links below. Don't forget to use my coupon code - stamptramp - to save 10%!


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