Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Karen Burniston Designer Challenge - Steampunk Poppy!

Hi everyone! It's time for the August Karen Burniston Designer Challenge! This month Karen asked the team to use any of the fun Character dies in their creations. These little dies are so adorable - I was a bit intimidated. My style is definitely more grungy than cute and I was worried that I would let the team down. I decided that I would try grunging up one of these cuties and my Steampunk Poppy is the result!

You may remember I made a similar shaped card a couple months ago as an anniversary card for my daughter. I decided to take that same idea and give it a steampunk feel. The card was cut from black cardstock and the outer edges embossed with a gear stamp from Artistic Outpost. After I embossed it, I painted over it with  Brushed Pewter Distress paint to give it a vintage look. I printed the watch stem and embossed it as well, then sandwiched it between the layers.

To make the clock, I cut white cardstock using Karen's clock face die and then stamped it with Tim Holtz's crackle stamp. I embossed it with several layers of UTEE to give it an enamel finish. The sentiment was computer-generated and then cut with the banner die from Karen's Lorna Label pop-up set.

And here's the star of the show - Poppy! To create my little steampunk owl, I cut the bottom layer from black cardstock and the top from cardstock that had been covered with foil tape. His spats (OMG, those spats!) were created by cutting the top foot layer from white cardstock and then trimming off the toes. I added buttons with black Sharpie. His little hat was cut with one of the dies from the Props 1 collection, stamped, and decorated with tiny Prima gears.

The monocle - because every steampunk owl needs one, right? - was made by cutting a piece of clear shrink plastic with the 1.75" circle die from Karen's Ring Accordion Album set, shrinking it, and then adding a wire loop around it. So cute! Since I wanted the front of the card to be clear, like the glass on a pocket watch, I cut out the center portion with another die from the set and added a piece of transparency. I added another clock on the back of the second panel so that it would show through the front.

Whew! I hope I didn't overwhelm you with the how-to! If I'd had more time I would have taken pictures along the way to better show my method. Please let me know if you have any questions on how it came together. It might look complicated, but it's not at all!

All the supplies I used can be found at Elizabeth Craft Designs and Inspiration Emporium via the links below. Remember to use my coupon code - stamptramp - to save 10% off at IE. And check out what's new in their store - they have all the new dies from Karen available for preorder right now!

7/30 UPDATE! Thanks for all your kind words about my Steampunk Poppy card. You can find the ECD bundle deal in the links below!





If you'd like to make a card like this of your own, here is the watch stem I created for it. Make sure you stop by the Elizabeth Craft Designs blog on Wednesday to see what all the other designers came up with for the challenge, and to be inspired by a fantastic video tutorial from Karen!
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Monday, August 18, 2014

StencilGirl/Craffiti Blog Hop!

I'm so excited to be a part of the StencilGirl/Eileen Hull blog hop today! I have a really fun project to share that uses one of my all-time favorite Sizzix dies from Eileen Hull - the Candy Drawer - plus an incredibly cool stencil from StencilGirl and a gorgeous barn wood stamp from Eileen.

Obviously, the Gear stencil sets the tone for this whole piece. I initially wanted to make a little steampunk birdhouse, but the Candy Drawer die caught my eye when I went to pull out my dies and it all just clicked!

Here's a quick tutorial if you want to make one of these cute drawers for yourself:

1. Cut six sets of drawers from medium weight chipboard using Eileen Hulls Candy Box die.
2. Stamp the drawers with Eileen's Barn Wood stamp using brown ink. Assemble drawers and set aside.
3. To create the back and sides, cut two pieces of chipboard - one 6 3/4 x 5 1/2" and one 6 1/4" x 5 1/2". Using Tim Holtz Brackets die cut one end of each piece, as shown.
4. Cut the shorter one of the decorative pieces in half - these will be the sides (ignore the measurements in the photo).
5. Using the Gears stencil from StencilGirl, and Wendy Vecchi's Silver Embossing Paste, stencil the design on the side and back pieces. Let dry thoroughly and ink with Gathered Twigs Distress ink.

To assemble the box, begin by gluing the drawers together using Beacon's 3-in-1 glue. Cut a piece for the top measuring 2 1/2" x 5 1/2" and stamp with the Barn Wood stamp. Adhere to top of drawers.

Cut a piece for the base measuring 3" x 6" and adhere the drawers to it. Trim about 1/4" off the center cut side (where you cut the piece in half) of the side pieces and adhere to the drawers. You might have to adjust this a bit to fit.

After everything is dry, apply a light coat of a clear sealer (I used a matte decoupage medium) to give it a bit of shine. Add pulls and decorative elements to the top and you're done!

This was one of those projects that didn't come together until the (very) last moment (like, 12 hours ago), but I think it's one of my favorite pieces ever. I hope you enjoyed it and are inspired by the wonderful products I used.

Speaking of which - there is an incredible prize package to be won! All you have to do it comment on the following artist's posts. Each comment counts as an entry, so be generous with your praise!

Shelly Hickox


The supplies I used can be found at Inspiration Emporium and Amazon via the links below (the stamps and stencil are linked above). Remember to use my coupon code - stamptramp - to save 10% off at IE!



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