Thursday, June 30, 2016

Cascading Tag Birthday Card

Hi all! Today I'm sharing a card I made for my daughter's birthday. After seeing Karen Burniston's amazing Cascading Tag Pop it Ups card tutorial she shared for the monthly designer challenge, I couldn't wait to try the technique.

Can you believe this started out as her Adirondack Chair die? That woman is a genius! I pretty much followed Karen's tutorial to the letter, using one of my favorite My Mind's Eye paper collections from my stash.

The front was decorated with a few paper flowers, some of Tim Holtz's idea-ology findings and trimmings, and a sentiment from Karen's Just a Note stamp set.

I used the We R Memory Keepers Envelope Punch Board to make an envelope using the same cardstock. I love that tool - so handy!

The supplies I used can be found at Elizabeth Craft Designs and Simon Says Stamp via the links below.






If you haven't had a chance to watch Karen's tutorial, you really to. I hope you enjoyed my version and are inspired to try one of your own!

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Eileen Hull/Crescent Mixed Media Mat Board

Hi everyone! This month, the Eileen Hull Inspiration Team had the opportunity to work with some very fun products from Crescent Cardboard. We were given Rendr Paper and Multi Media Photo Art Mat Boards and given full freedom to create anything we wanted.

I was really excited to try out the Rendr paper. The great thing about this paper is that you can apply inks, paints, rubber stamping, etc. to one side, and it won't bleed through to the other side. Fantastic for journaling and other mixed media applications. I thought it might be perfect to use with Eileen's new Heart & Soul die, painted and stained to look like metal.

I was also really excited to try their multi media Coloring Mat. This mat has a precut opening and the surface is made to create on. I decided to use DecoArt texture mediums and Ranger spray inks to create this grungy/pretty mixed media piece. Here's how I did it:

I started by using a piece of chipboard to scrape DecoArt Media Texture Sand Paste and Crackle Paste randomly over the mat board. I set it aside to dry completely. When it dried, I added a light coating of clear gesso, so that the stain didn't get absorbed too much. It was applied fairly randomly, which adds to the texture and interest when you start adding the stains.

Next, I cut flowers and leaves from Rendr paper using Eileen's Heart and Soul and Spring Leaves dies.

 I painted both sides of the flowers and leaves with DecoArt Media gold metallic paint.

After the paint was dry, I sponged them with Sap Green, Cobalt Turquoise, and Paynes Grey fluid acrylics, trying to get a verdigris look. A lot of this will get covered up, but some will peek through and add to the look of metal.

I arranged embellishments on the mat board and glued them down. After the glue dried, I brushed over everything lightly with white gesso. When that dried, I sprayed the board with Cracked Pistachio, Mermaid Lagoon, and Rusty Hinge Distress Spray Stains. I apologize for not photographing that step - I got caught up in creating!

I love this shot showing all the color and dimension. The spoon is one of my favorite things! It's cut from mat board using Eileen's Mug and Spoon die. I base painted it with gold metallic, then gessoed it along with everything else. It holds a bit of cheesecloth and one of Tim Holtz's new Mirrored Hearts. Doesn't it look like a real spoon? So cool!



I love using ephemera that I've gathered over the years in my art - I need to remember to do it more! This photo postcard was an estate find and I have been holding on to and I thought it fit this project perfectly. I thought some of you might enjoy it as well, so I'm sharing the images with you. I love what's written on the back - I'm guessing the 'picking' must be cotton (considering I live in Mississippi and that's where I found it). It's hard to make it all out, I'd love if anyone can help me! Here's what I deciphered:

This is poor pictures (sure?) but you can see how much the kids has growed they have growed some but not much how is picking in (??) (isn't? not?) to good here this year it makes it to cheap

Let me know your guesses for the words I can't figure out! And feel free to use the images in your own work.

The supplies I used can be found at Scrapbook.com, Simon Says Stamp, and Amazon via the links below. Make sure you check out the big sale on Sizzix going on at Scrapbook.com - 20% off until the 4th!




I hope you enjoyed my mixed media piece using these fantastic products. Many thanks to Finnabair for inspiring this technique! Make sure you check out Eileen's blog for more great ideas from the Inspiration Team.