GM #35

For this week's Grungy Monday challenge, we are making a Tim Holtz style ATC. I am pretty bad at ATCs, but I figured it's not a challenge if it's easy...right? I decided to use it as an excuse to clean some stuff off my desk and experiment a bit!

My heart was cut from white chipboard using the Love Struck die from Sizzix. I used Adirondack Dabbers to 'ink' my Union Jack flag stamp from Artistic Outpost's London Underground stamp set, and stamped it in the center of the heart. When it was dry, I applied Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint over the top. I used the demo heart from my glitter tutorial on top of the crackled heart.

The ATC background is from the new Idea-ology Destinations Paper Pack. On top of it I've layered a stamped subway sign (also from AO's London set) and a strip of kraft cardstock that was cut using the new Stenciled strip die from Sizzix. The strip was painted with a Snow Cap Dabber and attached with Tim's Tiny Attacher.

You can find all the supplies listed below at Inspiration Emporium. Make sure you use my coupon code - stamptramp - to get 10% off your order! And, make sure you check out this month's challenge over at the IE blog. February's challenge is to 'Put a Heart on It'!

Supply List:
Sizzix Love Struck Die
Sizzix Stenciled Die
Idea-ology Tiny Attacher
Idea-ology Destinations Paper
Adirondack Dabber - Snow Cap, Denim, Red Pepper
Ranger Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!!

Chunky Halloween ATCs for SSSS Challenge

I am generally not a big ATC fan, but when I saw all the fantastic inspiration pieces done by the Simon Says Stamp and Show DT, I had to give it a go!

I decided to make a set chunky ATCs for Halloween decorating. I love the sturdiness of them and I will actually use them instead of sticking them in a drawer. I'm proud to say I even cut the wood blocks myself - and still have all my fingers!

I just bought a pad of the new Core'dinations Kraft-Core cardstock and couldn't wait to use it. I am seriously in love with this stuff!! I love the craft core...there is just something so subtle about it - really great for a vintage look. On this block, the sides are covered with black and the front with orange that's been embossed with the Tim Holtz Regal Flourishes Texture Fade. I adhered all the paper using Claudine Hellmuth's Studio Matte Medium (works great!), and then sanded the edges with my Idea-ology Sanding Grip. This block's rosette is embellished with an Idea-ology Memo Pin that holds a stamped bat from Tim Holtz's new Mini Halloween 2 rubber stamp collection. It's hard to see, but I covered it with Glossy Accents to give it a little dimension.

The rosettes for each block were made using Idea-ology Kraft Resist paper and the Mini Rosette Die from Sizzix (I used the larger of the two rosettes). I sponged the edges with Black Soot Distress ink and then ran a line of Black Soot Distress Stickles around each one. 'Boo' is spelled out using letters from Alphabet Soup Grungeboard letters. Each one was sponged with Black Soot Distress ink and covered with a layer of Black Soot Distress Stickles. I stamped the spider (also from the Halloween Mini 2 set) on the center block's medallion.

The inspiration for these actually came from a Halloween subway sign I'd seen on Pinterest. I was like, man...I wish I had a stamp that looks like that. Then, I was like - duh! I DO! I stamped the background stamp from Tim Holtz's Halloween Sillouettes collection on white cardstock using Distress Embossing Ink and embossed using Ranger's Clear embossing powder. I considered brayering over it with black ink, or painting it with a black Dabber, but I decided to try my new Black Soot Distress Stain instead. SO cool!! It gave it just the look I was going for. After wiping the excess off of the embossed area, I ironed the whole thing, removing the embossing (faux batik technique).

Oh, and the little skeleton on the left is also from Tim's Mini Halloween 2 collection - I thought he looked so cute! Also, the ribbon on the center block was dyed using Spiced Marmalade Distress Stain. Is it just me, or have the stains been an absolute godsend? I love them so much!

All of the products I used can be purchased at Inspiration Emporium. If you use my code - stamptramp - you'll receive 10% off your order! Also, be sure and enter the monthly challenge over at the Inspiration Journal blog - the winner will receive $50 Inspiration bucks!

Theme Thursday - ATCs

For some reason, ATCs aren't really my thing. I'm not sure why...I just have a hard time fitting stuff on that little rectangle! I know some fantastic artists like Viola who can create incredible works of art in this 3.5" x 2.5" space...and I try, but I don't seem to have the touch. Nevertheless, I decided to join in with everyone over at Theme Thursday and see what I could come up with!

My background was created with the Watercolor Distress technique from the Feb/Mar '07 issue of the Technique Junkie newsletter. Instead of regular Distress ink, I used Broken China and Peeled Paint Distress Stains. On top of that, I stamped the background from Tim Holtz's Papillon stamp set using a Snow Cap paint dabber. The Wish stamp is from Tim's Stuff to Say collection and the flourish border is from his Nature's Discovery set.. The little girl is a rubber stamped image from Oxford Impressions' Heritage collection. Isn't she adorable?! She is stamped on glossy paper using Jet Black Archival ink. I really wanted to do stitching around the edges, but I was too lazy to change the thread color in my machine, so I opted to cheat a little and use the Drywall Stitching technique from the Apr/May issue of the TJ newsletter. Finally, I dyed a little rose from my Idea-ology Lavish Trimmings with Broken China Distress Stain and attached it to my ATC with an Idea-ology Long Fastener and a set of Idea-ology leaves.

Thanks so much for stopping by! :-)

Wednesday Stamper - Fairy

I tell you, I'm on a roll - two posts in two days! For this week's Wednesday Stamper I created a background using a combination of two different techniques from the latest Technique Junkie newsletter - Scrappy Spots and Stencil Stamping. These are both such cool techs!

My fairy is a photo stamp from ARTchix Studio (no longer available), the text stamps are from Oxford Impressions, and the trim is from RockCandy Studios. Speaking of RockCandy, you need to go check out their new blog. Dianne Adams and I are the featured artists this month!

Theme Thursday - Flowers

For Theme Thursday's Flowers challenge I made a quick ATC. Images are from Lisa's Altered Art - I love her stuff!

Wednesday Stamper - Open Theme

I was going to title this Open Mic, then I didn't know if anyone would get it. :tap: :tap: :tap: Is this thing on? Sigh....I'm strange, I know. :-)

Ok, here I present my most favorite thing I've done. Ever. It's a double-sided ATC I did for the Oxford Impressions swap. I am not sure where the idea came from - it's mostly an embodiment of everything I love. Masculine - check. Feminine - check. Vintage - check. Cool gears - check and check. Photo stamps - got it. Old French and Algebra paper - done. Commentary on how weird men are - doublecheck.

All stamps are from various Oxford Impressions plates.

Who wants another clock freebie???? You do! To download, click on image then right click and choose 'save image as'. You could also copy and paste it into a program like Word.

Happy New Year to all of my wonderful artist friends! I hope 2009 will be a great year for us all.