Wednesday Stamper - I Can Fly/GC 92 - Jewel Colors Plus Gold

The Wednesday Stamper and Gingersnap Creations challenges gave me the perfect opportunities to use the backgrounds I created using my Gessoed AIs technique that I posted last week on the GC blog. The first piece is a tag I created using Tim Holtz's tag die. I cut one tag from chipboard and another from one of the papers in Tim's Shabby Chic paper stash and adhered them together. I layered the blue technique piece on top of that.

The little girl is from TH's Winged Things 1 stamp set. Her wings were stamped on acetate using Stazon. I replaced her hat with the crown from the other little girl in the Winged Things set. It's colored with Pine Needles Distress ink and a water brush. I added a little dimension by covering it with Glossy Accents and then added a few rhinestones for sparkle. Her dress was colored using a water brush and Faded Jeans Distress ink.

To give her something to sit on, I cut a piece of chipboard using my new Iron Gate die (love this die so much!), and embossed it using my Faux Tarnished Metal technique. It's attached to the tag with Mini Fasteners. I wanted a little matching crepe paper ruffle, but I didn't have any green crepe paper. No problem! I mixed up a batch of homemade glimmer mist in a Mini Mister using Pine Needles Distress reinker and Perfect Pearls, and misted it onto white crepe paper. It seemed a bit boring, so I embossed it using Ranger silver embossing powder and the flourish from TH's Reindeer Flight stamp set.

The next piece was created for the Gingersnap Creations Color Challenge: Jewel Colors Plus Gold. I'm still not sure if I like this - it's not typically 'me'. I asked my husband what he thought and he said it was 'different'. I was like, different good or different weird? He said it was just not my usual style. That seemed like a very safe answer! I guess he's gotten wise about these things....

Since the monthly theme at GC is Royalty, I knew I wanted to create something in that theme and I've also been wanting to use the Castle Keep stamps from Oxford Impressions. I found a really cool castle card template that I thought was perfect. The original is so sweet and I just noticed she made little flags. Dang! Wish I'd done that!

Make sure you check out all the wonderful submissions at both the Gingersnap Creations and Wednesday Stamper blogs and consider playing along!

GC90 Charms + Wednesday Stamper + a Tutorial!

This piece was originally inspired by the supply challenge over at the Gingersnaps Creations blog. We're supposed to pull out those charms that we've been hoarding and put them to good use! Since the ongoing monthly theme is 'Royalty', I thought a crown would be appropriate. Amazing that such a tiny thing could inspire a whole piece! In addition, the romantic feel fits perfectly with today's Wednesday Stamper theme: Expressions of Love.

My flower above was inspired by two artists: Penny Bennington, who did a fantastic tutorial on color-washed coffee filters, and Angie Hall Haviland, who makes the prettiest coffee filter flowers. I am now hooked on combining these two techniques!

If you are ever unsure of what color Distress Crackle Paint to buy - get Picket Fence! After it dries, you can use your Distress inks to make it any color you want. My bird was cut from chipboard using Tim Holtz's Caged Bird die. I painted it with Picket Fence Crackle Paint (didn't the crackle come out great?!). When it was dry, I inked it with Chipped Sapphire Distress ink.  If you check out the picture above this one, you can see that I also used PF over the Lettuce paint on the edge of the piece - I love the peeled, vintage-looking paint effect.

Ok, this is my favorite part of all - Faux Enamel Number Tag!! If you read my last post, you'll remember that I stumbled upon a fantastic blog - Can't Stop Making Things - where I found a very cool technique for creating French enamel tags. I didn't have most of what she used, so I decided to adapt it to what I had on hand. With many thanks to the originator of this technique, here is my version (apologies for the pic quality, this was a quickie iPhone shoot!):

Step one: cut out tag from chipboard. If you don't have a die, you could also use a circle punch (or whatever you desire) and add a hole with a smaller punch. Note:  Do you ever buy something because it's a great deal, even though you have no idea what you're going to do with it (I know you're all saying, "YES!")? Well, that's where this little die came from. Our local scrapbook/stamp store was getting rid of a lot of items and I snagged this tag die and a round one (used on yesterday's tag) for only $1 each! My good friend Cyndi assured me that they would work in my Cuttlebug and they do.

Step two: Paint piece using white acrylic paint. You may need several coats. Let dry completely.

Step three: When completely dry, stamp your numbers or letters using permanent black ink. The original tut called for Stazon. I tried it and mine ended up bleeding after I started embossing (this might have been because the original tech didn't use Versamark). I used Memories, which worked perfectly.

Step four: Coat entire piece with Versamark and cover with Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel (UTEE). Emboss using your heat gun. Repeat this process about three times. You want a nice thick coating, to give it the look of enamel.

Here you have it! Your own French enamel tag - and it probably didn't cost you a dime! As you can see, mine's a bit dirty looking. I grabbed the wrong Versamark pad and it had all kinds of goobers on it. I didn't realize that until my piece was already embossed the first time. I actually think it adds to the look of it! If you want, you can ink around the edges with black or brown ink to give it more of a grungy look.

Thanks so much for stopping by - I hope you're inspired by all of these artists as I was. Make sure you visit their blogs and give them some love. :-)

Supplies used: Lettuce Adirondack Acrylic Paint Dabber, Picket Fence Distress Crackle Paint, Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink, Worn Lipstick Distress Ink, Pumice Stone Distress Ink, Tim Holtz Caged Bird Die, Tim Holtz Tattered Florals Die, Tim Holtz Styled Labels Die, Tim Holtz Paper - Lost and Found, Tim Holtz Stamps - Reindeer Flight, Idea-ology Philosophy Tags, Idea-ology Swivel Clasp, Idea-ology Hitch Fasteners.

GC89: Chestnut Theme Challenge - Kings and Queens

This month I'm thrilled to be featured as the Monthly Muse over at the Gingersnap Creations blog. They have a lot of great things planned for the weeks ahead, so be sure and check it out!

This week's challenge theme is Kings and Queens. I had several stamps that I considered using, but when I pulled out the Marie Antoinette stamps from Oxford Impressions, I knew they were the winners! I paired them with one of the new techniques - Bohemian Layers - from the latest issue of the Technique Junkie newsletter. My silver frame was created using my Faux Tarnished Silver technique you can find here. The frame is from the Tag and Bookplates die from Tim Holtz. It was cut from thick mat board, which makes for a very sturdy base.

The frame was cut using a Nesties (?) die I borrowed from a friend. It's covered with a ridiculous amount of Martha's glitter - I was obviously feeling VERY girly when I made this! ;-) I created a little insignia by embossing Marie's initials with Ranger's silver embossing powder and then antiquing it with black paint. Finally, I colored my image using Black Soot and Worn Lipstick Distress inks and a water pen. It's hard to see, but her dress and bow are highlighted with Cotton Candy Stickles and Rock Candy Distress Stickles.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Please be sure and check out all the wonderful creations on the Gingersnap blog. Also, if you haven't entered my One World One Heart giveaway, please do! You can find it here.