Wednesday Stamper - The Last Hurrah

I was so sad when I checked the theme for today's Wednesday Stamper challenge and read that this week is the final week of the challenge. WS was one of the first challenge blogs I started participating in. It was always one of my favorites because they highlighted stamping, and the artwork was so varied.

For the final challenge we were instructed to use at least one rubber stamp, which has always been the minimum requirement for Wednesday Stamper. For my card, I used a variety of rubber stamps from both the Loverly London and London Underground stamp sets from Artistic Outpost. Again, the versatility of these stamps is amazing. If you'd like to buy them, please remember to use my discount code: stamptramp, and you'll receive 10% off your total!

Thanks so much to Belinda, Christine, Tina, Hermine, Patty, and Linda for challenging us to make the most out of using rubber stamps in our artwork!

Supplies used:
Idea-ology Plaquettes
Idea-ology Tiny Fastener
Core'dinations Distress Collection paper
Ranger Black Embossing Powder

Spring Tag

This tag ended up being a bit of an experiment. To begin with, I fell in love with Linda's crinoline flowers and had to try them. I didn't have crinoline, so I used an old man's hankie....wait, that sounds wrong. I did not steal a hankie from an old man. It was a brand new vintage hankie that my friend Becky gave me. I cut my flowers using the Tattered Florals die and dyed it with my new Spun Sugar Distress stain. I swear, that is the prettiest shade of pink, ever! My flowers ended up looking more like a ruffled mess, but I enjoyed playing around with it.

Next, I had watched Tim Holtz on HSN and was intrigued with how he used the Adirondack Paint Dabbers. I swiped Sunshine Yellow over a white tag that I cut using my Sizzix Tag die. When it was dry, I inked over it using Peeled Paint Distress stain. I loved the effect! After that dried, I inked the background stamp from the Papillion stamp set using Peeled Paint Distress stain, and stamped it onto the tag. Love that look, too!

For the center panel, I covered a piece of chipboard with French paper, die cut it using the Styled Labels die, and washed over it with a little white paint. Remember when Tim made the foam stamps during the 12 Tags of Christmas? I cut one using the Caged Bird die, inked it with the Sunshine Yellow dabber, and stamped it on the panel.

My last experiment was also the result of watching HSN! The segment following Tim's showcased various scrapbooking items. I'm not sure who it was, but someone demoed the tiny Xyron sticker maker by using it to apply adhesive to chipboard letters and then covered them with glitter. I'm sure the whole world knows this trick, but I thought it was brilliant and had to try it. I cut the word Spring using Tim's Chip Block alpha die and, after running the letters through my Xyron, covered them with Martha's glitter. So pretty!

The bottom of my tag is finished with a ruffle made from Tissue Tape that's been inked with Peeled Paint Distress ink. The tie at the top is a torn strip from the hankie that was dyed using the same stain - Spun Sugar - that I used on the flowers.

Whew! So much experimenting! I hope everyone has been having as much fun as I have with all of their new Tim Holtz and Ranger products. I'm submitting this to the Simon Says Stamp and Show a Word challenge, as well as The Artistic Stamper Spring challenge and the Wednesday Stamper Fabulously Colorful challenge. Thanks so much for stopping by!

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.

Tagging Along with Wednesday Stamper

My Wednesday Stamper submission is a birthday card I made for someone on the All Things Tim Yahoo group. The tag background was created using the Pulled Glimmers technique from the June/July '10 issue of the Technique Junkie newsletter. I also tried out a little bleach stamping on top of my background. I haven't done much of that - it's a great technique.

All stamps are from a Tim Holtz clear stamp set. The layered flower was cut from vintage French book pages using the Tattered Florals die, also from TH....of course. I mean....seriously....who else is there? ;-)

p.s. Be sure and come back tomorrow - I have something SO cool to share!

Tag Tuesday - Fabric, Wednesday Stamper - Music, Plus a Tut!

Back when I first used my Faux Tarnished Metal technique, I promised that I would post a tutorial, and I've finally gotten around to doing it! My ATT friend, Mary-Beth, graciously offered to send me some birdcage and bird die cuts so I could recreate the metal cage. Thanks so much Mary-Beth! :-) Here we go:

Supplies: Versamark watermark ink pad; brown (not pictured), bronze/copper, black acrylic paint; Ranger silver embossing powder; Ranger Ultra Thick embossing powder; birdcage or other die; heat gun; sponge or sponge brush. Tip: the plastic from an Idea-ology package makes a great palette!

Step 1: Paint birdcage with a combination of brown and copper acrylic paint. This color will peek through your melted embossing powder in the end.

Step 2: Cover entire die cut with Versamark, or other clear pigment ink.

Step 3: Cover entire piece in silver embossing powder. Tap off excess.

Step 4: Emboss using a heat gun. Let cool.

 Step 5: Reapply Versamark, covering silver embossing. It's ok to leave some un-inked areas, if you like.

Step 6: Cover with Ultra Thick embossing powder. Tap off excess.

Step 7: Emboss UTEE using heat gun. You'll notice the UTEE causes the silver embossing powder to dissipate, creating little 'windows' through to the base color. Very cool!! At this point, you can decide if you want more silver, more UTEE, etc. I added another layer of silver and another layer of UTEE, proceeding as shown above.

 

This is my piece after I was done with embossing. Don't you love the way the silver embossing is broken up? It's really starting to look like tarnished metal!

Step 8: Using a cosmetic sponge or sponge brush (one of Tim's Dabbers would be great for this!) cover the entire piece with black acrylic paint. Be generous.

Step 9: Wipe paint from birdcage using a tissue or paper towel. You can leave on as little or as much paint as you like. If it dries too soon, dampen your tissue and re-wipe.

Finished!!

My tag background was a second generation Antiqued Glimmers (Technique Junkie Newsletter) 'swipe' after making my tag for Day 1 of Tim's Christmas tags. I spotted it on my work table and decided it would be perfect with the bird cage. My bird was stamped with a flourish from one of Tim's clear stamp sets, and then clear embossed. I sponged Faded Jeans and Bundled Sage over the top. Love that technique!

To give some contrast to the tag, I added a scrap of music from an old hymnal. Since the Wednesday Stamper theme was 'Music', it works perfectly for that challenge. I used Elmer's large glue dots raise the birdcage slightly, to give some dimension, and the thin glue dots hold the bird securely.

To fit the 'A Bit of Fabric' theme over at Tag Tuesday, I created a fabric flower using a technique my friend Debi Vincent taught at our stamp club. It's so cool! Maybe I'll see if she minds me posting a tut for that one of these days. Finally, I edged both the tag and bird with some of Martha's glitter and then mounted it to a French text covered wood block, just like I did for all my Christmas tags. The stamps I used are all from Tim Holtz. Whew!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and try it for yourself. There are lots of different ways this could be used, and endless variations and combinations you could try. I would really appreciate you crediting me with the technique if you post it anywhere. :-)

**Be sure and click on any image to see a large version and more detail.

Wednesday Stamper/Tim's Tag - Day 10

After a week or so of not working on my tags, I decided I really wanted to finish them. So, today I chose to ignore everything I should be doing and just do what I wanted to do - very selfish, I know!

Ironically, this was not one of my favorite tags but, after working on it, I totally fell in love with it. I didn't have the snowman (plus, I'm just not a snowman girl), but I thought the Grungeboard bird would be a good substitute. Unfortunately, I had used the bird from my sheet, but I still had the sheet with the cutout of the bird. So, I traced it onto a piece of tag board and proceeded as Tim instructed.

I didn't have the washers that Tim used and I struggled to think of a substitute. I tried punching a disc out of metal and then punching another hole in it, but the size wasn't right. I thought and thought.....what did I have that would easily cut a disc that small??? You'll never guess what I used. Seriously. Try. Give up? I used the Gadget Gears die! The center of the top gear makes the perfect sized 'washer' blank. I used more of the metal my friend Ronnie gave me - I scuffed it a little and then lightly sponged it with black Stazon ink. I also sanded shiny silver brads and inked them to match.

When I first looked at Tim's tag, I thought he'd added snow to the bottom. It ended up that it was just for the picture, but I decided I NEEDED that snow on mine! I had some dollar store snow I'd bought ages ago (honestly, I think this is the same material as the fluffy stuff that probably costs 100 times more), so I squirted a bunch of Glossy Accents around the bottom and pressed it on. Loved it!

I made one more addition to my tag - I'd seen that the Wednesday Stamper theme was 'Snowflakes' and I was like, aha! That's exactly what this tag needs. After creating my background (by the way, I ended up cutting a white tag...I don't see how Tim gets the clear blues on a manila tag, mine always gets muddy!) I stamped a snowflake from Oxford Impressions using white acrylic paint. I think it gives it the perfect touch!

BTW, did you know that Lin is giving away an awesome prize package? Go check out her blog and enter!!

Wednesday Stamper - Spring + New Stamps From Oxford Impressions!

I am so in love with the new Farmer Boy stamp collection from Oxford Impressions! They are just perfect for Springtime projects. Today's Wednesday Stamper theme is Spring and I thought this tag was a perfect fit - Spring is a busy time on the farm!

BTW, OI is now offering downloadable collage sheets. My milk cap is from the Farm Ephemera sheet. I love digital downloads - they offer instant gratification. :-)

Wednesday Stamper - Dress

Every couple of months my stamp club has a challenge. We are given different materials to work with and/or alter. Our completed pieces are brought to the meeting two months later to share. At our July meeting one of the members passed out these:

They were little voodoo dolls that had been given out as part of a promotion - I think it was for DirectTV or something like that. The doll was supposed to represent cable, I think. Anyway......

I had thought that I might do something where I bound the doll and made it into more of a cone shape. Last night I was hit with a flash of inspiration and came up with what you see at the top.

Thanks to being such a junk collector, I had everything on hand. The legs and head were cut off and reused as the strips for the top skirt. It's hard to see, but there is a harlequin pattern stamped in black on the strips. I know it's not a lot of stamping, but I think it does (barely) quality for this week's Wednesday Stamper Dress theme.

It is always very interesting when we have these challenges. It brings out something in me creatively that I can't explain. Here are a few other things I've made for these challenges.


This is another art doll I made. The challenge this time was to alter an eyeglass case. This, along with some of the other member's cases was featured in an article in Altered Arts magazine. Unfortunately, they photographed most of them as a group and it was impossible to really appreciate any of them. Very disappointing!

This is a book I made to hold pages from a Gothic Arch swap. The covers are made of ceiling tiles. Very fun stuff to work with!

This one has been on my blog before. It's a plastic medicine bottle that I altered.


Last one! This is a cover I made to bind all the pages from our coffee filter swap. It is much cooler in real life - the brown ink on the burlap seems to have lightened and turn a bit reddish over time.

Apparently when faced with a challenge, my weapons of choice are wire, copper, and rust!

Wednesday Stamper - Colorful

For Wednesday Stamper's Colorful theme. I was experimenting with Trish Bee's Gold Leaf resist technique, but was doing it from memory and didn't realize I was supposed to use watercolors. Ooops! I used acrylics but still like the look of it. Elephant stamp is one of my faves from The Stampsmith's Passage to India plate. The whole piece is stitched on to a piece of black velvet. Very hard to see from the scan.

I'm thinking it would make a really cool purse. I don't know how I'd protect the paper though....maybe just scan the whole thing and then print it on fabric? Iron on transfer?

Wednesday Stamper - Country Flag Colors

I am cheating a bit for this week's Wednesday Stamper theme. This is something that I made a couple years ago. It was for a postcard swap on the Tennessee Stampers Yahoo group. I think the theme was 4th of July? Something patriotic anyway. It was one of my first experiments with fabric collage and also the first time I'd ever done an image transfer.

The little boy is my dad. His mom used to dress his brother and him in the most adorable little Army and Navy outfits. He was such a little cutie!

Wednesday Stamper - Fashion, Theme Thursday - Flourishes + a Freebie!

I had a hard time deciding what to do for today's Theme Thursday challenge, but once I did, I had so much fun! I started by using a Tattered Angels flourish mask and shimmer sprays to create a background on a vintage French book page. I used that as my inspiration for coloring my lady's dress. I had recently come across some vintage French postcards and this one ended up being the perfect element to layer with the other pieces.

I bought a Slice AGES ago but for some reason had put off using it - it hadn't even been out of the box! I stared it down today and decided I would figure out how to use it. Of course, it was a total snap to use and I am an idiot for not using it sooner! I love the different flourishes it can make (my main reason for buying it). After I cut these out I ran them thru the Cuttlebug to give them some extra texture.

Rubber stamps are all from the Le Beau Monde collection by Oxford Impressions. I was stumped by the Wednesday Stamper Fashion theme yesterday, but after I finished my card I realized it was perfect for that theme too.

Feel free to download this postcard and use in your own artwork!

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!

Wednesday Stamper - Bella Italia

For today's Wednesday Stamper 'Bella Italia' theme I made a quick card. The background was made with the Cuttlebug Stamps technique from the latest Technique Junkie newsletter. For the texture, I used a Kabuka mold from Ten Seconds Studio (thanks Cyndi!). It made a fantastic impression! Stamps are all from Oxford Impressions.