Pop it Ups Designer Challenge - Masculine Cards

Hi all! It's time again for Karen Burniston's Designer Challenge. This month it's all about masculine cards - my favorite! When I was thinking about what kind of card to make, Karen mentioned that my aviation accordion card was a very popular sample in her classes and it might be fun to do another card using the same techniques.

I decided to combine elements of that card with the feel of this Amelia Earhart travel journal I made a couple years ago. I love the look of the faux leather and thought a vintage journal theme would make a great looking manly card.

Here is the open view. I was so happy I had this map paper in my stash - just perfect! I first saw the leather technique in Julie Andrus' fantastic book, Paper Transformed. It's truly a must-have if you love techniques. There is also a similar technique using Perfect Pearls in Tim Holtz' Compendium of Curiosities book - another great book packed with ideas!

Here's a quick tutorial if you'd like to make this yourself:

Begin by cutting a piece of kraft cardstock to 12" x 4 1/4". Score 5 1/2" from the top and 1" from the bottom.

Next, saturate with Ranger's Perfect Ink Refresher. Work the liquid into the paper, crumple and then smooth out. Sponge with Brushed Corduroy and Pumice Stone ink to highlight wrinkles. Let dry (you can use your heat gun to speed it up). I didn't use an iron, but you could also do that if you want a flatter look.

To create the closure, cut two circles from lightweight chipboard using the smallest circle die from Karen's Circle Accordion album. Paint the circles with Black Soot Distress paint and attach to the card using brads as shown. To give the brads the look of eyelets, punch a hole in the top using an awl (a great tip from Tim Holtz!). Tie with idea-ology Striped Paper String.

For the metal panel on the front of the card, cover a piece of lightweight chipboard with foil tape and cut using the label die from Karen's Lorna Label set. Next, cut small pieces of foil and cover the label in a patchwork style. Trim excess and add faux rivets with an awl. Cover the label with black paint and wipe off to give it a vintage look.

To finish the front, stamp an idea-ology Journaling Ticket with the text stamp from Artistic Outpost's Industrial stamp set and adhere to the card. Stamp the sentiment (from one of Tim's clear sets) on a scrap of manila cardstock, tear, and attach to the label with a Tiny Attacher. Stamp the compass image onto clear plastic/transparency film, trim, and adhere to card with a Long Fastener and a Spinner. Make sure you do all of this before you work on the inside of the card so the attachments are hidden.

To create the inside panel, cut a piece of map-themed cardstock (this is from Prima) to the same dimensions as the cover, slicing off just a bit off the edges to make it fit. Cut the pop-up on the center fold using Karen's Happy Birthday PopUp die. Cut the coordinating greeting from foil-covered cardstock. Since I wanted the greeting to really 'pop', I cut black cardstock using the pop-up die and adhered it to the card, slightly off-setting.

The little airplane was stamped on foil-covered chipboard with StazOn, cut out, and adhered to the card with pop dots.

I hope you enjoyed my masculine card this month! I am just thrilled with how it turned out! Make sure you check out the Elizabeth Craft Designs blog on Wednesday to see more great inspiration from the team, plus a new tutorial from Karen.

All of the supplies I used can be found at Inspiration Emporium and Elizabeth Craft designs (the birthday die isn't in stock at IE yet). I've also included a link to Amazon for the book - I can't recommend it enough! Remember to use my coupon code - stamptramp - at IE to save 10% on your order.

Karen Burniston Happy Birthday PopUp Die Karen Burniston Lorna Label Pop-Up Karen Burniston Lorna Label Pop-Up Sizzix Magnetic Platform Paper Transformed: A Handbook of Surface-Design Recipes and Creative Paper Projects Artistic Outpost - Charles and Amelia Artistic Outpost - Industrial Backgrounds Air Travel Inkssentials Metal Foil Tape Ranger Kraft Cardstock 12x12 Kraft Core Paper idea-ology Paper String - Stripes idea-ology Game Spinners Idea-ology Long Fasteners Idea-ology Journaling Tickets StazOn - Black Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink Distress Paint - Black Soot Inkssentials Ink Refresher Scotch Tape Glider Vagabond

InLinkz.com

Did you know there is also a new challenge up on the Inspiration Journal blog? We want to see your "In Disguise" projects. Pop over to the blog to join in a possible win a $50 shopping spree!

Halloween Mini Accordion Album

Hi all! I hope you're not getting tired of my Halloween projects, because I have another one for you! This time it's a little mini album that I think you're going to love.

I created this project for this month's challenge from Inspiration Emporium. By taking Eileen Hull's Mini Album die and turning it sideways, I created a portfolio. And here's the fun part...

I added envelopes to create accordion pockets that hold tags. Perfect for scrapbooking your Halloween memories!

Here's how it came together:

1. I started with envelopes from Walmart that measured 4 3/4" x 6 1/2". I sealed them and then cut 1 3/4" off of one edge.
2. Next, I mixed some Brushed Corduroy Distress ink with water and misted the envelopes. The new Distress Stain sprays would be perfect for this, but I don't have them yet. :(
3. When the envelopes were dry I added a strip of Scor-tape to the top back of each envelope.
4. I cut Ranger's #10 tags down to 5" so that they would fit into the envelopes. I added various trims to the top and decorated them with paper from My Mind's Eye.
5. To create the album cover, I adhered more paper from MME to a piece of cream mat board and die cut it with Eileen's Mini Album die. I decorated the front with dies from Eileen and coordinating papers.
6. For the spine of the book, I scored a 4 3/4" x 3" piece of black cardstock every 1/4" and then folded it accordion style.
7. Next, I added Scor-tape to hold the envelopes in place and adhered the spine to the book. (If I did this again I would adhere the pages to the spine first - this was a learning experience!)
8. Finally, I adhered the envelopes to the spine and then to each other.

To give the accordion part a more finished look, I added Tim Holtz's Tissue Tape to the edges. To create the closures, I used the album die to cut two closure pieces from Grungeboard, I painted them black and then added brads. Velcro dots secure them to the album cover.

I love that this little album can sit up on its own and be a decor piece, as well as an album. I hope you're inspired to make one of your own. It would make an adorable Christmas album as well!

All the supplies I used can be found at Sizzix and Inspiration Emporium via the links below. Remember, at IE you can use my coupon code - stamptramp - to save 10% on your order.

Eileen Hull Mini Album Die Eileen Hull Decorative Frame Die Eileen Hull Ornamental Labels Sizzix Bats and Crossbones Garland Sizzix Cream Mat Board My Mind's Eye - Lost and Found Halloween Inkssentials #10 Black Tag Neenah Epic Black Cardstock Idea-ology Crinkle Ribbon idea-ology Label Pull idea-ology Ring Fasteners idea-ology Jute String idea-ology Trimmings - Black and Cream idea-ology Tissue Tape - Laboratorie idea-ology Seasonal Chit Chat Scor-Tape 1/4" Inkssentials Blending Tool Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink Brushed Corduroy Distress Reinker Black Soot Distress Stain Spiced Marmalade Distress Stain Ranger Collage Glue Stick Vagabond

InLinkz.com

Happy World Cardmaking Day!

Hi all! Even though we're in the middle of a major house remodeling project and I have tons of things I should be doing, I couldn't let World Cardmaking Day go by without spending a little time in my studio. There are times when you just have to let it all go and have some creative fun!

This Pop it Ups card was inspired by a little Halloween ornament I saw at Michaels the other day. My first thought was, 'that would make a cool card!' I cut the card panels from transparency film using Karen Burniston's Oval Accordion die. The frames were cut from black cardstock using Karen's Flourish Frame Edges die and covered with black microfine glitter. I wish it showed up better - it's so pretty!

I cut more panels from off-white cardstock using the same die and trimmed out the oval section. After stamping the little scenes I adhered the ovals to the card panels. The stamps are from Artistic Outpost and My Mind's Eye. Unfortunately, I don't think the AO stamps are available any longer. :( The little spiderweb is from a set by Oxford Impressions.

I decided not to decorate the front and just let the frame show through. I love how it looks from both sides!

All the supplies I used, other than the glitter, can be found at Inspiration Emporium via the links below. Remember to use my coupon code to save 10%! The glitter can be found at Elizabeth Craft Designs.

Pop it Ups Oval Accordion Card Karen Burniston Flourish Frame Edges Stampers Anon Ornate Collages My Mind's Eye - Haunted Pumice Stone Distress Marker Spiced Marmalade Distress Marker Black Soot Distress Ink Pumice Stone Distress Ink Neenah Epic Black Cardstock Ranger Sticky Embossing Powder Silk Microfine Glitter - Basic Black

InLinkz.com
Thanks so much for stopping by today. Have a wonderful, artsy, inky weekend!

Williams-Sonoma Knock-Off Halloween Wreath

It's the 1st of October and that means it's time to start decking the halls with all things wicked and spooky! A few weeks ago I was browsing through the Williams-Sonoma website and saw a gorgeous grapevine wreath with a crow on it. I fell in love with it, but when I saw the price, I was stunned - $70! Since it's such a simple wreath made with readily available materials, I decided to take a trip to the dollar store and make one of my own.

Here's a quick tutorial to show how it came together:

The WS wreath is round, but when I spotted this oval shape at Michaels, I fell in love with it! To create the base, I lightly misted it with grey and black spray paint.

When the paint was dry, I adhered Spanish moss from the dollar store.

Finally, I hot glued a dollar store crow to the moss. That's it! Almost silly to even write a tutorial for this!

The Williams-Sonoma version has a fancier crow, but for a savings of over $60, I think this one is just fine!

You can find products similar to what I used on Amazon via the links below. Thanks so much for stopping by today!