A year of Coasters revealed

This year challenging myself to do 12 coasters instead of tags has been yes a challenge. Coasters are much smaller than the tags that are usually used. They are just 4″ squares.

It is with a fondness and some sadness though that I say goodbye to the 12 tags of 2012 and reveal the piece of wall art I created with my coasters.

I know that this year will see even more creativity and I already have my idea ready and waiting for the first tag of 2013 (where would we be without Mr Holtz’s monthly inspiration).

Yes I added a little to some of the tags, an image here, a little glitter there, nothing major bar the complete reboot of my Febuary (oops almost typed fabuary) coaster on which I did keep two of my original elements just gave them a better backdrop as it were.

So here it is the very Last installment of my 12 coasters of 2012 the finished Canvas (painted in antique linen crackle paint, with letters cut out of sizzix love letters strip alphabet die, stamped with coffe bean ink on hero arts Kraft cs and all stuck on with matt multi medium) It truly has been a year of creativity and I for one am very glad that with the exception of April I managed to get all my coasters uploaded and shared on time.

 

What do you think?

12 Tags of 2012 August!

Wow how time is flying in the midst of being surrounded by black, spiderwebs, swings and dusty concord watercoloured cardstock I saw this months amazing tag.

My mind started to tick into overdrive and so amidst the Dusk/Halloween themed baby shower invites this months Coaster was born.

I don’t have a lot of the stuff Tim used, but did get the Royal Roses Dynamics Die this week and some time ago get one of the Texture fades sets with a frame add into this an Inkadinkado Frames stamp set, a little imagination by using a cameo ( a few years ago packs of cameos were going cheap at spotlight I snagged quite a few pre the cameo craze).

No tattered florals here either so I kept this very simple. Used black embossing powder on the frame, embossed around it and followed the other instructions even used Kraft Core for my flowers.

Add in some inked Girls Papierie word Stickers that I inked so they fit the theme and viola this months coaster is finished (I am so excited as I can see the project I have in mind totally comming together can not wait to have 12 of these)

anyway enough rambling here is my Coaster (remember less room on a 4″x4″ coaster)

Day 4 Card 1

Now you will notice for the most part I have been aiming for two cards a day from the Stretch Your Stamps Classes. This is because there is a multitude of techniques and ideas in each class and I honestly just do not have the time to do them all. So figured I would pick two that I had Ideas for and Run with them.

This was a technique where you double emboss . I used Die Cut flowers, and then stamped the gold flower over the top after I embossed them.

Some layouts and a card.

So here I am just waiting to remember to take photos for Adventures into doodling two and three when I remember I have two layouts and a card that I have yet to share with you all. They are all such polar opposites and really stretched my skills in some ways.

The first layout is from my niece’s birthday last year. Her favourite colours are Pink and Rainbow.

Now I am no stranger to pink and pretty. My first thought was cupcakes, with Impasto Icing and corrugated card patty cases. Of course with micro bead sprinkles. I also However I have had a lovely piece of Shimmery Ki memories Lace butterfly CS. I traced a circle onto the packaging paper and cut it out as one piece. I sat there looking at the clear packaging circle and thought oooh wonder what I can do with that. Some Staz on and a Kaiser stamp later I had a lovely acetate looking piece of hand stamped goodness (which also created an idea for faux rub ons and yes it is on my tutorial to do list). I really wanted to try a little painting on white cs, with a smidge of splatter. Add in some hand blinging of 3 stamped flourishes and a giant cupcake to hide the sour expression of someone else at the party and viola a layout is born. I have been working on my layering skills. Just because I like to stretch my skills and push my creative boundaries.

The second layout was a harder journey. I really will need to invest in more 3d flowers or learn to make them myself (budget scrapping can sometimes be a smidge painful full of wants but not always haves). For this I wanted to have a go at clustering. The thing I have learnt is that sometimes my mind is far too ordered. Although I am so happy with how my Layout of me from Kindergarten turned out (my aim is to have all my school photos scrapbooked by the end of the year). I can see that I definitely need more flowers and some other stuff to cluster with. Always a learning curve. I took the colours from the background flowers in this photo as well as the blue in the uniform. Added in some resin flowers, a big hand made one and a matching journaling tag complete with seam binding and jute. And here it is:

I had an idea after joining the girly grunge site for this card. Originally it was going to be for my DT application for Donna Salazar designs (perhaps next time). I was so happy with this Shabby Chic steam punk look. Along with the handmade recycled book flower butterflies and flowers. I cut in half a Tim Holtz cog that I had cut from plastic packaging, which if you look carefully form leaves of sort under my flowers. Just a little snow cap left to dry then inked over with a smidge of green. I totally adore just adding a hint of colour. This is where re inkers and cotton buds come in most handy. It is a simple technique dip your cotton bud into your re-inker and then gently apply on the edges you want colour. Use the clean side to clean off the excess and viola shabby chic. It also works well used with browns for an aged old worn look. So with the big Tim Holtz clock and the Sizzix locket die (all coated in triple thick with a smidge of iridescent medium). This idea was born. Totally love the background with a homemade pearl mist and glimmer screen. Not sure who will be the recipient of this card but I do hope they love it as much as I do. Especially as I parted with one of my Tattered Angels keys just to give it the extra oomph it needed.

So now you are caught up with my few scrapping endeavours this year. As always I look forward to being challenged and stepping out of my comfort zones. All whilst scrapping on a pretty small budget. Often I think that having a small budget has forced me to find ways to be creative that I may not have found if I had an endless stash of wonderful products to chose from. (although I would not complain at having more choices at all and can imagine I would be very happy in a well stocked studio of creativity and with everything at my fingertips yes a woman can dream)

drummmmrrrrrrrrrrrroooooooooooooooollllllllllllllllllllllllllll please and the winner of a Bag of Mixed Die Cut recycled book flowers is…………………………….
Lucky Number 4 Alex Carr! Will be in touch to get your addy for your flowers Congratulations!

Hand Dyed Recycled Flowers

Hi and welcome back to Heavenly Craftings today’s tutorial is a very simple Child friendly one.

You only need a few Materials and the results will amaze you. This is a great way to recycle old books that are just lying around. Great for both the environmentally conscious crafter and the budget crafter.

Some flowers made using the end product of this technique

YouTube Tutorial (please like and subscribe to my ever evolving channel)

So let’s get to it.

Materials:

Flower Dies

An old romance novel

A die cutting machine

Assorted Distress Re-Inkers

A plate or shallow container

A water mister

 

How to:  Tear out your book pages into sets of 8 pages (you will only need about 6 sets to make plenty of flowers.

2.       Choose your flower dies and arrange them onto your die cutting machine plate

Arrange as many as you can and then cover with the book paper and cut them out. Do this until you have a nice pile of flowers

 Mist your container until rivulets form

  Drop in a few drops of each colour of Re-inker into your container

  Mist your container over the re inkers until the drops start to bleed into each other.

      Scatter your flowers over the ink until you have a thick layer of flowers and cannot see any ink

 Mist the flowers until they are all well dampened

Push down on the flowers to allow them to absorb all the ink.

 

Allow them to soak up the ink for a few minute

 

Turn the flowers over and mist them generously again

 

Push down on the flowers

Take your flowers and separate them onto your craft mat. You can leave some in clumps of a flower type.

   

Allow to dry  overnight or place in small batches in a box and dry with your heat gun

 

These make great rolled roses, scrunched flowers or individual blossoms.

Now for the give away! There is a bag of Mixed Dyed Blossoms ready for you to make your own flowers ( a combination of the ones Tiana made on youtube and others I have made using this technique) Just comment on this post for your chance to win

Secondly there is a Bag of Undyed flowers up for grabs simply follow this blog and go into the draw

I will leave this open till just after New Year 🙂

12 Tags Tag 12 With a Fond Farewell

Here is Tim’s final tag link for 2011

  http://timholtz.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/12/12-tags-of-christmastag-12.html

Meet Tim, thus named because his creation was inspired by Tim Holtz’s last tag

This Little Bearbie has the honour of being my smallest bear to date standing at just over 3″ or 8cm tall. His fabric is recycled curtain fabric offcuts and hand stamped and from one of my own unique bear patterns. But more about that later.

Here is the tag I created inspired by Mr Holtz’s

I think in some ways I have put off writing this blog post as it is so hard to say goodbye to such an inspiring event.

What it has given me not just in terms of new techniques or inspiration but also in pushing my boundaries and helping me to grow as a crafter is immeasurable.

After a year fraught with broken appliances, a broken leg and other such disasters it has been a joy to allow my creative side a chance to fly freely culminating in my one and only bear this year. This little bear is my smallest to date standing at just a scotch over 3”

Materials:

Bear: Mini bear or Mini Bear Pattern.

Recycled Curtain Fabric off cut

Staz on Jet Black Ink (I have tried this with other inks and they smudge or fade to much on fabric)

Kaiser Sheet Music Texture clear stamp

4mm Lock nut joint set

3mm glass eyes or in this case as I am out I used some Pearls off a Prima Say it in Pearls flourish (necessity is the mother of invention so they say)

Stuffing (I use pollyflock)

Jingle bell

Burgundy Ribbon

Black Nose thread (either use DMC or some thick ish cotton)

Cotton or fishing line to sew (I use clear fishing line as it is cheaper than the clear sewing thread however it can take a little practice to get used to)

Needle

TAG: Manilla Tag (handmade from a manila folder)

Tissue Paper

Craft Wire Loop

Kaiser Sheet Music Stamp

Pearl Mist (home Made)

Die Namics 5 pointed flower Die

Burgundy Mist (homemade)

Kaiser Black and White Craft Paper

Homemade glimmer glaze (mine used triple thick, water, a drop of pine needles re-inker all mixed together)

Kaiser die cut elements

Tim Holtz clear stamps from both: Urban Grunge and Regal Flourish

Lucky Squirrel Polyshrink in clear

Gold Mixative

Utee & melting pot in my case a paraffin wax pot I got off eBay pre the Melting Pot being available for overseas use.

A Brad

Snow Cap Dabber

Moonlight Snow Glitter

Black Soot Distress Ink

Staz on Jet Black Ink

Heat Gun.

Multi Medium in Mat

Die Namics 5 pointed flower petals cut out of stamped tissue paper (around 6 petals needed)

Let’s start with the Bear.

If you have purchased your own little bear skip this part and move straight onto the tag.

If not you will need to stamp your fabric before cutting out your bear and following the pattern instructions. I tried to line up my pattern pieces so the Music pattern matched up where possible to allow for continuity and a more even looking bear.

Tip: When sewing mini bears I find it easier to leave the opening at the top of the arms and legs rather than the sides. This makes it easier to joint them and ladder stitch them closed.

To attach the jingle bell thread it through your ribbon and glue it at the back of the bears neck or alternately tie a knot. Keep an extra length of matching ribbon so you can attach the bear to your tag but keep it so he is removable as well.

I will create a pattern and do a bear making tutorial soon including step by step pictures and a downloadable free pattern at a later date.

Tag:

Background. Please follow Tim Holtz’s instructions for stamping the background and such. As I did not have his Tissue Paper I Hand stamped some of my own with Staz on and the Kaiser Music stamp and Proceeded as Normal

Wings: See this Link and Watch the Video on how to do this. I used the Regal Flourish wings with some gold Mixative rubbed over the back of them

http://youtu.be/igo7t0U26Bc 

1. I added  some snow cap dabber over the music notes and tissue paper to give it a lighter image
2. I used a little homemade glimmer glaze mixed with some moonlight snow glitter and painted over the whole tag
3. Cut out your side tag and paint with homemade glimmer glaze in green. Put aside to dry
4. Use your Die Cut elements from Kaiser, ink with a little black soot and rub in. I cut the scalloped strip into pieces to better fit the tag then stuck them together ready to place on the tag
5. With some extra stamped tissue paper cut into small strips and glue around your wire circle. To do this fold the pieces in half stamping side out  and place the wire in the middle of this then with a small amount of glue glue the strips down. Keep going until a bit over half your circle is done. Then do the in-between spots. Cut the bottoms of the tissue paper into points and decide where it will be best with placement of the bear and such. Glue it into tag
6. Adhere your Green tag onto the side you want it making sure it is glued over the wire circlet.
7. Play with your bear and wing positioning and when you are happy with it. Glue the wings in Place
8.  Now just below the center of the wings place a small hole in your tag.
9. Put the matching ribbon around your bear’s neck and poke it through the hole in your tag and push it through. Either tie it a bow or tape it to the back of the tag
10. Make your flower by piercing a small hole for your brad and putting it through your petals. I do this putting each layer in-between the petals of the last one. Scrunch one layer at a time starting with the top one into the centre of the flower. Do this as tight as you can. Set the flower on your craft mat and Spritz with burgundy mist (mine is home made with a little red food colouring, 3 drops of black soot re-inker and a little pearl ex powder for shimmer). Heat with your heat gun allowing some of the petals to singe for an extra grungy aged element and place on your tag. (Note I also did this with the Halo of tissue Paper as well to give it a little contrast)

That is it for 12 tags of Christmas for 2012 hope you have enjoyed my creations. Stay tuned for tips, tutorials and creativity.

12 Tags Day 7

Inspired by Tim Holtz

You may be wondering why I am not putting ribbon and charms through the top of my tags. I am putting them onto a huge jump ring sort of like a lose mini album.

Tim Holtz –Blending tool

– Paint Dabber Snow Cap

– Re inkers in Vintage Photo and Antique Linen

– Alcohol ink in Ginger, Lettuce and Gold

– Glossy Accents

-Blending Solution

Cake decorating tools

Rubber mat

Craft Mat

Water Mister

Baking Paper

Kaiser Latte Pearls

Prima Say it in Crystals (not sure which one sorry it was in a pile of Bling)

Heat Gun

Heidi Swapp Edge Distresser

Christmas Seal Sticker

Manilla Tag

Die-Namics Die 5 petal flowers (is a 3 one) sorry I looked for the name but cannot find the die at present

Now this did present a challenge to me not owning any glassine. So here is my faux (a lot lighter and similar but very different) Glassine technique

1. Tear off a length of baking paper (don’t go to big with this as you will be alcohol inking for a very very very long time if you do. I did enough to make about 4 flowers with 2 of each of the larger size petals and one of the teeny petal to hug the pearl)
2. Scrunch it up into a small ball, and then repeat until you are happy with the crinkles on your Baking Paper
3. Spread it out on your craft sheet and flatten it out as much as possible (DO NOT IRON IT FLAT or you will only get an very very very light version when you ink it and it will take way more alcohol ink)
4. Generously ink your felt with ginger alcohol ink and swipe it in long strokes over your baking paper (have your heat tool handy and ready to go)
5. Heat with your heat tool. Do not be alarmed at how much seeps into the baking paper, Repeat this process until you are happy with the depth of your Brown inked lines (use your blending solution when needed)
6. Flip over your baking paper (do not do this on the same side as the colour will blend into the darkest one) and take your lettuce alcohol ink. Ink a new felt with this and repeat the process until you’re happy with the depth of colour. Do not expect this to go as dark as glassine it more tints the baking paper
7. Do a final coat over your lettuce of gold (I did mine by using a fresh felt and adding the gold mixative and dabbing a little blending soloution in the middle of each one) then heat and repeat if you want a bit more depth and shimmer

Now for the actual Tag

1.  Use the background technique from Day 4 and also posted on today’s tag (if you do not have the distress stains see my day 4 post for how I did this and substitute the blues for shades of brown and use a little more snow cap)
2. Fold your baking paper to fit your die (you can cut quite a few flowers at once)  and roll through your die cutting machine (I have a bug and  used the c, b and a plates)
3. Now make your flowers by using 2 of each of the larger sizes and one of the smallest flowers. Use your ball tool and push it into the centre of each petal and pull back towards you. Do this for each petal.
4. Assemble your flower with a small dot of glossy accents in the middle. Place each petal in-between the outer petals. Then finish with a large latte pearl in the centre
5. Cut your say it in crystals into two pieces (I do this so that the flowers do not hide too much of the Bling) I had also cut some off this to use in other projects. This was a corner one. Decide where you want to position the flourishes and stick them down.
6. Bunch up 3 of your flowers. I used a little glossy accents on the sides to glue them together. Then place a little underneath to secure them onto your tag
7. Place your other flower at the top right corner and glue in place
8. Add your Christmas sticker or stamps

The hardest part of this for me was experimenting to get a faux glassine. It will never be as dark as the original however I am really pleased with the result.  Let me know if you think I should do a YouTube tutorial on this or using cake decorating tools to give your paper flowers shape.