Thursday, January 31, 2013

Club Stamp Equestrian Card Kit & Cowboy Boot Card Template

Today I wanted to share the rest of the cards I made using Club Scraps - Club Stamp Equestrian Card Kit.....

Club Scrap - November 2012 010


Club Scrap - November 2012 005


Club Scrap - November 2012 009

And here is my cowboy boot card!
I am so tickled with how it came out.

Club Scrap - November 2012 003

Here is a jpeg template you can save to your computer and resize....

Boot Card Template 001

or you can go grab the PDF file - Ink Stains Boot Card Template.

It's very simple to create...

*The boot card is traced and cut from a folded sheet of cardstock (back of boot is the fold line).  

*Then cut one instep in a coordinating color.
NOTE: I like to make the boot a lighter color and the instep darker.

*Finally I cut the sole from black cardstock.

*Stamp each piece as desired.  I think the stamps from the Equestrian kit really add authentic details to this boot card.

*Cut a 1/2" strip of cardstock for the pull strap which is attached to the center top of the boot. 

* Add sentiment if desired.

And you're all set! 
I have a couple other cards I've made using this template that I will share this weekend...and it's not just for the guys!

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Club Scrap - Club Stamp Equestrian Kit

Well, if you've been hanging around for the last few months you know how busy it's been....from Halloween, right into holiday cards, gifts, ornaments and other ideas.  Then the new year hit and we've been working on the technique calendar.   SO I haven't had any extra time to post the awesome Club Scrap - Club Stamp kits I've been working with. 

Today I am going to remedy that by posting several cards I made using the November - Equestrian Kit!  Here is a peek at what the kit consisted of....the left hand side is what everyone got plus one of the smaller kits on the right.  I was lucky enough to receive the Stamper's Project (more on that on Friday). 


Well, the kit in my opinion is just beautiful!  It's got a western feel without being overly "cowboy".  Don't get me wrong...nothing wrong with the cowboys in our lives but this kit is versatile enough that it doesn't just have to be for the guys.

Here is the first installment of cards I made with this kit....

Club Scrap - November 2012 001

(inside of above card)

Club Scrap - November 2012 002
Club Scrap - November 2012 004
Club Scrap - November 2012 006
Club Scrap - November 2012 007
Club Scrap - November 2012 008
Tomorrow I will share a few more cards plus I will also be sharing a pattern for a "boot" card I made using this kit as well. 
Friday I will be sharing my twist on the Stamper's Project.  It's not the western handbag/journal that they created but it's another project with a western vibe that some of you might be familiar with.  Let's just say these gems can now be found at antique stores and flea markets but were once very popular everywhere!  Curious???  You'll just have to wait and see!
Hope to see you then!

Just For Fun Wednesday - For My Valentine Hearts & Pearls

It's Wednesday and you know what that means...

Today I have a fun little card with some danglie hearts!

jff 1-30 002
 
 
I hope you're all having a wonderful week so far!!!
 
 

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Google Chrome & Stamping Top50 Malware

I just wanted to pop in and let everyone know that I have removed the StampingTop50 widget that seems to be causing lots of issues for Google Chrome users.   Apparently GC views the widget as malware and won't let people either view the site or it keeps giving them warning messages. 

I'm sorry to have to remove it as it's a great way to get exposure for the blog but you all are more important!

Hopefully this will fix any issues you have been having.

2013 Technique Calendar Recap (with links)

It's hard to believe that we've finished the calendar already...
12 fun techniques to start the year off right!

Here is a recap of the months, techniques, links and other bits of info.

The two dies I've been using for each month are:



Here is the Template link for the pennant I am using as well as links on where to find great mini calendar templates.
 
 
 
 
 

2013 Technique Calendar Recap 001
 
 
 
 
 
 
2013 Technique Calendar Recap 002
 
 
 
 
(It's safe to heat the hair spray with the heat tool - I haven't had any trouble with noxious fumes or worse when I've done it.)
 
2013 Technique Calendar Recap 005
 
I hope you've all enjoyed this calendar
and
that you'll join me again next January for the
2014 Technique Calendar!
 

Monday, January 28, 2013

2013 Technique Calendar - December - Groovy Inks

Last page for our 2013 Technique Calendar!
I'm a bit sad that we're finished with it, it's been so much fun but all good things you know...

Let's get to the technique ~

Groovy Inks

This is a technique I came up with a while ago but again, it's one that I don't play with often enough.  It's so very easy, incorporates common mediums and the results are spectacular!


2013 Technique Calendar - December 001

Supplies:

Glossy Cardstock
Alcohol Inks
Hair Spray


Instructions:

1. Cover your glossy cardstock with an ample layer of hair spray...puddles are o.k.  You want enough so your alcohol inks will stay liquid quite a while and can move freely over the paper.

2013 Technique Calendar - December 003

2.  Add several drops of  each color(s) of Alcohol Ink.  I like to stick to 1-3 colors so they don't get too muddy which can happen.

2013 Technique Calendar - December 004

3.  With your finger gently move the inks around the paper.  You will notice that the inks will travel with various degrees of intensity for a nice color variation.  You can cross the colors over each other but not too much...again, you don't want to make mud.    If you notice that your colors aren't moving as freely as you would like you can spritz on more hairspray. 

If you don't want to use your finger you can always tilt the paper too and fro to create an interesting pattern.  Shoot, you can even do this after you mix it with your fingers.


Here is what my inks look like....

2013 Technique Calendar - December 005

4.  You will need to let the ink/hair spray mix dry completely.  I usually speed up drying with my heat tool.  If you do use the heat tool you want to keep it moving over the mix as it can heat up and start to bubble up.

Here is my December page...

2013 Technique Calendar - December 006

2013 Technique Calendar - December 008

So there you go...
a calendar full of nifty techniques
that can be incorporated into all of your projects!

Tomorrow I'll be posting a recap of all the techniques plus links in case you missed any.
 
I'd love to see how you've used these techniques.  If you'd like to share a link to any of your creations, please feel free to post them for all to see!



Friday, January 25, 2013

2013 Technique Calendar - November - Double Stamped Watercolor Images

Today I have a fun technique for you that works with all sorts of stamps and for all occasions & holidays.

Supplies:

Dye Ink
Glossy Cardstock
Stamps
Water
Heat Tool

Instructions:

1. Tape your cardstock down to your work top.  This will help keep the cardstock flat after you add the water.

2. Mist the cardstock with water.  You want it to be fairly wet.

2013 Technique Calendar - November 001


3. Ink up your stamp with a variety of inks and stamp it onto the wet cardstock.  It's o.k. if the inks run and blend together.  This is the look you're going for. These will be your watercolor type images. Here is what my cardstock looked like at this point.

2013 Technique Calendar - November 002

4. Let your paper dry naturally or speed up the drying process with the heat tool. 

2013 Technique Calendar - November 003

5.  Ink up the same image again with a variety of inks and stamp over each of the original "watercolor" images. You will now have defined images over the watercolor images as shown.

  2013 Technique Calendar - November 004

6. For a bit more color I sponged yellow ink to the background.

2013 Technique Calendar - November 005
And here is what my finished calendar page looks like....
2013 Technique Calendar - November 010
Just think of all the fun combinations you can come up with for this technique!
I especially love it when I'm working with flower images.
It's your turn!
Only one more month to go!

Thursday, January 24, 2013

2013 Technique Calendar - October - Tissue Paper Re-do

You know as much as I like to recycle things I wouldn't at least toss in one technique using someone elses garbage ;)

Today I want you to dig around and find some used tissue paper.  Since Christmas was only a month ago I hope most of you will be able to find a scrap or two laying around.  I myself never throw any away...it could be the nastiest looking stuff but you just never know when it might come in handy!

Supplies:

Old Tissue Paper
Ink (re-inkers work great)
Sponge
Collage or Liquid Glue (your fav)
Cardstock
Heat Tool (optional)
Metallic Rub-on's or Metallic Ink

Instructions:

1. Begin by making sure your tissue paper is REALLY crumpled and worn looking.  The more winkles the better.

2013 Tech Cal - October 001

2. Apply a nice layer of glue over the entire sheet of cardstock.

2013 Tech Cal - October 003

3.  Open up the tissue paper and roughly spread it out.  Place it on the cardstock and gently press it into the glue.  Let the glue dry naturally or use the heat tool to speed drying.

2013 Tech Cal - October 004

4. Apply a few drops of desired color of ink onto a damp sponge.  Begin dabbing the ink over the cardstock.  Use one or more colors of ink as desired.    You will notice that you get light and dark areas which is perfect!  Just the look we're going for.   Let the inks dry naturally or use a heat tool to speed drying.

2013 Tech Cal - October 006

5.  Now it's time to add some shine.  I am using Inka Gold medium but you could use any metallic rub-on, acrylic paint or metallic ink for this step.   Use your fingertip and gently rub your chosen medium over the winkled bits of the tissue paper.  No pressure is needed, you're only hitting the peaks of the tissue paper.


2013 Tech Cal - October 008

here are a few pics of what it looks like....

2013 Tech Cal - October 009
2013 Tech Cal - October 011
2013 Tech Cal - October 013
Pretty cool huh?
Once your metallic medium has dried your paper is ready to use!
Here is what my calendar page looks like....

2013 Tech Cal - October 015
 
O.k..there you go
10 months down, only two more to go!
How are you coming on your calendar?
I hope you're all enjoying it so far.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

JFF Wednesday - Yellow Roses

Happy Wednesday to you!

I hope you're having a good week so far...we're half way there.

Today is Just For Fun Rubber Stamps Wednesday and today I wanted to share a card I made using the stamp American Beauty.  I've already made a red rose, a pink rose and so I made these ones yellow!

JFF 1-23 001
 
I've been playing again with my Spectrum Noir Markers having lots of fun experimenting with colors.  I'm still not very good at it yet but it's looking better.  My leaves are still a bit wonky but I think it's pretty good for only my third time messing with alcohol markers.  I need to take some time and hunt down some videos or blogs about using them.  Too many projects, not nearly enough time!
 
Hope you have a wonderful day everyone!! 

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

2013 Technique Calendar - September - Transfer Foil Paper

I have to tell you I've been just busting at the seams to get to this technique!  I absolutely love it because it uses so many of my favorite things.... First it's an image transfer of sorts (which I love), it incorporates ephemera (another plus) AND I can play with leafing flakes!!  

Transfer Foil Paper

One component of this technique is Metal Leafing Flakes.  I use Sepp Leafing Flakes but you can use whatever type of metal leaf flakes you have on hand.  Now if you don't have any metallic flakes  have no fear ~ you can simply substitute any of the following : metallic paint pen (like Krylon's metallic paint pens); metallic acrylic paints; metallic ink pads or re-inkers; etc.  I will go into applying these various mediums when I get to that step.

Supplies:

Packing Tape
Ephemera - book pages, newsprint, sheet music, etc.
Metal Leafing Flakes (or other metallic medium)
Water (optional)
Cardstock

Instructions:

1.  Gather up the paper ephemera you want to use.  I am using old dictionary pages and sheet music.  Two of my favorites!!

Tech Calendar - Sept 001

2.  Now pull off a piece of packing tape from the roll.  The length doesn't matter as we'll be cutting them down into smaller pieces later on.

Tech Calendar - Sept 002

3.  Gently lay the tape onto your ephemera.  You don't want to press it on...we're only trying to pick up a minimal amount of the text as shown in the photo.  Repeat this step several times until you have 6-10 strips of text covered tape.

Tech Calendar - Sept 005

4.  Now I want you to check each piece of tape to see how sticky it is on the back.  If you've got quite a bit of stick to each piece you can skip to step #5.  If you picked up quite a bit of paper and your tape has lost most of it's sticky power then you'll need to complete this step before moving on.

If you've got a bit too much paper, place the tape sticky side up on your work surface.  Give it a few squirts of water and gently rub off the excess paper pulp.    You can see in this photo I've got quite a bit of paper off the tape. 

Tech Calendar - Sept 006

Once you've removed a good portion of the pulp, let the tape dry.  As it dries much of the sticky will return.  If it doesn't I'll share a way to fix that in the next step.

5.  It's time to add the leafing flakes!  Place the tape sticky side up and sprinkle a pile of the leafing flakes over the tape.  With your finger gently spread the flakes over the tape and begin rubbing the flakes into the sticky areas.  When you've covered all the sticky areas you can set this piece of tape aside and continue working on the remaining strips. 

Tech Calendar - Sept 007 Tech Calendar - Sept 009

NO STICKY AREAS - If by chance your tape doesn't have much stick after step 4 then you can simply apply some double sided adhesive to the packing tape - I like to use my ATG but any will work.

METALLIC LEAF ALTERNATIVES - If you're going to be using one of the alternatives I mentioned at the beginning you should apply them now.  If you're using paint or inks I would apply it with a sponge gently dabbing one or more colors over the back of the tape until covered. 

If you're using a metallic paint pen pump up the pen so the nib is very wet.  Create "pools" of color in various areas then go back over these areas with a sponge and dab the paint around the tape until covered.

Here is what one of my strips looks like....You can clearly see where the tape was sticky and where there was more paper. Creates a cool effect huh?

Tech Calendar - Sept 008

6.  Cut up the strips into roughly 2" pieces.

Tech Calendar - Sept 011

7.  Apply double stick adhesive to your cardstock and begin placing the leafed pieces on the cardstock.  You can position some upright, others on their side, even more upside down.  There is no right or wrong here....

Tech Calendar - Sept 013

Once the cardstock has been covered you're set to go!
Here is how my calendar page turned out....

Tech Calendar - Sept 015
 
Awesome huh?
Told ya so :)
 
Now it's your turn to create!

Monday, January 21, 2013

2013 Technique Calendar - August - Baked Acrylics

I had some new colors of acrylic paints in my stash that I haven't had a chance to play with yet so I thought today would be a good time to break them out.

August here in Indiana is the heart of summer...smoldering temps with lots of humidity...and when I think summer I think bright colors so my new paints fit the bill.   Now, I don't know if you've ever noticed but in summer sometimes it gets so hot that it actually melts the asphalt on the roads (at least it does here)....that got me thinkin' and today's technique was the result!

I have to apologize ~ I have very few photos for today's technique.  I started playing and totally forgot about the camera!  That's the sign of a really fun technique ;)  LOL!!

Baked Acrylics

Supplies:

Acrylic Paints
Cardstock
Water
Small Container (for mixing if nec.)
Heat Tool (a must!)
Ink
Ink Blending Tool

Instructions:

1. Depending on how thick your paints are you may need to pour a bit out in a small container and add a few drops of water.  The paint needs to be the consistency of something like mustard, ketchup, steak sauce, etc.   You don't want it runny but you need to be able to drizzle it about your paper and still hold it's shape.  My paints were just right so I used them right out of the jar. 

2. First, I started off by smearing a base color over the cardstock (with my fingers) here and there.  I used green but of course you can use whatever you would like.

3. Next comes the really fun part ~ drizzle various colors of paint over the green.  This is the playful part as I just dunked my finger into the jar and let the paint drip off.  When it stopped running off I gave it a flick here and there for some splatters and larger globs of paint. 

4. Continue to add as many colors as you like.

5. Immediately after you have added the last of your paints, begin heating with the heat tool.  This is where the baking asphalt comes in.  You want to really cook that paint.  It will start to grow and bubble as it dries.  This is exactly what you want!   Here are a few photos of what mine looks like.  You can see the awesome texture that you will get...

2013 Tech Calendar - Aug 001 2013 Tech Calendar - Aug 003 2013 Tech Calendar - Aug 004

You might get a bubble from the really thick globs of paint...(like the purple above).  I pushed them down and re-heated until I got the look I wanted. Be careful if you do so, I had a couple pop and squirt hot paint across my desk - LOL!!

6. After you have baked your acrylics let them cool.

7. I then applied a bit of blue ink to the background using my Ink Blending Tool.

  2013 Tech Calendar - Aug 005

And here is my calendar page...

2013 Tech Calendar - Aug 007

I love how it turned out and can see doing this for various seasons and holidays by simply changing up the base colors and drizzled paints.  Shoot, you could even toss in some glitter glue or glitter to jazz it up a bit!
Now it's your turn!