Hmmmm, That Didn't Go to Plan!

Truly.  This project was meant to be done yesterday - Saturday even!  But, I was enjoying family and friend time more.  All of this is a good thing.

Then, I just couldn't decide what I wanted to do with my butterfly!  So after struggling with my eCraft to cut three of them, I had to play.  These are what I came up with:

 The black one has been cut from glitter paper (although hard to see that in the photo) and I have edged it with Viva Pearl Pen in Ice White.  I don't know if I'm done with it yet but I kind of like it like this.  The bottom one was white card stock that had the wing pattern cut from blue mirror paper with the eCraft and glued on.  I sprayed it with water and then coloured with Distress Stain (Spiced Marmalade, Broken China and Spun Sugar).  I dried it with the heat tool and added Distress Ink (Vintage Photo) around the edges and then spritzed it with water again.  Once dried, I added Diamond Stickles to it.  I should have left it alone - because I like what it looks like in this picture.  But I have continued to play...more to come on that later.

This butterfly is a little larger and was cut from green glitter paper.  The wing decoration was then cut from red and blue mirror paper and gold glitter paper.  All of the cutting was done with the eCraft.  I glued some ball chain in the middle to make the body.  At this point, I'm not happy with it.  It's out of balance - it's the blue...I don't like it.  I may take it off and replace it with the gold.  Again, work in progress!

I am hoping to share a finished project using at least one of these soon.  I started all of this to join in on the final Simon Says Stamp Stamptember challenge but I just didn't get it done!  So now, it will just be a labour of love!

Thanks for looking and I hope to get lots of blogging done this month!

xoxo

Kim

Creative Chemistry - Day 6 Homework (I'm catching up!)

Day 6 is all about markers - Distress Markers - which I don't have yet.  Would love to have them but just haven't gotten to that purchase.  So, I used Stampin' Up markers.  Still water based ink but without some of the other properties of the Distress Markers.  Still, I had fun colouring!  I wish I had kids who wanted to sit and colour.  It's so relaxing.

So, here they are - the three tags:

Let's go backwards today (because I can):

Tag 3 - Stamping with Markers

I've done this before but I have never added the distress ink over the top.  I was happy to see that although I wasn't using a specialty stamping paper, my marker colours didn't get covered up - there was a sort of resist there.  Like this tag a lot!

Tag 2 - Blending with Markers

Well, I've never been the best blender but I have to say that the last flower on this tag (the yellow one) is the way I would go from now on!  So easy!

Tag 1 - Watercolour with Markers

Again, I think the last flower is best.  This will be my water colour technique!

So, until Day 7 - enjoy the day.

xoxo

Kim

Creative Chemistry - Day 5

Hellllooooooo Distress Stains!!!  These inks are totally cool - a fluid form of Distress Ink that can be blended the same way.  I don't have a very wide colour palette with these yet as I just bought a few to try out but I so want to get some blues and greens now!  Not having the colours I normally like to use made me think a little more.  So here are the tags:

I was really please with my efforts.  The spritz and flick is becoming addictive!

Here is tag 1 - Stained Kraft Resist Technique close up:

Tag 2 - Stamping with Stains

Although it's very hard to see here, there is a stamp on the tag behind the butterflies on the right side of the Stampin' Up Medallion.  I need to move more quickly with the heat tool to get more opacity!

Tag 3 - Marbled Stains

I really love this technique!  I tried to be as free as Dyan Reaveley with my stamping and for a first go, I'm pretty happy with the end result.

Thanks for looking!

xoxo


Kim

Some Sticky Back Canvas Cards

Yep, being slack again!  In my defence, my mother has been visiting from the USA but if I am totally truthful, I finished these before she came.  I have been stuck in the "I need to blog but I don't feel like blogging" mode for a few weeks now.  I'll try to be better from now on ;0)

So, I promised some canvas cards and here they are:

So, what did I do?

The first one was using the Medallion stamp from Stampin' Up.  I stamped it in Claudine Helmuth's Studio acrylic paint in Charcoal Black.  You really need her extra time medium for this but I managed without.  The top image was actually my first attempt but it was too light so I spun the canvas around, reinked and stamped again with better results.  Essentially, I moved faster the second time.  I dried with the heat tool, frayed the edges and then inked with Distress Inks.  I added the inked image from Dreams Du Jour (Stampin' Up) and coloured it using my water brush and the distress inks.  I added some rhinestones (Kaisercraft) and some Diamond stickles, a matt and all done!  I'm really pleased with it.

The second card was a painted background.  I mixed Sky Blue and Purple Palette to get the colour you see (see Claudine's mixing chart).  Then I added the swirl stamp from Baroque Motifs (Stampin' Up).  Punched the butterflies using an EK Success Punch and adhered them with the sentiment to the canvas which was then matted and stuck to the base card.

The third was a resist technique.  I stamped using matte multi medium, heat set it and then inked over that with Distress Inks.  The words didn't come out as clear as I would have liked but I'm happy with the image otherwise.  I haven't finished this into a card yet but I will!

I love the Sticky Back Canvas.  It allows for wet work, heat setting and just about anything else you can throw at it and it still. sticks.  It can be used for so many different types of projects so go get some!

I'll be posting some work I am doing for an on-line course I signed up for with Tim Holtz (I love that man's genius) so you'll see a lot of me the next few weeks!

xoxo

Kim

CSI: Case File No. 2

I told you I was going to be more active this year!  I have been working over the last week on the latest CSI challenge as shown below:

This one was more my colour range so I found it a little easier.  I chose to combine this challenge with the January 1 sketch challenge (which I missed the deadline for...oops) for Once Upon A...Sketch which looks like this:

And this is what I came up with to match the two:

I am actually really please with the result!  I used Basic Grey Lily Kate Vanilla paper as the base.  Then I spritzed the doily with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist in Snow Angel which matched the purple of the CSI challenge perfectly!  I added number stickers to the doily to make my "clock" from the sketch.  I added Queen & Co Felt Fusion in blue.  Over the top of that, I added my sheer element from the CSI challenge which is homemade tissue tape.  I found the tutorial for this at the Let's Scrap site and you can get to it here.  I matted the photo in two of the CSI colours and added a bling swirl from ZVA.  Then I added layered flowers from KaiserCraft and Rosie's Studio with a brad that matched the colour scheme.  I created two rolled roses from the chosen colours.  You can create these easily to with this video:

I chose to use scallop scissors when I cut mine and I inked the edges (of course).  I punched some butterflies using the new EK Success punches that do three different versions of the punch in the CSI colours, added bling to their wings with Diamond Stickles and then added them on top of the flowers with glue dots.  Finally, I added some monograms from the Basic Grey Lily Kate range with inked edges (Distress Ink Tea Dye) and Heidi Swapp Lemonade Stand Chipboard in ocean blue which I changed by painting with Pebeo Pearl Touch Acrylic Paint in Parma and then adding a clear glitter with Glossy Accents on top.

The journalling is done on tags which are tucked behind the picture.  I did these in the stream of conscious  method to match with the CSI challenge.  It reads:

   "We haven't had a tradition for new year since the kids came into our lives.  This year we went to the  
   Bells Carnival in Batemans Bay with friends.  We all had fun!  I think we found our tradition for New
   Years Eve!"

I am including some close ups so that you get more of an idea of the dimension this project has.

Hope you enjoyed this layout!  On to the next one :0)

xoxo

Kim

Jan 2012 Color Challenge for Paper Secrets

I promise to not bother you again today!  I have been a busy little girl.  So, as promised, I have a scrapbook layout for you.  The challenge was to scrap a page, card or altered project using Gold or Silver on it.  I chose silver as I had this great picture of Indy from the south coast that I turned black and white and then added the colour back to her eyes.  So here it is:

Heaps of silver here!  Although it's not easy to tell in the photo, even the paper has a silver metallic running through it.  But the most notable silver features are the photo mat, the letter squares and of course, the butterflies.

The photo mat was cut with a Time Holtz on the edge die and the letter tiles are grunge blocks.  I embossed the squares with silver and then inked the letters with Stormy Sky Distress Ink.  The paper is Die Cuts With a View (all of it except for the glitter paper), most from the Luxury Premium Stack.  The butterflies are Go-Lo specials as are the flowers.  The rub-on is from Stampin' Up  Eastern Elegance.  The bling and brads were stash items.

Hope you like it!  We just love Indy and we are so happy to have made her part of our family.  I can't help but give the rescue agency another plug - ABR - Arctic Breed Rescue.  The people there are wonderful, knowledgable and very friendly.  They get to know the dogs well and will match you perfectly with one of their beauties.  The dogs are all Malamutes, Huskies, Samoyeds and any other Arctic breed you can think of as well as crosses.  Look into one of their rescues before buying a puppy - these dogs deserve to be loved!

Off my soap box now...thanks for looking again today :0)

xoxo

Kim

A Photo Wallet

Hi!

I have been working hard on another project for my mum as her birthday is just around the corner. Since we don't get to see her, something that holds pictures of the boys is always a winner!

As usual, I found the instructions for this project on Splitcoaststampers. Seriously, if you are a crafter and haven't checked this site out, you really should. There are some awesome projects there. The link to the project below can be found here. The other fun thing about this project is that it can be carried around with the recipient and be a "brag book"!

So, I actually used something other than Bo Bunny to make this project (shocker, I know). This time I used K&Co Wild Saffron paper and embellishments. I also used some SU stamps (Eastern Blooms and Baroque Motifs) and inks (Daffodil Delight, Baja Breeze, and Sage Shadow).

Here it is in it's closed state:





I used DCWV card stock with the SU border punch. The flower, leaf and lady bug are Wild Saffron embellishments.

This is it opened:





The stamps are SU and the stickers are Wild Saffron. The butterflies are a three stage punch from EK Success punched from the Wild Saffron papers. For all of the stamping on this project, I used the SU markers (in the same colours as the stamp pads) to colour the stamps and then "huffed" on them to reactivate the ink and stamp.

Here are the photo pockets up close:














Here is what the photo wallet looks like fully open.





Obviously I still need to add photos and some journalling but as that is more personal, I decided to show you the project before it's completely finished. This is a very easy, effective project and I will be making more of these for my parents and Drew's mum.

Have a go yourself...I think you will be pleasantly surprised :0)

- Kim

A Stationery Box, A Bookmark and a Card

Hi all!

I have been sitting at my craft desk more regularly lately but I have been quite slack in showing you what I have been doing.  So here is a little catch up on it all.

It seems from September onwards, the days just start to run together.  There are birthdays galore and then there are holidays that, although are not Australian, I still celebrate as I did growing up.  It just doesn't feel right if I don't acknowledge them in some way.  However, this month, there were two special birthdays to be marked in our calendar - my friend Dayna and her daughter.

Dayna was gifted the stationery box.  She told me to tell you all that she was absolutely in love with her gift although I am apparently on call for more cards when she needs them :0)  I am fine with that!  So what is this stationery box I hear you asking?  I found the tutorial on my ever faithful source - Splitcoaststampers.  You can get to it from here.  Most of the large cards are modified copies from other's websites too...sorry, not too original as I had limited time!

This is what mine looked like after I finished.  There are a few pictures as I have chosen to show it both full and empty.  There are 6 cards, 8 gift cards and 8 tags in the box as a "starter kit".  All the items, including the box were made with Bo Bunny Gabrielle papers (no, it's not my favourite at all).  The stamps are a mixture of Stampin Up's Cottage Garden and Vintage Vogue.  I used Ranger Archival Inks in Jet Black, Cobalt, and Olive.  I used a combination of my Glue Glider Pro, Glossy Accents and Xpress It tape to stick it all together.  The flowers were Prima and miscellaneous and most of the embellishments were from the Bo Bunny Gabrielle range.

 For Dayna's daughter, I decided to make a bookmark instead of a regular card.  This way, she would get to see it for the whole year!  I used a technique called ghosting. This is where you stamp in a white versa mark ink and then once dry, ink over the top.  I grabbed the idea from here.

After I stamped the ghost butterfly (Stampin' Up's Great Friends set), I inked the entire tags with Distress Inks (Dusty Concord, Stormy Sky and Victorian Velvet).  Next, I sprayed it with Perfect Pearls Mist in Perfect Pearl and then stamped the butterfly from Stampin' Up's Priceless set. The ribbon was inked with the same Distress Inks and is from the Tim Holtz trims set.  The card stock is Coredination card stock in the Tim Holtz Distress Ink colours.  Finally, I added some diamond Stickles to give the butterflies a little bling of their own.

Finally, the card I made is for my Grandpa who is in hospital.  I'm going to sent some photos along with a message for him to help remind him that we love him very much.  The paper is - oh, I don't know - Bo Bunny Gabrielle?!  The trim is a random one I've had for a while.  The butterfly is cut from matching card stock and the antenna are brown memory thread.  The bling is also a random brand.

So, I hope you have enjoyed all of these.  I know I enjoyed making them and I hope to have some photo wallet ideas up for you before too long!

Have a great week :0)

Kim

Thank You Cards

Well, I've been slack again but it has been school holidays so I have been hanging out with my boys. I've shared a fair few pics of the boys on my FB page but because I love them so much, I thought I'd share my two favourites.

Spider Monkey:




Capuchin:




So, I made some thank you cards today. I started out with zero mojo so I cleaned up my space so that I could think a little more clearly. As I cleaned, I found a card that I made at my friend Chantal's card class last month. It was monochromatic with a background stamp and inking. I chose to emulate that look.

I made three colour ways as that matched the card stock I had. I used a stamp from Stamp It and all the inks and paper are Stampin' Up. I think of the inking like a vignette for cards! These made for a quick and easy set of cards to make as thank you cards for presents and such.












So enjoy the week! I know I will as I have only ONE boy at home during the day now that school has gone back :-)

- Kim

The First Reveal!

I promised there would be some reveals this weekend and this is the first!  Yesterday, I gave a card to my friend for her birthday.  I made something special for her as she is a member of my crafty family.  I also know she likes her handbags, shoes and jewellry.  I found a really awesome handbag card here.  The template measurements can be found here.   I also used the Bo Bunny Gabrielle papers - the same ones on the outside but different on the inside.  However, as I have embellished differently, our cards are different enough.  So here is my version.  There are several photos as there is so much to this card.  Let's start with the front:

I used Tea Dye distress ink to colour the edges.  I put KaiserCraft pearls in a few places on the design to highlight it.  The ribbons were purchased as part of a kit that also used Bo Bunny Paper.  The flowers are Prima and the chipboard and butterfly are part of the Gabrielle collection.  The closure is a Basic Grey Magnet.  I had to add some bigger magnets to the back of the closure because this has to hold through quite a few layers of paper and cardstock.  This handle is part of the Gabrielle ribbon collection.

Here is a side view to give you an idea of what is on the inside.

I decided to mimic the swirls on the design with some bling from Zva and then added the chipboard butterflies from the Gabrielle chipboard collection.

Here is the card open.  Most of the embellishments are from the Gabrielle collection (it's so much easier when you use a collection to make a project).  I've added a few different things though.  The flower is Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die that has been cut from his glassine paper, crinkled and then sprayed with Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls Mist.  When heated with the heat tool, the colour sinks in and looks as if it is part of the paper.  The butterfly on the top is a Gina K. Designs stamp that has been coloured with Smooch Inks (see previous post for a close up) and the frame is a Spellbinders die.  Again, I've inked all the edges of the base papers with Tea Dye Distress Inks.

Here are some close ups of the inside top and bottom.

I hope you enjoyed looking as much as I did creating!  Oh, and the card was a hit...she cried and made me cry!  Love you 'Chelle!

Hope you all get a chance to do what ever hobby you love today.