Tim Holtz Challenge -- 12 Tags of 2014: January

Here's my January 2014 tag for the 12 Tags of 2014 Challenge on Tim Holtz's Blog:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: Anything Goes with Twine or String

This Wednesday's Challenge from Simon Says Stamp is Anything Goes with Twine or String.

Here's a simple valentine:

I cut a small slit in the card fold and threaded the baker's twine through it and around the card front several times.  I tied it off in a knot and then added a separate bow.  The die cut heart is from memory Box as is the stamped sentiment.

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: This is where the cowboy rides away...

This is my entry in this week's Monday Challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge blog.  The theme is "This is where the cowboy rides away."

I used my fence stencil for the background and some letter stamps to create my card title--"Don't fence me in".  I used Hero Arts Wet Cement, Cup O' Joe, and Black inks.  The horse is cut with a PoppyStamps die.

Simon Says Stamp Work It Wednesday Challenge: Something New

The Simon Says Stamp Blog has a new challenge this week:  Work It Wednesday.  This challenge is to try something new.  So here goes.

I made my own stencils!!!  I took some Memory Box dies and ran them through my Big Kick with some thick cardstock, popped out the images, and--Voila!--stencils!!!

Here are some cards I made using the stencils and Distress Inks and fingertip daubers to color the images.

You should try this!  Start saving the cardstock pieces that are left once you pop out a die cut image.  It doesn't work with every die--you'll have to look at what you have left once the image is popped out.  I can't wait to try all of my silhouette cats, dogs, and birds!

DCC129 Here, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty @ Repeat Impressions Blog

Here are some cards I made for the Designer's Choice Challenge at The House That Stamps Built, a blog for Repeat Impressions.

REPEAT IMPRESSIONS STAMPS USED:

• Pets Quartet 8502-U "Pets leave paw prints on our hearts" 
• Forty Winks 2606-J
• Feline Post 4916-F

stamped images with Hero Arts Black and embossed with clear embossing powder
popped images up with 3-D tape, double layer on kitty
added heart dimensional sticker in single paw block
MEOW stamp by Courtney Ricker for Your Maine Stamper

stamped, not embossed

Adding Dimension with Stencils and Gesso

This is one of the posts I did for Outside the Box yesterday:

Remember when brass stencils and embossing pastes were all the rage?  I thought I might try some of my old embossing pastes with the new Memory Box stencils.  But they were all dried up.  What to do?  I had a jar of gesso with my paints and I thought that might work--and it did!  Here's how I used the gesso to add dimension to panels I made for card fronts.

How cool is that!  

Materials/Procedure

• Gesso by Golden
• palette knife (but stiff cardstock or a credit card would work)
• Peeled Paint Distress Reinker
• Neenah White cardstock
• Memory Box Stencil Texture Disperse No. 88507
• Tape the stencil in place over the piece of cardstock.  I worked on a piece of waxed paper.  Put a dollop of the gesso onto the waxed paper and add a drop or two of the reinker.  Mix with the palette knife.  Spread evenly over the stencil.  Carefully peel up the stencil and set the piece aside to dry. (It may take several hours depending on how thick the gesso is applied.)

To assemble the card--Materials/Procedure

• Trim the dotted piece to fit the card front
• Tie a piece of coordinating ribbon around this piece
• Adhere to the front of a Dill notecard
• Die cut and assemble Fabulous Flox Die No. 98511 to create the blossom
• Add a pearl in the center and adhere the blossom to the upper left corner of the card panel.

Here are a few other cards I made using the same technique of gesso over a stencil.  With these I did not add color to the gesso before using with the stencil.  

Here's a page of just the white gesso using the Testure Disperse stencil again on a piece of white cardstock.  And here's the finished card--I just did direct to paper Hero Arts Butter Bar ink on the dots.

• Gesso and palette knife
• Texture Disperse Stencil No. 88507
• Memory Box Graceful Silhouette Die No. 98604
• scrap of Memory Box Skip to my Lou paper from the Minuet Collection
• Squash Distressed Dots paper
• large circle punch
• dotted yellow ribbon
• White notecard

• Gesso and palette knife, white cardstock
• Memory Box Stencil Garden Fronds No. 88502
• Memory Box Die Cottage Leaf No. 98342
• scraps of Memory Box Skip to my Lou paper from the Minuet Collection
• Dill cardstock
• White notecard
• green ribbon and fabric 

• Gesso and palette knife, white cardstock
• Memory Box Stencil Diamond No. 88522
• Distress Ink in Forest Moss, ink blending tool
• Memory Box Die Kylie Stem No. 98590
• scrap of Memory Box Skip to my Lou paper from the Minuet Collection
• green ribbon
• Memory Box firefly stamp--discontinued
• Hero Arts black ink
• small circle punch

• Gesso, palette knife, white cardstock
• White notecard
• Memory Box Texture Honey Comb Stencil No. 88521
• Wild Honey Distress Ink, ink blending tool
• Memory Box Die Honey Bee Skep No. 98491
• Squash Distressed Dots paper
• Memory Box stamp Happy Bee-Day No. B1764
• bee stickers

I know that there are several new embossing pastes available and they are on my wish list.  In the meantime I am quite happy with the results using gesso.

Week 156 Sketch Challenge @ Less is More

This week's Sketch Challenge at Less is More:

And here are the valentines I created using this sketch!  Which one is your favorite?

I cut a slit in the card fold and threaded baker's twine through several times, knotted it, and added a bow to make the horizontal band.
The die cut heart is from Memory Box--Cupid Heart No. 98281.
The sentiment stamp is also from Memory Box.

The horizontal band of hearts were stenciled using Distress Barn Door ink.
The sentiment was stamped in the same ink.
The heart was die cut from the Memory Box Cupid heart Die No. 98281.

Three stripes of Washi tape make the horizontal band.
"With love" is stamped in Hero Arts Black on white cardstock, tucked just under one side of the Cupid Heart die cut.

Horizontal band of red cardstock
"with love" stamped in VersaMark and embossed with white embossing powder
punched heart (Martha Stewart punch)

Grosgrain and velvet ribbons make the horizontal band.
sentiment stamp from Memory Box
die cut flower from Memory Box Die No. 98511 Fabulous Phlox
pearl in the center and petals curled up

paper strip in two prints for horizontal band
"love" stamped in Hero Arts black on the band
punched heart

printed paper strip for the horizontal band
Hero Arts "XO" stamped in Hero Arts black ink on the paper band
multi-layered flower die cut from red and printed papers using Memory Box Die No.  98510 Lovely Aster
red flower gem in center of flower

ribbon for the horizontal band
"love" stamped in Hero Arts black in just above the ribbon
checked flower die cut using Memory Box Die No. 98510 Lovely Aster

What If? Wednesday Challenge J2213 @ Repeat Impressions

This is my entry for the What If? Wednesday Challenge J2214 at the Repeat Impressions blog--The House That Stamps Built.

Materials Used:

• Memory Box Mango notecard and scrap punched circle
• Memory Box Distressed Dots paper in Mango and Squash
• Hero Arts Mid-Tone Shadow Ink in Cup O' Joe
• chickenwire background stamp--Judikins
• Repeat Impressions chicken and egg stamp 1311J for the focal image
• yellow gingham bow and orange gems
• inside and on the envelope:  Happy Spring sentiment from Repeat Impressions

Week 155 Theme: New Baby! @ Less is More Challenge

These are my entries for this week's challenge at Less is More, Week 155 Theme:  New Baby!

Materials Used:

• Memory Box White notecards
• Neenah White cardstock
• Distressed Dot papers from Memory Box in Bluebird and Bubblegum
• Moroccan Paper from Memory Box 
• Hero Arts Cornflower blue ink
• Ranger Distress Picked Raspberries ink
• all stamps from Memory Box
• gingham checked ribbons in blue and pink from JoAnn's
• circle and scalloped circle punches
• doublesided tape and glue dots (no dimensionals used)
• Corner Chomper to round corners

Chinese New Year--Addition to the Box

I found the Graphic 45 BirdSong Collection at Craft Mania on Saturday and decided to make a book using three of the papers and featuring the "Shanghai Girls".  I used a black paper accordion book with kraft bookboard covers as the base for this book.

front cover

pages one and two

pages three and four

pages five and six

back cover when book is closed

pages seven and eight

pages nine and ten

book closed and tied with string and button closure

I tucked this book into the Chinese New Year decorated cigar box along with a box of Mahjong tiles, Chinese playing cards, and coins.  I've got enough stuff in there now that the box doesn't fully close!

Altered Pages Challenge 15--Chinese New Year

When I first imagined this project, I thought it would be in book form using the red book from Altered Pages that I had ordered for this purpose.  I began working with two of the Altered Pages Collage Sheets--AP2251 Year of the Horse and AP1025 Vintage Horses.  I cut out the images and adhered them to black Artist Trading Cards that I had also purchased from Altered Pages.  I found some Chinese coins and charms in my jewelry findings, some Jolee's China stickers, gold glitter tape, and black stickers.  I created a multi-layered extra large tag as the focal point for the cover.

Then I noticed the cigar box on the shelf next to my desk.  I liked the way the tag looked sitting on the top of the box.  At that point, my focus shifted to creating a box to house a book.

Because the red book wouldn't fit in this box, I folded a long strip of black cardstock into an accordion as the base for my book.  For each "page" I carefully glued Chinese Opera Paper Cuts from a Chinese Garden Gift Shop (purchased years ago) to white cardstock and protected each one with a sheet of acetate.  I layered black tape over gold Washi tape on the top of each and added coins and dimensional stickers.  On another piece of folded black cardstock, I adhered some of the ATCs I had leftover from the cover tag.  I found two cards with quotes from the Tao Te Ching that I put inside the cover of the box.  I added die cut horses silhouettes using dies from Poppystamps and some black Cloud 9 dimensional stickers.  In the bottom of the box, I used more of the ATCs, a part of a box top I had with Chinese writing on it, and more of the black dimensional stickers.

Below are photos of the interior of the box, the accordion book of Chinese paper cuts, and the other little horses book.  There is room in the box to add some other ephemera--a Chinese red envelope with coins inside, a bamboo tiles bracelet with Chinese characters on it, more coins and charms, and whatever else I find in my odds and ends that would be appropriate.

inside box, top cover

inside box with little books

inside bottom of the box

inside of horse booklet

cover images on horse booklet

cover Chinese Paper Cuts accordion book