Layered Christmas tags

Hey Everyone,

Wow! It's been a minute since I last blogged.  I've been a busy bee.  We went to DisneyWorld for 8 days.  I love Disney.  I feel totally relaxed when we are there, even when we walk 52 miles in 6 days.  Seriously, six days in the parks and we clocked 52 miles.  We are the crazy folks that are there for rope drop and don't leave until we can't keep ours eyes open.  

And then it's been work, work, work, and decorating the house for Christmas.

I did want to share these super fun tags I made for the Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Christmas release.    

 The stamps shown here are from the Seasonal Scribbles set. 

 The largest tags have been stenciled with various Tim stencils.

I did a quick tutorial for these over on my Instagram page and thought I would share it here too.

Start with three tags.  The largest is a #5.  

For the middle tag over the entire tag in Lucky Clover Distress Ink.  Spritz with water and a bit of Gold Heirloom Perfect Pearls.  Le the tag dry and using Pine Needles DO stamp the small heart from the Seasonal Scribbles Set.  Edge the tag using DI in Pine Needles.  Stamp the sentiment, also from the Seasonal Scribbles set in Black Soot Archival.  

Us the tall text stamp set to stamp "to" in the center of the tag.  You want to be sure this is not visible unless the smallest tag is lifted.  

Use the Tim Holtz Peppermint stencil to cover the largest tag.  Use embossing ink and then emboss using a shiny red powder.  Once the powder is cool paint a thin layer of white acrylic paint over the entire tag.  While the paint is still wet buff it and it will leave some of the red exposed.  

Use the tell text stamp set to stamp "from" using Black Soot archival.

Paint the smallest tag black and once the paint is dry stamp the brushstroke stamp in white. 

Stamp the holly from the Seasonal Scribbles set using Pine Needles DI and a second layer  of Pine Needles in DO.  Add red stickles to the berries. 

Layer your tags together and secure them using a ribbon dyed with Biscotti Perfect Pearls. 

These are so fun to make and you can come up with so many different layers and combinations.  

Have fun creating and have a Happy Thanksgiving,

Jess

Peace on Earth Greeting Card

Hi Everyone,

I have a super simple card for you today.  

Take a piece of Specialty Stamping Paper and use the snow die from the Winter Wonderland thinlit die to cut the top portion of the card.  Take the tree stamp from the Modern Christmas set (CMS388) and ink it by just pouncing on several shades of green. Stamp the tree in the center of the card.  Make a mask of the tree and cover the tree you just stamped.  Ink the tree stamp and stamp the image on either side of the large tree, but lower the stamp so the trees are shorter.  

Cut the deer using the Winter Wonderland die out of kraft stock.  Lightly sand the deer to make it appear as if they have shades of brown in their fur.  Take a few of the dots leftover from the snow and glue them on one of the deer. Glue the deer to the base of card.  

Cut the sentiment out from the Holiday Words Script thinlit die and  glue it  to the center of your card. 

I added a mirrored star to the top of the large tree. These have been retired, but you could use a die cut star here too.  

Cut a piece of silver metallic kraft stock slightly larger than your card front.  The silver peeps through the snow and it adds a lovely twinkle.  A large piece of red kraft stock is the card base and a bit of black craft thread is wrapped and tied at the top.  There are a few scribbles of white on the red card using a gel pen(no reason for this other than I love to scribble on my cards).

This card can be worked up quickly and would be easy to make in multiples.  

Have you started working on your Christmas cards yet?

Jess

 Tim Holtz Modern Christmas CMS388

Winter Wonderland thinlit die

Holiday Words Script thinlit die

Tim Holtz Kraft Stock

Tim Holtz Metallic Kraft Stock

Distress Ink Forest Moss

Distress Ink Mowed Lawn

Distress Ink Peeled Paint

Distress Ink Crushed Olive

Season's Greetings Christmas Card

Hey Everyone, 

It's October 1st, so it's ok to post Christmas cards now!

This is one of the cards I made for the new Christmas release from Tim Holtz and Stampers Anonymous.  I  loved this one because all of the elements really came together. And the pinecones; I'm a sucker for pinecones.  I apologize for the cruddy photos.  I had to get a new phone and these were taken with the old guy.  They are a bit darker than I would like them.

I started by taking the Stamptember set from 2018 and using archival inks in Peeled Paint and Vintage Photo.  I used specialty stamping paper and stamped the images in the corners.  I wanted a good portion of the image, but still blank space in the center so the sentiment would draw your eye.
 I blended old paper, antique linen, and tea dye distress inks all over the entire background. I lightly spritzed on distress spray stain in tea dye and quickly blotted it so it just makes the paper look like it's foxed. I added highlights using a gold gel pen.

  The sentiment is from the new Christmastime 2 set(CMS389).  It was stamped and then embossed using Ranger embossing powder in gold. 
The specialty stamping paper was then backed with brown kraft stock.

The next layer is the snowflake acetate sheet from last year's Ideaology Christmas Stack. 
The gold metallic kraftstock was stamped with the new Lumberjack set(CMS384) using archival ink in Vintage photo. 

I dyed some sari ribbon using all(yes all of them) the green Distress Inks.  I smooshed then all on my glass mat and ran the damp sari ribbon in it until I was happy with the color.  I added a bit of Vintage Photo Distress Ink to pull in the brown.  The ideaology pinecones were colored using gold and mushroom alcohol inks.  They were tied on with an ideaology tiny bell.  I glued the ribbon to the back of the layers and then used a final layer of kraftstock as my card base. 

I hope this starts to get you into the Christmas spirit!
Happy making,
Jess

Boo to you!

Hey Everyone,

 It's been a bit since I have blogged.  I have been working my pay the bills job and doing some behind the scenes crafty work.  I hope you had a chance to catch the Stamptember Tim Holtz release on Facebook Live. I had a blast making samples for this release.  

This project might be my favorite.  

The turn around time for these projects was lightning fast so I didn't take any process photos, but I can walk you through my project. 

The treat bag was made using the Tim Holtz In the Bag die and some glittery black paper.  I just assembled it according to the instructions. 

 For the tissue, I used plain tissue wrap and Distress Inks.  I used Black soot Distress Ink, Carved Pumpkin and Wilted Violet Distress Oxides to make the stars.  The stencil included in the Stamptember set has two different star patterns.  I used the larger pattern(the more circular one) with the Black Soot and then the smaller pattern with the Oxides.  I cut the sentiment off my bat stamp.* Side note: Don't be afraid to cut your stamps!  Use a really sharp pair of scissors and go for it! If you can't commit then you could just ink the sentiment too.* The sentiment was stamped using black soot archival ink. The paper was tucked right inside the bag.  

I used the star stencil on a tag to make the black stars.  They are embossed with a glittery black powder to match the bag.  Once the embossing was done I used Ripe Persimmon, Carved Pumpkin, and Dried Marigold to blend the background.  A border punch completed the tag.  

The saucy little bat was colored using Distress Inks(Wilted Violet, Dusty Concord, and Seedless Preserves)  and a waterbrush.  She was stamped using Black Soot Archival Ink on watercolor paper and colored in. I stamped the wing again and colored it on both sides. Everything was fussy cut and attached to the tag.  

I left a long tab on the wing and stuck it to the back of the bat.  I creased the wing so it matched up with the other wing.  Now there is a fun interactive piece of the treat bag.  A little word band and paper twine finish it up.

Please pardon the background change on the photos.  We were working fast and furious to get these guys out the door.  My poor husband was my photographer, editor, and mail man for me!  He's a good doobie.  

I hope you like my creation!  These sets sell fast and once they are gone they are gone.  Go grab it before it disappears like Halloween candy does in my house.  

Jess

   

ATC Suitcase

Hi Everyone,
I am sharing a little treasure I stumbled across when doing a bit of online shopping.

 I found this kit from a class Tim Holtz taught back in 2011.  The kit was never used and it was a screaming deal.  It has been sitting waiting for me to jump in. 
The little suitcase is the perfect size for this ATC booklet.    The suitcase was brown and green.  I painted it and then sanded it to expose a bit of the original brown.  I wanted it to look like it had been carried for many years.  The inside was cream colored velvet that I sprayed with Pumice Stone and Vintage Photo Oxide Sprays. 

This post is super picture heavy, so grab a cookie and get ready to scroll. 

The cover is made with grungeboard.  Anyone else love the smell of grunge board? I love how it can really take a beating and still look amazing.  I painted it black, then ran it through the vagabond using the botanical 3D embossing folder.  I spritzed it with several colors of Distress Oxide and then added Distress Crayon in Tarnished Brass.  

The pages are a mixture of little pockets made from paper, plastic photo sleeves,  and journal tickets. 

In a couple of the paper pages I made artist trading coins to fit inside the pocket.  

The photo of the couple is the back of the first page holding the trading coin.  The little fairy is inside one of the photo sleeves.  The small journaling blocks from Tim fit right inside the sleeve. 

Lots of paper dolls, clipping stickers, and ephemera in here.  

Every page has a bit of gold on it.  If you look closely you can see little dots of gold.  

Some of the large paper dolls got a snip and I just use their busts on the coins.   

I think this little block front and back is my favorite in the bunch.  Of course, that could change with the next flip through. 

Some of the pictures look cloudy because of the photo sleeves, but in person they are crystal clear.  

I cut a little slit and slipped this ticket in his hand.  He looks excited to go tot the show.  

The best part is because my journal is so chunky I have enough to make a second album.  I would just have to track down another suitcase.  

I hope you enjoyed seeing my take on this kit and thanks for looking at all of the photos!

I am entering this into the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge- ATC

One can be both weird and fabulous

Hi Everyone,
I know it's been quiet on the blog, but I do post a bit more on Instagram if you want to follow me over there.

 I have been really into creating oversized cards lately.  This one measures just over 5x7.  I started with a piece of precut mixed media heavy stock and used Distress Oxide Sprays in Peeled Paint, Abandoned Coral, and Peacock Feathers.

I misted the paper first to get the blend.  Once that was dry I added a bit of Frayed Burlap ink to the edges.  The Oxide colors mixed and made a bit of brown,  so the touch of Burlap really tied it together.  I used a bit of embossing powder and a stencil from the Studio Light Grunge Collection to add the yellow numbers in the background.

 It's pretty cool that they blend in even though I didn't use any yellow for the original background colors.  I went back in with the stencil and using Distress Ink in Brushed Corduroy added more of the numbers.  I finished the background with a touch of DecoArt Metallic Lustre Paste in Brilliant Turquoise on the every edge of the paper.

The focal image is from the Steampunkesque set from IndigoBlu.  I stamped the lady using Black Soot Archival Ink and then colored her using Distress Inks and my waterbrush.  I added glossy accents to the glasses and light bulb.  Once everything was dry I fussy cut her and added a halo behind her using a 3d impresslit.

I had to position her on the paper to see how I wanted to add my sentiment and just decided to stamp it right on the background using Black Soot Archival ink.  The ink goes right over the embossing powder.  I used my stamp platform to be sure I got a good dark image.  The sentiment stamp is also from the Steampunkesque set.

To complete the card I used used plain brown card stock and a couple sheets of Distress cardstock.  A bit of scribbling with my gel pen in random spots made it feel finished.

I hope you enjoyed my card.

Happy crafting,
Jess