Land of the Free

Hi Everyone, I am posting my final project as a guest designer for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge.  I hope you have enjoyed my projects as much I have enjoyed making them.

This week's theme is Stars and Stripes!

Today I have made a little home decor piece for you.  I started with a mini Tim Holtz Etc tag and covered it with paper from the Correspondence paper pad.  I used collage medium to adhere it to the tag and another coat on top.  Once the collage medium was dry I spattered on some Black Soot Distress Paint nand made some scribbles using a white gel pen.  A little bit of Vintage Photo Distress Crayon added some shading to the edge of the paper.
I spritzed some of the Tim Holtz Christmas Fringe with Tarnished Brass Mica Spray and glued it to the edge of the tag.

To create the center panel I used a vignette panel and covered it with paper.  I used the collage medium again underneath and on top of the paper.  Once again I added black and white details using the paint and gel pen.
Using metal tape I made several lengths of the Mini Provincial 3d Impresslit.  I painted them white and then used Distress Crayon in Walnut stain and Vintage Photos to grunge it up a bit.  I also pounced on a bit of Mushroom Alcohol Ink.  I removed tha backing from the paper and stuck the tape around the edges of the panel creating a frame.  I glued the panel to the center of the tag.

The paperdoll was given a coat of clear gesso and then I added Distress Marker in Faded Jeans and Festive Berries to give her a pop of color.  A teeny star was added to her sash for some bling.  A metal star was added to the top of her flag.   She is popped up on the panel using foam tape.

The stencil chip was painted with Dina Wakley Media Paint in Ancient.  While the paint was still wet I dripped on alcohol ink in Mushroom and Patina.  Because the paint was still wet it looks like it corroded the metal.  A vintage ticket was layered underneath and then the chip was glued down using foam tape.

I used letters from the Tim Holtz Halloween typography set to make the word "free.'  I  sanded the letters and painted on some Tarnished Brass Distress Paint, then wiped it off before it was totally dry.  I used collage medium to glue the letters to the panel.

A flashcard from the Tim Holtz Elementary was added to the bottom of the panel.  The card was dinged up a bit by running it along the side of my media mat.  I added some Tarnished Brass Distress Paint to the edges and glued it down using collage medium.

The clip on top was coated with clear gesso and then alcohol ink in mushroom and patina was added to age it.   A large star completes the clip.

I hope you were inspired to enter the challenge or at least bust out your supplies and make! Have a happy and safe Fourth of July. 

Happy crafting,

Jess

As always Simon Says Stamp will be giving away $50 voucher to shop at the fabulous Simon Says Stamp Store

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Do you use Instagram ?  If so please add  #sssmchallenge so we can see your entries there too

You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in 

All of the products I used on today's project that are available from Simon Says Stamp are linked below.

Tim Holtz Christmas Fringe
Tim Holtz Mini Etc Tag
Tim Holtz Vignette Panel
Tim Holtz Mini 3d Impresslit Provincial
Tim Holtz Stencil Chips
Tim Holtz Elementary Flashcards
Tim Holtz Halloween Typography
Tim Holtz Paperdolls
Tim Holtz Vintage Clips
Tim Holtz Paper Pad Correspondence
Tim Holtz Faded Jeans Distress Marker
Tim Holtz Festive Berries Distress Marker
Tim Holtz Collage Medium
Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink Mushroom
Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink Patina
Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Spray Walnut Stain
Tim Holtz Distress Crayon Vintage Photo
Tim Holtz Distress Crayon Walnut Stain
Tim Holtz Distress Paint Tarnished Brass
Tim Holtz Distress Paint Picket Fence
Tim Holtz Distress Paint Black Soot
Tim Holtz Mica Spray Tarnished Brass
Tim Holtz Star Adornments
Uni-Ball Signo White Gel Pen
Prima Clear Gesso
Dina Wakley Media Paint Ancient
Dina Wakley Media Paint Umber

She was a good egg

Hi Everyone,
I'm up on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts blog today with this altered tin.

My crafty mojo has been on a major hiatus the past couple of weeks.  You know when you sit down and everything you make is just blah? Or you just sit there and stare at all of your supplies and you've got no ideas? That's been me.  I decided to just play.
I started by taking the Feathers and some PaperArtsy Infusions to colorize them.  I gave each feather a layer of gesso.  Once the gesso is dry I made a puddle of white paint and sprinkled in some infusions.  The infusions will react with the paint, but if you lightly spritz it with water they really come to life.  I dipped and dragged the feathers through the paint.  On a few of them I sprinkled some extra infusions on top of the first layer and spritzed with water. I inked the edges(on the feather I used on this project I used Peacock Feathers) and added a bit of gold using a paint pen. Now I have a whole bunch of feathers in different colors and shades for future projects. 

A while back I got a blank tin from Gina(Ms. Gypsy Soul) and I decided it was time to use it.  I painted the tin using a layer of clear gesso.  I added a crackle glaze from Deco Art.  It's a super fine crackle and I ended up covering most of it up with my paint job, but in certain areas the crackle peeks through.  

The main color is Dina Wakley Turquoise mixed with a hint of Umber.  The speckles were added using Distress Oxide Sprays in Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain.   I wanted the tin to look like a robin egg.  

For the inside of the tin I added Tim Holtz Collage paper to the shallow side. I used collage medium to adhere the paper to the tin.  Using water on my finger I ran it around the edge of the tin to rip the paper.  I didn't want it to be exact in the tin.  If you peek there are little spaces where the silver of the tin can be seen.  The frayed and wrinkled edges make me happy.  You all know by now that perfection is not my thing!I added some clipping stickers and edged the paper with a gold paint pen. I love how it looks like loose gold leaf on the ragged edges.  

On the deep side of the tin I cut a piece of paper to fit the back and glued it in using collage medium.  I took one of the Scalloped Tin Inserts and ran it though my 3d Kaleidoscope embossing folder.  Using my finger I ran a thin layer of white paint over the surface.  Before it was dry I rub it to expose the raw chipboard underneath.  I ran my Hickory Smoke Oxide pad over the top to age it too.  The inside edge was inked gold using the paint pen. 

The good egg fairy is sitting on a small plastic egg that I smushed so it was dented on either side.  This gave me a flat surface to glue to the bottom of the tin and a concave side to sit a second egg in.  She is propped forward by placing a small wooden die behind her.

The fairy is a tiny Tim Holtz paper doll that was coated in clear gesso and colored using distress markers.  She has tiny shrink plastic wings and a crown.  The "good egg" was trimmed out of a dictionary and glued to her dress using collage medium. 

To finish the outside of the tin I layered up three washi tapes and glued them to the tin. I used a rub on word in the bottom corner and used foam tape to attach the feather.

I feel like I am back in the groove and hope to start making more projects! 

Can you tell I am ready for Spring? What do you do to break out of a creative funk?

Jess

Simon Says Stamp Whatever the Weather

Try it on Tuesdays- Powder It

Simple Christmas

Hi Everyone,
I don't do simple a lot, but when you need to bust out a bunch of Christmas cards I find simple is best!  Today I have two cards that use the same base, but I have changed them up just a tiny bit and the feel is very different on both. 

  The Star Medallions from Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts come in a set of three.  For these two cards I used the small and medium medallions.  Paint both of the medallions using Dina Wakley paint in Gilt.  The small medallion got some pearl dots added to the points and a gumdrop colored with mushroom alcohol ink in the center.

For the background on this card use navy blue paper and emboss it using the Sizzix 3d Winter Snowflakes Embossing folder.  Cut out your sentiment using the Tim Holtz Holiday Words Script die. It's hard to tell here, but there is a tiny line of gold paper layered underneath the embossed paper.  

Mount your background on to  a white card.  

Add your bling and you're done! 

The pink card follows the same idea, but the center is made using the tiny tattered floral die and the festive foliage die from Tim Holtz.  

That's it! You could bust out all of your Christmas cards in an afternoon making them like this!

Jess

Collector of Curiosities

Hi Everyone,

I'm up on the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts blog with a little Halloween decor piece.

 

Here's how you can make your own. 

Cover the Miniature Clipboard with a bit of Tim Holtz paper.  Cover the entire piece of paper with Distress collage medium.  I like the finish it gives and how it takes the various inks and crayons.  Ink the edges using walnut stain Distress Ink and add some splats(using your Tim Holtz Splatter stencil) to look like coffee and possibly slime.  The slimy green is actually Emerald Creek's Apple Martini embossing powder so it's raised up a bit off the paper.  I did emboss the clip part of the clipboard, but decided not to use it in my final design. 

Emboss the edge of your Small Canning Jar.  I made a jar similar to this back in February.  If you'd like to check out the tutorial I have linked it here for you.  With this jar, I wanted it to look a bit grungy and murky.  Pounce mushroom alcohol ink onto the acetate and it will muddy up the "liquid" inside the jar.  A piece of cheesecloth stained with blood(kidding, it's alcohol ink) gets tied to the lid. 

Cut a piece of background paper to go behind your canning jar and add your images.  These guys from the Tim Holtz Scared Silly set were stamped and fussy cut.  The images were stamped on a heavy watercolor paper and colored using Distress Markers.   Make sure you play with your placement before gluing anything down.  

You can see here at this point I was still playing with the idea of leaving it as a clipboard.  I also hadn't added the eyeballs.  It's always good to play with your composition before you glue!

 I decided that the jar on the clipboard wasn't enough and I wanted to beef up my project.  A small Tim Holtz framed panel was the answer.  Cover the panel with a piece of worn wallpaper and add Distress Oxides(walnut stain, ground espresso, forrest moss) so the paper looks water damaged.   

On the frame, randomly paint on Distress Rock Candy Crackle Medium. Once it starts to crackle you can heat it up to speed up the drying process.  Paint the frame using Prima Art Alchemy paint in Metallique Blackberry.  Once the metallic paint is dry use a thin layer of Distress Paint in Black Soot on the entire frame and wipe most of it away. You just want it to sink into the recesses.  In random areas add metallic waxes in opal colors.  This adds another layer of dimension, but doesn't add a ton of color.  The final step on the frame is to use a fine brush and Dina Wakley Gilt paint to go around the edges.  Perfection is not the goal here.  The frame is supposed to look funky and old.  

Glue the frame to the back. 

Add your clipboard to the frame and add a chip quote to the top. 

A Halloween story stick, clipping sticker, and eyeball brad round out the finishing touches. 

I hope you enjoyed this little project.  It was fun to make! I can't wait to pull out all of Halloween decor now.

Jess

I'm entering this into the  Simon Says Stamp- That's a Wrap! challenge.  The beast is lovingly packaged in a jar and wrapped up tight!

Spreading my Creative Wings

Hi Guys,
It's my first post for My Rusty Crown!  I am so excited to share this project with you.  I don't make jewelry often, but when I do it tends to be a big statement piece.

I started with the Hand and Wings from Relics and Artifacts.  The chipboard in the back is from Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts.  I wasn't quite sure where I was going with this at this point.  I wasn't thinking jewelry quite yet.  Once I started painting that was when I knew it would be a necklace. 

  

I painted the Hand using Prima Art Alchemy Paint in Metallic Brass Hardware.

I added Dina Wakley Paints in Umber and Turquoise on the cuff. 

The wings have a bunch of layers on them.  The back and sides are painted Black Berry.  The tops are a mixture of Metallic Brass Hardware, Gold Rush, and Rich Turquoise.  I used a really dry brush and kept adding layers until I was happy.

The wings and the hands have watered down black acrylic paint on them to highlight the cracks and crevices.  

The chipboard was prepped with black gesso and then painted using the Gold Rush and Rich Turquoise.  I sealed the front and back using Tim Holtz Collage Medium. 

I glued the pieces onto the chipboard using a very heavy jewelry glue and let it dry overnight. 

There is an eye screw in the top of the hand so I used one of the Tim Holtz Assemblage chains to attach the hand to the wings.  

The chain on the left is also from the Tim Holtz assemblage line, as is the rhinestone connector.  The brass chain on the right was something I had in my stash.  

Have a great day,

Jess

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