Friday, April 29, 2016

Distress Crayon Collage Tutorial


I've been having a lot of fun using paper napkins.  I have never used them for crafting, but a group I trade with opened my eyes to this awesome medium.  I have been asked to put together a tutorial, so here it goes. I am making bookmarks here, so they will look smaller than the image above, but I did everything exactly the same.
For the first layer you will need your Distress Collage Medium, one of the underlayers of the printed napkins, and cardstock(I am just using the cheap stuff from the craft store).  Spread a thin layer of the Collage Medium all over your paper and cover it with the napkin.  I squish it on there so I get wrinkles and bumps.  Add a second layer of Collage Medium on top of the napkin.  You can let it air dry or use your heat tool to dry it.  
Scribble on several colors of Distress Crayon and blend with your fingers.  The crayon moves so smoothly over the collage medium. 
You can see I didn't worry about getting it all the way to the edges.  I am going to keep layering, so I am not worried about patches of blank space. 
Use a stencil to add on texture paste.  You can let it air dry or dry it with your heat tool.  Don't forget to clean your stencil right away.  
The texture paste on the left has been scribble on with Distress Crayons.  The image on the right has a paper napkin burnished onto the texture paste using my finger ans a bit of collage medium.  So there are two ways you can do this step.
I added my image and then stamped around it using Jet Black Archival and Hydrangea.  
I added a Small Talk sentiment and used the Black Soot Crayon around the edges. 
To complete the bookmark I used a black and white pen in a random fashion all over the piece.
Here's the one with the napkin.  Same techniques, but it has a totally different esthetic.
Here are some of the others pieces I have made using this technique.




I am entering these into a few challenges:

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial and try it for yourself!
Jess














Friday, April 15, 2016

A flashy upgrade

I love the bright and quirky projects that Andrea Ockey Parr creates.  She made some altered flashcards a while back and I was inspired to try it for myself.  It was so fun mixing ink, paint, stamps, and more.  I am not a huge math fan.  These cards made me enjoy math just a tad more.







I'd like to submit these to:

Happy Crafting!
Jess


Saturday, March 26, 2016

Here Comes Peter Cottontail

I spotted these bunny ears in the dollar spot at Target.  I had seen some fancied up on Instagram and decided I wanted to make some to wear for Easter.  I started with just 4 and wound up making 8.  They were easy and fun.








Hoppy Easter!
Jess

Sunday, March 20, 2016

Tim Tag for March

Hi Everyone,
I followed the techniques just like Tim demoed on his blog. I used my Distress Crayons in Peeled Paint, Chipped Sapphire, Seedless Preserves, Fossilized Amber, Festive Berries, and Rusty Hinge. I added some Perfect Pearls Mist and Picket Fence Paint splatters to the cardboard.  A few tiny tattered florals round out the tag.  
Happy Crafting!
Jess

Tuesday, March 15, 2016

Fun with Distress Crayons

Have you jumped on the Distress Crayon bandwagon?  If you haven't you should.  It's a very fun wagon.
I got my crayons a couple weeks ago and I have been playing with them here and there.  I have tried using different background surfaces for blending.  I have tried using different mediums to add texture as well.  Here are a three of my favorite projects so far.




On this one I colored directly onto my stencil and then sprayed it with water.  I flipped the stencil onto my tag and rubbed it with my finger.  I was able to pull subtle color from the crayons into the exposed areas of the stencil, but leave the color saturation on the tag.   I stamped and added some white and black highlights using my fude ball pen.
This is done on an old card catalog card.  Her hat is made with tissue wrap that I used as my brayer cleaner when I was gelli printing. I made tiny tattered florals out of the tissue that I glued onto cheap white card stock.  Once the flowers were done I ran my black crayon around the edge and wet it. I smudged it out with my finger and then dripped white paint on them for extra dimension.  The leaves are just scraps of white card stock that I scribbled on with my green distress crayons.  

With this one I randomly scribbled the colors and then blended them with my finger.  I added a layer of texture paste and once that was dry I went back in with the same colors.  I love how rich and bold they look.  The bits of the crayon get stuck in the crevices and just add so much yumminess.  The little girl is colored with crayons too.  I put some on the craft sheet and added it to her using my water brush.  The highlights of yellow on the umbrella were just added directly from the crayon to the paper.  

Have you been playing with the Distress Crayons? I would love to see what you've come up with!
Jess

I am entering these into a few challenges: The Frilly and Funkie Let's Make it a Trio challenge.  
Anything but Cute Crazy for Color Challenge. 
Our Creative Corner Return of the Challenge! I chose the April 2015 April Showers bring May flowers as my inspiration- I've got bright spring colors, tons of flowers, and even a grumpy girl under an umbrella!
Try it on Tuesdays- Nature Theme Challenge
Emerald Creek Dares Ring in Spring


Tuesday, March 1, 2016

Mermaid dreams

Did you play with paper dolls when you were a kid? I can remember my Mum cutting them out for me.  She has always loved to cut.  I made some lovely mermaids for a more grown up version of paper dolls.





Our Creative Corner Return of the Challenge- I was inspired by the May 2014 Love those Leftovers Challenge.  All of the paper used here is all from my scrap box.  Most of the ribbon and bling were just little bits and pieces I had hanging around too.  

Look at how yummy these colors are! I think the perfect pearls I used on the tails mimic the colors and shimmer.  Plus these girls are all about the pastels.   





Friday, February 19, 2016

February Tim Tag

I feel like I have been missing from here for a while now.  I changed jobs back in September.  I had been with my last company for 15 years and while leaving was a good choice, I still felt like a was in mourning.  I wasn't happy for a long time and needed to change.  I stepped into a new job and had to learn it very quickly since the holidays were fast approaching. During this time I was also juggling three different design teams.  It was all too much.  While I did enjoy a more relaxed holiday season and more importantly more time with my family, I have also decided in addition to changing jobs that I wanted to take a break from the design teams I was on.  I love working with the teams, but I wanted to just create for a bit with no pressure and no deadlines.  
So, I hope to get back to posting on a more regular basis and entering challenges too.  After all of that babbling here is my Tim tag for the month!
Thanks for letting me babble and I hope you enjoy my take on the tag.  
Jess

Disclaimer Notice

I've received products/compensation as part of the Gypsy Soul Laser Cuts Design teams. My projects, however, are 100% my own.