Distressing.....

So someone in one of the groups I'm in (Inkyfunstampers @ Yahoo-GREAT bunch of Inky People...and Fun too, go figure :P ) mentioned Tim Holtz Distress Inks and ways to use the ink. I thought, "Self, YOU have a Distress Ink Pad you bought a few years back because it 'sounded cool'. Go find it and try some stuff out with it." Being the obedient person that I am I did exactly that! After checking out some videos by Tim Holtz and others using his Distress Inks and Alcohol Inks of course. Oooohhh boy, when my hubby finds out who started that thread about using Distress Ink they are going to be in trouuuuuble!

These pictures aren't very good, but I decided to try a couple different alcohol ink techniques but using regular dye inks instead. Really did not turn out anything like alcohol ink would, but it was still fun (and leaves me REALLY wanting some alcohol inks for CHRISTmas, hint hint hubby (like he reads this :P )).

The two darker bits above right are just Stampin Up! White Glossy cardstock cut into 4 1/4" x 2 3/4" pieces with various reinkers applied over and around with a CTMH Swipe & Wipe and then stamped over with Stazon' Inks.

These three lighter ones with bamboo, CHRISTmas bits, and joy are the same cardstock with a Stamped Image using VersaMark or a generic colored pigment ink and then Tattered Rose Distress Ink brayered overtop. It was definitely entirely too much fun....obvious from the fact that I should have been to bed almost two hours ago! (Sorry the pictures leave MUCH to be desired. My "real" camera has grown legs and I am currently using my camera phone. :( ).

On a side note, the Snowbottle family just needs to stay still long enough for me to take a pic and I'll upload the finished product...or wait, maybe I need to stay still long enough to take the pic. Anyway, I don't think I should really be blogging past my bedtime....I tend to get a wee bit goofy.

Sparkly Snowbottles

I wait months and months without posting and now that I am posting it has NOTHING to do with scrapbooking! :p I picked up a copy of cLoth paper scissors (clothpaperscissors.com) last week when I saw these adorable "sparkling snowmen" on the cover . So last night I decided to try my hand at some altered mixed media art. It was a TON of fun. I LOVE glass bottles and had picked up a tobasco bottle years ago on a beach in Florida just because it was there and I had an old glass perfume bottle from avon laying about so I thought I'd give it a try.

The snowmen are simply made by creating a head from self drying white clay (I actually used scupley clay because it's what I had-it worked out just fine). The faces are made with metal brads and an orange photo clip. The snowbottle in the front actually has the bottle's original topper as it's hat. The arms are beaded wire and vintage glass and metal buttons. Her buttons are three clear flat glass marbles.

The snowbottle in the back has an old ring of mine as her hat with multiple strands of silver ribbon, a half of a paper flower for "wings", multiple snow themed ribbons around the long neck, white sparkly snow stickers and a bit of ribbon wrapped around the bottom.

Both bottles are filled half way with various beads to give them some weight and whimsy and then sprayed with acrylic sealer, sprinkled with fine glitter and finished off with the sealer again.

I have one more snowman head waiting to be placed upon his Coke Bottle body tonight. I haven't decided if these girls are done or need some more embellishment. I will post again once I have at least the trio completely completed. I really enjoyed digging through all my bits and bobs of glass, metal, beads, and ribbons....and my stash is getting lighter the more I do...imagine that! Thanks for stopping by!

Cracked Glass...

As promised a lil' information on creating "Cracked Glass" on your cards, scrap pages, art and wherever else you'd like the illusion of cracked glass. This is quite a neat little technique to embelish so many things.

To start I stamped an image on a piece of cardstock. Here I chose Indian Corn Blue on Daisy White Cardstock. Trim cardstock to size desired and then press your Versa-Mark or other clear embossing inkpad all over your entire piece of cardstock. Next cover with clear embossing powder and heat with heat gun until powder has melted. Immediately recover with another layer of embossing powder and heat.* Repeat with at least four layers of embossing powder. This is more or less a preference and as you play you'll find how many layers you prefer. As soon as you can comfortably handle your heavily embossed piece of cardstock walk yourself to the kitchen and carefully place your piece of art in the freezer. Wait at least 15 minutes and then remove your embossed cardstock and proceed to bend and twist carefully until you have the amount of cracks and breaks you desire. Warning, people very well may look at you quite strangely when you remove your piece of art from atop the ice cream tub!

*IF you are having trouble getting the embossing powder to stick to the warm melted layer of embossing you can also run it over your Versa-Mark pad again.

I DID try this technique using another medium as well. It is more time consuming, but if you don't have embossing supplies and tools this may just work for you! I stamped an image as above and after cutting to size I scissor distressed the edges to give them a raised edge and then filled the cardstock with "Liquid Glass". Let the Liquid Glass dry overnight and then proceed to the freezer for about half an hour before cracking and twisting to your heart's content. It is obviously a longer process, but it did give a thicker "glass" and more defined cracks and breaks.

Either way a very fun and sweet addition to any card, scrap layout, or bit of altered art! Try it soon and let me know how it turns out! I'm off to make some cards for my cracked bits of fun!

And I'm back!

Wow, time certainly flies with two lil' guys on the move!!! I have finally been able to spend a few hours the last few days in my s'crap room working on albums and cards after the boys go to bed. I've really enjoyed the resist techniques I've been trying. My VersaMark pad is my new best friend!!!

To make this card I 1)chose a white piece of card stock and stamped the flower images in ocean (teal) and watermelon (pink) and colored the flowers. 2)After stamping with the colors I clean the stamps and ink my stamps with clear VersaMark (or any embossing pad would work). 3)Restamp the images directly on top of themselves, color flower with an embossing ink pen and cover in clear embossing powder. (Be very careful to ensure powder is only on your images. My example here has a few spare flecks of powder which leave a white speck wherever the powder stuck and melted.) Tap excess powder back into its jar. 4)Heat with heat gun until powder is melted. Let cool. 5)Using a brayer or sponge cover the ENTIRE card in ink color of choice (chocolate (brown) used here). 6)When coverage is as you would like take a tissue and wipe over the card, specifically on the embossed sections. WaLa! Your stamped image just pops and shines on the page! I have really enjoyed playing with this resist and it can work with SO many images and colors. The skies the limit on this one! I layered mine onto a white card and distressed the edges with chocolate, watermelon, and ocean. I also added yellow buttons as the flower centers.

Up next is cracked glass. Just tried it last night and am already IN LOVE with it!!!

Writer's Block

I've never struggled with writer's block before because I never "had" to write anything other than term papers and such for school! I commit to keeping a blog and a newsletter and my tiny lil' brain is BLANK....all I hear is whistling wind and see a few tumbleweed drifting by. :(

I have been keeping my scrappy self busy with preparing projects and examples for CTMH Gatherings. I have also started creating base layout pages and greeting cards for sale at Keystone Paper Bits-the other new venture I started in March. KPB is my custom laminating, spiral book binding, paper drilling, and scrapbook business that is located in my brother's computer shop, Falcon Computers.

My newest "technique" that I have discovered and am having fun playing with is "crayon resist". It's quite fun and I do believe it will show up in a card workshop or club in the near future. :) So all you stampin' card makers start confiscating your children's, grandchildren's, neices', or nephew's white crayons! They don't use them anyway. ;)

Tidbit of wisdom to all the new papercrafters and a reminder to us veterans: Your art is never wrong! If you make a "mistake" just stamp over it, layer over it, sand it, distress it, the options are limitless! It's ART, not Science!

Have a great week.... and go get creating!

What came first, the egg or the chicken?

What comes first? The photos or the pages?

Do you scrap based on pre-chosen photos for a page or do you create your layouts and then find photos for those pages? How about both?!? I spent my last few scrappy hours creating pages inspired by Imagine by Jeanette Lynton (CTMH). Now I have pages just waiting to be filled with CHRISTmas, Valentines, Family, Birthday's, and other Memorabilia. Pre-creating pages is also a great way to get ideas for pictures you want to make sure you get. There are always those special events and "grab a camera and take of picture of...." that need a custom made page, but there's no reason to not have some pages premade and just waiting for pictures.

Need some inspiration for your scrapbook pages? Check out Cherish or Imagine for wonderful layouts with step by step instructions and cutting diagrams. Or check out places like http://scrapsketches.blogspot.com/ , or http://www.stickersnfun.com/sketches.asp and get inspired. Scraplift an idea and make it your own this week!