Constantly Stamping

AWW Bonus Project - Altered Box with Lattice Border

I just thought I would pop in today and share another project that I created as bonus project to our Artisan Wednesday WOW Blog Hop. Since I was featuring the technique I decided not to use this project for my actual post because it was difficult to see it in the photos.

 
The other reason this didn't make it into my actual AWW post is that it didn't really turn out like I had hoped. Here's the thing...trying to join that lattice border and make it look clean and polished was next to impossible. So what do you do in that situation...you cover it up! I had originally hoped to have the flower on top of the box, but when I couldn't get the border to look right, I ended up putting in on the front of the box to hide the seam. That frustrated me a little, so I ditched the project and went a different direction by making a card instead. What can I say, but I'm a perfectionist. :) But after I gave it some thought, I decided to share it afterall.

I may decide to go back later and revisit this project. I think it could use something else to make it a little more special, but I guess it is fine just the way it is here. I just felt like the top of the box was a little bare. Something that a little embossing could easily cure. But honestly, I was ready to move on at this point. So, what you see is what you get. :)

If you would like to find out more about the lattice border technique, then be sure to check out my last post.

Artisan Wednesday WOW - Lattice Border with a Chevron Punch

Thanks for joining us again for the 2013-14 Artisan Design Team's weekly blog hop. It is such an honor to be creating alongside these talented ladies. Their creativity never ceases to amaze me. So, just as a recap...each month Stampin' Up! sends each member of the Design Team a huge box of goodies for us to feature in our weekly blog hop. The new Chevron Border punch wasn't exactly at the top of my wish list, but once I got my hands on it, I couldn't put it down. I LOVE IT!

Who would have thought that you could make an interlocking lattice border with the Chevron Border Punch? I am still amazed at how simple this is to do and it was my idea. LOL! But to try and explain it without showing you...well that would just be too difficult...so I did a quick video to show you how. The video is at the bottom of this post, so be sure to check it out.

But first, let me give you a few more details about this card. Start with a standard Very Vanilla Card Base and layer on some Modern Day DSP. It is difficult to tell from the pictures, but I paper-pleated the bottom portion of the card. To create the pleats, score the DSP at 1", 1.75", 2", 2.75", 3", 3.75", 4", 4.75" continuing the pattern until you reach the end of the 12" strip. Then accordian fold it and place it along the bottom edge of the card. Then add the lattice border strip. Stamp the greeting with the "Forever With You" stamp set using Jet Black StazOn ink and cut it out with the coordinating Window Frames Framelit Die. Cut two additional pieces out of  Daffodil Delight cardstock and layer it behind the greeting. Create a small flower using a punch from the Itty Bitty Shapes and add a small pearl for the flower center. That's all there is to it. I know you are going to have fun with this new technique, so give it a try and let me know what you think.

Now, here is the video tutorial. After you have finished watching, be sure to head on over to see the amazing projects that the other Artisans have in store for you.

 

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Stamped and Decoupaged Mini Muslin Bag

Don't you just love it when you sit down to play with your stamps and you create something beautiful? I am thrilled with how this mini muslin bag turned out. After I was finished creating, I knew that I would never be able to adequately explain the process with just words, so I decided to film an in-depth video. It is a little lenghty, but what is the point of making a video if I don't show you what to do? I also included a "bonus" video that shows you how to create the faux metal-rim tag. I really hope you like it!

 

 

 

Artisan Wednesday Wow! Multi-colored Chevron Background

Welcome back for another Artisan Wednesday WOW Blog Hop by the 2013-14 Stampin' Up! Artisan Design Team. Each Wednesday we share projects made primarily with the contents of a monthly box of goodies we receive from Stampin' Up! We have some amazingly talented women on our design team. As I write my posts each week I have no idea what they will be sharing, so I will be just as surprised and amazed as you are. We will be hopping in the same order every week, so depending on where you begin you should arrive here from Cindy Schuster's blog, Nutmeg Creations. Then when you leave here, you will head on over to visit Erica Cerwin at Pink Buckeroo Designs. Here is my project for this week's blog hop.

I thought it would be really fun to design a card background using just one stamp from the Tape It stamp set. I selected the row of chevrons and stamped it multiple times in both Tangerine Tango and Melon Mambo ink. Then I cut the strips down and attached them to a piece of scrap cardstock, creating a pattern in the process. I really love the end result. Next I wanted to create a not-so-ordinary focal point for this not-so-ordinary card. I stamped the fourish tag from the Chalk Talk stamp set twice with Old Olive ink and cut them out with the coordinating Chalk Talk Framelits. I stamped the greeting in Melon Mambo ink and punched it out with the Extra-large Oval Punch. The little butterfly was cut with the Beautiful Wings embosslit. It pulls your eye into the sentiment and adds the perfect finishing touch.

I suppose by now it is apparent that I like to find interesting and different ways to use stamps and accessories. Because of that, I receive a lot of requests for videos. I can't promise I will always do a video tutorial, but I will do my best to provide good instructions. When I think it is necessary, I will also attempt a video. This project is the perfect example...so yes...there is a video tutorial for today's project. After you have watched, be sure to finish the blog hop.

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Artisan Facebook Friday! Birthday "Gift" Card

Our August Facebook projects were shared this afternoon on the Stampin' Up! Facebook page. Typically we will wait until the following Wednesday to share the details, but we are running a little behind due to the ten-day blog hop earlier this month. So sit back and enjoy a special edition of our Artisan Wednesday Wow! We will be hopping in the same order every week, so depending on where you begin you should arrive from Cindy Schuster's blog, Nutmeg Creations. Then when you leave here, you will head on over to visit Erica Cerwin at Pink Buckeroo Designs.

This was the very first project I created from the August box. It was a little over-whelming to return home from SU convention and have to start designing things almost immediately. Honestly, I just stared at the box and couldn't think of a single project. Eventually my instincts kicked in and I grabbed the stamp set that I was most comfortable with, Morning Post Numbers. This versatile set is from the new Holiday Mini Catalog.

With the invention of the "gift card" I think the art of gift giving has almost faded into obsecurity. To be honest, I am just as guilty as the next person. I get in a hurry and instead of thoughtfully selecting a present, I run to the store, purchase a gift card, throw it in an envolope and hastily write the reciepents name on the outside. I guess that is better than nothing, but when it is all said and done, what is there to show for it?  Personally I love receiving packages that are beautifully wrapped and ornately adorned. So here is what I was thinking...sometimes it is OK to give someone a gift card or money, but why can't it be a little more exciting! Thus, I created the "gift" card. I had my niece in mind for this particular card. Even though I know she will love the money that will be enclosed, I hope that she will realize that I took the time to create a special one-of-a-kind card just for her. I even made curly ribbon from thin pieces of cardstock so that it looks like a real present. My hope is that she will treasure the card as a keepsake and remember that her Aunt Connie loves her enough to make her a special card. Now, there is no denying that this card is meant to be hand delivered. As a matter of fact, I don't even know that I will put it in an envelope...maybe I will slip it into a clear cellophane bag instead.

This card isn't as difficult as it may seem if you break it down into steps. Randomly stamp numbers from the Morning Post Numbers set with White Craft Ink onto Crumb Cake cardstock. Then stitch around the edges twice with a sewing machine. Cut three thin pieces of cardstock and wrap them around the card front just like you are wrapping a present. Make a rosette with Quatrefancy Specialty DSP and place a pleated doiley behind it. The trickiest part is adding the curled cardstock. Wrap thin pieces of cardstock around wooden skewers and then hot glue the ends behind the rosette. A list of all the materials is listed with the project over on the SU Facebook page if you need more details.

I have already seen the amazing projects the other design team members have made for today's hop. Trust me...you don't want to miss a single project!

 

Artisan Wednesday Wow! Polka Dot Mini Muslin Bag

Welcome to the first official Artisan Wednesday WOW Blog Hop for the 2013-14 Stampin' Up! Artisan Design Team. Each Wednesday we will be sharing a project made primarily with the contents of a monthly box of goodies we receive from Stampin' Up! This month was a little bit of a challenge for me. I like to think that I do things "outside the box", so now that I have create from inside the box, I have to do things a little differently than normal. We will be hopping in the same order every week, so depending on where you begin you should arrive from Cindy Schuster's blog, Nutmeg Creations. Then when you leave here, you will head on over to visit Erica Cerwin at Pink Buckeroo Designs. As I write my posts each week I have no idea what they will be sharing, so I will be just as surprised and amazed as you are. Here is my project for this week's blog hop.

One of my favorite products from the Holiday Mini Catalog are the mini muslin bags. I just couldn't wait to get my hands on them...then when I finally did, my mind went blank. Seriously! So I took a deep breath and decided to sacrifice one bag for the sake of the greater good. I tried stamping with regular ink...nope, that didn't do anything for me. Then I tried stamping them with VersaMark ink and embossing with clear ink for the resist technique...that was a minor disaster. Finally, I pulled out my acrylic paints and a sponge dauber...SUCCESS!

I know that some of you will look at this bag and know exactly how it's made, but others are visual learners, so I put together a video tutorial on how I stamped the bag. Scroll down to the end of this post if you want to watch it. I am the type of person who likes to explain the process, so if that drives you nuts, then just watch the beginning and the end and skip over the middle. What I didn't do is make a video for the tag, so let me just quickly tell you what was involved.

 

I stamped "best friend" from the Label Love stamp set twice on Very Vanilla cardstock. I used the Artisan Label Punch to punch out the one stamped in Old Olive. I hand-trimmed the center portion of the one stamped in Pumpkin Pie ink. To create the base of the tag I stamped the tag from the Chalk Talk stamp set with Daffodil Delight ink and carefully trimmed it out with scissors. I cut the tag base using the Chalk Talk Framelits and Old Olive cardstock. The butterfly was cut from Pumpkin Pie cardstock with the Beautiful Wings Embosslits.

Here's the video...when you are finished watching, be sure to continue with today's blog hop.

 

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Artisan Design Team Blog Hop - Day 10

WOW, I can't believe that this is the last day of our Artisan Design Team Blog Hop. It was gone by so fast. I hate to see it come to an end. But no worries...because every Wednesday we will have a new blog hop for you called the "Artisan Wednesday WOW". Each month Stampin' Up! sends the Artisan Design Team a generous box of goodies. We will create all kinds of fun stuff from those supplies to share here on our blogs every week. We've already been busy creating all sorts of fun things that we can't wait to share.

Now for the task at hand. I have saved my favorite Artisan Design Team submission for the grand finale. This big, red flower caused quite a stir at convention. Everyone was reaching over the ropes to touch it and then speculating on how they thought it was made. I was asked at least a hundred times "how did you do that?' So read on if you want to know how to make one for yourself.

I am a big believer in giving credit where credit is due when it comes to things I share on my blog. So, I want to tell you a quick story. A while back Diana Gibbs featured an amazing garden stake project on her blog. So, before I even begin, I want to give Dianna credit for inspiring this project. I spoke to her on the telephone this morning and she said that I really needed to give credit to demonstrator who inspired her. Linda Barnes demonstrated the garden stake project in San Antonia at Leadership Convention and Diana CASEd it and tweaked it some. After talking to Linda, she said that it would be fine to link to Diana's blog because there is a video tutorial. So a big thanks goes to both of these really nice gals, without whom I would have NEVER thought to create this project in the first place. With all of that being said, I used the 10"x10' rolled aluminum flashing from the home improvement store and cut it with the Dresden Die (now retired), Scallop Circle Die, and the 3-1/2" circle die. Remember, it has to be the aluminum flashing on the roll because it is about the thickness of an aluminum can and NOT the little rectangles that you can buy (because those are much too thick for the Big Shot).

This isn't a difficult project, but you do need to be careful not to cut yourself. There are a lot of sharp edges. More than anything, this project takes quite a bit of time to complete. The initial preparation is fairly quick. First, I cut the flashing into manageable-sized pieces so it would fit through my Big Shot. Next, I cut two of the scallop circles so that you have one for the flower center and a extra one for the back as a base. Then I washed all of the pieces in the sink with Dawn dish washing liquid to remove any oily residue. I lightly sanded all the pieces and then wiped them down with rubbing alcohol. After that I ran each piece through the Big Shot again using various embossing folders. The flashing is basically close to the same thickness as a soda can, so it embosses easily. Then I carried it all outside and spray painted all the individual pieces with Valspar Gloss Spray Paint and allowed it to dry for a while in the sun.

Once everything was dry enough to move, I brought everything back inside so that the paint wouldn't get messed up overnight. I let the paint cure for about 48 hours before moving on to the next step. The petals needed something to make the edges stand out, so I used an art sponge and some Jet Black StazOn ink to carefully ink the edges. Finally, I laid everything out and arranged the petals the way that I wanted them and used E6000 jewelry adhesive to assemble it. Nashville is really humid so it took a long time to dry. I did the bottom layer (big petals) first and set a heavy candlestick on the center to keep everything in place while it dried for about 24 hours. I repeated this step with the smaller petals and then finally I added the flower center and allowed that to dry for a few days as well. Once you know that everything is completely dry, you can use a bone folder or something similar to gently curl the petals...this is where you need to be extra careful not to cut yourself! I don't want angry hate mail telling me that I didn't warn you!  I needed a way to hang it on the wall, so I used some pull tabs from soda cans and glued those to the back. If you have a Crop-a-dile hole punch, you can also punch a couple of holes in the flower base  to hang some wire on. That's all there is to it. I think it took about 2-3 weeks for me to complete the entire process.

INGREDIENTS: Embossing Folders: Elegant Lines, Elegant Bouquet, Vintage Wallpaper, Petals-a-Plenty, Houndstooth, Stripes, Square Lattice, Perfect Polka Dots, Chevron, Fancy Fan, Vine Street, Honeycomb, Woodgrain, Lacy Brocade; Accessories: Big Shot Machine, Dresden Designs Bigz Die; 3-1/2" Circle Die; StazOn Black Ink Pad, Stamping Sponge, Sanding Block; Other: Aluminum Rolled Flashing, Valspar Gloss Spray Paint (Cut Ruby & Gold Abundance), E6000 Adhesive, Soda Can Pull Tabs

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Artisan Design Team Blog Hop - Day 9

Only one more day left on our 10-day blog hop. It has been really fun for me to see each project and find out more about them. Today I want to share my favorite card from my Artisan projects. First, a little bit of background. Many years ago I saw a video on YouTube on how to make these fun shaped flowers. I only saw it once and I never saw it again, so basically, this isn't my idea. I honestly don't even know what to call these things, except "cool". You basically just punch out hearts and fold them in half. Then you just insert them into the one before until you have a complete circle. You can have as many or as few petals as you like, it just depends on how full you want it to be. Pretty nifty, huh?

When I saw the Sycamore Street DSP, I knew that I had to try something different and fun with it. I love that way this flower showcases all of the great patterns. Of course, like most of the products that I used on my entries, it is no longer available...but if you are one of the lucky ones, maybe you snagged some for free during Saleabration. There's not a lot of stamping on this card (at least not on the outside), but I made up for it on the inside. I used markers to color the different parts of the stamp and then re-activated the ink by breathing warm, moist air onto the stamp just before putting it to paper.

The card base was created by die cutting two pieces of Island Indigo card stock with the Scallop Circle Bigz Die. I loved that the doily was the perfect size...just smaller than the card base and just larger than the flower. It was great that it worked out that way. Here's another little fun fact...do you see that tiny little pearl on the tag? I just couldn't get it to stay where I wanted it so in the end I carefully removed it before sending it!

INGREDIENTS: Stamps: Madison Avenue, Hearts a Flutter, Tiny Tags, Hello Hello, Paper: Island Indigo CS, Whisper White CS. Pool Party CS, Summer Starfruit CS, Sycamore Street DSP; Ink Pads: Island Indigo, Early Espresso, Pool Party; Markers: Crumb Cake, Island Indigo, Calypso Coral, Summer Starfruit; Punches: Full Heart, 1-3/4” Scallop Circle, 7/8” Scallop Circle, Jewelry Tag; Accessories: Paper Doilies, Vanilla Baker’s Twine (Pop-Up Posies Kit), Sycamore Street Button (Rich Razzleberry), Dimensionals, Scallop Circle Bigz Die, 3-1/2” Circle Die, Big Shot Machine, Pearl Basic Jewels, Multipurpose Liquid Glue.

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