Matchbox filled with words

Hello crafters! It is Monday and I hope you had a good weekend with some crafty time!

Please note: this post has affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

This week our challenge theme at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog is Add a Sentiment. I hope you will join us and don't miss the project by our July guest designer Laura Cassina. 

I made a matchbox and couldn't use just one sentiment, but instead filled the box with sentiments. Almost as if it is a little box holding a lot of secrets. The box was made with Tim Holtz Vault Matchbox set and I used a bunch of different butterfly stamps to embellish it and the cards.

There are seven sentiment cards in the box.

Start by die cutting the box with the Vault Matchbox die from heavystock paper. Fold along the scorelines.

Ink the box with Distress Ink. I also die cut a card for the top of the box.

Stamp one of the butterflies from Tim Holtz Flutter on acetate. 

Cut out and color on the back with alcohol ink.

Gently heat with a heat tool and shape the acetate. Be careful as this might not work with all types of acetate. I used Wendy Vecchi Clearly for Art Modeling Film.

Die cut seven cards from inky paper. Stamp sentiments and small images on the cards. Mist the images with water after inking. Also stamp a sentiment inside the box.

Stamp here and there with Simon Says Stamp Stained Glass, for texture.

Ink the edges and assemble the box.

I added Moon Dust Stickles Glitter Gel to the back of the butterfly, but forgot to take a photo of that step.

A part of a Tim Holtz Tiny Text sentiment was stamped on the front.

I stamped words from Simon Says Stamp Forest Scenery on both sides of the box. I messed up the stamping of 'peaceful' and restamped and cut into a strip. 

When you open the box you will find a little treasure of words.

I used a mix of stamps by Simon Says Stamp and Tim Holtz for the sentiments and images.

Mist the stamp with water after inking for a watercolor effect.

The remaining four cards. The long sentiment comes from Tim's Urban Chic, the sentiment to the bottom left is from Simon Says Stamp Extra Proud and the remaining two sentiments are from Tim's Tiny Text.

The birds come from Tim Holtz Mini Ornates.

The stamp at the top is one of my youngest son's favorite sayings.

All the little cards and the box itself.

Die cut the side pieces from kraft cardstock and sand to reveal the texture.

Join us this week in our Add a Sentiment! You have a chance to win a $25 gift voucher to do some fun shopping at Simon Says Stamp. You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in.

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

Thank you so much for stopping by here today! 

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

Earth Tag Tutorial

Hi stampers! Today I have a tag to share with various fun techniques. It is one of those projects that proceeded without much of a plan. 

Please note: this post has affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

The tag has an earth theme with lightbulbs turned into hot air balloons exploring the world. The background is made with a combination of stenciling and stamping. The globe is heat embossed and shiny and the lightbulbs are glittery and dimensional. Arrows are a great way to create movement. 

Start by die cutting the globe from Tim Holtz Vault World Travel set from heavystock paper and from Simon Says Stamp Acetate.

Ink the base globe with Simon Says Stamp Embossing ink and sprinkle Wow embossing powders on top. I used Tarnished Teal, Sea of Tranquility and Crusty Copper. Repeat until you are happy with the look. Ink the land masses with Distress Ink and emboss with several layers of clear powder. Sprinkle some of the colored powders into the last layer. Always be very careful with heat embossing and do not touch the melted powder until it has cooled down completely.

Ink the acetate with Patina Alcohol ink, to make it look like the ocean.

Die cut another circle from old dictionary paper and place under the acetate. Then glue all the pieces and place under a book until the glue is dry.

The tag was die cut with Tim's Framed Tags. Ink the die with Archival Ink Red Geranium before die cutting. It was stamped with Simon Says Stamp Ledger Paper Background stamp.

Ink with Distress Ink through Simon Says Stamp Mix and Match Circles stencil.

Clean the stencil and place it back on the tag. Trace around the circles with a white paint pen.

Stamp the sentiment with black ink and stamp circles from Simon Says Stamp Mix and Match Circles stamp set on some of the circles.

Stamp the lightbulbs from Tim's Curiosity Shop on Wendy Vecchi Clearly for Art Modeling Film. Cut out, heat with a heat tool and shape the bulbs. Add Nebula Stickles Glitter Gel to the back.

Glue the globe to the background and draw a circle around it with a black marker. Staple the lightbulbs to the background.

The stamp in the circle in the upper right-hand corner is meant to be the sun.

The globe is very shiny, as you can see here, with the acetate in the background and the layers of embossing powders.

I placed some of the arrows so the pointed to specific places. The arrows are die cut with Vault World Travel.

The main sentiment comes from Tim Holtz Random Quotes. I also added some design tape Trims to the tag.

The tag is quite dimensional because of the lightbulbs / hot-air balloons.

The techniques can be used for other dies and stamps too and for other types of projects and themes.

Thank you so much for stopping by here today! 

Anna-Karin

Supplies:

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

Paper Mosaic with Dimensional Butterflies

Hi friends! I am happy to have a tutorial on the Simon Says Stamp Store Blog. I made a paper mosaic piece with dimensional butterflies. Here is a sneak peek: 

Paper mosaic is perfect for small pieces or scraps of papers. I used mainly ephemera by Tim Holtz. The butterflies are made from Wendy Vecchis Clearly For Art Modeling film, which keeps its shape perfectly.

To see the step-by-step tutorial and all the details, head over to the Simon Says Stamp Store Blog. 

Thank you so much for stopping by here today! 

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

Stitched Notebook

Hello friends! Today I have a notebook/journal tutorial to share, for a notebook with a stitched binding. If you don't want to make a notebook, the cover can easily be turned into a card instead.

Please note: this post has affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

I love to make my own notebooks and sketchbooks. They are also great gifts. This notebook is 5x6 in, a folded Tim Holtz Backdrops paper. The Backdrops papers are so gorgeous and make for great notebook or journal covers. I stamped a dragonfly image on the cover and colored it with pencils. The dragonfly was also stamped on Clearly For Art Modeling Film. Later, I might have removed the modeling film dragon fly, but only because it was a little too dimensional for my liking. 

Fold a piece of Backdrops Vol 4 paper in half and stamp the dragonfly image from Stamper's Anonymous Classics #1 on the cover.

Color the dragonfly with colored pencils. I used Prismacolors. Use a white pencil to blend the colors.

Add details to the dragonfly with a black pen and a white gel pen. Don't worry about getting it perfect, since that is not the point.

Stamp circles from Simon Says Stamp Mix and Match Circles and various sentiments on the background.

I wanted the title to have the exact same colors as the dragonfly and used the pencils to color another piece of Backdrops paper. I created an ombre effect.

Use Tim Holtz Alphanumeric Emporium dies to die cut the letter.

Stamp the dragonfly with Stazon Jet Black on Wendy Vecchi Clearly For Art Modeling Film. 

Cut the dragonfly out and color the body with alcohol ink.

Gently heat with a heat tool and shape the wings. Be careful not to burn yourself. The film keeps its shape perfectly.

Add Distress Stickles Moon Dust to the back of the wings and let dry.

Cut inserts from your paper of choice. In this case, I used fairly light-weight notebook paper, which can take fountain pens without problems. Make a template first by piercing holes through a folded piece of paper. As you can see the inserts are larger than the cover.

After you pierced through all the layers, it looks like this.

I stitched the book using three strands of DMC embroidery thread using a saddle stitch. Tie it on the inside.

I trimmed the inserts and a tiny bit of the covers to get a notebook where the pages went right up to the edges of the cover. Normally, I make the pages slightly smaller than the cover, but since I used thinner paper than what I usually use, it was possible to trim through them all at once. 

Using colored pencils to color the paper before die cutting creates a nice effect and the paper is satin smooth.

Stamp some of the circles off the edge for a finished look.

The Moon Dust Stickles gives a great shimmer to the wings of the dragonfly. 

The Clearly For Art Modeling Film is one of my favorite surfaces and you dan do many techniques with it. 

Even though I loved the dimensional dragonfly, I decided to remove it. Since the cover and the inside pages are pretty thin, it bothered me when I was writing in the book. I might put it back again, or I will use it on another project instead.

The white and black pen details add movement and life to the wings.

Here's another look at the stitch. If you want to, use a contrasting or bright colored thread instead.

Since the Backdrops papers are double-sided, the inside covers are patterned too.

Here's another look at the notebook without the Modeling Film dragonfly.

Thank you so much for stopping by here today! 

Anna-Karin

Supplies:

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.