Tissue Paper

Hello! This week we have a tissue challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge blog. It happened to have been one of my challenge ideas, so I am going to share a step-by-step tutorial on Wednesday on the challenge blog.

Here's a little sneak peak. I made a mixed-media canvas and will show you some ideas about how to use both printed and plain tissue paper, and some other techniques too.

As always one random participant wins a $50 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp.

Check out the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog on Wednesday for the tutorial. I hope you will like it!

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

January 2014 Craft Stamper Magazine

Hi everyone! I just wanted to write a quick post showing you the cover of the January 2014 issue of the Craft Stamper magazine.

I have an step-by-step article in the magazine with some fun vellum and inking techniques, to create a frosty feeling, but they work for many other themes too. I was very happy to spot one of my cards on the cover (middle one to left - same spot as one of my projects had for the December 2013 issue). And I am happy to have another two cards in the magazine too. If you have never seen the Craft Stamper, it is a really fabulous magazine, the best one out there when it comes to stamping and fun techniques. If you are in the US, you should be able to find it at Barnes and Noble, or you could subscribe so that you won't miss an issue.

Happy stamping!

Anna-Karin

CSI case file #101: Car-crazy Santa

Hello Saturday! And of course another CSI:Color, Stories, Inspiration case file. We are continuing with our December holiday theme.

 

 

 

My layout, Car-crazy Santa:

 

I took my Christmas photos of the little guy few days ago. I think it was easier when he was this small, this year's photos didn't turn out that well, lots of running around and lots of funny faces. The photos I scrapped here were not the photos sent out to friends and family that year, but just some photos I snapped in between when he was playing with a little car, at about the time he started to love these little cars. From the evidence I used: circles, something transparent, numbers and ribbon. From the testimony, the journaling is about a holiday memory. 

 

I played around with my gelli plate again the other day and made a whole stack of backgrounds. So much fun! For this one, blue and yellow paint were mixed right on the plate and I pressed various embossed papers into the paint to create the patterns. I like to emboss white paper and use that, instead of pressing the actual embossing folder into the paint. Check out my gel printing with dies and embossing folders tutorial for more on this. I didn't brayer out the paint evenly all over the plate since I really love the uneven edges and patches of less paint. I am not totally sure which colours I mixed for this particular print, but it was Hansa Yellow and Anthraquinone Blue, Ultramarine or Phthalo Blue (green shade).

 

To add some of the blue in the case file, I used a strip of leftover gelli print. You can see more of these on this layout. I die cut a tag for the journaling from a similar piece (tucked under the two smaller photos). For the background, I used a brick paper from Kaisercraft and added stamping here and there. The edges were distressed and I also added quite a few mini staples.  

Some of the images were stamped on a transparency (the circle and the man at the petrol pump), the rest were stamped right on the papers. I used chipboard letters and stickers for the title, and some word stickers.

Love that you can see some of the gelli pattern through this stamped Tim Holtz car. Tim Holtz grunge stamps work so great together with a fun gellli background.

The tire tracks were stamped on one of my favourite surfaces, Wendy Vecchi's Clearly For Art Modeling film. The film can be shaped after heating it with a heat gun (be careful) and then keeps its shape perfectly.

Thank you for looking!!

Have a great weekend!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:
Surfaces: Neenah Smooth Solar White cardstock; Kaisercraft Base Coat 12 x 12 pad; Wendy Vecchi Stampers Anonymous Clearly For Art Modeling Film; acetate
Embossing folders: Sizzix: Clocks & Printblocks, Bubble & Honeycomb, Curlique & Hearts, Dot-Matrix & Gridlock
Stamps: Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz: Travel Ways, Road Trip, Psycedelic Grunge, Words for Thought
Ink: Ranger Archival Ink Jet Black; Tsukineko Stazon Jet Black
Paint: Golden Artist Colours Fluid Acrylics: Hansa Yellow, Ultramarine, Anthraquinone Blue
Embellishments: BasicGrey Letter Stickers; Heidi Swapp chipboard letters; Authentique word stickers
Tools: Sizzix Big Shot; Gelli Arts Gel Printing Plate 8 x 10

Evergreen Tree Pop-Up Card

Hello everyone! Karen Burniston's December Designer challenge is to use any pop-up die from her Sizzix collection.

 

I used the fun Evergreen Tree pop-up die, which is great for creating a little scene on your card. These cards are so fun to receive, the recipient will always get a fun surprise when opening it.

 

I put a few pools of Distress Stain (Antique Linen, Evergreen Bough, Brushed Pewter) on my craft sheet, misted a piece of manila cardstock with water and pressed into the ink. The tree was die cut from the coloured paper and stamped with a Christmas text background stamp and Archival Watering Can ink. The edges were inked with Gathered Twigs and I added some red pearl baubles.

 

For the background I used the back of one of the papers from Tim Holtz French Industrial pad, which has a nice grey tone and a soft diamond pattern. The grey stamping was done with Watering Can ink and for the red I used Vermillion. Finally, I stamped a music stamp repeatedly with Evergreen Bough ink.

 

For a border, I embossed a piece of kraft-core cardstock in the Swirls folder, sanded and inked it. I also used some Tim Holtz trim.

 

Love this Santa stamp from Tim Holtz, it was stamped with Jet Black ink on Specialty Stamping paper and coloured with Distress Inks and a craft nib.

 

On the front there is a bigger version of the same Santa stamp, but this time stamped with Watering Can on the background paper. The border is the same as on the inside of the card.  

I die cut Noel first from red kraft-core, using the Noel pop-up insert die. Then it was die cut a second time from a left-over piece of inked and stamped manila cardstock, using the coordinating Noel Sizzlits die. The insert die is slightly larger, forming a great mat.

Thank you so much for stopping by!

Happy Christmas Crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:
Surfaces: Tim Holtz Idea-ology French Industrial Paper Stash; Ranger: Manila Cardstock, Specialty Stamping Paper; Tim Holtz Core'dinations Kraft-Core cardstock
Dies: Sizzix: Evergreen Tree 3-D Pop-Up, Noel 3-D Phrase Pop-Up, Noel Set
Embossing folder: Sizzix: Trellis & Swirls set
Stamps: Stampers Anonyous Tim Holtz: Mini Holidays 5, Old Fashioned Christmas, Seasonal Catalog 1, Mini Holidays 4, Mini Holidays
Ink: Ranger Archival Ink: Jet Black, Vermillion, Watering Can; Distress Ink: Gathered Twigs, Evergreen Bough, Antique Linen, Barn Door, Iced Spruce
Stain: Distress Stain: Antique Linen, Evergreen Bough, Brushed Pewter
Embellishments: Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Red & Cream Trimmings, Linen Ribbon; pearls

Gesso Dry Embossing Tutorial

Hi everyone! Today I am sharing a step-by-step tutorial on the Sizzix blog, for a fun dry embossing technique.

I am always looking for new ways to use my embossing folders and this gesso technique is easy and gives great results. I also needed more Christmas cards, so I made seven different cards, mainly using Tim Holtz dies and embossing folders. The technique will work just as well for scrapbooking, tags, art journaling etc.

 

I am sharing two bonus cards here on my blog, because I didn't want to make the Sizzix post too long. I die cut the Pine Tree die from grungeboard, inked with Black Soot and covered with Pumice Stone Distress Glitter. There is also a snowflake and tissue tape border. These backgrounds turn out so nice that the cards don't need a lot of embellishments and you can do many cards quite fast.

The second card uses the last background I am sharing in the tutorial. Again, the bell and flower were die cut from grungeboard, which was inked with Antique Linen Distress Ink and coated with the same colour Distress Glitter.

To see the full tutorial, head over to the Sizzix blog.

Thank you for stopping by!

Anna-Karin

Additional supplies (full list on the Sizzix blog):
Dies: Sizzix: Pine Tree, Christmas Bells, Tiny Tabs & Tags, Mini Pine Tree & Holly, Holiday Wreath, Holly, Beaded & Snowflake Garland
Ink: Distress Ink: Antique Linen, Black Soot, Barn Door, Victorian Velvet
Glitter: Distress Glitter: Antique Linen, Black Soot
Embellishments: Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Label Letters, Seasonal Chit Chat Stickers, Crinkle Ribbon, Red & Cream Trimmings

Sparkly Snowman Tag

Hello everyone! This week our challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog is 'With a Flourish'. Flourishes and swirls are some of my most used shapes, both for backgrounds and as embellishments.

Flourishes are great to depict snow and movement and here I used a flourish stamp on the background to create a snowy hill for the snowman to stand on. The snowman is die cut with Tim Holtz new Assembly Snowman die, which is so much fun.

To make the background I first white embossed a Fabulous Flourish at the base of the tag and three snowflakes at the top. I used a torn paper mask to ink a soft hill, using Tumbled Glass, Stormy Sky and Faded Jeans Distress Ink. The embossing resists the ink. I also stamped the background with a flourish stamp, using both first and second generation stamping and holding it in my hand instead of mounting on an acrylic block, for a more random look. I splattered White Linen Dylusions mist on the background to give it even more of a snowy feeling. Finally, the edges were embossed with Aged Ivory embossing powder.

The Assembly Snowman die cuts all the parts you need to assemble the snowman. Here I die cut the parts from grungeboard. The arms, scarf, hat, eyes, holly leaves and nose were painted with Distress Paint, sanded and inked with Gathered Twigs. I inked the three balls for the body and head with Gathered Twigs around the edges and glued them together with Glossy Accents. Then I smeared Wendy Vecchi's White Embossing Paste on top with a palette knife, adding a thick layer, which really looks like snow. The final touch is to sprinkle it with Rock Candy Distress Glitter, for a perfect snowy look. Check out this Winter Cottage tutorial of mine, where I used paste and glitter in the same way. The paste picks up a little of the brown ink around the edges giving the snowman a distressed look. I pressed some seed beads into the paste, for buttons. The arms, scarf, eyes, nose and hat were also pressed into the paste, which works as a glue.

 

For a sentiment, I used a Christmas Word Band, with white paint rubbed into the words.

The stars were die cut from a Mirrored Sheet and the crinkle ribbon was dyed with Faded Jeans and Stormy Sky Distress Ink.

I hope you will join us in this fun flourish challenge this week, and as every week, one random participant wins a $50 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp, and can do some fun Christmas shopping!

 

Happy crafting!!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:
Surfaces: Tim Holtz Idea-ology Grungeboard, Mirrored Sheet; Ranger Manila Tag
Dies: Sizzix: Assembly Snowman, Crescent Moon & Stars
Stamps: Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz: Fabulous Flourishes, Tiny Textures, Grunge Snowflakes
Ink: Distress Ink: Tumbled Glass, Stormy Sky, Faded Jeans, Gathered Twigs, Embossing Ink; Ranger Emboss-It Dabber
Embossing powder: Ranger Seafoam White; Stampendous: Aged Ivory
Paint: Distress Paint: Picket Fence, Black Soot, Peeled Paint, Barn Door, Walnut Stain
Mist: Ranger Dylusions Mist: White Linen
Medium: Wendy Vecchi Stampers Anonymous: White Embossing Paste
Glitter: Ranger Distress Glitter Rock Candy
Embellishments: Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Christmas Time Word Bands, Crinkle Ribbon, Long Fasteners

Mixed-Media Textured Winter Scene

Hi and welcome! I can't believe it is already the first of December! My Christmas cards are not all done yet. We are having a winter theme this month at Craft a Scene. I did something a little bit different, a mixed-media textured winter landscape using a mix of various acrylic mediums, paint and stamps.

I had smeared Golden Crackle Paste on a canvas board (4 x 6) last week, without planning what to do with it. When I was going to start working on my winter scene, my eyes fell on the crackled surface and I thought it would work great for a snowy scene. I had so much fun creating this and just went along experimenting. I'll make a tutorial for this another time, I forgot to take step photos when I made this.

After the crackle paste was dry, I painted a watery mix of Distress Paints on top, using Broken China, Stormy Sky and a little bit of Chipped Sapphire. The paint went into the cracks, but also coloured the surface to some extent. I wiped some of it off from the surface.

The best way to stamp on such an uneven surface is to stamp on tissue paper, which I did, using Archival Jet Black. The tissue paper was glued to the surface with glossy gel, using one layer under and one on top the of tissue paper, which disappears.

When it was dry, I painted on top, to define some of the areas. Chipped Sapphire was added to the water. I painted white here and there, especially on the first snowy hill, to bring it forward and add perspective. Behind the hill, I painted Stormy Sky as a shadow and also under the trees.

I splattered white paint on the board to add even more of a snowy feeling.

A little bit of Glass Bead Gel was smeared on the water/ice and to the sky, and I also added some Extra Heavy Gel on the first snowy hill.

Thank you for the visit! I hope you will join us this month in our winter challenge.

Happy stamping!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:
Stamps: Stampscapes: Leafless Limbs 052C, Migrating Birds 152D, Oak Tree Medium 178E, Oak Tree Sm. 177B, Snowy Bank 360G, Winter Brush 366C
Ink: Ranger Archival Ink Jet Black
Paint: Distress Paint: Broken China, Stormy Sky, Chipped Sapphire; Golden Artist Paint: Titanium White Fluid Acrylics
Medium: Golden Artist Paint: Crackle Paste, Soft Gel Glossy, Glass Bead Gel, Extra Heavy Gel Gloss
Surface: Canvas Board (4 x 6)