Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Fun Techniques - Emboss Resist

OK, this isn't the first time I have posted about the emboss resist technique, BUT this time there's a little twist. After reading the "Stamp It! Techniques" column in the September/October 2013 issue of Paper Crafts Magazine, I knew I was going to have to test it out. The twist here is that you stamp a pattern or background onto your base project first, then proceed with the emboss resist. Let me show you...

First, stamp a background image onto your project base. In my case, it's a card front:

Next, choose the image you will use for the resist. I chose the cupcake image from this month's Stamp of the Month, "A Chocolate Affair". Using VersaMark ink, random stamp this image over your background:

Now, cover the images with clear embossing powder and heat emboss:

Next comes the fun part! Using one or more different colors of ink and a large sponge dauber, swirl ink onto the base using a circular motion.(NOTE: For a more pronounced result with your embossed images, make sure the inks you use are darker that the color that you stamped your background in.)

After applying all of your colors, use a paper towel to wipe off any excess ink:

Isn't that so cool?! Here is the finished card:


I made the note above because I think my result would have been better if you couldn't see as much of the original orange background through the green and blue inks.

So, I decided to try another card, only this time I used a patterned paper instead of stamping a background. I used a nice, small pattern from the "Frosted" paper pack, and stamped on it with the image of a small piece of solid washi tape from the "Washi Wonders" set. This time, I used Twilight ink to cover the background, and I think it looks much better!
That is just so cool. It looks like I cut small pieces of the patterned paper and glued them over a blue version of the same paper. The snowflake patterned paper on the opposite side is also from the "Frosted" paper pack, and the snowman and sentiment are from the "Flakey Friends" stamp set. This was snow much...I mean SO much fun! I would LOVE to see what cool results you get with this technique!



Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Just Because - Challenge 5

It's time once again to pick a challenge from my "Just Because" canister. Today I drew this slip: "Use a color scheme for a card or page taken from a Pinterest board about clothing." Well, that sounds like fun! Now all I have to do is NOT get sucked into spending all day browsing Pinterest (so hard to do)!

OK, there were so many different color schemes to choose from, I decided to pick one that was "outside my box" (more of a challenge!). Here is the pin that I chose:


To me, this ensemble says Close To My Heart's "Buttercup, Chocolate, and Sky". I decided to use a brand new stamp set from CTMH's Autumn-Winter 2013 Idea Book, "All The Details", because I've been dying to use it! I flipped through the Idea Book for inspiration on a card design, and came upon one of the cards from the "Workshops on the Go Frosted Cardmaking Kit" on page 69. Here is what I came up with:


Cute! The only things I added were a Sky "stamp" of "Washi tape" from the "Washi Wonder" stamp set (a Hostess Exclusive!), two "Sparkles", and some hand-drawn stitching.

Coincidentally enough, the projects posted on Jeanette Lynton's blog today also feature the "All The Details" stamp set! You can check them out here: www.jeanettelynton.com

How have you challenged yourself today?


Monday, August 19, 2013

Facebook Artwork

Hello Friends!

It has occurred to me that some of you may follow my blog and not follow me on Facebook, and vice versa. So for those of you who may not have seen the artwork I have been posting lately to my Facebook Page, I decided I would post it here (this way I can also pin it to my Pinterest Board!) If anyone has any questions as to what products were used for any of the artwork, please contact me and I will be happy to let you know - or just head on over to my Facebook Page and check them out there! Enjoy!


Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Fun Mini Album with Cricut Artbooking!

You heard me say it - my next project was going to be one of the ten mini albums included on Close To My Heart's "Artbooking" Cricut Cartridge. It wasn't hard to choose which one once I saw the album that Consultant Sarah Stone from sarahstonecreations.blogspot.com had done at Convention this year! I instantly fell in love with the pictures that she posted! I found the base pages for the album on pages 42 and 43 of the Artbooking handbook - it's the 7" x 5" Top Secret Mini Album.

Now, this album has all of its own embellishments that are custom sized and pre-programmed into the Cricut to cut just right, so you only have to set your dial size once, and all of the pieces cut the size they need to be. However, this album uses TONS of different cuts from the entire cartridge. It's a tiny sampling of what you will find on the cartridge, but a fun, eclectic mash-up of shapes and textures. I also used some My Stickease from various collections to embellish with, as well as some stamps to embellish & create patterns with. The main colors used throughout are Whisper, Topiary, Black, Honey & Lagoon.

Once you have your base pages cut and folded, line them up and poke holes down the center spine and sew together (I used embroidery floss):
I decided to do my album as a "Year in Review", and I could not be more thrilled with how it turned out! Here is the finished product!



Could you just die?! This is the cutest, most fun album I have ever done. It was so cool to break outside the 12" x 12" "Memory Protector" box. I invite you to do the same...but you'll need the Cricut "Artbooking" cartridge to make an album as cool as this! Order your on my website at funforyou.ctmh.com!

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Just Because - Challenge 4

I hope everyone is enjoying doing their own challenges! I am having a blast with these. If you still haven't downloaded your list of challenges, you can do so HERE.

My next challenge was this: "Go to www.jeanettelynton.com and recreate the first thing you see using what you have on hand." Well, the first thing I saw was a long list of photos taken from CTMH events in Austrailia, so I kept going. Then there was a video, then there was this:

This is a card submitted to CTMH by Consultant Carolyn Stout. This is cool, because I have the stamp set she used for the background strips ("Distressed Backgrounds"), and I was pretty sure the tag and "ticket" cuts were from the "Art Philosophy" cartridge, which I also have. Ok then - let's get to work!

I decided that I wanted to brighten things up a bit, so where I did recreate the background pattern, I did it with a rainbow of colors instead (Cranberry, Sunset, Honey, and Pear). The tag I cut from Pacifica cardstock.

Now all there was left to do was stamp and assemble. I ended up using the "Thank You" Mini stamp (which I stamped in Black) and a stamp from "Love Life" (which I stamped in Pacifica) for my focal point. I did not have the stamp that Carolyn used. Voila!

Since my sentiment didn't fit across the width of the ticket, I also changed the orientation of the card from portrait to landscape. Nice.

You could also challenge yourself to jump onto Pinterest or your favorite craft blog and recreate the first thing you see - how fun! Until next time!



Thursday, August 1, 2013

Close To My Heart's NEW Cricut® "Artbooking" Collection!

Well, you know it's new, and you know it sounds awesome, now check it out!

Interested in what you'll get on that magical cartridge? Well, here's the entire handbook for your viewing pleasure:
















































































You know you want it...you know you have to have it...contact me to get it! Or, order online right now at http://funforyou.ctmh.com! Enjoy!