12 Tags of Christmas - #4

I have made another card for week 4 of the 12 Tags of Christmas challenge sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

Here is Linda's tag and I took my inspiration from the silhouettes.

I started with some card stock from my stash for the blank.  Next I added a panel of music paper from a Christmas pad from Farm House Paper Company that I distressed and inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink..  You might have to look closely but it is there in the background.

The next panel is embossed with a Snowflakes embossing folder (Cuttlebug) and inked with Walnut Stain.

Next I convinced my husband to cut the carolers and lamp post for me.  I sure hope he appreciates that I am helping him out with these crafty requests.  Every time I ask for something new he has to create the files that talk to the laser cutter and since he is teaching himself the graphics programs, I figure I am assisting him on this path to learning so he owes me - LOL.  He's a good guy!!!!

I added some acetate that was in my stash to the back of the lamp.  It had been inked with some Alcohol Inks and left over from my Halloween project.

Next I die cut a number of holiday greens from scraps of card stock, inked them with some Forest Moss Distress Ink and cut them apart before I added them to make a frame.

Finally I made a computer generated sentiment that I inked with Walnut Stain DI and added it with a loopy burlap string bow.

The following products used to create this card came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

A Fashionable Treat

It is time for the new challenge at Frilly and Funkie.  Suzz is our hostess this time and calls it Trick or Treat but read her description very carefully because it is not what you think.

I challenge you to create a vintage or shabby chic project with a trick or treat. If you are feeling funkie you might want to incorporate a trick in your design or if you are feeling frilly you can incorporate a treat. The trick or treat can be anything from a hidden pocket, unexpected design element, a treat hidden in the card or an unusual technique used on your project. Make sure to include in your blog post a description of your trick or treat!

I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to make a birthday card for someone special in my life, my daughter.  This card doesn't have a lot of techniques but is composed with lots of distressed layers from A Ladies Diary (Graphic 45) and a little hidden treat.

I started with some black card stock (Recollections) for the blank and topped that with the large green floral panel of paper and next came a cream text paper.

I dyed some seam binding, venise lace and a magnolia flower with Antique Linen Oxide.  I had intended to use distress ink but the pad was dry - sad face.

The strip of lace was added to the cream paper and then another panel of floral paper was added to the top with dimensional foam and pretty well hides the cream paper - another sad face.

Next I created a pocket to hold a gift card.  I cut a piece of the cream text paper and folded the bottom up adding hinges on each side so that the whole width inside is available to slide the gift card in and out.

I added one side of another hinge to the back of another panel of paper and adhered the other side to the black floral panel.  Then I mounted the card pocket tucking it up against the fold of the hinge.  The coffee gift card is not the one my daughter will get.  I usually buy her a mall gift card so she can use it at any of a number of stores and now that they have doubled the size of our mall and brought in some higher end stores, she will love that.  Also, this year is a milestone birthday for her so I might just treat her to a little extra on the card.  She started a new job in August and I am sure she can always use more "go to business" clothes.

I added a little tab to the right side of the cover panel so she can lift the cover.  A Velcro dot cut in half is used to keep it closed.

To finish the card, I cut some images from the paper and added those next along with some pearls to the cover and a little chipboard button to the tab.  Finally I added flowers , the seam binding, greenery and little stamps cut from the paper.

The following products used to create this card came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Funkie Junkie's 12 Tags of Christmas - #3

This is my third offering for the 12 Tags of Christmas challenge sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

Here is Linda's tag and I was inspired by the layout and some of the elements but since I didn't have the same ones, I have given it my twist.

I totally forgot to take photos of this one as I put it together so I will describe what I did and then I guess therapy for my lapse is probably in order - LOL.

1.  Started with some red card stock (Wassau) for the blank - this is a 5"x7" card.
2.  Added a panel of striped paper called Cinnamon Stripes (Lasting Impressions) - this was cut on the bias to mimic Linda's stenciling.
3.  Added a strip of venise lace topped by a strip of red burlap ribbon.
4.  Stamped the letters Merry (Distressed Double Text from Recollections) onto some scraps of white card stock using Vermillion Archival Ink (Ranger).
5.  Distressed the edges of the letter squares and ink with the Vermillion Archival Ink.
6.  Punched a little hole in the corner of each letter square (EK Success Hole Punch) and add some striped baker's twine.
7.  Adhered the squares down the left side of the card.
8.  Used Embossing Ink (Versamark) and Red Geranium Embossing Powder (Wendy Vecchi) to alter a wooden "christmas" (laser cut by my husband).
9.  Patted some Vermillion Archival Ink over the top of the embossing powder when it is cool.
10. Used Versamark and Snow Embossing Powder (Recollections) to alter chipboard ornaments (laser cut by my husband).
11.  Added some white twine (Recollections) to the ornaments and hang from the top of the card.
12.  Covered the ends of the twine with a plaid button (my stash)
13.  Scattered some pearl stickers (Kaisercraft).

The following products used to create this card came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Funkie Junkie 12 Tags of Christmas - #2

Today I am presenting the card I have made for the second week of the 12 Tags of Christmas challenge sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique.

Here is Linda's tag for the second challenge and you can see my take on it above.  I was inspired by the colour palette and the layout.  Since I was making a card I knew I needed some card stock for the blank and this time I went for some kraft card (Recollections).

I cut a piece of white card (Staples and added some Light Molding Paste (Golden) through a stars stencil (IndigoBlu).  Note:  The Funkie Junkie Boutique carries a number of wonderful texture pastes that would work but I had this in my stash and wanted to use it before it dried up on me.  Once it was dry I dry brushed some Champagne Gold Metallic Acrylic Paint (DecoArt) over the panel and then roughly dry brushed some White Gesso (Liquitex) over that making sure to leave some of the metallic paint showing.  The edges were distressed and then inked with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink (Tim Holtz).

Next I die cut some snowflakes using a die called Paper Snowflakes (Tim Holtz) and some heavy white card stock (Recollections).  I used my fingers to add some Light Molding Paste to give the snowflakes some rough texture.  When that was dry I rubbed a bit of the metallic paint on the snowflake edges.

I intended to use a Santa stamp that I had but it was way too big so I went online and found one I liked at The Graphics Fairy and printed it on some white card and then cut is out with a scalloped die (Nellie Snellen).  The edges were inked with Frayed Burlap DI.

The sentiment is computer generated, cut with a Fancy Tags die (Spellbinders) and inked with Frayed Burlap DI.

To assemble the card, I added adhesive pearls (Kaisercraft) to two of the snowflakes and a couple of Christmas tickets (Miss Cutie Pie) and a loopy jute bow (The Funkie Junkie Boutique).

The following products used to create this card came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Funkie Junkie 12 Tags of Christmas #1

I don't know why I haven't done this before but this year I decided to participate in The Funkie Junkie's 12 Tags of Christmas challenge, which also allows for gifts, cards and home decor.  The challenge is sponsored by The Funkie Junkie Boutique and Linda does this every year so for me it was a perfect excuse to play and knock off some cards.

Here is Linda's first tag and above is a card I made based on her inspiration.  The whole tag had bits and pieces that inspired me but I gave it my own shabby twist.

I started with some kraft card stock (Recollections) for the blank and then stamped trees from a set called Lovely as a Tree (Stampin' Up) onto some cream card stock (Wassau) using Tree Branch Archival Ink (Wendy Vecchi) and Coff Archival Ink (Ranger).

I convinced my husband to laser cut a deer for me from chipboard (Bazzill) and then I covered him with embossing ink (Versamark) and Copper Embossing Powder (Recollections).

I also stamped a pair of little deer from a set called Winterland Wood (IndigoBlu) and after I fussy cut them I rubbed Rose Quartz Wax Paste (Treasure Gold) all over them.

I had this little deer charm from The Funkie Junkie Boutique and decided to alter it by covering it with a blend of Caramel and Copper Mixative Alcohol Ink (Ranger).

I cut some greenery from scraps of card stock using a die called Holiday Greens (Tim Holtz). 

To assemble the card, I distressed my tree panel and inked it with some Vintage Photo Distress Ink (Tim Holtz) before I mounted it on the card blank.  I added some Stardust Stickles (Ranger) at the bottom of the trees and as snowflakes falling.

Next I added the deer and the greenery.  I created a sentiment on the computer, inked the edges and mounted it with a brad.  Finally, I created a loopy bow from some organza ribbon (Fabricland) and attached the charm to it.

There you have it, my first project for the challenge.  Now on to the next one.

The following products used to create this card came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Inspirational Post at Stamps and Stencils

It is my turn to present the inspirational post at Stamps and Stencils. 

Here is a sneak peek at my project.  To find out what I made and how I did it, click HERE and you will be taken to the Stamps and Stencils blog.

Halloween in the Graveyard

The new challenge starts today at Frilly and Funkie.  This time Sara Emily is our hostess and calls it 'Tis Near Halloween.  Here is what she has to say about the challenge:

It's no secret. I.Love.Halloween. With Halloween just a few weeks away, I challenge you to create a vintage or shabby chic project with a Halloween theme. If Halloween isn't your thing, that's OK--just be sure to include orange, black and purple in your vintage or shabby chic project (These colors are not required if your theme is Halloween.) It would be a grave mistake to miss this challenge!

Now that I live in a subdivision where the homes are owned primarily by old retired folks like us and the very few young people around are teenagers, Halloween doesn't really interest me all that much.  We usually get about 8 trick or treaters coming to the door but we buy enough treats for 90.  Why that much you ask - well we buy little bags of Nacho Chips because my husband likes them with chili or soup and we don't buy snack stuff any other time of the year.  For me, it is portion control that I don't have to worry about and always need :).

I decided against making a card because I knew it would never be sent to anyone so I made a little decor item.

I started with a cheap canvas from Dollarama and used it like a shadow box to create a vignette.  The first step was to add paper from Tim Holtz to create a gloomy background.  Next I covered the edges both inside and out with some texture paste using a palette knife to make it rough.

I used a variety of acrylic paints to add colour - Russet (DecoArt), Black and Coffee Bean (Folk Art) and Khaki and Silver Gray (Craftsmart).  Once it was dry, I decided it wasn't going to work with the elements I planned for my little scene so I painted over it with the Black paint but didn't take care to cover everything.

Now it was time to make some grave stones.  I hand cut the shapes from some scraps of card stock and corrugated cardboard and glued the layers together.

The stones were covered with Course Pumice Gel (Golden) and I used an embossing tool to scratch some cracks and engraving in them.

I mixed some Dove Gray Acrylic Paint (Folk Art) with some Mudstone (Delta Ceramacoat) and coated the stones.  Then I took a fine black Micron pen to highlight my cracks and engraving.

I found a spooky house in my stash that I had cut out a couple years ago so I covered it roughly with some Heavy Black Gesso.  There is no photo of this step because black on black didn't show up.  Then I made some windows and a door from acetate that I coated with Sunshine Yellow Alcohol Ink.  I cut a skeleton and a scary woman from the paper pad and put them behind a couple of the acetate openings.  This could be the haunted house of the keeper of the graveyard.

I altered some silver charms with a mixture of Pitch Black and Silver Mixative Alcohol Ink to use in my scene.  Then it was time to put everything together.

I found some clipart online of a spooky tree, printed it and fussy cut it.  The man in the moon was also found online.  I added a bit of Bronze Luscious Powder (IndigoBlu) to the house and then cut the house numbers from a piece of paper from the paper pad.  The "Keep Out" sign was handmade.

I used a bit of Crushed Olive Distress Ink to make the face of the paper doll boy more goulish before I adhered him.  Next, I added my grave stones along with some reindeer moss, skull beads and purple roses that I inked with some Black Soot Distress Ink.  All the charms were added next along with a beetle fussy cut from the paper pad.  Finally I added some spiders that I picked up at the dollar store along with their very prolific webs. 

The following products used to create this scene came from The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Fall Leaf Tag

Today is the start of the new challenge at Stamps and Stencils and this time Toni is our hostess and calls it Autumn:'The Season of Mists and Mellow Fruitfulness' Here is what she has to say about the challenge:

I'd love to see your projects that are inspired by this beautiful season. You may love the rich, warm colours or the shapes of fallen leaves and natural forms. Let us celebrate the wonders to be found around us. The only catch, is that I'd like you to use a tag or several tags, as your substrate. Your tag can be any size or shape and made of any material but it must be a tag. It must also feature some stamping, stenciling or preferably both. I'm looking forward to seeing your creations!

I started with a large tag that I cut from mat board because it will take a fair bit of wet media without warping and then I sponged on all sorts of Fresco Finish acrylic paints (Paper Artsy).  I used Pumpkin Soup, Haystack, Smoked Paprika, Blood Orange and Toad Hall.  This time I used one of those yellow synthetic sponges that looks like a flattened ball and was able to get great coverage.

To give the tag a bit of sheen, I sprayed on a variety of Distress Spray Stains (Tim Holtz for Ranger) - Carved Pumpkin, Mustard Seed, Barn Door and Tarnished Brass.

Next I dug out my Kraft Glassine and crumpled a sheet.  This is a great product but I think it has been discontinued.  I die cut a variety of leaves from Tattered Leaves Big-Z and Thinlets dies (Tim Holtz for Sizzix).

The leaves were coloured with Alcohol Inks (Tim Holtz for Ranger) - Sunset Orange, Lettuce, Meadow, Sunshine Yellow, Ginger, Terra Cotta, Cranberry and Copper Mixative.  Blending solution was used to mixed some colours.

I cut a small panel from scrap card stock and inked it with Crushed Olive, Peeled Paint, Mowed Lawn, Forest Moss and Gathered Twigs Distress Ink (Tim Holtz for Ranger).

Next I added some Light Molding Paste (Golden through a wood grain stencil (Tim Holtz) and when it was dry I spritzed it with Forest Moss and Gathered Twigs Distress Spray Stain.

I added some more leaves by tearing a piece of scrap card stock and stamping it three times with one of the stamps from the Leaf Prints set (Tim Holtz).  First I stamped the leaf on the left side with Coffee Archival Ink (Ranger).  Next I stamped the right leaf with Versamark and added Copper Embossing Powder (Recollections.  Finally I stamped the third and centre leaf with Versamark and added Gold Embossing Powder (Recollections).  The edges of this little panel were inked with some Gathered Twigs Distress Ink.

To assemble my project I mounted the wood grain panel on the tag and then added the stamped leaf panel.  The glassine leaves were mounted on the left side with a loopy bow made from jute twine, some berries, little silk roses and an acorn I found on my walk the other day.  I inked a butterfly that my husband cut for me on the laser cutter and added some pearls to the body.  Some organza ribbon was heated carefully to give it some curl and added to the top and then I scattered a few copper sequins around.

I am going to enter this tag in the following challenges:

The Crafty Addicts - Anything Goes with Autumn Colors
Country View Challenges - Mixed Media with Autumnal Hues