She was a good egg

Hi Everyone,
Jess here today with this altered tin.

My crafty mojo has been on a major hiatus the past couple of weeks.  You know when you sit down and everything you make is just blah? Or you just sit there and stare at all of your supplies and you've got no ideas? That's been me.  I decided to just play.

I started by taking the Feathers and some PaperArtsy Infusions to colorize them.  I gave each feather a layer of gesso.  Once the gesso is dry I made a puddle of white paint and sprinkled in some infusions.  The infusions will react with the paint, but if you lightly spritz it with water they really come to life.  I dipped and dragged the feathers through the paint.  On a few of them I sprinkled some extra infusions on top of the first layer and spritzed with water. I inked the edges(on the feather I used on this project I used Peacock Feathers) and added a bit of gold using a paint pen. Now I have a whole bunch of feathers in different colors and shades for future projects. 

A while back I got a blank tin from Gina(Ms. Gypsy Soul) and I decided it was time to use it.  I painted the tin using a layer of clear gesso.  I added a crackle glaze from Deco Art.  It's a super fine crackle and I ended up covering most of it up with my paint job, but in certain areas the crackle peeks through.  

The main color is Dina Wakley Turquoise mixed with a hint of Umber.  The speckles were added using Distress Oxide Sprays in Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain.   I wanted the tin to look like a robin egg.  

For the inside of the tin I added Tim Holtz Collage paper to the shallow side. I used collage medium to adhere the paper to the tin.  Using water on my finger I ran it around the edge of the tin to rip the paper.  I didn't want it to be exact in the tin.  If you peek there are little spaces where the silver of the tin can be seen.  The frayed and wrinkled edges make me happy.  You all know by now that perfection is not my thing!I added some clipping stickers and edged the paper with a gold paint pen. I love how it looks like loose gold leaf on the ragged edges.  

On the deep side of the tin I cut a piece of paper to fit the back and glued it in using collage medium.  I took one of the Scalloped Tin Inserts and ran it though my 3d Kaleidoscope embossing folder.  Using my finger I ran a thin layer of white paint over the surface.  Before it was dry I rub it to expose the raw chipboard underneath.  I ran my Hickory Smoke Oxide pad over the top to age it too.  The inside edge was inked gold using the paint pen. 

The good egg fairy is sitting on a small plastic egg that I smushed so it was dented on either side.  This gave me a flat surface to glue to the bottom of the tin and a concave side to sit a second egg in.  She is propped forward by placing a small wooden die behind her.

The fairy is a tiny Tim Holtz paper doll that was coated in clear gesso and colored using distress markers.  She has tiny shrink plastic wings and a crown.  The "good egg" was trimmed out of a dictionary and glued to her dress using collage medium. 

To finish the outside of the tin I layered up three washi tapes and glued them to the tin. I used a rub on word in the bottom corner and used foam tape to attach the feather.

I feel like I am back in the groove and hope to start making more projects! 

What do you do to break out of a creative funk?

Jess

I adore you

Hi Everyone,

Jess here today.  It's that time of year when everyone starts to think about hearts and flowers.  When I saw these Heart Playing Cards(that will be coming to the store soon) I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
The cards come in two pieces.  You get the front decorative side and a plain piece of chipboard that makes up the back.

Start by running the back piece through your Xyron machine to cover the piece.  Add a piece of decorative paper, then emboss using the Tim Holtz 3d Botanical folder.  I wanted to make the back out of velvet, but I didn't have any velvet paper.  I tried several different things to create my own velvet paper and nothing looked quite right.  If you have ideas give me a shout! I ended up deciding to use this red paper that looked aged enough to appear as though it had been held many times over the years.

Paint the reverse side of the back piece using red paint.  I went with a metallic red, but really any red will do.  Don't worry about getting paint in all of the cracks as most of this will be covered and you won't see any patches.   Set the back pieces aside to dry.

While the back piece are drying take your photos(these are Tim Holtz found relatives, but you can use any old photos) and cover them with a layer of Vintage Beeswax embossing powder.

Once your powder is melted you get this wonderful look.  You can add lots of layers to make it smooth or even crack the finish.  This is a technique my fellow teammate Jennalee likes to use and you can see what that looks like here.

Emboss the heart overlay using Charred Gold embossing powder.  Adhere the photo and the overlay to the back panel.  See how the red just peeks out from behind.

Emboss your floral diamond with a very thin layer of Charred Gold powder.  Stipple on alcohol ink in slate, mushroom, and latte to age the finish.  

Add a metal flower on top of the diamond and then add a typed token with a bit of twine on that to complete your cover detail.  

I hope you have a great week!

Jess

Simple Christmas

Hi Everyone,
Jess here today with a couple of super simple Christmas card ideas.

  The Star Medallions come in a set of three.  For these two cards I used the small and medium medallions.  Paint both of the medallions using Dina Wakley paint in Gilt.  The small medallion got some pearl dots added to the points.

For the background on this card use navy blue paper and emboss it using the Sizzix 3d Winter Snowflakes Embossing folder.  Cut out your sentiment using the Tim Holtz Holiday Words Script die. It's hard to tell here, but there is a tiny line of gold paper layered underneath the embossed paper.  

Mount your background on to  a white card.  

Add your bling and you're done! 

The pink card follows the same idea, but the center is made using the tiny tattered floral die and the festive foliage die from Tim Holtz.  

That's it! You could bust out all of your Christmas cards in an afternoon making them like this!

Jess

Stay Curious

Hello, Jennalee here today. When I saw this ATC Shrine I knew it would make the perfect housing for an assemblage. A little faux rust and a few gears and your piece is well underway. 

Begin by preparing a faux rust background. Cut to size and run thru Xyron. Adhere faux rust pieces to the back sides of ATC Shrine pieces. Use an Exacto knife to trim notches. 

Adhere faux rust piece to the border of the ATC Shrine door. Emboss clock face with Burnt Copper Leaves and clock hands with Charred Gold. Paint the back of the shrine door with Raw Umber acrylic paint. 

Prepare background for the inside of shrine by embossing a piece of gold paper from Tim Holtz's Paper Stash Metallic Kraft pad using the Mechanics 3D Texture Plate. The secret to getting a good impression is to mist your paper with water before running thru your machine. Once embossed lightly sand and ink with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink. 

Cut background to size and run thru Xyron. Adhere background to inside pieces of the shrine. Be sure to leave the tabs uncovered so your shrine will fit together correctly. 

Assemble shrine. I used Distress Collage Medium to adhere all the joints. 

Add finishing details. Using a drill punch add a hole to the side of the shrine to attach an Idea-ology Clock Key.  Adhere round ephemera piece from Layer Collector pack to shrine using foam dots. Add detail to the background with Mini Gears. Adhere a Paper Doll using two foam dots stacked for extra dimension. Fashion a cane from a Game Spinner and layered Mini Gears. 

Look at that faux rusty goodness on the back of the shrine!! 

I really love this ATC Shrine. The clock on the door was the perfect inspiration for this make. 

Thanks for stopping by!! I hope you have a great weekend and get a chance to make a creative mess. Happy Creating~ Jennalee 

The Queen Bee

Hi Everyone,
Jess here today with a bee-utiful tag to share.

 I am in love with the new Alphabet Stencils that will be coming to the store! They look like old fashioned stencils, but don't come with the huge price tag.

Start by embossing your chosen letter using the new 3d embossing folders from Sizzix.  To get the impression really crisp it is recommended to spritz your substrate(in this case chipboard) with water.  Once it's run through you can heat dry it or let it air dry.  Press in a book to get it flat  if it curls.

Cover the stencil with Black Soot Distress Oxide ink using a blending tool.  Using your finger add Distress Oxide in Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain Distress Ink.  Grab your Distress Crayon in Tarnished Brass to highlight the high points of the embossed areas.  Vintage paper grounds the stencil and makes it pop.

Make your background paper and cover one of the giant Tag Super X.  This tag was a bit larger than I wanted for this project, so I cut a couple inches off the bottom.

Emboss your Bee with Oil Rubbed Bronze Embossing Powder from Emerald Creek.  Rub the bee in Distress Oxide Ink in Black Soot and spritz with water.  Set aside to dry.  

Play with the placement of the Honeycomb.  Once you are happy emboss the honeycomb using Charred Gold Embossing powder from Emerald Creek.  Add the alphabet dice just below the stencil.  

Cut out a circle to use as your reinforcer. Emboss metal tape using a 3d embossing folder and color the tape using alcohol inks.  

Happy Crafting,

Jess