Red, Turquoise, Box?!!

There are some days (weeks) that I am amazed that I am even able to complete a project.  Not because of time restraints, but because my brain continually zigs and zags all over the creative route. I start out with one idea, then ZIG! Another idea leaps in, changing the path. I go along happily on the new path and ZAG!! A major rut cuts down the path, resulting in another detour.

This creative endeavor is a prime example of my wandering creative journeys.  I started on a path for a birthday card that included red metal altered with alcohol inks against a design paper that brought thoughts of a sunny blue sky with wispy clouds floating.

ZIG!!

Found a few jewelry trinkets that I decided would accompany the  birthday card.  Just so happens the jewelry was turquoise and leather.  Okay, switched gears a bit and decided to make the card coordinate with the gift.  Got out some new metal, paper and accents.

For the life of me, I just struggled with the card.  While I liked the elements for the card, I could not escape the feeling that something was "off".

ZAG!!

Detour number two took me from a card to a box to hold the trinkets.  Ahh! Yes!! Finally! I could see the path through all the weeds!!

Supplies:

Box: from my stash

Paper:  (from my stash):  From Fabscraps Shabby Chic Romance

Metal:  Ten Second Studios  Peacock and Dark Chocolate metal.  Kabuka mold #13. Decorative wheel and fine tip refiner

Embossing folder: Cuttlebug  Swiss Dots

Dies:  Tim Holtz's Tattered Florals and Garden Greens by Sizzix

Other:  SU Antique brad altered with Copic marker.  Suede ribbon: stash.  Brown Paint 

Adhesive:  Glue and Seal, Beacon's Glass, Metal and More

The flower creation was totally inspired by Lin from Yours Artfully .  She graciously allowed me to create a tutorial based on her flowers for SCS a while back.  The step by step photos can be seen here on the SCS resource page or the video below

'Till next time.........remember the path we start out on may not be the path we actually travel!!

Canvas Message Board

I am so thankful that Kim from eP invited me to be a guest DT for the month of April.  My creative wheels have been turning in over drive!!  

This week I'm sharing how I altered an 8 x 8" canvas board to create a message board.

I hope that you will head over to the eP blog  for more details as to how I made this!!

'Till next week.....make sure you add some creativity time on your calendar!!

It's a VerDay

I have continued to work on my new project, but while waiting for parts and pieces to dry from various mediums, I decided to play around with some new VerDay paint and patina from TenSecond Studios.

I think I may have a new obsession.

This paint is an acrylic paint that actually have metal particles in it that will react chemically with the VerDay, giving you a wonderful patina, without having to do layers of faux painting. 

Did I mention that I may be slightly in love with this stuff?  Good.  Because I'm looking at everything in my house trying to decide what I'll be painting next. 

I started with a off white, faux rusted cross that I have had for a while.  I have a collection of crosses on the wall over my couch and this cross never fit in.  I bought it with the intention of painting it, but just never got around to it. 

I began by painting a base coat of the Copper VerDay paint.  After letting it dry for a couple of hours, I used a rough sea sponge to lightly dab sections of the cross with more paint.  While the paint was still wet, I misted with the VerDay. 

Then the hard part.  Walking away for 6-8 hours and just letting it react.  Once the waiting was over I lightly dry brushed more copper paint over the raised portions to highlight the edges.



click on the picture to enlarge

Did this not turn out fabulous?!!  Ok, I really should have waited to take a picture when the sun was up to show how awesome this turned out, but I was sooo excited that I couldn't wait!!  This even got the Toad's seal of approval without asking what he thought. 

It's looking like it is going to be a beautiful day here.  I'm going to take advantage of the lovely morning and head out for a long walk with the neglected pooch before I start my day of running errands all over So. Cal.

Before I leave, here is another sneak peek of the upcoming project

Did I mention that I'm obsessed?!! hehe

'Till next time.............enjoy the day and explore some creativity!

For the Love of Starbucks

Hey People!  Are you ready to join the E-Team for another eclectic challenge?!  Daisy thought it was time for some early Trick or Treating!!  Today the Team was challenged to join in For the Love of Starbucks.

Here's the challenge recipe:  Use any of the Maya Road Bottle caps.

Add some Seasonal Distress Inks

And combine in your favorite Starbucks inspiration!! 

Since so many enjoy a treat from Starbucks, we're inviting YOU, dear readers, to join along in the fun!!  Now, before you start stressing on all these creative calories, your challenge will be to use the Seasonal Distress Inks and find inspiration from Starbucks.  This can be the colors, the smells, the atmosphere, whatever.  If you happen to have some of the fun Maya Road bottle caps, by all means!! Drag them out and go for the full fledged grande! Just as a disclaimer:  IRL, I REFUSE to say grande, latte or whatever Starbucks calls their cup sizes.  Large, medium and small, works fine for me, thank you very much!  We'd love to see what your Love of Starbucks inspires you to create!  Post your creations to the ep blog to Mr. Linky, by November 15th (the E-Team's next scheduled blog hop), for your chance to win a $10 Starbucks gift card tucked into a box full of eP goodies!!  Winner of the challenge will be announced at the next blog hop.

Of course there will still be three random winners chosen from all the comments left on the E-Team member's blogs.  Those winners will receive a $20 gift voucher to the eP store!  Leave your comments until Sunday, Oct. 30.  The gift voucher winners will be announced late Monday, Oct. 31, on the ep blog.

E-Team Inspiration

Daisy

Broni

Latrice

Linda L

Micki 
And
ME!!

Linda D. is sitting out this hop.  She is taking time to welcome the newest grand baby to her family!  Make sure you drop by and give some congrats!

Sherry is also sitting out this hop, but stop by and tell her she was missed!!



My project began with the embossed gift card that Daisy so generously tucked into my challenge package.  I love the image and wanted to use it, but it had this annoying crease.  I used a ink loaded sponge to bring out the contrast between the embossed image and the kraft card stock. 

From an annoying crease came this idea: 

Bottle cap magnets!! 

I first applied a coat of Claudine's Charcoal Black semi-gloss paint to the inside of a Jumbo bottle cap and two Super Mega bottle caps.   I didn't worry about perfect coverage, as I liked some of the aluminum peeking through the black. 

 For the largest magnet, I traced the image onto some tissue paper and then traced that image onto a piece of Poison Ivy metal.  After embossing the image I filled it in on the back with some embossing paste, to prevent me from smashing all my hard work.  Tip:  light weight spackle will also work for this step.  I chose not to sand off the color on the raised elements, but instead used a brass brush to give a matte finish to the background.  I cut the image out with a Classic Circle Spellbinder's die and adhered the image to the inside of the bottle cap with dimensional tape.  I die cut two stars from the smallest of the Star Five Spellbinders dies and popped those onto the front of the image with more dimensionals.  Two oz of Ice Resin was then poured over the metal and set aside to dry over night.  The next day, I cut another small star from the metal and adhered that to the Resin with a double layer of dimensional tape.  Then another 2 oz of Ice Resin was applied.

I wish I could photograph how cool the Ice Resin looks with this!!  Go figure that I would choose to create something that has multiple mediums that all show glare!!

The middle magnet was inspired by a quote that my cousin posted onto Facebook.  I began with the Wrinkled Free technique, Version Me, with Distress Peeled Paint, Seasonal Seedless Preserves and Ripe Persimmon with a misting of Tattered Angel's Pearl and Antique Brass Glimmer Mist.  I then covered both sides of the paper with Studio Matte Medium, which, to be honest, totally negated the Glimmer mist!!  But!  if the paper was not sealed, it would become transparent when covered with the Ice Resin.  The paper was then cut out with a Spellbinder Classic Circle die and taped to the inside of the bottle cap. 



The saying itself, was printed out onto regular copy paper and then traced onto more Poison Ivy metal.  Some of the words were embossed and some debossed.  The brass brush was again used to give a matte finish to some of the panels.  I popped up some of the words with dimensionals.  Just one layer of Ice Resin (2oz) was used to cover the metal.



The last magnet was inspired by my word for the year.  At the beginning of the year, there were several blogs and conversations regarding what your word for the year was going to be.  Mine was Leap.  If you'd like to read the details of the choosing of that particular word, you can find it here. 

Notice those tiny air bubbles by the "L" and "A"?  This is the only magnet that ended up with them.  I'm thinking that the cold night temperature that this one cured in may have resulted in those. Not terribly obvious, but there. 

More Poison Ivy metal was cut with a Classic Circle die and embossed with Sizzix's Diamond embossing folder.  I sanded off the raised parts, exposing the aluminum. The metal was adhered to the bottle cap with dimensionals.  I then spelled out Leap with idea-ology Type Charms and covered the letters with the included epoxy sticker.  The charms were attached to the chain of an altered swival clasp (I just removed the clasp part) with jump rings.  I popped up the letter "E" with two dimensionals  and "P" with  one dimensional, but could not get a photo to show that.  After carefully arranging the charms how I wanted, I covered everything again in one layer (2oz) of Ice Resin. 

Self adhesive magnetic strips were applied to the back and WAH-La!!  Inspriational magnets for my refrigerator!!



Hope you join in on the Love of Starbucks Challenge!  I'll be checking the blog for your creations!  Till then.......Believe and LEAP!!

Want to Scrap?



The E-Team is excited to share in fun blog hop with the Want2Scrap Design team. If you are new to eclectic Paperie or Want2Scrap, here is a little information about these two creative companies. Each offer a unique line of products for all paper crafters.

eclectic Paperie(eP) is an online boutique for all who love paper crafts. There is an eclectic assortment of products, supplies, tools, and materials to assist you in your quest for creative expression. Stretch your basic paper crafting skills beyond simple scrapbooking and cardmaking. Take the next step into artistic expression by "feeding your creativity" at eclectic Paperie. You keep up new product offerings by following eclectic Paperie on Facebook, Twitter, or the eP Blog.

Want2Scrap™ manufacturers rhinestones lines including the Nestabling™ line that coordinates with the newly released Nestaboard™ chipboard line. A variety of Nestabling and Nestaboard shapes correspond with specific Spellbinders™ Nestabilities™ die templates. Want2Scrap also manufacturers their own line chipboard albums and accents, acrylic albums, and multi-layered laser designs and other fine scrap booking products. Want2Scrap brings ease of use and flexibility in their product lines by offering products uniquely tailored to its customers’ needs. Follow Want2Scrap on Facebook and the Want2Scrap Blog!

The E-Team and Want2Scrap Design Team were on a mission to create some fun projects using the Nestabling, Nestaboard with any coordinating Spellbinders dies, too. Come blog hop with the two teams to see what kind of creative juices resulted.

The E-Team

Daisy/eP Blog

Broni

Latrice

Linda D

Micki

Sherry

and

Me!

Linda L is actually on a cruise this week!!  Lucky gal! But stop by and let her know she was missed!

Want2Scrap™ Design Team

•Heidi Blankenship

•Dana Gustafson

•Elise Durenberger

•Karen Taylor

•Linda Duke

•Mimi Leinbach

Twice the number of blog hop participants means twice the fun that includes prizes, too!! Visit each E-Team and Want2Scrap participating member and leave them some feedback about their creations. One comment per person per blog, please. You have until today, Friday, September 30th to Sunday, October 2nd to visit each blog participant. eclectic Paperie and Want2Scrap will each be choosing 3 random winners from the blog hop participants. Three random winners will win an eP $20 gift voucher and three will win a Want2Scrap $20 gift voucher.   Winners be posted on the eclectic Paperie Blog and on the Want2Scrap blog on Tuesday, Oct 4th so make sure you check back to claim your prize.

OK!! Onto the project!

I started with this empty Brie cheese container that I had saved for altering.





I then pulled out one of my favorite Graphic45 paper lines, Curtain Call, Want2Scrap Nestaboard Stars Five, the coordinating Spellbinders dies and some Idea-ology Film Strip Ribbon.  A combination of Studio matte Multi Medium, Antique Linen Distress Ink and some left over bling that I altered with a black Copic marker and this is what I came up with:

 



But wait! There's more!!  Take off the lid and inside is a little mini album of various pictures of my kiddos, in costume at differnt stages of their young lives, ready to play the leading men in the show!!

 



I covered circles cut from thin cardboard (the 12 x 12 cardboard that comes in paper packs) with more of the Graphic45 Curtain Call and used them as my background for pictures that I edited to a sepia tone in PSE. 



 

 

The "pages" of the mini album where adhered to a piece of black ribbon and covered over on the back with SU's Riding Hood Red card stock with Scor-tape.  I'll write the details of the photos on the back for journaling.  I did add a loop to the top of the ribbon, just in case I decide that I want to hang the collage for show.





A couple of observations:

 

1) The Nestaboard is sturdy, yet light weight.  And I was very impressed that it matched PERFECTLY with the Spellbinder's coordinating dies.

 

2) The Multi Medium held up the best to adhere the Film Strip Ribbon. I tried to use Humungo Sticky Tape, as it adheres metal wonderfully, but the twisting of the ribbon caused it to pull off.  The Multi Medium is still holding strong.

 

3) It would appear that my children stopped posing for pictures at age 3.  I really have no excuse not to get caught up on my scrap booking (I'm only behind about 12 years) as I would only have a total of 6 years to scrap.  sigh.............

 

I'm thinking that this idea would be great gifts for the grandparents for the holidays! 

 

Till next time...............enjoy some creativity!!

Finally!!

I finally have Internet!  I don't know how long it will last, so I'm going to try and get my project up ASAP with not much chatter!

This weekend the E-Team was challenged to play with new product from Tattered Angels.  I personally, LOVE the glimmer mists and was very excited for the chance to play with the Chalk, Glam and Glimmer Glaze.

Quick details:  You have until July 17th to leave a comment on each of the team member blogs for a chance to win one of three prizes.  Two winners will be randomly selected from the E-Team blogs to win a $25 voucher from eclectic Paperie.  One winner will be randomly chosen from the eP blog to win new Tattered Angels mist assortment and some other goodies.  



Daisy/ep Blog

Broni

Latrice

Linda D

Linda L

Micki

Sherry

ME!

One of my favorite techniques utilizing Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist is with the Wrinkle Free Distress technique.  I swipe my Distress Inks in a random pattern on my Craft Sheet, but! Instead of misting with water, I mist with the Glimmer Mist.  I love how it just gives a soft shimmer versus a "in your face" sparkle. 

This gave me the idea to use various Glimmer Mists on my craft sheet versus Distress Inks.  I randomly spritzed different Mists onto my sheet and then gave the overall puddles a misting of Glimmer Mist Pearl (my FAVORITE Glimmer mist!!).  I then layed my card stock in the puddles, repeating until I got the look I wanted.  The result was a mottled design paper with a soft shimmer.  IN LOVE!!  You'll be seeing this version of the Wrinkle Free Distress more often!!



The results: 

I actually went back and added more Hay Ride glimmer glam along the edges of the flower and leaves and to the wings of the butterfly after these photos. 

I wish I could get the shimmer to show in the photo, but with the Glossy Accents over the stamped image Time Flies (from Unity Stamp/Marah Johnson Itty Bitty line, with some selective masking to fit my project), it was hard to get an angle that didn't glare! All the papers used for the background, flower (created with the Chalkboard/Glimmer combo), leaves and butterfly are from the various papers I created with my combinations.

I  painted one of Wendy Vecchi's Art Part Pocket Watches with some acrylic Antique Gold. I then coated the frame heavily with Glimmer Mist Antique Brass. LOVELY!

Supplies:  Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists:  Antique Brass, Pantina, Pearl, Cranberry Zing, Tuscan Sun, Frost. Old Olive, Cherub Pink.  Chalkboard:  Apricot Nector Glam:  Hay Ride and Dirty Martini.  Paper:  Pure Luxury Stamps:  Time Flies from Unity Itty Bitty, Fabulous Flourishes.  Other:  Pocket Watch Art Parts, Chain, Glossy Accents, Spellbinders Posie, punches

Ended up chatting more than I thought! LOL! I'm going to get this posted before I can't!! 

Till then................



Art Parts Meet Metal

Are you ready for a RIDE?!!  Oh Yeah!! The E-Team is featuring the creative genius that is

Wendy Vecchi! Her theme is "Make Art!" and believe me, her line of Art Parts and stamps will get your creative juices flowing!

Of course, no E-Team Blog Hop would be complete without some wonderful prizes!!  Two random winners will be chosen from all the comments left on the E-Team blogs to receive 1 new Studio 490 stamp set, Art Parts Square & Rectangle Frame and some other fun surprises.

One more winner will be chosen on the eP Blog....you must leave a comment about your  favorite mother's day gift you have either received or gave to your  mom.  The eP Blog winner will receive a $25 voucher to eclectic Paperie to spend on goodies of your choice!

The E-Team

Broni

Latrice

Linda D

Linda L

Micki

Sherry

Starla (me!)

eP Blog

You will have from Friday until Sunday night to blog hop and leave your comments. The winners will be posted on eP Blog Monday. Good Luck!

P.S.  OOOOO!! Daisy is putting Wendy's stamps (aka Studio 490), both new and old on sale at 10% off.  Aaaand! Art Parts will also be 10% off.  NO EXCUSES!! Time to "Make Art!" as Wendy says!!

I decided that it was time for the Art Parts to Meet Metal.   

What a fun meeting!!  The two combined have LIMITLESS possibilities.  This is only one:

I think you can click on the photo to see the picture in a larger format

The Table.

I actually started with the flower pedestal table, which is made up of a variety of Art Parts. The flower was covered in TenSecond Studio's Dijon metal and embossed with TSS's Kabuka #18.  I then swiped some of Jenni Bowlin's Red Pepper paint across the metal and wiped it off with a damp paper towel.

The "stem" of the flower/table was done in Poison Ivy metal.  The vine was done free hand.  The base of the table is Dark Chocolate metal that I used one of the decorative wheels on and then sanded with the finishing block to remove the color from the raised areas. 

Sorry for the dark photo.  Had a HECK of a time trying to get a decent photo of all this metal without glares!!

The Vase.



I hunted through all my stuff and could just not find the type of vase that I needed to fit the idea of this project.  So, I created my own vase out of the Clearly for Art Blackout modeling film. 

 Hint:  make a template out of scratch paper first.  You can make adjustments to your template as needed, eliminating the trial and error on your modeling film.  Measure twice and cut only once!!

 I will admit that it was a little tricky to try and hold the film, heat it and mold it all at the same time.  May I recommend possibly the Plaid Hot Glue Gun Helpers?  I think that this is a MUST have on wish list!  I'm sure that my singed digits will be forever grateful too!!

The Flowers. 

The flowers were die cut from TSS's Dijon and Spiced Rum metal, using the Tattered Florals die.  Free hand squiggles and a small decorative wheel were used to emboss the metal.  Again, the finishing block was used to remove the color off of the raised areas to add texture. 

The flowers were adhered with hot glue to a couple of Art Part flower stems that had been painted with acrylic paint. 

The Leaves.

The small leaves are die cut using the leaf from Spellbinders Daisy Head out of TSS's Poison Ivy metal.  The large leaves were free hand cut from Whiteout modeling film. I painted both sides of the film with green acrylic paint then heated and molded the leaves.

The Butterflies.

The smallest black butterfly was made using a Martha Stewart punch on some Rock Star Black metal.  Free hand squiggles and a small decorative wheel were used to emboss the two different layers.  I used a bit of Clearly for Art Modeling film to suspend the butterfly above the flower.

The two larger butterflies were die cut from Peacock metal with my new mover's and shaper's Mini Butterflies. I used a couple of different Cuttlebug embossing folders on the meta, and sanded off the color with the finishing block.  The metal was attached to black modeling film by the body only.  After heating and molding, some self adhesive pearls were added.  The butterfly near the base of the vase was suspended from more clear modeling film. 



And the final project again

'Till next time...............I think Wendy says it best:

Make Art!



Distressed!

Well, actually the  E-Team got distressed! The Team was challenged to create with their version of Distressed.  

You'll want to visit all the other team members to see their version of being Distressed. Of course, Daisy has some great blog candy to give away!! Leaving a comment on each team member's blog enters you in the drawing for two(2) $25 eP gift certificates. Just in time for all the new goodies coming in!

All you have to do is visit and leave a comment on each participating blog. You have all President's weekend to leave comments(Fri-Mon) and  two winners will be picked on Tues. Winners will be announced on eP blog Tuesday, Feb 22nd

Daisy

Broni
Latrice

Linda D

Linda L

Micki

Sherry

and

ME!

I decided not only to get stressed Distressed, but I went steampunk too!!



While I love my Distress Inks (instant aging!), I thought I would share an easy faux painting technique for my distressing.  I began with a paper mache box with a lid that had been given a base coat of white some time ago.  I wanted a warmer under tone, so I repainted the box with some craft paint in Antique White.  I then dabbed my brush in more paint and then dabbed some of Claudine Hellmuth's matte multi medium onto the brush too.  I scrunched up some tissue paper (just good ol' gift wrap tissue paper!) flattened it out somewhat and tore pieces and "glued" them to the box using the paint/medium mixture.  I didn't worry about any wrinkles that appeared in the tissue. It adds to the distressed texture!

And from here on out, I got so wrapped up in the actual creating process, I forgot to take pictures! LOL!  I promise I'll try to get better at the step by step in the future!



 I let that layer dry and then painted the box with Claudine's Sable Brown acrylic paint (wonderful, creamy paints, btw!)  I let the paint sit for maybe 15-20 seconds and dabbed with a paper towel to remove some of the Sable Brown color, slightly revealing the Vintage White layer. 

After the box had dried, I spritzed lightly with Tattered Angel's Glimmer Mist in Tattered Leather.  I then spritzed more heavily with Antique Brass Glimmer Mist. The box has a very slight shimmer that gives the impression of a rusted treasure box. 

My inspiration for the decorative elements came from Graphic 45's Steampunk Debutante.  I lined the inside of the box with a couple of different sheets of the dp (oops! I really need to fire the photographer! No pics of the inside either!). The diamonds along the sides were die cut using Spellbinders Classic Diamonds. I embossed the roses with TenSecond Studios Kabuka #4 Roses on Peacock metal and ran a decorative wheel along the edges.  After lightly sanding the raised edges with a burnishing block,  I adhered the triangles with Hummungo Tape.  Hindsight says that next time I'll consider how the the lid sits on the box before I decide how my decorative elements should be placed on the sides of the box!! geeesh..............Different idea-ology doodads were adhered on each center triangle. 

The flower on the lid is made from a sandwich of a sheet of dp from Graphic 45's Steampunk Debutante and more Peacock metal. This double layering gives more heft to the metal.  I used the Tattered Floral die to cut my layers and a combination of Glossy Accents and E6000 to hold it all together. After it was completely dry and solid,  I spritzed with Perfect Pearls in Turquoise. 

The gears were out of TSS Chocolate metal using the Gadget Gears die and embossed with the texture fade embossing folder Patchwork.  Again, I lightly sanded  the raised metal with a burnishing block to remove the finish.

The clock face and butterfly are actually stickers that I've had in my collection for quite a while.  The butterfly was colored with copics and adhered to a stack of circles  punched out of transparency to add some height and dimension.  Once again, various idea-ology doodads were used to finish off the decorative elements. 

Some close ups:



I hope that you find some inspiration in all the different versions of Distressing!  Distressing should not be stressful!! There is no right or wrong way of doing it!! Just pull out your supplies and have fun with the aging process! On your project....I will admit the aging process on your body won't be as fun!! snicker.  To help you in your Distressing times, Daisy has put some distressing goodies on sale!! All Distress Inks and Reinkers are 10% off and there are some Tim Holtz and Wendy Vecchi goodies on sale too!!  Make sure to check it out!

'Till next time.............................