Let's Get CRRRAAACCKKIN'!



Hey People!!  The E-Team has another fabulous blog hop for you today!!  Daisy challenged us to pull out some of those goodies that we all have stashed away and GET CRACKIN' for the New Year.

Of course, Daisy also has some wonderful goodies for two lucky blog hoppers!! How's this:

TWO winners will receive a BOX FULL of Paper, a sampling of Distress Stickles & Rock Candy Crackle Paint!

It's easy peasy to get your name in the drawing!  Just visit each of the gals listed below for some wonderful eye candy and leave a comment!! Daisy will visit each blog and winners will be chosen from all the comments. 

 

Latrice Murphy

Linda Duke

Linda Ledbetter

Micki Harper

Sherry Cheever

Starla Nelson  *me!

 

You will have all weekend, though Sunday, to visit and leave your comments on each team member's blog and Daisy will chose the winners and announce them on the eP blog on Monday, January 10th.  

 

Today I'm sharing a an oldie, but goodie technique.  Cracked glass.  BUT!! With a little different spin on it!!

 

You can find a wonderfully written tutorial on Cracked Glass on my favorite resource site, SCS.  But, I thought I'd share my twist on today.  Disclaimer (you knew that was coming, right?  The author (aka ME) takes no responsibility for the blurry pictures of the following abbreviated tutorial. It would seem that SOMEONE was more interested in doing the actual project than worrying about how the photos might look!!)

 

I began with a piece of transparency (I used Office Depot's Write On Transparency) and covered it with Versamark ink.  You could also use embossing ink....this is just what I had on hand.  Cover with Ultra Thick Embossing Powder. 

 

Carefully melt the UTEE with your heat gun.  I kept my heat gun close enough to melt the powder, but not too close as to melt the transparency.  Repeat the above steps 3-5 times (I believe I actually repeated 4 times).  Your transparency now has a thick coating on it.  ETA:  I had a comment stating that the transparency would curl when heating.  Yes, it does a bit, especially the first layer.  But, for me, the added layers of UTEE provided a coating and made the transparency thicker and decreased the curling. 



Then stick the coated transparency in your freezer for 3-5 minutes.  Don't panic if the transparency "curls".  Trust me that it WILL flatten out again!! 

 

Immediately after removing the transparency from the freezer, carefully place it in Tim Holtz's Cracked embossing folder and run it through your Big Shot or Cuttlebug or what ever die cutting machine you use.  Don't worry about any cracking that happens to the frozen transparency while trying to put it in the folder.  It will just add to the cracked look.  The result is a clear cracked window!! 

 

How about a close up of that cracked "window"?!

Just ignore that glare off that "glass", haha

 

You would not have to run the transparency through the embossing folder if you didn't have it.  You could carefully crack the frozen UTEE with your hands.  But those "cracks" will tend to be finer cracks and I was wanting a more dramatic look......as if the winged heart had broken the glass. 

*****

 

Now for the details on the rest of the project.  I started with Wendy Vecchi's Art Parts rectangle frames and randomly applied acrylic paint in black and "maple syrup" brown.  I did this in a more haphazard fashion, not smooth lines.  After a couple of minutes of letting the paint dry, I stamped the smaller of Tim's Fabulous Flourishes with Versamark ink onto the frame and sprinkled Ranger's clear embossing powder over it and heated with my heat gun.   Hindsight:  I should have stamped in black and embossed in black so that the flourishes would show up more!

 

I then used my rinsed out paint brush (bristles still wet) to apply a light wash randomly over the embossed frame with "butter pecan" (tan) acrylic paint.  I immediately wiped off areas with a wet paper towel, so it wasn't so bold. 

The heart and wings were a discarded element for another project. I do know that they were cut using Tim's Winged Heart Alterations die.  The required (haha) metal piece is TenSecond Studios Spiced Rum that was die cut then embossed with Tim's Patchwork embossing folder and lightly sanded.  The heart was attached to the frame with a double layer of dimensionals under the wings. 

The sentiment, from Tim's Just Thoughts stamp set, was stamped with SU's white craft ink and embossed with Ranger's Clear embossing powder.  I added the Locket and Key with Claudine's Multi Matte Medium.

Have I mentioned that the Multi Matte Medium is becoming my favorite go to glue?  OH MY.  It takes a bit to dry, but when it does, NOTHING is going to move.  Just sayin'. 

I used my cropadile to punch a hole for the hitch fastener and wrapped some craft wire around it to hold the key.

The two panels were connected to each other with strips of grunge paper that have some Distress Vintage embossing powder and Distress Vintage ink and Black Soot ink rubbed onto it.  I used a stapler to attached them to the back of the panels.  

And the final project once again

I love the sentiment on this project!! I think I'll clear a space off my work area so that it can be a visual reminder to me to LEAP.

I hope you pull out some of those forgotten supplies and get CRACKIN' on some of these techniques the

E-Team has shared today!! 

'Till then....................remember to LEAP into some creativity!!

Martha Won

Bet you thought that I would never get anything creative posted again. Me too!! This is what I have been working on!

Remember the post where the wannabe Martha Stewart and the reality Erma Bombeck were fighting it out to see if a 3D project that wasn't working out would get done? Sigh.....Martha won. That woman just would NOT let me sleep until I got this stupid thing figured out. Soooo, for all my sleepless nights, you get a tutorial (if I can figure out how to post that many pictures that is!!)

Several months ago, I made a large baby bottle for a friend's shower that can be seen here. Well, two of the teacher's at my children's school are expecting within the next 6-12 weeks (they are due one month apart). The mom's at the school are throwing them a joint baby shower and that dang wannabe "Martha" opened her mouth and said that she would make party favor sized baby bottles. Piece of cake, right? NOPE. The smaller version just didn't work out like the larger version and I had to figure out how to make it work on the smaller scale. Here is what I came up with. Supplies Needed: 1 piece of 6 3/4" x 2 3/4" piece of transparency/acetate, 2 pieces of 3/4" x 7 1/4" strip of crimped paper, 2 circles with hand drawn 1/4" tabs, 1 circle with NO tabs, 2 hand-drawn baby bottle nipples, 24" piece of ribbon, an adjustable circle cutter or Spellbinder circle die, 1/4" anywhere circle punch, Exacto knife, red liner sticky tape and double sided tape.

Take your red liner and edge the short side of your transparency and make a tube. Figure out the diameter of the circle and using your adjustable circle cutter (or spellbinder die, if one is the right size) and cut out a template circle. Draw 5-6 angled tabs around the circle and cut out. Trace 2 onto desired colored card stock. Cut out non-tabbed circle on same colored cardstock.On one of the tabbed circles, place red sticky tape on BOTH sides of the tabs. Fold tabs around the circle. Remove the liner and position the circle tab around the bottom of the tube. Adhere (I use a pencil inside the tube to help). Remove the outside liner now and take on of your crimped strips and line it up along the bottom of the tube, covering the tabs. Use another piece of red liner to tape the end down.Ok....now using your double sided tape, adhere your two baby bottle nipples together (but just at the top, you want to be able to fold back the bottom part). I outline a "shadow" using copic markers on both side. Trace the length of the nipple on the INSIDE of the other tabbed circle (your red liner tape will be on the OUTSIDE) and cut out with an exacto knife. Insert the nipple into the slit and then adhere the tabs down with double sided tape. Then take your UNtabbed circle and place over the inside (to make it look nice and neat on the inside of the baby bottle lid)

Remove the liner on the OUTSIDE of the tabs and place the second crimped strip along the edge. Using your 1/4" punch, punch out an even number of circles along the crimped edged. Thread your ribbon thru and then tie your bow. I have been making my bows so that they cover the seam of the crimped edged, but you can place it where ever you like. And WAHLA!! You now have a baby bottle!! I fill these with white M&M's (still need to make a run for those. I really don't want to put them into the bottles until closer to the shower date (don't need to encourage any ants to move in). I hope that this tutorial was helpful. I will work on the asthetics of the tutorial layouts (HEY!! I'm pretty proud that I got this to work at all and only with a little bit of help!! I'm SOOOO not computer savy, so this is HUGE!!!) Now I need to finish off the last 10 bottles. Stay tuned for creativity on a MURAL scale!!