Guest Designing for City Crafter Challenge Blog

Hi, everyone!  If you're new to my blog, then welcome.  This week I am honored to be the guest designer at City Crafter Challenge blog.  The theme this week is a fun one: "Creatures of the Night."  There are so many directions that you could go with this challenge.  You could make something creepy, with a vampire image, or you could make something cute, with a nocturnal animal image.  I chose to go for the cute option and made a card with a goggle-eyed stamped bat.
 

Supplies: orange paper & orange/cream striped paper from Authentique; gingham paper from Bella Blvd; purple dotted paper from Pebbles; dark blue dotted paper from American Crafts; light blue dotted paper, green swirl paper, & star stamp from My Mind's Eye; bokeh vellum from Webster's Pages; chipboard frame & enamel dots from October Afternoon; black gesso from Ranger; metallic green paint from DecoArt; ink from Hero Arts; bat stamp from Unity; laser-cut sentiment from ScrapMatt's; upcycled bubble wrap.

On my blog I have a tradition of sharing a stash-busting idea each month.  This month, I'll be talking about the technique of layering.  It's fun to do, it's a popular trend at the moment, and it helps you use up your stash of scrap papers.  I used layering on this card in order to draw attention to my bat image, which is rather small.  The layers behind it help it stand out and look important and interesting.  I built up this layered mat using just scraps.  This was a great way to use up lots of leftover bits of paper.

I added a heavy coat of black ink to the edges of each of my paper layers.  Not only does this play up the nighttime/darkness aspect of the challenge, but it also make the rich colors of the papers really pop.

To add darkness to my card base, I randomly swiped on black gesso to make an interesting background.  I also painted a scalloped chipboard frame with the same black gesso.

My paper layers had a lot of green in them, so I felt like the chipboard frame and the background needed a touch of green, for the sake of unity.  I added this green by stamping with bubble wrap and green metallic paint.  After the paint was dry, I put my card together, first placing the layered papers on the card base, then adhering the chipboard frame, which I had dressed up with bokeh vellum and enamel dots.  I topped it all off with the cute stamped bat, and I added a sentiment and a couple of stamped stars as well.

I'll leave you with one last look at the card.  If you feel inspired, then go ahead and play along with the "Creatures of the Night" challenge at City Crafter Challenge Blog.  The challenge runs for a week.  Happy crafting!

Masking with Stickers from My Stash

Time for  my monthly destashing post!  This month I focused on using up old stickers.  I made a scrapbook page inspired by the color prompt for week four of the Summer of Color. 

Supplies: cardstock from Neenah Paper; enamel dots, alphabet stickers & patterned paper from October Afternoon; washi tape from Scotch/3M; die cut circles from Graphic 45; Candi dots from Craftwork; laser cut banners from Scrapmatts; square stickers from Bo Bunny; paint from Ranger; black ink from Hero Arts; metallic ink from Tsukineko; household mechanical pencil & bubble wrap; button, ribbon, & label holders from my stash.

I used some very old Bo Bunny stickers from my stash to mask off a checker board pattern.

I went over the masked areas with bisque paint, then removed the stickers.  After the paint dried, I stamped over the checker board pattern with bubble wrap, tore the edges of the cardstock, and built my layout.

From start to finish, this layout was fun to make.  I hope that you enjoyed seeing it.  By the way, please let me know if you have any chess tips for me--my son beats me every time!  :)

Tie-Dyed Background Paper Tutorial

Hello, everyone!  Whether or not you are participating in the Summer of Color (SOC) this year, you may be interested in this post, since it includes a step-by-step tutorial for creating fun background papers.  You see, one of my SOC goals is to create some DIY patterned paper.  Since I had so much fun with the "tie-dyed" paper that I used in a layout earlier this month, I decided to make more.  And, since I got such good feedback on that "tie-dyed" look, I decided to share a tutorial on how I created it.  It's a very easy process.  Let's get started!

Step 1--gather your supplies.  You'll need a plastic shopping bag, watercolor paints, a paintbrush, a small dish of water, and a sturdy sheet of white cardstock (not pictured). 

Step 2--flatten the plastic bag against your work surface and paint concentric rings on it.  This will look like a bullseye.  Keep the paint wet by adding more water as needed.  You can use any colors you like, but I used this week's SOC color pairing of lavender & grey.  (In a later step I'll add the SOC accent color, plum.)  The paint will look darker when it is wet; remember that the colors will be lighter when the paint dries on your paper.

Step 3--paint lines radiating outward from the center of the bullseye.  Continue to keep the paint nice and wet by adding more water as needed.

Step 4--scrunch up the bag to create wrinkles and blend colors.

Step 5--flatten the bag onto your work surface again, and press the cardstock, face down, onto the painted area.  Some paint may soak through to the reverse side of the cardstock, as you see in this photo.  Bonus points if your ring and bracelet match this week's SOC palette.  :)

Step 6--turn the cardstock over.  Voila--here is your tie-dyed pattern!  Rinse off the bag, hang it up to dry, and save it to use again in the future--either for more tie-dye painting or just as a regular bag. 

Step 7 (optional)--if desired, shake or tap a paint-filled brush over the cardstock to create drips and splatters.  When you are pleased with the look of your piece, allow it to dry completely.  If the cardstock curls up when it is dry, flatten it under heavy books for a few hours.

Step 8 (final step)--once your cardstock is dry, you can add any further embellishments you wish.  I added a few strips of plum-colored decorative tape, since plum is the accent color for this week's SOC palette.  Now I have a piece of background paper ready and waiting for me next time I want to make a scrapbook page.  The water color "tie-dye" effect creates a fun background, and the tape strips provide ready-made anchors for photos, a title, and any other page elements that I may choose to add.  This concludes the tutorial, but I have one more thing to show you...

As usual, my young son is also playing along with SOC.  This week, instead of making another Rainbow Loom bracelet, he did some watercolor painting too.  He also had fun with my stamps and ink pads, including some very bold direct ink-to-paper work. 

Thanks for stopping by my blog to see what my son and I created this week.  :)

Altered Journal

ETA: Oh my goodness, I was featured at both Scrap for Help and Shopping Our Stash!  I'm so honored--thanks, ladies!

Fair warning: this is a photo-heavy post!

I've been wanting to start an art journal for some time now.  It just seems like a fun, freestyle form of self-expression.  Since autumn is a very inspiring time of year for me, I decided to alter a pocket-sized sketch book to create an "I Love Fall" art journal.

Supplies: Earthbound sketch book by Cachet; woodgrain paper by My Mind's Eye; text paper by Echo Park; die cut paper by Graphic 45; stickers by Simple Stories; rub ons by Hambly; buttons by October Afternoon; star beads by Darice; sea glass beads by Jeff Plath of Glass River Beads; ink by Tsukineko; glitter & pearlescent paint by Ranger; matte white & metalic green paints by Deco Art; Apple Barrel orange paint by Plaid Industries; sewing thread by Singer; recycled elements: assorted yarn scraps & corrugated cardboard from an old box.

I'm entering this altered journal in three challenges:

1. Scrap for Help--October Challenge--use recycled materials, including string/fibers
2. Berry71Bleu--October Challenge--mixed media
3. Shopping Our Stash--Challenge 74--use a jar

First, I gathered the recycled materials (pictured above) that I planned to use in my project.  As you can see from the photo, the sketch book that I used is made with recycled paper.  I also used a piece of corrugated cardboard torn from an old box.  The odds and ends of leftover yarn were given to me by a friend who has a knitting business.

Then I gathered the wet media that I planned to use.  I chose two colors of matte acrylic paint, one color of metallic acrylic paint, three bottles of Liquid Pearls, and one bottle of Stickles.  I began my project by dry brushing some white acrylic paint onto the cover of my journal.

Next, I used a technique called string printing, which seemed like a natural fit for Scrap for Help's string challenge.  I mixed together metallic green paint, blue Liquid Pearls, and white Liquid Pearls.  I dipped an arm's length of sewing thread in this mixture, then let the string fall in random swirls atop the journal cover.  I left a little bit of the thread hanging off the right-hand edge of the journal cover.

I placed a piece of scrap cardboard over the journal cover and held it down with my left hand.  I grasped the end of the thread with my right hand and pulled it out.

After I removed the cardboard from the journal cover, this is how the string print looked.

I repeated the string printing technique three more times, varying the placement of the thread.

For the next step in my process, I tore the top sheet off a scrap of corrugated cardboard to expose the inner ribs.  I brushed a mixture of red Liquid Pearls, white Liquid Pearls, and orange paint onto the cardboard.  Then I randomly squirted swirls of red Liquid Pearls and globs of purple Stickles onto the cardboard. 

I used my paint-covered piece of cardboard to stamp on the journal cover, and the photo above shows how this looks.  I love the interplay of the different layers, textures, and colors.

Once the paint was dry, I went on to add some buttons, beads, yarn, and paper elements.  It almost seemed a shame to cover up so much of the paint work that I had done, but I left quite a bit of it showing around the edges of the journal.

Here's my jar, which fits the theme of the Shopping Our Stash challenge.  Simple Stories often has these jar stickers in their collections.  As far as I'm concerned they could have one or two in EVERY collection that they put out!

The sentiment stickers also come from Simple Stories.

As you can see from the above photo, I also used paint to enhance my papers.  The edges of the woodgrain paper are dry brushed with the same mixture that I used for the string printing.  The torn die cut paper is dabbed with the same mixture that I had brushed onto the corrugated cardboard.

Now let's talk about how I used the different types of yarn.  As you see from the photo above, I stitched down a row of sea glass beads with a strand of the dark green yarn.

I threaded the buttons with a single strand of the the light green yarn.  I love the way it curls--this reminds me of pumpkin vines.

The crowning feature of the journal is this mass of rainbow yarn.  First I knotted individual pieces of yarn around the spiral binding of the journal.  Then, for a finishing touch,  I wove a longer piece of the same rainbow yarn in and out of the metal spirals, adding a few star beads.

To me, the decorations on this journal symbolize everything that is great about autumn, from the bright colors of falling leaves to the excitement of bonfires on cold, starlit nights.  I can't wait to start filling the pages of this new art journal!

Thanks for stopping by today and sticking with me throughout this long post.  

Yo-Yo Flower

Supplies: patterned paper (My Mind's Eye), Rub-ons (My Mind's Eye), alphabet stickers (October Afternoon), plastic buttons (October Afternoon), wooden button (Blumenthal Lansing), white thread (Singer), brown thread (DMC), household items (denim fabric scraps, stapler).

If you blinked, you might have missed this layout.  I only had it posted for a few days, then it was accepted for publication, so I had to remove it from my blog temporarily.  The waiting is over, though, and "Chillaxin' at Home" is back on Green Crafting.

This layout was published in the May issue of Scrap n' Art, in an article on flowers.  The layout features a handmade bloom made from an old denim work shirt.

Want to make your own denim yo-yo flower like this?  Using a saucer or small dessert/salad plate as a template, cut a circle from denim fabric.  (Tip: scraps from soft, flexible denim shirts are easier to manipulate than scraps from stiff blue jeans.)  Sew a running stitch along the edge of the circle, bunching the fabric as you go.  Tie off the thread when you are done forming the flower.

Next, layer a fussy-cut hexagon and a button atop the yo-yo flower, AND layer a small scrap of paper underneath the flower, directly below the hexagon.  Sew all these layers together.  By doing so, you will create a decorative center for your flower with the hexagon and button, and you will also create a place (the scrap of paper) to adhere glue dots to your flower.  Add your glue dots and attach the flower to your layout.

Thanks for "chillaxin'" at my blog today!  I'll leave you with a few more detail shots of the layout.

Like I mentioned before, I've been addicted to using staples on my layouts lately.

What looks like a stamp is actually a rub-on!  Thank you, My Mind's Eye! 

There are so many uses for denim scraps!

Three Cheers for the Red, White, and Blue!

ETA: This card appeared in the July, 2013, issue of Scrap n' Art.

Independence Day is coming up next week, and I'm celebrating by playing along with the Red, White, and Blue challenge at Shopping Our Stash.  I've made a card, which you see pictured below.

Supplies: patterned paper (Authentique), large alphabet stickers [used as stencils] (October Afternoon), small alphabet stickers (Lily Bee Design), paint (Liquid Pearls by Ranger), cardstock "brad" (Candi by Craftwork Cards), ink (Tsukineko).

The strip of paper with the Latin Proverb on it is the brand identification strip from the bottom of a sheet of Authentique paper.  It was fun to incorporate this strip--which would normally be a throwaway item--into the design of my card.  

I used the negative parts of letter stickers to spell out "USA."  Once again, I was able to reuse a "throwaway" item on this card.

I have explained my stenciling technique in a previous post, which you can see here.  In that old post, I used Stickles, but for my USA card, I used Liquid Pearls.  The trick to getting a satiny sheen on the letters is to apply the Liquid Pearls with a paintbrush and make sure that all your brush strokes go in the same direction.  Remove the stencils as soon as you have painted a letter; if you leave the stencils on, the Liquid Pearls will act like glue as it dries, permanently adhering the stencils to your project.  To make the removal of the stencils easier, you can leave one corner turned up (as you see in the photo above), thereby making a "handle' that you can gently pull when you remove the stencil.

I also squirted a few dabs of Liquid Pearls directly onto the paper, to create pearl-like accents.

Thanks for stopping by my blog to see my card today.  If you'll be celebrating on the Fourth of July, then I wish you a Happy Independence Day!

 

Strawberry Season

Tangy...luscious...sweet...  There is nothing like the taste of a home-grown strawberry, is there?  I picked the first berries from our garden earlier this week.  There they are, in the photo above.  There were only four, but what they lacked in quantity, they made up for in quality.

Supplies: die-cut definition card (October Afternoon), green dotted paper (Jillibean Soup), all other papers (October Afternoon), tulle ribbons (Wyla), large alphabet stickers and round strawberry sticker (October Afternoon), mini alphabet stickers (Lily Bee Design), label sticker (Jillibean Soup), rectangular strawberry sticker (Lily Bee Design), corner punch (Creative Memories), ink (Clearsnap).

Speaking of strawberries, I have a strawberry-themed card to share with you today.  You can see it in the photo above.  The sentiment on it reads: "For a Berry Sweet Friend."

I cut the scalloped border along the left-hand side of the card by hand.  The photo above shows you how I did it.  This is one of my favorite ways to use double-sided patterned paper.

The strawberry theme continues on the inside of the card.  I'll leave you with a snapshot of that.  Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Additional supplies for inside of card: recipe card die-cut, patterned papers, and stickers all by October Afternoon; ink by Clearsnap.