Fun with Mixed Media - a card by Sue Smith

Here is a card I made using a mixed media background, which I had a lot of fun making (and making do when I didn't have the 'right' products).....



I started off with a piece of glossy paper. With not having any glossy cardstock on hand, I decided to experiment with some old glossy photo paper, which was a little yellowed around the edges and no longer works well with my printer. I cut it down to A5 size.
I also don't have a craft sheet so I folded up some cling-wrap and used that as an ink palette, stamping down with the Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Dusty Concord) numerous times to get a good amount of ink on the plastic...



To thin down the ink and make a light colour wash, I sprayed with water from an atomiser....



I have also made my own ink applicator with a small block of wood with velcro attached and I cut up small pieces of felt which stick right onto the velcro and work just like the real thing....




Starting from the edge, I worked the ink-laden applicator in circular motions and left a small portion of the paper uninked....



Then using the wings stamp (from Tim Holtz Visual Artistry Collection - Regal Flourish), I stamped with VersaMark ink onto the paper. My stamp was a little stained with black ink which gave a bit of an outline to the image (remember there are NO mistakes in art...just happy accidents!).
Working quickly before the VersaMark dried, I covered the stamped image with Opals Franklin Embossing Enamel (an ultra thick one) and also Stampin' Emboss Crystal Clear fine embossing enamel, shaking to make sure the image was well covered.....



Then I shook off the excess....



And applied heat....



Then using a new piece of felt on my applicator I applied some Adirondack Alcohol Ink in Latte over the white area (the embossed image acted as a resist) and overlapping the mauve area....



And then some brighter Terracotta alcohol ink over the top of that....



To clean off the embossed image and to smooth out some of the background, I then applied Blending Solution with the applicator. Here is where another happy accident occurred....in the areas where I worked a little exuberantly the emulsion started to come off the photo paper, leaving this wonderful patchy distressed look....



After working some more with the Blending Solution, and allowing the ink to dry, the colour became a lot more subtle. I then repeated the stamped image using VersaMagic Multi-surface Chalk Ink Pad in Night Sky, and stamped some words in the bottom right-hand corner with black StazOn....



Some more layers of stamps with StazOn...this time music notes....



And blurred and blended a little with Blending Solution....



I then added some scraps of paper and some natural fibre....



Some more paper, fibre and some lace to the top right-hand area....



Next, I mounted it on some natural cardstock, and distressed and ripped the edges, and then mounted that onto some dark blue cardstock, folded into a card.
I added some ink to the paper scraps and the fibre to match the background, and lightly sprayed with GlimmerMist in Antique Brass...



Then I stuck on some lettering which were cheap old 'no-name' letters which I roughly inked with dark blue....



And finally, some more GlimmerMist in Antique Brass and a metal butterfly which I coloured with Alcohol Ink in Purple Twilight and Denim....



A close-up of the butterfly....



I really did have a lot of fun with this one, experimenting with lots of different techniques, and I was really happy with how it all turned out....hope you like it too!

Don't forget to visit Tanyah's store where EVERYTHING is heavily discounted!

Cutie In Clover - a layout by Sue Smith

For today's layout, I have used lots of different bits and pieces from lots of different brands, but featuring a gorgeous patterned paper from the Jillibean Soup Old World Cabbage Stew range. This particular paper from the range is called 'Brown Rice'.

Using this paper, I cut a large square (approx 20cm x 20cm) to use as a mat for the photo. Because the paper is quite a busy pattern, I decided to help the photo stand out by painting the area immediately around the photo. For this I used a small square of packaging material and lightly dabbed on some Making Memories Paint in the colour Manila....



I then cut a clover shaped pattern into a strip of the paper, and then inked the shapes with Versa Color Ink Spots in the colours of 'Evergreen' and 'Indigo' and then placed these shapes behind the inked large square of paper.

The butterfly embellishments are A2Z Scraplets Li'l Range - Butterflies which I embossed with Suze Weinberg UTEE Brightz (ultra thick embossing enamel) in the colour Zinnia. While the UTEE was still hot and melted I sprinkled with glitter and applied heat again to set the glitter....



Here is a list of the rest of the items I have used on this layout...

* Chromatics Cardstock - Cream

* Japanese Washi Tape

* Chelleybean Designs Paper Lollipops which I scrunched up and inked with Versa Color Ink Spot in Burgundy

* AC Thickers Rockabye Foam Letters in Leaf

* Crate Paper 'Restoration' Self-adhesive Chipboard

* Ruby Rockit- Upstairs/Downstairs - Felt Frame - Cream decorated with Kaisercraft Rhinestones in 'Lippy Red' and 'Split Pea'

* Sam & Lucy - Weave Extras - Teeny tiny letters - 4mm black

Happy scrapping everyone and see you for something new next Monday! xx

A Birthday Card - by Sue Smith

This week I have once again used Graphic 45 patterned papers in the Botanicabella range, but this time I have created a card suitable for an older person's birthday....



This is a trifold card....



...which opens to reveal the second part of the greeting....



...and then opens up once again with a blank space for a personalised message.

Here is a list of the products I have used...
* Chromatics 'Olive' cardstock
* Graphic 45 patterned papers from the gorgeous Botanicabella range
* A2Z Scraplets Tree 7 (I have used the smaller one of the two in the pack)
* Leaf and small flower stamps (the ones I have used are from Stampin' Up)
* Large flower and butterfly stamps (these ones are from Autumn Leaves Clear Stamps 'Second Nature' by Rhonna Farrer)
* Assorted Versacolor Stamp spots
* Kaisercraft rubons 'Type Alpha' (I really love the grungey look of these)
* Kaisercraft Pearls and Rhinestones
* Birch Pearl Trimming in black
* Coloured dual point markers

To make the card itself, take the olive cardstock and cut to 305mm x 200mm and then score it twice at the 101mm and 203mm mark (measuring along the longer side). Fold to overlap one side over the other.

Next take the green leafy side of the Graphic 45 'Secret Garden' paper and cut 2 pieces 195mm x 97mm (this size gives you a nice little border of cardstock around the edge of the card), ink the edges with a darker colour ink pad (I have used a Versacolor Stamp Spot in the colour 'Bamboo'). Then attach these to the two flaps of the card with double-sided tape.

To make the tree on the front take the A2Z Scraplets Chipboard Tree and glue to back of the Graphic 45 'Love Letters' patterned paper. Make sure that the adhesive covers the chipboard completely before sticking down. I used Pritt Power Gel for mine.



Once the glue has dried carefully cut around the edge of the chipboard with a craft knife.



Sand the edges for a nice smooth finish.



Finally colour the edges with a darker brown marker.



Stamp light brown cardstock with a leaf stamp multiple times in assorted autumn tonings and cut out each image leaving a little border for contrast.



Arrange the elements on the front of the card and be sure to carefully work out the placing of the rubon letters for the wording. When you're happy with the arrangement, do the rubons first, then glue down the tree, and finally the leaves. I have stuck some of the leaves flat onto the paper with double-sided tape and others with 3D foam squares to give it dimension.

As a final touch, the word 'autumn' is outlined with a fine-tip marker.

The inside flap of the card is done in a similar way using flowers of different shapes, sizes and colours. Arrange the flowers around the wording and finish with pearls and rhinestones.

Stamp two butterflies onto transparency with StazOn Ink (normal ink will not dry on transparency) and cut out. Attach a small strip of the beaded trim to the bodies of the butterflies with clear adhesive.



Attach to the flowers by adding a small amount of glue to the underside of the body where it won't be visible.

Finally outline the word 'spring' with a pink fine-tip marker.

I hope you like the card I've created.
Until next time...happy card-making! xxx

'Scrapping on a budget' layout by Ingeborg Dijkstra

We all love to buy new scrapbooking products, don't we? But ... sometimes we cannot afford to spend much or we cannot spend anything at all. I wanted to create a layout using only one sheet of patterned paper and nothing else. I was quite surprised to see how easy it was and how it still turned out to be a colourful and fun layout.

Materials used for this layout:

• one sheet of patterned paper 'Bliss' (Kindred Spirit, the paper costs only $ 0.90)
• red pen
• brown pen
• Butterfly Punch (I used a punch from Martha Stewart, click HERE to see more butterfly punches)
• Glossy Accents (it isn't cheap, but a bottle can last for years and the product can be used in so many ways, so I think it is surely worth to purchase)

I started with this sheet of patterned paper:

I added my journaling (some lyrics from Miley Cyrus) at the bottom. The words are about butterflies and therefore I put the words in swirly lines to create a 'butterfly' feel. Our daughter loves Miley Cyrus at the moment, so it seemed to fit well ...

I added my title at the top. I used a bigger marker for this, but kept the same 'swirls' going ...

Using a brown pen, I 'sort of' traced around the red title, to keep the writing in the same style as the paper.

Using a craft knife I cut the bottom of the butterfly out of the patterned paper. I want to put my picture just under it. I carefully 'popped' the butterfly out of the paper:

I used the Glossy Accents on the butterflies on the paper and in the centres of the circles and flowers. As you apply the Glossy Accents it looks 'whitish' (see picture below), but it will dry clear and a bit shiny!

Looking at the picture above you can see how the red butterfly has a fresh layer of Glossy Accents on it (you can see the whitish 'stuff') and below you can see what it looks like all dried up!

I punched three butterflies out of a scrap piece of orange paper and added them for a final touch:

Done ... and remember this layout only costs me about $ 1.00 ! ! !