Mini Books

Now that I'm feeling better, I spent a little time working on one of my many Club Scrap projects. This is the Autograph book project, a simple stitch bound book. The photo below is the closed book, front cover.

The photo below is of the open book. It is approximately ATC size and uses 4 needles to create the stitching. The pages are added side by side, not nestled as a signature. There is a video tutorial on the Club Scrap website's Inspiration tab, Cinema, under Projects. I think it would be easy to adapt to other sizes which I hope to try after the New Year's Holiday. The book would make a perfect purse sized photo album.

Or, you can use it for a mini idea book or journal to jot down notes and ideas to try.



Tuesday's Tip

Or, what could be called what I learned this holiday season - the hard way! Those of you who are regular or frequent visitors may have noticed a lapse in posts. On the eve3ning of the 14, I became ill with a very nasty and long lasting stomach virus (no worries, I will not be providing the unsavory details!). Thankfully, earlier that day, I had completed the bulk of my Christmas shopping.  This illness lasted a long time - actually yesterday, I can say was a normal day. So, I was way behind in everything that needed to be done. So, things to keep in mind:
1. Shop during the year. Some of you do (kudos!) and some of you only think about it (like me!). You never know when the unexpected will hit.
2. Christmas cards - I make about 50-60 a year. However, I purchase about 50 store bought cards (I have learned that not everyone appreciates hand made cards). Start early in your design and fabrication - I am thinking of July! Also, you can easily address cards well in advance. Trust me - this will save a lot of time should you become ill.
I hope you all had a healthy and wonderful Holiday!

Tuesday's Tip

Choosing color combinations for cards and scrapbook pages can be challenging at times. I think we tend to have "safe" palettes that we use the majority of the time. We may want to try something different, but where to start. The Pantone website is a fun place to poke around. There is a variety of information on color combinations and graphics.     

Tag Day 5

Yes, I am way behind! Today was the last day of the 12 tags of Christmas, but I am still plugging away. I had to spend most of today making Christmas cards (almost done). I like how easy it is to make adjustments based on the stamps and materials I have on hand. Although I did not have the metal numbers, I was able to get a very similar effect using grunge board numbers, Picket Fence Crackle paint, and Glossy Accents. I am still hopeful that I will complete the remainder of the tags before the end of the holidays!

2011 Color of the Year

Every year Pantone designates the color of the year. For 2010, it was turquoise. Although you see their colors used more in fashion and home design, as artists/crafters, we can take cues from the color combinations. If you look back to past year's colors, you will find the suggested companion colors. A great resource to jump your color creativity.

The above pink is Honeysuckle. It will be everywhere soon enough. Some of the suggested pairings are fairly neutral: black, navy, charcoal, and gray. I like to use pink, black and gray together for Retro cards and art.

Tag 4

For the Day 4 tag, I had none of the materials Tim used. But, I did have great papers from Graphic 45.  I muted the bright colors of the background by applying a wash of Cream Golden Glaze. I also added a bit of shimmer with Tattered Angels Glimmer Glaz in All That Jazz (blue).  The oval is from Tim's Fragments collection. It is a clear acrylic tag that I colored with a couple different shades of blue Alcohol inks. Once it was dry, I stamped the snowflakes in black Archival Ink and gently patted/wiped the black ink off. If you visit Tim's blog, he gives a greater detailed instruction. You do need to work fairly quickly so that the ink does not dry. I found that I had to gently wipe to get the ink off to reveal the clear snowflake design. There is a learning curve, but do not get too frustrated. The acrylic is then mounted onto while card stock.

Tag Day 3

I am a little behind on my 12 tags. This is the Day 3 tag and I have improvised some of the images. If you are following along, you know that this tag uses Washi tape on the bird. As you know, it is one of the embellishments that I like to use. Since I do not have a lot of the stamps/materials that Tim used, I improvised with Club Scrap and other companies stamps. Although I love all the wonderful rolled flowers, I really do not have the patience to make them myself. How about you? Any suggestions or short cuts used in creating them?

Tuesday"s Tip

Today's tip is an oldie, but bears repeating for newer crafters. I was reminded of it while making background panels. A couple of my lighter colored ink pads became cross contaminated with darker colors. It is easy to clean them up a bit. I use a plain paper towel to gently wipe off the color. For stubborn stains, I wet the paper towel a little and wipe/pat. It works great. Afterwards, you can re ink the pad.

Day 2 of Tim's Tags

I really liked the look of this tag - I think it would be a great Christmas card. Once again, I made several substitutions. I embossed the pine bough and the pine cone separately. I cut out the pine cone and used mounting tape. To achieve the glossy look of the pine cone, I embossed with clear embossing powder. While the image was still hot, I dipped it into the embossing powder and heated it again. This is an easy way to add a little more shine and dimension to embossed images.

The tag background has several layers, showing a lot of depth. I think that following along and making these tags is a great way to get comfortable with layering. Look through your stamps for design element images - they work wonderfully to add depth without adding a lot of bulk.

12 Tags of Christmas

It is that time of year again - Tim Holtz's Christmas tags. I have attempted to complete all of the tags each year. Unfortunately, I tend to quit half way through, for a number of reasons. Mostly, life gets in the way! So far, I have been able to keep up.
Part of the fun for me is to come up with a similar tag, even when I am not using Tim Holtz products. For the above, Day 1 tag, I actually used the Heritage Cricut cartridge to cut out the house and fence.  For the small wreath on the fence, I dyed white Flower Soft with a green dye based re-inker. I used card stock, as opposed to Grunge board. I do have the majority of Distress Inks, and I used a variety of rubber stamps. How many of you are playing along? It is a great way to refresh your Distress Ink skills - and helps you think a bit outside the box (as far as substitutions).

Tags for Christmas

These 2 tags were made from a couple of the background panels that I posted during the past week. For both tags, I used the Sizzix die cut die to cut panels. The tag on the left was made from the panel onto which  I sponged Purel. After stamping Christmas images, I tied the bow and it is ready for use.

For the blue tag, I stamped snow flakes in white ink. The sentiment was stamped in black. It is nice to have 2 Christmas tags completed and ready to use. Having background panels ready to use certainly eases and quickens tag making.