Mr. Dandy

 Meet Mr. Dandy, he has a dandelion garden.

I made a front facing card using Stampers Anonymous Mr. Rabbit stamp set and Sizzix thinlit dies.

Smoosh distress ink + oxide in pumice stone on distress watercolour card stock. Heat set between layers. Using the faded plaid, dots and words from cms478 Mr. Rabbit and distress ink Pumice stone, stamp in random spots on inked background.

Bringing Mr. Dandy to life with TH/SA cms478 Mr. Rabbit. VersaFine Clair nocturne ink, Distress watercolour pencils, water brush and to complete him with Simon Says Stamp coordinating dies.

I had a lot of fun making the dandelions with TH/Sizzix dies. The feather from vault lovebirds has a unique shape that is perfect for the dandelion leaves. Mixed with wildflower stems #1 and vault wildflowers you can get a variety of leaves.

Choosing the colours for the leaves + twigs came easy, as I had swatches at the ready. Distress inks add a nice saturated colour with a spritz of water and a water brush.

I used the same technique for the dandelion flowers. From when they bloom to when they blow into white fluff.

 Securing Mr. Dandy to the card front with pop up squares. Adhering the dandelions with collage medium. Intertwining them to create dimension. Adding a saying from the idea ology sticker book and last but not least machine stitched border in cream thread.

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and it leaves you feeling inspired.

Christina 

Comfort & Joy

 The possibilities are endless with Simon Says Stamp Falling Snow die, paired with Tim + Sizzix Winter Wonderland dies + Stampers Anonymous stamps makes a perfect everyday or seasonal card.

I started with distress watercolour card stock as a base. Die cut SSS falling snow. A soft blend blueprint sketch + shaded lilac distress oxides, to create the magic of northern lights. 

Die cut the mama + baby deer from Tim + Sizzix die winter  wonderland. Distress oxides in tea dye + distress ink in walnut stain for shadowing.

I love the different fonts from Tim’s + Stampers Anonymous stamps. In particular the ones from the great outdoors stamp set. I chose the stamp ‘tidings of comfort & joy’ masking off tidings of then embossing ink embossed with Ranger embossing powder white and my handy dandy Ranger handle IT tool for heat setting.

Machine stitched in cream thread, ever so delicately along the bottom of card.

Take the time to be creative. It’s good for the soul.

Christina 

Winter Fun

 Winter is here, as I see big fluffy snowflakes falling from the sky. It's a perfect time to make a winter theme tag.

I love the endless possibilities of Tim's + Sizzix dies. They are so versatile. Perfect for the holiday season.

Apply Dina Wakley gesso in white (an even coat) to the small thickboard Ecetera tag. Let air dry or to speed up the process heat set. Once dry add a light wash on top by mixing distress paint in speckled egg + water. Ratio 2 parts water to one part paint. Heat set.

Begin by adding more texture using TH/SA layering stencil dots + texture paste icicle with a palette knife in random places of tag. Let air dry. This gives the illusion of ice crystals with the crackle of the texture paste.

Assembling Gladys:

Tim + Sizzix have a video on YouTube how to assemble Gladys. This makes is easier especially when you have to reverse her. You can find the video here. Next colour the dies with distress heavy stock white and  distress oxides, using a blending brush. Gladys needs ice skates. Tim's die thin ice to the rescue! 

Finding ideas for a freezer, using Sizzix retro oven. It's easy to assemble, with metallic kraft stock in jewel + texture paste in icicle. Let air dry.

Making ice cubes + backing for the freezer. Backing: mixed media heavy stock white with retro oven die, alcohol yupo translucent fit to backing. Rock candy glitter + chunky glitter with glossy accents on idea ology baubles. Tim has an awesome demo how to make these. You can find it here. It's at the 1:30:13 mark. Adding a dimensional dome to the freezer opening, fill with baubles then adhere backing.

Adding a few presents from thinlits die santas helper + distress oxides for colour.

The words and hanger are a combination of thinlits dies vault seasonal sketch (drop shadow of letters with kraft stock cool + overlay with metallic kraft stock) + vault bunny hop (hanger - metallic kraft stock)

Diedember 2022 chilly + freezy dies make great accessories for Gladys. Scarves, toques, ear muffs.... the possibilities are endless.

The wood planks are from my stash using the 3D embossing folder lumber, distress inks, crayon.

Feeling inspired... go through your stash, it's amazing what you can make with it!

Christina

Cold Winters Night

 There’s something magical about falling snow. It’s so quiet and peaceful. I made a Christmas card depicting many scenes of the holiday spirit and the season of giving.

Smooshing distress oxides + ink onto watercolour card stock making sure to heat set between layers. Creating a soft blend of distress ink around border. One of my many favourite backgrounds is cms358 music + advert. Using advert stamp and distress archival ink in random places on stamp.

The scale of the Christmas vault series Christmas 2021 is perfect for this make. The gentleman carrying the wreath whilst his scarf catching a bit of the wind. Using a drop shadow for the word ‘Christmas’ adds depth.

After taking Tim + Heidi’s Christmas in July class, I knew then I’d need more ephemera. The large collage strips caught my attention. So many to choose from. Picked one cut it to size, machine stitched it to card base then added cello tape in opposite corners.

Adding a subtle bling with texture paste sparkle and THMS093 starry.

I was SO excited when the distress rock candy clear glitter arrived. Couldn’t wait to play with it. The wreath took it well. Has a nice wintery vibe.

Machine stitched border with loose ends for a nice finish.

Trust those crazy ideas. Especially when it’s 3am lol 

Hope this leaves you feeling inspired.

Christina 

Sweater Weather

 It's beginning to look a lot like sweater weather. Staying inside with a warm cup of cocoa is pure bliss.

The sweater from Tim's STAMPtember 2023 stamp set gave me inspiration for this Christmas card.

Choosing the background came to me easily, as one of my favourite stamp sets was close by. TH/SA cms475 ticking and grain. With distress oxides in rustic wilderness + bundled sage to create a nice subtle background. Adding texture using Sizzic 3D embossing folder in woven and my go to distress ink for blending edges, walnut stain.

Giving the cozy sweater more definition with two toned wood grain grey and 3D texture fades in sparkle. Then swiping over sweater with distress archival ink ground espresso. These stamps come with coordinating dies. No need to worry about fussy cutting. It's easy and fun.

Bringing the trees to life using cms465 bottlebrush trees with coordinating dies, distress oxides, embossing ink, Ranger embossing powder (sticky) + dry glitter (clear rock candy). Tim has an awesome demo applying this technique. You can find it here. It's at the 52:10 mark. 

The sayings from Tim's STAMPtember 2023 are fun + snarky lol. I chose the snarky one. Inked with distress archival in black soot.

For a more cozy look, I carefully machine stitched the outline of the sweater, making sure to leave some loose, messy threads at the top. Added a metal hanger from my stash, for the sweater to hang onto. Wooden planks made with 3D embossing folder tree rings and distress inks. Cut into strips makes a great backdrop for the sweater. 

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and it leaves you feeling inspired.

Christina

Where to Wonder

 I'm a firm believer that most ideas from the creative mind happen when you least expect it. In my case the middle of the night. Instead of making notes, I jumped at the chance and grabbed the supplies I needed to make this fun loving Christmas card. 

Tim's ideaology paper stash Christmas/Noel makes the perfect background. Double sided for the win! The possibilities are endless. For this make I went with non traditional Christmas colours. One side for the card base and the other side die cut with Sizzix thinlits layered stripes. This die is perfect for adding dimension to the background.

The candy cane stamp from cms169 Christmas blueprint 3 + Rudolph from STAMPtember 2024 are the perfect size for the focal point.

Enjoying the process of bringing the candy cane to life, using distress watercolour pencils. They blend like butter. No water is needed for this technique. The best part is creating a palette, deciding which colours play well with others. lol After a few attempts, I was finally satisfied with the outcome.

Tim's recoiling scissors are perfect for fussy cutting. The comfort grip makes it easier and gives you more control where you need to cut. I fussy cut the candy cane twice + an extra bow with pop ups for dimension. Making the bow more authentic by using Tim's + Sizzix shaping kit to the rescue. The stylus is perfect for bow shaping.

Pop ups add great dimension to cards. I added a few to the candy cane and Rudolph. 

I love the font from Tim + Heidi's SSS STAMPtember festive stamps and coordinating dies. Embossed with Ranger embossing powder white and my go to for embossing, the Ranger Handle IT tool while heat setting. Tip: for die cutting, to keep die from shifting, use a low tack tape that's easy to remove. I used washi tape. 

SSS (Simon Says Stamp) 3D foam strips (left over from Tim + Heidi's Christmas in July class, fit perfectly behind the word wonderland. cut down to size and place on card front. If you're feeling adventurous like myself, and would like to stalk up on these beauties, you can find them here.

Finishing touches: adhere card base to white card stock add pop ups to red card stock.

I hope you enjoyed my detailed tutorial and it leaves you feeling inspired.

Christina

Faux Wood Tutorial

 Yesterday I was outside in our backyard in the raised beds digging out the weeds, when I came across some beautiful wood that has been slowly chipping away. Or maybe it’s how our deck was built. I couldn’t resist and had to take a picture. Something about it inspired me to make something.

This is what I came up with. 

Using the right tools can give you many options to make faux wood. Starting with distress watercolour card stalk emboss with 3D texture fade in lumber. Choose your favourite distress inks and blend them in to cover the surface. And your choice of which tools to use for hi lights. Picket fence is my go to. Next tear the wood grain in random sections then do a soft blend in a lighter shade on top. My go to is walnut stain. 

Making the illusion of wood chips. Watercolour card stalk emboss with 3D texture fade cracked and a few distress inks to make an intense blend. Adding highlights with distress watercolour pencils (dry colouring). Used scorched timber and wild honey. Then cut to fit the under layer part of the wood. 

Thought I’d replicate part of the wood and add one of Tim’s hardware heads and make it look like it was poking out of the wood. However, after looking at it for awhile I found it to be too much of a focal point so I grabbed some embossed wood grain from my stash and overlapped the wood piece over the hole. To make it look more authentic.

I hope you enjoyed my tutorial on how to make faux wood and it leaves you feeling inspired.

Christina

Immortal Beauty

 Even though it's summer, in my craft space Halloween/Fall is creeping around the corner. Just imagine stepping outside, taking it all in with the cool crisp air, falling leaves, and chopped wood for evening fires. I made a mini slimline card to depict one of my favourite holiday seasons.

The Base:

Kraft heavy stock for the base, distress ink walnut stain + mini ink blending tool, start blending around the edges of heavy stock, blending out towards the centre. Distress archival ink in vintage photo, stamp 'her immortal beauty' from TH/SA cms409 tiny text halloween in random sections of background. This stamp set is perfect as a background or as a simple saying.

Making wood is an all time favourite for me. There's a lot of various tools you can use to create dimension. The 3D texture fade cracked is perfect for this card. Distress archival black soot + ground espresso go into the cracks very nicely. Tim has a really cool demo on this technique. You can find it here. It's at the 1:24:02 mark. To give the background more depth, using a mini ink blending tool, apply distress ink in scorched timber around edges softening as you go.

It's all in the Layers:

I never thought I'd have a blast collaging with Tim's idea ology halloween ephemera until I took his Christmas in July class with Heidi from Simon Says Stamp. Now I'm addicted to collaging! LOL 

It's easy peasy! If you'd like to learn more about collaging with awesome tips, you can find the class here.

It's at the 1:53:46 mark. However, I highly recommend watching it from the beginning. A lot of great education, inspiration. For the base I used a #8 tag from SSS, halloween ephemera and a few pieces of ephemera from expedition to make the collage.

This next step is a turning point for me. I wanted to create the illusion of crackle for the leaves as if they were laid to rest on the ground. Tim's/Sizzix leaf fragments is the perfect die.

Giving the leaves a spooky creepy vibe, I chose a little paper doll (I call her 'little gypsy girl') and die cut her in the same shape as the base leaf. Bringing the leaves to life using 3D texture fade crackle. I started out with distress archival vintage photo, found that it was too dark, to make the veins of the leaf more authentic, I swiped distress oxide antique linen over top with a mini ink blending tool.

Back to the collaged tag..... I decided to crop it and add cello tape in random areas. 

Deciding the right saying and style for this card..... Halloween tiny text to the rescue! LOL I chose 'her immortal beauty' on black kraft stock, distress embossing ink + ranger embossing powder white. And of course my all time favourite Ranger handle IT tool. Definitely my go to for embossing. My goal was to have the saying slightly faded but somewhat legible. After a few attempts, I finally mastered imperfection. LOL Skipidy bits for the win.

Finishing touches:

Before assembling the card, I machine stitched a little zigzag motion in opposite corners of the collaged card. Used pop ups for my gypsy girl, saying and collaged card.

Introducing.......

'HER IMMORTAL BEAUTY'