Monday, April 27, 2020

Designer Spotlight Guest Designer for the April Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenges Week 4: Not A Card


Welcome to my creative space!



This week's theme is:

Not A Card

Be sure to hop on over to the Simon Says Stamp blog HERE for all the details and to be inspired by the gorgeous design team projects.

For this challenge, I create a tag combining a sweet butterfly with grungy rust and patina colors. I recently purchased the Tim Holtz Embossing Glazes and had a lot of fun working with them on the tag elements. Be sure to scroll down through my Tips and Techniques for all the details.

Tips and Techniques
I embossed silver Metallic Kraft Stock with the Tim Holtz/Sizzix Elegant 3D Texture Fade then colored it with Distress Paints. I started by brushing with white paint and rubbing some of it off with a paper towel, then did the same with blues and greens. Finally, I highlighted the raised portions with metallics. If you look at my final project, you can see that I went back and added more copper.

Antique Linen Embossing Glaze is applied to the Lace Baseboard Frame and Quote Chip. Two coat of glaze are used on the frame. 

I colored a section of white cardstock with Rusty Hinge and Wild Honey Distress Oxide Inks, then die cut with the Tim Holtz/Sizzix Tattered Butterfly Bigz Die. Once cut, I want back and added Vintage Photo and Ground Espresso to the edges of the larger butterfly and brushed Mermaid Lagoon and Peacock Feathers onto the smaller butterfly leaving a bit of the rust color showing through.

For added visual texture, I stamped the butterflies with text using Ground Espresso Archival Ink with Tim's Entomology and Ledger Script Rubber Stamps.

I lightly misted the smaller butterfly with water to activate the oxide effect and set aside to dry. Once dry I covered with embossing medium using the Distress Embossing Dabber then sprinkled with Antique Linen Embossing Glaze and heated. The larger butterfly is embossed with Rusty Hinge Glaze. The beauty of these glazes is their translucent quality that allows the stamped or printed design to show through.

For a little extra dimension I used a thin strip of foam tape down the center to adhere the two butterflies together allowing the wings to be separate from each other.


This Word Key Charm is colored with Finnabair Waxes and tied with a piece of hemp cord. The bauble pearl is colored with Laguna Alcohol Ink and Mined Alloy.

The key is used as the butterfly body. Isn't the dimensional background with copper highlights so pretty behind the butterfly?? 

This "rusty" faux metal strip is cut from Tim's Sizzix Mini Provincial 3D Impresslit using white cardstock. It is heat embossed using Rusty Hinge Embossing Glaze. I added a second coat of embossing glaze randomly across the strip so there are darker and lighter areas. Walnut Stain Distress Crayon is rubbed into the crevices to add shadowing while Broken China and Cracked Pistachio Distress Paints are rubbed on for a patina effect.

A Quote Chip is layered over the faux metal strip. I added a Tiny Clip to each end of the Quote Chip. The clips raised up the chip, so foam tape is used to adhere this sentiment. The grungy rust at the tag edges is created with Seth Apter/Emerald Creek embossing powders. I started with a bit of Patina Oxide, then on top of the patina, added a layer of Chunky Rust making sure to allow some of the patina to still show around the edges.

Some rusty bling is added inside the Baseboard Frame with Soft Gel Medium using Prills and Finnabair Microbeads.


As you may know, the  Simon Says Stamp Store is accepting new orders, but have longer shipping times for the moment due to the coronavirus. With this in mind we have made the difficult decision to suspend the $50 voucher for this challenge.

We know that many people are staying safe at home and we would love it if you would continue to enter the challenges and have fun! We are all in this together! You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in. The challenge can be found HERE.


Supply List
Ranger Adirondack Metallics Acrylic Paint Dabber Copper
Prima Marketing Rusty Red Finnabair Wax Paste
Prima Marketing Rusty Brown Finnabair Wax Paste
Prima Marketing Rich Copper Art Alchemy Metallique Wax
White Cardstock
Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive
USArtQuest Mini Prills A Penny Saved
USArtQuest Mini Prills Express-O Yourself
Prima Finnabair Microbeads Bronze
Prima Finnabair Microbeads Copper
Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L ~ Crafty Power Tape

You can follow me on:

Thanks for stopping by! I treasure your comments.

~ Blessings ~

Friday, April 24, 2020

Mixed Media Mother's Day Card for Little Birdie Crafts

Welcome to my creative space!

Mother's Day is just around the corner and I created this sweet card for my mom featuring the gorgeous Shabby Chic Bouquet paper and flower collections.  The card will fit into a standard 6×6″ shadowbox or frame, so I thought this sentiment about memories would work well as a display for everyday home decor and yet be lovely for a Mother’s Day card. 

I hope you'll hop on over to the Little Birdie Crafts blog for a full photo tutorial showing how I put this together and to leave a comment letting me know what you think. You can find that post HERE.

Little Birdie Crafts can be purchased at their US online store. For a limited time there is free worldwide shipping on all orders over $99.

Use code TRACEY05 for a 5% discount.
I receive a small commission at no cost to you.
Thanks for your support!

Little Birdie Crafts Supplies

Other Supplies
Cardstock - White
Ranger ~ Distress Embossing Dabber
Liquitex ~ Gesso - Clear
Stampendous ~ Embossing Enamel - Shabby White, Shabby Pink
US ArtQuest ~ Mini Prills - Tu-Tu
Stampendous ~ Fran-tage - Silver Glass Glitter
Wonder Tape ~ Foam Tape
Scrapbook Adhesive by 3L ~ Crafty Power Tape
Helmar ~ 450 Quick Dry Adhesive
Tombo ~ Mono MULTI Liquid Glue
Tim Holtz Tonic 5 Inch Haberdashery Scissors
Wagner ~ HT 400 Heat Gun


Thanks for stopping by! I treasure your comments.

~ Blessings ~

Monday, April 20, 2020

Designer Spotlight Guest Designer for the April Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenges Week 3: Create A Scene

Welcome to my creative space!


I'm back with my third project as the Spotlight Designer for Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenges during the Month of April. I am so delighted and honored to be guest designing for them this month!


This week's theme is:

Create A Scene

Be sure to hop on over to the Simon Says Stamp blog HERE for all the details and to be inspired by the gorgeous design team projects.

I created a sweet vintage scene with Tim Holtz Paper Dolls and a background using his fabulous Sizzix dies and Brickwork 3D Embossing Folder. Be sure to scroll down through the Tips and Techniques section for close-ups and all the details.

Tips and Techniques
I misted watercolor paper with water and ran it through the Brickwork 3-D embossing folder to create this amazing brick background. Then a soft blending brush was used to apply Distress Oxide Inks the the paper. I started with the lightest color working my way to the darkest color to give the dimension of an old brick wall. Once all the inking was complete, I gave it a light misting of water to oxidize the inks.

A textured boarder is created on heavy weight black card stock with Distress Crackle Texture Paste. I adore how the black shows through once the cracks set in. I added color to the dried crackle using Distress Crayons.

I wanted a narrow border to coordinate with the sweet butterfly, so colored the edge of a white cardstock piece cut to fit with Distress Oxide Inks.

The fabulous Scribbly Butterfly and wonderful Holiday Mini Greens are die cut with Tim Holtz Sizzix dies and colored with Distress Oxide Inks. To color the butterfly, I used a soft ink blending brush. The greenery is cut from watercolor paper. To color I pressed the ink pads on my glass mat next to a spritz of water. I blended the inks with water to color the leaves with a paint brush.

This Tim Holtz Word Band and Story Stick are embellished with Hardware Heads and colored with Alcohol inks using a Ranger Alcohol Ink paint brush.

The background also includes a snippet cut with the Tim's Pattern Repeat Die and colored with Distress Inks. Since Distress inks remain reactive after drying I rubbed Distress Micro Glaze over the ink to make it permanent.

I've seen projects using Tim's Crochet 2 Die to cut a fence. I colored the lace with Distress Ink, then applied Hickory Smoke Distress Glaze to give it the look of an old iron fence. To age and give a more grungy feel to the fence, I rubbed on some Finnabair Metallique Waxes.

Here's a close-up of the butterfly embellished with the Story Stick. You can see how the borders all came together and that strip that coordinates perfectly with this butterfly.

The scene is created with these darling girls and their little dog from the Tim Holtz Paper Doll set. The mushrooms and moth are from the Field Notes Snippets Ephamera pack. The dresses and bows on the girls are colored with Distress Crayons.

A close-up of the pattern repeat die cut and the lovely moth from the Field Notes Snippets.

The Word Band sentiment fits perfectly over the fence.

A close-up to see the grungy effects on the fence and these cool mushrooms.


As you may know, the  Simon Says Stamp Store is accepting new orders, but have longer shipping times for the moment due to the coronavirus. With this in mind we have made the difficult decision to suspend the $50 voucher for this challenge.

We know that many people are staying safe at home and we would love it if you would continue to enter the challenges and have fun! We are all in this together! You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in. The challenge can be found HERE.


Supply List
Helmar ~ 450 Quick Dry Adhesive
Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L ~ Crafty Power Tape

You can follow me on:

Thanks for stopping by! I treasure your comments.

~ Blessings ~

Monday, April 13, 2020

Designer Spotlight Guest Designer for the April Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenges Week 2: "E" is for?


Welcome to my creative space!


I'm back with my second project as the Spotlight Designer for Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenges during the Month of April. I am so delighted and honored to be guest designing for them this month!


This week's theme is:

'E' is for?  

Be sure to hop on over to the Simon Says Stamp blog HERE for all the details and to be inspired by the gorgeous design team projects.

For this "E" challenge I used the theme of Easter. We just celebrated this special holiday yesterday, so I created an Easter card. I decided to grab my alcohol inks to create a vibrant and sparkling background to go behind this gorgeous Tim Holtz die cut using his Sizzix Bouquet Die. The flowers are cut with his Wildflower Stems #1 and #2 dies which are colored with Distress Oxide Inks. Be sure to scroll down through my Tips and Techniques section for all the details.

Tips and Techniques

I just adore alcohol inks!! I used to use them a lot, but have gotten away from creating with them. I recently purchased the new 2020 colors and Alloys so thought this would be the perfect opportunity to use them. I purchased this pack of Silver Sparkle Alcohol Ink Cardstock last year, but never got around to trying it out. So I thought I would experiment with it. Honestly I thought I had created quite the mess until . . . 


I placed the black Bouquet die cut over top. 

So . . . I started out by dropping alcohol ink onto the paper then added 70% rubbing alcohol over top and tried to move the alcohol ink color. Well, that didn't go so well. I ended up wiping it off with more alcohol, but it had stained the paper. Yes, you can still see the stain marks. 

Then . . . I used a pipette to pull a line of alcohol across the paper. Then I added drops of alcohol ink into the wet alcohol. A felt applicator was then used to swipe the color across the sparkly cardstock. That worked MUCH better. Well, except the stains were still there. 

So . . . to add more color and maybe help hide the stains, I added puddles of alcohol and dropped alcohol ink and Gilded Alloy into the puddles and moved them with the "cool air" setting on a hair dryer. It created a nice effect, but still didn't cover up the stains. 

To be perfectly honest, I thought it looked, well, um, ugly . . . unattractive . . . you get the idea. I was ready to admit defeat and toss it in the trash. I figured I had learned a lot and knew how to move forward with a new sheet of sparkle paper. That would be alcohol first, then alcohol ink. 

But . . . on a whim, I decided to place the the black bouquet die cut over the alcohol ink background, mostly to have an idea of what colors looked nice to know how to move forward with the next background and then to my disbelief, it looked absolutely gorgeous. Who knew??? Can you believe this transformation?? 

Here's a close-up of the Wildflower Stems flowers. I die cut them from white cardstock, then colored them with distress ink. I mashed the ink pads onto my Glass Media Mat, spritzed a little water next to the color and used a paint brush to mix the colors and paint the die cuts.

Here's a close-up of the alcohol ink background behind the die cut. You can see how glittery the background is on the Silver Sparkle Cardstock when the light hits it.

And another section showing the blues, purples, and Gilded Alloy.

I dyed a length of rayon seam binding with Boysenberry and Vinyard Alcohol Inks along with Intrigue Alcohol Pearls. I dropped some rubbing alcohol onto the Glass Media Mat to soak the ribbon, then dropped the alcohol ink onto the soaked ribbon and scrunched it until it was completely colored. While it was still wet, I added a few more drops of color and just lightly scrunched it some more so the color would vary with some darker and lighter sections. I held the ribbon in a scrunched up ball with my tweezers while drying it with my Heat It Craft Tool, so it would be nice and crinkled when dry.

The ribbon is tied into a triple loop bow. I also colored a Tim Holtz pearl Bauble and Heirloom Rose with alcohol ink to adorn the bow.

This metal piece from the Tim Holtz Nature Adornments set is colored with alcohol inks. I used a Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink brush to paint the ink onto the metal.

I colored white cardstock with Distress Oxide ink in similar colors and then stamped this sweet Easter sentiment. The edges are brushed with more of the purple Distress Oxide Ink.


As you may know, the  Simon Says Stamp Store is accepting new orders, but have longer shipping times for the moment due to the coronavirus. With this in mind we have made the difficult decision to suspend the $50 voucher for this challenge.

We know that many people are staying safe at home and we would love it if you would continue to enter the challenges and have fun! We are all in this together! You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in. The challenge can be found HERE.


Supply List
Alcohol Ink Mountain Rose
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Heirloom Roses Embellishments
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Nature Adornments 
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Baubles 
Tim Holtz with Tonic ~ Travel Stamp Platform
Cardstock ~ White
Cardstock ~ Black
Hug Snug ~ Seam Binding
Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L ~ Crafty Power Tape
Home & Hobby ~ Extreme Double-Sided Tape - 1/2"
Tim Holtz with Tonic ~ Travel Stamp Platform

You can follow me on:
Facebook

Thanks for stopping by! I treasure your comments.

~ Blessings ~

Thursday, April 9, 2020

Mixed Media Carnival Horse Birthday Card for Little Birdie Crafts


Welcome to my creative space!

Our little granddaughter turned three recently and I created this sweet card for her featuring the gorgeous Little Birdie Crafts Fairy Sparkle Collection with the Primed Chipboard Carnival Horse. Avery adores butterflies, so of course I added the fluttering butterflies that I fussy cut from the Fairy Sparkle paper. 

I hope you'll hop on over to the Little Birdie Crafts blog for a full photo tutorial showing how I put this together and to leave a comment letting me know what you think. You can find that post HERE.


Little Birdie Crafts can be purchased at their US online store. For a limited time there is free worldwide shipping on all orders over $99.

Use code TRACEY05 for a 5% discount.
I receive a small commission at no cost to you.
Thanks for your support!

Little Birdie Crafts Supplies 
Premium Card Stock ~ A4 - Bright White
Woodland Stories - Calypso
Primed Chipboard ~ Carnival Horse Ride
Stencil ~ Fleur-de-lis Trellis - 4x7"
Grainy Texture Paste
Tinted Metallic Paint ~ Shimmery Sherbet
Tinted Metallic Paint ~ Golden Plum
Tinted Metallic Paint ~ Glazed Berries
Crystal Drops

Other Supplies
Webster's Pages ~ Pink Velvet and Organza Trim 
Clear Rhinestones ~ 3mm
Buttons Galore & More ~ Fancy Hearts
Ranger Perfect Pearls ~ Pink Gumball; Berry Twist


Thanks for stopping by! I treasure your comments.

~ Blessings ~

Monday, April 6, 2020

Designer Spotlight Guest Designer for the April Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenges Week 1: Add Some Texture: Stamperia


Welcome to my creative space!



I have been invited to be the Spotlight Designer for Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenges during the Month of April. I am so delighted and honored to be guest designing for them this month!



This week's theme is:

Add Some Texture!

As it’s the first Monday of the month we are showcasing a brand/company. This week we are all using some fabulous products from Stamperia! You don’t have to use them to join in with the challenge but if you have them we would love to see them used.


Be sure to hop on over to the Simon Says Stamp blog HERE for all the details and to be inspired by the gorgeous design team projects.

I really enjoyed this challenge. I adore texture and this was the perfect excuse to try out Stamperia products for the first time. I have been eager to create something with their amazing Sea World designs and this collection was fantastic to work with. You can see several different ways texture is used on the canvas in my Tips and Techniques section below.

So many of us across the world are on stay at home orders to stay safe from COVID-19. It's an opportunity to embrace family and carve out time to find peace and comfort in being creative. I thought this sentiment was perfect for the situation we are in with the virus as well as pairing so wonderfully with the ocean themed canvas. "When a wave comes, go deep." We are all making sacrifices to help save lives particularly for those who are most vulnerable.

Tips and Techniques

The first thing I did was to trace my oval canvas shape onto the fabulous Stamperia Sea World paper, cut it out and adhered it to the canvas using matte soft gel medium. I also brushed over the paper with a coat of the soft gel medium to seal the paper to help protect it from the wet mediums I am using on the project. After the gel medium was dry, I sanded around the edges to get the paper even with the canvas. The edge of the canvas is painted with copper metalic paint and rubbed with charcoal black art wax. I also rubbed some of the charcoal wax around the edges of the paper to add depth.


I used resin in the Stamperia Sea World Soft Mold to create this amazing steampunk seahorse. I brushed it with white gesso then painted with metallic paints. After the paint had a chance to dry, Iit  rubbed with art waxes to highlight the fabulous textures. The gear on the back of the seahorse is painted with Prima Finnabair Rust Effect Paste. I added a couple Prima Finnabair gears - one over the eye, and another on the gear. For a little steampunk whimsy, I added a wing behind the gear. 

I layered the seahorse over a piece of fish netting from my stash. The net was black, and I highlighted the texture by rubbing with Prima art waxes. I stamped the seaweed and sea flowers from the Stamperia Seahorse Cling Stamp set onto Tim Holtz Distress Watercolor Cardstock and colored with Distress Oxide Inks, then fussy cut them to add a pops of color around the seahorse, starfish, and gears.


This sentiment is from the Prima Finnabair Art Daily Sentiments Stickers pack and embellished with a piece from the Prima Finnabair Rusty Knobs Mechanicals set. I colored the sentiment with Distress Ink. Texture is added to the background with black lava embossing paste using the Stamperia Mixed Media Layout Stencil. 


These three base gears are created with resin using the Sea World Soft Mold and topped with a couple Finnabair Mechanicals Metal Gears The resin gears are painted with metallic paint then rubbed with art wax. I added aqua prills and metallic microbeads with matte soft gel medium for added texture. 


More of the molded and metal gears.

The starfish is another resin piece from the Sea World Soft Mold. I applied Rust and Patina Effect Pastes then rubbed with copper art wax. For more texture I added a small seashell from my stash tucked onto a bit of moss. I painted the moss to coordinate.


Another starfish from the Sea World Soft Mold. This one is painted with metallic paint and rubbed with art wax to highlight the textures.


A close-up of some of the seaweed stamped with the Sea World Seahorse Cling Stamps set and colored with distress oxide inks.



As you may know, the  Simon Says Stamp Store is accepting new orders, but have longer shipping times for the moment due to the coronavirus. With this in mind we have made the difficult decision to suspend the $50 voucher for this challenge.

We know that many people are staying safe at home and we would love it if you would continue to enter the challenges and have fun! We are all in this together! You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in. The challenge can be found HERE.



Supply List
Stamperia Mixed Media Layout Stencil
Prima Marketing Steampunk Blades Mechanicals
Prima Marketing Winged Mechanicals
Prima Marketing: Finnabair Art Daily Sentiments Stickers
Prima Marketing: Finnabair Art Basics Heavy Body Gel
Prima Marketing Old White Finnabair Wax
Prima Marketing Charcoal Black Finnabair Wax Paste
Prima Marketing Rusty Brown Finnabair Wax Paste
Prima Marketing Rusty Red Finnabair Wax Paste
Prima Marketing White Gold Art Alchemy Metallique Wax
Prima Marketing Rich Copper Art Alchemy Metallique Wax
Prima Marketing White Gold Art Alchemy Metallique Wax
Prima Marketing Brushed Iron Art Alchemy Metallique Wax
Prima Marketing Rust Effect Paste Art Extravagance - Brown Rust, Gold Rust, Red Rust
Prima Marketing Patina Effect Paste Art Extravagance - Brass
Prima Marketing Metallique Steampunk Copper Art Alchemy Acrylic Paint
Prima Marketing Micro Beads Bronze
Prima Marketing Micro Beads Black
Ranger Mini Round Ink Blending Tools
Little Birdie Crafts Tinted Metallic Paint - Silver Charm
Amazing Casting Resin - White
Art Anthology Stone Effects Lava
USArtquest Mini Prills Aqua Net
Decorative Fish Netting
Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive

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Thanks for stopping by! I treasure your comments.

~ Blessings ~