Curiously Challenge the World

Hello!! How was everyone's weekend? I had a great weekend full of teaching, shopping, lunch with a friend and a bit of creating. I haven't had a chance to really sit and just play all month so this project was especially fun because I just let it guide me.

I received the Inventor 2 stamp set this weekend along with the new set of Distress Oxides and wanted to have a quick play. That quick play turned into a full project. 

Begin by stenciling background with Ground Espresso Distress Oxide thru Eye Chart THS010. Lightly mist with Distress Sprayer to activate the oxidation. 

As you can see I always clean my stencils. 

Once the first layer is dry with a blending tool blend on Old Paper Distress Oxide and lightly mist.

Stamp image in Jet Black Archival using your Stamp Platform to get the perfect impression.  

Set aside to dry. On the silicone mat squish Tea Dye and Old Paper Distress Oxide and spray with water. Tap paper lightly onto the droplets and let air dry. 

Using a ruler as an edge tear paper. Crumple lightly and bend edges.

Run a length of design tape across front of vintage book cover. 

Sand Baseboard Frame and other layering elements.With a blending tool blend Vintage Photo Distress ink on both. 

Lightly sand Paper Doll and add colored accents with Distress Markers. Trace around edges of the Paper Doll with Brushed Corduroy marker to get rid of the harsh white edge. 

Cut gears from a rusted Distress Oxide background with Gearhead Thinlets set. Layer with Sprocket Gears using Distress Collage Medium to attach. 

Adhere stamped background to book cover. It's hard to see but I left bumps and folds in the paper. 

Attach frame with foam squares and layer Paper Doll using foam squares to attach to piece. 

Add sentiment from Clippings.

The hubby is quite happy to be the recipient of this collage. It will soon find its way into the man cave. 

Thanks for stopping by!! I hope your week is full of inspiration and creativity!! 

~Jennalee

Stay Curious

Hello, happy Friday!! When I saw this ATC Shrine I knew it would make the perfect housing for an assemblage. A little faux rust and a few gears and your piece is well underway. 

Begin by preparing a faux rust background. Cut to size and run thru Xyron. Adhere faux rust pieces to the back sides of ATC Shrine pieces. Use an Exacto knife to trim notches. 

Adhere faux rust piece to the border of the ATC Shrine door. Emboss clock face with Burnt Copper Leaves and clock hands with Charred Gold. Paint the back of the shrine door with Raw Umber acrylic paint. 

Prepare background for the inside of shrine by embossing a piece of gold paper from Tim Holtz's Paper Stash Metallic Kraft pad using the Mechanics 3D Texture Plate from Sizzix. The secret to getting a good impression is to mist your paper with water before running thru your machine. Once embossed lightly sand and ink with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink. 

Cut background to size and run thru Xyron. Adhere background to inside pieces of the shrine. Be sure to leave the tabs uncovered so your shrine will fit together correctly. 

Assemble shrine. I used Distress Collage Medium to adhere all the joints. 

Add finishing details. Using a drill punch add a hole to the side of the shrine to attach an Idea-ology Clock Key.  Adhere round ephemera piece from Layer Collector pack to shrine using foam dots. Add detail to the background with Mini Gears. Adhere a Paper Doll using two foam dots stacked for extra dimension. Fashion a cane from a Game Spinner and layered Mini Gears. 

Look at that faux rusty goodness on the back of the shrine!! 

I really love this ATC Shrine. The clock on the door was the perfect inspiration for this make. 

Thanks for stopping by!! I hope you have a great weekend and get a chance to make a creative mess. Happy Creating~ Jennalee 

Rust Backgrounds with Distress Oxides

Hello, happy Saturday everyone!! Have you seen Tim Holtz's video introducing the newest release of Distress Oxides? After watching the video I realized the importance of swatches. It was from seeing the swatch of Vintage Photo that my brain instantly thought RUST!!! I also walked away realizing the importance of letting your backgrounds air dry for the full effect.

Inks used Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain, Frayed Burlap, Iced Spruce, Cracked Pistachio and Fossilized Amber. 

Additional supplies Vintage Photo Distress Ink, Distress Spray Bottle, Blending Tool, and Micro Glaze. 

I used 200 Series Strathmore Watercolor paper since it's what I had on hand. 

I followed the same steps using all 4 of the main colors. 

Smoosh pad across paper. Leave some white space for the color to move and to pick up highlights later. 

Spray generously. I like to have a couple larger pools and some finer areas for the added variance. 

 Set aside to dry. Here is an example of the difference between air drying and drying with a heat gun. The example on the left was air dried. Look at all that oxidation!! Such a difference!! 

If I am going to emboss my background I do so after inking and spraying the page since you need to mist your paper when using the new 3D Texture Fade folders. This does push some of the color into the page but don't worry it adds character. Set aside to dry. 

Here is a great video on the basics of using 3D Texture Fades. 

Once the first layer has dried spray again. This round I did large droplets. Set aside to dry again. Once the pieces have air dried I heat set them just to be sure. 

Using a blending tool blend Vintage Photo Distress Ink over the entire piece. This makes the brown and orange undertones pop. Spray lightly and set aside to dry.

 In this photo, I have only blended the right side as an example.

Another wonderful tip I learned from Tim's video is the importance of using your Media Mat properly. The white silicone mat makes a big difference when smooshing your piece into wet ink. 

Smoosh some Fossilized Amber onto your mat and spray with water. Wiggle your fingers thru the ink to move it around. Dip your paper randomly into the ink. 

Some of the drops were larger than I wanted so I lightly mopped them up using a baby wipe. Set aside to dry. 

After your pieces have dried go thru and add finishing details. Such as adding another layer of Vintage Photo Distress Ink, blending on more Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide, adding highlights with Cracked Pistachio Distress Oxide. Set aside to dry one final time if sprayed again. 

The last step is to add a layer of Micro Glaze. I love how a thin layer of glaze really melds all the layers together and offers a slight sheen. The example above shows the right side with a layer of glaze. 

If you haven't used Micro Glaze yet it's very easy to use. With a blending tool blend a thin layer over background and buff with a clean paper towel.

Following are some notes I wanted to share. Mainly so I can remember the next time I try to make these backgrounds. 

These are both Frayed Burlap following all the same steps except the right has been embossed after the first spray. The difference in color was unique and surprising. 

These are both Vintage Photo following all the same steps except the example on the left is sprayed with a mixture of instant coffee instead of water. The tones are slightly deeper. 

Before Micro Glaze

After Micro Glaze. See how the layer of glaze really highlights the rust and copper tones that were hiding out. 

Frayed Burlap- Top example was sprayed an extra time after air drying the first time. It really brought out the blues!! Middle was done following all the steps as noted. Bottom was embossed after inking and spraying. 

Iced Spruce- Top was sprayed an extra time and flicked with very watered down Cracked Pistachio Oxide. Middle followed the steps above. Bottom was embossed after inked and sprayed. 

Walnut Stain- Top followed all the steps above. Bottom was embossed after inked and sprayed. 

Vintage Photo- Top was embossed after being inked and sprayed. Bottom was ink, sprayed and air dried then sprayed and embossed. There is a slight color difference 

Vintage Photo- Top followed all steps above. Bottom I did not spray after the Vintage Photo Distress Ink layer. The oxide effect is more prominent. 

Added rust details- Top sprayed with Distress Resist Spray and sprinkled with instant coffee granules and heated. Middle sprayed with Distress Resist Spray and sprinkled with cinnamon powder. Bottom sprayed with Distress Resist Spray and sprinkled with Paper Artsy rusting powder and activated with vinegar.

The top example was sprayed and embossed after the layer of Micro Glaze.  The 3D effect isn't as prominent as the bottom layer that was sprayed and embossed after being inked. 

And don't forget to save your baby wipes!! Look at that rusty goodness. 

Look at all those beautiful colors!! I am kicking myself for not making swatches sooner. 

I am so inspired to continue exploring these inks. I am usually in the middle of a project when I try to make the perfect background but then I rush it and it never turns out. Now I realize I need to take the time to play and explore!! 

I hope you enjoyed this post and maybe walk away with a bit of inspiration. Thanks so much for spending a few minutes with me today. I would love if you'd leave a comment and let me know you stopped by!! ~ Happy Creating

Interactive Typewriter Card

Hello!! I'm here today with some interactive tags featuring the Typewriter Set. When I first saw the Typewriter Set I knew I wanted to make it into an interactive card. I needed a card for my hubby's birthday so decided it was the perfect opportunity to have a little fun.

The larger tag is an oversized #12 tag and the smaller is a standard #8 tag.

The Typewriter Set come with 4 pieces. I used one of the larger with the paper holder and one smaller. 

Using an embossing dauber I heat embossed the portions that would be metal with Emerald Creek Hammered Metal powder. The rest of the typewriter was embossed in black with bits of Hammered Metal sprinkled in. For the keyboard, I heat embossed a scrap of paper with gold embossing powder and attached to the back of the typewriter so that the gold peeked thru the keys.

For the decorative detail I stamped a star detail and embossed with Charred Gold. I added additional detail with an Idea-ology Adornment Star also heat embossed with Charred Gold and attached with Distress Collage Medium. 

For the letter that is sticking out of the typewriter, I coffee stained a piece of graph paper and stamped with various stamps from Tim Holtz's Etcetera set. 

To hold the interactive tag I made a simple pocket to attach to the back of the typewriter.

Using a calendar from the Idea-ology Thrift Shop ephemera pack I added a Miniature Bookplate to highlight the month of March. I used Vintage Photo Distress Ink to color the bookplate and attached to the calendar using Hex Fastners. 

I used Walnut Stain and Iced Spruce Distress Oxides to color the tag. I layered a piece of paper from the Paper Stash Wallflower and a couple piece from the Numbers Remnant Rubs for the base layer and then added messy stitching around the edge of the tag. 

I then stitched on my next layer and added an Idea-ology Ruler Piece with Distress Collage Medium. From there I finished building my layers and added the calendar and typewriter. To attach the typewriter I used foam dots. 

For the interactive tag I started by inking it with Distress Oxides and stitched down a folded piece of coffee stained graph paper. 

I added a Hex Fastener to hold down the flap the hides a redacted secret message. 

For the airmail tag I prepared the typewriter the same way as the first only with red keys. 

I cut a tag from a piece of patterned paper from the Paper Stash Correspondence. I prepared my layers and stitched around the edge of the tag. 

After deciding on the placement of the typewriter I used a craft knife to cut a slit for the interactive tag to slip into. 

I cut a second tag out of matching paper and added double sided adhesive around the edges. This creates a sort of pocket so the interactive tag portion has a place to sit. If I had been thinking ahead I could have stitched the two tags together. 

To finish off the airmail tag I used a strong double sided adhesive to attach the typewriter making sure to take into account where the slit was. 

I love the vintage vibe the Typewriter Set adds to these tags. Thanks for stopping by!! 

Happy Creating ~ Jennalee