The crafty post!

Ok, so technically it's not Tuesday anymore. But it *is* just barely Wednesday - does that count? :)
I thought this book deserved it's own post (and I didn't know if I could fit this pic in with the last post!). It's something I've done a few of - actually they're pretty easy to do once you get the hang of it.
Isn't it lovely? :)
This started out as a plain notebook from Target (clearance, even!). I started by prying apart the binding and slipping both covers off. Once I chose my yarn (yes, yarn - it's actually called ribbon yarn and is getting *much* harder to find these days) I was ready to wrap.
If you choose to wrap a notebook like this there are a few tips that I can give you. Before anything else, decide if the area where the binding goes looks ok - paint, sharpie, ink or otherwise color it to look good. Measure enough yarn to wrap the right edge of the cover - I used red liner tape on the edge & folded my yarn in half. This will completely cover the edge and make for a nicer finish. Apply whatever adhesive you choose to use (this was a combo of red liner tape, xyron & Fabri-Tac) to both sides of the cover and start wrapping from the bound edge. The first wrap will have to completely overlap your leading edge, but after that you can wrap overlapping 1/2 to 1/3 of the preceding edge. I chose to cover the corners of this book with metal findings from Tim Holtz, but with a little forethought you can make that last edge look professional enough to escape notice. :) If you (or the intended recipient) will be dropping this in a purse from time to time you may want to use some Fabric Tac and nail down some of the edges. Otherwise the yarn may get pulled out of whack and look bad. If you're just using it at home, don't bother!
As I said, I used some Tim Holtz book corners in a sort of antique-y gold color. To match the feel of them I matted the main panel with a piece of gold card stock that was embossed with a cuttlebug embossing folder and punched with a Martha Stewart corner punch.
The main panel is a stamp from Lost Coast Designs. I stamped it with black VersaFine on a piece of letterpress card. Yes, I bought some letterpress card - even though I don't have anything else related! :) Thick, luscious paper! I had to use a *very* light touch with the water brush - it is NOT built like watercolor paper. I used a couple of different Distress Inks to color the columns, her wings and the 'sky', but the woman is done with colored pencil. After it dried I gave it a quick coat of Matte Mod Podge for protection.
Thanks for dropping by!

Cleaning day!

This morning I uttered the most dreaded words known to husband: we need to clean the bathroom. Oy! I'm sure his heart sank into his toes! :D So, yes, we did clean. Both bathrooms and the horrible pit of despair that is the laundry room. Now it (practically) sparkles!
Of course that meant that I couldn't be crafty today. I would much prefer stamping to cleaning - but I sure do love the feeling of having a clean(er) house. Perhaps I got into the cleaning groove because of this card? As I've said before, I have some hispanic roots, and let me tell you - my abuela could have put Mr. Clean to shame!
This certainly reminds me of the style of colors you often find in Mexico. Lots of bright blue with touches of orange & pink. While I don't often create with this color palette I find it almost soothing in a way. Not that you're likely to see me *wearing* this combo! :D
The base card was stamped with a circle stamp from Recollections using Brilliance gold ink. The two background pieces are from Basic Grey and the main image is from Inkadinkado. Both pieces from BG were roughed up around the edges and then inked. The brown piece was inked with blue and the white with green (both colors were used on the flower as well).
The flower was stamped on regular white cardstock with VersaColor ink (in Pinecone?) then colored using Distress Inks and a water brush. Once it was dry I trimmed it out and added some glossy accents to the underside to give dimension. (I added GA to the tips of the petals, the stem & at the base of the leaves. The best part of doing this is that you can vary the height of the GA while you apply it. Once dry you get a more natural, gradual dimension which I find works well with things like flowers. Also, it's almost impossible to tear the finer pieces once the glue is dry! After it dries, just add a little bit more GA, position it on your paper and let it dry a second time - it should only take a minute or two.)
I really felt that this needed a little more sparkle (shocking, right?) so I went over all of the brown ink with my clear Spica pen. I loved the effect so much that I had to take a close up picture! If you look closely at the brown parts of the image you can see what looks like little flecks of white -that's not dust! It's a little more pronounced than glimmer mist, but not as 'in your face' as a glitter pen. I really like this in between sparkle.
Finally I finished off with the sentiment in Brilliance gold and some brown dew drops to ground the background panel.
Although this isn't my usual style, I love how it came together in the end. And, to be honest, it makes me feel a teensy, tiny bit like home.
Hope you like it too....
Thanks for stopping by!

Very nearly the same card...

I must have been in a very nautical mood! Although I admit, I do love this stamp but it rarely sees the light of day. I can't even think of why!
The stamped panel had the same treatment as the last card (lots of dripping glimmer mist) - actually were both cut from the larger sheet I made in the beginning. As you can see, I used black Versafine instead of blue, and there was no stenciling.
The really cool thing about this one was the punch shape. I saw a tutorial on Amazing Paper Grace (3 parts) on punching with the MS corner punches to make awesome shapes. As soon as I saw this one I knew it was perfect for this card - it looks so much like a compass or ships wheel! There was a little extra glimmer added to them after they were punched, honestly I loved them either way. On the right side you can see the edge punch that goes with the corner punch I used. The only other thing I really used is the 'black' (hah! those are NOT black) dew drops. Perfect for this particular card, but a really disappointing color in general. Just sayin'.
I hope you had a fabulous 4th of July with lots of food, family, fireworks and SAFETY! :)
Thanks for dropping by!

The long delayed tutorial!

Here I am! I've been a little MIA, I know, but the little guy has pneumonia! :( He's at that stage of sick where he doesn't feel so bad anymore (hence the non-stop activity) but he *really, really* needs to take a nap! Or maybe it's mom that needs a nap? :)
Anyhow, I've finally gotten everything together to do my tutorial. Now, be kind - it's my very first attempt! If you don't understand something I've written, or just need some clarification, please, *please* drop me a line. I can't get better at this without constructive criticism! :) I think this is going to have to be a very long (and pic intense) post, bear with me.

Okay, do you remember this card:

Or this one?

Basically what we're doing here is stamping with Lumiere (or any other acrylic paint, I imagine) then stamping over that with chalk ink. The chalk ink still gives a soft finish, but if you look at it from a different angle you can see the shimmer of the Lumiere. And you get a 'halo' effect around the chalk ink. How awesome is that?! Now, you don't need to use shimmery Lumiere paint, you just get a different look if you use flat paint. Something else I should mention is that I've had the best luck using porous paper, coated or specialty metallic paper doesn't seem to work as well for me - your mileage may vary. :)

For this technique (which I have dubbed Acrylic acrylics - hey, it was all I could think of! :D) you'll need:

Versamark (the paint won't damage your stamp, when I've forgotten this the paint dries enough to stick the stamp to the paper, which rips the paper when you peel it off = :( stamper)

Lumiere paint (metallic or flat - so far I've had the best results with paint that is lighter than the ink color) and a sponge brush

Chalk ink (I've also tried dye and pigment inks & had varying results, sometimes they just *won't* dry)

Stamp A Ma Jig (or a way to position your stamp)

regular card stock (colored or white, some scrapbook patterned papers work too)
access to water & scrubby (to clean paint off before using the chalk ink)

rubber or polymer stamp - something with solid and open areas works best

We're going to have to move pretty quickly once we get started, so make sure you have everything within easy reach & ready to go.

1. Tap your stamp in the versamark. (yes, I have a yucky VM pad and a nice one - guess which one I'm using! )

2. Paint the stamp with Lumiere over the VM. Nice medium coat, but it doesn't need to be even & don't worry if you've gotten some down into the grooves.

3. Stamp with very firm pressure - but DON'T LIFT UP until you've placed the SAMJ in place. This is *very* important - you will need to be able to stamp in the same spot with the chalk ink.

[I wish I had a pic of this, but the camera batteries dies and I couldn't stop to look for more!]

4. Holding the SAMJ in place, lift up the stamp & go clean it with water & a scrubby (I use a cheap nail brush in order to get down in the cracks - don't want to contaminate the ink pad!)

5. Ink up your stamp with chalk ink, line it up with the SAMJ & stamp firmly. (sorry, moved the SAMJ before taking the pic. *sigh*) Can you see that awesome halo?!?

6. Lift it carefully & go clean your stamp!

7. Holler 'Ta Da!' - even if only in your head. :)

8. Let it dry! This will take a little while, usually I let it sit overnight just to be sure.

Some notes: move quickly between steps 3, 4 & 5 - you don't want the paint to dry before stamping over it. Trust me, it just doesn't work. I've also tried stamping with chalk ink twice, ummm, this didn't work out well for me either. lol Some thicker spots in the paint are a good think, I think it adds character!

Here are a couple more views of the completed card so you can get a better look. Remember, you can click for a larger view. :)

So, what did you think? Clear and concise? Major mess? Constructive criticism requested! Or should I say... kind constructive criticism requested? :)

Thanks for visiting!