Starburst stains and Moonglow EP's

A couple of cards today, one for Christmas and one 'normal' one (I thought a non-Christmas card would be a break at the moment). 

I made these cards a while ago along with another that you have already seen that were all made using the same background paper I made with the Starburst Stain scrunch technique that was sprayed with black webbing spray.

I have used Magenta tiles with Moonglow embossing powders and Hero Arts Fabulous Flourish to create the tiles on the card above.

The embossed embellishment on the card below was again made with Moonglow Embossing Powders and stamped with the Hero Arts Big Flower stamp, it has a very useful star in the centre along with the rays, have a look at the stamp and you will see what I mean.

Apologies for the photo's looking wonky, I took the photos standing on a step ladder in the shop as they are now on display boards.

I'm looking at all the snowflakes on the card above in a different light, I don't want to see any more snowflakes now until Christmas Day!!!

Keep safe and warm

Jill

Starry, starry night....

Late again!!!  Today's Christmas card was made by Karen Jackson.  Karen demonstrated this beautiful card at the HSNW show a couple of weeks ago. The stamp is from Hero Arts, CG224 Starry Night it was also a very popular card at our demo weekend.

Karen used the Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink Pad.  Has anyone else noticed how this ink fades down once it has dried on the card?  So don't be alarmed if it looks a lot darker when first stamped, it will settle down to become just the perfect blue for a night sky!

It is such an elegant and effective card, with no embossing, it is therefore ideal if you need to make lots!  Stamp the image, mount onto silver mirri card, add the ribbon and fix onto a 6" x 4" dark blue base card, and...voila!!

Thank you Karen!!!!

Well today has been a wet and windy day in Yorkshire, and I can't believe October is nearly over, where has the month gone?  It's getting dark so early now too, we are well and truly in autumn now aren't we!!

Enjoy the colours of autumn while they last!

Jill

Hero Arts Christmas Baubles

Thank you to all that visited and supported us this weekend at our demo/open weekend, it was much appreciated, it was great catching up with everyone again and as Susan commented on the last post, the kettle was never off and the chatter really was constant!

I didn't take any general photos on Sunday, I really must try harder!  But, I did take  pictures of cards to show you. 

Two of today's cards were made amongst other things at the weekend by Jill Boulton, and one was made by Karen Jackson who demonstrated this as well as others at the Happy Stampers North West show last weekend.  Both ladies have used the same Hero Arts bauble stamp as the main image.

The first card above, made by Karen Jackson has been embossed with coloured inks and a sparkly embossing powder and is a nice trendy slim card.

This next card is by Jill Boulton, a landscape A6 card, the bauble is stamped with a big and juicy rainbow ink pad and I believe the 5 bauble design was stamped with distress ink. 

Here's another of Jill's cards with the same idea but using the same big and juicy pad for the background.

The stamps used are in stock and are by Hero Arts, you'll find them HERE, the sheer and shimmery ribbon on Jill's cards is gorgeous!  It is available by the metre and can be found HERE.

I've got behind with blogging recently, I will be catching up with more as soon as I can!

Jill

Inspiration from Tracey Coates - Part 4

Before I get into showing you the next batch of Tracey's work, can I just mention that it's the Happy Stamper's North West stamping group's Port Sunlight show on Saturday!!  It is ticket only so I hope you've got your tickets to the ready!!

If you are going to the show please come and say hello, Vixykins and I will be demonstrating alternately.  I'm really looking forward to it, I love this show!!

OK, so here's some more work from Tracey.  If you have just joined us on this, I am showing work from 2 display boards that Tracey left with us after our recent Demo Day.  I will schedule a post for tomorrow with more.

This is the last frame from the first board.  They all show variations of those shown on previous days.

This is the 2nd display of Tracey's work.

The first is stamped with Hero Arts Big Flower and the Friends Definition for the background.  The corners are Tracey's design, from AOD 53 Distressed Corners and Borders.

This is the last for today, an ATC, Tracey has used the Distressed Corners and Borders sheet amongst other stamps.

I love the texture Tracey achieved with Tim's crackle paint.

More tomorrow!

Jill

Time Flies! The finished card

Here is the completed easel card for the workshop/tutorial that I have been waffling on about for the last few days.  I made this card for Ian, The Stamp Man, for his birthday.

I've used the new Distress Inks Stormy Sky and Pumice Stone

Hero Arts cling stamps Time to Stamp and Big Clock

Heart Wings Stamp from Tracey's AOD62 Artistic Elements stamp sheet

the rabbit image came from a collage sheet from Elizabeth Golden.

I've also used Tim's new Alteration Gadget Gears Sizzix die, the cogs/gears from Tim's Ideology, and my Cuttlebug amongst other things.

If you are interested in the workshop/tutorial you'll find it all listed in the labels section on my sidebar, it has lots of waffle and plenty of photos, so you can view all the flaws in close up, lol!!

I've decided to enter this into a couple of challenges, my first time of entering challenges.  They are the Allsorts Challenge Blog, the theme being no ready made design papers and also the Simon Says Challenge which is distressed.

Happy Easter!

Jill

Time Workshop/Tutorial Part 4 - Distressing and preparing card pieces

Time for some distressing!

Materials
Aspects of Design 62 Artistic Elements unmounted stamp sheet by Tracey Coates
Hero Arts cling stamp CG186 Big Clock
Hero Arts  cling stamp CG144 Time to Stamp
Distress Ink Stormy Sky and Pumice Stone (we've got these on special offer on the website!)
Tim Holtz Foam Applicator or Cut 'n Dry Foam
Tim Holtz Game Spinners
Black permanent ink pad suitable for shrink plastic or Black Stazon
Non stick heat resistant craft mat or Woodware Hot Stuff Mat

I used a Tim Holtz applicator and foam to apply the stormy sky and pumice stone Distress Inks to the card panels.  You've all probably seen this done by now. 

Basically you apply the ink to a non porous surface, I use my non stick heat resistant craft mat for this.  This is the tan mat I have been working on so far.  I've used these mats for years and can truly say every messy crafter NEEDS one as a core piece of equipment!!

You place the ink pad face down on the mat, to transfer a square of ink onto the mat.  Ink the foam with some of the ink then starting off the card gradually come onto the card applying in a circular motion.  This way of applying helps avoid lines of ink and creates a smoother blend. 

As you repeat this the corners and edges will have a deeper shade as you go over this a number of times as you work the colour into the centre of the card.  This give a lovely finish to the corners and edges.

So, I would recommend cutting the card to roughly the correct size before inking rather than cutting up a large piece later as you will have nice corners and edges on each piece.

Now, the subject of which card to use, I will perhaps cause controversy by saying I've only used cheaper copier card on the pieces of this project.  One reason is because there are so many elements on it I wanted to keep the card weight down but mainly as I get a nice blend on it.  As you can see below there are not too many lines and it has blended quite well.

I believe the mistake some people make is that when you first apply them you will get some lines and I've found that the more you do the more primed the foam pads become.

I keep one pad per colourway.  They can be carefully washed/rinsed through if needed.

The other thing I think people struggle with is that they don't give the inks time to blend on the card.  Yes, it often doesn't look perfect straight away but leave it to one side and you will see a difference after time.

By applying a paler colour and building it up you will have more ink available to blend than say trying to use a dark colour sparingly.

Take time to do the blending and work at it.

Other people may not agree with the above but I am just writing about how I find it.  If you are happy with the way you do it yourself, then that is the right way for you too.

Next cut the panels and ink them

Once these are cut apply the inks to all the pieces listed below marked in bold. The instructions not in bold are what the panels are for.

The panel sizes you will need are:

2 x pieces of white card 4" square (or 10 cms), one piece of black card slightly larger for mounting one of the pieces. 

Stamp the Big Clock on one of the pieces and cut out.  Make a hole in the centre ready for the larger game spinners/clock hands.  (Instructions for the centre cog below)

On the other piece ink just the swirls on the winged heart stamp (from AOD62) in Stormy Sky ink and stamp all aound the outside, then again all the way round with black ink.  I have left the centre as the clock will be mounted over this.

White card 4 1/2" (12 cms)  x  5 3/4" (15cms), this piece will be stamped and trimed slightly later along with black card slightly larger for mounting

Stamp the Time to Stamp large background stamp onto this with black ink.

A long white strip 8"  (20cms) x 1 1/4" (3cms) below.  Stamp the Time to Stamp clock background stamp twice to fill the strip you can see under the cogs.  This is a little sneak preview of the back of the card, which is also the top of the card when closed!

An 8" (20cms x 4" 12cms) panel.  This will need a slight trim to fit the base card as below.

An A5 piece of card to cut more cogs, you should be able to get all 3 sizes plus an extra cog or 2 cut from the rest of the sheet.   Once cut out apply the colour to the cogs to create shading around the teeth and outside of the cogs as shown in the first picture above with the large clock.

I think that is enough confusion for now!!  If you fancy trying this card then I'm sure it will all make sense as you work through the different stages.  There will be more about the other images on the card in the next post.

I'll also be showing the finished card, hurray...at last you say... about time you saw where all this is leading!!

Time Workshop/Tutorial Part 3 - Shrink Plastic Clock with Glossy Accents

If you missed them, the instructions for the basic clock are on the previous post.  Before adding the clock hands for this one I covered the top with Glossy Accents.

Extra Materials
Glossy Accents
There are other variation you could use instead of Glossy Accents, ie. Crackle Accents, Matte Accents and Sepia Accents.  They can all be found on the same link.  There is a new one that will be available soon, Enamel Accents. 

Do not shake the bottle before using as it will create air bubbles!

The Glossy Accents is milky when first applied but will dry clear with a high raised gloss finish.  Avoid applying near the centre hole.

Apply the glossy accents using the nozzle to guide it where you want it to go.

Make sure you go around the edges for a nice finish.  At this stage ensure there are no air bubbles, any you find can usually be dispersed with the nozzle or a pin.

See, I did warn you that I would be saying don't do it this way at some point!  If you look to the left on the middle of the clock below you will see lots of tiny bubbles.  I applied this at night just before I went to bed so that it would be dry by the morning but I didn't check for bubbles.  You can get air bubbles even if you dont shake the bottle.  As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, if you have any just prod them with the nozzle of the bottle or a pin while it is still liquid and it should remove most of them.

Another tip is to leave the bottle upside down for a while before using it.  This way any air at the top of the bottle will travel up to the bottom! 

Place a cocktail stick in the hole if you have one, this will help stop the glossy accents from filling it.  Glossy accents is quite thick and it will usually stay where you put it, so it shouldn't fill the hole. 

It will self level during the drying time if you have any lumps or bumps.

Finish the edges off with a permanent black ink pad such as Stazon.  This next photo is a bit dark but I think you can see the different between the two I made from the shrink plastic.

Part 4 coming tomorrow! 

Jill

Time Workshop/Tutorial Part 2 - Shrink Plastic Clocks

The next elements for the card are the shrink plastic clocks.  I love these as they are so cute and the hands go round and they just feel and look nice:)

Now this is a long post, it gets more interesting today, so I think you will want to put the kettle on before you start reading!

Materials
Hero Arts cling stamp CG186 Big Clock
Frosted Shrink Plastic
Sanding Block
Distress Ink Stormy Sky (this is a fantastic shade!) and Pumice Stone (we've got these on special offer on the website)
Tim Holtz Foam Applicator or Cut 'n Dry Foam
Tim Holtz Game Spinners
Black permanent ink pad suitable for shrink plastic or Black Stazon

Sand the frosted shrink plastic to give it a key for the ink.  If you sand it you can then use an ink that isn't permanent to tint the plastic.

To do this start with the block at the centre of the piece and rub towards the top of the shrink plastic so that the block goes right of the sheet.  Sand until you have a matt finish.  Turn the piece 180 degrees and repeat until your sanding completely covers the piece in downward stripes. 

Now turn it 90 degrees and again starting from the middle sand off the side.  Turn 180 degrees then sand again to complete the cross hatched sanding.  You will achieve a nice even sanding all over.

Brush away the dust.  Then take the Stormy Sky Distress Ink Pads and add colour direct to plastic from the ink pad.

When it is completely covered, wipe away most of the ink with kitchen towel.  You will see a faint tint of the ink remaining.  As the colour will intensify when shrunk you want it quite pale.

Add a small amount of the Distress Ink Pumice Stone randomly wiping off any excess so that it remains pale.

Stamp the Hero Arts Big Clock stamp with a permanent ink.  Stazon ink will dry quickly, but others may remain wet and you will have to be careful cutting out the image.

I found that the clock is about the same size as the largest circle of the nesties, so if you hate cutting out circles you and use this through your die cutting machine. 

If the edges are rough or uneven you can sand them with the block to smooth them out but shrink plastic is very forgiving when shrunk.

Incidentally, I didn't mention yesterday but I used Tim's Gadget Gears Sizzix die through my Cuttlebug, you only need to use the 2 B plates.

You need to make a hole on the centre before you shrink.  The punch, or eyelet setter tool needs to be 1/4" (about the same size as an office hole punch) as the hole will obviously shrink too.

Now the fun bit, heat with your heat gun.  Try not to panic about it sticking to itself, generally if you leave it alone it will sort itself out. 

Just a tip here, shrink plastic doesn't stick to wood so if you don't have a non-stick craft sheet you could use a wooden chopping board.  Also, being metal, tweezers can get hot, I prefer to use a lolly stick or wooden dowling to hold the plastic in place while heating (it does have a tendancy to fly away!).

When the piece has completely shrunk, splat it with an acrylic block or something simliar.

This photo shows the difference in size after shrinking.  The clock is just over 3 1/4" or 9cm full size and 1 1/2" or 4 cms when shrunk.

I added the game spinners but felt the piece needed a little more tidying.  I pressed the edges around the Stazon ink pad.

Now as I was playing I wasn't just going to make that second one the same was I?  Of course not! So the next post is an another idea to try.

Jill

Hero Arts and new Distress Ink Rusty Hinge

The background paper and flower were coloured using one of the new distress inks rusty hinge and sprayed after with the red from the Mardi Gras Starburst Stain set, so it has a lovely rich golden shimmer.

The flower is a Hero Arts Cling stamp, that can be found on our website HERE

The adage tickets are from Tim.

Happy Valentine's Day!

How cute!  Find this pair of loved up'd owls and others from Hero Arts here

Have a Happy Valentine's Day!

Jill x

New Hero Arts 2010 - YUMMY and in stock!

Debbie and I have just got really excited, our first delivery of Hero Arts has arrived.  We're trying to decide which to have first, no we cannot have them all now!!

Some are now on our website HERE, but with no pictures at the moment.  Maybe, if you can stand the temptation and excitement, you could have a peek at the Hero Arts website, the designs this year are brilliant.  Oh dear....