Creating a Collection Of Mitten's.

Happy Holidays, I am here for Mixed Media Monday for Topflight Stamps. during these unprecedented times when a lot of families are not going to be able to see each other at Christmas, I hope you can still find joy. In my experience crafting brings joy, both in the act of doing it & in the piece produced. When your heart hurts sometimes it is hard to be creative. This is a good time to just duplicate yourself to get in the act of arting. Find a piece you like & copy it. Change the color, images or product used & just make some art. Trust me it will sooth your soul.  If you use my code karenbearse you can save 10%. *Affiliate- some of these companies have given me product to use, play & experiment with. The ideas are my own but I tend to work with companies whose products I like so enjoy the inspiration.  **some of these links are affiliate, I receive a small percentage from the company at no cost to you. This helps me deliver free content!

I am playing again with Eileen Hull's Mitten die cut. This one has lots of PaperArtsy on it. With little time this December to be creative that is what I decided to do. I took a piece I made in July & switched it up a bit to create 2 other pieces. 

Now I have a wee collection! These will be used in my December Daily most likely. Here are the links to the other mittens if you want to make them or like a product. 

1. Kooky Owl
2. Red Tweety Bird
   

Let's do it! Simple and fun, this could be easily reproduced to create cards, or a banner as well. Simply cut out your shape from card stock. Mask off lines with purple tape. Paint with PaperArtsy Fresco. I used Bora Bora & South Pacific for this one.

Once the paint is totally dry, stamp with either a background stamp or combination of stamps & heat emboss. *Hot Tip: in winter months or if you live in a dry climate the paint helps create a foundation for the embossing ink to sit on. If you find your powder just slides off it could be the paper is sucking up the ink quickly so it is not staying wet long enough. 

Stamp your focal image & color using whatever your feel like. Watercolor, marker, color pencils... Just have fun with it.  Stamp your sentiment in Archival Ink. Cut the shape you want & emboss in Glistening Glass to give it that epoxy look in seconds. 

All that is left is to  assemble!  I did use a foam square to pop my quote off the page. Turning this into a swing element for my December Daily was the last step. I can put a photo or journal spot underneath for a fun interactive element.  Thanks so much for joining me today. I hope you have a very Happy Holiday & that 2021 is the most awesome year for you & your family. 

Supplies:

• PaperArtsy Stamps ZA18
• ESN40
  
• Fresco Finish Paint in Bora Bora & South Pacific
  
• Eileen Hull Emboss in Golden Rod, Glistening Glass & Polished Silver. 
• "          " Mitten Box Die Cut 
• Snowflake Brads
• Watercolor Tin by Prima
• Purple Tape by Therm*O*Web
  

Comfort & Joy Project for Eileen Hull

Hello Eileen Hull Fan Club! Today is my day for the Comfort & Joy event. I am super excited & nervous to bring you my 1st solo Facebook Live. I am going to show you the book I am using for my journal, chat about my favorite holiday tradition & do a project!!! I will keep it just under an hour depending on how smoothly my demo goes! You never know with Live!!*Affiliate- some of these companies have given me product to use, play & experiment with. The ideas are my own but I tend to work with companies whose products I like so enjoy the inspiration.  **some of these links are affiliate, I receive a small percentage from the company at no cost to you. This helps me deliver free content!

 

This is the project we will be making on my live event. It can be an ornament, a card, or an element in your journal. I will also give tips on using it in a journal as an interactive fun piece! I hope to see you there. 2pm EST & if you can't make it watch on replay! 

 

If you aren't a member of the Eileen Hull Fan Club please request to join & make sure you answer the questions so we know you aren't a robot! Below are the supplies I used with some affiliate links that cost you nothing but may give me a wee bit to help me keep creating. Also if you buy from Topflight Stamps be sure to use my code karenbearse & save 10%!

 

As promised here is the link to my original project if you would like step by step instructions with photos!  There is a supply list to the owl stamps etc on that post. 

Supplies:

• Fresco Finish Paint in Cherry Red. 
• Link to all the colors of Fresco Finish 
• Eileen Hull Mitten Die cut 
• "         " embossing powder in Aqua Splash, White Wonder, Polished Silver & Glistening Glass
  
• Skullduggery Stamp Set by IndigoBlu, (Santa Hat). 
  
• Zinis Stamp ZN 23 by PaperArtsy (tTweety Bird)
• Stamp Platform 
• Tim Holtz Travel Media Mat
  
• Darkroom Door Snowflake Background
  
• Watercolor Palette Odyssey
•  Cosmetic Foam
• Art Glitter Glue 
• Purple Tape by Therm*O*Web
  

Snow Day Card for December Daily

Happy December, today I am making a snow day themed card for my December Daily. The theme this week at Topflight Stamps is "Snow" so be sure to tune in & see what my teamies have planned! Christmas is a busy month but I really want to be able to squeeze in some relaxing, quick items for my album. Remember if you use the code karenbearse you save 10%!  *Affiliate- some of these companies have given me product to use, play & experiment with. The ideas are my own but I tend to work with companies whose products I like so enjoy the inspiration.  **some of these links are affiliate, I receive a small percentage from the company at no cost to you. This helps me deliver free content!

Here is my mixed media page made simple, with a few short cuts. I love that this page is sitting in my book just waiting for the photo or a journaling spot ready for that day. If we don't get snow I can make my page about the fact that there was no snow this season!  

 Step 1: to make this page super quick I used a few of Art By Marlene's products, letter stamps by Tracy Evans, & snowflake background stamp which is a must have. To start, simply cut a piece of card stock either for a card or to fit in your album. I made mine 8.25" x 4". Then I cut a piece of collage paper a .25" smaller. The collage paper is fairly thin so you will want that card stock backing for sure. I will be able to put this in a pocket or punch holes & add it as a skinny page element in my album.

 

For the title I used a stamp platform so I could easily line up my letters. This way it I can see where the image will be on the paper & if a letter doesn't stamp correctly easily fix it. 

For decoration I used a die cut out of the Paper Elements Pack & a quote from the Sticky Quotes by Art By Marlene. 

Lastly the snowflakes were heat embossed using Mermaid fin. Love how it glitters when it catches the light. If you wanted the snowflakes to be more prominent using a white or silver emboss would work great. That's it for today! Thanks for joining me & I hope you have a chance to get inky!

Supplies:

• Art by Marlene -Collage Paper-08
• "                "    -Paper Elements Artsy Arabia
  
• "                "    -Sticky Quotes
• Hunky Dory Stamp Platform   
• Snowflake Background Stamp by Darkroom Door
• Tracy Evans Grungy Alphabet by AALL & Create.  
• Mermaid Fin Embossing by Rita Barakat
  

December Roundup of My Eileen Hull Favorites!

Happy December, cannot believe I am saying that! This month the Eileen Hull Inspiration Team is doing a roundup of our fav projects for the year. It is always fun to go back & look at the progress a year makes. I could not narrow it down to 3 so I added in a bonus project.

Here is the roundup of my Top 4. I will post the individual pic & the link to the tutorial below. Thanks so much to Eileen for letting me be apart of this amazing group of creatives & the community she has created!!! This is truly a wonderful group of people and I feel very blessed to be apart of it.

Favorite #1: This may well be one of my all time favorites. The cork fabric is amazing & befuddles me. How can it look just like cork but fold & bend like fabric? I also love, love, love the ribbon-charm attachment on the spine. So tactile. it sounds fabulously clinky when it moves. 

Favorite #2: This wee little fabulous Travel Portfolio made from the Tiny Book Case. The photos are tiny as you can see below, using the coins for reference.  

It is a snap shot of travel through the years. It was fun to add in all the bits and pieces and ephemera.Working small was also different yet surprisingly satisfying.

Favorite #3: 

This organizer was made using the Gift Box die. I really love the junk journal feel to this. Now I just need to make more cards to put in it! 

Bonus favorite #4: 

This is an interesting one, this Gratitude journal that was made in September. I made 4 changes to the cover from the original, that is in the linked post. See if you can find them. This book was another fabric journal but made with printed napkins. Love the techniques on this book, some of my favorites. Thanks so much for joining me in my creative year roundup. It has been a crazy year for sure & art has helped to keep me slightly sane. 

 

If you want some fun inspiration the Eileen Hull Teams are here to help you create some magic in the month of December. This adventure is happening in the Eileen Hull FB Fan Club. I hope to see you there. Moving into the holiday I hope you have the chance to make some art!

Comfort & Joy Pocket Notebook with Eileen Hull

Hello Eileen Hull fans I am here today with my Comfort & Joy Passport Book! We are kicking off this month long event with a Live event in the Eileen Hull Fan club on Facebook. I hope you join us for December's month long event of inspiration and community.*Affiliate- some of these companies have given me product to use, play & experiment with. The ideas are my own but I tend to work with companies whose products I like so enjoy the inspiration.  **some of these links are affiliate, I receive a small percentage from the company at no cost to you. This helps me deliver free content!

Here is my journal!! I am really pleased with how this turned out & it was really fun to make. Decisions, decisions.

 Maggie Harding has a great write up explaining this event & is letting us share so here you go...

We need some fun in our lives so all of us at Eileen Hull Designs put our heads together and came up with an event that you can participate in as much or as little as you'd like. It's a challenge of sorts and we'd like to see you to make a Holiday Journal for this season using any of Eileen Hull Design's book dies. Your journal could include activities, photos, recipes, shopping lists, daily thoughts, etc. Really, it can include anything you want; after all, it's your journal!

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday between November 27th and December 23rd there will be a post in the Eileen Hull Fan Club from one of Eileen's team members with a prompt for a journal page. These prompts are meant to get your creative thoughts flowing and give you page ideas for your Holiday Journal. It might be in the form of a blog post, Facebook Live, recorded quick video, or a Facebook post in the group. It's up to you to take it from there and we can't wait to see what you come up with, so please share your covers and pages with us in the Eileen Hull Fan Club.

Here is the back of the book. Inspired by Jenny Marple, I used an Eileen Hull leaf die to make a wee flocked tree. I love the charms dangling down on the closure. 

 Finally here is what the book looks like with the closing ribbon strand open. I need to come up with a name for this strand of fun!! Well that is my sneaky peak for today. I will have a full tutorial up next Tuesday. I will also be in the Fan Club on Dec 11th to share my idea for your book. I hope you make your own book & join us in this Comfort & Joy event!!

Supplies:

Eileen Hull - Passport Book Diecut

                 - Spring Leaves Diecut

                 - Big Shot *black friday sale

"       "Therm O Web- Foam Adhesive

                             - High Loft Fusible Fleece

                             -Flocking Green Envy 

 

Tim Holtz-  Tiny Bells, Ephemera, 

             -ephemera bundle 

             -charm bundle

             -Christmas Tokens bundle

             -Curio Knobs

             -fabric - I found on etsy, many shops have it & you can buy in smaller quantities like 1/4yd...

              -Christmas Quote Chips, 

New Year's Page for December Daily

Is it too early to be prepping for New Year's in a December Daily context? I don't think so, the more my book is prepped the better chance I have of finishing it! Happy Mixed Media Monday at Topflight Stamps, this week it is all about New Year's.*Affiliate- some of these companies have given me product to use, play & experiment with. The ideas are my own but I tend to work with companies whose products I like so enjoy the inspiration.  **some of these links are affiliate, I receive a small percentage from the company at no cost to you. This helps me deliver free content!

I had a lot of fun making this non traditional, very art journal, grungy New Year's eve page. You too can get the same result without having to break out a tube of paint! 

 Do you like a sale? Yay Topflight Stamps is having a Black Friday sale & it starts now!!!

The key to this background is collage paper by Art By Marlene. This light weight, super colorful & messy art journal background paper is perfect. Best thing is all you need to do is cut & paste! Simply cut card stock the size of your album. Add a strip of paper for the pocket. Cut & adhere the collage paper to fit! Hot Tip: use scrapbook paper that is patterned on the backside so your next page is already started.

Next step is to add some interest to the background. One of the things we love to do as a family on New Year's Eve is play board games. We have a few nummy beverages, snacky finger foods & play Yahtzee, Trivia Pursuit, Settlers of Catan... we are a board game family for sure. This stamp "Edison Game" by AALL & Create was perfect to add some imagery in the background. 

While I had the stamp & ink out, some imagery was also added to my writing journal. I like prepping these pages ahead of time mainly because it is fun & saves time. 

 

I wanted some of the images to pop, so these were stamped on card stock & cut out. Just adds so much interest to the page. 

While trying to figure out what color to stamp my title in, distraction may have been the order of the day. Making swatch pages helps such decisions & also can be fun. Seth Apter's Baked Velvet Embossing Powders are translucent. They have a tint of color, that when layered with ink, changes the color of the ink. This swatch was done using Aegean Sea. The embossed image was created & the same ink stamped below it, with the name of the color written below that. The tab shows what Aegean Sea looks like with just clear emboss ink. 

I chose one of my favorite Prism Ink colors- Ocean Spray for the title. It pulled out that line of teal that was on the back ground paper. Tracy Even's has a fabulous new alphabet set out that is perfect for this type of page. Hot Tip: when laying the letters on the stamp block, turn the stamp set backwards so you can see the proper placement & don't stamp a letter backward....

The letters were stamped directly on the background- risky yes but as the stamps are clear mistakes are easy to fix by re-stamping. I messed up the E in "year's" but just lined the letter E up and re-stamped it. The letters were also lined in a fine pen to help them pop. I did realize after the fact that according to dictionary.com an apostrophe was needed to the word "Year's", so that was added in before the $shot.

 A bit of washi tape was added & now my page is ready to go for the big day. I have a pocket that can hold photos, ephemera and more.

I know many of us won't be with friends & family over the insane 2020 holidays. Try and find the joy of the season & embrace the simple things. Take time to breathe & get inky. Cheers!

Supplies: 

• AALL & Create Stamps- Edison Game #142
• "                      "          Grungy Alphabet #397 
• "                       "         Chess Art #115
  
• Art By Marlene- Collage Paper 
• Seth Apter Emboss Aegean Sea 
• Prism Ink in Ocean Spray, Smoked Paprika & Roasted Coffee, plus swatch colors. 
  

Coffee Gift Card Holder

Hello, today we are going to make a Coffee Gift Card Holder!! Very excited to be creating a Christmas Present in November. This week the Topflight Stamps Design Team are creating Christmas &/or coffee themed items. The beauty of this project is it can be made for any occasion just by changing the paper & stamping to fit your theme.*Affiliate- some of these companies have given me product to use, play & experiment with. The ideas are my own but I tend to work with companies whose products I like so enjoy the inspiration. or I receive a small percentage from the company at no cost to you. This helps me deliver free content!

Here is my gift card holder. I used Eileen Hull's newest die cut The Post Box as the base for my project. I love that it is interactive! The recipient pulls the tab & out comes their gift card. As I am also using this for the Coffee Lover's Blog Hop so of course my theme is coffee!! 

How About A Coffee Blog Hop?!!

Topflight Stamps is a major sponsor of this Blog Hop so I hope you go check out all the awesome inspiration & tons of prizes that are available!! Here is the link to the Hop!

 Let's Make a Gift Card Box!

Start by covering a piece of mat board on both sides with gift wrap. I like using double sided adhesive for this. It is super easy to use, has great stick-ability & prevents bubbles in your paper. 

Cut Out The Post Box

Simply cut out your Post Box following the directions on the packaging. *Hot Tip: to make your project easier use paper that is non directional. I really like this print & made my life harder by using it. If you are using a directional print place it so the upside down part is on the back piece (not the way I did). Then it is easy to just cut out a piece of paper to adhere & fix it. 

The back of the box turned out great but the front was upside down-ish. I fixed this by simply cutting pieces out to make it work & that way I could be very specific on my pattern. 

 

As you can see above one of the challenges of these scored boxes is they end up with the board showing through where the fold is. This is easy to solve simply run a marker down the score line in whatever color you like or add washi tape. I always add glue to the washi to give it more stick.

 

 

*Hot Tip: Cut a piece of acetate out in the size you need, move it around on your paper until you have the look you want- trace & cut, then adhere! I keep all my acetate pieces together for various die cuts. Easy to find when I need them!

Time To Emboss!

Let's face it embossing adds that awesome punch to your stamping & I just love using it. My coffee cup was embossed with a fine copper powder so the details would show.  

 

 

 Embossing is Always the Right Answer!

While I was at it the quote I used was also embossed using Seth Apter's Baked Velvet in Crimson. Fun fact about this line of embossing, it is translucent so you can get multiple effects from one powder. My quote on top was stamped with Thundercloud which is a grey color & embossed with Crimson which gave it a nice reddish brown color. The bottom one was a clear emboss ink & the Crimson, which gives it a pinky red color. Fun stuff!   

 

Let's Assemble 

I added my cut front piece with the direction-ally happy words on it, then adhered the coffee cup. I added a bit of water color paint to it. Lastly the Air Mail label was stamped & glued where the coffee cuff is on the stamp. 

 

For the flap of the box, a word was cut out from the wrap & the coffee quote was also adhered. I punched a hole & added an eyelet, some twine & little bell charms. You can also add a magnet to create a snap close, if you want to add more treats or glue the lid shut.

 

 

Next add your gift card. Adhere a piece of ribbon- and a tab that will pull the card out of the box. 

 

Here is my gift box in action! Of course a Starbucks gift card is very appropriate for a coffee gift box. I may add some candy in the box as well when it gets closer to gift giving time. Thanks so much for joining me today. Be sure to check out the coffee hop & the Topflight Stamps blog to see what inspiration the team has for you this week. Have a great week!

Supplies:

• Darkroom Door stamp sets- Coffee Time, Merry Mail
• Prism Inks in Ocean Spray & Red Brick
• Seth Apter Embossing Power- Crimson 
• Eileen Hull die cut- Post Box
• Mat Board by Sizzix
• Red Line Tape
  
• Wrapping paper, Twine, Christmas Bells 
•  Easy Cut Adhesive by Therm*o*web

December Daily Organizer with Eileen Hull Diecuts

Happy November!! This month the Eileen Hull Inspiration team are all about the holidays. Inspired by a Facebook Live that Eileen did, & my recent tea caddy, I decided to make an organizer, with a Christmas twist. This project puts together a bunch of Eileen's die cuts to make a December Daily Organizer. I am once again participating in Ali Edwards project to document the holidays.*Affiliate- some of these companies have given me product to use, play & experiment with. The ideas are my own but I tend to work with companies whose products I like so enjoy the inspiration.  **some of these links are affiliate, I receive a small percentage from the company at no cost to you. This helps me deliver free content!

I wanted to make a custom caddy that had room for Project Life type cards, tools, stickers, stamps etc. Just a range of products that would make it easy to keep a separate, holiday specific supply. Here is my organizer! I also have room to add on if I want which could be fun!

Let's Get Building. 

The link to Eileen's FB Live will be below if you would like to join along. Hers is a lot different then mine but gives you a good idea of how to build one. I lined all of the inside of my various boxes with the same pattern of wrapping paper. I really like how that turned out. First it made designing much easier. Second wrap paper is much thinner so it makes the boxes go together very easily. The easy-cut adhesive also made it quick. When putting the wrap down, center the paper on mat board and smooth it onto the adhesive from the top down. This helps prevent wrinkles. 

I started with the Gift Box & covered the inside & outside with the wrapping paper. To assemble Red Liner (super tape) tape was used- it is nice & strong! To make the box you need to cut out 2 pieces & assemble. As I did not want the lid, one of the squares at the end were simply cut off. You can see in the photo how the box is put together. Follow the directions on the individual dies for assembly.

 

 

For this project I made one Gift Box, 2x Card Box, 2x the new Post Box (lid cut off), 2x Stacking Drawer. The paper on the outside is Tim Holtz from the Seasonal pad  12x12. It is a much older line so I am not sure it is available. Determined to use my stash! There are so many Christmas paper lines out their so choose your favorite!

 

 

Once I knew how I wanted the pieces together I simply used the Redline Tape to adhere them together. The beauty of this tape is it instantly adheres & is super strong. Hot Tip* While putting your pieces together, keep the bottom of the boxes on a table or flat surface. This will help you to create a level base. Clips were added for 24 hours just to create maximum a bond.

The fun step was to add Christmas ephemera. Tim has a lot in his line that create potential for HOHOHO. Here is an look at the finished project while empty. 

 

 

Ephemera was adhered adding interest & fun to the paper. Love those vintage labels. Drawer pulls were added using using brads, a jump ring & charms. 

 

Last step, grab my essentials for my organizer! The rest of the ephemera pack was put in one of the drawers. Love to sift through these little treasures. The bottom drawer will have some cards & wood pieces...

 

The Post Boxes in the back have tags in one & 3x4 December Daily/Pocket Cards in the front one. I also added some packaging to alter, prefect to recycle. I may need another row with drawers & boxes!

The Gift Box portion has pens, scissors, & a pokey hole tool but I will add to that as I need. Behind is a Gift Box that holds sticker sheets, ephemera packs & some pre-stamped paper. All ready to just cut out for decoration. Thanks so much for joining me today! Remember to check Eileen's blog weekly to catch what the team is making. Also you may want to join the fan club! Lot's of great inspiration over there. Here is the video where Eileen makes her Post Box Caddy. The project starts at 29min if you want to go straight to it. Enjoy!!

Supplies:

• Eileen Hull die cuts by Sizzix- Gift Box with Scallop 
• "              " = Stacking Drawers 
• "           " Post Box
  
• "           " -Card Box (planner & organizer). 
  
• Super Tape, Double Sided Adhesive by Therm*o*web- 1/4 or 1/2"
  
• Tim Holtz - Tokens, Deer, Christmas Sticker Book, Seasons 12x12 Paper Pad (retired),Christmas Ephemera Packs. Holiday Bundle
•