Showing posts with label darkroom door. Show all posts
Showing posts with label darkroom door. Show all posts

Monday, November 22, 2021

Let's Make Gift Tags!

Happy Mixed Media Monday, this week the Topflight Stamps Team is all about gifts! Gift tags, card holders, packaging, decor. So many choices! Still working in my December Daily, so I want to make something that will double up. I am also going to share a decor item made for Eileen Hull using her truck die. The items can be bought at Topflight Stamps. Check below to see an easy way to create gift tags as well.*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 the gift tag I made. I had lots of ideas & did a lot of playing around, so making some more will be easy. 

 

!Also Topflight Stamps is having a sale!! This is the perfect time to pick up your wish list! Back to the technique... Do you ever have an idea & then just have to admit it is a craft fail? It is harder embossing in the winter when the air is dry. the products used to adhere the powder tend to dry very quickly which adds some challenges. Especially when it comes to a chunky emboss which I love to use.

This play started out with trying different ways to emboss using chunky embossing powder (White Wonder), then spray Glimmer Mist on top. Chunky emboss & a detailed stamp, doesn't work very well was the result. The emboss creates this great snow like finish however as it is chunky, there wasn't a great way to have the emboss adhere to the image. I tried an embossing pad, embossing ink, gesso, even decoupage glue.


This was my idea. Cover the tag with White Wonder emboss then spritz with Glimmer Mist. I also added some Blue Moon embossing powder. This try was using gesso to adhere the embossing powder. It was spread in a nice layer so I was hoping the slower dry time would allow the emboss to stick. The cool thing is where there was no emboss I still got the snow flake image. You can see it in the lower left corner. See how detailed it is? The gesso acts as a resist however it still didn't create a crisp embossed image. I had to do the math. The chunky parts of the emboss are too thick for the skinny snowflake details. This would be better used as Santa's hat or on a snowman stamp. Good to know!


This tag was made using gesso & Blue Moon emboss. I love how it turned out. The embossing didn't stick everywhere but you still see the white of the snowflake. The embossed portions are sparkly & ice like. Kinda fun! The contrast with the black tag is awesome. 

I did still want to use the Glimmer Mist so Apple Green was spritzed on a piece of card stock & once dry my sentiment was stamped on. Cut it to make this cute banner & a sparkle gold star was added. 

Next a focal image was chosen. I just received this set House of Butterflies & love the house image. Simply stamp your image on card stock, fussy cut & add on. The beauty of this, the image can suit the receiver. Lastly add some ribbon & thread, you could also add a charm if you want. 

Here is the idea for a quick way to make gift tags. Simply cut out the cards from the Stamperia paper pad, Winter Tales. There is a great image on one side & a space to write on the other. Add a ribbon on top and bam, done.

 


While we are at it with the Stamperia Bundle here is a wonderful decor item made using items from Stamperia Winter Tales Bundle. To see how this was made you can go here. That is it for today. I hope you get the chance to create some gift tags of your own. Have a great week. You can check out my blog post over at Topflight Stamps that has photos & links of all their products used. One stop shopping yay!

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Monday, October 11, 2021

Gel Press Notepad for Topflight Stamps

Hello my Inky Friends, today I am going to show you the cover to my Gel Press Notepad for Topflight Stamps. I will do a run through of how to build the inside in a few weeks & some videos so stay tuned for that. Of course the best way to be sure you don't miss out, is subscribe to my blog & YouTube channel, yay.*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!

My project is a Notepad mini journal made with Eileen Hull's newest Sizzix die cut. This can be used as an art journal, photo journal or hybrid scrap book. The Notepad cover measures 4 1/4 x 3 5/8" & can be used horizontally or vertically. As usual my supply list is down below.


One of my favorite arting pastimes is to work with a Gel Plate. It has been far too long since I have played with mine so pulling it out for this weeks post was definitely a good idea! This weeks theme for the team is stencils & Topflight Stamps has a lot of fabulous ones available. Gel Press & stencils go together like PB & Jam. 


Paint is one of the easiest products to play with so some Fresco Finish were grabbed in all sorts of colors. You will want a large variety on hand. This process is wonderfully addicting & once you start you won't want to stop! You will also need a brayer & some wipe off paper to clean in between pulls. I sometimes just grab a stack of the kids old homework or an empty journal for this. 


Paper of all varieties can be used. For example here is a sample of finished prints that I made while playing. Kraft, black & white card stock, copy paper, deli paper are just some of the papers you can use. Also use up that scrap book paper you don't like anymore- perfect!

 

I also pulled out some canvas because I knew I wanted that for my spine. If you have sticky back canvas or tape that works really well. The adhesive is nice and strong which makes it ready to use. 

 

My covers were cut out of mat board & then papers cut from my Gel Plate play. 

Love this! Such a unique background. This was with a PaperArtsy Stencil & layers of paint. 

Use the Gel Plate & stencil to quickly & easily add crisp paint images to the cover. 

For the spine I went with canvas tape sprayed with Mica Stain. This gives my tape a nice shimmer. You can see here how the stencil image is transferred to the tape. Looks awesome! Some of the circles were doodled using Posca Pens or paint pens.

Next step for the cover was to add some imagery. Mail Art stamp set is on the front, just pieces of the stamps were used. Once that was dry, a stencil with some Metallix Gel was scraped through. This adds a copper shine & some dimension. The stencil is the PSO90 by Sara Naumann using the diamond shape. Set aside to cure.  


On the back some of the images from the Foliage set were added.

To adhere the canvas piece, the easiest way I know, (which was taught to me my Dina Wakley) is to put the canvas piece adhesive side up on your craft mat. Center your spine in the middle lining up top & bottom and press down. Then simply bring your book down to the left side onto the table which will nicely adhere that side. Then to the right. Wohoo looking good!

Then it was just time to finish the cover. The wonderful Butterfly Post set was used for this. Stamped with archival ink & distressed with Vintage Photo. The squares were adhered in varying foam so they are at different levels. For example the 1st square was simply adhered with Supertape. The 2nd with Foam Adhesive & the 3rd with Foam Squares. Love this look!!! Lastly a Clipper Sticker was adhered on mat board, distressed & adhered. Hummm reminds me of the opening of Star Wars for some reason. Alright that is it for this week! I hope you have a really great creative week.

*for photos of Topflight Stamp products go here. 

Supplies:

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Monday, March 29, 2021

Travel Journal with Darkroom Door

 Hello Blog Land, remember today is the last day to join in & comment on our 4th Birthday Blog Hop, there are prizes to be won!! 

I am working on a new travel journal using a lot of Darkroom Door Stamps & stencils. This week the Topflight Stamps Design Team is all about this awesome stamp company. Darkroom Door is an Australian company & I am very blessed to call the owner/designer Rachel Greig, friend. I hope you check the TF blog this week to see what the rest of the team is up to.*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 hoping that sometime in the near future we will be able to travel again. I thought prepping a travel book & making some ephemera, would be a way to pretend. Yet another week where I just got lost in playing with the products & adding to the pages in my book. 

Rachel does a lot of travel journal work also & has a number of travel journal videos on her YouTube channel. This one is a flip through of some of her books. It is a great way to get inspired.

 I started with a traveler's notebook, some different types of paper & a gaggle of stamps. 


We had the 1st warm day of spring so it was time for a little wine on the deck with some stamping. One of my new favorite things to do is to stamp with multiple colors. Using Prism Inks to ink individual stamps with 2 or 3 colors is just plain fun & creates a colorful palette of colors. 

Simply chose colors that play nicely together. For some only 2 colors were used but overlapped to create a 3rd. For example French Navy & Peacock Green make a very pretty purple. 

Do you keep all your scrappy bits? Here is one of my organizing solutions for them. I have a decorative box that I got at Michael's to put light colored pieces in. 


They are easily at the ready when I need a scrap to stamp a quote on. When the box gets too full, just have a stamping session for ready to grab words.


Here is the inside cover of my book. The left side has stencil work with some washi tape & a spot to put a map of the route my future journey will take. The right some washi tape, a quote & stamping. I like stamping in my books leaving them open to color while I am on my trips.

 

Page 2 & 3, a combination of stickers, washi & stamping. Every trip starts out with coffee! My current favorite is Cafe Verona so adding the label seems like a good idea. Do you add ephemera to your pages? I find it adds interesting images plus reminders of my travels.

 

Pages 4 & 5 is about the bees. I love the Buzzing Bees set & find ways to use it when I can! The die cut colored images are Art By Marlene. She has wonderful images in her Paper Elements packs. When prepping pages I don't worry about the theme, it is mainly a place to write & add a few photos and ephemera. The more prepped the pages are the more I tend to work on them. Journal time is a bit limited when traveling, as participating in the vacation is the most important thing.


Pages 6 & 7- Love these filmstrip stamps. This page is more vacation like, the images were stamped on scrapbook paper to give interest behind the stamp. The circles are a DRD stencil. Of course more washi was needed. I do have quite a collection. The hand is from the Lots of Labels set. Thanks so much for joining me & I hope this inspires you to work in a journal.

 Supplies: 

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Thursday, March 25, 2021

Topflight Stamps 4th Birthday Blog Hop!

It's Topflight Stamps 4th birthday and to celebrate, I’ve teamed up with some great designers to showcase birthday cards using the unique products available at Topflight Stamps. Please hop along with us and see all the beautiful talent from this group of amazing designers! You should have arrived here from Cornelia Wenokor's blog. If not, no worries, catch the details below. I also have a video so you can follow along with me. You can see it below or link to it here. 
 
 
I am not a card maker but I managed this mixed media explosion of color & I kinda love it! Yes basically an art journal page for a card but it counts! I also had so much fun making this & may have gotten carried away. I kinda like when that happens. 
 

Here is the logo for our birthday hop. I hope you play along cause you can win prizes! Don't forget the awesome sale too! 
 

 video link
I did make a wee video for you to play along with me. I hope you pull out some of your supplies too. This card can easily be changed up to be a tag, an art journal page or a piece to put in your junk journal. 
 

So fun to use multiple products on this card. Don't you love playing with all the things? 
 
 
I do go over all the techniques in my video but here is a quick rundown for you. The magic of Art By Marlene's collage paper is the base to this kraft card stock card. I used a large craft scraper called stencil pal to apply the glue. It's a new way for me but I kinda like it. All the supplies & links to product are below. 
 

Stamp your focal image in archival ink. This cute cupcake stamp is PaperArtsy by Jofy. Perfect for any celebration. Using the new Lavinia Ink pads or a die based ink put some on your palette with a small spritz of water. Take a water brush & simply water color the image. Mixing these ink colors also gives you a larger palette as you can see in my video. For the frosting only the lines were colored.
 

Once the image was completely dry adding some chunky emboss for the frosting seemed logical. Crystal Glaze emboss by Andy Skinner has all sorts of mixed chunky goodness. Different blues, greens & copper it is very dynamic. Use a paint brush & embossing ink put on your palette. Try & avoid the lines of the frosting image but you can always use a paint marker to add them back in as I did. 
 

Both my focal image & the card Using washi tape is always the right answer. When adhering my paper crooked the bottom of the paper was torn so adding a strip of washi was a quick fix! 
 
 
Next up let's add some stamping. After the image was adhered down with double sided tape, multiple stamp "celebrate" quotes were made to give me some options. Darkroom Door Labels & Christmas sentiment stamp were perfect. My quote was easy to find using Art By Marlene's sticky quotes. Now we are getting somewhere.
 

Time to add some background stamping! Sometimes I do this at the beginning of making my background but today it was done after the card was almost complete. To keep the images from being to dark they were stamped once on card stock & then stamped on my background using lighter pressure. Bonus is left over collage fodder. A few different stamps by Seth Apter worked well. 


That is it! My card is complete & ready to be sent. I actually think I will put it in my Photo Journal with pictures on the inside of the card, from this years family birthdays. Thanks so much for joining me today. Read below for the prize info, the supply list & the link list. I hope you get a chance to get inky! 

Supply List
Of course, it wouldn’t be a birthday celebration without prizes! Topflight Stamps is giving one lucky winner a $100 Gift Certificate to the store. But wait, there is more, each stop on the hop has an additional $25 Gift Certificate up for grabs for some lucky commenter. For a chance to win, make sure to visit every stop on the hop and leave a comment by March 29th. Winners will be announced on the Topflight Stamps blog on March 31st. Good Luck!
 
***this contest is closed my winner of $25 is #15- Deb Bacon
 
Follow along here and if you get lost you can always go to the Topflight Stamp Blog. 
 
Topflight Stamps
Lisa Hoel
Jennie Atkinson
Cornelia Wenokor
Karen Bearse *you are here
Dina Kowal
Kathi Rerek
Connie Mercer
Ericka Strange
Jenny Marples
Autumn Clark
Rachel Greig
Gwen Lafleur
Annette Allen

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Monday, February 1, 2021

Art Journal Page to Chase the Blues Away

Hello Inky Painty Fans! For this Mixed Media Monday I have an art journal page for you. It has been a long time since I finished a larger page & it felt good to get back to it! This week is anything goes at Topflight Stamps so let's play with a few fun products. *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 got a new art journal from Art By Marlene & one of the cool things is it is a 3 ring binder. The paper is a nice 300 gsm multi purpose paper which measures 6 3/4" x almost 9".  


The outside is vinyl & there is also a zip pocket on the inside to hold your ephemera, cut out stamp images or paper elements pad. I love the vibrant colors of these paper element pieces.

Design Time.  

I started by choosing which paper element pieces I wanted and placing them on my page. Taking a photo at this stage is always a good idea to remind you of placement.


Let's Paint!

Next up was dry brushing Fresco Finish paint directly on the paper. I used a palette of blues, yellow & green. This will help the hot colors of the diecut pieces to pop. 
 

Using up the excess paint on a 2nd art journal page means that I have a background already started for next time. 



Adding Some Stencil Work

Using some fun Darkroom Door Stencils and a dabber to add some background interest, was up next.  I kept the color's similar to the background but I did want the stencil work to show a bit. Again used up the extra paint by adding some stencil work, this time in my daily journal.
 
 

Doodle Time! 

I really love the circles from the Polka Dot stencil so doodling helped bring out the design a bit more. One of the bonuses of Fresco Finish paint is you can use a pen right way without damaging the pen. Most acrylic paint would need 4-6 hours to dry before you could draw on it.



Rebuild the Elements

Now it was time to add my elements back in & adhere them to the page. Love where this is going so far! The great thing is, these elements are already cut you just have to pop them out of the paper pad. The tea package was made into a pocket by taping the bottom & sides only. I love using everyday ephemera in my work to remind me of things like the tea I was drinking at the time. 


Add a Title

Now it was time to add a title using my favorite new alphabet stamp set. The words were stamped on white card stock & cut out. The letters have lots of little details that would get lost by fussy cutting. There is a trick so you won't lose these. This is a great technique to use for example when you don't want to cut out bee antenna, or a birds legs. 


Simply stamp the images directly on the background of your art journal page. Now the little details are there. Just adhere the cut out pieces on top. For the letters hot tip the top of the letters have depth & the bottom are just a line. This helps for letters like i or o so you don't stamp them upside down. 
 

The result is very subtle in this case but adds depth & the little details without a white edge showing.
 

Lastly I used the same color palette to make up my tag. More of the paper elements were used as well as a few quotes from Marlene's Sticky Quote pad. 
 
  
The tag was coated in decoupage glue so the elements will not pull off when it is removed from the pocket. Don't you love that cute little fish?
 

 The bonus is every Yogi Tea tag has a quote on it. I choose "happiness is an accomplishment" which is a very perfect quote for times like these. That little tag peaking out of the tea pocket makes me so stinkin happy!! Thanks for joining me today, I hope I inspired you to get some paint on! You can see pictures of the products in my Topflight Stamps blogpost.

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