Inspired by Tracy Evans for Topflight Stamps & Eileen Hull Part 1

Hello Inky Friends, this week I am doubling up being "inspired by" Tracy Evans & using Eileen Hull's newest diecut the Pocket Notebook. Happy Mix Media Monday!! I love, love Tracy Evans stamps by AALL & Create & conveniently they are available through Topflight Stamps. I also love Tracy's style & have had the pleasure of seeing a lot of her projects live & in color when we were team mates on Eileen Hull's Inspiration Team. 

I made this book using a few of Tracy's projects as my inspiration, with a few spins of my own. I could literally spend days making these inspired books!!! 

It was hard to choose just a few projects to base mine on. Here are the links to the ones that inspired me directly. This Lucky Tag was one.  I like sewing on my projects & so does Tracy, she also uses a very soft minimal palette on this project which will be a challenge for me!!! 

This Flower Stems card is what inspired the colors I chose. Really love that vellum too! Plus the stamps... love them!  

This Raven Passport Book inspired my use of an embossing folder as the background, I also really love the placement of her ephemera on the front. Although I didn't end up going this route, hummmm maybe inspiration for the inside? Please take the time to go check out this super talented, lovely lady on her Craft Addicts blog. A lot of Tracy's stamps are available on the Topflight Stamps website.

Let's get started!! I began using mat board die cut with the Pocket Notebook die. This book size is fabulous with a spine that can be adjusted to almost any size up to 2" & if you wanted a bigger spine just cut 2 spines & attach them! Step 1 was to add the embossing, but the covers are bigger than the standard Sizzix embossing folder. To solve this problem simply emboss out of paper, tear & attach. I picked a few of my favorites so I was able to add multiple designs to my covers. This was glued down with 3D Gel to help the embossed areas remain strong. Any open areas were simply filled in with crackle paste & set to dry. 

Next up color- I used a combo-ish that Tracy has been using lately. Fresco Finish paint in Mermaid, Amethyst, & Blueberry watered down & applied sparingly then wiping back with a baby wipe.

Next up time for some stamping, with Black Archival ink in random places using Tracy's stamp- #79- Bloom & Grow. I LOVE THIS STAMP!!! The arrows & heart are from another other set called Hearts.

For my focal image a bouquet of hearts seemed a good idea. I stamped in archival ink just in case I wanted to add some ink, then sewed some sketchy lines leaving the threads long & messy. 

I made a few extra to keep in my stash. 

Last few steps were to arrange the hearts,& add some metal.

Here you can see part of the back with all that luscious texture. Join me back here next month where I will continue working on my book by adding the elastic & the start of the insides! Thanks so much for joining me, hope you have the chance to get inky today!

Supplies:

Tracy Evans stamps by AALL & Create- Feathered Bloom & Hearts

PaperArtsy Paint in Mermaid, Amethyst & Blueberry. 

Eileen Hull Pocket Notebook by Sizzix

Eileen Hull Redline tape by Therm*O*Web

Metal by Prima Marketing

Archival Ink by Ranger in Black Soot, Cornflower Blue, Plum

Crackle Paste by Ranger

Angel Mix Media Monday for Topflight Stamps

Hello Blogland, I am here with a quick tutorial making an angel mix media card for Topflight Stamps. I was sent a stamp set from Crafty Individuals & not going to lie it was a challenge to make some mix media fun with it. 

Paper piecing the angel image using gel press pages gives this card a mix media vibe for sure. As the angel with the gel prints was quite busy and had a lot of pattern going on I decided to keep the rest of the page simple- never an easy task for me. 

Let's get started! First step was to pick some background Gel Plate prints. Using a stamp press, stamp on the paper with an archival ink until you get some good images. I like using a press because the gel prints are made with acrylic paint so it is sometimes hard to get a good stamped image. The press alleviates this challenge. Cut out the pieces. Stamp the full angel image on a piece of card stock & assemble the pieces on top. Adhere. I left the face blank so I could color that in using a bit of water color & some markers.

Stamp the background paper with the star banner & heat emboss in black detail powder. I used the press for this as well to get a fully covered image. Check positioning of angel before doing this step.

Color in the stars using metallic paint pens. Adhere 1/8" SuperTape along the edges of the card. Place the foil pretty side up on the tape & simply rub with your finger. The foil easily adheres to the tape. Pull the sheet of foil off to reveal the cool metallic shine! If you miss a spot simply replace the foil and rub. 

Assemble & voila, you can use this as a card, or art journal page. Love that foil border!! Thanks for joining me today, I hope you have the chance to get inky!!! Remember use my code karenbearse to save 12% off you order at Topflight Stamps. 

Supplies:

Christmas Collection-set 1 by That's Crafty. 

Stamp Press by Hunkydory 

Embossing Ink

SuperTape 1/8"

Rainbow Shattered Glass Foil

*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 may help me continue to bring you techniques & more inspiration.

Tag Techniques For Topflight Stamps

Hello Topflight Stamps Fans!!! I am here today with a quick, fun technique & an idea for batch crafting. I had a really good, inky play with these products just creating without a ton of thought. It was really relaxing so I hope you give it a try especially if you are stressed, worried or overwhelmed. I ended up with a feeling of satisfaction at creating multiple pieces in one go. Not sure why it felt like such as accomplishment as my kitchen is still a mess!!

I made these 3 tags & took step out photos in 2 hours. There is a base recipe to making them & then it is a matter of adding ephemera, ribbons & charms. Batching means doing one thing multiple times to make the task quicker. Take a bunch of tags, card or art journal backgrounds & pull a bunch of stamps, inks etc. For example I took 3 tags & did Step 1 with all 3, then Step 2... assembly line crafting works great because you get in a groove & produce more items quicker.

Step 1: Using an archival ink stamp your focal image. I use a Stamping Press to insure a crisp, dark image. Once the ink is dry, cover it in Distress Glaze. This will protect the image acting as a mask so you can easily stamp on top, without getting ink on your protected image.

Step 2: Ink stamp with multiple colors of Prism ink & spritz with water. Stamp over tag randomly to create a water color like background. 

Step 3: Once that is dry add words, ephemera etc. Add ribbon & charms or thread to finish up your tag.

The crow tag below was made using Crafty Individuals Gothic Crow, the spider web from Indigo Blu Autumn Nights set, the quote from Visible Image & Seth Apter emboss in Crimson by Emerald Creek. 

To emboss the quote, stamp with Prism in Fire Coral & then emboss in the Crimson. The dye ink stays wet long enough to get good coverage with the emboss powder & if the some emboss powder gets blown off you still have the ink to show the quote. The background is in colors like Slate Grey & Thundercloud.

My last tag was made using the Indigo Blu stamp set Shine Bright. The quote was stamped in French Navy & embossed with Lime which is a translucent color that gave the quote an epoxy look to it. The background was done in Ocean Spray, Canary Yellow & Blue Lagoon like colors. I also added a few Diamond Sparkles for fun! Thanks for joining me & remember use karenbearse code on your Topflight Stamps order to save 12% off- some restrictions may apply see website for details.

Supplies: 
Stamps Shine Bright & Autumn Nights by Indigo Blu
           - Gothic Crow by Crafty Individuals
           -Live Life Now by Visable Image 
Stamping Press by Hunkydory 
Seth Apter embossing powder by Emerald Creek in Lime & Crimson. 
Ephemera by Tim Holtz.

*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 may help me continue to bring you techniques & more inspiration.