A 'bright' tag while eating crow....

Ok...this is for my coworker and friend Laura..  I HATE glue sticks....hate them, loathe them, despise them....As a scrapbooker, my past experience with using a glue stick was an epic failure!  The first scrapbook I ever made was put together using a glue stick....And, I have had to fix it a few times using GOOD adhesive since it was completed...  Glue sticks are horrible and I give Laura crap about loving them so much!  (She's addicted to them....LOL)  So I passionately hate glue sticks....Well, until the day  my boss stumbled upon a inky technique using the Collage Glue Sticks from Ranger.

This technique was featured in an e-mail newsletter that my boss received this week and is from, what is now, one of my new favorite blogs:  The Little Shabby Shed

This technique is so cool!  So cool, that I bought two Collage Glue Sticks....(Did you hear that thud?  That was Laura falling out of her chair...LOL)

Love this technique!  It kind of gives the effect of bleaching, but is much easier!!  I also finally got to use those pesky light bulbs that I've had for what it seems like years!  Love the bulbs, guess I just needed the right project for those light bulbs.  I got an industrial vibe once the tag started taking shape!

I also stamped and dyed the crinkle ribbon in this tag.  I learned my lesson from the last time I dyed the ribbon not to spray so much.  My hand is actually its normal color today!!  LOL  Off to go work on another tag.  Feeling like playing with some green ink and listening to some loud music!

Laters...

Another mixed media board....

Hi again!  It's been really cold this weekend, so I have been able to stay in and craft!  I'm getting my fingers really inky!!!

This is another mixed media board done on 1/4" plywood.  I stained the plywood using Tea Dye Distress stain.  Then, using Mod Podge, I added a torn piece of Melange Tissue Wrap, leaving a few wrinkles to give the background a little more texture.  I'm becoming really fond of the tissue wrap because you are able to see color through the tissue.  Then, using a stencil, I embossed the bricks in the upper right side of the board.  Using a different stencil and Distress Ink, I stenciled a strip on the bottom right.  While the ink was drying, which isn't very long, I spritzed a doily with Meadow Color Wash and heat set it.  After the doily was dry, I adhered it to the board.

In the upper right corner, I used adhesive pearl strips in three lengths.  (These are the Kaisercraft champagne pearl strips.  You get like 200+ pearls in a pack.  Such a great deal!!)  The butterflies are Studio Calico wood veneer pieces.  They were stained using Metallic Brass and Fired Brick Distress Stain.  Then, more pearls were used to create the body of the butterflies.  A 7Gypsies ephemera card was distressed with an Edge Distresser and inked with Walnut Stain.

This wouldn't be one of my projects if it didn't have a little twine on it somewhere!!  So the ornate plate from Tim Holtz Idea-ology was tied to the board using the twine.  The stamped sentiment, stamped in Olive Archival Ink and inked with Antique Linen, is from Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous stamp set CMS100: Odds and Ends....

Happy Mail and and the resulting tag...

Hi all!  It's FREEZING here in Ohio....brrr... It was 6 degrees this morning.....And we're supposed to get 3-5 inches of snow this weekend.   At least I don't have to go anywhere...

I came home from work today to a happy package full of some new Distress Stain colors and masks. I was really looking forward to receiving the mask from Studio Calico.

I've been wanting this chevron mask ever since I saw it when it was released.  And then, one of my crafty buddies used it in an art journal and I was hooked!!

I used Peacock Feather Distress Stain to do the background of the tag, softening the color with some water.  Then, I took the Chevron Mask and inked over it with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

The doily was colored with Picked Raspberry stain and dried with a heat gun.


I really love the color of the Picked Raspberry with the Peacock Feather!!!

Twine was then wrapped around the tag a few times and was threaded through the center of the doily, tying a bow after threaded.  A trinket pin was then glued on top of the bow.  (I realized after placing the pin that the bow/pin combination resembled a butterfly or dragonfly.  After inking an adage ticket and attaching it with pop dots and adding my favorite twine at the top, the tag is finished!!

Happy Crafting!!

--LouLou

A wooden tag this time....

At my work, Cupboard Distributing, we specialize in wood pieces for crafting and painting.  Since I don't paint, I've always been trying to incorporate my paper crafting with the wood.  And when the Distress Stains came along, I had my answer.

This tag is fairly simple, but it demonstrates how easy and handy Distress Stains are.  This tag was coated with Dusty Concord stain.

It literally only took about a minute to cover this tag with the stain.  And after I had coated the tag, I wiped off the excess with a paper towel and dried it with my Heat It tool.  (Drying is necessary, especially if you have intentions of working with embossing powders.  If you do not dry after distress ink of any type before you use embossing powder, your powder may stick to any 'wet' surface.  So to prevent unwanted embossing, take a few minutes to dry the project.)

I heat embossed a stenciled image on top of the stained tag.  Adding some finishing touches of adhesive pearls, ribbon, and a philosophy tag for good measure.

The ribbon is the Idea-ology Crinkle Ribbon.  I colored the ribbon with purple ink spray and crumpled it before I dried it with the Heat It tool.  Make sure you use gloves when crumpling the freshly inked ribbon.  (I should have listened to my friend Sherrie as I have a purple left hand at the moment!  LOL)

The sentiment is another from one of my favorite Tim Holtz sets: CMS 132 Words for Thought.  It was stamped on some scrap manilla tag I had and inked with some Stormy Sky Distress Ink.

Thanks for stopping by!  Hopefully will have some more new projects this weekend!!  I have BIG plans for a piece of plywood!

See you soon!!


(PS  The wood tags are available for purchase from Cupboard Distributing at the following link: Wooden Tags)

Back to inky fingers....

Apparently, I have been on a hiatus from crafting.  Between family things with a sick relative, work, and illnesses, my life has been crazy.  And, not to mention, planning a European vacation with my bestie and my sister-law, also monopolizes a lot of my time...

So now we're back to inky fingers....and the returning of my crafting mojo....and I've decided to dabble in some more mixed media.....

This is done on a 1/4" piece of plywood and could possibly be a class I teach later on this year.  I really enjoyed just 'playing' with the ink, stain, markers, and embossing powder..

Tomorrow, I will be getting really inky at the crop at work.  Got to get some more samples done!!

Until later....

A sign....

My creative mojo has been really flowing lately....Not sure if it is my sudden lack of ability to sleep or what, but I guess it's not such a bad thing.  I've got all my classes done from now through June....LOL

Been messing around with Distress Stains a lot lately...Really love how they work on wood....It's nice to be able to get a great background color on the wood without having to break out the acrylic paints....And the best thing: it takes one coat....no sanding or sealing of the wood necessary!

Here is my latest result of dabbling with Distress Stains:

This wooden sign was based with Walnut Stain Distress Stain.  I used the Fanciful Flight die to make the butterfly.  The butterfly's top layer was made with grungepaper and the bottom layer was cut from a manilla tag.  The bottom layer was inked with Distress Inks in various colors and assembled with the top layer.  Then I filled in all of the 'wing spaces' with Rock Candy Distress Stickles.   This gives the wings an almost transparent effect. Pretty cool huh?
 


 
I really love the new Word Bands from Tim Holtz Idea-ology line.  This Word Band was rubbed with Pearl Paint Dabbers to make the letters stand out.   The Word Band was adhered to the sign using Matte Medium and hemp twine.  This twine has been my go-to embellishment lately.  I love it because it matches just about anything.  I love this twine so much that I decided to order it in black last week...  LOL


Thanks for stopping by....

Another day, another tag....

I'm having a lot of fun making these wooden tags....This one is based with Fired Brick and Wild Honey Distress Stains and allowed to dry.  Then, using the Wallpaper stamp from Tim Holtz CMS126, I embossed the background with gold WOW! embossing powder.

Next, using tissue tape and a cardstock circular base, I created a rosette.  Then, I used some Adornments from the Ideaology charm pack.  To make them match my background, I colored them with gold alcohol ink.  I adhered the wings and crown to the rosette using a strong adhesive such as Studio Matte Medium or Glossy Accents.  A Fractured Doll was adhered on top of the wings and crown.  Once the embellishments were set, I inserted a memo pin and distressed Adage ticket (inked with Peeled Paint) behind the rosette and adhered the entire circle to the tag.  I finished off the tag with some green lace and a crystal bauble.

Want to learn more about Distress Stains?  Look for a class or two being offered at my LSS in the next couple of months!  In the meantime, happy scrappin'!!  :)

Just messing around....

Finally getting to where I can focus in the scrap cave so I did so messing around with some wood tags, powders, and stains....

The first tag is based with Weathered Wood and Bundled Sage Distress Stain and allowed to dry.  Then, using the Wood stamp from stamp set CMS126, I embossed the image onto the tag using brown embossing powder.

Taking pieces of the foliage, I embossed them with various embossing powders (white, purple, green, and orange) and allowed them to cool.  The green powder was Metalline Green from WOW! and is one of my new favorite embossing powders.  Using an ornate plate and an adage tag, I assembled the title and adhered it to the tag using Matte Medium.  Then, I adhered the foliage to the tag with the Matte Medium.

This tag was finished off using May Arts twine, which is one of my new favorite, go-to embellishments.   I love this stuff and it comes on a 400yd roll!!  :)



Off to the Scrap Cave for another go round....  :)