Creative Expressions Masked Ball

I've always fancied going to a masked ball so when these mask stamps from Creative Expressions dropped into my post box I was intrigued! The stamp set is called Masquerade and has five different elegant mask stamps and some accessory stamps including this sentiment stamp.

I stamped my mask onto a Copper 4" x 4" Walnut Hollow Metal Square, cut it out and then shaped it with a large ball embossing tool. The peacock feather was stamped onto watercolour card and coloured.

The little bit of extra bling is an old broken earring that I've re-purposed for my mask. The background is made up of a book page collage with some elegant vellum over the top.

By the way there is a free Christmas card project from Sue Wilson on the Creative Expressions blog.

Ok, so I am ready for the ball - just need the invite now...!

Kim

Simply Royal Noel

Have you got that Friday feeling? I'm not quite there yet, running just a touch behind - Yikes! Hence the late post today - Eeek! 

You are safe today as this is only a short post unlike yesterday's tea and biscuit sized post!

It is a right royal Christmas Tag using Creative Expressions Stylish 1 Christmas.

The swirls are stamped on a layer of patterned vellum.

Hope you have managed to finish your to do list today and are now in Friday mode!

Kim

Sunday Round-Up

Happy Sunday my bloggy friends and neighbours, it has been a fun and busy week here at Studio Crafty Makes and I have a bloggy wave and a magazine article update for you all today.

But before I tell you about them you might want to tune into some new 'Crafting With Kuretake' shows on Create and Craft tomorrow, 2pm, 4pm and 6pm, showcasing some yummy ZIG pens. I'll show you some of my recent samples I made for Kuretake in the week but thought you might just want a heads-up for the shows. In the last 'Crafting With Kuretake' shows Steph did some great demos with the pens, worth watching just for the demos.

You can watch the shows on Freeview 36; Freesat 813; Sky 671 or online at the Create and Craft website.

So the next bit of news and one to look out for is Simply Cards and Papercraft Magazine Issue 86

I've got a social network inspired article in this month to help you get down with the kids - said whilst throwing some gang signs of course. Luckily you can not see me doing that as it always causes much hilarity from boyfriend who despairs at my total lack of street cred!

Luckily I hangout on Facebook and Twitter enough to keep up to date with what is going on in the world LOL!

Hope you enjoy the article!

So it is Sunday, time for some hopping and I have another fabulous blog to share with you this week. Have you seen the lovely blog Bumblebees and Butterflies belonging to Brenda Brown? Brenda has a lovely mix of grunge, inky and mixed media papercraft projects on her blog. Check out her lovely ATC using the Collage Background technique, love the way all the layers come together and fabulous use of vellum!

Have a wonderful Sunday all you wonderful crafty fluff bundles!

Kimx

Gingersnap Creations Random Redhead Challenge - Bags and Tags

Hi guys have you seen the challenge over at Gingersnap Creations that started on Wednesday 15th June - Bags and Tags.

Here is my June Muse make for the challenge and I've used string, packaging paper and my favourite thing of the moment vellum!

I've coloured the papers with distress inks and ZIG Art and Graphic Pens. The screw brad is from Kuretake and the safety pin charm was from Calico Craft, the chain was from my stash.

Have fun with the challenge, you have until the 17th July so loads of time to get something done!

Kim

Gingersnap Creations Tutorial - Colouring Vellum

You guys all know that I'm a bit of a 'fingers in different styles pie' sort of person and like everything from fluffy and cute to industrial grunge and this week the makes have been more on the cute card side. So to shake it up a bit I've got my second tutorial for Gingersnap Creations today. Those of you who follow the Gingersnap Creations blog will have seen this on Sunday 12th June. 

Ok so you know that this month on Gingersnap Creations is all about using packaging in your art right? Well I've kinda cheated a bit for this tutorial. This one is making packaging rather than made from packaging!

What You Will Need: 

Stamps - Paperartsy Hot Picks 01; Paperartsy Clock Plate 5; Creative expressions Vintage Flight
Colouring - Alcohol inks (Terracota; Butterscotch)
Inks - Archival Coffee; Archival Jet Black
Papers - Vellum (or tracing paper)
Tools - Blending tool; felt for blending; Envelope template; Ruler; Craft knife; Heat tool; Scoring tools
Other - Vellum glue tape; Alcohol Inks Blending Solution

Make An Envelope Template

My envelope is a very simple design and I made the template from an A4 piece of paper to make an 18 cm by 13.2 cm (7 1/8 inch by 5 3/16 inch) envelope when folded. 

Make the Vellum Envelope

I used my scoring tool and craft knife to make the envelope from the vellum and stuck the side flaps down with the vellum glue tape.

Colour Vellum

To change the colour of the vellum I used the blending tool and alcohol inks.

For this techniques I added two or three drops of the alcohol ink to the felt on the blending tool then added one drop of the blending solution and then using circular motions worked from the outside inwards.

I started with the lightest colour, the Butterscotch, to colour the whole envelope then added a bit of the darker Terracota colour to the edges and corners.

Then when you have the colour the way you want it try adding a bit of texture by adding drops of the blending solution to the blending tool, without colour, and 'stipple' the blending tool onto the envelope, i.e. dab it onto the envelope and lift directly up without moving it sideways. You can see the effect in the close-up photograph at the bottom of this post.

Get Stamping

I used the Coffee Archival ink with the PaperArtsy C5 and HPXT01 stamps as my background stamping then stamped the sentiment and airplane from the Creative Expressions Vintage Aviation kit with Jet Black Archival ink.

To stamp on vellum  just remember to try not to wobble or slide the stamp when it is on the vellum and I also use a bit of careful heat from the heat tool to help dry off the ink after each stamping.

I just love the effect of the alcohol inks on the vellum almost like the glassine papers that are very popular at the moment don't you think? 

Have fun with this one and as always I would love to see what you do with it so drop by and give me a shout if you use it.

Kimx

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How To Make A Distressed, Vintage Style Card

Hi Guys, hope you enjoyed the new Natural Beauty Stamps illustrated by Carmen Medlin for SCACD blog hop yesterday. If you are interested here is how I made the card from yesterday's post.

Inspiration note: When I first saw this fabulous stamp the idea of making the image look a bit ethereal immediately jumped out at me. The layering of this delicate looking image onto a 'decayed' background grew whilst I was working on the image. The overall effect puts me in mind of Estella from Great Expectations for any of you Dickens lovers out there (more from the 1946 movie perhaps than the book).

Materials:

Stamp - Carmen Medlin SCACD Naturally Styled

Papers - Prima Melody; Kraft Card (make a card blank); Book page; Vellum or Tracing paper

Inks - Archival Jet Black; Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Inks Vintage Page

Colouring - Caran d'Ache

Usual Suspects - Glue; Double-sided tape

Tools - WRMK Sew-Easy;  WRMK Sew Easy Piercing Mat; Brayer; Paint brush; Heat tool; Paper piercer

Other - Make It Crafty Lasercut chipboard Filigree Jewels; Calico Fabric; Thread; Gesso; Scotch tape; nail file; Perfect Pearls; Golden Gel Medium

Making The Image Background

I started by glueing a book page to a Kraft card support and brayered it down for a to get rid of any winkles then set it aside to dry.

I then covered the old book page with some diluted Gesso, dried it with the heat tool (too impatient to wait!) and added another layer of Gesso.

Stamp Out The Image

I then used Archival ink to stamp out the Carmen Medlin SCACD stamp onto the book page and on a piece of vellum, but I didn't have any vellum so I've actually used tracing paper. Allow the ink to dry then line up the two images and tear to the size you want the image to be on the card. Also tear the edges of the Kraft card blank.

TIP - Be very careful not to move the stamp on the vellum / tracing paper otherwise it will smear and smudge.

TIP 2 - When using unmounted rubber stamps use a little bit of glue stick to stick the back of the stamp to the acrylic block, you can use other products such as Tack n' Peel, or sticky sprays instead, but glue sticks like Pritt stick work just as well and wash off easily. I then use a foam mat under the item to be stamped to get a good image. Practice on spare paper first to find out how hard you need to press to get a clear image.

Colouring On Vellum / Tracing Paper

I then used coloured pencils to colour the stamped image on the tracing paper, pressing lightly and building up the colour in layers.

Distress The Designer Paper

Next might not be for everyone, I know many of you might feel it a bit of a crime to distress those lovely designer papers, but sometimes a girl has got to do what a girl has got to do! Don't judge me too harshly!

So a bit of paper distressing. First get those rips in the surface using Scotch tape, torn in thin strips, burnished onto the paper with my nail and pulled up, practice on a spare piece or in a place that won't show to see how hard you have to burnish and pull to get the effect you want.

I topped this off with some sandpaper distressing and then lightly inked with the Distress ink and added a touch of Perfect Pearls in some areas. Also use the Distress ink on the edge of the book page, Kraft Card blank and a small torn strip of spare book page.

Prep The Papers For Sewing

Using the WRMK Sew-Easy tool pierce some sewing holes in the small strip of spare book page. Tear a piece of fabric and layer them on the distressed designer paper and stitch them in place. 

Stick the book page image to the designer paper with double-sided tape. Carefully line up the two stamped images and prick holes to stitch the image down.

Finish With Embellishments

I added a bit of Distress ink to the Make It Crafty lasercut chipboard then brushed with Perfect Pearls and used Golden Gel Medium to stick the embellishments down.

There you go, all distressed and vintage-fied! 

Enjoy.

Kimx

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Dinosaurs On Me Blog Again!

Yep it's me with my dinosaurs again! Got a little commission birthday card using the super cute Oliver from the Oliver and Amelia Happy Days set from the Greeting Farm that Elaine has available at Quixotic Paperie.

It is a very minimalistic card using Kraft card from my stash, luckily Elaine also has some Bazzill Kraft card available at the shop.

I've also used some torn up glassine envelopes and doodled little Dino prints with a ZIG Vellum Writer. Oliver and his Dino friends are all coloured with ZIG Art and Graphic Twin pens.

Before I go you might like to know that Elaine has got some of the gorgeous Make It Crafty background stamps new in at Quixotic Paperie, I thought I would give you a small peek at them:

Have a great weekend.

Kim

Going A Bit Shabby Chic

 I've got a sparkler for you today using the Prima clear stamps and Memory Box Pixie Paper with added sparkle from Viva Decor Glitter Liners from Quixotic Paperie.

Thought I would exercise my shabby chic muscles with this one, 'Jack of all styles, Master of none' Or perhaps it is just my short attention span?

Oh we do love a bit of sparkle don't we?

I've 'nested' the image on one of the fabulous Marianne Designs Creatable doily die cuts which works brilliantly with vellum by the way! For your charm fix have a look at the offers Elaine has at the moment!

That is it from me today.

Have a lovely Sparkly Saturday.

Kimx

p.s before I forget you might be interested to know that you can now get the Bazzill Kraft card from Quixotic Paperie, a much sort after and favourite crafty product :)

It's Cute Card Thursday

Hey Guys, it is Thursday so that means...it is Cute Card Thursday! This week the challenge is:

Gently Does it!

Using vellum/parchment/tissue etc. on your make. This week the sponsors are the fab Meljen's Designs from Whimsy Stamps.

You guys are just so lovely! Thank you so much for the lovely messages you sent about my new La-La Land DT role. I gave you a little sneaky peek of my DT make yesterday with the lovely Santa Marci from La-La Land Crafts, well here is the rest of it.

I've used greaseproof paper (baking paper) for my vellum/parchment/tissue. What do you think? You will be raiding your kitchens soon too! Nothing is safe from the Crafting Monster LOL!

I've added some puff paint and glitter glue to Marci's outfit. She is very sweet, making me feel quite Christmassy!

The paper is from the Echo Park Merry Christmas Collection available over at Quixotic Paperie and if you pop over there today Elaine has a special birthday offer of 10% off storewide (excluding preorder items and already discounted items) until midnight on Sunday! 

But that isn't all! Elaine is also celebrating her birthday with some blog candy on her blog and on the Quixotic Paperie Store blog! Happy Birthday Elaine!

Oh my goodness, lots for you to check out today!

Have fun!

Kimx

Quixotic Paperie Challenge Blog Challenge No. 32

Quixotic Paperie Challenge Day and this week we have some lovely photo inspiration from Simonne:


You can use anything from the piccy, colours, shapes etc. I've gone for a bit of colour and a bit of the shapes from the metal screen and the big cushion to give this odd little card!

I've used Paper Make-Up Stamp Automation in love with Fancy Pants About A Girl paper, both available from Quixotic Paperie.

Looking forward to see where the picture inspiration takes you this week.

Kim

Materials:

Stamp - Paper Make-Up Stamp Automation in love

Paper - Fancy Pants About A Girl

Colouring - PrismaColor Pencils; Sansodor

Usual Supsects - Paper trimmer; silicone glue; double-sided tape; scissors

Other - Crop-a-dile; marker pens; vellum; nail file

Inky Impressions Challenge 26

Hey Guys, Feeling Christmassy yet? I have my last Christmas make for you today and this is my DT make for the the Inky Impressions Challenge which is:

Add Embossing (Dry or Heat) and Glitter or Flocking

I've made a little Christmas hanger with Rachel's Gingerbread Christmas Digi-stamp.


Yep - coloured with Prismacolor pencils and Sansodor, with added glitter and glossy accents.


Then I've die cut the snowflakes from vellum and paper with the Spellbinders Create a Flake one, embossed and then covered with glitter.

Have a fabulous Christmas eve, Christmas eve :)
Kim

Materials:
Stamp - Inky Impressions Rachel's Gingerbread Christmas Digi-stamp
Colouring - PrismaColor Pencils; Sansodor
Usual Suspects - Scissors, silicone glue
Other - Ribbon; Seam ripper; Cuttlebug; Spellbinders Create a flake 1; Glitter glue; Computer; Printer

Simon Says - Let It Snow

More snowflakes today and this one is for the challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Challenges which is about 'Let It Snow'.

For today's card I have paper pieced the elegant Festive Winter Willow from Whiff Of Joy and layered her on a vellum background covered in glitter.


My rather dodgy photography doesn't show that her trim is given dimension with glossy accents and she has glitter on her holly berries.


I sat her on the Christmas present from the Whiff Of Joy Sled and added a little rosette with a Whiff Of Joy snowflake.

Have a snowflake day.
Kim

Materials:
Stamp - Festive Winter Willow, sled and snowflake from Whiff Of Joy
Ink - VersaFine Onyx Black
Colouring - PrismaColor pencils; Sansodor
Paper - K&Co
Usual Suspects - Paper trimmer; scissors; silicone glue; double sided tape
Other - Martha Stewart round the page punch; Ribbon; Stickles; Glitter; Glossy Accent glue; Seam ripper; Cuttlebug; Nestibilities Label Nine