SweetStamps BLOG: August 2012

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Challenge #80 A Favorite Technique

This week at SweetStamps.com our challenge theme is

A Favorite Technique

So I've asked our DT members to share a creation using their favorite technique. Come join in the fun and share your favorite technique with us, we'd love to see your artwork. Remember to use a SweetStamps image on your creation to get an extra chance at winning $20 of rubber stamps from SweetStamps.com. Rules are listed in the sidebar and instructions can be found at the bottom of this post.

Take a look at what our talented design team sweeties have created this week:

Linda Jover

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WIN FREE STAMPS!

Join our weekly challenge

You can use any stamp on your challenge entry, but if you use a SweetStamps image, you will get two entries into the giveaway! To enter the challenge, please add the URL to your actual blog post or online gallery to the InLinkz at the end of this post. Please do not link to your main blog; we want to be able to find your post to leave you comments. Also, please link back to our blog.

Remember, you can only enter the challenge one time, use a SweetStamps image to get an extra entry in the challenge. Please limit the amount of challenges to 10 (including ours). You must link back to us in your blog post.

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Next week our challenge theme is Acetate, so don't forget to stop by to see what our DT sweeties have created for you!

Happy Stamping! Hope your day is super sweet!

:) stacey

Watercolored Winner

The winner of SweetStamps.com's challenge #79 Watercolored is...

Sanketi

Congratulations!

Please contact me for your winning prize of a $20 shopping spree for rubber stamps at SweetStamps.com.

Thank you to everyone who joined in on the challenge, we hope you had fun and will join us again — we have a new challenge every Tuesday!

Monday, August 27, 2012

Steampunk'd

Good morning, Steph here with an amazing Grand Oval Bubble Frame.

Did you know that there are so many ways to use this Grand Oval Bubble Frame? This frame measures approximately 6" x 7" and easily holds a 4" x 6" photo. The kit includes the bubble, 3 chipboard frames and a stand. I love that the chipboard frames come in varying sizes so you can create many different looks with this one kit.

I chose to create a Steampunk'd wall hanging so I did not use the stand in this project. I think this kit is stunning to use as a wall hanging.

I began by covering the largest oval with pattern paper. To achieve a metal-type edging, I carefully added Piccolo Enamel Powder Adhesive along the edge, then covered it with Vintage Copper and heat set it. One of the the smaller layers was coated with Mermaid Tears and then Temple Stone because I wanted the combination of powers to show. The smallest layer was coated with Vintage Copper.

I stamped the Owl once onto brown cardstock and three times onto cream cardstock with Clearsnap Red Barn Chalk Ink. Using the brown cardstock as the base, I cut out and added a cream owl with foam adhesives. Then I carefully cut apart the remaining owls and reassembled the owl, adding foam adhesive between the layers for a 3 dimensional look.

I centered the owl on the base and added the bubble and the largest frame on top. I used office supply clips to hold the pieces in place while they set. Once set, I added the smaller frames on top, again using the office supply clips to hold the pieces together. Once the frames were set, I added some Vintage Gears (coated with Temple Stone) around the edges of the frame.

To finish, I punched two holes in the frame and tied the ribbon in the front. I also added some additional Vintage Gears to the frame.

GlobeCraft Memories Supplies:
Classic Grand Oval Bubble Frame
Piccolo Enamel Powder
Powders:
Copper Kettle
Vintage Copper Mermaid Tears
Temple Stone
Vintage Gears Embellishments
Other Supplies:
Cardstock: Bazzill
Pattern paper: GCD Studios
Ink: Clearsnap Chalk Ink
Ribbon: Martha Stewart

Thanks for stopping by today and don't forget to check and see what the other designers have been creating.

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Book of Spells By Lisa Kettell

Book of Spells

Materials

-1 Little Fancy Oval Bubble Frame's

-Piccolo's: Card Decor Set # 4

-Piccolo's: Card Decor Set #11

-Piccolo's: Key Charm Set

-Powders: Mermaid Tears, 24K Gold, Victorian Bronze

-Glitters: Pure Sparkle Gold

-Glastique Gloss Finishing Glaze

-Glue: Hot Glue, Decoupage Medium, Acid Free Glue Stick

-Mixed Media Inks, Emboss/Pigment Inks, Clearsnap

-Acrylic Paints: Expresso, White, Black, (gothic colors)

-Air Dry Clay

-Discarded Book

-Chipboard

-Scrapbook Papers, Ephemera, Paper Treat Bags: Lisa Kettell Designs

-Collage Images: Fairytale Follies Collage CD, Lisa Kettell Designs

-Ribbon, Trims, Lace, Fabric Scraps

-Tools: Scissors, Glue Gun, Paint Brushes, Heat Gun, Sand Paper

-Other: Mica Flakes, 3D Embellishments, Dresden Trims, Ephemera/Coin Wrappers, Paper Rosettes, Tiny Bottles, Keys and Charms, Oval Candy Frame Mold

1. Re-size and print fairy and gothic style images from collage cd, cut, glue to chipboard with glue stick and cut out again. This will give durability to the image, set aside, repeat with images from the scrapbook paper and ephemera.

2. Open one package of the Little Fancy Oval Bubble Frame's, paint the 2 bottom frames with brown acrylic paint, next using an clear emboss ink pad coat the top thin frame in the Little Fancy Rectangle Bubble Frame pack, sprinkle 24K gold emboss powder on it, shake off excess and heat set.

3. Press air dry clay into an oval candy frame mold, remove, let air dry. Once the clay frame is dry, paint with expresso color paint, let dry, then coat with gold ink pad and sprinkle with 24K Gold, Victorian Bronze powders, heat set with heat tool.

4. Cover a discarded book with plain scrapbook paper using decoupage medium, ad more layers of paper, distress using sand paper, acrylic paint, mixed media paints and ink.

5. Place fancy oval bubble on the mid center of the book cover, trace with a pencil, this will mark your decorating area for the inside of the bubble. Begin Layering your bubble assemblage inside the traced area, using vintage images, ephemera, glitters, powders and other embellishments. Next attach 2 small 1/2 inch wood blocks to the back of the cutout chipboard image of choice using hot glue then attach to the center of book base

( See project pictures )

6. Add extra embellishments and layer parts of your assemblage with glastique finishing gloss glaze for an enamel shiny look. Finish off the images with mixed media inks, glitter and mica flakes.

7. Attach the clear plastic bubble over the top of the assemblage you just created followed by the air dry frame made in the candy mold, glue in place.

8. Begin gluing together pages inside the book to form a ½ inch thickness then cover with sturdy scrapbook paper, repeat until the inside of the book has been covered in scrapbook paper.

9. Start layering your pages with images, piccolos and embellishments, try using some of the left over chipboard bubble frames to surround images inside the book, add party favor bags and trinkets as well.

10. Finally add more inks, powders and glitters to complete the book.

Tips/Tricks

-Use party favor paper bags inside the book to fill with quote, spell or fun print outs, try printing your wording onto parchment paper, then age with mixed media inks.

-Try tearing out all the pages inside the book and just full with scrapbook paper or fabrics.

-Make your book a full bubble assemblage, creating a mini vignette/scene on each page and attaching a bubble frame to each, enclose and enjoy an assemblage on each section inside the book.

I hope this project inspires you to create an altered assemblage book of your own, I bet you'll find a plethora of new ways to incorporate the Globecraft bubbles and frames through the book, I'm already thinking of some new possibilities myself!

Have a magical day,
xoxo
Lisa

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Bringing beauty to the globe

If you haven't heard - I've been published! In a national magazine! It's my first time - can you tell! I wanted to share with you how I created the project that will be in the Sept/Oct issue of Sommerset Studio (on the newsstands Sept. 1).

I subscribe to Design Studio and one day they shared a door wreath made from wrapping birch bark around a straw wreath. I can't explain why, but I suddenly envisioned looking through the Globecraft Memory globe into the forest; like peering out from the inside of a birch tree.

I started by visiting a local field where I took photos of and gathered milk weed pods full of Santa's whiskers. I used one of those photos as the backing for the globe and placed a milk week pod and stem inside the globe as well. It looked very natural - all white and fluffy - in the dimensional globe. To create the look and feel of birch bark I opted to use Grungepaper that I embossed in a script embossing folder. What I like about the Grungepaper is it tears like real birch bark so it really presents itself well. I then gave it a whitewash using Ranger's Snow Cap Adirondack Paint Dabber. The Grungepaper is glued to the Globecraft Memories frame. The brads are attached for show. The edges are torn and curled to represent the real thing.

The nature quotes popped up in a search on Google and were printed and cut out. I inked the edges and attached them to the globe and frame with Glastique, a clear-drying glue. I also added some twigs and branches from the field just to add to that feeling of being out in nature.

The title is set into an Idea-ology Ornate Plate and attached with brads. I really wanted this to be a large visual piece of wall art but wasn't sure how to accomplish that. I had all sorts of visions but nothing would pan out. I finally drove down to the Salvation Army store and I came across an ugly frame for $2. I cut out the center and stapled on some hardware wire and attached the Globecraft frame to the wire.

After white-washing I added more nature quotes to the inside ledges of the large wooden frame. There's a lot going on in this piece and every time you look you'll find another little piece you missed before.

My mind is always contemplating what I'll put in the next Globecraft Memory Frame! Thanks for stopping by!

Visit me at http://linda-neff.com

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Jewelry in a Snap - featuring Piccolo Charms

Want to see how to create your very own jewelry using our Piccolo Charms? This video shows the step by step process -- you won't believe how quickly and easily you can create gorgeous,lightweight jewelry with the look of precious metal using our Piccolo Charms line. Check it out here:

Challenge #79 Watercolored

This week our challenge theme is...

Watercolored

You can watercolor with a variety of coloring media: watercolor pencils, watercolor crayons, paints, reinkers and dye ink pads. A nice thing about watercoloring is that it can be messy or outside of the lines and it still looks beautiful. Come join in the fun and share your creations with us, we'd love to see your artwork. Remember to use a SweetStamps image on your creation to get an extra chance at winning $20 of rubber stamps from SweetStamps.com. Rules are listed in the sidebar and instructions can be found at the bottom of this post.

You're gonna love what our talented design team sweeties have created this week:

Bonnie Brown