Distress Paper Mosaic

Today's post is all about fall and showcasing the Distress Paper Mosaic kit from Ranger! What a fun kit with so many different options for creating! I'm going to walk you through the steps I took to create this leaf card and also have a free template for you at the end of this post.  Let's get started....

Step One: trace and cut out the front of your card using the free template at the end of this post

Step Two: Add a layer of Distress Grout (from the kit) using a pallette knife - allow to dry (approx. 10 minutes)

Step Three: Cut some pieces of paper in random shapes

Step Four: Glue your paper pieces to your grouted leaf using Distress glue

Step Five: Apply a layer of glue over top of the entire leaf and allow to dry (approx 10 -15 minutes)

Step Six: Using the Distress Glaze, outline and fill in each mosaic shape - allow to dry (approx 1 hour)

Step Seven: Apply distress ink over the entire surface 

Step Eight: Finish decorating your card

Products used on my card include:

• Distress Paper Mosaic Kit
• Dina Wakley Pallette Knife
• Distress Ink in these colors:
• Vintage Photo
• Gathered Twigs
• Spiced Marmalade
• Fossilized Amber
• Sponge Daubers
• Funky Florals #1 Dies (Sizzix)
• Burlap String
• 3D Lumber Embossing Folder (Tim Holtz) 
• Studio G sentiment

As promised, here's a free template for creating your own leaf card! I'd love to see what you create with this, so stop by the current link party and showoff any creation that includes a product or two from one of the companies carried in the Cropstop store.

Gilding Flakes

Welcome back blog friends! Today I'm sharing another "new to me" product - Gilding Flakes.  I know they aren't a new product, but this is the first time I've ever used them, and what fun I had!!

Here's how I put this shimmery card together:

• I started with a piece of white card stock and laid down strips of wide carpet tape
• Next, I removed the tape backing, dumped a pile of Gemstone Gilding Flakes over top and lightly pressed them into the tape
• Using a small sponge I burnished them into the card stock

To create my card I:

• cut a piece of black card stock slightly larger than my gilding flake piece
• using the Mixed Media #2 thinlits from Tim Holtz I die cut a swirly pattern in the top left corner
• created a banner using a square punch and added a Studio G sentiment in Tuxdeo Black ink from Tsukineko
• created my flower using the Exquisite Poppy dies (Creative Expressions) and my Paper Blossoms Craft Molding Mat
• using sponge daubers I inked the edges of the petals with Fired Brick Distress Oxide
• after that was dry, I added a coat of Versamark Watermark ink and Gold Cosmic Shimmer Brilliant Sparkle Embossing Powder 

 To create shimmery greens I:

• inked my white card stock with Versamark Watermark, added Gold Cosmic Shimmer Brilliant Sparkle Embossing Powder  and heat set
• I used the Holiday Greens dies from Tim Holtz to cut three vines for behind my flower
• in the center I added a tiny white pearl

There's still one week left to enter your creativity in our CURRENT LINK PARTY. Stop by and showoff your work for a chance to win in the random monthly draw.

Pull-Ez Ribbon Purse - Review

Pull-Ez Ribbon Purse - Review

by Gloria Stengel 

When I first saw pictures of the Ribbon Purse I was very doubtful that it would work to solve any of my ribbon storage problems. I have a lot of ribbon, in many sizes and styles. Some of my ribbons were arranged in boxes with a rod through each spool. I also had a lot of "unspooled" ribbon that was crammed into plastic bags. Frankly, my ribbon was a mess. I had sorted my ribbon by color family, but it was still hard to find what I needed, and all those plastic bags were hard to store. 

I received the Ribbon Purse as a gift. My dear friend even had stuffed it with a few ribbons so I could see it "in action." I was still doubtful that it would hold all my ribbon, but let me just say, this purse holds...

WANT TO KNOW HOW MUCH RIBBON THE PULL-EZ HOLDS?  CHECK OUT THE REST OF THE REVIEW AT OUR CROPSTOP'S FORUM.

Liquid Pearls - Review

Product Review
Liquid Pearls™ from Ranger Ink
By Gloria Stengel

Does anyone remember using fabric paints? Scribbles® dimensional paints, I think they were called, and they came in every color under the sun? Well, Liquid Pearls™ from Ranger Ink are a waterproof pearl medium, very similar to fabric paints. The difference I noted is that the fabric paints tend to get “rubbery” and to pull away from paper projects. They also tend to crack over time. You can use Liquid Pearls as an embellishment in much the same way as you would use glitter glue or liquid appliqué and they are designed to work on paper AND fabric.

WANT TO HEAR MORE ABOUT LIQUID PEARLS AND HOW TO USE THEM?  CHECK OUT OUR CROPSTOP'S FORUM!

Scor-pal - Review

Scor-Pal Product Review - By Gloria Stengel

Before we can discuss what I think about this tool, we must first ask, “What is a Scor-Pal tool?” The Scor-Pal is a 12”x12” molded and textured scoring surface containing ruler markings along the top. This tool allows you to align your paper for perfect scoring. The Scor-Pal contains grooves in common intervals for creating cards and other paper craft projects. You are able to place your paper onto the scoring surface and create multiple scores without moving the paper. The score lines result in crisp, accurate folds. The Scor-Pal comes with a scoring tool, which snaps into place at the top of the board (so you can’t lose it). 

Are you thinking about getting one but haven't made your decision yet?  Check out Gloria's reasoning to buying this tool at the CropStop Forum.

oh... I almost forgot you can get your Scor-pal shipped for FREE in the USA!

Challenge #37 = Pocket with a card

the challenge is : make a 'pocket with a tag inside'.

Check out the adorable sample that Marianne gave us:

Tim Holtz' Distress Inks and Stickles - Review

Product Review - Tim Holtz Distress Inks and Distress Stickles
By Gloria Stengel

Tim Holtz Distress Inks have been around for a long time, but have gained popularity again in the past few years. A large portion of the new “buzz” about these inks has to do with Tim’s amazing website and blog where he freely gives advice and posts product workshops, demos, and video tutorials. Couple that with new ink colors and companion products which have been released recently by Ranger (Distress Stickles, Crackle Paints, and Embossing Powders), and you get amazing products that are fun to play with! There are 24 inks, 12 Stickles glues, 28 crackle paints, and 24 embossing powders in the Distress line. 

Let’s talk about the inks. What’s so special about them? ....

WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT THEM?  GO CHECK OUT OUR FORUM FOR THE REST OF THE REVIEW.

GET the entire collection of Distress Stickles for only $24.99 a $42 value!!!!  ONLY at CropStop.com you will find these awesome prices!

Tim Holtz' Mask - Review

Tim Holtz Masks By Gloria Stengel 

I love the look of the Tim Holtz Masks! Tim’s grunge style is right up my alley! First, let’s talk about what masks are. We’ve all seen stencils; you tape down the stencil and apply the ink or paint into the open spaces. You hope and pray that none of your paint leaks BEHIND the stencil and that you don’t smudge anything when you lift the stencil off. Well, masks are the opposite of a stencil. When you attach the mask to your paper, the mask will resist your ink or paint. What you are doing is altering your paper, while the parts of the paper covered by the mask remain unaltered. As a wonderful bonus, Tim’s masks have repositionable adhesive on them so that you don’t need to worry about taping them down or about your ink getting under the mask! There are six large masks and three mini masks in the collection. The large masks retail at only $3.00 and the minis at $1.99, making them a great investment. Since the masks are re-usable, the price is a steal. I had the opportunity to play with all of the larger masks, but my favorite mask is the Timeworks Mask. I love the old clocks and gears. If you are an ATC artist, the mini masks will make a great addition to your collection of supplies.  I found that there are six ways to use the masks on your scrapbook pages, cards, tags, or other art....

WANT TO KNOW THE SIX WAYS GLORIA USES HER MASKS... GO CHECK OUT OUR CROP STOP FORUM!

Banter about Bosskut!

Do you want the look of chipboard using your Bosskut die cuts? Then check out Elisabeth's great idea in the "Banter about Bosskut" of our CropStop's Messageboard.

Fashion a Project with Fabric - Challenge #34

Your challenge for this week (April 17-23) is to make a card (or other piece of art) using fabric.

Here is my sample card:



Please post your project to the April Weekly Challenges Gallery by Thursday, April 23rd in order to be eligible for the Monthly Random Drawing. Every project you enter wins you a ballot in the Monthly Draw.

Have fun playing!

Brought to you by Gloria!

Challenge #21: Take your time submissions

I love clocks so when Marion asked us to use some of our clocks on a project I was really excited! We had some really gorgeous submissions for this challenge:

here are some of them:

  

by Elaine

by Marion

by Elisabeth

Keep submitting your projects to our challenges, and you might be featured in our blog!

Challenge #33: A recipe for success!

This week's challenge is from Mel:

Create a LayOut or Card using the following recipe:
(at least) one piece of cardstock 
(at least) two pieces of patterned paper 
(at least) three different pieces of embellishment 
(at least) two pictures on your page 
(at least) ten different words in your journaling 
(at least) one piece of fiber or ribbon 
and (at least) one reusable item (think stamp, stapler, mask...) 
Mix these up and a great project will appear & YOU will have SUCCESS!!

Remember to post it before next Thursday on our Gallery!

April Sketch Challenge is up!

Every month we give you a sketch challenge to complete. We will do a random draw of the entrants for a CropStop Goodie Bag on the 10th of the following month.
You are welcome to post your entries in this thread but to be eligigable for the CropStop Goodie Bag you must upload them in the Gallery under Sketch Challenge's by May 10th.

Many thanks to Becky at Page Maps for the Sketch.

Good Luck!

It's Touchy-Feely Friday at 365 cards

The challenge is to incorporate 3 different methods of adding texture to a card. Using products like Stickles or Liquid Pearls will be perfect, since those definitely add texture/dimension. People have until midnight on Saturday the 28th to complete the challenge. Everyone who enters the challenge will be entered into a random drawing for a CROP STOP Gift Certificate (woohoooo!!!), which will take place on Sunday.

Wanna play? Follow the link to 365 cards Challenge blog!!!!

March Quickutz Release

Yes, it is FRESH, yes, it is FUNKY and it's from Quickutz!  and it's in the store now!  New 2x2's, new revolution die-cuts, new cookie cutters, new borders, new alphabet!!!!

Art Pieces Challenge Blog

We are sponsoring Art Pieces ATC challenge blog this week. The challenge starts Tuesday 24th and lasts until 31st of March, and the challenge this time is:
Make an ATC using Swirls and glitter (and embossing if you want).


In Norwegian:
Premien denne uken hos Art Pieces ATC utfordringsblogg er sponset av Crop Stop.Utfordringen varer fra 24. til 31. mars, og utfordringen denne gangen er:
Lag en ATC der du bruker Swirls og glitter (og embossing hvis du vil).

http://artpieceschallenges.blogspot.com

Challenge #30: Tim Holtz' inspired Tag

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to make a tag (or other piece of art) in the style of the Talented Tim Holtz. If you don't know Tim's work, please check out his blog. Tim is a master of altered art and the Crop Stop store sells quite a few of Tim's amazing products. If you'd like to learn more about using distress inks and other items, Tim has some great videos on his webiste.

{ creative scrappers }

We are sponsoring {creative scrappers} this time! Their blog is full of challenges, and sketches! Enter as many times during the month and there will be a Winner at the end of the month! You still have a chance to enter!

Borderlicious Sale up to 40% off!!!!!

Quick and easy, our borders from Spellbinders, BossKut Cuttlebug and QuicKutz add that finishing touch to all your creations. Frame that special event with confetti. Let butterflies flit along the edge of your page. We have flowers and flourishes and Easter eggs you don't have to hunt for. Big and bold, creating an eye catching layout just got easier.

Check out CropStop's Borderlicious Sale up to 40% off!!!!

QuicKutz Borders

Cuttlebug Borders

Spellbinder Borders

BossKut Borders

We are going in circles this week!

Our Challenge #29 is all about circles thanks to Mel!

Circles come in various sizes and elements... you can cut your CS or PP into circles, or your photos... then there's buttons, brads, eyelets, flowers... the possibilities are ENDLESS... just like a circle!

Soooo... your challenge this week... if you choose to accept it... is to use at least TWO DIFFERENT ELEMENT CIRCLES in your LO or project!!

Please post your project to the March Weekly Challenges by Thursday, March 19th in order to be eligible for the Monthly Random Drawing on April 3rd.

Don't forget every entry wins you a entry in to the Monthly Draw on April 3rd.