Reuse & Upcycle

 Happy Wednesday!  Time for another great challenge at The Funkie Junkie Boutique! Lisa is hosting and she is challenging us to Reuse & Upcycle.  Here is how she describes the challenge:

"Ready for some spring cleaning? Try using something that would end up in the trash as part of your creative project! Upcycle thrift store finds, use your junk mail or product packaging in creative and 'arty' ways. Let's see what you can do with "trash"."

I started pulling out my leftover pieces of cardboard, cardstock and old lacy bits.

 I cut my tags from multiple pieces of cardboard leftover from shipping packaging.  I cut my mandala die from leftover tissue paper wrapped around something I purchased.  The lace trim is from old lace bits found at a flea market.  The heart used strips of plastic from the gold pearls that were embossed as part of the embossing on the pearls.

I love playing with recycled bits and have plenty in my craft room waiting their turn to be incorporated in the next project.

After the tags were cut they were painted with white gesso.  Then I applied embossing paste using  different sized stencils.  After that dried I spritzed the surfaces with distress inks.  I let that dry and then sponged brown dye ink around the edges.  

 

I layered lots of pretty embellishments.  The mandala die cut was painted with foundry wax and heated up to a shimmery gold.  

Come join the fun!  The overall winner will be offered the chance to be a Guest Designer at a future date at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog, and everyone who enters and follows the rules will go into the drawing for the chance to win a $25.00 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique. There are also Top 3 Badges for three additional outstanding entries, chosen by the Design Team

Thanks for stopping by!

 Suzz

Products:  

• Ranger Distress Ink Spray - Salt Water Taffy
• Ranger Distress Ink - Vintage Photo
• Ranger Distress Oxide Ink - Saltwater Taffy 
  
• Ranger Tim Holtz Crackle Texture Paste 
• Sizzix thinlits die - Eileen Hull Heart Mandala
• Sizzix Butterfly
• Sizzix Tim Holtz Chapter 1 Stacked Hearts
  
• Idea-Ology Tim Holtz 
• Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencil Typo
• Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Stencil - Industrial
• Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencil Bouquet
• Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Mini Layering Stencil 47
  
• Idea-Ology Tim Holtz Ephemera Number Strips
• Idea-Ology Tim Holtz Snapshots  
• Idea-Ology Tim Holtz Remnant Rub-Ons Eccentric
  

Yuletide Delights

 Happy Wednesday!  The new challenge is available for The Funkie Junkie Boutique.  The challenge is called Yuletide Delights and  hosted by Janna! Here is how she describes the challenge: 

"Let's get festive and create some Vintage Yuletide magic. Perhaps use some holiday distress colors or go full glitz with sparkles and falling snow. It is getting cold and we are thinking of sugarplums, candy canes, and holiday cheer. Create holiday cards, décor, or ornaments to show your Yuletide Delights. Have fun with your make and create some holiday magic! Happy crafting!"

I was inspired by some vintage mittens online and thought it would be fun to create a set of mittens.  My mittens will make a great decoration on a package.

 I drew free hand the mitten shapes.  I traced it out and replicated it.  I then used the stencil and alternated the colors on the stencil to add the knitted pattern. 

I added cuffs which were also stenciled with alternating colors.  I then decided to accent with some die cuts along with a few stamped items including the snowman. 

Come join us and show your yuletide delight!  The overall winner will be offered the chance to be a Guest Designer at a future date at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog, and everyone who enters and follows the rules will go into the drawing for the chance to win a $25.00 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique. There are also Top 3 Badges for three additional outstanding entries, chosen by the Design Team.

Thanks for stopping by!

 Suzz

Products: (From the Funkie Junkie Boutique) 

• Stampers Anonymous - Layering Stencil - Shifter Mint
• Stampers Anonymous - Cozy Christmas
  
• Stampers Anonymous - Mini Layering Stencil Set #18
  
• Ranger Distress Oxide - Broken China,  Antique Linen
• Ranger Distress Ink - Festive Berries, Crushed Olive
  
• Idea-Ology - Snowflakes 
•  Sizzix Chapter 3 Tim Holtz - Festive Bouquet
• Sizzix Festive Stems 
• Idea-ology Adornments Snowflakes 
  

Saturday Showcase - Flowers

 Happy Saturday!  The whole design team at the Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge blog is sharing a special Saturday Showcase!  Everyone is creating a tag with flowers to share with you.  Hop over here to see all the wonderful inspiration.

The challenge was to be inspired by flowers and create a tag.  I love these flower stamps by Dina Wakely as they are outline stamps and you can use different prints, stamps, or coloring to fill the inside of the flowers.

 I knew I wanted to use up some of my index cards from the Positively Pensive challenge. I had created probably 30 index card backgrounds.  :)  I don't usually put all my scraps up on the blog unless they end up in a project or have some type of technique. 

I had spent some time mixing paints (new dylusion paints and distress ink paints) on my craft mat  and then picking up the paint colors on index cards.   I swirled together the colors and then used an acrylic block to ink it up and put it on the cards or I placed the cards directly into the paint on my craft mat.

For this index card, I painted the background with a bright pink.  I let it dry completely and then painted over with a stencil partially using a light orange color.  After that dried I outlined the painted area with a ball point pen on some of it to give it extra texture.

I used all my different painted backgrounds to create my flowers and leaves. I stamped the flowers and petals on different sections of the painted cards and cut them out to layer them. 

Here are the remnants of the petals and leaves stamping and cutting. I was using up almost every piece of about 4 index cards of paint. 

After that it was a matter of just putting the petals on a base flower. I used glue dots to attach the base of each petal to layer them and create a 3D flower.  I then used another inky background as the base for my flowers.  I stamped the flowers onto the background to give me a placement and then built out the flowers.

I finished the tag with the lovely sentiment that comes with the stamp set and stamped it on the same background as the tag and cut it out and layered it in.

Thanks for stopping by to see the flowers!

Suzz

Products:
Dina Wakley - Always Flowers Stamps
Ranger Archival Ink - Jet Black
Dylusions Paints - Bubble Gum Pink, Vanilla Custard,  Balmy Night, Lemon Zest
Ranger Ink Paints - Carved Pumpkin, Wild Honey
Stampers Anonymous Layering Stencil - Bouquet
Ranger Distress Stain Spray - Antique Linen, Milled Lavender
Dina Wakley White Gesso

Merry Mail

Hi!  Who doesn't love getting mail from someone?  We all get excited when we get real mail in the mail box not just junk, bills or advertisements.    The new Darkroom Door stamp set Merry Mail has a beautiful mix of Christmas and mail images. 

This had me inspired to create a variety of projects inspired by Christmas tags, Envelopes and a Postcard template.

My first tag started with a leftover star from playing with the new Small Stencil.  I had brushed onto white cardstock this star using gold paint.  I cut that out into a shape of a tag.  (I actually mounted the tag onto a tag card base made from red cardstock.

I stamped the post mark onto white cardstock and cut it out to place in the center of the start.  I stamped the No.25 in red ink on the tag.  I added a stamped joy and a few more stars sponged on in gold paint.

A quick and easy tag/card to attach to a gift.  That had me thinking of other tags that I could whip up with a few different stamps. 

On this tag I went with a soft silver ink for Santa and a few other background stamps.  I then added a pop of red with the sentiment and the No. 25.  Framed it out with a red background and added some fun red and white striped twine.  Another sweet tag to put on one of the gifts under the tree!

Next up another tag but this time I wanted to switch to non-traditional colors and decided to go pink and green.  I stamped the sleigh first onto the tag.  I stamped the sleigh onto a second piece of scrap paper. I cut it out to use as a mask.  I placed the mask over the sleigh and stamped the tree in green.  It left a little outline But I liked how it made the sleigh pop! 

Next I cut a slit into the top of the sleigh.  I stamped santa onto another piece of cardstock.  I cut him out. I actually cut the top half of santa from his legs.  I did this so I could put pop dots under the top half and have santas belly hanging over his legs.  I stuck his legs into the slit on the sleigh. 

This would be really cute with one of those pop ups that move.  :)   I then sponged a background tag and mounted the stamped image onto the sponged background and added a coordinating bow.

After my tags I decided to make some envelope art.  I took some plain white envelopes and stamped and stenciled them. 

First I stamped santa in the corner with red ink.  I then stamped the sentiment along the left side of the envelope.  I finished by tracing the star stencil around santa.  

 Next I stamped Santa again in a corner of a white envelope.  I stamped a second Santa and cut him out to use as a mask.  He turned very yellow very quickly. :)  I placed the mask over Santa first.  I then placed the star stencil over the masked Santa.  I sponged all around Santa and into the star yellow dye ink.

I then took the small stars stencil and sponged a mix of stars all over the front of the envelope.  I stamped the Merry Mail and Deliver to using archival ink and drew a few lines for the address.

I like this so much I made a second envelope only using black ink for Santa.

My final project was to make a postcard.  I set up the mailing side of the post card: 

 Just stamped Santa in silver added a happy Merry Mail in red ink. I stamped the Carte Postale along the top and drew a dividing line. 

I stamped the front of the postcard just like the envelope but used silver for the stars. 

I also created two more tags from a background I created with a mix of silver and gold ink.

 I started by creating the front of what I thought was going to be a postcard.  But when I added the deer and the sentiment I was inspired to cut them down and use them as tags. 

 I mounted the tags on a background created by sponging versamark around the edges and heat embossing with the gold embossing powder.

Well I hope this has you thinking of fun mail or tags you can create for the holidays!

Suzz

Products: (Linked to Darkroom Door)
Darkroom Door Merry Mail 
Darkroom Door Brushed Christmas Vol 1
Darkroom Door Christmas Reindeer
Darkroom Door Festive Ornaments
Darkroom Door Small Stencil Star
Darkroom Door Small Stencil Starry Night
Tsukeniko Delicata Silver & Gold Inks
Ranger Embossing Powder Gold
Ranger Embossing Powder Gold Tinsel
Versamark Watermark Ink
Ranger Distress Ink - Fossilized Amber
Ranger Archival Ink - Vermillion, Leaf Green,  Magenta Hue, Jet Black
Gold Paint

Saturday Showcase - Tiny Toadstools

Hi!  Just popping in to share a few toadstools!  The full post is over on The Funkie Junkie Boutique!

Happy Saturday!

Suzz

Tis the Season of Gift Giving

Hello and welcome back!  Today I am sharing my latest creations for the Frilly and Funkie Challenge called 'Tis the Season for Gift Giving'.  The challenge is hosted by the amazing Maggi!  She describes the challenge as:

"Because it's that time of the year when we're all thinking about the perfect gift for our friends and families, let's combine our crafting passion with our "to do" list by creating a vintage or shabby chic gift for a special someone in your life. Your gift could be as simple as a handmade card or tag, or an elaborate piece of home decor. Maybe you like to place your gifts in handmade boxes? Your imagination is the only limit on this challenge!"

Well when I saw creating a tag I thought of Artist Trading Coins and how they make a perfect size for a gift tag.

I started by cutting out circles about 2 3/4" across.  I cut out white cardstock and cardboard to back my tags with some sturdy materials. 

 For my first tag I decided to use the layering stencil and emboss with crackle paste a series of snowflakes.  I let those dry and then misted the circle with blue distress stain spray.  After that I had to think awhile about how to dress it up.  First I decided to cover the surface of the circle and the surrounding snowflakes with a clear coat of versamark and then heat emboss them with the frosted embossing powder.  (This turned out beautifully and you can't get the full effect from the photo but it added a gorgeous sheen)   I found some smaller snowflake dies and cut about 5 extra snowflakes.  They all got gussied up in blue ink too and then I cut them into pieces to frame out the circle.  The final step was to stamp the sentiment on acetate and heat emboss with white embossing powder.  (Let's just say this step took about 5 times as the acetate tends to gather powder and I had the brilliant idea to moisturize my hands before I sat down to craft)

Next up was the plaid stencil!

 I really love the plaid stencil and the black with red is so pretty!  I paired it with the Tim Holtz Trophy antler and some fun holly trim.  Quick and easy!

 The next tag used a mix of the pretty bird stamp with the music background.  I colored the bird with watercolor pencils and added a few highlights with a white gel pen.  The tag is again framed out with the same holly trim. 

For my last tag of this series I used the fun St. Nick from the festive overlay set and the advertisement stamp in the background.

 I did a little whitewash after stamping the background to soften the print.  I added some foam behind santa to give him some depth.  The trim was some pretty silver tinsel with a touch of white paint.  Santa also has some frosty highlights with glitter but just not showing up in the photo!

Now I have a series of tags for my presents ready to be added to the packages!




I hope you are inspired to play along in the challenge!  The winner will earn the chance of a Guest Designer spot at Frilly and Funkie, and everyone who enters and follows the rules will go into the draw for the chance to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique. In addition, the Design Team will select three further outstanding entries and those creators will receive a Top Pick badge to display on their blogs!

Thanks for stopping over!

Suzz
Products:

Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Stain Spray - Broken China TSS42174	Prima Art Extravagance: Texture Paste White Crackle 8.5 fl. oz.	Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Snowflakes THS050	Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Plaid	Sizzix Alternations Tim Holtz Thinlits Dies - Paper Snowflakes 660059
Sizzix Thinlits Die Set - Flurry #2 by Tim Holtz 663106	Sizzix Thinlits Die Set - Flurry #3 by Tim Holtz 663114	Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Festive Overlay	Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Music & Advert	Prima Marketing Vintage Lover Watercolor Pencils
Prima Watercolor Brush-Pen Set	Studio 490 Wendy Vecchi Embossing Paste - Black	Ranger Embossing Powder - White Super Fine Detail EPJ36678	VersaMark Watermark Ink Stamp Pad	Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Stain Spray - Fired Brick TSS42280
Tim Holtz Ranger Distress Stain Spray - Aged Mahogany TSS42129	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Trophy Antlers	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Trimmings Metallic TH93338	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Jute String TH93139	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad - Aged Mahogany TIM21407
Ranger Archival Ink Pad - Jet Black AIP31468	Tim Holtz Distress Mixed Media Heavystock 4.25 x 5.5, 20PK TDA53835	Ranger Embossing Antiquities - Frosted Crystal 1.5 oz. EPL44963	Tim Holtz Distress Stickles Dry Glitter Clear Rock Candy 3oz TDR35879