Lovely Leaves

Hi!  Welcome back for a lovely fall inspired post!  The ever so talented Jenny is our host this time around for The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge and she has challenged us to show off "Lovely Leaves".

She describes the challenge:

"At this time of year leaves take over from flowers as the stars of Nature's display - the deciduous ones take on beautiful Autumnal hues before falling to the ground, whilst the evergreen ones keep our gardens from looking bare as we wait for new flowers to appear in the Spring. For this challenge make sure to add leaves (or even Pine Needles if you like) to your vintage or shabby chic projects."

Well I am always up for creating with leaves, especially fall leaves!

 

I had this vision of a little wreath using the smaller leaves from the Fall Foliage Dies.  I ended using a long strip of cardstock to cut out a series of leaves.  

cutting them out of that long piece of cardstock created a fun stencil:

 

Which I used to create this:

 and this:

 I now have two more backgrounds for fall inspired cards!

To create my wreath I took a few steps:

1. Die cut leaves.
2. Spray with a mix of colors.  I also dragged them through the inky mess after I sprayed to even out the colors.
3. Trace a circle the size of the wreath you would like.  Cut it out.
4.  Poke a hole in the middle of the circle and cut out the middle.  (I could have done this with two different sized circle dies. I was lazy and didn't want to pull out the die cutting machine. :)
5. Spray the circle with a yellow inky spray.
6. Layer in the leaves.  I used some thin foam dots to pop up some of the leaves.

I hope you enjoyed the fall leaves here on the blog.  Come join us in the challenge!  The winner will earn a 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 draw for the chance to win a $25 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:
Sizzix Fall Foliage Die
Ranger Tim Holtz Layering Stencil Woodgrain
Ranger Distress Stain Spray - Mustard Seed, Wild honey, Aged Mahogany, Ground Espresso
Ranger Distress Oxide Ink - Frayed Burlap
Idea-Ology Remnant Rub-on
Wendy Vecchi White Embossing Paste
Prima Marketing Memory Hardware Pearls 
Natural Jute Twine

Buzzing Bees

Hi! I just received this beautiful Buzzing Bees Rubber Stamp Set from Darkroom Door.  There are certain stamps that I can create all the time with and this is one of those sets!  I love bee images and this has a mix of all different size bees! 

I mixed up the bees with an old library catalog card.  I have had these sitting in my drawer and thought what a great background for my buzzy friends...

I stamped the bees twice to give a layer on the wings.  The wings were stamped on vellum to give a beautiful effect.

While I had the kraft cardstock out I decided to stamp and color on the kraft with the flower and bees.

I stamped a soft script background first using brown ink.  I stamped the flowers and bees and sentiment.  I finished with the cute sentiment. :)

I have to admit I love this little ATC. 

I started with a kraft cardstock with a coat of yellow paint. I let it dry and then stamped the script over the background.  I added the butterfly with the second set of wings and the Queen Bee stamp.

I finished it with a little vellum lace trim and some cute vintage buttons!

I liked the kraft card so much I replicated it with a white cardstock background and some simple splattering of the lemon zest and melted chocolate sprays!

I added a few vellum petals to the flower.  I simply stamped the flower a few times on vellum and cut it out to add the layered petals.

For my final card I used the honeycomb image:

I thought how fun it would be to cut along the edge of the honeycomb and use it as the bottom of the main panel.

I stamped everything on a panel and then cut straight lines up to the honeycomb and then cut the rest out by hand.  I then added foam tape behind the panel to put on the card base.  A fun way to give texture. 

I hope you enjoyed all the fun bees! 

Thanks for buzzing by!

Suzz

Products:  Darkroom Door
Darkroom Door Rubber Stamp Set - Buzzing Bees
Darkroom Door Texture Stamps French Script 
Dylusions Shimmer Spray - Lemon Zest, Melted Chocolate
Ranger Archival Ink - Potting Soil, Sunflower, Jet Black
White Gel Pen
White Acrylic Paint, Wild Honey Acrylic Paint
Vellum
Sizzix Tim Holtz Chapter Two Crochet
Vintage Buttons
Kite String
Twine

Honeycomb & Bees Wax

Hi!  I am back today with a post featuring the new Darkroom Door background stamp Honeycomb!  There is a new background stamp and a stamp set Buzzing Bee's from Darkroom Door which had me pulling out my melt pot and some bees wax!

The bees wax was calling my name when I saw the Honey Comb background Stamp.  I decided to melt up some pieces and try to create a textured beeswax with the honeycomb imprint.

Steps:

1.  Stamp honeycomb background on white cardstock using versamark.
2.  Emboss the stamped background with Ranger Distress Embossing Powder Antique Linen.
3.  Spray over the background with a mix of the lemon zest and melted chocolate.
4.  Spray lemon zest over white cardstock.  Let Dry.
5.  Stamp french script and cut a background panel.
6.  Stamp sentiment using brown ink and cut out.
7.  Distress edges of all panels with distressing edges.
8.  Stamp flower and bees on white cardstock.  Color with waterbrush and inks.  (Distress Ink, Watercolor Pencils, Sprays)
9.  Let dry completely and cut out.
10.  Sponge Versamark over bees and flower and heat emboss with clear embossing powder.
11. Die cut the crochet trim and spray with dark brown ink spray.
12. Beeswax instructions (see below)
13. Assemble card.

How to create the beeswax impressions:
 

Steps:
1.  I used a meltpot to melt my vintage beeswax embossing paste and beeswax.
2.  Pour beeswax into melt pot and let the beeswax turn liquid.
3.  To create the beeswax pieces:
      a.  Pour a little of the beeswax on a craft mat.
      b.  Ink up the honeycomb stamp with versamark or an ink color you want to impress onto the
           beeswax.
      c.  Wait for the beeswax to cool off.  You need to watch it turn from clear to waxy but you don't 
            want it to completely harden.  While it is still slightly warm you will push the stamp into the
            wax and leave it to completely harden.
      d.  For the vintage beeswax embossing powder you will want to do the same method. Only for
           the embossing powder you can stamp right after you pour.  Let cool completely and lift the
           stamp.  The versamark helps keep it from sticking to the embossing powder.
4.  You can also pour the wax liquid over the stamped background.  The wax may be cloudy and you can use a heat gun to thin it out.

Background with a wax overlay:

This is a background with Seth Apter Vintage Beeswax Embossing Powder:

 

Steps: 

1.  Sponge Versamark over surface where honeycomb is desired.  

2.  Pour on embossing powder.  

3.  Heat from underneath.  (I found with the chunky powder or if you don't shake off excess it will blow everywhere.  If you heat from underneath it takes a little longer to warm up but saves on the mess.) 

4.  Repeat until you have  a thicker consistency of the embossing powder.  

5.  Ink up the honeycomb stamp with either Versamark or any colored ink. 

6.  Heat up the embossing powder until you see it moving. 

7.  Place stamp into the honeycomb and press in and leave until the embossing powder cools. 

Next up was to use some various pieces in a few cards:

 

I love the strip of honeycomb on this card.  I created it using a piece of blank media tape that was covered in white gesso.  I stamped the honeycomb with versamark on the tape.  I heat embossed with brown embossing powder.  I finished it with a mix of the lemon zest and melted chocolate and it was such a beautiful shimmery honeycomb.

The card is just a mix of vintage beeswax honeycomb, bees and some strips including the media tape.  All assembled on a white cardstock splattered with the lemon zest and melted chocolate.

The next card uses a piece of that vintage beeswax embossed background.

 This card just uses a bit of the media tape, honeycomb and stamped bee to create a mixed media card.

Finally I didn't get to use this bee but love how he looks and he may get added to another project in the near future!  :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Suzz

Products: (Links to Darkroom Door)
Darkroom Door Rubber Stamp Set Buzzing Bees
Darkroom Door Rubber Stamp Background Honeycomb
Darkroom Door Rubber Stamp Set Simple Sayings Vol 1
Darkroom Door Rubber Stamp Texture French Script
Seth Apter Vintage Bees Wax Embossing Powder
Versamark Watermark Ink
Ranger Clear Embossing Powder 
Heat Gun
Melt Pot
Bees Wax
Ranger Archival Ink - Sepia, Acorn
Ranger Distress Inks - Ground Espresso, Fossilized Amber 
Dylusions Spray - Melted Chocolate, Lemon Zest 
Dina Wakley - Blank Media Tape 
White Gesso
Ranger Distress Embossing Powder - Antique Linen 
Tsukeniko Ink - Delicata Gold
Gold Paint
Sizzix Thinlit Chapter 2 Crochet
Twine
Linen
Sizzix Bigz Tattered Bee

Fabulous Fall

Hi!  Fall is my favorite season!  I love the crisp air and the beautiful painted landscape of yellows, oranges, reds and brown.  Ginny is hosting the challenge at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge this time and she has challenged us to be inspired by Fabulous Fall!  Here is how she describes the challenge:

"It's the wonderful season where the leaves are changing and the air is crisp and our thoughts turn to pumpkin spice everything.  For this challenge create a Fall inspired project."

I just love playing with leaves.  I created a series of leaf inspired ATC's. 

For my first couple I started with some Silver Embossing Paste and the Leaves Stencil.  I always think of the glorious leaves falling in Autumn!

This one and the next one started with a silver embossing paste on white cardstock.  I heat set this one and kept heating until the paste started to bubble and give it a little extra texture. I added a few drops of glue and a few glass beads for effect.

The background is the new Dylusions ink spray melted chocolate. It has a beautiful sheen and looks like copper. I finished with a remnant rub-on.

For this one I used the silver embossing paste through the mini leaves stencil. While it was wet I dropped a bunch of the glass beads all over the embossed surface.  I pushed them into the embossing paste and let them dry.

After they were dry I rubbed off some of the glass beads to leave pockmarks!  I love how it turned out!  I then sprayed the entire ATC with the distress oxide Iced Spruce spray.  (Still no Hickory Smoke in the house!).  I finished with a splatter of white paint.  This is because we had 3 inches of snow on Halloween!  Our poor fall leaves were buried in snow and ice. :)

The next couple of ATCs are more traditional in colors for Fall.

For this one I used the layering stencil but used the clear crackle paint over a sprayed background.  It gave a soft effect which I amped up with a little white gel pen.  The main leaf is sponged with a mix of dye inks and then painted with the same crackle paint.  I added a remnant rub-on and a few mica flakes and glitter. 

The tiny toadstools popped up on my next ATC. 

The background is sponged with versamark over the stencil and then clear embossed to keep the leaves white.  Then sponged over with reds, orange, and yellow dye inks.  The leaves were coordinated with the background and a few little toadstools popped up in the midst.

Finally some bits and pieces from my Saturday showcase made it into my last ATC.

I used some of the blank media tape to create a strip on one side and some vellum and crochet vellum pieces on the other.  A bit of Iced Spruce splattering on the background and my leaves with a slight sponging of brown around the edges gave definition. 

I think this one was a tie for my favorite with the silver leaves ATC!  I hope this has you inspired to share your Fabulous Fall art with us at the challenge.  The winner will earn a 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 draw for the chance to win a $25 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 Mini Layering Stencils - Set 22
Dylusions Ink Spray - Melted Chocolate Spray
Sizzix Tim Holtz Chapter 2 Crochet
Stampers Anonymous - Tiny Toadstools
Ranger Tim Holtz Layering Stencil Nordic
Wendy Vecchi - Silver Embossing Paste 
Prima Glass Beads 
Sizzix Fall Foliage
Crackle Paint
Ranger Distress Sprays Inks - Ground Espresso Wild Honey
Ranger Distress Inks - Wild Honey, Fossilized Amber, Festive Berries, Ground Espresso
Dina Wakley White Paint
Tim Holtz Remnant Rub-Ons Tiny Text
Ice Resin Glitter Shards Sterling (I substituted this for the glitter on my ATC)
Distress Mica Flakes
Ranger Distress Glitter
White Gel Pen
Stampers Anonymous -  Stuff to Say
Idea-Ology Metallic Quotes

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