Joan's Gardens Weekly Challenge

 

It is time for a new challenge at Joan's Gardens.  This week we would like for you to decorate a box or container that can be used for a Christmas gift.   I have decorated a small box I had in my stash.  The size of this box is 3.5" square.  You can make and decorate your own box or decorate or recycle any type of box or container.   Please go over toJoan's Gardens to see all the rules for this week's challenge.

To decorate the top of the box I used the Tim Holtz Sizzix "Tattered Poinsettia" die.  After die cutting it, I used the Tim Holtz "Slight Alternations" stamp to add texture to to the petals.  Under the flower, I added the doily from the middle of the Cheery Lynn "Scandinavian Hearts" die.  I added Twinklets "Diamond Dust" on this doily.  Leaves from the Cheery Lynn "Rose Leaf Strip" were arranged under the poinsettia.  The white pine branches are from the Cheery Lynn Wreath Strip".  Gold beads were added in the center of the poinsettia.

Under the box I added the pretty Cheery Lynn "Sweetheart Frame".  To give it a lot of stability, I die cut two frames and glued them together before attaching them to the bottom of the box.  On the sides of the box I added the Cheery Lynn "Merry Christmas" sentiment.  All four sides have on part of the sentiment attached.

Joan and I are looking forward to seeing your creative ideas.  

Sizzix "Tattered Poinsettia (658261)

Poppy Stamps "Blooming Poinsettia" 861 (for green leaves)

Cheery Lynn "Sweetheart Frame" FRM 127

Cheery Lynn Merry Christmas Set (B186)

Cheery Lynn "Scandinavian Hearts" (DL155) doily from center of this set

Cheery Lynn "Wreath Strip" (B216)
Cheery Lynn "Rose Leaf Strip" (B241)

Tim Holtz   "Slight Alternations" stamp set (CMS060)  Stampers Anonymous

Twinklets Diamond Dust

Pop up glue dots

Glue N' Seal

ScorTape

Flower Tool Kit and Mat

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Friends Make Everyday Special

As a rule I am trying to teach you new techniques and today I was in the mood to learning something new myself.  I have this book  called "A Compendium of Curiosities" by Tim Holtz.  I think you all know I love working with Tim Holtz products.  I am anxiously awaiting the new Distress Markers but until then, I started going through this book and found something neat I wanted to try.  It is on page 46 and is called Distress Stickles.  I did not know there is a big difference between regular Stickles and Distress Stickles, did you?   With Distress Stickles you add a "blob" over the surface then use your finger to create a thin layer over the area you want the glitter.  You can work with as many colors as you want.  What I love about this is that you can use your heat gun to dry the Distress Stickles.  You know you can't do that with regular Stickles.  I only have one color of Distress Stickles which is "Vintage Photo" but I plan to order a lot of other colors now that I understand how to use it.  I can especially see lots of different colored sparklie butterflies! 

In case you are wondering, I used the "Distress Stickles" on the butterflies. The Memory Box "Moonlight Butterfly" (98260) and "Kaleidoscope Butterfly" (998261) were perfect for this project.  I die cut the "Moonlight Butterfly" using white card stock then used the Tim Holtz Blending Tool and added "Mustard Seed" and "Spiced Marmalade" to it.  This is the solid butterfly on the bottom of the layered butterfly.  Next I added the "Vintage Photo" Distress Stickles and rubbed it in with my finger, then dried it with the heat gun.  What is really neat is that my colors were brighter than I wanted, so I used the blending tool and "Tea Dye" Distress Ink to tone it down.  I just rubbed the inked pad over the whole butterfly.  In the photo, the butterflies look a lot darker than in real life.  The pretty yellow and orange really show up well and the glittery Distress Stickles puts on a beautiful shine.  I then glued on the "Kaleidoscope Butterfly" which was die cut using black card stock.  

The pretty border along the left side of this card was created using the Marianne Design "Anji Edge"  I placed a piece of green card stock under the left side of the card and snipped off the Anji Edge from the piece of card stock and created a green border between the two pieces.  Before attaching the green card stock, I ran it through the Dotted Swiss embossing folder for texture.  

I love the stamped image.  It is the Penny Black "Flower Amongst Flowers" stamp.  This is a solid stamp, so I used markers to color right on the stamp, then misted it with a fine mist before stamping.  The colors blend together well plus you must moisten the stamp to be sure the ink is wet before stamping.  In the center of the flowers I added "Bronze" Stickles. The corner I used is one of the Marianne corners (LR0143).  The front of the card was shaded using the Blending Tool and "Tea  Dye" Distress Ink.  The sentiment is from the new JustRite "Your Special Day Medallion Labels" stamp set.  To finish the card, the butterflies were glued on.

 If you love to work with Tim Holtz Products, I know you will love having the "A Compendium of Curiosities" Instructional book by Tim Holtz.  It has step by step pictures and instructions for each product.  

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Joan's Gardens Challenge - A Decorated Bag Mini Tutorial

 

It's time for another new challenge at Joan's Gardens.  This week we want you to create a FALL or Trick or Treat BAG with a topper. You can get all the details from Joan's Blog.

  

I decided to create a Trick or Treat bag using a lot of different products from Joan's Gardens.  I decorated a kraft bag with handles and have a mini tutorial below to show you how I created the topper.

The design paper on the bag is from the Graphic 45 "Halloween in Wonderland"

8 x 8" paper pad. 

To create the "topper", I used Kraft card stock.  First I decided how deep I wanted the topper, then doubled it, and scored across the middle and creased it will with a bone folder.  Using scissors I cut a small opening along the fold line that was just a little longer than the width of the handles.  I wanted to create a design on the front edge, so used the Cheery Lynn "Tiffany Border" (B137) die.  I taped it to the edge of the topper then die cut it.

After it was die cut, it cut the border out along the edge leaving an opening along the bottom edge.  I wanted to add the border back over the opening, plus wanted a color behind it.  

A strip of card stock was added it to the back of the topper over the die cut opening.

 

 When I added the die cut back into the opening, I placed it slightly higher so it left some of the color below the scalloped edge. The die cut was glued along the very top edge, to the edge on the topper.  A piece of the stripped design paper was added right above the die cut edge to give it a finished look.  I used grungeboard letters from Tim Holtz Idea-ology Mixed Minis alphabet for the "Trick or Treat" letters.  Distress Ink Stain Daubers were used to color the letters, to match the colors in the design paper.  I love how they turned out.

To decorate the top edge of the topper, I used the Sizzix "Autumn Gatherings" (657454) die, which has branches, acorns and different small leaves.  These were all arranged across the top.  All these dies are pictured on my last post.

For the Jack-o-Lantern I used the Sizzix "Pumpkin Jack" (657463) die.  This is the way it looked when cut.

I wanted to give the surface a texture so used the Wendy Vecchi "Funky Flower Art" stamp set.  In this set is a large background stamp that I clear embossed over the pumpkin.  The Jack-o-Lantern face was cut free hand from black card stock and glued to the pumpkin.

The pumpkin die includes the stem.  I die cut it using green card stock then embossed it with the Cuttlebug "Distressed Stripes" embossing folder.  To complete this bag, I die cut a lot of leaves using the Cheery Lynn Leaves dies (D133, D134, D135, and D136).  I used a variety of leaves from each of these sets.  The large acorn on the bottom is from the Sizzix Mini Acorn & Pumpkin Set (657457).  The handles of the topper were pushed up through the opening that was cut in the center of the topper to complete my Trick or Treat bag.

All the products used on this project can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.  Please go over to Joan's Blog to get all the details about this week's challenge. 

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Best Friends Forever

 

Today I have had fun with my stamping friend Linda who came to town to see all my new stamping toys.  We have had a blast playing with Glenda's tutorial on creating our own background paper with Distress Inks.  On this card we used "Old Paper", "Mustard Seed" for the main colors then spritzed on "Tumbled Glass" which is blue.  There are just tiny specks of blue over the other colors.  To add a little brown to the piece we then sprayed "Walnut Ink" over it.  We followed Glenda's tutorial up to this point.  I did not have any of the glittered sprays so we mixed "Liquitex Acrylic Iridescent Tinting Medium" with a little water then added PearlEx "Aztec  Gold" pigment powder to it.  This was brushed over the entire piece to give it a beautiful gold sheen.

The flower was created using the Tim Holtz "Tattered Florals" die.  A stamen was created using the "Large Sun" punch. The Flourish is from the Heartfelt Creations Bella Rose  Collection.  As I have told you before, this is one of my favorite flourish dies.  One of the Marianne Designs accent pieces (LR0157) was added over the Heartfelt Creations Flourish.  All these these pieces were also brushed with the gold Iridescent Tinting Medium.

The beautiful frame and sentiment are from JustRite "Vintage Oval Labels" stamp set.  It was gold embossed on ivory card stock then cut out with scissors.  It was attached with dimensional tape.  Three "Dew Drops" were added to both top corners.

The products used on this card can be purchased from Joan's Gardens. 

 

JustRite "Vintage Oval Labels" stamp set

Be sure to go to Glenda's blog (MagPie's Corner) for a full tutorial on how to create this background paper.

Another Thank You Card

These are the flowers cut from the Tim Holtz "Tattered Flowers" Die.  I really use this die a lot.   I placed three of the same flowers together to show you which flower I used for this card. 

This is my second Thank You card for the BD gift I am preparing.  The background paper is from Basic Grey and was embossed with the Cuttlebug "Seeing Spots" embossing folder.  The striped dp is from Making Memories pad.  Two punched Martha Stewart borders (Scallop and 3 dots) were added behind the striped dp.  I only left two of the dots showing because I wanted a narrow black border.  The black flourish is from a package of K&Company "Pillow Stickers".  The laser cut corners are from my stash that I never wanted to use because they are so pretty.

To create the flower, I added some yellow reinker mixed with water to a spray bottle and sprayed them on the Teflon Sheet. These flowers were cut out of a brown paper grocery bag.   They were wadded up in a ball then pulled apart and dried with the heat gun.  I then used a sponge dauber to add orange to the petals. Three flowers were layered and a corduroy brad added to the center.  The sentiment is from the JustRight "You Inspire Me" stamp set and it was cut out with a JustRite tag Nestability.  A brad was added in the hole then attached with a dimensional.  

All the products in bold letters can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

With Love

I have an embossing folder I have not used and wanted to create something with it today.    It is one of the Cuttlebug "Sentimentals" embossing folders. I decided to make this monochromatic card. I  antiqued it with Tim Holtz Distress Tea Dye ink.  The designer paper behind this embossed piece is from "The Paper Studio" Mirabelle" paper pack.  The panel behind the design paper was embossed with the Cuttlebug "Brocade Window" embossing folder.  It did cut a window in that piece but does not show because I covered it up with the design paper.  The edges were sponged using the Tea Dye ink.  

The flower was created using the Tim Holtz "Tattered Flowers" Sizzix die.  I used the two smallest flowers on this die, which has four different flowers.  They were cut out with a light tan card stock and sponged with the Tea Dye ink.  The leaves under the flower were cut with the Sizzix "Branch w/Leaves"  die and also sponged with the same ink.  The greeting is from the Heartfelt Creations "Inspire Me Sentiments PreCut Set".  I love the font.  It was cut out with the  JustRite label Nestabilities and also sponged.  To complete the card I added a silk bow.  

All the products used for this card can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.  Have you submitted your tag and/or card for Joan's challenges? 

Today Joan posted some Heartfelt Creations stamp sets on sale for 40% off.  What a great bargain on these beautiful sets.    There will be more items on sale so be sure to check out her blog here.

I hope you have had a great weekend.  I really appreciate you stopping by.

Tattered Flowers

This card was made using the Tim Holtz "Tattered Flowers" die and a Spellbinders vine.  I wasn't going to post this card because the design paper does not show up well.  It is a Martha Stewart yellow and white dotted paper, and looks really pretty under these flowers, but it does not show up in the photo.  Using the die, all the flowers were cut out six times.  Several sizes were used for each flower.  I sprayed them after they were cut out with a fine mist of water and shaped each petal.  A punch was used for the stamens.  The verse is from the JustRite "Nature's Nested Sentiments" stamp set.  It was black embossed.  A Martha Stewart Monarch butterfly was added to complete the card.

These products can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

Glitz

This morning I decided to "experiement" with something completly different from my normal routine.  The deer was cut using the Tim Holtz "Reindeer Flight" die.  The pine tree was cut out with a Sizzix die I have had for several years called "Tree, Christmas #2".  The designer paper is from the K&Company "Yuletide" paper pad.  The card is 5 1/2 inches square.  The Tim Holtz die can be purchased from Joan's Gardens.

I decided to experiment with Sticker Paper to  die cut the two images.  I did this because I wanted to make this a glitzy card.  You are normally suppose to stamp on the front of the paper and then peel off the backing to attach it to your project, but I thought it would be fun to see if glitter would stick to the "sticker part" and it did.  For the tree I used another product I have had for years.  I store all my glitters and embossing powders in small trays so the only name I have on this glitter is "Roxs-Emerald". It is very chunky.  I don't remember who it is made by.  I put the tree in a glitter tray and pressed the Roxs into it.  It did not completely cover the design so I added a fine green glitter over it to cover all open spaces.  It covered perfectly.  Gold glitter was added to the trunk of the tree. 

The Tim Holtz deer was also cut out using sticker paper.  After taking the backing off, I laid it down in the gold glitter tray and pressed it into the glitter to completely cover it.  It picked up the fine glitter in one try.  I wanted to "ground" the tree and deer so I cut two pieces of white card stock to resemble snow banks and attached them to the bottom of the card.  I added some liquid glue to the snow and sprinkled on diamond dust glitter. After I did this, I was thinking I should have used more sticker paper!  To give more dimension to the snow, I added Twinklets "Diamond Dust" along the edges of the snow banks.  I found a yellow star button and added it to the top of the tree then added yellow Stickles to it.  Small red rhinestones were attached using DG3 Art Gel.  Small snowflakes saved from using a Martha Stewart snowflake border punch (Snow Flurry) were added to complete the card. 

I want to remind you that this is the last Joan's Garden challenge for 2010. If you still want a chance to win a great prize and then be in the end of the year drawing for a $100 gift certificate to Joan's Gardens, this is you last chance.  You can check out all the challenge details here.

I finished up my Christmas shopping yesterday -- even for my DH.  I knew he would want something to do with golf and found exactly what he wants.  Now to get everything wrapped!   

Hope you are enjoying your weekend.  Thanks for stopping by.

Snowman

I had so much fun playing with this snowman.  This is one of the new Tim Holtz Alterations Sizzix dies called Winter Wonder and one of the Movers & Shapers Repositionable Magnetic Dies. Check out Joan's Gardens to see all the fun Tim Holtz products.  These Movers & Shapers dies are neat because you can place them anywhere to cut out the words. 

Mr. Snowman is sending you lots of LOVE.  He was die cut using white card stock then I dressed him up.  I wanted a little dimension to his body so cut him out twice so I could layer the middle section over the bottom of the body. The bottom section of the body was cut off and I layered the top part on.  Can you see where I did that? Using small scraps of card stock, I place brown over the twig arms and cut them out, then placed a piece of black over the hat so I wouldn't have to color these parts.  I think it turned out great.  I placed the movers and shapers die on the lower part of the body and cut out the word love then chalked around the letters and the outside of the snowman with blue ink.  I cut out a band for the hat out of plaid design paper then cut out pieces for a scarf using scissors.  I fringed the ends of the scarf by making small cuts along the edges.  I cut a small circle to resemble a knot.  I wasn't sure I could make it look like a scarf but think it turned out pretty good. I could have just tied a ribbon but wanted the challenge of making it out of stripped design paper.   

A small black brad was added for his eye.  I used a white pen to put a white dot in it.  Two flat backed beads were added for the buttons.  A small Heartfelt Creations stamp was used to create the flower for his hat.  I wanted some very small snowflakes but didn't really have a punch small enough so I used one of my Martha Stewart border punches that punches out very small flowers and used the flowers for the snowflakes.  Hope you think they look like a snowflake.  A silver rhinestone was added to the center of each one. 

The trees were created using the Tim Holtz Alterations Tall Pines embossing folder.  I cut them out with scissors and colored them lightly with Distress Ink.  To ground the snowman and the trees, I cut two rows of snow from white card stock.  Joan has this really cool stuff called Twinklets Diamond Dust and that is what I used for snow.  I just added DG3 Art Gel where I wanted the Diamond Dust then sprinkled it on.  What a pretty glittery effect it gave my card.  It took a little time to dress up this cute snowman, but it was definitely lots of fun working on this card. 

Well they are predicting a big snow storm here in a few days.  Maybe we will have a chance to go out and build a real snowman!   I'm not really looking forward to that though. LOL

Let me know what you think about my snowman.  If you want to create one you can order all these products from Joan's Gardens.  Did you see the post Joan put up this morning showing you the new Heartfelt Creations  stamps and beautiful die that will be released soon.  You can pre-order these stamps  from her now. 

Just Because

Have you ever had a day when you just couldn't seem to come up with an idea for a card?  Well that happened to me today.  Finally after lunch I decided to work with a new Tim Holtz flower Sizzix die called "Tattered Florals".  This is another new product Joan's Gardens is carrying.  Flowers always get me -- they make me happy so all of a sudden I had a lot of ideas going on in my head.  There are four different flowers on this die.  I use the two middle sized flowers.  As I told you in the pine cone tutorial, I conditioned the card stock after cutting out the flowers.  This just helps to shape them better.  I used the black mat and stylus to push them down to give them shape.  I sponged around the edges with a darker pink to give the petals a more realistic look.  I LOVE how these turned out. 

The background designer paper is from the Kaiser Craft "Candy Lane Collection" paper pad.   The pendant under the flowers is the Spellbinder "Fleur De Lis" die.  After assembling the flowers I arranged them on the pendant.  A few leaves were cut using a Sizzix die.   It is Sizzlits die called "Branch w/Leaves".  

Can you see the hummingbird?   He is from the JustRite stamp set "Backyard Birds".  I cut him apart from the flower and attached him to my flower with a small dimensional dot.   The greeting is from the JustRite "Just A Note" stamp set.  It was cut out with a circle Nestie.  A piece of pretty lace was added to the bottom of the card.  

Do you like the flowers made with this Tim  Holtz Sizzix die? 

Have you checked out the sale Joan's Gardens has this month on JustRite stamps?  The sale ends Oct 31.

Tomorrow I will be back with my last post as October Guest Designer for JUGS.  The challenge is something I have never done.  Hope you come be back tomorrow to see what it is.

Pine Cone Tutorial

Today I have two cards for you.  Both qualify for this week's Joan's Garden's Thursday Challenge.  I am including a tutorial with this post.   This card was created using punches for the poinsettia and the pine cones.

This card was made using "Groovy Snowmen" stamps from JustRite. To emboss the trees, I used a Tim Holtz embossing folder. I made the pine cones using card stock. Joan (Joan's Gardens) has created a gorgeous card using another JustRite stamp and it also has pine cones. Be sure to go to her blog to see it.

Joan  is has some new products that we are having so much fun using. These include new punches, flower tools,  YES paste, and a book.   She has more information about these products on her blog here. 

Here is the tutorial on how I made the pine cones:

You start off punching 20 "pine cone petals" using a "Pear" punch. 

Using a flower shaping tool, you "condition" the card stock to soften and shape  it.

This picture shows how you use the large "ball" end of the tool to shape the petal of the pine cone.  You press down in the center causing the edges to curl up slightly.  You need to do this on a thick rubber mat.  Using tweezers you pinch down in center of the stem end of the "pear" to help curve each one.

What we use as a base to shape the pine cone is "YES" Paste.  This is a thick glue that will hold its shape so you can push each  petal into it to form the pine cone.

I use a chop stick to take out a small amount of paste and place it on a piece of acrylic.  I use acrylic from Nestability packaging. 

This paste is very sticky, but try and shape it in a bee hive shape.  In the picture here I have three shapes for my three pine cones.  When dry, this glue is transparent.

I have to say I am pretty messy when I am doing this.  You start off pushing seven "petals" into the bottom of the paste slightly overlapping. To form a "closed" pine cone, you want the cupped part facing the middle.   Don't worry if they aren't perfect because you can shape it after you have finished adding all level of petals.  Also, you can cut off extra glue that is showing after you are finished adding all petals. 

Here I am using tweezers to add the second level of petals.  You should add three or four rows of petals in the paste.

This picture shows the pine cones once all petals have been added.  In the very center you use the tweezers to roll one last pear shape diagonally.  Grasp the top of the petal with the tweezers and place it in the top center of the cone.  It is important to roll this middle one to make it look realistic.  Now I have lots of glue showing on the bottom.  I take a scrap piece of card stock and just "slice" down around the pine cone to remove all the excess glue.  Maybe with more practice I won't have so much paste showing on the outside.   I  slide a piece of card stock under them, one by one, and place each pine cone where I want it on my completed card.  You can shape them easily the way you want them once they are on the card.  If you want to add snow to them, just add a tiny bit of Liquid Applique to the tips and heat with heat gun.  You can sprinkle on clear glitter immediately after heating and it will stick.  You can also add punched "greenery" around your pine cones. 

These cards were created for the Joan's Gardens Thursday Challenge #21.  You can read all the details about the challenge here.  Hope you will join in on the fun.

Joan's Garden Challenge #20

This was the most fun.  It's time for another Joan's Garden's Thursday Challenge and gosh it was fun creating this card because most of it was created without stamping -- something I seldom do.  Joan has a lot of new Tim Holtz products and this card is created using some of the new dies and embossing folders.  Here are the items to be used in the challenge this week:

• A tree
• An embossed object (not a background)
• Something cut out with a die
• Brads

The card base is black card stock.  This is a 6" square card.  Using  Tim Holtz "The Branch" embossing folder, I embossed the tree on the left side of the dark gray panel.  The embossing is very deep when using Tim's embossing folders.  This really gives a very dimensional look.    The house was cut from Tim's "Rickety House" Sizzix die.  The witch from, GKD, was stamped on yellow card stock then cut to fit behind the cut out house. Wonder what is in that witch's brew!   I used a sponge dauber to add additional brightness to the windows using a darker ink.  Two little ghosts, from the Making Memories "Toil & Trouble" brads, were added to the house.  There is dimensional tape between the yellow card stock and the house, then the house was attached to the gray panel with dimensionals.  A Tim Holtz die called "On the Edge Sizzix die" was used for the fence.  I used silver card stock for this and streaked it with black chalk ink to give it a little distressing.  A white ink pad was swiped over the embossed tree and the house to give it a ghostly appearance.  The fence was added with more dimensional tape.  Another ghost brad was added in the tree.  A spider and pumpkin from the Making Memories brads were added in front of the fence.  A moon was cut out with a circle Nestability, sponged around the edges,  and added with dimensionals.  Bats from GKD were stamped around the house,  then a Silver Gelly Roll pen was used to draw stars in the sky. 

I have some more ideas for using this house and fence for Christmas cards.  I will post them at a later date. 

Be sure to check out Joan's blog for all these Tim Holtz products and to get all the details for this week's challenge.