Grow Your Blog

I am excited to participate in the Grow Your Blog event.  My name is Jennifer and I am a paper addict / crafter, primarily creating vintage style cards and tags.  Occasionally I do a little scrapbooking, but cards are my passion.  I design cards for three UK based challenge blogs (I am in the US).  I enjoy the challenges because they often force me to create something I would not have otherwise.  It is always fun to see what other people create for the challenges.  My blog is the perfect avenue to share my designs.

My "go to" card making essential is Distress Ink by Tim Holtz.  I find that almost all paper looks better with a little distress.  The ink really adds depth to my card projects.  If you want to learn more about the distress line, Tim has great instructional videos on his blog.  I also love to use vintage seam binding ribbon.  It can be dyed any color and it always looks old fashioned.

 

   

I am also a lampworker and I run a bead and jewelry store with my mom and my daughters.  You can find our designs at Dry Gulch Beads & Jewelry.  I often incorporate findings like filigrees from our bead store into my cards.

It is always fun to win a prize, so be sure to leave a comment below.  I will choose a random winner from my commenting visitors on Feb. 15.  The prize will be the group of blog candy shown in the photo below.  It includes paper, flowers, gems and other embellishments.

I am looking forward to visiting many blogs and seeing lots of handmade items.  Many thanks to Vicki for organizing this event.

F L Y Tag

The current challenge at Ruby's Rainbow Challenges is to use a doily in your creation. I decided to use a tag that I colored with spray ink. I used a white doly and inked the edges with pink distress ink. The bird is a chip board piece that I inked. The little FLY tag at the top was made using tiny alphabet stickers which I love. Stop by Ruby's to see what the rest of the talented design team has created. Be sure and post your doily creation as well.

Keeping it Simple Cards

 

My sister came for a visit this past weekend and we crafted like crazy.  These simple, but pretty cards were the result.  We started with pre-colored flower pictures called Coloured Art Pads from Lili of the Valley.  We worked with Inkadinkado Stamping Gear tools to create coordinating background papers.  We had a great time!

 

Inkadinkado Stamping Gear tools.

 

You can create an infinite number of background paper designs with these tools. 

Ice Cream Birthday Card

The current challenge at Alphabet Challenges is to make a card for a young person.  I chose an ice cream cone shaker sticker with mirrorcard.  The shiny background is challenging to photograph.  This one is for my niece's birthday.  Join us at Alphabet Challenges and show us your card for a young person. 

Film Title Challenge Card

The current challenge at Ruby's Rainbow is to create a card inspired by a film title or the name of a song.  I had to think long and hard on this one.  I chose a card full of daisy diecuts inspired by the film Driving Miss Daisy.  I like the vintage feel of the tattered paper (a Christmas present from my sister) and the dusty colored lace.  I added just a little distress ink on the edges.  Be sure and stop by Ruby's to see what the rest of the team was inspired by.  I can't wait to see their creations.

January Tim Holtz Tags of 2014

  
I am excited to begin January by participating in Tim Holtz's Tags of 2014.  I meade several last year, but I didn't finish all of them.  I hope to complete all 12 tags this year.  I did not have all of the necessary supplies or equipment, but I think I managed to convey the overall theme of time of the first tag of the year.

I started by spraying a tag overlaid with a stencil and then I inked the edges for a darker look.  I added Tim Holtz large number rubons to the side and then sanded the numbers with the TH sanding block.  I added a little metallic distress stain to add to the grungy look.

 

The timepiece was a challenge because I left the Vagabond at our store for the weekend (We use it to emboss metal in our bead and jewelry store, www.drygulch.com).  I had to get creative without any embossing folders.  I found a clock rubber stamp and I embossed it with silver onyx embossing powder.  I did have Tim Holtz mirrored sheets so I freehanded the silver watch case and hammered it for texture. I added a few tiny gears too.  A die cut piece would definitely look more professional, but I think it turned out just fine.

 

 

For the charm at the top of the tag, I added 2014 rubons to a porcelain Tim Holtz charm and then attached it to the ribbon with a vintage style pin. 

 

 

 

I usually use Distress ink to edge my pieces, but I wanted something even darker for the edges of this calendar.  I had never tried using acrylic paint for this, but I found out that it works just fine.  Mine is definitely different than Tim's tag, but I think you can see the inspiration.  Now we just have to wait until February first!

Colorful Spray Ink Tags

Now that all of the Christmas cards and thank you cards have been handed out, I get to create something with bright colors.  I created a few colorful, springtime tags using Dylusions ink and masks today.  We are covered in several inches of snow, so I thought I would try to chase the cold away by using vivid colors.  I added flowers, butterflies, gems and lace to the backgrounds.  Hand dyed vintage seam binding tops them off.

 

 

Here is one of the Tattered Angels masks that I used to create a flourish on the edges of the tags.  First I sprayed each tag with a background color, then I sprayed a different color over the mask.  On the lightest tag, I also used the inked mask as a stamp.  I sprayed the middle tag with water to blend the colors and I got a mottled design.  Perfect! 

 

 

I used Distress ink around a Tim Holtz flower mask after I dried the Dylusions ink with my embossing gun.  I was careful to only go just around the edges of the mask because I didn't want to cover up the lighter green background.  I love the way the ink really makes the flower pop.  The snow is still piling up outside, but the sun is shining on my new, bright tags.

 

 

 

And here are closeups of three of the finished tags.

 

 

 

I am entering these tags in the following challenges:

 

Pile It On - Just Because

ABC Challenges - C is for Colorful

Fairies Challenges - Flowers and Lace

Lexi's creations - Anything Goes

 

 

Using Masks to Create Backgrounds

Every now and then I like to get the tags out and play with backgrounds.  Today I used Dylusions spray ink with masks from Tattered Angels and Tim Holtz.  Dylusions inks come in beautiful, bold colors.  When you use spray ink with plastic masks, you wind up with a coating of ink on the template.  Instead of wiping the mask off, try using it as a stamp.

 

 

 

Step 1.  Place the mask over the tag and spray different areas with different colors of ink. 

Step 2.  Carefully remove the mask from the tag, being careful not to smudge your tag.  Place the mask face up on your work area.

Step 3.  Place a second tag facedown on the mask and press down.

Now you have a beautiful pattern on your second tag.  You can always use an embossing tool to dry the ink.  In my next post, I will show you what I created with a few of these spray ink tags.



More Than One Fold Card

 

This months challenge at Sparkles Christmas Challenges is to create a card with more than one fold in it.  I have chosen a gate fold style card, decorated with a medallion (which is a recylced gift tag from Christmas) in the center.  I started with glittered cardstock and used my Martha Stewart score board to crease my edges.  I added a little lace and a lot of sparkle. 

 

Our Sponsor for this month is the fabulous Di's Digi's and thank her enormously for her generosity of a prize of $10 worth of Digi's to 1 lucky winner.

www.disdigidownloads.blogspot.co.uk