Hybrid Mixed Media Journal

It's been a while, but I finally got to do some more She Art work!!  I love doing this type of art. The mixed media is so very pleasing to all my sensory needs!  It allows my creative process to flow, while I think through some deep thoughts and capture some!  It's an art journaling process.

For this one, I got to also play a bit digitally. Arty Pants Digital Stamps has released some really awesome digital stamp goodies that help make Femme images a real breeze!  Check them all out here.

I laid out my design in Photoshop, then printed the background. That got Mod Podged to a composition book.  I then printed the girl, the word strips and the embellishments separately. I fussy cut the girl and pieces and Mod Podged each layered on the journal. I used paints, bubble wrap, punchanella, inks, pens etc to shade, color and highlight.

Some areas got built up with gesso and modeling paste. Glitter got sprinkled on various layers including the lace, and the girls hair. Unfortunately we did not get any sun today to help with the photographs, so you'll just have to trust me that the bling is really nice!

Some gems were added to the flowers on her dress and in her hair. I doodled around the word strips that are layered on the journal.  Can you see how much fun this is?

I didn't need to add any rub-ons since the Extras by Arty Pants include some awesome stamps to make this super easy!

This beauty has already been delivered to a friend.  I hope she enjoys exploring her dreams and releasing her true beauty!

Another Way to "Color" Digital Stamps

Hi everyone! It's Cathy here with a post for you today!  It's been a while!!  Life has taken on some new directions for me and crafting has not had very much time in my life. It feels so good to be getting some creative time again!  And for that I am really thankful!  I got to play with a brand new digital stamp by ArtyPants Digital Stamps called Butterflies and Filigrees, come on that name alone shouts "beautiful"!!  There are so many things that you can do with her digital stamps. She includes a layered file too! So you can clip digital papers or colors to them. You can incorporate them right into your scrapbook or photos designs!

I chose to make a card with this stamp. I brought the .png image into my Silhouette Designer software and resized it for a 4.25"x5.5" card.  I offset it to allow an area for the ribbon. Then I print and cut the card.

So. I'm not so great at using markers to color in digital stamps. But I thought I would share some things I did with this stamp to create a shiny (wish I could photograph the glitter better so you could see just how shiny!) card with texture, color and a bit of grunge.  I got out my copics, glitter and embossing materials.  I used some transparent glitter on the main filigree frame in the design. I wanted to keep it kind of grungy, but add a little dressy to it.

I also traced the 2 butterflies and created cutting shapes for those. I cut them out of vellum.

Each of the butterflies got a sparing layer of glitter on the card face and a rim of opaque glitter on the edge of the cut vellum. I set the vellum on the card with the wings lifted.  The greenery in the stamp was enhanced with color and texture from some gritty moss embossing sand.

Hope this gives you some ideas of how you can use digital stamps in your designs!

Different ways of using the Prima – Julie Nutting Doll Stamps

Hi, it’s Gael here today and I’d like to show you a few different ways I use the Julie Nutting Doll Stamps by Prima.  Like many of us I just loved these stamps when they came out and couldn’t wait to get some so I could play with them.  Here are some examples of some of the fun ways I’ve found to use them.

The first example is the one that I’ve seen the most, which is to stamp the doll image onto various papers and then cut out the various parts and layer them.  A lot like the old paper dolls we had when we were little (or for the younger ones, your Mums would have had when they were little!!)

Another fun way to use these stamps is to stamp onto Shrink Plastic.  For this example I stamped the image using Stazon Black and then coloured it in using Tim Holtz markers.  Once this was complete I then shrunk the image using my heat gun.  I did find with the doll stamps the legs are so long and thin that they didn’t shrink very well, so I just cut them off.  Next time I would only stamp the body of the doll without the legs.

The last idea I had a lot of fun playing with.  This time I clear embossed the stamp and then coloured it in.  I started by stamping the image onto cardstock using the Embossing inkpad and then sprinkling over clear embossing powders.  I set the embossing powders with the heat gun and then using the Tim Holtz markers again, I coloured in the various sections.  I must admit it was a little tricky working out exactly where the clear embossing was but once I started it just seemed to come together nicely.  I was really happy with how this technique worked on with the doll stamps.

I hope this has given some different ideas of ways for using these fun stamps.  (Full layout examples below)

VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S BLOGS/GALLERIES
Cathy Dippolito
Dolores Schaeffer
Cindy deRosier
Marlene Murphy
Lesley Walker
Gael Spence
Sarah Routledge
Sharon Fritchman
Tanya Ham
Sheila Burns
Pam Callaghan

Designer Showcase: Stamping

To our readers that are observing Yom Kippur, we wish you an easy fast. Welcome to another Wednesday and edition of Designer Showcase. This week I get to show off some really wonderful stamping examples by the Contributing Artists.

Marlene is sharing this creative page.  I love the use of color on this page.  She kept most of the page black and white, and brought attention to the photo by surrounded it with color.  Marlene used some Amy Tangerine stamps and Staz On Cactus Green inks. I like the way she accentuated the page by running the ink around the edges too.  Another neat thing on this page, Marlene included ephemera from the festival, the ticket stub and check out the tokens in the upper right corner!  By the way, this layout is based on a sketch by a past Contributing Artist here at Ideas For Scrapbookers, Heather Landry.

In this layout by Anupama, she has displayed some neat techniques with stamps.  She used the brick stamp on the what card stock to create a background pattern.  The brick is a great choice. It extends the background of the photo onto her page.  Now check out the birdcage on the left side of the page. Great shadow, isn't it? It's a stamp!  What a clever use of a stamp!

Here some cool stuff to try with your stamps.  Anupama stamped the black frame and the corrugated paper (opposing corners) with a floral stamp. Instead of using inks, she used paints.  This not only added great design and color, but also added texture to her page!

Cindy has another really cool idea for using stamps. She stamped the word "carrot" onto the page for her layout. She then stamped all the other letters onto scraps of paper and laid them out on her page to create the combo title/journaling.  Really adds fun and whimsy to the page.

On this card, Cindy used 3 different stamps in the same brown colored ink to create a cohesive detailed design.  See stamped the background paper to create a pattern. She then stamped the sentiment and added the shape above and below it.

In this first of 2 samples from Lesley, she shows off some subtle stamping to add fine details to your page.  On the right side she stamped in a light shade of green to create some vegetation in addition to that in her photo.  On the opposite side, she used a brighter shade of green to accent the foliage in the photo.  She also stamped the brown ornate designs in the upper corners and the designs along the top to blend with the paper. It really looks like it was part of the paper design.  Lesley has also stamped the tile for her page.  This subtle style of stamping blends well with the papers, colors and photo on this layout.

In her second example, Lesley shows a contrasting style of stamping. On this page her stamping is more dominant and bold.  I love how she has used stamps and pearls to create a border for her page. She also stamped lots of sentiments and words to express her emotions on the page. Lesley kept with black ink on a white background, also accentuating the boldness of this style.  This all comes together with the black and white photo. A lovely page with timeless elegance.

Speaking of timeless, Gael created this amazing layout titled "Timeless".  She has stamped several images on her background. She also stamped and cut out some tags, including the Timeless title and clock behind it.  The ornate frame behind the clock was stamped and embossed with black embossing powder.  Adds such a gorgeous detail to the page.  I like how she has the ribbon threaded through it.  Some other really neat details on this page, the tiny rhinestones work so well with this. They remind me of nail heads or bolts you would find int he iron work of the tower.  I love how Gael repeated photos of the tower, with slightly different zoom levels, really adds a lot of interest. Now on the left side of her page, Gael included some pleated tissue paper that was pre-printed. You could use plain tissue paper and some of your stamps to accomplish the same look.

These are some great ideas for using stamps to add details, texture and design elements to your pages. Hope we've inspired you to go ahead and break out the inks and get stamping!

National Stamping Month

Cindy here!  Did you know that September is National Stamping Month?  I don't really consider myself a stamper, but I own enough stamps and inks that it would be a shame to let National Stamping Month pass without joining the celebration!

I dug through my scrap stash and came up with a lightly-patterned green piece that would work as a background, a piece of colorful grid paper for my sentiment, and some cardstock pieces for the card base and accents.  The first step was stamping a really fun and whimsical cake.  I fussy-cut it, then shaded it with color pencils.  I added Stickles over the top of each color.  Next, I used Versamark to stamp 'Happy Birthday' all over the green background.  (It's hard to see in the picture, but it's easily visible in real life.)  I used a different stamp and ink for the main sentiment, then grabbed a fun border punch to add a background. 

Have you celebrated National Stamping Month?  It's not too late!

From Trash to Treasure

Cindy here!  It always amazes me what other people throw out.  I'm sure it's the crafter in me, but I have a tendency to look at 'garbage' much differently than my non-crafty friends do.

Here is a gift box and card I made recently.  I used four items that many people would throw away.  Can you guess what they are?

The box once held Girl Scout cookies....

... and I used a pill container, empty roll of tape and a drinking straw for the stamping.

Here's a gift bag I made using the empty tape roll, the straw and one more item:

The third (orange) stamp was an old sponge dauber.  You know what they say: one man's trash is another man's treasure.  Why spend money on circle stamps when these are free and just as cute?!

Here's a sympathy card I made.  Check out the 'patterned paper' on it.

It's actually the inside of security envelopes!  Thanks to Pamela #8040 for the inspiration!

 

From trash (well, recycling actually) to treasure!  

Getting Creative With Stamps & Pencils

Hi, Marlene here, taking a break from Christmas preparations to do a non-holiday scrapbook page. I am showing a technique that I learned from a Close to My Heart rep.  It's a great way to put your acrylic stamps to good use for layouts and cards.   So far, I cannot bring myself to spend $6 on a marker and have been learning to use Prisma Color pencils.  At around $1.50, Prisma pencils are soft and blend together well, I love the colors.  Markers or pencils will make no difference, I will say "pencil" because that's what I used.  I admit to not being the best at shading but the good news is that it gets better with practice.  The main point of this tutorial, while I will attempt to explain shading some, is really about stamping on the image twice to create a crisp edge over colors.
For this project you will need:
white cardstock
acrylic stamp (s) with block (a non see through stamp would be very difficult - read impossible - to use for this)
3 shades of the same color - markers or pencils     if using pencils - odorless paint thinner   
Qtips
light colored stamp pad ( I used Brilliance Platinum Planet pigment ink)
dark colored stamp pad ( I used Staz On Jet Black solvent ink)

With the light colored ink pad, stamp the image onto white cardstock.  Since I knew that I would be cutting the image from the larger page, I outlined the block.  It's a good idea to leave the stamp on the block for the time being, that will make it easier to line up later, especially with the outline.  Firstly, with the lightest color pencil fill in the image.  Try to imagine your image as 3D, so the high points will be lighter than edges.   With the medium color begin shading in your low spots and with the darkest color shade even more.  Go over the whole image again with the lightest color pencil.  If you are using pencils, applying paint thinner with a Qtip will blend the colors together without taking away the shading.  Allow to dry.  For the final step, apply the dark ink pad to your stamp then align the stamp back over the original stamped image and lightly apply the ink.  The second stamping is tricky, check that all sides of the stamp are lined up with the original print.   You can color in small areas to finish if you were slightly off.

I really like the effect of the double stamping, I think the 3 little monsters created with stamps are almost as cute as the one in the photo.

Something I learned unintentionally while creating this page: the title was slightly too large so I put pop dots under 3 letters so I could squeeze the other letters together, add dimension and keep with my "messy" look. 

Stamp and Emboss

Hi everyone, Nancy here.  Today I decided to try a new technique.  You know I have used my masks to stamp before....today I decided to try embossing at the same time.  I began by spraying my mask with a bit of Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist.

I then formed the sandwich for my Big Shot.  This step took a while....trying to figure out the right thickness to get a good embossing.  I ended up with the cutting platform tab 1, my mask, the paper, the rubber mat and then finally, the purple plate.  I didn't get quite as deep an emboss as I would have liked, but it worked.

 And, after a quick trip through my machine.....

I ended up with an embossed image with a hint of color.  I cut around the stencil to complete the look.

And here is my final project.

Prima Papers, flowers, butterflies, trims, Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, Melissa Frances resins

Hugs.

Resistance and Acrylic Paint

Hi everyone. Nancy here with a quick tutorial on using acrylic paint as a resist medium.

You will need acrylic paint (I like to use white) and a brush, water based ink pad (I like Tim Holtz Distress Inks), your stamp or stamps, paper towel and water.

To start, paint your stamp with the acrylic paint.

and stamp your project.

Then, using your inks, begin to color your project.
You can color over your stamped image. Continue adding color till you get the look you like.

Dampen a paper towel with water. Do not use a baby wipe as they tend to be too wet.
Gently wipe the ink off your paint, revealing your original stamped image.
And embellish as desired.

Have fun.