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October 31 Halloween Card | Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Halloween 2023
SHATTERED BACKGROUND
To add some interest, I added some larger water droplets by slowly pulling the trigger of the Distress Sprayer. I used my heat tool to start the drying process. I then placed a paper towel over the paper to dab dry and lift off some of the ink and then dried it again with my heat tool. I love the interest this step adds to the already gorgeous shimmery background.
I'm going to be heat embossing during the next step, so you want to make sure your paper is completely dry because embossing powder can stick to wet paper.
For the heat embossing on the background I used the Shattered Stamp Set. This stamp actually comes with it's own stamping block, but I prefer to use a stamping platform just in case I need to restamp the image for any reason.
I placed the paper into my stamping platform and applied repositionable adhesive to the backside of the paper to help hold it in place. This is particularly helpful when working with large background stamps such as the Shattered Stamp Set which is actually larger than my paper and will keep me from being able to really use the magnets to hold the paper in place.
As I mentioned, I'm going to be heat embossing the image, so next I applied embossing ink to the stamp. I used Versamark Watermark Ink, but feel free to use any embossing ink you like.
After I stamped the image, I removed the paper from my stamping platform and placed it over a piece of computer paper folded in half. I then poured Gold Embossing Powder over the paper. I continued to add embossing powder until the entire image was covered with the powder. I then tapped off any excess powder and returned it to the jar.
To make the embossing powder permanent, you must apply heat. So next, I use a pair of tweezers to hold the paper so that I don't accidentally burn my fingers. I then apply heat using a heat embossing tool. As the powder and paper heat up, the powder begins to melt and turn shiny! It's seriously the most magical thing and I absolutely love watching the transformation every single time I heat emboss!
FOREBODING EMBELLISHMENTS
Next up I'm going to create some stamped embellishments for the card using images from the Foreboding Stamp Set. I placed a piece of Distress Watercolor Paper into my stamping platform and stamped the images using Black Soot Archival Ink. I originally played around with using the scroll like images but after thinking about the placement of them on the card, I decided to just stamp the candle and skull. I stamped the image several times to get a nice dark stamped image.
Once the images were stamped, I colored them using Distress Watercolor Pencils. When I work these, I like to pull the pigment from the pencil using a waterbrush. You could also use a wet paintbrush to do the same thing. I applied the pigment that I picked up with the waterbrush onto the paper and colored in the image. Here I'm using Antique Linen to color on the skull. Remember to start off with less color on your brush as you can always add layers of color to build them up and make them darker.
When working with the Distress Watercolor Pencils over stamped images, you will notice that they will layer over the ink and cause it to become less bold. To remedy that, I like to place the image back into my stamping platform and restamp the image. If you're worried about getting things lined back up, you can always leave the paper in the stamping platform and color it in there. After I re-stamped the image, I used a pair of detail scissors to fussy cut the skull image from the paper.
THE OBSCURE BACKGROUND
Next up, I wanted to create a stamped piece to layer behind the skull. I took a piece of Distress Watercolor Paper and adhered it inside my stamping platform using re-positionable adhesive. I then began stamping the images from The Obscure Stamp Set onto the paper using Black Soot Archival Ink. I choose this permanent ink for my stamping because I knew I was going to add some ink smooshing during the next step. As I stamped the script image I decided to hold the stamp with my fingers as I didn't want to stamp the entire image each time, but just parts of here and there to fill in the design.
With the stamping completed I went on to use ink smooshing to add some color to the paper I just stamped. I took an Old Paper Distress Ink pad and smooshed the ink pad onto my craft mat. I then spritzed the ink with some water and then smooshed my paper into the ink. I used my fingers to push sections of the paper into the ink. I repeated this several times until I'm happy with how it looked and then I used my heat tool to dry the paper. Once it was dry, I decided to add a bit more ink by smooshing the paper back into the ink that was still on my craft mat and then dried the paper once more. To add a little more interest, I then added some larger water droplets by slowly pulling the trigger of the Distress Sprayer. I began to dry the paper with my heat tool and then used a paper towel to dab dry and lift off some of the still wet ink. I then finished drying the paper with my heat tool.
The stamped layer was a bit too large to fit on my background paper, so I tore the edge of the paper and used the distress head of the Sizzix Surfacez Multi-Tool Set along the edges of the torn paper to give it a more distressed look. I continued tearing the paper and distressing the edges of it until I was happy with the size. It ended up being about 2 x 5 inches once I was done with it.
Next, I inked the edges of this piece and the skull with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink. Then, once again, I add some larger water droplets by slowly pulling the trigger of the Distress Sprayer. I dabbed the ink dry, lifted off some of the ink with a paper towel and then dried it with my heat tool.
FINISHING DETAILS
For the sentiment, I stamped the October 31 image from The Obscure Stamp Set with embossing ink onto black cardstock and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder, just like I did earlier for the background paper. I then trimmed this down leaving a small border around the date.
To create the layer behind the purple embossed layer, I cut a piece of Gold Metallic Kraft Stock to 4.25 x 6 inches and distressed the edges using the same distress tool as before. I then inked the edges with Black Soot Distress Ink to darken it up.
I hope you enjoyed learning how this Halloween card came together using some of the new stamp sets from the Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous 2023 Halloween release. Until next time...stay crafty my friend!
SUPPLIES
Workspace Wednesday | Crafty Storage Zipper Pouches and Storage Envelopes
It's time for another Workspace Wednesday and in this post, I wanted to share about some great storage options in the form of zipper pouches and envelopes that are perfect for organizing, storing and protecting your crafting supplies.
CRAFTY STORAGE ZIPPER POUCHES
First up are the Crafty Storage Zipper Pouches. I recently went to visit my mom and used these to pack some crafting supplies so we could make cards together. They were absolutely perfect for storing everything I needed.These Crafty Storage Pouches are a convenient and practical way to organize, store and protect all of your card making and paper crafting supplies in one place. They're made of EVA and mesh which make them flexible and allows you to fit more items in them than Plastic Storage Envelopes. They are sold individually or in packs of 3.
STORAGE ENVELOPES
- Small 4.75 x 4.75 inches
- Medium 6 x 8.75 inches **
- Large 7 x 10 inches
- Extra Large 13 x 13 inches **
- 7 x 13 inches - I like to call this the extra long one. It's perfect for storing Tim Holtz 6x10 Backdrops Papers!
- Letter 9 x 11.5 inches
- Slimline 4.5 x 9.5 inches **
SUPPLIES
For the Love of Rub Ons
I don't know if you've noticed, but rub ons are back and in a big way! And the options available are mind blowingly gorgeous! Don't get me wrong, rub ons aren't anything new. They've actually been around for years and back when I first started scrapbooking, they were super popular. Over the years, they seemed to disappear, but recently I am seeing them everywhere! I recently used some gorgeous rub ons from Scrapbook.com to create this Thankful For You Card and wanted to share it with you. But, before I get into the making, I thought I'd explain a bit more about rub ons for those of you who aren't familiar with them.
WHAT IS A RUB ON?
They can be transferred to any smooth surface such as paper, wood, fabric, glass, mirrors, calendars, etc. and are great for scrapbooking, cardmaking, DIY and more! As long as the surface you're transferring to is smooth and clean with no wax or oil on it, you can use a rub on on it!
HOW TO USE A RUB ON
- Select which image you want to use and carefully cut around it and remove it from the backing sheet.
- Remove the protective backing and place the image facing up on your paper surface. Make sure you're careful about where you place the rub-on after the backing is removed because they are slightly sticky and the image can start to stick down or you can accidentally tear the image before you're ready to set the image down.
- Take the popsicle stick (which will be included with your rub ons) and gently rub over the image to transfer it onto your craft surface.
- Slowly begin to lift the acetate up while holding one side down with the opposite hand and check to see that the image has completely transferred before lifting the acetate off of your project. If the image didn't transfer all the way, place the image back down, line it up with the existing image, and rub over it again with the popsicle stick.
- Once the image is completely transferred, remove the plastic acetate sheet and enjoy!
Once the paper was dry, I stamped the paper using the ledger like image from the Creative Expressions Beautiful Garden Stamp Set by Sam Poole. I stamped the image using Frayed Burlap Distress Oxide Ink.
Next, I began applying the Wild Blooms Rub Ons to each of the "postage" areas. I masked off each box using Mint Tape and then applied the rub on. After the rub on was transferred, I used a craft knife to very gently cut along the edge of the Mint Tape and cut off the excess rub on. I then peeled up the Mint Tape and reused it to do the next area. This was a little time intensive, but I do love the effect it created.
After I had adhered the rub ons, I added some more stamping using some word stamps from the Creative Expressions Butterfly Walk Stamp Set by Sam Poole and Creative Expressions Woodware Mini Postmarks Stamp Set by Francoise Read. I stamped these images using Archival Ink in Coffee because I was stamping over the rub ons, I had to use a more permanent ink.
SUPPLIES
Spooky Cute Halloween Inspiration
SPOOKY CUTE HALLOWEEN TREAT BOXES
SPOOKY CUTE HAPPY HALLOWEEN CARD
SUPPLIES
Halloween Tags | Tim Holtz Sizzix Halloween 2023
HALLOWEEN TAGS WITH EMBOSSING GLAZE BACKGROUNDS
THE BACKGROUND
For the tag base, I'm used Distress Tags which are a heavystock mixed media paper and can handle different types of mediums. I lightly spritzed the tag with water using a Distress Sprayer, placed it inside the embossing folder and ran it through my die cutting machine. The water makes the paper more pliable and really allows it to take in all the detail from the embossing folder.
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Halloween Banner | Tim Holtz Sizzix Halloween 2023
If you prefer a video format, you can watch below or head over to my YouTube channel to see the process in more detail.
If you're interested in the supplies I've used to create this banner, you can find a complete list and links to them in the supply list below. When you shop through those links it supports me and I really appreciate that so very much!
Now let's get on with the making.
HALLOWEEN BANNER 2023
To create this banner, I'll be working with the Edison Colorize, Big Frights and Tailored Thinlits Die Sets by Tim Holtz and Sizzix. I'll be using the Tailored die set to help get my Jack-O-Lantern Gents ready for Halloween! For the base of each banner, I'll be using the Tapestry Embossing Folder and Decorative Trims Thinlits Die Set.I'll be using various Distress Oxide Inks in Villainous Potion, Crackling Campfire, Fossilized Amber, Rusty Hinge, Forest Moss, Black Soot and Frayed Burlap. I'll also be using textured cardstock in black, green, purple, a dark orange and a lighter orange that coordinate with the Distress Oxide Inks.
Now I'm going to share how I transformed the solid cardstock to create a more distressed and spooky effect using the Ink Smooshing Technique. I cut the base layer of Edison from a lighter orange cardstock. I then smooshed the Fossilized Amber Distress Oxide Ink pad onto my craft mat, spritzed it with water to activate the ink and then I smooshed the paper into the ink. This is why it's called the ink smooshing technique! I repeated the smooshing until I liked how much ink was on the paper and then used my heat tool to dry the paper. I then repeated the ink smooshing process using Frayed Burlap Distress Oxide Ink.
Next, I took the second layer of Edison, which I cut from a darker orange cardstock and I ink smooshed it into Crackling Campfire Distress Oxide Ink and then dried it with my heat tool. I wanted to make this paper a little darker in the areas where it would show after under the top layer, so I used a foam blending tool to add more Crackling Campfire Distress Oxide Ink to those areas.
For the top layer of Edison, I did the ink smooshing using Rusty Hinge Distress Oxide Ink. To add some distress to this layer, I also added some ink smooshing with the Frayed Burlap Distress Oxide Ink. To help the top layer stand out a bit more, I used a foam blending tool to ink the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I then assembled the layers using Distress Collage Medium for my adhesive.
Now I'm going to do some ink smooshing with the hats and bow ties from the Tailored Die Set using Frayed Burlap Distress Oxide Ink. To save some time, I left these smaller die cuts in the paper I cut them from and adhered strips of Mint Tape to the back side of the paper to help hold them in place. This allowed me to dip and smoosh them all at once, instead of having to do each die cut separately.
For the bands and the bow ties, I used Villainous Potion and Twisted Citron Distress Oxide Inks. On the finished banner, I ended up with two of the hats having purple bands and one with green. I also die cut some spiders from black glitter cardstock. I then assembled each of the pumpkins using Distress Collage Medium and adhered the spiders and bow ties with a small pieces of foam tape to add some dimension.
Next I used the Big Frights Die Set to cut Boo and Eek from purple and green cardstock. I use Forest Moss for the ink smooshing on the Eek. I then repeated the ink smooshing on the purple Boo using Villainous Potion. When it came time to assemble the banner, I ended up creating a purple Eek just to make things a little more balanced. I die cut the base layer for both words from black cardstock and ink smooshed it into Frayed Burlap Distress Oxide Ink. I then inked the edges of the words with Walnut Stain Distress Ink and adhered the layers together with Distress Collage Medium.
For the banner, I took 5 pieces of Distress Watercolor Paper cut to 4 x 5.25 inches and embossed them using the Tapestry Embossing Folder. I then took a Black Soot Distress Oxide Ink pad and rubbed it over the surface of the embossed paper to highlight the embossed design. Next, I took the Distress Sprayer filled with water and pulled the trigger slowly to create large water droplets over the inked panel. I then dried the ink with my heat tool.
To finish off each panel, I took the embossed paper and inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink. I then ink smooshed a piece of purple cardstock using Villainous Potion Distress Oxide Ink and die cut it into strips using the Tim Holtz Decorative Trims Die Set. I adhered a strip to the backside of each panel so that a 1/4 inch of it would hang below the bottom of panel. I then some machine stitching around the outer edge using black thread. Next, I adhered each panel to a piece of black cardstock cut to 4.25 x 5.5 inches.
On the word panels, I embellished them by adding some of the small icons from the Big Frights Die Set that I cut from silver and black glitter cardstock and the adhered them with foam tape.
To assemble the banner, I added eyelets to the top corner of each panel. For the string, I took a piece of seam binding and dyed it using Black Soot Distress Spray Stain.
And there you have it! A frightfully fun Halloween Banner perfect for decorating your haunt this Halloween season! I hope you enjoyed seeing how this came together and are inspired to create your own! Until next time...stay crafty my friend!