a Happy Secret: a Tutorial on SCS! :-)

So, there's this happy secret I can finally share with You!


(Butterflies: K & Co. "Hello Friend" sentiment: Hero Arts "Just for You" digi kit.
"happy birthday" sentiment SRM Stickers "Happy" set)

First things first, Thank You! There are no words for how much your kindness means to me. I am always astounded anew by how incredibly supportive You lovely Crafty Kindred spirits are. How lucky for me that you take the time to share your wise thoughts and beautiful way of thinking. A thousand happy thank yous & I'll keep you posted on my journey to healthiness. OXO

And that secret?
It's an ultra special first:


A while back, the queen of tutorials, Beate from Splitcoaststampers

offered me the chance to do a tutorial on SCS. Of course, I jumped at
the opportunity & today is finally the day it goes live!
giggle giggle giggle

The technique is called Distress Watercolour Embossing
and you can find the tutorial here on Splitcoaststampers.

Here's a version of the technique that uses another image style of folder, a tree
pattern in a Spellbinders M-Bossabilities embossing folder called Flora:


(Butterflies: Hero Arts "Flutterbies" digi kit. Sentiment: Hero Arts "Just for You" digi kit)


This background is really quick and easy to do. I tried to get an ombre effect with the shades of green. Distress Ink colours used: old paper mixed with crushed olive & shabby shutters.
All the details are on SCS here, for this card.

If you like the graph paper,
it's a freebie that you can find here:

(I lightened the plum colour in photoshop by selecting the
following: image - adjustments - hue/saturation - lightness +)

To save this file:
In Firefox/Chrome: right click on the image & choose "save link as"
In Explorer: right click on the image & choose "save target as"
(or you can see the whole set here on Flickr)





And here's a version that's my attempt at that modern casual style:


("happy birthday" sentiment from SRM Stickers "Happy" set.)


It uses just a piece of watercoloured embossing &
a Tim Holtz Texture Fades embossing folder called Regal Flourishes.
Distress Ink colours used: tumbled glass; broken china; crushed olive
and all the other details are here on SCS.

If you like the papers, they are digital paper freebies
that you can find...

... here:


To save this file:
In Firefox/Chrome: right click on the image & choose "save link as"
In Explorer: right click on the image & choose "save target as"
(or you can see the whole set here on Flickr)

...and here:


To save this file:
In Firefox/Chrome: right click on the image & choose "save link as"
In Explorer: right click on the image & choose "save target as"
(or you can see the whole set here on Flickr)

This last example is a soft version that uses a more abstract watercolour

style and an embossing folder from Sizzix called Tropical Paisley:


(Baby T-shirts and Sentiment: Hero Arts "Special Delivery" digi kit.)


By the by, it's actually easier to do this type of folder than the rose outline one,
since there is less chance of getting embossing powder where you don't want it.
Distress Ink colours used here watered down to make pastel shades:
broken china; wild honey; crushed olive; spun sugar
And you can find all of the other supplies & details on SCS here.

If you like the papers, they are digital paper freebies
that you can find...

... here:

To save this file:
In Firefox/Chrome: right click on the image & choose "save link as"
In Explorer: right click on the image & choose "save target as"
(or you can see the whole set here on Flickr)

...and here:

(I lightened the plum colour in photoshop by selecting the
following: image - adjustments - hue/saturation - lightness +)

To save this file:
In Firefox/Chrome: right click on the image & choose "save link as"
In Explorer: right click on the image & choose "save target as"
(or you can see the whole set here on Flickr)

Thanks ever ever so much
for being You!

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"One, Two, Three... Get Loose, Now!"

Do you like that loose relaxed style that seems to be all the rage, now?

I love it! But I find it totally im-possum-ible, so I'm trying
to get a little more chilled out in my card layouts...



Not sure if this little card qualifies as relaxed, but it felt that way
when I was making it. ;-) (It's a 4-1/4 inch square card).

Step 1) Print subtle graph paper & add some splatters. This is some Distress Ink spray that I made: tumbled glass & distilled water, but instead of spraying, I flicked the inky water on using the mechanism-thingy from the inside of the spray bottle.



Step 2) Stick an SRM sticker on the paper and sand off some of the black ink.

It will take away some of the sticker ink leaving a funky distressed texture and softer look:



You could sand the sticker before you add it to your project to reduce the chance of smudges but I just stuck a piece of low tack painters tape on...



... and when you lift the tape, the black dust from sanding lifts right off:



It gives you a nice clean look and the black dust won't smudge onto your paper.

Another trick with tape that surprised me:



If you put picket fence Distress Stain on washi tape it will stay put
and it gives you a lovely texture:



Step 3) Stick the tape onto cardstock & make a little tag shape.

Step 4) Stamp the Bakery hometown stamp. (I heat embossed it with black pigment ink & clear embossing powder. One of the nicest things about the hometown building stamps is that they are not too small. (This little Bakery is just under 2.5" tall.) Makes it easy to colour!

I stamped it 2 times.

Once to cut the window out of to add a bit of acetate & layer it up:

I also stamped the Bakery image a second time to cut the awning out:

(The handy thing is that I could use the same image I cut the awning from to also cut out the yummy contents of the window to pop in behind). The layers in behind the whole thing are all grey cardstock. I like that better than foam dots since it's sturdier and looks like a shadow.

To layer it, I did this schtuff:

A) Stamped the image & cut the window out with a hobby blade.
B) Glued 3 pieces of white cardstock together (a bit smaller than the size as the image to fit in behind it).
C) Temporarily adhered the 3 layers of cardstock in behind the stamped image with the window cut out of it.
D) Cut the window out of the layers that are in behind -- using the first window cutting as a guide.
E) Cut a little piece of acetate & glue it in behind the stamped image. Permanently adhere the layers for dimension.
F) Add the awning (coloured & cut) with layers of grey cardstock in behind.
G) Add the bakery window contents in behind the little acetate window.

Step 5) Stick it all together:



Step 6) Add a little paper to the inside of the card
and line an envelope to match:



It's just simple printed digi paper, with faux stitches drawn in pen.
(I'll add the three digi papers I used for this card in the next day or two).

The tutorial for lining an envelope in a big old hurry, is here.

As soon as I saw this hometown collection,
I knew I just had to have it:



It's from Purple Onion Designs,
and it's drawn by Stephanie Ackerman.

• Bakery stamp from Purple Onion Designs hometown collection.
• White cardstock (80lb) white copy paper (thin to line envelope).
• Ranger Archival jet black ink, clear embossing powder, heat gun
  
• Dark grey cardstock, A2 sized white envelope, double-sided tape.
  
• Piano monochrome Sweet Bella tape & picket fence Distress Stain.
• SRM Sticker set: "SWEET" We've Got Your Sticker.
• Copic markers: RV-02, V000, c-7,c-3, c-1, BG-10, B-00, YG-00.
  

Hope your day is a sweet one!

P.S. On an extra personal note: Sorry the posts around here continue to be random. I've been working on managing my energy levels and diet (anemia and the no gluten or dairy or egg etc...) It's has been a bit of a struggle. I'm a regular zombie, I tell ya (and oh man my house is a big old MESS!) :-) But Charles is more patient than a saint, and we've been enjoying days here and there spent in the community garden and spent with our amazing family. I am starting to have some non-zombie days and my migraines are fewer! Yay!!! I hope you and yours are feeling oh so well, and are as lucky as we are.

P.P.S. "One, Two, Three... Get loose now!" Got that song stuck in your head? Here's "It Takes Two make a Think go Right" (for my fellow the Rob Base & D.J. Easy Rock fans). :-D And of course, "Joy & Pain" too!

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Wrinkle-free Distress Ink technique

Digital stuff is a delight, but don't you just love the
pure fun of getting inky with rubber stamps?



"let the wind take you away!"

You might not be able to tell from the usual style of cards around this joint that I am obsessed with Distress Inks. I just finished making 44 custom spray inks with Distress Ink refills that I can't wait to show you, in detail.

(Not to mention all kinds of obsessive organizing
that just makes my heart sing with happy):

card

The sky background: This card is my real first try at the wrinkle free Distress Ink technique invented by Tim Holtz. I tried it way back when, with other inks, but it is much more vibrant and textural with Distress inks. I used these inks: Pine Needles, Tumbled Glass, Broken China, and Iced Spruce.

To make the clouds...

- I doodled some cloud shapes & cut out them out.
- Swiped over them with white acrylic paint & let it dry.
- Adhered them to the Distress Ink background.
- Pierced & stitched the outline with white thread.

To add the balloon...

- I stamped the Purple Onion Designs balloon on patterned paper (Crate paper Paper Heart 6x6).
- Then to make a quick template for stitching the string out of black thread, I cut a scrap of clear plastic from some packaging and stamped the balloon again (in stazon so it would be permanent) pierced holes in the plastic:

- Then I laid it over my card, and pierced holes where the string would be... and hand stitched the balloon string with a needle and black thread.
- Finally, the balloon itself is covered in clear lacquer glue to make it shiny & popped up on foam dots for dimension.

To add the sentiment...

- I stamped the sentiment in silver on tracing paper.
- Then heat embossed it with silver embossing powder.
- Finally I cut it out & adhered the tracing paper to the bottom of the clouds with gluestick and added a couple of hand stitches at either side to anchor each word visually.

(white Distress Stain edging)

Ever feel like the edges of the card need something
to tie all the elements together visually?

Sometimes white paint is just the thing, but sometimes pure paint is too bold.
The one Distress Stain I've tried out (the white one Picket Fence) is perfect...

If you swipe it around the edges once you get a soft white look
& you can go around a couple more times, layering it for bolder white.

If you have white Distress Stain, you might be interested
in this Painted Distress Ink tutorial:

The balloon stamp & Sentiment are from Purple
Onion Designs' The Sweetest Day collection:


&

The Purple Onion Designs blog is filled with
lots of gorgeous stuff, if you want some inspiration:

• Stazon ink & clear plastic packaging for piercing template
• Paper piercer, needle & black and white thread
• Patterned paper: Crate paper Paper Heart 6x6
• White cardstock, white acrylic paint, and Tracing paper
• Silver pigment ink, silver embossing powder, a heat gun
  
• Distress Inks: Pine Needles, Tumbled Glass, Broken China, and Iced Spruce.
• Scor-Pal Stay Put Craft Mat
  
• Distress Stain (white) Picket Fence
  

Here's hoping your day is delightful one,


P.S. If you're curious about the wrinkle free Distress Ink technique you can see Tim's video for it here. And he has many more videos on his new site here.

P.S. Downloading excitement!!! Thank you all so much for liking the overlays. You all made my week with your kind words! Sorry about the downloading troubles in Chrome or Explorer. If you check that overlay and other freebie posts, you'll find that downloading from any browser just got a lot simpler. Thanks again, Suruha You're the best!

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