Altered Tissue Tape

Okay readers, I have found an awesome new technique for altering my favorite craft item: tissue tape.  This is amazing staple is made by Tim Holtz and I just can't seem to get enough of it.  Tim recently posted on his blog many ideas for this product. I simply took one of his ideas a step further and here is what I made.

It is a little difficult to see, so I included a few different angles.  The entire outside of this little shrine is covered with altered tissue tape from the Sketchbook collection.  Love this stuff!

The project started with a score from a garage sale, and old piece of dollhouse furniture.  I took off the doors and broke out the shelf that was inside.   The whole thing was colored with spray ink and the edges were coated in copper Rub and Buff.  The inside opening appeared to be too deep so I added a few layers of craft foam before I lined the inside of my mini shrine with paper from Tim's newest paper stash, Crowded Attic. 

I knew I wanted to give the outside more texture so I thought I would use tissue tape colored with alcohol ink, inspired by Tim's recent blog post.  Direct application is the trick to get the color nice and rich.  As I was applying my inks, I had a curious thought, what would Perfect Pearls do with the ink...  I dipped my brush into a pot of copper pearls and tapped it above my tape to sprinkle it on.  I then used my brush to disperse it across the tape.  My goodness, how well this worked.  The inks were still wet enough to accept the pearls perfectly and the sheen that you get is just amazing. These photos really do not capture how lovely it really looks, but you can see a bit of the shimmer in the photo above. I have since used this technique on metal too...and it works really well!

The outside of my structure was covered in the tape.  I added a crown from Tim's Ideaology collection that I altered a bit with paint and ink to age it.  My stash of found objects and goodies provided the stuff for the inside.  The bottle, also by Tim, was filled with a bit of sand and a bit of sheet music I aged with Vintage Photo and tied up with a bit of string.  I have no idea where the game piece came from, I have so much stuff in my stash!  I added one of Tim's light bulbs, a vintage clock key from my Dad and a pair of bone dice.  The charm hanging from the top is an old watch face that I attached a wing charm and spinner too. I then used some wire to create a finding.  I just love this little charm.

I am so excited to share this trick of the trade with you!  Please let me know if you try it out.  I would love to see what others can do with this little idea. 

Thanks as always for stopping by! Happy crafting!



Once Upon a Springtime

I just love the "Once Upon a Springtime" paper series that Graphics 45 has.  I have been hording a few sheets of this paper for a while and decided to finally use some of it since spring seems to have really arrived here in Michigan.  I started with a cute little pressed board box "book" that was given to me from a new crafty pal Karen, who owns Dillon's Scrapbook Store in Portage MI.  How kind and sweet for her to think of me!

I covered the book in a flocked paper from the store as well, but I failed to photograph the back of the project where you can really see the paper.  If you look really close you may be able to pick out the light pink brocade pattern, which is so soft from the flocking.  I chose an image for the front of my book and framed it out with Tim Holtz's corners.  I also added a hitch post at that time, knowing I wanted something to either dangle or act as a closure for the box/book. 

Now typically I am not one to gravitate towards pink...or ribbons for that matter, but today I chose to embrace these new to me elements.  I backed a title portion of the paper with a nice ruffle trim and attached it to the top of the scene.  A few ceramic flowers were added as well as as a dimensional butterfly. To finish out the front, I attached a couple of Tim's super cute buttons, and buttons just happen to be this week's theme for the Simon Says Stamp and Show blog challenge this week.

The top portion of the inside started with one of the postcards from the paper.  Oh, how I love all things postal.  I added a strip of Tim's newest tissue tape along with a fragment I altered with paper and foil tape.  Another butterfly sticker and a bit of yarn holds a key, completing the inside upper area of the piece.  For once I tried to keep it simple!  I did have to make sure that my embellishments were not going to interfere with the closure of the box as I crafted.

To frame out the bottom I started by covering the edges of this skinny little book box with another one of Tim's new tissue tapes.  A light blue subtly printed scrapbook paper frames out the main image.  I used more ceramic flowers, this time spraying them with Glimmer Mist as their color did not work with my palate.  They are a bit dark in my opinion, but there was nothing I could do, the other flowers I had that were similar were too dimensional and would have broken due to the lid. I added a bit of texture with some trim up top and a length of textured yarn.  A couple of shells and more of Tim's buttons add a bit of interest, along with a tiny bottle, filled with flowers (spring) and watch parts (time).  I added a few altered corsage pins to add a bit of height and frame out the inside.  I did not make the pins, they were given to me in a swap.  

In the end, I found a little copper charm that fits the motif perfect.  It is hard to see in this picture, but I also added Stickels to the wings of all the fairies to add a bit of magic. 

Grungy Monday No. 4: Winged Tag

Oh, how I enjoy these challenges.  This week Linda inspired us to use Tim's texture fade technique.  This is a clever way to apply ink while embossing.  I used a new folder I purchased with a gear pattern, made by Cuttlebug.  I chose old ledger paper to do the texture fade technique, but you can hardly tell because I altered the paper so much.  I also buffed in Distress Ink, sprayed on Glimmer Mist and then sanded.

When I was sanding, I encountered a problem.  I tore my edges all up due to the brittleness of the vintage paper.  Since I try to just "make it work" (love you Tim Gunn), I decided I would cover up this mistake.  Well I had just read Tim's blog and he posted a lovely idea that was new to me, alcohol ink on tissue tape.  So I directly applied Butterscotch to one of his new tapes and fell in love!  The color is so rich and intense.  I have used Distress Inks, spray inks on tissue tape but never alcohol inks until today.  Thank you Mr. Holtz for schooling me once again!

I then moved on to the embellishment, my favorite part of creating.  I used a hitch post to create a place to hang my swivel clip of goodness, which was tied into place with a bit of lace.  I added a cool ruler charm, a button pin, a gear and a charm I made. 

At this point I knew I needed something else along the edge of the tag for balance.  Since wings are something I can never get enough of, I chose this image.  It was stamped on grungeboard, inked and misted with copper Perfect Pearls. Another little industrial touch was added with a pair tiny washer backed spinners.

I love the outcome for this tag has and it was a wonderful creation process as always.  My only problem now is to figure out how to add it to my tag ring, I may have to go back and move the hitching post a bit lower and add an eyelet to the hole so that I can keep it with my growing collection. 

Thanks as always to my each and every one of my followers. It really means a lot to me that you stop by read, comment and gain inspiration.  The feedback you provide fuels my creativity and affirms my creative spirit.  For this I am deeply grateful. 

All around the Globe

My steampunk journey continues.  I had a globe image that I had been holding on to for a while and with Earth day upon us, this was my inspiration source. I made an early decision to include many round things in my collage.  The background is an amazing sheet of paper from Hollanders.  It is a collage of aged sheet music, ads and books,  I also added my own custom ephemera.  I purchased two lovely vintage rulers with great graphics this weekend at a flea market.  On of them is from right here in Kalamazoo.  I had to make copies of postcards for a recent project and had extra space on my sheet.  I had the brilliant idea to just add my two rulers along the side of my postcards, instant custom deluxe paper!

I started to sift through my stash for images that were round.  I gravitated again towards my deluxe paper.  I cut out a few of the clocks along the edge of the sheet and played around with the layout.  A few stamps add to the layers of elements.  I added the timepiece from Tim Holtz along with a few spinners.  The clock was quite dark, so I used a secret from Tim himself, and added a tiny bit of acrylic paint and quickly wiped it off.  I think this adds a bit of age to the piece.  

For the charm embellishment I started with an old porcelin watch face and a few gears.  A creative spark hit me and I recalled a strand of angel wings I had recently purchased.  I tried to get it to float on the wire in a way that was pleasing, but it just was not working.  I resorted to gluing it and also added another watch piece on top of the face.  I just love how this turned out!  An eyelet was set in the corner of the page which provided a place to add my custom charm.    

Thanks to all the people at OWSE and Simon Says Stamp for always providing such wonderful creative inspiration and support. 

Journey to Kalamazoo

I finally finished a marathon project for the group All Things Tim.  I do love chunky book swaps, but creating so many pages can get a bit redundant towards the end.  Because of this, I changed up the back side of the pages just a bit.  The theme for this book is Journey, and we were assigned to do a 6x6 page from where we live.  I took my inspiration from a few vintage postcards I had.

One postcard depicts an image of the old Kalamazoo Library.  This one I actually shopped from my Dad's stash.  The other post card is interesting because the photo and the writing is on the same side.  The image here is the Kalamazoo Post office and the note is really charming. I am a huge fan of all things postal, so I actually paid a few dollars for this vintage ephemera at an antique show.  I also had this project in mind, so I had a good justification to get it.  I finished off the front of the page with Dymo labels, a Tattered Angels vintage theme acetate embellishment and a memo pin charm topped off with a key and bit of vintage lace.  Below is a second version of the front page.  There are a variety of black acetate embellishments. 



The back portion of this project has some variety, partially due to a lack of supplies.  I had one great vintage map that I used, but ran out.  In the end you can hardly tell though as there are so many elements in the collage.  I used (on most pages) vintage ledger paper to jot down my contact information.  I also used the postmarks from the postcards on the front as well as various stamps.  A few pages have really cool images of a Kalamazoo ruler that I purchased at a flea market this weekend.  How neat to make my own custom paper and ephemera! Too bad I got this piece so late in the production process, only a few of them have this imagery.

I am pleased with how they have turned out.  I can't wait to receive the pages back from the swap so see what has inspired the other participants.  Thank you for taking a moment to Journey to Kalamazoo!

Time Tag

I just love the inspirations that online craft challenges provide. This tag was done for Simon Says Stamp's weekly challenge were Distress Inks are the focus.  I used them in several different ways. 

The project was started with a traditional manila tag.  I started layering color my swiping a (new to me) ink color, Rusty Hinge, directly on the tag.  I then buffed in Vintage Photo as well as Brushed Corduroy.  A few spritzes of water intensified the color and created texture for the background.  While I was drying with a heat gun, I had a sudden urge (because it was left out in my craft area) to add a spray of Espresso color wash to the bottom of the tag as well. 

I then took the background further by adding several impressions of Tim's postal stamp, again with distress inks.  I thought I messed it up due to poor overlapping, but really with this style, you just can't mess up!  The clock image is from a lovely sheet of paper by Bo Bunny.  I backed it with a torn piece of translucent ledger paper, that I aged with Vintage Photo.  The navy strip of paper was added to give visual weight to the bottom of the tag.  I added another round element by attaching a portion of a globe image towards the to the project, providing balance. 

The embellishment includes a lovely scrap of ribbon, a replica of a vintage key as well as a muse token and light bulb by Tim Holtz.  I just love using jewelry techniques in my altered art, as this is where I started in my artistic journey. 

Grungy Monday No. 3: Imagine

For this installment of Grungy Monday, I made another 6x6 page for my very own chunky book. I started with a piece of an old Sears and Roebuck Catalog, which has been an amazing source of ephemera.  I used Espresso wash combined with Tim's masks to create some contrast in the background.  The color wash was quite simple to use and I appreciate the dark, flat color.  Don't get me wrong I like a shimmer, but there are times when a nice dense color is best for the project.   I also further distressed the background with a few spritz of water creating a nice subtle dappled effect.

At this point I thought ahead to my embellishment, as I wanted to be able to connect it to the paper before gluing the base of my page to chipboard.  I found an old washer and a piece of a clock that I attached to the altered emphemera with a game spinner and a brad.  After gluing, I sealed the edges of the page with tissue tape.  This is a great way to hide any misaligned edges! 

A sheet of Graphic 45's Steampunk Debutant paper provided me with lots of different imagery to add to the page.  A bit of delicate cutting and I had several options to audition for my layout.  Once I was happy with the look of the page, I went back to my embellishing.  I attached a charm with these really cool tiny pins I scored at a garage sale.  They look like the tiniest bobby pin and they are really strong.  I suspect they were used to hold buttons on cards back in the day, as they were in a found along with some old vintage buttons in a coffee can full of "junk" I paid two dollars for. They have been a lovely addition to my embellsiment options. I finished off the page by adding one more watch movement, a little off the edge of the page.   

I am starting to think that I am going to need to start calling these challenges Steampunk Mondays, as I am so hooked on this theme right now.  I can't wait until next week's inspiration so that I can craft another page for my book!  Thanks to Linda Ledbetter and Tim Holtz for being such amazing inspirations! Stay tuned for more installements in this lovely little series of my steampunk dreams.

Quickfire No. 1

The crafty gals over at the Outlaw Women's Scrapbook Emporium often host challenges to get your inspiration moving. 

This one is their first "quickfire" challenge.  The theme: vintage, the size:  3x5, the timeframe: short (about two days I think).  Anyhow, I set out to make something totally different, the scraps on my table got the the best of me and I created this little page in no time at all.

Thanks for the inspiration ladies!  Can you tell I can't get enough steampunk of late...



Grungy Monday No. 2: Time

This is installation number 2 in a series of inspiration challenges from Linda Ledbetter with Tim Holtz's techniques.  I also entered this piece into this weeks challenge over at Simon Says Stamp.  I was again surprised at the outcome.  Each time I have tried these resist techniques I am shocked at how well it works. 

The resist was done with a foam stamp I made from a foam door hanger.  It was not large enough for the entire Weathered Clock die, but it was still effective.  I probably would have taken the stamped image off the page anyway.  I used a regular matte medium to stamp the clock and let it dry.  The background was then colored with several colors of Distress Inks.  I sprayed and splattered with water.  I also added a few pinches of copper Perfect Pearls.  I like the way it looks when you sprinkle by hand.  More water fixed the Perfect Pearls in place.  I edged the page in Tissue Tape and added a few bits of map scraps I had on my table from another project I am working on.  The clock images came from a few lovely sheets of paper. One of them was by Bo Bunny and the others came from a large piece of paper I purchased at a specialty paper and book binding store called Hollanders.  There is a plastic clock by Maya Road and a timepiece and game spinner from Tim.

I knew I wanted to make a special embellishment for this page. The charm started with a small capsule I filled with tiny watch parts. I started adding gears, a word stick, a key and a few washers with jump rings.  A hole was created and set with a grommet to tie my charm to the page with a bit of vintage ribbon.  

I started this piece with a left over piece of chipboard from a swap I am currently working on.  I decided that while doing this series of technique challenges I will either do a tag or a chunky book page and then bind them when I am complete. 

Paris and Pendants

Well today I managed to try a few new crafty techniques.  I made two ATC's, which I have not created in quite some time.  This was for a technique swap.  I am really glad I tried it out, I was surprised at how well it worked. 

For these cards I started by stamping a Tim Holtz stamp with white acrylic paint.  After it dried, I buffed in a few hues of Distress Inks.  The key to this technique is wiping down the paint after you have inked.  Once I did this, the white resist really showed through.  I added a few old used postage stamps, air mail stickers, rub ons as well as another stamped image of pen nibs.  The edges were sanded and inked to frame out the cards.  I forgot how much fun ATC's can be.  They are so small and quick!

Another new item I tried was Lisa Pavelka's Magic Glos.  It was really easy and fun.  This resin like material cures in the sunlight or under a UV light.  I had issues with air bubbles, but I really don't mind how they look.  I used some small bits of wonderful paper I picked up at an amazing store in Ann Arbor called Hollanders for the background and layered in bits of watch parts.

Grungy Monday No. 1: Steampunk Journey Tag

As many of my readers probably know, I am a big Tim Holtz fan.  Because of Tim, I recently stumbled across Linda Ledbetter's blog.  She is posting a series of Tim inspired challenges, every "Grungy Monday."  I am excited to be able to participate this time around, thus my first entry. 

For this tag I started with the gear and clock mask.  I spritzed various spray inks I had on hand.  A few additional colors were buffed in with my sponge applicator.  I stamped the wing image onto grungeboard, cut and coated with a thin coat of stickles. 

The bottom piece of ephemera is an engine positioned right under a very cool acetate suitcase.  I tucked my pin underneath the strap of the luggage and then added a ticket from my stash.  The tag needed some texture so I used bits of rub ons I had on hand.  The vintage clock face was adorned with a muse token and a spinner, courtesy of Tim.  Finally a bit of lace adds a lovely bit of texture. 

I am looking forward to additional entries in this very inspirational series!