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.