Monday, July 30, 2012

I Verday'd The Day Away!!!

I was very fortunate to be able to attend a Ten Seconds Studio Verday class last weekend! Yes...these were the ladies that just won Craft Wars on TLC.  Cheryl and Megan, a mother daughter duo, are famous around creative parts for their heavy metal ways! Verday is a cool paint system that transforms a surface into the look of patina-ed metal. Those of us who took the class had seven hours of Verday play and we made a ton of stuff. Here are just a few of the items, and let me tell you, that you get so hooked on antiquing things, that you just want to keep going. This is fun stuff!
4 Sheets Of Heavy Kraft Before...
And After
More Paper And A Frame
A Mini Book
A Sugar Mold

A Canvas Tote Bag
And, here I am (no make-up) with the ladies of the hour themselves! They were super fun and so knowledgeable!
Craft Wars seems to be a little controversial among artists and crafters. There is a lot of talk about it on blogs and such, and I can see it both ways. It's great to have the exposure for our industry and craft, but art is so subjective and personal, so how can one piece be better than the other? There are definitely pros and cons here. All I know is this...television is pretty much for entertainment anymore. So many of the shows on prime time are filled with inappropriate things for families. There is so little that I allow my children to watch anymore. It's kind of nice to see a show that deals with sort of what we do and who we actually know. After watching it, you go away actually learning from it, and the whole family can watch it together. I know that when I watch it, I am not thinking of a winner or loser. I just want to know more about their work as well as see more of what they create. That's how I learn after all, and I just love the conversations I am having with my children about creating things with their own hands. Art makes me happy!!!
I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!



Saturday, July 28, 2012

Faux Leather Video Tutorial


It's my turn to host the Saturday StepXStep at Frilly & Funkie, and I decided to do another video tutorial showing my very favorite technique that I learned at Ranger U from Tim...Perfect Pearls Faux Leather. This time I turned off the phone!!!

The Completed Tags:
Leather, Prima Flowers and some Idea-ology pieces were added to the kraft tag.
Here is the original tag left blank.
Metal accents, Prima Flowers, a Grunge rose, and some Idea-ology pieces were added to the black tag. I am submitting this tag to The Blogger's Challenge for "Christmas In July", and to Compendium of Curiosities II Challenge of "Enameled Metals" based on  Tim's book by the same name.
Supplies: From My Stash: Robert Stanley Metal Ribbon, pewter manger charm, star charms, leather strap
 I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!

Farewell OCC...With A Little Color!

Lori Rider of the Diva Stamper, is hosting this week at Our Creative Corner, with a color challenge. Use the five colors Lime, Poppy Red, Pink, Black, and White, along with fabric and/or circles.
The inspiration this week for this challenge is just wonderful! Please take a peek at the Design Team's creations. 
 Linda Coughlin- The Funkie Junkie
Vicki Burdick- It's a Stamp Thing
Sue Butler- Scrumplescrunch
Ann Marie Hile- Stampin' Anne
Wendy Janson-  It's All About Stamping
Marcy Kaminski - En Papillote Arts
Holly Kean- Kean On Paper
Irena Kowalczyk (aka Rudlis) - Love, Life and Crafts
Meihsia Liu- Simply Paper Crafts
Tui Nathan- Stampin Time
Lori Rider- The Diva Stamper
Kristin Tierney- Lilly Beth Boutique
Sharon Wheet- Designs by Sharon
Lisa Minckler - You Made Me Ink
Kim Price - Inkcognito
Paula McClane - Scrap Addict's Attic
Liliana Inguanti - Stampin' From Home
Chris Barnes - Dot Dot Stamping Designs
This is my last Design Team project with OCC. Sadly, I am moving on, and leaving room for some new peeps. It has been my absolute pleasure to be apart of this fabulous Design Team! All of the ladies have been super wonderful to work with and I will treasure the new friendships I've made there, and I go away having learned mounds of creative goodness from them! I am sure I will continue to join in the action occasionally...they can't get rid of me that easy! Thank you OCCDT...I will miss our weekly creative adventures and I was so honored to have been apart of it!

For my tag, I wanted to do the Tim Holtz Wrinkled Distress Ink Background Technique, and I have done a little tutorial for it. I think the sentiment is very appropriate for this occasion.
Swipe Distress Ink directly onto the tag from the ink pad. Plug in a craft iron and allow it to heat up on high.
Very gently start crumbling the tag up in your hand, taking care not to make any rips into the tag.
Unravel the wadded up tag and mist the whole thing with water very liberally. Dry somewhat with a heat tool.
Go over each area again with the ink but this time use an ink tool to apply it. Really push the ink into the tag so that you can see the wrinkles really well.
Flick some water onto the tag to cause droplets.
Iron the tag very well to make it completely flat, using the craft iron. Be very careful not to burn yourself. The wrinkles will continue to show, but the tag will be smooth. It will have a super soft feel to it as well. People will wonder how you achieved this unique look.
 
 
Supplies: