Love Is In The Air

We should show our love everyday and not just Valentine's Day...right? Of course, but, it's fun to make extra special things to give to those whom we don't often tell, or to those we don't necessarily love but that we are fond of and thankful for. I suppose over commercialization has corrupted the whole idea of the holiday, but the whole premise of Valentine's Day is pure and simple...it's all about "LOVE"...and chocolate! ;0)

Here are some tags I've made to give to some of my friends.

I am submitting this reinvented Umbrella Man, now Cupid, tag to Inspiration Journal's Monthly Challenge of "Love".

I applied Claudine Hellmuth's Gesso to a #8 tag to strengthen it. After it dried, I sprayed (No photos, sorry.) Dyan's Funky Fuchsia, Bubblegum Pink, Crushed Grape, and Postbox Red Dylusions Ink Spray to the tag. I dried it thoroughly. I flicked water on the tag and dried it again. Then, filling a Mini Mister with Picket Fence Distress Stain, I flicked some Stain on the tag as well and dried it. I finished the background with Perfect Pearls Mist.

I die cut several Tim Holtz Sizzix Umbrella Men and Cupid in black cardstock. I added foam tape to the umbrella top and the top hat and added another layer there. I attached the arrow and bow to the Umbrella Man's hand as if he is hiding it behind his back. I snipped the wings from Cupid.

I ran the wings through the Wings Texture Fade, and inked the raised parts with Snow Cap Pigment Ink From Ranger. I misted them with Biscotti Perfect Pearls for a little sheen.

I stamped Tim's image of the City on the tag in Jet Black Archival and added a little to the bottom to mimic a shoreline from afar. After I added my new Cupid, I added some doodling and rhinestone hearts raining down. The sentiment was computer generated.

 

 

 

Supplies:
From My Stash- heart rhinestones, ribbons


I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!

Ever After...Well Sort Of!

It's time for another challenge at Simon Says Stamp & Show. Design team member Anna-Karin wants to see a fairy tale inspired challenge. So here we are, and off we go to Neverland , or anywhere else you please for "Ever After". Whether you go with a classic tale, use a quote from a story, or just tell a once upon a time kind of story in your art journal, we can’t wait to see what you do. There are no strict rules here. You could be inspired by a story, a character, even an idea or color scheme. From stories of princesses to flowers that talk, faraway places to under a rock, embrace your sense of whimsy this week and see where inspiration leads you.

 

You are probably wondering why you are looking at Frosty given the theme of the challenge, but when I kept thinking fairytale, fairytale, fairytale in my head, this popped up, and it's a diddy!

  Frosty the snowman was a jolly happy soul,
With a corncob pipe and a button nose
And two eyes made out of coal.
Frosty the snowman is a FAIRYTALE, they say,
He was made of snow but the children
Know how he came to life one day.
There must have been some magic in that
Old silk hat they found.
For when they placed it on his head
He began to dance around.
O, Frosty the snowman
Was alive as he could be,
And the children say he could laugh
And play just the same as you and me.
Thumpetty thump thump,
Thumpety thump thump,
Look at Frosty go.
Thumpetty thump thump,
Thumpety thump thump,
Over the hills of snow.

Stamps aren't just for inking anymore!  You can also use them to make images in molten Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel, which I learned at Ranger U. It looks scary, but it's really very simple.

Place a Melt Pot onto a Craft Sheet...this baby gets hot! Turn it all the way up. Pour UTEE into the pot up to the fill line, and cover it until it's melted. Add a few drops of Melt Art Heat It Ink (I used Sapphire.), and give that a little stir with the spatula the pot comes with.

Add a thin line of UTEE in a metallic (I used Platinum.) but don't stir this time. It will marble around by itself.

Select your stamp and place it onto a stamping block. Pour the molten liquid and immediately apply your stamp image into it. You can do this directly on the craft sheet or pour it onto a Melt Art Texture Fade like I did. Wait about a minute or two until your UTEE is slightly hardened and not as hot, and remove your stamp. Wait another minute and then remove the whole blog and trim as needed. Allow it to cool and harden thoroughly.

Use Distress Markers to color in the image. Permanent Markers can be used as well. The finished piece will be fragile, so no throwing it around. Mine cracked a little, but some Glossy Accents mended it back up.

I had some left over wood pieces from my Christmas Village, so I thought I would use them to make a plaque. I colored the background with Tumbled Glass Distress Stain because I wanted to still be able to see the wood grain. I used Picket Fence to dab on the bottom to make it look like heaps of snow. I dried it thoroughly.  I stamped Snowflake images using Snow Cap Paint Dabber.

I applied Glue N Seal to some millinery netting to apply onto the plaque. You can also use the netting you get from bundles of fruit or other things.

I actually did the next picture part first, but blogger made it too difficult to reverse the photos...sorry. I added a little bit of Wendy's Embossing Powder (Have I mentioned I want to eat this stuff?) to the bottom part to mimic the texture of the snow. While it was wet, I sprinkled a little Distress Stickles Glitter over it. Glistening snow city!

I die cut white cardstock using the Tim's Sizzix On the Edge Snow Flurries Die. I ran this through a Snow Flurries Texture Fade. To give it strength and sheen, I applied a nice coat of Glossy Glue N Seal. When this was all dry, I adhered it to the side of the plaque.

I painted some balsa wood strips with Silver Paint Dabber. I trimmed them with my Dremel after I measured them to fit the plaque. Love him! Don't be alarmed at my plastic mat...I never clean it. It's like having scars that this chick digs. ;0)

I used Picket Fence to color in the letters. The beaded wire (Computer components...who knew? Thanks Linda Cain for helping me figure out what they were.) was attached to the metal and added to the plaque.

I wanted the faucet handle to match the bright blue arrows and words in the Snowman, so I  used Alcohol Ink to color it. I added a layer of Glue N Seal to it to seal in the Alcohol Ink and prevent it from evaporating off, which it sometimes does on metal. I colored in the letters of LIFE with Picket Fence Distress Stain, and used the wire to attach it to the faucet.

I inked up the plaque, hammered in the brads, and adhered the back part which will be the stand.

 

 

So what is your Happily "Ever After"? Is it something you like to share? If so, create your work of Art and enter it into our challenge. You might be the lucky winner of a $50 voucher to Simon Says Stamp. You can also be named as one of the "Top Three Picks" for this challenge. Good luck, and don't forget to see what the other DT members conjured up this week...pure magic!!!

 

Supplies:

I hope your hands get creatively dirty soon!