Altered Pages Monthly Challenge 3 - Rusted Colors

Hello everyone.  I cannot believe that November is almost over, and I am submitting this piece just under the wire.  I guess it is better late than never, so here goes.

The nice folks over at Altered Pages have a monthly challenge for anyone to enter, and this month, the theme is RUST.  Well, I never would have thought I would be the kind of gal who would like rust, but it has been shown beautifully by so many talented artists over the years that it has definitely grown on me, and I am loving the color.  It is a favorite of mine, especially this time of year.  It truly speaks Fall to me.

I used a bare paper mache box and spray painted it with a brown textured paint.  Then, I spread a thin coat of Artist Spackle through the bird on a branch stencil.  After the spackle dried, I coated the image with Duo Adhesive and, when that dried to a tacky finish, applied Leafing in variegated colors.

The box was too brown for my rusted taste, so I must admit, I played around with different mediums until I got it where I liked it.  What's my "recipe"?  Goodness knows.  I will tell you that I first added a rusty brown chalk ink, some redder distress inks, and still not quite achieving the colors I wanted.  Then it hit me.  I had some Rust Gilder's Paste in my stash, and voila!  I applied it with my favorite tool (my finger) around the raised banding on the side of the box, as well as around the background.  But now, my leafing was getting lost in that color.  So I returned to using my distress ink in Black Soot to darken the color around the gilded image, and now I am very happy at the result.

I hope you like my project, and will be inspired to try some of those other mediums you have in your own stash.  And please check out the Altered Pages Blog to see what their wonderfully talented designers have created using the color RUST.  And they also have wonderful products, collage sheets, and even kits in their online store.  Go check them out.    You will not be disappointed.

Happy Fall!  Now go play!

Barbara

All Things Altered Winter Blog Hop

Hello everyone.  I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and welcome back to another edition of the All Things Altered Winter Blog Hop.    Our wonderful hostess, Pam Bray, of Scrapbook Flair, is having a really nice giveaway, so be sure to start there.  If you arrived here from Jess B's blog, then you are on track.  

I am so excited to be able to play along, once again, with such a fabulous bunch of wonderfully-talented designers.  I know you will have a good time visiting each blog and be inspired by their creativity.   

When I think of winter, I think of cooler, grayish-white and mostly colorless days.  So, to take the "blues" away, I made this cute little winter mailbox using papers from Little Yellow Bicycle's (LYB) new collection, Winterings, and My Mind's Eye (MME) Signature Christmas collection.  The MME are specialty papers with bits of glitter scattered throughout.  

I started with this bare paper mache mailbox, and covered it inside and out with the LYB Winterings papers.  I used my Xyron 850 to add the edge-to-edge adhesive to each of my papers, making it quite easy to adhere the papers to the box.  I did not like the grayish-blue color as much as I thought I would, so I inked it up with Bundled Sage and Brushed Corduroy Distress Inks.  This made it match the MME papers more and tie everything together.  I love the vintage feel of this piece.

I used a Tim Holtz Sizzix tattered pinecone die to make the pinecone arrangement on top of the mailbox.  I added beaded embellishments, which I think really added that special bling.  

I edged the box with Stickles Icycles glitter glue, added pre-made flowers from Michaels, a decorative border made with a Martha Stewart punch, and added thin strips of the same paper that I used on the mailbox flag to tie it together. 

Decorative paper strips with punched edging

Michael's flowers, beaded bling

On the side opposite the flag, I fussy cut a reindeer and adhered it over a piece of distressed music sheet paper that I also distressed with Brushed Corduroy. 

I stamped Christmas images onto scraps of the printed papers, distressed the edges, and turned them into postcards for my mailbox.  

Postcards front

Postcards back

I am so pleased with the way this turned out.  I hope you enjoyed my project as much as I enjoyed making it to share with you.  As a special thank you, I have a bit of blog candy to give away.  To enter, please leave a comment and follow my blog, if you don't already.  Simple, right?  It would also be super if you could do the same on each of the other blogs as well.  Here is what you could win. 

I will pick a winner at random and announce my winner right here on Saturday, December 1st.  So you have a week to enter.  Good luck.

Your next stop is Eileen's blog.  

So, please be sure to visit each blog and leave a comment and follow.  A complete list of each participating blog is listed below, in case you get lost.

1.) Pammejo - http://pammejo-scrapbookflair.blogspot.com/
2.) Nicole- http://canadiannickelscrapn.blogspot.com/
3.) Gloria - http://www.gloriascraps.blogspot.com/

4.) Irit - http://iritshalom.blogspot.com/
5.) Debbie - http://studiobeecreations.blogspot.com/
6.) Jennifer - http://hydrangeahippo.com/
7.) Jess B. - http://thatzuneek.blogspot.com/
8.) Barbara - http://blackholeartstudio.blogspot.com/ <--You are here
9,) Eileen - http://eileenhull.blogspot.com/
10.) Candice - http://candicewindhamdesigns.blogspot.com/
11.) True - http://truesgiftsfromtheheart.blogspot.com/
12.) Pinky - http://blueyecicle.blogspot.com/

Enjoy your holiday, and happy hopping!

Barbara  

Festive Friday Link-Up Blog Hop

Hello everyone.  I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and welcome to Festive Friday's link up blog hop.  Terri Sproul has invited everyone who wants to come and play along by making a Christmas card and linking up to their hop.  Click on the link above to start hopping.  But since your are here now, this is my Christmas card.

I used Robin's Nest Glitter Coffee Creme Swirl and Red Glitter on Red Cardstock papers for the backgrounds, a Memory Box stamp colored with Copic Markers, and layered onto a green card stock base.  I distressed the edges of the Glitter Coffee Creme Swirl and inked with a brown ink.  Glitter was added to the Red Glitter on Red Cardstock after I die cut it.

I fussy cut Santa's bag, dry embossed it to make it poof out, and layered it over the original stamped image with foam dots.  It is subtle in the picture, but I think you get the idea.  After all, I love adding  dimension.  I also added foam dots to the entire Santa image as well.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and be sure to visit all of the other blogs to see what beautiful cards they have come up with.

Happy Holidays!

Barbara

Blog Hop - Save the Date

Just a quick reminder that tomorrow, and through the weekend, we will be having a fabulous blog hop, featuring All Things Altered for Winter.  I know you will want to visit with us a bit, participate in the giveaways, and just have lots of fun and hopefully gain some creative inspiration.  So please join us this weekend and forget all your troubles.

I also want to remind you that The Robin's Nest is having a spectacular sale going on this weekend as well.  You can visit their online store by clicking on the logo at the top of my sidebar, or by clicking right here.

Happy Holidays!

Barbara

Fall Magnetic Memo Board with The Robin's Nest

Hello again, and welcome back to my blog.

I have a special Fall project I made, and I am very excited to show it to you.  I am always trying to remember things I need to do, especially during the holiday season.  I make lists only to lose or misplace them.  So, what better way to keep track of my "to do's" than to have a pretty memo board hanging where I can readily see it.   All of my notes are in one place and easily removed and replaced with a new note.  You could also use it to hang a few of your favorite holiday photos, too.  So, without further adieu, here is my Fall magnetic memo board using some of the Black Forest collection papers and embellishments.  They are so pretty and speak Fall to me with the dusty greens and the glittery copper accents.  I am afraid pictures simply do not show their true beauty.

Supply list:

Family-Glitter Getaway Double-Sided Cardstock
German Edlewiess Paper

Getaway Glitter Stripe
Glitter Coffee Creme Swirl Paper
Family Rub-On
Travel Sticker sheet
Chipboard Shapes
Regency RN Paper Clips

Getaway Dew Drops
Fall Foliage Dew Drops
Large Clear Dew Drops
Victorian Clippies
Butterfly Clippies
metal sign or metal flashing
chain for hanging
glimmer glaze paint
3D crystal lacquer
Helmar 450 glue
Sheet magnet (TIP:  I used a magnetic business card I received in the mail)

I started with a metal sign board I got from my local craft store for 80% off.  You can usually find these with seasonal prints already painted on them.  It does not matter, though, because you are going to cover it with some beautiful Robin's Nest papers.

After removing the hanging chain, I covered the sign with the Family-Glitter Getaway Double-Sided Cardstock using my Helmar 450 glue.  I trimmed the excess paper, then sanded and inked the edges with a rust color ink.  Adding some copper glitter to the edges enhanced the tiny glitter elements in this gorgeous paper.  

I covered one of the oval Chipboard Shapes with Getaway Glitter Stripe paper, edged with rust ink and copper glitter, then adhered to the base with pop dots.  Black glitter alphabet stickers to spell "Memo" were centered on the oval shape, and Fall Foliage Dew Drops were placed decoratively along two sides.

I fussy cut the leaves from the Family-Glitter Getaway Double-Sided Cardstock, edged with gold pen, and painted with a glimmer glaze paint.  Because Robin's Nest papers are so sturdy and keep their shape, even after being painted, I was able to shape and manipulate the leaves to look more three-dimensional and adhere them beneath the "Memo" oval piece.  I love the way these leaves turned out.  They almost look like metal.

I also cut the border strips from the Family-Glitter Getaway Double-Sided Cardstock , edged with gold pen and painted with a glimmer glaze paint.  I glued the strips down on the ends only, leaving the center free.  Then I removed the prongs and added decorative brads to each end of the strips with Helmar 450 glue.  I clipped the Regency RN Paper Clips to the strip so that more notes could be added at any time.  One of the fleur de lis was red, so I covered it with more of that copper glitter I had on hand.  I think it turned out pretty nicely.  I also made two additional magnets by simply gluing a strip of magnet to a Victorian Clippies, and another one to a Butterfly Clippies.

I had so much fun making these magnets to use on the board.  I am partial to rosettes, so I used the Glitter Coffee Creme Swirl Paper to make my rosette, and matched colors by spraying a caramel colored mist over the paper.  I was so pleased with the way it matched the prints in this beautiful paper. Then I added those beautiful dew drops to enhance the center.  Doesn't it look wonderful?  In the picture below, I used a sticker from the Travel Sticker sheet , adhered it to a piece of magnet, and glued a clear, slightly iridescent, flat marble from the craft store on top.

Below is an image I punched from the  German Edlewiess Paper, adhered to the center of a bottle cap, and attached a piece of magnet to the bottom.  I used 3D Crystal Lacquer to the surface.  I used a second circular sticker from the Travel Sticker sheet to make the next magnet shown, glued it to a magnet, and adhered clear teardrop dew drops around a Large Clear Dew Drops.

Here is another close-up of those magnets, and one more I made by punching an oval shape from a scrap of Family-Glitter Getaway Double-Sided Cardstock, adhered the fleur de lis rub-on image from the Family Rub-On sheet, and adhered it to another piece of magnet.  I also coated this piece with a thick layer of 3D Crystal Lacquer.

Oh my goodness, I had so much fun making this project.  The magnet pieces are so addictive, and I just love this paper collection.  And here is a little tip from me:  Each one of these magnets can also be used as embellishments for any of your other projects, i.e., cards, mini albums, page layouts, altered books, etc.  Just glue them to a piece of chipboard for stability and dimension, and you have tons of beautiful little bits of art to add to your projects.

I hope you will stop by The Robin's Nest and check out their collections, and see what is new in the shop.  And beginning today through November 26, you can get 25% off of your purchases during their Black Friday Special this week.  I also hope you have been inspired to make your own memo board with lots of magnets and/or embellishments for other projects.  Thanks so much for stopping by, and I want to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Barbara 

Announcing The Robin's Nest Home for the Holidays Blog Hop Winner

I want to thank everyone for joining us on November 3rd for the Home for the Holidays blog hop with both design teams from The Robin's Nest and  Helmar Adhesives.  And now, the moment has come to announce my blog winner of The Robin's Nest $10 gift certificate to use in their online store.

And the winner is ...

Brenda Burfiend

Congratulations, Brenda.  Here is what Brenda had to say:

"oh my, words can't even describe my feelings right now. I am in awe in what you created. This is so incredible. I love how you turned it into even more by adding your booklet. This is wonderful.
I'm a new follower now also"

And thanks so much for becoming a follower of my blog.  I hope you will come back often.  To claim your prize, please send your e-mail to Rachel O'Crowley at robinsnestscrap@gmail.com so that we can get that out to you.

Thanks, everyone, and have a wonderful week.

Barbara

Autumn Pop-Up Card For The Robin's Nest Design Team Application

Hello everyone, and welcome back to my blog.  Today, I am trying out for The Robin's Nest Design Team.  I absolutely love The Robin's Nest products, and I have enjoyed working with them so very much.  I would be so honored to have the pleasure of working with them for another term.  

I made this great little pop-up card for Autumn.  This is my favorite time of year, and I wanted to express that in my card using these luscious autumn colored papers from The Robin's Nest.  I absolutely love how this card turned out. Aren't those pinecones beautiful?  I keep looking at them and still, I cannot believe they are made from paper and a Sizzix die. 

The base (outer) card is made with this gorgeous Family-Glitter Getaway Stripe Double-Sided Cardstock.  I  used the Brown Glitter card stock for the pinecones and some olive green paper for the pine needles, which I distressed a bit with brown ink.  I also added a bit of copper glitter to the pinecones.  I glued this arrangement over a scrap piece of die cut chipboard covered with the reverse side of Family-Glitter Getaway Stripe Double-Sided Cardstock, edging with gold ink.  For added glitz, I "sprinkled" some of these beautiful Getaway Dew Drops around the front.  Let's face it, nothing is complete without adding some pretty dew drops about.  

Finished Pop-Up Inside Card

I used a Sizzix die to make this card.  Although pop-up cards are not really as difficult as they look, they always surprise and amaze the recipient.  Below, I have made a simple diagram of a pop-up with straight lines for your use.  The sky is the limit, whether or not you use a die or a ruler and a craft knife.  The same goes for rosettes.  A strip of paper, accordion folded, glued into a circle, and you have yourself a rosette, as you will see later in this post.  Dies just make the job a little faster, but not necessary.

Outer Card (left) Inner Card w/pop-up (right)

First, die cut or manually cut the outer card using Family-Glitter Getaway Stripe Double-Sided Cardstock.  The outer card measures 4-1/4" x 11", folded in half to form a  4-1/4" x 5-1/2" card.

Next, you can either use the die to cut the inner card using Brown Glitter card stock, or follow my diagram below for a simple straight line pop-up.  You may need to trim a sliver off of each short edge of the inner card so that it will fit nicely inside the outer card.  

View of inner card from side angle

I cut a second piece from Glitter Copper Butterflies card stock to adhere over the center pop-up.  Alternatively, you can simply punch a 2-1/4" circle instead.  Then I punched a 2" scalloped circle from the reverse side of Family-Glitter Getaway Stripe Double-Sided Cardstock and used the botanical from the Family Rub On.  The Robin's Nest rub-ons go on like butter, and are not only versatile, but very easy to use.  I also inked the edges with gold ink and adhered both pieces to the central pop-up piece.

Central pieces cut out and added to pop-up center

Die cut a Glitter Coffee Creme Swirl Cardstock rosette, but only adhere it as a half circle rather than a full circle behind the central pop-up piece, as shown in the picture below.  You can also make the rosette by cutting a strip of this gorgeous paper into a 1" x 10" piece and accordion folding it every 1/4".  If you want the scalloped edge, you can trim one edge with decorative scissors before accordion folding it.  

Half rosette

Add glue to the front of the circle (on the right side of the paper) to adhere it behind the circular area of the pop-up, as shown.  (NOTE: The circle is not decorative in this case, but necessary to hold the rosette together).

Close-up of half rosette adhered behind pop up

I punched leaves from Distressed Honeycomb cardstock and added distress ink colors to each of the leaves to give them a variety of Fall colors.  After attaching a piece of wire to the reverse side of each leaf with a small piece of washi tape, I was able to insert the wires where I wanted them behind the rosette, enabling easy adjustment of their placement. 

Reverse of leaf showing wire attached with washi tape

Below is a close-up of the pop-up with the leaves attached.

Close-up of finished pop up

Another picture of the card from the side.

Angle view of card

I stamped my Autumn sentiment on the reverse side of the Family-Glitter Getaway Stripe Double-Sided Cardstock, continuing the shape from the front to the inside.  I also edged this with gold ink.  The sentiment is a bit hard to read in the photo, so this is what it says:  

"Every leaf speaks

bliss to me

fluttering from

the autumn tree."

                  -Emily Bronte

Close-up of stamped sentiment

Below, I have made a diagram of a simple pop-up insert for any card.  

The Robin's Nest Products Used:

Family-Glitter Getaway Stripe Double-Sided Cardstock

Glitter Coffee Creme Swirl Cardstock

Glitter Copper Butterflies

Distressed Honeycomb cardstock

Brown Glitter card stock

Getaway Dew Drops

Family Rub On

I hope you have enjoyed my card project this week and that you will be inspired to visit The Robin's Nest online store, as well as their blog, The Chattering Robins, for more inspiration and to check out their new and wonderful product line. 

Until next time, have a wonderful week, and happy crafting!

Barbara

A Robin's Nest Red Flowers Birthday Card

Hello everyone, and welcome back.  I hope you got a chance to visit the ROBIN'S NEST/HELMAR HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS BLOG HOP this weekend, and just in case you did not, CLICK HERE to start hopping.  There is lots of inspiration, lots of prizes being given from each blog, and there is still time to enter to win.  Prize winners will be announced on 11 November.

Now, for my first Design Team Project this month, I want to share this really cute card I made using The Robin's Nest papers and embellishments.  I needed a birthday card for a friend, and I was so thrilled when I came up with this one.  

First, cut black card stock to 4-1/4" x 11" and fold it in half to make a card measuring 4-1/4" x 5-1/2".  Trim Robin's Nest Glitter Letters paper to 3-3/4" x 5" and punch two long sides with a corner and edger punch set.  I sponged Red Brick Distress Ink around the edges, then made a small slit in the paper, inside the letter "h",  before adhering to black card.  

A happy accident occurred when I used the portion of the Glitter Letters paper that contained a large "h", and since I wanted to make a "happy birthday" card, I used the "h" that was preprinted on the paper as the first letter of the sentiment.   I computer generated the rest of the words "appy birthday" onto another scrap of Robin's Nest Glitter Numbers paper, die cut the words using a small label die, and inserted the label into the tiny slit I made previously, just inside the "h", to finish off the sentiment.  How clever is that?  Sometimes I surprise myself.

I cut the top off of the apple die cut to make a vase.  I used my fingers to curve the apple to give it some dimension before adhering it to the card with foam dots.  

I die cut a branch from a scrap of the black card stock.  I made the red flowers by cutting the scalloped circles in half.  Next, fold the half circle in half, and in half again.  Pinch the bottom very tightly, giving it a bit of a twist,  and add a tacky or quick grab glue, like Helmar 450, and adhere to three of the branches.  These branches are very thin, so I left the piece on a craft mat until it dried.

When dry, I was able to trim up any excess red flower stems that extended past the black branches.  Now I was able to adhere the entire flower branch to the card, inside the vase, adding glue at various points along the flower stem.

Now, don't forget to finish off the inside, too.  To tie it all together, I like to use some of my paper scraps that I usually have left over to use inside the card.  Here, I used the coordinating Red Fat Plaid  paper for the inside.  It matches the Glitter Letters card stock perfectly, but is smooth and has no lettering. This trick is especially helpful when you have a black or very dark card stock as a base.  Whether you are stamping or handwriting your sentiment inside your card, adding lighter colored paper, even if it is printed, will make your task a lot easier.  I like to leave the inside blank until I know what sentiment I want to put inside, which always depends on the recipient.

(NOTE:  For this particular card, I used the section of paper containing the "h", to use for my "happy birthday" sentiment.  Choose various sections of this paper with particular letters to suit your theme.  It's fun and can be addictive while using the letters to come up with some great sayings.  For instance, I see a "b" for birthday, "a" for autumn, "g" for give thanks, "c" for Christmas, "f" for family or fun, "e" for expecting, "d" for daughter or dog, etc.  I could go on and on.  See what I mean, it's addictive.)

Can you see this as a Christmas card?  Just change the base card color and branches to a dark green, and those pretty little red flowers will look like Christmas roses.  Add some dew drops, and you will be all set.


Robin's Nest products used:

Glitter Letters card stock

Glitter Numbers card stock

Red Flowers

Apple die cuts

Thanks so much for stopping by, and  I hope you enjoyed my card project this week.  I will be back with another project right here on Monday, the 19th of November.  In the meantime, I hope you will check out The Robin's Nest online store to see what's new and exciting, and please visit the Chattering Robin's blog regularly for a constant source of inspiration. 

Have a very happy week!

Barbara