I Have a Winner!!!!

I want to thank everyone for stopping by my blog and leaving wonderful comments.  I am also very pleased to have some new followers, as well.

Now, I want to announce the winner of my blog candy from Pam Bray's All Things Altered Spring Blog Hop this weekend.  And random generator chose my winner to be ...

Barb Wagar

Barb said:

I love this project... I never thought to turn it over and use a canvas like this. So many used ones come into the local thrift store here and all one has to do is white wash the other side and voila! You got something cool to work with! I love G45 and plan to make a great project like this soon. Thanks for your tutorial.. it really gave me some new ideas. Thanks also for a chance to win a really cool prize! Much appreciated to you and Pam!

Congratulations, Barb!!!

Once again, thanks to all for being so supportive, and I hope you will stop by often.  

Hugs,

Barbara

All Things Altered Spring Blog Hop

Scrapbook Flair

Hello everyone, and welcome to the All Things Altered Spring Blog Hop, brought to you by our very talented hostess, Pam Bray, of Scrapbook Flair, which is where you can start the hop.  Can you believe Spring is almost here?  The birds are chirping, the trees are blooming, and my allergies are kicking up again.  Yep, I believe Spring is just around the corner.  So, in honor of Spring, I used Graphic 45's new Secret Garden collection to make this altered canvas.

I began with a 5x7 back-stapled canvas.  

Die cut two pieces of chipboard using the On the Fence and Distress Doily dies.  Paint each piece on both sides with the Snow Cap paint dabber.  Distress each with a sanding block and apply Frayed Burlap distress ink.  Heat emboss each with Ranger Moss embossing powder.

Paint the inside edges of the canvas frame with the Malted Milk paint, but remove the dabber top  and use a paint brush instead.  I chose an image from the Springtime 12x12 sheet and glued it to the center of the opening.

I cut 1-1/4" strips of the April Showers 8x8 paper to cover the front of the frame, and 1/2" strips of the Coming Up Roses 8x8 paper to cover the sides.

Adhere the fence chipboard piece to the bottom of the frame, and the scalloped doily to the top of the frame, as shown.  Add the Secret Garden sticker to the center of the doily chipboard, and the fussy cut roses along the fence and doily pieces, as shown.  I also added the long rectangular sticker to the right side of the frame.

I fussy cut some of the roses from the Roses 8x8 paper.  To make them 3-D, I turned each one over to the reverse side and, with a large ball tip stylus, embossed each rose from the back.   

I then used Helmar 450 glue to attach the roses in a pleasing arrangement, allowing the glue to puddle and keep my roses dimensional.

Inside the frame, I added moss and parts of a flower pick with pretty gems attached.  I punched my butterfly from a scrap of vellum that I first colored with Seedless Preserves distress ink.

I used a white PVA glue to adhere the papers to the canvas, but I used Helmar 450 glue to adhere all of the chipboard and embellishment pieces.

Supplies used:
5x7 Artist's Loft canvas
Graphic 45 Secret Garden Collection papers
Tim Holtz Alterations Sizzix on the edge die - On The Fence
Tim Holtz Alterations Sizzix on the edge die - Distressed Doily
Adirondack Paint Dabber - Snow Cap
Jenni Bowlin Paint Dabber - Malted Milk
Thick chipboard
Distress Ink (Frayed Burlap)
White PVA glue
Helmar 450 glue

I have some blog candy to give away today, too.  All you need to do is become a follower of my blog please, and leave me a comment, which will also help me contact you if you are a winner.  This is what you could win.  I will announce my winner on Monday, 25 March, so be sure to check back then.

And Pam Bray is giving away a surprise basket of springtime goodies  for one lucky winner.  So please be sure to leave a nice comment and follow the other bloggers today.  It really makes us happy and ensures you a chance to win.

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I hope you are enjoying the hop and be sure to visit each one.  Below is a complete list of the blogs, in case you get lost.

1. Pam - http://pammejo-scrapbookflair.blogspot.com/

2. Pinky- http://www.blueyecicle.blogspot.com

3. Debbie- http://studiobeecreations.blogspot.com/

4. Betty-http://scrappybetty.blogspot.com/

5. Gloria - http://gloriascraps.blogspot.com/

6. Jess B. - http://thatzuneek.blogspot.com/

7. Angela Holt- http://www.angelaholtdesigns.com

8. Christine -www.scrapbookingtechnique.blogspot.com

9. Barbara - http://blackholeartstudio.blogspot.com/<-- You are here

10. Irit - http://iritshalom.blogspot.co.il/

11. Candice -http://candicewindhamdesigns.blogspot.com/

12. Jennifer - http://hydrangeahippo.blogspot.com

Have a wonderful weekend and a very blessed Easter.

Barbara

leslierahye's Hippity Hoppity Steampunk Spring Blog Hop 2013

Hello everyone, and welcome to leslierahye's blog hop featuring a combination of Spring and steampunk.  I can hardly believe Spring is just around the corner.  Here, in the Mid-South, the trees are already blooming, and the allergies are already kicking up.  But Spring also brings new beginnings and new growth.  So, in honor of Spring, I made this cute little card featuring an Easter Garden full of Easter eggs.  Mr. Chocolate Bunny is keeping careful watch over the eggs, waiting for more baby chocolate bunnies to hatch.

I began with a pre-folded ivory card and covered the front with a piece of Prima paper from the Craftsman collection.

I ran a piece of fun foam through my Gear embossing folder and covered it with black and silver paint.

I cut an egg shape from a piece of scrap paper and traced it onto my painted and embossed foam.

I cut out three egg shapes from the foam and added three different colors of Terri Sproul's mixers to each egg.

To add a bit of dimension to my eggs, I added a couple of foam dots to the center of each egg, and ran a line of glue around the outer edges before applying to my card base.

I next die cut my chocolate Easter bunny from the brown Kraft-Core card stock and ran it through my riveted metal embossing folder.  I did the same for the bunny's bow using pink Kraft-Core card stock, and ran that through the diamond plate embossing folder.  

I sanded the embossed (raised) portions of the images and added a bit of Spun Sugar distress ink to the bow, attaching with a glue dot.  I adhered the bunny to the card front, as shown.

I cut out the words "Easter" and "Garden" from the Kraft-Core Seasonal card stock, sanded the raised portions, and added a bit of brown distress ink.  The picture above shows a close-up and side view of the card.  Can you see the dimension?

Supplies used:

5-1/2" x 6-1/2" Ivory card
Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Riveted Metal embossing folder
Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Diamond Plate embossing folder
Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Gears embossing folder
Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Easter Elements Bigz die
Terri Sproul's Mixers (Shimmer Citrine)(Shimmer Aquamarine)(Shimmer Purple)
Lil' Davis acrylic paint - Black Metallic Shades
Ranger Adirondack Silver Paint Dabber
Kraft-Core Nostalgic Collection card stock (Brown, Pink)
Kraft-Core Seasonal Collection card stock (Easter, Garden)
Prima Craftsman Collection card stock (Architect)
Distress Ink (Spun Sugar)(Vintage Photo)
Kraft foam

I am so glad you decided to stop by today, and I hope you are enjoying the hop.  Below is a link to each of the participating designers, so please be sure to stop by each blog and leave a lovely comment.

Have a wonderful week and a very blessed Easter!

Barbara

Easter Greetings Center Stepper Card

Epiphany Crafts

Happy Easter TRN fans!  I hope you are enjoying your week and the prospect of Spring.  And with Spring comes new beginnings.  The colors of Spring are so vibrant, with new growth everywhere.  The Robin's Nest crackle glitter card stocks are just perfect for this time of year.  And best of all, along with the matching neon dew drops, they are a whopping 20% off this month.

If you have an electronic die cutting machine, you can easily cut out this center stepper card.  However, they are just as easy to make without the use of a machine.  Simply follow my template and you have your base.

Cut, score, and fold purple crackle card stock as shown. (See template below).

I cut my bunnies and baby duck images from white velour paper using my Silhouette machine.

I also cut the cracked eggs  and rectangle layers using my Silhouette.

After inking all of the paper edges with coordinating inks, I began assembling the pieces.   I added my blue glitter crackle cs pieces to each corresponding section of the base.

Next, I colored my ducks with distress stains.

Add some orange color to the duck's feet and around the edges for shading.  I used a water brush to spread the color a bit.

I used a distress marker to mark my bunnies noses and ears, as shown.

Before adhering the cracked egg, place the larger duck on the front of your card.

Use your fingers to gently mold the bottom and top of the cracked egg, attached a couple of foam dots in the center, and apply a line of white glue along the outer edge.

Attach the cracked egg pieces over the duck, as shown.  You want to make it appear that he is emerging from the egg.

Carry the theme to the inside of your card by attaching the remaining die cut pieces to the inside, as shown.  Stamp your sentiment to the right using Versamark ink and white embossing powder.

 I had a few bits and pieces left over, and I still wanted to show you how fun the Epiphany Crafts punches and bubbles are.  So, I decided to make an Easter tag.  It would really personalize your Easter basket gift for that someone special.

 Die cut two label shapes and one egg shape from blue and purple crackle glitter papers.  Reverse and layer the papers, as shown.

 Using the Epiphany star punch, insert your paper into the punch, aligning the part of the design you want to appear inside the bubble.

 Insert the star bubble inside the opening, close the lid, and punch out your beautiful new star embellishment.

Epiphany Crafts punches are wonderful tools to have, and as you can see in the picture below, they make your embellishments very professional looking.  

 Add some cute little mini neon dew drops, not only to the egg, but also to the tops of the star bubbles, for added dimension and fun.

side view of tag

 Robin's Nest Products Used:

Blue Glitter Crackle CS
Purple Glitter Crackle CS
Pink Glitter Crackle CS
Orange Glitter Crackle CS

Neon Dew Drops

Other Products Used:

Epiphany Crafts Shape Studio Star 25 punch and bubble shapes
Silhouette die cut machine and images
White velour paper
Distress ink (Chipped Sapphire, Picked Raspberry, Faded Jeans)
Distress Stain (Squeezed Lemonade, Ripe Persimmon)
Distress Marker (Spun Sugar)
Water brush
Versamark ink pad
Easter Greetings (Penney Black) rubber stamp
White embossing powder

I want to thank you for stopping by today, and I hope you will take a little time to visit the Robin's Nest 
online store to check out the fabulous sale going on this month.  And while you are browsing, check Epiphany Crafts web site to see all of their wonderful products, as well.

Have a wonderful and blessed Easter!

Barbara

Altered Shamrock Catcher

Hello there, Sin City Scraps fans.  It seems there is always something to celebrate, so my first thought was, of course, St. Patrick's Day.  And I love my new stamp plate from Sin City Scraps, Fairies Plate 2.  There are so many images on these plates, and I still have not used them all.  Some of the flowery like images called out to me... SHAMROCKS.  And then, there are the fairies.  Well, what better way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day than to find a fairy and catch a few shamrocks for good luck.  And how do you catch a shamrock?  With a mouse trap, of course.  I am too much of an animal lover to use them for anything else than catching shamrocks or altered art.

In case you were wondering about fairies vs. leprechauns and St. Patrick's Day, I found this little bit of information on the internet at http://www.irishcentral.com/

The truth? There is no such thing as leprechauns in Ireland so apologies to any would be believers in magical crocks of gold. The whole leprechaun thing was more of a Disney invention that came along with the likes of bad ‘oirish’ accents in films such as ‘Darby O’Gill and the Little People’.....
But fairies....they do exist, Oh yes and here in Ireland we do not mess with the fairies, ever! They are known to live in very special places called fairy rings, which are raised earthen circular mounds that you will see all over Ireland.  You are welcome to visit them, walk around them, make a wish by all means .... But it is thought to be very bad luck to interfere with these mounds. Driving motorways through them, Bad Very Bad....Certain trees are revered too, especially hawthorns which country people will never chop down or remove for fear of disturbing the fairies who often live underneath and who are likely to wreak havoc if disturbed? ie, sour milk, cause crops to fail, animals to sicken and die.....
So don’t say ye haven’t been warned !

 So, now that the history lesson is over, let's begin.  Here is my version of a shamrock catcher.

First, I found these 4-packs of mouse traps at my local Dollar Tree store (with art in mind, of course). 

Choose a piece of plain green paper from the pad, stamp image with Versamark ink, heat emboss with Emerald Green embossing powder.  

Here is a little tip I learned years ago ... coffee filters make wonderful embossing powder catchers.  They don't seem to have any static in them and form a funnel shape easily for returning the powder to the jar.  Use them over and over again.  

Fussy cut the stamped image, leaving a tiny edge of the paper so you do not cut into the embossing powder, which will cause it to chip off.  Fold each petal in half, as shown.  

Cut along one fold line up to the center.  Accordion fold each petal, as shown.  Are you seeing a shamrock yet?

Trim a small piece of the white cording and spritz with the emerald green smooch spritz.  Adhere to the back of the shamrock to make the shamrock stem.

Stamp the fairy image with white pigment ink onto another piece of print paper, heat emboss with clear embossing powder.  Add Distress ink colors in shaded lilac and peacock feathers.  Fussy cut the fairy.  Glue her to the top of the trap, as shown.

I love the fairy saying on this plate, but it is too large for this piece.  So, what to do?  To make it smaller, I stamped it onto a piece of shrink plastic using black archival ink and added a light coat of peeled paint distress ink.  The color will intensify as the plastic shrinks.

I used a spellbinders die to cut out the phrase and punched a hole in the side for hanging.  Make sure to punch your hole a bit larger than what you need, as it will shrink to a much smaller size.  

Pre-shrunk shrink plastic

Use your heat gun to shrink the plastic.  It will curl and look awful, but it always straightens itself out.

When completely shrunk, you can flatten it with the back of your wooden stamp or acrylic block.

Completely shrunk shrink plastic

For the mousetrap:

Carefully remove the metal trap parts from the wood base and set aside.  I used a heavy duty awl to lift the staples up and out.  A screw driver may also work for this.

Cover the front of the mouse trap with another piece of print paper from the pad.   I used a good white glue to adhere the paper to the wood.  

Turn the trap over and use a small pin to mark your holes on the front again.  This will help you re-attach the metal parts.

I distress inked the edges of the trap with peeled paint, and added a coat of some glittery green nail polish to the edges.  I thought this finished off the sides very nicely.

Re-attach the metal parts to the trap base.  Place the shamrock beneath the clip to "catch" it.  I used a jump ring to hang my saying from the top of the clip, as shown.  At the last minute, I decided the metal was too shiny, so I added some gilder's paste in copper and verdigris.

Supplies Used:
Sin City Scraps Fairies Plate 2
Kaisercraft 6-1/2" x 6-1/2" Blae & Ivy paper pad
Spellbinders die-Labels 25 (size 3)
Emerald Green embossing powder
Clear embossing powder
Versamark ink pad
Black archival ink
Colorbox Frost White pigment ink pad
Distress Ink Peeled Paint, Shaded Lilac, Peacock Feathers
White PPA glue 
Maya Road white paper twine cording
Smooch Spritz Emerald Sprinkle
Beacon 3-in-1 glue
White shrink plastic
Copper jump ring
Emerald green glittery nail polish
Light green tulle
Baroque Art Gilder's Paste - copper, verdigris

I sure hope you like my project today.  I had so much fun making this.  So be sure to check out the Sin City Scraps online store for more of their fabulous stamp designs and stamping products.  And be sure to come back to the blog often for more inspiration from the talented design team.  

Have a wonderful weekend, and Happy St. Patrick's Day!  

Good luck to all,
Barbara