Leslie Rahye's Very Fall Steampunk Blog Hop

Hello my very artsy steampunk friends, and welcome to Autumn.  I am so glad you stopped by today.  The fabulous Leslierahye is hosting another one of her fabulous steampunk blog hops, and today's theme is Fall!  

I don't know about you, but Fall is one of my favorite seasons, and I absolutely love the colors associated with Fall.  I found this Sizzix die in my local craft store on clearance, and boy, was I excited.  I grabbed it so fast it would have made your head spin.  

It is one of Tim Holtz' dies called Luminary 3-D.  It is not as large as it appears on screen, but it is awfully cute, and makes beautiful little candle light decorations, or just about any kind of decoration you might choose.  I think it is very versatile and I plan on using it quite a bit.  

I started searching for ideas on Pinterest, and found a gazillion of them.  However, I was particularly taken with a technique called Melt Art Tissue Wrap Jeweled Leaves that I found on Tammy Tutterow's blog using tissue wrap, distress stains, and the melting pot.  

Supplies:
Sizzix/Tim Holtz 3-D Luminary die
Die cutting machine
Altered Pages Steampunk Collage Images
Melting Pot
Clear UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel)
Gold metallic cream
Distress stains in Fall colors
Tim Holtz Melange tissue wrap
Tim Holtz Ideaology music box keys
Prima Vinage Trinkets
Burgundy two-tone card stock
24# Clear Vellum paper
Glossy Accents
Red Liner tape

I cut two-toned burgundy card stock with the Sizzix Tim Holtz 3-D Luminary die and followed the directions for putting it together.  But before I actually adhered it together, I first resized the four collage images from Altered Pages to print at 2.1" x 2.8" onto clear vellum paper and trimmed each one down to 2" x 2-3/8" to fit behind the window openings.

Using the techniques learned from Tammy's blog post, I was inspired to make the leaves she shared, but I was further inspired to make some "gear flowers" using the same technique used for the leaves.  I cut out some larger gears with a Spellbinders die and tissue wrap, stained with Fall colors, and dipped in UTEE.  I did, however, shape them somewhat to form a flower shape.  Adding a few metal embellishments from Prima and Tim Holtz Ieadology, and my luminary was complete.

Front close up

Side 2

Side 3

Side 4

The really cool thing about these tissue embossed leaves is that they become quite see-through, which I think is an awesome effect.  Can you see the transparency in these close-ups?

Gear flowers closeup

The metal gear on this flower looks like it is floating, but it is actually adhered to the UTEE that I allowed to remain inside the circle of the gear.  Pretty cool, huh?

Tiny metal gears are added to form flower centers.  

Insert a battery-operated tea light inside for safety while providing a nice candlelight glow.

Now I have a sweet Fall home decor piece for my table.  I think I need more!!!

I hope  you enjoyed my project today, and have a great time visiting the rest of the bloggers today to see their awesome projects.  

Here are the links to their blogs to help you stay on course!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and please have a wonderful, crafty week!

Barbara

Mixed Media Vintage Tag with Altered Pages and Pan Pastels

Hey there my fellow crafters!  I hope your week has started off well.  This month, the Altered Pages Design Team has had the great pleasure of working with PanPastels, and we hope you have been following along and are enjoying the projects we have been creating for you.  PanPastels are now available AlteredPages.com, too!

I have for you today a vintage mixed media tag  that I think you will like.  There are a lot of steps, so I have included a lot of pictures. But rest assured, it is so easy to do and lots of fun.  So I hope you will follow along and make it all the way to the bottom.  

I chose one of the manila tags from the tag assortment and adhered a vintage text page over the entire tag.

 Trim excess and repunch hole through tag.

Pounce white pigment ink through stencil.

Add Bright Yellow Green and Turquoise Pan Pastels with Softt sponge over the tag. Spray tag with a workable fixative.

Print mirror image from Simple Science collage sheet, cut in half and adhere to tag with gel medium, as shown.  Burnish paper well and allow to dry.

 Mist paper image with water and use your finger to begin removing as much paper as possible. The gel medium transfers the ink from the printed image, so continue to mist with water and rub the paper off until the area is clear, not cloudy.  You should see your image transferred to the tag. Because I sprayed with a fixative, the water is not hurting the background paper at all.

 If you look closely, you can see the design beneath the transfer still showing through ... a very nice effect, don't you think?

 Edge tag with black gelato.  

 Use a baby wipe or slightly wet finger to blend.

 Trim beautiful flower lady from Les Fleurs collage sheet and adhere to tag.  Outline edge of image with charcoal pencil and blend with blending stump to make it look more dimensional.

Cut a key hole escutcheon from chipboard or grunge board.  Coat with white pigment ink.

 Sponge Copper Pan Pastel over escutcheon.

Dip key hole into melted UTEE.  Remove from UTEE with tweezers and lay onto craft sheet.  Be very careful with this step.  The UTEE is extremely hot and will stick to your fingers and burn you.  

 A funny thing happened during this step.  The pigment ink and Pan Pastel caused the UTEE to bubble, so I reheated it on my craft sheet with my heat gun, and then the pigment ink and the Pan Pastel began to move, allowing the white ink to show through again.  I love the effect I got from this, and can only imagine the color combinations I could achieve just by changing the pigment ink and Pan Pastel colors. 

These next three pieces were inked with the white pigment ink and colored with the Pan Pastel metallic colors using Bronze and Rich Gold, but I left it to dry overnight.  When I came back, I dipped them in the hot UTEE and there was no bubbling, and you can see I am still going to need to clean them up a bit by hitting them with my heat gun to level out the UTEE.  

 And here are all four pieces coated completely and looking fabulous, don't you think?  I ended up using only two of these pieces for my tag today, but I am definitely saving the other two for another project.  

Shape a variety of flowers, adding stamen where needed, and adhere to tag, as shown.

Cup two daisies with large ball stylus on piece of foam and layer.

Cut two petals away from six petal flower.

Glue two outer petals together and pinch at bottom.

Glue to center of layered daisy.

Fold pointed six petal flower (yellow) in half and squish each individual flower towards the center, similar to the green flower.  It is 

Fold the top three petals down, as shown.

Add a few stamen to the center and pinch the bottom while carefully arranging the petals to your liking, then glue all in place in the center.

 To make some leaves, cut petals from large daisy.  Add Permanent Green Pan Pastel to leaves and adhere beneath flowers.

Here are a few more closeups for you.  Here, I simply added a couple of metal stickers to the escutcheon, but you could also use brads.

 Add some beautiful silk ribbons through the tag hole for that extra UMPH!

Supplies:

Altered Pages:  Manila tag; Vintage Text Pages; Simple Science Collage Sheet; Les Fleurs Collage Sheet; Gel Medium; Gesso; Triangle Plaid stencil; Gelato Black; Petaloo Flowers; Ribbons and Trims

Pan Pastel: Turquoise, Bright Yellow Green, Permanent Green, Copper, Rich Gold, Bronze, Softt Sponges

Other:  White pigment ink, Clear UTEE (Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel), Hot Pot or Heat Gun; Tweezers; charcoal pencil

I hope you enjoyed my project today, and I always hope that I have been able to inspire you to try new things like Pan Pastels.  Be sure to comment each day on the Altered Pages blog for a chance to win a set of your very own PanPastels.  A random drawing will take place at the end of the month, and for each comment you leave, your name gets entered again!  More comments, more chances of winning! (one comment per day please).

Have a wonderful, creative week, and be sure to make time to play!

Barbara

Hot Air Balloon Card with Sin City Stamps and Pan Pastels

Hello everyone, Barbara here today for more fun with Sin City Stamps and our sponsor this month, Pan Pastels!  If you have been following along with the team this month, then you know, by now, how wonderful these pastels are, and how easy they are to use.  I absolutely love this product and cannot say enough good things about it.  

I can only give you a sneak peek today, because I have prepared an entire step-by-step on the Sin City Stamps blog for you.  There you will find much more details and information for this project.  So please pop on over and see what fun you can have with these products, too!

Supplies:

Sin City Stamps:  Up Up and Away 2 stamp set; Urban Grunge stamp set; A Wing Above the Rest stamp set
Pan Pastels:  Turquoise, Ultramarine Blue, Raw Umber, Permanent Green, Bright Yellow Green, Magenta, Magenta Ex. Dark, Sofft sponge and knife tool
Miscellaneous:  White card stock, black ink pad, purple card stock, blue pre-folded A2 card, post-it note

And be sure to check out the awesome products at Sin City Stamps, too!

Have a wonderful, creative weekend!

Barbara

Pan Pastels are professional artists’ quality soft pastel colors packed in a unique pan format (cake-like). The special qualities of PanPastel Colors mean that artists can blend and apply dry color like fluid paint for the first time.  All PanPastel Colors are made using a unique manufacturing process requiring minimal binder and fillers, resulting in rich, ultra soft and super-blendable colors.

Each color is loaded with the finest quality artists’ pigments for the most concentrated colors possible. The colors have excellent lightfastness and are fully erasable. Uniquely, for pastel color, they can be mixed together for a complete painting palette.

Sneak Peek - Art Journaling with Altered Pages and Pan Pastels

Hello everyone!  Barbara here for Altered Pages, and I am so excited to be working with PanPastels this month.  PanPastels are now available at AlteredPages.com!  So, what are Pan Pastels, you might ask.   Leave a comment on the blog for a chance to win a set of Pan Pastels.  

They are "Ultra Soft Artists’ Painting Pastels for Painting, Drawing & Mixed Media! A revolutionary new way to use color! PanPastel Colors are professional artists’ quality soft pastel colors packed in a unique pan format (cake-like). The special qualities of PanPastel Colors mean that artists can blend and apply dry color like fluid paint for the first time."

Here is a peek at what I made.  You can view the project in its entirety over on the Altered Pages blog. 

Products Used:
Dylusions Small Journal; Vintage Text Pages; Sheet Music Brahams Lullaby collage sheet; Think Pink collage sheet; Mailbox collage sheet; Victorian Beauty Labels collage sheet; Vintage Wings collage sheet; Red White and Blue collage image
Pan Pastels:  Permanent Green Ex. Dark, Magenta Ex. Dark, Yellow Ochre Ex. Dark, Turquoise, Phtalo Blue, Bright Yellow Green; 
Softt Tools
Gel Medium
Stencils
Light Molding paste
Dotto style tape runner

I hope you can take a moment to stop on over at the Altered Pages blog to see more of my project today, where I also shared a few tips along the way.  Each day, the design team will be sharing more and more inspiration with these wonderful Pan Pastels.  I have to tell you that I really enjoyed working with them, and they are going to be one of my go-to art supplies.  

And be sure to comment on the Altered Pages blog each day for a chance to win a set of  Pan Pastels.  A random drawing will take place at the end of the month. So, for each comment you make, you get another chance to win.  The more comments, the more chances of winning. (One comment per day, please).  

Have a wonderful, creative week!  And remember, creativity is contagious, so pass it on!!!

Barbara

Art Journaling with Sin City Stamps and Pan Pastels

Hello everyone, and welcome to a new month of fun and inspiration with Sin City Stamps!  This month, we will be using a fabulous product called Pan Pastels.  Before I begin, let me first tell you a bit about this product.  

Pan Pastels are professional artists’ quality soft pastel colors packed in a unique pan format (cake-like). The special qualities of PanPastel Colors mean that artists can blend and apply dry color like fluid paint for the first time.  All PanPastel Colors are made using a unique manufacturing process requiring minimal binder and fillers, resulting in rich, ultra soft and super-blendable colors.

Each color is loaded with the finest quality artists’ pigments for the most concentrated colors possible. The colors have excellent lightfastness and are fully erasable. Uniquely, for pastel color, they can be mixed together for a complete painting palette.

Now that you know what Pan Pastels are, let me show you what I made with them.  I started out with a blank journal page, and here is my finished piece.

To view my directions in their entirety, I have included a SnapGuide tutorial.  Just click on the Start Here button to view the process and more detailed pictures.  

Check out How to Stamp With Sin City Stamps & Pan Pastels by Barbara Rankin on Snapguide.

Sin City Stamps supplies used:

• Natural Beauty stamp plate
• Bingo stamp plate
• Love of Butterflies stamp plate
• Rose Stencil
• Entangled Stencil

Other Products used:

• Pan Pastels colors:  Burnt Sienna (bricks), Red Tint Magenta, Hansa Yellow Tint, Ultramarine Blue Tint, Permanent Green Tint
• Cottonwood Arts Coldpress Notebook Journal
• Light Molding Paste (Golden)
• Versamark, Memento black, StazOn Midnight Blue ink pads
• Spatula

I hope you enjoyed my project and tutorial today, and be sure to check back for more inspiration from the team.  And while you are exploring the internet, I hope you will visit both the Sin City Stamps and Pan Pastels shops for all the supplies you need to make a journal of your very own. 

Have a wonderful, creative weekend!

Barbara

Craft Hoarders Blog Challenge #15 - All the Pretty Flowers

Hello all you fellow hoarders.  Today, I want to share my very flower-ful card with you and all the craft hoarders out there.  I don't know about you, but I have tons of pre-made flowers, punches, dies, you name it, I've got it!  So, this was the perfect challenge for me to come along and play.  I have a feeling I am not alone, so why not join in the fun.  

Here is what this challenge is all about.

This challenge is for all of you flower hoarders! Maybe you hoard pre-made flowers. Maybe you hoard flower punches or dies. Maybe you hoard flower stamps. "Dig" out those flowers and use them on your project!

Cut pomegranate card stock to 6" x 12", fold in half to make a 6" x 6" side-folded card.  Use single edge border die from Scalloped Borders Two to cut the right edge of the card.  Add a thin strip of printed paper cut using the tiny holes border die on the outer edge, placing the single edge border die approximately 1/2" from the first to form the thin strip.  Adhere beneath card front edge.

Card Front showing edge die used

Card Front on Inside with patterned paper strip

Cut image from Fairy Belle paper using Labels Twenty-Five #3.  Cut pomegranate card stock using Labels Twenty-Five #4.  Trace and cut outer edge of Labels Twenty-Five #4 onto newsprint card stock.  Ink edges and layer all three pieces with foam dots.  This will be the focal image.  See photos below.

Cut light orange card stock using middle frame from Elegant Labels 4.  Leave card stock in die and ink paper through openings with Vintage Photo and blending tool.

Remove from die and adhere to base card.

Then layer focal image on top.

Apply thin gold border sticker along inner embossed edge of card, as shown.

Use edge die to cut the back of the card to match the front.

Both front and back of card are now cut to match

A few close-up photos showing the dimension.

Supplies used:  
Spellbinders S5-077 Labels Twenty-Five
Spellbinders S6-005 5x7 Elegant Labels 4
Spellbinders S5-202 Scalloped Borders Two
306-Gold border stickers (Flower Soft)
Card stock: Pomegranate, Dark Green
My Mind's Eye (MME) 6x6 paper pads:  Butterfly, Blush; 
Prima Fairy Belle paper;  Mini Rose Sunrise; Daisy Mix
Martha Stewart five  leaf punch
Rose Leaf punch (unknown)
Distress Ink:  Peeled Paint, Vintage Photo
Colorbox Lime Pastel chalk ink

I hope you enjoyed my project today.  Please be sure to visit the Craft Hoarders Anonymous Blog Challenge blog for tons more inspiration from their design team.  They are awesome!

Thanks for stopping by, and as always, have a wonderful, creative week!

Barbara