Ponderings Mini Album Part 2

Hello Sin City Stampers, and welcome back to our blog.   Barbara here today with Part 2 of my mini album project.  In case you have not heard, Sin City Scraps is now Sin City Stamps.  In addition to the new name, I hope you will check out the new stamps, stamp plates, and other fabulous products they sell in their online store.    You will love what they have to offer.

Just a reminder, too, to mark your calendars for a fun Clowning Around With Sin City Stamps Blog Hop on 8 June.  If you love the Circus, you will love this hop.  If you love inspiration, you will love this hop.  If you love giveaways, you will really love this hop.  Each blog will be giving away a stamp set of your choice to one lucky, randomly chosen winner.  So be sure to come back for this special event.  

Supplies used:

Sin City Stamps Metal Madness
Sin City Stamps Clockworks Inspired by Terri Sproul
Sin City Stamps Clocks and BirdsSin City Stamps Fairies & Blossoms 2
Sin City Stamps Mannequin Tags 2
Sin City Stamps Love of Butterflies
Miracle Tape
6 Black Library Pockets (3-1/2" x 4-1/2")
5 Small Cream Coin Envelopes (3" x 4-1/2")
2 Small manila tags (2-1/8" x 4-1/4")
K&Co Julianne Solid Mat Pad
Black Archival Ink
Green Leaves Rumple Ribbon (Love Bug Creations)
Distress Ink:  Wild Honey, Black Soot
Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists (Patina, Key Lime, English Ivy, Vintage Pink, Indian Corn, Chocolate Covered Cherries)
Tim Holtz mini binder clip, swivel clasp, chain tassel
Fiskars Corner Edger Scissors (Nostalgia)
WRMK Crop-a-dile hole punch

My project today is the second part of my mixed media mini album (shown below), which was posted here on 2 May.  If you missed it, you can click here to see Part 1.

I promised I would show you some of the things I planned to embellish the inside pockets and tags.  In the picture below, the pockets, tags and envelopes are plain and unadorned.  

Looks much better, right?  And so much fun to make.

First, let's work on the tags inside the front and back cover pockets.  I just acquired some of the new Distress Paints, so I wanted to give them a try.  I used bundled sage and broken china to marbleize my two manila tags located inside the front and back covers.  

Simply swipe the dabber across the tag, then make two puddles on your craft sheet, spritz both the tag and puddles with water, and let the colors run. Swipe the wet tag through the puddles to marbleize even more. 

 Here are my results:

Next, stamp images from Mannequin Tags 2, Clocks and Birds, and Metal Madness plates, using black archival ink.   I sponged a little wild honey distress ink around the edges.  It gave it a bit of a greenish effect, which I liked very much.  I tied some green leaf rumple ribbon through the holes.  

Similar techniques were used on three black library pockets, i.e., puddle bundled sage and broken china distress paints on craft sheet, spritz with water, swipe pockets through wet paint to marbleize them.  

Sponge on salty ocean and peeled paint distress inks after paint has dried.  (Note:  Applying the paint first allowed the inks to show against the black paper.)  

I colored three more black library pockets with a color combo of mustard seed, peeled paint, and fired brick distress paints.  

Stamp background image from Metal Madness onto library pockets with black archival ink.  Edge with black soot distress ink.  Now wait for it.  Magic is about to happen.  At first glance, what appeared to be a painted, splotchy mess is now a fabulous background.  That is the magic of stamps!

My tip for stamping a larger stamp onto a smaller piece of paper is to lay your stamp flat on your desk, ink it up, and lay your paper face down on top of the stamp.  Burnish with your fingers, a brayer, or a bone folder.  Use whatever works for you.  

I cut six tag shapes 3" x 4" to fit inside the library pockets, then trimmed the top corners with corner edger scissors.  I left them blank so I can add bits and pieces of ephemera, quotations, and anything else I want to put on them.  

Finally, let's work on the ivory coin envelopes.  I am going to use a technique that I am going to call "fragment stamping", because I am only going to use portions (or fragments) of my stamps to make an amazing background.  Now, this is fun!  I admit I had to overcome some of my inhibitions, but the key to this kind of stamping is imperfection.  What?  Are you kidding?  Imperfection from a perfectionist?  Yep, and I have got to admit, I had a blast.  

On the five individual coin envelopes, I stamped portions of images from the Metal Madness, Clockworks Inspired by Terri Sproul, and Love of Butterflies, to make these fun backgrounds.  I used black archival ink so my stamping would not run for the next step.  I heat set the ink with my heat gun.    Then I used two color combos of Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists, for each coin envelope.  One color combo is  Patina, Key Lime, English Ivy.  

The second color combo is Vintage Pink, Indian Corn, and Chocolate Covered Cherries.  Allow to dry.

This is my third design using the Clockworks Inspired by Terri Sproul set. 

I made this cute binder closure, inspired by Marion Smith, using some Tim Holtz Idea-ology bits and pieces, and some tiny lock and key charms.   

I attached the swivel clasp end to the back cover after inserting an eyelet with my crop-a-dile.  

Inside cover tags.

 Library pocket pages (were black).

Coin envelopes (were ivory).

Finished pages inside book.

Close up of book closure.

My plan for this little mini book is to keep tiny keepsakes and memorabilia, favorite quotations, as well as any profound thoughts I might want to remember.  What will you keep in yours? 

I hope you enjoyed Part 2 of my project today,  and that I have inspired you to play with your stamps and mixed media in many different ways.  So be sure to stop by Sin City Stamps and check out their new stamp plates, as well as visiting the blog for tons of inspiration from the design team.  And don't forget the Clowning Around blog hop coming here on 8 June.  It is sure to be as much fun as a three-ring circus!

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a wonderful weekend filled with stamping fun!

Barbara

Button Fairy Tutorial with Sin City Stamps

Hello Sin City Stamps fans, and welcome back to our blog.  Before we begin, I want to tell you about a fun blog hop coming up.  The Sin City Stamps design team is cooking up some neat things to share with you in the upcoming "Think Like a Pirate" blog hop on 8 June.  So mark your calendars for lots of fun and inspiration.  Aaaarrrrrgh me matey!

Today, I am going to show you how to make a button fairy.  I have to admit, I got this idea because I am participating in an online button fairy swap, and I have to say, Sin City Stamps has some fabulous images for button fairies.  Check out their latest stamp plates in their online store.  They are to die for.

If you are not familiar with button fairies, then you are in for a real treat.  Below is my finished button fairy.  I really love how this turned out.  I think I may have to make some more.  

1.  Stamp mannequin image onto a piece of manila paper using black ink.

2.  Color the image as desired.  I used colored pencils first, 

then applied wild honey distress ink over the entire image.

3.  Add various colors of pigment ink to the script butterfly stamp.  I used dauber duos, but you could also use a make up sponge or cat's eyes to apply your ink.  As you can see in the photo, I followed the outline of the image to apply my colors.

4.  Stamp image onto aqua card stock.  Some of the pictures look aqua, and some do not.  It really is aqua card stock, though.

5.  Add detail clear embossing powder.  I used detail powder so that my script image would appear more distinctly.

6.  As you can see from the photo below, the color is now much more intense after clear embossing.

7.  Cut out butterfly.   (Tip:  To make it easier to cut into the corners, I take a snip out of each corner.  This helps me get my scissor blade in without bending the card stock.)

Cut wings in half.

8.  Cut out mannequin image; adhere wings to back of mannequin using wet glue.  I find that wet glue adheres better when glueing regular paper to a heat embossed paper.

9.  Cut approximately 16" piece of 20 gauge wire, use pliers to make loop at top.  This will be used to hang your button fairy.  (Note:  If you do not have pliers, you can always use a pencil or paint brush handle to make your loop.)

10.  I like to thread my buttons onto my wire before I actually glue the wire to the back of my button fairy.  So, first, I mark the wire where my buttons will start.  Be sure to use a permanent marker, like a Sharpie pen, to make this mark so it will not rub off of the metal wire.

11.  Lay your  buttons out in the order you desire.

Thread buttons of varying size and interest to the bottom of the wire.  Make a tiny loop of wire on the back of the last button to keep it from falling off.  Again, if you do not have pliers, you can use a wood skewer or dowel, or something like that to make your small loop.

12.  Adhere wire to back of mannequin with three glue dots.

13.  To finish the back, I simply stamped the same mannequin image to the reverse side of a scrap of print paper, cut out, and adhered to reverse side.  This covers up where you attached the wire to the back.

14.  Stamp tiny butterfly with ripe persimmon distress ink, and "music) with black ink onto a piece of Mammarazzi² print paper.  

15.  Cut out both images.

16.  Adhere to front of mannequin, as shown.

Supplies Used:

Sin City Stamps Mannequin Tags 2

Sin City Stamps Love of Butterflies

Manila card stock

BoBunny Mamarazzi² 6x6 paper

DCWV Tattered Time 8x8 paper scrap

20 gauge gold wire

Distress ink (Ripe Persimmon, Black Soot)

Dauber Duos (pale blue, cool mint, lapis lazuli, winter green, royal blue, lavender, orchid) (Tsukineko)

Versafine Onyx Black ink (Tsukineko)

Buttons

Scotch Quick Dry Adhesive

Chain Nose Pliers

Round Nose Pliers

Isn't this a fun project?  Imagine adding some feathers, charms, beads, and any other embellishments you can think of.  I hope you have been inspired to gather all of those buttons you have been collecting and make a playful button fairy to grace your studio.  I must warn you, however, they can be very addicting.  So have fun and make button fairies!

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and please be sure to visit the Sin City Stamps online store to see all of the new stamp plates and accessories they have to offer.

Barbara