Faux Etching with Sin City Stamps

Hello again my dear fellow stampers!  I hope everyone had a fun-filled weekend.  So, are you ready for some fun?

Today I want to share a simple yet fun technique that I believe has been around for a long time, but is sometimes forgotten.  It is a faux metal etching technique.  This technique is a bit different from faux embossing, as the results are not raised as much as in embossing.

The first thing you need is a piece of silver glossy metallic card stock and a rubber stamp, of course.

Ink the angel collage stamp with Versamark, or any embossing ink.  Heat emboss with detail clear embossing powder.

Heat emboss image.  I used detail embossing powder since my image has lots of detail, and it also is what gives the etched effect, rather than embossed.

Apply a coating of black ink, let sit for a few seconds.

Wipe away the excess.

The ink will remain in the crevices and give depth and dimension to the image.  I also like the antiqued effect from the ink.

I did a little pen work pen on the image with a Copic black to get more depth and dimension and help the image show up a little better.  It sounds like a lot of work, but it was very relaxing and I probably spent no more than ten minutes doing that.  I think the result was well worth it.

Trim around the image, leaving a small border and cut out around the wings.  Layer onto  4" x 5-1/4" black card stock, then to 4-1/4" x 5-1/2' silver card stock.

Add metal embellishments, as shown, with Beacon 3-in-1 glue.  Adhere to black pre-folded card front with foam tape for dimension.

Here is another card I made, this time with the background stamp from the Rosette Hearts set. I used the same technique as before.  However,  this time I first added Pitch Black alcohol ink, then removed excess ink with plain alcohol.  This left a reddish tint that resembles copper.  Very interesting.

So, next I added a wash of black fluid acrylic ink and some water, then wiped away the excess.

I got more black definition and some very cool colorations.

I trimmed the excess from the image, leaving a tiny border.  Then I cut a piece of green glossy card stock to 4" x 5-1/4" and adhered the image to that layer, which was then adhered to the black card.

I stamped the  three rosettes onto a scrap of copper glossy card stock with Versamark ink and detail clear embossing powder.  The three furthest to the left were embossed with regular clear embossing powder, but I lost all definition from these detailed stamps.  So I used detail clear embossing powder on the three to the right.  Can you see the difference?

I cut those three out and pressed each one onto a brown distress ink pad to get some antiquing and definition to the embossing.

I then added them to the card front, layering each with varying thicknesses of foam tape, and added black bling, as shown.

You can make this a lovely thank you card by simply stamping the "Thank You""Thank You" with black StazOn ink onto another scrap of the copper metallic card stock.  Punch out with label punch and edge with a black pen.  Add to upper left of card front with foam tape.

Supplies used:
Sin City Stamps:  Wing It; Rosette Hearts
Cardstock: Black, Silver Metallic Glossy, Copper Metallic Glossy, Green Metallic Glossy
VersaMark ink pad (or any embossing ink pad)
StazOn Black ink pad
Clear detail embossing powder
Heat tool
Fine Line black pen
Black swirls bling
Stampin Up Label Punch
Brown and Black distress ink
Liquitex black ink
Ranger Pitch Black alcohol ink
Blender tool with felt
Rubbing Alcohol
Black fluid acrylic ink
Beacon 3-in-1 Glue

I hope you enjoyed my project today and that I have inspired you to create something using this faux metal etching technique.  Play around with your stamps, inks and paints to see what you can come up with.  By the way, there are still a few more days left to get your Sin City Stamps and supplies, so stock up now.

Have a wonderful, creative week!

Barbara

A Classic Masculine Card with Spark

Happy Independence Day!  I hope everyone is enjoying a wonderful holiday with family and friends.     I am so excited to get to play with my new Sin City Stamps collections.  I love making cards, and my father's birthday is coming up.  I thought the Classic Spark stamp plate images would work beautifully for a masculine card, as well as my "go to" Art Journaling with Terri Sproul stamp sets.

Check out How to Make a Masculine Card by Barbara Rankin on Snapguide.

I hope you enjoyed my masculine card project today, and will try making one of your own with these techniques.  Oh,  by the way, have you seen all the new stamps and chipboard available at Sin City Stamps. They are awesome.  I even have a new Gothic Shrine chipboard piece that will be super fun to alter and decorate.  Stay tuned for more on that, because I am going to have a giveaway for one.

As always, thanks for stopping by, and be sure to check out the rest of the team's projects this month over on the Sin City Stamps blog.

Have a happy and safe holiday.

Barbara

Masculine Cards with ComposiMold and Sin City Stamps

Hello everyone.  Today I am going to share a couple of cards I made using Sin City Stamps and a really fun product  called Composi•mold reusable mold making material.  Okay, I was not sure about this product, but after I got over my fears, I jumped right in and I have to tell you, this stuff is sheer FUN!  It is easy to use, and absolutely mistake-proof because, if you don't like what you made, you can start over just by reheating the product.

I love making 3D embellishments and have always wished I had a way to make my stamped images come to life and more dimensional.  Well, here's the answer.  I was able to make molds of my Sin City Stamps, which allowed me to use whatever materials I choose to make these images 3D. I chose to use Creative Paperclay®.   I love it!

I found a wonderful video tutorial here which explains how easy it is to use.

http://www.youtube.com/user/ComposiMold

Supplies:

Sin City Stamps A Wing Above the Rest; Art Journaling with Terri Sproul 2

Composi•mold reusable mold making material
Creative Paperclay® air-dry modeling material
Mix'd Media ink (Leather) (Altered Pages)
Metallic Rub on creams (Altered Pages)
Regent Street paper collection (Recollections)
Black acrylic paint
Metal Gears (Tim Holtz)

You can check out my complete tutorial on how I made these cards over at the Sin City Stamps blog and, while there, hop on over to their online store.  Sin City's stamps are so well etched and just perfect for, not only stamping, but even this type of project.  I hope you will take a moment to check it out and leave me a comment or, if you have questions, I will try to answer.  And if you are looking for a good time (he he) then you really need to check out Composi•mold reusable mold making material.  You will have so much fun making your own 3D embellishments.

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a wonderful, creative weekend.

Barbara

Halloween Card and Paperbag Mini Album Continued

Hey there, Sin City Stamps fans, and welcome back to the continuing saga of my Halloween mini album.  We are proud to have The Robin's Nest sponsor us this month.  I cannot think of a better fit for two separate companies, fabulous papers and awesome stamps.

Supplies used:

Sin City Stamps:  Birds and Clocks, Art Journaling with Terri Sproul, Pam Bray's Fall Collection

The Robin's Nest:  Black and White Clock, Classified card stock, Damask Black and White

Smooth white card stock (Neenah)

Distress Inks (DI):  Frayed Burlap, Dusty Concord, Brushed Corduroy,

Distress Stains (DS): Gathered Twigs

Distress Paints (DP): Crushed Olive, Ripe Persimmon

Ink Pads:  French Lilac, Black India Ink (Stewart Superior); Tuxedo Black (Memento)

Ink Sprays:  White Linen, Squeezed Orange, Fresh Lime (Dylusions); Wheat Grass (Maya Mist)

Dies:  Bewitching Hour, Crossbones and Bat Garland,  Mini Pumpkin and Acorn(Sizzix)

Miscellaneous:  Clock hands (Prima), Pitt White Artist Pen (Faber-Castell), Rock Candy Crackle Medium (Ranger), white gesso, green glitter nail polish (Walgreens), Purple Passion Glimmer Glaze, Auburn Mist, Peach Delight Mist, Wild Currant Mist (Tattered Angels)

Let's start today by colorizing and stamping onto some of the beautiful Robin's Nest papers.  We are showcasing their Classified Collection this month, which is a very elegant black and white line.  They are all printed with a resin that acts as a resist, making them perfect for colorizing and mixing up your media.  So, for my next little project,  I made this Fall card using  this piece of Damask Black and White card stock from one of my previous posts.

I needed to "Fall" it up a bit, so I added more Autumn colors to it, first misting over the original colors with Auburn, then some Peach Delight, and lastly Wild Currant.  I still need more orange, so I randomly spray Squeezed Orange.

You see, you can continue to color this wonderful paper over and over til you get what you want.  So don't be afraid that you might make a mistake...  there are NO mistakes!

This particular "scrap" measures 4-3/4" x 6-1/2", so I was able to tear bits off the remaining three sides to fit my card base that I made from a piece of Brown on Brown Animal Print, which I cut to 7" x 10", folded in half to make a 5" x 7" card.  I then adhered this piece to my base card.

Die cut two pumpkins from Orange Glitter Crackle card stock.  I am going to use the reverse (solid) side so they show up against my background paper.  I used my trusty embossing tool and foam pad to dimensionalize my pumpkins.

Then I used my water brush to pick up a tiny bit of Brushed Corduroy DI and run the color down in the grooves made with my embossing tool.  Adhere to card front with pop dots.

Stamp leaf image a couple of times onto Classified card stock with black India ink.  Mist paper with water, add Ripe Persimmon and Crushed Olive DP over images and spritz again.  Dab up excess paint. Spritz with water again and gently wad up your paper.  Carefully spread paper flat again and dry with heat tool.

Fussy cut the leaves and adhere to pumpkins.

Stamp Autumn and Blessings onto reverse (green) side of Halloween Glitter Stripe card stock.  Trim close to image, edge with green glitter nail polish,  and layer onto a slightly larger rectangle of Orange Glitter Crackle card stock.  Adhere to card front, as shown in finished photo above.

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As I said in earlier posts, this Halloween mini album is a work in progress.  There are so many pages, tags, pockets, nooks and crannies inside for me to embellish and decorate to my heart's content.  I am having so much fun with this book, and I want to continue to share my journey in the process of  making this book.

I have already shown you how to assemble the book.  If you missed that post, you can get those directions by clicking here.  And if you want to see more stamping techniques and supply list used, you can visit my previous post by clicking here.

I am going to start with decorating a couple of the pocket tags that are inserted into the various paper bags. Like I said, this little book is jam packed with places to decorate.

Die cut witch and bat from chipboard, ink witch with French Lilac and mist lightly with White Linen ink spray.

Stamp row of diamonds, honeycomb, bubble wrap, and circles in black ink from the Art Journaling with Terri Sproul set.  I just love all of the elements in this set.  

I then used my white Pitt pen to edge the witch, using thicker lines along the edges I decided were where my light source was coming from.  In this case, it is upper right. Can you see the difference?

Cut out one of the clocks from Black and White Clock and adhere clock hands.   Rather than using a brad, I glued the hands down to the clock and added a tiny metal circle sticker to the center because the minute hand was a bit too long for the size of my clock, and it is going to be hidden by my witch die cut.  I also do not want the hands to move for this particular tag.

Stamp "XII" onto tiny tag with Versamark ink and emboss with black embossing powder.  That is, after all, the bewitching hour!

Mist first with Wheat Grass, then Fresh Lime.  It gave this mottled look, which I really like.  Heat set, but be careful doing this so you don't lose your embossed image.  Edge tag with Gathered Twigs DS.  

Add clear crackle medium and let dry. Adhere to large pocket tag.

Ink die cut bat with Black ink and mist with Black Magic.  Adhere to large pocket tag, and add a few metal gears for fun.

For my next pocket tag, I lightly painted white gesso on the smaller of the two paperbag pocket tags.

Sponge Crushed Olive DP over entire tag, and edge distress with Dusty Concord DI.  Die cut crossbones garland from cream card stock and sponge with Dusty Concord DI.  Die cut bat garland from black card stock and sand to distress.  Adhere to tag, as shown.

Stamp row of diamonds and honeycomb in black ink, as shown.

Stamp lady waiting clock face in black Memento ink onto smooth white card stock.  Mist with Dylusions ink sprays (Fresh Lime, Squeezed Orange).  Roughly cut out the circle and heavily distress the edges; ink with Gathered Twigs DS and sponge Frayed Burlap DI around the edge.  This gives a really burnt edge effect.

Add two spinners with a brad.

To finish, die cut owl from chipboard and colorize with Dusty Concord DI.  When dry, paint a coat of Purple Passion Glimmer Glaze.  Paint eyes with green glitter nail polish.  Adhere with pop dots over clock face, as shown above.   Add diamond shaped dew drops over diamonds stamped image.

Whew, another long post, but I just can't stop going sometimes.  Don't these tags look like fun?  Well, they really are, especially since they are going to decorate my mini album.  But do you know what else you could use these for if you are not a book maker?  These would be wonderful additions to the front of a card.   And the card above would make a cool addition to one of the pockets in my book. 

Well, I have kept you long enough.  I hope you enjoyed my projects this month and that you are inspired to make your own Halloween cards and mini album.  And please take a moment to visit the Sin City Stamps online store and blog for more inspiration from the design team, as well as checking out the fab papers and embellishments from our sponsor, The Robin's Nest. 

Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a wonderful, creative weekend!

Barbara

Ship in a Bottle and Nautical Cards with Sin City Stamps

Hello everyone, and welcome back to another month of fun projects by the Sin City Stamps design team.  I cannot believe it is August already.  Where has the summer gone?  I guess I've just been so busy these past few months that it slipped right by me.  Nevertheless, I want to share a couple of cards that I made using the new Nautical stamp plate.   This is a really fun plate, and so fitting for those masculine cards we always have trouble creating.  No girly, frilly stuff here, unless Captain Jack Sparrow is nearby.

So let's get started.  My first card is not a new technique, but I have not seen it used for quite awhile.  It is an oldie but goodie, and I hope you agree.  It is perfect for my "Ship in a Bottle" card.

Supplies Used:

SCS 274 - Sailing Ship from the Nautical Plate
SCS  - Steampunk Circus Plate
Ultra-Cream stamping paper (Judi-Kins)
Blue Morning Glory Swirl print paper (K&Co)
Pear Green CS (Bazzill)
Sky Blue CS (DMD)
Black India Ink (Stewart Superior)
Distress Inks (Peeled Paint, Black Soot, Vintage Photo)
Chandelier Glimmer Glam (Tattered Angels)
Fran-táge Pearlized Mica Fragments (Stampendous)
Tattered Banners Decorative Strip Die (Sizzix-Tim Holtz)
Ink Jet Transparency
4" x 6" ziploc bag
Dawn dish detergent

Directions:

Cut Pear Green cs to 6" x 12", fold in half to make 6" x 6" card.  Trim print paper slightly smaller than front of card and distress edges with Peeled Paint.

Stamp ship in a bottle from the Nautical Plate onto a piece of inkjet transparency and again onto plain copy paper with Black India ink.

Left-Transparency                   Right-Plain Paper

Cut out plain paper image to use as a template for cutting out the opening on card front.

Plain Paper image for template

Place template in the proper orientation onto the print paper and cut out the bottle opening.  Distress the inside of the bottle opening with Black Soot.  Set aside.

Open card base up and align print paper onto card front.  Adhere to front with a temporary adhesive and  use a craft knife to cut around the opening in the card front only.  Save the CS bottle piece you just cut out.  We will use that later.

Use white glue to adhere the transparency over the opening on the card front, as shown.  This will be covered by the print layer later.

Transparency glued to card front

Attach print paper to front of card base, covering the transparency and matching the bottle openings.  The excess transparency is now hidden by the paper.

Card front

To make the "water" in the bottle, first grab a small (4" x 6") ziploc bag.  Place over the image to determine sizing.  I made two tick marks at the card fold line so I can cut off the excess and reseal it.  (TIP:  If you have a food saver vacuum sealing system, you can use that to reseal your bag, but I still like to tape all edges again for security.)

Ziploc bag on inside front of card

Once you have determined the size, cut and resealed it, fill the bag about 1/3 of the way with Dawn dish detergent, or any blue dish detergent you can find.  Otherwise, you could always add a few drops of reinker to a clear detergent.  Can you see the bubbles inside?  This is a good thing because you would expect some bubbles in a bottle sitting at the bottom of the ocean.  Right?

Dish detergent inside ziploc bag

Make sure your bag is sealed very well all around, then tape it to the card front on the inside, behind the  transparency image.  

To cover the workings on the inside, cut a piece of blue CS to 6" x 12", fold in half and adhere to the card front inside only, leaving the back inside free.  This prevents it from buckling.

Stamp "Happy Birthday" and "Let the adventure begin!" from  the Steampunk Circus Plate onto the bottle piece you cut out earlier, using a stamp positioner for accuracy.  Distress edges of bottle with Peeled Paint.  Adhere to the card inside.  Isn't that cute?  Nothing goes to waste.  I love it!

This is what it looks like from the front, with the blue cardstock showing through from the back.  Isn't is pretty?  You can see the bubbles inside the bottle.  I think this is so cool!  I love this technique.

Next, stamp the mermaid, crab, lobster, shell, and coral, onto stamping paper using Black India Ink. This ink is absolutely fabulous.  It gives each image such a crisp print, and will not run if you use water-based markers and other media.

Color the images with Distress Markers and fussy cut each one.  Shape each image with your fingers and attach to the card front with foam dots, as shown.  Add mica fragments to resemble the sea bottom.

Use a scrap of the same print paper to die cut one of the tattered banners.  Stamp "Catch of the Day" with Black India Ink, distress with Vintage Photo, fold banner and adhere to upper right with foam dots.

Here are a few more close-ups of these images on the front.

Voila!  You have a card that will awe your recipient and keep them guessing how you made the "water" in the bottle.

My second card is super simple.  We all need super simple sometimes, and I have several masculine birthdays coming up this month and next month, so I hope to get an early start with these.

Supplies Used:

SCS 274 - Sailing Ship from the Nautical Plate
Roman Midnight Chalk Ink (Fresco from Stampa Rosa)
Sizzix embossing folder - Airmail & Compass Set (Tim Holtz)
5" x 7" Kraft Card (pre-folded) (Paper Studio)
Map Collage printed paper (Paper Studio)
Ultra-Cream stamping paper (Judi-Kins)
Blue Kraft-Core CS (Tim Holtz Nostalgic Collection) (4-1/4" x 5-1/2")
Sanding Block
2" wide Mixed Media burlap ribbon (Paper Studio)
Distress Ink Pads (Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, Black Soot)
Ship's Wheel lasercut chipboard (Gina's Designs)
Cape Cod Yellow and Gray Baker's Twine (Bella's Creationz)
Silhouette electronic die cutting machine
Silhouette image (Ahoy Matey!)

Directions:

Trim Map Collage paper slightly smaller than the card front, distress edges with Black Soot,  and adhere to kraft card.  Emboss Blue Kraft-Core cardstock with Compass embossing folder and sand to bring out the kraft core.

Adhere this piece to upper left  of card front.

Stamp sailing ship onto Judi-Kins stamping paper with Fresco Roman Midnight chalk ink.  This pad has been in my stash for, well, probably a decade, but any chalk ink pad you have will work.  

Next,  I lightly covered the entire image with a light coat of Tea Dye distress ink to tone the color down and make it look more vintage.

Then, I did a rough cut around the ship image,   

and distressed the edges heavily, further distressing with Vintage Photo and a bit of Black Soot to give it that burned look.

Using the Silhouette, I die cut the words "Ahoy Matey!", appropriately sized for my card front.  I used a piece of gold Kraft-Core CS for this.  Cut about a 4-1/2" piece of the burlap ribbon, trimming the wire edge off of each side, and fraying all around.   Layer the pieces as shown in the finished card photo above.

Lastly, I wrapped some baker's twine around the spine of the card.  Very nautical looking, don't you think?

I hope you enjoyed my projects today and will give them a try.  I know we all need masculine cards once in awhile, so I hope this has helped to inpire you to create some for those men in your life.

As always, thanks so much for stopping by, and I hope you will take some time to visit the blog to see more creative works from the fab design team.  Also, be sure to check out the special promotion going on this month over at the  Sin City Stamps store.  They have the most wonderful stamp images that I know you are going to love, and coupons to boot.  All you need to do is visit the coupon page and scratch off the blocks to reveal a random discount code.

Have a wonderful, creative weekend, and go do some SCS shopping!!

Barbara