ATC's

Hello, and welcome! We are having a new Saturday Showcase at The Funkie Junkie Boutique challenge blog today, and to change things up a bit, all of the Design Team members will be sharing their Anything Goes ATC's with you. I hope you will stop by for lots of inspiration!

I decided to go back to school and finally watched one of Tim Holtz videos. I don't use paint very much in my makes, so I thought it would be fun to watch his Q and A demo video covering Distress paints and challenge myself by trying a few of his techniques.  I don't have much in the way of step by step instructions or photos, but you will learn everything you need to know from the master of Distress if you watch his video. 

The first technique I tried is paint resist on the ATC pictured below. I cut a piece of Distress Mixed Media Heavystock to  the regulation size: 2.5 x 3.5 inches and got to work. I have no step out photos at all for this one, because I just got involved in the process of making.

I didn't have enough Antique Linen paint left and I cannot for the life of me find the new bottle I thought I had purchased (which would have been my first choice), so I used Spun Sugar  paint for the roses, and Rustic Wilderness  paint for the foliage with the Roses  mini stencil. 

These are the Distress inks I used over the painted stencil work: Speckled Egg, Wild Honey, Rustic Wilderness, Vintage Photo, and Broken China. After inking, splashing with water and drying,  I added stamping with more Spun Sugar and part of a Baroque stamp at the bottom. I blended the corner with more Rustic Wilderness ink and added more stamping with an Entomology butterfly and script in a black permanent ink. Tim recommends using Ranger Archival, because it is not resisted by the paint, and sits on top, but both of my Jet Black pads were dry. The ink I used is resisted by the paint which is NOT what I was hoping for, but I proceeded.

I decided it needed a little something to add the depth I was looking for, but lacking in the stamping, so I got out my finest brush and my reading glasses and added Cracked Pistachio paint highlights to the butterfly and foliage. For some texture, I smooshed Crackle Paste through a stencil at the top and bottom corners and set it aside to dry, knowing it would take on the ink colors. Sadly, when it dried, it all flaked off and took some of the ink with it. Having a second try with a larger stencil yielded the same results, and really left a mess in the corners. Ugh! This is not going well...

In the end, I just smeared the paste in the corners with my finger and sprinkled with Rustic Wilderness and Walnut Stain Embossing Glazes. When the paste started to crack, I dried and melted the powder. Lastly, I smeared the paste/glaze corners with Rustic Wilderness and Walnut Stain Crayons to define the cracks. To add a frame, I swiped the edges with Cracked Pistachio paint and my finger and backed with a panel of scuffed copper Metallic Kraft Stock. I chose an appropriate Clippings sticker to finish and inked and heat embossed it with Tattered Rose Glaze and scuffed with steel wool to take the shine off. After a bad start, this turned out to be one of my favorites. But you know it's hard to choose favorites when they're your own.

The next ATC uses paint over ink with stencils. I've never done this technique before, and it took me several tries to get a half respectable ATC out of it. I started with a favorite panel of mop up inks/oxides/sprays I've been hoarding in my stash. The original panel was a fairly decent size, so after trashing my first attempt, I was able to salvage another ATC out of it and start anew.

You can learn all about this technique in the video, but the idea is to use Distress Resist Spray over the inky background, so you can apply paint over top of it and then remove some of the paint with a stencil and a slightly damp baby wipe. Tim says use a paper towel, because wipes are too wet, but I personally had better results with a wipe. But...again with the supplies...my second bottle of resist spray wouldn't spray. Yes, I know you need to flush it after use (learned after my first bottle clogged), but I guess I didn't do a good housekeeping job. So I removed the cap and spread it with an old paintbrush. I was happy to see the inks didn't move around like they would if you tried to use collage medium as a barrier. Perhaps that's because the inking wasn't fresh, or maybe it's the secret of Resist Spray???

 My first paint color is Chipped Sapphire, and I used a Flourish mini stencil for the technique. 

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 Then I used Seedless Preserves and mini Roses.

I used a soft brayer to apply Picket Fence paint to the butterfly stamp and made an impression. After drying, I stamped the butterfly again, this time in the same permanent black ink used on the prior ATC, purposefully offsetting from the painted one. I also stamped another portion of a Baroque stamp along the side.

The highlights on the butterfly were done with Cracked Pistachio, Kitsch Flamingo and Picket Fence paints. I masked the stamping and used my splatter brush and Cracked Pistachio paint for some delicate splatters. The sentiment is an old Remnant Rub, and I added Hydrangea Liquid Pearls for texture and balance. Finally, I backed with handmade paper (not by my hands) and another panel of heavy watercolor paper for added stability and heft.

OK, so now we move into my grungy comfort zone, and these next two ATC's came together quite quickly. I thought that I could use some more practice with the paint over ink technique and wanted try my hand at using the crackle paste through a stencil again. This time I had more of an idea in mind, and it involved a stencil with more open area.

Again, I started with a mop up panel from my stash and painted my chosen section of it with Resist Spray. I cut an ATC using an old Bigz die and use the waste as a template to help me choose the right area, pictured below. I used Black Soot and Speckled Egg paint colors along with Stone and Mosaic mini stencils . I also used those same colors and sponged them through mini Halftone stencil on the left side and Speckled Egg and Digits mini stencil at the bottom. Using a Blending Brush allowed me to get a crisper image. I later added  shadows with a Micron pen to help the digits stand out more.

I used the Slate mini stencil, crackle paste and Walnut Stain and Weathered Wood Glazes in opposing corners smudged later with Hickory Smoke Crayon, and this time it worked according to plan.

I die cut a butterfly with Entomology Thinlits dies, reinserted the die cut back into the water color paper from which it was cut and stamped with Distress Black Soot Archival ink. This holds the butterfly in place allowing more accurate stamping in the Stamp Platform. The photo above shows Ground Espresso for the butterfly (used on the next ATC) and Black Soot for the ant (not used). The butterfly is blended with Walnut Stain ink and embossed using a Distress Embossing Pen and Speckled Egg and Walnut Stain glazes. (Process photo shown further below for next ATC.) Scuff the embossed butterfly with steel wool to remove the shine.

I don't know if you can see it in the photo above, but when drying the glaze powder, some of the clear bits hardens to the paint and adds even more texture. Delightful! A ticket (Tim Holtz Ticketbooth: stamps, Thinlits dies) leftover on my worktop, torn and inked, gives contrast to the off the edge butterfly and completes the message I wanted to convey by my Remnant Rub and Clipping stickers words. The Clippings sticker is inked and heat embossed with Antique Linen Glaze. To finish this ATC off, I layered it on a panel of scuffed metallic kraft stock.

While I have done the Eroded Metal technique a LONG time ago (back before I had some of these wonderful background paint colors), I thought I need to brush up. Here's my ATC using this (favorite) Distress paint technique. Fortunately, my first attempt turned out respectably. 

 I used Heavy Stock as my base, and the paints used on the background are shown in the photo.  

Dry and paint with one good coat of metallic paint over the entire panel. Spray with water while still the paint is still wet, dry partially with a heat tool. Immediately lay an absorbent paper towel over the mostly wet paint, smooth with your hand and immediately pull it off, leaving that great eroded surface. 

 The next step is to apply ink directly to the dried surface with the ink pad and then blend with your blending tool. I gave it a little splash of water drops to reveal some lighter areas. Again, you can find all the details of this technique on Tim's video. Using my template, I'm able to find the perfect portion to cut for my ATC.

 The gears die cuts are old Tim Holtz (Gearhead) and were in my stash already colored. To make them work for my project, I painted them with Ground Espresso, then tapped with Rusty Hinge paint and sprinkled with Rusty Hinge glaze powder. I heated to melt, scuffed with steel wool, then added highlights of Cracked Pistachio paint.

I stamped a portion of a Glitch 1 stamp in permanent black ink. The other portion of the ticket from the last ATC, a glazed butterfly and Clippings sticker and old Remnant Rub finish the ATC. This time I used a mixture of Speckled Egg and Cracked Pistachio glazes on the butterfly's wings. I backed the ATC with a metallic kraft stock panel which was sanded and painted with watery Black Soot paint.

As a recap, here are my ATC's gathered together for one last look. 

I hope you found some inspiration from today's post. Remember to visit The Funkie Junkie Challenge blog for even more ATC inspiration from my very talented teammates. Enjoy your weekend! Sara Emily

Challenge Shares

Sandee and Amelie's Steampunk Challenges: March/April 2021 Just my steampunk ATC's.

 These products were used on my ATC's and can be purchased at The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Rubber Stamps - Entomology

Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Stamp Set - Baroque

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Mixed Media Heavystock

Tim Holtz Idea-ology 8 x 8 Metallic Jewels Kraft Stock

Tim Holtz Idea-ology 8 x 8 Metallic 2 Kraft Stock - Rose Gold & Copper

Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Mini Stencils - Sets # 10, #25,#28, #48

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Paint  - Spun Sugar, Cracked Pistachio, Rustic Wilderness, Picket Fence, Black Soot, Speckled Egg, Ground Expresso, Rusty Hinge, chipped sapphire, seedless preserves, Mermaid Lagoon, Evergreen Bough, Fossilized Amber, antiqued Bronze, Kitsch Flamingo

Tim Holtz Distress Crayons - Hickory Smoke, Rustic Wilderness, Walnut Stain 

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads - Speckled Egg, Wild Honey, Rustic Wilderness, Vintage Photo, Broken China, Frayed Burlap, Walnut Stain

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Archival Mini Ink Pads - Black Soot, Ground Espresso

Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Glaze - Antique Linen, Walnut Stain, Cracked Pistachio, Rustic Wilderness, Speckled Egg, Rusty Hinge, Weathered Wood, Tattered Rose

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Remnant Rubs

Tim Holtz Resist Spray

Ranger Opaque Crackle Texture Paste

Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium Matte

Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Pen 2pk

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Brayer

See The Garland, Gleaming Red - a Christmas ATC

Happy night before Christmas Eve! Can you believe it? Whatever happened to this month? I am finally getting in the Christmas spirit now that my cards are sent out and the cookies are made. Mixed with the cheerfulness of the season is the sadness I feel over A Vintage Journey closing down their blog. Having been a fan of this inspiring challenge blog and the very talented team members just about since they started it back in 2014, it was a huge day for me when Brenda asked me to join the team. I had to cut my time there short after just three years last year due to life getting in the way, but my life has been made richer by being a part of a genuinely close-knit and supportive team and making wonderful friendships. It was very important to me to join in with their last challenge, and so here is my Christmas ATC to play along, taking one more opportunity to celebrate the birth of Christ.

I don't have much in the way of how this came together. It was more or less just things that were leftover on my worktop after a flurry of Christmas card making and DT projects for The Funkie Junkie Boutique challenge blog. All the little bits and pieces seemed to work so well together, this ATC practically made itself.

While I've been using a newer poinsettia die by Sizzix all season long, this old Tim Holtz Layered Poinsettia Bigz die holds a special place in my heart, especially paired with the coordinating Poinsettia embossing folder. A bit of Diamond Dust and Stickles makes this poinsettia sparkle.

I've used a new favorite addition to my stash to serve as the background--Knitted 3D Embossing Folder by Sizzix. I just smeared green and red ink pads right over top the embossed card and then, topped it with a smear of Prima White Gold wax. What could be easier? 

This year's Tim Holtz Stunning Snowflake cut from his Metallic Kraft Stock adds some elegance and glamour to the festive seasonal colors.

After choosing this Tim Holtz sticker for my sentiment, (already inked, but sidelined from another project) I had to tuck in a snip of red tinsel ribbon from my stash (the only thing that I actually didn't have leftover on my desk). After cutting the knitted panel to regulation ATC size and rounding the corners, I added it to a sanded scrap of Metallic Jewel Kraft Stock. Just to make it interesting, I left those corners sharp.

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That's all for me today! I'm thrilled I had the opportunity to play along in A Vintage Journey's final challenge, and hopefully, I'll have a chance to make and link up a second ATC, this time, to meet their 'farewell' part of the challenge. 

I'll have a couple of cards to share with you over the next couple of days, so I hope you'll have a chance to have another peek in later this week. If not, have a very Merry and blessed Christmas, and I'll see you in the New Year! Sara Emily

Challenge shares:

A Vintage Journey December Challenge- Festive/Au Revoir ATC

Simon Says Stamp Monday -Celebrate!

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - Sparkle and Shine

Country View Challenges December 2020 - Anything Christmas

Artist Trading Coins With Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Glazes

Welcome friends! I pray that wherever you are in the world that you are safe and healthy! It's a crazy time for all of us right now, but I am full of hope that we will all come out better people for this on the other side.

It's time for our new challenge at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog and with our talented Jenny as the hostess, our theme this time is 'Little Things'. Here's how Jenny describes her challenge:

"Sometimes it can be the littlest of things that can mean the most. For this challenge create a small vintage or shabby chic project (or if you're feeling adventurous even a set!) It could be an Artist Trading Card/Coin, a tag or a little card for example, or you may have something else in mind - we can't wait to see them."

As always, the winner will earn a chance to be a Guest Designer at a future date at The Funkie Junkie Boutique blog, and everyone who enters and follows the rules will go into the draw for the chance to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique. There are also Top 3 Badges for three additional outstanding entries, chosen by the Design Team. Please see the blog for details.

I recently received my order from The Funkie Junkie Boutique containing among other things, Tim Holtz new Distress Embossing Glaze Powders and the Field Notes Ephemera Pack. I thought making a few little Artist Trading Coins would give me the opportunity to try out the Glazes and use a few of the beautiful ephemera pieces. First, I'll show you the details on the coins, and following I'll give a brief description about how I made them.

Reverse sides:

Here are the steps I took. I started taking photos, but got distracted at the end and forgot to record the rest on camera. I think the instructions are pretty straight forward though.

1. Punch 3 circles from scrap (front of coin) and Bristol board (back of coin). The scrap is an old book page I had stamped with a Fragments stamp, first and second generation in practice for another project a while back. I also used it to clean off a stencil making a ghostly monoprint. I knew this panel would come in handy someday. I was tickled pink to see Leland from Hendersonville, NC or some other person long ago wrote the word 'distress' for some odd reason on the reverse side. How appropriate! (I can promise it was not me!)

2. Color Bristol board with Frayed Burlap oxide; set aside to be used as the backs later.

3. Choose ephemera from Field Notes pack, keeping in mind scale. So many little things in this pack begging to be used!

4. Stamp ephemera and one coin with Field Notes stamps and archival ink.

5. Adhere coin fronts to Bristol board backs with Distress Collage Medium Matte.
6. Blend coins fronts and ephemera with Frayed Burlap and Walnut Stain inks.
7. Paint skinny edges of coins with Ground Espresso paint.
8. Using Embossing Dabber, heat emboss each coin front with various Embossing Glazes. Repeat on back edges.
9. Using Embossing pen, outline the bees wings and emboss with glaze, to give the wings a more translucent quality.
10.  I buffed the embossing with steel wool to take the shine off, except on the bee and bee coin front, because that was supposed to look like sticky honey. LOL I was skeptical about taking this step, thinking what is the point of using the glazes, then. But, I was pleasantly surprised with the effect. You still get a unique texture and appearance of depth because the glaze sits on top of the stamping. Bravo on this amazing product, Ranger and Tim Holtz!
11. Stamp Tiny Text on the book page scrap with Ground Espresso archival and cut out with scissors. Blend edges with Walnut Stain ink.
12. Adhere all ephemera and text with collage medium and sit back and admire these Little Things.

That's all for me today. I hope you'll pop over to the blog and see all the "little things" my talented teammates have made to tempt you to join in the challenge. Then link up your own project HERE to be in for a chance to win one of the wonderful prizes! I can't wait to see your little things! Hugs and blessings! Sara Emily

The following products were used and can be purchased at The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

Distress Embossing Glazes -  Antique Linen, Broken China, Peeled Paint, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain
Distress Embossing Dabber
Distress Embossing Pens
Distress Oxide - Frayed Burlap
Distress Ink - Frayed Burlap, Walnut Stain
Distress Paint - Ground Espresso
Distress Archival ink - Faded Jeans, Ground Espresso, Black Soot
Distress Collage Medium Matte
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Ephemera, Field Notes
Tim Holtz Cling Stamps - Fragments
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Stamp Set - Tiny Text
Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Stamp Set - Field Notes

The Little Things--Another ATC

Welcome! I have another little mixed media gem to share with you. I am loving seeing all the ATC's over at Simon Says Stamp's ATC challenge. Have you played along yet? My friend down the street inspired me with her butterfly hatchery. Her monarch eggs she's collected from her milkweed are in the chrysalis stage right now, so it won't be long til they turn into butterflies and she releases them.

 
I smeared Transparent Matte Texture Paste through a Tim Holtz mini stencil (set 25) over kraft card. When it was dry, I wiped over the raised areas with Prima White Gold Metallique Wax. Lastly, I painted the background with Distress Oxide Sprays (Faded Jeans and Cracked Pistachio) with a brush from the bottle.

I layered a Transparent Wings butterfly over one die cut (Mini Detailed Butterfly) from crinoline. A tiny transparent butterfly has some watery Picket Fence paint smeared on the back of his wings, and both are splattered with the paint. You can see just how shimmery that background is juxtaposed with the matte finish of the oxides.

More splattering on the panel before adhering the butterflies and a couple of Clippings stickers. I blended the edges with Ground Espresso ink. Pictured below taken in the natural gloomy light of the afternoon; I rather like it.

I wish there were an extra day in this week, so I could make one more...perhaps I'll squeak one more in before the morning! Hub's night to cook! Hugs and Blessings! Sara Emily

Challenge shares:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Artist Trading Cards

Crafty Cardmakers #239 It’s A Bug’s Life

Country View Challenges August 2019 - Texture

Scrapy Land Challenge #120 Anything Goes  I used a Sizzix die; Detailed Butterfly

Bleeding Art August Challenge - Anything Goes

Let's Craft and Create Challenge #150 - AG + Option EnTWINEed No twine, but the butterflies are entwined in the stems of the flower garden.

Merry Christmas ATC Pair

Hello and welcome! I have a very short post to share a pair of ATC's I made to play along in Simon Says Stamp Artist Trading Card challenge. These little 2.5 x 3.5 inch cards are a blast to make and a great way to try new or re-visit old techniques and use up some of those leftovers.

I have a pile of backgrounds that I've binned for one reason or another, and this one happened to be a monoprint using Tim Holtz old Poinsettia stencil and Black Soot ink.  (I don't know why it shows as blue in the photos) Not your traditional Christmas color scheme. It was a real disaster, and the only reason I saved it was because there was a decent monoprint on the opposite side.

I colored in the poinsettias and leaves with Distress inks: Candied Apple, Peeled Paint and Forest Moss. I blended the background further with Worn Lipstick and Shabby Shutters and blended Peeled Paint through another Tim Holtz mini stencil from set 32.

I heat embossed the poinsettia centers (Winter Watercolor stamps) the edges, and Merry (Christmas Classic stamps) on a scrap from the original monoprint panel. I thought the centers looked off, so I dropped in Fossilized Amber oxide around the embossing.


To decorate the backs, I blended white card with Candied Apple ink, and placed the Merry Christmas stencil over it. On one card I blended with Peeled Paint ink and the other, I spritzed the stencil with water, let it sit for a minute and blotted with a paper towel to remove some of the color. The edges were blended with  Forest Moss ink. On the reverse side, I just inked the edges with Candy Apple, and I adhered the painted panel to this.

I think it would be fun to make a bunch of Christmas ATC's  and hand them out randomly to store clerks, include one in the envelope with a bill payment, or drop one in the bank drive through during the Christmas season to spread Christmas cheer. What do you think? Thank you for stopping by today! I really appreciate your support! Hugs and Blessings! Sara Emily

Challenge shares:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Artist Trading Cards

The Artistic Stamper August' Creative Challenge - ANYTHING GOES

Creative Artiste Challenge #52 Anything Mixed Media Goes

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #452 Optional embossing-check!