So Delicate

Hello friends and visitors! It's time for a new challenge at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog and today Jenny is our host. She calls her challenge 'So Delicate':

"Although it's not always evident in my projects, I have a real passion for delicate laces, fragile flowers, fine stitching, intricate artwork and exquisite architecture. For this challenge create something delicate or a vintage/shabby chic project that features delicate things in it."

The Design Team will choose their four top picks and the overall winner will receive the $25 gift certificate to go on a spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique. All four top picks will receive badges to display on their blogs in recognition of their outstanding contributions. Stop over to the blog to see all the details and the wonderful delicate inspiration shared by my teammates.

Being a gardener, I can think of nothing more delicate than the flowers and foliage I see in my garden, so I decided to make my Mom a card with a vintage flower garden theme. First, I will share a few close ups and then show the steps I took to make this card.

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My colors and overall theme were inspired by the beautiful rose on the ephemera and the delicate color of the seam binding ribbon. These were included in one of the sweet goodie bags Linda puts in her orders as a special thank you gift when you make a purchase from The Funkie Junkie Boutique. I have quite a stash of these goodie bags! I tucked in  a pair of Tim Holtz flowers brushed with Tattered Rose ink.

Here's how this card came together. 

I started with two panels: one a Distress Heavystock white panel trimmed to fit a 5 x 7 card blank and the second a left over panel of a heavy card from my scraps--I think it may be bristol board. It's interesting to note how different papers react to inks, etc. I blended Tattered Rose ink through two different Tim Holtz Layering Stencils--Lattice and Blossoms. While the ink was still fresh, I heat embossed with Tattered Rose Embossing Glaze powder. (Sorry, I forgot to include the stencils in the photo.) I scuffed the embossing with steel wool to remove some of the shine before moving onto the next step.

Next, I inked a Tapestry stamp with a delicate pattern with Bundled Sage and Brushed Corduroy and spritzed the stamp with water before randomly stamping on the panels. Even though the shine is removed from the embossing, it resists the ink.

 

I blended each of the panels with Bundled Sage and Antique Linen inks. I splashed with plain water then watered down Cracked Pistachio Oxide Spray, heat drying after each. I set these panels aside and worked on my embellishments. I would later cut one of the panels using Stacked Postage and mat the die cuts on card which I faux 'stitched' with a micron pen.

I die cut some old Distress papers and a scrap of inked paper using Tim Holtz Brushstroke Flowers #1 die set and assembled the flowers. I ended up not using the pink one shown on my card, but cut and assembled a second smaller flower out of more of the old Distress papers.

I die cut a few of the leaves from the Brushstroke Flowers set out of Distress paper, added a Remnant Rub to a metal tag from my stash and found some lace to use on my card. Each was rubbed with Patina Green Matte Wax. I ended up using a different lace on my card which was blended with Bundled Sage ink.

I matted the rose ephemera on black card, after blending the edges with Brushed Corduroy ink. I smooshed my Fossilized Amber ink pad on an acrylic block, spritzed it with water and applied it to one side of the panel to give more of an aged look.

Here's one more look at the completed card.  I know it's a  little busy, but I think it gives it the vintage style garden vibe I was going for.

Thanks so much for stopping by! Please be sure to visit the blog to see what my talented teammates made to inspire you, and then I hope you will take some time to play along in our So Delicate challenge. I can't wait to see what you will make! Crafty hugs! Sara Emily

Challenge Shares:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Layer It Up

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

Sizzix Chapter 1 Tim Holtz Thinlits Die Set - Brushstroke Flowers #1

Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Blossom

Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Layering Stencils - Latticework

Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz Stamp Set - Tapestry

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Mixed Media Heavystock

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads - Antique Linen, brushed Corduroy, Bundled Sage, Fossilized Amber, Tattered Rose, Victorian Velvet, Worn Lipstick

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Sprays  - Cracked Pistachio

Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Glaze - Tattered Rose

Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium Matte

Prima Finnabair Art Alchemy Wax Paste  - Old White, Patina Green

Rayon Seam Binding

Teacup Gift Card Holders

Hello friends! I hope you're having a wonderful Christmas season. Just popping in today to let you know I have a Saturday Showcase tutorial for my Cozy, Crazy Teacups as well as these simple teacup gift card holders over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique challenge blog today. I hope you'll join me!

Merry Christmas!

Sara Emily

Challenge shares:

Country View Challenges December 2020 - Anything Christmas

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Favorite Technique-Making backgrounds with Ink, Stencils and Stamps; making existing things look vintage- ignore the last teacup!

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Let It Snow Again; my first two teacups.

Saturday Showcase - Tim Holtz Chapter 3 Christmas Thinlits Dies

Welcome, friends! It's my turn to host the  Saturday Showcase at The Funkie Junkie Boutique challenge blog, and I've chosen to shine the spotlight on Tim Holtz Chapter 3 Christmas Thinlits dies which are currently available in The Funkie Junkie Boutique. I hope you will pop over to see just how easy these different cards are to create, given these wonderful die sets.

Big hugs! Sara Emily

 

Altered Bird House Tutorial

Hello ! As promised, today I have a step by step tutorial for my bird house which is my DT project for the current challenge " Birds" at The Funkie Junkie Boutique challenge blog. You can see why I couldn't include the steps in my DT post; this is such a long post by itself. Let's start with the original birdhouse...

It's demo day! I always love this part of these rehab projects because that's when the ideas start flowing. After removing all the bark, nails, most of the glue and a piece of gingham fabric (What??), I ended up with what looks like a band stand. Band stands make for spooky places, and I made another here.

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I gave it a new rusty, mossy roof. I smeared streaks of Translucent Grit paste down from the top and sprinkled with Chunky Rust powder with a bit of verdigris sprinkled here and there. When it was about dry I hit it with my heat tool to melt the powders and bubble up the paste a bit. The hanger is painted with Black Soot paint. I smeared on thicker blobs of Grit Paste and allowed it to dry. I scribbled the dried paste with Peeled Paint crayon (lost the crayon in the photo when I did the photo collage) and smudged it with my finger. Lastly, I dripped on alcohol inks in Mushroom and Rust and spritzed with water, drying with my heat tool when I was happy with the way it dribbled and ran.

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Next, time to work on the wood work. I had a vision of a burnt out charred house that has sat empty for years. I painted the wood with black gesso, right over the old glue and bits I couldn't remove. Grungy is good. To add more grunge and icky texture, I smeared the beams, ceiling and floor randomly with grit paste and let it dry. When it was thoroughly dry, I sprayed with Weathered Wood Oxide spray and dried it with my heat tool. Next, I added random patches of Crackle Paste and let that dry. Once more, I heated with the heat tool to make sure it was good and dry, and then smeared all the texture with Distress crayons in Ground Espresso and Peeled Paint.

 I added some dead and diseased rambling roses climbing up the walls by wrapping black string around the beams and securing with collage medium. I also adhered some thorns to the vines (Funky Wreaths) cut from black card.

I elevated the house on a base made from chipboard pieces glued together and painted with more black gesso.I adhered this piece to the bottom of the birdhouse. I die cut and embossed silver Metallic Kraft Stock scraps with the Star Trim Impresslit. I painted on Black Soot paint, sprayed with water and dripped on Mushroom alcohol ink. These pieces were adhered to the edge of the chipboard circular piece.

 I felt like it needed something else, and I found an unfinished wood square plaque in my stash, which I also painted with black gesso, then wrapped with Halloween Design Tape at the very bottom. I coated that with collage medium and when dry, scribbled with Ground Espresso crayon and smudged with my finger. I adhered some fence die cuts from my stash across the back.

I used Brickwork 3D Texture Fade and black paper coated with Distress Collage medium and cut out a section for my brick walkway.  I colored the bricks with Fired Brick and Crushed Olive crayons and adhered the piece to the square base prior to adding the birdhouse and creating the garden.

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I cut a pair of gates using the Gate Keeper dies and old Tim Holtz paper stash glued together, so front and back would look similar. This also makes the intricate dies more substantial and stiff. It helps to use the Chrome Precision Plate to cut these out. Because of the thickness of the papers glued together, I ran it through 3 times to get a nice clean cut. After applying Translucent Girt paste to the gates and allowing it to dry, I scribbled with Rusty Hinge crayon and smeared with my finger. These pieces were added to the two beams at the opening.

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Now that the house is constructed it's time to add the embellishments.

I cut two panels of mixed media card and spray both with water. I spray one with Distress Spray Stains: 

Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain and Ground Espresso, spritzing with water to blend further, tilting my paper and allowing to drip onto my craft mat. I use the second panel to blot up the extra stain. When the panels are dry, I spray randomly with Frayed Burlap Oxide spray, activating with water spritzes and drying again. I blot up the extra with the second panel. I repeat on the opposite side of the panels, so there is color on both sides.

I use the darker of the panels to cut three of the thorny Funky Nests and some of the other die set's  accompanying twigs. I cut thin strips from the lighter mop up panel. The strips are spritzed with water, crumpled in my hand and set aside to dry. I cut sections from two of the wreaths and glue the ends to make nests of different sizes, and assembled everything over the crumpled strips within the birdhouse.

I placed some bones (Boneyard) and a skull (Skulls and Pumpkins) in the nest. I did nothing to the skull, but added Black Soot and Ground Espresso paint to the bones.

Next, I cut the spider and web (Spider Web) from clear waste packaging, and a second spider from black card (the spiders were cut off the photo when I made the collage, sorry.) Using a felt applicator I colored the spider and web with Mushroom alcohol ink. I applied Snow Cap Mixative to the reverse side of the spider, as shown above. These were glued into the bird house with collage medium. Because the medium dries clear, the web look like it's been put there by the spider. I applied Translucent Grit Paste and Antique Linen crayon to the black spider, and he's hanging in the eaves out back.

I used the larger of Feathered Friends dies to cut a raven out of chipboard recycled out of my cat's canned food box. I cut two of everything and glued them together, so there would be more substance to them. After drying some throw pillows in my dryer the other day, I found some feathers in my lint filter and glued these around the wings. Everything was painted with Prima's Impasto in Pitch Black. This paint is super thick, and you can achieve some great texture. I sealed with Distress Collage Medium Matte to set down a surface over which to scribble and smear Brushed Pewter Distress crayon, highlighting that texture (not pictured). I finished off the raven with a black half pearl for his eye (also not pictured).

I made a little prop to hold the bird up with a piece of waste packaging. After cutting a rectangle of it, I used my scissors and straight edge to score (but not cutting through) two horizontal lines, and then folded the clear plastic at the lines. I used collage medium to secure the bird to the house. Be sure to leave it sit until the glue dries, and it will hold like cement! (I used collage medium for all the gluing, including securing the birdhouse to the base.) You can see the prop clearly in the photo below.

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I colored an old Halloween Token with Antiqued Bronze and Black Soot paint. I found a die cut dot laying around and used that to cover the hole and adhered this at the entrance. Three Pumpkins of different sizes and a sparkly foam pumpkin from my stash were each smeared with Crackle Paste and when dry, coated with collage medium. I scribbled and smeared crayon in Ground Espresso and Peeled Paint and layered them up at the doorway and placed a single one by the raven's feet.

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I sprayed a panel of olive card with Ground Espresso Spray Stain on one side and dried. From this panel, I cut some foliage using Garden Greens and Funky Floral #3 die sets. I colored a piece of Mummy Cloth with Bundled Sage Spray Stain and Peeled Paint Oxide Spray. These were adhered in the garden and in and around the pumpkins.

More vines hanging off the front of the house come from my stash left over from this very creepy project combined with  more die cut twigs cut with the Funky Wreaths set. I sure have toned down since then!

So here is the completed bird house. If you haven't seen my original post with all the close up shots of the details, you can pop over here to see it. Thank you for stopping by! Have a great week! Sara Emily

These products were used on this project and can be purchased at The Funkie Junkie Boutique:

 Chapter 3 Tim Holtz Thinlits Dies - Spider Web

Chapter 3 Tim Holtz Thinlits Dies - Gatekeeper

Sizzix Chapter 2 Tim Holtz Thinlits Dies - Feathered Friends

Sizzix Chapter 2 Tim Holtz Thinlits Dies - Funky Wreaths

Sizzix Chapter 2 Tim Holtz 3-D Texture Fades Embossing Folder - Brickwork

Sizzix Tim Holtz 3-D Impresslits Embossing Folder - Star Trim

Tim Holtz Distress Grit Paste Translucent

Tim Holtz Distress Texture Paste Crackle

Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium Matte

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Trimmings - Halloween

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Mini Skulls & Pumpkins

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Design Tape, Halloween

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Tokens - Halloween

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Boneyard

Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Spray  - Frayed Burlap, Weathered Wood, Peeled Paint

Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain    - Walnut Stain, Vintage Photo, Bundled Sage, Ground Espresso

Tim Holtz Distress Paint   - Black Soot, Ground Espresso, Weathered Wood, Antiqued Bronze

Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Crayons  - Peeled Paint, Crushed Olive, Antique Linen, Fired Brick, Rusty Hinge, Brushed Pewter, Ground Espresso

Ranger Tim Holtz Alcohol Ink  - Snow Cap Mixative, Mushroom, Rust

Prima Art Alchemy Impasto Paint    - Pitch Black

Seth Apter Baked Texture   - Chunky Rust

Patina Tutorial with Prima's Matte Wax and Sizzix Embossing and Die Cutting

Hello friends! I hope you are doing well during these crazy days that are stretching out into months! I am showcasing Prima Marketing's Art Alchemy Matte Wax over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog today. 

Please pop over to see how I made these cards as well as these other fine patina'd finishes: aged copper, eroded metal and rust. I hope to see you there! Be well! Sara Emily

Challenge shares:

We Love 2 Create at Polkadoodles Challenge #5 - Anything Goes Mixed Media Creative Challenge

Creative Artiste Challenge #60
Bleeding Art MayChallenge - Anything Goes The two cards only.

An Easter Message and Distress Embossing Glaze Tutorial Alert

Hello friends! Where ever you are in the world, I pray you are safe and healthy! Moreover, I pray you are feeling God's love among all the craziness around the globe right now. With Easter being tomorrow, I'm bringing you message of renewal today in the form of a card using Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Glazes. If you get a chance to pop over, I hope you'll join me over at The Funkie Junkie Boutique blog where I'm showcasing these powders on numerous samples, including the grungy masculine card shown below.

Sending wishes and prayers for you on Easter and in the days ahead.

Sara Emily

Supporting these challenges:

SanDee&amelie's March 2020 Steampunk Challenge Masculine card only

Simon Says Stamp Monday Add Some Texture Masculine card only

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday: Spring Moodboard Easter card only

Country View Challenges April 2020 - Animal Magic Easter card only

Crafty Cardmakers #254 Easter Easter card only

Bleeding Art March Challenge - Anything Goes Masculine card only

We Love 2 Create at Polkadoodles Challenge #4 - Anything Goes Mixed Media Creative Challenge Both cards

Creative Artiste Challenge #59 Both cards

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