'Tis the Season

...to get those last minute Christmas cards done! If you are like me, panic is setting in...WHEN am I going to get those done. You are saying to yourself, "Everyone knows I make cards. I HAVE to make something special for at least a few people in my life this year." I hope that this etc printable gives you an option to create something quick and stunning.

View this newly uploaded image here on our etsy store.

I was inspired by Julia's use of kraft paper in the last post and decided to print the Christmas Wishes Branch image and sentiment on this under appreciated paper.

I added a few special details to this card by piercing a border around the edge with the Tim Holtz Design Ruler and Piercing Tool and highlighted the image with Patina Stickles on the branches and Cinnamon Stickles (Ranger) on the cones. I didn't even have to use adhesive, opting for black photo corners instead. The base of the card is a heavy shimmer card stock to add some richness and contrast to the kraft paper.

Good luck on getting your holiday cards done this year!

Mona

P.S. Be sure to check out the Christmas Tag Printable that will help you to create some stunning gift tags this year.

Kraft & Pencils, a simply lovely look

One of my favorite simple stamping techniques is one that works wonderfully with digital images as well. Changing up the look of a Printable can be as simple as changing the paper that you print on. Kraft cardstock is one of my faovirtes and it will easily print in most printers. What could be simpler?

For today's two projects, I've printed out a new ETC. file called Getting Sentimental onto Kraft cardstock. This file contains five different sentiment/image files that can be used for many different occasions. After printing out my sheet, I cut out two of the images to play with.

Adding color with colored pencils is a great look and I love how the colors pop on the Kraft. To color in the image, use a light hand and add touches of color as desired. I suggest not coloring too heavily over the black lines to keep the definition of the image strong.




After coloring, make your layers into a card or other special project.





Happy Creating!

Julia

etc ATC's - Artist Trading Cards

Hello hello!

I have really been on an "All Things Small" kick these past few months and wanted to share two ATC's that I created with some of our Christmas images.

What is an ATC anyway? I'm glad you asked! :) An ATC is simply a 2.5 x 3.5 sized creative space, a small palette on which to paper craft if you will. If you have never made one, I invite you to give it a try. There is something that is strangely addicting to filling this space.

I wanted to share how to resize the images to 2.5 x 3.5 inches. As you can see on this first graphic, the original image is 3 x 4.25 inches.

Next, click on IMAGE in your menu bar, then RESIZE, then IMAGE SIZE.

The next step is to locate where it shows the WIDTH of the image...

...and change it to 2.5.


As you can see, the HEIGHT is 3.542 - not quite the 3.5 inches we want. Now, we need to change the CANVAS size. Select IMAGE again and this time scroll to RESIZE, CANVAS SIZE.



The number you are going to change is the HEIGHT to 3.5. It will clip the excess off the image and you are ready to print. Well done!

Enough with the technicalities...let's get to the finished product:

Design notes: The scarf has been cut out of a second printed image and layered with foam tape over the original. The Trinket Pin was pushed through the foam tape and adorned with twine. I used a little wooden bingo chip with a 24 to signify Christmas eve and added the Zva Crystal Flourish to give a hint of snow. Glitter pens are always so hard to pick up, but I used Lemon, Gold, Orange, Red and Melon Spica Glitter Pens over the image where appropriate. I mounted the entire piece on a pre-cut chipboard ATC.

The second ATC features the group of carolers.

I layered a Heidi Swapp Clock Shape over the group and secured it with a Ball Hitch Fastener (Tim Holtz). The metal corner is also by time and the rub-on words by American Crafts. I also sanded the edges a little with my Basic Grey Precision Sanding Kit. Such an essential for me.

I hope you have been inspired to take the leap and make an Artist Trading Card.

Thanks so much for visiting etc.

Mona

Transfer Art

It's totally amazing how many things you can do with digital art once you start playing around with it. Lately I've been on a home decor kick and thought I'd try my hand at creating my own
Giving Thanks Canvas Pillow. I'm loving the concept that crafting projects can be practical and inspirational at the same time.



To create my pillow, I started out with some simple supplies...canvas, sewing machine and thread, my digital file, Avery T-Shirt Transfers and a pillow base. You can use a purchased pillow form but I kept this project inexpensive and simply covered up an old pillow that I just didn't love any longer.

The Avery T-shirt transfers work well on cotton and cotton/poly blend fabrics and use an ink jet printer. I purchased mine at Staples but you can also find this product on-line or at other office supply stores.

The Giving Thanks Printable suited my thoughts for this time of year. I could have used the color version but decided to use the black and white image as I loved the graphic look of all the text. One thing you need to keep in mind when printing images is that they will be iron=on backwards. That means if you are using text, you'll need to flip your image to make it print in reverse. There are many ways to do this depending on your software. I use Photoshop Elements and it's very easy to do. Hit Print or Ctrl P to print your image. You'll get a screen like my screen shot below. Simply check the flip image box and you're good to go. If your computer doesn't have this function...try sticking to images without text.


One other thing to mention...I actually resized the Giving Thanks Printable for this project to 6" square. If you're looking for ways to resize your files...check out this tutorial here.



Follow the Avery instruction sheet included in the package. Iron with no steam with firm pressure for best results. Allow to cool then carefully remove backing.

To create your pillow cover, cut (I like to tear on grain) your fabric to the desired size. I uses 21" panels. Pin edges with outsides facing in. Stitch around edges leaving a space on one side for turning. Turn right side out and press well. Insert pillow form and stitch closed.



My pillow cover ended up a bit too large for the insert so I took the project one step further. I created a border by pinning the excess on all sides together and then stitched an even distance around the perimeter of the pillow.


So that's it! A fun pillow. It might be fun to sew another with a holiday image next. Also...think about all the possibilities for the Iron On T-shirt Transfers. How about ironing an image on an apron, a premade canvas tote, a pencil case or some other creative idea.

Have fun with it and happy creating!

Using Templates

I love templates!
They are so nice to just run through the printer with your favorite paper and then trim, fold and adhere. This is so much easier for me, and I much prefer to create from these than to enlarge on a copier, trace and then do the other steps, it is just too much work for me.

I have made a couple samples from templates that we have in the shop right now.

One is a blossom top box that is adorable! You can make this using so many themes for your different needs, just print out onto your patterned paper and then trim and fold. Decorate as desired and you are good to go!


The other template is a hanging ornament that also doubles as a box for light weight gifts or treats.

I made a couple of these to show how making them in different papers gives it a vastly different look.
This could be made as a decoration for anything from a Christmas Tree or Wreath to a wonderful way to put a gift tag on a box or bag.

I do advise that you use a heavier duty adhesive if you want to put treats or gifts in that weigh more than a couple of ounces, but if you are using it for a decorative ornament only, my ATG adhesive worked just fine.


Thanks for coming by to visit, we sure appreciate you!

B-

Scaredy Kitty Pumpkin

Well friends, I am sure you have just been waiting with baited breath for me to get this project finished, right? It was one that needed a little time to mellow and develop. I've never altered a pumpkin quite this way you know!

I am going to share some elements and details about this purple punkin and then save the big reveal for the end. Yes, you can scroll down right now if you want. ;P

First, I mentioned that I needed to wait for the *crackle* of the Peeled Paint Crackle Paint to do it's thing. I just love how rich this turned out...and the paint took beautifully to the Gesso.

Next up is the "grassy" area I created for the kitty to stand in. To adhere all those pieces I simple ran a strip of Sook Wang tape along the area I wanted to cover. The double sided May Arts ribbon came in quite handy as you can see. Lace is by Prima and the ends are pined in placed with black mini brads. Sorry that the photo color is a little off, but I needed to remove some shadows so you could see the lace!

The black kitty needed a moon to stand under on Halloween night of course! I simply free handed a circle using A Dab of Yellow Studio Line paint and then use a few shades of orange Copic Markers to shade over it and add some depth. Flowers are by Prima. The ball chain and tag are from the Tim Holtz Ideology line. I altered it to match my project by painting over the entire piece with the Sunshine Yellow Adirondack Paint Dabber (SEE, you DO need all the colors!), allowed it to dry and then wiped off the excess with a slightly damp cloth, just leaving the words and numbers highlighted. One of my favorite techniques.

Are you ready to meet my whole pumpkin? Before I show you, I need to share that I resized the Scardey Cat Printable to over 7 inches high to suit the scale of my pumpkin and then cut him out. If you need help resizing an image, Julia did a fantastic tutorial you can follow HERE. He was adhered to the surface with Studio Gloss Multi-Medium. Once I had him stuck down to the surface, I painted several coats over top of the image with the same product. It's a glue and a sealer - COOL!

So my friends, there is my altered pumpkin project for 2009. I think I will take it to the store tomorrow and show my boss the wonders of Gesso and Multi Medium! Now GO and alter something...

Happy Haunting,

Mona

Purple Pumpkin Project

Well hello indeed!

I am so stinkin' excited about this project. I need to admit right off the bat, that you are not going to see the finished project until sometime later in the day. Inspiration struck and I just couldn't get it out of my head, but each step has a lengthy drying time which is forcing me to be patient! Do you think you can stick with me for a two part post? *wink*

I Gesso'ed a pumpkin. Ack. I am so excited. What on earth is Gesso you ask?

Basically, it's an art quality primer. If you want to stamp, paint or create on an otherwise difficult surface, Gesso is your friend. I used Claudine Hellmuth's Studio Line Gesso and paint for this project.

I painted the entire pumpkin using a foam brush. Why a foam brush? It allows for quick and smooth coverage. Make sure you work on a non-stick surface like the Ranger Craft Sheet. After each painting session, I was able to take the mat to the sink and just rinse it clean. Allow the Gesso to fully dry.Now, I love the "Purple Palette" color, but wanted something a little more Halloweenie so I mixed in a "Smidge of Blue". Yes, that's what it's called. How ironic. Again, my non-stick craft sheet came in so handy.Claudine's paint is seriously awesome. I know, why oh why do you need another type of craft paint?! For me, it's just so rich and creamy and highly pigmented. I only needed a single coat to achieve full coverage. For added interest, the stem has been covered with Peeled Paint Crackle Paint. (I promise to show you the crackle tomorrow.)

Stay tuned tomorrow to see how I will use one of our printable files to finish this most unusual pumpkin!