That's Life: Feathered Friends

Showing posts with label Feathered Friends. Show all posts

Monday, 13 November 2023

Thank You...

Hello everyone and Happy Monday...

Hope you are all well and had a lovely weekend and now ready to join us for the brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. This week our theme is all about THANKS and THANKSGIVING and we would love for you to play along and share your makes with us.

For my project, I created a Size 8 Etcetera Tag which features old and new dies from Tim Holtz and Sizzix, including one of my all time favourite dies, Feathered Friends who is popping by to say thank you to everyone who visits my blog and socials, because it's your kind words that make all the hard work so worthwhile!

So let's get started and here's how I created this tag....

This project uses a Size 8 Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz Etcetera Tag and Heavystock Tag.

TAG BACKGROUND

To begin with I coloured my tag background using Distress Spray Stains, Mica Sprays and Oxide Sprays in the following colours.

OXIDE SPRAYS: Speckled Egg

MICA SPRAYS: Tree Lot, Unravelled

DISTRESS SPRAYS: Rustic Wilderness, Black Soot, Speckled Egg

I misted he tag with water, I then spritzed the colours listed above onto the tag, allowing them to blend. You can use more water if necessary.

Once the tag was dry, I placed the Rosette Layering Stencil over the top and applied Translucent Grit Paste through the stencil with a palette knife. Working quickly, I removed the stencil and separately applied a sprinkle of Rustic Wilderness Distress Glaze and Gold Embossing Powder over the pasted areas. Set the tag to one side to dry and once I could feel that the paste has set, I heat embossed the paste on a gentle heat setting until molten and shiny.

Across the bottom of the tag, I added my sentiment using a strip of vellum. The vellum is cut to measure 1.5cm and on the right hand side I stamped the sentiment in clear embossing ink. Sprinkle with gold embossing powder and heat emboss. Wrap the vellum strip around the tag, securing the ends at the back and on the left hand side, I hammered a nail tack through the tag. This helps to pin down that strip and secure it.

After machine stitching a border around the edge, I adhered the tag onto my Etcetera Tag.

I threaded a piece of rope through the hole in the top...

...and then hung a Heart Adornment from a mini pin. The Heart Adornment is painted with Candied Apple Distress Paint, which adds colour to the heart itself and once dry, I added a touch of gilding wax from my stash to accentuate the beading around the outside.

FEATHERED FRIEND

We can now start creating the scene and firstly, I made my feathered friend and I used the larger bird in the set for this make and cut all the pieces from Mixed Media Heavystock card. The Distress Inks that I used to colour him are as follows:

Mowed Lawn, Rustic Wilderness, Fossilised Amber, Walnut Stain, Gathered Twigs

I layered all my die cut pieces together to assemble the bird and then added the wing using foam pads which help to create movement.

I then added some white and black pen work to bring out the detail.

I placed the bird onto my tag using foam pads and sat him in a nest made from Spanish Curly Moss that I have in my stash.

ARTSY LEAVES

In amongst the moss, I added some autumn leaves and for these I used the Sizzix Artsy Leaves Die Set by Tim Holtz.

I cut all my leaves from Mixed Media Heavystock Card that I coloured with the following:

DISTRESS SPRAY STAIN: Crackling Campfire, Spiced Marmalade, Vintage Photo, Aged Mahogany, Peeled Paint, Walnut Stain

MICA SPRAY: Unravelled, Mulled Cider and Fallen Acorn

After cutting the leaves and placing the veins over them, I then added touches of gold and for this I used Prima Metal Flakes. I smeared some Flake Glue over the raised areas, and once the glue has changed colour and become translucent, I applied the flakes, removing any excess with a hard brush.

I then inked the edges of the leaves and arranged them around the bird, by tucking them into the moss.

Finally I added some dried flower stems and small clumps of reindeer moss.

We're nearly there and all that's left is to add the two Large Fasteners at the top of the tag. I cut the legs of the fastener and then hammered them to give them all those little dents before attaching them directly to my tag using Matte Collage Medium.

So that's my tag finished and I hope you love the ideas and inspiration I've used on this make...

As always, if you make anything, or if you've been inspired by anything that you've seen here on my blog ~ then please, let me know by tagging me on social media or leaving a comment here and I will be right over to take a look!

Don't forget that every week, one lucky random participant has the chance to win a $25 gift voucher from Simon Says Stamp and you can join in up to 5 times, which means you could have 5 chances to win. You have until next Monday at 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in and good luck....

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by today ~ stay safe and keep well.

Love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous: Size 8 Etcetera Tag, Glorious Bouquet, Rosette Layering Stencil

Tim Holtz for Sizzix: Feathered Friends, Artsy Leaves

Distress Paint: Candied Apple, Black Soot, Crackling Campfire, Ground Espresso

Distress Spray Stain: Black Soot, Speckled Egg, Rustic Wilderness

Distress Oxide Spray: Speckled Egg

Distress Glaze: Rustic Wilderness

Mica Spray: Tree Lot, Unravelled, Fallen Acorn and Mulled Cider

Distress Ink: Mowed Lawn, Rustic Wilderness, Fossilised Amber, Walnut Stain, Gathered Twigs

Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Heart Adornment, Mini Pin

Surfaces: Heavystock Card, Heavystock Tag

Mediums: Foam Pads, Translucent Grit Paste, Flake Glue, Prima Steampunk Metal Flakes, Gold Embossing Powder

Glass Media Mat,

Blending Tool

Tim Holtz Rotary Paper Trimmer

Heat Gun

Hot Glue Gun

White pencil gel pen

Curly Spanish Moss from my own stash

****These are not affiliate links****

Monday, 6 February 2023

L.O.V.E.

Hello everyone...

Hope you're all well and had a great weekend! As always, a new week means we have a brand new Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge and this week, with Valentine's Day less than 10 days away, we can feel that LOVE IS IN THE AIR and hope you'll join us for our fun challenge theme, where the DT are also showcasing the products of PaperArtsy.

With so many amazing crafty products to 'love', I'm sure that the ideas for this theme will be endless and we can't wait to see what you create and of course, over the many years of my blog, I've been making a lot of pieces that I hope will inspire you. But back to today, and this year my Valentine's make is all about a love bird, and I can't wait to share how I created this piece using products from Tim Holtz, and Sizzix!

So, here we go...it's time to share some L.O.V.E. and talk you through how I made this week's project!

TAG

This tag began life as a panel of Distress watercolour card, and I spritzed the card with water before sprinkling some of PaperArtsy's In The Navy Infusions over the wet surface. You don't need a lot of this powder, a little goes a long way and you can always add more if you need it. TOP TIP: I pierce a small hole in the top of the metal cap, and shake the powders through the hole, this gives me the minutest amount to use.

With the powder sprinkled over my wet card, I then added another light misting of water to dissolve the crystals and make the colour pop.

I didn't want a complete coverage of colour, I wanted to leave some white space around the infusions.

After heat drying the cardstock, and ensuring there are no wet areas for the next stage ~ I cut my tag from the card, using the largest sized Framed Tag and I inked the die using Clear Embossing Ink and a brayer. I just roll the brayer over the raised part of the tag die to transfer the ink, place the die on my card, and then run through the machine.

Working quickly, remove the die and sprinkle gold embossing powder to highlight the debossed areas of the die cut tag. Tap away the excess and then heat emboss the powder until molten.

I mounted the tag onto grey cardstock, followed by a layer of burlap, each time leaving a border showing around the outside.

To complete the tag, I added an eyelet through the hole to reinforce it and then threaded some rope through the hole itself.

INNER PANEL

Moving onto the inner panel of the tag, and taking the larger panel of the card that I used for the tag, I cut a smaller inlay panel. I machine stitched around the edge and then placed this onto my tag using foam pads.

HEART WOOD SLICE

We're now ready to created the centrepiece and I started with the wood slice.

I used the heart shape from the Wood Slice and Alphabet Thinlits Die Set and cut the layers that I need to build the slice, from various shades of inked Heavystock Mixed Media Card, I also cut a further four layers of the largest section of the die.

COLOURS USED:

Base; Ground Espresso Distress Spray Stain

Middle; Walnut Stain Distress Spray Stain

Top: Antique Linen, Old Paper and Frayed Burlap Distress Spray Stain, plus Gathered Twigs Distress Crayon

After placing each layer over the top of one another, I have a really thick wood slice but without the weight...it's still light enough to be used on a card front, or as I have, used on a tag.

I applied a layer of Matte Collage Medium over the top of the slice, and once dry, I ran the Gathered Twigs Crayon over the top to accentuate the tree rings on the slice, wiping away the excess crayon with a cloth.

I attached the slice to my tag, using foam pads.

FEATHERED FRIEND

For my little bird, I used the smaller bird from the Feathered Friends Die Set to cut watercolour card, and then inked and coloured my bird with Distress Inks, blending the ink over the surface.

INKS; Tumbled Glass, Rusty Hinge, Vintage Photo, Gathered Twigs, Broken China, Old Paper

I then assembled the bird and added white pen highlights.

Using a twig from my garden, I adhered this across the tag with hot glue, and then attached the bird to sit on the branch, using foam pads to secure my little feathered friend in place.

The foam pads, also add height and dimension to the tag.

FLORA and GREENERY

To create my greenery and flowers, I used the Mini Brushstroke Flowers Die Set and cut the leaves and flowers from watercolour card, coloured with The Sage and Are You Cerise? Infusions, applied to the damp cardstock in exactly the same way as I made the background panels.

Once I had a varied selection of foliage, I wanted to add a little more depth to the smaller pieces, so I applied an embossing dabber over the surface of the die cuts and sprinkled some Peeled Paint Distress Glaze over the top. After tapping away the excess, I heat embossed the glaze.

I arranged the flowers and the foliage around the bird, then added some curly moss and reindeer moss, both of which I have in my stash.

SENTIMENT

For the sentiment, I used a combination of the "Love You' from the Metallic Sticker Book, layered over a strip of burlap and the letters, 'xo' cut three times from gold metallic kraft card, using the alpha dies from the Wood Slice and Alphabet Die Set. After I layered each letter, one over the other to resemble the thickness of chipboard, I attached them to my tag.

We're nearly there and all that's left is the details.....

DETAILS

I added two small die cut hearts that I cut from red card using the dies in the Falling Hearts Die Set and placed these in the top right hand corner...

...before adding a Remnant Rub, just above it.

Finally, I hammered a nail tack into the wood slice itself, which is painted with a combination of Black Soot, Crackling Campfire and Ground Espresso to create a rusty effect to the metal.

...and that completes my project for this week, which I hope you love and feel inspired by some of the techniques and products that I've used.

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by today ~ stay safe and keep well.

Love Emma xxx

Recipe for project:

PaperArtsy Infusions: In The Navy, The Sage, Are You Cerise?

Tim Holtz for Sizzix: Feathered Friends, Mini Brushstroke, Wood Slice and Alphabet Thinlits Die Set, Framed Tags, Tim Holtz/Sizzix Big Shot Foldaway

Distress Spray Stain: Ground Espresso, Walnut Stain, Antique Linen, Frayed Burlap

Distress Paint: Ground Espresso, Crackling Campfire, Black Soot

Distress Glaze: Peeled Paint

Distress Inks: Tumbled Glass, Rusty Hinge, Vintage Photo, Gathered Twigs, Broken China, Old Paper

Tim Holtz Idea-ology: Tack Nails, Specimen Remnant Rubs, Metallic Sticker Book

Mediums: Matte Collage Medium, Foam Pads, Altenew Adhesive Sheets, Embossing Ink, Gold Embossing Powder, Embossing Dabber

Surfaces: Mixed Media Heavystock, Metallic Kraft Stash, Distress Watercolour Card, Burlap

We R Memory Keepers Eyelets

Tim Holtz Paper Trimmer

Heat Gun

Monday, 3 January 2022

Happy New Year...

Happy New Year friends!

Well, I can't quite believe how fast Christmas seemed to go!!! It's crazy to think that it's two weeks since we were all so excited and now, it's all over and it's time to take all the decorations down and pack them away! 2021 was definitely a year that many of us will never be able to forget, one where we saw so much change in how we go about our daily lives and for some of us, it was a very challenging year. I just hope that 2022 brings everyone much more happiness and joy!

So with a brand new year, comes a brand new year of Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenges and here we go with the first challenge of 2022! This week our theme is called, Something New and the DT are showcasing Carabelle Studio products within their projects, which is something that you don't have to do to join us and play along.

For my tag, I wanted to celebrate what I hope will be a very happy and safe new year and used a stencil from Carabelle Studios, together with Tim Holtz and Simon Says Stamp products to make a project to wish all my followers Peace & Joy in the year to come!

So let's get started and here's how I created my tag that features a little bluebird of hope...

To begin with I took a Size 8 tag that I used as a base, misted it with a light shower of water and then used the following Distress Spray Stains and Oxide Sprays to add colour:

Old Paper, Antique Linen, and Pumice Stone Distress Sprays

Speckled Egg Oxide Spray

I added more water to blend the inks before I heat dried them ready for the next stage.

After placing the Constellation Stencil onto my tag, I used the straight part of the stencil, not the circular section, I applied Grit Paste at the top and bottom of the tag, using a palette knife. Whilst the paste was still wet, I sprinkled gold embossing powder over the top and then set the tag to one side, allowing the paste to dry and the powder to set slightly.

Once the paste is finger dry, I then heated the embossing powder ~ you need to do this very carefully, as you don't want to overheat the paste as this will cause it to bubble and the powder to disperse.

Once the gold embossing powder has become molten and shimmery, I inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

Moving onto the panel in the centre...

I inked a piece of Mixed Media Heavystock card using:

Speckled Egg Distress Spray Stain

Ground Espresso Distress Spray Stain

Antique Linen Distress Spray Stain

Frayed Burlap Distress Spray Stain

Tumbled Glass Oxide Spray

Speckled Egg Oxide Spray

A misting of water will blend the sprays and once the panel was thoroughly dry, I machine stitched down the sides of the panel and inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

Making sure the panel is complete dry, I stamped the sentiment with clear Versamark Ink, using the Festive Overlay Stamp Set and then sprinkled white embossing powder over the top before I heat embossed the powder until molten.

To complete the panel, I applied some more Grit Paste through the Constellation Stencil, again adding it to the top and bottom of the panel before sprinkling gold embossing powder over the top and repeating the same technique as I used on the tag.

I matted the panel onto a layer of gold card, before I mounted it onto the centre of my tag using foam pads.

On either side of the panel, I clipped two Tiny Clips.

For the adorable little birdie, I used the smaller bird from the Sizzix Feathered Friends Thinlits Dies by Tim Holtz. After cutting the pieces, I inked them to create my little blue bird of hope using Gathered Twigs and Rusty Hinge combined with Broken China and Stormy Sky. I inked the beak with Spiced Marmalade and then added highlights to the little birdie with a white pen.

Once I'd assembled the bird and attached the wing in place, I cut some foliage for him to sit on using the Festive Bouquet Die set. I cut my greenery from card that I had previous inked with various shades of green Distress Sprays. I always ink more card than I need and then have these spare pieces left over ready for another project and from memory, I think I used Peeled Paint, Rustic Wilderness and Evergreen Bough Spray Stains.

With my pieces, cut I arranged them underneath the birdies feet and added some moss to complete his little nest.

In the photo below, you can see how I shaped the foliage to create the dimension.

As the finishing touches, I added a Star Adornment underneath the sentiment, which I inked with Foundry Alloy Alcohol Ink and attached with Matte Collage Medium....

...and finally, I threaded some twine through the hole in the tag and attached some idea-ology embellishments from the ends of each piece. These included a Thought Token, "Shine Like The Stars", which I inked with a little Rust Alcohol Ink and then highlighted the wording with Picket Fence Distress Crayon, and two Antiqued Gems.

...and that completes my project for this week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge!

As always, I hope you love my make this week, and enjoyed all the techniques I've used. If you make anything, or if you've been inspired by anything that you've seen here on my blog ~ then please, let me know by tagging me on social media or leaving a comment here and I will be right over to take a look!