#12 tags of 2015 November tag...

I decided to take a break from making christmas cards and make the november tag from Tim Holtz for 12 tags of 2015....

So here it is:

Alcohol ink background tutorial

I posted some tags today in various facebook groups and people kept asking me how I make the tartan/plaid backgrounds on some of them.

It is done with an ink blending tool and alcohol inks.

I cut some blank tags from specialty paper for alcohol inks. That could be glossy paper or just coated  paper. I have both but for this technique I prefer the coated paper that is also suited for copics or promarkers.

Most people that know me know I love working on tags. 

I squirted some alcohol

inks colours on my blending tool with felt. 

I drag the tool at an angle over the tag and create streaks of ink.

Once the whole tag is covered I reapply the colours on the blending tool and drag them over the tag in the other direction...

This creates the plaid effect....

This is a plain horizontal pattern. 

I like to do diagonal ones too, just to get some variety.

And this is how that looks like when finished. The possibilities are endless. It looks amazing in pastel colours aswel. 

It is so easy to do and quite addictive... :-)

For some detail you can draw some lines with a sharpie. Here I added a simple gold line.

Just give it a whirl, it is so fun and it gives you instant backgrounds. Just add embellishments or stamp over it.

Thank you for visiting. Take care and keep your craft on ;-)

Frederique

xxx

masking tutorial

I was blown away by the reactions about a tag I made using only stamps and masks. People kept asking how I do it. So to explain it step by step with the visual aid of pictures, I will try and tell you.

I start out with a blank card or tag. In this case I use a manila tag. I have two images I want to stamp and mask, and I have the background stamp. When masking you basically have to work backwards. The stamp you want in the foreground has to be stamped first.

I inked my image and stamp it on my tag.

And I stamp my second Image on my tag.

here you see both images that I want to keep on the front of the tag.

I have covered both images with the corresponding masks that I made when I got the stamps. I buy blank masking sheets, they are clear acetate sheets that are sticky on one side. I stamp on the non tacky side and then cut them out. This way you can use them over and over again.

I inked up my background stamp and stamp it over the masked off images.

Here you see that the mask gets inked and not the image underneath.

As I stamped with a pigment ink, my distress ink will be resisted. So I ink all over the tag to make the snowflake images pop. My two main images are still protected by the masks.

I have inked my whole tag and I love how the white Stazon ink resists the distress ink. Now it is time to reveal the result of the masking.....

Tadaaaaa.... the images are still clearly visible and on "top" of the background, eventhough they were stamped first. This is what I mean with working "backwards".

I stick my masks on the sheet that holds my cling mount stamps. The ones for wood mounted stamps I keep in a folder on an acetate sheet. That way they are all organised and ready to be used.

I inked the edges of the tag to give it some oompf and warmth and I coloured the boots and belt of Santa.And I gave his face a bit of colour.

I stamped the sentiment with embossing ink and heat embossed it in shiny black.

As the finishing touch I brushed some Wibk of Stella over the fur of the Santa Jacket and over the golden bells. I added a fluffy bow on top.

The tag is now done.

I hope this shows how I do my masking. If you have any questions, just ask. I am more than happy to explain. And if I don't know... I will find out ;-)

Have a great day and take care.

Keep your craft on.

Frederique

xxx

autumnal leaves tutorial

Thank you for stopping by. I made a few autumnal cards the other day, with leaves made from gold card stock. I was asked a few times how I made the leaves. So here a tutorial on how I made the leaves. I made two versions, one plain and one embossed.

I cut two sets of leaves with the tattered leaves die from Tim Holtz.

I embossed one of the set of leaves with a corresponding embossing folder to give it more definition.

Here you see the difference of the plain and the embossed leaves.

I added some colour to the gold leaves by dabbing some alcohol inks on them. This way they look more like autum leaves.

Here again the difference between plain and embossed.

I wanted to give the leaves a bit of a tattered look so I covered them with black paint.

I let it dry a little and then wiped the excess off. This gives the leaves more depth.

I got these tiny note cards in a sale somewhere and decided to distress them a little to add to my card that I am making with the leaves.

I made a background for my leaves by cutting a big postage stamp and stamped it with a mesh stamp. I then sprinkled frantage embossing granules over it and heat set it by heating  from underneath the paper so the granules don't blow away. I love this look.

I inked my card base, and stamped my note card and now put it all together.

I wrapped a ribbon around the postage topper and tied it in a bow. I stuck it to the base and glued the leaves and the sentiment card on the card and voila!

Thank you for visiting and I hope you have a crafty day!

Take care and hopefully until next time.

Frederique

Heat emboss resist

I made a card today for Thanksgiving and my friend AnnaMarie asked how I did it. So I felt another tutorial popping in my head. And here it is!

This is what I used:

a card blank, a topper, a stamp, embossing ink and clear embossing powder, a die cut sentiment and the Wink of Stella clear brush. Oh and stamping ink.

I stamped the image on the card topper with embossing ink and sprinkled it with clear embossing powder.

After heatsetting the embossing powder I started covering the topper with a darker colour distress ink using my blending tool... The darker you ink the more the stamped image pops.

I covered the whole topper and inked the edges even darker to frame it.

To make it all tie together, I stamped the same image with the same distress ink on the card blank.

Again I inked the edges to frame it. 

I cut a sentiment with a Quietfire Design die that I just love!

I add some sparkle with a clear wink of stella brush. It makes the sentiment stand out more.

And this is the finished card after I glued it all together. 

Now you can give it a go yourself. I love this technique.

Thank you for stopping by and until next time.

Take care,

Frederique

xxx

a masking tape tutorial

The other day I was watching a youtube video from Jennifer McGuire about faux metal embossing. She used distress inks and mica powders to create a background. That inspired me to play with masking tape, distress inks and mica powders too. I have lots of them and rarely use them.

So here a step by step on how I make one of those cards.

I used a piece of white card stock, a card blank, distress inks, blending tools, masking tape (I use frog tape for delicate surfaces), mica powder and a brush. Oh and some embellishments.

I put the tape down to make a pattern.

I ink up the card stock with distress ink and a blending tool. I prefer to use more than one colour so it pops a bit more.

In this case I used Cracked pistachio and abandoned coral distress ink.

Because distress ink stays wet a bit longer it is easy to use a mica powder. I decided to use a yellow one to give it a nice golden glow. I use a fluffy brush to dust it on the ink. 

To fixate the powder I spray it with a mini mister. Mica powders normally have a binder in it that is activated by water.

While the cardstock is still stuck down I dry the mist with my heat tool. This way it stays nice and flat.

I gently remove the masking tape and reveal the uninked parts of the card stock.

This is what the card looks like after I stuck the piece of card stock on the card blank and embellished it with a sentiment die cut and a stamped and coloured in cupcake.

Here you can see the yellow shimmer of the perfect pearl powder.

I hope you enjoyed the process and will give it a go yourself!

Take care and maybe until next time....

Frederique 

xxx