Saturday Savers Autumn Leaves - Jane

Hi, 
A different take on the Autumn leaves with different shades that could be autumnal or be used all year around. Jane used different pieces of cardboard to create a beautiful desk tidy.
She used decomache for this project, which is a quick and easy way to cover cardboard or wood. We have a large selection of papers to choose from (click here to find them) .

 We all have cardboard tubes and boxes to hand

 Because I am covering them with a fairly thin paper, I have painted them with white acrylic paint

 I thought I would use the lovely decomache papers to cover the rolls etc., tear the papers into small pieces

Cover the tubes using decomache glue 

When dry, you could leave them now but I decided to try out the crackle coat so..... apply two coats of the base coat, making sure the coats dry before adding next one.  

Then apply top coat, quite thickly if you want lots of crackle!!!  When dry rub over acrylic paint, working into cracks and then remove excess

 To decorate I have decorated with Summer Border diecut and ribbon.  

First Edition Deco Mache papers - Leaf Repeat, Purple Stripes

First Edition Deco Mache - Matt Adhesive and Varnish, Antique Crackle Base Coat and Top Coat

Pebeo Acrylic Paint - Iridescent Violet Blue

Mirri Card -Silver

Memory Box die - Summer Border

Ribbon

See you tomorrow

Izzy

Saturday Savers - Ho Ho Ho - Neil

Hi, 
A lovely upcycling project from Neil for you today. Christmas is coming up but not too close yet, 
so you still have time to make a few of those. Great fun, and if like us, you keep the bags you are given, then you have plenty to work with. 
If you'd rather make your own, you can always use one of our recycled craft carrier bag

A very quick and simple recycling from me today. 

I'm sure I'm not the only one who can't bear to throw out gift bags. 

I have them all packed away ready to re use. However, I have been known to give it back to to original giver on occasion so now I try to add a little extra to them, just in case!

I've had this beautiful white bag for a while now and thought it would be perfect to change to a Christmas bag

 I began by stamping an ATC using Tim's ATC stamp. Simply coloured with Distress Ink and matted onto card.

 I worked out where it was going and marked it before using Grunge Paste and Tando Creative's snowflake mask to add some texture.

 That was not Christmassy enough so I added some Dry Stickles

 Then, a spritz of Dylusions to add some extra colour and one lovely Christmas bag, ready for a gift.

I think that this a great and easy way of jazzing up a bag. If your bag is patterned you can still do the same kind of thing. I just often use some Gesso or paint to tone down the pattern.

Neil used:

Stamps - Tim Holtz Holiday Collections

ATC - White

Archival ink - Cobalt

Grunge Paste

Dry Stickles

Tando Creative - Snowflake Mask

Dylusions - London Blue

See you tomorrow

Izzy

A touch of metal - Sylvie

Hi, 
Sharing an altered mirror made by Sylvie today. Gorgeous detailed work as it always is. I'm sure you will enjoy and appreciate the step by step explanation and learn how to achieve this. 
Have you ever altered a mirror? If you give it a go, don't forget to share it with us!

Apply the Grunge Paste on the edges of the mirror and flatten it with a palette knife.
Press a stamp (here Impression Obsession Brick) onto the wet paste and let it dry.
Once dry, apply some paints with a Cut n' Dry piece of foam.

Emboss a sheet of metal with the Crafts Too Damask folder and cut strips to over the unpainted wooden surface of the mirror. Paint them with the Ranger Patinas
Once dry, sand it down to highlight the embossed pattern

Apply the Treasure Gold White Fire and Emeral paints using a brush.
Cut the flower out of the left over metal using the Marianne D dies 

Cut the branches out of cardstock and ink them up with Distress inks

Heat emboss the branches
Ink up the metal flowers with Alcohol inks
Glue them in place using 3D foam pads.
Stamp the dress form with blue Versafine and emboss it with 

Cosmic shimmer Lustre Amethyst Mist . Add it to the frame, on the right
Apply a few touches of colour on the edges of the Mirror with Alcohol inks and add some Treasure Gold on top
Seal with a layer of Fresco Finish paint: Matte glaze

Details

Sylvie used:

Cosmic-shimmer-lustre- embossing powders : Amethyst Mist, Arctic Bay, Iced Blush

Cosmic shimmer Blaze embossing powders : Tropic Moss

Cosmic shimmer Aurora embossing powders: Persian Sea

Vintaj Patina inks : Jade, Amethyst, Marine

Adirondack alcohol inks: Stream, Wild Plum, Gold

Adirondack Alcohol blending solution

Crafts too embossing folders : Damask

Marianne Design Creatables : Branch and flower1, Forest branch, Leaves

Crafty Individuals Dies : Sweet Fying Bird

Memory box die : Delicate Fern

Memory box die : Wrought iron fence

Kaisercraft texture clear stamps : Dress Form

Mercart metal sheet : Bronze

Treasure Gold : Brass, Emerald, White Fire

Grunge Paste

Impression Obsession Stamps : Brick

PaperArtsy Fresco finish paint : Old Gold, Matte glaze, Mermaid, Smoked Paprika, Chocolate Pudding

PaperArtsy stamps : JOFY collection 11

Distress Ink pads : Mowed Lawn, Shaded Lilac, Shipped Sapphire, Evergreen Bough, Picked Rapsberry

Stickles Glitter Glue : Gold, Cinnamon

 See you tomorrow

Saturday Savers - Vintage cute - Gio

Hi, 
A lovely little upcycling project by Gio today using an egg box and paints and turning into a lace storage box.
This is so adorable and would make a perfect gift for a crafty friend. 
Gio used Hobby Art Bird House for her cute image.

 I covered the egg-box with gesso, then I painted it using a paintbrush and a little sponge with Fresco Finish paints Sky and Nougat.

I distressed the borders using DecoArt Traditions Artist Acrylic: Quinacridone Gold taking a very little amount of paint at a time, leaving the paintbrush almost dry. I decorated the front with the Crafty Individuals mask: Beautiful border and some Dreamweaver embossing paste: Transluscent spreading it through the mask with a palette knife.When dry I distressed the raised areas with the DecoArt Traditions Artist Acrylic: Quinacridone Gold.  I stamped the egg box with a text stamp, from PaperArtsy - Lynne Perrella collection 003 plate and Archival ink Coffee.

I stamped the bird house twice  and some hearts using Hobby Art Clear Stamps: Bird house and Black jet Archival ink on a piece of Crafty Individuals White Silk Card - Regency Satin. I cut it out and coloured using several Distress inks and a Zig BrusH2O Waterbrush.

 For the inside of the lid: I tore a piece of old book page, I painted it with Fresco Finish paints Sky and Nougat. I made a border with the Crafty Individuals mask: Beautiful border and some Dreamweaver embossing paste: Transluscent spreading it through the mask with a palette knife. When dry, I highlighted the  texture with little DecoArt Traditions Artist Acrylic: Quinacridone Gold. I added it to the lid box. I added the stamped images to both sides of the egg-box lid.

Fresco Finish paints  

Archival ink pads 

Dreamweaver embossing paste: Transluscent 

Crafty Individuals mask: Beautiful border  

PaperArtsy - Lynne Perrella collection 003 

Hobby Art Clear Stamps: Bird house

Crafty Individuals White Silk Card - Regency Satin 

Distress ink pads 

Zig BrusH2O Waterbrush: Detailer 

DecoArt Traditions Artist Acrylic: Quinacridone Gold 

See you tomorrow

Vintage cute - Karen

Hi, 
Hope you had a lovely weekend :)
A little bit of vintage, a little touch of cute and you get? A vintage cute week.... 
A bit of a struggle for some of our DT members who don't "do" cute at all, but then it's nice to challenge them a bit, isn't it? 
Starting with Karen... with a not only a Vintage cute project, but one for a little boy too. Vintage and cute is rarely associated with boys, but it works really good on this one, what do you think? 

For my project this week I have recycled a 10x10cm beer mat.  

I painted it first with PaperArtsy Fresco paint in Chocolate Pudding, added the PaperArtsy Crackle Glaze then Snowflake paint on top, drying well between layers.  Then I rubbed some Distress Ink in Chipped Sapphire over the top to add 'depth'.  The images were stamped in Memento Black and coloured with Copics.  They were then clear embossed before cutting out.  The wording was stamped and embossed straight onto my base.  The images were then glued in place.  

I punched two holes at the top and tied red string for a hanger.

Karen used

Crafters Companion S.W.A.L.K stamp range -'Slugs and Snails'

PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Paints - Chocolate Pudding, Snowflake and Crackle Glaze

Copic Ciao Pens - 100, YG100, B45, R46, E35, E37, E08 and E00

Memento Ink - Tuxedo Black

Stamp and Stuff Clear Embossing Powder

See you tomorrow

Background layering week - Sylvie

Hello, 
Here's a lovely, grungy project for you made by Sylvie. She used Distress inks, same as Jane, but you can see that depending on the colours and stamps you use the effect can be very different!
Sylvie used Impression Obsession Canvas and Distressed bricks.

Cut a rectangle in corrugated cardboard (any parcel laying around?)

Remove the first layer of paper to reveal the corrugated side

Ink it up with Distress ink Vintage Photo to age it

Stamp the Cover-a-Card Canvas on white card using Scattered Straw Distress ink

Stamp the Distressed Brick image with Vintage Photo

Cut it down to a square

Stamp CI-370 and cut it out. Colour it using the Distress inks as watercolours.

Add 3D foam squares at the back

Stamp CI-385 with black Archival ink on the lower right part of the brick square and emboss it with Black embossing powder.

TIP: make sure your brick background is REALLY dry (Distress inks take a long time to dry) or your black powder will adhere to the flowers AND the bricks)

Adhere the dog on the bottom left.

Die-cut (or punch) a circle at the top and use the edge distresser to age it, then ink it up with Vintage Photo Distress ink.

Stamp the Canvas image once again on white cardstock but using Barn Door Distress ink this time, then add the Bricks with Black Soot Distress ink on top.

Stamp the birdies (PaperArtsy Joffy mini 20) on white card, cut them out and colour them with your favourite markers (Copic, Promarker etc.)

You are going to use the Canvas stamp again, but this time with the Gelatos. 

Apply the Gelatos direct to the stamp, spray with a bit of water and stamp on white cardstock.

Tear the paper in half, ink up the edges and glue them to the corrugated cardboard at the top and bottom but leaving a little gap.

Cut the branch with the Crafty Individual die, ink it up with the Evergreen Bough Distress ink and add a touch of Treasure Gold

Use two Tando Creative hearts, colour them with Gelatos and add them to your project.

Punch a couple of holes on the corrugated panel, add the eyelets and string.

I used :

Distress ink pads: (Barn door, Mustard seed, Black soot, Evergreen bough, Scattered straw, Vintage photo)

Archival ink pads: Jet black

Gelatos: Metallic Gold, mix & Match: Red & Yellow

Crafty Individuals dies: Floral branch

Crafty Individuals Stamps: Alice Palace CI-370 : British Bulldog

Crafty Individuals Stamps : Flowers: CI-385 summer garden

Impression Obsession stamps Cover-a-card: Canvas & Distressed brick

PaperArtsy Stamps: JOFY mini20

Tando Creative minis: hearts

Kaisercraft self-adhesive rhinestones: Lippy & Orange

Treasure Gold: Emerald & White fire

Promarkers

Poppystamps dies: Bird Cage

Woodware Eyelets: silver round 3/16 inch

See you tomorrow

Saturday Savers binding - Izzy

Hi, 
It's my turn (Izzy) for Saturday Savers and I really had to put my thinking cap on for this one.... I had to choose a binding technique that was not showcased this week AND something to upcycle that could be bound.
Then I remembered those beer mats I have had for several years now and thought that they would make the perfect mini album. Team this with yummy products and we are good to go.

The sizes I am going to give you are based on the size of my beer mats, but you will had to adapt it to any beer mat you have

1/  I used Kaisercraft papers, 5 beer mats and grunge paper

2/ I cut 4 pieces of white cardstock (I could have gone for any colour really) and I scored them

In this case, they are cut to 14 x 6.3 mm and scored to get 3/ 0.3 /3 cm

3/ I used a strong adhesive (double sided red tape) to adhere them to the beer mats as shown

4/ This is what you will get once it's glued. 

5/ I cut my papers to size (scored them in the middle too) and adhered them to your beer mat album

6/ Close up of the bound album
The front and back cover are left uncovered as they will be glued to the cover

TIP

If you want to make sure your album with hold, add some washi tape before gluing the papers

Peace of mind, better be safe than sorry

I then made the cover using Grunge Paper which has the advantage to be strong and easily altered (painted, stamps, punched etc). Probably my favourite for a mini album cover (or to make a passport cover as I had done here)

7/ Paint both sides of the cover with a layer of Gesso first and dry.  

8/ Use your Gelli Arts plate and a few masks/stencils along with PaperArtsy (or Americana) paints to make the cover. 

9/ Stamp using StazOn ink

10/ Punch two holes top and bottom and add eyelets for your ribbon 

This is what the inside cover looks like

Stamp the cover using StazOn ink (I went over the dress form with a permanent black pen to make it stand out) and add a layer of your favourite varnish/sealer.

Glue the cover on the beer mat album

Make sure you add the ribbon BEFORE you glue the cover to the beer mats

much easier :)

Front

back

inside

Embellish the spine with a few buttons and a metal charm

I used

Beer mats

Kaisercraft papers

Grunge paper

Stamps - Tim Holtz: Stuff to Say and Attic Treasures

Gesso

PaperArtsy Fresco Finish paints: Snowflake, Chocolate, Guacamole, Honey Dew

Gelli Art plate: 8 x 10"

Tando Creative mask: Harlequin

Imagination Crafts stencil: Bay Leaf

StazOn midi: Cloudy Sky

Double sided Redline Wonder tape

Crop-A-Dile and eyelets

Ribbons

Eiffel Tower charm

Varnish/Sealer

See you tomorrow