Saturday Show & Hels - Fancy Grungepaper Rose

Cor blimey, I go away for a few minutes and come back to a post I started a couple of days ago and... it has changed!!! What has Mr Blogger done???  He has gone and changed the layout... which confuses the chuff out of me... here's hoping that this will post properly... and on time!!!   Right, on with today's tutorial.  This one has come about because of all the wonderful comments I have received about the Grungepaper roses I have been making recently.  Now, you know I LOVE Studio 490 and I LOVE making roses... so, as soon as I copped sight of this new flower, I knew instantly that a rose had to be made.   This one is perfectly designed to make roses with a bit of a special something because it has ruffled edges and is printed in the middle... so when the roses are assembled they take on the look similar to a carnation.  Below is a step by step picture tut along with a list of ingredients and written instructions too.  I hope that you enjoy this latest Show & Hels... on with the tut!!

INGREDIENTS:
Studio 490 Accents For Art (LCS078)
Grungepaper
Strong Wet Glue (I use Cosmic Shimmer Glue)
Distress Ink
Archival Ink
Heat Tool
Craft Sheet
Clips
Sharp Scissors

STEP 1
Stamp the six petal flower three times onto the "furry" side of Grungepaper and cut them out.

STEP 2
Colour both sides of the flowers using Distress Ink and a blending tool/Cut & Dry Foam. Remember to really work the foam into the fibres of the Grunge.

STEP 3
Flower 1 ~ Cut up in between two petals into the middle of the flower. Cut out a circle around this cut, this will make assemblage a lot easier.

STEP 4
Flower 2 ~ Cut out one petal from the flower, again cutting out a circle from the centre (as shown)

STEP 5
Flower 3 ~ Cut out two petals from the flower and again cut a circle from the centre (as shown)  You will now have 5 pieces of Grungepaper.

STEP 6
Flower 1 ~ Snip off the top of the petal that will be underneath when glued. Bring one petal over the top of this tab, add glue and secure with a clip.  Set aside to dry.  Repeat Step 5 for Flower 2 and Flower 3.

STEP 7
Take the two petals and snip off the pointy bit - you don't need this... it is...ahem... pointless (grrroan)  Use your thumb and finger to curl the petal back, rolling the Grunge - the heat from your fingers will help the Grunge to curl.  I do this because when you come to assemble the rose, the Grunge will remember it has been stretched that way already.  To glue this layer, bring the two edges of the petals together, glue and secure with a clip.

STEP 8
Curl the single petal around on itself and leave a little bit of the top of the petal to curl outwards, glue and secure with a clip.

STEP 9
When you come to assemble the layers, a handy tip for you to remember is assemble the rose from the bottom layer up, so 4 petal will go into 5 petal, 3 petal will go into 4 petal... then to avoid jiggling the glued layers, pop the centre petal into the 2 petal layer and you will see that the bottom of the centre petal will poke out of the bottom of the 2 petal layer... snip the excess off, this will make this final layer sit snuggly into the half assembled rose.

 

FINISHED ROSE:

So, here it is... the options for this flower are plenty, it has its own Art Part shape to sit on... (see pic of artwork) it looks amezzzzin stamped on to different mediums... for me, it's the perfect flower stamp!

Right, I had better away to my bed... I was planning on scheduling this post but... I am not 100% sure about this new Blogger layout... I have just spent a yonk and a half putting all the photo's in the right places... then they were all out of alignments... shame there isn't a tutorial on this new system!

Thanks for looking... have a FAB day... I am excited cos I am at The Stamp Attic this weekend... today is an Altered Book class... and tomorrow is all about ink and tags... fun!  Oooh, and... a new Sunday Stamper theme tomorrow too.... Right, I am really offski this time...  TTFN!!

Hels x

Saturday Show & Hels... Block Bleaching & Giveaway

Cor blimey indeedily... it's a yonk and a half since I last did a Show & Hels so last night I thought I would put together a little technique thingwotsit that I discovered by accident when playing around with Distress Inks and water. I don't know if this technique has a proper name... but the name I have made up for it is along the lines of the inspiration for the technique, which is Color Blocking, one of Tim's techniques that I lurve lots. Basically, in his technique, he fills up a blending tool with ink and then presses it onto a card/tag surface in a blocky fashion, building up the blocks to make a geometric pattern. This technique is the reverse of that one. All will become apparent in the pics (am saying that because I am rubbish at trying to describe lol) The giveaway bit is my tag here... which will be given away to one randomly chosen commenter on this post. The winner will be announced next Saturday, April 7th 2012.



INGREDIENTS

Bright Distress Inks + Black Soot/Walnut Stain
Blending Tools to apply above OR Cut & Dry Foam
Tag/Cardstock
Water Mister
Blending Tool with clean foam pad
Heat tool
Non Stick Craft Sheet



STEP 1

Using a blending tool/Cut & Dry foam, apply a few vivid colours of Distress Ink to your surface (I am working on a tag) I have found that the richer the colour, the better this technique shows up.



STEP 2

Use a dark colour (I have used Black Soot but Walnut Stain will work) and carefully edge your tag... this will "close" the design in and give the tag a "frame".




STEP 3

Spritz water onto your craft sheet and dip the clean blending foam into it, soaking the foam pad. Light dab the excess water back onto the craft sheet.





STEP 4

Press the wet foam onto your tag, leave in place for a few seconds. Lift up the tool and wait a couple of seconds for the water to react with the ink. Blot any excess water with kitchen paper/paper towel if necessary (you will be able to see if there's too much water)




STEP 5

Use kitchen paper/paper towel to blot off any ink collected on the foam pad to stop it transferring when you repeat Step 4. Dry the block with a heat tool. Repeat the steps until you have a design you like. Try to overlap a few of the blocks to add interest to the design.



TO FINISH

To finish my tag, I cut some Gadget Gears Alterations & Movers & Shapers from mountboard and coloured them with Pumice Stone DI. I layered them up and added some wires behind the bottom of the cog pile. I then made a teensy "basket" using some of the Destinations patterened papers... and then added some Idea-ology to the middle of the "hot air balloon". The chaps were stamped in Jet Black Archival and cut out, coloured with Pumice Stone and edged with Black Soot. I made a little ruler using Crowded Attic Paper, gluing it to mountboard and then sanding the edges. I did a smidge of stamping for the background (and stamped one of them upside down... whoops!)




So, there you have it... I hope you like the technique, I like that it is subtle and doesn't over power the whole finished look. Thanks for looking... have a fab weekend!! TTFN

Hels x

Saturday Show & Hels... Picket Fence Distress Stain Resist

...time for another Show & Hels... and thank you all for your lovely comments and requests for this one. So, last week I demo'd a cool technique using Picket Fence Distress Stain and that gorgeous Studio 490 lace background stamp. For those that missed it, here are some Step by Steps :O)) Oh and before I carry on... here's my finished tag which I will be giving away to one randomly picked commenter... just leave a comment on this post and I will announce the winner next Saturday (Feb 18th).



INGREDIENTS

Rubber Stamp
Picket Fence Distress Stain
Distress Ink (I used Victorian Velvet, Aged Mahogany and Walnut Stain)
Blending Tool/Cut & Dry Foam
Water Mister
Paper Towel
Heat Tool



STEP 1
Shake the Picket Fence bottle - you will hear a little ball in there bouncing about... this is agitating the ingredients and makes the Picket Fence work properly. Once you have given it a good old shake, drag the applicator across your stamp.



STEP 2
Stamp your image onto cardstock - I have used cream but white works just as well. Before you do anything else, clean your stamp... like straight away ... you don't want the Picket Fence to dry on your stamp, it will stick like a toffee to a cats paw. I use babywipes for the clean up process. Use your heat tool to dry the Picket Fence image.



STEP 3
Blend your colour over the top of the card - I started with Victorian Velvet. You will see the image start to pop from under the colour.




STEP 4
Take your darker colour (Aged Mahogany) and blend around the edges of the cardstock.



STEP 5
Lightly mist a paper towel with water - you don't need to overload it as this would remove some of your stamped image, it just needs to be damp.



STEP 6
Quickly wipe over the surface of your card, just a couple of quick strokes will be enough - this will reveal more of the white image... if you prefer it more muted, skip these steps :O))



STEP 7
Give your card a quick zap with your heat tool... wiping the surface will have dampened it slightly, so drying with heat will prevent the image from bleeding too much.



TO FINISH
I edged right around the cardstock with Walnut Stain Distress Ink - this closes the design in and gives it a "frame". I coloured a tag using Victorian Velvet and Aged Mahogany and used another Studio 490 background, coated with Picket Fence and stamped over the top of the ink... you can see that this produces a much more muted effect. I added a little sentiment mat which was stamped with the same resist technique and then added some ribbons, a flower and stamped a gorgeous 490 flower in Coffee Archival.




I hope you like and enjoy the technique... it is fast becoming one of my faves!




I have a winner to announce from my Art Parts Giveaway last weekend... so... I had 52 lovely comments (thanks y'all) and Mr Random.org picked out #29 - a lovley comment left by LAINEY.. please can you email me your addy?




And finally... check this out... I have one of those ickle gadgets on Lionel Laptop and this is what temperature it was outside at about 9.30am today... YIKES!!!! Am certainly not venturing even the tip of my schnozzle outside today... an afternoon in the Room of Stash methinks. Right.. best go... thanks for looking... have a goodly day! TTFN

Hels x

Saturday Show & Hels... Pom Pom Tissue Wrap Flower

...I thought it about time to do another Show & Hels... and I have been asked a few times this week if I could do a step by step on how I made the Pom Pom flower that was on here the other day. So... I have spent a happy couple of hours with the camera (apologies now for the rubbish photography and the yukky hands lol) Here we go... oh but before that... a little look at the finished tag... which I should add... I am giving away... more of that later on :O))





So... here's what you will need:

Tissue Wrap - either flavour work for the flower
Tiny Attacher
Scissors
Distress Ink & Blending Tool





STEP 1
Tear off a piece of Tissue Wrap to measure approx 20cm - it doesn't have to be an exact measurement... near enough will do :O)) Fold the wrap in half and then in half again.




STEP 2
Hold the folded edge of the strip in one hand and cut into the opposite edge - you need your snips to cut down about 2/3rds of the strip... and a couple of mm apart - again this isn't an exact measurement, remember the thicker the snips, the less fluffles you will get on your finished Pom Pom.




STEP 3
When you have snipped right down the length of the strip, wind it loosely around your index finger.




STEP 4
Using the Tiny Attacher (or if you have a baby Bambi stapler instead), staple a few times into the join to keep the whole layer attached.



STEP 5
Once the layer is fastened together you can ruffle the snipped bits out. You will see in this photo that the folded edges of the paper are showing. This will give you a less fluffled look.




STEP 6
Alternatively, if you would like a more fluffley look, snip along the top edge before you wind it around your finger and fasten... or if you have done the above step already and decide you prefer the fluffley look, you can just go in a trim it... tis up to you :O)) **don't look at that pink stuff on my finger... it isn't really there... I haven't really been using it on show samples ;o))**





STEP 7
Tear a piece of wrap off to measure approx 15cm and repeat the folding and cutting process. Once you have done that you can snip the edges off as before... or leave them if you want a less fluffley (yep that word again) Pom Pom.





STEP 8
For the final layer you need to tear off about 10cm of wrap. Once you have folded it (as before) snip off about a 1/3 of the length... this makes it easier and less bulky when you come to assemble them together. With this layer only snip half way down it, instead of 2/3... this makes it more pliable... any more than half way down makes it too flimsy.




STEP 9
*uh oh, those fingers again... you can't see them can you?* Once you have snipped along this layer, wind it around your little finger... the tighter this layer the better for assembling.




STEP 10
Using the Tiny Attacher (or Bambi stapler) staple in as far as you can... you will see that the staple doesn't fit right in... you just need to make sure it isn't going to come undone. *you still aren't looking at those disgusting nails are you?* Once it is secure you can then start to assemble your layers together... and you can snip down the size of the little one if you prefer a stubby look for the centre of the Pom Pom... that's what I have done with mine.




STEP 11
Not really a step as such... just a pic of what they should look like before assembling.





STEP 12
Use your finger to guide the little layer into the 2nd layer... the hole in the middle should make a snug fit - if it doesn't, don't worry... you can add a little glue :O)) Once you are happy with those two layers, open up the hole in the third layer and fit the other one into it... again, a snug fit but... glue if it isn't.





FINISHED - BEFORE INK
You can see that the layers all look nice and fluffley... and the middle is nice and stubby... like the middle of a daisy perhaps?





FINISHED - AFTER INK
I added ink to the ruffles using Spiced Marmalade and a Blending Tool... I concentrated the ink in the centre so it is a smidge darker... for the finished tag, I added Fired Brick around the longer layers.



TA DAH!


That there is my finished tag... now, I mentioned earlier that I would be giving this away... well I am! To be in with a chance of winning this tag is very simples... leave me a comment here... that's all! I will draw a winner at random and announce on next Saturday's post (4th Feb). Right... tis waaay past my bedtime... I got all engrossed in this at about 11pm and I am sitting here shivering now cos the heating has gone off and I am verrrry chilly! Thanks for looking... please do let me know whatcha fink! TTFN

Hels x

PS... I can't remember who asked... the music score I take my pics on... is proper sheet music... aquired from the popular online auction site ;o))

PPS... thanks also to ... Alison Horne... the thingywotsit from yesterday has a name! A Diorama!! How cool is that!!! x