Up against the wall …
Posted: October 24, 2012 Filed under: home decor, Ranger, scrapbook layout, Stamping, Uncategorized, Xyron | Tags: Acorn Hollow, Creatopia, Linda Neff, Little Yellow Bicycle, Ranger Archival Ink, Ranger Paint Dabber, Stamping, Xyron 6 Comments »
I’ve been dying to share this project with you all since I finished it the other day! It is so not-my-style, but I love it just the same!
It’s the week of projects created from the partnership between Xyron’s Design Team and Little Yellow Bicycle. I have always loved Little Yellow Bicycle products and was so excited to receive my generous packet of supplies with their newest collection – Acorn Hollow. As much as I love mini books I wanted to do something different with the canvas mini book I received. I wasn’t sure what, but after discovering the sticker collection with the title “5 Things I am thankful for” I decided six book pages would be perfect to work with – one for the title and five more for the 5 things.
I started decorating the book’s pages individually using the 6-by-6-inch papers with no focus in mind really other than I would have six finished squares. Using the Xryon Creatopia made it so easy-peazy to cover the pages. I was able to line two 6-by-6 inch papers side-by-side and run them through the machine. After all six were sticky back I just needed to peel-and-stick the papers to the pages.
They needed a finished edge and I originally inked them with Ranger Black Soot Distress Ink but it didn’t feel right. A lot of the embellies with this collection are highlighted with copper so I dug out my Ranger Adirondack Metallic Copper Paint Dabber and gave that a shot. It was perfect! After all, Fall is all about the glow!
To make the paper leaves and flowers more dimensional I rolled them gently with a stylus on a mouse pad until they curled and then outlined them with the copper paint. The Acorn Hollow collection has so many different embellishments that were just so darn cute that I just kept layering and layering! I layered the chipboard embellies with the paper ones and ran the clear acetate embellies through the Xyron 2.5″ Create-a-Sticker Maker to hold them flat and in place. This project was just so much fun!
So, I have the six squares finished and I experimented with laying them out and hanging them like a banner. I really liked them stacked and thought they would look nice framed and on a wall. Went to the garage and rummaged around for different pieces of junque to mount them to and came across an old photo collage frame pained in country blue – yes, you remember the style. Wasn’t sure what I was going to place inside the frame for the background but proceeded to take the frame apart to paint it and clean the glass.
I settled on a black frame (Ranger Adirondack Pitch Black Paint Dabber) and highlighted with touches here and there using the Copper Paint Dabber that I edged the pages in. I really like the way it was going. I decided on a plain black background so painted the corrugated cardboard backing and turned it to the inside. While, when I was replacing the glass I broke it so was left with just the painted cardboard. That actually worked out well because it gives it a more rustic feel which I like. I mounted the finished squares with dimensional foam tape to pop them up just a bit. It looks really nice! It’s big. It measures 17-inches by 22-inches.
I wanted to make a scrapbook layout too because I had papers and embellies left over – there’s still enough left to make several cards – so chose some pictures from my favorite place to visit, Sunset Shores in Clare. The photos worked well with the papers and embellies. This layout is a bit more my style. A little torn up and distressed. I stamped on the tan background paper with Archival Jet Black ink, heat set, and then spritzed it with a homemade concoction of Perfect Pearls Heirloom Gold and water.
Hope you like and be sure to visit the Xyron and Little Yellow Bicycle blog all week long to see what my other team members are up to!
Six ways to say Thank You …
Posted: August 30, 2012 Filed under: card, Ranger, Stamping, technique, Xyron | Tags: Cherry Truffle, Greeting card, Heat gun, Linda Neff, McGill, Quick Quotes, Ranger Archival Ink, Vellum, Xyron 10 Comments »In honor of Xyron’s partnership this week with Quick Quotes I made a fall-themed gift bag full of greeting cards. I don’t know about you but I’m always in need of just the right card to send for birthdays, a quick thank you, or just a card to say ‘hi.’ This great little gift is self-contained: five cards, five envelopes, stamps and all tucked neatly into a coordinating gift bag!
It’s a breeze to create, especially when using coordinating paper packs like the Cherry Truffle pack I used from Quick Quotes. I began by making five cards, all with different sentiments to cover several occasions. A few have some unique features to them, just to add a little special touch here-and-there. On this ‘Life’ card I used a Fred Mullet stamp, clear embossing ink and ultra thick clear embossing powder. By using the clear embossing ink and powder it lets the beauty of the paper show through while giving a look and feel of dimension and texture. The sentiment is stamped in Ranger Coffee Archival ink, heat set and then I spread Dried Marigold Distress ink on my non-stick craft sheet, spritzed it with water and lightly brushed it over the sentiment to add a hint of color. Love the final results!
I’ve always loved the concept of incheys but don’t have the patience to decorate those small 1-inch pieces of paper so I take the easy way out by punching scalloped squares with an old punch from McGill. It’s a 15/16″ and I back it with a 1-inch square punched coordinating cardstock. I love the look and have used it many times on cards and scrapbook pages. On this card the scallop square is punched from papers in the Cherry Truffle line and edged lightly with Ranger Gold Acrylic Paint Dabber. I run all the squares through my Xyron 1.5″ Create-a-Sticker, stack them together, place them on the background then pierce through the center and brads in each one.
Here’s a look at all the cards that fit inside the little bag.
The bag is made from one sheet of 6X12″ cardstock and is decorated using the Cherry Truffle papers, scallop border punch and Xyron 5″ Creative Station.
I finished it off by adding a vellum quote from Quick Quotes processed through the 5″ Creative Station. I love Xyron machines for vellum papers. The adhesive totally coats the back of the vellum so nothing shows through except the background paper – as it should be!
I sprinkled some clear embossing powder to a couple pieces from the Quick Quotes Bag o’ Chips after heating them with my heat gun and then melted the powder. By not using ink it gives more of a random look, which is what I like. These are dangled from the ribbon handle. All that’s left to do is insert the cards, envelopes and stamps and your gift is ready for presentation!
