Tag: Ranger Archival Ink

Ugly box upcycle

On By lindaIn home decor, tutorial, Xyron22 Comments

linda_mug_2014I’ve basically built my new business on upcycles and redos so when I received a collection of Anna Griffin products from Xyron I knew I wanted to upcycle a box of some sort.

I hit up our local Salvation Army on Senior Day – one of the perks of getting older – to see what they might have. I selected this bright, bold and ugly box with three drawers. It was just gaudy enough to demand a redo.

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I know it looks like it might have six drawers but there are actually only three.  I thought about painting the base but then opted to leave it white and go with it.

I measured the beautiful Anna Griffin papers to fit the sides, top and drawer fronts. Then I inked all the edges with Ranger’s Black Archival Ink and processed them all through my Xyron 5″ Creative Station with permanent adhesive.

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The full adhesive coverage of Xyron makes the paper stick really well to all parts of the wooden box. I removed the knobs from the drawer fronts and painted them white to coordinate with the papers then reattached them after the papers were in place.

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I also cut more of the coordinating papers to fit the insides of the drawers as well.

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I had this idea that I would create several little 3″ by 3″ note cards to tuck in the drawers. I think I made nine and could have kept going. These are so easy to make using the scraps of papers left over from the box fitting as well as the cute Anna Griffin Stickers and cardstock borders. I just snipped the borders in intervals of 2 3/4″ and adhered them to the card front.

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A silver, gold or white marker would add a touch of elegance to whatever little note you wanted to send to someone! They store really nicely inside the little drawers. So the next time you’re perusing the aisles or your local resale shop take note of those ugly little boxes or trays that you can transform quickly and easily with pretty papers and a Xyron machine!

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Happy birthday, precious

On By lindaIn card making, home decor, Scrapbooking, Stamping, Uncategorized, Xyron6 Comments

Linda_Neff_mini_mug_shotOur baby turned 30 last week.

It’s been a rough road for her over the past year or two but she’s a survivor and I know in my heart she will come out on top and happy. She’s been tough and head-strong since day one and always presents an upbeat and positive attitude – if only on the outside some days. The photo I pulled out to use in these projects reminded me of that.

When this picture was taken, it had been a rough week. She was so sick but still smiling and happy through it all – just taking it all in stride.

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I had some projects due for Xyron – birthday and baby themes. The timing was perfect to work both those projects around Rachel and her birthday.

For this card I started with a plain A2 card cutting a pattern and coordinated cardstock to use for the matting on the front and inked all the edges with Ranger’s Archival Pitch Black Ink.

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Then I ran all the paper pieces and photo through my Xyron 5″ Creative Station.

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It is so quick-and-easy to assemble the card once the adhesive is on the back of each piece – just peel-and-stick!

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I used the same photo on a scrapbook layout as well. I have to admit, the layout isn’t my usual distressed style but I really like it. I started with the die-cut hearts (Sizzix Primitive Hearts), some burlap cut for the photo mat, coordinating yarn, a couple vintage white buttons, and some scrap lace. I cut the title from my Sizzix Go Slim alphabet die. I was able to process all these pieces through my Xyron Creatopia using the Stickz Fabric Adhesive at one time – love it!

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Once I peeled off the top cellophane layer all I had to do was peel-and-stick onto my background cardstock. I am so happy with the results of this layout and couldn’t believe just how quick-and-easy it was to put together using the Creatopia. It just makes me smile every time I pass by this layout on the table. I’m going to have to put away soon.

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This layout is one piece of a three-piece collection centered around a baby theme. The other pieces include an adorable fabric bunny and a cute frame for baby’s room.

The fabric bunny is one of three that was cut and processed through the Xyron Creatopia with the Stickz Fabric Refill. I then stuffed them, ever-so-slightly, with a tad of polyester stuffing and stuck them together. The Xyron Fabric adhesive holds the stuffing and opposite side into place for stitching.

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I also cut more fabric hearts, stuffed and stitched and processed the title ‘Precious,’ and the hearts through the Xyron 5″ Creative Station with the 5″ Permanent Adhesive Refill. These were used to decorate a black, framed mirror. The entire collection looks really nice together and would make wonderful gifts as a group or on their own.

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Projects like these make me realize that sometimes simple really is the way to go!

Up against the wall …

On By lindaIn home decor, Scrapbooking, Stamping, Uncategorized, Xyron8 Comments

Linda_Neff_mug_shot_2013I’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!