Altered Picture Frame

Designer: Helen Angel-Cullum

Well I have a few old frames that I saved from the bin and this project got me to actually use one. I also incorporated a picture that I made some time last year and never framed. I don't have access to a craft shop around here for a new alterable frame, but isn't that what crafting is all about? Using things around the house as well?

went from

to

using tissue paper and pva glue.

Pitchblack, Aubergine, Pesto and Cranberry alcohol inks daubed on and metalic rub on paste on the outside

chip board cut to size. Painted with gesso then grey acrylic paint. Stamps from Smeared Ink and Cherry Pie stamped with Stazon.

The black roses were made using 2 different types of black paper. Glued on using pinflair glue (like a silicon but no smell).

All this to showcase one of the best love poems ever written (in my eyes anyway).

Card Basics

When I first began making cards, I did not have much to get started except designer paper. I needed a lot more than that but didn't really know how to get started. I did buy a magazine that had a number of different cards but they varied so much, it was difficult where to get started. For those of you who want to get started in the card making arena, it is really simple.

It's easy to limit supplies to this list:

*White Card Stock (card base)

*Stampin Up! Border Punch

*Stampin Up! Scallop Punch

*Stampin Up! Snail Adhesive

*Stampin Up! Stamp

*Stampin Up! Designer Paper

*Stampin Up! Card Stock

*Offray Ribbon

*Recollections Rhinestones

*Foam Dots

The white card stock will serve as your base. Having designer paper gives your card a scene that would highlight your stamped image. Stampin' Up! designer paper is reversible which gives you more paper to design around. The scalloped card stock would serve as a background for the stamped image, giving it a spotlight so to speak. Ribbon and rhinestones make the perfect embellishments to add flare to your card. The foam dots will give your image a 3D effect.

This is a simple way to get started in card making without making it an expensive hobby. Keep it simple and have fun!

Written and Submitted by TerryO

SU! Circle Scissor Plus Tool

If you're like me, you need circles in your projects of varying different sizes. One day while in the LSS, I went on a mad hunt for different sized circle punches. I was always needing one circle for a project and it would be just the size I didn't have in a punch. That meant pulling out the Cricut, loading up the mat, finding George and Basic Shapes cartridge, finding the circle on the cartridge, sizing it and cutting it. That's an awful lot of steps when you just need one circle...

I also realized that I had so many circle punches in my cart it was ridiculous! From the 1/2 inch circle up to a 3.5 inch circle that's what I had in my shopping cart. Needless to say, when I did my cart tally before heading to the register, I realized I was spending too much money in punches. Besides, where the heck was I going to neatly and accessibly store all of those punches??? Then I remember about the Circle Scissor Plus from SU! Promptly putting the punches back and checking out, I headed home to order my new tool from SU!

Stampin' Up! Circle Scissor Plus

112530

The Circle Scissor Plus cuts circles from 1 inch up to 6 inches and every increment in between. This nifty little tool is quick and easy. It comes with a cutting blade as well as a drawing blade -- you can also draw circles (without cutting them out)! This will come in really handy when I want to draw attention to something in my design or on a picture. I can use this tool to draw a neat and even circle around the item! And it's quick and easy too -- just place your paper on the cutting mat, select the proper size using the dial, place the cutting base over the paper, insert the cutting blade and turn. No sticking paper to mats, loading/unloading, searching through carts for the right circle, or waiting while the machine cuts. You're done cutting in less than 10 seconds!

This is a great tool to have in your arsenal. I will be creating a circle journal in the near future and the Circle Scissor Plus is going to make that project infinitely easier! Just remember, for the smoothest cut it's best to use this tool with a glass mat. I use the SU! Glass Mat (112531), which made the cutting smooth and easy. The glass mat provides a 13 x 13 surface area for cutting. Attempting to use the Circle Scissor Plus on a self-healing mat may yield uneven or jagged cutting results. This little tool will certainly be well used!

Much love,

Dymonz...

Altered Tickler File Box

I purchased this plain white box to alter in order to create a tickler file to organize the ATC and Tag Swaps at the Village. It is a Creative Imagintations be. (bare elements) box designed to be decorated to your liking.

Designer: Sumaiyah Yates

Front View

Inside View

Top View

Box with Index Dividers

Tools and Supplies

Creative Imaginations: be. bare elements Box

SU! Designer Series Paper - Springtime Vintage (121782)

Four strips of ribbon - 4.5" long

SU! Baja Breeze Grosgrain Ribbon (111847) - two strips 26" long

SU! Ballet Blue Classic Stampin' Pad (100907)

3 Brads

Spellbinders Nestabilities Scalloped Circles - 2 different sizes

TH Tags and Bookplates Die

Vagabond Machine

Adhesive

Hot Glue Gun

Charms

Have you ever considered unique items that can be used on your projects? Charms are great items for paper projects and can be handmade along with the papercraft for an extra special touch.

Designer: Terry Oulboub

Using Glossy Accents

There are a few products out there in the market very similar to Ranger's Glossy Accents eg Judikins Diamond Glaze and Stampin' Up!'s Crystal Effects. They all have similar applications and every crafter will have a preference. It is a clear, three-dimensional gloss medium that can be used on a number of different materials. It can be used to accent, brighten, dimensionalize and magnify distinct areas. It's acid free, non-toxic and dries to a hard, clear finish. This makes it ideal for all crafts.

Glossy Accents is best used on small areas on paper and card or the moisture in it will cause warping. Also it can cause some inks to bleed, so care should be taken. Do a test when trying it on a new colouring medium -- I know it makes my printer ink bleed, even after heatsetting. You don't want to spend time colouring in an image and then ruin it with some over zealous application of the glossy accents! 


It can also be used as a glue in small areas. This is ideal for attaching a small pic to those clear acrylic fragments that TH supplies or gems to artwork. Try mixing in glitter and using to give even more sparkle with no fear of glitter shedding when rubbed. Or add alcohol ink to change the colour slightly and emphasize those areas even more.

Ranger also make a Crackle Accents. Very similar to the Glossy Accents in appearance but a bit thicker. This, when dried, gives a great crackle effect that can also be high-lighted after thoroughly dry with ink rubbed into the cracks. Also in this family by Ranger is the Matte Accents. This, as the name suggests, gives a clear matte instead of glossy finish giving a subtle, dry embossed look to the artwork. And there is also Sepia Accents, which as the name suggests gives a sepia-tone dimensional finish, and Enamel Accents which is an opaque dimensional accent that gives the look of enamel when dried.

Each product has it's own niche, and depending on the type of artwork being crafted, one or more of these mediums are strong contenders for the "Craft Room Essentials" list.


Written and Submitted by Helen Angel-Cullum (aka Croms)

Sidestep Card

Designer: TerryEO

Tools and Supplies

DCWV Shimmer Stack Card Stock
K&Company Die Cuts
K&Company Patterned Paper
Stampin' Up! Window Punch
Stampin' Up! Oval Scallop Punch
Stampin' Up! Card Stock
Foam Dots

Artist Trading Card (ATC)

Designer: Vernetta

Tools and Supplies

Watercolor Paper

VersaMark Stamp Pad

Heat Tool

Copper Metallic Zing Embossing Powder

Yasutomo Shimmer Watercolor Paints

Altered Treasure Chest

Designer: TerryEO

From plain to fab

Front View

Side View

Matching Match Boxes

Tools and Supplies

K&Company designer paper (Susan Winget collection)
Martha Stewart Embossed Butterfly Punch
Martha Stewart Crystal Fine Glitter
Plain Boxes (Oriental Trading)
Stampin' Up! Card Stock
Recollections Flat Back Pearls

DT Member Spotlight: Joyce Lofton

Joyce

Joyce, also known as Joynana, joined the Designer Dymonz on May 1, 2011. Joyce has been scrapbooking since 2005 and making cards for about 1 1/2 years, and she got into blogging a couple of months later.  Joyce has a love digital images because there are no storage concerns -- she can have as many as she can store on her computer! However, being able to resize them to use on any size project is the main draw. Joyce is a Copic junkie like many of us, although she was not impressed with them or making cards when on first trying them out. She later found that she had to have more and more -- the Copic bug had struck! Joyce now is the proud owner of about 175 Copic markers and craves more, along with the desire to become a Copic Certified Designer. She does admit that she sometimes also uses Prismacolor pencils. A 57 year old mother of 2 and grandmother of 4 -- all girls -- living in Alabama and working full-time, Joyce doesn't have as much time for crafting as she would like. Included in her other hobbies are photography and genealogy. This is Joyce's second design team position and she is glad to be here. Look for her inspiring cards and other creations in the coming months!

Joyce's blog can be found here, and she is one of the Co-Moderators of the Card Making Group at the Village.

Creative Crafts -- Stick Pins

Designer: TerryEO

Tools and Supplies

DCWV Card Stock
Jewelry Gallery Beads
Pizzazz Aplenty Stick Pins
Pizzazz Aplenty Flatback Pearls
Martha Stewart Border Punch
Up & Up Cosmetic Sponges
AdTech Low Temp Glue Gun
Feathers from Stash
Organza Ribbon from Stash