Dying paper with distress reinkers

Day 6 of Halloween Everyday: today's project was dying papers for the Halloween folio project we'll be putting together at the end of the series. I hadn't tried this before (believe it or not!!!) so it was experimental to say the least. LOL But you know what.... AWESOMENESS!!! Check out the few papers I did just to see how it would go. 

I used mostly lost shadow, a little iced spruce, and just a touch of ground espresso. These are two different brands of paper doilies. So interesting the coloring came out so differently on each of them.

Mind you, everything I'm showing was all in the same solution for the same amount of time. I left them overnight and dried them this morning to these beautiful results! They couldn't be more perfect for my Halloween projects. Also, the paper I used was just regular copy paper. Plain old printer paper from Walmart, nothing special at all. 

Look at this! I made a perfect full moon somehow. 

And this one...again with the moon, but also some spooky black splotches. Perfectly Halloweeny! Now to make something with them. Stay tuned! 

Make your own ephemera, coloring acetate, and vintage slide

These past few days have been so busy in the studio that I almost had to leave a trail of breadcrumbs to find my way back to my desk! There were so many stamp sets, ink pads, paper scraps and tools (not to mention the boxes of things I'm purging as I work to rearrange for more worktop space) that I started to become overwhelmed. Well, we can't have that or the creativity becomes sluggish and eventually blocked. Ack!!! So I spent some time this morning putting some things away and clearing off my desk .... so that I can get back to messing it up again. Hahaha! 

Huge shout out to my newest crafting idol, Crafty by Toni, for her fabulous you tube series this month, Halloween Every Day. I have learned so much and had such a blast and we aren't even a full week in yet. Not to mention, I have yesterday's and todays' projects undone yet. Oops!! I got lost in watching her videos and now I'm tardy! 

Here are a few of the things I've created since yesterday. First this vintage slide. Oh how I love the look of vintage. I got this die through Amazon and it's pretty cool, although bigger than I anticipated. I was so sure I had a smaller on in my stash from years ago, but it seems to have alluded me, or maybe I was just dreaming. Anyway, the window in this one measures not quite 1 1/2 x 2 inches and the label area below is a little more than 1/2inch x 2. Finished overall size is about 2 3/4x2 3/4 inches. 

For the negative film portion, I colored acetate with copic marker to place over the photo. The cool photo is from Tim Holtz Ideaology Sticker Book, this year's Halloween collection. I also used a piece of washi tape, handmade label from a scrap piece with writing on it, and the super cute, tiny little circle tag is a stamp from Heidi Swapp that stamped with the number, cut with a circle punch, and added twine. 

Look how easy it is! Just color a small piece of acetate with copic marker in whatever color you like, and it's just that simple. 

As I mentioned, I created the film with a piece of transparency colored with copic marker. It was just a small piece, so coloring worked great for this. However, I wanted to make a whole sheet in order to have more of the vintage look acetate, but I don't have any of the Tim Holtz alcohol inks. Well, hello, copic ink refills. ALCOHOL INK! This is the result of just brushing on some of the refill ink with a foam brush. It dries fairly quickly and leaves these awesomely cool markings, which are perfect for making vintage slides and negatives. 

Here it is against a plain piece of white copy paper. Please ignore my ink stained nails and fingers. Haha!

But that's not all. This is a technique I have used before, but it's always fun and I never seem to remember how cool it turns out until I do it again. Distress Ink paper dye. I quickly grabbed my baby distress inks (all the full sizes and reinkers are in a box I wasn't going to dig through LOL) and made these. These are the colors Toni used in her video and I love them together so I used the same ones; shabby shutters, weathered wood, and tea dye. After I finished coloring the white cardstock the way I wanted, I blotted the leftover color with a couple of scraps of pattern paper I had handy. No sense wasting it. 

Then I cut out strips and pieces of the cardstock for the next phase of the project...ephemera! 

My goodness, this was fun. I could just sit and make these all day and be happy, if I'm honest. But now look at all the goodies I have premade for adding to journals and pages and projects. I love them!!!

And there you have it. I must now get back to class or I'll never be able to catch up. All the cool stuff I have in my room, it's no wonder I get sidetracked. At least, that's why I tell myself. Hahaha! I hope you're enjoying these projects and maybe even watching Toni's you tube channel for your own inspiration. 

Journal/page cluster tabs

Today we made fun tabs to go along with the Halloween Every Day Series. Who knew tabs could be such fun to create. Inking, blending, stamping, ephemera, washi and more. Just put stuff together and what a fun element for your crafting projects. Here are some I did. 

Using lots of bits and leftover pieces from yesterday's paper wallet/folio project, I had fun making these little guys. We have Tim Holtz, Heidi Swapp, faux stitching, stickers, even faux tabs. If you don't have a tab punch or die, use a circle folded in half and cut below the fold. Or use a small rectangle and do the same thing. Just be sure to cut below the fold and you can make a tab of almost any shape. 

From tiny bits and pieces of larger pieces, you can make teeny fishtail flags. Add washi and stickers and some distressing. 

This enamel "O" sticker has been in my stash for SO MANY YEARS!!! I had completely forgotten about a bunch of vintage look stickers that used to be all the rage (remember them??) and pulled them out for this project. 

More stickers and distressing with sanding and ink. Also a scrap piece with some faux stitching from yesterday's project, and a skull sticker. 

Fun Freaky Folio

Oh my goodness. If you like interactive projects with flaps and folds and fun elements and lots of grunge, you will love this project by Crafty by Toni. Work along with her on you tube to make this fantastic project in her Halloween Everyday Series. She doesn't know it yet, but I think she is my new best friend! hahaha. 

I used lots and lots of Heidi Swapp (papers and stamps) and lots of Tim Holtz elements as well. This is the 'front'. I should also mention, as I am in the process of rearranging my craft set up, my sewing machine is not accessible, so for this project I used stamps for faux stitching. 

 The magnetic closure holds these flaps down inside over which is a large pocket.  

Inside the flaps are the details and identification markers of this poor soul who, as far as I know, is currently deceased....or is he??!?

The 'back' of our folio, which is also closed with a magnet...

...and also opens up to a large pocket, which is home to a smaller pocket. 

These fun details are from Heidi Swapp stamp sets.....

...and some of these details are by Tim Holtz.

Don't forget to visit Toni's you tube channel and check out her fabulous designs and ideas. You will not be disappointed. She is amazing!

Cute little composition books

These are the dies from Heidi Swapp's September Stamp Society for the field notes books. They're so cute I just had to play with them and make actual little books! I can't stand the cuteness. Cut by hand as there is no die, but simple enough to cut. 

Aren't they fun?!