Jean's Junk Drawer- Making stamped wrapping paper

Sometimes it's great to make some wrapping paper for a very special gift. With just a few items it's easy to create a very elegant paper. 

Materials Needed:                                                                               

 Dark Tissue Paper- Navy, Maroon or Dark Green work great. (I used maroon)                                                                                        

Gold or Silver Ink Pad                                                              

 Various Stamps                                                                           

Gold/ Silver ribbons or bows

Start by Crumpling the tissue paper to give it some texture. Then flatten it back out. There will be wrinkles in the paper.

Next, Stamp with gold or silver ink all the various stamps. I used the Penguin Fourish  stamp. Go in different directions with the stamps.

If necessary, cover stamped areas with a clean white paper and iron to heat set the ink. (I didn't need to do that for mine. It dried fairly quickly)

Add a bow or ribbon

Jean's Junk Drawer #4 Snow Globe Cards

With winter approaching, it's the perfect time to make snow globes for the front of holiday/ winter cards.

Materials Needed
Ornament Stamp
Black Ink
Blue and white cardstock
Snowflake Patterned Paper
Large Glitter Snow Flakes
A Snap-together name badge type button. (One part is the plastic dome. The other is the plastic pin back piece. Places like Hobby Lobby and Oriental Trading carry them.)
Spray Adhesive and Diamond Glaze
Markers, Colored Pencils and Chalk
Silver Cording and White Ribbon


First stamp the ornament on white cardstock. Color with markers/ pencils. Using a pom pom. apply a blue chalk to create the background color.


Make a pile of glitter flakes in the center of the ornament. (This prevents glitter getting in the glue from the dome.)






Put a clear drying glue or Diamond Glaze around the edge of the plastic badge. Then lay the badge over the colored ornament. Set it aside to dry for about 10 minutes.


Then cut out the ornament. Add a bow at the top made from silver cording.






There's one more glittering touch to add. Use a light spray adhesive on the white ribbon. While sticky, apply a fine iridescent glitter.



I used a little 3D Foam tape to attach my snow globe ornament to the front of the card. Between the large flakes and glitter on the ribbon it's a beautiful, sparkling, holiday card!


Suggestion of the week: Put two globes together with a cord in between to make a hanging ornament.

Jean's Junk Drawer #3 Metal ATC's

A long time ago I read about making ATC's cut out of metal. Being adventurous, I rushed right out to our local hardware store and bought a roll of metal sheeting. It is very inexpensive and there is enough to share with every stamper in your neighborhood. I figured there would be a day where I would have "extra time" to experiment with the metal. It's been on my shelf for over a year.

Recently, "Metal" was the theme for one of my monthly ATC swaps- using something metal needs to be somewhere on the ATC . Since I already had the metal on hand, I took it a step further and used it to make the base of the ATC.

Materials needed:

Metal ATC

Alcohol Inks

Blending solution

Transparencies or rubber stamps

Embellishments

Dull scissors (Relieves sharp edges)

Chipboard Pattern of ATC

Metal Edging Tape

Spray adhesive

Using the chipboard pattern and dull scissors, cut the metal to size. This is a thin metal so is fairly easy to cut.

Dab a few colors of alcohol inks along with the blending solution on a piece of felt. Color the complete ATC. (It will dry in a matter of seconds.) I tried to keep the colors light so my transparencies would show up better.

Next spray the transparency with an adhesive to lay over the ATC. Trim any edges. For extra security use a thin metal looking edging tape around the whole piece. All that's left are a few embellishments and it's finished!

Another option is to secure the transparency with eyelets or brads. I used a Crop-A-Dile to punch my eyelets.

Transparencies are just one of the many looks for metal ATC's. Stamping directly on the ATC gives a wonderful effect. Just use an ink like StazOn for the best coverage. The metal can also be painted, cut into any shape or embossed. The possibilities are endless!

Suggestion of the week: If you own a Melting Pot, the edges of your metal can be dipped in UTEE.

Jean's Junk Drawer #2 Background Stamps

Because of my Cuttlebug and all the embossed background folders I own, I forget about my background stamps. With Nicole's background stamp requests from our Design Team, I figured it was time to dig out my old stamps to try a new technique. I found it in my Technique Junkies Newsletter. It's called "Burnished Backgrounds". (Oct. /Nov '09)

This technique creates a richly colored background that brings out the detail of the background stamp.











Materials:
Black or Dark Pigment Ink or VersaMark
Black Embossing Powder
Dye Inks in Complementary Colors
Sponges or Daubers
Background Stamps

First, Stamp and emboss the background Image on a light, Ultra Smooth Cardstock.

Next, starting with the lightest color sponge various spots on the background. Continue using the next to lightest color etc. (Yellow, Orange, Red) Once the whole background is colored, go back over each spot again to bring out the richness of the colors. My card above uses the Maple Leaf Background Stamp, Single Maple Leaf and Pumpkin.




Using a smaller background stamp (Swirls), I could create a fun ATC using Blue, Purple and Pink Inks. Other stamps used were the Dreams Take Flight and Faces half sheet.


Suggestion of the Week: Dig around for those old background stamps and some sponges. The results may surprise you. If I did these again, I would wear rubber gloves while swirling my colors.(I'm a messy Stamper!)

Jean's Junk Drawer #1 Shrinking Embellishments for ATC's

Many stamp magazines have suggested we look in our own stash of crafting materials to save on money in this recent economy. To me, that's means a look in the Junk Drawer. What did I find? Shrink Plastic in multiple colors! (I bet you have some on hand too!)

The project is to make ATC's in a Halloween theme adding extra embellishments made from the plastic. The materials I used are: white and clear pieces of shrink plastic, StazOn inks in Black, Orange and Yellow, a sanding tool if plastic isn't primed, the Prickley Pear Halloween Transparency sheet and a few stamps.(Fradey Cat trio, both size of Ghosts , Chester the owl and the webbed tree)
I stamped on a clear piece of plastic. The ghosts were cut out and shrunk using my heat gun. (If you haven't done this before, the piece will look like it's curling up but will unfold as it continues to be heated.) Note the comparison from it's original size.

To brighten up the background on my ATC's, I used direct to paper and sponging with yellow and orange inks.

I added one of the Halloween transparencies using a spray adhesive over my background. Then I took my ghosts and added them over the transparency with a clear adhesive. After all was dry, I attached the halloween ribbon with black brads.

On this ATC I embossed the Webbed tree with fine black powder. Next, I stamped the cat and owl on shrink plastic. I colored them with colored pencils. After shrinking, they were attached to the card with clear adhesive. The bottom of the ATC is wrapped with orange and black scrappers floss.

My suggestion for the week: Check your junk drawer for shrink plastic. Stamp and shrink a few pieces ahead of time. You'll have them on hand and ready to go when making ATC's.