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Showing posts with label vellum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vellum. Show all posts

July 27, 2018

Minnie Nolan's Boarding House


My grandmother had a habit of writing on photographs of family members. While maybe not great for the appearance, I do appreciate the documentation.

This photo was the kind that is printed on a postcard. It was identified as "Minnie Nolan's first boarding house in Kansas City."

I used the actual photo (rather than a copy) with its wrinkles, writing and a missing corner and applied a thin wash of off-white acrylic paint to block out the background.

It was mounted behind an Idea-ology Collage Frame dressed up with various pieces of Tim Holtz paper stash (the vines were cut from Wallflower).


The polka dots (Tim Holtz Dots & Floral) were stamped on his new Plain Collage Paper and layered over the upper left corner. I made dots around the oval with Scribbles (3D fabric paint) and distressed some metallic numbers to blend in with the overall color scheme.


I cut a piece of book board to cover the back and painted the edges. I trimmed the frame's border with lines of black and gold metallic inks.


The butterflies are some digital clipart that I printed on vellum and cut-out. The word "legacy" is a Remnant Rub.

I don't think Grandma Nell would mind what I did with her photo, it's better preserved now and her notes have been transferred to the back of the frame.

July 04, 2018

June 13, 2018

Precious Things


What to do, what to do...

I can't bring myself to use the papers included in this month's Simon card kit because they are just too pretty! Seriously.

And I couldn't bear to cover up the background of a tag made with a new embossing folder (Tim Holtz 3D Botanical) because it was just too pretty, too!

So I tried to think of a design where I could leave most of it showing and here's what I came up with.


I really played around with distressing the background. I embossed a rather thin piece of pink paper (after slightly damping it first) and then I gave it a coat of Krylon clear matt finish to seal and protect it.

Then I went crazy with gesso, inks, and paints--brushing on, wiping off (and even a little bit of sanding), just to see what worked the best to bring out those glorious embossed details.


Who could blame me for not wanting to cover this beauty up?!

The girls are Paper Dolls (Tim Holtz) and the butterflies came from the Graphics Fairy which I printed in miniature on vellum and then cut out.


Some tiny jewels (tinted with alcohol ink), a scrap of vintage sheet music, a Remnant Rub (text) and a border made with dots of Liquid Pearls were also used.


I tinted the Paper Dolls with transparent acrylic paint and the white of the pearls and lace were made with a Gelly Roll pen. I had a tiny butterfly that was just the right size for sitting atop the little girl's hair bow.

I'm linking this up to Simon's Monday Challenge Blog, this week's theme is Anything But A Card.

Now, what to do about those pretty papers...

October 07, 2017

One of Many



A walk on the dark side (Simon's Monday challenge for this week) prompted a tag made from Tim Holtz ephemera and a Clippings Sticker.



Why one of many? Well, let's see:

  1. One of many tags that I make.
  2. One of many from the popular technique of attaching butterfly wings to something.
  3. One of many bones in our bodies.
  4. One of many letters in the alphabet.
  5. One of many flowers in our garden.
  6. One of many elements in the periodic tables.
  7. One of many who perished this week by the hands of a mad man.
  8. One of many prayers said for an end to this insanity.

November 15, 2016

12 Tags for Christmas - January

Click to View Larger Version

Once again, I've made Christmas tags inspired by the Tim Holtz monthly tags which I use for decorating gifts.

This year's theme of remixing techniques helped me discover more ways to use my stash--holiday style!

The January tag featured a chalkboard/industrious metal combo with a word band.


This was the first time I've ever embossed metal foil (I didn't have die-cut equipment back in January) and it's an interesting effect. I always prefer a matt finish but since sparkles and shine are must haves at Christmas, this technique was really appropriate.

Without frosted embossing powder for the chalkboard technique, I tried to make do by embossing red vellum (bottom flower layer) with white ink and clear powder but the lines were too faint. Then I tried stamping white ink on red cardstock (top layer) which also faded some so I went over the lines with a Gelly Roll pen. What is it about white inks that make them so fussy?!

I combined the layers for a lush flower look and now I wish I had used green vellum for the bottom layer since Poinsettias have that look naturally. Maybe next time.

The rest, I think, is self-explanatory and here's a list of the products I used: Penny Black (Christmas Star), Stampers Anonymous (Christmas Words), Idea-ology paper (Merriment), cardstock, vellum, heat duct tape (metal foil), Sizzix Thinlet die (Mixed Media #2), Distress inks, acrylic paint, Scribbles, Stickles, Glossy Accents, a white Gelly Roll pen, and one tiny pink gumdrop.

October 10, 2016

Science Guy


Made to link-up with Tim's 12 Tags for 2016, this is the 41st tag I've made for the year not counting all the boo-boo's that ended up in the trash (Halloween pun intended).

It's a little plain Jane, especially for Halloween, but I lean towards "less is more" (perhaps just an excuse for not knowing what to do next). However this time, I did summon the courage to add some tiny black splatters and for me that's a step in the right direction.


Tim's technique started with a collage background of paper bits then a covering of crackle medium. I discovered first-hand that a thin application yields tiny cracks (background) and laying it down thick on the frame/tag borders (I used a fine-tip squeeze bottle) changed the look completely.

(Click on photos for a larger view.)


Obviously, my "Science Guy" isn't one of Tim's metallic monster masks but you have to admit this photo is just as bizarre. We can only assume this gent may have been a little impoverished (note the clever way he's buttoned his jacket) and I have no idea what he's cooking but it looks a bit suspect to me.


I used the skull from Tim's Mini Halloween Set #5 and also one of his Vellum Ephemera pieces painted off-white on the back and then distressed by sanding, wrinkling and inking.

To fill in the empty spaces, I mixed some texture medium with paint to match the shade of the medicine label and applied it through Tim's Dot Fade stencil before splattering the tag with watered-down black paint.

September 29, 2016

Wicked Dare.


The older I get, the less enthusiastic I am about celebrating Halloween but I've made an exception this year because of the purchase of a seasonal stamp set I just couldn't resist.

He had me at the house (used here).

I'm referring to the Tim Holtz Mini Halloween Set #5 used on this tag to create the background, skull, bottle label, and typewritten text.


I have to admit making spooky tags is pretty fun--it's a chance to use unusual color combos and the more distressed the better, right?

I like the effect I achieved on the bottles which might be due to the clean, crisp, blue-ish white colors contrasting with the muddy oranges and browns.

Click to Enlarge

If you're curious regarding technique, here's what I did:

A piece of scrapbook paper with various shades of orange, reds and yellows was cut and pasted to a manila tag then covered with stamped Plain Tissue Wrap.

An anchor for the bottles was made with a torn piece of Postale Tissue Wrap.

The bottles were stamped on old book paper, then embossed, cut-out, tinted and pasted to the tag.

There's only one way to use the skull stamp (IMHO)--black ink on white paper. It was also embossed and cut-out.

I used a Vial Label that was stamped with text from the set and cut out parts of the apothecary label stamp (also on Tissue Wrap) and pasted them to the large bottle.

The 45-cent piece Vellum Thift Shop Ephemera was distressed with some sanding and scoring and attached with tiny staples.


You may have noticed the crackle edges. This was done with Distress Clear Rock Candy Crackle Paint and I rubbed in some white creamy eye shadow (yes, it's true) to bring out the crackling.

I accidentally overheated the black embossing on the smaller bottles and they turned a lighter shade of gray so I used it to my advantage and tinted them further with a bit of blue.

To create an illusion of depth, I glazed the top portion of the tag with blue, brought out warmth at the bottom with some Wild Honey Distress and brushed in some inky shadows.

I am linking to Simon's Monday Challenge Blog where this week's theme is Powder Power.

Other Stamp Credits: Big Bottle-Inkadinkado, Small Bottles-PaperArtsy

April 18, 2016

No. 526713



I'm a Guest Designer for April at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog and if this is your first visit here--hello and welcome!


This week's challenge is to use a Butterfly and my idea for this tag started with one I found in my Wallflower Vellum paper stash.

I cut it out and cropped it to fit inside an Idea-ology Journaling Ticket stamped with some background text (Ledger Script) using archival ink (Ranger Potting Soil).


I built a box for it by scoring 1/4" from the edges of a rectangular piece of heavyweight cardstock then folding up the sides and securing the corners.


The box was lined with a vintage dictionary page and I attached the ticket using my sewing machine. A Small Talk sticker was tinted with Antique Linen Distress ink and placed on top. 

The stitching made me think of using a textile background so, after tinting the tag edges with Walnut Stain Distress ink, I cut a piece of fabric (Eclectic Elements) and stitched it to my tag.

In case you're wondering, sometimes I peel off the reinforcement paper around the tag's hole punch before adding background papers, etc., then reapply it (which is what I've done here).

After a few practice runs on some scrap fabric, I stamped the tiny butterflies on a string (Prima Noble Darling) using, of all things, ink from a Fude Ball pen. I needed a real juicy application to get a good image on the fabric and this pigment ink pen did the trick.


To create more visual interest, I intentionally offset the placement of my tag elements including the Lace Trimmings along the bottom edge of the box.

I stitched on a button (that matched the coloring of the vellum butterfly) as well as some string tinted with Black Soot Distress Ink to help draw the viewer's eye up and over the box and match the playfulness of the tiny butterflies.

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I do hope you'll join us for this week's challenge--
what kind of butterflies inspire you?

And don't forget when you upload your creation to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog you'll have a chance to win a $50 voucher at the Simon Says Stamp store!



Here's a list of the products I used for this challenge which can be ordered from Simon:



December 02, 2015

12 Tags for Christmas - May


Adding texture with burlap and paste, learning how to tint photos with ink, then telling a story with ephemera and text--that's what Tim's tag for May was all about and it was one of my favorites this year.

My holiday version features a Found Relative photo (Occassions), Remnant Rub text, the Schoolhouse stencil and some Idea-ology vellum ephemera. The holly was stamped, cut-out and glitter-fied and I'll tell you about the happy-accident that became the frame.

The photo was thick as it had previously been mounted on heavy cardstock (an abandoned idea) and I didn't like how high it sat on the burlap. To fill in the gap, I applied a black line of 3-D Scribbles around the edge then used a toothpick to poke bumps in it (a lesser-known Distress technique ☺).

After it dried, I dotted red glitter glue over the top leaving spaces for the black to show through. (To see the detail, click the photo to enlarge it.)

I'm linking this tag to Simon's Monday blog challenge where this week's theme is Gentlemen. I can't think of a more "gentle man" than Santa!

November 10, 2015

Choose Joy


I made this card for a teacher who inspired me with a quote recently read in class (just the right words for the way I was feeling that day) and I'm linking it to Jennifer McGuire's Share Handmade Kindness challenge post.

Made with Wallflower vellum, stamped fabric using a hand-carved butterfly and a background stamp by Inkadinkado, it was embellished with machine stitching and Ranger's Liquid Pearls. The text is a Remnant Rub mounted onto a painted Grungeboard scrap.

On the inside, I typed the following quote:

"Choose joy. Then cherish and savor it.

Joy is not a fleeting emotion based on outward circumstances, a transitory feeling of the moment, a reaction to the scenery around you. It comes from within your heart like the waterfall that rushes out the side of a mountain. Joy is a runoff from the wellspring within you. And sometimes it is a delightful, surprising contrast to the scenery around you.

Embrace joy. Relish it. Even if those around you don't have it right now, you can feel your joy. You don't have to be disrespectful of their feelings, nor do you have to let their lack of joy diminish yours.

You have done your work. You have chosen to open your heart. Now you have your reward.

Cherish joy. It's your treasure. You've found it. You've earned it. It's yours."

-Melody Beattie


I'm also linking this to Simon's Monday blog challenge this week. The theme is Create Something Beginning with the Letter N (I used a needle) and it turns out that stitching is an excellent way to anchor vellum to cardstock. My thanks to the inspiration provided by Andrea Ockey Parr which gave me the idea to use fabric on my card.

August 08, 2015

B Original


Tim's tag for August features a die-cut mixed media background.

I attempted to mimic the effect by using his Subway stamp over a scrap from the Destinations paper stash.

I also used his vellum Ephemera--the square in the upper-right corner and the checkered board behind the photo (which is a Found Relative that I cropped and altered just a bit).

Click to Enlarge

Remnant Rubs provided the black text (except the "B") and the Mirrored Star was distressed with a copper and citris alcohol ink combo.

The oval frame is a thin textured metal scrap that I tacked to the tag with hand-stitching.


A bit of machine stitching, some stamping here and there for texture (tiny black squares and splotches) and black ink to distress the tag edges finished it off.