Up on the Rooftop

Ok, you are probably thinking.... What?????? Christmas already?????  What is she thinking??

Steph Ackerman here to let you know that Christmas is only  76 days away.  I can hardly believe it myself!!!

 

But I will confess, this project did not start out with a Christmas theme.  Actually, it started because I wanted to use The Crafter's Workshop Brick Stencil.

 

I placed the stencil on a canvas panel and added  Art Anthology's Brick Stone Effects paint.  When I removed the stencil, I found I had created a chimney.  So my project morphed from there.

 

I spritzed Art Anthology's Colorations in Lark around the canvas to give a hint of the night sky.

 

Using The Crafter's Workshop Mini North Star stencil with Art Anthology's Sorbet Dazzle paint, I added stars to the canvas.  When dry, I spritzed the canvas again with Art Anthology's Glorious Colorations for a dazzling night sky look.

 

I painted green cardstock with Art Anthology's Velvet Paint in Basil.   Once dry (either wait till it's dry or heat set it), die cut with Spellbinders Holly Wreath die twice. 

 

 

 

Assemble 2 layers of the die cut and embossed wreaths, adding a red bow to the top.  Add to the chimney with foam adhesives for dimension.  Using Art Anthology Dimensional Crystals in Red Corvette, create the berries on the wreath.

  

 

Die cut letters using Cricut Expression from red and black cardstock (or use stickers).  Die cut Santa and his reindeer using the Stamp Doctor die with red and brown cardstock, adding them to the canvas with foam adhesives for dimension.  Using the Inkssentials Blending Tool with  Ranger's Vintage Photo Distress Ink, I added just a touch of color around the edges of the canvas.

So, have I put you in the Christmas mood  yet?

Thanks for stopping by today.

Steph

 

Boo to You

Good morning all, Steph Ackerman here with a quick and easy spooky canvas that the kids (both young and old) can create as they get ready for the spookiest day of the year. 

If you are having a Halloween party, why not have the kids create a project.  All you need is a small canvas, some Art Anthology paints, assorted stencils and die cuts or stickers.

On the canvas I placed The Crafter's Workshop Mini North Star Stencil, then spritzed some  Art Anthology Timeless Colorations across the stencil.  I wasn't careful because I did not want a "clean" look.  After all, this is Halloween right?

Using the same stencil, I added a touch of Art Anthology's Mayan Gold Velvet Dimensional Paint  and a few spritzes of Waimea Bay Colorations.  The black webbing effect was created with an Art Anthology stencil and Ash Velvet Dimensional Paint.

The ghost and letters were die cut using my Cricut Expression.  I added some dazzle to the ghost by painting him with Art Anthology's Sorbet Dimensional Paint in Dazzle.  A Crafter's Workshop Stencil - Beaded Curtain - was used on the letters with Art Anthology's Velvet Paint in Ash.   Once dry, I inked the letters and ghost with Ranger Tea Dye Distress Ink using the Ranger Mini Blending Tool.   When matted, I used Art Anthology's Dimensional Crystal Glaze in Red Corvette for the dripping blood.

 

 

I wanted a nice shadow for the ghost so I die cut the shadow layer larger and placed the ghost on top with foam adhesives for dimension.  Isn't the ghost dazzling????

 

Thanks for stopping by today.

 

Steph

 

 

 

Cute Beautiful Forever Gorgeous Canvas

Hi everyone, Steph Ackerman here today using one of the new Prima stencils. 

I had tons of fun with this canvas and the focal point is this amazing 12" x 12" Prima Rose Stencil.  It is much larger than most stencils so I knew it would be a little tough using it on a card, but it was perfect to use on  a canvas. 

Using an 11" x 14" canvas, I taped the stencil in place then got to work.  Since I wanted to use assorted colors, I created "masks" before beginning (actually I just tore strips of cardstock and taped them in place).  Starting with the roses, I spritzed them with  Art Anthology Colorations in Patience.

 

Repositioning the masks, I spritzed Art Anthology Colorations in Peacock Feathers along the rose stems.  Don't worry about how it looks at this point because once you remove the masks you will begin to see the project come to life.

 

 

Removing the masks this was the beginning result.  I got some excess colorations along the bottom edge, but no worries, since I had a plan!

 

 

Once the canvas was dry, I replaced the stencil.  Using Modeling Paste, I selected specific word groupings on the stencil and added the paste.  I also used Modeling Paste around the flowers on the tiny dots.  I know it's a mess, but not to worry, it cleans up easily.

 

  

 

Once the stencil was removed, you get a fabulous result.   The 3D effect adds so much to the canvas!  Just let the modeling paste dry completely before proceeding.  Even without color, the words look pretty amazing.

 

 

 

I painted the words and dots with   Aloha Art Anthology Velvet Dimensional paint.

To finish, I spritzed Art Anthology Waimea Bay around the entire canvas panel and then wiped it with a baby wipe to blend the colors as well as move the color around the canvas, getting it into areas that were a little too white.  Around the canvas I added Orchid Art Anthology Velvet Dimensional paint with my fingers.  I wanted a random, uneven look just to frame the stenciled piece.  And it's such a lovely shade of purple!!!

Thanks for stopping by today.

Steph

Reused, Repurposed, and Personalized Notebook

Hi everyone, Steph Ackerman here today and as the summer starts to wind down it's time to think about school restarting.  It's always fun to send the kids off that first day with something new, useful, and fun, as well as practical.  I think it kind of takes away the edge of starting anew.

This notebook was not only fun to create, but also very practical.  Add your child's name to the cover and she'll have something to show off to her friends.

 

 

I started with a notebook that desperately needed some revamping.

 

 

Using Walnut Stain Distress Ink, I first inked the front cover, then cut white cardstock to fit the front of the notebook, and also inked it with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

I cut blue cardstock slightly smaller than the front cover.  Placing Tim Holtz Splatters stencil on the cardstock, I used Aloha Velvet Art Anthology paint.  To get paint into the small spaces, I used my fingers then moved the stencil around the cardstock until I had the look I wanted.  Once it dried, Walnut Stain Distress Ink was added around the edges and the panel was adhered to the front cover.

The letters were cut from Grungeboard and painted with Aloha Velvet Art Anthology paint .  Using a stencil with Art Anthology's Honolulu Blue Sorbet paint, additional dimension was added to the letters.

The letters were then inked with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.  To grunge up the cover some more, I used Blending Foam to add Walnut Stain Distress Ink over the painted splatters.

 

 

I think Emi will be happy with her new notebook, don't you? 

Thanks for stopping by today.

 

Steph

 

Vintage Christmas Gift Card Holders

Hi everyone, Steph Ackerman here today and I'm thinking about Christmas!!!

If you are like me, you have tons to do around the holidays and you run out of time every year.  So, even though it is wicked hot here in New York, I decided to create some gift card holders.  I find I give mostly gift cards these days and that is just so boring (from my perspective).  But, I find if I dress them up somewhat I am much happier giving a gift card!

I started with envelopes - sealed them and then cut off 1/2" from one end.  I have tons of envelopes so this is a great way to use them up.  I inked the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

Since I was going to use ribbon, I decided to ink it up in keeping with my vintage theme.  Just swiped Vintage Photo Distress Ink pads around both sides of the ribbon.

So I ended up with 2 gift card holders, pretty much the same, but I changed up some of the papers, tearing, inking and adhering them to the envelopes.  I chose the Sizzix Victorian Carolers as the focal point - there is something about these silhouettes that really appeals to me.

I also used Sizzix Stars, inking them with Walnut Stain Distress Ink before layering them and adding them to the envelope with a brad.  I punched a half circle in the top of the envelope so you can easily pull out the interior card. 

The interior card is cut slightly smaller than the envelope and Merry Christmas was repeatedly stamped.  Using some left over scraps of pattern paper, I created the panel that would hold the gift card in place.  On this first card, I added another star and placed a sentiment on top.

I didn't use a star on this card.  I wasn't sure which I liked best, so I went with both.

2 gift card holders are done.  Now, I just need to put them somewhere safe so I can find them in December!!!

Thanks for stopping by today.

Steph

Dreaming with Faber Castell

Hi everyone, Steph  here and I am so excited to be a part of this fabulous design team.

Do you ever have a day where you just want to play?  A day where you have no idea what you are going to create?  A day where you just want to have fun and see where the fun takes you?  This was my day to play with resist papers and Faber Castell Gelatos.  These are amazing coloring mediums and I know there so many things you can do if only you had the time to play.   I picked up this Heidi swap paper pad recently and because of the cool resist nature of the papers, they really lend themselves perfectly to Gelatos.

Not totally sure what I was going to do, I cut apart many of the papers and started adding color with Gelatos.  Eventually this project morphed into a mini book.

I cut chipboard into 6" x 6" pieces, planning to use them as my covers.  But once I started playing with Gelatos, I decided to add covers to my covers! 

I created Gelato spritzers by cutting pieces of Gelatos and mixing them with water in a spray bottle.  After a few minutes of shaking, they dissolve and you get this amazing color spritzer.  I wish I had a bottle for each color I created!   I then used the spritzers to spritz the background of the cover pieces.  They didn't take long to dry so I was able to continuing working.

 

Then I decided to play with all kinds of mediums on the cover.  I used a Crafter's Workshop stencil on the right side and added Embossing Paste through the stencil with a palette knife.  Once dry, I added color with Gelatos and a Tim Holtz Water Brush.  I love how it gives the cover some nice dimension.  Next, a small branch as well as script stamps were stamped with Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink.  Since I knew I was going to add additional colors, I needed to use a permanent ink.  I then rubbed purple Gelato all around the edges of the cover using both a water brush and my finger as I wanted a blended (not streaked) look, but also something slightly imperfect.

 

 

 

I have a very delicate die that I wanted to use, so I colored white cardstock with coral, pink, yellow and green Gelatos - blending them with water.  Once dry, I placed the die on top and ran it through my die cut machine.  The resulting die cut is very pretty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cutting assorted interior pages 5 1/2" x 5 1/2", I used Gelatos to scribble color on the pages then used a water brush to smooth out the colors.

Purples -

Yellows and Gold -

Blues  and Greens

Yellows and Pink -

 

Using a paper towel helps buff the colors.

 

I punched holes in all the pages and tied the book together with May Arts ribbon.  Then, finding a stamp I liked, I stamped it on a scrap of resist paper in Archival Ink, tore the edges and added more Gelatos.  Once I placed in on the cover, I used a Faber Castell White Stampers Brush to draw some dash lines around it. 

 

Now this little book has become my little book of dreams.  It is just waiting for me to add some little poems and quotes that I find along my journey.  I hope you like it and I hope I've inspired you to pull out your supplies and find some time to just play!!!  

Thanks for stopping by today.

Steph