Product Spotlight - Hero Arts

Do you love Hero Arts stamps? How about Basic Grey paper and embellishments? (I'm ga-ga for both of them!)  What do you get when you merge the two of them together? One amazing product line that's now available in the eP store!

We're excited to be offering the most recent release of the following Hero Arts stamp sets, background sets, and coordinating Basic Grey 6x6 paper pads:

Aspen Frost
Clippings
Lucille
Paper Cottage
Serenade
Soleil

And...you know there's a bundle deal in there somewhere! This week only order a stamp set and background stamp and receive the coordinating paper pad, which retails for $5.99, for FREE! Use code FREEHERO when checking out! Don't forget to check out all of the coordinating Basic Grey buttons and mixed brads too!

Enjoy!

Be Brave

Recently, I’ve been spying people with letter blocks just sitting in their studios with little mantras that have meaning to them.  And while I love the idea of using game pieces such as Boggle or children’s letter blocks, I found these wooden blocks at my local big box and thought I’d create my own. 

I tore up a bunch of vintage book pages and used Glue N’Seal to decoupage them on all the sides of the blocks.  Then I just did a quick little sanding on the edges.  For some added texture and design, I stamped some of my favorite go to backgrounds here and there.  I am in LOVE with Wplus9 Defining Words and BackgroundI.  Because these blocks are smaller, I also used Pattern Craze by Sweet Stamp Shop.   

Then I took a bit of the Claudine Hellmuth White paint and with my finger, smeared some paint on all side of each of the blocks. 

I’m really into the blue/greens these days for my studio décor because my walls are red.  I mixed a bit of the Claudine Hellmuth Sky and Landscape Green.  Now why didn’t I use the Teal….well, that is simple…I couldn’t find it!  I must have used it on another project and it’s in a bin but this still worked like a charm.  Next, I antiqued all the blocks which warmed up all the colors with some Vintage Photo Distress Stain.

Then I added some letters from my stash to spell out “be brave”.  I thought it might be good to just sharpen the edges a bit with Black Soot Distress Ink so each block would stand out.  The last step was the Gloss GlueN Seal which will help to keep my blocks protected but also make them easier to dust! 

So I’m hoping this little mantra in my studio will remind me to be the brave girl that I am!

Thankful Tag

Happy Friday!! It's been a great, but long week and I'm ready for the weekend, how about you?  Well how about some crafty time - have anything planned?  I carved out a bit of time this week to play with some new goodies I got from eclectic Paperie.

Have you checked out the variety of Wplus9 stamps at eP? Kim just added a bunch and I believe is even planning on restocking some that went quickly!  These stamps are so nicely made and so classic - they're hot!  I used Pretty Patches: Apples today for a fun tag!  (all the products used are linked at the end of this post)

Most people know I'm not much of a technique or distress stamper - I totally shy away from things that require lots of layers or inks.  But I have been having fun giving some new-to-me products a try!  I think these awesome Kraft Tags from Inkssentials are so much fun, a nice big canvas to start with.  I started by using a Ranger Paint Dabber in Lemonade to distress my tag - streaking it up and down to sort of simulate wood. I then sponged the edges with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink.

The papers (Bluebell) and washi tape (Smile) was from My Mind's Eye - love the colors in this collection! The apple was die cut (using the Wplus9 matching Apple die) from an Inkssential Sticky Back Canvas ATC - great texture and it took ink beautifully!!

Attach this baby to a bag of apples or a nice homemade apple pie - viola, instant present!  Be sure to sign up for the eP newsletter (it's on the bottom left of the webpage) so that you can stay on top of what's new and all the great deals!  Hope you have a fantastic Friday!

Pretty Patches: Apples (Wplus9)	Pretty Patches: Apple Die (Wplus9)	Inssentials Sticky Back Canvas ATCs
Inkssentials Surface #8 Kraft Tags	Ranger Paint Dabber Lemonade	Ranger blending tool
Bluebelle 6x6 MME	Smile Decorative Tape - MME

InLinkz.com

Distress Halloween Tag

Hello, everyone!  It's Broni here and today I'm showing you a Halloween tag I made using lots and lots of Distress inks!
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I printed my little Dragon Cutie image, cut her out, and colored her with my Copic markers.  I also added a second colored layer of vellum to her wings.

The manila tag was sponged heavily with Crushed Olive, Dried Marigold, and Spiced Marmalade Distress inks then spritzed with some Dylusions spray inks in Pure Sunshine and Fresh Lime.  The entire outer edge was sponged with Black Soot Distress ink.

Then I lightly stamped the Honeycomb background stamp from Market Street Stamps in Black Soot Distress ink and added some swirls with Black Diamond Stickles.

I also stamped the Dylusions sentiment from The Right Words in Black Soot and cut it out.
Finally I added some bling, Halloween tapes and ribbons and mesh to complete my tag.

I hope you like it!

Thanks so much for dropping in!  See you soon!

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Hello Fall Tag (Guest Post from Shannon Sawyer)

Hi there!  Shannon here again this week with another great fall tag, created with products from eclectic Paperie!

This week I made the larger tag (Ranger Kraft Tags #8) and I created a little pocket on that tag to be able to hold the wooden tag set I also made. I did put a heavier bookboard tag behind the large tag so that it could hold the weight of the wooden tag set. These wooden tags from Maya Road were a lot of fun to play with. I have not used them before and I highly recommend them.

I painted the tags using the Claudine Hellmuth Studio Mini Acrylic Paints. The paints come in three sets of Urban, Contemporary and Metropolitan.  I, of course, had to get all three!  The size on these paints are  great, they don't take up too much room, and the colors are so vibrant. Once the paint on the tags were dry, I went over each of them with the Claudine Hellmuth Mini Gloss Medium. I decorated the large tag and all of the smaller wooden tags using the 6x6 Simple Stories Harvest Lane pad.

As you can see there were lots of little quotes and goodies to cut out of those papers for me to embellish these tags with. In the past I've always bought the 12x12 Simple Stories pads, but I now really like the 6x6 size. The little paper goodies you can cut from this size pad (and for which they are known)is a great size when doing smaller projects. They'd be great for ATCs as well.

 I tied the wooden tags together using The Twinery twine in Lemon Drop. The little pocket for the wooden tags was just something I made really quick with some cardstock and I gave it some color using Distress Inks in: Broken China, Peeled Paint, Scattered Straw and Spiced Marmalade.

My sister is hosting Thanksgiving this year and I've made her a little gift to bring over, I'm going to tie these wooden tags to the top of the boxed gift, I thought they'd be a perfect little embellishment for the gift. That's about it, I hope you like it!

Next week is my last week to make a project for eclectic Paperie and I'll give you a hint...it just might be a Halloween themed project. If you get a chance check out the products and great prices at eP!

Product Spotlight - Dylusions Products

Hi all and welcome to Tuesday! Today I'm talking about a number of Dylusions products. First, we have a number of new products in stock from Dyan and second...to show you my very first altered journal page!

This type of art is so out of my comfort zone but I have to share that I had such a good time making this page. So much so that once I was finished I spent the evening thinking about ideas for my next page. I can't wait to get inky again!  This type of art is so free form...there aren't any mistakes!  And that ability to add layer upon layer of crafty goodness is very exciting...

I've listed the steps that I took to create my page below.  I'm using the brand spanking new Dylusions Journal to create my page (this is a must have!) and I read through Dyan's My Creative Journey before getting started.  Both of these products part of this week's bundle...Purchase the Journal and receive the Creative Journey booket for 50% off retail!  Use code DYAN50 when checking out and enjoy!  (Note that this offer is good while supplies last.  If demand continues once inventory is diminished then I'll honor pre-orders until October 22).  On with the photo tutorial!

I started by covering the entire page with Spun Sugar Distress Stain.  (Notice that I picked a very light color...call me hesitant! LOL!)

Next I used a Mini Mister to spritz water all over the page.  You need the water to enable the Dylusions Ink Sprays to spread.  I used Lemon Zest, Crushed Grape, and Bubblegum Pink on my page.  (Notice I'm still being painfully cautious with the ink...)  These ink sprays are the coolest things ever!  When they dry, it feels like paint.  Very cool...

This was probably my favorite step...pulling out the Dotted Flowers stencil and Picket Fence Distress Stain.  The Picket Fence stain is opague so you end up with this hint of design, with the color still showing through.  Fabulous!

Next I used a heart template (from Studio 490) and more Lemon Zest Ink Spray to create this great heart image on the page.

The heart template was used again to cut out a photo of my sweet boys.  (Note that the one mistake I made was attaching my photo at this point...I should have fully finished the page first.  But one can't learn unless one makes a mistake so...lesson learned!) :-)

Dyan mentioned in her book that she loves to add frames to her pictures, like you would frame any piece of art and so I framed my page!  I used the Further Around the Edge stamp set on my page.  I love the contrast of the black against the light colors of the ink spray.

Next...another stencil!  I told you I was in love with the stencils!  For two young boys I had to add some ABC's!  I used the Letter Jumble stencil for the letters.  See those lines at the bottom of the heart picture?  I used one of the border stamps from the set and bent it a little bit as I stamped to give my journaling box some wavy lines.  Fun, right?

Speaking of journaling...I added some along with a few paint circles.  I created the circles by putting a dab of Bottle Adirondack Paint to my non-stick craft sheet and dabbing the paint cap in the paint, then putting the paint on the page.  Ohhh...

Then...I doodled!  Yup, some free hand scallops around the heart, which really made the photo stand out.  I also added a few newsprint circles and a sentiment (you can see it better in my first photo) from a Tim Holtz stamp and I was done!  My first page!  Yippee!  I'm seriously so excited!  I completely understand why people fall in love with this art form.  It's so different than card making and it's really fun to just create without thinking too much about what is is you're creating.  You just make art for the fun of getting your hands dirty and to see where the products and your imagination take you!

I hope you enjoyed today's post, stop on over at the eP store to check out all of our Dylusions products, and stay tuned for page two...



Apples for a Friend

Hello eP fans!

I had a customer recently request a card with apples I had listed for sale on my blog, and here I had sold it already and forgot to take it down!  So I contacted the customer and offered to make another as similar as I could to the original, and she said “just another apple card would be fine…” so this is what I came up with.  I hope she likes it!

The apple stamps I used here are from the Apple of My Eye stamp set from Flourishes, and I stamped and colored this with Copics from the eclectic Paperie store.  The papers used are Simple Stories “Harvest Lane”… just LOVE this line for Fall!  I embellished with various Nestabilities die-cuts, button, thread, pearls, tag, etc. and a seam binding bow hand-dyed with some Scattered Straw Ranger distress reinker.  My cardstock and paper edges were also sponged with Antique Linen distress ink, using the Inkssentials Foam Blending tool, and my Non-Stick Craft Sheet.


Happy stamping!