{Made You Look Monday} Washi Tape

Shelly here with one of my newest favorite products: Washi Tape! It's manufactured by several vendors, comes in colorful colors, it's easy to use, and looks great on layouts, projects and cards. Washi Tape comes in rolls or approximately 30 feet for about $3.

Here's a layout I created using Bella Blvd. washi tape in Pink Flowers and Pickle Juice Dot:

I used both tapes to create fun borders to frame the photo of my daughter and myself. I also used the tape around the smaller die cut pocket to create and actual pocket to put the pins into:

The upper right photo corners is also washi tape:

So you can see, washi tape is versatile, easy to use (it remains removable for a while after placing it on paper), tears or cuts, and if needed holds little pockets together. It's 30 feet of fun!

You can pick lots of different styles, colors, etc. at AWDML!

Paper: Little Yellow Bicycle Lime Stripe, Deep Blue Sea Solid, Dune Blossoms

Dies/Stamps: Wplus9 Die A Pocketful, Wplus9 Stamp A Pocketful

Ink: Tsukineko Espresso Truffle

Embellishments: Washi tape Bella Blvd.  Pink Flowers and Pickle Juice Dot, Maya Road Trinket Pins Vintage Pearl Butterfly, Twinery Twine

{Tips and Techniques} Ink, Embossing & more!

Get your fingers dirty with some ink! I would love to share a few inking techniques and tips with you today.

Hi, Shelly here with a set of gift bag tags you can create and embellish using some great inking techniques such as embossing and inking, and distress inking directly to the surface of your project, and of course stamping.

I created these four tags using chipboard I cut out into the shape of a tag.

Tip: Use a Sizzix tag die or an Accucut tag die for really quick results!

Next, I ran the chipboard tags through my Vagabond machine using various embossing folders from Darice, Sizzix, and Ranger. A Cuttlebug or Big Shot would certainly work just as well.

You can see the embossed edges (Darice)  in the sample above. Next, I used my Jenni Bowlin ink with a Ranger blending tool and foam applicator to add ink to the embossed surfaces of the unfinished tag. 

Tip: When using a blending tool remember to always start off the actual surface you're going to be adding ink to and bring the applicator onto the project's surface using a slight circular motion with your wrist/applicator. This will help prevent applicator lines on your project.

I used a Crop-a-dile to easily punch holes through the top of the tag and ran ribbons through the holes.  I used flowered punches for the flower shapes and small tag on the tag above. Use pop dots between layers for eye-catching dimension.

To create a more masculine tag use Echo Park papers from their "Note to Self" collection along with heavy metal brads, twill, clock and gear embossed images (Ranger) and attach it all to the chipboard base using the Tim Holtz tiny attacher. 

Technique: use the pad directly onto the project's surface for a harsher less subtle look.

Tip: Ink the edges of the tags with the actual ink pad. I used Jenni Bowlin's Fountain Pen on these two masculine tags. 

Papers: Echo Park Note to Self, Little Yellow Bicycle hello Spring

Stickers: Echo Park Note to Self Element Stickers

Inks: Jenni Bowlin Spice Tin, Jenni Bowlin Fountain Pen, Memento Tuxedo Black

Markers: Copic

Tools: Crop-a-Dile, Ranger Blending Tool w/ foam pad, Flower punches & dies, Spellbinder label die, Embossing Folders, Tiny Attacher (Ranger), Vagabond die cutting machine

Stamps: Stamp School Men in My Life, Studio Claudine Hellmuth "So Retro", Stampendous Blossom Brackets

Embellishments: Queen & Co. Brad, Theresa Collins Brad

Misc.: Ribbons & Pop Dots

{Tutorial} Tattered Angel's Glimmer Mist

Step1: Use punches and dies to create flowers from vellum and paper.

Step 2: Gather several (3-4) Tattered Angel's Glimmer Mists, heat tool, and paper towels.

Step 3:   Create a "safe" place to mist using items such as the Ranger N0n-stick craft mat and/or a Color Catcher. (If you don't own these items, considered laying paper towels or old newspapers over surrounding areas to protect from excess over spray that can sometimes happen when using mists of any type.

Step 4: Then, lightly spray (mist) objects with with Tattered Angel's Glimmer Mists using a downward motion as you mist. Stay about 6-8" away from the object(s). Use a heat tool to dry them! Use one color at a time (and clean up after each) or allow colors to "bleed" into each other creating a modeled or tie dyed effect.

Step 5: Layer different colored dried pieces and hold together with a brad in the center of the flowers. Tie silk ribbon into a bow.

Did you know? You can use Glimmer Mist to change the color of already colored items you want to use on a layout such as the type of silk flowers and wooden butterfly below.

Simply mist and dry!

Hint: Always use a paper towel to wipe away excess liquid before using the heat tool to dry the objects. This will help quicken dry time and help keep your work surface cleaner.

Step 6: Layer and cluster altered "Misted" pieces to your layout as titles, flowers, embellishments, etc.

Step 7:  Crete a title with chipboard Thickers, layered flowers, and a wooden butterfly as an accent.

Step 8: Create an anchoring cluster in the lower right corner of the layout using several layered flowers and a silk bow:

Creating altered and beautifully colored objects with Glimmer Mists is a blast! Thanks for taking a look at this week’s tutorial.

Paper: Bazzill, Little Yellow Bicycle Hello Spring, Vellum

Mists: Tattered Angel's Glimmer Mists

Embellishments: Flowers: Prima, Felt, Brads, Silk Seam Binding (Fabric Store), adhesive letters: Authentique Petite Type Square

{Tutorial) Cri-Kut Pens and Holder in your Cricut and Expression

Using Cri-Kut pens in your Cricut or Cricut Expression opens up a whole new world of  creativity and possibilities! I was able to create a layout title and card greeting in just a few minutes using the Cri-Kut Pen holder and pens (they're magnetic!). It was quick and easy. Gather a few supplies: Cricut machine, cartridge (I used Jubilee and George for this project), some white, cream, or other light colored  paper for the title piece on your layout, black paper for your card greeting, Cri-Kut pen holder & pens.

1. Remove the blade carriage from the Cricut machine.

2. Choose a Cri-Kut pen and remove the cap. Make sure the pen is working correctly before loading it into the holder/machine.

3. Place your title paper onto the Cricut pad so it' ready for printing.

4. Load the pen into the Cri-Kut holder. It should stay in there for you because of the magnets.

5. Place the Cri-Kut holder into the position where the blade normally is and tighten the screw around the holder.

6. Once the pen/holder are in position, load the paper into the machine.

7. Choose your title, hit the "Cut" button.  Your machine will begin to print your title. (Practice on scratch paper before using your actual layout piece).

8. Your title will print. (It's really fun to see the machine print instead of cut). I used the Jubilee cartridge to create this title and I used atyou Spica glitter pens in matching colors to darken the outlined letters of the title. Here's a picture of the title and sub-titles for my layout before I cut it out with my trimmer, matted it and adhered it to m layout.

Here's my Finised Layout:

Hint: Make a greeting for a card using a white pen and black paper (very cool!) Color in the outline using a clear glitter pen.

Thanks for taking a look at this week's tutorial,

 

Pens: Cri-kits Pastels Gel Pens, Cri-Kits Regular & Neon Gel Pens, Cri-Kits Magnetic Pen Holder for Cricut, atyou Spica Glitter pens (lemon, clear, melon, orange) White opaque pens, Multiliner 0.03

Tools: Cricut

Punches: Stars, border punches, corner adorner

Paper: Little Yellow Bicycle Hello Spring 6x6 pad, Bazzill, Cosmo Criket Core'dinations Neutrals

Embellishments: Maya Road Bingo markers, Maya Road Calender journaling spots, twine, bling