So Spooky! Tim Holtz Bell Jar + Stamp2Cut Card

The second I saw the new Tim Holtz Bell Jar die (shipping in September) I knew right away that I needed to make a Halloween card with a creepy skull under the glass dome.  As luck would have it, the brand new Tim Holtz stamps released also at the summer CHA show included a skull sized perfectly for the bell jar!

  

To begin my card, I cut a piece of Specialty Stamping Paper to fit my card which I created from kraft cardstock.  I stamped spider webs and spiders on the stamping paper using Black Soot Distress Ink.    While the ink was wet, I added clear embossing powder to the ink.  I heat set the powder.  Using embossing powder gave the card added dimension and shine.

Along the edges I used an ink blending tool to add Black Soot Distress Ink to the edges of the white stamping paper.  Before attaching the white stamping paper to my kraft card, I added black ink to the edges of the kraft cardstock also.

To add more texture and shine, I brushed more Black Soot Distress Ink onto the edges of the white stamping paper, raking the edge of my ink pad directly onto the stamping paper.  While the ink was wet, I sprinkled clear embossing powder onto it, which I melted using a heat tool.

I die cut the base for the bell jar from manila cardstock.  I inked a woodgrain stamp with Vintage Photo Distress Stain and stamped the base.  After drying the stain, I added Walnut Stain Distress Ink with an ink blending tool over the entire piece.  I finished the base by adding Black Soot Distress Ink to the edges of the base.

For the skull, I stamped the mini skull on Specialty Stamping Paper using Jet Black Archival Ink.  I colored it with inks and markers and then cut it out using the coordinating Stamp2Cut cartridge.  To give the skull a base to sit on, I die cut a piece of manila cardstock using the Branch Tree die.  I inked the branch with Distress Inks.

Finally, to top the skull and the wooden base, I die cut the bell jar from a scrap of shrink plastic.  I brushed the edges of the plastic with Brushed Pewter Distress Stain and Jet Black Archival Ink.  I adhered it to my card front using clear tape red line tape to hold it securely in place.

I love how cool and spooky this card turned out.  I love how the clear bell jar top adds such a fun element to projects.  Trust me, this one needs to be on your wish list! 

Tim Holtz Sizzix Bigz Die - Bell Jar w/Pedestal Tim Holtz Sizzix Bigz Die - Branch Tree Tim Holtz Sizzix Vagabond Machine Sizzix eclips Sizzix eclips Cartridge - Tim Holtz Alterations Stamp2Cut No. 23

InLinkz.com

Surfaces: Ranger Ink Specialty Stamping Paper, Manila Cardstock, Shrink Plastic; Tim Holtz Coredinations Kraft Core Cardstock

Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink- Walnut Stain, Black Soot, Antique Linen; Ranger Ink Archival- Jet Black

Stain: Tim Holtz Distress Stain- Vintage Photo, Brushed Pewter

Markers: Tim Holtz Distress Markers- Scattered Straw

Embossing Powder: Ranger Ink Embossing Powder- Clear

Stamps: Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous- CMS140 Mini Halloween 3, CMS126 Wallpaper and Wood

Tools: Ranger Ink Heat It Craft Tool, Nonstick Craft Sheet, Ink Blending Tool

Adhesive: Therm O Web SuperTape, SuperStik

Pop 'n Cuts "Just Saying Hello" Card

Here's a quick and easy Pop 'n Cuts card idea:

1. Cut a 5" x 12" strip of red cardstock and die cut a Pop 'n Cuts backing card by removing the insert from the A2 Pop 'n Cuts Base die. Fold the backing card in half.
2. Add the Hello Insert to the A2 Pop 'n Cuts Base die and slide it until it touches. Check that the tick marks in the center line up and then cover the die cutting area with patterned paper. Die cut the piece and then fold the Pop 'n Cuts in the usual fashion by first folding the long fold across the back, then pinching the top and bottom edges of the word "Hello" and then folding the card in half so that the pop-up word comes forward.
3. Place the folded PNC insert on an On the Edge die to cut a decorative edge top and bottom. 
4. Use a slot punch on the upper fold to add a slot in the "shelf" area behind the word for the pole to  slide through. This will also punch an extra slot in the back of the card which will be covered with a strip of paper in a later step. (Alternately, cut a slot in the "shelf" area with a craft knife)
5. Use a tape runner to add the PNC inside the backing card, avoiding the pop-up areas and attaching one half and then the other half.
6. Die cut the companion Sizzlits word "Hello" from dark brown paper and use a fine line glue pen or a Xyron machine to add adhesive to it. Center the word over the pop-up word and adhere. The Sizzlits word is sized to leave a small shadow when paired with the Pop 'n Cuts word.
7. Die cut a Flagpole and topper from cream cardstock and assemble according to the package instructions. Cut 0.5" from the base of the flagpole to make it shorter and then fold in a small foot at the base of the pole. Add a mini glue dot to the base of the foot, slide the pole through the slot, and attach the foot to the base of the card.
8. Die cut a red Vine Flourish and lightly attach the end to the top of the pole with a mini glue dot. Close the card and rotate the vine until it is entirely hidden when the card is closed. Press the connection point at the top of the pole to secure it. Now add a mini glue dot to the other end of the vine and close the card, connecting it in the correct position to lay flat when the card is closed, but pop-up when the card is open.
9. Cut two thin strips of red cardstock and use the upper strip to cover the extra slot. Attach the lower strip as shown.
10. Die cut two scalloped circles and use scissors to snip toward the center in between each scallop, like spokes of a wheel. Pinch the 8 resulting petals as mountain folds to create a 3D flower. Embellish each flower with a twine bow and a halfback pearl. Add one flower to the top of the pole.
11. Cut a 4x4 piece of patterned paper for the front of the card and stamp the "just saying"sentiment on a label panel cut from the patterned paper. Layer the two papers plus the other flower on the front of the card.
12. The finished card can be mailed in a standard A2 sized envelope.

Happy Pop 'n Cutting!

Karen

Sizzix Karen Burniston 657802 Pop 'n Cuts Base Kit Sizzix 657799 Pop 'n Cuts Hello Insert Sizzix Karen Burniston 657788 Hello Sizzlits Set Sizzix Karen Burniston 657792 Flagpole w/Lantern & Sign Sizzlit Strip Sizzix 657795 Movers & Shapers Star & Circle On the Edge Plaque/Postage

InLinkz.com
Other Supplies:
Patterned Papers - Cosmo Cricket
Cardstock - Bazzill "Lava"
"Just Saying" stamp - Lawn Fawn
Other (source unknown) - twine, halfback pearls

Four Flowerpots

Hi everyone! Today I (Anna-Karin) have a fun tutorial to share using Eileen Hull's Candy Cup ScoreBoards die. When I first spotted that die, I thought it would make a cute flower pot, and I went a bit crazy and ended up making four different ones.

These flower pots would work great as little gifts, in place of a card for someone's birthday, and as ornaments, especially great for those who don't have green fingers, because these flowers don't need any water. Since I made four flowerpots (one of which is a bird's nest), this is a pretty long tutorial.

We are going to start with the one with the blue Hydrangea flowers.

Die cut the Candy Cup from white mat board and ink with brown shades of Distress Ink. Mat board inks very well.

Stamp the pot with sentiment and image stamps, using Archival Ink Coffee. I placed the main stamp above the flap, then the joint will be on the back of the flowerpot, not that it matters much because you hardly see the joint. Mist with Biscotti Perfect Pearls.

Use strong adhesive to assemble the pot (I used Wonder Tape).

I placed a small polystyrene ball inside the pot. You could use other things too, scraps of paper, tissue paper, felt, etc.

Die-cut Hydrangeas from white mat board. I cut two of the biggest size, and quite many from the two smaller sizes. Ink them and press a finger in the centre to shape them a bit. Love the shape of these flowers.

Dye a piece of gauze with Distress Ink reinkers (Shabby Shutters and Mowed Lawn) and water. Mist the gauze with water first and then mist with ink.

When the gauze is dry, scrunch it up and glue it to the polystyrene ball. Any liquid glue will work (I used multi-medium).

Next, layer Hydrangeas together and add a pearl to each centre. Glue them to the gauze. The gauze only peeks through in places, because I wanted to use a lot of flowers.

Twist a piece of wire and glue it to a wood veneer shape. Press the wire into the polystyrene ball.

The next pot is the home for a bird instead of a flower. I just had to use this bird from the Birds & Butterflies die.

Die cut a Candy Cup from white mat board and paint it with watered down terra cotta paint.

Cover with Distress Crackle Paint Rock Candy. When dry, ink the crackled pot with Distress Stains and set with a heat gun.

I cut a polystyrene ball in half and stacked some scrap chipboard in the bottom of the pot to lift the ball up a bit. The ball was painted brown.

 Use some string to form a rough bird's nest.

Die cut two birds and wings from the Birds & Butterflies set, turn the paper around for the second bird, so that they can be layered together. I cut the bodies from a scrap of watercolour paper, that had been inked with Salty Oceans Distress Ink, and the wings from patterned paper. Ink the pieces and layer them together.

Die cut branches from grungeboard using the Bird Branch Bigz die, paint them brown. Cut leaves from kraft-core paper with the Birds & Butterflies die. I love the leaf with the vein and cut it from two shades of green paper, and removed the veins and placed them in the darker or lighter leaf. Sand them to reveal the kraft core and ink. All the pieces were coated with a thin layer of Distress Stickles Rock Candy.

 Layer the branches and leaves around the bird.

The heart was cut twice from a piece of mat board that had been covered in text paper, inked a bit and layered with a twisted wire in between.  A little chitchat sticker was added on top.

 The next flowerpot uses the remaining piece of gauze.

Die cut the Candy Cup from white mat board and ink with shades of pink. Stamp a butterfly on the pot with Archival Ink Rose Madder. Coat with Glossy Accents and let dry. Place it on a flat surface to dry, you can see on this photo that my surface wasn't totally flat, so the Glossy Accents is a bit thicker towards the top.

 Place a polystyrene ball inside the pot and scrunch up the gauze as on the Hydrangea pot.

 Die cut a several flowers and stems using the Sweet Treats for You set and scraps of papers.

I stamped the blue flowers with a text stamp. Ink the flowers and shape them a bit. Aren't those flowers great? Glue them and the swirls to the gauze.

And onto the final pot, with felt roses. The heart circle was stamped with Archival Ink Rose Madder, and the sentiment with Coffee.

Glue a piece of printed tissue paper to mat board using Multi-medium, leave to dry and then die cut the Candy Cup from it.

 Ink the tissue paper with alcohol inks. For a more subtle effect you could use Distress Inks.

Die cut roses from different colours of felt, using the Tattered Pinecone die. Make some of them a bit smaller, by cutting off a piece of the spiral. Roll them up and glue together. Use leftover leaves, swirls and branches from the other flower pots to layer around them.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and that it inspired you to make some flowerpots.

Happy crafting!!

Anna-Karin

Eileen Hull Sizzix ScoreBoards Die - Candy Cup Eileen Hull Sizzix Bigz Die - Borders & Hydrangeas Eileen Hull Sizzix Sizzlits Die Set 3PK - Sweet Treats for You Set Eileen Hull Sizzix Sizzlits Die Set 3PK - Birds & Butterflies Set Tim Holtz Sizziz Alterations: Bird Branch Tim Holtz Sizzix Bigz Die: Tattered Pinecone Sizzix Movers & Shapers Magnetic Die Set 2PK - Hearts Set Sizzix Little Sizzles - 6" x 13" Mat Board Pack, 6 White Sheets Sizzix Big Shot Machine

InLinkz.com

Surfaces: Core'dinations Tim Holtz kraft-core cardstock; Tim Holtz Idea-ology Terminology Tissue Wrap, Grungeboard; patterned paper; watercolour scraps

Stamps: Hero Arts: Thoughtful Messages CL184, Sweet One CL536, Hello There CL553, Newspaper Background S5601; The Stamps of Life: minis4circle

Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink- Antique Linen, Frayed Burlap, Vintage Photo, Salty Ocean, Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick;  Tim Holtz Distress Ink Reinkers- Shabby Shutters, Mowed Lawn;  Ranger Archival Ink: Coffee, Rose Madder; Ranger Adirondack Alcohol Ink: Meadow, Lettuce, Pesto, Gold Mixative; 

Stain: Tim Holtz Distress Stain: Frayed Burlap, Brushed Corduroy; 

Paint: Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint Rock Candy; Ranger Adirondack Paint Dabber: Terra Cotta, Espresso

Mists: Ranger Ink Perfect Pearls Mist- Biscotti

Embellishments: Tim Holtz Idea-ology ChitChat stickers; Studio Calico Wood Veneer Shapes; pearls; gauze; polystyrene balls; wire; felt; string or twine

Other: Ranger Ink Glossy Accents; Tim Holtz Distress Stickles- Rock Candy 

Adhesive: Ranger Ink Wonder Tape; Claudine Hellmuth Studio Matte Studio Multi-medium

Tools: Ranger Alcohol Ink Applicator