My Cards and Tags: I Love You More than Bacon

It's been raining here all evening, so I decided to sequester myself in my craft room (like I need an excuse!) and play with my newly acquired "Tape It Kit" from Lifestyle Crafts.  It Kits are awesome because you get a ton of similarly-themed dies for a reasonable price.  The "Tape It Kit" has a bunch of dies that look like Washi tape strips.

Here's the card I made using the Tape It Kit:

See all the faux Washi tape shapes?  Too fun!  The background paper is a vintage dictionary page and all of the patterned paper is from My Mind's Eye, except for the blue and white diagonal-stripped paper which is from Basic Grey.

The flower is from Prima and the twine is also from My Mind's Eye.  Do you love the flair button?  Probably not if you're an animal rights activist or a vegetarian, but I thought it was cute.  It's from Kelly Purkey.

As usual, I smeared on some Tim Holtz Distress Ink (Peacock Feathers and Walnut Stain) to finish it off.

Great paper, clever dies, distress ink and a bacon sentiment?  Happy Friday, my friends.  It just doesn't get much better than this!  

My Cards and Tags: The Grand Explorer

PASTE!  Does that word conjure images of elementary school and that kid you sat by who would lick the paste jar from time to time?  Hopefully not!  But it is this week's theme at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge blog.   And so I decided to go with modeling paste through stencils, which I then heat embossed with silver powder to give the backdrop of my project some 3D metallic rays.  And here he is: the man I call The Grand Explorer:

Let's start with those paste-rays.  I used modeling paste and brushed it heavily on top of Tim Holtz's "Rays" stencil.  I peeled the stencil off and saw that the paste was white...too white!  So I waited for it to dry, then I used a makeup sponge to apply clear embossing ink to the rays.  Then I shook on some silver embossing powder, like so:

I adore silver embossing powder because once you heat it up, it turns into gorgeous shimmery silver.  Once I had my metallic rays, I dabbed on some ink to color them teal, green and brown around all the silver parts.  With my backdrop ready, I built my scene on top.

The image of the winged man is from Tim Holtz's "Winged Things II" stamp set.  I stamped him on an old encyclopedia page and colored him with chalk and inks.  I also gave him an "Explore" flag.  I attached him with 3D dots to give him a little more dimension.

I made him a traveling cart out of an alarm clock image covered with tickets and other travel ephemera.  The wheels are made from some vintage buttons I had and I added some Prima flowers, too.

I finished off the top by stamping on some text (from Tim Holtz's Urban Grunge stamp set) and adding a row of pennant flags made from the Simon Says Stamp banner die.  I also tied on some fibers, yarn and ribbon from my overabundant stash.

After all of that, I'd say this guy is definitely ready to hit the road.  His adventurous life was made possible due in large part to these products, which you can get from Simon Says Stamp:

Prima Mixed Media Doll Tag Pack	Liquitex - Modeling Paste	Tim Holtz Retro Grunge 12 x 12 Paper	*We R Memory Keepers CROP-A-DILE Eyelet and Snap Punch Pink	Tim Holtz Collection Stencil in Rays	Urban Grunge Stamp Set	Silver Embossing Powder Ranger
Heat Embossing Tool	Peacock Feathers - Distress Ink	Black soot - Distress ink	Walnut Stain - Distress Ink	Simon Vintage Dictionary Paper	Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Embossing Ink	Tim Holtz Destinations 12 x 12 Paper
Pebbles Chalk	Stamper′s Anonymous Tim Holtz Winged Things 2 Stamp Set	Fiskars Acrylic Blocks	Broken china - Distress ink	Wild Honey - Distress Ink	Tim Holtz Idea-ology Lost & Found Paper Stack	Ranger Archival Ink Black
Simon Says Stamp Ribbon Banner Die	Hero Arts Basic Alphabet Stamps	Circle Pop Dots

So are you feeling the love of paste this week?  I hope so!  I love to see your creations on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog.  Upload your masterpieces and you could win $50 to the Simon Says Stamp store.  That would buy an awful lot of paste!

Tutorials: Make Your Own Silhouette Template

The theme over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge blog this week is "cameo," whether that be a traditional cameo silhouette shape or a different interpretation (like when someone does a surprise "cameo" appearance in a movie).  As I thought about cameos, I got to wondering if those classy heads every wanted to sprout some legs and escape the confines of the broach, necklace or frame they were trapped inside.  So I decided to expand the idea of a cameo to a full silhouette for this week's project.  And I made the silhouette template myself.  I'll show you how easy it is to do:

There are already some great silhouette templates/stencils and stamps on the market, but it's also quite entertaining to make some of your own.

Start by flipping through magazines until you find a human in a shape that would make an interesting silhouette.  Here's the picture I found, which was from a Bluefly ad in an old magazine:

Make sure that the silhouette you choose has plenty of open space between the arms, etc.  Remember that the only part that will show is the outline, so you want to ensure that the shape will be recognizable as a human.

Cover both sides of the magazine picture with clear packing tape.  This gives it stability and will allow you to paint or stamp over it, if desired.

Once you've taped over the image, cut it out and see how it looks.  I like my silhouettes to be a little more cartoony, so when I cut out this girl, I trimmed off a little extra to make her look more doll-like and less realistic.  I also rounded out her head where her hat was (since I didn't want her to look like a box head), and I also removed her purse to further simplify the shape.

Tuh-da!  Now you have a perfect template that you can either trace around or that you can use as a mask to paint over, etc.  And because it's encased in packing tape, it's good for several uses.

Next I began on the background.  I used heavy watercolor paper and started layering on Washi tape and scraps of patterned paper.

I added some smears of acrylic paint and Tim Holtz Distress paint and when it was dry, I spritzed on some Dylusions ink spray in Cut Grass, Funky Fuchsia and Vibrant Turquoise.

I stamped on some background polka dots and reverse polka dots with a homemade stamp.  I also repeated the word "dream" with a Tim Holtz stamp and stamped out a great quote by Helen Keller.  I added some black gesso to the outer edge of my paper to create the look of a frame.

Lastly, I traced my stencil girl onto some patterned paper.  To make her stand out even more, I added some shadowing with ink and drew around her edges with a black Sharpie.  I made her some wings out of paper that I inked up, sewed "graph lines" on and then dissolved in various sections for a tattered look.  I attached them to my background and used 3D dots to secure the silhouette:

And here she is as the finished product.  And all because I felt bad for body-less cameo heads!

There are so many great products I used to bring this piece to life, which you can find at that store we all know and love-- Simon Says Stamp:

Glitz Birthday Wishes 12 x 12 Paper	Kelly Purkey Washi Tape NUMBERS KPWS6	Kelly Purkey Washi Tape TEAL POLKA DOTS KPWS8	My Mind′s Eye Flair Washi Tape	MME Find Your Wings Washi Tape	We R Memory Keepers AQUA Washi Tape	We R Memory Keepers PINK Washi Tape
Crate Paper "The Pier" 12 x 12 Paper	Tim Holtz Distress Paint In Broken China	Dylusions Ink Spray In Fresh Cut Grass	Dylusions Ink Spray In Funky Fuchsia	Dylusions Ink Sprays - Vibrant Turquiose	Ranger Inkssentials Non Stick CRAFT SHEET Reusable 15 X 18 Stamp Paint Ink	Pink Paislee Hope Chest 12 x 12 Paper
Stamper′s Anonymous Tim Holtz Winged Things 2 Stamp Set	Fiskars Acrylic Blocks	3D Foam Dots	Studio Gesso Black	Hero Arts Basic Alphabet Stamps	Ranger Archival Ink Black	Teal StazOn
Walnut Stain - Distress Ink	Black soot - Distress ink	Picked Raspberry - Distress Ink	Peacock Feathers - Distress Ink

So what clever cameo ideas will you think up this week?  Do share your genius with us at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge blog because it's always wonderful to see what you create and you also get a chance to win $50 of Simon Says Stamp store credit!  Yipee!!