My Cards and Tags: Making Masks and Stencils from a Stamp

This week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Theme is, "Things with Wings."  I went for a classic bird shape, which I made into five ATC's.

My bird shape started out as an adorable Darkroom Door stamp called "Robin."  You can easily turn any stamp into a simple stencil/mask combo by stamping the image, then fussy-cutting around it.  I don't stab a hole in the middle to cut the shape out because I want to preserve the inside shape, too.  So I just cut straight into the image from the edge of the paper and then tape that cut back together after I've cut the middle out (you can see my "supplementary cut" if you look closely at the lower right corner of the image).

Now you have a stencil you can use to trace other birds (which is what I did) and you have the inside bird, which you can flip over and use the back of to decorate (which I also did).

Next was to make my ATC backgrounds.  I started with Strathmore Mixed Media paper and cut out the cards with a Project Life die and my Sizzix Big Shot (my cards aren't true ATC's because they're 3" x 4", but I went with it anyway).  I glued on scraps of patterned paper cut in circles and strips and added some Washi tape.

I followed this with some acrylic paint.  I used a lot of white and then some streaks of color.  As usual, probably because I'm lazy, I smeared the paint on with my fingers instead of using brushes.

With my backgrounds complete, I went on to embellish either the bird shape or the negative bird shape from the stencils/masks I made earlier.

On the card below, I added some stamping, more Washi, and Distress Ink.  I left the card background showing through my bird stencil.  I also added a sentiment word to each ATC.  The text stamping on every card is from the same Paper Artsy stamp set.  I also used Tim Holtz Symphony Washi and Doodlebug Spring Garden Washi on several of the cards.

On this next card, I used a Seth Apter Spellbinders ring in the background (Robo Rings set), but I used the negative space left between two of the rings that I cut instead of one of the actual ring shapes.  I went with kind of a party raven vibe.

The card below utilizes another Seth Apter die (Ring Around) and I cut the bird out of some floral patterned paper from the Happiness is Homemade collection by Echo Park.  I used the new Tim Holtz Lower Type alphabet stamps (sideways) for some lettering in the back.  The "I have a song" sentiment is from an old book.

For the card below, I used another Seth Apter die (Splatter Proof) and some Tim holtz ruler ribbon.  I'm loving Bo bunny's Faith collection, where the yellow polka-dot patterned paper came from.

Lastly, on this pink version, I used another bird stencil and let the background show through.  I also used some Washi from my stash.  The gray circles that I stamped are from Simon Says Stamp's I Love Donuts stamp set.

Here are the supplies I used, which you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

Darkroom Door Robin Cling Stamp	Strathmore Mixed Media Paper	Becky Higgins Project Life die set	Sizzix Big Shot	Tim Holtz Idea-ology TISSUE TAPE SYMPHONY Music Self Adhesive Vintage Paper
Tim Holtz Idea-ology VINTAGE Design Tape	Doodlebug Dainty Dots Spring Garden Washi Tape	Seth Apter Spellbinders Splatter Proof dies	Seth Apter Spellbinders Ring Round Die Set	Seth Apter Spellbinders Robo Rings Die Set
Happiness is Homemade 12 x 12 paper by Echo Park	Simon Says Stamp I Love Donuts Clear Stamps	Paper Artsy Eclectica 3 EEG 18	Tim Holtz Idea-ology RULER RIBBON Fabric Canvas Measure	Tim Holtz Type Lower Alphabet Stamps
Bo Bunny Faith 12 x 12 Paper Pack	Dina Wakley Fuchsia Acrylic Paint	Dina Wakley Lime Acrylic Paint	Dina Wakley Ranger WHITE Media Heavy Body Acrylic Paints	Dina Wakley LIME Heavy Body Acrylic Paints
Dina Wakley LAPIS Heavy Body Acrylic Paints	Dina Wakley TURQUOISE Heavy Body Acrylic Paints	Dina Wakley BLACKBERRY VIOLET Heavy Body Acrylic Paints	Ranger Archival Jet Black Ink Pad	Salty Ocean - Distress Ink
Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad BLUEPRINT SKETCH Ranger	Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pad WILTED VIOLET	Tim Holtz Distress Twisted Citron Ink Pad	Worn Lipstick Distress Ink Pad	Picked Raspberry - Distress Ink
Ripe Persimmon - Distress Ink	Mustard Seed - Distress Ink	Ranger Non Stick Craft Sheet	Fiskars Acrylic Blocks

This week's theme is so timely with all the Springy things that are flying around!  I can't wait to see what you submit to our Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog!  When you enter your creation, you will also be entered to win the random $50 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store.

My Other Creations: Altered Rolodex-like Book File

I am indeed an English major geek of the highest order, so I was totally excited to see this week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge theme of "Based on a Book."  Why not make a project where the book is the actual base?  So here is my altered Rolodex-ish file made out of a book.

As a person who was taught to never ever fold the pages of books, this was a morally-challenging challenge!  I started with a big book (1200+ pages) of American poetry (forgive me Whitman!!)  I seriously felt pain and guilt with each fold, but then I thought, what better book to have at my fingertips, even if it took on a new shape?  Surround me with literary greats in one form or another and I feel inspired.

This is the first time I've made this type of structure, so I'm by no means an expert at doling out advice, but here's what I did.  I started in the middle of the book and took a section of 5-6 pages. I looped the section in half toward the spine. (Disclaimer!  I forgot to take process pics early-on, so the next couple of pictures are of a totally different book just to show my process).

I tucked the section into the spine as tightly as I could.

Then I folded the section flat and repeated that process about fifty thousand times (it actually wasn't that bad!).  I alternated so that I'd fold a few sections to the left of the center section I started with, then I would fold a few sections to the right of the center section.  Working on it from both sides kept things more even. 

Here it is (picture flipped vertically) when it was done:

Once I had my structure in place, I took patterned paper and started making files/dividers using rectangular dies and the We R Memory Keepers Tab Punch Board and a great little die from Penny Black called Tabs and Toggles.

Once I had my files made, I started putting everything into the book.  The pages held things nicely!  If you wanted thinner book sections, you could certainly fold fewer pages at a time, but I liked the look of the chunkier sections.

I scribbled down some ideas and techniques on some of the file cards and then I started putting in some of my finished cards and tags.  I'm always running out of wall space to display things I've made, so I thought this was a great alternate location.  So it contains tricks and tips and some of my former projects.  I thought it could be an "inspiration station" of sorts.

At the end of the day, this held A LOT of goodies and it's nice to have all of these notes and projects in one centralized location.  And hopefully this project doesn't get me black-balled within the librarian community!  This book does look pretty happy in my craft room, though, right?  So I'm hoping that means all will be forgiven!

Maybe I should've called this the "everything but the kitchen sink" project because I used a lot of paper from different collections.  Here are the supplies I used that you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

We R Memory Keepers Tab Punch Board	Simon Says Stamp Basic Rectangles Dies	Becky Higgins Project Life die set	Penny Black Tabs & Toggles Die Set	Sizzix Big Shot
Idea-ology Paper Dolls	Authentique Fabulous 3x4 Journaling Cards	Idea-ology Ruler Ribbon	Bo Bunny Faith 12 x 12 Paper Pack	Bo Bunny Life in Color 12 x12 Paper Pack
Maggie Holmes Crate Paper Chasing Dreams 12 x 12 Paper	Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid 6x6 Paper	MME Hello Gorgeous 12 x 12 Paper	Jen Hadfield Everyday 12 x 12 Paper	Illustrated Faith Bright and Brave 12 x 12 Paper
Shimelle Little by Little 12 x 12 Paper	Authentique Fabulous 12 x 12 Paper	MME Hooray 12 x 12 Paper	Echo Park Petticoats and Pinstripes 12 x 12 Paper	Happiness is Homemade 12 x 12 paper by Echo Park
Bo Bunny Believe 12 x 12 Paper	Simple Stories Reset Girl 12 x12 Paper	Authentique Infused 12 x 12 Paper	Simple Stories Basics Snap Color Vibe 12x12 Paper

I am seriously excited to see how you are inspired by books this week!  Be sure to upload your creations to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $50 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store!