TFJB Inspiration Ave

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Saturday Showcase - Vintage Christmas Cards With Tim Holtz Idea-ology Worn Wallpaper

Hello and welcome to Saturday Showcase, the Design Team's chance to share tutorials and products available from The Funkie Junkie Boutique with you. Our latest challenge is called 'Lovely Leaves', and I've made a vintage Christmas card for my DT project featuring Ideaology Christmas Worn Wallpaper by Tim Holtz and several of his Christmas foliage Thinlits die sets. The gorgeous designs on these papers are reminiscent of vintage Christmas cards and wrappings with the texture and feel of old wallpaper. I would love to wall paper my home in them, but for now, I've just made some Christmas cards.

(more close up photos of my first card HERE)

*click on any photo to zoom in*

Let's get started making!

1. Trim and die cut an oval from one of the Christmas Wallpapers using a Stitched Ovals Thinlits die. Set oval aside for a future use.
2. Smear Wallpaper panel randomly with Crazing and set aside to dry.

3. Die cut the smaller of the two greetings from Christmas Ribbon Thinlits from red card and a second one from white card that has been blended with Old Paper Distress ink.
4. Heat emboss white greeting with Versamark ink and clear powder. Glue this one to red greeting using Distress Collage Medium Matte. Set aside to dry.

5. Trim remaining red card from die cutting Merry Christmas to make first layer. Trim a watercolor paper panel to use as a background to the Wallpaper panel.
6. Using the stamp platform, stamp the wood image from Tim Holtz Lumberjack stamps set in Frayed Burlap ink two times on dampened trimmed water color paper panel. Spritz card with water to blend the join line a little. Dry with heat tool.
7. Ink music image from the old Music & Advert stamp set with Pumice Stone ink. Blot some of the ink from the stamp with a paper towel, and make that impression at the center of the panel. Dry. Blend panel with Frayed Burlap ink. Splash with water droplets and dry. Adhere to red card.

8. Die cut smaller pine branch and pine cone from the Pine Branch Thinlits set, pine bough and holly sprig from the Funky Festive Florals Thinlits set and a couple of small leafy branches from the Festive Greens Thinlits set. I used various scraps for this, including watercolor paper, pre-colored and stamped scraps and plain colored cardstock. Using the Sizzix Chrome Precision Base Plate for Thinlits to cut intricate die cuts and the brushy tool make easy work of this.

9. Color pine cones, pine needles/boughs and holly leaves with Distress Oxides and inks. Heat dry and shape as you are drying. The holly berries were cut from a scrap previously colored with red ink; I think it may be Candied Apple.

10. Machine emboss ribbon from Festive Greens and die cut from Metallic Kraft Stock. While the die cut is still in place, sand, allowing just the high spots to be sanded. Remove the die cut and sand just the edges of the bow and tips of the ribbon with a nail file.
11. Drip bow with Smolder Alcohol Pearl and allow to dry. This adds instant vintage aging to the bow.

12. Scribble Wallpaper panel (previously smeared with Crazing in step 2) with Frayed Burlap and Vintage Photo Distress Crayons and smooth into the cracks with a damp finger. Rub outer edges and oval rim with Ground Espresso crayon.
13. Assemble card using Collage Medium Matte to adhere all surfaces.

Here are a few tricks I used on the second card...

To add dimension to the frame, I found some corrugated card in the approximate size of my Worn Wallpaper frame to give some body to the wallpaper and add depth to the card. I used the ovals die and my kraft knife to cut the correct sized aperture. I sponged Ground Espresso paint around the edges so the bright color didn't show after assembly.

I cut a portion of Merry Christmas 5 times, and adhered them to the original die cut to add depth and support the die cut within the recess.

Here is a set of A2 sized cards I made using the Christmas Worn Wallpaper. It was so easy to throw these together start to finish in less than a couple of hours with the help of a Tim Holtz die cut snowflake, Christmas Paper Dolls, Ephemera and Snippets and some sprinkles of Distress Clear Rock Candy Glitter. Everything was given a worn vintage look with the help of Frayed Burlap and Vintage Photo inks. I'm showing a couple close-ups so you can see the snowy detail.

I hope you have found this tutorial helpful and that you have found some ideas for using these festive papers. There's still plenty of time to enter the current Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog challenge 'Lovely Leaves' to be in with the chance of winning some great prizes. We look forward to seeing your vintage or shabby chic projects!

Happy crafting!

Sara Emily

The products were used on my cards and are available at The Funkie Junkie Boutique:
Christmas Worn Wallpaper
Sizzix Chapter 4 Thinlits Die Set - Pine Branch
Sizzix Chapter 3 Sizzix Thinlits Die Set - Christmas Ribbon
Sizzix Chapter 3 Sizzix Thinlits Die Set - Funky Festive Florals
Sizzix Thinlits Die Set 9PK - Festive Greens
Sizzix Thinlits Die Set - Stitched Ovals
Sizzix Chapter 3 Sizzix Thinlits Die Set - Wreath & Snowflake
Tim Holtz Cling Stamps - Lumberjack
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Metallic Kraft Stock
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Paper Dolls, Christmas
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Ephemera Pack, Christmas
Tim Holtz Idea-ology Ephemera Pack, Christmas Snippets
Distress ink - Frayed Burlap, Pumice Stone, Old Paper, Walnut Stain, Forest Moss, Peeled Paint, Candied Apple
Distress Oxide Pine Needles, Evergreen Bough, Ground Espresso, Gathered Twigs
Distress Paint Ground Espresso
Distress Crayons Set #3, #5, #7
Distress Collage Medium Matte
Distress Collage Medium Crazing
Distress Clear Rock Candy Glitter
Ranger Tim Holtz Alcohol Pearls - Smolder
Stamp Platform
Sizzix Accessory - Chrome Precision Base Plate for Thinlits
VersaMark Watermark Ink Stamp Pad
Ranger Embossing Powder - Clear - Super Fine Detail

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Guest Designer - Sandra Rupp

It is time to introduce our Guest Designer for the Lovely Leaves challenge. Say hello to Sandra Rupp who was the top pick from the It's Halloween challenge. Sandra can be found on Instagram at srpaperlove.

First I want to send a heartfelt "HELLO" to you Creatives and also a big "THANK YOU" for giving me the chance to be a Guest Designer at the Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog.

I live and work in a really romantic City called Heidelberg, germany. Ever since I can remember I have been a crafter with heart and soul. Dirty fingers, colors, pastes, paper, stamps and dies mean the world to me. For about 10 years I was a Demonstrator for a well known German Hobby Company. In this time I had the special fortune to work at German fairs and also to meet greats like Tim Holtz and other famous artists.

Due to the illness of my parents, whom I love very much, I had to take a break. In 2017, I had to say goodbye to my mother. She supported me in all creative projects and that's why I decided to start stamping and mixed media again. I´m sure, that she´s looking from heaven above to see what I do.

But now I want to tell you something about my idea for the theme "Lovely Leaves".

First I thought about leaves in every season of the year. They look so different in Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. My idea was born: choose always the same stamps and dies and put them in scene appropriately. This is also important for beginners, because at the beginning we often do not have a range of materials. So I wanted to show how different they can look if you change colours and backgrounds.

Here are the dies, stamps and stencils I used to create every season.

First I used Structure Paste in Gold to stencil the Canvases. After the paste has dried, I sprayed with different colors matching to the Season.

Next I stamped several leaves and colored them in suitable seasonal colors. After cutting them out I did what I really love most and took out my boxes of ribbons, die cut elements, gemstones, embellishments and flowers. Once sorted by seasonal colors it was a pleasure to finish.

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We certainly are fortunate to have not one but four gorgeous projects from Sandra and they definitely show the versatility of our crafting supplies. To see more of Sandra's work, check out her Instagram page.

When you have finished come on back and share your leafy project with us. The challenge can be found HERE and runs through 11:55 pm on Tuesday, December 3rd.

Don't forget to check in on Saturdays to see what our designers have for you when they present the Saturday Showcase.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Lovely Leaves

Hi there everyone, Jenny here with you to host the latest challenge here at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog. For this one I've chosen the theme 'Lovely Leaves'. At this time of year leaves take over from flowers as the stars of Nature's display - the deciduous ones take on beautiful Autumnal hues before falling to the ground, whilst the evergreen ones keep our gardens from looking bare as we wait for new flowers to appear in the Spring. For this challenge make sure to add leaves (or even Pine Needles if you like) to your vintage or shabby chic projects.

The winner will earn a chance to be a Guest Designer at a future date here at The Funkie Junkie Boutique blog, and everyone who enters and follows the rules will go into the draw for the chance to win a $25 spending spree at The Funkie Junkie Boutique. There are also Top 3 Badges for three additional outstanding entries, chosen by the Design Team.

The guidelines for entering are simple; create a new vintage or shabby chic project following the challenge theme, link it below to your post (not just your blog) and also include a link back to this challenge in your post. You can combine our challenge with up to 10 challenges (including this one) to be in with a chance of winning. If you are entering through a public forum (such as Instagram) you'll need to include the words 'Funkie Junkie Boutique Challenge'. Also, please be sure to turn off your Word Verification so our Design Team can leave comments on your blogs. Make sure you follow these rules as unfortunately, we have had to eliminate entrants from the prize draws in the past.

Our amazing Design Team are here to kick you off with their projects for this challenge. Simply click on their blog names to find out more about their makes.

Maggi Harding - Scrap, Travel & Bark!

Cec Wintonyk - CW Creations

Ginny Nemchak - Polly's Paper Studio

Suzanne Czosek - Suzz's Stamping Spot

Sizzix Fall Foliage Die Ranger Distress Stain Sprays Ranger Layering Stencil Woodgrain For The Funkie Junkie Boutique

Sara Emily - sarascloset

Jenny Marples - Pushing The Right Buttons

Now it's your turn to get creating - we'd love to see how you feature those Lovely Leaves in your designs. Use the link below to enter and be in with a chance of winning.

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Saturday Showcase - Christmas with Tim Holtz Yuletide Gatherings Stamp Set

Hello, it is Cec here and today I am presenting the Saturday Showcase. I have made a couple of Christmas cards and a tag to share with you featuring the new Yuletide Gatherings Stamp Set from Tim Holtz.

For the first card I started with a piece of watercolour card stock cut slightly smaller than my 5" x 7" kraft card blank and inked it by smooshing it through some Tea Dye, Scattered Straw and Old Paper Distress Oxide (Tim Holtz).

Next I added some stenciling with Mini Stencil #19 (Tim Holtz) and Old Paper DI. A little more stenciling was added after the large image was stamped on the panel.

Once it was dry I stamped the large image from the set with Jet Black Archival Ink (Ranger).

The image was coloured using a water brush (Tim Holtz) and a variety of Distress Inks - Old Paper, Antique Linen, Gathered Twigs, Fired Bricks, Aged Mahogany, Peeled Paint, Forest Moss and Pine Needles.

I also stamped the small poinsettia image on another piece of watercolour card and coloured it with the same Distress Inks that I used in that portion of the large image. Once the image was dry I fussy cut it and added it on top of the large image with some dimensional foam. The edges of the panel were inked with Gathered Twigs DI before it was added to the card blank.

I cut a piece of card stock and ran it through an embossing folder called Starry Night (Sizzix) and then rubbed over the strip with Gold Wax Paste, inked the edges with Gathered Twigs DI and added it to the panel along with a computer generated sentiment that was also inked with Gathered Twigs DI.

Some seam binding was dyed with Antique Linen DI and formed into a loopy bow that was tied with another loopy bow of burlap string. A pine cone charm was altered with some Gold Mixative Alcohol Ink (Tim Holtz) and added to the bow.

The second card blank is also kraft card stock and measures 4 1/4" x 5 1/2". I started the layering with a panel of Gold Metallic Kraft Stock (Tim Holtz). Next came a panel of cream card stock that was embossed with the Starry Nights embossing folder and rubbed with the Gold Wax Paste.

I cut an oval from some green card stock, stamped the small pine branch image with Versamark and heat embossed it with some Gold Embossing Powder. A computer generated sentiment was inked with Antique Linen DI and added along with some tiny gold sequins.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Challenge Winners - It Looks Real

Today we announce our winners from the 'It Looks Real' challenge. Thank you to everyone who shared their wonderful projects showing a range of faux finishes and effects with us. We really loved seeing them all.

The team chose this sensational book cover by #8 Alison (Words and Pictures) as our overall winner. We were all amazed by the realistic morning flowers covered brick wall and window on the outside of this book cover and equally blown away by the early evening scene on the inside. Make sure to check it out in more detail HERE. Congratulations Alison on being our favourite and winning the opportunity to be a Guest Designer here at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog for a future challenge. You will be contacted with all the details.

And now our picks for the three winners of the The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog Top 3 Badges for this challenge. In numerical order they are; #1 Cassie Lynch #6 Ann Barnes (aksbarchitect CREATES) and #9 Corrine Rollet (Artcocofolies). Please email Linda at thefunkiejunkie@gmail.com for the codes for the Top 3 badges so that you can display them proudly on your blog.

And finally we have a randomly chosen lucky winner for the $25 gift certificate to The Funkie Junkie Boutique. Our congratulations this time go to #2 Nancy Wethington (Art From The Heart)! Please email Linda at thefunkiejunkie@gmail.com for the gift certificate details.

Thank you again from all of us here at The Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog to everyone who took part in this challenge and congratulations to all our winners. The current challenge, 'Fabulous Fall' runs through Tuesday, November 19th and we look forward to seeing your entries!

Have a great week everyone.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Saturday Showcase - Eileen Hull Designs 'Fabulous Fall' Pocket Notebook

Hi everyone and welcome to another Saturday Showcase, the Design Team's chance to share tutorials and products available from The Funkie Junkie Boutique with you. Our latest challenge is called Fabulous Fall - my Design Team project for this one is an Eileen Hull Designs Pocket Notebook featuring a Prima Marketing Finnabair moulded piece and an Autumnal floral bundle altered with Ranger Alcohol Ink.

With a number of techniques and products being used to create this Fall Pocket Notebook I've put together a tutorial to show you how to recreate it, so here goes!

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Start with the cover - I've shown in previous posts on my blog how to use the Pocket Notebook die cut pieces to create a cover with a flexible spine (see HERE if you've missed it). Cut away the spine pieces from the covers, place one of the spines in the centre separated from the covers by about 1/4 inch each side, and stick together with adhesive backed tape. I then covered the outside of the cover with cotton calico fabric, painting over it with White Gesso and Apricot Acrylic Paint from Dina Wakley Media. To darken the edges try blending them with Watering Can Archival Ink from Wendy Vecchi.

You'll see by clicking on the photo below to enlarge it that I've punched two extra holes in the centre of the spine so that there are three holes at the top, middle and bottom. To add age to the cover spritz over with water and brush on diluted Umber Acrylic Paint. By letting it dry a little and dabbing off the excess you get this watermarked look.

To finish the cover stick patterned paper of your choice onto the inside and re-punch the holes through the fabric and paper layers.

Now for the embellishments; I love using Ranger Alcohol Inks to alter embellishments as they will work on pretty much any surface, dry fast and add a lot of colour with just a drop of ink. First up these adorable silver acorn charms were given a warm brown glow by adding a little Latte Alcohol Ink.

Next a small sprig of Tim Holtz Bouquet Findings needed just a little Lemonade Alcohol Ink to make it pop with a beautiful yellow-orange hue.

Tim Holtz Beaded Berries were transformed for Fall by applying Cranberry and Shell Pink Alcohol Inks to the tips. With a little Espresso Alcohol Ink on the stems they were ready to bend into shape.

These Antique Bronze Leaf Charms are incredibly detailed - after being given a coat of White Gesso a little Lettuce Alcohol Ink was added to make them more lifelike.

A much larger Bronze Leaf Embellishment needed to contrast with the vibrant Fall colours used for the rest of the floral bundle. Again, White Gesso was applied, followed by Gunmetal Mixative Alcohol Ink.

Now for the moulding; I pushed air drying clay into one side of the Prima Marketing Finnabair Kingsbury Medallion, ensuring the surface was smoothed over to make it flat and remove any excess clay. Linda now stocks the new tubs of Prima Marketing Redesign Air Dry Modeling Material which will be ideal for this. You don't always need to use the whole of a design to get a dramatic impact.

Whilst wet turn out the moulded piece onto a stamping block (or similar) and add a little wet glue to the upturned surface.

Flip the stamping block over onto the front cover to apply the moulded piece to it - as everything is still wet at this stage there's time to wiggle it all into the desired position. I left the clay to air dry as required and waited for the colour to change to a crisper white.

Once dry it's time to start adding the altered embellishments. I glued a piece of muslin next to the moulded piece to disguise the unfinished edges and added the large leaf to the top; you'll see from the photo below that you can shape the leaf easily by bending it with your fingers. Carry on adding the other bits and pieces that you've coloured into an arrangement you're happy with.

Creating the signatures inside is easy as Eileen Hull's Pocket Notebook die cuts the pages as well as the covers. Fold your choice of papers in half, lay the folded edge along the blank side of the die and cut! I chose to use tea stained old scrapbook papers and copier paper to coordinate with the cover.

Use a sharp tool to stab a hole into the centre of each set of signatures. I chose a coordinating colour of jute string to secure them in place. Start by threading the string from one of the centre holes on the outside of the spine through to the inside and through the corresponding hole in the signature. Then take the string to the top of the signature and push the string through one of the top holes in the spine.

Now thread the string back through the centre hole in the spine to the middle of the signature before pushing it through one of the holes in the bottom of the spine.

The photo below shows where the string has gone through the spine, into the signature, back out to the top, back through the middle, down to the bottom and out. Finish each one by tying the string off in the centre.

When finished you'll end up with three sets of knotted jute string on the outside of the spine. These can be embellished further with beads and charms, but I chose to tie them together and untwist the jute to create a tassle.

When finished you'll have a Fall themed Pocket Notebook with three signatures inside. Here are some close ups;

Thanks for visiting to catch today's Saturday Showcase tutorial - I hope you've found it helpful. There's still plenty of time to enter the current Funkie Junkie Boutique Blog challenge 'Fabulous Fall' to be in with the chance of being a Guest Designer here. We look forward to seeing your amazing creations.

Jenny
Products used to create this Faux Finish Pocket Notebook are available from The Funkie Junkie Boutique and are listed/linked below.

Eileen Hull Designs Sizzix Scoreboards XL Die - Pocket Notebook
Prima Marketing Finnabair Mould - Kingsbury Medallion
Prima Marketing Redesign Air Dry Modeling Material
Ranger Alcohol Inks
Dina Wakley Media Acrylic Paints and Gesso
Tim Holtz Idea-Ology Bouquet Findings
Tim Holtz Idea-Ology Beaded Berries
Tim Holtz Idea-Ology Jute String
Antique Silver Acorn Charms
Antique Bronze Leaf Charms
Bronze Leaf Embellishments