My Tag for Arlene's June Tag Swap 2010

HERE IT IS!!! My tag for Arlene's June Tag Swap. The theme was "Postcards from Paris" and "Vintage Collage". This was my very first swap and I had sooo much fun doing it. I made 9 tags in an assembly line and I was pumping embellies out like a factory LOL!
Here's a close up of the mini postcards - you can even see the mini stamps in the corners. I used crackle accents on the images and I really like how they turned out. I also used Marcasite Embossing Powder for the Eiffel Tower image in the Visual Artistry Collection Stampers Anonymous Clear Stamps - French Market set to mimic the tower lights at night - sooo pretty. You can see it twinkle on the you tube video to the left.

Here's a close up of the flower where I used glitter gold 3D paint (I love this stuff) to add shimmer and stiffness to the flower. I used gold perfect pearls powder mixed with water to glimmer the background and leaves.

Thanks so much, Arlene, for hosting and to the ladies in my group - I can't wait to receive your tags and showcase them here.

I'm truly addicted to swaps and I'll be joining more so stay tuned. Thanks for stopping by!

Arlene's June Tag Swap 2010 Teaser!

Hey Guys! I'm done - WOOOOOO HOOOOO! Ok, so I finished my first tag swap and boy am I tired! What a labour of love-but it was sooo much fun to do. The theme was "postcards from Paris" and "vintage collage". Hope you can get an idea of what I was trying to do from this cryptic picture. I'll reveal more once I get this shipped across the border. Thanks for stopping by :)

Vintage Tag: Soar & Take Flight

This is my first vintage tag I created and I'm really happy out it turned out. I have lots of techniques happening here so let me walk you through them.

Pictured Above: I painted my tag with white acrylic paint and let it dry; then I applied crackle medium and let it dry; and then applied the rose garden paint on top.

Here's a close up of the crackle finish. I love how the white peaks through the rose to give it that weathered wood look. Imagine all the color combinations that are possible....soooo exciting!!!

Since I was on a role with the paint, I painted the butterfly chip board in white and then had an "a ha" moment. Let's wet emboss with black embossing powder!! I love how the lacquered look of the embossing against the matted white background look - I'm going to have to do that again! I also used a product called Diamond Dust which is vintage glitter glass shreds all around the tag - it looks like rock sugar. I love Tim Holtz and used one of his adage tickets which I distressed with his edger and brown ink. I framed the side with vintage lace trim and tide some pink fibers with twine.

Last but not least, I had to put my dimensional flowers on there. I love how they pop and shimmer. To frame the flower, I used floral leaves from the wedding section at Michael's which I inked the edges in brown and misted with gold Perfect Pearls. Give these techniques a try on your next project - they're super fun! Thanks for stopping by :)

Dimensional Paper Flowers with 3D paint

These paper flowers are soo fun to make with 3D paint. So if you have some lying around, break them out and try this technique. I have a video on my channel to explain how to make these flowers. http://www.youtube.com/user/jpodinc

You can apply the 3D paint after you crumple your flower as you see on the first flower. Or you can apply the 3D paint after you shape your flower as you see on the second flower. You distinctly get different looks. The paint doesn't harden your flowers like mod podge but just strengthens them and makes it more flexible to manipulate - like a coated fabric. These flowers are great to decorate your art journals, minis, layouts and cards - they also hold up really well. It's a cost effective way to make your own customized embellies!!






In the next picture: the top row is the before shot of the unfinished flowers. The second row is achieved by crumpling the paper flowers and then applying the "Glittering Crystals" 3D paint after to get enhance the creases. I love the sheen it gives. It's similar to Stickles but gives your flowers more movement which I like.



Below is the one of the 3D paints that I use and it gives a really nice pearl finish. My favorite is 'Glittering Crystals' because it's transparent with a smaller translucent glitter. I used it to demo the flowers above. The paint comes in lots of colors and glitters so try them to see what works best for you. Really, at $1.79 a bottle, you can't NOT try it! Have fun with it and thanks for stopping by :)

Happy Birthday, Louise

Happy Birthday, Louise! Here's a card I made for Louise. My theme was Paris since she was there recently for a vacation. I used a toile background stamp using the resist emboss technique...Again!! I also used a Stampin' Up French Script stamp and the Stampin' Up Bird Punch - love it!


Here's a gift tag I made for Louise. I used a Tim Holtz Eiffel Tower Stamp and the Stampin' Up French Script stamp. Part of my gift to is to help her take her photos and emphemera from her trip and make a wall hanging for her office. I'll be sure to post pictures of that when it's complete. Ever notice that using rafia on anything makes it sooo much more appealing!?!?

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there. I made this card for Mama and she loved it! When I gave it to her she said, "This is really nice - so you are using the stuff you buy!" Gotta love her to bits :).

Here's a close up of the card: I used my homemade flowers again!! I'm in love with the resist emboss technique. I used a giant Damask stamp and music sheet stamp....I loved how it turned out.

Love is in the Air

At work, I had a wedding shower for 3 co-workes who were getting married this year: 2 brides, 1 groom. I was on the planning committee and was assigned to decorate these memory boxes. I used my homemade paper flowers and used diminsional paint to stiffen the petals and leaves and glued them to the corners. Instead of crumpling the flowers, I folded the petals to get a different look. I also stamped and embossed each couples name and sprayed the tags with gold perfect pearls. I love how they turned out.

Close up of Orange homemade flower.

Close up of Pink Homemade flower.

These were so fun to make.

I've Been Busy......

Hi Kids! It's been awhile....a long while but I still have time to create. Here are some of the projects I've created in the past couple of months. Above is a Birthday card I made for one of my friends. Homemade flowers are huge so I made my own version by adding irridescent dimensional paint and crumpling them up after they dry. I love love love the effect. I did the same with the leaves. I also used my Stampin' Up Bird Punch...you'll be seeing alot of this in my projects.