Gear Up - A Steampunk Card

It's Topflight Stamps Tuesday and an "Anything Goes" week, so I created a Steampunk card with the Faceless Time Clear Stamp Set 1456, the Papillons Clear Stamp Set 1462, the Frise Pendentifs Clear Stamp Set 1461, and the Time Tinker Clear Stamp Set 1374 as well as the Cog Engine Die Set 125 and the Frayed Frames Die Set 26 — all by AALL and Create. The background panel and die-cuts were created with Steampunk Soiree Magical Pigment Powders by Lindy's Stamp Gang, applied with baby wipes to Bristol paper.

Here it is!

Topflight Stamps Products Used:

Faceless Time Clear Stamp Set 1456 by Autour de Mwa for AALL and Create

Papillons Clear Stamp Set 1462 by Azoline for AALL and Create

Frise Pendentifs Clear Stamp Set 1461 by Azoline for AALL and Create

Time Tinker Clear Stamp Set 1374 by Janet Klein for AALL and Create

Cog Engine Die Set 125 by AALL and Create

Frayed Frames Die Set 26 by AALL and Create

Steampunk Soiree Magical Pigment Powders by Lindy's Stamp Gang

Tuxedo Black Memento Ink by Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko

Morning Mist and Nocturne VersaFine Clair Inks by Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko
Clear Gloss Embossing Powder by WOW

Other Products Used:

Bristol Paper by Strathmore

Black Textured Cardstock by Bazzill Basics

Copic Markers:

Skin: BV000, BV0000, E50, E21, E11, E00, E000

Jacket/Hat: BV23, BV20, N3, N2, N1, N0

Vest: B43* (custom blend), B41

Shirt: B21, <B21* (custom blend)

Tie, Hatband, Pocket Square: R56, R37, R24, R22

Hourglass: Y28, Y26, Y23, Y11, BG90, BG72, BG70

Sand in Hourglass: E44, E43, E42, E41

Gears: Y28, Y26, Y23, Y21, Y11; E99, E97, E95; E18, E08, E07; YR26, YR24, YR23, YR21, YR20: BG75, BG72

Cloud: B60, C0, C00, Y000, BV000, RV000

Rainbow: R000, YR00, Y000, G00, G000, B21, <B21, B53, B60, V000, V0000

Outlines: <B21

Dots: <B21, B41, BG75, BG72, N1, N0

White Gelly Roll Gel Pen by Sakura

Baby Wipes

Craft Mat

Canna Lily Burnt Orange and Tophat Teal Magicals Pigment Powders by Lindy's Stamp Gang

Anti-static Tool or Pouch

Noteworthy Thinlits Alterations Die Set by Tim Holtz for Sizzix

Low-tack Tape

Tiny Gears Die by Memory Box

Glassboard by Glassboard Studios

Stamping Platform

Instructions:

1. Create a 5" x 7" card from black textured cardstock. Set aside.
2. Use Tuxedo Black Memento Ink to stamp the focal image from the Faceless Time Clear Stamps 1456 onto a panel of Bristol paper. 
3. Heat set the ink, then color the image with Copic markers. 
4. Use a White Gelly Roll Gel pen to add highlights to the hourglass.
5. Use the largest die from the Frayed Frames Die Set 26 to cut the image panel, mat the panel with black cardstock, and set it aside.
6. Cut a piece of 9" x 12" Bristol paper into a 4.75" x 6.75" panel (for the background panel) and a 2" x 12" strip (for border and sentiment die-cuts).
7. Place the strip onto a craft mat. 
8. Use a small spatula to place a pile of Yesteryear Yellow Magical Powder from the Steampunk Soiree Magical Pigment Powder Set onto the craft mat. 
9. Fold a baby wipe and press the top part of it into the pigment powder. 
10. Drag the baby wipe vertically on the strip of Bristol paper to start to apply the Magical Pigment Powder, working from the outside edges towards the center. Dip the wipe into the powder and apply it again. Continue until the powder pile is gone and your Bristol strip is colored. Clean your craft mat.
11. Use a spatula to place a smaller pile of Canna Lily Burnt Orange Magical Pigment Powder onto the craft mat. 
12. Using a new baby wipe, press the top of the wipe into the pigment powder, then drag the baby wipe down the strip of Mixed Media paper to fill in the gaps.
13. Continue to dip the wipe and drag it down the strip until the powder is gone.
14. Clean your craft mat.
15. Repeat the above process using an even smaller amount of Tophat Teal from the the Steampunk Soiree Magical Pigment Powder Set to add some verdigris colors to the Bristol Strip. When the colors and blend please you, thoroughly heat set the panel and trim it in half (2" x 6".
16. Use the both dies from the Cog Engine Die Set 125 to cut the colored Bristol paper strip. 
17. Flip the die-cuts over and color the back with a black Copic marker or sponge them with Nocturne VersaFine Clair Ink.  This step will edge the die-cuts from the back.
18. Place the 4.75" x 6.75" panel and a small scrap of Bristol paper onto a clean craft mat. 
19. Use a spatula to add a pile of Pocket Watch Pewter Magical Powder onto the clean craft mat. 
20. Press the top of a clean baby wipe onto the pigment powder, then drag the baby wipe onto the Bristol paper panel and scrap, working from the outer edges towards the center. 
21. Dip the wipe into the powder and continue to apply color to the panels. When done, heat set the panels thoroughly.
22. Pounce an anti-static tool/pouch onto the background panel then secure the panel onto the base of a stamping platform with magnets and/or low-tack tape.
23. Position the corner gears stamp from the Papillons Clear Stamp Set 1462  facedown along the top left of the panel. 
24. Press the platform's lid onto the back of the corner gears stamp and lift.
25. Ink the stamp with Morning Mist VersaFine Clair Ink and stamp. 
26. Remove the panel from the stamping platform, add Clear Gloss Embossing Powder to the wet ink, dump the excess powder back into the container, and heat set. 
27. Clean and dry the corner gears stamp. 
28. Place the background panel back onto the stamping platform and position the the corner gears stamp from the Papillons Clear Stamp Set 1462 facedown along the lower right hand edge. 
29. Position the border gears stamp from the Frise Pendentifs Clear Stamp Set 1461 facedown vertically along the bottom left hand edge. 
30. Press the platform's lid onto the back of the stamps and lift.
31. Ink the stamps with Morning Mist VersaFine Clair Ink and stamp. 
32. Remove the panel from the stamping platform, add Clear Gloss Embossing Powder to the wet ink, dump the excess powder back into the container, and heat set. 
33. Edge the background panel with Nocturne VersaFine Clair Ink.
34. Use a nameplate cutting die and a small gears die to cut the grey-colored scrap of Bristol paper.
35. Place a piece of low-tack tape on the back of the Bristol paper scrap die-cut. and then secure the die-cut scrap onto the base of a stamping platform. 
36. Position the "Gear Up" stamp from the Time Tinker Clear Stamp Set 1374 facedown onto the die-cut. 
37. Ink the stamp with Nocturne VersaFine Clair Ink and stamp. 
38. Remove the die-cut from the stamping platform.
39. Pour Clear Gloss Embossing Powder onto the wet ink, dump the excess powder back into the container, and heat set.
40. Use the nameplate frame die and a small gears die to cut a leftover scrap from the rusty yellow tinted border strip. 
41. Use Nocturne VersaFine Clair Ink to edge both parts of the nameplate die-cuts, then adhere the sentiment die-cut onto the frame die-cut. 
42. Adhere the gears die-cuts to cover the holes of the nameplate.
43. Adhere the border die-cut to the right side of the background panel. 
44. Adhere the matted image panel onto the background panel as shown. 
45. Adhere the sentiment nameplate die-cut to the upper left of the background panel. 
46. Adhere the completed card front to the reserved 5" x 7" black card.

Thank you for visiting today!

Soar!

Greetings! It's Topflight Stamps Tuesday! This week's focus is on Mixed Media with an emphasis on pigment powders. I created an encouragement card with the Tracy Scott 59 (TS059) Rubber Cling Stamp Set, the Tracy Scott 53 (TS053) Rubber Cling Stamp Set, the Scrapcosy 36 (ESC36)  Rubber Cling Stamp Set, and Sleight Blue, Sunset Beach, and Violet Storms Infusions — all by PaperArtsy.

Here it is!

Topflight Stamps Products Used:

Tracy Scott 59 (TS059) Rubber Cling Stamp Set by Tracy Scott for PaperArtsy

Tracy Scott 53 (TS053) Rubber Cling Stamp Set by Tracy Scott for PaperArtsy

Scrapcosy 36 (ESC36)  Rubber Cling Stamp Set by Scrapcosy for PaperArtsy

Sleight Blue, Sunset Beach, and Violet Storms Infusions by PaperArtsy

Dahlia Purple VersaFine Clair Ink by Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko

Clear Gloss Embossing Powder by WOW

Fine Spray Misters by Spectrum Noir

Premier Ink Blending Tool by Hunkydory Crafts

Other Products Used:

140 lb. Mixed Media Paper by Strathmore

White Heavy Cardstock by Bazzill Basics

Distress Micro Glaze by Tim Holtz for Ranger Ink

Low-tack Tape

Craft Mat

Paint Brush

Paper Towel

Scissors

Anti-static Pouch

Stamping Platform

Instructions:

1. Create a 5" x 7" card from heavy white cardstock. Set aside.
2. Cut a piece of 9" x 12" Mixed Media paper in half. 
3. Use magnets and/or low-tack tape to secure one half of the Mixed Media paper to the base of a stamping platform. 
4. Position the hexagons and the bee from the Tracy Scott 59 (TS059) Rubber Cling Stamp Set  facedown on the Mixed Media paper. 
5. Press the platform's lid onto the back of the stamps and lift.
6. Gently dip a blending foam on a Premier Ink Blending Tool into a jar of Distress Micro Glaze to pick up some of the glaze. 
7. Use the Premier Ink Blending Too to apply the glaze to the stamps. If you wish, you can spread the Distress Micro Glaze with a blending brush. 
8. Close the platform's lid to transfer the glaze to the Mixed Media panel. 
9. Repeat Steps 6 - 8 to ensure good impressions for all the stamps.
10. Remove the image panel from the stamping platform and place it onto a craft mat.
11. Lightly sprinkle Sleight Blue Infusions onto the bottom part of the image panel.
12. Lightly sprinkle Sunset Beach Infusions over and around the bee. 
13. Lightly sprinkle Violet Storms Infusions over the top part of the panel and wherever the powder seems light. 
14. Mist the image panel with a water-filled Fine Spray Mister to activate the Infusions' pigments. You will note that the Distress Micro Glaze acted as a resist and the images' outlines remained white. 
15. Tilt the background panel to encourage the Infusions pigments to blend. 
16. Use a paintbrush to spread them further if so desired. 
17. Gently dip a paper towel into any puddles to remove excess water. 
18. When you're happy with the background, thoroughly heat set the image,.
19. Trim the panel to slightly less than 5" x 7". 
20. Use the edge of a pair of scissors to distress the edges of the image panel.
21. Pat an anti-static tool over the image panel then place the image panel back onto the base of a stamping platform, secured with low-tack tape and/or magnets.
22. Position the "Soar" sentiment stamp from the Tracy Scott 53 (TS053) Rubber Cling Stamp Set facedown on the image panel towards the top left. 
23. Position the "Free to Fly..." sentiment stamp from the Scrapcosy 36 (ESC36)  Rubber Cling Stamp Set facedown and centered under the bee (but straight -- oops!). 
24. Press the platform's lid onto the back of the sentiment stamps and lift.
25. Ink both sentiments with Dahlia Purple VersaFine Clair Ink and stamp. 
26. Re-ink and stamp and again if needed to attain a good impression.
27. Remove the image panel from the stamping platform.
28. Add Clear Gloss Embossing Powder to the wet ink, dump the excess powder back into the container, and heat set the embossing powder.
29. Adhere the image panel to the reserved white 5" x 7" card.

Notes:

• The credit for this resist technique goes Vero KT.
• Here's a description of Infusions. "A water reactive dry dye stain suitable for fabric and paper. Our two-part formulation has 2 different crystals which react with the water at 2 different rates; the colour particles act fast, and the brown walnut crystals are slower to dissolve. This allows control over how much brown-to-colour you create depending on the amount of water you apply and when you dry."
I personally love that the colors are variegated.
• I have stuck a tack through the metal lid of each of my jars of Infusions. This allows you to sprinkle the pigment powders with much more control. You can always remove the lid to spoon small amounts from the jar as well.
• I should also mention that using the Infusions this way leads to unpredictable results, which runs contrary to my usual control-freak tendencies.

Thanks for visiting today!

Dance

Greetings! Saturday is my day to share a Funky Fossil Designs project. There's a fabulous new release named the Modernist Medley. The Modernist Medley Core Collection is a great deal and available right now. Here's the information about it.

"The collection contains an A5 stamp set, set of 7 dies and 2 stencils - all inspired by the artwork of Matisse and designed to provide you with a range of abstract, organic imagery that will inspire bright, bold and eye catching projects. The rich colours of our Mediterranean Embossing Powders will work beautifully with these silhouette images."

I'll admit that whereas I love Matisse, this collection presented a real challenge to me. As such, I've got two projects to share with you, but seeing my propensity to excruciatingly verbose instructions, I'll share them in two separate blog posts.

 Here's my first project, created with the A5 Modernist Medley Clear Stamp Set, the Modernist Medley Stencil, and Santorini Blue Embossing Powder from the Mediterranean Moods Wow Embossing Powder Trio. 

Funky Fossil Products Used:

A5 Modernist Medley Clear Stamp Set

Modernist Medley Stencil

Santorini Blue Embossing Powder from the Mediterranean Moods Wow Embossing Powder Trio

Other Products Used:

Desert Storm Classic Crest Cardstock by Neenah Papers

Aloe Vera, Oasis Green, Tea Leaves, Spanish live, Hint of Pesto, Turquoise Gem, Cloud White, and Wheat VersaMagic Chalk Inks by Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko

Warm Breeze and Sand Dune VersaFine Clair Inks by Imagine Crafts/Tsukineko

Low-tack Tape

Anti-static Pouch

STAY-tion by Wendy Vecchi for Ranger Ink

Glassboard by Glassboard Studios

Stamping Platform

Instructions:

1. Cut a piece of Desert Storm cardstock to 6" square and secure it to the STAY-tion using low-tack tape and/or magnets.
2. Use Low-tack tape and/or magnets to secure the Modernist Medley Stencil over the panel of Desert Storm cardstock.
3. Sponge VersaMagic Chalk Inks over the Modernist Medley Stencil onto the cardstock panel.
4. Remove the stencil and heat set the panel.
5. Pounce the anti-static pouch over the stenciled cardstock panel.
6. Place the stenciled cardstock panel onto the base of a stamping platform and secure with tape and//or magnets.
7. Position the dancers and the "Dance" sentiment stamps from the A5 Modernist Medley Clear Stamp Set facedown onto the image panel.
8. Press the platform's lid onto the back of the stamps, lift, ink the stamps with Warm Breeze VersaFine Clair Inks, and stamp. 
9. Re-ink and stamp again if necessary to attain good impressions.
10. Remove the stamped cardstock panel from the platform, pour Santorini Blue Embossing Powder from the Mediterranean Moods Wow Embossing Powder Trio over the ink, dump the excess back into its container, and heat set.
11. Trim the image panel to 5.25", edge with Sand Dune VersaFine Clair Ink, and heat set.
12. Cut a piece of Desert Storm cardstock to 5.5" x 11". Score at 5.5" and fold to form a 5.5" square card.
13. Adhere the image panel to the card.

Notes:

• I mentioned that the Modernist Medley was a challenge for me as it's relatively abstract. I'm a Virgo and whereas my choice of themes is a bit eclectic, my style tends to me relatively clean and linear.
• However, after a bit of trepidation, I decided that I quite like the collection and know it will see a lot of use. Best of all, it will force me to grow and stretch, which is always a good thing (except if it's my weight).
• This was also my first time using Wow Embossing Powders. The Santorini Blue is sparkly and has a lot of texture. I can't wait to try the other two colors included in the Mediterranean Moods Wow Embossing Powder Trio.

Thanks for visiting today. Come back later for the second card.