DT Project #2 featuring Hero Arts Believe stamp set posted by Lesley

Hello again lovely Snazzys visitors.

Well, I made it back with a 2nd project ............. just!  To be honest it's only half a project really because I had a little accident with the other half :o(.  I decided to make some tealight lanterns using the lovely word stamps from our DT pack and some of the snowflake stamps from last month's pack too.  OH and I don't seem to eat a lot of stuff that comes in jars so I only had one in the recycling crate and purposely finished a jar of marmalade (in the interests of crafting, lol) to give me another one.  Unfortunately, when I came to wash the marmalade jar ........... you got it..............I dropped it! 

Anyway, with my lonely little jar I did the stamping in Versamark a section at a time around the jar, sprinkled with gold embossing powder (I used Ranger Queen's Gold and Snazzys have a great selection of embossing powders to choose from) and heated with the heat gun.

A couple of tips here.  First of all give the jar a liberal dusting with an anti-static bag because the embossing powder will stick to the smallest area that your fingers have touched.  Secondly, although the glass takes a while to heat and the EP to start to melt, once hot it's very hot and stays that way for quite a while so be careful and watch your fingers.  Also, because of the time it takes to cool down don't attempt to stamp and emboss another area while it's still even warm because the EP will stick and start to melt as soon as it touches the glass and you end up with a right old mess!  Guess how I know that, lol?  The handy thing is if you make a mess of an area, you can wipe it off and start again while the EP is hot and melty.

I'm afraid my photography leaves a lot to be desired and I found it impossible to show how pretty this looks when the tealight is lit.  The above is the best I could do ;o)!

After all the stamping I made a hanger out of strong wire and an embellishment from an Ideology Fragment adhered with Glossy Accents over a bauble on one of the Christmas Day papers and together with a Muse Token, an Ideology tassel and various bits of chain, I hung from the wire handle.

Stamping onto glass is another first for me and I tried various ways of stamping the images.  First of all I tried laying the stamp flat on my craft mat and rolling the jar across the stamp but I couldn't seem to get an even pressure and the image was squashed out of shape or missed. I then tried pressing the stamp onto the glass without a block but that was a disaster for me.  Finally, I put the stamp on a block and rolled it over the glass.  This meant I could see when the stamp made contact with the glass so I knew I had the full image and also it helped me to not press too hard.  That was the method that worked for me anyway and I'm really happy with the end result.  I just need some more empty jars now, lol!

Well, that's it from me for 2012!  My next week to post on here will be just after the New Year so I'll be back then.  I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas with lots of crafting goodies from Santa and a very happy New Year too.  Don't forget to leave a comment HERE to join in the draw for this lovely DT pack of products if you haven't already.

See you again in 2013!

DT Project #1 By Lesley (Merry Christmas) Feat Carta Bella Christmas Day Collection and Hero Arts Believe Stamps (posted by Lesley)

Hello Snazzy Visitors 

and 

MERRY CHRISTMAS

This week is my last week to post projects for the wonderful Snazzys (aka Val and Don, the best bosses ever) for this year - Wow, how fast that has flown!  The DT have had some wonderful products to play with over the past 12 months and this pack is no different in that respect.  We were sent the wonderful paper collection by Carta Bella called Christmas Day, a set of stamps from Hero Arts caqlled  Believe and some seasonal Muse Tokens and here is my first offering of the week which I hope you all like.

 

I made a base from some thick mountboard I had in my stash by cutting two 12 x 4.75 inch pieces and gluing them back to back.  I then used one 12 x 12 sheet from the collection to wrap completely around the base and sanded all the edges.  I followed this with some random stamping first with Versamark using a Christmas script stamp.  I only inked the stamp roughly and didn't use an acrylic block but just curved the stamp roumd my fingers so that I only got a partial imprint.  I then heat embossed with embossing powder from my stash.  I then used the little strip of music stamp from last month's DT stamp set and stamped this with Black Soot Distress Ink having stamped off onto scrap first.

You can see the background stamping in the above closeup.

Although these lovely papers are quite a substantial weight, I wanted them a bit more rigid for my  lettering so I cut strips from a selection of 3 papers and adhered them to medium weight card before cutting out my letters using my Wordplay die.  I inked all the edges with Black Soot and arrranged them on my hanger.  I decided to raise some of the letters on 3D foam pads and adhere the rest flat using Cosmic Shimmer Glue.

I then stamped the Joy and Peace stamps onto ivory card using Black Versafine and cut them out with a circle die, inked the edges with Black Soot and Aged Mahogany DI and then triple embossed with Snazzys clear embossing powder.  This has a lovely gloss finish but I couldn't get it to show on the pics.  In fact, taking photos was a bit of a nightmare because of the awful weather :-(.    I diecut the motif and mounted the discs on 3D foam pads to the centres before attaching them to the hanger, again with 3D foam.  I used one of the Muse Tokens as the 'dot' for the letter i.

 

Finally I punched holes with my Crop-a-dile, made the hanger out of wire making some spirals so that the ribbon and lace would stay in place and added the little bells on some waxed thread.

I really enjoyed making this project and hope it has put you in a Christmassy mood.  Finally, don't forget if you would like to be in with a chance of winning this month's DT pack of goodies go leave a comment HERE to be placed in the random draw at the end of the month. 

Please call back later in the week when I will have another project to share with you. 

Till then

Design Team Project #3 ....

Morning Snazzy fans, today I'm back sharing my last project featuring this month's design team collection.

Using my faithful alterable item to go to (Paper Mache Hanging Board), I collaged various papers from the collection using Claudine Hellmuths Matte Medium.

Using the Ideaology Festive Adornments to embellish the hanging, I coloured them using Treasure Gold Wax.

Ideaology Muse Tokens (Festive) coloured as above.

I love the dimension from the papers which have been accented with Fresco Acrylic Paint & Treasure Gold Wax (Spanish Topaz).

A little smidging of Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint on the number 24.

The back has been decorated using the Hero Arts Clear stamp set (Believe) which has been inked with Archival Ink (Library Green).

Lesley will be here on Monday sharing her projects with you, until then if you want to be in with a chance of winning this collection click HERE and leave a comment.

Thanks so much for all your lovely comments ... until next time .... stay inky! x

Design Team Project #2 ....

Did you see our news!!!!!!!! .... oh my I'm still giddy with the excitement. To see all the details and how to register your interest, click HERE.

So today I'm back sharing an easy peezy project using the beautiful 12x12 papers & embellishment sheets. A quick and easy way of journalling your christmas day memories either to keep for yourself or to share with a loved one.

Simply cut your preferred cardstock cover to size, score down the middle, ink edges with Distress Ink (Walnut Stain), then cut various size pages from remaining cardstock and embellish with tags/stickers from the collection. It really is as easy as that!

(inside front)

(2nd page)

(3rd page)

(4th page to which I have added a kraft gift label for extra journalling/notes)

(the journal has simply been bound with gold metallic thread)

(back cover)

If you are like me *a real paper hoarder* this is a quick and easy project to use up your cardstock, it doesn't just have to be for christmas.

I will be back on Friday to share one more project with you, until then thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. x

Guess Who's Coming To Town ....

Noooooo it isn't Santa lol (but he is rumoured to be making an appearance on the eve of the 24th Dec or so they say, time to be confirmed depending on where you are in the world)!

 Hello again Snazzy followers, the wait is finally over ....

Forgive me if I go off on one during this post but I have THE MOST EXCITING NEWS TO SHARE WITH YOU ALL. After months of negotiations I can finally reveal that Snazzy's have secured the U.K debut visit from THE one & only Anna Dabrowska aka Finnabair *oh my giddy aunt* exciting or what!

For those of you who do not know Anna or her work .... Anna is a Mixed Media Artist, Scrapbooker, Art Journaler and teacher. Anna is also one of the designers for 7Dots studio and has created the most amazing paper collections such as Dreamer, Wonderland & Domestic Goddess

Anna currently also design for Prima & Sizzix UK

Anna has the most unique and distinctive style I have ever seen, her eye for composition is just amazing so whether you want to have a dabble at Mixed Media Collage, a Scrapbook Layout, or a journal spread, Anna has something for everyone. Inks and sprays will never be seen in the same light again!

I was fortunate enough along with my other teamie Astrid to take workshops with Anna earlier this year .... all I can say is WOW .... you have to see this lady irl teaching her tricks (truly inspiring). Anna's passion for what she does touches everyone taking her classes. Anna is also a truly lovely lady:)

Soooooooooo .... the workshops will be held HERE on Saturday 31st August & Sunday 1st September 2013. There will be two workshops per day, each class will hold 24 people. You will have the option to book the classes individually or all four together. The workshop class contents are still to be confirmed as Anna is working on new stuff which will be revealed after CHA in January:):):) We will then share the full details with you as soon as possible.

To register your interest in the workshops e-mail Val at snazzy@snazzysstudio.co.uk with subject header: Anna Dabrowska Workshops. 

Phew all that excitement .... I need a large G&T lol!

DT Project #1 (Santa Claus Is Coming) - A Winner & NEWS ....

Good morning everyone, wow where did those last few weeks go! Thanks to all the DT for some amazing projects over the last few weeks .... I'm sure you will agree!

With 36 comments going into the pot, the lucky winner of this months prize chosen by Random.Org is ....

 ...... #2 Redanne. Congratulations please e-mail Snazzy's with your details (Subject Winner).

Okay onto business lol ..... this month the design team are working with this kit 

featuring the Carta Bella (Christmas Day Collection), Hero Arts Clear Stamps (Believe) & Ideaology Festive Muse Tokens .... to be in with a chance of winning this kit, simply leave a comment HERE.

My first project is using a blank Artemio 15x15cm Shadow Box which has been painted with Eco - Friendly Acrylic Paint (Pomegranate).

I've applied Fresco Acrylic Paint (Holly) to a texture sponge and randomly sponged over the front of the frame.

A little touch of sparkle courtsey of Rock Candy Dry Glitter & some Ranger Glue n Seal along with a Ideaology Curio Knob

For the centre of the box I cut a piece of cardstock from the collection (Down The Chimney) to size adhered with Cosmic Shimmer Glue. I then used a mini canvas to add dimension to the next layer of cardstock (Christmas Day/Christmas Cards) which was then coverd with the new Ideaology Frosted Film (love love love this stuff).

The strip along the bottom with Santa Claus is coming to town is from the Christmas Day/Holiday Borders cardstock. I will be back later in the week with another project to show you .... until then stay inky!!

Did I forget something *scratches head* ..... ahhhhh YES THE NEWS .... *am sooooooooo excited an I just can't hide it* lol, you will need to stop by the design team blog at 5pm when I will reveal all ..... honest it's an absolute belter!!!!!!!

until then :):):):):)

The Rosey Tag of Christmas

Gooooodly Morning Snazzyfans... cor blimey, my internet is soooo slow, I have just spent a yonk and a half trying to get my page to load.. finally!  Well, I shall be a smidge later posting this than anticipated but better late than never!  So, I am back again with another offering that I made using the (saying this loudly) Teresa Collins Christmas Cottage Collection papers that we DT have been lucky enough to be playing with this week.  How can I describe the papers?  Do you remember the old Crate Papers of years ago? Textured so they have a linen-y/canvassy feel to them? Well, these are just like that, very reminiscent of them. The designs are marvellous - not too old fashioned but with enough of a vintage feel that they aren't ultra modern and in-your-face (I don't do ultra modern lol) The quality is amazing; they are a very strong paper, more like a cardstock in actual fact.  The Collection comes with a sheet of die-cuts too, one of them I have used on this tag - and they all match perfectly with the double sided designs.  And... did you know... you can CLICK HERE to be transported off to the Snazzy Online Store where lovely Val and Don have put a discounted special offer on our DT kits for this month.  As well as the papers we have had some stamps to use (I haven't inked mine yet!) and... some goooorgeous brads to match too (I loves my brads!)  Anyways, enough waffle, on with the tag:

The tag is a Size 8 cut from plain cardstock and then covered with two of the patterned papers.  I made a little border thingy to cover up the join in the papers and added a brad from the pack - check it out... not only is it big (bout the size of a 5p) it is also designed and has an epoxy covering so it is glossy and raised!  Cool huh! Once I had done this, I edged all around the tag with Frayed Burlap Distress Ink and then took my paper distresser and scuffed up the edges to make it a little shabbier. 

 
Next came some bling in the form of a very light wafting of Rock Candy Dry Stickles - I used Glue & Seal to paint onto the top and bottom of the tag and then sprinkled liberally with the Dry Stickles... I LOVE this stuff.. it is like crushed sugar, not a smidge of AB anywhere so the light just sparkles instead of colouring.  You can see the bling in one of the photo's.   I did a wee bit of die-cutting with the papers - you can see how strong they are, they withstood a Vagabond-ing and then a sanding too!  I added Rock Candy Dry Stickles to the number 25 - again using Glue & Seal for the sticky bit.

After all that die-cutting I got all creative (!) and made myself a rose.  I love making these big fancy roses - they are soooo simples too - if you check out my own bloggy there's a link in the side bar to a Tut I did some time ago... a simple way to make pretty roses.   I added some wire twists and a couple of Alcohol Inked bells to the rose embellishment and then finally, one of the pop-outs from the die-cut page of the collection, edged with Frayed Burlap and distressed with the paper distresser and then popped into a Memo Pin.  I added a few bits of Idea-ology to the top of the tag with some ribbon and voila, finished!

If you haven't already... CHECK THIS OUT... you can leave a comment and be in with a chance of winning some fabby candy... all you need to do is leave a comment!    That's all from me for now... thanks for looking... have a great day!  TTFN