Saturday, March 31, 2018

I am Creative Tag

Hello friends and Happy Easter! I found the first spring flower in the garden today, a snowdrop. My Easter decorations are out and they always make me happy to look at. It's a very eclectic mix of items I made as a child, things that the boys made (Leo has a new drawing of a chicken that he is very proud of), old decorations that I have had since I was a kid and newer craft projects that I have made more recently. It's a cheerful mix of mainly yellow and green.

Today I have a tutorial on the Darkroom Door blog.

Layers of ink - I am Creative Tag by Anna-Karin Evaldsson with stamps by Darkroom Door

I used the new I am Creative Quote stamp, which is such a fun stamp, and it fits me well since there is almost always a certain level of creative chaos on my desk. I actually often quite like it, since I tend to find interesting bits and pieces to use on projects, and some of them made their way onto this tag. Today, I have had a three-year old stamping in my study, so it is a little too chaotic, but I am very happy to see Leo stamping away and imitating the sounds of the animals he has been stamping.

I used lots of scrap pieces found on my desk for this tag, which actually consists of two tags, put together. The feathers come from the Tropical Leaves stamp set.

On the Darkroom Door blog there are step-by-step photos and close-ups.

Thank you for visiting today!

Happy stamping!

Anna-Karin

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Sketch Storage Holder

Hi friends! This month the Eileen Hull Inspiration Team is making storage and organization items, which is something I love to do. 

Layers of ink - Aviary Sketch Storage Holder tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson

I used the Journal die for my project, but although this looks like a journal, it is actually a sketching storage holder, and the inside is nothing like a journal. Since I love birds, I was happy to get Tim Holtz's new Aviary Collage Paper, and used it to cover my holder.

Layers of ink - Aviary Sketch Storage Holder tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson with Eileen Hull Sizzix dies.
This is the inside, with two storage compartments, made with the Stamp & Photo Storage die. It will keep pencils, pens, and paintbrushes safe, and there is also space for paper or for a small sketchbook. You can also use it to store other things and it would be a great gift. The compartments are also perfect for photos (4x6 in), sticker sheets, scrap papers, or anything else that you can think of.

Layers of ink - Aviary Sketch Storage Holder tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson with Eileen Hull Sizzix Journal die.

Start by die cutting two journal covers from mat board. This is an XL die, so you need the Extended Cutting Pads, but it still fits perfectly into an ordinary Big Shot or Vagabond.

Layers of ink - Aviary Sketch Storage Holder tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson with Eileen Hull Sizzix dies.

Coat the journal covers with gesso.

Layers of ink - Aviary Sketch Storage Holder tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson with Eileen Hull Sizzix Photo Storage die.

With the Stamp & Photo Storage die, die cut four of these from mat board. Cut off the flaps on the short side on two of them. For photo storage inspiration, check out my Photo Storage post

Layers of ink - Aviary Sketch Storage Holder tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson with Eileen Hull Sizzix dies.

Assemble the holders and glue them together as shown here.

Layers of ink - Aviary Sketch Storage Holder tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson with Eileen Hull Sizzix dies.

The holders were a little too thick to fit into the journal, so I extended the spine by cutting a piece of mat board 1.5 in wide.

Layers of ink - Aviary Sketch Storage Holder tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson with Eileen Hull Sizzix dies.

Plan the design and cut the tissue paper. Adhere it with a coat of gloss medium underneath and on top. You can also use matte medium.

Layers of ink - Aviary Sketch Storage Holder tutorial by Anna-Karin Evaldsson with Eileen Hull Sizzix dies.

I thought my covers were too glossy, and gave them a goat of Dina Wakley's Clear Gesso, which makes them matte, and makes it easier to continue working on them. It also gives a great feel to the covers.


Paint the insides with Antique Linen.


Coat the holder with gesso, and when dry, paint it with various Distress Paints.


Stamp with a sentiment, birds and a crackle stamp for extra texture. I placed an acrylic block inside the holder, to make it easier to stamp on top. 


Use the crackle stamp on the inside too. Glue the covers to the extender piece and place under a heavy book to dry. 


The flaps on the cover meet at the center of the extender piece, so there isn't a gap in the spine. 


For the title, I used Eileen's Homemade Alphabet and die cut it from green and brown paper. Glue the green letters to the brown ones, offsetting them a little.


I also dry brushed some brown paint around the edges and draw a border with a black pen.


Glue the holder inside the covers and fill it with items.


Here's a look at the back of the journal. The journal was tied using an elastic loop, but you can also use other ways of holding it together.


I love the look of these vintage birds.


I stamped the edges of the holder with a long sentiment stamp


The inside holder was decorated simply with tissue tape. You can of course change the look of this holder, to make it fit better with your theme.


I cut a whole bunch of sketch papers, which are placed in the front holder, while the back one holds my soft pencil case and pens. That way, my pencils are well protected and the tips and the lead won't break easily. I like being able to use my favourite papers, and to also be able to use a mix of different papers. There are some watercolor papers in the pile too.


Here's my finished sketching storage holder, ready to be taken into the field.

Thank you so much for stopping by here today! Don't miss all the inspiration posted by the team.

Have a lovely rest of the week!

Anna-Karin

Supplies:

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.



Monday, March 26, 2018

Miniature House Shadow Box

Hi everyone and welcome to my blog today! I hope your weekend was a good one. We had a fun weekend with lots of activities. The sun has been shining and I took two beautiful walks. The snow melted by day, but froze again by night and this morning some fresh snow had fallen. Luckily not much. 



It is Monday and this week we have an Inside the Box challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog. Don't miss the last project of our March guest designer Bonnie. It is a gorgeous project.

Layers of ink - Miniature House Shadow Box by Anna-Karin Evaldsson

I felt like doing something on a very small scale this week, and decided to do a tiny scene inside a shadow box. The box is the smallest of Tim Holtz's Vignette Boxes and only measures 3.1 x 2.2 in. I had such fun adding texture and lots of details to my little scene. Most of the shapes are die cut. Look at your die cut sets and you might find more small details than you'd think.

Layers of ink - Miniature House Shadow Box by Anna-Karin Evaldsson with Sizzix dies by Tim Holtz

These are most of the die cuts that I used on the project. They were die cut from kraft-core cardstock and SSS Glimmery cardstock. I used the following die sets by Tim Holtz: Funky Floral 1, Funky Floral 2, Snowglobe, Snowglobe 2 and Cityscape Suburbia. Leo wanted to have the red house, as you can see on this photo.

Layers of ink - Miniature House Shadow Box by Anna-Karin Evaldsson with Ranger Crackle Paste

The vignette box was first covered with a couple of coats of gesso. Then I used Ranger's Opaque Crackle Paste for the sky part and let it dry. When it was dry, I painted it with three shades of blue and again waited for it to dry. The whole box was then dry brushed with Ground Espresso and Black Soot Distress Paint.

Layers of ink - Miniature House Shadow Box by Anna-Karin Evaldsson

The grass and far away hills were done by smearing white Texture Paste on the background in uneven strokes with a palette knife. I also covered the edges of the box with the paste. When dry, the grass was painted with three shades of green Distress Ink. I also splattered some white paint on the background.

Layers of ink - Miniature House Shadow Box by Anna-Karin Evaldsson

The kraft-core pieces were sanded and inked. I used Linen Ribbon as a curtain on the red house. The tree comes from the Suburbian Cityscape set and was the perfect size for the box. You can also use leafy branches from the Funky Florals sets as mini trees and bushes. The red house was mounted with a thick piece of foam, for dimension.

Layers of ink - Miniature House Shadow Box by Anna-Karin Evaldsson with Sizzix Tim Holtz Snowglobe

The small house comes from Snowglobe 2. It was mounted on a somewhat smaller piece of foam than the red house, so that it stands a little bit behind the red house.

Layers of ink - Miniature House Shadow Box by Anna-Karin Evaldsson with Sizzix Tim Holtz Funky Floral

Isn't this tiny fence cute? It is also from Snowglobe 2. I used a Clippings Stickers sentiment. The small flowers were die cut with one of the dies in Funky Floral 1, from shimmery white, blue and yellow. 

Layers of ink - Miniature House Shadow Box by Anna-Karin Evaldsson

I wanted a spring feeling, and placed the small flowers here and there to give the look of the grass being almost covered in flowers. I gave the flowers a little shape with a ball tool from the Tonic Craft Tool set. I also used the tweezers from the set to position the small details.
 Layers of ink - Miniature House Shadow Box by Anna-Karin Evaldsson

The second tree is die cut from shimmery paper, and so are the clouds. I drew two little birds on one of the clouds. I used the new SSS Tacky Glue for all the gluing and really liked it. It has a very fine tip, perfect for small details. 

Layers of ink - Miniature House Shadow Box by Anna-Karin Evaldsson

Here you can see the shimmery effect better, it contrasts nicely with the more grungy look of the rest of the box.

Layers of ink - Miniature House Shadow Box by Anna-Karin Evaldsson

Here's a look from the top, so that you can better see all the dimension and the flowers on the ground. 

I hope you will join us this week in our Inside the Box challenge. As always, you have a chance to win a $50 gift voucher to do some fun shopping at Simon Says Stamp. You have until next Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in.




Don't forget to follow Simon Says Stamp on Instagram, they post great stuff daily. 




Do you use Instagram? If so please add #sssmchallenge so we can see your entries there too.





Thank you for taking the time to stop by my blog today!  

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.


Tim Holtz Sizzix FUNKY FLORAL 1
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Sizzix FUNKY FLORAL 2
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Sizzix SNOWGLOBE
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Sizzix SNOWGLOBE 2
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Sizzix CITYSCAPE SUBURBIA
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Idea-ology VIGNETTE BOXES
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Idea-ology LINEN RIBBON
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Idea-ology CLIPPINGS
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Idea-ology 8 x 8 Paper Stash CLASSIC KRAFT STOCK
[ SSS ]
Simon Says Stamp Cardstock GLIMMERY ASSORTMENT PACK
[ SSS ]
Simon Says Stamp Cardstock GLIMMERY WHITE DIAMOND
[ SSS ]
Simon Says Stamp CRAFT TACKY GLUE
[ SSS ]
Ranger TEXTURE PASTE OPAQUE CRACKLE
[ SSS ]
Wendy Vecchi Embossing Paste WHITE 8OZ
[ SSS ]
Dina Wakley Ranger WHITE GESSO
[ SSS ]
Dina Wakley Ranger WHITE
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Distress Paint TUMBLED GLASS
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Distress Paint MERMAID LAGOON
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Distress Paint GROUND ESPRESSO
[ SSS ]
Tim HoltzDistress Paint BLACK SOOT
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Distress Paint TWISTED CITRON
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Distress Paint SALTY OCEAN
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Distress Paint PEELED PAINT
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Distress Paint MOWED LAWN
[ SSS ]
Sizzix BIG SHOT MACHINE
[ SSS ]
Sizzix MULTIPURPOSE PLATFORM STANDARD FOR WAFER THIN DIES
[ SSS ]
Sizzix PURPLE WITH SILVER GLITTER
[ SSS ]
Tonic CRAFT TOOL SET
[ SSS ]
Ranger MINI ROUND INK BLENDING TOOLS
[ SSS ]
Ranger MINI ROUND FOAM REFILLS
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz DISTRESS SPRAYER
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Distress SPLATTER BRUSH
[ SSS ]
Dina Wakley Ranger PALETTE KNIFE
[ SSS ]
Ranger Inkssentials Non Stick CRAFT SHEET 15 X 18
[ SSS ]


Monday, March 19, 2018

Gel Printed Circle Background

Hello friends! I hope you have had a good weekend! I did two icy, but beautiful walks, and also had fun playing with the kids in the snow. As I am writing this, it is snowing pretty heavily outside my window. I sure hope spring will be here before Easter!


It is Monday, and this week at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog we have a Road Trip theme. Remember to check out the project by our March guest designer Nox.

Layers of ink - Gel Printed Circle Background by Anna-Karin Evaldsson

I did an art journal page with a road trip theme just two weeks ago, so for this week, I wanted to do something that wasn't car related. Instead, I made a layout about road trips by bike. I love to cycle and how it can bring you to places you haven't seen before and often cycle without planning exactly where I am going. Quite a few times, I have ended up having to cycle far when trying new paths and not being sure of where they were leading to. The past two summers, Anton has gone with me on bike trips, a little further and further the more he gets used to cycling. I do bring a map on those trips though, since they can't be too long. I used a photo from our first longer trip, to a lake we hadn't visited before. We had a great time.

The background is gel printed, using Ranger's new gel printing plates. I hadn't done gel printing for a while and had lots of fun.

Layers of ink - Gel Printed Circle Background by Anna-Karin Evaldsson

White and yellow paint was brayered onto the largest gel plate in the pack. I used two stencils by Tim Holtz and one by Dina Wakley to make the patterns into the paint. I liked the effect of the straight edges, and brayered some paint on only an edge, pressing a dry-embossed paper into the paint for the grid pattern and printed it here and there one the paper until there was no more paint on the plate. 

Layers of ink - Gel Printed Circle Background by Anna-Karin Evaldsson with Ranger gel printing plates

Next, I used the circle gel plate in the set and placed it on an acrylic block, so that it kind of became a stamp. Lime and Sky paint was brayered on the plate and I pressed dry embossed papers onto it to create patterns. This is my favourite way of adding patterns when gel printing (and you can use the painty dry embossed papers too). The circle was stamped on the page until there was no more paint left. 

Layers of ink - Gel Printed Circle Background by Anna-Karin Evaldsson

This was my final background, with lots of circles, patterns and stripes.

Layers of ink - Gel Printed Circle Background by Anna-Karin Evaldsson

To mimic the grass in the photo, I stamped the pretty grass stamp from Tim's Nature's Discovery set with Vivid Chartreuse Archival Ink.
 Layers of ink - Gel Printed Circle Background by Anna-Karin Evaldsson

Even the title letters are gel printed. I die cut Storybook letters from white mat board, and printed them with the circle plate, pressing a dotted dry embossed paper into it first.

Layers of ink - Gel Printed Circle Background by Anna-Karin Evaldsson

I was happy to find a larger and a smaller bike stamp, and also added the number 2.

Layers of ink - Gel Printed Circle Background by Anna-Karin Evaldsson

I often reach for this sentiment stamp by Tim, since I really like this combination of words and think all three are equally important in life.

Layers of ink - Gel Printed Circle Background by Anna-Karin Evaldsson

Here's another sentiment which is very suitable for cycling. We always take a picnic blanket along, and snacks and sometimes a sketchbook. The journaling is written on a tag that it tucked in a pocket behind the photo.

Layers of ink - Gel Printed Circle Background by Anna-Karin Evaldsson

I also stamped the page with the dot stamp from the Psychedelic Grunge set.

Layers of ink - Gel Printed Circle Background by Anna-Karin Evaldsson with Tim Holtz stamps.

A couple of gears fitted well on a page about cycling.

I hope you will join us this week in our Road Trip challenge. As always, you have a chance to win a $50 gift voucher to do some fun shopping at Simon Says Stamp. You have until next Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in.




Don't forget to follow Simon Says Stamp on Instagram, they post great stuff daily. 




Do you use Instagram? If so please add #sssmchallenge so we can see your entries there too.





Thank you for taking the time to stop by my blog today!  

Happy crafting!

Anna-Karin

Supplies

* Please note: the links are affiliate links, for which I receive a small percentage of sales generated by the link, at no extra cost to you.

Ranger GEL PRINTING PLATE 3 PACK
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz NATURE'S DISCOVERY
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz PURELY RANDOM
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz WORLD TRAVELER
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz TINY THINGS 2
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz MINI MUSE
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz SIMPLE SAYINGS
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz JUST THOUGHTS
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz PSYCHEDELIC GRUNGE
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz LIFE QUOTES
[ SSS ]
Ranger GEL PLATE CONDITIONER
[ SSS ]
Ranger Inkssentials INKY ROLLER MEDIUM Ink Brayer
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz MINI STENCIL SET 5
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Layering Stencil BUBBLE
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Sizzix DOT MATRIX & GRIDLOCK
[ SSS ]
Sizzix WOODGRAIN 4
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Sizzix BUBBLE & HONEYCOMB
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Sizzix RINGER
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Sizzix STORYBOOK ALPHABET Bigz XL
[ SSS ]
Sizzix LITTLE SIZZLES MAT BOARD PACK 6x13 WHITE
[ SSS ]
Arches HOT PRESSED WATERCOLOR PAD
[ SSS ]
Ranger Wendy Vecchi Archival PRICKLY PEAR
[ SSS ]
Ranger Archival Ink Pad VIVID CHARTREUSE
[ SSS ]
Ranger Archival Ink Pad FRENCH ULTRAMARINE
[ SSS ]
Ranger Archival Ink Pad JET BLACK
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Idea-ology SPROCKET GEARS
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Idea-ology MINI GEARS Sprockets
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Idea-ology LONG FASTENERS
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Idea-ology MINI FASTENERS TH92790
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Idea-ology NUMBER BRADS
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Idea-ology MIRRORED HEARTS
[ SSS ]
Dina Wakley Ranger WHITE
[ SSS ]
Dina Wakley Ranger SKY
[ SSS ]
Dina Wakley Ranger LEMON
[ SSS ]
Dina Wakley Ranger LIME
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium MATTE
[ SSS ]
Sizzix BIG SHOT MACHINE
[ SSS ]
Sizzix MULTIPURPOSE PLATFORM STANDARD FOR WAFER THIN DIES Accessory 655091
[ SSS ]
Sizzix PURPLE WITH SILVER GLITTER
[ SSS ]
Sizzix EXTENDED CUTTING PAD
[ SSS ]
We R Memory Keepers Cropadile CORNER CHOMPER Angle
[ SSS ]
We R Memory Keepers CROP-A-DILE Eyelet and Snap Punch
[ SSS ]
3M Scotch PINK ATG ADVANCED TAPE GLIDER 0.25 Inch Adhesive Glue Gun CAT 085
[ SSS ]
3M Scotch ATG 0.25 Inch GOLD REFILL TAPE Adhesive 36 Yards Acid Free 3M-90814
[ SSS ]
Hero Arts Rubber Stamp CLEAR ACRYLIC BLOCK 4 x 4.5
[ SSS ]
Hero Arts Rubber Stamp CLEAR ACRYLIC BLOCK
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Tonic CRAFT KNIFE
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Idea-ology DESIGN RULER Clear 12 Inch
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Tonic PAPER DISTRESSER
[ SSS ]
Tim Holtz Tonic CRAFT PICK
[ SSS ]