Let's Catch Up

Card Positioning Systems is celebrating their 5th Anniversary by releasing a sketch a day for 15 days.

This card is my interpretation of the day twelve sketch.

My first thoughts were of florals and bows and doilies, but I decided I wanted to do something drastically different with this sketch, and I hope I have achieved that... instead of a bow I have a propeller!

The designer paper is by Bo Bunny, the cogs are cut using Spellbinders gears die and the image is a clipart from my collection.  The sentiment inside reads "Let's Catch Up".

Steampunk Debutante Bag

Technique:  Papercrafting

Pens & Inks:
Vintage Photo Distress Ink
bronze and copper inks or paints

Papers:
Steampunk Debutante by Graphic 45
grunge paper

Dies:
Spritely Sprockets by Spellbinders
Tattered Floral by Tim Holtz

Other:
double sided adhesive tape
emery board
paper mache shopping bag
buttons
Vintage Photo stickles
jewellery chain for handle

The bag is made from sturdy paper mache and is approx 6" square by 2" deep.  I left the paper mache raw, choosing only to sand it a little to give it some tooth, and then adhered the graphic 45 paper to all sides, including the bottom, with double sided tape.  

I went around all of the edges with an emery board to distress them (an emery board is an economical little disposable sander), and then liberally applied Vintage Photo distress ink.

The gears are cut from the reverse side of the paper.  I applied double sided tape to the side I didn't want to be showing and then ran it through the Big Shot.  Voila!  I now had gear stickers.  I was so pleased with myself for thinking of this, it saves fiddling with glue which I can never seem to get neat.

The flowers are cut from grungepaper using the Tattered Floral die, and sponged with copper and bronze acrylic paints, flowers and buttons are all glued into place with hot glue and the flowers are given a liberal dusting of Stickles.  A 50cm length of chain is used for each handle, secured inside with a split ring.

Challenges:

Simon Says Stamp and Show:  Steampunk

Steampunk Birthday Card

Technique:  Papercraft

Materials:
Scarlett West digi
Copics Markers
Skin: E0000, E00, E02
Golden Brown: Y23, Y26, Y28
Leather Brown: E31, E33, E35, E37, E29
Black: C0, C3, C5, C7
Steampunk Debutante paper by Graphic 45
Distress Inks;
* Vintage Photo
* Antique Linen
* Black Soot
* Walnut Stain
Vintage Photo Stickles
Copper Gel Pen
cardstock
craft metal
metallic copper embossing powder

Tools:
Sizzix Big Shot
Cuttlebug embossing folder, Clockworks
Spellbinders Spritely Sprockets
Steampunk rubber stamp set by the Rubber Cafe

I've been in love with steampunk long before it was cool.  Way back in 2001 a PC game called Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura was released and since then I have been in love with all things steampunkery.  So this recent steampunk trend has been a dream come true for me, a way to embrace and explore a theme that previously wasn't available to mainstream crafting.

There have been a lot of steampunk digital stamps released lately, but many of them have been too 'cutesy' for my taste. The recent releases by Kenny K are right up my alley though! Edgy, sexy but still a little gritty.

I made this card for a friend of my husband, who has been adopted by us all as a family member, it was his birthday today! He has been admiring my colouring lately, and Kenny K's images are perfect for male cards. The sentiment inside reads:

"You can't turn back the clock, but you can wind it up again..."

Now that I have bored you all with my personal rantings, the card was a pretty easy one to construct. The background paper is a piece of white card put through the sizzix in the clockworks embossing folder, then highlighted with antique linen and vintage photo distress inks.

The gear in the lower corner is a cut using the spritely sprocket die set. I used a piece of craft metal, which is embossed with copper embossing powder, which is then inked with black ink to grunge it up and age it, with a sprinkle of vintage photo Stickles.

This photo has been taken with the flash on so that the light reflects, not so good for the paper but it shows the shimmer from the copper gel pen on her outfit and gear.

The "steampunk" tag sticking out the side of the main image is from the Steampunk set by the Rubber Cafe, inked with vintage photo and walnut stain. The paper behind the main image is from the Steampunk Debutante range by Graphic 45.

Challenges

iCopic Challenge: skin tones (Kenny K's girls show so much flesh!)
Kenny K's Crafty Girls: metal embellishment

Steampunk Tag

Technique:  Papercraft

Materials:
Scarlett West digi
Copics Markers
Skin: E0000, E00, E02
Golden Brown: Y23, Y26, Y28
Leather Brown: E31, E33, E35, E37, E29
Green: YG61, YG63, YG67
Black: C0, C3, C5, C7
Steampunk Debutante paper by Graphic 45
Distress Inks;
* Vintage Photo
* Antique Linen
* Black Soot
* Walnut Stain
Vintage Photo Stickles
Copper Gel Pen
cardstock
craft metal
metallic copper embossing powder

Tools:
Sizzix Big Shot
Tim Holtz Alterations die, Tag and Booksplates
Cuttlebug embossing folder, Clockworks
Spellbinders Spritely Sprockets
Steampunk Charity Wings rubber stamp set by the Rubber Cafe
heat gun

Did I mention my love for all things steampunkery? :0)

This tag I made specifically for the Simon Says Stamp and Show challenge this week, the theme of which was to show a tag. 

Do you remember when you first started papercrafting?  You were probably like me and started with very limited supplies, and even a spending spree only meant getting a few prized tools and materials.  Slowly, over time, the collection grows and grows and you can start making what you envision in your head without need for substitution or compromise.  That's been the case with this tag.  First came the Big Shot, then some distress inks, some dies, some embossing folders, and the rubber stamps, don't even get me started on Copics, do you know how long it takes to build up a colour library when you budget to buy 3 at a time LOL.

The main image is called Scarlett West from Kenny K.  No doubt you will get bored with how many times I will use this particularly lovely!

The tag is made using a Tim Holtz die, tag and bookplates, I use this all the time, well worth the investment.  The cog pattern on the background is made with a Cuttlebug embossing folder I am beginning to prefer these over other brands as they are considerably larger.  No need to butcher the folder apart to fit in a tag.  The embossed areas are inked with antique linen and vintage photo distress inks.

The wings and sentiment come from a set by Rubber Cafe called Steampunk Charity Wings, it's one that I can see myself using again and again.  The set was designed especially to support an organization called Charity Wings which is a California Non-Profit Organization that serves as a resource for Crafters and Artists that want to raise money and awareness for charity.

The sentiment is a quote by Orville Wright which reads "If birds can glide for long periods of time why can't I?"  The wings were stamped in vintage photo and then embossed with copper embossing powder.

The cogs are cut from card using a Spellbinders die, Sprightly Sprockets.  Inked with vintage photo, embossed with copper embossing powder, inked again with soot black, and then given a sprinkle of vintage photo Stickles.  The larger of the cogs has been attached with a brad that has likewise been embossed with copper and kissed with Stickles.

Do you ever wish companies would make things just for you?  I wish Texture Fades embossing folders were larger and I wish Spellbinders would make steel rule dies so I could cut chunky materials.  What would you wish for?