StarLitStudio

much love to baby

Some new chenille dotted ribbon arrived this week, and the softness of it inspired this baby card!

My friend Lisa Zappa dubbed this ribbon 'caterpillar' at CHA - and I love that term for this ribbon style!  I also incorporated Mish's (Michelle Wooderson) concept of 'grounding' the card's focal point.

Using Lockhart's adorable baby bib image, I stamped once onto a large piece of white cardstock and colored in the ties and outlined/shadowed the whole image.  Then stamped again onto a white cardstock scrap and added the Itty Bitty Butterfly!  Colored in the scrap with Copic markers and cut out, and adhered to the shadowed bib.  Mat with Peapod (all colored cardstock is Memory Box) and adhered to a card front that is covered with a piece of Grove (Memory Box) patterned paper. 

The pink grounding strip is Cherry Blossom with inked edges using Distress Antique Linen.  The caterpillar ribbon in pink adds the softness I was seeking for this card.

The Much Love sentiment is from Hero Arts, decorated this and the bib with heart bling from A Muse Creative Candy.  Mini baby clip added a bit of metal whimsy. 

Inside of the card is finished with a strip from Grove and Hero Arts stamps with the Lockhart bib outline.  Thank you for stopping by and best wishes for a great week!

sources:  Copic markers, Memory Box cardstock, cards, envelopes and fabulous patterned papers!, bling and the entire Lockhart Stamp Company line - Ellen Hutson, LLC

Hero Arts stamps - the premier retail store with rapid, very reasonable shipping and selection:  Stampin' Treasures

caterpillar ribbon, blending tools - StarLitStudio

wrap-around card

Mondays at the Hero Arts blog are called 'Motivational Mondays'...they get you thinking out-of-the-box!  This past Monday Nancy Taylor introduced a 'wrap-around card'.   I was tempted and caved to this fun twist on a standard card!

I used the new Branch 'n Leaf Long Borders - these are clear, quality Hero Arts stamps...each twelve inches long!  I purchased a long clear block to use with them.  Using one of the leaf borders and an Adirondack Lettuce pad, I stamped on the front and back of the cardstock piece (4-1/4" x 11"), then scored at 5-1/2" to form a card base.

Scoring after stamping ensured my cardstock layed flat while stamping.

I Added in Prima flowers, an adorable owl, bird and verse sayings from the Happy Hello set.  Since I used Copic markers to color in the animals on the card, I opted to stamp them on a piece of white cardstock scrap, then color, cut out, and adhere with foam dimensionals.  Hero Arts Gemstones were added among the Prima flowers.

Hope you all have a fun week and thank you for stopping by!

The best Hero Arts retailer:  Stampin' Treasures!

foodie notebook

Another altered notebook from Target!  (and I promise I'll put them away for a while...)  I'm using handmade paper from a stationary store in historic Clinton, NJ - comes in BIG sheets like wrapping paper.

Lockhart's Itty Bitty Ice Cream cone was stamped onto a white Inchie Square and colored with Copic markers.  I added Prisma Glitter (Hero Arts) to parts of the ice cream using a glue pen, and allowed to dry.  Then I covered all parts of the ice cream with Ranger's Glossy Accents.  Edged white Inchie Square with a Krylon gold leafing pen and mounted onto black cardstock.  I just shadowed the left side of the cone to give it a dimensional look.  ...actually the image is off-center a bit and this helped pull your eye to the left so you would not notice...

The Inchie Squares are premium museum quality matboard - they add the element of height to the Inchie, and are a dream to color on!

Binge saying and foam are from 7gypsies (Yummy stickers).  I drilled a hole with my Dremel through the handles of the utensil set and strung them with Robin's Egg waxed linen.

This notebook from Target did not come with a mini pen - I added one using black elastic, and eyelet and E-6000 adhesive.  You can pick up these mini pens at places like Staples or Office Depot.

Summer mix Art Flowers decorating the front are from Ellen's store, along with the yellow bling flower centers.  Double sided satin ribbon finishes off the journal spine.  A perfect idea journal for that fabulous chef in your life! 

New to Inchies?  Inchie Arts is a website dedicated to education!  A full line of quality Inchie Arts products are available through Ellen's store. 

Here is another journal covered, adding just a key from Tim Holtz's Word Keys to show off the handmade paper.  Thank you for stopping by!

sources:  Inchie Arts products, featuring museum quality matboard Inchie Squares (white or black), Art Flowers and bling, Memory Box (Licorice used) cardstocks, Copic markers (both individually and in great designer sets!), the entire Lockhart Stamp Company line - Ellen Hutson, LLC

glue pen, 7gypsies products, waxed linen, metal utensil set, ribbon, Word Keys - StarLitStudio

tips from t!m Holtz

Samples of quick tags I made after returning home, inspired by Tim Holtz.

As promised, here are highlights from the five pages of notes I took while entranced by Tim at the Summer 2008 CHA Ranger booth:

1. Cut 'n Dry Foam:  One can use the white part of this product to speed blending and it does not absorb the product - it actually conserves the product and blends ever-so-beautifully...what I learned is the silver side can be heated with a heat tool, push and hold any stamp image firmly into warm/hot silver foam until cooled - using scissors cut the image out and - BAM! - instant reverse image of your stamp.  Works like Clearsnap's MagicStamp.  Try heating a piece then pushing into a pile of rubber bands, twigs, marbles, raffia for a truly unique stamp....
2. You can die-cut Cut 'n Dry Foam.
3. Tim has color index dots on the caps of his Mini Misters to identify what is inside quickly and easily - simply spray contents onto white cardstock, dry and punch with a 1/2" circle punch; adhere to Mini Mister cap with Glossy Accents.
4. Tim has color index dots on the top of his Foam Blending Tools and they are stored in a vintage-style spin rack.  StarLitStudio will be carrying these metal, vintage-style spin racks to house up to eight blending tools early to mid-August.  To create color ID dots for the wooden handles, simply swipe desired colors (Tim had one each of these colors for his blending tools:  red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, light brown and dark brown) onto white cardstock and punch with a 3/4" circle punch.  Adhere with Glossy Accents to top of wooden handle.
5. Speaking of Glossy Accents, Tim slammed the bottle down on his worksurface when finished dispensing the product.  By slamming it down it forces the product out of the nozzle and back into the bottle, preventing the nozzle from getting that common clog, then having to use a needle to reopen it with each use. 
6. Tim opened his Distress Embossing Pad, held it up to his nose, and deeply inhaled!  I said something, and he passed the pad to me.  I did the same - deep inhale through the nose...and guess what ladies... it smells....like PEPPERMINT!!  No stinkie!!  Tim said when he formulated his embossing ink he wanted it to, well, not stink.  Y'all are gonna go smell your Versamark now I know it!  Per Tim, other embossing inks, "...they stink, like STINK!"
7. You can sew directly through Grungeboard. 
8. Grungeboard is safe in your washer.  And dryer.  Grungeboard, altered using either Distress Crackle Paint, Distress Ink, or Adirondack Color Wash, is safe in your washer.  And dryer.  Oh, the possibilities... !!!!!!!  Yes, I am trying this weekend and will report back!!
9. Grungeboard is moldable with coaxing - use your fingers and heavy pressure - look what he did to a butterfly - http://www.flickr.com/photos/shoppingdiva/2681553570/in/photostream/ (A special thank you to Christine Urias for allowing me to share this photo with you.)
10. Tim's light carmel colored T-shirt from Advantus reads on the front - very plain, no details - just the words, "Do you see nothing?"  and on the back - highly detailed with stylized multi-colored flourishes - reads, "or possibilities?"  LOVE it. 
11. Distress Pad storage:  OK to store upright or upside down.  Tim explained it this way:  Think of a household sponge.  You wet it, wring it out, then come back 15-30 minutes later - where is it wet?  Everywhere - not on the top or bottom, but wet throughout the sponge.  Same thing with your Distress Pad.
12. You can not contaminate Distress Pads when layering color using the pad itself (direct to paper technique).
13. You can not contaminate Adirondack Acrylic Paint Daubers either - color is dispensed only and can not be 'sucked back into' the container.  Just clean the affixed sponge applicator and you're good to go.
14. One can not 'tone down' a Distress Pad - you can not get a lighter color by generation (or repetition) stamping - color stays true.
15. I asked Tim why his Distress Black Soot was the blackest ink on the market.  He told the story of how he went to the chemists when creating the Distress palette and wanted 'black'.  They told him "black does not exist", and "black is a combination of purple, green and blue."  Tim said,
    "start with black".  The chemists said, "nothing exists in nature that is black except coal".  Tim said, "Okay, so start there."  ...So there you have it - it has coal in it...hence the name 'Black Soot'....he's so clever... and smart...
16. Using Mini Misters, about 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of Perfect Pearls, add water and a full dropper full of any Distress reinker to create your own mist of glimmer on projects.  Don't fill the Mini Mister full with water - leave a bit of room (about 3/4") when filling so the water/reinker and powder can emulsify easily.  A popsicle stick makes a great tool to insert a portion of Perfect Pearls into the mini misters - fits perfectly.
17. Check out the new Mini Mister Organizer!  Available soon and yes, we will be carrying this.  I plan on adhering three or four together to keep all of mine organized and together.
18. Tim showed how to get your Mini Mister to 'spit'.  It cracked me up:  hold the nozzle between your thumb and first finger very, very close to the top of the nozzle, and depress ever-so-slightly.  This will cause the Mini Mister to and not mist.
19. Organizational tip:  DON'T!    I had all of my Tim hardware (Sprockets, Word Keys, Trinket Pins, etc.) individually organized in their own glass-topped watchmaker tins.  Not Tim - he has them all jumbled together in a purtty vintage box...I came home and did the same - now they are all jumbled together (OK the jump rings and brads are in clear lidded tins, cuz they'd be hard to find) ...and all of the hardware together...it DOES make you THINK about the possibilities...and outside the box.
20. When poking using Tim's piercer from Tonic, poke, then twist slightly.  It will keep the hole opened nicely.
21. When using your heat tool, hold the paper up at an angle, not flat on your worksurface.  By holding the paper at an angle, you allow the heat to pass through and the paper does not curl.
22. Adirondack Color Wash is a textile dye - you gettie it on your clothie, it stayie.  Tim recommended for folks that are squeamish about a messy product:  Wear a garbage bag and gloves and have fun.  Prepare for a mess and you'll enjoy it!  Me?  I'll stick to my apron and inky hands.  If I get the spray on my shirt I'll just spray the other side.
23. Adirondack Color Washes can not be watered down to get a less-intense color.  Water actually intensifies them - by a factor of TEN...  Try misting tag/paper with water, then go at it with the color washes.  Much different effect than using the product without water beforehand.  The product will not blend unless you have a water layer under the colors.  With water it feathers together oh so nicely (see tag on right above).
24. Tim's Distressing Tool (the one that looks like a thread cutter) contains a titanium blade for maximum life.
25. Use Snow Cap (white) Acrylic Paint Dauber to rub over Tim's Trinket Pins or Philosophy Tags, then wipe away, to make the engraved word easier to read/see.
26. Twelve Distress Stickle colors (not necessarily the original 12 Distress hues...I asked...) are being released now (available soon!), with the balance slotted for release this winter.  Distress Stickles will have a wider opening as the glittah is biggah.  They are actually more pearlesque in sparkle than a metallic sparkle of the original Stickle colors.
27. Masks - VERY exciting new product - $2.99 retail and you get quite a few with each theme, and they are BIG...  On the back of the packaging there is a cute little sentence and signature from Heidi Swapp - endorsing the product.  Tim asked her to do this so folks would not jump to conclusions that he stole her product - Per Tim, Heidi asked him to design a few masks and he agreed, but only if she would endorse them on his packaging.
28. Cling adhesive in the masks - you can wash these masks in your sink and the cling will not wear off - purrty kewl!
29. More about masks: Tim's are CLEAR and more detailed than others on the market.  Yup - clear.  When you layer them on your surface and begin inking, you can SEE where you inked cuz, well, they are CLEAR and not black, so you can see how much to ink.  Yay, Tim!  genius...

In closing, Tim is as genuine in person as he comes across in his DVD's.  After spending about 50 minutes enthralled, watching him demo non-stop, I prepared to depart and thanked him, and I made the statement, "I think one of the reasons you are so amazing is one can watch you and go home and recreate the same techniques with success."  His reply?  "That's what it's all about."

turtle rock book

Love this little guy - enjoying life on his rock!  This inchie - 'Tony Turtle' - is a new Itty Bitty image from Lockhart - perfectly suited for Inchies!

I stamped Tony onto a white Inchie Square using a Palette Noir pad.  Colored in using Copics then mounted on a black cardstock square. 

Notebook base is from Target, covered with 7gypsies Kraft Vie paper.  To attach the mini pen (Staples - comes in packs of 12) I followed these steps using black elastic and an eyelet and that trusty E-6000 cement. 

For more information on the wonderful world of Inchies, please visit Lisa Lee's informative site at www.InchieArts.com.  Items listed and described in detail on this site are available for purchase at Ellen's store. Thank you for stopping by today!! 

sources:  Memory Box paper (Licorice used), Copic markers, Lockhart Stamp Company's complete line including NEW summer images and their exclusive Itty Bitty images...just for Inchies!!...Your Inchie Headquarters:  Inchie Squares, supplies, organizational materials - Ellen Hutson, LLC

7gypsies papers - StarLitStudio

dressed for success

Floral dress stamps are great - if you have one or a few or all 4... and use to make some great, fast gifts.  These dresses are from Lockhart Stamp Company's La Fleur Couture collection and are a joy (and speedy!) to color!

Trick is to pick two flower colors (a light and a dark for each of the two), and two greens - light and dark.  Keep the palette small and you'll be finished faster!

The card layout is from my friend Lana Lepinski.  It makes great use of coordinating patterned paper scraps, which seem to breed and multiply each night here...

Card fronts were assembled with patterned paper and ribbon, then focused on the dresses.  I stamped the 'thinking of you' sentiment (Hero Arts) then colored in the images with Copic markers.  Pierced the cardstock pieces then adhered to the card front using foam dimensionals.

Finished the interior with leftover snippets of the patterned paper and 'you are amazing' (Hero Arts).  Thank you for stopping by!

sources:

Memory Box paper (Cotton Candy, Licorice and Parsley used); Copic markers, both individually and in designer sets; the entire Lockhart Stamp Company line - Ellen Hutson, LLC

'thinking of you' and interior 'you are amazing' are from Hero Arts - Stampin Treasures (premier Hero Arts retailer) 

paper - 3 bugs in a rug; ribbon - stampin' up.

Tim Holtz piercer from Tonic Studios - StarLitStudio

I met t!m!!

Friday, July 18th - First day CHA:  my first stop is Advantus.  These are the folks that make all of Tim Holtz's new hardware and grungeboard and goodies...

...I place a big order, and lo and behold Tim is there and I politely ask if I can get a quick pic.  I had made a 'little somethin' for him using his products, and he was kind enough to accept it and allow a photo.  He is genuine.

Saturday, July 19th - Second day at CHA: I spend almost one hour, transfixed at the Ranger booth where Tim is demonstrating.  He is entertaining and thoroughly informative, and I take five (yes, five!) pages of notes. 

I'll detail on another post soon some of his tips and tricks - I am so glad I went!

StarLitStudio store additions:  we will be carrying select fine ribbon from France along with Webster's Pages - their entire line.  Shipping early August (embellishments shipping early September). Thank you for stopping by!

little black inchie book

The answer is:  an Inchie Index!  The question is:  What do I use to keep track of all my inchies I have made or received?

Inchie Index is available in Ellen's store - $8.99 - contains 150 printed sheets to catalog your inchies neatly.  Here's how I decorated mine:  7gypsies checkerboard knob, a bit of black elastic from the fabric store.  Covered the front panel with script paper, mounted knob and adhered elastic to inside back cover.

Using Lockhart's Foxglove image, I stamped it once then cut it out, then stamped again onto a White Inchie Square.  Inchie Squares are premium matboard - archival and museum quality.  Premium and quality for speed and maximum blendability with any medium.

I airbrushed the inchie square using BV31 lavender Copic marker to add shadowing.   

Drawing inspiration from my MacKenzie-Childs magazines, the vase was drawn into a checkerboard to mimic the knob using a Copic black Multiliner, and I created the foxglove image into something whimsical.  I love that word... then colored the foxgloves in shades of grey, opting to color the inchie in full color. 

A Basic Grey magnet set holds the colored Inchie Square into place.  It's fun to pluck it off then toss it back at the image and see it snap into place - it made my young daughter go  !

Be back here next week as we are at CHA starting tomorrow - shopping for the store.  Thank you for stopping by and best wishes for a great weekend!

sources:  Lockhart's wonderful line, the Inchie Index, Inchie Squares, Memory Box paper, Copic markers - Ellen Hutson, LLC .  Ellen's store is the store for Inchie Gear!   

patterned paper:  Cezanne, knob - 7gypsies, Basic Grey magnetic snaps - StarLItStudio

...hot stuff...

The closest Target store is a hike from here - so I go about 3-4X a year.  Target's cute litte notepads are a big hit w/my shopping cart...easy to cover and make great gifts!

New Lockhart Fan image was stamped on Memory Box Meadow cardstock then colored quickly w/Copic markers.  Simple popsicle stick was stamped with Lockhart ...hot stuff... then stick was chopped with a pair of really sharp scissors...

Trimmed fan and mounted a black eyelet.

OK - now for the wire - it ain't purple rain - it's purple air...

...using few lengths of purple 26 gauge wire, twist all strands together.  Using a pair of needle nose pliers twist various sized circles, thread through the black eyelet of the fan and adhere with a pop-up Glue Dot.  Use foam dimensionals to stabilize the fan on the notebook.

Notebook was covered with Memory Box Provence cardstock.  6x6 Provence is a thick pad of 30 sheets of doubled sided cardstock for $4.99 at Ellen's store.  Black waxed linen and a electric vintage fan charm was attached to the spine.  Thank you for stopping by!!

sources: 
Lockhart Stamp Company line, Memory Box cardstock and patterned papers plus Copic markers - Ellen Hutson, LLC.

fan charm, waxed linen:  StarLitStudio.

furniture inspiration

Magazines are a great source of inspiration for me - I clipped this outdoor furniture cabana from Coastal Living Magazine - the pillows caught my eye!  Color combo of celery, brown, gray and white and the floral arrangement of the pillow fabric...YUMMY!

Using the pillows of this magazine ad for inspiration, I used Papertrey Ink's Beautiful Blooms set and their Simple Little Things verse set for the get well sentiment.  Adirondack pads (Espresso, Lake Mist and Citrus) were used for the ink colors.  May Arts ribbon and Key Lime (Memory Box) card base. 

Finished card size:  A2 (5-1/2" x 4-1/4")

I like being able to translate something like the pillow floral design and color combo onto something that can be used - like a card!

Dots using a new pencil eraser head were added for 'filler' - this technique was learned from Her Royal Rubberness, JulieHRR.

Thank you for stopping by!!  sources:  Memory Box cardstock - Ellen Hutson, LLC.