Grateful Life - Sizzix Acorn 3D folder

 Hello Friends,

Celebrating Sizzix Halloween release today, starting with this colorful make for fall.  The creamy new Halloween Mica Crayons are perfect for coloring the leaves... as long as you remember one simple step (you can read about that below).  So follow along and I'll show you how I created this beautiful fall background.

Open the 3D Folder and rub Ground Espresso Archival Ink over the surface until coated.  Spritz lightly with water.

Insert precut piece of Kraft Heavystock (remember with a 3D Folder - you need to spritz the paper with water before placing in the folder).

Close the Folder and run through your die cut machine. I still use my trusty Vagabond!

So here is the card once it was run through (At least 2 passes).

I quickly coated the entire card with Collage Medium (thats the magic step so you can use crayons later in the process).

While the Collage Medium was still wet, I sprayed the card with Decayed and Iron Gate Mica Stain.

Then dried it with a heat tool.  Once the Mica dries, it turns metallic and quite beautiful.

I repeated the process to create a second card.  

A small Etcetera Tag was used as the substrate.  Glue the two paperpieces to the tag and cut away the excess at the top and bottom.

NOTE: I will cover the break in the cards with the words so it does not matter as long as you keep the break at the bottom.

Since I coated the Kraftstock paper with Collage Medium it has been sealed - that means the Mica Halloween Distress Crayons are in play. 

Starting with fortune teller (purple) - scribble the creamy color onto the edges of the leaves.  I'm going to add many colors so start small.

Next up burning ember (orange).  Just scribble and rub with your finger to slightly blend towards the purple.

Next up, wicked elixir (green).  I adde this one to the other side of the leaves and on the stems.

I added harvest moon (yellow) and Walnut Stain to the acorns, completing the full background.

To prepare the focal point, I cut a piece of purple cardstock, then cut gold metallic letters using the Alphanumeric Bold die.  I did cut two sets of the letters so they could be combined to create a thicker letter.

I used the design ruler to help me place the letters on the purple card.  The ruler is see-through so you can easily see the straight line.

Before the purple card was put into place.  I added Trim Tape to the sides to cover the flat part of paper.  The skinny tape fit perfectly along the edge.  I think the tape comes with 10 rolls so there are plenty of designs to choose from.

Now I added the purple strip to a piece of Kraftstock to stabilize/strengthen the paper since I wanted to add foam squares to the back.  The white/gold metallic sticker "HEART" was added to the end - hard to read here but it looks nice in person.

Once the strip was in place, I added the skinny ruler strip to the top from the Memoir Ephemera Pack.  The feathers, cut using the "Feathery" die and Mixed Media cardstock, were just dipped in Distress Mica.

The colors of the feathers are 

fortune teller

wicked elixer

decayed

I painted an idea-ology Vintage Clip with black paint.  Once dry, I brushed on Foundry Wax and used a embossing gun to change to color to metallic.  I love the brushed look over the black paint.

The ribbon is silk - just something from my stash.  I thought it went beautifully with the project.

The No. 251 is from the Snippets pack.

thank you for stopping by to see the coloring of the background.  I hope you will try this technique on something you make - the new Halloween products are so fun to use.  I am thrilled with the new colors of Mica sprays and how awesome they are on so many paper surfaces.  I know you will not be disappointed!

now carry on,
paula

Rustic Wilderness - Fall

 Hello friends,

I'm sharing my "fall" project from the Rustic Wilderness release this week.   I started with a Mini Etcetera Tag since it seemed the right size for the Funky Wreath I wanted to use.

I cut a sheet of Heavystock paper about the size of the Mini Tag.  Then I sprayed Distress Ink Rustic Wilderness, Crackling Campfire, and Fossilized Amber onto my craft mat and pressed the Heavystock paper into the ink to pick up the color.  I dried it with a heat tool then went back into the ink two or three times to create the layered look I wanted.

After I created the main background, I made more inked cards to use for the leaves.  Some of them I dried right away and others I went back into the ink to add layers of color.  The fall colors are beautiful!

Once I had the cards done, I cut two of the Funky Wreaths (from cards that were only colored with Rustic Wilderness) and leaves from the Fall Foliage die set.  The leaves shown are the larger leaves in the set.  One thing I love about the die is that you get large, all the way down to tiny leaves, which worked perfectly for the project.

In this main photo, you can see that I adhered the large inked paper to the tag, cutting away the excess with a cutting knife and self healing mat board.  Once the paper was adhered, I stamped the text (The Professor stamp set) over the surface with Ground Espresso Archival Ink.  I did not use a stamping block, but rather "rolled" the stamped image onto the tag surface to create a worn effect.

I added the Public School card from the Remnants Layers pack to the surface with foam squares

1. The Funky Wreath die comes with two wreaths + extra branches to add in.  As I said previously, I cut two sets from Heavystock paper I colored with Rustic Wilderness. Layer the wreaths together, adding in the extra branches.  
2. Adhere the wreath to the card with Collage Medium - I tried not to press it down too much so it looked more realistic.  
3. Add white paint to the recessed numbers from the Factory Tags pack and let it dry.  Pick up some Walnut Stain Distress Crayon with a damp paint brush and brush back and forth over the top of the white paint to grunge it up.  
4. Ink a long piece of string with Walnut Stain Distress ink and dry it with a heat tool. Double the string, then thread the metal tag (so two pieces of string go into the hole at the same time). Wrap the string around the tag, coming around on the other side to create the bow.  This sounds much harder than it was to do in person!  Secure the metal tag with part of the foam square 
5. Add the small colored leaves to the wreath.  I tried mixing up the colors and sizes so there are layers of leaves. 
6. I also added a bit of cheesecloth under the bow.

The Paper Dolls were very easy to color.  Just color the bows with Distress Crayons Fossilized Amber and Faded Jeans using a Detail Water Brush.  Their cheeks are Aged Mahogany.

I wiped white paint onto a small Deco Frame and let it dry.  The frame was adhered to the card with Collage Medium so it sits off the surface of the tag.  I also added a few words from the Clippings Sticker Book.

To finish off the tag, I added a Larger Hinge Clip at the top.

I love this fall project.  It was easy to to create and very fun to incorporate the new color, Rustic Wilderness along with Crackling Campfire and Fossilized Amber to create such a wonderful Fall background.

now carry on,

paula