Monthly Archives: September 2008

Frosty Tree – Tutorial #126

Posted on September 30, 2008 by zindorf| 45 Comments

When I woke up this morning I decided to check out the Color Challenge on Split Coast Stampers http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=386411

The color challenge today was to use Stampin’ Up colors Baja Breeze, Really Rust and Chocolate Chip. This combo really intrigued me so I gave it a whirl. This is what I came up with. The Baja Breeze really gives an icy feel to this piece. I know, I know, I know it is Autumn, not Winter yet, but this is what came to mind.

Let’s get started.

Supplies:

Stamps: Impression Obsession “Branches of a Tree”, The Saltbox Studio “Fences” & Stampin’ Up “Lovely as a Tree”

Paper: Stampin’ Up Whisper White, Baja Breeze & Chocolate Chip

Ink: Stampin’ Up Baja Breeze, Really Rust & Chocolate Chip

Accessories: Chocolate Chip marker, White Gel Pen, Aqua Painter, Sponge, Ribbon, Silver Brads, Brayer

Brayered Baja Breeze ink at the very bottom of a 4.5″ x 6″ piece of Whisper White card stock.

Brayered Really Rust at the very top of the card stock.

I decided to not use any emboss resist this morning, so this scene is being built from the background to the foreground, so I had to keep in mind to go from lighter objects to darker ones. So the darker (foreground) objects cover up the lighter ones underneath them. Clear as mud?

Stamped trees from Lovely as a Tree set with Baja Breeze ink, by stamping off on my scrap paper first to make them lighter (this is called second generation stamping).

Stamped fence with Chocolate Chip ink.

Stamped large tree with Chocolate Chip ink.

Stamped tree again to make a shadow using Baja Breeze ink.

Note, I did not ink up the root part of the tree trunk in order to omit it.

While my Baja Breeze stamp pad was closed, I squeezed it to make a pool of ink in the lid of the stamp pad. I used the pool of ink and an Aqua painter to make shadows for the fence posts. I made the ink pretty watery here.

Used the Aqua Painter again with a watery Chocolate Chip ink to color in the fence posts.

Sponged Baja Breeze along the bottom of the background trees and around the sides and bottom of the card stock.

Note: I use a dry sponge when sponging. If you are getting dots and streaks you don’t want, keep adding more ink until they disappear. Another problem could be you are using a card stock that is not super smooth.

Sponged Really rust at the very top of the card stock.

Darkened some of the large tree branches with a Chocolate Chip marker. Added some snow on the branches with a White Gel Pen.

Added Panels, Front to back, Main image panel, Chocolate Chip Panel, Baja Breeze Panel, Chocolate Chip panel.

Assembled card front and here it is finished measuring 5″ x 6.5″.

I hope you enjoyed this icy scene tutorial and will give this color combo a try.

May your day be filled with laughter and joy.

Until my next post. . . . . . . . .. . .

Hugs,

Michelle

Links to all my tutorials can be found here: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/tutorials-ive-written/

Here is a link to my workshop calendar if you want to get info on beginner and advanced Brayer workshops: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/workshop-calendar

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Posted in Tutorials

Tagged brayering, card making, Michelle Zindorf, rubber stamping

A Witchie Night – Tutorial #125

Posted on September 29, 2008 by zindorf| 49 Comments

This morning I brought back out this witch from the set “All Hallow’s Eve” by Inkadinkado. This has to be one of the funniest images for the Autumn season this year. The trees at the bottom of this card are from the Stampin’ Up set “Lovely As a Tree”.

Let’s get started on today’s tutorial.

Supplies:

Stamps: Inkadinkado “All Hallow’s Eve” & Stampin’ Up “Lovely As a Tree”

Paper: Stampin’ Up Whisper White, Apricot Appeal, Not Quite Navy & Basic Black

Ink: Stampin’ Up Apricot Apeal, Craft White, Basic Black, More Mustard, Night of Navy, Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze

Accessories: Circle template & Coluzzle, White Gel Pen, Sponges

Sponged Apricot Appeal ink on the upper right hand corner of a 4.5″ square piece of Whisper White card stock.

Cut a 2.5″ circle of card stock with my Coluzzle to use as a mask for the moon.

Held the circle mask in place as I sponged Baja Breeze ink around the out side of the mask.

Removed the masked and sponged Not Quite Navy on the card stock, not covering the Baja Breeze ink entirely.

Ignore the witch being stamped, lol. Missed taking a photo.

Sponged Night of Navy ink on the card stock, not covering the Not Quite Navy ink entirely.

Then I stamped the Witch with Basic Black ink.

Stamped Trees with Basic Black ink at the bottom of the card stock.

Sponged More Mustard ink on the moon leaving the outer edge light.

Sponged Basic Black ink around the edges of the card stock.

Stamped more trees at the bottom of the card stock. Used White Craft ink this time.

Using the edge of the stamp pad, smeared some stripes of White Craft ink across the card stock.

Using a ruler and a white gel pen, made some dashy lines across the card stock. Also, colored in the stars and added a few dots here and there.

Here is the finished card front measuring 5.5″ square.

Thought I would show you my new tool. I’m so excited! No more crooked card bases for me. I got a Scor-it Board so I can make the scores on my card bases. I never show it in my tutorials but I attach all of my card fronts to a White card stock base card. I’ve tried to get an even fold by folding my card base in half, but it never is really straight. Now that I have this Scor-it Board, I won’t have that problem any longer, YEAH!!!

Let me show you how simple I found this tool to be.

This is what the board looks like. It looks heavy, but is very light.

I cut my card stock for my base card. Move the little brace at the top to the measurment I want.

Insert the scor-it tool at the “zero” notch and pull in streight down the middle rail.

Nice straight score line. This makes me so happy.

Fold the card at the score line and there you have a straight card base. There are all kinds of folded cards, bags, etc. you can make with a scoring tool. I’ll have to check those out.

I got my Scor-it board from Marco’s Paper. Here is a link: http://www.marcopaper.com/

Hope your day is filled with crisp Autumn breezes and sunshine.

Until my next post. . . . . . . . . .

Hugs,

Michelle

Links to all my tutorials can be found here: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/tutorials-ive-written/

Here is a link to my workshop calendar if you want to get info on beginner and advanced Brayer workshops: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/workshop-calendar

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Posted in Tutorials

Tagged card making, Michelle Zindorf, rubber stamping, Stamping tutorial

Winter Cardinal – Tutorial #124 and Blog Candy!

Posted on September 27, 2008 by zindorf| 195 Comments

Happy Saturday! I love the weekends when I can take my time doing a project in the morning as I drink my pot of coffee. No rushing off to work today.

I’ve had some requests to do some winter type scenes so I got out this great set of stamps by Fire Cracker Designs by Pamela. Here is a link if you want to check out their great online store: http://www.safesecurestore.com/stores/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=firecrackerdesignsbypamela

For those people already making their Christmas cards, MORE POWER TO YOU! I won’t be starting mine until November at the earliest, lol.

The frame I used in this project is one I picked up at a garage sale for 75 cents. It had a horrible picture in it, but that’s all the better. I didn’t feel bad throwing the picture in the trash. I get frames and then make stamped pieces to go inside. It’s easier to know what frame you are going to use and then cut your cardstock to fit it, instead of making the piece a certain size and trying to find a frame to fit the piece. Clear as mud?

I’m giving this framed piece away as blog candy. I will use a random number generator next Saturday, October 4th to select the winner. To enter all you need to do is leave a comment on this post telling me an item you like to re-purpose. It could be anything. If you are getting this post update by e-mail, you will need to click this link and then leave a comment on the post: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2008/09/27/winter-cardinal-tutorial-124-and-blog-candy/

Good Luck!

Let’s get started on today’s tutorial.

Supplies:

Stamps: Fire Cracker Designs by Pamela

Paper: Stampin’ Up Whisper White, Basic Black, Baja Breeze & Not Quite Navy

Ink: Stampin’ Up Not Quite Navy, Baja Breeze, Basic Black, Night of Navy

Accessories: Versmark Pad and marker, Fine Detail Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Gun, Brayer, Sponges, Sharpie Gold Paint Marker, Prismacolor Markers, Fine Black marker, Garage Sale Frame, Post it Notes

Stamped tree by first loading stamp with Versamark and then loading it with Black ink before stamping it on a piece of 4″ square Whisper White card stock.

Heat embossed tree using fine detail clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Stamped Cardinal by first loading the stamp with Versamark and then loading it with Black ink before stamping it.

Heat embossed the cardinal using fine detail clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Stamped the house in the distance by first loading the stamp with Versamark and then loading it with black ink before stamping it.

Heat embossed the house using fine detail clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Colored the Left half of the tree with a Prismacolor 10% Cool Grey marker.

Colored Left side of the tree using a Prismacolor 30% Cool Grey marker, but did not cover the 10% Cool Grey entirely.

Colored the top part of the cardinal using a Prismacolor Scarlet Lake marker.

Colored the cardinal’s underside and tail using a Prismacolor Crimson Red marker.

Colored the Cardinal’s beak using a Prismacolor Burnt Ochre marker.

Colored the very left side of the tree using a Prismacolor 50% Cool Grey marker, not covering the 30% Cool Grey entirely.

Colored over all the images with a Versmark marker, making sure not to go outside the lines.

Heat embossed all the images using fine detail clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Covered the bottom of the card stock with a post it note to mask it.

Brayered on Baja Breeze ink at the top of the card stock. The embossed images will resist the brayered ink “emboss resist”.

Brayered on Not Quite Navy at the top of the card stock, not covering the Baja Breeze ink entirely.

Sponged on some mountain shapes using Not Quite Navy ink.

Note: If putting in two mountains make one mountain much smaller than the other one so it doesn’t look like your mountains need a bra, lol.

Sponged on some Night of Navy ink at the top of the card stock and at the mountain bases.

Remove the post it note and throw it away. Using a new post it note, rip through the sticky part of the post it note to create a hill shape. Put in on the card stock to mask the bottom of the card stock.

Sponged lightly Baja Breeze ink at the post it notes torn edge.

Remove post it note.

Sponge Baja Breeze ink under the tree and the cardinal to create a shadow for them.

Add a few specks of black marker around the bird. Gotta feed the bird!

Held a Sharpie Gold Paint marker tip, half on the card stock and half on my scrap paper and ran down each edge of the main image panel.

Note: Try this out before doing it on your finished panel.

Panels are as follows from top to bottom: Main image panel, Baja Breeze Panel, Basic Black panel, Not Quite Navy Panel.

One more thing before you run to craft room to start making your Christmas cards, lol, yeah right, I want to give you a great link to a Creativity Survey. Fill the survey out and you get $10 off of your Craft DVD order and it also enters you to win $300 Full Library of PageSage Craft DVDs produced by Page Sage for Artists like Tim Holtz (my hero) and Carol Duvall. Check it out: http://pagesage.com/

Well it’s time to go do some Autumn clean up in my garden, I’ve played long enough this morning.

May your Saturday be filled with really good times to remember.

Until my next post. . . . . . .. . . . . . .

Hugs,

Michelle

Links to all my tutorials can be found here: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/tutorials-ive-written/

Here is a link to my workshop calendar if you want to get info on beginner and advanced Brayer workshops: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/workshop-calendar

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Posted in Tutorials

Tagged card making, emboss resist, Michelle Zindorf, rubber stamping, Stamped Art

Tool Time – Ink Pads

Posted on September 26, 2008 by zindorf| 17 Comments

Thought I would talk a little about ink today. As you see I have a few ink pads.

All of my ink pads are dye inks, not pigment. I like the way the dye inks soak into the card stock I’m using, especially when I’m brayering. I don’t use pigment inks because they take longer to dry and lay on top of the card stock instead of soaking in. Don’t get me wrong, you can use pigment inks, but my preference is dye based inks. I’m not a fan of waiting for the ink to dry.

My two favorite brands of ink are Adirondack dye ink pads and Stampin’ Up “Classic” which are also dye based. You will see me use these two brands of inks together in projects. Since they are both dye based inks my only deciding facter is the color I want to use.

Now these Tim Holtz Distress Inks are wonderful and I love sponging backgrounds and the edges of projects with them. Of course, they are super for distressing card stock. I love all the colors these come in too. There are a lot of things you can do with these distressing inks that I have never tried. One of these days I’m going to get more adventurous with them.

I have just this one pad of Stazon ink. I use it when I want to stamp on something that is non-porious. An example of non-porious would be a domino. Most inks just lay on top of the surface and can’t soak in or dry. Stazon will dry on such a finish.

One Last ink that I use is Palette Hybrid Ink. The only color I currently have in this brand is “Noir Black”. I use this ink when I want to stamp images and color them with Solvent based mediums, such as, Prismacolor Markers or Prismacolor Pencils combined with Odorless Mineral Spirits. This ink is very good not to run or smear with these solvent based mediums.

I will have to correct the problem of only having one color in this brand. I feel a shopping spree coming on.

I am definitely not an expert on inks. This is only a little breakdown of what I own and how I use them. There are so very many ink brands out there that I have not even tried. So if you have questions regarding inks that are not in this post, you will want to seek out the manufacturer who would be the expert. I find manufactures to be a wealth of info on their products, as they should be.

I hope this has answered, at least, a few questions on why I use an ink at a certain time in a project.

One last thing, the wood shelf unit I use to store my ink pads in came from a gas station my oldest son worked at as a teenager. It use to hold cigarettes behind the counter. It now has a much healthier purpose.

May your day be filled with the colors of a rainbow.

Until my next post. . . . . .. . . . . .

Hugs,

Michelle

Links to all my tutorials can be found here: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/tutorials-ive-written/

Here is a link to my workshop calendar if you want to get info on beginner and advanced Brayer workshops: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/workshop-calendar

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Posted in Tools

Peaceful Hummingbird – Tutorial #123

Posted on September 25, 2008 by zindorf| 24 Comments

This is a farewell to the hummingbirds here in Ohio. I’m always so sad when then leave. But I can hardly blame them for heading for warmer climates in preparation for the Autumn and Winter to come.

I feel this card would be a good Sympathy card. Sympathy cards are always so hard for me to come up with. I try to create a peaceful scene that is not sad.

Let’s get started.

Supplies:

Stamps: Stampin’ Up “Baroque Motifs” & Cornish Heritage Farms “Hummingbird”

Paper: Stampin’ Up Whisper White, Handsome Hunter & Sage Shadow

Ink: Stampin’ Up Sage Shadow, Handsome Hunter & Not Quite Navy

Accessories: Versamark Pad, Fine detail clear embossing powder, heat gun, sponge, ribbon, silver brads

Stamped Baroque Motifs Flourish twice on a 4″ x 5.5″ piece of Whisper White card stock using Versamark.

Stamped Hummingbird using Versamark.

Heat embossed images using fine detail clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Sponged Sage Shadow ink all over the card stock using a circular motion.

Sponged Not Quite Navy ink on the card stock using a circular motion.

Wow, I can’t remember the last time I used the ink color Handsome Hunter, but I pulled it out this morning and sponged it over the Not Quite Navy ink, not covering it entirely.

Stamped Flourish at the bottom of the card stock using Sage Shadow ink.

Wiped the ink from the embossed images using a soft rag.

Sponged some more Not Quite Navy ink at the bottom left corner of the card stock.

Assembled card and here it is finished measuring 5″ x 6.5″.

I hope your day is filled with peaceful scenes and peaceful thoughts.

Until my next post. . . . . . . . . . . .

Hugs,

Michelle

Links to all my tutorials can be found here: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/tutorials-ive-written/

Here is a link to my workshop calendar if you want to get info on beginner and advanced Brayer workshops: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/workshop-calendar

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Posted in Tutorials

Tagged card making, emboss resist, Michelle Zindorf, rubber stamp art, rubber stamping

You Rock – Tutorial #122

Posted on September 24, 2008 by zindorf| 50 Comments

Switching gears this morning so I can crank out a Birthday card for my musician brother-in-law. Hard to drag myself away from using all the great Autumn images I have in stamps.

But, I love these images too. This set is “Rock Star” by Inkadinkadoo. I pick this up at Michael’s Craft store.

Well let’s get rock’n on this tutorial, yeah corny I know, lol. Had to say, just had to!

Supplies:

Stamps: “Rock Star” by Inkadinkado & Nightingale by See D’s

Paper: Stampin’ Up Whisper White, Old Olive, Basic Black

Ink: Stampin’ Up Basic Black & Close to Cocoa, Adirondack Lettuce, Bottle, Pebble & Willow, Palette Noir Black

Accessories: Star Punch, Prismacolor Metallic Silver Marker, Prismacolor Walnut marker, Tim Holtz ruler & distressing tool, White Gel Pen, Versamark marker, fine detail embossing powder, heat gun, post it note, sponge, push pin, silver brads

Stamped image with Palette Nior Black on a 3″ x 5″ piece of Whisper White card stock.

Colored in the open areas on the base of the guitar with a Prismacolor Walnut marker.

Colored over the entire guitar with a Versamark marker.

Heat embossed the image using fine detail clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Masked about an inch of the bottom of the card stock with a post it note and sponged Willow ink at the top of the card stock using a circular motion.

Sponged on Lettuce ink at the top, left and bottom of the area to create the illusion of a light source.

Sponged Bottle ink at the left side corners.

Stamped the flourish over the guitar using bottle ink.

Carefully wiped the bottle ink off of the guitar.

With the post it note mask removed, sponged Pebble ink at the left side of the bottom of the guitar image to create a shadow.

Cut a 5.75″ square panel of Old Olive card stock and used a Prismacolor Metallic Silver marker and run it down all the sides.

Stamped two stars with black ink on Close to Cocoa card stock, colored the inside of the stars in with a Prismacolor Walnut marker and punched them out with a star punch.

Distress the edges of my main image panel and a 5.25″ square panel of black card stock using the Tim Holtz distress tool.

Cut to strips of Old Olive card stock, cut one end on each in a “V” shape. Ran the Silver marker down the sides of each one and then dragged the ends of the strips across my Close to Cocoa ink pad to add color to the tips.

Assembled the card front.

Used the Tim Holtz ruler and a push pin to add piercings to the card stock strips.

Added punched stars and silver brads.

Made a highlight at the right side of the guitar with a white gel pen by drawing down the whole right side of the guitar. This makes the guitar appear to be 3 dimensional.

Here you have it the finished card measuring 5.75″ square.

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial and will give the emboss resist grunge look a try.

May your day be filled with lively music.

Until my next post. . . . . . . . . . .

Hugs,

Michelle

Links to all my tutorials can be found here: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/tutorials-ive-written/

Here is a link to my workshop calendar if you want to get info on beginner and advanced Brayer workshops: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/workshop-calendar

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Posted in Tutorials

Tagged card making, emboss resist, Michelle Zindorf, rubber stamping

No More Leaves Rabbit – Tutorial #121

Posted on September 23, 2008 by zindorf| 48 Comments

Happy Tuesday! I’m back to the regularly scheduled program today since I have all that traveling business out of the way, lol. So I’m coming to you with another Autumn themed tutorial.

I found some great rabbit images by Stamp La Jolla at a Stamp convention this year. I purchased mine unmounted. I bought mine as single stamps, not sets. Here is a link to their web page: www.stamplajolla.com

I’m dedicating this tutorial to my new friend Lydia, who told me she loves my long tutorials. Girl, I’ve got a long one for you today, lol. Anywho, let’s get started.

Supplies:

Stamps: Stamp La Jolla Rabbit, Inkadinkadoo Fall Season

Paper: Stampin’ Up Whisper White, Basic Black & Orchid Opulence

Ink: Stampin’ Up White, Basic Black, More Mustard, Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive, Summer Sun & Orchid Opulence, Palette Noir Black

Accessories: Versmark Marker, Fine Detail Clear embossing powder, heat gun, brayer, sponges, Prismacolor markers & Pencils, White Gel Pen, Coluzzle for cutting mask, Green & Purple Ribbon, Brads

Stamped my Rabbit image on a 3″ x 6.25″ piece of Whisper White card stock with Palette Noir Black ink.

Note: I used this Palette black ink because it doesn’t smear when using alcohol based markers, such as Prismacolor.

I’ve shown this before, but I think they are pretty all together. This is my organization system for my Prismacolor markers. Not fancy, but functional. You can find more detail on my marker organization in the tools section of this blog.

My marker sheets showing the color number, name and a stripe of marker color for easy selection.

Anyway, back to the tutorial, focus Michelle!

Colored the rabbits hat and robe in with a Prismacolor 30% Warm Grey marker.

Colored in the shadow areas with a Prismacolor 40% Warm Grey marker.

Added some Prismacolor 60% Warm Grey marker to the folds shadows in the hat and robe.

Colored in his inner ear with a Prismacolor Deco Peach marker.

Colored the broom handle with a Prismacolor Light Walnut marker.

Added more color to the left side of the broom handle with a Prismacolor Sienna Brown marker.

Colored the Rabbits nose and bottom of his feet with a Prismacolor Deco Peach marker.

Colored the broom bristles with a Prismacolor Yellow Ochre marker.

Colored the darker areas of the broom bristles with a Prismacolor Goldenrod marker.

Colored over the entire image with a Versamark marker being very careful to stay inside the lines of the image.

Heat embossed the image using fine detail clear embossing powder and a heat gun.

Note: I heat embossed the image so it will resist the inks I am going to use for the back ground. This is called emboss resist.

Brayered on Summer Sun ink.

Used a 2.5″ circle of card stock to mask for the sun. Held the mask in place as I brayered on Orchid Opulence ink at the top of the card stock.

Brayered Old Olive ink at the bottom of the card stock.

Used a 3 5/8″ card stock circle to mask so I could sponge Elegant Eggplant at the edge of it to create a interesting sky area.

I masked, sponged Elegant Eggplant ink at edge and then moved the masked and repeated.

Once I got to where the sun mask is I made sure to hold both masks in place so I was sponging around the sun mask at the same time.

Removed card stock masks.

Sponged More Mustard ink around the edge of the sun leaving the middle bright.

Sponged Basic Black ink around the edge of the card stock.

Glued the main image panel to a 5″ x 6.5″ panel of black card stock.

Stamped the Inkadinkado leaf flourish with White Craft ink over both panels.

Colored the leaves in with Chartreuse & Pumpkin Orange Prismacolor pencils.

Added White Highlights to the flourish with a White Gel Pen.

Added some ribbon and here you have the finished card measuring 5 1/8″ x 6 5/8″.

Now that’s a rabbit with attitude! But he sure is stinking cute, lol.

May your day be filled with the spectacular colors of a sunset.

Until my next post. . . . . . .. . . . . . . .

Hugs,

Michelle

Links to all my tutorials can be found here: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/tutorials-ive-written/

Here is a link to my workshop calendar if you want to get info on beginner and advanced Brayer workshops: http://zindorf.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/workshop-calendar

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Posted in Tutorials

Tagged brayering, card making, emboss resist, Michelle Zindorf, rubber stamping, Stamp La Jolla