ANYTHING GOES? HOW ABOUT A BI-PLANE!

Hello and welcome to my blog!  

Is it Christmas again ALREADY?  I see Santa flying around in a plane!  No, it's not Christmastime again.  But it is APRIL FOOL'S DAY!  

This week, Simon Says Stamp and Show says we're up for ANYTHING GOES!  So, I decided to share a play session with my crafting buddies with you.

 

Ever since I saw JIM THE GENTLEMAN CRAFTER'S Santa Joyful Jetting Plane, I have wanted to make one!  Jim is such a huge talent and a visionary when it comes to assemblages!  I wish you could actually see and hold this little plane!  It really does look like a vintage toy and it is so sturdy.

Imagine how cute this plane would be for Valentine's Day or Halloween.  Oh...the possibilities are endless!  And yes...I will be making more planes!

Do you have play sessions with your friends?  If you don't you don't know what you're missing!  It is so much fun to get together with good friends, visit, create and just spend the day sharing that love of crafting together!

Three of my favorite people in the whole world ~ Jeanne, Lois and Glendene

aka "my crafting buddies". 

Before we started, we had determined all of the pieces we would need to put our planes together.  Between all of us, we had everything we needed to complete our planes.  If you guys are Tim Holtz fans, you probably have everything, too! 

Check out Jim The Gentleman Crafter's link I provided above for all of the details on creating this little plane.  He has put together an awesome video and tells you everything you will need.  In my photographs, I will tell you some of the items that I used ... and guess what??!  Simon Says Stamp has them ALL ... except the Santa Face. 

So, here it is!  I sized mine to be 2" and that seems to work great.

   

The basic plane body is made from one 2" x 3" and one 1 1/2" x 3" Configurations Box compartments.  They are painted with a Red Pepper Paint Dabber.  All of the die cut pieces are also edged with the paint dabber.  The wings for the plane are the rounded top house from Tim Holtz' Artful Dwellings die, cut out of chipboard.  For my plane, I used 12 x 12 sheets of Christmas papers from Graphic 45 and the 8x8 paper pad from Kaiser Craft Turtle Dove to cover the plane.  Jim The Gentleman Crafter suggests that you use the Sizzix Number 2 Circles die cut for your circle pieces of the plane (the front end, the back wheel and the rudders toward the tail of the plane).  I didn't have the die cut but the Grungeboard Plain Shapes has circles that work perfectly.

   

Here you can see two of the circles being used at the front end of the plane.  Isn't the propeller section of the plane cute?  Tim Holtz' Ideaology abounds on this plane! You will need two Faucet Knobs; one for the engine cage and one for the steering wheel. You will also need Sprocket Gears for the wheel trim and this front propeller piece.  A large Game Spinner and a Hitch Fastener finish off the propeller section. Underneath the plane, are the two Pulley Wheels that are hot glued in place toward the end of the construction.

The wings are the Artful Dwellings houses, cut from chipboard, edged with the Red Pepper Paint Dabber and covered in Christmas papers. I covered all sides.  Then, Jim ... that ingenious fellow ... made bi-plane wings by adding skewers to the planes.  Paint the skewer with the Red Pepper Paint Dabber and cut them into one inch sections.  Then, using the smallest hole of a CropADile, punch four holes on ONE of the wings.  Then use that wing as a template for the other wings.  Work the skewers into place and I added a touch of Glossy Accents around the skewers to make sure they didn't slip.  Attach the wings to the plane using a piece of 3/4" chipboard covered in the same paper as the side of the plane.  Leave at least 1/4" of paper at the top and the bottom of the chipboard as a "tab" that you can attach to the wing for support.  Then glue the wings in place.

  

The "windshield" on Santa's plane is actually a label pull glued on with Glossy Accents.  The steering wheel is another Faucet Knob.  Santa's body is red chenille pipe cleaners bended to form arms and a body that is stuck inside of the front compartment. Behind Santa is a large crown from the Regal Adornments set.  Jim had put another large crown in the front of the second compartment, to create a two seater plane. 

 

But, I just filled the back compartment full of little Christmas packages (chipboard wrapped in Christmas paper) and a small Woodlands Christmas Tree that was sprayed with Cut Grass Dylusions Ink Spray and decorated with a little star at the top from Tim Holtz' Adornments.  I added some Martha Stewart White Gold Glitter and some Melissa Frances clear Mica Flakes.  Then I hot glued a little red shiny garland and some little balls to the tree.  On the tail section, you can see the rudders and the "25" Plaquette underneath the rudder.  You can also see the back wheel that is held in place with the help of a File Tab.  A Clock Key is screwed into the back end of the plane and a pipe cleaner leading to the "Joy" banner is attached to it.

The "Joy" Pennant high flying from the back of the plane is held on with a candy cane pipe cleaner aged with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  If you can't find candy cane pipe cleaners this time of year, just buy a package of thin white and red pipe cleaners and twist them together.  The pennant is also from the Artful Dwellings die cut.  It is the next to smallest house.  I cut it out of Manila Cardstock, distressed it with Fired Brick and Vintage Photo Distress Inks, stamped the small Merry Christmas text (in Fired Brick ) on the background from Wendy Vecchi's Art of Making It Merry stamp set and added "JOY" from Tim Holtz' Mixed Minis Grungeboard set.  They are painted with Red Pepper Paint Dabber and lightly swiped with a Gold Paint Dabber.

Santa plane all assembled and ready for take off!

Let's see what YOU can do for this Anything Goes challenge!  A card, a scrapbook layout, an altered book, a canvas ... maybe even a Santa plane!?!  Check out the incredible ideas my Design Teammates have waiting for you at Simon Says Stamp and Show.  Then enter our challenge.  You could be the lucky winner of our generous sponsor's 

$50.00 credit voucher.  If you're project is voted to be one of the TOP THREE, you will also receive special recognition for that!  Good luck!!!

Here are the products available at Simon Says Stamp that were used on this Joyful Plane!

InLinkz.com

 

SHABBY CHIC WORKSHOPPE AT SCRAPBOOKS FOREVER

Hi everyone!!!  I am soooo excited about this news and a sneak peek!

I am going to be part of a WEEKEND WORKSHOPPE sponsored by 

Scrapbooks Forever in Branson, Missouri  

the weekend of May 3rd and 4th.  I cannot wait!!

Scrapbooks Forever is a fantastic store in the southwest Missouri area.  Shirley Heard, the owner of Scrapbooks Forever is such a sweetheart and a very talented artist.  I always enjoy going into her store.  Friendly faces, ladies who know their products and how to use them.  And they are always ready and willing to give you a quick demo.  That is so important to all of us who are "visual learners"!  Am I right or what? 

Her store also carries a full line of Tim Holtz....if you're a Tim Holtz junkie like me...that is important!  They have a lot of mixed media supplies, THE BEST stamp selection in the area and tons of embellishments and gorgeous papers.  If you've not made a trip to Scrapbooks Forever, you need to!  If you have, then you know what I'm talking about.

Shirley will be teaching a class on Friday from 1 to 4 that she has titled "A Coloring Workshop".  This is a technique class focusing on how to achieve shading and color blending using various papers, products and techniques to give you your best results.

Then Saturday, I will be teaching a home decor wall hanging in a shabby chic style.  This class from 10 - 4 will be a technique rich class focusing on the many uses of Distress Inks, working with Embossing paste and stencils and introducing a brand new link of stamps to Scrapbooks Forever....B Line Design.  These stamps are simply gorgeous vintage/victorian style stamps.  You will fall in love with them!  There will be a break for lunch.

Call Scrapbooks Forever now to reserve your spot and get all of the information!  Shirley announced this workshoppe just a few days ago and there are only a few spots left already!  The phone number is 417-335-7904.  When the classes fill, we will have a waiting list.

METAL FOIL STEAMPUNK TAG AT RANGER

Hello again friends!  

I am so excited to share my metal foil steampunk tag with you that is now being featured on RANGER'S BLOG.  Can you tell that I love all things Tim Holtz and all things Ranger?

For the instructions on how I created this tag and all of the fabulous Ranger products I used on this piece, head on over to Ranger's Blog for all of the details!  

I have to give a shout out to the very talented Shelly Hickox for the idea of the dimensional balloon.  On some of my previous postings and on some of hers, we have shown Tim's hot balloon various ways.  HERE is one of the ways she's used it.  HERE is one of the ways I've used it.  And HERE is another way I used this balloon stamp using tissue paper to create a honeycomb type of balloon.

Thanks for stopping by my blog.  I hope you will check out Ranger's blog for some great tips, techniques and information about all of their amazing products!

MAKE YOUR WORDS COUNT FOR SOMETHING

Hello friends!  

Welcome to my blog and another Monday Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge.  This week, it's all about words; quotes to be exact.  Whether it be something funny or something profound, is there a quote that inspires you?

I love this saying found in Artistic Outposts' Typography stamp set.  Pretty profound, isn't it?  I decided to couple this sentiment with Tim Holtz' Mini Vintage Globe to create this card.  Yes, I said a card!  See, I told you that I'm going to make an effort to make more more cards this year! 

As I've told you before, I'm one of those people who creates as I go.  I don't plan out every detail of my project and lay it all out before I start.  So, this card was fun to do because it evolved out of nothing.  The sentiment is what inspired me.  When I thought of "world" I thought of Tim's Mini Vintage Globe.  Then I thought of the 7 Gypsies Global 8x8 paper pack that I have.  Hmm....world, globe, maps...I'm starting to see a theme here.

I stamped the paper above with Stampers Anonymous' Folded Paper Background stamp.  I used Coffee Archival Ink.  Then I folded along the lines on the stamp and distressed the paper using Vintage Photo, Gathered Twigs and Peacock Feathers Distress Inks.

Here is a comparison of the papers.  The one on top is my folded and distressed version of the paper underneath.  I also clipped the teal strip from a page of accent strips in the paper collection, colorized it with Peacock Feathers, spritzed it with Turquoise Perfect Pearls Mist to give it a slight shimmer and then glued it on top of my cut paper.

Next I cut a Mini Baroque out of plain Grungeboard and spritzed it with Vintage Photo Distress Stain that I converted from the original packaging into a 2 ounce Mister Bottle.  Then I worked the stain into the Grungeboard using my Ink Applicator.  Worked like a dream and it was so FAST!

Next I swiped a Gold Paint Dabber one direction and then made almost a cross hatch pattern by swiping it the other direction.  This gave me a really cool looking background that really catches the light in neat way to show the "scratches".  I distressed the edges with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink. 

Next I heat embossed the sentiment "Live our beliefs and you can turn the world around" with Black Embossing Powder.  I punched two holes at the top and bottom and added a piece of dark brown organza ribbon to wrap around the map cardstock background. 

I LOVE Tim Holtz' Mini Vintage Globe!  This was cut out of plain Grungeboard and colorized using Dylusions Vibrant Turquoise and London Blue Ink Sprays to create the various depths of the Earth's oceans.  I spritzed just a touch of the sprays onto my Non Stick Craft Sheet and using my Small Sakura Water Brush, I painted the color onto the Grungeboard.  The continents pop away from the ocean.  I LOVE that added dimension!  And to give it even MORE DIMENSION, I used a regular small angled paint brush and applied Wendy Vecchi's White Embossing Paste to the land masses.  I created mountains and valleys for a more realistic look.  Once dry, I used my Small Sakura Water Brush, Viintage Photo and Gathered Twigs Distress Inks to color the land masses.  I added faint little touches of Peacock Feathers Distress Ink to represent water.  The holder of the globe was first colored with Tarnished Brass Distress Stain and then I added highlights of Gold Paint Dabber by lightly using my finger to swipe over the surface.

Here you can really see the detail and the colors against the cardstock background that was lightly spritzed with Turquoise Perfect Pearls Mist to add a hint of teal behind the globe.  I really love the way it turned out.

I placed the top of the card's cardstock against my Tim Holtz Design Ruler and tore the edge so that it would be shorter than the cardstock back of the card.  I added Gathered Twigs distressing to the edge.  Then I glued my card front onto the torn cardstock and added a rub on design strip to the exposed bottom section of the card.  I lightly swiped the edges of the card front with my Gold Paint Dabber on my finger followed by just a hint of Gathered Twigs along the edges.  

This turned out to be a "handsome" card that feel like you've got something when you're holding it.  It's got weight, color, depth and because of the sentiment, it's got a message.

Stop by the Simon Says Stamp and Show blog and see what the talented Design Team has created for your inspiration this week.  Amazing stuff!!  

Then enter our challenge.  You could be the winner of our very generous sponsor's 

$50.00 credit voucher!  That's a great deal! And...you could be recognized as one of our TOP THREE entries for the week.  This is quite an honor as we have wonderful artists that play along with us each week!

Here are the products available at Simon Says Stamp that were used in this project ~

InLinkz.com