STAMPING WITHOUT INK...AT LEAST ON SOMETHING!

It's another Monday and time for a new challenge at Simon Says Stamp and Show.  This week's theme is Stamping Without Ink.  Stop by the blog and check out the really impressive pieces of art that my Design Team buddies have created for you this week!  

Hmmm...stamping with out ink.  Well, at least SOMETHING has to be stamped without ink.  My first thought was "paint".  So, I did do a little bit of paint stamping on my project but I also tried something I've never done before ... stamping with bleach.  I loved it!

Here is my finished project.  It is a Pocket Tag; suitable for an ATC or whatever small item you might want to stick in the pocket.

I recently purchased Artistic Outposts' Whimsical Melange stamp set and wanted to use it so badly.  I also had a very cute vintage winged girl stamp so I decided to combine the two and give this pocket tag a sort of butterfly or winged theme.. 

I began with a #8 manila tag and I inked the entire tag using Evergreen Bough, Squeezed Lemonade and Wild Honey Distress Stains.  Since I was going for a butterfly theme, I decided to use two of Kaisercraft's butterflies from their Tigerlilly Clear Stamp set.  But I didn't stamp them with ink!  I stamped them with bleach.

As I said, I've never done this before so I practiced a few times before stamping on my inked tag.  First, I got some paper towels and created about 4 layers of them.  Then I put them on a non porous plate and slowly poured straight bleach onto the paper towels.  When they were soaked enough that a little bleach was sitting on the plate, I knew I had enough.  I drained off the excess bleach because I didn't want the paper towels to be sopping wet.  Then I had a blot towel handy; incase I needed it to blot the bleached stamp before stamping on paper.  

I inked up two or three tags, making fairly dark backgrounds so that the bleached image would show better.  Then I attached a butterfly to an acrylic block and used the wet bleach paper towels like you would use an ink pad.  I found that, at least for me, I did better if I blotted the butterflies on the bleached paper towels and then gave the stamp a slight dab on a dry towel before stamping (to get rid of excess bleach).  Then I heat set the bleach so that it would not wick too much into the tag.  

  

Here is the background for my finished project.  I really like the stamping with bleach technique.  Once I sort of got the hang of it, it was easy and I really like the contrast and almost watercolor effect that the bleach does when it interacts with the water reactive Distress Inks.

Now it was time to finish my pocket tag! 

I stamped the vintage little winged girl stamp with a Pitch Paint Dabber.  
** Be sure to immediately clean your stamp afterwards when stamping with paint!

Then I created some luminous wings for my little girl using the technique I did to make the dragonfly wings on my Tape It Up box in September.  It's done with at least three layers of Fantasy Film, stamping with Permanent Ink on the top layer and then applying heat via an iron for at least 3 or 4 seconds.  Be sure to use parchment paper between the Fantasy Film and the iron or you will have a mess!

I colorized the little girl with watercolor pencils and then blended them using a Small Sakura Water Brush.  I cut her out and added the luminous wings rather than the paint stamped ones.  She is pop dotted onto the pocket for more dimension.

Next I used Coffee Archival Ink to stamp the rest of the images from Artistic Outpost's Melange for the tag.  

The piece on the bottom of my tag actually looks like a house on the Artistic Outpost Melange stamp.  I cut off the top and made it look more like an envelope flap.  

 

Then I colorized the pennants, the ruler and the little butterfly at the top of the tag with Broken China and Wild Honey Distress Inks and the Sakura Water Brush.  The pocket is attached to the tag using 1/8" Scor Tape on the sides and bottom.  

The "FLY" bunting at the top of the tag is stamped onto manila cardstock using Coffee Archival Ink.  I added a string of twine and pop dotted the pennants on top of it.

Finally, I added a touch of Perfect Gold Perfect Pearls Powder to the background, the butterfly, the bunting and the little girl's dress.  The little extra shimmer adds so much!

Now it's YOUR turn to create something that at least has one thing that is stamped with something besides ink.  Then enter it into our challenge.  You could be the lucky random winner of Simon Says Stamp's

Yes....$50.00 credit voucher.  You could also be honored by being selected as one of our TOP THREE entries for the week!  So, get those creative thinking caps on and get busy!

Here are the products available at Simon Says Stamp that were used in the creation of this project:

InLinkz.com

 

CAN CAN YOU CREATE SOMETHING FRENCH?

Bonjour mes amis! (Hello my friends!)  

This week's Simon Says Stamp and Show is all about some French Inspiration.  If you've not already seen them, check out the tres belle (very beautiful) projects that my Design Teammates have created for you this week on our challenge blog...very inspiring!

I have created a little French shabby chic matchbox dresser for you this week.  I had seen this idea on Laura Carson's Artfully Musing blog and was fascinated with it.  So, of course, 

I had to make one!  There is a video and PDF available on the link to Laura's blog for all of the instructions.

Here is my little creation...a 10 drawer dresser made out of small matchboxes, some chipboard and covered in cardstock.   As you can see, it is very "chic" and belongs to a beautiful girl (in the "mirror") who earned her living as a can can girl in Paris.  How's THAT for French inspiration and imagination?  

The basic dresser is made out of 10 matchbooks.  They usually come bundled in sets of 10.  I bought mine at a dollar store for yep, you guessed it...$1.00.  The chipboard I used was pretty much scraps from other projects.  The cardstock that I used is from Prima's Almanac 6x6 paper pad.  Love that pad!  So many beautiful images and colors.  Perfect for this little shabby chic project.

Here is a closer view of the dresser top; with all of the "girly" things on top: a little mirror (charm), pictures of friends (found on the internet and sized to fit this dresser top), a little antique brass bird cage, a metal picture frame with her boyfriend's picture, two perfume bottles (that I made from beads, crystals and bali silver), Fleur De Lis hangers dangling little vintage keys, hearts and tassles.  

 
I love the "mirror" on the chest.  I had a round metallic silver frame that was perfect for the round mirror that I wanted to attach to the back of my chest.  But it was silver and everything else is either antique copper or gold.  So, I altered the silver into an antique bronze-ish finish first with gold acrylic paint and then rubbing some raw umber acrylic paint on it.  I sized my photograph of my lovely lady to fit the circle and then cut a backing out of black chipboard.

  
Here is my finished "mirror".  I love it!  It was easily attached to the chest by hot gluing it in place on the extra piece I added to the back of the chest (more about that in a minute...)

The drawers of this little dresser actually will slide in and out.  The Almanac paper pad actually has sheets of paper that are almost the perfect size to line the interiors of the drawers. Yes, each drawer is lined!

Each drawer front is covered with a different portion of a paper from the Almanac Paper Pad.  Then I made a template the size of the drawer front to be sure when I poked the holes in the center of the drawer, all of my drawer knobs would line up.

 
The little "knobs" are copper beads and flower spacers threaded on a head pin.  I bent the head pin to one side and used a touch of Glossy Accents to hold it in place. 

Here is a picture of the finished drawers.  I have a little feathery boa coming out of one of them, so you can see that they actually do open and close!  So fun!

The right side features dimensional butterflies taken from the Almanac Paper Pad and covered in Rock Candy Stickles for an extra vintage-ish texture and sparkle.  

The left side features Tim Holtz' ATC size collage of the Eiffel Tower, Mona Lisa and Carte Postale.  That has been heat embossed using my Ranger Heat It Craft Tool and Black Embossing Powder and a touch of Copper Embossing Powder added in.  Very French!

I added a piece of Grungeboard to the back of the dresser using Tim Holtz' Brackets On The Edge die cut.  Then I added a bead of hot glue along the base of the die cut as well as attaching it to the chest with a piece of Tyvek, using Scor Tape to hold it in place.  Then I covered the entire of the back with a piece of cardstock and embellished it.

The back of the dresser features Moulin Rouge posters, pictures of can can girls and the French flag hanging from the antique brass oval frame.  All of the posters have been coated with Rock Candy Stickles for an extra sparkle and texture.

The "CHIC" bunting is created from Tim Holtz' Mini Scallops On The Edge Die Cut that has been cut into sections.  I stamped the letters with Jet Black Archival Ink and folded the paper over a black cord then glued the sides together with Glossy Accents.  I stretched the cording from dresser pole to dresser pole and accented the poles with some pink tulle that has been tied on and ripped to make it look more vintage.  The bunting has been covered in Rock Candy Stickles to pop the colors of the pennants and give them that vintage texture and sparkle. 

Now it's YOUR turn to see what YOU "can can" come up with for a French theme!  Then post it to Simon Says Stamp and Show's challenge.  You could win our generous sponsor's 

$50.00 credit voucher!  You could also be recognized as one of our TOP THREE entries for the week!  Good luck!!

Here are the products available at Simon Says Stamp that I used in this piece:

InLinkz.com