Monday, June 13, 2011

Bold Backgrounds: Card 1 (Or How to Make a Mess with Paint!!!)

I got to have a break yesterday from being mom/Omie/Nanny/Cook/grocery shopper/Launderer/Coffee Maker/diaper changer/baby holder/playmate, etc and took a class at Archiver's.  Those of you who do not have Archiver's closeby...well, all I can say is I feel badly for you!  I love taking classes there because they teach techniques and you get to make some really cool stuff!!! And of course...after the class is over you can shop and get all the great stuff you used in the class.

Yesterday's class was called "Bold Backgrounds"...we made 4 different cards and used paint on each one.  I don't know about you but I am hesitant about using paints.  Years ago Making Memories came out with all kinds of tubes of acrylic paints specially formulated for paper.  I probably bought up nearly every color and all kinds of foam stamps and used them a bit but never liked the process that much.  First of all I'm messy with paints and I invariably got them all over me!  I bought all kinds of foam stamps (still have 'em!) and things to use with the paints.  Years have gone by and recently I pulled my paints out and they were dry.  Lots of money down the drain!

I thought it would be fun, however, to learn some new ways of doing things so I signed up for the Arciver's class.  As I said we made 4 cards...I'll share one each day for the next 4 days and tell you how we made each one.

Here is the first card we did:

This card is actually about 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 inches (A2 sized).  It was run through the Tim Holtz Vagabond die cut machine.  Although the machine looks great and is electric we had a little problem with it today at the store and so the jury is still out on that machine for me.  It's awfully expensive and I think the Cuttlebug or the Big Shot does just as good of a job for much less money. 
Anyway, we used a Sizzix Die which is called A2 Card with Flap and you can see it here: A2 Card With Flap Bigz Xl Die (Sizzix)
We covered the mat surface with a Lettuce Paint Dabber made by Ranger Inks.  Then we stamped another image on top of it with a Sandal colored paint.  The stamps we used to do the background were Hero Arts.
Using other flower stamps we stamped and cut out the images and then coated them with Crackle Paint by Ranger Inks. 

Ranger Distress Crackle Paint 1.1 Ounce Jar
This stuff is great and easier to work with than Glimmer Mist (which I admit I love)...loved the effect it created.
We stamped on some canvas...and affixed all items to the front of the card.  We made a small pocket for the inside to hold a gift card.  
Another new item I hadn't seen before and we used were some Hook and Loop tabs (think Velcro) for the closure.  These work really well and adhere to paper very nicely.  The fastener tabs we used were manufactured by Tombo and worked really well on cardstock.  We also used Distress Stickles which I learned have mica in them so give a much different look than typical Stickles.
And that was it...stayed tuned for card 2 tomorrow.

5 comments:

  1. Lovely card. A nice different technique. Just to find all the products, but I am sure one can substitute. Look forward to no.2

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  2. This is a wonderful technique. I don't have Archivers near me, I never heard of it actually before coming to blog land. Glad you had a good class, and that you got a break.
    Enjoy your day.
    Judy

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  3. Christine and I took this class on Saturday and both loved it,too. Of course we had paint and stickles all over us. I love the Glimmer Glaze and Distress Crackle. I had a gift card that someone very special gave me it is was burning a hole in my wallet. So I spent it on some of the products we used in the class.

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  4. Especially like the look of the flowers. No Archivers near me. I agree that the CuttelBug or Big Shot do the job of the Vagabound and are less in cost. I use the Big Shot & sometimes the Sizzix Texture Boutique.

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  5. Love the crackle paint, this is so cute. I agree, it's messy at times but it makes a great effect.

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