Tammy Tutterow

From my studio: Vicki Chrisman ' s Shadowbox Die

Back in January at CHA, my sweet friend Vicki Chrisman sent me home with a diecut from her new Shadowbox Die from AccuCut.  Not only is it available as a die, but it is also available in pre-cut kits through Crafty Secrets.  If you are familiar with Vicki's work, you know that she loves vintage as much as I do.  When I laid eyes on this sweet frame I was completely in love! Yesterday I finally got a chance to sit down and just play a bit and reached for my diecut from Vicki and dug around a bit in my vintage lace and vintage buttons. Vicki had several pattern papers to choose from and I ended up choosing one that was an older BasicGrey pattern.  I ended up though using the blank backside of the pattern paper instead.  To create the effect, I sprayed the white side of the paper pieces with a combination of Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists in Sugar Cookie and Caramel Apple.  I heat set the spray to dry it quicker and then stamped on the pieces using stamps from the Flights of Fancy stamp set  by Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous.  After the ink was dry, I used colored chalk to come in and add color.  I finished off all of the edges with distress ink. For the photo, I used today's free vintage image and printed it to fit my frame twice.  I colored the girl and dog on one and the background on the other.  I cut out the girl and dog and added them to the top of the background piece using adhesive foam squares.  Unfortunately, in the photos it is hard to tell that the little girl's dress is a soft sweet pink. To embellish the frame, I mixed bits of vintage lace and vintage buttons with velvet flowers (Making Memories), velvet leaves (Prima), silver paper leaves (Making Memories), canvas flowers (Making Memories), pink feathers, and felt flowers (unknown).  I added blue chalk and distress ink to the canvas flowers. Thank you so much Vicki for giving me one of these sweet frames to play with.  I loved working with it!

Taking a play day. . .

I decided just to take a day to play today to just play and experiment and not think about assignments or due dates or anything "work-like".  Just a bit of pure playtime for creativity's sake. It might also be a sneak peek at tomorrow's vintage image. . .  more about this project tomorrow.

Flashback Friday: Lime Rickey Laugh Photo Frame

This frame makes me smile!  I still remember the moment I got the box of new release papers for CHA when BasicGrey released Lime Rickey.  Normally the bright graphics and bold colors would stump me a bit, but this time I knew the second I saw the little birdies exactly what I would make. My oldest was getting ready to leave for college and my wee one, who is the little mini me of her big sissy was not very happy about it.  So on this day Anna took Emma to the mall to make her very first Build-A-Bear so that while she was gone, Emma would have something special to love on when she missed her sissy.  They went in their favorite rain boots out of pure silliness and did all of the mall things two sisters should do and Emma came home with her first bear that she helped make with her sissy.  Such a fun and sweet and silly day.  Good times.

From my studio: Graphic 45 Accordion Book

As I promised yesterday, here are a few peeks inside my Graphic 45 accordion book that I will be teaching soon.  As soon as I have the date I will add it to my calendar. It is hard to tell in the photos, but the pink file folder is a mini book with vellum pages sewn into the accordion. The accordion is double sided so that this are places for journaling, photos, and memorabilia on both sides.

From my studio: Ribbons and Flowers and Papers OH MY!

So much to do today!  I need to finish this little hanky bonnet project so I can deliver it tomorrow.  It is for a sweet wee girl who is going to be christened soon. And then I need to head over for For Keeps Sake with my Graphic45 accordion book to find a date on the class calendar for it. It is totally packed to the gills with posies, pockets, tags, cards, and even a mini book stitched right in to the accordion.  I think it is a pretty cool book project, if I do say so myself!  Tomorrow I will share some more images of the inside. Stay tuned for dates of when this one will be available at For Keeps Sake.  If you don't live in St. Louis but would love to make this one, it will be available in my class offerings for stores outside of St. Louis to book.  If you want me to come, drop me a note with your favorite store's info so I can contact them, okay? Once I get back from the shop, I need to get seriously busy with this thing: But I can't tell you why.  How is that for a tease!

Classroom News: Yet another new classroom

I discovered yesterday that the hack attempt on my site last week caused some problems with my shopping cart program that I use to deliver my class downloads.  It caused the downloads to stop working.  I have switched everything over to a new cart system that is actually a 3rd party service so that there is a lot less work and maintenance involved for me.  You can still find the downloads through this site, you just will be receiving the downloads through the other site.  It is very safe and secure and way faster than the other set up. You can find the class and all future classes on the site here on the menu bar above under "Online Classroom" and then "Project Instruction Downloads". If you have had trouble before downloading the class I invite you to try it again.  If you haven't downloaded it, it is free so I hope you will take a peek!

Scrappy Sundays. . .

lead to Messy Desk Mondays. But since that means new classes samples made and ready to go, I guess that is okay! I will have more details about this fun and lovely mini book posted soon!

Flashback. . . uh Saturday: Perhaps Suitcase

So I had planned to post one of these portfolio pages every Friday, but yesterday I forgot.  It seems I was so engrossed in making and photographing my shabby frame that I forgot about projects past.  So to catch up and to share something pretty I am posting a flashback project today instead. This suitcase measured about 12-13" wide and was recovered in BasicGrey's Perhaps papers.  It was a for a tradeshow sample.  I removed all of the leather-like strappings and recovered them in paper, complete with stitching.  The tag reads, "However far you may wander this earth, always take with you grace, wisdom, and beauty".

Altered Home Decor: Vintage Shabby Mirror Made New and Old

Next month I have a craft show that I will be in and will be featuring my metal art jewelry.  I have been wanting a new way to display some of those pieces and decided that a vintage shabby frame with a fabric covered bulletin board insert was what I wanted.

Yesterday I made a quick stop in my local antique mall and found this beauty for just $16.

I knew right away that I wanted to use some paint to accent the scroll work on the frame.

After cleaning the frame a bit, I painted all of the details with an assortment of colors of Tattered Angels Glimmer Mists painted on.

After the colored paints were dry, I globbed on some Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint in Antique Linen.  Emma came along as I was doing this and scolded me because she liked it the way it was.  It was pretty just painted but I had a vision of something else.

While the Antique Linen Crackle Paint was still wet, I gobbed on a second coat in Picket Fence.  I just added the crackle to the area where the detail work was and kind of let it streak out and thinly blend into the original paint in the spaces between the details.  I didn't want to cover the real original crackling.

After the crackle dried, the colored paint peeked through.  After this photo, I lightly brushed over the surface with a metal bristled brush to knock away the loose crackle and reveal a bit more color.

I used the original cardboard frame backing as a template for a new insert cut from thick foam board.  I covered the foam board with cotton batting and fabric pulling it tight to the back and securing it with staples.  I trimmed away the excess.

I used a piece of vintage rhinestone jewelry to add a tuft to the center of the board.

And the finished frame/memo board!  I was lucky to find a really nice oversized plate/frame stand at Hobby Lobby (50% off even!) that is the perfect fit and holds the frame nice and steady.

Here are a few peeks of the paint and crackle finish.

I love how soft and chippy it turned out.

Now I am itching to find more frames and repeat this project again for in my house.  I love how it turned out!

Video How-To: Covering Wood Photo Frames

If you have followed my blog very long you know that I love to make home decor pieces using scrapbook paper.  You also probably know that I have a serious love for Mounting Adhesive Sheets by Therm O Web.  I use them exclusively for adhering paper to my decor pieces.  I have always wanted to find a way to demo on my blog just how easy they are to use.  For Christmas this year I got a fun new digital video camera that allows me to make videos that I can share online.

So here it is, my first attempt at posting and sharing a video.  For a girl who is painfully self conscious it was a tough thing to do.  Ha ha, of course I managed to do it with only my arms showing.  Perhaps in the future I will get a little braver and show more of myself.  Until then, be kind at my first attempt:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYmuYX-6aAQ

The video focuses on the application of the paper and doesn't show adding the embellishments.  I finished the frame in the video like this:

The pattern paper, journal card, and stickers featured on this project are from the Anthology collection by Studio Calico.  The flowers and stars are by Prima.

You can find Mounting Adhesive by Therm O Web at most craft, hobby, and scrapbook stores.  You can also find it online through Therm O Web's website.