This image has been added to the Vintage Graphics gallery on the Vintage Papergoods page. Click on the image above to see the high resolution version.
The designs, images, and instructions listed on this blog are for personal use only and may not be distributed or sold in any form without specific permission from Tammy Tutterow.
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December 2010
12/31/2010
12/30/2010
Free Vintage Image: Custer Fancy Goods
This image has been added to the Vintage Graphics gallery on the Vintage Papergoods page. Click on the image above to see the high resolution version.
12/29/2010
Happiness Project: The Drawer
Wow, can you believe it, the final post about the Happiness Project before the new year and the kick off of filling it full of happiness. I really am so excited to get to work on it! I have had so many ideas for cards in my head already. Since my project doesn't begin until New Year's Day, I have resisted the urge to make any cards for it.
I have to say that I am so touched by all of the comments and emails I have received about this project. I have heard from several people who are so inspired by it that they plan to do their own Happiness Project too! I love sharing what I do and my greatest hope in sharing my creations is to hopefully inspire some creativity for my readers. I already knew that this project was a great idea and something I really needed to do for myself, but to hear from so many of you that it touched and inspired you to do the same really has been a very moving thing for me. I love that many of us will be sharing this journey of finding "Happiness in the Everyday" together.
Okay, so now for a few details about the last part of the project, the drawer itself. I tried to find a photo online of the drawer empty to show you what they look like in case you haven't seen them, but couldn't find one. They come in a dark wood finish. It is a really attractive piece. I really wanted to change mine up a bit so I decoupaged patterned paper onto.
I cut a pieces to fit the inside bottom and sides. I used Claudine Hellmuth's Studio Multi Medium as my decoupage glue. I applied the medium to both the wood and the backs of the paper pieces. If I am going to wrap my paper around any edges, I like to add the medium to the paper and allow it to sit for a few moments to soak in and soften the paper a bit. On my drawer, I wrapped the paper from the inside sides up and over the top edge and down the sides so it was really helpful for the paper to have the medium soaked in a bit.
Once the paper and medium was dry, I went back and sanded each edge to distress them. I sanded in several places until the wood showed through. This gives the illusion that each side piece has been individually cut and placed rather than applied in larger pieces like I actually did. I added distress ink to each edge as well.
I found the phrase "All My Happiness" on a journal card. I cut it to fit the indented area of the drawer handle. I inked the edges and then adhered it with Super Tape. I added Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint over the paper to give it a more vintagey look.
So there it is, the last piece of the "bones" of the Happiness project. The next step for my project is to find a little happiness and make some art about it. Since it is a year long project I will be sharing those cards randomly through the year as I create them.
----------Supplies----------
12/28/2010
Glitz Design: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow frame featuring Scarlett
I have one last post to share on the Happiness Project Library Drawer that will be posted tomorrow. Today I am sharing a blog post I have over on the Glitz Design blog.
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Earlier this month I shared a scrapbook page based on a sketch by Allison Davis. When I first saw the sketch I immediately saw it's design as inspiration for a simple and easy frame design.
I began by covering a 11" x 9" wooden photo frame with the yellow side of "Floral" patterned paper from Glitz's Scarlett collection. After applying the paper, I sanded the edges and added Black Soot Distress Ink.
I created a focal area around the photo opening with the black side of the same patterned paper. I added a simple machine sewing stitch border around the edge of it and Black Soot Distress Ink to the edges of the piece. I cut a strip from scrap chipboard and covered it with the beige side of "Bouquet". I added Black Soot Distress Ink to the edges and adhered it to the frame just below the photo opening.
I covered BasicGrey chipboard letters with the blue side of "Wallpaper". I sanded the edges of the letters and added Black Soot Distress Ink. I adhered the letters in place and then coated each letter with Glossy Accents.
For an accent, I filled three small metal frames with little vignettes made from scrap paper (the black side of "Floral"), Scarlett Paper Layers, Scarlett Rub-ons, and Scarlett Cardstock Journaling Stickers (the yesterday, today, and tomorrow are cut from a larger sticker). Once the paper pieces were assembled to the frames I adhered them to the frame and then filled the with Glossy Accents.
12/27/2010
Happiness Project: Random
Whew! The last card, can you believe it? If you have stuck with me each day through the sharing of each of these cards, I want to give you a big "thank you"! I hope it didn't get to redundant. I just really felt like some would get something out of taking a closer look at each card.
I think I managed to create a category that just about anything and everything could go in to, but decided that for the last card, that maybe a catch all category would be a good choice. I hope that by the end of the year that there are some things that will surprise me and make me happy, things I didn't anticipate with a category. I really believe that once I start focusing more happiness and on little things in life that add so much to my life that I never thought about before that there will end up being discoveries that I just couldn't see from this starting point. I think it will be filled with some really good surprises. At the end of the project, I think this will be a category I will treasure most because it will be one filled with things I didn't anticipate.
For this card, I wanted it to be pretty simple. I combined two of the 7g ephemera cards with a journaling strip and then topped them off with a flower and trinket pin. As I did with the other ephemera cards, I distressed the edges and then inked the edges.
I added some curves and bends so that the pieces would lay up off of the card. As explained yesterday, I added minimal adhesive so that they would be attached but look very free from the base card.
The journaling strip on this card really sums up the category. There is no rhyme or reason to what is in it, it is just totally random things.
Okay, that is it! That is the last of the category cards. I have one last post on this project tomorrow, a few images of the tray itself for those that wanted a closer look at how I covered mine. So until tomorrow. . .
----------Supplies----------
- 7gypsies Conservatory patterned paper: Aviary
- 7gypsies Mini Vintage Ephemera Cards
- Maya Road Vintage Trinket Pins: Green Leaf
- Prima Marketing flowers
- Making Memories Tiny Alpha Stickers
- Tim Holtz Distress Ink: Walnut Stain
- Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher
- Tim Holtz Tonic Paper Distresser
- Therm O Web Mounting Adhesive Sheets (covering the cards with paper)
- Helmar 450 Quick Dry (for all embellishments)
12/26/2010
Happiness Project: People
I am just honestly blessed with having a life that is touched by the most amazing people. I have people near and far that truly enrich my life. I think it is a given to say that members of your family make you happy but what I am thinking here are the people outside of family who never fail to make you laugh or bring a smile to your face. There is the co-worker who makes you laugh until you cry despite being crazy busy at work, the beloved UPS guy who brings you the best boxes of goodies, and the old guy who is the school crossing guard that smiles and waves at every single car that goes by. They each make my world better so I have a section just for them. I hope that it will challenge me to think more about the impact others have on my life and how what they do makes me happy.
The bottom layer on this card is another of the Jenni Bowlin journaling cards. It is a diploma style card. Although the center of the card didn't really fit in with the theme of my project, the colors in the border did. To remedy that, I simply layered a second journaling card (Crafty Secrets) over the top of the first one. Each were distressed with the Tonic Distresser and then inked.
When I adhered the different layers, I added adhesive only to the centers of each card. I wanted them to stay in place but still look as if they were just laying on each other held only by the staples on the journaling strip.
I added a journaling strip across the bottom of the top card. Like all of the other cards, the text was typed on pattern paper using my typewriter.
I incorporated the same flowers as used previously as well as a green leaf trinket pin. The base under the flowers and pin is a diecut bird shape from the Jilly Bean Soup Corrugated Shapes. These corrugated pieces really take ink well and add a cool texture to the project.
I left the journaling strip extra long so that I could curl it so that the color on the back would show just a bit.
Okay, just one last card to blog tomorrow, which is all about randomness. See you tomorrow!
----------Supplies----------
- 7gypsies Conservatory patterned paper: Feather, Aviary
- Jenni Bowlin Family Tree Journaling Cards
- Crafty Secrets Vintage Photos Double Sided Creative Scraps (colored with markers)
- Maya Road Vintage Trinket Pins: Green Leaf
- Prima Marketing flowers
- Jillibean Soup Pasta Fagioli Corrugated Shapes
- Making Memories Tiny Alpha Stickers
- Tim Holtz Distress Ink: Walnut Stain
- Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher
- Tim Holtz Tonic Paper Distresser
- Therm O Web Mounting Adhesive Sheets (covering the cards with paper)
- Helmar 450 Quick Dry (for all embellishments)
12/25/2010
Be Merry, Be Bright, Be Flabbergasted!
Flabbergasted: verb: Surprise (someone) greatly; astonish, mystify.
I suppose to some using the word "flabbergasted" in a holiday greeting would seem odd. In our family though, it makes a lot of sense. I don't normally share many personal photos or stories here, for me this blog is just about the art, but in this case, you need to know the story to understand the art.
Year before last, my youngest daughter Emma (now 6) got a glow-in-the-dark skeleton from her trick-or-treat bucket. She loved that silly little rubbery skeleton and played with it all the time. When we were decorating our Christmas tree that year, you could see she suddenly had a bright idea. She got super excited and ran to her room. She came back with that little skeleton and announced that she wanted to hang it on the tree. We tried telling her no, that you don't put skeletons and Halloween stuff on Christmas trees but she insisted. She said that Santa would be "flabbergasted" when he saw it. She wanted him to have a surprise and wanted to make him laugh and she was sure that seeing that skeleton on our tree would do the trick. Who can argue with that? So we obliged.
That little skeleton hung there and glowed among the lights and ornaments and gave us each a giggle as we walked past. The anticipation of what Santa would think made Emma so excited for Christmas. She kept asking us all what we thought Santa would say and if he would laugh.
When Emma went to check out the tree on Christmas morning she was surprised to find a note from Santa telling her how flabbergasted he was. She was delighted and so proud that she could surprise Santa and make him laugh.
When it was time to pack the tree away, she insisted the skeleton be put away with the ornaments, that Santa would expect to see him on our tree next year. And so last year when it came time to decorate the tree, the little glow-in-the-dark skeleton took his place front and center among the more traditional ornaments and again, we all giggled at the sight of it there.
And so the tradition continues that we hang that skeleton on our tree and anticipate the giggles and surprised responses from all who see it there. I think even more than what it means to Emma to give Santa a good laugh, it means a little something more to us. It is about the magic in a little girl's heart in wanting to give something back to Santa and that we should all take the time to be flabbergasted with the wonder and joy of the season more. Sometimes it takes something simple like a little rubber skeleton to remind you of that.
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So now, a few details about the project. . .
The base of the project is a piece of patterned paper (Tim Holtz Vintage Shabby Paper Stash) adhered to a piece of Grungepaper. I stitched around the edges and then inked them with Ranger's Archival Jet Black. This was the ink that I had sitting out on my desk but you could use any. I rubbed on a light layer of Clear Rock Candy Distress Stickles to the background paper to give it a frosty look.
I ran a thin piece of silver metal through my Vagabond (ohhh how I love this machine!) in the Holiday Words Texture Fade. I used an assortment of green alcohol inks to ink over the surface in a couple of layers. I then added a layer of Red Pepper randomly over the top of greens. Once they were dry, I rubbed my Jet Black Archival Ink Pad directly onto the raised surfaces of the metal. I love the effect that creates because it really defines edges on the embossing, removes some alcohol ink, and also deepens some of the existing color. Once the ink was dry I filled the recessed areas with Star Dust Stickles. Once dry, the metal piece was adhered to the paper/Grungepaper piece. I added a few Tiny Attacher staples to each side as embellishments.
I adhered a seasonal Tim Holtz Salvage Sticker to a piece of Grungepaper. I sanded the edges and inked them with the Jet Black ink. For the journaling strip, I typed my phrase on a scrap piece of Basics Manila paper using my typewriter. I adhered it into a Tim Holtz Memo Pin which was tucked into a cluster of flowers (Petaloo) and greenery (snipped off of a wreath in my house). I added a line of Star Dust Stickles along the top edge of the sticker and journaling strip to make it look like ice. I added a few light touches of Stickles to the greenery and flowers for a frosty effect.
The skeleton is plain white cardstock that was embossed with the Halloween Night Texture Fade. I rubbed the surface with a Adirondack Brights Citrus Dye Ink Pad. After cutting out the skeleton I added a second layer of ink to deepen the color and also cover any excess white that showed after cutting him out. I then used a piece of Cut-n-Dry Foam dabbed in the Jet Black Archival to add a few bits of shading to him.
Each element is adhered directly to the base at the bottom and then lifted off of the base up above with adhesive foam squares and strips. I really love using adhesive foam pieces because they create so much dimension in a project.
I hope you have a wonderful and beautiful holiday full of magic, wonder, and even some flabbergasting laughs!
----------Supplies----------
- Paper: Tim Holtz Vintage Shabby Paper Stash; Grungepaper; BasicGrey Manila Basics 6x6 paper pad
- Sticker: Tim Holtz Salvage Seasonal Stickers
- Embossing Folders: Tim Holtz Texture Fades Holiday Words and Halloween Nights
- Metal: Making Memories Slice Thin Metal Sheets for Embossing
- Alcohol Inks: Willow, Lettuce, Meadow, Pesto, and Red Pepper
- Ink: Ranger Jet Black Archival , Adirondack Brights Citrus Dye Ink Pad
- Stickles: Star Dust and Clear Rock Candy Distress Stickles
- Embellishments: Petaloo Velvet Poinsettias; Tim Holtz Idea-ology Memo Pins
- Tools: Tiny Attacher, Alcohol Ink Applicator, Vagabond
- Adhesive: Helmar 450 Quick Dry (embellishments); Super Tape (metal to paper); 3D Foam Squares and Strips
Free Vintage Image: Merry Christmas!
I am taking a quick break in the Happiness Project posts to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Creative New Year. I thank you all from the very bottom of my heart for your visits and your kind messages through out the year. Being able to create and share with you all is a blessing each and every day. Thank you!
This image has been added to the Vintage Christmas gallery on the Vintage Papergoods page. Click on the image above to see the high resolution version.
12/24/2010
Happiness Project: Songs
I am not sure that "songs" really needs much explaining, everyone knows how a great song heard at just the right time can make you really happy! I love the way music can move you and transport you through time and space. This section will be about the soundtrack of my Happiness Project. Whenever I hear a song that speaks to me about the project, makes me smile, or takes me back to a special time or place I will chronicle it here. At the end of the year, I think I will make a CD and a playlist of all of the songs.
The large piece of sheet music is from the Aviary piece of patterned paper. I love that it has a bee on it since I have a thing for bees (images of them that is, not the real thing!).
I have always said that Vintage Photo Distress Ink was my hands down favorite go-to brown distress ink. I have to say though, after doing all of the elements of this project using Walnut Stain, I think there may be a tie for favorite. I really love the softness of the brown in Walnut Stain. It is dark when you want it to be but blends and fades into such a nice soft shade.
I think the quote I found for this card is so perfect for it, especially since it follows the "words" card in the tray.
To "attach" the elements on this card, I used one of the Maya Road Trinket Pins to "pin" the paper in place. It pokes through to the back of the card and back out the front. This made my card bow so I bent the pin after it was in place until the card laid flat again. The pin still looks flat on the front but has a slight curve on the back.
Tomorrow I am taking a quick break from the Happiness Project sharing for a Christmas post. I have a great vintage image I will be posting and also have a little story I want to share. I will be back to the Happiness project the day after tomorrow for the second to the last card.
----------Supplies----------
- 7gypsies Conservatory patterned paper: Flora, Aviary
- 7gypsies Mini Gypsies Ephemera Cards
- Maya Road Vintage Trinket Pins: Green Leaf
- Prima Marketing flowers
- Jillibean Soup Pasta Fagioli Corrugated Shapes
- Making Memories Tiny Alpha Stickers
- Tim Holtz Idea-ology Mini Clips
- Tim Holtz Distress Ink: Walnut Stain
- Tim Holtz Tonic Paper Distresser
- Therm O Web Mounting Adhesive Sheets (covering the cards with paper)
- Helmar 450 Quick Dry (for all embellishments)
12/23/2010
Happiness Project: Words
"Words are the voice of the heart". -Confucius
Isn't that such a great quote? I love good quotes- ones that make you have those light bulb moments or ones that say what is in your heart when you can't find the words yourself. Sometimes it is almost as if a really great quotes find you and whisper in your ear what you need to hear, sometimes even before you even know you need to hear it. That love of words (from the girl who once dreamed of being a writer) explains what the "words" section is all about. It is about celebrating words by others that speak to me and my heart, quotes or phrases I happen to stumble upon that make me smile and move me.
I really love this Jenni Bowlin alphabet card. It is so classic and vintage looking. I am sure it must be based on a real vintage card she has found. (Have I mentioned how much I adore Jenni's vintage treasures and style?) The second card is from the 7g ephemera collection. I love when two random bits from different brands go together like they were made for each other.
I layered two different small Prima flowers on top of a Jilly Bean Soup Corrugated Shape. I added a scrap of ribbon and a Tim Holtz Trinket pin to hold my journaling strip. On this card especially, the words being typed on my old typewriter seem especially appropriate. It was this typewriter that as a kid I dreamed I would write a great novel on. I laugh when I think about that now. Can you imagine typing a whole novel on a small portable manual non-electric typewriter?
I always like to "attach" my pieces to the cards in some way. I don't like them floating. I want to look at the card and have it make sense that the objects are on in and staying in place.
Okay, next up tomorrow, songs!
----------Supplies----------
- 7gypsies Conservatory patterned paper: Butterfly, Aviary
- 7gypsies Mini Gypsies Ephemera Cards
- Jenni Bowlin Family Tree Journaling Cards
- Prima Marketing flowers
- Jillibean Soup Pasta Fagioli Corrugated Shapes
- Making Memories Tiny Alpha Stickers
- Tim Holtz Idea-ology Trimmings (colored with Glimmer Mist)
- Tim Holtz Idea-ology Memo Pin
- Tim Holtz Idea-ology Mini Clips
- Tim Holtz Distress Ink: Walnut Stain
- Tim Holtz Tonic Paper Distresser
- Therm O Web Mounting Adhesive Sheets (covering the cards with paper)
- Helmar 450 Quick Dry (for all embellishments)
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