Tammy Tutterow

Ranger Ink: Designer's Challenge

I was so super thrilled to be invited by Ranger Ink to participate in their Designer's Challenge for CHA.  For each show they select a product and send it to a group of designers and then send them the same materials.  Each designer creates a project which is featured at the show.  I have long admired this feature at the show so being invited to participate was a thrilling moment for me.

For this show, the featured product was the new Confections collection of Perfect Pearls.  Each designer received the same wooden from, the new Perfect Pearls colors, Sticky Back Canvas, and a few other assorted Ranger goodies.  I decided to cover my frame with vintage book paper.  I used Multi Medium to decoupage the paper onto the frame.  After it was dry, I misted it with Perfect Pearls Mist.   I used a ink blending tool to brush Distress Ink (Victorian Velvet) to the piece of Sticky Back Canvas to create a soft pink background fabric.  Once the ink was dry I misted it with Perfect Pearls Mist to add shimmer.  I added quilt batting behind the canvas to give it a puffy look, like a french memo board.

I stamped an image on a piece of blank book paper.  I used a Perfect Medium Pen to add an ink base and then brushed on Perfect Pearls to add color to the image.  I layered the piece of book paper onto a vintage photo folder.  I used a Tim Holtz Game Spinner folded in half as large clip along the side.

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I added a bit of water to a a small amount of Perfect Pearls to create a watercolor paint.  I applied it to the lady's dress in a vintage photo.  It is very slight but you can see that there is a slight blue tint to her dress.  I liked that it was very subtle, which reminded me of a faded vintage colorized photo.  I used Perfect Pearls Mist to mist some Tim Holtz Trimmings.

I added a vintage silver metal piece that I salvaged off of the front of a vintage photo album.  I added Perfect Pearls to the metal by adding some powder to the felt on an ink applicator tool.  I added alcohol ink (Shell Pink) over the Perfect Pearls and then dabbed the combination onto the metal.  The ink helps bind the Perfect Pearls to the metal.  Not only does it add a great shimmer to the metal, it also adds an interesting texture.  

I used the same technique to add color and shimmer to two Clearly for Art die cut flowers.  I also dabbed the same combination on the pearl tip of a stick pin.  I added the pin to the center of two layers of flowers (Tim Holtz Tattered Floral Die) which I then heated and shaped into a cup shaped flower.

I again created watercolor paints using water and Perfect Pearls to paint in color to a vintage photo album page.

I used Perfect Medium to stamp a design onto the vintage photo folder and brushed the stamped image with Perfect Pearls.  I love the soft subtle effect of the stamped image.  I think it adds a great touch to the vintage folder.  As a finishing touch, each element was inked with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

Tomorrow I will share my first ever scrapbook page to be displayed at CHA!  See you tomorrow!

BasicGrey Life of the Party: Birthday Frame

I got to work with BasicGrey's new Life of the Party collection for CHA.  I created two projects from this line.  The first is a simple frame.

The frame is a wooden frame that I found at Hobby Lobby on clearance.  It was already painted green so it was a great base for this fun green dot print paper.

I used border stickers to create stems for the dimensional pinwheel stickers.

I used assorted colored rub-ons from the collection to add a border around the photo opening.

This is a really fun and colorful collection!

Tomorrow I will share a project I created for Ranger's Designer Challenge that is full of vintage goodness!

 

Tim Holtz: Butterfly Curio

So here we go, the first of the samples from CHA I have to share.  It has gotten down to the wire on time and I am pretty much out of time.  Rather than wait to share these projects until I get back, I am going to share them with lots of photos and not much text as usual.  If you have a question about a project, don't hesitate to ask a question in the comments.

So first up, a piece from Tim Holtz's Idea-ology booth. . .

I created this small curio box using one of the small 5.5" x5.5" Configurations boxes.  I removed all of the inner boxes.  

I covered the inside and outside with paper from the Vintage Shabby Paper Stash.  I added Foundations to the bottom corner of each box and a Curio Knob to the top.  

I also added some of the new Sketchbook Tissue Tape to the back of the box.

I filled the inside with dried flowers that I sprayed with Ranger's Perfect Pearls Mist.  I also added crinoline roses made from the Tattered Flowers die and colored with Victorian Velvet and Scattered Straw Distress Ink.  The number plate is one of the new Plaquettes.  The velvet leaves are by Prima.

The butterflies are from the new Attic Treasures Salvage Sticker set.  I colored them with Copic Markers and then applied Vintage Photo Distress Ink over them.

I love how this piece turned out and can not wait to see it on display in the always amazing Idea-ology booth!

Next up tomorrow, a piece from BasicGrey!

Sketch Support: First and Last

My second page this month for Sketch Support is based on a fabulous one page sketch.  I am finding that as I challenge myself to make more pages, single page layouts are the ones that feel right to me.    You can see the sketch that this page is based on and as well as some pages based by some of the other team members on the Sketch Support site all this week.

For this page I began with a base of Kraft cardstock.  I used smooth black cardstock for the upper portion of the page and did bands of pattern paper as directed in the sketch.  When you see the original sketch you can see that I turned it for my page.  I had my heart set on using the photos of Emma standing under the sign on this page.  If I had cropped them to be horizontal she would have been small and lost in the photo.  By turning the sketch and making those photos horizontal it is cropped in much closer and you can see more details.

A fun side note, Emma insisted on wearing the same outfit to school on the last day that she wore on the first day.  It is fun to see how differently those clothes fit her at the end of the year.  We also started a new first and last day tradition of taking her photo next to the sign outside of the school.  The little string bean grew taller but didn't gain hardly any weight!

I used BasicGrey's Ledger in white along with a green dot and yellow numbered pattern from Studio Calico.  My title is American Crafts Thickers (Honey Puffy Letter Stickers).

I dug into my stash and found blue and green chip stars that were a perfect match to my paper.  The packaging has long since disappeared so I have no idea who they are from.

I have a serious love for these small alpha stickers from Making Memories.  I find myself reaching for them all the time.  I love adding a bit of stitching to them.

I love the way the Basics collection from BasicGrey works with just everything!  It is a real staple collection to have in your scrapbook stash.

I covered a raw chipboard letter by BasicGrey with black cardstock and layered it on top of a BasicGrey Basics Take Note journal card.  I cut the tops off of two Jenni Bowlin small bingo cards with the months on on them to add to the journal card.  I lifted the whole piece up off of the page with 3D Adhesive Foam Squares.

I added a band of black cardstock over a piece of Tim Holtz Tissue Tape under the title.  I used a white gel pen to add white doodle lines to the black paper.  Along the way, each piece also got inked with Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

CHA posts coming soon!

I am working on posts to run while I am away at CHA to share all that I have been working on for the last several weeks.  I thought I would post a quick peek of one project now, it is my favorite out of all I created.  I can't wait to share the whole thing!

Posts with my CHA samples will start Saturday so if you are anxious to see what I made, that is the day it will all start.  I will share a different project each day.  Also, tomorrow I have a post sharing my latest page for Sketch Support.  I really love the page so I hope you will stop by and see it tomorrow.

Glitz Design: One design, one technique, two frames

Today I thought it would be fun to share a pair of frames that feature the same design and same technique and show how just simply changing the patterned paper gives each a different look and feel.

The first frame features a bold green damask print from Glitz Design's Scarlett collection.

After covering the frame with the green paper, I adhered a piece of Paper Layers on the left side of the frame using Claudine Hellmuth Studios Multi Medium.  Once the medium was dry, I spritzed water onto the paper and rubbed it with my finger in order to peel away portions of the Paper Layer to reveal the green patterned paper below.

As I rubbed over the Paper Layer, I rubbed until some areas dissolved completely and left other areas with peeled and frayed edges for a very vintage and distressed look.  Once the paper was dry, I rubbed over the Paper layers surface and the edges of the frame with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

To embellish the frame, I layered two flowers with two leaves along the lower left corner of the frame.  I added two flowers over the leaves.  I added letter stickers from the Titles sticker sheet to the silhouette sticker from the same sheet which I trimmed to include just the oval frame.  I tucked the sticker into my flower cluster and then added two Glitzer stickers next to each flower.

For the second frame, I used Glitz Design's Love Nest "Damask" paper to cover the frame.

As with the other frame, I applied a piece of Paper Layers on the left side and then wet the paper and removed it in areas to reveal the pattern below.  On this frame, I removed the paper so that it sort of transitioned from one pattern to the next, leaving less peeled and torn areas than I did on the green frame.  As before, I rubbed over the surface and edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

I again used a cardstock sticker and two Glitzers in addition to a flower and leaves.

I adhered the cardstock sticker on this frame to a scrap piece of Paper Layers so that it would be free to lay above the surface and not be stuck down.

 

----------Supplies----------

Green Frame:

• patterned paper: Glitz Design Scarlett Collection "Wallpaper" and Scarlett Paper Layers
• stickers: Glitz Design Scarlett Titles Cardstock Stickers and Scarlett Glitzers
• flowers: Prima Guava Peony Brahms
• leaves: Prima Lustered Leaf Sprays White
• ink: Vintage Photo Distress Ink
• adhesive: Claudine Hellmuth Studio Multi Medium and Helmar 450 QuickDry

Pink Frame:

• patterned paper: Glitz Design Love Nest Collection "Damask" and Love Nest Paper Layers
• stickers: Glitz Design Love Nest Titles Cardstock Stickers and Love Nest Glitzers
• flower: Prima Rossetti Roses Grace
• leaves: Prima Lustered Leaf Sprays White
• ink: Vintage Photo Distress Ink
• adhesive: Claudine Hellmuth Studio Multi Medium and Helmar 450 QuickDry

Therm O Web: Love Posey Frame

Wow, what a crazy busy week!  I finally finished off all of my CHA samples and got them shipped and then dove right into preparing class kits for my classes this weekend at The Scrapbooking Studio in Moline, Illinois.  It is going to be a cold and snowy weekend in Illinois so if you are in the area and looking for a warm place to hang out and have some creative time, come on by!

Before I pack up and head out I wanted to share the second frame I made for Therm O Web's booth.  As I mentioned before, they have a fun new product coming out that I think everyone is going to want and need in their crafty tool box.  I am really excited about it and I think others will be too!

For this frame, I used another of my Hobby Lobby clearance aisle finds and recovered the front and added embellishments.  The beauty of using these pre-painted frames is that the hard work of painting the sides and backs is already done.

I took a piece of Claudine Hellmuth Studio Sticky Back Canvas and cut it to fit my frame front.  I brushed over the surface with Tim Holtz Victorian Velvet Distress Ink with a Ranger Ink Blending Tool.  After I applied the Sticky Back Canvas to my frame, I brushed the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  I love how easily you can add color to Sticky Back Canvas by just brushing over it with ink.

I used a piece of patterned paper by Studio Calico (Swatch from the Metropolitan kit) to create a "grassy" area.  I stitched around the edges and applied it to my frame front.

I sewed a scrap piece of ribbon onto a scrap piece of ribbon (BasicGrey) and added two velvet leaves (Prima) to create a flower stem.  I adhered the ribbon to the frame with Super Tape.

I placed assorted bling stones and pearls around the base of the stem on top of circles in the paper pattern. 

I covered chipboard letters (BasicGrey) with blue patterned paper (Glitz Desin).  I added a bit of Black Soot Distress Ink to the edges of the letters and then covered them with Glossy Accents.  Once the letters were dry, I used Super Tape to adhere them to the frame.

I used 3D Adhesive Foam Squares to adhere a chip flower (Pebbles Ink).  I added a Stitched Brad (BasicGrey) on top of a fabric Bloomer (BasicGrey) and placed the assembled piece on top of the chip flower.

I added crystals to the top of the brad and under the flower petals.

Okay, it is time for me to finish up class kits and pack my bags.  I have a date with the highway and my Glee playlist bright and early.  Don't forget, if you are in the Moline area this weekend, be sure to stop in and say hi!  Even if you can't make the class I would love to meet you!

Art Journal: Bluebird of Happiness (and some fun news too!)

First things first. . . I have added a new badge to my sidebar! 

I am thrilled to announce that I have joined the Inspiration Team for Inspiration Emporium!  I am so excited to be working with Jay and the other amazing ladies on the Inspiration Team!  If you love all things Tim, you definitely want to check out this store because they have it all and so much more!  With the announcement of the new team today they have also launched a new blog, the Inspiration Journal.  I hope you will take a peek and check out the other members of the new team.

Now, how about a new art journal page?

One of my two words for the year is Happiness.  When I think about happiness I always think of bluebirds.  Quite a few years ago I remember watching a made for tv movie Can You Feel Me Dancing staring Justine Bateman as a blind girl who overcomes several struggles to become a strong and independent woman.  In the movie there was a song with the line, "Bluebird of Happiness sing me your song".  I always loved that sentiment.  (I have never been able to find the song online.  There is one from the 40s that has a similar line but it is different, or at least not how I remember the song from the movie.)

So as the new year begins and I think more on my word and about some changes I am challenging myself to make, I find myself kind of adopting the bluebird as my mascot for the year.  As a part of my personal challenge to myself, I have decided to make myself journal about life and challenges and document discoveries along the way.  I am a computer kind of girl so I decided to do my journal as a blog.  I am a pretty private person and at first planned to keep the blog private.  I changed my mind and decided to make it public just on the outside chance that someone might find my ramblings interesting.  I can't promise that they will be, but in case you are interested, you can find that blog under Bluebird Songs on the menu above.

For this page, I started by covering my base page with patterned paper from the Tim Holtz Vintage Shabby Paper Stash.  This is one of the pages that is a soft taupe color.  As I was envisioning this page, I knew I wanted to use Distress Inks to add blues, yellows, and greens to paint a "scene" behind the bird.  I also wanted a pattern but nothing strong like a stamped image that would take away from the bird.  As I was flipping through the paper stash I had kind of an a-ha moment.  This paper with its muted color was perfect for inking and adding color to.  For the blues, I used Stormy Sky and Weathered Wood.  For the "sun" I used Old Paper.  For the green, I used Peeled Paint and Bundled Sage.

I cut my bird (Caged Bird Alterations die) from Grungepaper.  I used Faded Jeans and Wild Honey for the body and Walnut Stain for the legs.  I used a black Zig Marker to add a simple black eye.  I added a small bit of Glossy Accents to the eye and beak to add a touch of shine.

I cut a branch freehand out of Grungepaper and inked it with Faded Burlap and Walnut Ink.  I topped it with Crushed Olive Distress Stickles.  For the flowers, I took pieces of Idea-ology Foliage and inked them with Ranger Adirondack Pigment Ink.  I used Lettuce for the leaves and a combination of Red Pepper and Sunset Orange on the flowers.  I used my Heat It craft tool to dry and set the ink.

I next sprinkled Distress Embossing powder on the pieces.  I added Tattered Rose to the flowers.  I didn't have a green in the Distresss Embossing powder so I used Antique Linen.  Once I heat set the powder I went back over the leaves with my Lettuce pigment ink and then heat set it.  It gave the Antique Linen a nice light green color.  I gave the flowers a second coat of powder using Ranger's Bridal Embossing Powder to add some color variance and sparkle.  I colored the brads for the flower centers using the Bridal Embossing Powder.

The patterned paper had a really soft and subtle swirl pattern in it.  I traced over each of the swirls using Ranger Star Dust Stickles.

For the phrase, I used my single letter stamps that I have been using on all of my art journal pages.  I think that by using them on each page it brings a real unity to the pages in the book as a whole.  I stamped the letters for three of the words using Ranger's Archival Jet Black ink on a scrap blue piece of paper from the same paper pad.  I inked the edge of each with Vintage Photo.  I wanted to add a period to the end of the phrase but my set doesn't include one.  I could have used a pen, but I wanted to be sure the ink looked the same.  I grabbed a small embossing stylus (like the kind for the brass stencils) from my tool box and touched it to the ink pad and then my paper.  It made a perfect round dot.  I liked the look of it so much that I added more in a fun wavy pattern.  The really nice thing about using the stylus for a stamp was that it made all of the dots perfectly round and consistent in size.

I finished off the page with a touch of Vintage Photo around the outer edges.

----------Supplies----------

• paper: Tim Holtz Vintage Shabby Paper Stash; Grungepaper
• bird: Sizzix Alterations Caged Bird Die
• embellishments: Tim Holtz Idea-ology Foliage
• stickles: Stardust and Crushed Olive Distress Stickles
• embossing powder: Bridal; Antique Linen and Tattered Rose Distress Embossing Powders
• ink: Adirondack Lettuce, Red Pepper, Sunset Orange Pigment Ink; Ranger Archival Jet Black Ink
• Distress Ink: Vintage Photo, Old Paper, Peeled Paint, Bundled Sage, Stormy Sky, Weathered Wood, Faded Jeans, Wild Honey, Walnut Stain, and Frayed Burlap
• stamp: unknown single alpha stamps
• adhesive: Therm O Web Super Stick; Tombo Mono Aqua
• misc: Glossy Accents

Therm O Web: Grace Photo Frame

Whew!  It has been a creating frenzy around here lately!  Unfortunately, since it has been all stuff for the CHA trade show, there hasn't been much that I could share.  Good news though, I have the okay to share two projects before the show.  I made a couple of frames for the Therm O Web booth.  They have something fun up their sleeve that they will be releasing at the show.  Since my projects don't really give away what that awesome new something is, I get to share the finished projects now.  

If you are attending the show be sure you stop by booth 1047 to check out the new product!  If you aren't attending, I will be sure and post a follow up and tell you about the new product.  I think you will love the idea!

For this frame, I combined papers from Crate Paper's Restoration collection and Making Memories Paper Reverie collection.

I covered chipboard letters from BasicGrey with a fun fabric print paper from Sassafras Lass.

To give a couple of the letters lift and to add dimension, I used Therm O Web's 3D Foam Strips.  I love that these strips are long and thin and can be trimmed to whatever length I need and can curve.

The large red rose is also by Making Memories.  To give it a little sparkle, I gave it a coating of Tattered Angels Glimmer Glaze in Big Apple.  Glimmer Glaze will adhere and dry on a number of surfaces so it is really great for dressing up plain plastic embellishments like this one.  

I added a few touches of bling to these skeleton leaves by Prima.  Prima had some skeleton leaves a while back that were encrusted with crystals and microbeads (you can see them on this project and here).  Since they are discontinued and hard to find I have been wanting to find a way to recreate them.  This is a simple version on the same idea.

I used the piecing hole guides on my Tim Holtz Design Ruler to make pencil dots for placement of these red crystals, which are from the same embellishment pack as the red rose above.

I also added a red crystal to the center of some of the flowers in the floral patterned paper.

I have something fun to share tomorrow and then will be back the day after with another frame to share.

(Oh, by the way, the stunning photo is one of my daughter Anna's senior pictures from a few years back.  It was taken by St. Louis photographer Holly McCaig.)

Sketch Support: Home Sweet Home

It has been a bit of a creative sharing dry spell around here lately.  I have been so neck deep in creating but not much I can share.  I really love creating for trade shows but I hate that it always leaves me without much to share for a while.  Once the show is underway though I promise, it will look like a sharing bonanza around here!

Okay, so finally today something that I can share!  For this year, one of my creative goals was to make more scrapbook pages.  Being a part of the Sketch Support team has been a big help in that.  The sketches have finally taken away a big part of the the page layout intimidation I have had for so long.  The page I am sharing today is also featured on the Sketch Support site today.  The sketch is for a two page layout.  I tried so hard to make a 2 page layout.  I have always preferred singles.  No matter how much I loved the sketch, I just couldn't jump over that two page hurdle.  Not yet anyway.  But that is okay because that is something I really love about Allison's sketches, they are so easily adaptable.  I used just the left page of the two page design and adjusted it slightly and ended up with a page that I was really pleased with.

On this page I started with a base of kraft cardstock.  All of the patterned paper is from Cosmo Cricket's Early Bird collection.  I really loved this collection when it came out and added it to my stash but never could bring myself to use it.  That is another challenge for myself this year, to use more of the papers that I have been saving for "just the right" project.

I really love lots of layers and textures on a page.  I feel like I sew on every single page but I just can't help myself.  Sewing was my first crafty love so adding stitching to a page is like combining two loves.

One thing on pages that I am really challenged with is titles and journaling.  I didn't manage to add journaling to this page but I think it is okay without it, it is pretty self explanatory.

The piece that says Home Sweet Home is a cardstock sticker from the collection.  I adhered it to a scrap piece of chipboard to give it a little lift from the layers below.  Under it, I covered a Maya Road Ornate Chipboard Frame with pattern paper.

I tucked in a few small roses, crystals, and Galaxy Stars by Prima to add a little sparkle.

Be sure to check out the Sketch Support site to see the sketch that I worked from and to see what the other girls on the team did with it.