Tammy Tutterow

Tim Holtz Tattered Poinsettia Card

Today I want to share with you a card I made featuring the new Tim Holtz Tattered Poinsettia die.  The die is a new design that was shown at CHA Summer and is scheduled to ship in October.  I truly love the way this card turned out.  It might possibly be my most favorite card I have ever made!  I love the dimension the flower has and think that even though it is a poinsettia and would gennerally be thought of as a holiday design, it is one I will use all year long.

To create my card, I started with a card base made from kraft core cardstock in the cream color.  I inked around the edges of the card with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  To embellish the front of the card, I cut a piece of kraft resist paper so that it was slightly smaller than my card front.  I colored the kraft resist paper with Barn Door Distress Stain.  After drying the stain with a heat tool, I misted it with Biscotti Perfect Pearls Mist.  After drying the mist, I inked the edges and some of the surface of the paper with Vintage Photo Distress Ink with an ink blending tool.

Before adhering the kraft resist paper to my card front, I wrapped it with a piece of dyed crinkle ribbon, tying it off in a bow on the left side of the paper.  

After adhering the kraft resist piece to the card front, I added some die cut foliage pieces to the card, slipping them under the ribbon bow.  To create the foliage, I die cut manila cardstock with the Festive Garland die.  I colored the pieces with Forest Moss and Pine Needles Distress Stains.  After drying the stain, I inked the edges of the pieces with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

For the flower, I die cut the flower pieces from manila cardstock.  After die cutting, I colored the pieces with Victorian Velvet and Picket Fence Distress Stains. I misted the pieces with water after applying the layers of stain to encourage blending. After drying the pieces, I added Peeled Paint and Bundled Sage Distress Inks to the center of each flower using an ink blending tool.  I dried the pieces again and then misted them with Biscotti Perfect Pearls Mist.  I once again dried the pieces and finished up by added Victorian Velvet and Vintage Photo Distress Inks to the edges of the flowers. 

Once the layers were all dry, I adhered them together and inserted a green velvet brad through the center of them.  I tapped a bit of Vintage Photo Distress Ink to the brad to mute the color and help it coordinate better with the rest of the project.

Finally, I adhere the assembled flower to my card over the bow.  I slipped a coupld of Gem Clips under the edge of the flower clipping them onto the ribbon below.

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Sing Your Heart Songs Mini Book

Back in March, I traveled to Boston with some members of the Sizzix team to teach at The Collins Group Event.  The project I shared was this cute little mini album featuring a sweet little winged fairy girl cut with Tim Holtz Sizzix Stamp 2 Cut.  I planned on sharing my printable instructions for the project here, but because the Stamp 2 Cut cartridges and the die and embossing folder that this project featured were not widely available at the time, I saved it until I knew all of the elements were shipping.  Now that the Vintage Cardmaking collection is now shipping, I am happy to finally share with you the downloadable instruction sheet for this project.  (See the link below.)

I really love how I can create such dimensional and detailed projects using the Stamp 2 Cut system with my Sizzix eclips.  It is so easy to use and cuts so quickly!  The detail of the cuts are simply amazing!

This project also combines some pieces that are traditional die cuts along with embossing.  I love that it gives an alternate use for a card die as well.  

The tutorial also includes instructions for how I colored and inked the elements in this project.  Even if you don't have an eclips or these particular dies, I hope you will download a copy and that you will get some project and inky ideas from it anyway.

The project sheet has full color photographs with each step and also has a full supply list.  For your convenience, I have also provided links below to the supplies used.

To download the instructions please click here: Download heartsonggirlie_handout.pdf (1030.0K) (Download times may vary so please be patient and let the .pdf load before saving or printing.)

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Believe

I love this little project so much!  It is another project I created for the Tim Holtz Idea-ology booth at CHA Summer.  I love how the elements came together to create such a pretty little display piece and I love that it features my all time most favorite photo of Emma.

The base of the pieces is a wooden wall plaque.  I found these plaques in the Target Dollar Spot a couple of years ago.  They had printed images of jungle animals on them.  At only $1 each I grabbed quite a few knowing they would be great bases for projects.  (In place of a wooden plaque, you could substitute a small stretched canvas.)

To cover the plaque, I first applied adhesive sheets to the back side of a piece of patterned paper from the Holidays Past Paper Stash.  I placed my plaque face down onto the adhesive on the back of the patterned paper.  After wrapping the paper around to the sides of the plaque, I trimmed away the excess with a craft knife.  After trimming, I sanded all of the edges and inked them with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

I dyed Crinkle Ribbon with Brushed Silver and Broken China Distress Stains.  I combined it with brown and white Paper String and wrapped it around the wooden plaque tying it off in a bow off center to the left.

Above the ribbon, I added two stacked layers of Grungeboard, each covered with patterned paper and adhered with adhesive foam squares to add extra dimension.  I added metal Corners to the bottom layer.  On the top of the top layer I adhered my photo.

I added a File Tab to the lower Grungeboard piece.  I hammered it a bit with a Texture Hammer to give it some age.

I used Paper String wrapped around the top Grungeboard to tie an Ornate Plate over the photo.  After tying the Paper String in a knot, I unraveled the ends to add extra dimension.

I filled the Ornate Plate with a piece of Grungepaper covered with patterned paper.  I placed a Chit Chat sticker inside the center and added Tiny Attacher staples to each end.

On the side of the Ornate Plate, I added Festive Foliage pieces that I colorized using embossing powder.  To learn the technique I use to colorize metal embellishments, check out this tutorial: http://tammytutterow.typepad.com/tammy_tutterow/2012/01/tuesday-tutorial-enameled-idea-ology.html.

Below the photo I added Alpha Tiles to spell out the word Believe.  The sweet photo just says "Believe" in the magic of Christmas so I was so glad that it fit so perfectly.  (You can read the story of the photo here: http://tammytutterow.typepad.com/tammy_tutterow/2010/12/be-flabbergasted.html). I sanded the edges of each tile before adhering it to the plaque.

This finished project makes me smile so much that I think I may leave it out year round.  I think it turned out as a lovely way to display such a special memory.

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Tim Holtz Sizzix Alterations Holiday Wreath Card

My July has been such a blur of Christmas, Fall, and Halloween projects.  Summer CHA (the industry trade show where craft manufacturers reveal new products) normally has a fall and winter product focus.  While we have been in the middle of a drought and heat wave in the midwest, I spent my July working on Christmas and Halloween projects!

I created this card as a sample for Sizzix featuring the new Tim Holtz Holiday Wreath die and Holly Pattern Texture Fade (both scheduled to ship in October).  This wreath die is super fun because it has leaves that lift up to add dimension!

To create this card, I started with a kraft cardstock base.  I tore a piece of green Kraft Core cardstock so that it was slightly smaller than my card front.  I embossed the green paper with the new Holly Pattern Texture Fade.  I sanded the raised design and then inked the edges and some raised areas with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  I adhered the embossed piece to the front of my card and added machine stitching around the edges.

To create the wreath for the front of the card, I die cut one wreath shape from manila cardstock.  I used an ink blending tool to apply Pine Needles and Vintage Photo Distress Inks.  I misted over the wreath with Green Patina Perfect Pearls Mist.  After drying the mist with my heat tool, I added more Vintage Photo Distress Ink to the edges.  I slipped a scrap piece of paper under the edges of the leaves so that I could ink them without adding more ink to the wreath below them.

After inking and misting, I adhered the wreath to my card front.  I wanted to keep the leaves popped up but didn't want to see adhesive foam squares in the openings.  My solution was to use 3D Craft Zots which are large and clear.  I cut each one in half, lifted the leaves, and then used tweezers to place the Zots under the leaf cut outs.

To embellish my wreath, I added a die cut bow.  I cut the bow pieces from red Kraft Core cardstock.  I sanded the pieces lightly to create some color variance and then inked the edges of the pieces with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  After inking, I misted the pieces with Forever Red Perfect Pearls Mist.  I dried the mist with my heat tool and then added a bit more Vintage Photo to the edges.  I used a brad (colored red with a Copic Marker) to the center of the bow to assemble the pieces together before adhering to the front of the wreath.

To finish off the card, I die cut a tiny tag from Kraft Cardstock, wrote a sentiment, and tied it to the wreath with a piece of thread.

This card was so fun to create!  The Perfect Pearls Mist give it such a pretty subtle shimmer.  I love how they layer with Distress Inks.  And the new wreath die!!  Trust me, this one needs to be on your die wish list!  Look for it and the Holiday Pattern Texture Fade in October.

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Eillen Hull Sizzix Blog Weekend: Heart Box with Crinoline Flowers

This weekend on the Sizzix blog we are celebrating all things Eileen Hull!  There are some fabulous giveaways and amazing project inspiration.  Design team members all made a project to share featuring their favorite dies from Eileen's collection.  Eileen is a "stuff maker" like me so I really love using her dies.  

I hope I don't seem like too much of a tease, but I chose to work with two of her brand new dies just released at CHA.  The collection is called "From the Heart" and it is truly my most favorite Eileen collection ever!  The collection doesn't ship until January (!!) so I thought for my tutorial I would share with you some tips for working with Eileen's dies and Sizzix Mat Board.

When possible, I prefer to cut my mat board and paper as one piece.  To do that, I use Therm O Web's iCraft Adhesive which is a thin sheet adhesive.  The thin adhesive film is sandwiched between two removable backing sheets.  I begin by removing one backing sheet and applying it to my Scoreboard surface which I have cut to fit my selected die.

Next, with the adhesive adhered to the mat board, I remove the second backing sheet and place the mat board adhesive side down onto the backside of my patterned paper.  I use a craft knife to cut around the edge of the mat board to remove the excess paper.

After trimming, your mat board will be plain on one side and have patterned paper on the other.  I find it is always best to make a test cut over a section of the die that has score lines using a scrap piece of mat board.  I like to do this so that I know which way the score lines fold.  In the case of this die, they cut so that the side of the mat board that is touching the surface of the die would be the outside edge of the finished project.  Because of that, for this box, I placed my piece of mat board patterned paper side down onto the die to cut it.

I wanted to capture a specific part of the design of the patterned paper for my lid.  To do that, I applied the adhesive film to the mat board, left the second backing sheet in place and then die cut the lid.  I used the scrap mat board as a template and laid it on my pattern paper, adjusting it until the image was framed the way I wanted it.  I used a pencil to trace the heart shape and then cut the paper for the lid out with scissors.  I removed the second adhesive backing sheet from the die cut lid and placed the paper onto it, lining up the edges.  (Be sure to see the glue stick tip below for making this step super easy.)

After die cutting all of the pieces, I applied ink to the edges using an ink applicator tool.

The tabs will be what are used to assemble the pieces to one another.  I like to use SuperTape (red line tape) because of its strength.  Rather than trying to apply tape to each individual section, I apply one long strip along the section of tabs.

I then flip the piece over and cut away the tape from the open sections using a craft knife.

Because SuperTape is strong and has a quick bond, I like to apply glue stick over the sticky surface of the tape after removing the red liner.  Using a glue stick gives you a little more work time to adjust the placement of the tabs but does not affect the strong bond of the tape.  This also works for sheet adhesives like the iCraft sheets mentioned above.

Because many of Eileen's dies require assembly, each package insert includes step-by-step photographed instructions.  If you ever misplace yours, they are also available on the Sizzix website at http://www.sizzix.com/instructions.

To embellish my box, I decided to add crinoline flowers cut using another new From the Heart collection die, Flower Layers wtih Heart Petals.  This flower die, as well as Eileen's other flower dies are great for cutting from fabric.  I cut mine using crinoline that I dyed using the Ranger Ink Dylusions Spray Ink in Pure Sunshine.  (If you have followed my blog for a while, you know what a fan of crinoline I am for die cutting.  If you are confused about what crinoline is, I have a handy blog post to help you: http://tammytutterow.typepad.com/tammy_tutterow/2012/01/crinoline-help-and-facts.html)

After drying the flowers with a heat tool, I stamped over them with my ink blending tool using any residual ink on the foam.  I didn't want to re-ink the tool because I wanted only soft hints of the brown.

This die has three sizes of flowers on it.  I added two of each size and fed them onto a bunch of vintage flower stamens that had a wired stem attached.  (I bought my stamens on Etsy and they look like the ones shown here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/89041122/vintage-floral-pips-peps-glossy-pink). 

After feeding the flowers onto the wire stem, I decided to re-wrap the stem using Tim Holtz Tissue Tape.  The stem on the stamens was a bit brighter than I wanted, so re-wrapping them allowed me to get a softer color.  After I finished wrapping the stem, I applied green Distress Ink with ink blending tool over the tape.

The finished flower turned out so lovely!  I absolutely love the way I can die cut crinoline and other fabrics to make such gorgeous embellishments for my projects.  With a die, crinoline, and inks I can make a flower to match any project.  Now more having bins and bins of pre-colored flowers sitting in my studio!  If you are like me, those bins of pre-made flowers are never the one color I need for a project!

To finish my project, I simply tied to flowers together using Tim Holtz Crinkle ribbon that I colored with Distress Ink.  I adhered the two flowers to my box lid using Helmar 450QD liquid glue to keep them firmly in place.

This box is so fun and easy to assemble and is perfect for gift giving or keeping precious keepsakes in.  Be sure to look for it and the flower die in January 2013!  Until then, check out Eileen's other dies for more great packages and flowers.  And don't forget to stop by the Sizzix blog this weekend for a chance to will a great collection of Eileen's dies!

Happy Grams

When I was a kid in school, we used to get notes from the teachers and the office on yellow slips of paper with a smilie face on the and the title "Happy Gram".  I used to love getting Happy Grams!  They were way better to take home than the notes I would also get telling my mom I talked too much and daydreamed a lot during class!  Still to this day, I think of all little happy notes as Happy Grams.

I have been wanting to make a fun little note pad holder using the Sizzix Hanging Bag die for a while now.  I wanted to create a cheerful little piece that I could hang on the refrigerator to hold a note pad that would help encourage everyone in my house to write more Happy Grams to each other.

To construct the pocket, I adhered patterned paper to piece of mat board using adhesive sheets.  After die cutting the pieces, I sanded and inked the edges and then assembled the pocket according to the package instructions.

To embellish the pocket, I decided to include a bluebird on the design.  I love bluebirds and their symbolism of happiness.  I decided to use the Sizzix Bird die for this project.  Today I want to share with you how I colored the bird.

To begin, die cut two birds from grungepaper.  Apply a generous base coat of Picket Fence Distress Stain.  After applying the ink, dry each bird with a heat tool. 

Apply Wild Honey Distress Stain to the beak area of one of the birds.  Apply Vintage Photo Distress Stain to the legs of the same bird.  Heat the ink to dry it.

Use an ink blending tool to ink the edges of the beak and over the legs.

On the second bird, apply Broken China Distress Stain over the bird's body.

After drying the stain, apply Stormy Sky Distress Stain along the top edge of the bird (along its back and the top of its head).  Dry the stain with a heat tool.

Add Faded Jeans Distress Stain to the top edge of the bird's back and the top of it's head.  Dry the stain with a heat tool.

Apply Scattered Straw Distress Stain along the chin and belly of the bird.  Heat dry the stain.

Trim off the legs and beak of the blue bird.

Use an ink blending tool to apply Vintage Photo Distress Ink to the edges of the bird's body.  The wing may be lifted up to apply ink to the edge of it.

After both birds were dry, I adhered them together with glue.  I covered the eye of the bird with a small round punched hole from the matboard pocket.  You could fill it with a small brad also.  I left the tip of the two tails slightly separated to add a bit of dimension. 

To embellish my hanging notepad holder, I cut a piece of grungepaper using the Branch die.  I colored with with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.  After it was dry, I adhered it to the front of the pocket and placed the bird over it.

I tucked a small tag under the bird's wing.  I also added some fine black pen lines to the legs to help define them.  Finally, I added two small ribbon flowers to the branch.

Behind the bird, I added a die cut heart.  Before die cutting the heart, I adhered patterned paper to a scrap of mat board.  After die cutting I added my sentiment with letter stamps.  I adhered the heart to the pocket behind the bird's head and added a few staples to anchor the piece to the design.

I added dyed crinkle ribbon to the holes in the pocket so that I could hang it.

I love the size of this pocket!  It is perfect for a note pad but would also be great for holiday treats!

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Tutorial: Doily Wrapped Mother's Day Tag

This tutorial has been moved to my new website: http://tammytutterow.com/2012/05/tutorial-doily-wrapped-mothers-day-tag/.

Thanks!

Tammy

Eiffel Tower Tim Holtz Sizzix Stamp2Cut Tag

Hello!  Happy April!  April is my absolute favorite month of the year and I am always so happy to see it arrive!  This year, after an especially busy March I am super happy to see April arrive.  After finishing up a few top secret projects (some that aren't top secret any longer) I am finally getting back into my normal pace with projects on my work table and posts for my blog.

Today I want to share with you a project I created using the Tim Holtz Stamp2Cut system for the Sizzix eclips machine.  If you don't have an eclips you can duplicate this tag by hand cutting the elements.  Trust me though, once you use an eclips with Stamp2Cut, you will never want to hand cut again!

I have a mad love for the Eiffel Tower and hope to visit there some day.  This Eiffel Tower stamp from the Tim Holtz I See Paris stamp set is a personal favorite.  I was really excited when I saw that it was included on the Stamp2Cut 1 cartridge.

To create my tag base, I inked the map stamp from the Road Trip stamp set using Walnut Ink Distress Stain.  After drying the ink with a heat tool, wrinkled the tag to create some creases and texture.  I added Walnut Stain Distress Ink to the edges using an ink blending tool.

I streaked  Tumbled Glass Distress Stain on a piece of smooth white cardstock.  I used a heat tool to dry the paper.  I stamped the Eiffel Tower stamp image on the stained paper using Coffee Archival Ink.  

After the ink was dry, I misted over the paper with Turquoise Perfect Pearls Mist.  I dried the paper again and cut it out along the edge of the image and then added Walnut Stain Distress Ink to the edges with an ink blending tool.

I stamped the image again on smooth white cardstock using Jet Black Archival Ink.  I misted the image with Pewter Perfect Pearls Mist.  After drying the image, I used the eclips machine and Stamp2Cut to cut out the Eiffel Tower from the larger stamped image.  I adhered the cut out piece over the Eiffell Tower on the first piece.  I shaped the piece so that it would not lay flat and adhered it to the tag slightly tilted and off center.

I colored a piece of Crinkle Ribbon with Tumbled Glass Distress Stain.  I misted the ribbon with water to blend the color.  After crinkling and drying the ribbon, I misted it again with Pewter Perfect Pearls Mist.  I crinkled and dried the ribbon again.  Using the brown ink that was already on my blending tool foam, I lightly tapped the ribbon randomly with the tool to add some brown coloring for age.  

I wrapped the ribbon around the center of the tag and tied it off in a knot on the left side.

To create the tickets pinned to the ribbon, I stamped the image of the large block of tickets on manila cardstock.  I cut all of the tickets out using Stamp2Cut.  This image cut with Stamp2Cut is quickly becoming one of my favorites because I can quickly cut a whole group of tickets to save to use on various projects.  After cutting my tickets, I found two that I wanted to use (one that says St. Louis! and one that says Paris) and inked them using the ink already on the foam of my red ink blending tool.  (I have one tool for each color group so that I don't have to change out the foam when I switch colors.)

After cutting out and inking the tickets, I misted them with Sunflower Perfect Pearls Mist.  I wanted them to have a slightly golden look.  (Someday I will have the golden tickets from St. Louis to Paris. . .)  I dried the tickets and wrinkled them slightly to add some texture.  I finished them by adding Walnut Stain Distress Ink to the edges with an ink blending tool.

The final step was to pin the tickets to the tag!

Thank you again for bearing with me during my manic month of March.  It is so good to be back to blogging and sharing projects!  I have so much more to share with you this month so check back soon!

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Have a Royal Day Stamp2Cut Tag

Today I am sharing a tag I created using the Tim Holtz Sizzix Stamp2Cut for the eclips machine along with the Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Royal Script stamp set.

I applied streaks of Aged Mahogany, Fired Brick, and Barn Door Distress Stains to a #8 manila tag.  While the stains were still wet, I added streaks of Picket Fence Distress Stain over the other colors.  I misted the tag with water to blend the colors and blotted the surface lightly with a dry towel.  I dried the tag and misted over it with Pewter Perfect Pearls Mist.

After drying the tag again, I stamped the script stamp onto my tag using Black Soot Distress Ink.  I also blended Black Soot around the edges of the tag.

I stamped the wings and two crowns on white stamping paper using Jet Black Archival Ink.  I cut the wings and one crown out using the eclips and Stamp2Cut.  I cut the second crown out using the pieces feature (the lower part of the crown and the Fleur-de-lis at the top).

After cutting the pieces out, I colored them using Antique Linen and Scattered Straw Distress Stains.  After drying the pieces, I misted them with Sunflower Sparkle Perfect Pearls Mist.  I dried the pieces and added a light edging of Walnut Stain Distress Ink to the edges.  I dried the pieces again and applied Distress Embossing Ink over the entire surface of both pieces.  After applying clear embossing powder to the ink, I melted the powder using a heat tool.

I adhered the wings to the tag first.  I adhered the full crown over the wings using adhesive foam squares.  I adhered the Fleur-de-lis to the tip of the crown using a small sliver of a Zots adhesive dot.  To adhere the lower part of the crown, I placed an adhesive foam square in the center and quick drying glue to the sides to that they would adhere to the base crown below.  I added a small dot of Barn Door Distress Stickles to the jeweled areas on the front of the crown.

To finish the tag, I added a Tattered Banner cut from manila cardstock.  I colored the cardstock with Antique Linen and Old Paper Distress Stains.  After drying the stain, I edged the banner with Walnut Stain Distress Ink and added a phrase with my trusty old Hero Arts Printer's Type LC alphabet stamps and Jet Black Archival Ink.  I adhered the banner with a strip of adhesive foam and a Tiny Attacher

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You Warm My Heart

I really wanted to post a new project today but I am fighting such an ugly headache that I can't seem to wrap my brain around forming words into cohesive sentences, let alone any kind of detailed project explanation.  Needless to say, the project I planned to share today isn't going to happen.  It is just far more involved than I can explain today.  Instead, I decided to share a project from CHA that didn't need much detailed explanation.  It is pretty simple, but I hope that you find inspiration in it.

I made this card for Tim Holtz to demonstrated the Kraft Core papers.  I wanted it to looke like a well worn, well loved patchwork quilt.

I used a Fiskars punch to cut different colored squares from Tim's Kraft Core cardstock.  I sanded each square with a sanding block and distressed the edges of each with an edge distresser tool.  I inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

I wanted the center of each square to look puffy or raised so I adhered each square to the front of a pre-made card using a Zots Craft Adhesive Dot in the center.  The Zots Craft are thicker than regular Zots, but not quite as thick as the 3D Zots.

Before sewing, I tucked a paper lace strip under the bottom row of patches cut from Kraft Core paper and the Tim Holtz Vintage Lace die.  After adhering the squares and lace, I sewed around the edges of each square.

After each square was sewn, I sanded each square again, in some places, actually sewing through the stitches, making them look very worn and frayed.

I wanted a subtle sparkle to the card, so I misted the surface with Biscotti Perfect Pearls Mist.

I die cut a small Grungepaper heart using the Tim Holtz Mini Hearts Movers & Shapers die.  I colored the heart with Barn Door Distress Stains.  After drying the stain, I misted the heart with Biscotti Perfect Pearls Mist.  I dried the heart again and inked the edges with Walnut Stain Distress Ink.  I adhered the heart to the front of the card with a 3D Foam Square.

I topped the heart with a simple banner cut from the piece of white Kraft Core paper.  I stamped the phrase on it with Jet Black Archival Ink using Hero Arts' Printers Type LC alphabet stamps.  I added two small mini pins at the end of each banner.

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