Tammy Tutterow

Wood You Be Mine

This post has been moved to my new website: http://tammytutterow.com/2012/06/wood-you-be-mine/.

Thanks!

Tammy

For You Embossed Kraft Core Tag

I am blogging today on the Sizzix blog and sharing this tag that features Core'dinations Tim Holtz Kraft-Core Cardstock.  I hope you will stop by and take a peek!  http://sizzixblog.blogspot.com/2012/03/for-you-tag.html

This Christmas, be Flabbergasted!

Today I am so honored to be a guest in the 12 Days of Home for the Holidays Christmas feature at D's Paper Studio.  The posts have been so wonderful to read and are all about special memories and family traditions for the holiday.  For my post, I shared a story about how we were reminded that there aren't any rules about the magic of Christmas time thanks to a little green skeleton and our sweet little girl Emma.  Be sure to visit Debbie's blog to read the full story.  On my blog here, I thought I would share a bit more about the project featured with the story there.

For a project, I shared a re-make of this project. . .

You might remember this project from the summer.  I made it for a sample for CHA for Tim Holtz.  (You can find the original post and details HERE.)  At the time when I made this project, I knew I would eventually give it a slight make over.  The skeleton reminded me of the skeleton in our family's flabbergasted story.  I really wanted to create a Christmas themed box but since the box was a show sample, I kept it Halloween.  I didn't think many people would get or appreciate a Christmas Skeleton box!

So finally, when Christmas decorations hit the stores, I went shopping for supplies for the Christmas re-do.

I found a fun little LED light up tree that was just the right size for the box.  I found a fun mini snowflakes, a bead garland, and fun mini sting lights for the tree.  I added pre-made mini packages around the tree.  (The tree, snowflakes and garland are from Michaels, the string lights and packages are Jolee's Boutique.)

For the skeleton, I used green Copic markers (YG03 and YG11) to color over the embossing powder finish originally applied to him.  I found a fun Santa outfit that I was able to adjust a bit to fit him.  I draped the bead garland off of the tree and wired it into his hand so that it would look as if he is dressing the tree. 

A glittered Grungepaper die cut spider adorns the corner to keep the box still on the spooky side.

Along the bottom, I die cut a Tattered Banner from manila cardstock.  After coloring it with ink, I stamped out our family's traditional traditional phrase, "Be merry, Be bright, Be flabbergasted".

This Santa Skeleton and his tree make me smile.  It is just a perfectly fun little reminder of such a special story in our family.  I think when the holidays are over, this piece will stay out in my studio and not be packed away with the holiday decor.  I think that the meaning behind it is one that we could use a reminder of year round.

The Ranger Great Pumpkin Challenge

I hope you have been visiting Ranger Ink's blog this week to see all of the amazing inspiration using for craft pumpkins in Ranger's Great Pumpkin Challenge.  I have been about to bust keeping mine to myself!  I loved how it turned out and wanted to share so badly!  It is up on the Ranger blog today.  I thought I would share some additional images and details here.

The participating designers started out with craft pumpkins and each transformed theirs into a work of art!

As always, if you want a really big look, click on the photo for a larger pop-up version. . .

For my pumpkin, I started out by decoupaging strips and pieces of Tim Holtz's new District Market Terminology Tissue Wrap onto the pumpkin using Cludine Hellmuth Studio Matte Multi Medium.  While the decoupage was still wet, I used an embossing stylus to work the paper down into the grooves of the pumpkin.  I let the decoupage overnight.

Once the pumpkin was dry, I sanded any places where the paper had large folds or wrinkles.  After sanding, I used an ink blending tool to add Distress inks in browns, green, and orange onto the paper.

I used a heat tool to dry the inks.  Next I sprayed the entire surface with Biscotti Perfect Pearls Mist.  I misted the stem area with Forever Green Perfect Pearls Mist.  I let the green mist sit for a bit in puddles.  Combined with the inks applied to the pumpkin already, I got a wonderful vibrant green around the stem.  After I let it soak in a bit, I again dried the pumpkin with my heat tool.

I really wanted to go for a frosty look on the pumpkin so I applied Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint to the top of the pumpkin.  I applied it so generously in fact that in a few places it dripped down the pumpkin.  I love the look so I left the drips.  I love the way they picked up color and made the drips look like "melting frost".

For leaves, I used a pumpkin leaf pattern I found online to cut four leaves from wool felt.  I stamped the felt with the Hero Arts Basic Grey Flower Dot Pattern stamp and Coffee Archival ink.  I used my heat tool to set the ink before handling it.  I sandwiched floral wire between two layers of leaves and sewed them together.  (For more details on making stamped felt leaves, check out my Stamped Felt Leaves tutorial.)  I applied Stardust Stickles with my finger to the edges of the leaves and misted them with Biscotti Perfect Pearls mist to add frost and shimmer.  

To finish off the pumpkin, I added vines with brown and green floral wire, streaming crinkled Trimmings ribbon (sorry, I dyed this a while back and don't remember which Distress Stains I used), and a tag that was covered and embellished with papers from the Tim Holtz Season Paper Stash and an Idea-ology Mini Paper Clip.

InLinkz.com

Tutorial: Alcohol Ink Crackled Metal Pendants {part 2}

This tutorial in now on my new website.  You can find it here: http://tammytutterow.com/2010/10/tutorial-alcohol-ink-crackled-metal-pendants-part-2/.

Thanks!

Tammy

Tutorial: Alcohol Ink Crackled Metal Pendants

This tutorial has been moved to my new website.  You can now find it here: http://tammytutterow.com/2010/10/tutorial-alcohol-ink-crackled-metal-pendants/.

Thanks!

Tammy

Art Journal: If I Can't Create. . .

then I can't fly.

That is what I discovered this past week when I worked a whole bunch of hours at my part time job.  I was so tired each day that I just couldn't get my creative juices flowing each evening.  I really feel like it made me crabby to not lose my self for a bit in creative work.

Yesterday, after the end of a six day stretch I finally got to set down and play.  I didn't really set out with a direction in mind, just a page from my art journal, some new stamps that I wanted to play with, some favorite inks, and the need to create something.  That is one thing I am really loving about art journaling.  It is an opportunity to create without having to really make anything.  It doesn't have to be a page for your scrapbook, a big involved decor piece, nothing, it is just pure play.  Plus, the piece isn't a huge investment, if you really hate it, what have you lost?  Not much, a few scraps of paper, a few bits of ribbons and trims.  It is a total chance just to explore and step out of your norm a bit.  It doesn't have to be precise or follow any rules.  

 

For this page, I used Unity's Moments In Bloom, butterflies from Tim Holtz's Flights of Fancy clear stamp set, and the Let Yourself Fly word stamp from Red Lead.  The letters are some small single letter stamps that I have had forever.  I don't have any idea who made them.  Everything is stamped in various colors of Tim Holtz Distress Inks.

 

 

I used Tim Holtz's new Chip Block alphabet die to cut a few pieces of scrap paper.  I used Black Soot Distress ink to color them.  The surface of the stamped piece is covered in Rock Candy Crackle Paint.  I laid the letters down into the wet paint which adhered them without any glue.

 

I used the Blended Batik technique I learned at Ranger U (you can find it on page 36 of Tim Hotlz's A Compendium of Curiosities).  Rather than use embossing ink to stamp my first image, I used colors assorted colors of Distress Ink and then went over them with Rangers clear Embossing Pen.

 

After I finished my stamped piece and adhered it to my page, I decided I wanted to add a splash of color.  I am a bit afraid of random ink but I gave it a go with a blast of Tattered Angels Sugar Maple Glimmer Mist.  I really love the coppery color of it.  I wish it wasn't just a seasonal special edition color because I think it needs to be a staple color in every collection.

 

 

After I sprayed my project, I decided I should use some Rock Candy Stickles and Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint on it too.  I spread the Rock Candy Stickles with my finger in a layer over each butterfly.  I then painted on the Clear Rock Candy Distress Crackle Paint over the rest of the stamped piece except for the areas with the Stickles.  As it was drying, I decided I didn't care for the two different textures combined, so I brushed Crackle Paint over the Stickles.

 

You can see that when it dried, it left a really interesting effect.  It crackled in big flakey chunks and also lifted the stamp and spray colors from below off of the paper.  Some of the flakes came off, but most held tight.  I really like the effect it creates exposing the faded image below.

 

 

I love how sheer Tim Holtz's printed tissue tape is.  I added some to two corners and added some stitching over it.

 

 

I think I have a new extreme love for the Clear Rock Candy Distress Paint.  I think it totally makes this piece.  Serious love.