"Dragon's Christmas Present" featuring About Art Accents and Third Coast Rubber Stamps!

Howzit Stampers!

Wow, where did July go?  I can't believe tomorrow is August 1st already!  Before August arrives I've got a super cool whimsical double-slider card to share with you on this last day of Christmas in July!

My card features a beautiful Christmas Tree stamp available from About Art Accents on the front and the double-slider treat inside features the gorgeous Christmas Dragon stamp (KG-004-Q) available from Third Coast Rubber Stamps!
  

click on the photo to enlarge

I made this card for my 4 year old nephew, Daniel, and personalized it with my own message on the front!

"Daniel!  What could be hiding beneath the Christmas Tree?"

Check out my little video demo showing off my finished slider card!
FYI:  the video only seems to work when viewing this post here on my blog only.

MATERIALS

Christmas Tree - About Art Accents

Christmas Dragon KG-004-Q - Third Coast Rubber Stamps Page 5 of the August 2010 catalog

Merry Christmas sentiment - source unknown

White Cardstock

Red Cardstock

Christmas patterned paper

Memento Tuxedo Black ink pad

Copic markers:  Blues, Greens, Purples and Red
Red Prismacolor pencil

Glitter Glue

Judikins Diamond Glaze

Double-sided sticky tape

Santa's on his way! ribbon from Michaels
Small Circle punch
Tiny hole punch

Mini gold brad

Small gold star brad

Metallic gold paint pens - broad and fine point
Fine point Black Sharpie marker

Small Ziploc baggie

click on the photo to enlarge

 To make the main center part of my slider card I cut a large 5.5" x 12" panel from red cardstock and scored fold lines at 3.75", 7.5" and 11.25".   For the Slider sections I cut two 3.5" x 5.5" panels from red cardstock.    I then cut out 4 mats from patterned paper just slightly smaller than the red panels and 4 panels from white cardstock slightly smaller still but only after I did all my stamping.

 

I stamped the Christmas Tree with Memento Tuxedo Black onto white cardstock and coloured with Copics in shades of green.  I coloured the baubles on the tree with various Copic colours and also did a few in metallic gold with a fine point paint pen.  I then added dimension to all the baubles with drops of Judikins Diamond Glaze and cut out the panel once the baubles were dry.  I then wrote my message around the Christmas Tree with a fine point black Sharpie marker and added sparkle to the tree and message with touches of glitter glue.   I edged the panel with a gold metallic paint pen and punched a tiny hole at the top of the Tree and embellished with a small gold star brad.  I then adhered the Christmas Tree panel to the patterned paper mat and then to the main center part of the card with double-sided sticky tape.  I then punched a half circle notch on the right hand side of that middle section which is where the ribbon sits and allows you to pull out the slider.

 

Stamp the Dragon image twice onto white cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colour with Copics.  I used various shades of blues and purples on the Dragon and blues, reds and green on the present.  I also used a red Prismacolor pencil to add some background shading around the Dragon.  You only need to colour just beyond the half way point on each image coz part of the other portion is cut away and the rest remains hidden inside the center section of the slider card.  I also added sparkle with touches of glitter glue.  I then cut out the two panels and edged them with a metallic gold paint pen.  I then layered the panels on to the patterned paper mats and then adhered those to the red slider panels with double-sided sticky tape.  I cut two pieces of ribbon and attached them to the right hand slider panel with a mini gold brad.

 

 Stamp the Merry Christmas sentiment onto another piece of white cardstock and colour with Copics.  I coloured the stars with a fine point metallic gold paint pen and also added touches of sparkle with glitter glue.  I cut out the panel and edged it with a metallic gold paint pen and adhered it onto the patterned paper mat and then adhered to the back panel of the main slider card with double-sided sticky tape.

Next comes all the assembling.  

I got my instructions from a great video on YouTube by Obsessedwithscrappin.  I think watching the video yourselves will be better than me trying to explain how to make the slider mechanism and assemble the card.  So click here to watch the video!  There's a couple of videos on slider cards on YouTube with slight variations on how to make the slider mechanism too so just go with the one you prefer.

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you enjoyed my whimsical Christmas Slider Card!  They really are quite easy to make once you get the hang of the assembling and construction!

Happy Stamping!

THE SHARPIE DOMINO QUEEN

About Art Accents Designer

Third Coast Rubber Stamps Designer

Blockheads Paper Arts Designer

'Ode To Mr Fishie' A dimensional Paper Arts Card taken to New Heights featuring Blockheads Paper Arts' Fish Tile Stamp!

Howzit Stampers!

click on photo to enlarge

I hope everyone has had an awesome week so far!  I've been having a ball creating a new project that I think is going to knock your socks off!  This is another Blockheads design team tutorial and I was inspired by one of their newest stamp collections called Seascape - Fishes!  I love fish and have kept a fish tank for most of my life.  A couple of years ago I got my first Siamese Fighting Fish - better known as a Betta fish in the States. I really loved Mr Fishie and believe we had a special bond.  He'd actually play with me and interact in the most amazing ways!  Sadly he went on the great journey to the sea a while ago so I decided to design this card as a kind of shrine to him.  Egypt and the Pyramids are one of my passions so when I was thinking about shrines I immediately thought about building Mr Fishie his very own pyramid.  I'm totally in love with my 'Ode To Mr Fishie' card.  This dimensional paper technique is very impressive and literally takes layering to a whole new level!

click on photo to enlarge

MATERIALS
Blockheads Paper Arts 'Fish Tile' rubber stamp from the Seascape - Fishes set
Brilliance tri-colour ink pad - Peacock
Pale Vermillion PrismaColor pencil
Quickutz Nesting Squares or Spellbinders Nesting Square dies
Sizzix Flourish dies
Blue painters tape
White folded card blank
White cardstock
Xyron - permanent adhesive
Decorative and Solid Paper
Smooch Spritz - Vanilla
Teal ribbon
Starfish and Shell
Judikins Diamond Glaze
Crafter's Pick The Ultimate Glue
Permanent Adhesive Tape Runner
Double-sided Sticky Tape
Fiskars corner punch
Paper Trimmer
White Pop Dots - Squares
Self- Adhesive Pearls
Toothpick

Stamp the Fish Tile image onto heavy weight white cardstock with Brilliance Peacock.  Run the stamped image through a Xyron to add permanent adhesive.

Arrange 12 nesting square dies on some pieces of blue painters tape to hold them in place.

Lay the dies face down on top of the stamped image and run it through a die cutting machine.  I use a Cuttlebug V2.

Peel off each square separately and adhere them to pieces of white cardstock.  The die cuts have a really nice bevelled edge to them.  Cut out each square by trimming away the excess cardstock along the outer edges only.

Colour parts of the fish with PrismaColor Pale Vermillion.  I jumped the gun by doing all the die cutting first - so I do recommend doing the colouring before hand but it wasn't a train smash to do it afterwards.  Apply Judikins Diamond Glaze, for a glass-like finish and to add even more dimension, to the coloured areas only with a toothpick.  This step must definitely be done after the die cutting!
Layer all the die cuts on top of each other with square pop dots to form the pyramid.

Cut a mat from a sheet of salmon coloured paper slightly larger than the base of the pyramid.  Then based on the size of the white folded card blank I cut a mat from the salmon paper and another even smaller from colour co-ordinating decorative paper.

Adhere the decorative mat to the salmon mat and corner punch all 4 corners.  Add a piece of teal ribbon and then adhere the mats to the white folded card.  Adhere the pyramid to the salmon mat and then to the folded card with double-sided sticky tape.

Cut some panels from colour co-ordinating solid papers (Sizzix Sizzlits size) and run through a Xyron to add permanent adhesive.  Adhere the coloured paper to white cardstock to make them sturdier.  Then cut out a variety of Sizzix flourishes from the paper/cardstock combo.

Sprtiz all the flourishes with Vanilla Smooch Spritz for some yummy sparkle.

Arrange the flourishes around the pyramid, they look like seaweed and coral, and adhere them to the card with little dabs of Judikins Diamond Glaze.  Embellish with a shell, a real starfish and a teal bow.  Finish off the card with 3 self-adhesive pearls in the top left corner.

Here's a couple of views of my creation from different angles!  The dimension of the card is super cool and definitely makes an impression!  This technique is suitable on cards for any occasion and will definitely go with any theme!

Thanks for stopping by today!
Happy Stamping!

THE SHARPIE DOMINO QUEEN

Blockheads Paper Arts Designer

'Zylphia' DominoART Ornament! My first Third Coast Creative Coterie Design Team Project!

Happy Sunday Everyone!

I'm very excited to share my first tutorial as a member of Third Coast Rubber Stamps design team aka the Third Coast Creative Coterie!  Woohoo, I'm still flying high with joy ;0)  

click on the photo to enlarge

 Third Coast challenged me to design projects using a selection of stamps and I've been very busy creating up a storm.  Some of the stamps I worked with aren't available to the public until later this year so I can't show them to you just yet and some of my other designs are going to magazines for publication so I can't show those to you now either.  But I can definitely share this one with you today, just in time for Christmas in July ;0)

I was super excited to receive a gorgeous stamp of an angel called Zylphia's Wreath (FA-215-K) you can find her on page 12 of the Summer 2005 Supplement.  I think she has a strong Art Deco feel to her so I was immediately inspired to create this Art Deco style ornament that can be hung on a Christmas tree, displayed on an ornament stand or could definitely be worn as a pendant as well!

click on the photo to enlarge

  MATERIALS
Zylphia's Wreath (FA-215-K) by Third Coast Rubber Stamps
Doublecross Domino
Drill or Dremel and 1/16" bit
Aleene's Acrylic Paint - metallic silver and gold

Ancient Page Coal Black dye ink

Heat gun

Tooth pick
Sharpie markers - Black and Dandelion

Tea Dye Distress Ink pad

Paper Towel or Blending Tool

Adirondack Pens - Caramel and Ginger

Gold Leafing adhesive pen

Gold Leaf

Delta Ceramcoat Instant Age Varnish
Narrow Border Sticker - Black with a white stripe
Brass eye hooks
Gold swirl ornament hook

Jewelry findings and tools

Metallic Gold Paint Pen

TUTORIAL

I used a Doublecross Domino for this project.  These dominoes are very long and narrow game pieces with 3 sections of pips (dots) instead of the usual 2.  Unfortunately they were discontinued a few years ago but you might be lucky to get your hands on a box or two.  If not, you can always make your own from a piece of wood, it really doesn't have to be a domino.

To begin, I drilled pilot holes in both ends of the domino just deep enough to get a good grip for screwing in the eye hooks.  The domino is wood so the hooks screw in easily.

 

Stamp Zylphia onto the domino in Ancient Page Coal Black dye ink and heat set with a heat gun.

Art and design from the Art Deco era used a lot of gold, silver and black and was the perfect colour scheme for this ornament!   Start by painting each individual feather on the wings with metallic gold and silver acrylic paint using a toothpick instead of a brush and add metallic detail to her necklace and earrings as well.  Aleene's metallic acrylics have a wonderful shimmer to them and look so rich and vibrant when dry.  Using a toothpick to apply the paint is quite a time consuming step but the result is so worth it!  Colour the background between the wings with a Black Sharpie and use Dandelion Sharpie to give her beautiful golden hair.

Colour the top and bottom edges of the domino with a metallic gold paint pen and apply gold leafing adhesive to the sides of the domino.  When the adhesive is ready, after about 10 minutes, apply the gold leaf to the piece.  The Doublecross domino has a distressed feel to the edges of the wood which makes it hard to get the gold leafing into all the nooks and crannies and that's why I used the gold paint pen first.

Age the domino with Tea Dye Distress Ink.  Rubbing the Distress Ink into the entire piece also adds a richness to the colours, stains the exposed wood areas and reveals the grain of the wood beautifully.

 

Add shading to Zylphia's body with Adirondack Pens.  I used Caramel and Ginger to create the depth and shadows on her torso and neck.

 

Seal the finished domino with a coat of Delta Ceramcoat Instant Age Varnish.  This helps to protect the gold leafing and also gives it more of a tarnished look.  The photo above on the left shows the colours on her body nicely but it doesn't show the beautiful metallic glow of the wings.   In the photo on the right I tried to capture the metallic glow of the wings and you can also make out a bit more of the wood grain on her torso too. 

 

Poke holes through the border sticker with a pointy tool where the drilled holes are and screw in the eye hooks.

Then embellish the domino with an Art Deco style jewelry dangle.  This jewelry embellishment was actually gleaned from a domino in my DominoART collection.  The jewelry piece was made by one of my DominoART Yahoo Group members, Pam C, who kindly gave me permission to use it on my creation!  It was exactly what I needed to complete my Zylphia DominoART Ornament ;0)

Add a gold swirl hanging hook to turn it into an ornament or thread a chain or cord through the eye hook to make it a pendant instead.  Zylphia could easily perform double duty too!  She can grace the Christmas tree during the holiday season and then be worn as a pendant for the rest of the year!

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my first Third Coast Creative Coterie tutorial!  I've also got a TagART project to share that has Zylphia on it and another Christmas in July tutorial for next week so stay tuned!

For more Third Coast inspiration check out the blogs of my fellow Creative Coterie members!  There's a list with links to their blogs in the right hand sidebar of my blog (located just beneath my It's Good To Be Queen blinkie)!  You might also like to join the Third Coast Rubber Stamps Blog and Facebook page too!

Until next time, stay cool!

Happy Stamping!

THE SHARPIE DOMINO QUEEN

THIRD COAST CREATIVE COTERIE DESIGNER

I saw Doctor Who cast live at the Nerdist Podcast Saturday night!!

Howzit Stampers!

I'm super jazzed right now and WIDE AWAKE!  I've just got back from an exciting afternoon and evening in downtown San Diego amidst the excitement of Comic-Con 2011!  At 8pm I had the pleasure of attending the live Nerdist Podcast hosted by Chris Hardwick at 4th&B!  Doctor Who cast, Matt Smith - the Doctor, Karen Gillan - Amy Pond, were the featured guests!  I'm a huge Doctor Who fan and have been since I was 5 years old!!!!!  Seeing them was truly FANTASTIC!!!  Also on the panel was Wil Wheaton aka Wesley Crusher from Star Trek Next Generation and that was super cool all in itself!  I'll post some photos soon and maybe a video or two ;0)

Okay, I think I'd better think about going to sleep now, it's 1:40 am already, eeeek!

...and remember...DON'T BLINK!

THE SHARPIE DOMINO QUEEN

My About Art Accents project - Pocket Fairy Field Journal - entered into the Grungy Monday 16 Challenge!

Happy Weekend Everyone!

I've entered my Pocket Fairy Field Journal project I designed for About Art Accents in the Grungy Monday 16 Challenge over at Studio L3!  The Challenge this week is T!m's Grungeboard and I used the Label Frame from the Elements Grungeboard set in this project!

Happy Stamping!

THE SHARPIE DOMINO QUEEN
About Art Accents Designer

Third Coast Rubber Stamps: Tiger Portrait

Happy Friday Everyone!

I'm super excited to announce that I'm on the Third Coast Rubber Stamps Painting Team as well as the Design Team!!  Woohoo!!  I've been busy colouring a bunch of stamp images already for them and here's a look at one that's just been posted on the Third Coast Rubber Stamps Blog and Facebook page!

click on the photo to enlarge

Third Coast Rubber Stamps: Tiger Portrait:
DP-010-P, TIGER PORTRAIT (3.6' X 3.5') Stamp artist: Darlene Poole 

Colored by: Leigh Snaith-Brunton

Have a great weekend!

THE SHARPIE DOMINO QUEEN

Inspirational Mini Note Cards Set - Playing with Words and Images! A Blockheads Design Team Tutorial!

Howzit Stampers!

I hope everyone is keeping cool with the heat wave that's sweeping the country right now!  Stay inside and check out my latest Blockheads Design Team tutorial in shades of blue to help cool you down ;0)

I've designed a cute little note card set featuring Blockheads Paper Arts' Nature Medallions set from their exclusive stamp line!  I had a blast creating my own note cards using the Blockheads Fly and Bee images and the awesome US Mail Prepaid medallion!  These are truly custom coz I did all my own handwritten inspirational messages on the front and did a play on words by replacing specific words with the stamped images!  Super fun to do and they make great gifts too!

click on the above photo to enlarge

MATERIALS

White cardstock

Memento Tuxedo Black ink pad

Paper Trimmer

Scoreboard

Copic Markers:  

B000, B01, Y13, Y17, Y38, BG07, C3, C5

Derwent Pastel pencils - Spectrum Blue

Dove Blender Pen

Glitter Gel Pen - Silver Glitter

Sakura Quickie Glue Pen

Teal Ribbon

Blue and Clear Rhinestone jewels

Fine point Black Sharpie marker

Nature Medallions Stamp Set by Blockheads Paper Arts

Begin by cutting 6 rectangles from white cardstock measuring 2.5 x 5 inches.  Score them all down the middle and fold in half to form 2.5 x 2.5 inch note cards.

Figure out beforehand what inspirational messages you want to feature and stamp the insect images in Memento Tuxedo Black ink.

Hand write inspirational messages with a fine point black Sharpie marker and replace some words with the stamped insects.  Except for the one in the above picture.  I decided to replace the word 'Be' with 'Bee' and have the featured insect in the center of the design.  The following photos show all the ones where I completely replaced the words with the insects.  You can also use tiny alphabet stamps if you don't like doing your own handwriting!

I found these tiny envelopes at Michaels in their $1 section and love the teal colour.  So I grabbed them with this project in mind and used the teal as my colour inspiration for the note cards.  I stamped the US Mail Prepaid Medallion on the front of all 6 envelopes in Memento Tuxedo Black.

'You Can Bee Anything You Want To Bee'

Colour all the insect wings with Copics B000, B01 and BG07

'To Be Or Not To Be'

 Colour the Bee bodies with Copics Y13, Y17 and Y38

'You Can Be Anything You Want To Be'

 For my inspirational message on the note card above I decided to leave out the word 'Be' and added arrows which point at the Bee in the center instead.  This design is another variation of the first note card above.

'You Bug The Heck Out of Me, But I Love You'

 The note cards in the photo above and below have the Fly image instead of the Bee and I used Copics C3 and C5 to colour the bodies.  The Fly stands in for the word 'Bug' of course ;0)

'You Bug The Heck Out of Me, But I Love You Anyway'

The two note cards above have the same message (with one extra word on one) and show two variations of the same design.

'Be the Bee's Knees of All You Can Be!'

 Apply Derwent Spectrum Blue pastel pencil to parts of each note card and blend with a Dove Blender Pen.  Edge all the note cards with the BG07 Copic marker.

Add silver glitter to all the wings and parts of the design with a Glitter Gel Pen.  Adhere blue rhinestones to most of the cards, only one of them has clear rhinestones instead, with a Quickie Glue pen.  Lay all the envelopes and note cards on top of each other in the shape of a star and bundle the set together with teal ribbon and secure with a bow!  This little bundle of note cards makes a truly unique gift suitable for any occasion!  They'd make great stocking stuffers too ;0)

click on the above photo to enlarge

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope you enjoyed my tutorial and that I've given you some great ideas!  For more Blockheads inspiration check out Karen's blog too!

I'll be sharing more Design Team related tutorials and other great projects with you all more frequently from now on so stay tuned!

Happy Stamping!

THE SHARPIE DOMINO QUEEN

Blockheads Designer