create with cheiron

tim holtz: leaf print shaker

Hi there crafty friends, if you have been following along with Tim Holtz these past few weekends you know that he has been providing us with awesome demos each Saturday over on Facebook Live - if you missed the live, be sure to catch the replay here.  Last Saturday's demo was all about the fall vibes, and Tim created a bunch of fall colored combos with us that I could not wait to recreate. One of my favorite techniques was the inky panel with all the colors of fall finished with Distress Mica Spray, I love the bit of subtle shine. I wanted to turn this background into a shaker card and use some of the Sizzix Sequins and Beads mixes that I have in my stash. If you have not seen these, they are tubes full of different sequins and beads sold by color family (or theme). 

To create this card, I started by inking a Distress Watercolor panel that I had cut to about 4 x 8 1/2. It's a bit bigger that I need but I like the option to be able to cut out the exact piece I like. I added my inky layers, drying in between each one and when I was finished, I put the panel into my Splatbox and gave the entire thing a mist with Tarnished Brass Distress Mica Spray and dried it with a heat tool. Then, I cut the panel with a Slim Card die to give it that nice, stitched edge. 

Once the panel was dry, I wanted to cut out the leaves to make my shaker. I used the new Sizzix Leaf Print dies to create my windows in this panel. These leaf dies are super versatile and give you a few different looks. You can cut the leaf out and it will leave a window like opening in your paper, you can use the insides of the leaves as a textured element and you can also cut the leaf with it's corresponding outline shape to have the outline of the leaf. For this panel, I cut the windows into my panel, then also cut the outline shape using the pair of dies for each leaf to make the outline. I cut these from Lawn Fawn Ground Coffee cardstock which I misted with the Tarnished Brass Distress Mica Spray. 

To create the shaker was a bit of a time consuming, but relaxing (to me) process. I added Sookwang (double sided) tape around the border and between all the leaves on the backside of my panel. Then I added a piece of acetate that will sit between my panel and shaky bits. I took foam tape that had been doubled up and carefully arranged it around the back and the leaves to create the shaker. I went around the insides of each "shaker" area with a powder tool so the beads and sequins would not stick to the sides. Then I carefully added the Sizzix Sequins and Beads using a different color for each panel, adding them in rainbow order. I added a piece of cardstock to the back of the panel to create my shaker and then used more Sookwang tape to glue it onto the card panel. For me, it is so much easier to create the shaker piece independent of the card panel, especially with so many colors of shaker bits. 

When I was done with the card, I decided to leave it blank on the front and will choose a sentiment to add inside at a later time. I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and please let me know if you try or plan to try this out for yourself. Be sure to stop back to see more tutorials, and please subscribe to my blog if you would like to see more tutorials as they are posted. I'd love if you would follow me on IG @cheiron where I post daily makes and more behind the scenes photos! 

SUPPLIES:

distress color combo cards + a IG giveaway

Hi there crafty friends! Today I am sharing a little idea with you on how I come up with color combos for my cards and projects. If you know me, I love a pop of color, the brighter, the better. I love all of the colors of fall, and when Tim announced Crackling Campfire last week, my head began spinning with all kinds of color combos. I usually pull pages from magazines like Real Simple and Domino and stick them in a folder, but keeping them organized is not easy for me. As I began looking through my fall magazines and catalogs I was seeing this color in so many things! 

When I got my package of Crackling Campfire in the mail, I immediately tore the wrapper off and swiped in on a piece of paper and fell in love! I thought it would be fun to explore what other colors of Distress would look good with it, so I took a sheet of Distress Watercolor card stock and cut into 8 pieces (2 3/4 x 4 1/4). You could do this with any paper, but I stamp my Distress on Distress Watercolor card stock the most, so that's what I went with. I picked a small stamp from the Stampers Anonymous Etcetera stamp set , and pulled some Oxide pads that I thought might look good together. And then I started stamping out some color ideas. Once I was done, I picked a few backgrounds and put them to the test. This really seemed to work out for me and I will definitely do it again in the future with new colors and maybe some older ones too! 

Here are the projects I made, and a closer look at each project below with it's corresponding Color Combo Card. 

For the first card, I used the new Simon Says Stamp Detail Petal Cover die and stamped a greeting from the Just Because Word Mix 2. I added a Clustered Leaves die cut that I cut from vellum and adhered a few clear droplets to finish it. 

For the second card, I used a fall combo that I just love. This card uses the Simon Says Stamp Outline Leaves Background Cling. I stamped and embossed it in white then colored it in with DIstress Ink Reinkers and a waterbrush. I added a clean and simple CZ Design Thank You die to complete the card.

For my third card, I made a 'guy card' using a fun color combo. I stamped the Simon Says Stamp Plank Background onto a piece of DIstress Watercolor Cardstock using Black Versafine Ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder. Then I used DIstress reinkers to color in the planks. I completed the card with a CZ Design Dude die and a reverse Thinking of You sentiment strip.

And one final project I made for this week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge, a set of ATCs. Here I combined both Distress Inks and Oxides for a fun mixed media look, stamping with the Mini Media Marks stamps from Stampers Anonymous. 



I've also been working on some ideas for how I can store these cards for easy reference in the future, and I'll be sure to share that here soon as well. I think I will do these combos for each new Distress Color release so be sure to subscribe if you'd like to see them. 


GIVEAWAY

One last thing- I was very generously gifted a set of Crackling Campfire Distress products, and I had already pre-ordered one and it arrived today...so I am giving one away over on my Instagram account. If you are not following me there, please follow me @cheiron, that is where I share projects most often! And be sure to enter to win there :) 

SUPPLIES: 

simon says stamp monday challenge: beautiful botanicals

Hi crafty friends, welcome to this week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge! Thank you for joining us us for last week's Grunge It Up Challenge and we hope you will join us again this week. This week our challenge is Beautiful Botanicals...and I've used this gorgeous bloom from the new Dearly Departed set along with an older sentiment from the Random Quotes stamp set, and I think they are perfect together. I colored the flowers in with a DIstress Waterbrush and DIstress Oxides and added a little splatter of Black Soot DIstress Paint. 






The lovely folks at Simon Says Stamp are generously giving away a $25 voucher to shop at the Simon Says Stamp Store! All you have to do is take our your crafty supplies, make something following this week's prompt and add your project to the InLInkz at the bottom of the post on the SImon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog :) All winners are chosen randomly, so anyone can be a winner!!! 

So now it's YOUR turn, Happy Crafting

 

 

Follow Simon Says Stamp on Instagram

 

 

Do you use Instagram ?  If so please add  #sssmchallenge so we can see your entries there too

 

 

You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in!

 

SUPPLIES: 

simon says stamp monday challenge: 'e' is for

Hi crafty friends, welcome to this week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge! Thank you for joining us for the Add Some Texture Challenge last week and we hope you will all join us again this week too. This week we are have an 'E' is for challenge, so use your imagination to incorporate any thing with and 'E' into your project! 

For my project this week I created a multicolor trapped Emboss resist background. I created a watercolor panel in all of my favorite colors, stamped the Tiny Text stamp over it and then embossed it with clear ink. I added black ink over the entire panel and then buffed it off with a dry cloth to reveal the color underneath. 

 

Once the background was complete, I cut another piece of Distress Watercolor cardstock and stamped one of the floral images from Flower shop onto the tag using a multicolor stamping technique. I finished the tag with a sentiment from the Simple Sayings set. 

As you may know, the Simon Says Stamp Store is accepting new orders, but have longer shipping times for the moment due to the coronavirus. With this in mind we have made the difficult decision to suspend the $50 voucher for this challenge.

We know that many people are staying safe at home and we would love it if you would continue to enter the challenges and have fun! We are all in this together!

So now it's YOUR turn, Happy Crafting

 

 

Follow Simon Says Stamp on Instagram

 

 

Do you use Instagram ?  If so please add  #sssmchallenge so we can see your entries there too

 

 

You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in!

 

SUPPLIES:

 

simon says stamp: lucky to know you blog hop

Hi there crafty friends! Welcome to the Simon Says Stamp Lucky to Know You Blog hop! I have 2 cards to share with you today using the new Layered Tulips stencil. This set of 4 small (4 x 4) stencils is so easy to use and a perfect way to add shading if you are coloring challenged like me. Before I get to the cards, I wanted to let you know that there are 2 different codes in the graphic above that let YOU pick a free gift - either WLY777 for the Wooly Lucky stamp set and FLF584 for the Color the World Enamel Pin when you order during the duration of the hop. 

These free gifts are available while supplies last and the promotion expires on March 8th at 11:59 PDT. You can shop the entire Lucky to Know You Release here. If you created anything with the new release, be sure to share it in the Lucky to Know You gallery. This is the first day of the hop, and there will be another hop full of inspiration tomorrow, so be sure to visit Simon Says Stamp for even more crafty goodness.

For my first card, I used all 4 parts of the Layered Tulips stencil with Distress Oxides applied with Distress Oxide Blending Brushes. I blended Worn Lipstick and Picked Raspberry for the petals, then Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn and Lucky Clover for the leaves and stems. I added a few accents with Polychromos Pencils then added an All Things Happy sentiment strip. 

For my second card, I took a panel of Distress watercolor paper and swiped in through Antique Linen DIstress Ink and dried it with a heat tool. I used just one stencil that had the shape of the flowers and spread matte Distress Texture Paste through it. I pinched some DIstress Embossing Glaze in Fossilized Amber, Tattered Rose and Fired Brick onto the paste and tapped the paper from underneath to move it around.

Once the paste underneath was dry, I heat the flowers with a heat gun. To create the stems and leaves, I used a Distress Embossing Pen to draw them in and pinched on some of the Distress Embossing Glaze in Cracked Pistachio and Peeled Paint and used the same tapping technique to move the colors around and then heat it with a heat gun. I finished the card with an older Simon Says Stamp sentiment from the Handwritten Love stamp set. 

 

Simon Says Stamp is giving away a $25 coupon to every stop on the hop from the comments section. They will choose the winners over the weekend and post on the Simon Says Stamp blog on Wednesday, the 11^th of March. 

 

HOP ORDER:

Simon Says Stamp Blog 

Cathy Zielske

Nina-Marie Trapani

Nichol Spohr

Lisa Addesa

Heather Ruwe

Suzy Plantamura

Barb Engler

Cheiron Brandon

Lea Lawson

Betty Wright

Bobbi Lemanski

Lin Brandyberry

SUPPLIES: 

neat and tangled: later alligator

It's Day 3 of the Neat and Tangled release and you are going to love the Later Alligator set we are featuring today! These little critters are totally adorable and perfect for so many occasions. Today, I kept them simple with a fun Distress Oxide inked Snake Scales Cover plate background...

Be sure to stop by the Neat and Tangled Blog to see all of the design team inspiration! Don't forget - there is a giveaway every day this week of the set(s) being featured that day, and a $25 gift certificate up for grabs at the end of the week. Comment on all of the design team blogs all week for a chance to win.  Winners will be announced on Friday at 7:30am EST!

simon says stamp monday challenge: inspired by a song

 

 

Hi all and welcome to another week on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. Thank you for joining us for the Stencil It Challenge and we hope you will all join us again this week too!

 

This week the challenge is Inspired by a Song, and my song pick for this challenge was Empire State of Mind by Alicia Keys...I was inspired to create a Citiscape of a place where dreams come true: 

 

I created a starry sky panel by spraying Distress Resist Spray onto a piece of Mixed Media Heavystock. Once it was dry I inked over it with Blueprint sketch Distress Oxide (the texture in person is AMAZING). I cut the buildings from the Tim Holtz Sizzix Metropolis dies and inked them with various colors of Distress Inks and added clouds and stars and the moon from the Snowglobe 2 Thinlits dies to create my starry scene. 

As always Simon Says Stamp will be giving away $50 voucher to shop at the fabulous Simon Says Stamp Store

 

 

 

So now it's YOUR turn, Happy Crafting

 

 

Follow Simon Says Stamp on Instagram

 

 

Do you use Instagram ?  If so please add  #sssmchallenge so we can see your entries there too

 

 

 

You have until Monday 8am Ohio time. 1pm UK time, 2 pm CET to join in 

 

SUPPLIES: 

tim holtz: ornate trims

Back today with another Creativation 2018 share. For this card, I used the Ornate Trims set to create the pattern in my background: 

To create the background I blended Distress Oxides on a panel of Distress Watercolor Cardstock to create a rainbow pattern and spritzed it with water. Then I used the same colors of Distress Oxide to stamp one of the trims stamps in a repeating pattern on the panel in coordinating colors on top of the inking. I cut the finished panel with the Stitched Rectangle die.

To create the sentiment, I lined the stamp up on my Stamp Platform and inked the sentiment in one area at a time, starting with the Fossilized Amber, wiping off the ink then adding the other colors to the outside of the sentiment. The Stamp Platform is the perfect tool for doing this, as you get perfect placement each time. 

To finish the card, I added mirrored stars that I colored with alcohol inks in coordinating colors. A super easy and fun card to make!

SUPPLIES:

winnie & walter: 4th birthday bash blog hop

 

I am so excited to be joining Winnie & Walter in their 4th Birthday Bash Blog hop today! You should have arrived here from the blog of the very talented Heather Hoffman.

The theme of this hop is Celebrating Love and Friendship and I've made a card for you today that celebrates both. I don't usually use soft colors, but I love how this card turned out. 

 

To create this card, I started off by inking up the Spotty Creative Screenings stencil with Tattered Rose Distress Oxide, spraying it with a Distress Sprayer and printing it onto a cardstock panel. I added more to the background by stamping the xoxo from The Big, The Bold and Friends and the tiny heart from the Sketchy Thoughts sets repeatedly to add to the background. I then added a quote bubble and sentiments from the Sketchy Thoughts set. 



The next stop on the hop is the wonderfully creative Vanessa Menhorn! 

There will be 4 winners picked at random from the comments along all the stops of the hop! Each of the 4 winners will receive a $40 credit to the Winnie & Walter shop. So have fun hopping along and be sure to leave your comments for a chance to win.  All comments must be made before February 28^th 11:59 p.m. CST!!

Here is the full list of stops on the hop in case you missed any!

w&w blog

Rubeena Ianigro

Kelly Griglione

Jessica Frost-Ballas

Lea Lawson

Laura Bassen

Heather Hoffman

Cheiron Brandon

Vanessa Menhorn

Amy Tsuruta

Laura Sterckx

Isha Gupta

Taheerah Atchia

Miriam Pratner

Keren Baker

Emily Leiphart

Gayatri Murali

Amy Kolling

Kate Capper

Laurie Willison

Crystal Thompson

Evelin Tee (instagram)

 

simon says stamp: making spirits bright holiday 2017 release

So happy to be sharing a couple of cards today with the newest Simon Says Stamp release, Making Spirits Bright!  This release has something for everyone, die cuts, stamps and stencils ranging from cute to elegant. I was lucky enough to receive this beautiful Pine Needles Trio die in the mail, and I sure had fun creating two totally different looks with it:

For the first card, I did a super merry rainbow holiday card, creating a background of Distress Oxides, black soot distress paint splatter, clear sequins and a simple "Merry" sentiment from the CZ designs Coolest Yulest set:

 
For my second card, I went with something a bit more traditional with hues of pink and green and nestled the pine needles behind the Believe Wafer die in between the layers of Kaleidoscope Leaves Background panel.

 

Hope you enjoyed them! All of these stamps are available in the Simon Says Stamp shop today!