Test sample

Not much time the past two days...packing for the trip to Calgary this weekend, making changes to the Abundance Kit (adding a bit of fabric), and writing instructions.  However, I still found some time to work on a little project I thought might be helpful in the future. 

Since I have been on this Collage Tissue paper quest, I wanted to test what Distress Stains would look like over the Collage Tissue that had been previously adhered to book board.  I didn't really have time to make anything, so I created some Distress Stain test strips.  Here's how I did it:
1.  Cut Bookboard or chipboard pieces 2 x 6".  Use your Crop-a-dile to punch a hole at the top of each board.
2.  Cut 1 1/2 " x 1 1/2" squares of cardstock, tissue and Sticky back canvas.  I choose to use creme cardstock instead of white since that's what I always use.

 3.  Paint the Distress stain over each surface.  NOTE: After the green board I decided it was much easier to adhere the Collage Tissue to the board, then put the Distress stain on.

 4.  Once the stain is dry, add the three pieces to your test strip.

 5.  Don't forget to write the name on the back.

 6.  Once they are all complete thread some ball chain or ribbon through the holes at the top and your done.  I am missing Fired Brick (red) because my bottle was sent to Canada for this weekends class. 

Now to find a good place in the craft room to hang it.
Have a great weekend,
paula

Dear to the Heart

Today were again moving forward on our Collage Tissue journey.
I am so in love with today super simple project and I hope you love it too (at least enough to try some of the techniques).
When I went into the craft room today I had no idea what I was going to do with the Collage Tissue this time.  So after a few minutes of thinking (okay, 45 minutes and I walked in and out of the room about 27 times) I got out some 7gypsies book covers and found this embossed one, called Art Nouveau.  That book cover was the catalyst for the rest of today's Collage Tissue project.

1.  Paint the center circle of the book cover with Claudine Hellmuth Matte Medium, making sure to paint all the way to the black embossed edge and not over it.  NOTE: Work quickly to avoid the matte medium from drying before the next step.

2.  Lay a piece of 7gypsies Collage Tissue - Life, over the circle.  Press down with the palm of your hand to adhere.  You can use a brayer, but be sure the the brayer is free of any stickiness so as not to rip the paper since at this stage the Tissue is very delicate.  Let the Tissue dry (you can use a heat gun, you know I did).

3.  Use an X-Acto knife to cut along the embossed black edge.  It's easier to cut than you might think, just go slow and make sure your knife is sharp.

4.  Paint another coat of the matte medium over the circle to seal.  Let dry.

you can see in after the top coat that the tissue becomes somewhat transparent.

5.  While the center circle is drying, cover the inside of the back cover with more tissue using the same method.  Once the cover circle is dry, repeat on the inside of the front cover.

6.  Punch both covers with the Binderie Punch.

Next step....what to do with the circle?  Think some more....need metal something.  I try about 10 things, no good.  Then I think about the NEW 7gypsies corners. Okay, that might work.

How new are they you ask?  Well, they're so new they are not even on the market yet!  So this part might be a little difficult since they will not be available till the end of the month.  The corners were really made for the trays but can be used on anything as you will see here.   They come in antique brass and silver.  This is antique brass on the left.  And on the right I sanded it a bit to bring out the raised portion.

7.  I cut out a copy of a photo of my parents and adhered it to the Tissue circle with matte medium.  Once dry, I painted a second coat over the top and added the text cut from a book.  NOTE:  for the picture you must have a copy made with a toner cartridge copier (no ink-jet printer copies), otherwise the ink will smear when you brush on the matte medium to seal it.

8.  I tested the Display trim corner above but thought, why not take it a step further and add a little Alcohol Ink.  So as you can see I used Current, Pool and Butterscotch to color the corner.

9.  Then gave it a little sanding to bring out the raised portion.  Now I can add them back on the book cover.

10.  I didn't really have the right color ribbon on hand so I thought I could just make some with a Distress Stain.  I started with a piece of off white seam binding.

11.  Dab on some Distress Stain - Broken China (very random).

12.  Sprayed it right away with some Perfect Pearls Mists - Heirloom Gold.  If you don't want to use the Perfect Pearls Mists then just use water in a mini mister.  Both soften the color of the Distress Stain and make it bleed a bit to give the ribbon a more watercolor look. 
I picked up the ribbon, wiped up the excess from the craft mat with a towel then put it back down to dry (with the heat gun of course).

Here is the finished product.

13.  So the last step is to add the ribbon to the cover.  Of course I added rings and some journal pages too.  I almost forgot about the stamps paper tape.  My favorite paper tape ever!

Now I just need to work on the inside!

Cheers,

paula

St Louis

photo credit Daniel Schwen

Hoping for some help on this one...I will be in St Louis, Mo the first week of May to attend my nephews wedding on May 6th.   I am wondering if any of you live there or have ever been there to suggest some good shops for my sister and I to visit?

I always try to compile a list of places to visit, shop and eat before I leave for a new place.  And in this case, my sister and I both started a list.  When we finally talked about it last week, this store was at the top of both lists, even though we did not consult each other.  Not surprising really.

Red Lead Paperworks 

Obviously, I have always wanted to visit this shop...I already have a list going of stamps to purchase.  Like this one, Dottie and Debbie made from a vintage photo...so unique.

and this one, a 4 x 5" vintage dotted stamp, fabulous for backgrounds I think.

And this nature inspired one, called A Bird Sweetly Singing...

I also love their vintage elements Collage Sheets and these Big Time Brads.

So back to my original question...if anyone knows of few good shops to visit (and you know how much I like junk), or even a great place to eat?   We have about 3 days of free time before the wedding and the husbands arrive.  If you have any suggestions will you leave a comment or you can email me at paula@2gypsygirls.com.  Thanks in advance!

Oh, and one more thing.  Remember, I said I was going to the berry stand for fresh strawberries on Friday?  Well, look at the size of these! They were so sweet, no sugar was needed.  I bought a 1/2 flat on Friday and they are all gone now.  

 

So I may be back at the berry stand today.

Collage Tissue "paper"

So many questions about what to do with the Collage Tissue that I made this week.   You really have to think of it as a flexible transparency.  I decided to add some of the material to the little journal I made at the beginning of the week with the Tissue cover to show you a few ideas.  The Collage Tissue paper will also be making an appearance in the Abundance class we are teaching this year...but I am not going to tell you how it's used there, that's a secret. 

Let's get started...First I ran a piece of the Collage Tissue
"paper" and a piece of scrap cardstock through the Vagabond machine using the Tattered Leaves die.

Here is the cardstock I ran at the same time as the Collage Tissue "paper".  My idea was to make a mask from one of the leaf shapes.   I cut out the leaf I wanted to use.

 Then I cut a hole in a larger scrap paper to make the mask wider.

 Use a glue stick to combine the two pieces.  

I know Ranger has plastic to cut masks from but I didn't have any, so the paper will do for today. 

I used the mask to create the leaf "shadow" on one of the pages I punched earlier.  

Sample one: Cutout

1.  Lay the mask over paper and spray with Heirloom Gold Perfect Pearls Mist.  Dry with heat gun.
2.  Replace the mask and stamp over leaf pattern with alpha stamp found in the Stampers Anonymous set Going Somewhere (see below) with Distress Ink - Bundled Sage.
3.  Ink the edges of the page with Distress Ink - Frayed Burlap.
4.  Use a glue stick to adhere the leaf to the page and add some text cut from an old book.

Sample two: Page
1.  Cut pre-punched page at 2".
2.  Follow the same method to cover the cardstock by spraying, stamping, and inking.
3.  Sew the Collage Tissue to the cardstock.
4.  Use a decorative scissor on the edge if desired.
5. Add a bit of book text.

Sample three: Window
1.  Cut a hole in piece of scrap paper with an X-Acto knife.  I had recently been testing Color Wash Sprays and had this scrap from the over spray, but you can use whatever you like.
2.  Adhere Collage Tissue to the center hole.
3.  Decide on placement of the window.  Cut a hole in the pre-punched page a bit bigger than the window.  Sew the Window over hole in the page.
4.  Add some ribbon and text cut from a book.

 You can see how the Collage Tissue becomes like a window when lifted.

Well, that's it for today.  It's warm and sunny outside, so I am of to the berry stand for fresh strawberries and then to pick lemons from my tree for some fresh lemonade tonight.  There's going to be some barbecuing going on here in about 2 hours so I have to get moving!
cheers for the weekend!!
paula

Collage Tissue Paper

   So today we're exploring turning Collage Tissue into paper.  

To do that you need to coat the Collage Tissue with a product.  I tried a few (you can find more results at the bottom of this post) but I'm going to show how use Ice Resin which worked the best in my opinion for what I wanted.

 

What you will need:

Ice resin

measuring cup

stir stick

gloves

a plastic garbage bag

a piece of a sponge

Put on your goggles...and let's get started.

 Lay the plastic garbage bag on the table.  I used a piece of clear plastic over my Anthropologie tablecloth because I thought it looked better for the pictures but you are welcome to use whatever piece of plastic you like. Oh, and you don't really need goggles but maybe an old shirt or apron for this one. 

Cut a piece of College Tissue to a workable size and lay on plastic.  

NOTE: I cut a few pieces of tissue.  I figured,  if I was going to go to all the trouble to mix resin then I might as well make a few sheets at a time.

First of all I am not an expert in using Ice Resin.  But I will tell you what I do know and if you want to try it, you can read the complete directions that comes with the product, fair enough?  I hope so.  

So here are the basic steps-

1.  Pour equal parts of bottle A and B into plastic measuring cup.

2.  Mix the Resin for 2 minutes with a stir stick.

3.  Let Resin rest under a lamp to encourage bubbles to float to the top.

4.  Use a piece of an unused sponge to spread the Ice Resin on the tissue.

Note: The first time I tried this I thought I could bypass the sponge and use a foam paint brush.  Not so.  The sponge is what you need to use unless you want to make the tissue into serious thick plastic and I am not kidding...plastic!  Anyway, note taken, stick with the cheap-o sponge. 

 5. Working very quickly, coat the back of the paper then flip over and coat the front.

Sorry the angle of this picture is weird but it shows the tissue on the left and the tissue with the Ice Resin on the right.  It really becomes transparent.

Now the hardest part. 
6.  LEAVE IT ALONE for 24 hours. 
The thicker the coat, the longer to dry,  I found it best to just walk away and close the door.  Which worked out for me since I did this on the kitchen table.   I told my husband, "We have to go out to dinner, my tissue is drying".

So here is a finished piece.  It might be hard to tell on a computer screen so let me say it feels like thin plastic.  Very flexible, sturdy, yet transparent.

 

In my quest for making Collage tissue into more than tissue I did try other products.  Here is what I found.
Mod Podge - Works as a glue, fine for adhering small pieces.  Does not work AT ALL as a coating.
Gel Medium - Works beautifully to adhere tissue to something but as a coating, does little to improve the durability.  Dries with a strange texture.
DG3 Art Gel by JudiKins - I liked this product and the texture it produced on the tissue (probably because it's water based).  It was almost crispy.  My only problem was replication.  I couldn't get it to come out the same exact way twice.

So there you have it, my full report.  If any of you have experience in this area or you have done this before, maybe you have a tip or trick or even another product you have tried that worked nicely, we would love to hear about it!

Collage Tissue

This tutorial really begins over at the 7gypsies blog where the beginning stages of the covering the book board cover is shown.  Because the Collage Tissue is kraft colored it blends in with the book board, so much so that once dry the print looks as if it's printed directly on the board.  Deb and I made samples of each tissue print for the trade show booth and we had a hard time convincing some people that the pattern was not printed on the board.  Super cool.  

I tested adhering the Collage Tissue with both Mod Podge and Claudine Hellmuth Matte Medium.  For what it's worth, each medium works, but I liked the smoothness of the Matte medium best, the Mod Podge almost felt too wet for this project but that's again, just my opinion.  With both products you need to work quickly, so have your tissue cut to the size you need before you start brushing on which ever medium you choose. 

So, lets keep going on this easy journal cover.

Paint a 1/4" border on the edge of the journal with a blue color of acrylic paint.  The paint that I had on hand was a bit bright but no worries, I can fix that.

Once dry, sand off some of the paint.

Ink the edges to distress the color.  That's better now.

Look at the color of the paint before and after I was done distressing.  Quite a change.  Once again, our motto applies, "use what you have on hand".

So now we need to punch the cover holes for the rings.  Of course I'm going to use the 7gypsies Binderie punch...with a twist.  So we start with standard punching, sliding the book board cover all the way into the punch, centering and then punching the cover.

Here's the twist.

The Binderie punches the same distance from the edge to hole each time.  Which, in this project, could be problematic since edge of our cover has a parenthesis shape and if we punch a stack of straight edge paper with the Binderie the paper will stick out beyond the curved edge. 

To solve the problem we need a jig:  1.  a device that holds a piece of work and guides the tools operating on it.

Ours is a simple piece of book board about 1/4" wide.  (I cut it with my handy roller cutter)  The jig has to be thick enough to stop the stack of paper when it is slid into the machine.

Once cut, slide the jig into the back of the Binderie punch.

Slide the stack of paper (you can punch up to 7 sheets of cardstock at one time) into the punch until you hit the jig.  Now push the button.

And there it is, the hole is closer to the edge and perfect for our journal.

Add rings

and a bit of ribbon and you have the start to a journal.

 

Now to fill it...

So tomorrow, lets talk Collage Tissue made into paper.  

Can it be done?   Of course, and I'll show you how.