Roses, Lace, and French Corsets

The March kit for Alpha Stamps was all about fun frilly girly French Corsets.  I created this fun little book using supplies from the kit as well as the Die-Cut Chipboard Scallop Shell.

For the cover I laced two of the Die-Cut Chipboard Corsets together with some pink seam binding so that it would open and close.  I inserted some flower stick pins from the stash to make a tie so the corset would stay shut.  I just love how pink and all frilly girly this is.

Here are pages from the inside of the book.  I used images from all these Alpha Stamps Collage Sheets: The Secret Out At Last Collage Sheet, Decorum Collage Sheet, My Graceful Figure Collage Sheet, Large Victorian Corsets Collage Sheet, Pink Roses Collage Sheet.

For this layout I used two gold dresden banners that can be found with the Gold Dresden Fan & Banners Set.  I colored the flowers and leaves with alcohol inks and also used some flowers cut from the Tim Holtz Tatterd Floral Garland Decorative Strip.  I didn't want the book to be too bulky so I used thin embellishments on all the pages.  I painted the Fancy Corset Chipboard Embellishment with Victorian Velvet Distress Paint and used some rock candy distress glitter to give it some sparkle.  I also used some of the fun pink ruffled ribbon to give it some nice girly flare.

For the second layout I cut the large corset from the Large Victorian Corsets Collage Sheet that was printed on transparency sheet.  I rough cut it out and then used glassy accents and glued it The Garden Timeless Scrapbook Paper and trimmed it down after the glassy accents had completely dried.  I used some fun lacy trim from my stash as well as some creamy pearl stickers.  The fun golden lace is actually cut from one of the 4 Inch Gold Doilies. I just love how it turned out.

For the third layout I layered some of the sheer pleated ribbon behind the gold dresden fan and fussy cut some roses from the Pink Roses Collage Sheet.  I also used some more images from the Large Victorian Corsets Collage Sheet that I attached using glassy accents.  For the sign I used an image from the The Secret Out At Last Collage Sheet which I cut down to size glued to the Gold Dresden Doily Frame and then rimmed with some fun pink sparkly beaded trim from the stash.  I just love the look of the transparency layered over the corner of the gold of the rectangle dolie.

For the closure on the book I used some of the rose printed burlap ribbon that I tore in half and glued to the chipboard shells before I covered them with background papers.  I then frayed the ends some more by pulling off some of the threads.  I really love this burlap ribbon it's very soft and supple.  I also used a length of ribbon and cut some flowers from the Tattered Flower Garland decorative strip.  I had to run it about three times through my cutting machine to get the flowers to cut completely.  I found that the bigger the flower the cleaner and better the machine cut it out.

To cover the binding of the book I cut a length of the rose printed burlap ribbon and then glued some flowers created by layering many of the flowers together that were cut from the Tattered Flower Garland.  I glued some creamy buttons to the center of the flowers.  I love the dimension all the different layers and colors of papers give the flower.

Alpha Stamps Supplies Used for this project:

Die-Cut Chipboard Corset
Die-Cut Chipboard Scallop Shell
The Secret Out At Last Collage Sheet
Decorum Collage Sheet
My Graceful Figure Collage Sheet
Large Victorian Corsets Collage Sheet
Pink Roses Collage Sheet
Beige & Pink Seam Binding Set
The Garden In Bloom Scrapbook Paper
The Garden Timeless Scrapbook Paper
The Garden Boudoir Scrapbook Paper
The Garden Parlour Scrapbook Paper
Cherish 6x6 Paper Pad
Fancy Corset Chipboard Embellishment
Printed Burlap Ribbon - Roses
Pink Ruffled Ribbon
Sheer Pleated Ribbon
Buttery Buttons in Tin

Gold Dresden Doily Frame

Gold Dresden Fan & Banners Set

4 Inch Gold Doilies

Petit Oiseau Chambre de Marie

It's been a fun month of Odd Birds and such over at Alpha Stamps and the design team as been busy creating some very fun projects.  February is coming to a close which means I finally get to share my fun wee project with you.  Petit Oiseau Chambre de Marie or in English Marie's Small Birdhouse (but it sounds so much better in French doesn't it?)  I knew the minute Leslie announced the 3D Birdhouse Die that I just had to get my hands on it.  It really is a very small petite birdhouse and was very fun to play with.

To start this project I cut a 12"x6" piece of the double dot vintage island mist scrapbook paper and ran it through a xyron machine using a permanent adhesive cartridge.  I then cut a 12"x6" piece of medium weight chipboard, attached the scrapbook paper to the chipboard and ran it through the  vagabond machine using the extended cutting pads.  Remember to place your piece on the die with the scrapbook paper face down.  This die cuts and scores at the same time so you want the scores going the right way when you begin to assemble the birdhouse.  I then carefully colored the edges using black soot distress ink and a blending tool.  I wasn't able to completely get ink into the corners where the chipboard was scored so I very carefully went into the corners using the brush end of a black soot distress marker.

For the roof I cut a 4.5"x3" piece of light weight 12x12 chipboard and a matching piece from the metal foil tape sheets (you cannot cut this with a paper cutter you need to use scissors, I learned this the hard way).  I carefully covered the chipboard with the foil sheet and placed it face down on  the 3D Birdhouse die and cut the roof out.  I then embossed the roof using the french script embossing folder from the Tim Holtz - Embossing Folders - Eiffel Tower & French Script set.  

I had originally painted the roof with black soot distress paint but wasn't happy with how it looked.  I felt a weathered/antiqued copper roof would go better with the scrapbook paper so I began playing with copper, verdigris, patina, and black gilders paste and created a great weathered copper roof.

To make the weathered/antiqued copper roof I applied a thick layer of the copper gilder's paste to the foiled side of the roof and allowed it to dry.  I then lightly buffed the roof with a soft cloth to remove any built up paste.

 Next I applied a mixture of the verdigris and patina gilders paste.  To give a very old weathered look I applied thick layers of the patina paste.  (Mine was a bit dried out so I used a bit of turpenoid to reactivate it but found that I liked the gritty texture of the dried patina so I used just enough turpenoid to make the paste plyable).  I then applied a little bit of black gilders paste here and there to highlight the script a bit better (if you apply to much black buff off with a soft cloth before it dries).  Next you want to punch a hole in the middle of the roof for the dowel that holds the weather vane to go through (I forgot to do this and had a dickens of a time trying to get the pole in the roof after I had already put the birdhouse together and glued the roof on).

To create the stand I painted the 3" tall candlestick holder with brushed pewter distress paint and hot glued a small fishing weight that fit into the candle stick.  

I then marked and cut a hole in center of the bottom of the birdhouse so that it would fit over the weight since the weight stuck up a little bit from the candlestick.

I then created a small flower bouquet with white paper roses and white pearl stamens and attached it with hot glue.

I then assembled the house and while the glue was setting worked on the shadow  box bird shrine.   I first carefully cut the loop off with an xacto knife and painted it but didn't like the color so I ended up covering it with sea sprite vintage glitter glass, I love the subtle sparkle it gives.  I then used an image from the Floral Marie Antoinette Collage Sheet in the hole of the shadow box bird shrine and made crown for the bird with a crown from the Spanish Crowns Collage Sheet that I gussied up with some liquid pearls platinum pearl and rouge pearl.  I then glued the shadow box shrine to the front of the birdhouse being careful to make sure it was centered.  To make the perch I cut a 1" section cut from a small dowel and with colored it with copper gilders paste.  I then attached the small dove to the perch from the Oiseaux De Mode Collage Sheet.  I also attached a resin corner piece from my stash to the underside of the peak of the roof.  I then glued the birdhouse to the candlestick stand.

The house still needed a little more decorating so I antiqued the copper dresden border sampler set with some patina gilders paste and glued some around the sides and bottom of the birdhouse and the candlestick.  

To the back of the house I glued a fleur-de-lis that I colored with copper, verdigris, and patina gilders paste.

To create the Marie weather vane I made a mirror image of the Floral Marie Antoinette Collage Sheet and made a two sided bust.  I then used some clock hands from my stash to create the directional hands.  The color was only on one side so I used some black soot and picket fence distress paint and painted the back side of the clock hands.  

I then glued the clock hands together, cut a notch in the Marie bust and glued that to the clock hands.  To make the pole I used a thin dowel that I colored with copper gilder's paste, cut a slit in the top with an xacto knife and glued the Marie bust to the top of the dowel.  I then used some left over copper dresden scraps and wrapped them around the dowel under the clock hands.  I then inserted the pole into the top of the house and used some hot glue to hold it in place.  I then covered the ridge pole of the roof with another piece of the copper dresden border sampler set.

Alpha Stamps Supplies Used:
Floral Marie Antoinette Collage Sheet
Floral Marie Antoinette Collage Sheet
Spanish Crowns Collage Sheet
Copper Dresden Border Sampler Set
Double Dot Vintage Island Mist Scrapbook Paper
Shadow Box Shrine Kit - Bird
12x12 Chipboard
3 Inch Tall Candlestick Holder
Tim Holtz - Embossing Folders - Eiffel Tower & French Script
3D Birdhouse Die
Metal Foil Tape Sheets
Black Soot Distress Paint, Ink & Stain Set
Gilders Paste Copper, Black, and Patina
Liquid Pearls - Platinum Pearl
Metallic Distress Paints - Set of 3 -Brushed Pewter
Tiny Paper Roses-White
White Pearl Stamen
Extended Cutting Pads - 1 Pair
Tim Holtz Vagabond Die-Cutting Machine

 

    

 

   

 

 

 

Lady of the Garden

Lady of the Garden cares for all creatures great and small (but she’s particularly fond of mushrooms and birds as you can see).  I started out with a fun articulated doll shrine made out of masonite that I coated in gesso and painted with Scattered Straw distress paint.  I just love how the buttery yellow color compliments the Victorian Fashions Collage Sheet from Alpha Stamps.

To create the garden I cut the top third off a 4” styrofoam ball and glued it to the base after the paint dried.  I then covered the styrofoam in sheet moss and created mushroom and pearlized leaf stick pin clusters,  I also created a fun golden bush from some leaf charms in my stash, you could substitute the fun brass oak leafs from Alpha Stamps if you wish to make your own.  I also added some paper roses that I coated in glitter paint to give them a bit of sparkle.  I glued a bird from the Lady in Blue Collage Sheet to one of the leaf stick pins and inserted that in behind the golden leaf  bush.

I chose this image from the Victorian Fashions Collage Sheet from Alpha Stamps, isn’t she loverly?  I rough cut the image from the collage sheet then ran the image through my xyron machine and attached it to a thin piece cardboard.  I then covered the other side of the cardboard piece with some paper from the Shadow Brocade Scrap Book Paper Set then fussy cut the image out.  I edged the image with black soot distress ink.  I carefully cut the arms off and set them aside to attach to the articulated arms later.  I then gathered and attached 5 lengths of tulle to the bottom of the image with a tiny attacher and covered up the staples with a small length of Mottled Brown Seam Binding.  I then attached the image to the masonite torso piece.  I then cut and attached the arms to the masonite arms and attached them with the brads that came with the kit.

 After assembling the shrine and letting the glue set I attached the torso to the base and wrapped the tulle around to the back and tied a knot that I hid with this fun mushroom and flower bustle.

The Lady kept demanding More!  More!  So I obliged her and got busy adding some more creatures for her to care for and some more girly lady things that we all like such as glittered flowers and pearls.

 After many demands I think I finally appeased our Lady of the Garden and now she’s happy and serene caring for her many friends.

Alpha Stamps Products Used:

The Lady in Blue Collage Sheet

Victorian Fashions Collage Sheet

Shadow Brocade Scrapbook Paper Set

Tulle Netting Ivory and Old Gold

Mushrooms: Cream, Pink, & Red

Old Fashioned Roses-White

Tiny Paper Roses-White

White Pearl Stamen

Pearlized Stick Pins-leaves

Mixed Gold Filigrees

White Plastic Pearls (Strands)

Distress Paints - Fall Set (Scattered Straw)

Sheet Moss

Black soot distress ink

Brass Oak leaves would make a great substitute for the leaves I used

Seam Binding - Art Nouveau Colors-Mottled Brown

You can find the shrine I used here.  

Festive Fall Wreath

Festive Fall Wreath

I created this fun festive fall wreath for Alpha Stamps.  I absolutely love the tufted owls, I am especially thrilled about how the sunflower buttons made perfect little owl eyes (I was literally squealing like a demented school girl when I saw how cute they turned out).  They are so adorable.  This project took many 180 turns and did not come out like I had originally planned. One thing I learned doing this project was to let go of the preconceived ideas I had and just let the process flow without those preconceived notions cluttering up my brain.  If I hadn’t done that the owls would never have come into being.

I covered 10 maple leaves with the double dot vintage chiffon scrapbook paper and 11 oak leaves with the double dot vintage decaf scrapbook paper.  I then edged them all with vintage photo distress ink using an ink blending tool.  I choose the neutral colors for the leaves so that the fun embellishments would stand out.

I then layed out the maple leaves in circle (but if you look closely the wreath has a bit on oval shape to it) and hot glued them together.  When making a wreath you want to lay all your leaves going in the same direction.  If you make a mistake and don’t get a leaf in the correct position you can heat the glue back up with a heat gun and move the leaf into the position you want.  I then used a length of the burlap ribbon that came in the fall fiber set and loosely wrapped it around the wreath at an angle.  I secured it to the back using hot glue.  

       

I then used 8 oak leaves and glued them to center of the wreath with a hot glue gun.  Again making sure they all were laying in the same direction.

I next cut two strips of the Double Dot Vintage Papers in Vintage Chocolate, Burnt Orange, Gingerbread, Maize, and Orange Citrus 2.5 inches wide by 12 inches long.  I also cut 1 strip 2.5 inches wide by 6 inches long from each of the Autumn Song papers.  I then ran all these strips of paper through the Vagabond machine using the Autumn Gatherings Decorative Strip Die (be sure to use the correct setup for the die cutting machine you are using).  I used an extended spacer platform and a pair of the decorative strips cutting pads.

I would recommend running one layer of paper through at a time as I found that the strip wouldn’t cut entirely through two layers of the paper (even though the photo shows two).  As I cut the strips of paper I kept the shapes sorted by shape and size.  This came in very handy as I was building the little leaf perches and swag.

To make the owls I traced the owl shape on the scraps of Vintage Chocolate, Gingerbread, and Maize Scrapbook Paper that remained.  I rounded the bottom of the owl by using a stack of pan pastels (I found this to be easier than trying to cut around the intricate little owl wings on the chipboard shape that would just be covered by the perches.  I glued three of the larger birch leaf shapes from the stacks of leaves cut from the Autumn Gatherings Decorative Strip Die to make the tail feathers.  I then glued two matching small feathers from the Assorted Feathers to make tufted owl feathers on the heads.  I then glued the owl shapes cut from the Double Dot papers and made eyes by cutting off the shanks from two sunflower buttons and glued those on to the owls.  I then glued two larger feathers on the owl to make fun little feathered wings.  I set these aside to dry I as assembled the little leaf and twig perches for the owls.

I next made three little perches for the owls using the shapes I cut from the Autumn Gatherings Decorative Strip Die.  I started with two to three twigs as my base glued end to end and worked from the outside in gluing down leaf shapes starting with the largest leaves first.  I layered more twigs and smaller leaves as I worked my way towards the center.   I let the glue dry and then glued one to each owl.  I then cut the shank off an acorn button and glued that to the center of the perch.

I knew the wreath need a bit more pizzaz.  I cannot make a nice pretty bow out of ribbon, it’s just not in my arsenal of abilities so I decided to make this large piece for the bottom center of the wreath where a bow would normally go.  I started by making a fan from the three remaining oak leaves (which is mostly covered up but you can kind of see it peeking out from behind).  I then tucked some of the embossed leaves in and around the oak leaves.  I then made a larger leaf swag using the same steps as before to cover the entire length of the oak leaf fan .  I glued the swag to the oak leaf fan, picked this fun lady from the Falling Leaves Collage Sheet glued her in the center and then glued fan to the wreath using hot glue.

I then glued the owls in the 12, 3, and 9 o’clock positions on the wreath.  I punched two holes in the top of the wreath on either side of the center owl and tied some of the fun colored raffia from the fall fiber set and dabbed a little glue on the knots to secure them.

 

Alpha Stamps Supplies Used:

Maple Leaf Die-Cut Chipboard

Oak Leaf Die-Cut Chipboard

Chipboard Owl Silhouettes

Falling Leaves Collage Sheet

Autumn Gatherings Decorative Strip Die

Assorted Feathers

Sunflower Buttons

Acorn Buttons

Embossed Fall Leaves

Fall Fiber Set

Double Dot Vintage Chiffon Scrapbook Paper

Double Dot Vintage Decaf Scrapbook Paper

Double Dot Vintage Chocolate Scrapbook Paper

Double Dot Vintage Burnt Orange Scrapbook Paper

Double Dot Vintage Gingerbread Scrapbook Paper

Double Dot Vintage Maize Scrapbook Paper

Double Dot Vintage Orange Citrus Scrapbook Paper

Autumn Song 6x6 Paper Pad

Tim Holtz Vagabond Die-Cutting Machine

Decorative Strip Cutting Pads, 1 Pair

Gargoyles!

Today I'm sharing this fun 3D Gargoyle project I created for Alpha Stamps.  I started by taking two of the Gargoyle Front View Die-Cut Chipboard shapes and cut a slit in the top of one and the bottom of another.  Since I am not the best at measuring and such, I made copies of the gargoyle shape so I could have some practice pieces for making my slits as I didn't want to ruin the good chipboard ones.  I covered both sides of the chipboard gargoyle with background paper.  As I learned the hard way....cover your shapes with your background paper first and then cut the slits (I also tend to do things backwards).  I then used a blending tool and colored the edges with black soot distress ink.

Here's a side view showing how the two shapes are stacked together.

I took some of the black fibers from the Noxious Fumes Fiber set and wrapped it around the wire on the crow to hide the silver colored wire.  I then cut a small slit in the head of one of the gargoyles with an x-acto knife and glued the wire into it.  I really love how the crow is hovering over and observing everything.  (Or is he really there whispering naughty ideas to the gargoyles).

And here's a view of the backside gargoyle

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The great thing about this project is it creates four little niches that you can add all kinds of fun things to.  As you can see I still have a bit of work to do, so I'll be sharing a little bit more with you in the next week or so.

Alpha Stamps Products Used:
Gargoyle Front View Die-Cut Chipboard
Gargoyle Faces Collage Sheet
Paris Post Collage Sheet
Cemetery Collage Sheet
Dead Tree Cut-Outs
Bat Cut-Outs
Spider and Web Chipboard Cut-Outs
Haunted Night Scrapbook Paper-Alpha Stamps is sold out now, but a great alternative is the Happy Haunting-Full Moon Scrapbook Paper
Noxious Fumes Fiber Set
Small Feathered Crows
Tiny Skull Charms Pewter & Gold
White Turquoise Skull Beads
Christmas Red Stickles
Cat Eyes - 5mm Yellow
Flying Owl Buttons