one of my favorite things about designing product is discovering the imaginative possibilities created with them. after all, what can be better than seeing something transform from the ordinary into the extraordinary? so i decided to kick off the holiday season by asking several of my crafty friends to share their inspiration with a project designed to inspire your imagination. for the next 2 months here on the blog explore new tutorials weekly featuring the latest seasonal product releases…
(please note: seasonal products are limited supply, so be sure to check your local or online retailer for availability)
today we’re starting things off with a frightfully fun frame created by audrey pettit. the combination of die-cut layers and ephemera make this project a dimensional delight…t!m
supplies:
- inks: Distress Ink/Antique Linen/Brushed Corduroy/Carved Pumpkin/Victorian Velvet/Shaded Lilac/Wilted Violet/Black Soot
- paints: Distress Paint/Black Soot/Picket Fence
- mediums: Multi-Medium/Matte
- surfaces: 8×8 Paper Stash/Materialize, Distress Watercolor Cardstock, Manila Cardstock
- embellishments: Cabinet Cards/Sophisticate, Design Tape/Materialize, Word Bands/Incantation, Adornments/Wicked, Broomsticks, Remnant Rubs/Gothic, Ephemera/Curiosities, Deco Sheets/Halloween
- tools: Craft Sheet, Distress Sprayer, Mini Ink Blending Tool, Tiny Attacher, Sanding Grip
- dies: Thinlits/Drip Edge/Mixed-Media Halloween
Step 1: Cut two – 6”x7.5” panels of recycled cardboard. Peel off the top layer around the edges of each panel, revealing the corrugated board beneath. Paint the edges of the cardboard with Black Soot Distress Paint. Set the cardboard aside to dry. Select two prints with a neutral background from the Materialize 8×8 papers, and cut each to 5”x7”. Ink the edges of the papers with both Shaded Lilac and Wilted Violet Distress Inks using a Mini Ink Blending Tool. Cabinet Cards will cover the centers of the papers, so just concentrate on inking the edges. Use your fingernails to lightly tear and scrape random areas around the edge of the paper, and roll back a corner or two. Apply Multi Medium Matte to the back side of the papers, and adhere them to the center of the cardboard bases.
Step 2: Swipe Black Soot Distress Paint over a few more random edges of the paper and cardboard. This will help blend the paper into the background for a really seamless finished look. Dab Black Soot Distress Ink onto a non-stick craft sheet. Mix with water, and pick up the color using a wet paintbrush. Flick the brush over the paper, creating droplets and splatter, and then set it aside to dry. Finally, add a few Gothic Remnant Rubs to the corners and edges. Place the two cardboard panels side by side, with a small 1/8” gap between the two pieces. Adhere the two panels together using a strip of Materialize Design Tape, re-enforced with a bit of Multi Medium Matter underneath the tape to really keep it in place. Flip the cardboard over, and repeat the process with the tape down the middle of the back. When the adhesive is dry, fold the panels back and forth a couple of times to loosen up the tape hinge. Now you have a quick and easy bi-fold frame, ready for decorating.
Step 3: Select two large Sophisticate Cabinet Card Frames. Lightly sand the frames, and then ink over the sanded areas using Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink. Swipe Black Soot Distress Paint randomly over the frames, and blend the paint in with the tip of your finger. Set the frames aside to dry.
Step 4: Cut two- 4”x6” pieces of manila cardstock. Working on a non-stick craft sheet, dab a variety of Distress Ink colors onto the sheet, and spritz them liberally with water using a Distress Sprayer. I used a mixture of Carved Pumpkin, Victorian Velvet, and Wilted Violet inks. Press the front of both pieces of manila cardstock into the ink/water mixture, and twist the paper slightly to blend the colors. Allow the papers to dry, or speed up the process with a heat tool. Die cut one of the papers with the bat background from the Thinlits Mixed Media Halloween die set. Be sure to save the leftover negative pieces. Cut two- 4”x6” pieces of watercolor cardstock. Dab Antique Linen Distress Ink onto your craft sheet and spritz the ink with water. Press the front of both pieces of watercolor cardstock into the ink mixture, and allow the paper to dry. Adhere one of the watercolor panels to the back of the bat die cut.
Step 5: Die cut the Mixed Media web from the second piece of inked manila cardstock. Adhere this to the remaining watercolor panel. Slip the die cut panels into the Cabinet Card pockets.
Step 6: Now have fun decorating the front of the Cabinet Card with additional ephemera die cuts, Design Tape, and Adornments. For a spooky grungy look, apply Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink and Black Soot Distress Paint to the accent pieces. Attach some of the ephemera with Tiny Attacher staples.
Step 7: Die cut the Thinlits Drip edge die from Halloween Deco Sheets. Place one drip border across the top of one cabinet card, and place a second drip border across the bottom of the second card. Swipe Picket Fence Distress Paint over an Incantation Word Band, and wipe away the excess paint. Tie the word band onto the Drip Edge die cut using twine. Lightly bend up the wings on several leftover negative die cut bats, and adhere the bats around the cabinet card using Multi Medium Matte. Adhere the finished cabinet card to the right side of the bi-fold frame.
Step 8: Apply more Picket Fence paint to a Wicked spider Adornment, wiping off the excess, and hang it from the top Drip border on the second cabinet card using the twine. And finally, dab Distress Paint onto a Broomstick, and adhere it to the bottom left corner of the card. Adhere this cabinet card to the left side of the frame.