Category Archives: 613 Avenue Create

Winter Snowflakes Tag

Winter Snowflakes Tag for 613 Avenue Create

Hello, Friends! And Happy First Day of Winter! There’s a brand new challenge up at the 613 Avenue Create Blog: create with snowflakes. As with all 613 Challenges, it’s anything goes, but if you’d like to add snowflakes to your project, that would be great! I have a technique laden Winter Snowflakes Tag to share with you here today.

This is officially the shortest day of the year…it gets light late and gets dark early, and winter settles in for a nice long visit. Growing up in Vermont, winter never paid too much attention to the dates on the calendar. It just showed up whenever it pleased. Sometimes, as early as October…and it hung around waaaay too long for my tastes. I remember marching in the Memorial Day parade one year in 8″ of snow. Now, people, “that ain’t right!” Thank God, I married a Southern Boy and was whisked away to warmer climes that I happily claim as “home.” But like every season, winter has it’s own special beauty, and I wanted to try to capture its unique light, color, and sparkle in my Winter Snowflake Tag.

I pulled out a ton of techniques while making this tag. To begin with, I painted a jumbo manila tag with a coat of “Everlasting” Americana Decor chalk paint. I spritzed on some inks from the Tattered Angels Turquoise Precious Stones Kit because I wanted to capture the beautiful blue glow that snow takes on at dusk. Next, I inked up the flat side of an embossing folder with Tea Dye ink, inserted my tag partially into the folder and ran it through my machine. I then ran the other side of the tag through with a snowflake embossing folder.

I went back in with more of the white chalk paint and just dry brushed it onto the trunks of the trees. I covered the entire tag with Tim’s Frosted Film and carefully ran it back through the folders again. This added a wonderful icy shimmer to the tag….which is awesome in real life, but hard to capture with a camera…I hope you can see it here because it almost looks like snow sifting down from the branches of the trees.

I created a bunch of Tim’s Snowflake Rosettes out of some Basic Grey text paper that I found in my stash. These were brushed with more chalk paint and heat embossed with Bridal Embossing Tinsel. Then I spritzed them very lightly with more of the TA Sprays. They were stacked and glued onto the tag, and I topped them with a little silver snowflake.

For the deer, I die cut Tim’s Reindeer Flight from vintage music paper and hit it with a little Tea Dye DI. I cut two more out of lightweight chipboard (old cereal boxes) and glued the three together. I covered the whole thing with UTEE and heat embossed it. Then I tapped it with Versamark and embossed it again with the Bridal Embossing Tinsel. I tied a little silver embroidery floss around the neck and topped it with a wee snowflake. I have to confess…I love the way this turned out.

I also stamped music notes onto Cream Seam Binding using Ranger Aquamarine Archival ink. I spritzed the ribbon with water, crumpled it and left it to dry. Then it was wrapped around the base of the tag and tied in a square knot. I sanded one of Tim’s Christmas tokens and tied it on with more silver embroidery floss.

The little chalkboard was in my stash…and I honestly don’t remember where I got it…a clearance bin somewhere, no doubt, because that is how I roll! I wrote the quote from Robert Frost’s “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening” using a Sharpie white paint pen. I painted the edges with more of the “Everlasting” chalk paint, then brushed on Crystal Stickles, pulling some down to create “icicles.” The tree and bird were also in my stash and seemed to fit the project, so I added those, too.

Here’s one last look at the whole tag. I have to confess…I really like this one! It reminds me of those dusky, silent winter evenings where the whole world is covered in a glittering blanket of snow.

Be sure to link up your project at the 613 Ave blog. There are some great prizes this week. You can find out more about them on the 613 Blog.

Also, don’t forget about the big block party that’s coming up in January! This event will be loaded with inspiration and prizes, so be sure to mark your calendars!

Thanks for stopping by today…I hope you were inspired by my winter snowflake tag. I’d love to hear some of your snow memories!

Cheerio,

kathy

I’m entering this tag in the following challenges:

Creative Knockouts Challenge #68 (Winter Wonderland)
DRS Designs Rubber Stamps (Winter Skate Colors)
It’s All About the Vintage #82 (use a knot…square knot in the seam binding)
Crafting by Designs (Embossing)
Word Art Wednesday (anything goes)
A Vintage Journey Secret Santa Post ( visit blog for news about special Christmas giveaway)
Simon Says Winter Inspiration

613 Avenue Create Your Own Challenge

Hello, Friends! It’s time for another great challege at 613 Avenue Create! As always, our challenges are “anything goes with an optional twist.” The optional twist is a 613 Avenue “Create Your Own Challenge.” You can get all the details on the BLOG, but the basics are this. Use the chart below as your guide, and choose at least ONE item from each column to create your own challenge.

Here’s the project I designed using items from each column….just to challenge myself!

I just received the new Graphic 45 “A Time to Flourish” paper this week, and i could not WAIT to dig into it for this challenge! These papers/images are from the December pages. I love winter birds, so this was right up my alley! So, can you spot all the different items I chose from the chart while making this card?

From Column 1, I used patterned paper and bling
From Column 2, I used the sentiment from the paper collection, and a die cut tucked in behind the flowers…which are made with the Sunkissed Fleur die and Christmas Poinsettia Stamp from Heartfelt Creations.
From column 3, I matted everything with solid colored paper, and I used embossing on my flowers and on the die cut.
from Column 4, I made my flowers and stitched on the card
Column 5: I used gorgeous Gray Plaid ribbon and topped it with Silver Metallic Grosgrain ribbon and I used a square focal on my card. Which, technically, is not a square card, but the focal is square, so I figured I could squeak that in, right?

I love this sentiment! Truer words have never been spoken!

I really like the dark gray card base with these colors. It sort of grounds everything and keeps them from floating off into space.

There are some great sponsors and PRIZES for this challenge, so you will want to play along. You can find out all about them and the prizes on the 613 Avenue BLOG.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

I’m also entering this card in the following challenges:

7 Kids College Fund Anything Goes (I used Graphic 45 Time to Flourish)
A Song In Your He(ART) (Merry and Bright sentiment on front of card)
The Crafter’s Cafe Challenge (use a doily…die cut doily on front of card)
Simon Says Stamp (Christmas Holidays)
Word Art Wednesday (anything goes)
Whimsy Stamps Inspiration Challenge (anything goes)

Subway Art Canvas for 613 Avenue Create

Hello Friends! There’s a new challenge up today at 613 Avenue Create. Like all 613 Ave challenges, this is an “anything goes” with an optional twist to add subway art to your project. If you’re not quite sure what classifies subway art, here’s a little definition for you: subway art is consists in arranging type and type design, and using different styles and varying font sizes to create a piece of work which can be visually captivating or to convey a thought provoking message or action. I have been rolling this challenge around in my brain for weeks, now, and I finally decided to create a subway art canvas for this unique challenge.

This 8″ x 10″ canvas was inked, layered, distressed and I even created a brick wall with a stencil and texture paste. Then I covered most of it up with my flowers, vines and stamped subway art sentiment. Just call me a “Silly Rabbit.” It’s OK! I started creating, and just couldn’t stop myself!

The sentiment is a beautiful STAMP from Heartfelt Creations. I stamped it with Jet Black Archival Ink and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder. The papers are from the Once Upon a Time Collection and the handmade flowers are made with the Vintage Floret Stamp and the matching die.

I made a cloth flower using the Tattered Floral die from Tim Holtz and then attached a clock face that I’ve been hoarding in my stash of vintage jewelry for some time now. I knew this was just the right project to bring it to life. I added a bunch of stamped and die cut clocks made with the same Once Upon a Time Collection from Heartfelt Creations. The leaves are also made with HC stamps and dies.

I had some fun with my Stampendous Rose Encrusted jewel kit and some seed beads that I picked up at Tuesday morning on a shopping trip with my sis. I love the seed beads as centers in the flowers and mixed in with the thick embossing powders, glitter and mica flakes.

Everything was spritzed with homemade gold Perfect Pearls spray. It gives the vintage florets a beautiful aged finish.

In this photo, you get a close up view of the “frantage” layer of embossing powders, mica flakes, glitter and seed beads.

If you look real close, you can see the brick wall I labored over and then covered up with die cuts. I figure it was good practice, right?

So that’s my Subway Art Canvas. And now it’s your turn to link up your anything goes project with an optional “Subway Art” twist on the 613 Avenue Create BLOG. There are some nice prizes up for grabs this week:

Lacy Sunshine is providing a $20 Gift Card to their shop for one talented artist.

And Beansy Doodle has 3 free digital stamps for another talented artist.

I’m also entering this project in the following challenges:

Clear it Out Challenge Blog (anything goes…must use an item from your stash: watch face)
Cuttlebug Mania You Go Girl! Girly Project (Must use manual die cutting machine and any dies or embossing folders)
Word Art Wednesday Anything Goes
Rhedd’s Creative Spirit Challenge Blog (anything goes as long as it’s altered art)
A Crafty Mess (anything goes)
Artist Trading Post (must use a stencil. I used MFT brick wall and TCW Mini Gears in my background)

That’s it for me today, folks! Be sure to stop by the 613 Avenue Create BLOG for more inspiration from the Design team.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

613 Avenue Create Challenge # 97

613 Avenue Create Challenge #97: RAK Week

Hello, Friends! There’s a new challenge up at 613 Avenue Create. Challenge #97 is all about Random Acts of Kindess. (RAK) Make a little “something, something” for a friend, a neighbor, your mail carrier, the cashier at the store….anyone at all! It’s amazing how a small, unexpected kindness can lift the spirit and change the course of a whole day. A random act of kindness is doubly blessed: it blesses both the recipient, and the one who gives, too.

I’ve been working at my annual craft show all this week, selling lots and lots of paper goodies to lots and lots of different people. One of the things I made for the show was a whole BUNCH of cute flower-topped bookmarks like these.

These were created in every color and while I sold most of them, it was really fun to give a few of them away to customers who took the time to not only shop, but chat and share their stories with me. It’s such a small gift, but you would think I’d given them the moon. Now THAT is fun!

So, what will you create for your RAK? Will it be a card, a mini book, a tasty baked good wrapped up in pretty packaging? Take a picture ,and share it with us at 613 Avenue create! I can’t wait to see what you create.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheerio,

kathy

Upcycled Tag Mini Book

Upcycled Tag Mini Book for 613 Avenue Create

Hello, Friends! It’s time for another great challenge at 613 Avenue Create! Challenge #95 is “Anything Goes” and the optional twist is “Bags, Tags, Boxes and More.” Now, I love a good tag, and because of this, I can’t seem to bring myself to throw away the tags that come as part of the packaging for embellishments. So many of them are made from a nice weight of chipboard and have a really pretty shape, too. I had squirreled away a few of these in the Closet of Shame, and knew that I wanted to use them to make an upcycled tag mini book for this challenge. Here’s what I came up with:

These 3 Bo Bunny tags were slightly different in size, but they all had the same shape and a pretty scalloped bottom edge. I sanded them lightly, painted the edges with Antique Linen Distress Paint and then used pretty vintage images from Crafty Secrets to decorate. I stayed with a simple blue, white and silver color palette to unify the pages, and used papers from an old K and Company paper stack that I found in my stash.

This sweet little angel was treated with UTEE before she received her sparkly wings. I tucked in some velvet leaves and berries that I tapped with white pigment ink to give them a frosty feel. The icicles were die cut from vellum. All the edges of the tag were embossed with Zing Silver Glitter Embossing powder.

My upcycled tag mini book opens from the bottom because the holes were already punched into the packaging I used. Here, I’ve included the words to one of my favorite Christmas Carols typed out in a fancy font. The shimmery ribbon is Stiched Sheer/Satin from Really Reasonable Ribbon. it ties the dreamiest bows!

I’ve added rub-ons, metal brads that I’ve embossed with Bridal embossing tinsel, sequins and little bitty snowflakes. The silver metallic ribbon is from RRR as well.

I salvaged this dove from a Christmas tag…I knew it would come in handy some day!

The back cover is sort of upside down, but I love the way it looks resting on all those delicious ribbons! The best thing about this upcycled mini book is that it doesn’t take very long to make. Once you’ve picked your papers and images, it goes together really fast. And it will make a sweet hostess gift during the holidays, don’t you think?

So the next time you purchase a package of brads or embellies, you might just want to tuck the packaging material away in your Closet of Shame so that you can make your own upcycled mini book!