Summer Blog Hop with Topflight Stamps!

 

Come celebrate Summertime with Topflight Stamps! I’ve teamed up with some great designers to showcase summer cards using the unique products available at Topflight Stamps. Please hop along with us for a chance to win! 

You should have arrived here from Ericka Strange's blog. If not, no worries, catch the details below. For my project I created a summery stationery Folio to hold matching cards and envelopes.

Pink Ink Designs stamp - love it!

Back side

Open it up and there are two pockets in the sides that hold the cards and envelopes.

Thanks for joining us in the hop! See the list below and your next stop will be Dina Kowal. Be sure to comment on each blog for a chance to win! Giveaway details below as well.

Follow along here and if you get lost you can always start at the Topflight Stamp Blog.

Topflight Stamps

Ericka Strange

Lisa Hoel  <<You are here

Dina Kowal

Autumn Clark

Connie Mercer

Natasha Vacca

Kathi Rerek

Cornelia Wenokor

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

Of course, it wouldn’t be a celebration without prizes! Topflight Stamps is giving one lucky winner a $50 Gift Certificate to the store. For a chance to win, make sure to comment on every stop on the hop by June 18th. Winners will be announced on the Topflight Stamps blog on June 20th. Good Luck!

Also don’t forget to check out the Summertime Sale going on now!

Topflight Stamps Supplies Used:

Topflight Stamps, Lavinia Brand stamps - School of Fish, Sea Creatures, Fish Set

Topflight Stamps, Pink Ink Designs - Shell Nymph, Sea Nymphs, Holy Crab

Lavinia Stencil - Coral

Paper Rose Stencil - Basket Weave

Seth Apter Embossing Powder - Baked Velvet Crimson

WOW embossing ink

Versafine Ink - Black Onyx

Dies:

Eileen Hull Sizzix 

Folio Journal  ( Sizzix / SB )

Distress Spray Stain - Salvaged Patina, Tumbled Glass, Oxide Peacock Feathers

Some links in this post are affiliate links which do not affect the price you pay but allow me to earn a small percentage of a sale. Thanks! (My husband also thanks you!) If you shop at Topflight Stamps, use my coupon code LISAHOEL for 12% off your order.

Welcome Summer & Iced Tea for Eileen Hull

 

Hello there everyone and welcome to June! I look at it as the official kick off to summer and today we definitely have summer temps here. Whew! Eileen Hull's design Teams are working with the June theme "Summer Adventures" and I'm expecting some really creative interpretations of it! I wanted to create something bright, cheerful and full of summer feels so I made a iced tea bag gift container that doubles as a decoration for the recipient.

I used the 3-D Teacup & Spoon Die for the container and decked it out with flowers, butterflies and a very happy sun. Accents of Rinea Foil Paper really add some sparkle and up the fun factor.

One of my favorite summertime beverages is iced sun tea. (Unsweetened! Don't hate me my southern friends. ;-) )

back view

This didn't take long to put together. Let's take a look:

Step 1 - I painted a sheet of Sizzix Mat board with blue Fresco paint on one side and adhered a sheet of blue Rinea Foil Paper on the other side. I then cut out two cup sides (mind the front and back directions of the shape) and one container bottom. The saucer is actually from an older, retired teacup die of Eileen's (#656549). You could make do with any oval or circle die you already have to make a base.

Step 2 – After decorating the cup sides, I was ready for assembly. You can use either strong red liner tape or a quick grab liquid glue to adhere the cup sides to the tabs on the bottom. Sometimes I'll use a glue gun but you can add a lot of hot glue bulk between the surfaces if you're not careful.

Step 3 – Butterflies! I used my Xyron 3" Sticker Maker to adhere purple and orange inked papers from my stash to Rinea Foil paper, creating pretty 2-sided substrates to cut my butterflies from.

Using jewelry pliers, I bent the ends of pieces of wire to create 'bodies' to glue to the undersides of the die cut butterflies. I also cut two little pieces of foam core board 1 7/8" long and 3/8" tall to use as bases to poke the wires into.

I glued the foam core pieces into the base. Dabbing the wire end into some glue, I then carefully poked the wires into the foam core.

There you go, that was pretty easy. Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to keep an eye on Eileen's blog for some more summer project inspiration.

Supplies used:

Dies:

Eileen Hull Sizzix 

3-D Teacup & Spoon  ( Sizzix / SB )

Birds & Butterflies
Journaling Cards, Flowers & Leaves - retired
3-D Tea Cup XL #656549  (for saucer) - retired

Tim Holtz Sizzix

Circle Play ( Sizzix / SB )

Movers & Shapers Mini Airplane & Cloud #660238 - retired

Other:

Rinea Foil Paper - Frosted Variety Pack, Misfits Pack

Xyron 3" Sticker Maker

Sizzix Mat Board

Crafter's Pick - The Ultimate! glue

Sizzix Making Tool - Shaping Kit

PaperArtsy Fresco Chalk Paint - Smurf, Marbles

embossing ink

grey embossing powder

felt

brads

cardstock

wire

Some links in this post are affiliate links which do not affect the price you pay but allow me to earn a small percentage of a sale. Thanks! (My husband also thanks you!) If you shop at Topflight Stamps, use my coupon code LISAHOEL for 12% off your order.

Celebrate Summer with Iced Tea!
by MonalisaH -Lisa Hoel
Scrapbook.com

Steampunk Card for Topflight Stamps

Hello and happy Monday to you! This week on the Topflight Stamps blog we are taking a closer look at the AALL & Create brand. (One of my favorite brands, so many cool stamps and stencils!) I went steampunk and created a fun mixed media card.

The background started out as a Gel Press print and I added stamping, embossing and stencil mono-printing over it. It's a pretty busy background so I stamped my focal image onto an oval die cut and mounted it on a Wobble spring to pop it off the background and provide a fun interactive element. (I love the Dashing Crow stamp!)

I stamped and fussy cut the lightbulbs. I also used Hunkydory foam squares to make them stand off of the background as well.

There is a Memorial Day Sale going on over in the store through Monday at Midnight EST! Check it out! ;-)

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out all the wonderful products from around the world you can find all in one place, Topflight Stamps.

Supplies used:

Topflight Stamps Products:
AALL & Create Stamps - #445 Dashing Crow, #116 Steampunk Border, #434 Newsprint Numbers, #387 Steampunk Alchemist
AALL & Create stencil - #111 Digits Geared
AALL & Create washi - #16 Burlap Black

PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Chalk Paint - Chalk
Versafine Black Pigment Ink
Gel Press Plate
Prism Ink - Thundercloud
WOW Embossing Pad
Boho Blends embossing powder - Antique Yellow
Hunkydory foam squares
Wobble springs

Other:

cardstock
Tim Holtz Hex Fasteners
Tim Holtz Small Talk stickers, Snarky

Some links in this post are affiliate links which do not affect the price you pay but allow me to earn a small percentage of a sale. Thanks! (My husband also thanks you!) If you shop at Topflight Stamps, use my coupon code LISAHOEL for 12% off your order.

Part 2 of the "Unconventional Materials" Project – Submarine Tunnel Book!

This month Eileen Hull's May project theme is "Unconventional Materials". Her design Teams have been hard at work and stretching their creativity by using 'not so normal' supplies and her Sizzix dies to create some really cool makes! Check out her blog if you've missed any posts this month. Last week I shared Part 1 of my Submarine Tunnel Book. You only got to see the cover but now you can see the coral reef tunnel book I created inside!

the 'porthole' cover

Open it up and what do you see?

An explosion of tropical color!

Some of the unconventional materials used are Tyvek mailing envelopes, paint chips and candy wrappers!

I think this just might be an octopus's garden!

Back on the outside, here are a few details of the cover:

Porthole is a Sizzix Shaker Dome!

Detail of the closure (see Part 1 for the how-to)

The tunnel "frame" is created using Eileen's Bookbinding Die (tutorial below):

Let's see how it came together! Visit my Part 1 blog post for the cover tutorial. This tutorial is about the inside construction.

Step 1 – Playing with Tyvek. Tyvek is a synthetic nonwoven material that is durable and tear resistant. It's used in applications such as shipping supplies, housewrap, and worksuits. However, it is not heat stable which is a property we can exploit for art! I found this video from Sandra Duran Wilson very helpful in explaining what you can do with it. I used mailing envelopes as my Tyvek source.

I used various acrylic paints to color the cut up envelopes. If your paint is too thick it will inhibit the bubbling when heat is applied so I kept my layers thin.

You can use a heat gun or an iron to apply heat to the Tyvek to make it bubble. It tends to curl and move around more with the heat gun so I stuck with my iron because I wanted flatter pieces I could put inside my book.

Watch the video for more detailed directions, but basically you need to sandwich the painted Tyvek between two press sheets (baking parchment or silicon craft mats) and then hover the hot iron over the top. You don't place the iron directly onto the Tyvek or press sheet covering it. It bubbles unpredictably which is part of the fun!

I cut and glued sections onto the insides of the front
and back covers of the book.

Step 2 – Brackets for Tunnel Pages. I cut four of the bookbinding folding spine units, two for each side. I folded them up and glued them together (see below).

'How to fold' detail

To make them easier to handle, I mounted each of the two spine units to a piece of cardstock cut to 3" x 4.75".

Then I glued the units into my cover:

Step 3 – I made a bunch of "reef parts" to have at the ready as I began assembly. I used cardstock and some more unusual materials (as per our May theme!)

Paint chips!

I think the Funky Cactus Die Set is great for 'coral'!

Candy wrappers!

I started by decorating the inside cover with die cuts, more of the Tyvek "bubbles" and "pirate treasure" from my bits and bobs stash.

Step 4 – Making the Tunnel pages. First I cut four pages to create my tunnel. The page die from the Folio Page, Pocket & Flowers Die Set made it really easy! I cut the centers out with the smallest opening for the back page and then gradating out in size to the front.

I checked the fit and made sure I liked the spacing and size of my tunnel openings.

Looks good!

I had some tiny clothespins which were handy for temporarily clipping the pages into place.

Step 5 – Assembly! I worked from back to front, gluing and stamping as I went.

To glue the pages in, I used a quick grab wet glue and applied a thin line to the back of the side edges of the tunnel page. My little clothespins were useful in holding the page in place while the glue dried. (Didn't take long).

Next layer!

Last layer and the little side pieces to cover the front set of spine tabs.

Well, that was a long post again! Congrats, you made it through. ;-)

Thanks for stopping by and next week will be a new month with a new theme! Be sure to keep an eye on Eileen's blog for some more inspiration.

I am also entering this into the Funkie Junkie Challenge Blog "Anything Goes" challenge. They always have fun challenges to enter every two weeks so check them out!

Supplies used:

Dies:

Eileen Hull Sizzix 

Folio Journal  ( Sizzix / SB )

Bookbinding & Label ( Sizzix / SB )

Folio Page, Pocket & Flowers ( Sizzix / SB ) 

Grass, #660326 - retired

Tim Holtz Sizzix

Funky Cactus ( Sizzix / SB )

Holiday Greens, Mini ( Sizzix / SB )
3-D Embossing Folder - Foundry ( Sizzix / SB )

Wacky Transport #1 ( Sizzix / SB )

Funky Festive ( Sizzix / SB )

Funky Festive, Large ( Sizzix )

On the Edge Die - Twigs

Other:

Topflight Stamps, Lavinia Brand stamps - School of Fish, Sea Creatures, Seaweed 2, Mini Fish, Fish Set

Topflight Stamps, Pink Ink Designs - Shell Nymph

Tim Holtz Stamp Set - Sea Life

Sizzix Shaker Domes - 664190
aluminum cans

Sizzix mat board
Distress Ink, Distress Oxide Ink - various colors

Distress Paint - Salvaged Patina, Black Soot
Distress Glaze - Salvaged Patina

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Hardware Heads

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Hitch Fasteners

Crop-a-dile Tool

eyelets

elastic cord

Stickles glitter glue - various colors

Crafter's Pick - The Ultimate! glue

Some links in this post are affiliate links which do not affect the price you pay but allow me to earn a small percentage of a sale. Thanks! (My husband also thanks you!) If you shop at Topflight Stamps, use my coupon code LISAHOEL for 12% off your order.

Submarine Tunnel Book
by MonalisaH -Lisa Hoel
Scrapbook.com

Part 1 of the "Unconventional Materials" Project

This month Eileen Hull's project theme is "Unconventional Materials". Her design Teams have been hard at work and stretching their creativity by using 'not so normal' supplies and her Sizzix dies to create some really cool makes! Check out her blog if you've missed any posts.

For me, this is Part 1 of my project – the cover. (You will have to tune in next week to see what the insides are!)

I used the Folio Journal for the cover and the metal is from embossed aluminum cans! My hubby very kindly drank several cans of Arnold Palmer Iced Tea for me so I could have some tall cans to cut up lol.

The 3.5" Sizzix Shaker Domes make great portholes! I used stamping and diecuts to create my ocean scene and then covered it with a dome.

Detail of the closure:

So, what do you think will be inside? ;-) Guesses are welcome but in the meantime, let's see how I made the cover.

Step 1 – Preparing the aluminum to emboss
As I mentioned, I found some extra tall drink cans (about 7.5" tall) to cut up. This gave me a useable piece of metal that was about 6.25" tall, plenty of width to span the Folio cover which is 5.25" tall. I used sturdy scissors to cut away the top and bottom. Be careful, the edges can be a bit jaggedy and sharp. I trimmed them a little to smooth out the edges once I freed the main part of the can from the top and bottom.

Step 2 – Embossing the metal
The Sizzix 3-D Foundry embossing folder worked beautifully to emboss the can material. I did have to cut my can metal into sections to emboss because the folder is a bit too long to run sideways through my Big Shot. It didn't quite fit!  TIP: The inside of the can had a coating on it. I used a metal dish scrubbie to sand the metal before I embossed it so paint would better stick to it. It also added to the distressed look in its final form. Sandpaper or steel wool would work too I imagine.

In rough cutting the mat board for the cover bases, I knew I wasn't going to be using the Folio flaps so I didn't want to waste material. One piece I cut 7.5" long ('front') and the other 10" long ('back').

Step 3 – Gluing the embossed metal
I used a strong liquid tacky glue (Crafter's Pick - The Ultimate! is my favorite) to glue the pieces of embossed metal onto the mat board. I weighted them down with books and let them dry for a few hours before cutting the covers out with the Folio Die.

After I cut the covers out, I distressed them with Black Soot Distress Paint. I painted it on, let it dry for a few minutes and then wiped most of it off with a slightly damp paper towel. I love how the paint stays in the nooks and crannies.

Step 4 – Assembly
I wanted to make my book as wide as possible and have a smooth spine so I did not overlap any of the spine portions of the front and back covers. I butted the edges up and glued them to a separate piece of mat board I cut to place on the inside (3" x 5.25").

For the closure, I attached a Hitch Fastener to the side and added some eyelets in the overhanging flap. I ran a piece of elastic cord through the eyelets and tied it off so it made a loop to hook over the Hitch Fastener. Also, I later added a starfish charm I had in my stash that I had covered with Salvaged Patina Distress Glaze.

Thanks for stopping by! Next week will be Part 2 with the insides reveal! Be sure to keep an eye on Eileen's blog for some super inspiration.

Supplies used:

Dies:

Eileen Hull Sizzix 

Folio Journal  ( Sizzix / SB ) 

Tim Holtz Sizzix

Funky Cactus ( Sizzix / SB )

Holiday Greens, Mini ( Sizzix / SB )
3-D Embossing Folder - Foundry ( Sizzix / SB )

Other:

Topflight Stamps, Lavinia Brand stamps - School of Fish, Sea Creatures

Sizzix Shaker Domes - 664190
aluminum cans

Sizzix mat board
Distress Ink, Distress Oxide Ink - various colors

Distress Paint - Salvaged Patina, Black Soot
Distress Glaze - Salvaged Patina

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Hardware Heads

Tim Holtz Idea-ology Hitch Fasteners

Crop-a-dile Tool

eyelets

elastic cord

Some links in this post are affiliate links which do not affect the price you pay but allow me to earn a small percentage of a sale. Thanks! (My husband also thanks you!) If you shop at Topflight Stamps, use my coupon code LISAHOEL for 12% off your order.