Using stamp and bond + microfine glitter

I was recently asked how to use Stamp and Bond and thought what a great way to show you how to use it via a tutorial In the end, she discovered that the stamp and bond was having trouble on paper but didn’t have a problem on card stock.

I also thought what a great way to show another Easy Peasy Christmas card, where I show an easy to make Christmas card every week. Be sure to check it out here.

Here’s the completed card:

And the tutorial on how to use Stamp and Bond…

Thanks for joining me this week and have a wonderful weekend!

Love,

Life takes us in interesting directions…an update on Spike

With the last post, I left you, my wonderful, readers…Jeff and I were going to Vegas to get married. We did! It was quite the adventure and a few mishaps along the way but we made it and Elvis walked me down the aisle successfully!

In June, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Copic II intermediate certification workshop in Calgary with Sherrie. To Calgary and back by car in a weekend was fun! I stopped there and back to have a quick visit with Peg!

In July, procrastinating didn’t pay off. My domain name, spikescreativeside (dot) com was bought out from under my nose when it came available when I didn’t renew it quick enough. I never thought anyone would want to snag it but they did! That’s been frustrating trying to untie myself from it. **note to domain name owners out there, don’t let them expire!**

In August, I went to Seattle for a seminar and Peg had a great idea to tag along! Ooops…sorry Jeff! Peg and I met Sparkle, the wonderful owner of Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps and the ever so fabulous Suzanne, editor of the Sparkle Creations e-newsletter. We checked out a great craft/stamp store in Seattle, it’s always lots of fun to see the different things they have!

In September, trying to gear up for work and paper crafting…I got some life changing news. I was diagnosed with stage I, endometrial cancer…and within weeks, I was getting a laproscopic hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy in English…they were taking all the plumbing out. It was traumatic trying to realize I had the big C and also trying to terms with the hysterectomy, etc as it wasn’t on my bucket list. The surgery went well and I was taking things really easy. You don’t realize how many movements require abdominal muscles!

In October, I was just recovering, there wasn’t anything that I could really do. I couldn’t sit up straight to do any crafting so I caught up on some fave TV shows and managed to knit a scarf for Jeff.
Got great news! The tumor was not only a Stage I but also type 1A, which means it hadn’t gone anywhere so I wouldn’t need any further treatment ie. radiation. Phew!
Later in October was the Copic II Intermediate Certification in Langley and Peg came down from Salmon Arm and Sparkle came up from Seattle to take it. It was wonderful to see them again and I had the pleasure in meeting one of Sparkle’s friends from Vancouver, Tan.

In November, well…that was a blur. Sooo many mixed emotions…as I had to fully heal before going on hormone therapy so the brutal effects of surgical menopause just hit me hard. I was happy to have the weather cool down!

One thing I had going was couponing. I had been “extreme” couponing for many years (actually this is how Peg and I first met) but had slowed it down until I saw that TV show. I knew that couponing would change as I know it because of the show and I wanted to get back into it to do some good. I needed to give. Times are tough for many people so I had been couponing to help out. I had donated boxes and boxes and boxes of toiletries, etc to the Transition House in Chilliwack before my surgery. And after the surgery, I could sort and put together coupons without too much stress. I do enjoy it, it gets the math brain going!

So now here we are at the beginning of December. Got the okay from the Doc, got a path for therapy…it’s time to get back up on my feet!! I thought if there’s anything that could jump start my mojo, it would be Tim’s 12 tags! Well let’s give it a go!

I know many of you have been worried, especially when I wasn’t on the slate to teach at all this fall. Thanks for listening and being there. And thank you for your love and support during those dark and tough times..you know who all you wonderful people are

Much love,

PS. If you’re reading this from my tutorial blog (spikestutorials), it’s because I had to re-direct the feed burner feed away to something that was still mine and it kept redirecting to the old url. Please go to http://spikescreativeside.wordpress.com/ to subscribe to my blog via wordpress, under “Don’t Miss an Issue” close to the right.

One World One Heart (OWOH) Crinkle Ribbon Winner

I was delighted to see many of you come by and give helpful feedback on the tutorial blog! I never thought that it could apply to many other crafting genres too! It’s getting me thinking outside the box!

As I’ve mentioned on the Spikescreativeside blog, it was an exhilarating experience visiting blog after blog…artist after artist…seeing art and craft in many forms. I don’t have plans to pick up another hobby but boy oh boy lampwork (glass bead making) looks like a really interesting, fun and colourful craft!

A huge thank you to Lisa Swifka from A Whimsical Bohemian who organized 800+ bloggers for this year’s event!
Next year she’ll be organizing a similar event which will be called Our World, Our Art 2012, you’ll have to stay tuned to check it out next year!

Thank you to everyone who dropped by who hung out for a while, checked out a few tutorials and left a comment. I read each and every one of the 222 comments and visited them too! It’s inspiring to see folks passionate in what they do too!

So here we go…I plunked the magical number of 222 into random.org and it came up with…

WAHOOO!!! Congratulations TEE of The Altered Paper…you’ve won 10 yards of crinkle ribbon!

YIPEEE!!!

Thanks again everyone for visiting and participating!

Lots of love and hugs,

One World, One Heart (OWOH) 2011

I’ve seen this event a few years in a row now and finally in their final year I have the chance to participate! YIPEEEE!

This is the 5th year that Lisa Swifka over at A Whimsical Bohemian has organized bloggers of all kinds from all over the WORLD in one event! It’s a like a gigantic world bazaar where you can discover blogs and meet bloggers with similar interests! (Plus every blogger participating is giving something away!! It’s time to get those fingers a walking and get that lucky charm ready!)

The event goes from January 30, 2011 – February 17, 2011.

For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Spike. A card maker primarily but slowly venturing into the world of altered art! I’m in Chilliwack, BC and have been paper crafting for about 5 years now. I’ve been asked to make tutorials for cards and techniques I’ve made on my blog (The Blog that Spike Built) and this is where I keep them together. I invite you to explore, bookmark or even subscribe.

Now for my blog give away!

I’m giving away 10 yards of 5/8″ (15mm) wide, ivory crinkle ribbon. It’s takes up water based dyes really easily and crinkles fabulously! Great for paper crafts, wrapping gifts, trim, etc. This is really fun to play with! (I do plan on making a couple of tutorials using this ribbon.)

The small print…
-It is open to all active bloggers world wide!
-to enter, please leave a comment with a way for me to contact you if you win (plus, I’d love to see and visit you too!) I’ll be accepting comments until 6pm (PST) on February 17th.
-the winner will be determined via random number generator and announced on February 17th here as well as emailed.
Good luck bloggers!

Thanks SO much for visiting and I hope to see you again!!

Love,

PS. If you don’t see your comment added right away, not to worry. I like to go through them all and take the time to visit you too! I approve them as I meet you! Hope you’re enjoying the hop/tour! This is loads of fun and cool to see the many creative peeps out there! You all rock!

Out of the Dark ~ A Version of Emboss Resist Tutorial

These days there are many fun and crazy techniques where you need an umpteen number of tools. Once in a while it’s nice to get back to stamping and inking basics that still turn heads. This technique reminded me of when I learned how to make Ukrainian eggs in elementary school. (It isn’t the same technique though I am trying to figure out how to adapt it to paper)
What I love about it is that it’s easy and fun!

You’ll need:
-white cardstock
-3 or 4 dye inks, I used Tim Holtz’s Distress Inks
-black dye ink (Black Soot Distress Ink)
-Ranger craft sheet
-clear embossing powder
-embossing ink
-background stamp
-baby wipes

I’ve chosen to use Dusty Concord, Milled Lavender, Tumbled Glass and Victorian Velvet Distress Inks for the base. You can easily use one colour to make it work but it’s fun with more! You can use sponges to add colour to create that soft effect.

Start with one colour, it doesn’t matter which one. Ink up your sponge then start with it sitting on the craft sheet and with a circular motion add colour onto the cardstock in spots around the cardstock. If it’s not looking the way you’d like right away, that’s okay there’s more colours to add and it’s better to start off with less and add more as you need it.

Add the next colour in the same manner as above. To get an even balance of colour throughout the piece, add the spots of colour in a triangle. (If you look just below my thumb, see the 3 pink spots? They form a triangle.)

Now add your next colour. (I should have left this colour out as it was a little light compared to the rest of the colours I chose to use)

And add your next colour.

Look at your work and if you need to add more colour, adjust it until you’re happy. On my piece I had gone back and added more Tumbled Glass to make it stand out a little more.

Next, ensure that the ink is dry by drying it with a heat gun or tool. Even though it may look dry give it a blast of heat. Distress inks stay wet a little longer than most inks.

Ink up your background stamp with embossing ink and make sure it’s nice and juicy.

Stamp your cardstock. I’ve flipped it over onto the stamp and pressed down with my finger tips all over to make sure that the whole piece has been stamped. (ignore the sticky notes stuck on the back, I’ll revisit that later)

Hold the cardstock down with one hand (I have to make do with one as the other is holding the camera) and carefully lift up one side to make sure it’s worked. Then move your hand over and check the other side.

Even though embossing ink is clear, you can still see where the ink has been transferred.

Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel also known as UTEE. When you look closely at the crystals they’re larger than regular embossing powder. Regular or fine embossing powder is great for more detailed images.

Sprinkle the UTEE on your cardstock.

Tap the sides of the cardstock to remove excess UTEE. Don’t flick the front or back, you’ll end up removing too much UTEE.

Melt the UTEE with your heat tool.

Wait a couple of minutes for the UTEE to cool and harden before moving onto the next step.

Now add the black ink in the same way as above. You may have to go over it a few times to get it all nice and dark.

Lookin’ good but it’s not done yet. (Apologizes for the hazy photo.)

Take a baby wipe and wipe off the ink from the embossed areas.

And there you have it! The technique is a form of emboss resist. From here you can use it whole or cut it up and use parts of it.

After making this card, I’ve got a few strips to use for another day.

Hope you’ve enjoyed the tutorial and learned something new today. Please spread the word and let your friends know about the blog.  Be sure not to miss the newest tutorial, subscribe to the blog and you’ll receive an email when a new tutorial becomes available. The price is right…FREE!

Now it’s your turn to get inky!! Post your take on your blog add the link in the comments section below, I’d love to see what you do with it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Love,

Happy Holidays!

Okay it’s still a little sparse and needs a few more homey touches but come on in, take off your shoes and make yourself at home! Grab a drink and have a seat! Welcome to Spike’s tutorial blog! *grin*

There’s only a few posts to look through so far including the “official” welcome post and even an earlier post below that with a video tutorial for a flip fold card

This tutorial blog is separate from the other one, you’ll definitely want to subscribe so you don’t miss a tutorial! (far right column at the top) And as much as you want to keep these cool, funky tricks for yourself, please forward this on to your friends! You’ll be happy that you did.

To get the tutorials officially started, there’s a new one below that I’m sure you’ve haven’t seen! *grin*

Happy Holidays and happy creating!

Love,

Glitter Ritz Rosette Tutorial

I couldn’t wait let’s start off with something NEW! Recall the post that brought you here? (click here in case you’ve forgotten)
See the glitter rosette, flower, thingy? The idea came to me a few days ago but I needed the guts to carry it through to see how well it would work.

This tutorial is dedicated to Haroldine Wingfield (of Be Creative Tape) and Deanna Pannell (of Glitter Ritz). If it wasn’t for these two fabulous ladies creatively brainstorming, we wouldn’t have that amazing Burnished Velvet Glitter Technique! Ladies, you rock glittery goodness!

Here’s what I used:
20mm (3/4″) Be Creative Tape
Glitter Ritz Microfine Glitter – Mystique
scrap paper
Glitter Magnet by Be Creative (I really could have used mine and would have but I couldn’t find it! Boy did I need it!)
1 1/2″ cardstock circle
adhesive
piercer & mat
brad

Now I don’t normally give a warning at the beginning of tutorials but this one is NOT for the glitter-a-phobic! On the plus side you WILL be all sparkly after!

I would like to make 3 feet of glittery goodness! The rosette uses just over 1 foot (30 cm), I didn’t want to run out plus I could use the rest another day.

To make it manageable start off by unrolling the tape a few inches at a time, over top the scrap piece of paper. This tape is REALLY STICKY, avoid touching the tape with your fingers.
Add glitter. Sprinkle over top and using a few fingers, rub the glitter into the tape.

By rubbing, it does 2 things. 1) It makes sure the glitter sticks to the tape 2) the oils from your fingers, brightens or polishes the glitter and gives it that soft velvety feel.

Keep unrolling the tape, inch by inch adding glitter and burnishing as you go!

I tried to keep most of the glitter on the scrap piece of paper best I could some ended up on my craft sheet, some ended up on me, on the floor…luckily the cat didn’t walk into the room! I think he knew to stay away!

Keep the tape roll away from the glittery action end to prevent the roll from getting all sparkly!
Be careful as the release paper on the back can be a little staticy where the glitter will stick to it.

No worries! Just put your index finger and thumb on the tape and pull the glitter towards the roll. It’s best illustrated like when…you’re eating a freezie and your pulling the yummy icy bits towards your mouth.

When you’ve glittered enough cut off the tape from the roll then glitter and burnish to the end!

At this point you’ll want to funnel your glitter back into the jar. Gather as much as you can but I don’t suggest in cleaning up just yet!

Peel back the release paper.

Remove the release paper a couple of inches at a time, again sprinkling glitter and burnishing.

Sprinkling more glitter and don’t stop burnishing…

It’s a lot easier to manage this time because you can easily pile the glitter ribbon on the table top.

Continue through the whole length until finished to the end.

Collect up all the glitter back into the jar. Brush any excess glitter off the ribbon onto the scrap and collect it too. I had 1/2 a jar of glitter left when I was done. WAIT! I guess I should clarify, I started with about 1/2 a jar of glitter to start! LOL

I went through the strip just rubbing it between my fingers a couple of times.

I found that after I had burnished and brushed off any excess that there was minimal glitter that came off of it.

Thank you Lisa S. for showing me to think outside the box and glitter BOTH sides of the tape!

Here’s the yummy glittery goodness!

I normally keep the release paper (the backing) for other projects but I didn’t want to go through the hassle of removing the stray bits of glitter.

Next, add adhesive to the 1 1/2″ circle covering it completely. I don’t suggest using Be Creative tape for this part as it’s not as forgiving if you need to make an adjustment. I just used ATG tape.

Place an end of the glitter ribbon about 1/4 inch from the edge of the circle.

Gather it a little

and fold it over, making a pleat.

Repeat.

and repeat…

Repeat all the way around the circle. If you make a mistake or don’t like the way it lies in an area, you can easily pull it up and pleat it just the way you like it.

It’s looking pretty neat already. Here’s what it looks like from the back. Doesn’t it bring up possibilities for other projects?

When you reach the beginning, move down 1/4″ from the bottom of the first row of ribbon and pleat around making a little larger pleats.

As you reach the beginning again, move toward the centre and place the ribbon over the centre. So when you look at it, you have 2 rows of pleated ribbon. (below I’ve gone around 2 1/2 times, I didn’t like the look so I redid it to go around twice)

Cut the ribbon.

Here’s what it looks like when it’s finished. (I think this was when I realized it was looking at little wonky with it being uneven)

Place the rosette over a piercing mat and piece a hole through the centre.

Add the brad.

Remember, when you were adding the pleats, you were squishing it down? You’ll want to fluff it up a little to give it a some dimension. (I fixed the rosette in this pic)

And I have 2 feet of glittery goodness ribbon that I can use for another project! *grin*

There you have it! I would love to hear what you think as well as other things you’d like to see! And I would LOVE to see what you would do with this!!

Happy, happy sparkly holidays!

Love,

Welcome!

Welcome to The Tutorials that Spike Built.
I love to paper craft!
I like to figure things out.
I like to do things differently.
That’s just me.
Sometimes it doesn’t work.
Sometimes it does.
Sometimes it really, really DOES!
It’s the times when things really do work and have really interesting results where I often get questions on the how.
Since I’ve done the how for different people and they all are in different places, I thought it would be a good to create a blog to help you find some of those things as well as make more!

Why? Simply stated, I enjoy teaching and sharing.

As I probably won’t be posting to this blog as often as my personal blog: The Blog that Spike Built. I highly suggest you enter in your email addy on the far top right so when I write a new tutorial, you’ll get notification in your email in box.

I do like a challenge so if you have any requests, I’d love to hear them and do my best!

Happy crafting!

Love,

Flip Fold Card

Here’s a quick (I’m going to redo it as it’s my very first one) video of how I made a flip fold card using Labels 5 Nestibilities.

Jeff was doing dishes in the background. LOL

What do you think?

———————-
Added Dec.23rd, 2010…well it’s been just about a year since I made that tutorial for the gals over at the StampinCanada forum! It was in response to another tutorial using the bigz dies and we were all wondering how one would make the same effect using a Spellbinders die. The answer is….yup!
The tutorial was hidden away with a password only access as I was going to redo it. Honest!

Oh how easily it is to forget things! lol I probably won’t redo the tutorial so I’ll leave it as is and move onto other things. It’s like the…been there done that!
Yes, I’ll most likely be doing more video tutorials in future too! There’s a few things I need to keep in mind when I do them…
1. Next time wake up! My voice was froggy that morning because I had just woken up 15 mins prior! lol
2. Close the door so the mic won’t pick up any stray sounds
3. Know where my filming area is so I won’t go off camera
4. Use a hand model with nicer hands! Or at least get a manicure! lol
That all being said, that is currently my only but it’s also my very first one. I was just playing around and LOVED how it turned out on the first go that I couldn’t resist to publish it!

This is just the beginning! As they say in show biz…stay tuned! Happy crafting!

Love,

Repost ~ Sprinkle with Sparkles

In trying to get all my tutorials in one spot…Here’s a repost of an oldies fave!

Well it’s my turn over at the Cuttlebug Challenge Blog to host Fab Fridays and what I’ve got for you is a small tutorial and the “Sprinkle with Sparkles” challenge!

Some of you may have heard about Burnished Velvet Glitter, where once you’ve glittered, the glitter feels as soft as velvet! It’s a technique that’s often associated with microfine glitter and Terrific Tape. But you probably haven’t seen it with a Cuttlebugged embossed image! I learned this technique from my best gal pal Peggy Toole who is also a DT member on the Cuttlebug Challenge Blog.

For this technique, you will need:

-an embossing folder (I used Leafy Branch)
-cardstock
-quickie glue pen by Sakura (or a Zig fine tip, 2 way glue pen by EK Success, it works the same way)
-microfine glitter (the finer the glitter the better! I used Glitter Ritz, Grasshopper)
-old blush brush

1) Emboss your piece of card stock using your Cuttlebug embossing folder.
Next, decide which areas you would like glittered. It works best glittering the negative embossed areas.

2) Then with the glue pen, add glue to all the recessed areas you want to glitter with one colour. In this example will add glue to the entire area. (I added a little colour to the embossed area for contrast to see easier)

With the Sakura Glue, you will see it change colour from blue to clear, it becomes nice and tacky. Wait until all areas turn clear before adding the glitter, don’t worry about the glue drying as it will remain tacky until you glitter it. (Try not to touch the glue at this point, it will reduce the stickiness…I learned this the hard way!)

3) Lightly sprinkle with glitter. Be sure to cover your workspace first so that you can collect the excess glitter later.

Make sure that all parts are covered.

4) Use a couple of fingers and with medium pressure in a circular motion rub the glitter firmly onto the glue areas.

This is the burnishing process.

Burnishing ensures that all areas are fully loaded with glitter and it polishes the glitter at the same time making it nice and shiny!

5) After burnishing, shake off the excess glitter.

6) Then brush off any stray bits of glitter.

If you’re working with multiple colours, repeat steps 2-6 for each colour but start with the darker colours first. (else stray dark specs of glitter will end up in the lighter areas)

And voila! There you have it, burnished velvet glitter! With this technique, you won’t find glitter flaking off your finished project.

Here’s a card using the Grasshopper burnished velvet on black card stock. This technique leaves stunning results where you may not want to do anything else with the finished piece!

Here’s another card using the Snowflakes Cuttlebug Folder and Glitter Ritz Colors: Blue Teal, Western Blue, Royal Blue and Cool Highlight. The sentiment is from Verve Stamps, Snowflake Splendor. And the cardstock is Bazzill Bling. The only tough part is taking photographs that turn out nicely without too much glare.

 

Here’s my most fave card that Peggy made using this technique!

Okay, now it’s your turn! It’s the Sprinkle the Sparkles Challenge! For trying out this burnished velvet technique, I will give to two lucky recipients, 2 x 10g jars each of Glitter Ritz microfine glitter! (colours will be different from the ones below…winners will get to choose!)

One will be a random draw from all burnished velvet entries and the other will be my favourite Cuttlebugged burnished velvet creation!

Be sure to follow the directions on the Cuttlebug Challenge Blog on the Sprinkle with Sparkles Challenge post to enter. If you don’t have a blog and wish to load your creation on SCS or PCP, please use CBCSpike1 in the keywords and be sure to add your link so we know where to find you.

The deadline for this challenge is March 8th, noon EST.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, please leave a me comment in the comments section.

Thanks so much for taking the time to drop by!

Have a happy, crafty weekend!

Love,

PS. If you live in the Fraser Valley area, keep your eye out for a card class at Classic Scrapbooking in Chilliwack where I will teach you how to do this technique!