Coffee Date with Maria Featon

Hi Twiddley Fans,

We have Design Team Member MARIA FEATON with us today sharing some tips and tricks for altering our chipboard.

Here is Maria's fabulous layout

Coffee Date 

by Maria Featon

Twiddleybitz products used:

FAIR005 Fairy Blossoms Large

FER004 Leaves

TEA001 Teapots and Cups

BAS013 bag of love hearts

Other products used:

American Crafts Amy Tangerine papers, journal card, stickers and alpha stickers

Fiskars border punch (notebook)

Paint, Glossy Accents, washi tape, rub ons, embroidery thread, buttons, ink.

Chipboard techniques:

I made some light pencil dots as a guide around the flowers about 2mm in from the edges, then with a piercing tool made holes to stitch through with a needle and embroidery thread. I place a piece of foam under chipboard when I’m piercing holes in it to make the job easier. You might have noticed that Twiddleybitz chipboard is comprised of many layers. Using my thumb nail, I distressed the edges of my flowers to encourage them to curl up and give the flowers a shabby look. Then I glued them onto the layout and glued buttons in the centres of the flowers. 

The top layer of the two leaves was peeled off using a craft knife, then I simply dabbed a green ink pad onto them and glued them down, tucking the ends behind the flowers.

The teapot and each cup were given two coats of white paint and then one coat of Glossy Accents. I set them aside to dry for a few hours then covered each piece in a strip of washi tape, trimming away the excess from the edges with a craft knife. I next applied rub on hearts to the tea cups, and glued the teapot and cups on the layout.

Lastly I dabbed the chipboard love heart with some pink ink but found it was a bit too bright, so I just toned it down with a little white paint on the tip of my finger and glued it on top of the teapot. 

Poppy Tutorial

Poppy Tutorial

with Sandra Wallace

Remembrance Day is just around the corner.
Why not create your own personal and special Remembrance Day Poppy

to wear to Remember those who fought and gave their lives for us?

Or, if not to wear, maybe to embellish those special pages?

To create your poppy you will need

Twiddleybitz Flower Template (codeTEM 005)

Red Cardstock

Twiddleybitz embellishment for centre (available for at purchase at shows)

scissors, distresser, black ink, water, hat pin, felt, glue, pencil and hot glue gun.

Trace around all 3 flower templates onto the Back of the cardstock.

and then cut out, giving you 3 different size flowers

gently distress the edges with a distresser, or scissors.

using spray bottle, wet the flowers on both sides

Then gently scrunch them (carefully, as they are quite fragile) into a cone shape by

placing your thumb in the middle of the flower

and then folding up over your thumb

and then pinching the bottom gently to create a cone shape.

Now it is time to dry them.

You have 3 choices.... leaving them overnight...meh, that takes way to long!

using a heatgun, hmmm faster but still toooo long!!

or you could do as I do, and zap them in a microwave!

I kid you not.......

zap them for 20 second increments until they are hard and dry.
be careful!! too long and they will burn!

Here they are after being “nuked”

Then carefully open each up.

Ink the edges with black ink

If you have a brad as a centrepiece create holes in the centre of each flower and then secure with brad.
If you have to glue on a centrepiece such as a button or embellishment then

glue the flowers together and then glue on your centrepiece

Add a leaf

Now it is ready for your projects.

To wear as a pin, cut out a circle from your felt and glue on the back with hot glue gun

This will make it easier to attach the hat pin to the back...

ready to wear!

Now you have created your own personal and special Remembrance Day Poppy to wear to Remember and Honour those who fought and gave their lives for us...and to remember those who are still fighting.

But PLEASE remember to still buy a poppy, wristband or give a donation for the Poppy Day Appeal Day which assists our Veterans.

Thank You

 

Sandra

Star Banner Tutorial, with Jennifer Hodge

Hello there again!
Here is a fantastic tutorial by Jennifer Hodge.
A Star Banner!

I recently created this banner for Riley - he is definitely star material! Each part of the banner represents a different part of him or something he likes/enjoys.

 

To cover the chipboard stars with the white patterned paper I covered them in pva:

I used my speedball to push out airpockets and excess glue.

I then cut around them with my craft knife.

Then I coloured them with Distress Stains and wiped off any excess with a tissue.

The silver embossed stars are resistant to the colour...

Then I filed the edges:

Punched the hole with my eyelet punch:

I used my Distress Stain to colour my white ribbon and again the embossed stars resisted the colour - and then I hung them to dry overnight. I was afraid I'd get too excited trying to dry them with a heat gun and melt the ribbon!

Once I'd painted the car red I used black liquid pearls on the tyres, and orange and yellow for the flames:

Car Star Ingredients:

Twiddleybitz - Star Banner

Twiddleybitz - Small Car Minni Minor (TRA004)

Twiddleybitz - School Dayz Kids (SCH003)

Alison Ellis Design - Star Paper

Adirondack Paint Dabber - Citrus & Red pepper

Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Stain - Mustard Seed

Ranger Liquid Pearls - Pumpkin, Daffodil, Onyx Pearls

Flourish With A Bling - Silver Rhinestones

Black Artliner 0.2

1" circle Punch

My2Angels - White Star Ribbon

"R" Star Ingredients:

Twiddleybitz - Star Banner

Twiddleybitz - R (TAB00R)

Twiddleybitz - Dog form Farm Yard Friends (ANI002)

Alison Ellis Design - Star Paper

Adirondack Paint Dabber - Snow Cap

Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Stain - Faded Jeans

Ranger Liquid Pearls - Dark Chocolate, Daffodil, Onyx Pearls

Flourish With A Bling - Silver Rhinestones

Flourish With A Bling - Pearl, Blue

Flourish With A Bling - Luke Flourish, Blue

My2Angels - White Star Ribbon

Brown Cardstock

"I" Star Ingredients:

Twiddleybitz - Star Banner

Twiddleybitz - I (TAB00I)

Twiddleybitz - Cogs n Gears (TABCOG)

Alison Ellis Design - Star Paper

Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Stain - Peeled Paint

Ranger Liquid Pearls - Daffoldil

Adirondack Paint Dabber - Snow Cap; Red Pepper & Peeled Paint

Flourish With A Bling - Jessie Flourish, Red

Flourish With A Bling - Pearl, Blue

My2Angels - Bike Charm

My2Angels - Ball Chain

My2Angels - White Star Ribbon

"L" Star Ingredients:

Twiddleybitz - Star Banner

Twiddleybitz - L (TAB00L)

Twiddleybitz - Dinosaurs Pk4 (DIN001)

Alison Ellis Design - Star Paper

Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Stain - Mustard Seed;

Fired Brick; Vintage Photo; Peeled Paint

Ranger Liquid Pearls - Avocado

Adirondack Paint Dabber - Snow Cap

Flourish With A Bling - Pearl, Red

My2Angels - Stick Figure Charm

My2Angels - White Star Ribbon

"E" Star Ingredients:

Twiddleybitz - Star Banner

Twiddleybitz - E (TAB00E)

Twiddleybitz - School Dayz Kids (SCH003)

Alison Ellis Design - Star Paper

Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Stain - Faded Jeans

Ranger Liquid Pearls - Daffodil, Ruby Red, Baby Blue

Adirondack Paint Dabber - Snow Cap

Flourish With A Bling - Luke Flourish, Black

My2Angels - Cap Charm

My2Angels - White Star Ribbon

Black Artliner 0.2

"Y" Star Ingredients:

Twiddleybitz - Star Banner

Twiddleybitz - Y (TAB00Y)

Twiddleybitz - Tab Stars (TABSTA)

Alison Ellis Design - Star Paper

Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Stain - Peeled Paint; Faded Jeans

Ranger Liquid Pearls - Daffodil

Adirondack Paint Dabber - Snow Cap; Silver

Flourish With A Bling - Jessie Flourish, Red

My2Angels - Ball Chain

My2Angels - White Star Ribbon

Dymo Labeller

I coloured in the island chipboard with paint and distress stains. I used liquid pearls to give dimension to the grass and the palm trees, and age and deterioration to the treasure chest, and adding the skull n crossbones charm to finish it off. I used crackle paint for my sand to give texture:

"Pirate" Star Ingredients:

Twiddleybitz - Star Banner

Twiddleybitz - Pirate Island And Treasure Chest (PIR003)

Alison Ellis Design - Star Paper

Ranger/Tim Holtz Distress Stain - Mustard Seed; Peeled Paint; Vintage Photo

Ranger/Tim Hotlz Distress Crackle - Scrattered Straw

Ranger Liquid Pearls - Avocado; Dark Chocolate; Onyx Pearl

Adirondack Paint Dabber - Gold

My2Angels - Skull n Crossbones Charm

My2Angels - White Star Ribbon

Figuring out how to hang all the stars on the ribbon was probably the hardest part as I wanted them to all be attached differently! The key to getting it right is working out the spacing, pinning to hold the spot and allowing for movement when hung - and thinking about if it will be hung tightly or loosely...

Congratulations if you are reading as you managed to get all the way through - well done!! I'd love to see your banner so be sure to go to the Twiddleybitz Ning and upload yours to the gallery so I can see it too!!

Thanks for joining me :-)

Jen

 

Sandra's Brick Template Tutorial

Another Brick Template Tutorial
this time with  Sandra Wallace.

 

I LOVE the new range of Templates that Twiddleybitz have

recently released... so many options!!
For my Floating Bird Frame I used the

Brick Template TEM007

But for the purposes of this tutorial I have used the
Chevron Template TEM008 (because I have misplaced my Brick Template after a retreat!! eek!)

To create the Brick effect on my floating frame I used the following steps in the tutorial.. repeating

steps TWO to FIVE over and over again until the frame was completely covered.

Products needed for the Brick effect.

Brick Template TEM007 (I used Chevon TEM008 in these instructions)Mont Mart Clear ImpastoChromocryl Paint: Burnt Umber

Kaisercraft paint: Mocha

Versa Inks: Pinecone and Black
Gilding wax: Gold and Patina

an old knife

heat gun

daubers

Here I have used the middle part of a Twiddleybitz overlay to help demonstrate this technique.

Step ONE

Paint the base of your project with the Burnt Umber (or dark brown) paint

 

Now mix up you Impasto with the Mocha paint... making sure to mix it well.
Please note my Impasto is OLD!!! (I'm talking Stone Age!!) and it has lots of lumps in it...which might of helped with the end effect. :-)
Maybe this might be a good time to scrape the crusty bits off the top of your impasto container and put them to good use. ;-)

Step TWO

Once mixed together place your template on the area you wish to work.

 

Step THREE

And then spread your Impasto mixure roughly with your old knife.

It doesn't matter if it is a bit messy, lumpy or uneven, this will add to your end result.

 

Step FOUR

Carefully lift the template off and wash it straight away! (it is really is stubborn to clean off once it dries...trust me!)

 

Step FIVE

Dry using a heat gun.

 

If you are covering a frame or a large area, repeat steps TWO to FIVE until area is covered. (remember to wash template between applications!)

You will probably notice some white lumpy impasto pieces ... don't worry, these will be covered up with the following steps

 

Step SIX

Using a dauber apply Pinecone ink randomly to the bricks.

 

 

then add some Black ink in the same manner

 

 

then rub in some gold gilding wax

 

 

and maybe some patina gilding wax.
and then keep re applying the different inks and waxes until you get the result you like.

 

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and it has inspired you to try this technique yourself.
Maybe you would like to try a more Terrecotta look with your bricks?.. adding more reddish tones,
Or sandstone bricks?..adding a lighter colour to your Impasto and using beige coloured inks.
Have fun experimenting!!

The above piece of brickwork won't go to waste.. I think I might try to incorporate it in a future layout.

waste not, want not. ;-)

Here are some more photos of my 3D Floating Bird Frame, which uses the above technique.

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!!

If you DO use the Twiddleybitz templates along with other Twiddleybitz products on a creation,

please share them with us in the Twiddleybitz Ning Gallery... we would LOVE to see them!!

Bye for now

 

 

Sandra xx