Altered Playing Card- Light Bulb

 Hello! Alison Heikkila here. I have been altering playing cards lately. It's a fun way to make quick projects, use up scraps, and try out techniques. For this altered playing card, I used 2 Gel Press print scraps that I had, that were too small to put on a card front, but they were also too nice for me to just throw out.

I had made both of these prints during a FB Live for White Rose Crafts. I used a gears stencil for these prints which has since sold out, but you can get a similar one from AALL & Create, called Steam Cogs. I used fluid acrylics from Golden and Deco Art Media too.

I pulled out the Steampunk Alchemist set from AALL & Create once again, and chose a lightbulb to put on the altered card. I stamped it with VersaFine Clair ink in Twilight, and then applied clear embossing powder so that it wouldn't smudge. The paint that's on the paper from the gel print makes the surface slick, so if you don't dry the ink, it could smudge easily. Using an embossing powder ensures that the ink is completely dry and won't move. I wanted to seal the edges of the playing card and add more texture so I used an ultra thick clear embossing enamel that I had in my stash and applied a few coats around the edges. It looks like water.

I really love those little green marquise shapes near the light bulb....they look like it's the light shining from the bulb, even though it was originally part of a cog. Altering these cards is fun and pretty fast, since there's not a lot of room to work on. Have you altered playing cards before? White Rose Crafts is going to be closing the shop for the summer, in preparation for a brand new website! Stock up while you can! Thanks for stopping by. Have an inspiring day! 

Last Night at Sunny Hill Layout

 Hello! Alison Heikkila here. Today I have a scrapbook page to share with you. It's been far too long since I've made a layout, and I was really inspired by a challenge by Gel Press...which was to use your prints on a scrapbook page. I found a photo of my family and I on our last night of vacation. It's always a bittersweet night because it's so much fun, but we're sad that we have to leave the next day. I opted to highlight all of the good things about the evening, and I managed to use 3 Gel Press Prints on my page. White Rose Crafts has lots of products for scrapbooking as well as gel printing, and there's is more coming in future months!

The first print is over on the left of the layout. I used a couple of swirly stencils as well as alcohol inks to create it. If memory serves me correctly, it was done on a roll-off print. I thought this print pulled from the colors of the photo really well. As I was gathering my prints, I also looked at my Graphic 45 and Kaisercraft patterned paper. I found that the Bombay Sunset paper pad from Kaisercraft would come through for me once again, (man, do I love that paper!) and I used 4 different prints from that one pad.

The long strip of patterned paper on the right is from Graphic 45. I built my page on some espresso colored cardstock and flicked on some Sheer Shimmer Spritz in Gold. This tied in really well with the foil accents on one of the Kaisercraft papers.

I chose another Gel Press print that had subtle colors on it and I stamped AALL & Create's Reverse Crescents with Monarch VersaFine Clair ink, which I then embossed with clear powder. I used a long monoprint as my journaling spot. I especially love those messy edges. I also matted my photo with purple cardstock, which I left a little long on the bottom so that I could emboss the edges with gold embossing powder. For a little texture I used a green Pearl Swirl from Scrapberry.

I love the mix of all of the patterns that wound up on this scrapbook page. It's not the greatest photograph, but it's an amazing memory. We had an amazing vacation back in 2019 and I think this page shows off how happy we were with all of the colors and layers. Please head over to White Rose Crafts to check out the thousands of items they have. And, hang out with us in the White Rose Crafts Gallery on FB! Thanks so much for stopping by. Have an inspiring day!

Pharmaceutical Chemist

Hello! Alison Heikkila here. I have a new mixed media card to share with you today for the White Rose Crafts Shop. I started off with a monoprint that I made on my 3" x 5" Gel Press during a FB Live, and was inspired to pull out the Steampunk Alchemist from AALL & Create once again.

The monoprint was made with a few colors of Golden Fluid Acrylics and the Heapza Hexagonz from AALL & Create. The green used on the stencil is what inspired me to give the alchemist his velvety green coat. I stamped him with Rich Cocoa Memento ink and then I colored him with Copics.

I tore the edges of my monoprint, but the white edges were too...white, so I applied some Antique Linen Distress Ink reinker to those edges with a brush, and it dulled it down perfectly. I used the reinker because I wanted those edges really saturated. I ink smooshed Ground Espresso Distress Oxide all over my card base for some interest. I popped up my chemist with foam tape and decided I needed another element. So I stamped out and colored one of the bottles from the Steampunk Alchemist set and tucked it underneath him. I had some old Tim Holtz Halloween stickers laying around, and that's where my sentiment came from.

I love how old all of the elements on this card look. It's a lot of fun to pull colors from monoprints to help you steer the direction of the rest of your projects. I'm finding that the Steampunk Alchemist stamp set is so versatile because it has a ton of stamps in it. It's just fun to experiment with them all (pun intended). Please head over to White Rose Crafts to check out the thousands of items they have. Be sure to use my code, “Alison15” to save 15% off of your purchase. And, hang out with us in the White Rose Crafts Gallery on FB! Thanks so much for stopping by. Have an inspiring day!

Swim

Hello! Alison Heikkila here. I have a new project for White Rose Crafts today, which uses a Gel Press print that I made during a FB Live (check it out HERE), plus Distress Oxide Inks and some AALL & Create items. I love making mixed media cards, and I am really happy with how it turned out.

I really wanted to use the seahorse from AALL & Create's Sea Life stamp set, which I also used in a post last week. You can check that out HERE. I pulled out a bunch of my monoprints and chose a 3" x 5" print that I thought worked well with the sea horse. It was made with acrylic paint from Golden and Deco Art Media, and has the Lotza Trianglez stencil and a brick stencil from Studio Light. The one I used is sold out now, but this one HERE is still available.

I decided that I would stamp the seahorse image twice. Once directly on the card, and once on another piece of cardstock so that I could cut it out and pop it up with foam. I stamped it both times with Twilight VersaFine Clair ink and clear heat embossed the one I cut out. I also inked that one with Shaded Lilac Distress Ink.

I wanted to integrate the print into the card base a bit better, so I added some Twisted Citron Distress Oxide to my work surface, spritzed it with water, and smooshed it on to my card (I had not yet added the popped up seahorse yet). I dried it with my heat tool and then I did the same thing again, but with Mowed Lawn Distress Oxide. These colors really pulled out the green from the monoprint nicely and tied everything together. I wanted a bit more texture, so I added Sea Breeze Jewel Drops by Nuvo, which is my favorite of all the Drops. I added droplets on various parts of the card as well as on my die cut sentiment. This color really looks like water to me.

When I have a gel printing session, I accumulate a lot of prints quickly, so I really try to use them on different projects so that I don't have too many to sift through. Using them on cards is a great way to get through the stack, especially if you have stamps that have a grungy or collage-like look to them. White Rose Crafts has lots of wonderful products that lend themselves perfectly to this style. And if it's not really your thing? They have plenty of other products that you're sure to love. And, hang out with us in the White Rose Crafts Gallery on FB! Thanks so much for stopping by. Have an inspiring day!

Sleep to Dream Art Journal Page

 Hello! Alison Heikkila here. Today I have an art journal page to share that uses 2 Gel Press prints I made during my last FB Live for White Rose Crafts, as well as a number of products that are available in the White Rose Crafts Shop. If you'd like to check out the FB Live, please click HERE.

I wanted to use a few of my Gel Press prints with the Cosmos paper pad from Stamperia. I chose two that I thought coordinated well and I tore the edges.

I painted my background with some cool colored paints from DecoArt Media and Golden. You can't see it here, but I mixed some Interference Gold with the Turquoise to make it shimmery.

Next, I applied the 2 prints with Matte Medium. The stencil used on the print on the left is AALL & Create's #85 Abundance Stencil. The one on the right uses Studio Light's Cogs & Gears.

This is the point where I start to play. I've gotten my background painted and the large, focal images down, so now it's time to choose smaller images and to add additional colors. I picked 2 tags from the Cosmos pad and I cut them out. I even used the excess paper that was around the tags and added them here and there on the spread. I added some bright colors that didn't quite work, but added a nice punch of color...so as I progressed through the process, I dulled those colors down and worked other mediums on top of them.

I decided I needed some texture, so I took out Stamperia's Pasta Scultura, mixed with Prussian Blue acrylic paint and added it to the AALL & Create Spiral Checked Stencil. I added parts of this stencil to 3 areas on this layout, and I scraped up any excess and simply added it to the edges with my palette knife.I added more paint (using assorted brushes and my fingers), plus some clear embossing powder here and there for shine. I also added the Lotza Trianglz stencil here and there.

Here is the completed left side. You can see the shine on top from the embossing powder. I love all the texture and the various colors. The gel print seems to have completely blended into the background that it doesn't even look like I added it on top of the pages.

I wasn't sure what I was going to journal on this page when I started...but towards the end of the process the song "Sleep to Dream" by Fiona Apple popped into my head and I thought it was perfect. I wrote part of the chorus on the right page.

Here is the finished spread. There's so much to look at and lots of cool layers. I may add a bit more embossing powder, but i haven't decided yet. I'm really happy with how it turned out. I hope you’ll visit White Rose Crafts because they have so many cool products that can be used on art journal pages like this. And, hang out with us in the White Rose Crafts Gallery on FB! Thanks so much for stopping by. Have an inspiring day!

Light the Way

 Greetings! Alison Heikkila here. Today I have a card for White Rose Crafts that uses some fantastic products from AALL & Create and Gel Press. I created this background during a FB Live that I did on my Alison Heikkila Designs page earlier this week. If you'd like to check it out, you can click HERE.

I cut down my chosen background and roughed up the edges a bit, plus inked them with Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink. Next, I heat embossed the gorgeous Celestial Navigation stamp from AALL & Create and Silver Embossing Powder. I added a bit of Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink with a blending brush to darken some of the areas a bit to help the design show up a bit more.

I am so crazy about the light bulbs in the Steampunk Alchemist stamp set (I don't think I'll ever get tired of them), so I really wanted to use one here. I stamped it on Bristol and added a few sprinkles of Brushos and then spritzed it with water, which created the effect you see on the finished piece. I also added a sentiment from Heidi Swapp's Only You stamp set, and I inked the edges of the card base with more Chipped Sapphire.

I love the different styles of stamps that are on this card, the swirling colors on the light bulb and the background, and the texture. I think it's funky and I hope you like it too! White Rose Crafts has so many cool products, so I hope you’ll give them a visit. And, hang out with us in the White Rose Crafts Gallery on FB! Thanks so much for stopping by. Have an inspiring day!

Pastel Goth

 Hello! Alison here. Last week, I did a Facebook Live on the White Rose Crafts page, showing people a couple of ways to use a Gel Press with Distress Oxides. If you'd like to check out the replay, you can watch it HERE. I wound up with a number of backgrounds, and I decided to use one of them today. I went for a bit of a Pastel Goth look. Pastel Goth is a fashion style that uses pastel colors, with gothic icons such as skulls, crosses, and bats. I happen to really like the look, so I thought it'd be fun to turn the style into a card.

You can see from the colors of my monoprint that I already had the pastel thing going for me, so I just needed the "goth" part of the look. This particular monoprint, by the way, was made with the Argyle Embossing Folder with Seedless Preserves, Peacock Feathers, and Mowed Lawn Distress Oxides. On top of the print, I stamped the partial skull, and 2 of the smaller elements from AALL & Create's Steampunk Alchemist stamp set with VersaFine Clair Ink in Twilight and Monarch. I tore the sides of the panel and inked those edges with Spun Sugar Distress Ink.

For additional patterns, I pulled out Kaisercraft's Bombay Sunset paper pad and cut up a couple of sheets for the background. I needed a focal sentiment, so I used a brushy "hello" die from my stash, and die cut it out of a midnight blue and a white cardstock.

I have always enjoyed making very dark, gothic cards, but trying out the pastel goth style is fun too. It's fun to experiment with combining monoprints with different types of stamps and patterned paper too. White Rose Crafts has so many wonderful options in patterned papers and stamps, so I hope you'll give them a visit. And, hang out with us in the White Rose Crafts Gallery on FB! Thanks so much for stopping by. Have an inspiring day!

Monoprinted Sewing Card

 Hello! Alison here. Today I have a card that uses several products that can all be found in the White Rose Crafts shop. I used some monoprints made with my Gel Press, and some stamps and a stencil from AALL & Create, plus a couple of VersaFine Clair inks.

When I am working with my Gel Press, I make many prints at once. I truthfully don't always keep track of what colors or mediums I used, and as I start to work with the prints I create, they get shuffled and then I really don't remember what I worked with. For this card, I know I started with a print that had neon colors on it, but I didn't love it, so I printed over it to get a better, layered print. When I decided to use it on a card, I took out the Lotza Trianglez stencil from AALL & Create and I applied triangles here and there with Salty Ocean Distress Ink.

I roughed up the edges a bit with my scissors and stamped one of the images from the Sewing Forever stamp set with Pinecone VersaFine Clair Ink. I also stamped just the gal on a separate monoprint I had made, fussy cut her dress, and added it to the original print to make it stand out. I added a bit of detail shading to her shoes and skin with Copics. I also used a silver marker on the scissor. My sentiment was stamped with Twilight VersaFine Clair Ink. I inked the edges of my card with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink.

I love that this card looks like a detailed collage, but it really isn't. Fussy cutting the dress was simple, and since I used two very different monoprints, each element stands out nicely. Please be sure to visit the White Rose Crafts shop to see the latest and greatest. And, hang out with us in the White Rose Crafts Gallery on FB! Thanks so much for stopping by. Have an inspiring day!

XOXO

 Hello! Alison here. I've got to be honest, Valentine's Day isn't my thing. Aside from the chocolate, I really don't care about the day. So I really don't make Valentine's Day cards. But! I do like to incorporate Valentine's Day-type products and imagery into my projects. White Rose Crafts has some awesome new products that are perfect for Valentine's Day....or not. ;)

Did you know that you can now get some fabulous products from Gel Press in the White Rose Crafts shop? I am super stoked about this, because if you follow me, you know how much I love using my Gel Presses. My background was created on my Gel Press, using a couple of colors of fluid acrylic paints. Another new collection to White Rose Crafts is Stamperia. The Mechanical Heart stencil that I used on top of my monoprint is from this Italian-based company.

I like that this is a big stencil, with a lot of large details. I took my VersaMark ink pad, and applied it through my stencil, directly on to my Gel Press monoprint. I taped off the edges with washi tape. Next, I sprinkled on some white embossing powder and heat set it. My print was done on ordinary copy paper, so the powder melts very quickly on it. I needed a little something extra, so I pulled out Lawn Fawn's Heart Shaker Gift Tag and die cut the "xoxo" with burgundy cardstock. I used the accompanying heart to help me with my placement. I applied glue to the backs of the letters while they were still in the heart. I placed the heart on to my print, then pushed the letters through. This ensured they were straight and spaced correctly. I mounted the panel on to a white card base that I inked with Imperial Purple VersaFine Ink.

So while this card could be used for Valentine's Day, it certainly doesn't have to be. And, I think it's got a masculine feel to it, so it will work for a wide variety of folks. Please be sure to visit the White Rose Crafts shop to see the latest and greatest. And, hang out with us in the White Rose Crafts Gallery on FB! Thanks so much for stopping by. Have an inspiring day!