you spritz them down with a little bit of water

This month's technique is based on using the amazing GCD Studios Chip Art Tool!! As I was looking through my supply of GCD Studios, I happened to grab the gorgeous decorated chipboard stickers that they have created. Then a light bulb popped up over my head, and I though....why not use the Chip Art Tool on them?!

So first off, you spritz them down with a little bit of water...just like you would do with a plain chipboard piece. You don't need to soak it...just a little spritz works great!

Next pull out all the tools and stamps that you need, and emboss the sentiment or images to the cardstock sticker you chose. I like this gorgeous pink one...perfect for a "LOVE" sentiment!

When all is said and done, this is what you have created! A perfect little piece of sentiment art!

Now, just put together your cards and voila....you are done! Here is the card that I created using the pink chipboard piece above.

And this card I just added a little extra decoration to the chipboard sticker using the Chip Art Tool. It's funny how something so small can make such a difference!

I hope that you have a wonderful day creating! ♥♥♥

Until later,
~Lea

While I was in jewelry mode....

Hello everyone...

its Windy back again to share my project for this month's jewelry theme. I love to wear broaches and pins and the start of fall marks the time that I break them all out of my dresser right along with my sweaters and jeans. So I thought I'd use this opportunity to add a new piece to my collection...

This one is pretty simple to make... I soaked my ChipArt chipboard flowers with glimmer mist and stamped a pattern into each using the Flower Centers and Iron Works ChipArt stamps. Once dry, I inked each piece with Walnut Stain distress ink and adhered them together. Lastly I embellished with a decorative brad.

While I was in jewelry mode, I also made some ChipArt bird charms for a beaded bracelet. I stamped a bird shaped chipboard with the Iron Works and the Mini Shapes heart stamp, painted it and then backed the chipboard with fabric and sealed it with a glaze.

That's it... a couple of new ways to get crafty with the ChipArt Tool. Thanks for visiting today!

with a little metal....

Hi everyone!
Teri here, and I'm happy be back with another fun technique to share with everyone here on the GCD Studios blog.
This time I am going to show you a cool way to make metal tiles with chipboard, aluminum tape and the Chipart tool.
You are going to need:
* The Chipart tool and accessories
* Chipboard
* Aluminum tape
And here's what to do:
1. Start with a Chipart Chipboard tile and metal tape. The tape I am using here is aluminum tape from the hardware store. You can get it in the electrical department.

2. Place Chipart tile on the tape. Wrap tape the tape around it. If you are having a hard time getting the tape to wrap around the tile, use a bone folder to smooth it down.

3. Use Chipart tools to hammer a design onto the tile. You'll note that unlike when you normally use chipboard, you don't have to get the tile wet. Because the tape is relatively soft it will take easily to the Chipart tool.


You can use it now or you can add a few finishing touches to it.
You color it with alcohol based markers or inkers. You can even paint and sand it.
I used this metal Chipart-style metal tile technique to make two projects.
First, I made this card. I created the metal looking tile inside the frame here.

I simply impressed a flower Chipart design over and over on the tile. To give it a more shabby look, I brushed paint over it. I left the paint dry and then rubbed it with a sanding blog. That left the paint in the flower designs.

Then, I made this Hello card.

I went real simple here and just used the Sparrow alphabet to stamp the sentiment.
I brushed pink paint over the finished tile. I let it set for just about a minute and then used a baby wipe to brush off the excess paint. I love that the paint took to the letters.

What I love most about tile is it looks a fancy embellishment, but it only costs pennies and a few minutes of crafting time to make it.
That is all for now. I'll be back again soon!
Teri
for GCD Studios

Gold leaf Chip Art bird

Howdy folks!

Do you, by chance, remember the gold leaf Chip Art bird I created for the necklace I shared with you a while ago? If not, It looked a little something like this:


Today I'm gonna share how I did it.

To start you are going to need your Chip Art tools plus the following items:
1. Paint
2. Modge Podge or another glaze medium
3. Glue, preferable one that dries tacky such as Zig 2 Way
4. Gold Leaf (can be purchased from most craft stores)
5. Various brushes, including one with stiff bristles like a stencil brush

First we are going to recap on the stamping process.

1. Moisten your chipboard.


2. Stamp your design.


3. Paint your chipboard.


(and here's where we start the gold leafing)
4. Apply glue. I used my finger to lightly rub the glue on so it only got on the surface and not into any of the debossed areas.


5. Lay the chipboard, glue side down onto the gold leaf.


6. Tear off extra leaf and rub onto the chipboard surface.


7. Using a stiff, dry brush, go over the surface of the chipboard. The leafing that is not touching glue should come right off.


8. Apply a generous amount of brown paint and Modge Podge mixture.


9. Wipe off excess, leaving some in the debossed areas.


Finished!!

A tag like this one can make a really elegant embellishment for a card.

Perfect paired with some of the Ella Blue collection!

Or, of course, there is always the jewelry route.

I like the first one so much, I couldn't resist making another gold leaf bird.

Thanks a bunch and have a great day!
Heidi

Make a fun chunky bracelet!

Hi all! Mimi here. You have to love a good challenge! This month Heidi really sent me beyond my comfort level and asked the design team to create a piece of jewelry with our GCD Studios goodies. I am definitely a layout girl but I totally embraced this challenge. I decided to dig into the Ava collection. I also wanted to have an arty feel to this so I did lots with the Chip Art Tool. I don't normally wear much jewelry with the exception of my diamond earrings that my husband gave me as an anniversary gift. If I feel the need to "dress up" a few chunky bracelet are my favorite go to accessory...so I decided to make a chunky bracelet!



Using the Chip Art Tool I embossed 5 fun peices of Chipboard. I then painted it with 3 (teal, green, and white) colors of paint. I covered the other side of the chipboard with the Mod Shimmer paper. I applied a liquid adhesive to both sides as a protector and to add a fun glossy feel to it. A few spots of Platinum Stickles finished off the chipboard.



I added some beads and ribbon in between the chipboard and strung them all on some stretchy jewelry string. I had so much fun making this and really love how it turned out. Here is a necklace that I made to go with it.



Be sure to check out all the GCD Studios Design Team blogs this month. Everyone made some fabulous jewelry designs that will be sure to inspire you to step out side your "box"!

heat your oven to 275 degrees

What better way is there to enjoy a day than to try a fun new technique? I love trying new things, so I am hoping you will find this tutorial fun and enjoyable as well! Today, I am going to share with you how to create your own charms using Sculpey clay and the Chip Art tool and stamps! It is a rather simple process that only requires a few supplies including the clay, some water based paint, and the Chip Art tool and stamps. Here is one of the necklaces I made using a charm I created. It is much more shimmery and shiny in real life...I promise!
Here are the supplies you will need...
GCD Studios:
Chip Art Ornamental Stamps /Bloom, Butterflies and Mini Shapes

Other:
White Clay by Sculpey
Clay Cutter by Makin's
24 inch Ball Chain by The Jewlery Shoppe
9mm Jump Ring by The Jewlery Shoppe
Paints by Shimmerz
Acrylic Coating Spray by Krylon


And here is another necklace I created. I am going to share with you the step by step on how I created this one, so keep reading!
First roll your clay out in a small round shape so that it is about 1/8 inch thick. Then take your desired stamp and stamp it gently into the clay. It will leave a lovely impression. If you are not happy with it guess what? You can easily start all over!!!
Continue to "decorate" your clay piece as desired with other stamps.
Continue stamping...now we have a lovely little butterfly family ready to take flight!!!
Use the clay cutter, which is really a little mini cookie cutter if you ask me, and cut out your shape.
Center the cutter over your stamped image and gently press it through the clay.
Remove the excess clay. Pick up the clay piece and use your finger to gently soften the edges of your cut out piece.
Now, take the head of a large needle or other poking device and make a small hole in the top of the clay piece. This is where you will place the jump ring which will attach the charm to your chain.
Here are several pieces I made. These are now ready for the oven. I baked them following the package instructions for Sculpey... 275 degrees Farenheit for 7-8 minutes. (The package says 15 minutes per 1/4 inch thickness and these are half of that thickness so I halved the cooking time and it worked perfectly!)
Here they are fresh from the oven! They will be solid upon removing them from the oven. Once they are cool it is time to start painting!
I found Shimmerz to work perfectly for this along with a small tipped paint brush.
I love how the water based paint filled in the stamped image so nicely and still allows you to see the details so well!
Here are my charms with a bit more paint. My finished charms had a couple more coats of paint on them in places as I continued to add coats of paint to get the desired coverage and color I preferred.
Finish by applying a coat or 2 of the acrylic spray coating. Once this is dry, add the jump ring and then thread it onto the chain. Now you are ready to wear your own hand made jewelry! Or maybe play around and create some as gifts for your family and friends!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and thanks so much for stopping by!!!

Happy Hugs!
Juliana