Category Archives: Papercrafting

Oct31

My New Toy

Posted on October 31, 2022 by karlakrafts

My little Sizzix embossing machine arrived today! All it does is emboss, it does not die cut. I have a cutting machine I am terrified of using (and somehow ruining.)

I jumped right in and put the thing together, and grabbed some of my embossing folders (bought to use as texture plates in polymer clay.) I used dampened ivory card stock.

The first one was magic!

The second was tougher. The 3D folders are thicker and don’t require all the shims (plates) that come with the machine.

I thought I had ruined the machine with just the second one. Then, I figured it out and tried a couple more. Success!

I am looking forward to rubbing these with mica powders, or dry brushing with some paint!

Sep21

More from the 100 Day Project

Posted on September 21, 2022 by karlakrafts

Revisiting the 100 Days

Posted on September 20, 2022 by karlakrafts

Revisiting the 100 Days

Here are photos of the experiments I conducted and the papers I created during The 100 Days Project. I concentrated on making collage papers.

Momigamied magazine page dry brushed with gold

Momigamied magazine page dry brushed with white metallic paint and iridescent glitter glue

Tissue painted with gold mica from paintbrush water

Black card stock painted with gold mica paintbrush water

Wendy’s napkin, 2 ply, embossed under a heavy trunk

Faux handmade paper sprinkled with tea and statice clippings, secured with satin gel medium

The previous paper, covered with the stamped tissue, and sealed with more gel medium

A first geli print. See how the paint “bubbles” on a new geli plate?

Sometimes, brayer roll off sheets are worth keeping!

Embossed vellum painted pthalo blue on the back

Watercolor whorlies with white metallic swirlies

TO BE CONTINUED…

Apr6

100 Days!

Posted on April 6, 2022 by karlakrafts

100 Days!

I am participating in the 100 days project on Facebook. During this project, you are challenged to focus on one aspect of your creativity every day for 100 days. I chose the creation of collage pages. This experiment is to see if I can copy and paste the Facebook posts to this blog. Here goes!

the100dayproject2022, Day1, I think my focus will be on paper manipulation. This page is based on momigami, a Japanese folding and oiling technique. I stop short of fully saturating the paper with oil, photograph it (I like the impressionistic look it gives the photo) and then add metallic paint to the creases. This page is from the Oct, 2017 issue of Southern Living Magazine. #100daysofcollagepapers

Dry brushed with gold using a make-up wedge

Jan16

Try, Try, Again

Posted on January 16, 2022 by karlakrafts

Try, Try, Again

I recently tried dissolving inks with Citrasolv, a degreasing agent I discovered on You Tube. The artist using the solvent was Froyle Davies, and I have become a big fan of her collage work.

After watching her video. I immediately ordered a small bottle of Citrasolv on Amazon, together with a few empty little spray bottles.

Froyle, along with several other You Tube artists, I learned, dissolves the ink from the pages of National Geographic Magazine. The ink moves and makes bubbly designs.

I didn’t have any Nat Geo’s on hand, so I searched for glossy pages from other publications.

I tried three colorful catalog pages, one from Southern Living and one from glossy South Park Magazine, as well as a local sales circular.

I laid them all out on a plastic trash bag in the garage and gave them a good spritz of Citrasolv. I checked them in 20 minute intervals to see what happened. Basically, they went from wet to dryer to dry. The ink didn’t move.

The Citrasolv did make the garage smell like an orange processing plant!

Dec4

The Christmas Shopper

Posted on December 4, 2021 by karlakrafts

The Christmas Shopper

I have recently formed an addiction to junk journaling videos. I am especially intrigued by those that show journals made from brown paper bags.

I got the idea that a journal made from a standard lunch size paper bag might make a good shopping list/wallet.

The inside needed a note pad, and I added a ruled 3×3” sticky that I “grunged“ with Tim Holtz distress inks.

In fact, most of the embellishments are from Tim Holtz. As for the others, the gold heart is from wrapping paper, the saying is from a magazine, the angel from a catalog, her star is a sticker, the red star is punched from a toothpaste box!