Handmade Holidays Blog Hop

Welcome to the 7th Annual Handmade Holidays blog hop hosted by Smart Fun DIY! Day 1 of this hop is all about unique gift ideas to inspire you to create something from the heart this holiday season. I’m sharing how …

Encaustic Tag Plaque

Cheryl Boglioli is such a talented designer. I noticed her as she worked in the Craft and Hobby Industry with different companies and I always admired her design work. When she introduced herself during a tradeshow one year, I was very impressed with her professionalism and eventually ask Cheryl to do her magic on our wood pieces.  I think you’ll agree that Cheryl has provided you with a beautiful design incorporating some fun techniques you might like to try. Thanks Cheryl!

Honeycomb Encaustic Tag

By Cheryl Boglioli

http://cherylswindow.com/

Supplies:

• 1 –Tag Plaque – 9×12, Walnut Hollow® Item #39805
• Layered Hexagons chipboard, UmWow Studios
• Encaustic medium – clear, R&F Handmade Paints
• Encaustic paints,R&F Handmade Paints
  • Black
  • Cadmium Green Pale
  • Indian Yellow,
  • Patching Plaster, DAP
  • PanPastel® colors, Colorfin LLC
    • Turquoise
    • Turquoise Tint
    • Turquoise Shade
    • Phthalo Blue
    • Hansa Yellow
    • Diarylide Yellow
    • Damask type pattern stencil from Fanciful Stencils set, Tattered Angels Glimmer Screens
    • 6×6 Honeycomb Stencil, Heidi Swap
    • 5×8 Dotted Flowers stencil, Dyan Reaveley Dylusions
    • 6×6 Art Is stencil (script), The Crafter’s Workshop

Tools:

• Melting Pot®, Ranger
• Sofft™ tools, Colorfin LLC
  • Art sponges
  • Sofft™ knives & shapers with covers
  • griddle
  • natural bristle flat paint brushes
  • painters tape
  • heat gun
  • nonstick craft mat
  • encaustic loop tool (pottery scraper)

Directions:

1. Melt clear encaustic medium in Melting Pot™ or large tin on griddle.   Melt, black, cadmium green pale & Indian yellow encaustic paint in separate tins on griddle.  (do not heat over 200 F – work in well ventilated area)
2. Lightly sand tag surface and sides if desired.  Tape sides of tag.
3. Apply thin layer of plaster to tag.  Lightly brayer over plaster to create textured surface across entire tag.  Wipe of any on tape.  Allow to dry.
4. Using a palette knife, apply layer of plaster over damask-type stencil in upper right corner and lower left corner.  Wipe of any on tape.  Allow to dry.
5. Using Sofft™ Art Sponge, pounce turquoise PanPastel® over damask-type plaster.  (Be careful not to drag sponge over plaster much or this will tear up sponge)
6. Using round Sofft™ knife and cover, apply phthalo blue PanPastel® to center circle of damask-type plaster.
7. Using Sofft™ Art Sponge, pounce hansa yellow PanPastel® over textured plaster in upper left and bottom right corners.  (White plaster will still be visible in deep crevices across entire tag!)
8. Apply layer of clear encaustic medium across entire tag.  (you may need to wipe brush on paper towel before dipping back into clear medium).  Fuse* layer with heat gun.
9. Apply another layer (or two) of encaustic medium across entire tag, fusing each layer.
10. Smooth surface with loop tool if needed.
11. Paint indian yellow encaustic medium over honeycomb stencil in top left and bottom right corners.  Remove stencil and very lightly fuse.
12. Paint cadmium green pale encaustic medium over honeycomb pattern.  Allow to cool completely.
13. Using loop tool, lightly scrape green paint to reveal honeycomb pattern underneath (as much or little as desired).  Lightly fuse.
14. Apply one or two layers of clear medium.  Fuse.
15. Apply script stencil to both left corner.   Using small brush, apply good event layer of black encaustic paint onto across stencil.  Remove stencil before completely cooled.  (Some text will likely lift with stencil.  This is ok) Lightly fuse.   Repeat process to upper right edge.
16. Apply a tiny bit of clear encaustic medium to honeycomb chipboard and embed into wax on lower right edge.
17. Apply 2-3 layers of clear encaustic medium, fusing between each layer.  Allow to cool.
18. You can lightly fuse multiple times to create a smoother surface or leave it textured as desired.
19. Apply turquoise tint PanPastel® through honeycomb stencil in random places across tag.  Very lightly fuse**.
20. Apply diarylide yellow PanPastel® through dotted flowers stencil (using the dots only) in random places across tag.  Very lightly fuse**.
21. Using small paintbrush or metal dropper, drip Indian yellow encaustic medium from upper left corner.  Lightly fuse leaving the dimension from drippage.
22. Allow tag to completely cool.
23. Remove tape being careful along edges of encaustic surface.
24. Apply turquoise shade PanPastel™ to sides of tag buffing around surface edges to frame surface.
25. Apply thin coat of clear encaustic medium to sides, wiping with paper towel before cooled just to seal PanPastel®.   Lightly fuse.
26. Allow tag to completely cool (overnight is recommended) and buff with soft cloth.

* Fuse only until wax is shiny.  Do not re-melt wax or overfuse.

** Very lightly fuse over stenciled PanPastel®.  If you overfuse, PanPastel® will shift.

Here are a few close up photos so you can see some of the detail work.

Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries

How true! And if you love cherries, like I do, you find that life is great.

I love our wood pieces with the silhouette cut-outs. They are fun to use with photos, embellishments or any added features. And this particular project was so simple and quick – again adding to the delight for the finished piece.

So, let’s get started. I misted the entire wood piece with Tattered Angels® Glimmer Mist Marmalade: http://mytatteredangels.com . No need to seal the wood first, just mist and wait for it to quickly dry.

Next I choose the letters from the Color Magic chipboard sticker letters by Heidi Swapp to spell the quote. Rather than misting the letters with Tattered Angels Glimmer Mist, Trunk Bay, I gently shook the bottle from side to side to distribute the “glimmer” and brushed with letters with a medium flat brush.

Once the letters were dry, I peeled them off the sheet and placed them on the dry Silhouette wood piece. I added the name of the author of the quote – Bob Fosse – with  Tim Holtz® plastic sticker letters.

I found a fun embellishment from Jennifer Heynen and used a screw eye to hang it in the square opening.

Secure the screw eye in the square opening and tie the hanging cherries with a scrap of white ribbon.

So easy and so fun to make.

Chalkboard Message Tag

Sometimes we designers get wrapped up in creating complicated projects that no one would ever do except us! I’m very guilty of that myself – so that’s why I can say it…  Anyway, some of the best designs are simple, straightforward and anyone can duplicate them. That’s exactly what our new designer friend Kristin St Clair did when I asked her to create something special for us on Walnut Hollow’s new Tag Plaque.

Kristin’s Chalkboard Message Tag is simple, yet unique in that she added a thin chalk shelf to the bottom which will definitely make it easier to find the chalk when you’re ready to write another note. The rope she used at the top is similar to clothesline cord, adding a nice touch to the piece. Not sure if you are addicted to chalkboard paint like I am, but you’ll like it a lot once you start using it. So, give this project a try – you’ll love hanging it where you and your family can write notes for each other!

by Kristin St Clair

Materials:

• Tag Plaque 10 x 14″
• Basswood 3/16 x 1/2 x 9 1/2″
• Chalkboard Paint
• Foam Brush
• Sand Paper  (Fine Grit)
• Epoxy
• Clamps
• Rope
• Chalk
• Paper Towel
• Surface Protectors

Instruction:

1. With a foam brush and chalkboard paint, coat a tag plaque. Let dry.
2. Sand with a fine grit sand paper. Clean off dust with a moist paper towel.
3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 until there is three coats of paint on plaque.
4. Paint a 3/16 x 1/2 x 9 1/2″ piece of basswood with chalkboard paint. Let dry.
5. Secure piece of basswood to bottom of tag plaque with epoxy to make a chalk shelf. Hold in place with clamps as the glue sets and dries.
6. Condition chalkboard by rubbing the side of a piece of chalk over surface and messaging in chalk dust.
7. Insert a piece of rope into the hanging hole of tag plaque.
8. Place surface protectors on four corners of the back of plaque.
9. Hang on wall, write message or notes on board with chalk and store piece of chalk on shelf.

See more work for Kristin on her website- www.lemmemakeit.com

Walnut Hollow/Tombow Blog Hop Day 4

Today is Day 4 of sharing projects and ideas using Tombow® products. We are also having a week-long contest with the grand prize of products from Tombow and Walnut Hollow.

To put your name in the basket, you will need to do two things:

1. Leave a comment here on our Blog. The more days you comment the more chances you have to win!
2. “Like” us on Facebook.

Each day we will randomly choose a finalist and choose a winner from those finalists on the last day. The winner will be announced here at 1:00 pm (CST) Monday, May 6^th.

We’re sending a special thank you to Tombow for asking us to play and create with them!

See the Tombow Design Team/ Bloggers:

Debbie Fisher, Melissa Cash, Jennie Garcia, Marie Browning

Tombow & Walnut Hollow

Message Board

When we designed this wood piece, I loved it from the beginning. I’m a list maker! I like writing things down so I don’t have to remember all of the “things”. And, of course, chalkboards are so trendy  and really easy to make and use. It didn’t take too many items to create this handy Message Board.

I started this simple project by using a large flat brush to basecoat the entire Message Board with 1 coat of DecoArt® Americana® Indian Turquoise acrylic paint. I lightly sanded the Board after it was dry with fine sandpaper.

Tape off the area you want for the chalkboard.  Use your fingers to really press the tape down as securely as possible so you won’t have any paint leak under the tape. I used 2 coats Martha Stewart’s Black Chalkboard paint inside the taped area.  If any paint does leak, use a small liner brush to go back and paint over the leak with the Indian Turquoise acrylic paint. Following the directions on the Chalkboard paint, let it dry 24 hours. Rub the surface with chalk to condition it.

Measure and cut your decorative cardstock with a paper trimmer to place under the notepad space. Now this is where you want to be sure to use Tombow’s MONO Aqua Liquid Glue to glue the paper down to the surface.

Believe me, I’ve used lots of different glues to adhere paper to our wood surfaces. Nothing works better than this Tombow glue!

For whatever reason, other glues will eventually ripple the paper or create bubbles under the paper. Use the larger end of the Aqua Glue applicators and apply it to the back of the cardstock. Flip over and press in place on the Message Board. Let dry thoroughly.

I used the Tombow Fasterner Tabs to attach the notepad in place. Once you have used up that pad, just add another Tab to the new notepad and press in place. Hang your Message Board and start your lists!