Scrap N Grow

Archive for June, 2012

Hello readers,

How is everyone?  It is a sweltering hot one here in Minnesota.  I ran errands earlier today and finally had a chance to complete my June tag.  Since February, Tim Holtz has featured a tag and accompanying tutorial each month. Each tag is chocked full of techniques and new ways of using his various products.  This month was no exception for he demonstrated how to tint photos (which is way cool). Click here for Tim’s website. The June tag was very fun to create! Below is my tag.

Tim Holtz's Tags of 2012, June Edition

A few minor differences to note. I used a snippet of paper that featured a Minnesota advertisement (Destinations Paper Stash).  I used my favorite number 9 for the file tab and exchanged the star for a heart to which I applied a Vintaj patina.  Lastly, I preferred to use a row of flowers rather than a single flower.

Thank you for taking time to stop by and I hope that you will return again soon.

Michelle

Good afternoon blog readers.  How is your weekend going?  Life has been crazy busy with the growing season now in full swing. So far, I have harvested berries and lettuce. The weather has been amazingly cooperative which has allowed me to keep up with garden maintenance.  Everything is fertilized, watered, and weeded!

Earlier in a previous post, I told you that I have been working behind the scenes reorganizing my studio.  What that really meant is that I sorted through EVERYTHING and thinned out product that I no longer use or realistically intend to use. I placed several of the items on Craigslist here locally.  In the process, I updated my master inventory list and finally put away product that has been sitting for awhile in its original packaging. Everything is now in its proper place and it feels great!!!!

One area in particular that needed upkeep was my embossing folders.  Since January, I had purchased various embossing folders from Tim Holtz and Sizzix, but had not taken the time to index them and add them into my inventory until this past week.  l really felt that I needed to do this so the task does not become overwhelming as the process is a bit tedious.  Plus, knowing that I just ordered a few more this past Thursday in conjunction with Provocraft’s Hello Thursday announcement, I felt it was necessary as more folders are on the way.  So I thought that today I would walk you through my process of indexing  my embossing folders as well as show you how I store them.

First off, I maintain a word document for all my studio’s inventory and back it up each time for insurance purposes.  I hesitate to admit that I own over 200 embossing folders.  My favorite embossing folder product lines include Provocraft, Sizzix, Spellbinders, Tim Holtz, and Darice to name a few.  I typically only purchase them when they are on sale.  I love the effect that an embossing folder can provide. So with over 200 embossing folders, it is imperative that I have a system that allows me to see what I have and that is readily accessible.  The system I am currently using has worked the best thus far for me; over 2 years and still counting.

After I record the name and manufacturer of each embossing folder into my master inventory list, I then use my label maker and print 3 labels for each folder.  One label is for the embossing folder itself which I place on the backside so I know which side is up (this varies among manufacturer’s). Label two is for my swatch ring and label three is for my storage box.

Embossing Folder Index Process

I maintain a swatch ring that has grown over the years and recently upgraded to a monster size ring that I think I will even have a hard time to outgrow. For each swatch, I use white cardstock cut to 3X5 size.  I then emboss the swatch so that I have an embossed sample image.  Afterwards, I  use a hole punch in the upper left hand corner and place a label in the lower right hand corner. I then place swatch in alphabetical order onto my swatch ring. Funny how my swatch ring has grown to monster size……

Embossing Folder Swatch Ring

After each embossing folder is indexed and a swatch made, I cut another piece of white cardstock to 5X7.  I then add a plastic tab to the top left or right hand side and add my third label I printed earlier.  I try to alternate between having the tab on the left or right to help making the index cards easier to flip through. I keep my embossing boxes close at hand.  I estimate that about 75 folders fit into 1 photo storage box.

Embossing Folder Storage Box

In Summary:

Buy favorite embossing folder

Remove from package and record into master inventory document, save and back up

Cut 2 pieces of cardstock for each embossing folder, 1 3X5 and 1 5X7

Print 3 labels for each embossing folder

Emboss swatch card, place label in lower right hand corner, and punch a hole in the upper left hand corner, and place in alphabetized swatch ring

Determine if tab needs to be placed on the left or right hand side, place label, attach to cardstock divider

Place folder in alphabetical order into storage box

Repeat for each folder.

Thanks for stopping by.  Next up, I will show you how I store my Cricut cartridges and my Sizzix dies.  Have a great day! Please feel free to leave me a comment or if you have any questions.

Michelle

Good Evening everyone.  I had a little free time this afternoon to complete my challenge entry for week 10 of Compendium of Curiosities II. This challenge is hosted by the lovely Linda Ledbetter over at Studio L3.  This weeks technique is tissue paper flowers and the instructions for this technique can be found on page 37 in Tim’s latest book, Compendium of Curiosities II.  The Funkie Junkie Boutique is sponsoring this week’s challenge and is offering a $25.oo gift certificate for their online shop for one lucky participant.

Compendium of Curiosities II Week 10 Challenge Entry

I kept this week’s tag pretty simple. It was fun and allowed me to test drive some new product. First up is the background.  Earlier this week, Kaz over at the The Little Shabby Shed shared a technique that she recently discovered by accident.  Click on the hyperlink to be taken to that post.  I love the results and will definitely use it again on future projects.  The stamps I used to create the background  were from Tim’s winter CHA release, Mixed Media and Words For Thought.  The colors I used are from Tim’s latest summer Distress Ink release, Mowed Lawn and Salty Ocean.  These colors are so vibrant in person.  Afterwards, the tag’s edges were distressed and inked with Gathered Twigs Distress Ink.

I followed Tim’s technique on page 37 to make a tissue wrap flower using Terminology Tissue Wrap from Ideaology.  After the flower was assembled, I lightly sprayed Perferct Pearl Mist spray for added sparkle and added an accouterment to the flower center.  I then adhered the flower using pop dots to the tag and attached a green chenille stem using my tiny attacher stapler. Lastly, I stamped the sentiment using Jet Black Archival Ink and used Shabby Shutters Distress stain to color Stampin Up Seam Binding ribbon.

Thanks for stopping by. I have been busy behind the scenes making custom ink palettes for forthcoming Compendium of Curiosities II challenges.  I will share those in accordance with those challenges in future posts.  I am also in the process of reorganizing my studio and am taking pictures of the process.  Next up is to finish my June Tags of 2012 that Tim features each month on his blog. Have a great night and hope that you will stop back again soon.

Michelle

Good afternoon everyone.  I hope your weekend is going well. It is very hot, humid, and rainy here.  Today, I have another bouquet from the Cricut cartridge Giant Flowers, poppies.

I love poppies and they are are currently blooming glory in my gardens.  Poppies come in an assortment of colors.  The one’s featured today are a deep red.  I used my Cricut die cut machine and the Giant Flowers Cricut cartridge. I cut all flower parts at 4 inches.

For the petals: I die cut them using a deep red card stock and afterwards used Fired Brick Distress Ink to add color to both sides of each petal.

For the ring around the center, I die cut the flower part using a deep purple card stock and afterwards used Dusty Concord and Black Soot Distress Ink to produce a deep purple nearly black color.

Lastly, for the center, I tried several different options.  In the end, I harvested poppy centers still attached to their stems from my own gardens that were through blooming.  The die cut part that the cartridge offers is wonky, frustrating to work with, and does not to me resemble a poppy’s center at all.

After I colored all the card stock flower parts, I then used my McGill molding mat and tool kit to mold and shape each part prior to assembly.  My adhesive of choice for this project was Inkessentials Glossy Accents.

As stated earlier, I used real poppy centers attached to their stems and made a hole in the center of each flower and threaded the seed head/stem and applied a bit of adhesive and set aside each flower to dry.

Overall, this bouquet assembled rather quickly.  I found it challenging to arrange the flowers as well as to photograph them. The photos above do not do justice for how the flowers really turned out. They are absolutely stunning in person.

I hope you enjoyed my project for today.  Please feel free to leave me a comment.  Thank you for visiting and I hope you return again soon.

Michelle

Good evening everyone.  I am excited that I was on the ball this week and already completed my entry for this week’s Studio L3‘s weekly challenge. Each week, Linda selects a technique from Tim Holtz’s latest edition of Compendium of Curiosities II. This week’s challenge is pocket watches and is sponsored by Simon Says Stamp.  There is no technique really associated with this challenge, but page 35 in Tim’s book does provide tips for you to create your own pocket watch.

I have to admit that I was ecstatic on Friday when I checked Linda’s sight for this week’s challenge. Almost immediately the ideas began to flow and cultivate.  After considering my list of possibilities, I decided to create my top three ideas: a garden inspired, a nature inspired, and of course a time inspired one.  My schedule on Saturday allowed time for me to stop at both Joann’s and Michael’s to search for trinkets that would fit inside each of  the pocket watches. I was pleased to find garden trinkets as I was unsure how available they would be locally.  Below are my three completed pocket watches.

Compendium of Curiosities II Challenge Entry Week 9

The home pocket watch features bird feathers, twigs, string, and excelsior that accommodate two bird eggs against a wood veneer backdrop.  The word home is a chit chat sticker from Tim Holtz’s Ideaology line. The Ideaology bird accouterment is attached with a jump ring to the pocket watch.

Close Up of Home Pocket Watch

The time pocket watch is Tim Holtz inspired.  Tim’s book features a similar pocket watch that I liked.  I am so glad that Tim introduced mini sprocket gears as they fit well inside the watch.  I used various gears and a game spinner.  The backdrop is a snippet from his Shabby Chic paper line. Lastly, I attached a Ideaology swivel clasp to the pocket watch.

Close Up of Time Pocket Watch

The garden pocket watch is a compilation of trinkets.  The watering can, garden rake, and shovel are charms that I found at Joann’s.  The metal flower is by Making Memories and the glove is a jewelry component from Bead Landing that I purchased from Michael’s. The letters are beads as well and come from Michael’s too.  The background is a flower encyclopedia stamp that I stamped onto green card stock.

Close Up of Garden Pocket Watch

I hesitated afterwards to add a chain or ribbon to the home and garden watches as I would like to keep them for use in an upcoming configurations box.

The watches were very fun to create and I am very pleased with how they turned out.  Thank you so much for stopping by and I hope that you will come back again soon.

Michelle

Good evening.  Today, I am going to finish sharing my Toy Box Mini Album. I shared part one on Wednesday. Click here to read part one. So let’s return to our Toy Box mini album reveal.

Spread Five.

Spread Five primarily consists of photo mats and has an interactive flap that reveals additional photo mats when opened.

Toy Box Mini Album Spread Five

Toy Box Mini Album Spread Five With Flap Extended

Spread Six.

Spread six features a vintage rocking horse chip board accent from the Crate Paper Toy Box collection along with a Maya Road library pocket and journaling spot.  Opposite page has two bookmarks tucked into a page pocket.

Toy Box Mini Album Spread Six

Toy Box Mini Album Close Up

Toy Box Mini Album Close Up of Pocket Page

Spread Seven.

This was a fun spread and I admittedly went a bit over the top.

Toy Box Mini Album Spread Seven

The left hand side page of the album features a notebook embossed card that has spaces to place photos or journalling inside the card.  I used Tim Holtz’s Notebook Texture Fades embossing folder to emboss the card front and attached a mini journaling card from the Toy Box collection with a mini paper clip.

Close Up of Embossed Notebook Card

The opposite page has a pocket and holds a keepsake Toy Story coloring book.  I made the coloring book using my Your Story Mini machine and Toy Story coloring pages purchased from Target. The color book’s cover focal image is a Toy Story sticker that I purchased at Michael’s.  Inside and alongside the color pages, I added a dimensional Crayola sticker embellishment that I also purchased at Michael’s. See Below for close ups.

Close Up of Keepsake Toy Story Color Book Cover

Close Up of Keepsake Toy Story Color Book Pages

Spread Eight.

This album spread features a dimensional train embellishment from Jolee’s Boutique and car embellishments from the Crate Paper Toy Box collection. I die cut the road using my Cricut machine and the My Community Cricut cartridge.

Toy Box Mini Album Spread Eight

Toy Box Mini Album Close Up

Toy Box Mini Album Close Up

Spread Nine.

This spread features another extended flap page in order to accommodate additional photos.

Toy Box Mini Album Spread Nine

Toy Box Mini Album Spread Nine With Flap Extended

The fire engine is a dimensional Jolee’s Boutique sticker.  The airplane and the John Deere tractor are chipboard embellishments from the Toy Box paper collection. I used a Martha Stewart border grass punch for the grass and found the dump truck embellishment in the patches department at JoAnn’s. I cut the dirt hill by hand.

Spread Ten.

Toy Box Mini Album Spread Ten

The left hand page features a centrally placed photo mat that is surrounded by various sizes of Lego’s that I hand cut from Lego decorative paper that I purchased at Archiver’s.  I used pop dots behind various Lego bricks for added dimension. The right hand page features a complex pop up block element.  I say complex as the block took me several hours to figure out it’s proper assembly.  The block is a Karen Burniston 3D twist cube pop up die. I love how it turned out, but will admit that the process of trying to place the interior rubber band inside the cube totally frustrated me.  This band allows the block to twist and pop up.  Once assembled, I secured the block to the page with a brad which allows the block to spin.  I embellished the sides and the top of the block. I die cut the word PLAY and the star using my Crricut machine and the Mickey Font Cricut cartridge.

Close Up of Pop Up Twist Cube Block

Close Up of Pop Up Twist Cube Block

Spread Eleven.

Toy Box Mini Album Spread Eleven

Both pages feature a corner pocket page design and each pocket contains a removable, interactive A2 flap card.  The cards were die cut using a Sizzix A2 Card w/Flap Die.  The cards provide room for 4 photos. I used a Velcro hook and loop fastener for the flap closure and added a button for added detail. Afterwards, I tucked in a few journal cards from the Toy Box paper collection.

Spread Twelve.

Toy Box Mini Album Spread Twelve

This spread is all about vintage toys.  I had each of these toys in my own toy box as a child. The embellishments are from the paper’s collection with the exception of the moon tickets and and rocket advertisement which came from October Afternoon’s Rocket Age collection. The advertisement is mounted on a mini file that opens to reveal two additional photo mats.

Toy Box Mini Album Close Up

Spread Thirteen.

Toy Box Mini Album Spread Thirteen

This spread features popular games that children play.  The checkerboard paper was purchased at Archiver’s as a single sheet and I apologize that I can not recall the manufacturer.  I embellished the page with a couple of authentic Checker pieces from a well loved game that I purchased at a garage sale. The opposite page features a set of I Spy cards that are held together with a decorative brad.  This page is actually a flap that opens and features two more of my favorite childhood games, Monopoly and Domino’s. The domino’s are purchased embellishments as real Domino’s would have added too much bulk to the album.

Toy Box Mini Album Spread Thirteen With Flap Extended

Inside Back Cover of Toy Box Mini Album.

Toy Box Mini Album Back Cover

The End.  In all, the Toy Box mini album has places for over 50 photos and journaling.  No doubt that this album was labor intensive and expensive to make.  I am almost certain that the intended recipient will cherish this album and that the gift will become a keepsake for her son in the years to come.

Thank you so much for taking the time to visit and for allowing me to post this jumbo mini sized album into separate blog posts as each post took me several hours to compose and post. I tried real hard to include each page’s details and source’s, but if I forgot something, please do not hesitate to email me or leave a question in the comment section.  Thank you again for visiting and I hope that you come back again soon.

Michelle

Good evening.  I finally completed my entry for Studio L3′s Compendium of Curiosities II technique challenge.  This challenge is hosted by Linda Ledbetter over at  Studio L3.  Each week Linda selects a new technique from Tim Holtz’s latest book, Compendium of Curiosities II. This week’s featured technique challenge can be found on page 62 and is titled re-purposed packaging.  In the book, Tim provides a few different artful methods and ideas for which to reuse the plastic packaging that our art goodies are often packaged in.

Compendium of Curiosities II Challenge Entry Week 8

In addition to the technique challenge, I challenged myself primarily due to time constraints to embrace the KISS principle (Keep It Super Simple). To do so, I chose to make a card.

I began by embossing the card front using the large background stamp from Americana Silhouettes stamp set. Afterwards, I masked off three stripes using blue painter’s tape.  I then used my ink blending tool and Distress Ink to color each stripe.  I used Festive Berries for the red and Faded Jeans for the blue. Next, I followed Tim’s technique on page 62 and adhered my packaging to the white stripe for an embossed accent. I adhered my packaging accent with Inkessentials Glossy Accents and let dry under tight clamps to ensure a strong hold.  Once dry, I cut mat layers and finished the card assembly.

I am proud of myself as I successfully adhered to the KISS principle for today’s card.  I must admit that I still feel like the card needs something else but I will leave it as is.

Thanks for stopping by. I will be back tomorrow with part two of the Toy Box Mini Album. Have a great night!

Michelle

Good morning blog readers.  How is your week thus far?  Mine has been extra busy as my fiance has been out of town for work.  Today’s project is going to be presented over 2 days due to the size and complexity of the project. I spent my free time yesterday taking and editing photos and composing my list of supplies used. Today’s featured project is a Toy Box and Mini Album.  I made this toy box mini album for a girlfriend who is expecting her first baby.

Toy Box Exterior

Opening View of Toy Box

My mini album was initially inspired by a past project that Kathy Orta of Paper Phenomenon shared with her viewers.  I have included a link to her website here. Kathy Orta  is a very talented designer and is well known for her amazing mini albums. Furthermore, she also sell tutorials for most of her mini albums via a secure website.  Her tutorials are very clear, concise, and include several step by step photos. I purchased Kathy’s Toy Box tutorial; however, I was a bit intimidated by the construction of making the toy box.  I instead decided to use a pre-made unfinished toy box that I purchased at Joann’s.  Because I used a store bought box, I had to resize my mini album as well as get extra creative in order to add a shadowbox to mine. After having completed my project and comparing mine to Kathy’s inspiration Toy Box mini album, the only resemblance between the two is that each projects encompasses a toy box, shadowbox, and a mini album component.  The design of my project is therefore an original design that I improvised along the way.  Sorry for the fine print explanation, but I do want to ensure credits are given when and where appropriate.

Toy Box:

As I stated earlier, I purchased an unfinished toy box at JoAnn’s.  I lightly sanded the box before I used Espresso Color Wash spray to color the box inside and out.  I sprayed 2 coats and used nearly 2 bottles to adequately color the box.  Indie the box, I lined the bottom with patterned paper from the paper collection, Crate Paper Toy Box collection.  Once adhered, I applied Walnut Stain Distress ink to the box’s corners and edges for a vintage look.

Toy Box Interior Bottom View

I created a shabow box using Tim Holtz’s configuration  boxes.  I have several of his boxes and used left over boxes from a previous project.  I selected my desired sizes and cut to fit a thick piece of chipboard and adhered the boxes to the chipboard.  I colored the boxes using the same color wash that I used on the exterior of the box.  Afterwards, I selected desired papers and cut each to size and adhered to each of the boxes.  I then adhered a miniature bear to one of the boxes using Craft 6000 adhesive.   I elected to leave most boxes undecorated so that the recipient can add her own personalized trinkets.

Close Up of Shadow Box Inside Toy Box

Throughout the mini album, I used Crate Paper’s Toy Box collection.  The collection has a 6X6 and a 12X12 paper line as well as chipboard and sticker embellishments.  I did also add in a few other decorative papers from other collections that coordinated with the theme.

Toy Box Mini Album Cover

Because I used a pre-made toy box, I had to customize the size and shape of my mini album to fit inside the box.  The mini album is hefty in size and thickness.  I made my own binding and covers for the album. The binding is dark brown leather and the binding uses 4 large book binders from Tim Holtz’s Ideaology line.  The albums closure uses a brad and a hair binder and is accented with an Industrial Chic Jewelry component that I purchased at Michael’s.

Side View of Toy Box Mini Album Binding

Top View of Toy Box Mini Album Binding

I told you that the album was a biggie.  Now let’s take a look inside. In all, there are 14  2 page spreads in the album.  Each spread has a minimum of 1 interactive element.  This definitely added to the bulkiness of the album.

Title Page.  I chose to spell out Child’s Play using Scrabble letters.  I inked the edges of each tile using Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

Toy Box Mini Album Title Page

Spread One

Toy Box Mini Album Spread One

I embellished the left hand page using several embellishments for the collection.  The dog puzzle piece is a stray piece of a puzzle that I own.  Behind the boy’s life band are 2 removable tags that the recipient can place photos or journal on.

Toy Box Mini Album Spread One Embellishments Close Up

The opposite page features an interactive element.  I used a Sizzix A2 Card w/Flap Die to house pictures of journaling. The insert has room for a photo on the front, back and two more inside. I used a Velcro hook and loop fastener for the flap closure.

Toy Box Mini Album Close Up of A2 Card Flap Enclosure

Spread Two.  It’s all about a Barrel O Fun!  I die cut the barrel using my Cricut and the Old West Cricut cartridge. I inked the edges of the die cut using Walnut Stain Distress Ink.  The monkey’s are actual pieces from the Barrel O’ Monkeys game.  I lightly sanded them, applied a coat of Gesso before painting them with acrylic  paint.  I painted them a dark brown. I adhered them using E6000 adhesive.  I kept the opposite page simple.  A photo mat and a tag that can be pulled out from behind the mat.

Toy Box Mini Album Spread Two

Soread Three.  This was a super fun set of pages that I went a bit overboard on.

Toy Box Mini Album Spread Three

The left hand page tank was die cut using the Stand And Salute Cricut Cartridge and my Cricut machine. I used pop dots to add dimension to the tank’s tracks.  The dirt is full of texture.  It is a product called Elements made by Art Glitter Inc.  I used Flower Soft Glue to adhere the product and let dry for several hours to ensure good adhesion. The opposite page is actually a card that open’s and has a pop up feature.  The card’s front cover includes a photo mat and is embellished with a painted chipboard tag that I added Tim Holtz Ideology chain to to simulate a military dog tag.  I embossed the word boy using my Melody Ross embossing dies.

Toy Box Mini Album Close Up of Card Front

Inside the card is a pop up feature.  The pop up was created by using a Sizzix pop up die.  I used Zig Zag.  I adhered chipboard elements from the Toy Box collection to simulate a mini scene and added a journaling spot and additional dirt for added texture.

Toy Box Mini Album Pop Up Card Interior

Spread Four.

Toy Box Mini Album Spread Four

This spread features a dinosaur theme.  The dinosaurs and the mountains were die cut using my Cricut and the Dinosaur Tracks Cricut cartridge. The die cut’s edges were again inked using Walnut Stain Distress Ink.  Behind the adventurous band is a removable journaling card that is stamped with a notebook image from Impression Obsession.

Toy Box Mini Album Dinosaur Scene Close Up

Toy Box Mini Album Close Up

Spread five will be featured in my next post. I will continue this post tomorrow to help minimize the length of my posts.  As many of you know who blog, it takes several hours to compose a post that is jam packed with photos.  I will share the remaining pages in my next post.  I hope that you like what I have shared thus far. Please feel free to leave a comment or ask a question. Thank you so much and have a great day!

Michelle

Good afternoon.  I wanted to check in with you this weekend and share a project I recently completed.  I titled it “Recycled Stamp Art”.

Recycled Stamp Art

Last summer I unmounted all my wood mounted stamps and remounted them to cling cushion. This was no small task as I quickly realized that I have a very large stamp collection.  Upon completion of the task which took nearly 3 months, I amassed quite the collection of wood blocks.  As I unmounted each stamp, I tossed the leftover wood block into a box.  Afterwards, for whatever reason, I hesitated to burn or throw them away as I thought that maybe the images on the blocks could be reused somehow, someday. Not knowing what I would wanted to do with the blocks, I stored them in our unfinished basement.

Recently, I was on a few different online forums reading various discussions about people who were in the process of un-mounting their wood stamps.  The ongoing discussions included people sharing ideas of how to possibly reuse them.  While none of the ideas really spoke to me, the discussions did instead spark me to brainstorm my own ideas.  Today’s project, “Recycled Stamp Art” is one of my several brainstorm of ideas.

My vision and intention for today’s idea was to artfully arrange select images inside a frame or onto a board or canvas in a collage style.  So on my next stop to Michael’s, I perused their framing department for ideas.  There were several beautiful frames but all seemed a bit over the top.  I moved on and continued to browse the store’s various departments and came across a viable option in the art department.  The end cap display had various sizes of unprimed wooden cradle boards 1 inch deep. I checked the depth using a wood block that I brought with and the stamp block sits slightly higher than the frame of the board.  I thought that this would be a great option to try.  I selected the largest size they had, 16X20 size, and purchased it using a 50%off a regular priced item coupon.

A few days later when I had ample time, I resurrected my lonely box of unmounted wood stamp blocks from the basement and began to sort through them and selected a few favorite images. This was more challenging than I anticipated as I liked them all.  After I selected my desired images, I artfully arranged them.  This turned out to a complex jigsaw puzzle.

After I was pleased with the arrangement, I had the idea to add a splash of color to a few for added interest. I colored select images using Distress Markers.  I then decided to add additional dimension to the collage by mounting select images to an additional block underneath. While this added additional weight to the already heavy piece, I was pleased with the added dimension.

Next, I decided to paint the board a matte black using acrylic paint to match other frames that I currently have. Once dry, I applied hot glue and mounted the stamps. Early in the process, I found that the hot glue was not adhering as firmly as I desired. So I instead decided to try double sided sticky tape. This worked well and held each block securely in place. After I completed adhering each stamp block, I attached 2 sawtooth hangers on the backside of the board for hanging. This piece is heavy and will need to be hung to a studded wall for sure.

Overall, once the images were selected, the process to complete this collage was fairly quick and easy.  I liked that I was able to re purpose  my wood blocks.  I also would like to tell you that I intended to have this collage coincide with the topic of how I store my stamps. I have quite a system that requires more time than I have today to be comprehensive.  I would also like to forewarn you that I likely will not post again till early next week as I have one more large section of my deck yet to stain, a graduation party to attend, and a few remaining decorative containers to plant. Don’t despair, in addition, behind the scenes of Scrap N Grow, I am diligently working on completion of Tim Holtz’s June Tag of 2012, Studio L3′s Compendium of Curiosities II challenge, and die cutting a giant poppies bouquet .  Lots of great projects are forthcoming, I hope that you will stay tuned.  Thank you for stopping by and I hope that you will visit again soon.

Michelle