Diecutting transparencies and more

Torrey left to go back to Texas last Saturday....but I still have videos! This is the last one and she is going to answer your questions about diecutting transparencies. Of course, if you still have questions, just post them here and we'll do our best to answer them!



Youtube link

Here's the sizzix daisy - look how well itcut the lines:

The edge of the nestability circle:

The nestabilities inked with alcohol inks


The quickutz ballerina - just look how clearly it cut the face:

  The inked stencil from the ballerina - not shown up close in the video but I know I can do something with this!

This is the ballerina that Torrey inked on plain typing paper, using alcohol inks from the stencil she made above:

And yes, you can cut any "plastic" this way.  If your plastic is soft/flexible it is going to be less likely to cut with your thin rule dies.  But if it's like regular printing transparency sheets - it will cut just fine if you build the sandwiches like Torrey shows in the video.

Now, go thumb through the Lucy McGoo manuals and let us know what you'd like to see in video format.  We'll make a list and put together more videos in the future.  Hope you have enjoyed these!!

Opals on copper and transparencies

I'm starting to think you can just put opals on everything!!! First up - on transparency. Laserjet or inkjet, doesn't matter. Just lay it flat, rub a versamark pad over it, sprinkle on the opals, heat it with your heat tool. Them immediately, while still warm, run it thru your cuttlebug with an embossing folder. I put some fantasy film behind these just for fun - but excellent backgrounds!!!



That one was green and blue opals. The next one is blue and pearl (new) - love this combination!



Next experiment was copper. We ran a piece of copper thru a cuttlebug folder. Then ran the versamark over it and dusted on a pale mint green shade of opals. When you heat set that, it looks like an instant patina! Next, we ran a green stazon pad over it and heat set that, then fingerpainted stickles on top of all that. Pretty fun!



Do you have the latest cuttlebug embossing strips? For borders and envelopes, but we put one on copper, used green opals over it and then patina stickles - just too cool!!!



And for the last background, copper, red inks with black stazon on top of that and a mixture of stickles on top of that.



What amazing backgrounds we created with just opals, stickles, copper and/or transparencies. Are you starting to see how my brain operates? I just start with one product and then add another on top of that, add a 3rd or 4th product...just keep experimenting. The results last weekend were just incredible!

And check back as there's more to come!!!

Transparency art

This is just pretty cool! Emboss a transparency inside a cuttlebug folder:



Pounce alcohol inks all over it. I used Stream, Cranberry and Lettuce. Let that dry a couple of seconds, then rub the jet black archival ink pad across the top. The black ink will stick to the embossed letters and turn them black:



Next, take a cigarette lighter and singe the edges. They will turn black, no need to worry about inking them. Adhere to cardstock using glossy accents.



And the more you play with different colors of alcohol inks and archival ink pads, the more fun you will have!

2008 CD Calendar

I'm having such a great time with ditigal stuff, but I'm planning to switch back to paper for my 2008 calendar. However, I'm looking for opinions comparing these 2 types of calendars before I move forweard.

This first one is a calendar that I purchased from Scrappers Guide. It's a transparency and I pulled it in over a piece of paper that I designed.



This next calendar was created in excel in a table, converted to a jpg, and then changed to a transparency. A whole lot more work, but I think I like the boxes for each calendar date. Could give me a little space to write things inside the box.



Converting a black and white photo to a transparency was a bit tricky, but for those of you who like to try new things, here's my instructions:

Open a black and white jpg photo in Photoshop CS3

Click on the background eraser tool
Set the brush to 130 pixesl (use a round brush)
Click on "sampling continuous"
change limits to "discontiguious"
Set the tolerance at 12%
And click the box to protect foreground color

Then "paint" the entire picture with your brush. It paints all the white areas to transparency. It's a pretty cool way to do things. You can then drag the transparency on top of something else to get a fun new look



I'm off to play with this technique tonight...just to see what kind of collages I can make using old photos. Should be fun! Oh, and stay tuned, I'm working on a pocket filled, action packed, interactive calendar for 2008. Just the thing you will want to carry around to keep track of your play time!!!