Saturday, September 8, 2018

Spooky - Sizzix Alterations Ghoulish

Hello friends! Over the next few weeks I will start sharing some of the samples I created this summer for Tim Holtz Sizzix Alterations Halloween 2018 dies. These are limited edition dies just for this season so be sure and pick them up before they are gone.
This spooky card (4.25x5.5 inches) was made using the Ghoulish die set. It is made up of three classic Halloween ghouls and some bats. I added the new Halloween 2 Mixed Media set in the background. For the title I used the new Alphanumeric Cutout Lowercase alpha. It is a great size for cards.

This is how I made the background for this card.

As I mentioned in the video above, this nonstick mat portion of your glass mat is important when doing this Distress Oxide technique.
If you apply the Distress Oxides to the Glass Media Mat, when you spritz them with water, they immediately start to run together and the colors mix causing a lot of brown or muddied areas.  You can see on the right that the colors stay put and allow a better oportunity for layering color instead of just a muddy mess.
Above you see the colors on Alcohol Ink Cardstock (NOT Yupo) after one application and you can see the mixing is minimal on the mat below.
Once you have sufficiently layered the colors and dried them, you will see that the oxides makes a flat layer of white oxide on top of the once glossy Alcohol Ink Cardstock. To reveal it, you add a tiny bit of Distress Micro Glaze to a clean Blending Foam and then work it into the foam. Apply it to the top of the cardstock over the Distress Oxide. Then buff it off with a clean cloth.
You will be quite surprised to see how vibrant the Oxide Colors show through. This step not only returns the shine to the glossy surface, but also makes the background water resistant. You can now die cut it or stamp in it with Archival Ink.
The frame is from the Stacked Postage dies set. I cut out the stacked postage piece, then centered a Stitched Rectangle die that fit just inside the postage cut.
When I ran it through the Vagabond 2, it made a very thin frame. Just the perfect little bit of detail around the focal piece.
The background paper was made by applying Distress Oxide to Alcohol Ink Cardstock. Once dry you apply some Distress Microglaze over the top to make is shine. It's such a fun technique!
The paper for the vampire, bats and title is Distress Mixed Media Cardstock colored with Distress Oxides in Hickory Smoke with a little Black Soot.
The fasteners are Ideaology Ring Fasteners.
The last bit was to sew around the edges of the card.


3 comments:

ann barnes said...

It’s no secret I love your cards Tami, and this is no exception! The background with the micro glaze looks fabulous, the colors are so vivid and really set the tone for the super cool ghoul! The thin frame is a great detail too. I look forward to seeing more of your inspiring creativity! Thanks for sharing your tips and makes! 🖤

Nancy said...

I love the last three posts with Halloween designs (tea cups, skeleton, and vampire); the tips are great! I really appreciate the thought process of how and why you chose the particular techniques, how you combined old and new products and the creative layers. For me, I wish there was just a little more of the "why" choices were made in blog posts. I am continually trying to figure out why something works and why other things do not; I know the creative process is not an "exact science," but sometimes I wish it were so I'd have a formula/recipe to follow! All three are magnificently creepy and embody the Halloween spirit. Thank you for sharing the makes, inspiration, and tips!

Rea' said...

Thank you for all this cool background inspiration ( great tutorial )!