Design Team, Author at Ann Butler Designs

January 12, 2015 By Design Team 3 Comments

Creating a Card with Up-cyced Cardstock

anniversary card

Hi, and welcome to the Ann Butler Designs blog. This is Roberta and I am happy to share a card I made for my husband for our anniversary yesterday, 16 years together and where has the time gone?

Using Ann’s new background stamps makes paper crafting, and making cards super easy.

I chose the ColorBok card stack because I’ve had it for a while (I’m honest) and it has many coordinating items, including stickers.

Instructions:

I cut my cardstock to create a 5×7 card. I chose a light pattern so I could use all my luscious inks and show off my stamp.

cardstock before ink, stamp, and watercolor

Blending several inks together,I distressed the front of the card.

Next, I inked up the chunky stamp with aquamarine to stamp down the right side of the card. I left a 1″ space to insert and glue a reverse-colored piece of cardstock to add contrast. ( I painted it with the inks)

Next, I chose the floral and butterfly graphic to fussycut and watercolor with Ann’s inks, and glued down once it was dry.

The fourth layer involved cutting out the beige flowers from the cardstock, gluing it down, and then attaching the single butterfly and sentiment sticker.

: layering

As a final touch I used the DecoArt gold paper effects (with special tip which is included with the bottle)

Ingredients

ColorBox® Ann Butler Background Basics quilt-themed stamps
ColorBox® Ann Butler Crafters’ Ink, Aquamarine, Limelight, Night, Lilac
ColorBok cardstock
DecoArt Paper effects, Vintage gold
Clearsnap® ink blender
ektools clear tacky glue

Thank you for stopping by today and I hope I was able to inspire you.

January 7, 2015 By Design Team Leave a Comment

Stamped Zipper Charger Pouch

Happy New Year everyone! It’s Carmen here today and I wanted to share with you a cute little zipper pouch that I made to hold my phone charger neatly in my purse. I made my own patterned fabric by stamping Ann Butler’s lovely stamps onto smooth white Roc-Lon fabric. Lucky me I just happened to have a polka dotted zipper in my stash – I knew I’d find the perfect project for it one day! This little pouch is super quick to make especially since I didn’t inset the zipper but instead just stitched it right on top with all the extra bits which you’d normally hide still showing.

Here’s how:

Materials:

Ann Butler’s Faux Quilting Stamps – 2″ Dots

Ann Butler’s Colorbox Background Basics Stamps by Clearsnap – 3″ Diamonds

Clearsnap Colorbox Crafter’s ® Ink Pad – Night

Roc-lon® Multi-Purpose Cloth™ – 12″ x 6″ piece

Coats & Clark Fashion Zipper – 7″ polka dot

Tools:

Acrylic stamping block, iron, sewing machine, thread, pins, Westcott Brand Scissors, paper towels

Instructions:

1. Use the 3″ diamonds stamp black ink on one side of the fabric. Stamp one row with the 2″ polka dots on each short end of the back of the fabric.

2. To heat set the ink, put a clean paper towel on the stamped fabric and iron the fabric using a high heat setting. Repeat for the back of the fabric. Place the fabric with the diamond pattern face up and fold over 1″ of each short end and press to flatten.

3. Fold over the short ends towards the center of the fabric rectangle leaving a 1/4″ gap. Pin in place. Stitch 1/4″ seam down each short end.

4. Trim the corners and turn the pouch inside out so that the diamond print is on the outside.

5. Pin the zipper onto the front of the pouch, aligning the teeth so that thye fall within the 1/4″ gap of the pouch.

6. Wrap the zipper around the back of the pouch and pin. Stitch the zipper in place. (This will be a little tricky but take your time and it’s ok to stop and adjust the fabric so that you can stitch all around the zipper.)

That’s it! Try making these with other Ann Butler inks and stamps for totally different looks. I’m already thinking one using Ann Butler Limelight and Berry inks. These also make cute little gift card holders! Enjoy!

January 3, 2015 By Design Team Leave a Comment

Christmas Cards- for the next year…

Holidays are over, but I still have a small tutorial made for Ann Butler’s blog with her new , just released products and there is always a new Christmas next year…

So here we go.

Make a basic card and then trim a matting a bit smaller than the basic card.

Use Ann Butler’s new Clearsnap Wave Art Screen vertically with light texture paste and make some lines over the card.

Add gold glitter over the wet paste and heat emboss with your heat gun.

Ink the wooden tree with Ann Butler’s Evergreen new Clearsnap Crafter’s ink; add Clearsnap Clear embossing powder and heat emboss the tree.

Cover the star and the bulbs with red glitter glue and let it dry.

Ink all card pieces with clear embossing ink and heat emboss with the same embossing gold glitter.

Arrange the card and be proud of your fast made Mixed Media card.

My second card was made with the same techniques, but with another new Ann Butler’s Art Screen from Clearsnap- Stars one.

On this card I used another non glitter gold embossing powder and made the same golden edges over each paper piece.

The wooden swirl was ink with Ann Butler’s new Canyon Clearsnap Crafter’s Ink and then all pieces were added together to this lovely golden Holidays card.

December 29, 2014 By Design Team Leave a Comment

Layered Stamped and Stenciled Card

Hi everyone! Paula here with today’s post. The holiday season is quickly coming to a close, and if you’re like me, you will need to send a few Thank You cards. Today’s project is just that – a somewhat simple card.

This card was created using the following supplies:
-2 pieces of 8.5″x11″ cardstock – 1 black and 1 white
–Ann Butler Faux Quilting Stamps 2″ Stripes. Dots. Hearts.
–Colorbox SurfaceZ ink in Black
–ColorBox® Art Screens – By Ann Butler in Lattice
–AdTech Crafter’s Tape
–ColorBox® Art Daubers

I started with a 4 1/4″ x 5 1/2″ card base in white. This card is really just black stamped white cardstock, mounted on black cardstock, in layers. The first step was to use Ann Butler’s Art Screen in Lattice design to create a background. For me, it’s a bit easier to tape down the screen, as to not allow it to move around. Depending on the size of your piece that you’re stenciling, you can also put a small piece of tape under the cardstock, so that will not move either.
Using the ColorBox Art Daubers and a sponge, I inked Colorbox SurfaceZ black ink all over the art screen, onto the cardstock.

Next, I took various sizes of white cardstock and randomly stamped dots and stripes, again using black ink. After each piece was stamped, I used the ink pad and rubbed it around each edge. This will make the edges a bit more distinguished. Then I rub the ink pad across the cardstock, to give it a more distressed look.

The last steps are to mount the white stamped images onto black cardstock, then adhere each piece to the base.

The final step is to choose your sentiment, stamp onto white, then mat with black.
As I said, that’s it – pretty simple, but a classy card to show your appreciation and thanks for all those gifts!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day!

December 26, 2014 By Design Team 1 Comment

Mixed Media Stitched Layered Heart ATC

Hello Crafters!

We hope you all had an amazing Holiday time with your family and loved ones!

Zoey’s here today to show you a quick and easy way to add texture to your project without adding too much bulk or too much dimension! The post will be slightly long, so please grab a cup of coffee and enjoy!!

ATC made with Unity Stamp – Faux Quilted Stamp by Ann Butler

To create this ATC here’s what I used :

Ann Butler’s Crafter’s Inks by Clearsnap
Ann Butler Designs Faux Quilting Stamps
Ann Butler’s Iridescents by Earth Safe Finishes
Beacon’s Premium Tacky Glue

So let’s see how I created it…
Remember, in this post where I told you I never used Ann Butler’s crafter’s Inks by Clearsnap as watercolor? well… I loved the result so much that I used again on this project!

I added some gesso over an ATC size cardstock and let it air dry.
Meanwhile, I smudged some Crafter’s Ink in the color Tangelo and Sunshine over my acrylic block and I added some water and let it sit for a couple of seconds. Then I grabbed another piece of white cardstock (non gessoed) and I put it over my two colors pressing it with my fingers to make sure the ink soaked into the paper.

ATC made with Unity Stamp -Faux Quilted stamp by Ann Butler (step1)

I lifted the paper and heat set it quickly with my heat gun. I wanted to add a bit of texture to my background, so I grabbed one of 1″ Doily Picnic Faux Quilting stamps by Ann Butler and inked it well using again Ann Butler’s crafter’s Inks. Since I didn’t want to have square stamped image, I also took a piece of cloth and cleaned carefully the edge of the stamp.

ATC made with Unity Stamp -Faux Quilted stamp by Ann Butler (step2)

I repeated the same process using the Tangelo color aswell. And here’s the result :

ATC made with Unity Stamp -Faux Quilted stamp by Ann Butler (step3)

From this background I created I cut off two heart shape. Then I decided to add more texture by adding some more color on the edge of the hearts. I smudged some ink over my Kraft Sheet added a bit of water and just let the shape “slide” into the colors.

ATC made with Unity Stamp -Faux Quilted stamp by Ann Butler (step4)

I let the heart shape air dry and while waiting I grabbed the ATC cardstock that I gessoed at the beginning and again, I smudged some color on the Kraft sheet, added water and with a brush I started coloring my background. I used again Tangelo and Sunshine.

ATC made with Unity Stamp -Faux Quilted stamp by Ann Butler (step5)

Then the background was way too similar to my heart shaped piece of cardstock, so I grabbed another Ann Butler’s crafter’s Inks in Bark color and added some brown to the background. I heat set the color then I grabbed a baby wipe and I removed some color from the Gesso. As you can see in the next image, the Gesso acted as resist for my color showing up a really cool (and textured!) background.

ATC made with Unity Stamp -Faux Quilted stamp by Ann Butler (step6)

With the same Bark Ann Butler’s crafter’s Inks and the same 1 ″ Doily Picnic Faux Quilting stamps that I used on the heart shape. I added some stamping to the background. Please note that I inked the stamp then stamped it two times on a scrap paper — so the stamp you see in the image is actually a 3rd generation stamp. I repeated the process for a couple of times using also the Tangelo and Sunshine ink pads.

ATC made with Unity Stamp -Faux Quilted stamp by Ann Butler (step7)

I didn’t take photo of me decorating the whole ATC , but what I did next was sewing the hearts to the background and add some staples and the ATC sentiment. Then I thought my ATC was done, when accidentally I saw peeking from the garbage (LOL) a piece of an old cardboard box. Well…I had to take it and I glued it to the ATC!
I used Beacon’s Premium Tacky Glue to make sure the two pieces were going to be glued very well! Then I let it sit for a couple of minutes and…

ATC made with Unity Stamp -Faux Quilted stamp by Ann Butler (step8)

…tada! The ATC is ready! Just a touch of Ann Butler’s Iridescents by Earth Safe Finishes for some shine! Here’s a couple of details…

ATC made with Unity Stamp -Faux Quilted stamp by Ann Butler (details)

The sentiment “Christmas Heart” is my wish for you all…that you keep your Christmas Heart all year around!
And that is all for today! I hope you had fun and got inspired…stay happy stay creative, till next time!

Ciao, Zoey

December 24, 2014 By Design Team Leave a Comment

Rustic Burlap Ornament Tag

First and foremost, merry Christmas! May you and your loved ones rejoice and enjoy each other’s company as you celebrate the birth of our saviour Jesus. Since these dates are also about sharing and giving to others, I decided to make a very simple but elegant project, perfect for Christmas gift bags or wrapped presents. I made an ornament shaped tag, embellished with a big burlap bow stamped with polka dots.

Supplies:
Ann Butler’s 2″ Stripes. Dots. Hearts Faux Quilting Stamps
Clearsnap Crafter’s Ink in Snow
Colorbox embossing powder in white
Beacon’s Premium Tacky Glue
Large natural burlap bow
Rhinestones
Leather textured cardstock in white and light brown
Gold string

This an easy tag to make, and the result is great. Personalizing your embellishments definitely, makes a difference! To make my ornament tag I followed these steps:

1. Stamp the premade burlap bow with a 2″ polka dot rubber stamp from the Stripes, Dots, Hearts set using white Crafter’s Ink.
2. Add white embossing powder on top of the stamped image and heat set with a heat gun.
3. Put together any die cuts you desire to create an ornament shaped tag, adhering them with Tacky Glue.
4. Add a piece of gold string on top of the tag.
5. Attach the burlap bow on top of the tag with Tacky Glue.

I hope you like this idea! Though all your Christmas presents must be wrapped and ready by now, this tag would work nicely for other occasions too. Thanks so much for stopping by and enjoy your day!

December 22, 2014 By Design Team Leave a Comment

Makin’s Clay Stars Necklace

Hey, crafty friends, Einat Kessler here with a fun project!

This time I decided to step out of my comfort zone and play with Makin’s Clay. The clay is versatile and is air dry so it is very easy to work with and you don’t need fancy tools. the only thing you do need is patience because it takes 24 hours to dry. This is a great project for girls and moms, for a birthday or for a friend. You can play with the colors and shapes and customize it anyway you like!

I started with Rolling out Makin’s Clay white clay to about 1/8″ thick on craft sheet using the roller tool. Don’t worry if your shape is not round because you will cut it later.

Then I used Ann Butler Designs Faux Quilted Stamps – 2″ Doily Picnic and Ann Butler Designs Crafters Ink by Clearsnap – aquamarine to stamp the clay. I pushed firmly to create a patterned texture but not too hard so it’ll not be distorted. Continue stamping, until the Clay is covered. I Cut three starts from the stamped clay with the Makin’s Clay Cutters Stars. I used two different sizes.

While working I decided to use only two stars. I added more color with a wet brush and the aquamarine ink.

I embedded some pearls in the clay and added glitter.

I also added some darker color to the edges with the Aruba ink.

Finally, I pierced the larger star both on the top edge and on the bottom edge, and the smaller star on the top. I let it dry overnight.

I inserted jump rings to connect the two stars to one medallion and thread blue velvet ribbon, circles ribbon and a chain to create the necklace.

Have fun creating!

Einat

December 3, 2014 By Design Team Leave a Comment

Create and Inspire Mixed Media Art

Hello my dear crafty friends! This is my new project made for Ann Butler’s blog and this time I made a fancy, stamped into clay card using Ann’s stamps and inks and Makin’s clay and tools.

Supply list:

Cardstock: Black

Stamps: Stripes, Dots, Hearts 2”, Doily Picnic 2”, Leave all over 2”- Ann Butler

Inks and reinkers: Aquamarine, Limelight, Berry, Sunshine, Lilac, Tangelo- Clearsnap

Crackle clear paint-

Stickers: Paper House Productions

Dies: Cardmaker nesting dies- Cherry Lynn Designs

Clay: Makin’s White air dry clay

Tools: Makin’s round cutters

Glue: Becon Zip Dry

How to make this card:

1. Make a basic card with black cardstock.

Cut a frame from thin chipboard. Cover it with clear crackle paint and let it dry. Apply brown ink over the crackle frame.

2. Stamp a few different stamp patterns into white air dry clay and cut circles of stamped patterns with different cutter sizes. Let the clay dry. Ink the dry stamped clay circles with 6 colors of inks and let it dry. You can help it a bit with your heat gun, but the air dry results are the best.

3. Arrange the mix of dry clay circles over your black base and glue them with good permanent glue. Becon Zip Dry glue is a perfect one for this matter. Add a few drops from the same colors of inks re-inkers and let it dry.

4. Glue the frame over your “art piece” and adhere the frame and the sentiment stickers as shown.

Hope that you liked my project and that you got some ” out of the box ” inspiration.

November 24, 2014 By Design Team Leave a Comment

Mixed Media Tag – Life is good

Hello Crafters!

Zoey‘s here again for another mixed media project!
If there is something that I love, that would experimenting new things (at least that are new for me!) ! I love to start my projects with one idea and then end up with something else because in the process, there is in the back of my head my little “talking cricket” that whisper to me “why don’t you try that!”.

To create this tag I used :

I started by smudging Ann Butler’s Crafter’s Inky by Clearsnap over an acrylic block. In the image you see I used Berry , Tangerine and Sunshine.

I spritzed over the acrylic block a bit of water, waited two seconds and the I let my piece of paper completely adhere to the block. I waited other few seconds to make sure the ink soaked into the paper completely. This was my first time trying to have a watercolor effect with Ann Butler’s Crafter’s Inky by Clearsnap…and I have to tell you that I was quiet impressed by the result I got!

I also wanted to give a really little detail by stamping with white ink and Ann Butler Design Faux Quilting Stamp. The result is very very subtle …but that was what I was looking for

I kept stamping using the same color ink and another stamp from Ann Butler Design Faux Quilting Stamps.

I cut my paper into a tag shape and then I wanted to experiment a little bit more. Since the first watercolor effect attempt worked just fine, I wanted to see if I was going to get the same result by applying color with a brush. And….yes! Even this time the result was what I was looking for. So I added color where the paper was white.

I was really happy with the result of this experiment, for me it was a new thing with this ink pads, and I really hope you will give it a try as well!
Here is a photo of a small detail. As you notice my edge are dark. To achieve this result all I did was applying color directly to the edge and then with a wet brush I let the ink blend into the rest of the paper!

And that is all for today! I hope you had fun and got inspired…stay happy stay creative, till next time!

Ciao, Zoey

November 21, 2014 By Design Team Leave a Comment

Mixed Media Happy Holidays Card

Hi Everyone! Paula here with today’s project. It’s hard to believe that the holiday season is upon us, but I have to say that I am really excited! It’s time to start thinking about cards! Ann Butler’s new stencils and new colors of Crafter’s Inks were just the right combination for me.

Here’s how I made this card:

1. I started by stamping the chevron pattern from Ann Butler’s 2″ Leaves All Over Faux Quilting Stamps in Colorbox Crafter’s Ink by Ann Butler in Canyon. This is one of the new colors and I LOVE it! I stamped this on watercolor paper and loved the effect!
2. Although I love the look, I wanted a bit more muted colors, so I started by sponging Colorbox Crafter’s Ink by Ann Butler in Sand, then again with Colorbox Crafter’s Ink by Ann Butler in Bark (also two new colors!!)

3. Next, I stamped a winter cottage scene onto ivory cardstock using the Bark ink. I chose a holiday sentiment and again, stamped in Bark. While the ink was still wet, I embossed with Colorbox Embossing Powder in Clear. Excuse the image, as I could not get a crisp photo of this. After embossing the image, I cut it out around the image itself. I wasn’t trying to be perfect, just not too close to the image.

4. Love this next step. Using Colorbox Art Screens by Ann Butler (NEW!!), I was able to make a “snow” theme on my card. This particular stencil worked perfectly. To get this effect, I used a watermark stamp pad, Colorbox Clear Embossing Powder, and Clearsnap Glitter in Winter Frost. I started by stamping the watermark stamp pad over the stencil in various locations (where I wanted my snow banks), then sprinkled with a mixture of the embossing powder and glitter. Then heated. I did this a couple more times to get the desired effect. To get the ‘snow glitter’ on the house rooftop, I used a blending pen, dipping on the watermark ink pad and then coloring over the area I wanted, then added the embossing powder/glitter , and heat again.

5. To make the snow “pop” a bit more, I sponged more Colorbox Crafter’s Ink by Ann Butler in Sand all over the card. The white snow will now really show up. I then added another stamped image in the corner of a couple redbirds on a pine branch. To do this, I used a blender pen, dipping on the ink pad, coloring the specific area of the stamp with one color, then the second color (colors used were the new Crafter’s Ink in Canyon and Crafter’s Ink in Deep Woods). Did I say I love these new colors??

6. Now back to the base of the card – the chevron design in Canyon. I added a piece of vintage lace, and sponged it in a bit of Bark ink.

7. I wanted a bit more of a distressed look, so I took my scissors and ran it along the edge of every individual piece. Some I ripped a bit more, some not so much. After distressing the edges, I did ink just a bit more around them.
Last step – just put it all together. I can’t wait to use these new inks and stencils again!!

I hope you enjoyed this card. Thanks for stopping by!