Blog - Ann Butler Designs

December 2, 2015 By Steph Ackerman Leave a Comment

Stamped Christmas Tags

Hi everyone, Steph Ackerman here today with some Christmas Tags using some wonderful stamps and inks from Ann Butler Designs.

With Christmas less than a month away, why not create some tags to add to those special gifts you will be giving this year. Using products from Ann Butler Designs, these tags were not only fun to create, they also came together quickly. Set them up assembly-line style and you’ll have them done in no time at all.

Supplies:

ColorBox Crafter’s Ink by Ann Butler – Canyon, Limelight, Deep Woods, Evergreen
ColorBox Background Basics Stamps – Picnic1, Checks1, Diamonds1
Spellbinders Dies
Rub-ons
Ribbon
Pointsettias

Begin by stamping office supply tags with a variety of Ann Butler Designs stamps and inks. I didn’t clean my stamps between inking so I had several tags with a mix of red and green inks. Then I inked the edges of the tags before continuing.

Using Spellbinders dies, I die cut an oval for each tag and inked the edges in a variety of colors. I found some Christmas rub-ons in my stash and placed them on the ovals. The ovals were then added to the tags with pop dots for dimension.

Pointsettias were added to each tag.

To finish, I inked ribbon with Limelight Ink before adding the ribbon to the tags.

Thanks for stopping by today.

December 1, 2015 By Ann Butler 1 Comment

Inking up with the Groove Tool

I received The Groove Tool by ART-C to try out in my studio so, I decided to try Inking up with the Groove Tool and my Inks. I must say I was pleased with the results. I gathered some of my ART Screens and Crafter’s Inks from Clearsnap…

Then I got 2 AA batteries to put into the groove tool. The tool is extremely lightweight and comes with 4 attachments: ink tip, brush tip, course sanding tip and a fine sanding tip.

I placed my Stars Art Screen onto a piece of white card stock then, I attached the ink tip (the tips just pop on and off) to the Groove Tool, dabbed it onto my Blueberry ink pad and turned on the tool. It is very quiet and easy to work with…I started at one corner of my ART Screen and moved in a circular motion downward.

I was able to ink up the entire area in one inking. I love how the ink shaded from dark to light, if you do not like this look you could simply go over the areas again, depending upon how much ink you put on the first time there may still be plenty of ink left to touch it up.

I can see lots of uses for this tool for blending inks also.

Since I work with resin quite a bit and had just finished a piece that needed a bit of sanding I thought I would try the groove tool on it.

The edges were a bit thin and needed sanding so I attached the course sanding tip and went around the edges of this Christmas ornament. I did have to hold the ornament in my hand to sand it, although for the photo I am just showing the edge I was going to sand.

I then attached the fine sander and lightly went around the edge again to finish it off.

This was easy to do and only took a couple minutes.

I think this little tool is a good addition to my studio and will be using it often.

November 30, 2015 By Design Team Leave a Comment

Precious Card with Faux Metals

Hello, my dear crafty friends and welcome to my post in which I make a precious card with faux metals using several techniques.

I stamped, heat embossed and die cut a lot to make this card and I just used one single metal embellishment- the word “Hello”.

So here is a small tutorial for you I made with full step by step photos.

1. Pick a few of Ann Butler Designs Faux Quilting (Unity) stamps 2” size and stamp them all, randomly, over a sheet of metal copper paper. Use VersaMark as your stamping ink and heat emboss each single square with a different metal embossing powder. I used copper, gold and silver powders, but you can add brass, bright gold, sparkling silver etc to get even more metallic shades.

2.Find a Puzzle die that is around card size (I used the very old Cuttlebug die, but there are a lot of similar dies around; you can also use your electronic die cutting device if you have one for this really basic shape.

3. Arrange the die cut pieces over a sheet of white metal cardstock with 3d foam glue.

4. As the next step make another small stamped piece and die cut a label from this piece. Die cut a larger label from the white cardstock too.

5. Arrange both labels over the card as shown. Add the metal Hello word and your fancy card is done.

As you can see you can so a mini album cover in the very same way; you can also use silver or gold cardstock as the base of your stamping and the result will be totally different.

Products used:

Ann Butler’s Faux Quilting stamps 2” – Unity

VersaMark ink

Metal embossing powders

Cardstock

Dies

November 27, 2015 By Larissa Pittman Leave a Comment

Merry Christmas Faux Quilted Card

Hello friends. I hope that all my USA friends had a wonderful Thanksgiving and my non USA friends had a wonderful Thursday. The stretch is on for Christmas cards now. Getting those last minute cards done and in the mail in the next couple of weeks.
Today I made a Merry Christmas Faux Quilting card using my favorite products from Ann Butler Designs.

I used:

Ann Butler Designs Iridescent Powders and Paints from Earth Safe Finishes
Ann Butler Designs 1″ Faux Quilting Stamps from Unity Stamp Co
Ann Butler Designs ColorBox™ Crafter’s Inks: Canyon, Limelight and Evergreen
White Cardstock
Scotch Adhesive
buttons
Merry Christmas Stamp

Instructions:

Use a piece of watercolor paper and painted lines of Iridescent Paints.
Stamp out four different stamp patterns onto a piece of white cardstock two times.
Cut each 1″ inch square.
Place each of the squares into a quilt pattern.
Adhere them to the watercolor paper with Scotch adhesive.
Add a sentiment Merry Christmas to the top of the card front.
Finish off the card front I added two red buttons to the center of each pattern.

I have said it before and I will say it again. I absolutely love stamping with these Faux Quilting stamps onto paper and cutting them out only to piece them together making a different pattern each time.

I hope you enjoyed my card today. Don’t forget to come back to see what our amazing Creative Team has in store for you. Also, check out our Facebook page www.facebook.com/annbutlerdesigns

Have a wonderful weekend.

Larissa

November 25, 2015 By Design Team Leave a Comment

Love Tag with Crafter’s Ink

Hello Crafters!

Today I want to show you how I create this tag using products from Ann Butler’s line.

Products I used are :

I started by using the Colorbox® Art Screens Lattice as stamp. To do so, I simply covered the stencil with Colorbox® Crafter’s Ink by Ann Butler Limelight and spritzed over a bit of water to let the color became a bit watered down. Then I simply turned over the stencil and used it as it was a stamp.

To add some more interest I used the same color with the stamp Colorbox® Background Basics by Ann Butler Diamond1 trying to cover the spots where I didn’t use the stencil. I let it carefully completely dry then I applied modeling paste through the Colorbox® Art Screens Lattice and set aside to dry.

While the paste was drying I used clay to make the frame– I of course used a mold to create it! I set aside to dry (it took less than 15 minutes over the heater) and then I colored it using the same Colorbox® Crafter’s Ink by Ann Butler Limelight.

The sentiment is a die I had in my stash, I used the Colorbox® Background Basics by Ann Butler Diamond1 and Colorbox® Crafter’s Ink by Ann Butler Aquamarine to add some stamping, then with a brush and the same color I added some more color where the stamp didn’t came out perfect (this only because I stamped the sentiment over a non flat surface…smart me! lol).

Then I assembled everything and I put a small photo into the frame and glued everything together. As final touch I used a black pen to draw some lines around the tag.

I hope you like this tag and that you have a great day!

Stay happy, stay creative…till next time!

ciao Zoey

November 20, 2015 By Beth Watson 1 Comment

Crafter’s Ink Stained Gift Box

The holidays are fast approaching and I always like to present a gift in a handmade container, especially gift cards. It provides you the opportunity to give a generic gift card in a personalized gift box – elevating it to the next level!

I have recently discovered that Colorbox® Crafter’s Ink pads by Ann Butler can be used to stain wood – SWOON! This opens up a whole new world for me in moving beyond fabric and paper with my ink pads and stamps!

Now on to my project…

In a well-ventilated area, spray painting the outside of a craft store octagonal wooden box with Wood Tone Spray Paint, let dry.

Place craft store balsa wood slats on a protected work surface, (like an old towel) mist lightly with water and apply Colorbox® Crafter’s Ink by Ann Butler: Ocean Breeze, Limelight, Blueberry, Deep Woods, Evergreen and Aquamarine in sweeping motions. Let ink dry completely. To achieve darker tones, mist and apply a second layer of ink.

Apply Tombow Xtreme Adhesive to the back of slats and attach to the lid of the wooden box in a vertical pattern to follow the lines of the box.

Flip box over onto a self-healing mat and trim off excess with a craft knife.

Finish trimmed ends with Colorbox® Crafter’s Ink by Ann Butler and ColorBox® Art Daubers, to create a detailed application of ink to wood.

Create Faux Stitching on the top of your gift box with the NEW Colorbox® Background Basics Stamps by Ann Butler – Stitch Stamps and Colorbox® Crafter’s Ink by Ann Butler, Bark. I have to say that I LOVE these new Stitch Stamps, they are the perfect addition to Ann’s line of Faux Quilting stamps! Let ink dry completely.

Fill with some holiday cheer and give a Crafter’s Ink Stained Gift Box as the perfect gift for everyone on your list!

Check out the Ann Butler Designs Facebook Page for even more inspiration!

Thanks for stopping by! –Beth

November 18, 2015 By Design Team 1 Comment

Fall Stamped Burlap Wreath

Hi everyone! Tammy Santana here from the Ann Butler Designs Creative Team, sharing this clever way to create your own one of a kind Fall stamped burlap wreath.

I am using ColorBox™ Crafter’s Ink by Ann Butler Designs in the colors of: Deep Woods, Tangelo and Canyon

ColorBox™ Background Basics stamps by Ann Butler Designs: Picnic 2, Diamonds 2, and Checks 1

Other supplies:

Roll of burlap

Simple wired wreath form

$99 Store Fall decorations

Glitter cardstock

Tombow EXTREME adhesive Tape Runner

Twine

Mini clothespins

Here is a quick video showing you how to stamp the burlap:

Here is a quick video to show you how I added the burlap to the wreath form

https://youtu.be/_WjeU8Ub8ug

I added some $99Cent Store Fall decorations

I cut some glitter cardstock letters out to add to the bunting I made to drape across the front.

I cut bunting flags out of kraft cardstock and stamped with the background stamps and ink again to coordinate with the wreath. I attached the glitter cardstock letters with a Tombow XTREME adhesive runner. I attached each piece of the bunting to twine with the tape runner and added some recycled denim pieces for added color and texture. I attached the bunting to the wreath with a couple of mini clothespins.

And that is all, easy as can be and so cute! I hope this gives you some ideas for some burlap stamping projects of your own.

Please don’t forget to give my videos a thumbs up if they helped 🙂

November 16, 2015 By Design Team 1 Comment

Faux Quilted Christmas Tree Card

Hey crafty friends, Einat Kessler here with a new project! ’tis the season to be jolly…and make Christmas cards. Time is short and there are many cards to make so I’ve come up with a design that will be beautiful, festive but also fast.

Start by arranging all of Ann Butler Designs 2″ Faux Quilting stamps on an acrylic block. Squares and triangles will create a more detailed pattern. Then stamp on white cardstock with Ann Butler Designs Limelight Crafter’s ink by Clearsnap a few times to cover a large area. If you only have a few designs then simply stamp and repeat to cover more paper surface. Cut out three different sizes of triangle tree shapes.

Create a sky background on a white card base with Ann Butler Designs Aquamarine Crafter’s Ink and Aruba Ink by Clearsnap by using a sponge. Attach the trees to the card with foam tape, slightly overlapping to create movement.

Draw little stars on the top of each tree with Ann Butler Designs Art Screen and color with Ann Butler Designs Sunshine Crafter’s Ink. I also add some rays of light around each star. Finally I added Merry Christmas with a black pen.

In order to make a few cards simply cut more triangles and attach to your cards. Then add the stars, a title and you’re ready!

Have fun creating!

Einat

November 13, 2015 By Design Team 3 Comments

Ugly Christmas Sweater Card Video

Hello, lovely people! Heather here with my first post for the design team. Today I have anUgly Christmas Sweater Card Video. Below will be some pictures and my supplies I used as well as a link to my video. For more details on how I made this card click the link below to my video. I hope you all enjoyed this card and thank you so much for stopping by! Have an amazing day.

I used:

Here is a picture of the card front.

And a picture of the inside of the card.

Thank you for joining me today. Please don’t forget to give me a Thumbs Up if you enjoyed my video.

November 11, 2015 By Candice Windham 1 Comment

Puffy Stamped No-Sew Fabric Pumpkins

I have been in love with fabric stamping since I first discovered rubber stamping in the early ’90s. Being able to create your own custom fabric for your projects adds an extra bit of distinction, and Ann Butler’s quilt stamp designs give the perfect homey touch to autumn home decor.

Here’s how I did it:

Supplies

Ann Butler Design Background Basics Stamps (Clearsnap)
Ann Butler Design Faux Quilting Stamps (Unity Stamps)
Ann Butler Design Crafter’s Ink, Deep Woods and Tangelo (Clearsnap)
Broadcloth, orange and yellow, about 1 /4 yard per pumpkin
Acrylic block, 5″ x 7″
Double stick tape (Sookwang)
Hemp, brown, about 1 1/2 yards per pumpkin
Twigs, 1″ diameter by 3″ long
Beacon Fabri-Tak Adhesive
Black floral wire, 1/16″ diameter, 8″ per pumpkin
Polyester Stuffing
Silk leaves, 2-3 per pumpkin

Instructions

Cut fabric into rectangles twice as wide as they are tall. For fatter pumpkins, make the width wider. For taller pumpkins, increase the height.

Orange Fabric with Large Stamps

Place double-stick adhesive on your acrylic block and align two of the large stamps one above the other. This makes it much easier to get your lines straight. Stamp diagonally using Deep Woods ink. Repeat vertically to make one line of stamped blocks. Apply two different stamps to the block and repeat, aligning these stamps adjacent to the original stamps. Continue changing back and forth between the two images until you have filled the fabric.

Smaller Stamps on Yellow Fabric

Attach six of the smaller Faux Quilting Stamps to the acrylic block and stamp with Tangelo Crafter’s Ink, leaving about 1/2″ distance all around each impression.

Ink one of the Background Basics Stitching Stamps with Tangelo Crafter’s Ink and stamp in the spaces between the Faux Quilt Blocks.

Heat set the inks if desired.

Finishing

Fold down and press a 3/4″ strip along the width of the fabric and adhere with Fabri-Tak adhesive, placing the adhesive close to the fabric edge and leaving a 1/2″ unglued pocket along the edge

Fold the fabric along the long edge front to front, so that the back side is showing and apply adhere Fabri-Tak, creating a 1/2″ seam along the edge where the fabric comes together. Allow both glued seams to dry thoroughly.

Gather the unglued edge of the fabric and tie with about 6″ of hemp. Place a small drop of Fabri-Tak Adhesive on the knot to secure.

When all the adhesive is dry, turn the fabric so that the stamped side is facing out. Attach a small safety pin to the end of 12″ of hemp and thread it through the pocket along the width of the fabric, pulling the hemp until the edge is gathered loosely.

Stuff the resulting pumpkin with polyester stuffing until full. Pull the hemp tightly and tie it in a knot. Wrap the remaining piece of hemp around the pumpkin to create 4-8 sections, tying it at the top/bottom each time you wrap it.

Apply Beacon Fabri-Tak Adhesive to the end of the twig and push it into the top of the pumpkin.

Attach 2-3 silk leaves to the pumpkin around the bottom of the twig with Beacon Fabri-Tak Adhesive. Curl the floral wire into a spiral and wrap it around the twig base.

That’s it. Easy as pie, and you now have the beginning of a beautiful Thanksgiving centerpiece which can be used year after year.