Blog - Ann Butler Designs

August 27, 2014 By Beth Watson Leave a Comment

Faux Quilted Monogram Necklace

With this project, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and see what I could create with Makin’s Clay. Ann works and designs for Makin’s and I had the pleasure of demoing for them at the CHA Winter 2014 Show. This clay is versatile. It is already conditioned right out of the package and since it is air dry, it is very easy to work with AND you don’t need a lot of special tools!

These necklaces are a quick and easy craft. Great project to make with a group of tween girls for a scout troop, birthday gift or sleepover party!

Now, on to my project…

Materials:

Ann Butler Designs Faux Quilted Stamps by Unity – 1″ Doily Picnic and 1″ Leaves All Over

Ann Butler Designs Crafters Ink by Clearsnap – aquamarine and Limelight

Makin’s Clay – White Air Dry Clay, Clay Cutters Round and Tools – Roller and Cutters Set

Non-stick craft sheet, acrylic stamp block, plastic zipper bag, damp paper towel, Craft Awl or Bead Reamer, Jump Ring, Needle nose Pliers, small monogram stickers – black and 24″ of black cord or lacing.

Instructions:

1. Roll out white clay to about 1/8″ thick on craft sheet using the roller tool. turn craft sheet as you roll, so your clay is as round as possible.

2. Place 1″ Doily Picnic stamp on block, ink with Aquamarine and stamp in center of circle. NOTE: I eyeballed the stamp placement through my clear acrylic block. Push firmly, but not too hard or your stamp pattern will be distorted in the clay. Continue stamping, until the circle of Clay is covered.

3. Cut two circles from the stamped clay with the Makin’s Clay Cutters 1″ Round.

4. Repeat steps using the 1″ Vine Stamp from the Doily Picnic set and Limelight Ink. Cut two circles with the Makin’s Clay Cutters 1/2″ Round.

5. Pierce each circle of clay at the top center with a craft awl or bead reamer. Set aside to dry overnight.

6. Open a jump ring, insert through two clay circles and close jump ring. Thread 24″ length of black cording or lacing through jump ring. Tie a loop knot at the end. Place monogram sticker on smaller clay circle, wear and ENJOY!

Thanks for stopping by! – Beth

August 25, 2014 By Vishu Reberholt 1 Comment

5 minute – Card Background

A sunny hello to everybody and I hope you all are enjoying the lovely outdoors…..couple week s ago we went on our first tent camping with the kids and we had a blast and so did the mosquitoes now only if they sucked fat instead of blood :). Since the summers are very busy and tough to find time for crafting today I want to share a quick card with you…..I had the most fun making this background.

Products used:

Ann Butler’s Faux Quilting Stamps – 2″ Diamonds and Plaid,

Ann Butler Colorbox Crafter’s Ink by Clearsnap: Tangelo, Aquamarine, Lilac, Limelight, Berry, Sunshine

white cardstock, spellbinder dies, rhinestones, vintage photo distress ink, momento black ink and clear embossing powder.

first I stamped the plaid image and heat embossed it.

then I kept adding the ink to jazz up the background.

Just loved how this background turned out and quickly put together.

Hope you enjoyed the project and thanks for stopping by…..

August 18, 2014 By Larissa Pittman 3 Comments

Monogram Coffee Wrap

Good Monday morning everyone! Larissa here with a cute little altered mini coffee cup.
These are the absolute cutest cups ever! I decided to make a little party favor out of it.

First off I cut pieces of pattern paper.

Then I attached it around the mini coffee cup with Tombow Mono Multi adhesive.

I then punched a tag out of Black cardstock. Then using my favorite
Ann Butler Designs Crafters Ink color “Berry”, I stamped the letter “L”
on a piece of white cardstock and cut it out.

I attached it to the black tag again using Tombow Mono Multi adhesive.

I then used small dimensional pop ups on the back of the tag.

I attached it to the outside of the cup.

I was wondering what to put in the cup. I thought maybe
chocolate covered coffee beans or something similar.
Then it came to me. It was the perfect size!

Hope you enjoyed today’s post. For more of my creations
check out my blog www.muffinsandlace.com.

Have a wonderful day!

August 7, 2014 By Design Team Leave a Comment

Faux Quilting Stamped Yardstick

Hi everyone! This is Carmen and today I wanted to share with you a super easy stamped project that is so fun to make – a stamped yard stick! When I was at the craft store a few weeks ago I found this plain wood yardstick in the sewing notions section and thought that it was missing a little pizazz and in my head “pizazz equals Ann Butler’s stamps”! Those one inch increments are perfect for the 1″ Faux Quilting stamps. It was a blast using all the different colors and stamps starting at number one and stamping all the way down the yardstick to number 36. I felt so victorious crossing that finish line!

Here’s how:

Materials and Supplies:

Ann Butler’s Faux Quilting Stamps – 1″ Diamonds and Plaid, 1″ Stripes/Dots/Hearts, 1″ Doily Picnic, 1″ Leaves All Over

Ann Butler Colorbox Crafter’s Ink by Clearsnap: Tangelo, Aquamarine, Lilac, Limelight, Berry, Sunshine

Plain wood yardstick

Acrylic stamp blocks

Heat embossing tool

Instructions:

1. Use a different stamp and color on each inch of the yardstick. You might have to stamp each design several times to build up the color if yardstick is particularly porous.

2. Heat set the inks when you’re done with the heat embossing tool.

That’s it! How easy is that? I keep my pretty new yardstick handy by leaning it against my desk but you can also tape it to the edge of a table and use it to measure fabric. Another cute idea is to use pieces of Velcro to attach it to a wall and use it as a growth chart for kids! Hang it one or two feet above the ground so you can continue to use it when the kids get big. Enjoy!

August 6, 2014 By Design Team Leave a Comment

EZ-De’s Stamps by Ann Butler Designs & COOL2CAST

Ann Butler Designs and Cool2Cast

I am still LOVING the COOL2CAST! (Available at Michael’s) I did a more simple project for the hop as I had not played with this fun product enough. Now I am not only addicted to Ann Buttler Stamps, but also COOL2CAST! Thanks so much Ann and Tiffany! So lets get started.

I bought a candy mold at a craft store. It is for an actual candy bar so it will break apart easy when I am done.

I started with the clear stamps. I used these as they are a bit thinner and I could lay them in the candy mold and not make it too deep.

This is the clear stamps placed in the bottom of the mold with the design side up.

Pour the COOL2CAST and let dry an hour. YES, ONLY ONE HOUR! They then pop out and finish drying completely.

This is how they come out of the mold. The stamps are still incased in the COOL2CAST.

All the stamps have been pulled out of the molds. The clear stamps work GREAT for this as they have some give to them and stretch without harming the image. Also you can now see all the rough edges so now it is time to clean up the dry tiles.

I used just a craft knife and a sanding Block.

Now I added the color. On this project I did use some brighter colors of refill inks!

I wanted to add some shine so added some Crystal Lacquer.

After the centers were dry I brushed more of the Crystal Lacquer onto the top and sides and let them dry completely.

Now I get to the pretty part! I used a burlap canvas, some ribbon, designer dries clear fabric glue, ribbon and my finished tiles.

I added the cool fabric/ribbon.

A close up of some of the textures.

One of the words up close!

This is the completed project! It is ready to hang on a wall or place on a small easel. I really like the textures and color. A fun and easy project thanks to Ann & Tiffany!

Happy Creating!

Kristi

July 30, 2014 By Design Team Leave a Comment

Faux Quilting Video- Stamping a Pinwheel Pattern

Please enjoy my Faux Quilting video – Stamping a Pinwheel Pattern, using my faux quilting stamps

What have I inspired YOU to do today?

July 28, 2014 By Beth Watson 3 Comments

Ann Butler Designs Faux Quilted Makin’s Clay Bowls

You all know that I have been ++ enthusiastically creating traditional style faux quilted projects that mimic actual quilt patterns. With this latest project, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and see what I could create with Makin’s Clay. Ann works and designs for Makin’s and I had the pleasure of demoing for them at the CHA Winter 2014 Show. This clay is versatile. It is already conditioned right out of the package and since it is air dry, it is very easy to work with AND you don’t need a lot of special tools! I have another project that I created with the leftover pieces of Clay that I will share on my blog next week, so stay tuned!

Now, on to my project…

Materials:
Ann Butler Designs Faux Qulited Stamps by Unity – 2″ Stripes.Dots.Hearts. and 1″ Leaves All Over
Ann Butler Designs Crafters Ink by Clearsnap – Lilac and Limelight
Makin’s Clay – White Air Dry Clay and Tools – roller and cutters set
Non-stick craft sheet, assorted bowls, plastic wrap, acrylic stamp block,
plastic zipper bag, damp paper towel.

Instructions:
1. Roll out white clay to about 1/8″ thick on craft sheet using the roller tool. turn craft sheet as you roll, so your clay is as round as possible.
2. Place bowl upside down on Clay and cut around rim with straight cutter tool. NOTE: place excess clay in plastic zipper bag with damp paper towel, so that it does not dry out.

3. Flip circle over and smooth any rough edges with your finger. Place 2″ Dots. stamp on block, ink with Lilac and stamp in center of circle. NOTE: I eyeballed the stamp placement because once curved you won’t notice the alignment. Push firmly, but not too hard or your stamp pattern will be distorted in the clay. Continue stamping, alternating between Strips and Dots until the circle of Clay is covered.

4. Place plastic wrap on bottom of bowl, place stamped Clay circle upside down on the bowl. Press gently with your hands, so that the clay forms to the shape of the bowl. Set aside to dry overnight.

5. Repeat steps with a different size bowl using the 1″ Vine Stamp from the Doily Picnic set and Limelight Ink.

6. Once bowls dry, fill and enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by! – Beth

July 26, 2014 By Ann Butler 46 Comments

Cool2Cast Ann Butler Designs Blog Hop Canvas

I am excited to be doing this blog hop with my Creative Girlfriend Tiffany Windsor and her fabulous product Cool2Cast. If you have not yet seen or tried Cool2Cast check out Tiffany’s YouTube Channel, it is filled with projects showcasing this Cool product along with how-to videos for getting perfect results.

I created this Mixed Media Canvas using the Cool2Cast and my Faux Quilting Stamps from Unity Stamp Company.

Here’s How:

I chose to use a heart silicone mold I found in the dollar section of a discount store to create my tiles. The one inch Faux Quilting Stamps fit into the top part of the hearts perfectly.

I mixed 2/3 cup of the Cool2Cast with 1/3 cup of water into a ziplock bag for about a minute. Then I cut a corner from the end of the bag and poured the Cool2Cast over the stamps into the mold.

I tapped the mold gently to remove a couple air bubbles and left the mold exactly where it was for one hour.

Then I turned the mold over and popped the pieces out.

The 4 hearts at the bottom of this picture were done without a stamp and came out perfectly shaped and smooth. The hearts that you see cracked are also perfect as they have the stamps in them, there is just a thin little layer of Cool2Cast that seeped under the stamp; to prevent this you can add a glue dot on the stamp before placing it into the mold. All I did was peel that thin layer away because…..

I knew I was going to be removing part of the heart to get the square shape of the stamps and that thin layer did not affect the cast of the stamp image. I was able to easily trim the excess heart away with a scissor right after I took them out of the mold to get the shape I wanted. I set those aside to harden overnight.

I used an 8″ x 10″ Canvas from Canvas Corp.

I added tissue paper with some Earth Safe Finishes Gel Medium and let it dry. Then I painted over it with Ann Butler Designs Iridescents in Limelight and let it dry.

I used PicMonkey.com to create the saying I wanted and then I printed it out onto Grafix Arts Vellum.

I pressed the top and sides of the Cool2Cast Quilt Squares I made into Ann Butler Designs Crafter’s Ink from Clearsnap in Berry then I heat set them with a heat gun.

After the squares were heat set I added a coat of Ann Butler Designs Iridescents in Berry to give them just a bit of shimmer. In the example photo above there are 3 Cool2Cast hearts, the first one is painted with one layer of Iridescents in Berry, to cover it nicely without a base coat it would take 2 or 3 applications. The second heart has the Crafter’s Ink in Berry, which is a matte finish. This would be perfect the way it is but I wanted just a bit of shine which is why I added the Iridescents over the the top, which is the third heart…..with the Crafter’s Ink as the base coat I only needed a light application of the Iridescents to give the heart the look I was going for.

Tiffany offers pre-cast pieces of Cool2Cast on the Cool2Cast web site and pictured above is one of those pieces, a beautiful heart which I painted with Iridescents in Limelight for the center and in Berry around the edges. At this point I was not sure which hearts I would use so I wanted to have them all ready when I assembled the canvas.

Once I was happy with the arrangement on the canvas I used a piecing tool to poke a hole in the canvas and vellum and placed brad in each corner to hold it in place. I decided to add just a touch of Crafter’s Ink in Night (black) onto the tops of each of the Cool2Cast Quilt Squares and the heart to give them some depth. Then I added some around the edges of the canvas also. I glued all of the Cool2Cast pieces in place.

Then I had the perfect silk ribbon to add to the bottom of the canvas.

I hung the canvas onto the wall with VELCRO® Brand Removable Picture Hangers.

I simply love how this turned out!

Since this is a Blog Hop Tiffany has put together an awesome prize package

of Cool2Cast items….to enter simply leave a comment here. For more chances to win and to see other great projects using Cool2Cast and Ann Butler Designs products check out the rest of the blog hop below and leave a comment for each of them.

Deadline for entering the giveaway is August 8th, 2014 at 11:59 pm.

Ann Butler (you are here)

Kristi Parker Van Doren

July 25, 2014 By Design Team Leave a Comment

Quilted Cards featuring Ann Butler’s Unity stamps

Roberta here, and today I am sharing Quilted Cards featuring Ann Butler’s Faux Quilting stamps.

I used a card kit that has been in my stash for years because it already has stickers ready to be put in a quilt.

Materials Used:

Create Your Own paper quilt Cards by Potter Style, Paper flowers from Creative Memories, Burlap from Maya Road, Clearsnap Black ink, Ann Butler faux-quilted stamps, Recollections sentiment stickers, Beacon glue

I started by stamping over the stickers from the kit: and then created my pattern. It was so easy! It was a great way to showcase different patterns from Ann’s faux-quilted stamps collection.

Sometimes it’s nice to be able to take shortcuts! 🙂

Thank you for joining me today and I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

July 23, 2014 By Vishu Reberholt 1 Comment

Stamped Faux Background Card

Hello Everybody! its vishu here today to share a project with you. It has been a while since I made a card so I thought of indulging myself with my love of cardmaking. Summer’s are busy time of the year as there are lot of activities to pack within the 12-15 weekends that we get and to top it kids are off. Today I have a fun, colorful and quick background to share.

Products I used

white, black and lavender cardstock from my stash

Ann Butler’s Crafter’s inks – Clearsnap

Ann Butler’s EZ De’s Easy Design Elements: Checkered Woven Hearts

Momento black ink

First I took the white cardstock and stamped solid square stamp EZ De’s Easy Design Elements: Checkered Woven Hearts in different colors using Ann Butler’s Crafter’s inks – Clearsnap.

Once the ink was dry I used the patterned stamp and inked over it the black ink and my background or should i say designer paper was ready.

here is my finished card.

Hope you enjoyed the project and now its your turn.

Thanks for stopping by……….