Tips & Techniques Tuesday: Color vs White.

Hi Stickle lovers!!  It's Chas and today I have a nice tip involving Stickles and paper.

When I apply my Stickles it's usually to make dots around my pages as an accent item. But, there are times when I want to add glitter to a stamped image or another embellishment. Do you color the image in first or do you leave it white and apply the Stickles to it?

I punched out a few circles in colored cardstock and white cardstock to show the difference:

See the difference between the two? The top row has a lot of the white cardstock showing, but on the bottom row you really don't see much of the color cardstock with the matching stickles on top of it. It blends in pretty well.

Here is a card that I colored a digital image with my Stickles for another team.

I, myself, really do not like the white showing in the background of the Stickles:

And here is an layout that I did that I used the stickles to color in stickers. (Say that three times really fast)  :)

But it is up to you ladies what color or colorless background you apply your Stickles too.

Hope you enjoyed this little tip from me today..

Star Spangled Stickles Blog Hop!

Welcome to the Star Spangled Blog Hop brought to you by the All that Stickles design team!

"Oh say can you see... by the gleam of Stickles. Oh so proudly we post, our patriotic projects" (if you sing it to the tune of Star Spangled Banner, we promise it makes sense ;)

In non-musical form: Today the All that Stickles design team has created a variety of patriotic-themed projects using our favorite sparkly embellishment - Stickles!

We have blog candy for those who are a follower of All that Stickles and leave a comment on every stop of the hop! Winners will be announced Wednesday June 19th at All that Stickles.

SK Digis

$6 Voucher

LoveBug Creations

$15 Gift Certificate

Scrapping Memories

10 Files of Winner's Choice

Bugaboo Stamps

10 Digis of Winner's Choice

Scrapping Fun with Tonya
3 Pack of Stickles

Your next stop is Ashley's blog.

Here's the complete lineup:

All that Stickles
Ashley

Tonya
Cathy
Ann
Cynthia
Karen
Julie

Chas

Thanks for hopping! :) Don't forget to check out our Distress Stickles Linky Party!

Distress Linky Party Inspiration!

Happy Saturday, Stickles fans! Today the design team would like to share with you some mid-challenge inspiration for our current Distress Stickles Linky Party!

All you have to do is create a project using Distress Stickles! The linky party ends next Friday, June 21st. Remember that our list of sponsors for the month can always be found on the sidebar of our blog. :)

And now here's what the design team has created for you!

Julie

Stickles Used: Bundled Sage & Worn Lipstick

Cynthia

Stickles Used: Peeled Paint

Karen

Stickles Used: Tumbled Glass

Hope to see you linking up! :)

Tips & Techniques Thursday: Embossing and Stickles

  

Hey ATS fans! Tonya here today with a great little tutorial using Stickles and an embossing folder to make a card background.   

For this technique, the Stickles need to be dry. I started by painting a 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 piece of cardstock with Antique Bronze Distress Stickles. 

I let it dry about 4 hours. That seems like a long time, especially when you're anxious to see the finished result! :) But, letting the Stickles fully dry before continuing really does help.  

Once the Stickles were finally dry (stupid humidity!), I ran the cardstock through an embossing folder. 

(When doing this, make sure that the pattern will be raised on the same side of the paper the Stickles are on - the embossed side).

My plan for this background was to have the Stickles collected in the recessed areas of the embossed pattern.  To do this, I sanded the raised areas.

 The sanding may not sand off all the Stickles, but it will remove a large amount. 

Lastly, I inked the raised edges and swiss dots with fluid chalk to highlight the pattern and the Stickles.

My finished card......

Think I will be giving this card to my hubby for Father's Day. I love how Distress Stickles, even though they're glitter, can be used on masculine projects!  =)

Tips & Techniques Tuesday: Ranger Color Palettes

Happy Tuesday! Today I wanted to share with you a fun monthly challenge I found over at the Ranger blog. :) Involving Stickles, of course!

Every month Ranger (manufacturer of Stickles) puts together a color palette using their products, most of which coordinate with one another. Then, they invite bloggers/crafters to create projects using that color palette and link up, and at the end of the month a few random winners are chosen. How fun is that?!

Here's this month's color palette:

Distress Stickles colors include: Aged Mahogany, Pumice Stone, Stormy Sky, and Chipped Sapphire. More product details can be found here in the original post on the Ranger blog.

I think this is such a fun idea and challenge! For me, coming up with a color combo can be hard sometimes if I'm unsure what papers to use. I love pre-created color palettes and find them super inspring. In fact, I even have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to color combos, with over 1000 pins!

This challenge runs through June 28th, and if time allows I'll definitely be linking up! We would love to see what you create if you decide to participate, too. :)

Have a great rest of your week, and don't forget to come back this weekend for our Star Spangled Stickles Blog Hop!

Distress Stickles Linky Party!

Welcome to this week's linky party at All that Stickles!

And don't forget about the prizes! Every month we will have multiple sponsors and multiple winners! Winners are not announced on a weekly basis, but rather on a monthly basis. The more times you link up, the more chances you have to win! Sponsors will be announced at the beginning of the month and then posted on the sidebar for the rest of the month, and the winners will be announced on the first Saturday of the next month.

Linky Party Rules & Guidelines

• Turquoise linky party is open from Saturday June 8th - Friday June 21st at 11:00 PM US CST
• Any project you submit must be linked to your blog or online gallery.
• Projects must be NEW, no backlinking, please.
• Number of entries per linky party is unlimited.
• You may link up ANY type of crafty project as long as it uses the Stickles color of the week.
• Projects not using the Stickles color of the week will be disqualified.
• You may use as many colors of Stickles as you'd like on your projects as long as the color of the week is included.
• Winners will be randomly chosen.

This week's linky party color is Distress Stickles!

Create ANY project using ANY type of Distress Stickles!

And without further ado, here's some inspiration from the design team to get those glittery gears turning!

Tonya

Stickles Used: Wild Honey

Cathy

Stickles Used: Broken China, Fired Brick, Shabby Shutters, Milled Lavender

Silhouette Elephant from Bugaboo Stamps

Ann

Stickles Used: Faded Jeans, Rock Candy, Scattered Straw

Chas

Stickles Used: Broken China, Mustard Seed, Spun Sugar, Bundled Sage

We can't wait to see what you create! Thanks for linking up!

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Tips & Techniques Thursday: Making Mixed Media, and Distress Stickles

Hi, its's me, Ann, from the Design Team at All that Stickles.  For today's Tips and Techniques, what  I am sharing with all of you is about using those awesome Distress Stickles in your Mixed Media. Now, for those of you who are not sure... Mixed Media is about making art using multiple forms of medias.  For example, a painter that uses more than one type of media on the same canvas, such as oil, pastel, and pencil is considered to be doing mixed media. Today the vogue is about taking scrap booking to another level by altering other substrates than just paper into more complex pieces, or by altering existing objects with various mediums. Then, there are those beautiful canvases that we can paint and glue and distress.... the possibilities are limitless. Basically there is no wrong way to do this.  Making Mixed Media is often the process of evolution many artists go through. We learn the basics, the how to's, what works with what, etc.  Then, the artist just gets this natural feeling of "hey there is more out there", and "let's see what else I can do with this...." Making any art is truly an organic thing.  Therefore, if you ever feel that you have learned everything you can about scrap book making, or card making, or any other craft, but you still want to create, then you just might be ready for this Mixed Media Art. Look out! You just might be an Artist!

Next week on the blog we have a Linky Party going on where we encourage our followers to post projects that show some and ANY Distress Stickles. Shhh! I wasn't supposed to tell you this!  The team members have also been busy creating some great examples to share with you, make sure to come back and check it out.

First, here is a picture of some of my handmade books and journals in and on which I have used Mixed Medias and sometimes stickles.  Because I like to antique my new creations I often turn to the line of Ranger's Tim Holtz Distress products, including the Distress Stickles.  For one thing, all the products in that line are all colour coordinated.  That simplifies things quickly.  So I can use the acrylic paints, the alcohol inks, the Dye ink pads, and of course the coordinating Distress Stickles, and voila I have mixed medias!

I tend to apply the distress or any Stickles for that matter over a dry, and usually as the final layer on my projects.  I use the Distress Stickles to high light or add some dimension to my piece.  Therefore, I want them to be seen, not covered up by another opaque layer.  For example, on my Art journal (book on the left with binder rings) I used some Antique Linen and Rock Candy Distress Stickles, sparingly. Just enough to put some glitter back onto some of the elements after lots of pushing and pulling with layers of paint and ink.  I put just a bit of glitter in some nooks and crannies because I wanted to give my journal an old book look with some fancy jewels and buttons from a long time ago.

In this example (above) I used some Walnut Stain Distress Stickles to enhance my attempt at making rusted metal.  In this instance I had put just too much of the Stickles, so I added some more paint to camouflage the shine but left the grittiness behind.  I also used the paints and inks from the Distress line.

On the page just above (which is a page from inside the journal on the far right in the first picture),  I used Worn Lipstick Distress Stickles on the pink elements.  Notice how it adds dimension but it is not too shiny, it looks more worn. On the green elements I added Vintage Photo Distress Stickles, this gives the rusted look.

Now if you are wondering just how many colours of Distress Stickles are available, check this list out, I got this from the Ranger Website.

Distress Stickles TDS28888 NEW! Barn Door TDS28895 NEW! Bundled Sage TDS28901 NEW! Chipped Sapphire TDS28918 NEW! Crushed Olive TDS28925 NEW! Forest Moss TDS28932 NEW! Pumice Stone TDS28949 NEW! Rusty Hinge TDS28956 NEW! Spun Sugar TDS28963 NEW! Stormy Sky TDS28970 NEW! Tumbled Glass TDS28987 NEW! Victorian Velvet TDS28994 NEW! Wild Honey TDS26334 Aged Mahogany TDS26457 Antiqued Bronze TDS24958 Antique Linen TDS26341 Black Soot TDS24965 Broken China TDS26358 Brushed Corduroy TDS26464 Brushed Pewter TDS26365 Dried Marigold TDS26372 Dusty Concord TDS24972 Faded Jeans TDS24989 Fired Brick TDS24996 Frayed Burlap TDS25009 Milled Lavender TDS26389 Mustard Seed TDS26396 Old Paper TDS25016 Peeled Paint TDS26488 Picket Fence TDS26402 Pine Needles TDS26563 Rock Candy TDS25023 Scattered Straw TDS26419 Shabby Shutters TDS25030 Spiced Marmalade TDS26471 Tarnished Brass TDS26426 Tattered Rose TDS26433 Tea Dye TDS25047 Vintage Photo TDS25054 Walnut Stain TDS26440 Weathered Wood TDS25061 Worn Lipstick

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The glitter in these stickles tends to be bigger than those in the regular line, which adds to its nostalgic feeling, just like the entire Distress Line.  I also find the glitter to be more subtle in its shine, which I love for my altered and distressed projects.

I hope that you enjoy this tutorial and are inspired to give Mixed Media a try.  Just use some stickles and have fun!  Thanks for viewing.

For more inspiration please visit my blog http://annmakes.blogspot.com