Saturday 15 September 2012

Hero

Ever since discovering that Simon Says Stamp and Show's theme this week is "Hero", I've had that old 80s Bonnie Tyler song playing in my head. Aaargghhh. :-) I like a good, old-fashioned hero myself, so here's "The Professor"...

"Inside"

The basic construction is a book card. The background panels are made using the resist technique, and the "stamps" are a bit unusual since all the "stamping" was actually done with parts salvaged from an old tape dispenser!

"Background stamps are parts from an old ds tape dispenser"

There were some great cog & gear shapes and odd circles, and I also used some straight edges. Each part was pressed onto a clear versamark inkpad, stamped onto white card, then heat-embossed in white embossing powder. After embossing, the card is inked using Tumbled Glass and Milled Lavender distress inks with some Chipped Sapphire and Dusty Concord around the edges. You can see the background quite well on the front cover.

"Front cover"


The sentiment is stamped in black archival and heat-embossed in clear. The professor himself is stamped in black archival, then a paintbrush dipped in water used to "faux bleach"his face and the front of his shirt for some highlighting.

The balloon is stamped separately onto scrap white card and heat-embossed with blue glass embossing powder, then inked with Milled Lavender and Dusty Concord before carefully cutting out with scissors and craft knife, shaping, and mounting with Pinflair onto the front of the card for some added dimension. The struts are quite hard work to cut without breaking them - you need a good, sharp knife. An alternative method would be to stamp the balloon straight onto the front of the card, and just cut the balloon and basket to place over the top.

A few watch parts are added to the background with Matt Multi Medium (this stuff is great for adding tiny bits since it doesn't leave any glossy smears on your work!)

"Inside left panel"

I just love this Paper Artsy stamp set! I wanted the whole project to look really industrial, so have used a ribbon that resembles a silver chain for the binding, to hang the sign from (together with some metal eyelets from an old 1970s fabric set), and as a "road surface" under the tyres.

"The car"

Every self-respecting hero needs a car and a pretty heroine to scream and feint whenever trouble beckons (or kick ass, whatever takes your fancy :-).

"The car, dimensional view"

The car is stamped and heat-embossed a few times using black and blue glass embossing powders, then cut, shaped and decoupaged using Pinflair to separate the layers. The windscreen area is filled with glossy accents, and I found two hemispherical glass shapes that make fabulous 3d headlamps.


"Man and Machine"

 So this is the machine with which the Professor transports himself to that parallel dimension. It was stamped onto the background using black archival ink, then stamped again onto scrap card and various pieces cut out and decoupaged for extra dimension. Lengths of silver thread are used for the balloon struts and chains around the pulleys; lots of watch parts are added as gears and cogs; all the parts are stuck with matt multi medium. A gold aquamarker was used to add a little colour to parts of the machine.That chap really reminds me of my Dad - is that weird? lol! I've left him pale and mysterious like all the best heros should be :-)

"Inside right panel"

The back panel is fitted behind the book construction before gluing into the book card, then a length of clock spring is coiled amongst the book "pages". The top border is decorated with more of that chain-like ribbon and some washers and watch parts.

"Parallel World"

This "parallel world" features purple grass (eyelash ribbon) and a weird industrial landscape (Tim Holtz Townscape die cut with wire chimney emissons). The distress ink on the houses is graduated light to dark from right to left for shadowing, and some extra highlights added with white ink pen.

"Box"

I don't often blog this, but I usually make a box for the dimensional cards using the same cardstock. The top is decorated with card left over from the background sheet, and the box is lined with tissue paper stamped with matching stamps in black archival. A bit of matching ribbon finishes the whole thing off. I didn't make this card with anyone in mind, so have left the label blank for now.

Ingredients:
stamp set: Paper Artsy Hot Picks HP1106
Sizzix Tim Holtz On The Edge Townscape
parts from ds tape dispenser
versamark ink pad
embossing powders: white, black, blue glass, clear
archival ink: jet black
distress ink pads: Tumbled Glass, Chipped Sapphire, Milled Lavender, Dusty Concord
cardstock: purple 300gsm, white 160gsm, white 300gsm, silver holographic
Letraset Aquamarkers: gold, silver
2 glass hemispheres
watch parts & washers
eyelets from an old 1970s fabric set
ribbon: silver chain, purple eyelash
thin wire
silver thread
adhesives: glossy accents, Pinflair, PVA, matt multi-medium

Entered for the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp and Show - Hero
Top Tip Tuesday - Recycle it (washers, watch parts & stamps from old ds tape dispenser)
Sweet Stamps - for the guys
Dream Valley - Something Old (washers, watch parts, stamps from old ds tape dispenser, inks), Something New (Paper Artsy stamps)
By The Cute & Girly - Boys / Men September Challenge

27 comments:

  1. Izzwizz...this book card is amazing! WOW! Thanks so much for the link to your tutorial. This looks like something really fun to try. I'm not a card maker...so you KNOW that I'm really inspired by your piece! :) Love all of your backgrounds and then your stampings over them. The man and machine interior page of your card...that just blows me away with all of it's detail and creative thought. WOW. Even the BOX that you made to put this card in is fantastic! LOVE LOVE this! Thanks for sharing your talent with us at Simon Says Stamp and Show. <3 Candy

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  2. OH MY GOODNESS!!!! The book card and holder are FABULOUS Izzwizz! Love the colour combo, and how you used an old tape dispenser as a stamp...brilliant idea that I need to try in the future!Thanks so much for joining us at Simon Says Stamp and Show!

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  3. Great, unsual book card, do like the theme. DC blog hop xx

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  4. A really fabulous project - love it! Sarah x

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  5. Great and unusual, love your thinking outside the box for stamping.

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  6. This is amazing Maddy. I can see how much thought and work you have put into making this. it must have taken you ages to do but definitely well worth it. I love every single detail.
    Take care
    Hugs Sue

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  7. Hi again Maddy, the die wasn't too bad to cut out but did have to go through the GC a couple of times.

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  8. fantastic work,i do love the car.
    the whole project is gorgous.well done.
    sue xx

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  9. Fantasic work, and an amazing project! Phyllis xx

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  10. wow super little creation izzwizz ... you have put a lot of hard work into it ... love all the little bits you have added ... very ingenious (don't know if the spelling is right but you know what I mean lol) ... thank you so much for visiting my blog and leaving a lovely comment ... have a great weekend ... happy crafting and love sandy xx

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  11. Extremely stunning creation! WOW! x

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  12. A fab project. And what a brilliant idea to use old household items to create backgrounds.
    Heike xx

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  13. Such a lot of work in this, its fab.

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  14. Hey Maddy...Thanks so much for you sweet comment you left on my blog about this hero challenge. Your book card is awesome!! I really am in awe of it! <3 Candy

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  15. fab book card love all the work you have put into it Tracy x

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  16. Fantastic, very creative :-) Elaine xxx

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  17. What a fab project - love all the detail
    Linda xx

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  18. Fantastic creation, love it!!
    Anne x

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  19. Wow, how wonderfully creative is this!!! I'm so glad you shared it with us at Top Tip Tuesday for our Recycle It challenge. Fantastic project! Hugs

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  20. Wow, this is wonderful just love it.
    Happy blog hopping Kaz.xx

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  21. This is such a fabulous project! Many wonderful ideas. How clever to use the old tape dispenser parts for stamping. Love all the special details. The car looks awesome and great idea to use the townscape. Thank you for sharing with us at Simon Says Stamp and Show!

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  22. Love, love, love it! Great idea stamping with the found objects...can I throw anything away anymore?? Congratulations over at SSS!

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  23. O you are like me...I can`t trow away anything! Awesome project with a lot of creativity! Congratulations for top 3!
    Hugs from Slovenia

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  24. This piece is amazing! The techniques are great and I love how each image is part of the story. Congrats on making top 3 at SSS! =)

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  25. WOW! Fantastic technique - Love it! What a great way to reuse your tape dispenser :) Amazing card too - so detailed.
    Thanks for joining in with us over at Top Tip Tuesday for our 'Recycle it' challenge :)

    Carol x

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  26. Wow I absolutely love how you've used the backside of an old tape dispenser to make this project. Love the male theme and design too. Thanks for playing at Top Tip Tuesday and good luck. Hope to see you back tuesday for a new challenge. Bettina xx

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Thanks for leaving a comment, it's nice to know I'm not just talking to myself :)