Seasonal Suspects
by Marylinn Kelly

When the Clearly Impressed collection entitled The Unusual Suspects debuted in August, I'm sure they seemed to be fair-weather friends...but in spite of their, shall we say, unique appearance they are Christmas traditionalists. Or as traditional as they can be, all things considered. Here are some ways they have thought to present themselves in order to be part of your holiday projects.

All images from the Un-Usual Suspects collection were stamped using black water-based ink on card stock of various colors. Please, use whatever suits your taste. I find the colored stock gives a somewhat different look to the Prismacolor pencil work, perhaps changes the mood. Tips for pencil coloring may be found in each set of stamps from the collection. All card sizes were chosen for demonstration purposes. Again, the samples are suggestions and I know your imaginations will add and invent to make any projects entirely your own.

Stuffed Paper Bag Characters

Characters are from the (M4753-Escape from the Toybox) stamp. Cut apart a sturdy grocery store paper bag so that you get enough flat pieces to do the front and back of each ornament you want to make. Stamp and color each image, cutting out leaving a bit of paper bag margin around the outside. Use that shape to trace a back piece to match, taking care not to have the market's printing show on the back of the ornament. Using Tacky Glue, start gluing each set of pieces together at the top - include the ears and a little way down the sides of their heads. Pinch together for a few minutes, then leave to dry. Using a chopstick or other pointed tool and small pinches of polyester fiberfill, gently begin to stuff each ornament, going through a process of gluing then stuffing, gluing then stuffing, until you reach the bottom. Glue that shut and pinch closed until it holds.. Glue a knotted loop of ribbon to the back for hanging or attaching to a gift. They could also be party favors.

Joy Balloons

Character is from the (M4754-A Knack for Accessories) and this suspect is called a quenda, an Australian marsupial, who really looks pretty much like this. He was stamped on a light tan cardstock, the letters added to the balloons by hand or stamping, then the image cut out and attached with foam tape to a purchased kraft/paper mache ornament, in this case a star shape but any shape will do. A narrow metallic tinsel garland was glued around the edge with Tacky Glue and the surface of the ornament colored in a sort of primitive way with white pencil, which also was used to fill in the space between the balloon strings.

Push Pin/Shrink Art

These, in any numbers and any possible Suspect images, would make unusual stocking stuffers or party favors. I work with pre-sanded translucent shrink plastic, one brand called Frosted Rough N' Ready from the original Shrinky Dinks people. An alternative to Rough N' Ready is Polyshrink (5LS-PS8/SM) from The Shoppe at Somerset. Because the Suspects, with a couple exceptions, would be very hard to cut out, I thought to put each one in a frame so the cutting would be simple and a good outcome more likely.

The samples were stamped with a water-based black ink but it tends to smear so you have to be careful of that. A good idea is to use a permanent, waterproof ink for stamping, just making sure that the pad is very moist to get a good impression. Space the images well apart on the sheet for you will be adding a frame drawn around each with a Sharpie Ultra-Fine black marker. For this I used some scrapbook templates of rectangular shapes, adjusted to fit each figure. Color hard - the colors intensify as the item shrinks - and cut out, right up to but not over the black outline. To have your shrink projects look their best, do not leave a border of un-colored plastic visible around the edge. A friend calls this “one of those things that makes me crazy.” Shrinky Dinks suggests using a conventional or toaster oven, pre-heated to 325 degrees. I use my regular oven - yes, toxicity has been mentioned but if that was the only toxin in my life...how lovely that would be. Use your own guidance. Shrinky Dinks suggests using a piece of brown grocery bag on the cookie sheet you use to bake...I have found that the paper sticks to the back, but I may be doing something wrong.

Place the pieces, colored side up, on the paper or the plain cookie sheet and place in the pre-heated oven. Bake approximately 1 to 3 minutes. After pieces lay flat allow an additional 30 seconds of baking to complete the process. Remove the tray and allow pieces to cool. When cooled, I sprayed the shrink art with workable fixative to prevent smearing, then glued each to the end of a push pin using Goop Crafters Glue (E6000 Industrial Glue also works well). You want a strong and permanent bond. Push pins were stuck into a kraft/paper mache ornament form for presentation, and could be wrapped in cellophane. Stamps used were the Disappointed Tourist (M4755-The Unicycle Lesson) , Dragon and Duck (M4756-Zoology 101).

Three Frogs/Bugs

(M4754-A Knack for Accessories) - using any Christmas sheet music or scrapbook paper that replicates it, spray mount it to plain cardstock. I cut out a simple - think elementary school Valentines - heart shape, traced it onto the cardstock, then cut out with pinking paper edgers. Grommets were added at the top to hang as a card or package tie-on and a sheer, easy-to-tie ribbon added. For stamping, I made a mask of the frog/bug, then stamped first the center figure, masking it to add his choir members on either side. They were stamped on green cardstock, then cut out and added to the heart with foam tape. They say, “Wishing you harmonious holidays.”

Celebrate Lady Card

Use the Celebrate Lady character from (M4759 Celebrate-Large). Images from the Clearly Impressed Swirls collection (M4748) were stamped with rainbow ink at the top of a cream cardstock, then the square from that set stamped at the bottom and slightly enhanced with turquoise and green pencil. Miss Celebrate was colored on and cut out from a yellow-cream stock and glued flat. (Glitter glue) was added to some of the swirls for festivity. The small trees were hand-drawn but could be stamped, done with a stencil, a punch or die cuts. She reminds us, “There is magic afoot at Christmas.”

Crying Girl and Cow Card

Using chraracters from No Ordinary Girls (M4750) and Zoology 101 (M4756) - first make a mask of the small crying girl on a Post-it sheet. Eyeball where she and the cow will need to appear on the card and stamp her first. Cover with the mask and then stamp the cow so she appears to be standing on its back.

By working on blue cardstock they both take on a bit of a blue hue.

The Christmas tree fragment was cut using a stencil (again, any means - including freehand cutting - will work) from Stampington's May Flowers art paper (5LEG-ARTIST2) Designed by Deandra Berry with art elements courtesy of Rande Hauson. The sad pair are saying, “It's a blue Christmas without you.”

Noel Star Person

Using the “They Could Be Magic” stamp (M4752) - the letters for N O E L may be stamped, drawn with a stencil, created from die cuts...many choices. These were from a stencil, colored with a bright green pencil. The star person, stamped and cut out, was first glued to Embrace paper by designer Nancy Oh from Stampingtons artist papers (5LEG-ARTIST1), then glued to the card, slightly overlapping the O. A small sheer ribbon bow in similar color was added for visual interest. There is no inside message.

Mistletoe with Dragon and Purse Girl Card

Using the Dragon from Zoology 101 (M4756) and Purse Girl from No Ordinary Girls-Large (M4758) I stamped directly onto light blue or gray cardstock. Clearly Impressed Swirls (M4748) collection by Michelle Ward stamped in rainbow shades decorates the top. The mistletoe was hand-drawn but could be stamped, represented with a sticker or a piece of miniature green garland. Dragon colors are layered, starting with a bronze or olive green, and his breath is a combination of purple and green smudged with a fingertip or piece of paper towel. Inside the card it reads, “Mistletoe mishap...dragon breath.”

Gloomy Avocado

The Unicycle Lesson (M4755) gloomy avocado character is stamped on separate stock, cut out and popped up with foam tape (5JV-12296) or whatever you like to use. He appears on a background of Vintage Polka Dots from Stampington, designer Nancy Oh. He is saying, “This IS my happy face.” Surely his festive socks give him away.

Unicycle Fish Hat Boy

The Unicycle Lesson (M4755) unicycle character was used for this card. Tree shapes were cut from Stampington's Living Green art paper (5LEG-ARTIST2) designed by Raquel Joya using art elements from Roben-Marie Smith's artwork. Don't make them too tall...you need room for the unicyclist. Draw a line between the tops of the trees as a tightrope (I drew the line clear to the edges of the paper, hence the angled cuts I made at the sides...we need to think on our feet). The image is stamped so he appears to be riding the tightrope and coloring is kept light because of the texture of the paper. Inside the card reads, “Hold fast to your sense of wonder. Merry Christmas.”

“No Ordinary Bird”
by Vanessa Spencer

Channel your inner 8 old and create a whimsical wall hanging! Begin with the 8" x 16" Shadowbox (5PR-24-8056) by Provocraft. These shadowboxes are great because you can actually remove the top section of the box, which allows you to work separately on the inside and outside. Paint the inside with white acrylic paint (5HSP24750) and allow to dry. On the outside frame trace the patterned papers you wish to use from the Wonder Years collection (5DD-18349). You will need a good quality decoupage or liquid adhesive to attach the papers to the box. I used the “catching fireflies” paper for the green grass look and the blue from the “go play” paper for the sky. I then used the striped “let's picnic” paper to cover the outside edges of the frame. Glue all those papers on and allow to dry.

Mix gesso (5HSP24941) and water together (equal portions). Using Claudine Hellmuth brushes (5CHS24729) paint over all the patterned paper that has already been glued to the shadow box. This will give the papers a chalk-like finish. Allow to dry. Cut out some clouds from the other side of the “let's picnic” paper. To create a unique cloud look I took 2 of the clouds and glued them onto sticky back canvas (5HSA24903) then cut out the cloud leaving a thin white border of canvas. Attach all your clouds to the sky section.

On the green paper use a green crayon to draw over the stems on the flowers so that the stand out more. Use thin twigs and attach them to some of the flower stems with a strong liquid adhesive. Attach the various collage flowers (5PM-523824) over the top of the stems. Add a few artful collage leaves (5PM-523862) to just a few of the flowers.

Cut out the banner from the “hooray” paper and glue to the inside of the box. Stamp the bird from the Marylinn Kelly “A Knack for Accessories” acrylic stamp (M4754) with black stazOn ink (5TS-BLACK). Color the bird using pencils and then cut out using the Tim Holtz scissors by Tonic (5TO-817). Glue the bird image on as shown in the picture. Use more thin twigs and break or cut them to length so you can create a mini easel. Glue the twigs on with liquid glue and allow to dry. Use a small square of blank sticky back canvas (5HSA24903) to cover a piece of chipboard and then glue onto the easel. Cut out the fish image from the “catching fireflies” paper and glue onto the mini canvas.

“Master of Disguise” Halloween Invitations or Greeting Cards
by Vanessa Spencer

Here are some quick and card ideas for this Halloween!

Stamp characters from the Unusual Suspects acrylic stamps (M4753 & M4757) using black ink (5TH-TIM19541) and then color in using your favorite pencils.

Cut out the character and then carefully cut out the face of the character. Using pictures of my daughters face I trimmed the photos and glued to the back of the stamped character.

Use the yellow paper from the Daisy D Halloween kit (5DD-HALLOWEEN3) and cut down to size and place onto a purple greeting card!

Click image to enlarge