How does your Holiday garden grow?

Hello! Tracy here with my first post for Globecraft & Piccolo blog! I am proud to be a new design team member and have worked as a product designer for Globecraft & Piccolo for over a year. I can't tell you how much I enjoy working with their products and love seeing what new Piccolos they come up with! My current favorites are the lovely new Bookboard Holiday Accents that are perfect for all types of projects.

Tracy Alden
Art Resurrected

Today I would like to share with you a tutorial highlighting some of the ways you can use Globecraft & Piccolo products for holiday home decor gifts. To me the holidays have always been the perfect time to make homemade art and goodies. I love changing out my home decor to match the current holidays and giving home decor gifts to family and friends.I went with pinks and silvers with this project because it reminds me of some of the old time holiday decor my grandmother would put out ever year.

• G&P Vintage Holiday Flourishes
• G&P Piccolo Easy Grip Tweezers
• G&P Piccolo Enamel/Embossing Powder Adhesive
• G&P Glastique Gloss Finishing Glaze
• G&P  Avocado 3D Enamel Gel
• G&P Pure Sparkle Silver Glitter
• G&P Girls Night Out Enamel Powder
• G&P Mermaid Tears Enamel Powder
• G&P Micro Silver Enamel Powder
• Heat Gun
• 3 Long Stemmed Silk Flowers
• Vase
• Silver Ribbon
• Blank card
• Embossing Machine
• Swirls Sizzix Texture Fades Embossing Folder
• Sakura Pigma Micron Pen

I started with applying the Piccolo Enamel Adhesive to the edges of the petals of a silk flower stem.

I then sprinkled Mermaid Tears Enamel Powder onto the petals, shook off excess and heat set with heat gun.

Following the areas I applied the enamel powder to I added little droplets of Glastique Gloss Finishing Glaze.

Before the Glastique dried I sprinkled on Pure Sparkle Silver Glitter. Repeat with all three stems and let dry.

I carefully removed the Vintage Holiday Flourishes from the bookboard frame with the tweezers. I used Girls Night Out Enamel Powder for the outer frame and Micro Silver Enamel Powder  for the swirls.

 
I then applied Avocado 3D Enamel Gel to the tiny leaves. The tiny nozzle tip on the applicator bottle makes this easy! Let dry.

Run the front of the blank card through an embossing machine with the Swirls Embossing Folder.
 

 
Apply Piccolo Enamel Adhesive to the raised edges and sprinkle on Mermaid Tears Enamel powder, shake off excess. Heat enamel powder with heat gun to set embossing powder.

Now I wanted to add a Happy Holidays sentiment. While I just used an ink pen to write it out you can easily replace it with your favorite Holiday stamp! I cut each word out with and left an inch of blank paper on each side.

Using a toothpick I tightly curled each side with blank paper. I roll the inner portion of the strip of paper over a tiny brush handle to get a wave. With one side curled up and one side curled down it looks like a mini scroll. 

I applied a thin layer of Glastique Gloss Finishing Glaze to both mini scrolls, using a small brush to cover the curled sections.

Now a second layer of small Glastique Gloss Finishing Glaze droplets is added to the mini scrolls. While the glaze was still wet I applied Pure Sparkle Silver Glitter and let dry.

Carefully I added the completed elements to the front of the card using Glastique Gloss Finishing Glaze as an adhesive. Place the flowers in the vase, add ribbon and place card in with the flowers.

Jump on over to my blog Art Resurrected today for a Piccolo Snowflake Jewelry tutorial!

Until next time, Safe Travels!

Meet our talented artists!

Today, we are so excited to introduce to you, our freshly-formed G&P Design Team! We've gathered a host of talented and diverse artists from across the country who will bring you some great ideas for working with our products. Watch for their creative projects here as well as on their personal blogs.

And, now, without further ado:

Steph Ackerman:

East Meadow, New York

http://stephaniescraps.blogspot.com/

I am an avid scrapbooker, cardmaker and altered artist. Working with paper is my passion and I have worked with all kinds of mediums since childhood.   Cardmaking, for me, is therapy. I love working on a smaller canvas and watching my work come to life with the use of stamps, inks and die cuts. I love challenges, and am always trying new techniques. My day is just not complete if I haven't spent some time in my studio. I do tend to get lost in my creations, working on lots of different projects at the same time.

I discovered not too long ago that I love to teach and I can often be found in my studio showing students how to create amazing projects using a variety of products, whether it’s with the Cricut, stamps, inks, binding equipment, etc. I love seeing the look on a student's face when she realizes what can be done with the tools and supplies that are available.

I live in New York with Gary, my husband of 32 years, our 17-year-old son Christopher, and our puppy, Paulie. Being the teenager that he is, it can be quite difficult getting candid shots of Christopher; however, since he participates in all kinds of sports, I get to take lots of action photos and scrap those. Paulie, on the other hand, is quite the character and allows me to take as many photos as I want without complaint; he can be seen in many scrapbook layouts! 

Tracy Alden

Sunny California

http://artrez.com/blog

Tracy Alden, art designer, indie artist by trade, and owner of Art Resurrected. Her interests in ancient art, archeology, biology, anthropology, world cultures and natural elements add to a dizzying array subjects of which are the inspiration for her art. 

Specializing in: Sculpture, Illustration, Jewelry, Fabric, Paper & Graphic Arts. Her artwork has been published in magazines, newspapers and displayed at many galleries and shows. She currently works as part of product design and development for Globecraft & Piccolo. 

Tracy lives in sunny Southern California with her husband and menagerie of animals. With a love of art, travel, museums, cooking, and an animal conservation she is always busy.

DeeDee Catron

Las Vegas, Nevada

http://umwowstudio.blogspot.com/

I'm a 25 year old crafter extraordinaire with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Industrial Design and a passion for creating anything with my hands. 

I'm the Marketing and Artistic Director for Viva Las VegaStamps! and the Owner/Creator/Designer of UmWowStudio.

  

Christina Colón

Temecula, California

http://www.thetwistedmuse.com

My name is Christina Colón and I live in Temecula, California. I am a mom to four kids, two dogs, one cat, and a partridge in a pear tree. Ok. Not really on that last one, but it sounded good! I am also married to a wonderful man who puts up with creative shenanigans.

 I have been papercrafting for over four years now. I find that I really love the "off- the page" stuff because it's more versatile and allows for my creative mind to just go, go, go. I love to get inky and messy. I also love to experiment with new products and techniques, especially when an experiment turns into an amazing end result.

Laura Drahozal

Hartland, Michigan

http://www.rememberinglifesmoments.blogspot.com/

I live with my husband and my very spoiled collie in Michigan. I enjoy scrapbooking and teaching classes in local scrapbook stores whenever possible. I also love being on the Dreamweaver Design Team because I can explore techniques using these exquisite stencils and work with a group of wonderful teammates. 

I love being a part of the Twisted Sketches Design Team, which is helping me work on my scrapbooks! I am a design team member for both Art Glitter and Connie Crystals and now Globecraft & Piccolo. I am looking forward to the creative opportunities they present. 

I am very excited to be in the Dec/Jan 2011 edition of The Stampers Sampler (pp. 52 and 72) and in the Catch Up Issue. I am also so thrilled to have been published on page 20 of April 2011 Stamp & Scrap Arts.

Monica Edwards

Cocoa, Florida

scraps2treasure.blogspot.com

I’m Monica Edwards, married for more than 20 years and the mother of two older children; daughter, Mariah, 18 and son, Andre, 22. I currently work at the Kennedy Space Center, home of the once-beloved "Shuttle." As you can tell I am still heartbroken; lol.

I have been crafting for over 15 years but broke into the blogging world in the past two years and love it. I like to consider myself a crafter of all trades but a master at none - well maybe not none. I enjoy vintage and incorporating mixed-media into all facets of crafting now. My craft motto is "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Everyone has different taste in crafts and it is all beautiful as long as it is made from the heart.

I enjoy teaching the tricks and techniques I have learned from so many amazing women! I hope to keep everyone coming back to check out the fabulous products Globecraft and Piccolo have to offer to the world!

Arin Flynn

Southern California

http://apieceoflifespie.com/

My name is Arin Flynn and I reside in sunny southern California with my amazing husband, two little girls, ages 3 and 4, who have their halos held up by horns at times and a very lazy, but sweet pound puppy.

After college I headed into the field of Human Resources. After eleven years, I traded in my employment, law books, and employment relations (glorified adult babysitting) to stay home and start a family. That is when the crafting bug really bit and my week is not complete without a few projects under my belt!

Paper crafting is something I love with a passion and creating things, from home decor to party decorations, brings me joy and satisfaction. I created a crafting blog in 2011 and am slowly finding my way among the never-ending talent and inspirations that make up the online crafting community. In February of 2012 I had the honor of seeing my first published project sitting on shelves in local retail

stores. In July of 2012 I had the joys of being accepted to be a member of a popular Cricut challenge blog, Fantabulous Cricut Challenge Blog.

There are times I wished I lived in an area that does not have 365 days of warm sunshine so I would have a true excuse to stay planted in my craft room weathering out a hard winter. I have been a crafter ever since I can remember. I have done projects as small as making a simple card of thanks to as big as making and selling homemade crafts in volume at a large street fair, which actually made a small profit the first and only time I did it. After that experience, I decided that was a bucket list item that needed to be checked off only once.

My crafting motto is, "serving up a slice of creativity” with combining life and creative ingredients of paper, ribbon, glitter and anything else I can toss into the crafty mix!" I never dreamed that my love for crafting would have taken me this far.

Rebecca Price

Lewis Center, Ohio

http://byondbzr.blogspot.com/

Hi! My name is Rebecca and I've been scrapbooking for eight years now. Before that, I dabbled in many other artistic pursuits ranging from jewelry making and painting, to writing poetry. I've always had a creative soul, and all my experience through the years comes out in my paper crafting. 

I am a mom of two. My daughter is 7-years old and definitely a "mini-me" as she loves to scrapbook and craft right alongside me. My son is 5-years old and all boy. He likes to find "treasures" for me. Every button or bead he sees on the ground while we are out he happily picks up and gives to me. "Look momma, you can scrap with THIS!" They are my inspiration and why I do what I do.

My style is usually very distressed and layered. I am not afraid of bold color, nor do I shy away from getting messy. I actually consider it a wonderful day when my hands are stained from inks, paints, and mists! 

Candy Spiegel

Argentine, Michigan

http://candyspiegel.wordpress.com/

I began paper crafting 18 years ago when I learned that it was acceptable for adults to play with stickers, markers and rubber stamps.

After 20 years in the newspaper industry, I decided to make paper crafting a career. Now I spend my time teaching, working at my local scrapbook store, and writing about scrapbooking for Michigan Scrapbooker Magazine. I also maintain the website for Globecraft & Piccolo.

My designs have been published in national magazines and catalogs and on product packaging.

When I am not crafting, I am most likely growing chickens, turkeys and vegetables, cooking, reading or finding beautiful things to photograph. I am the proud mother of a U.S. Marine and a college student. I live in Michigan with my husband, two cats and four hens.

Kristie Taylor

Lexington, South Carolina

http://kristietaylor.blogspot.com/

Hi, I am Kristie and I am so very excited and honored to be a part of this talented team! I have been scrapbooking for a very long time, and it has become my therapy and release from my stressful life. 

I love to get dirty, and am always including inks, paints, and lots of distressing to my projects. I call my style "Shabby distressed bling", so be prepared for anything! I am surrounded by a loving and supportive family; Mom, Dad, brother, hubby, and four kids who indulge me and my scrappy hobby.

I follow everyone around and try to snap photos all the time just like the paparazzi, but sometimes I have to resort to bribery. I hope that I can inspire you with my creations, and I can’t  wait to get started!

Linda Neff

Howell, Michigan

http://linda-neff.com

I discovered through my first attempt at scrapbooking I could create art – my way. With rubber stamps, inks, paints, paper, fabric and other mediums, I create a soft, vintage look that is sometimes natural and sometimes a bit more romantic, but always evolving. I enjoy making mini albums, scrapbook pages and wall art to capture my little scrapped treasures.

The mother of three adult children, I live with my retired husband in Michigan and spend my time designing and teaching classes. I am excited to be published in the Sept/Oct 2012 issue of Somerset Studio, am Ranger certified, and currently am a design team member for Art Glitter and Xyron in addition to Globecraft & Piccolo. I am always on the lookout for new techniques and encourage others to dive head-first into the art of papercrafting, whether it be scrapbooking, stamping or altered art.

Please help us welcome these talented artists!

And now, a tip from Laura on using our 3D Enamel Gels...

A hands-on approach to Enamel Gels

I just adore the new G&P 3D Enamel Gels! One of my favorite ways to use them is to apply enamels to a textured surface with my fingers. The Globecraft bookboard is a perfect surface. First, I apply paint to create light reflection and enhance the transparency of the enamels. White and metallic colors work best for this. Then, I create texture using an embossing folder. To add the color, I simply squeeze the enamel directly onto the project and smear it with my finger. 

I suppose I could smear it with a paint brush, but I prefer to actually touch my project.  When it is textured, the color goes into all of the nooks and crannies. Because I am rubbing over the top of the raised areas, it leaves just a light, transparent film in those spots.
This is what it looks like done:

Another benefit is the ability to mix colors with my fingers. I just place all the colors where I want them and then blend lightly with my finger.

And the results?

Give the hands-on approach a try! You won't be disappointed. 

Potting a country Christmas

This is a great little holiday table-top decor item I made recently and I'm going to show you just how easy it was to make. 

Linda Neff
http://linda-neff.com

As a kid, I used to love to decoupage. We made our own glue from flour and water and used torn up newspapers for most projects or cut pictures out of magazines. As an adult (some people might argue that point), I still love to decoupage but my materials have gotten a little more sophisticated.

This project is so easy and there's plenty of time to make these before Christmas. I started with four small terracotta flower pots and a black metal display rack I had around the house. The rack originally held little metal buckets so I made sure the pots fit the rack before starting.

I gathered my materials - mostly from my backyard! I took the scissors outdoors and didn't even need them - other than the pots, this stuff was just laying all over the ground!

 

Here's what I used in addition to the above pine boughs and pine cones:

• Glastique Finishing Glaze (Gloss) - works so much better than flour and water concoction!
• Vintage Silver Enamel Powder
• Enamel Powder Adhesive
• 3/4-inch paint brush
• small jar of clean water (to clean paint brush)
• Heat-it Craft Tool
• Maraschino twine (The Twinery)
• Fiskars XXL Tag Punch
• Tombow pens
• glitter 
• Christmas-themed scrapbook paper
• paper trimmer
• non-stick craft sheet

I took the Christmas scrapbook paper and paper trimmer and cut a bunch of 1-inch by 1-inch squares of various patterns. Poured a small puddle of Glastique onto a palette (scrap packaging) and used the paint brush to paint a coat of Glastique on a section of the terracotta pot. I did a space just large enough to fit a 1-inch paper square. I could be a little generous, but not sloppy, with painting the Glastique on. I then pressed a paper square into the painted area (I chose to place my squares on an angle so it looks more like a diamond). Then brush another coat of Glastique over the paper square, brushing it flat against the pot so all edges lay nice and flat.

I continued this technique all the way around the pot. It just so happened the diamonds met perfectly corner-to-corner! I was just going to cover the connection with an embellishment if it didn't work out, but that wasn't necessary. 

I completed both pots, cleaning the brush periodically in the water so it wouldn't stiffen. When I finished adhering the paper I used basically the same technique to attach the twine. I brushed the broad rim with the Glastique and wrapped the twine around it, adding more Glastique when needed. 

While one pot is sitting to dry I'm finishing the second one. I added a second and third coat of Glastique to the pots when dry and continued back-and-forth till I was pleased with the results.

Glastique works as the glue as well as the sealer for this project. I used gloss to get the nice shiny finish. The matte could be used here and would work just as well.

I wanted to add some shimmer and shine to the rim top so swiped it with my bottle of Enamel Powder Adhesive. It's in a dabber bottle, which makes it so easy to apply. I then spooned on the Vintage Silver Enamel Powder and heat set.

There's about 2-3 coats on the rim and I just kept adding more powder and heating it till I got the look I wanted. Cool, eh?

I punched a tag and stamped it with a Christmas-themed stamp, colored and edged it with the Tombow pens and attached it with the twine.

I brushed the pine cones with the Glastique and dipped them in silver glitter and set aside to dry. I trimmed the greenery and tucked it into the pot, setting a candle into the center and adding the glittered pine cones.

My pots sit together in the black metal carrier but these would make great name holders at a dinner table and guests could take them home with them. I'm sure I'll be trying some more decoupage projects with Glastique soon.

Visit my blog today to see one of our DIY Ornaments all decked out for Christmas!

A Small Gift of Gratitude

Hello, Charlotte here with you today to share a quick and easy gift of gratitude for a special friend using Piccolo Card Decor and More Chipboard Charms and Piccolo Enamel Powder. 

G&P Products

• Piccolo Embossing Powder Adhesive
• Piccol0 Bright Blue Sky Enamel Powder
• Piccolo Gilded Rose Metallic Enamel Powder
• Piccolo Card Decor and More Birds, Butterflies and Flourishes
• Piccolo Card Decor and More #10 set

Other Products

• La Blanche Stamp
• ColorBox Graphics 45 Decades Bon Voyage Blue Stamp
• Lindy Starburst Spray Tibetan Poppy Teal
• Top Boss Watermark Embossing Ink
• Recollections Paper Blooms
• PaperStudios Card Stock

Directions

• Apply a coat of the Piccolo Embossing Powder Adhesive to the front of the Card Decor and More frame. Immediately after applying the adhesive, sprinkle Piccolo Bright Blue Sky Enamel Powder over the entire surface of the chipboard. If you are using a tidy tray, gently tap the corner of the charm on the tray to remove all the excess embossing powder. A folded piece of paper works just a well.

• Cut a piece of coordinating card stock to the size of the frame. Stamp a background design with a stamp on the piece of cut paper. Now, adhere the stamped background to the the back of the frame. Distress the edges of the frame with dark blue ink distressing ink.

• Gently remove the Piccolo #10 Card Decor and More Flourishes using tweezers, needle or toothpick.  After you have removed two small and one large flourish, coat each flourish using Gilded Rose Metallic Powder. Tap off excess metallic powder use tweezers to keep the pieces in place and melt the powder with a heat gun.   Repeat this process on all three Flourish Chipboard pieces. When all pieces have completely cooled, glue the flourishes to chipboard frame. 

• Adhere paper blooms to the front of the frame.

• Add adhesive words to the front of the design. 

Thanks for Stopping By!