Paris By Thirteen

On this last day of 2014 I am sharing my last post for Unique Laser Designs.  It has been great working with this group of talented people!

I asked Unique Laser Designs for an Eiffel Tower especially for this project.  In August I was able to go to Paris with my kids, my mother,  and my thirteen year old niece.  I am planning on giving this project as a memento of my niece's trip.

            

The two towers are cut out of chipboard, while Flourish A was cut out of wood.  These embellishments were simply embossed with embossing powder.  Tags can get busy due to their size and I felt that this simple treatment helped to showcase the laser cuts.

Have a wonderful 2015!

Flourish A

New Product Announcement

"I love your designs....but wood is too thick..."      

 "Your embellishments are amazing, but I've never tried using wood..."    

"I'm just not sure I'd know how to use MDF..."

"I couldn't use wood on a card !"

These are some of the comments we frequently hear from people who see our products. 

In an attempt to help solve this conundrum, we chose to work with a group of talented designers, and nearly daily, projects are posted to help inspire you with all sorts of different ways that ULD products can be used...on just about every type of surface and in just about any way you could imagine...projects to show you that MDF isn't something to shy away from, but rather something so embrace !

Change can be scary, the thought of trying new things can seem daunting, stepping out of your comfort zone is overwhelming...  
So...in an attempt to give everyone the opportunity to have access to our amazing designs, and possibly "test the waters" and maybe try their hand at wood...we've decided to produce our designs in a more well known material that you'll be familiar with

...CHIPBOARD !

A tiny selection of whats available in chipboard

Due to the nature of some of our designs, not everything will be able to be cut from chipboard, but there is an enormous selection still to choose from.  

As a way to try and slowly show you that you can do the same things (often times with more successful results) by using MDF in your projects...I'll add a little special something to each chipboard order. ;)   I ask that you keep an open mind and use it.  I'm sure you'll soon realize that it is much better than you anticipated it would be !  :) 

Here are a few projects using our MDF products in places some wouldn't consider doing so.

Home Decor Items. Designed by Katy

Banner - Designed by Kisha.

Burlap Canvas.  Designed by Katy

Kids love ULD !  Designed by Samantha

ATC - Designed by Rachelle

Cards !  Designed by Kelly

Mini Album.  Designed by Kimberly

Scrapbook Layout.  Designed by Heidi

Gift Bag.  Designed by Kisha

Image Transfer onto a Tag

Hi everyone, it's Heidi here with a little tutorial of how I made a very special tag using these tags

What you will need:-

ULD Tag,

Gesso

Paint brush

Water Sprayer

Gel Medium or Modge Podge

Laser Printed Photo (or photo copy)

 

1. Paint the tag with some Gesso - this allows the white pieces from the photo to show up as white and not wood - allow to dry
2. Using some Gel Medium cover the tag as well as the front of the photo which has been printed onto standard paper either using a Laser Printer or a photo copy, you can't use an Ink Jet Printer as the photo won't transfer.
3. Once you have covered the top of the photo place it down (photo side down) onto the tag, making sure you have smoothed it out so there are no bubbles and allow to dry completely - don't use a heat gun to dry it, it is better to dry naturally - it should be completely dry.
4. Using your spray bottle spray some water over the paper and you will see the water soaking in, it needs quite a big of water and allow to soak for a minute or so.  
5. Now using you finger start rubbing the paper to remove the layer of paper - you need to be fairly careful so you don't rub the image away but if you have allowed it dry for a long time the image would have transferred already so all you do is rub, rub, rub and spray some more water and rub, rub rub and you will see the image appearing on the wood.

Once you have rubbed all the paper off you will be left with image transferred onto the wooden tag, allow to dry again and now you can decorate the tag.

Here is my finished tag, I used some Distress Ink around the edges of the image to add some colour and inked around the tag, once you have finished decorating the tag, using some Gel Medium or Modge Podge cover the tag just to protect it.

Hope you enjoyed the tutorial and I really hope you give it a try, it's really simple the it looks really cool.

Turn your tags into a chalkboard

 Chalk art is hot, hot, HOT right now, and I am incorporating some wood tags from Unique Laser Designs into the trend.  

I covered the tags with 4 coats of  chalkboard paint and let them dry for a few hours.

To decorate and give them that "chalkboard" look, I used white acrylic paint and a white gel pen.  You can also spot that there is an adorable red heart from Unique Laser Designs that I pre-colored/scratched with a burgundy gel pen and then pressed into a red ink pad.  The "mom" and the "Jennifer" on these tags are written with real chalk and can be erased and re-used.  So cute and perfect timing for Mother's Day--don't you think?  I'm going to hang that "I (heart) Mom" tag on a big hanging basket of flowers for my mom.

Have you made your mom something yet?  

Hot Air Ballons are Hip, Hot, and Huge!

Trends, Fads, Hot, or in style.. which ever way you look at it.. Hot Air Balloons are totally  hip. 

I see them on fabrics, scrapbook paper, stickers, pins, stamp sets and of course Unique Laser Designs has a wood Hot Air Balloon embellishment that I just love!  I want to put it on everything.  So I did..

I made a tag, a mini album, and a wall décor project.  I have also taught one class using the hot air balloons, and everyone wanted more.  Here is a look at 3 of my projects I created using the Hot Air Balloons along with a few other embellishments from Unique Laser Designs.



Here is my Glittered Up Hot Air Balloon, this hangs in my studio.. love all the Glitter~



I used this Hot Air Balloon on a cover of a mini album, along with a set of the clouds  & mini word art.
I stamped, added texture and used paper for this balloon.

Here is a more detailed project.  I used one of the ULD tags, 2 clouds, and another Hot Air Balloon.

Did you know ULD has wood stencils?  Yep.. I used it on this tag.. love how thick I can make the details
if I want.. or I can do less if I wanted, but I love the deep shape. 

These are the ULD shapes I used on this project, along with the stenciled image.

I used my Rubber Café Glue and Glitter for the Balloon.

Do you love the Hot Air Balloons too?  If so stop over to the Unique Laser Designs shop and pick up a few.. you can't get just one.. because you will want at least two.  Did I mention they are only $1 each?  Yes.. how the heck can an embellishment this cute be only $1.. I just filled my cart with a few more since I have more ideas.  What would you do with your balloon? 

 

Here is the link to the 

Hot Air Balloon $1

Honeycomb Stencil $3.50

Clouds 6 for $1.50

Tags 3 for $3.75

 

Thanks for looking at a few of my projects.

 

On The Hunt

Ready for another fun Easter project using Unique Laser Designs products? How about a cute tag with even cuter Easter eggs! Well, first let me introduce myself. 

I'm Jamie.  I live in small town Georgia, right outside of an Air Force Base.  I have one furbaby, one nephew, and three nieces I love to spoil.  I've been crafting in one way or another for as long as I can remember, but I've been scrapbooking for eight years now.  I've recently branched off into altered projects and mixed media projects, and love it just as much as making layouts and cards.  I am absolutely thrilled to be part of the ULD team and show off the wonderful items they have.

Now, let's get moving on this tag and how it was made.

Starting with a Unique Laser Designs tag, I inked it heavily with Gelatos, gave it a spritz of water, then used my handy finger to blend the colors.  Nothing better than getting your hands all inky lol.

Then I grabbed my spray ink and stencil and created some background circles.

Then I grabbed my jar of iridescent medium, a palette knife, and the same stencil and created another layer of circles.

Then, I created several layers of "grass".  Lots of fun texture!

Now for the embellishments. I took my Easter eggs, inked them with Perfect Medium, then brushed on a layer of Perfect Pearls.  Lots of shimmer and shine.

Lastly, I added the sentiment, layered the Easter eggs and a butterfly, and added some ribbon.

Follow Your Dreams......

Follow your dreams...

...and BE YOUrself!!

Lovelovelove Unique Laser Designs

and all of their wonderful product!..I am OHSOHonored to have been selected to be one of the Design Team members for April-July 2014! - Unique Laser Designs is based in California and specializes in laser-cut craft items, made from MDF....with new products being added regularly...there is always something NEW & fresh!

I took the ULD tags ( a wonderful cut of 3.5" x 6.6") and used mixed media techniques to attach this toooooooo cool Tim Holtz idea-ology cabinet card onto a vintage dictionary page with the word BELIEVE highlighted. The cut-out BElieve in YOUrself is also by ULD.

*******

And another tag:

Colored with Faber Castell Gelatos( OHMYGoodness...the YUMMYNESS!)...and paper pieced sailboat attached with mod podge.....The seagulls are also from ULD!

Soooooooooo many possibilities!!

Be sure to check out their shop!

I have another Design Team posty due on the 8th...where I will be showcasing more ULDproduct..it plays well with all the others!!

creative blessings,

debbie