Good morning! I’m Teresa and welcome to my first post as part of the amazing Joggles DT. I am so excited to be here with you, sharing my ideas and techniques, and hopefully inspiring you to try them for yourself.

When I was asked to create a project with the Joggles Itty Bitty ATC Stencils, I was thrilled! I love ATCs and this range of stencils is sized perfectly for adding visual interest and texture to ATCs. However, I didn’t just want to create a couple of ATCs for this tutorial, so I have gone one step further and created a mini book of inspiration that is small enough to tuck into a pocket or handbag and carry around with you. Just perfect for when you need a little extra bit of positive energy.

Supplies:

Joggles Itty Bitty ATC Stencils: Mini Cyclone, Mod Squad, XO

Colourcraft Brusho Crystal Colours: Purple, Cobalt Blue, Gamboge, Lemon, Sea Green

PanPastel: Permanent Green, Turquoise, Violet, Magenta, Diarylide Yellow, Permanent Red

Sofft Tools [65001] Knife and Covers, No.1 Round 1/5

Tim Holtz Distress Inkpad – Black Soot

Ranger Inkssentials Ink Blending Tool

Dylusions Ink Spray by Dyan Reaveley: Cherry Pie, Lemon Zest, Polished Jade

Joggles Sticky Snippets: Hearts, Small Starburst

Idea-ology by Tim Holtz Chit Chat Stickers

Uniball Signo Broad White Gel Pen (or use Gelly Roll Pen – White – Medium Point)

Unipin 0.8 Black Fineliner Pen (or use 0.8 Micron Pigma – Black)

Uni Supermarker (or use Pigma Graphic Pen – 2mm Black)

White A4 Cardstock

Black Cardstock

Collall All Purpose Glue (or use Aleene’s Original Tacky Glue)

Pokey Tool – (or use Tim Holtz/Tonic Studios – Retractable Craft Pick

Baker’s Twine (5 yards) – Black

Little B Circle Die (or use Marvy Uchida Clever Lever Extra Jumbo Craft Punch 1.5 inch Circle)

Here’s my process:

I began by taking an A4 sheet of white card and adding colour with Colourcraft Brusho Crystal Colours, spritzing with some water to help the colours burst and blend. The colours I used here are Purple, Cobalt Blue, Gamboge, Lemon and Sea Green. I have pierced tiny holes in the caps of my Brusho pots so that I can sprinkle small amounts of the colour crystals onto my page – I find this much easier than dipping into the posts with a brush or small spatula. Using Brushos is not an exact science, but I love the unexpected nature of the product…it’s always a surprise what patterns and colour blends you get! Once I was happy with the effect, I used my heat tool to help dry the card, blotting any heavily wet areas with paper towel to avoid pooling and muddying of the colours.

Once dry, I cut my card into 9 ATCs (2.5 x 3.5 inches) and made a decision on which Joggles Itty Bitty ATC Stencils I wanted to use for my next background layer.

As these stencils are so beautifully intricate, I decided to use PanPastels through them, applying the colour with a Sofft Tool. PanPastels are highly pigmented so they are perfect for using with stencils. The vibrant colours I used here are Permanent Green, Turquoise, Violet, Magenta, Diarylide Yellow, and Permanent Red. I applied the Pan Pastels randomly. The Sofft Tool allowed me to blend the colours so there were no harsh edges. For this stage of the process, I used Mini Cyclone and Mod Squad Joggles Itty Bitty ATC Stencils. The two designs complement each other quite well and are both ideal for a background layer rather than a focal point.

I wanted another layer of stencilling, something that would be more in the foreground of my design. I chose the XO Joggles Itty Bitty ATC Stencil and applied Black Soot Distress Ink with a Ranger Inkssentials Ink Blending Tool through it.

As part of my DT package, I received some Joggles Sticky Snippets. I was curious to try these out so chose the Hearts and Small Starburst designs and cut some from the sheet.

I decided to colour them with Dylusions Ink Sprays in Cherry Pie, Lemon Zest, and Polished Jade, just spritzing randomly. They take the colour really well, and I allowed them to dry before removing from the backing sheet.

Now it was time to ‘assemble’ my pages. I used the coloured Sticky Snippets and added extra details using a white gel pen and black fineliner. I doodled around the Sticky Snippets and added some whimsical borders. My inspirational words come from the Idea-ology by Tim Holtz Chit Chat Stickers. Each ATC was matted onto a piece of black card 3 x 3.75 inches, aligned to the right, ready for binding.

I cut an extra piece of black card to create the cover to my book and die cut a circular aperture with a Little B die. The placement of this allowed the words on the first page to show through. I added some decorative detail with my white gel pen.

Using a pokey tool, I pierced three holes in each page to allow me to bind with some baker’s twine. This was just threaded through using a large needle, then tied off inside the back cover to hide the knot.

Thanks for stopping by the blog today – I hope you enjoyed my first project here. Please feel free to leave a comment below – I would love to hear your feedback!