Helmar Creative Team

Creating Dimension with Zapdots

Hi everyone! It's Tracey here to share a mixed media layout featuring Helmar Zapdots.

 

I'm a longtime crafter, so when our daughter, Elizabeth, asked me to create the bouquets for her and her bridesmaids, I embraced the challenge. We shopped for the flowers together, then I put them together. The photographer captured them so beautifully.

 

One of the things I enjoy doing on my layouts is to raise the photos using Helmar Zapdots so that I can tuck flowers and other elements under them. Check out the details below. 

 

"Wedding Flowers"

 

Tips and Techniques

When I raise my photos I start by placing three or four - 1/2 inch Helmar Zapdots down the center of my photo(s). That leaves the edges free to tuck flowers, chipboard, and other elements underneath. As you can see here when I'm done, the edges are often uneven and lower where I haven't tucked items.

 

You can see here where the Helmar Zapdots are placed under the center of the photo leaving the edges free.

 

For a final touch, I place more Helmar Zapdots around the photo edges where needed. I peel off a Zapdot and place it on the end of a Helmar Paint/Glue Spreader.

 

Finally, I place these additional Zapdots around the edge of the photo(s). Because the Glue Spreader is slick, the Zapdot slips off into place.

 

The flowers, chicken wire and metal leaves are adhered to the mixed media background with Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive.

 

As you can see here the flowers are positioned on different levels and layers. To place them properly I've used Liquid Scrap Dots to arrange them where needed.

 

Here's a shot of the smaller cluster. The purple on the background was created with Pan Pastels and spritzed with Helmar Crystal Kote Fixative spray.

 

These chipboard pieces are also adhered with Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive. When adhering paper to paper such as the photos to the mats, I use Helmar Premium Craft Glue.

 

You can see here how raising the photos allows me to tuck flowers and chipboard elements under the photos.

 

I hope you hope you've been inspired to pull out your Helmar products to create a layout.

 

Helmar Products

Zapdots ~ 1/2" Square, white

450 Quick Dry Adheseve

Premium Craft Glue

Liquid Scrap Dots

Crystal Kote Fixative spray
Paint/Glue Spreader

 

~ Blessings ~

Tracey

Memorial Day Layout

Happy Memorial Day, everyone! Katie here, today I'm sharing a Memorial Day themed layout I created.

I used photos of my Great Grandfather who served in WWII on this layout. I wanted to create a layout to remember him by.

I created the background by diecutting stars, and doodling the starbursts. After that I brushed on matte medium to add texture and added color with various red and blue Gelatos. To seal the gelatos while I finished the layout, I sprayed the background with Helmar's Crystal Kote Fixative Spray. It seals the messy mediums, which is awesome.

I wanted to attach a couple of pieces of flair, but the flair didn't have a back to apply adhesive on, so I squirted some Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots onto the back, which worked really well!

I also used the Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots to create the 3d center of my red poppy. I applied some of the adhesive and then sprinkled glitter over top and let that dry.

Over all I'm extremely pleased with the layout. I love the multiple uses for the Scrap Dots adhesive!

Supplies used- Crystal Kote Fixative, Liquid Scrap Dots, Quick Fix Adhesive Runner

Crackle Finish Banner

Who doesn't love the look of vintage? I can never get enough of the shabby chic, old world, vintage look of items. Today, I will show you how I create a crackle finish on wood. This technique can be done on various surfaces and is quite beautiful, so let's get started.

I always start by gathering many different components that I think I want to use.  In the end you'll see that many items are often not used, just depends on your creative flow.

Next, paint each of your pieces with the darker of your chosen colors.  This is the color that will show through your crackle. Note that if you paint the lighter color first you risk a chance of not gaining the finished desired look.

After the first coat of paint has dried, apply a medium coat of Helmar Craft & Hobby PVA glue to each painted piece. I allowed each of my pieces to semi air dry as this glue dries fairly quick, yet I had enough time to cover each piece without rushing.

I then applied my lighter coat of acrylic paint to each of the banner pieces, then used my heating tool to dry each.  This is when the magic happens, you will begin to see the crackling take affect.  This is the beauty of the process.

I decorated my letters by painting, stamping and adding liquid pearls. Once each letter was completely dry, I sprayed them with a coat of Helmar Crystal Kote Gloss Varnish (I recommend using this spray outside as I did). This will give each of your pieces a finished look and protect against discoloring/yellowing.

In my final steps of completing the banner, I added lace to the back of each banner using Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive to bond.  I also added height to the letters attop each banner piece using 1/4" Zapdots.

The dimension of each embellished letter adds more appeal to the entire banner, along with the lace as an added touch.

And here is my final product.  A wonderful banner attached to a decor suitcase to be used to house my cards.  This is a great item to use at craft shows or just to display your crafts in your studio.

I hope this has sparked your creativity and your love for all things shabby.

Have a wonderful creative weekend!

Products Used:

Helmar - 

Craft & Hobby PVA Glue

450 Quick Dry Adhesive

Crystal Kote Gloss Varnish

1/4" White Square Zapdots

Other Products:

Unique Laser Designs Wood Banner & Letters

Burlap

Acrylic Paints

Lace & Twine

Paper Roses

   Kisha

DIY Party Favour Packaging

Today I’m going to show you how to make a simple ‘Party Favour’ packaging.

 

You will need a strip of cardstock/paper at least 4” x 10”, Helmar Permanent Adhesive Runner and Helmar Craft Glue plus any embellishments you desire.

 

Firstly run a strip of Helmar Permanent Adhesive across one end of the cardstock/paper, fold over the other end and secure in place.

Apply Helmar Craft Glue to inside edge (middle 1/3 section) and press sides together, do not crease the ends.

Allow glue to dry thoroughly and then press adjacent edges together in the opposite direction.

Punch two holes in the open side and thread ribbon through, tie in a bow and decorate your Party Favour box as desired :)

 

I hope you found this small tutorial helpful.

 

Jeanette :) xx

 

I used ‘Shabby Chic Printable Papers’ from Kittyscrapost by Luisa Diaz

Adding dimension to a Canvas

Hi Helmar Fans!  Cathy here with you today, sharing a super simple project with you.  I fell in love with this canvas at a local department store and knew that I wanted to add it to a little nook that I am creating for our grand baby that is due this September.  It started out at $ 39.99...that's crazy.  So I checked on it every time I shopped there and the other day it was marked down to 9.99...okay that's perfect.  

After I got home I decided to add a bit more dimension and interest to it.  I cut three hearts and a flower shaker embellishment with my Silhouette Cameo, I added just a bit of distress ink to these pieces so that they would blend with the canvas.  I used Helmar Scrap Dots to add the dimesion.  I can't believe the dimension you can get with these...simply an amazing product!  I attached the heart and flower shaker box to the canvas with Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive.

Here are a couple closeups of the heart and flower shaker embellishment.

I love how this turned out and easy the Helmar Scrap Dots were so easy to work with!  Here is the end project finished off with a bit of twine and rhinestones.

Thanks for joining us today at Helmar!

Helmar products used:

Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive

Helmar Scrap Dots

 

A quick layout

I found this photo of my husband in my office while organizing.  I wanted to do a layout where the photo told the story.  

 My go to adhesives were Helmar 450 Quick Dry, ZapDots and Helmar Liquid ScrapDots.

 As you can see there is some clustering and distressing, but not a lot of journaling.

 In the bottom right corner, I put the months he was there in Iraq. 

TFL! ~ Amy

Time Flies By

Happy Monday everyone and it is a hot in Florida again.  Today I am sharing an upcycled clock I found in Marshalls awhile back.  I just about threw anything I could find on this one lol.  I used some amazing pieces from Gina's Design, gesso, CI paint, glimmer mist, fabrics, paper and bunch of other fun stuff.  

 

 Here is a closer view

I used Helmar Tacky Craft glue to glue down the tissue paper and then used my heat gun to dry it and then sprayed the different colors

 

I used Helmar Decoupage & Craft paste jar, glue to adhere everything to the wood box.  I hope everyone enjoyed my piece today and I finally got a new camera so I can start making some videos as promised.

 

Helmar Products

Helmar Decoupage

450 Quick Dry Adhesive

 

Others Products

Gina Designs

Heartfelt Creations patterned paper

Manor House Flowers

Tissue Paper

Glimmer Mist

Simply Monica

 

Using Crystal Kote Fixative with Mixed Media

Hello everyone!! It's Tracey here with a mixed media card to share with you today.

 

One of my latests purchases is a set of Pan Pastels. This is my first project using them, and the colors and blending are fabulous. However, to keep the colors in place a fixative is suggested. Helmar's Crystal Kote Fixative Spray worked perfectly with this medium. It's a workable fixative, so I could continue to work with the colors while avoiding unwanted smudges.

 

A birthday card for a very dear friend.

 

Tips and Techniques

I started with a card size piece of mixed media paper. I rubbed on and blended Pan Pastel color. Once I achieved the color I wanted, I misted the paper with Helmar Crystal Kote Fixative before moving on to the next step of stenciling with molding paste. Once the molding paste was dry, I applied more color then another misting of fixative.

 

The colored and stenciled paper was then adhered to a card base with Helmar Premium Craft Glue. I love that this glue does not warp my papers, and that it gives me a few moments to adjust the placement before setting.

 

I also added color to my flowers with the Pan Pastels, and then misted them with Helmar Crystal Kote Fixative. I spread them out over a scrap piece of paper and misted them all at once. 

 

The enameled chipboard and flowers were arranged, then adhered with Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive. A couple of the flowers were raised and positioned with Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots.

 

Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive adheres well to mixed media backgrounds like this. 

 

 

Helmar Products

Crystal Kote Fixative spray

450 Quick Dry Adhesive

Premium Craft Glue

Liquid Scrap Dots

 

Other Products

White Cardstock

Mixed Media Paper

Petaloo ~ Flowers

Wild Orchid Craft ~ Flowers

Jolee's Botique ~ Flower

Leaky Shed Studio ~ Chipboard

Prima ~ Stencil

Inkadinkado ~ Stamp

Frantage ~ Embossing Enamel

Clearsnap - Donna Salazar Mixed Media Inx

Clearsnap ~ Embossing Powder

Pan Pastels

Golden ~ Light Molding Paste

 

~ Blessings ~

Tracey

Moms are a treasure ♥

Hi everyone, Sandee here to share a Mother's Day remembrance project with you. My mom passed away in 1999 and I am still dealing with little treasures that I cannot bear to part with. This table top mirror that use to sit on her vanity is one of those, so I took it out and decided to alter it in her memory. First, I layered 3 different mediums on to the tarnished frame. It was indeed in need of some tender loving care and I let all those layers thoroughly dry first.

Then I used my Helmars 450 Quick Dry Adhesive to add some lace trim to the base. I love how the 450 does not seep through the delicate lace and yet holds it firmly.

 I used the Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive to adhere the sentiment and the pink flower to the frame. Then, I used my Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots to prop up the blue flower at an angle. This adhesive just amazes me everytime I use it!

My Treasure - For Mom
by Kit McCallum
I look back on these years
To see how far I've come and grown,
I take a trip down memory lane,
And what I see has shown ...

That every step I've taken,
You have been there by my side ...
From infancy to adulthood,
We've stood the test of time.

You cradled me and nurtured me,
Through all these many years;
You held me and did comfort me,
Through happiness and tears.

You'd pick me up when I would fall,
You'd dust me off and then,
Encourage me to get back on
That horse and ride again.

Your constant care and loving,
And your warm inviting heart,
Has always been a treasure that
I knew would n'er depart.

If I could be "just half" the person
You have been to me ...
Then you have taught me well dear mom,
For in my heart I see ...

A woman whose most gentle soul,
Embraces me each day ...
A woman whom I dearly love,
Much more than words can say

awesome Helmar products

450 Quick Dry Adhesive 

Liquid Scrap Dots

other much loved products:

Frosted Designs kits

A gift for Mom

Mother's Day is just days away . . . are you ready?!

As much as I like picking out a little something for the mom's in my life I also like to make the gift bag and card just as special.  This year I'm using purses by Samantha Walker for my gift bags.  You can find this purse file and quite a few others here and detailed instructions of how to put it together on Samantha's blog.  

In the past I've had a hard time putting 3D projects like this together.  I pulled out the Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive and it worked perfectly.  It has a quick drying time, but still gives a little when working in tight spaces.  

 

Once assembled I added sequins to the center design on the front and back of the purse with Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots.   A great adhesive to use since the cupped side of the sequin was placed over the dots of glue.   

As a finishing touch I made a flower from vellum and tied a bow with seam binding and attached both with Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive.  

I then pulled items for a card together matching the products/color scheme of my purse.  

 

I adhered all the items on my card base with more Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive with the exception of my sentiment circle.

 I placed Helmar Zapdots underneath to add more dimension to my card front and it also allowed my bow to be tucked under the sentiment.  

This little set will be going to my mother-in-law with a little something special tucked inside.  

 

Thanks so much for stopping by the blog today.  

Happy Crafting!  Nicole 

 

Helmar Products

Helmar 450 Quick Dry Adhesive

Helmar Liquid Scrap Dots

Helmar Zapdots

 

Other Products

Pattern Paper: Fancy Pants Designs, Carta Bella, Crate Paper

Cardstock: Bazzill Basics

Vellum: American Crafts

Big Brush Marker: Faber-Castell

Samantha Walker Cut Files:  Circle Handle Lace Purse, Spiral Gardenia, Most Amazing Mom

Other: seam binding, sequins, gemstones