20 hearts - #9, #10, #11

Happy Saturday, my friends.  It's sunny outside, but cold - only 20 degrees and windy.  It's a good day to stay indoors. 

Last night I was busy on the February monthly challenge at Motley Soul Mixed-Media Art, and made three more. 

For the first one, I made a quilt background by punching 1" squares from designer paper.  I brushed over it with a gesso wash, which toned down the brightness just a bit. 

Then I stamped the heart (oh, forgot to check, but I think it's Stampington & Co.) in jet black archival ink.  I added some faux stitching and a computer generated sentiment. 

The next one started with the heart, which is sticky back canvas.  I stamped the flowers (Dylusions) in black archival ink on plain white paper and did an image transfer onto the sticky side of the canvas.  You press the image side onto the sticky side, burnish, then wet and rub until all the paper residue is gone and only the image remains.  Because I wanted it colored, I tried some different mediums (copic markers, distress markers, ink sprays).  Some of the color from the markers is visible, but mostly washed out.  The ink sprays colored the canvas, but not evenly.  I completely rinsed the canvas and what you see is what was left.  I gave it a coat of matte Mod Podge.  It was a good experiment and I like the result, even though it wasn't what I was aiming for. 

The background is painted, stenciled with more paint, and then stamped with a Donna Salazar crackle stamp. 

I crocheted a length of braid, which is the type used for Romanian Point Lace, and glued it around the edge of the heart. 

The sentiment is computer generated. 

For the last heart, I covered the background with designer paper and a piece from an old book, all coated with matte Mod Podge. 

The heart was stamped on tissue paper, torn out and applied with Mod Podge. 

The sentiment is computer generated. 

Thank you so much for visiting today.  Have a great day.

E-Team Blog Hop - Inspired by Words

Hello, my friends.  I am thrilled and honored to have been chosen to be a part of this month's E-Team blog hop. This is the second in a series featuring art journals, with the theme -- inspired by words.  

Visit each E-Team blog participant PLUS the guest bloggers to leave a comment to win a $25 eP gift certificate.  Comments may be left from May 23rd - May 28th.  Two random winners from the blog hop will be chosen.  Gift certificate winners will be posted on May 29th on the eP blog.  

Here are links to all the participants:  Daisy - eP blog; Broni; Micki; Sherry; Starla; and the guest bloggers: Marji; and ME.

Join the E-Team in our journal adventure and link your journal page on the eP blog.  Two people will be chosen to join the hop next month.  You have until Sunday, June 3rd to upload your journal page inspired by the monthly quote.  The next guest bloggers will be announced on Friday, June 8th on the eP blog.

For my page, I started with watercolor paper coated with gesso.  Then, using matte Mod Podge, I covered the page with torn pages from an old book.  

Next, since I wanted something to represent tea, I took some used coffee filters, which had been rinsed and dried, and tea-dyed them in some strong tea, giving them a nice brown color.  After drying them, I tore them into small pieces, crinkled them up to get lots of wrinkles and texture, and then used the Mod Podge again to cover the page with the pieces.  

I had this idea in my head to use several women stamps, but I wasn't sure how to get them on the page.  I tried stamping them on card stock and die cutting them in ovals, but that just didn't work.  Then I tried just cutting around the faces, but I still didn't like it.  I finally settled on the idea of stamping them on some dyed coffee filters, coloring with copic markers and then attaching them with Mod Podge.  This is exactly what I was going for.  The stamps clockwise from lower left are B&J's Art Stamps, Inkadinkado, Stampendous, Stampington & Co., and Stamps Happen.

(edited: I replaced the blurry picture.)

Unfortunately, even though I used matte Mod Podge, the copic markers left a shine, which I didn't like.  So... more experiments.  I diluted some gesso with water, brushed it over the page, and then used a paper towel to blot it off.  It took away some of the shine without removing or hiding the images.  I needed to do that twice before I was satisfied. 

I printed the quote on my computer, cut it apart, sponged the edges with tea dye distress ink and then edged the pieces with a black marker and glued them down.   

Then I made a tiny tea bag from tissue paper, which I filled with tea leaves from a regular tea bag that I cut open.  I added some tea dye distress ink and a tiny bit of water to blend it.  Since I didn't have a tiny stapler, I just made a couple of stitches with black thread to represent the staples on the bag and tag.  I also added some black pearls to two of the corners. 

So, now I have my page all together... and I am not happy with it.  It was just way too bland.  I like more color.  What to do?  Well, add color, of course!

I punched out some tiny butterflies with a Martha Stewart punch and a embosslit die from SU/Sizzix, added some sponged color and placed them around the page. 

That was better, but still not enough, so I decided to add some crochet accents.  I made some tiny flowers, a small edging and a larger flower, to which I added some sponged color, and attached them.  This was a big improvement.  

Although this page didn't turn out quite like I wanted, I do like it.  I think it would have been better if I had a larger area to work with, but since I started with a 6" square for my cover, that's what I'm using.  

Don't forget to visit all the other members of the blog hop and leave comments.  Thanks for stopping by. 

creative chemistry 101 -day 5

Hello, my friends.  I have more tags from the creative chemistry 101 class by Tim Holtz for you today. 

I started off my first technique (stained kraft resist) with some creative substitution.  I don't have any kraft resist paper.  So I grabbed a piece of kraft card stock and a bunch of stamps.  I inked the stamps with versamark and then stamped a collage over the entire sheet of card stock.  After coating it with clear embossing powder, I heated it, so now I had something to work with.  I do realize that it's not quite the same as the kraft resist paper, but to try the technique, I figured it would suffice. 

The picture is rather dark, since I didn't use flash because of all the reflection from the embossing and it's also a rather gray, dreary, rainy day here today.

The next technique was stamping with stains.  I tend to use lighter and brighter colors than Tim, so when I stamped the white over the background, it really didn't show up very well.  You have to look really close and get the light reflecting at the right angle to see it.  But I like the tag anyway.

Here's a closeup of some of the words, just so you can see that they really are there. 

The last technique was marbled stains.  Another fun technique.  I guess I'm not quite as generous with my inks as Tim.  I thought I had enough on my craft sheet, but apparently not, because I ran out of ink before the tag was completely filled with color.  There are some spots that are almost bare, but I think it turned out pretty anyway.

Thanks so much for joining me on this creative journey.  Have a great weekend.

be true

Hello my friends.  I've been working bit by bit on art journal pages.  Last night I finished two.  I've found that making backgrounds works best by doing more than one page at a time, so I might coat several pages with gesso and then set them aside to dry.  Then I might add paint or ink with stencils, etc.  But since there is a lot of waiting for things to dry, doing several at the same time just makes sense.

One that I made really didn't fall into the category of the above.  I started it on Thursday for a quick-fire challenge on the OWSE yahoo group.  There were certain specifications on starting the background.  I also added pieces of old book pages, some stamping & hand wrote the words.

I'm starting to get a little more comfortable with making these pages.

Thanks for stopping by.

follow your bliss

Hi my friends.  I guess I've been pretty silent this week.  Other than class projects, I haven't stamped all week until today.  When the inspiration challenge was posted on SCS, I checked the site and was pretty awed -- some very cool stained glass art.  However, I was in the midst of some much needed cleaning and wasn't sure I would find time to stamp.  I made a lot of progess on the cleaning, but decided to take a break and watch the Brewers baseball game, so while I was watching, I made a card. 

My inspiration came from the mosaic glass gallery - follow your bliss.  I knew that I could use my rays embossing folder to make the background.  I inked it with brilliant blue ink and then ran it through my cuttlebug with white card stock.  It gave me exactly the look I wanted. 

Then I stamped Lady of Grace (Stampington) on white with brilliant blue and die cut it with a big scallop oval nestabilities die (Spellbinders).  I sponged the edges and die cut a larger one for a back layer.  I added some blue gems and used dimensional tape to attach the image to the card.  Easy.

Thank you so much for stopping by today.  I value and appreciate your comments.

born to fly - GM07

Hello my friends. It's time for another grungy Monday card. This challenge is found on Linda Ledbetter's blog, Studio L3, and it's all about celebrating the techniques and products of Tim Holtz. This week's technique can be found here. I think I need to get some ink refills for my distress ink pads. My background is rather pale.

I stamped on the dress form with a stamp from Club Stamp and the wings are stamped with lady of grace (Stampington). The sentiment is computer generated.

In order to fit the dress form on the card, I cut off the stand and tucked it underneath the bodice.

I did a lot of faux stitching and sponging along all the edges.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

more snow

Hi, my friends. Yes, we are getting more S.N.O.W.! It's been snowing all day, but I don't think we've seen anything yet. We are supposed to have blizzard conditions heading our way. I went out an hour ago and shoveled down one side of the drive, so it would be easier for DH to get in.

I made a card today for the technique challenge on SCS, which was heat embossing on dry embossing. That part of the card probably took me about two minutes. However, the rest of the card took more like four hours.

I started by embossing a piece of cranberry crisp cardstock with gridlock embossing folder (Tim Holtz/Sizzix). Then I brayered versamark over the raised portions and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. I chose a black card base.

Next I stamped Lady of Grace (Stampington & Co.) in versamark on tangerine tango and embossed with clear ep. I then die cut it with my baroque die (Tim Holtz/Sizzix) -- It would have been easier to die cut first and then stamp, but I don't always do things the easy way. I only wanted a portion of the die cut, so I trimmed off next to the image. I wanted to layer this on black, so I put it back on the die, but moved it over about 1/4" so just one side was trimmed off a little more. Then the full die cut of black made a nice layer. I added a couple of black brads for accent.

I also die cut the smaller elegant flourishes (Tim Holtz/Sizzix) in black and then coated it with versamark and embossed it with clear UTEE two times, giving it a look of a metal embellishment.

I was going to make a vertical card, with the image on the right and the flourish lower left. I glued the flourish down where I wanted it -- I had to use crystal effects to get it to stick -- put my non-stick craft sheet on top and a couple of dies to weight it down till it dried.

Now here's where all the time came in. I have some butterflies which I die cut from plastic packaging. I wanted to use one, so I got out my Ranger alcohol inks and did a little polished stone on a couple. In order to make it show up, I die cut a butterfly from white cardstock, which I sponged with vintage photo distress ink along the edges and then put under the plastic butterfly. But this butterfly just wasn't working with the layout. In my frustration, I flipped the card horizontal and placed the image back down and LOVED it! So I adhered the image piece with dimensional tape.

But the butterfly still didn't work, so I decided to go with a smaller butterfly. Now I needed to use a punch, which will not punch through the plastic packaging, so I pulled out a sheet of acetate transparency and punched a butterfly, did the polished stone on it, plunched another of white cardstock, sponged and put them together. I added a black brad and it fit perfectly. Yay!

At this point, I am really loving this card, but I need a sentiment and have no idea what I want to put on it. I considered a lot of different words and sayings and finally settled on imagine. So I pulled out an old Image Tree alphabet that has some pretty small letters. I did some more polished stone on a piece of glossy white cardstock and then stamped the letter with black stazon and punched them out. It's really hard to see in the photo, but I punched black circles to back them. The black circles are just barely bigger than the colored ones, but I wanted to have a bit of contrast there. I struggled for a long time on how to place the letters, but finally decided on just a straight line. I really, really love how this turned out, so I guess all the time spent was worth it.

It was hard to get a good photo, because of all the embossing.

I'm so glad you stopped in for a visit today.

black and white

Happy new year, my friends. Are you looking forward to the possibilities of a new year?

My card today is for the inspiration challenge on SCS. I one of the samples given for my inspiration. I wanted to do a fairly simple card using only white cardstock and black ink.

The butterfly image is from Stampington & Co., stamped with black stazon and die cut with my cuttlebug and circles nestabilities.

The flourish is from Inkadinkado, and the sentiment is from Cornish Heritage Farms.

I used dimensional tape between the layers and added a red rhinestone.

Thanks for visiting.

shabby butterfly

Happy Monday. This morning I made a card for the technique challenge on SCS. The challenge was to use corrugated cardboard. I love the many looks you can achieve with this.

I first wet one side of the cardboard and let it sit about 5 minutes, which makes it much easier to pull off that outside layer to reveal the texture underneath. After removing most of the top layer, I used my cuttlebug and two SU/Sizzix (top note & beautiful butterflies) dies to cut it. I added some antique white acrylic paint to the butterfly. Once that was dry, I stamped Lady of Grace (Stampington) in faded jeans distress ink (Ranger) and then sponged and distressed the edges. For the center, I wanted a small crochet flower, but didn't have any in the right color, so I sat down and made one, which I attached with a brad. Here's a closeup of the butterfly.

On the top note, I used a stamp from Gratitude (Club Stamp) in aged mahogany distress ink (Ranger) and added sponging and a lot of distressing on the edges, even tearing off one corner. I added a piece of my crocheted lace edging as well.

The base card is not quite navy and the vanilla layer is stamped with Dots & Flowers (Hero Arts). More sponging and distressing. The sentiment is from the Gratitude set. I attached the butterfly with dimensional tape.

Thanks for visiting today. Have a wonder-filled week.

Zentangle

Hi everyone. Happy Friday! I hope you've all had a great week.

Even though I was teaching a couple of classes yesterday, I managed to work in some play time for the ways to use it challenge on SCS. I didn't finish the card until this morning, but I had the background all finished last night. The challenge was to do zentangle, which is basically doodling in black ink on white cardstock. You divide off areas and then fill in with doodles. I'd never done it before, but it was rather fun.

I decided to pair mine with this girl stamp from Stampington & Co. I thought the similarity was a perfect match. I printed the sentiment on my computer. I used oval nestabilities (Spellbinders) and oval punches. I wanted just a little splash of red for an accent, so I gathered a piece of organdy ribbon with a needle and thread and attached it behind the ovals. Then I added the red rhinestone jewels and colored her lips & eyes with prismacolor pencils. Both sets of ovals are popped up on dimensional tape.

Thank you so much for visiting today. Have a great weekend.

sing with joy

Hey, everyone. I decided to make a card for the SCS ways to use it challenge today, but I can't believe how many hours it took to get it done. The challenge was to use chipboard, which I love using because of the dimension and stability it gives. Most of the time, I just use cereal boxes and glue some together for more thickness, which is what I did today.

I wanted to use one of my new Sizzix dies by Tim Holtz, so I pulled out Caged Bird. I started by cutting two cages and three birds and then gluing them together. I inked the cage up with Ranger vintage photo ink, but then decided I wanted it to look shiny, so I went over it with versamark and clear embossed it.

For the bird, I first painted it with white acrylic paint and then stamped it in brilliant blue with a stamp from SU's vintage vogue set. I sponged the edges with brilliant blue. In order to get in the small area between the legs, I used a makeup sponge applicator. Because the paint lightens the ink color, it actually looks more like ballet blue.

Along two sides of the white background, I stamped flourette (Stampington & Co.) enough to make it look like a vine. Then I overstamped the little leaf from vintage vogue in always artichoke. I added some gable green with marker to brighten it up a bit.

The flowers are all stamped in ballet blue on separate paper, cut out and sponged with brilliant blue. They are just randomly placed on the vine, with some in front of the cage, so that the cage looks like it's hanging in the vine. A number of leaves were also cut out and added for more dimension.

I used a brilliant blue marker to add some detail to the flowers, a yoyo yellow marker for the centers, and an always artichoke marker for leaf veins.

When all these parts were glued down on the card, I had a very small space at the bottom for a sentiment, so what went there had to be only one line. I looked until I found something suitable (fundamental phrases) that I liked, stamped it on a scrap of white, trimmed it and clipped the ends, then sponged the edges and glued the ends down, with the center popped up. I really like how the card turned out, even though I spent way too many hours making it.

Thanks so much for stopping by for a visit today. Be blessed.

lady of grace

Hi everyone. Have you missed me? I have been such a bad blogger. I've been working a lot on my quilt, but there is really nothing to show with that yet. But here I am with a card, which I made for today's ways to use it challenge on SCS. This one was to use textiles - sweet! I didn't even have to dig very far for some fabric scraps. And I also got to use a new stamp.

I chose my colors to go with the fabric, hence the eggplant accented with sage shadow. I glued the fabric to a piece of scrap cardstock, trimmed it, and then glued that to the sage shadow card base.

I thought that the backgound was too bare, so I decided to use the little border stamp from Vintage Vogue (SU) along the top and bottom of the fabric. Well, even using my stamp-a-ma-jig, I managed to stamp those very crooked, so out came some eggplant grosgrain ribbon to hide the boo boos.

I stamped the main image on a scrap of vanilla with jet black stazon and used prismacolor pencils and gamsol to color it. This is a new image called Lady of Grace from Stampington & Co., which I recently acquired along with a few others. But this one had not seen any ink until today. After coloring, I trimmed the cardstock down for an unusual shape and sponged a tiny bit of eggplant ink on the edges, and then attached it to the card with dimensional tape.

I wanted this to be a thank you card, so I pulled out the sentiment from a very old SU set called Watercolor Wishes and stamped it in eggplant.

At this point, I really felt that the left side of the card needed something to perk it up, so I pulled out my big shot & a bigz die called Decorative Accents with Flower and die cut that from vanilla cardstock. I lightly sponged it and glued it down, trimming off the part that extended beyond the card. Then I pulled out some sticky back pearls and added them to the flourish and one on her dress. I'm very pleased with how this turned out.

Thanks so much for visiting today. Have a beautiful day.