Get Packing!

When I first saw Julia's Challenge post--I thought she was nagging me (as I am nagging myself to get my *stuff-laden* home packed up.  But, gladly she was not--it is was just the challenge to use packing materials in our cards (bubble wrap, packing tape, shipping tags, etc.). 

"Hey, I can do that!" (she says as she is surrounded by such things)

Two other new things came into play, too.  Clip art from Allison's blog (Stampin When I Can).  A cute set of little guys called Boys of the World.   AND a new set of Prismacolor markers I got for a fabulous price off the bay. (I think I will get Copics eventually, but this was an affordable place to start and play with the alcohol based markers before a SERIOUS investment.)  I am fairly satisfied on how my first attempt went.  As I suspected--I need some lighter color values for almost every color.  I also found the colorless blender to be quite valuable.

This was also my first time stamping (or more precisely *printing*) with bubble wrap.   I used Tim Holtz Faded Jeans Distress Ink to ink the bubbles and stamped on SU!'s Whisper White--because I love how it takes the ink from solid stamps.

The Clip Art was printed on Georgia Pacific's white cardstock on my printer's *best* setting.  The sentiment (I'm so punny--lol) was printed on some cardstock in my stash from Colorbok.

TIP: For printing out sentiments on colored cardstock or special papers.  First print out the sentiment on plain (copy weight) paper on the regular or draft setting (to save ink).  Cut your colored cardstock exactly or close (to provide trim room) to the correct size needed for your project.  Hold the copy weight paper up to the light and place your cardstock in the proper place on the printed side of the sheet.  Adhere with removable tape.  Run through your printer (this time print on the best  or matte cardstock setting).  VOILA! 

The only other detail I have to share with you is that I spread the stickles on the cardstock (and let it dry) before punching out the fish.

Thanks for stopping by!!

 

Happy Birthday Gamma Swan!

Here is take two for my Mother-in-law's birthday card.  DH specified flowers. So they are in the bg paper.  There were supposed to be more (I have coordinating papers to this one) but it just didn't work. YKWIM???  The were in the plan, they are cut to size--but they just didn't make the final cut (pun intended).

To get this card going I used two challenges: the RubberNecker Blogger Challenge #11 and the SplitCoast Sketch Challenge #178.

The RubberNecker Blogger Challenge had us use paper piecing. So the cake, decorative icing, and plate are different pieces.  I watercolored and embellished them before cutting them out.  Since I used cardstock instead of patterned paper, after cutting the pieces out, I ran a black marker around the edges of the pieces to disguise the edges.

Like birthday cards should be--this card is shiny and sparkly in real life.

Materials Used:

• Stamp: Birthday Cake
• Ink: Palette Noir (and a various for sponging and shading)
• Paper: White (GP); Pearlescent Vanilla(Verve Visual); Mellow Moss; Barely Banana and Pretty in Pink (SU!); Patterned Paper;
• Accessories: Liquid Pearls (opal white and pink); Stickles (Crystal); decorative scissors;  white pen ( Inkssentials); foam tape; ribbon; sponge; watercolor brush; Diamond Glaze (Judikins);

I hope my MIL likes her card.  She is a WONDERFUL MIL (not an easy job in my opinion).  I am truly blessed!

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Music and Flowers

I got little bits of time here and there to stamp this weekend. This started as a birthday card for my mother-in-law, but it turned out not to be her style. (So I will try again tomorrow).

I played some more with Tim Holtz Distress Inks--mostly Broken China and Peeled Paint. They coordinate well with Taken with Teal, Cool Caribbean, Old Olive and Certainly Celery (yeah--my favorite combo).

I stamped the flower (Queen Anne's Lace) on the main image three times (misting after each stamping) on watercolor paper. Then I stamped the music staff slightly above/overlapping the flowers). The edges of the main image and the patterned paper were sponged with Old Paper.

The mat was spritzed with a Broken China-Perfect Pearls (copper)-water spray and then edges were sponged with Broken China. Then dotted with Liquid Pearls (baby blue).

The hinges are Grungeboard painted with a Copper Adirondack Paint Dabber then a Willow Paint Dabber. I filled the holes with the Liquid Pearls.

The patterned paper (Paper Loft from Hobby Lobby) is stamped with Baroque Motif (stamped off) and misted with the Broken China mist.

The black base was stamped with the music staff inked with VersaMark and clear embossed.

Hope you had a wonderful weekend!

Thanks for stopping by~

Song of the Sea

This card is for Jeanne's RubberNecker Blogger Challenge #10 .  She posted this layout to use:

I decided this was a good one for the Adirondack chair and Song of the Sea sentiment stamps (both from RubberNecker).  I also used some travel dp from my stash. 

I also played with some paint on this card.  Behind the sentiment is Adirondack Paint Dabber (Lake Mist) by Ranger and around the edges is Tim Holtz Distress Crackle Paint (Antique Linen).  I learned one important thing: When using the Crackle Paint on the edges of DP--adhere it to some cardstock first!!  It curls up and it is hard to get it back flat again.

Other Materials: Ribbon, Pencils + Baby Oil; Nestabilities; Foam Tape;  Sponges; 

Well, back to packing for me.  I am having a garage sale this weekend--you should come by and buy up all my stuff. (LOL!)

Thanks for stopping by...

 

Asian Summer

I was just playing with my RubberNecker stamps in between packing boxes and organizing clutter (yes, organizing clutter is much akin to herding cats).  So this card took me about three days to complete.  Until after the move--this is the way it is going to be for me.  I am truly grateful to have stamping to help me release, though!

I am NOT happy with how the sky turned out.  I need  a sky blue pencil (not even sure they make such a thing)--I am kicking myself for not raiding my kids' colored pencils (SURELY they would have such a color).  The blue I used is too violet to go with the sea (which I am more happy with).  BUT this is my first time coloring this stamp and I was NOT about to throw away a couple of day's efforts.  SO--what color is the sky in YOUR world???

I would hope not this grayish-violetish-light blue!!

There is also lots of shiny stuff on this card: Diamond Glaze, Stickles, and Liquid Pearls.

The layout evolved from the size and shape of the scraps in my scrap drawer. 

Materials Used:

• Stamps: Asian Summer and Takeko from Rubbernecker;
• Paper: GP white; Teal, Celery, Olive, and Black (SU!);
• Ink: StazOn Jet Black; Black Soot Distress Ink (Ranger);
• Accessories: Diamond Glaze (Judikins); sticker pearls; Stickles; Liquid Pearls; Prismacolor Pencils + baby oil;

Well, it may be a day or two before I am back--I will see how many boxes I can get packed.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Royal Inchie

I got myself a stamp set for Mother's Day.  I have been wanting a Crafty Secrets stamp set ever since they first came out, and NOW I own one.

I think I have broken an *inchie rule* somewhere by going outside the confines of the one inch area--but since I am fairly certain that there aren't any *inchie police* I am safe.

Materials Used:

• Stamps: Bird Notes (Crafty Secrets);  ???(Brenda Walton);
• Ink: Palette Noir; Old Paper Distress Ink;
• Paper: white; black; dp from MME and Paper Studio;
• Accessories: gold ep (SU!); Prismacolor Pencils; Stickles and Liquid Pearls (Ranger); Diamond Glaze (Judikins); foam tape;

Thanks for stopping !!

 

One moment please....

Sorry I haven't posted much lately. My back is acting up and both stamping and computer time aggravate the problem.

I hope to get it healthy again to get back on here, soon.

In the meantime, you can check out the wonderful creations at the Starving Artistamps Gallery (new stuff there almost every day). And if you see something you need to buy remember, the discount code *JULIDIS* can get you 10% off!

Hugs! See you soon!

Happy Birthday, Myrtle!

On Becky Oehler's blog, Hemidemisemiquaver (yeah say that five times fast!) , she is looking for birthday cards for her Nanny, Myrtle, who is turning 105!!!  How cool is that!!  I bet she has more wisdom in her little finger than I have in my whole head!!

So this card is for her!  AND this card is for Jeanne's RubberNecker Blogger Challenge (using circles)!!!  AND I started by embossing the cake and watercoloring it--THEN I saw the Technique Challenge for today!!!  (which is embossed watercolor)

Before I knew what the challenge was on SCS--I had embossed the cake because I wanted the outline to be this color (Old Paper Distress Ink).  But since I wanted to watercolor the cake--I needed to use clear embossing powder to seal it.  Now, Distress Inks stay wet enough to emboss (on most papers).  But I could have also inked the stamp first with an embossing ink (like VersaMark) before inking with the dye ink, and that would have worked, too!

Material Used:

Stamps: Cake and Sentiment from RubberNecker;

Inks: Old Paper, Shabby Shutters, Milled Lavender, and Broken China Distress ink;

Papers: Prism (light green--does anyone know the color behind the sentiment??); Off White (unknown); DP-Sprout (Memory Box); Scalloped Orchid Card (DCWV); Kraft (SU!);

Accessories: Coluzzle; Nestabilities; clear EP; sponge, watercolor brush; Liquid Pearls-Platinum (Ranger);

Thanks for stopping by--now head over to Becky's blog and see how you can send Myrtle a card!!

 

Look Up!

I hope all of you had a great Mother's Day. I sure did!!!

Today's card is my entry for Julee Tilman's Mojo #36 contest.

Color blocking is a little out of my comfort zone, but I gave it my best shot.

This card is VERY VERY shimmery. I used shimmery cardstock and made my own shimmer mists with Perfect Pearls, Distress Ink and water. I made my own cloud template. All three stamps are from Starving Artistamps. The sentiment is computer generated.

Materials Used:

• Stamps: Snail; Silhouette Daisy ; Grass;
• Ink: StazOn Jet Black; TH Distress inks: Shabby Shutters, Weathered Wood, Faded Jeans, Peeled Paint;
• Paper: Georgia Pacific White; SU! Bordering Blue; Old Olive; Black; Pearlized dark Grey;
• Accessories: PrismaColor pencils + LOMS; sponges; foam tape; Stampablities Cut and Dry felt; Nestabilities dies; Clear Ep; Mini Misters; ribbon;

Thanks for stopping by!!! Have a great week this week!!

Inspiration Strikes

Today on the SCS Inspiration Challenge, our inspiration piece was this:

I was inspired by the rich magentas and the green and white swirls and came up with this:

I used Purely Pomegranate SU! ink and Tattered Rose Distress Ink to watercolor the flower petals, Peeled Paint (Distress Ink) for the leafy parts around the center, and Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain (Distress Ink) to do the center. The swirls were painted with Peeled Paint.

As you can see I departed quite heavily from the light airy-ness of the inspiration piece. But after I started--it kind of got a mind of its own.

Materials Used:

• Stamp: Autumn Sunflower;
• Inks: see above & StazOn Jet Black;
• Paper: dp--Paper Loft; Black and Olive (SU!); watercolor paper;
• Accessories: sponges; watercolor brush; Galaxy Marker (American Crafts); ribbon; foam tape;

I hope all of you mom's have a blessed Mother's Day!

Thanks for stopping by my little corner of cyberspace!!

Home Sweet Home

What I should be doing is making Mother's Day cards--but am I???

Nooooooooooo.

Every time I try--it doesn't work out right. Too much pressure--I am very close to going to Hallmark. Somebody HOLD ME BACK!!

Instead I am playing with my other new stamp from Rubber Cottage that I purchased at the Akron stamp show.

I just love this image. Not sure if I have colored it correctly (as I have never actually seen an English cottage in person). But it was fun experimenting.

I half expect seven dwarves to come out the front door and happy little woodland creatures to break out into song when I look at this! LOL! The image is actually named *Rubber Cottage* so maybe the incognito princess inside is rubber stamping!

Materials Used:

• Stamp: Rubber Cottage; Noteworthy--SU!;


• Ink: Palette Noir and Various Distress inks to watercolor;


• Paper: white; Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip and Rose Red--SU!;


• Accessories: Liquid Pearls (gold); Stickles (diamond); Coluzzle; word window punch; Distressing Tool--Tonic; watercolor brush;

Well, thanks for stopping by--maybe tomorrow I will have made a Mother's Day card.....hopefully!

Serenity

I decided to take a break from packing boxes and knock out a couple of challenges. Yesterday's Color Challenge was a bit out of my comfort zone. There was a strong request for Lovely Lilac from the folks at SCS, so Emily obliged by giving us a combo of Lovely Lilac, Certainly Celery, and Pretty in Pink.

Though Lovely Lilac is not a color I reach for often--when I do, I usually use it with earth tones. A pastel-ish card is a little our of my comfort zone. So I added a light brown as a neutral.

The branch is from Starving Artistamps and was stamped with Brushed Corduroy and clear embossed.

The moon was made with a circle punch. I punched the circle out of a post-it note, and brayered the main image with Shabby Shutter ink. Then I removed the post-it circle and placed a paper with the same size circle punched out, then sponged Worn Lipstick in onto the white circle. The *serenity* is from the mini positive words set and stamped with Lovely Lilac.

This is a very pearly card--I got a little carried away with Perfect Pearls (Perfect Pearl color). I made two mixtures: one with water, Perfect Pearls, and Worn Lipstick Distress Ink Reinker; the second with water, Perfect Pearls, and Shabby Shutter Distress Ink Reinker. The main image is sprayed with the Shabby Shutter mixture, and the Lovely Lilac circle, and Close to Cocoa base is sprayed with the Worn Lipstick mixture.

I had a lot of fun making this card!

Thanks for stopping by!

Cluck!!

The Doodle Factory stamps are just so much FUN!!!
Today I played with the chickens from the Doodle Factory Country line. And what do a bunch of hens do when they get together??? CLUCK!

Materials Used:

• Stamps: DF Chickens; Circle Background;
• Ink: Palette Noir; Broken China, Spiced Marmalade & Scattered Straw Distress Ink;
• Paper: pumpkin, rust black white, Caribbean blue;
• Accessories: Grungeboard Minis; Nestabilities, Willow Adirondack paint dabber; Galaxy Marker-white; distress tool; corner rounder; black pen;

Thanks for stopping by!!

ETA: I still have juicy inkpads for sale HERE.
and DONNA has some Blog Candy to give away--it is an awesome sheet of stamps up for a drawing!

Get Lost!!!

I finally got to stamp today!! WOO HOO!!

I decided to use my new Tim Holtz Distress Inks and to participated in the RubberNecker Blogger Challenges. This weeks Challenge is masking.

I have to admit that masking is not my favorite technique--I love the look--but I am a bit too impatient to make the mask. But in honor of a newly organized stamp space and new toys and tools I thought I would give it a go.

I stamped the car first, then the suitcases and then the palm trees. I then lightly watercolored the travel stickers and palm trees. The car is colored with Prismacolor pencils. I had a lot of fun distressing and sponging the suitcases and the different parts of the card.

The arrow is a piece of Grungeboard colored with a Stream Paint Dauber.

Materials Used:

• Stamps: Suitcase-RubberNecker; Car-Great Impressions; Trees-SU!; Alphas-Karen Foster and Starving Artistamps;


• Ink: Distress inks: Many for stamping, sponging and watercoloring; Palette Noir;


• Paper: Vanilla (unknown), Sahara Sand (SU!); Dp from Walmart and KMA;


• Accessories: Pencils + LOMS, sponges, watercolor brush, Diamond Glaze (Judi-kins), Grungeboard, sewing machine and thread;

This card was heavily infleunced by my good stamping friend, Shelly! Check out her blog for really cool ways to use Tim Holtz Distress Inks!!

Thanks Jeanne for the opportunity, and Shelly for the inspiration!!!