Thursday, September 28, 2017

Noel

As this was our Christmas card last year, this is a re-post.  Perhaps my newer readers will enjoy it.  Maybe it will inspire the rest of us to get an early start on this year's cards?


The fun thing about this card is that the background was made with my own homemade stamp.  I bought a sheet of rubber from the hardware store.  It's from the plumbing department and is called a 'gasket'.  I did some quick and easy free-form chopping and cutting around the edges and presto - my own background stamp for just a few bucks.
For this card, I smooshed on a couple of inks, misted a few times, and stamped.  Quick and easy - perfect for assembly line stamping!

And that's all she wrote for this year's romp at the NJ State Fair, Dear Readers.  The judges enjoyed my work and that has made me a very happy camper stamper!

Cardstock:   Generic Textured White, The Paper Cut White Matte Coate
Stamps:        Above the Mark Abbey Music, my own Deckle Edge
                           Shadow Stamp made from a sheet of plumber's gasket
Inks:               ColorBox Frost White, Distress Chipped Sapphire, Dusty
                        Concord, Wink of Stella Clear
Emb Powder:   Judikins Detail White, Vippies Transcendence
Dies:              DieNamics Wonky Stitch Rectangle Stax, DieVersions
                           Nativity Ornament, Tim Holtz Holiday Words: Script “Noel”
Doo Dads:    Past Time Stamps Multi Ultra Fine Glitter

Monday, September 25, 2017

Love

Susan Pickering Rothamel of USArt Quest has a wonderfully creative mind that is always seeking new ways to use craft materials.  This card was made by a technique she came up with, using Great Tape . . .


Great Tape is a thin, sheer "dry" glue that comes in various widths on a roll.  After laying down several strips of the glue, you push it around a little with your fingers to make loose, free-form strips or designs.  Then you just sprinkle on your favorite glitters, foils, decorative flakes, or anything you like, and press down firmly to secure.  It's about as quick a technique as you can think of, and the results are exquisite, wouldn't you say?

Cardstock:   Core'dinations Nostalgic Greys, Generic Bronze, Black
Inks:               ColorBox Silver
Dies:              Spellbinders Petite Scalloped Ovals Small, Marianne Flower
                           Fantasy, Memory Box Creekside Leaves, Avery Elle Love
Doo Dads:    Gelly Roll pen Clear, deckle edge scissors, flower punch,
                           USArt Quest Pure Gold Flake Medium, Distress Stickles
                           Rock Candy, USArt Quest Great Tape


Thursday, September 21, 2017

Better Already

This one shows my ongoing happy love affair with the versatility of gesso . . .


I stamped the sails in black and then clear embossed them.  Then I generously applied the white gesso with a small brush, letting it stay a little rough and dimensional.  The raised edges on the sails (from the heat embossing) made it easier to keep the gesso inside.  When done, I traced over the black edges with a black marker to make sure they looked crisp against the white sails.

Gesso is my dear friend . . . thinned with a little water, it makes a great spatter.  It quickly prepares almost any surface for whatever colorant you want to use.  It's cheap, dries quickly, is an easy water cleanup, and it also comes in black.  Both colors are valued and permanent members of my stash . . .

Cardstock:   Bazzill Kachina, Champion Narrow Ribbed White,
                           The Paper Cut Watercolor paper , Generic scraps
                           Black, White
Stamps:        Impression Obsession Geologic, Rubber Tree Sails,
                           Stampin’ Up: all text
Inks:               ColorBox Black
Colorants:    Lindy’s Stamp Gang ink powders Magical: Time Travel
                           Teal, Luscious Lime
Emb Powder:   WOW Clear Matte Dull
Doo Dads:    White Gesso


Monday, September 18, 2017

Sweet Baby

Although I've had my MISTI for well over a year, I've never given it a really serious try until now.  I'm an instant convert and will remain a huge fan for the rest of my days. 


Getting all of those word stamps to stamp in precisely the right spots would have been impossible for me.  Mostly because the cardstock is textured and I knew each word would require multiple stampings in order to make solid impressions.  With the MISTI, this was a totally stress-free cinch.  Without it, forget it.

Cardstock:   Bazzill Lima, Strathmore Soft White
Stamps:        Verve “Precious little one”, “Welcome baby”, “Bundle of joy”; 
                           all other text by Cloud 9 Design Baby set, Paper Smooches
                           Scripty Sayings: Solid Heart, Outlines Bits & Pieces Set Two
                           Small Star, Kaisercraft Marble
Inks:               Distress Scattered Straw, Fossilized Amber, Wild Honey,
                           Hero Black, VersaMark
Emb Powder:   WOW Clear Matte Dull 
Dies:              DieVersions Onesie, DieNamics Mini Scalloped Rectangle
Doo Dads:    Black metal hanger, Wink of Stella Gold

Thursday, September 14, 2017

Happy Birthday

This card reflects my mania for leaves.  I love leaves of all kinds - realistic or sketchy, it doesn't matter.  All of them are beautiful to me . . .


On this card, I believe I used every leaf in the set.  As for coloring, I tried for an ombre effect and although it emerged on the subtle side, I'm happy with the results.

Cardstock:   Bazzill Great Lakes, Strathmore #90 Watercolor paper           
Stamps:        Artsy Fartsy Leaves           
Inks:               Distress Weathered Wood, Stormy Sky, Faded Jeans,
                           Chipped Sapphire, ColorBox Frost White
Emb Powder:   Judikins Detail White
Dies:              Lil Inkers Stitched Mats: Rectangles
Doo Dads:    American Crafts Jute Blue, Viva Pearl Pen Cream                        

Monday, September 11, 2017

Yes I Can

Making her way through a frosty October sky, Wanda the Witch is quite confident of her abilities in driving a standard broom . . . I can identify, having never owned an automatic myself.  Automatic car, that is.  Have never actually tried driving a broom, although I can be witchy at times . . .


Wanda is steering through a purple and blue Distressed sky I sprinkled with just enough water spatters to suggest an early snowfall.  Then I stamped the images in black.  This was the perfect opportunity to use a non-shiny embossing powder - I think of witches as being dressed in sooty clothes rather than shiny ones, so a matte finish powder really works well here.

Cardstock:   Bazzill Purple, Tim Holtz Watercolor paper, Generic Black                
Stamps:        Lost Coast Silhouette Witch, Rubbernecker Bats, Northwoods
                           "Yes, I can drive . . ."        
Inks:               ColorBox Black, Hero Black, Distress Stains Dusty Concord,
                           Chipped Sapphire, Stormy Sky
Emb Powder:   WOW Clear Matte Dull
Dies:              DieNamics Grassy Edges, Spellbinders Fleur de Lis Squares            ,
                           QuicKutz Bats
Doo Dads:    Wilhold Glitter Black            

Thursday, September 7, 2017

Take Flight

Aerodynamically speaking, I doubt that this little winged lady will actually be taking flight any time soon . . .


 . . . but then, according to the laws of physics, bumblebees aren't supposed to be able to fly either.  And yet, they do.  So this rather unusual woman might just surprise us.  Meanwhile, I had a lot of fun coloring her with bright and happy colors which I think are set off very well by the black and white striped background.

Cardstock:   Generic Textured Teal, Newsprint, The Paper Cut White
                           Matte Coate
Stamps:        Lost Coast Take Flight, Simon Says Diagonal Stripes
Inks:               ColorBox Black, Various Prisma pencil colors
Emb Powder:   Judikins Detail Black
Punches:      Punches: EK Success Photo Corners,  Stampin’ Up Arrows
Doo Dads:    Crystals


Monday, September 4, 2017

Soar, Play, Discover

It's North New Jersey Fair Time again, folks!  And, immodestly speaking, it's also Crowing Time, as I picked up a few ribbons along the way.  There were eight themes we could submit for, and I did one card for each theme.  Happily, I scored with all of them!  I'll be sharing them with you over the next four weeks.  Meanwhile, here's a picture of me with my lovely new ribbons for 2017:


So let's get started:
Distressed edges and smooshed backgrounds:  these are two of my favorite techniques . . .


For this particular smooshing session, I started with really wet watercolor paper, dusted on some dried die ink powders, re-misted, and then pressed down with an acrylic block to push the color around a little.

In all truth, I love just about every technique I've tried.  Our glorious hobby is enjoyed by many thousands of highly creative artists who love to share what they've learned during their crafting times at the worktable.  And the rest of us get to benefit and see our art improve as a result.  We are fortunate indeed . . .

Cardstock:   Bazzill Cutie, Crimson, The Paper Cut Watercolor paper 
Stamps:        Starving Artistamps Positive Words: “Soar”, “Play”,
                           “Discover”
Inks:               Ancient Page Cardinal
Colorants:    Ken Oliver Color Burst Alizarin Crimson, Orange
Emb Powder:   WOW Clear Matte Dull
Dies:              Memory Box Fresh Daisies, Joy Butterflies