Thankful

It’s NJ State Fair time again this year and beginning with the next post, I’ve got a month of submissions to share with you.  Enjoy!

For now, my wonderful friend Barb is head of the Home and Hobby department at the annual NJ State Fair.  She works her backside off every year in coordinating the myriad details months in advance of the August event.  In addition to hundreds of other details, she also makes sure that all of the entries are beautifully displayed and that the entire volunteer team is scheduled correctly.  Everything in that building runs smoothly and it’s all because of Barb.

In addition to being an excellent stamper, she is also a master quilter and wins ribbons every year because of her beautiful work.  One of her quilts this year featured an innovative heart border, one of which I’ve reproduced in paper for this card . . .

As I submit cards for judging every year, I like to send her a Thank You card in appreciation for her incredible work and I thought this version of her quilted heart motif would make her smile . . .

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute, Canson Montval Watercolor #140,

Various designer papers         

Inks:              Distress Aged Mahogany

Dies:              Memory Box Pinpoint Leaf Plate, Simon Says Sentiment 

                       Labels               

Doo Dads:     Viva Paper Pen Gold        

Dream

This is the last of the four stamps kindly given to me by Joyce Kurtz, the owner of The Peddler’s Pack . . .

As this young girl was the first face I’ve ever done, I confess to being a little hesitant to get started.  But the artwork was an absolute treat to work with and while my coloring skills need a lot more practice, I think this turned out quite nicely. 

I’ve had fun playing with these four lovely images and am very grateful to Joyce for gifting me with them . . .

Cardstock:   Core Nostalgic Grays set, #140 Canson Montval

Watercolor

Stamps:        Peddler’s Pack Lovely Lydia

Inks:               ColorBox Black, Distress Peeled Paint

Colorants:    Prisma Warm Grey, Cool Grey, Chocolate, Chestnut,

Kelp Green, Hot Pink, Seashell Pink, Peach

Emb Pwdr:   Judikins Detail Black

Dies:              Tim Holtz Intricate Lace, DieNamics Stitched Mini

Scallop Rectangles, Reverse Confetti Wild Words set:

Dream                   

Doo Dads:    Gamsol, Studio G Pearls, Gelly Roll pen Clear, Past

Time Stamps Multi Fine Glitter     

 

All the Best

The adorable Ball jar with flowers was the third stamp gifted to me by Laura Kurtz of The Peddler’s Pack . . .

 The green cardstock I chose for the trailing vine turned out to be too dark, so I painted the leaves with a lighter green paint.  This is what I absolutely love about stamping – if you back yourself into a corner, there is always a way to tinker with wrong decisions and turn them into better ones!

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Admiral, Strathmore #90 Mixed Media   

Stamps:        Alias Smith & Rowe Striped Background, Peddler’s

Pack Ball Jar with Flowers

Inks:               Ancient Page Indigo, ColorBox Black

Colorants:    Prisma Yellow Ochre, Yellowed Orange, Dark Green,

Distress Acrylic Paint Mowed Lawn

Emb Pwdr:   Judikins Detail Black

Dies:              Lil Inker Stitched Mats Rectangles, Cottage Cutz Shelf

                        with Plants, Impression Obsession “All the best”

Cheep! Cheep!

Every time I work with Gamsol, I am stunned anew at how wonderful that magic stuff is. 

Gamsol easily makes colored pencil strokes go from rough to smooth and the results are gratifyingly soft and look evenly applied – not something that is otherwise easy to do with colored pencils.  Gamsol also conquers the annoying waxy ‘bloom’ that colored pencils always stick you with . . .  it is such a treat to be in control of the media instead of the other way around!

This delightful image was another one gifted to me by Joyce Kurtz, the owner of The Peddler’s Pack.  As intricately drawn as it looks, it was surprisingly quick to color!  I really had a wonderful time with this image and will be having more fun with it in future. 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Splash, Canson Montval Watercolor #140, Scrap

Dull Silver, Brown

Stamps:        The Peddler’s Pack Hen House Chicken & Chicks

Inks:               Gina K Charcoal Brown

Colorants:    Prismacolor Scarlet Lake, Spanish Orange, Eggshell,

Beige Sienna, Dark Brown, Cerulean Blue

Emb Pwdr:   Judikins Detail Black

Dies:              Kat Scrappiness Woodgrain Framed Diamond Wire,

                       DieVersions font Noodles                  

With You

While interviewing Joyce Kurtz, owner of The Peddler’s Pack, for an article to be published in the Holiday issue of RubberStampMadness, she very kindly sent me a handful of her delightful stamps to play with.  One of them was perfectly suited for the Sympathy card below . . .

The coloring was done with watercolor pencils softened with a waterbrush, and the flower centers are a non-metallic chunky glitter.  The background seemed a little bare, so I added a glimmer of texture by stenciling clear paste through a speckled stencil.  I went for glimmer rather than sparkle as toning things down a bit seemed right for a Sympathy card . . .

 

Cardstock:   Canson Montval Watercolor #140, Bazzill Evening Surf        

Stamps:        The Peddler’s Pack Delightful Daisies, Wordsworth

“My thoughts are with you”

Inks:               ColorBox Black

Colorants:    Inktense Pencils Iris Blue, Spring Green, Golden Yellow

Waterclrs:     Clean Color Light Green

Emb Pwdr:   Judikins Detail Black

Dies:              Kat Scrappiness Never Ending, Mini Slimline Double

Stitched, DieNamics Wonky Stitch Rectangle Stax                   

Stencil:          Tim Holtz Speckles

Doo Dads:    Dreamweaver Embossing Paste Translucent,

                      American Crafts Jute Green, Yellow glitter         

In My Prayers

This one was a struggle and did not put a smile on my face when I finally put it to bed . . .

 I was having fun with translucent texture paste and a text stamp I embedded into it while it was still wet.  But the text was barely visible and the colors I used over it when dry seemed a little lurid for a Sympathy card, so I covered the whole thing with a die cut background and called it a day.  Back to the drawing board . . .

 

Cardstock:   Stamper’s Emporium Marina Teal, Fabriano #140 Artistico   

Stamps:       Stampendous Encouraging Words: “You’re in my prayers”

Inks:            Distress Peacock Feathers

Waterclrs:    Ken Oliver Color Burst Ultramarine Blue, Pthalo Green

Emb Pwdr:   Vippies Transcendence

Dies:            Memory Box Butterflies Vivienne, Darla, Hero Flower Garden, 

                     Cottage Cutz Nested Stitched Scallop Squares

Doo Dads:    Dreamweaver Embossing Paste Translucent   

Ron & Rachel

I sold my tiny little lake house almost two years ago and got to meet the new owners recently.  After doing extensive renovations and enlargement in order to accommodate grandchildren and guests, they wanted to show me the results.  They are two of the nicest people on the planet and it was an incredible delight to meet them and see the wonderful transformation of my little treasure house.  They’ve invited me to an Open House this month and I thought a special card was in order.  Here’s a look at the presentation box . . .

 

Because of the very dimensional flowers I used on the card, I needed to make a box to house it instead of using an envelope.  The picture shows both the top and the base that I decided to do in a coordinating pattern for added interest.

The Box:

Cardstock:   Tim Holtz Kraft Resist set: two patterns

Dies:            Unknown Tree, Avery Elle Embellish It Flower Die,

Spellbinders Signs of Spring 1 (bird),

Doo Dads:    Brads

The card is a gatefold held closed with a belly band.  The second picture shows the interior which will hold my personal message.  The hearts emerging from the chimney indicate the love all three of us have for the house and I very much hope they will be as happy as I was when living there.

The Card:

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute, Designer papers    

Stamps:       KaiserCraft Marble

Inks:             Hero Shadow Ink Soft Brown

Dies:            Creative Craft Curvy Gatefold, Memory Box Shaker

Heart, Amuse Gingerbread Tag (inside stitched house),

InLoveArtShop Heart Shapes,

DieVersions Font Noodles,

Emb Fldr:     Taylored Expressions Weathered

Doo Dads:    Queen & Co pearls

Bloom

My current creative craze has to do with embossing pastes, a medium I adore working with.  I have a number of them – I won’t say just how many other than to admit that it’s a lot – and it’s time to start using them up before they dry into crusty unspreadable rocks.  I’ve had to re-hydrate a few of these rocks, a process which takes about three days before they become soft enough to work with again.  So I’ve begun experimenting with Heavy Gesso in the meantime . . .

Heavy Gesso can be used for a variety of techniques and I recommend Googling to learn about some of them.  I don’t know if stenciling with it was the main objective of the inventor.  But oh boy, is it ever wonderful for that purpose.  It’s affordable, dries very strong and even takes less time to dry than many stencil pastes.  It comes in sizes ranging from small to gallon and is either a pure white or black.

As with any gesso, you can color over it with almost any medium.  Here I used Distress stains after the stenciled gesso had dried.  If I want the white gesso to stay white, I would color the background first and then stencil with the gesso.  Waterproof inks must be used for this or the wet gesso will wick up the color.  It makes a neat effect, but that may not be what you’re after.

Stay tuned for more fun with gesso, pastes, and stenciling!

 

Cardstock:   The Paper Cut Burnt Umber, Nicole Premiere #140

Watercolor, Manila tag    

Stamps:        Time to Stamp Grunge set Crackle, Judikins Celtic

Background

Inks:               Distress Stains Pumice Stone, Brushed Corduroy,

Tarnished Brass, Gina K Charcoal Brown

Dies:              Spellbinders Anemone Flower Topper, InLoveArtShop          

English Letters: Bloom

Stencil:          Tim Holtz Tinsel

Doo Dads:    Finnabair Heavy Gesso White, American Craft ribbon

Blue, Charm