All the Best

The mixed media style has really begun to interest me lately.  So I was delighted when SplitCoastStampers featured a mixed media design to start me off.  Here’s my first attempt:

One of the most appealing aspects about mixed media is that depending on your choices, you can use several products you already have – and maybe even some you’ve not used in awhile.  This card features gesso, acrylic paint, a stencil, gritty stencil paste,  metallic rub-ons, and a few die cuts.  I hadn’t used my metallic rub-ons in ages and as a result of applying a gold one on this card, I’ve fallen in love with them all over again.  While I used to use my fingertip to apply the rub-on, this time, I tried a sponge dauber and was delighted with how smoothly it just glided right on.

I love the loose, there-are-no-rules style that mixed media is famous for.  You can try out anything at all and if you’re not thrilled with the result, then slather something else over it and keep going.  I am now seriously hooked on the mixed media style and I plan to do it to death . . . SO much fun!

Cardstock    Canson Montval Watercolor #140

Stamps:       Zettiology Specimen Latin Text

Inks:             Archival Jet Black

Colorants:    Anita’s Acrylic Paint Sand Box, Craf-T Products

Metallic Rub-On Earth Tones Kit #2: Deep Gold

Dies:            Impression Obsession “All the”, Honey Bee Blanket Set:

“Best”, Marianne Butterflies                   

Stencil:        American Classic Jacobean Floral

Doo Dads:    Art Anthology stencil paste Sandstone, Studio Gesso

White, White Blossom Jewel Stickers Black      

Thank You

My friend Valentina is new to the world of die cutting and dry embossing with folders.  She invested in a handful of folders but was unaware that it takes a die cutting machine to use them.  So she gifted me with three folders!  The background on this card is the result of one of them . . .

 

One of my favorite looks is the letterpress look where the background of the design is colored but not the design itself.  This is easy to get with embossing folders:  just rub the ink pad over the concave side of the folder, the side where the design is indented.  The surrounding flat areas will pick up the ink and leave the design untouched.

If you want a splotchy look as I did, use Distress ink and mist lightly afterwards.

Cardstock:   Strathmore Ultimate White

Inks:             Distress Speckled Egg

Dies:            Memory Box Pippi Butterfly, Gina Marie Stitched

Rounded Squares, Savvy Thank You Cursive             

Emb Fldr:     Love Nicole Butterflies and Flowers

Doo Dads:    Silvery Sequins       

Cheers

More fun with alcohol inks on Yupo cardstock . . .

A gorgeous turquoise color,  some added gold with a little texture, and a butterfly with one wing made of flowers . . . magic!

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Kachina, Yupo, Hanko Echizen Gold     

Stamps:       Starving Artistamps Square Mosaic Grout

Inks:             Adirondack Alcohol Bottle, Stream, ColorBox Gold,

Distress Lucky Clover, Wild Honey, Mustard Seed

Emb Pwdr:   Ranger Gold

Dies:            InLoveArts 3D Butterfly, Cheery Lynn Cheers             

Sumner

My friends’ much loved fifteen year old cat Sumner went home to his Maker yesterday, but not before he gifted his owners with one last loving gesture . . .

 

Sumner was sunning himself on the furniture beneath the side window when he got up, and jumped onto the dining room table two feet away where my friends Richard and Vangie were eating breakfast.  He lay down in front of Richard and in two seconds, breathed his last.  The loving trust in that amazing final burst of strength has made a cherished memory of an otherwise sad event.

                                 Rest in peace, Sumner . . . you are missed

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute, Neenah Desert Storm, Scraps: Blue,

Brown         

Inks:             Distress Brushed Corduroy

Waterclrs:    Distress Watercolor Pencils Crushed Olive, Rustic

Wilderness, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain

Dies:            DieNamics Single Stitched Line Rectangle Frame,

Kinkon Tree, Memory Box Curious Kitty, Alphabet Soup,

DieVersions font Hint of Lime,

Emb Fldr:     The Paper Studio Woodgrain       

Cheers

This has one of my favorite background techniques . . .

  . . . smooshy inks all over, dried, and then a heat-embossed design over all.  Love it!

The Hollyhock stamp and die set posed an unusual problem I’ve never run into before:  the die didn’t match the stamp!  It started out correctly and then got lost along the way.  So I’ll use the stamp when I don’t plan on cutting out the image.  The die I’ll use when I want dimension and will color it with markers once it’s been cut out.  In this case, I added some random textured gold embossing for a little glimmer and dimension.

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Jacaranda, Strathmore #184 Mixed Media,

Hanko Echizen Gold

Stamps:       MJ Barber Chevron Open, Impression Obsession

Full Bloom Hollyhocks

Inks:             ColorBox Gold, Distress Salty Ocean

Waterclrs:    Iuile Blue, Green, Gold

Emb Pwdr:   Ranger Gold

Dies:            Impression Obsession Hollyhocks, TKOnline

Celebration Set: “Cheers”

Doo Dads:    Gold twine    

Family

My dear friend Kathy recently gifted me with a pair of newly released stamps from the well known English artist Tracey Dutton who designs for Lavinia Stamps.  Her usual style leans towards enchanted beings like fairies and other fantasy creatures.  Her website LaviniaStamps.com is a journey into an ethereal world of magical floral, fauna, and exotic beings.  . . .

 . . . However, this time she produced a delightful group of realistic hedgehogs.  The set of three images is called The Wallace Family and I think they are as adorable as their real-life counterparts.

After Googling pictures of hedgehogs, I was surprised to find that many have white accents and even white bellies.  So I took a Prisma white pencil and enhanced the spikes which improved the clarity of the images.  The next time I stamp these cute critters, I’ll do so on white cardstock.

Cardstock:   Marcos Jute 

Stamps:        Lavinia The Wallace Family

Inks:               Hero Hues Latte, Gina K Charcoal Brown, Distress

Vintage Photo

Colorants:    PrismaColor pencil White

Dies:              DieNamics Grassy Edges, Impression Obsession

Cardinals                

Happy

Card number five in my series uses another splashy background from my Scrap Stash . . .

 The petals have been propped up with pop dots so they’ll survive the ministrations of the Post Office and arrive while still in their perky state . . .

The options with this Broken Mirror die are endless and I expect to return to it many times over . . .

Cardstock:   Bazzill Leap Frog, Scrap Stash       

Colorants:    Zig Writer Evergreen

Dies:              Kokorosa  Splicing Broken Mirror, Spellbinders Anemone

Flower Topper, Ellentina Stackable Poinsettia Flower,

Recollections Word Fetti: “Happy”

Doo Dads:    Crystal, Gelly Roll Clear Star       

Happy Day

The fourth card in my series of five uses a smooshy background taken from my beloved Scrap Stash box . . .

 

The strappy lines of the die cut suggested a creatively wrapped present to me, so topping the juncture with a bow seemed like a good idea.  The bow die is supposed to form a looped bow, but as this would pancake in the mail, I decided to keep the pieces as is and just layer them with pop dots for survivable dimension.

Cardstock:   Bazzill Blossom, Scrap Stash, Hanko Momi Washi Gold

Dies:              Kokorosa Splicing Broken Mirror, Cheery Lynn Pretty

Pretty Bows, Tattered Lace Everyday Sentiments:

“Happy Day”        

Doo Dads:    Viva Pearl Pen Gold

Celebrate

Card number three has drawn colors from the louder side of the spectrum . . .

 

Alternate panels were stamped with a text background stamp while the tri-colored ones came from the Scrap Stash.  The colors didn’t match perfectly so I used Prisma colored pencils to match the shades.

 

Cardstock:   Bazzill Cinder, Scrap Box  

Stamps:        Darkroom Door Background Stamp, B&J’s Art Stamps

Dot Texture, Sm

Inks:               Superior India Ink Black, ColorBox Black

Colorants:    PrismaColor 90% Cool Grey, Crimson Red, Yellowed

Orange, Sunburst Yellow

Emb Pwdr:   Judikins Detail Black

Dies:              Kokorosa  Splicing Broken Mirror, Spellbinders

Standard Circles Small, Petite Scalloped Circles Large,

Kat Scrappiness Stitched Fishtail Banner               

Doo Dads:    Inkssentials Enamel Accents Black