Thursday, June 30, 2011

Come Play with a New Colorway!


It's Colorway week once again for the Dream Team. This time Laura Drahozal had the choice and went with purple and yellow. This was a stretch for me once again. Some of the girls struggle with the sketches, but personally I have a hard time with the color challenges. However, just like the sketches, they can help yank you out of whatever creative rut you may be in. I chose to work with the Thistle stencil, and as I have been wanting more practice in using the Paintstiks, I broke them out along with several stencil brushes in various sizes. It helps to think light to dark and to have a brush for each of the three primary groups...yellows, reds, and blues. I worked with the smallest size as well as the medium size. The Paintstiks are like a firm "lipstick" of oil paint and come in a wide variety of colors as well as metallics. When you first use them, you need to use a paper towel or craft knife to rub or scrape off the top layer or "skin". Then rub an amount of color on a piece of wax paper, or foil, etc. Put together a "palette" of the colors you want to work with, placing like colors near each other. This allows for easier mixing for shading and highlighting. I worked with a yellow, an orange, three shades of green, two shades of purple, a deep blue, and a silver for highlighting. Work the color into your brush by "rouging" on the wax paper (this also warms up the paint a little for easier use). Then you can begin to rouge the color into the areas of the stencil (which should be taped down on your chosen paper). You can build up color in layers, shading and highlighting as you go. It helps to use the "Picasso" to block/mask off areas as you work. When finished, I removed the stencil and used a small amount of the silver to add a little shading under the leaves and base of the blossom. For additional highlights (and to be honest, to cover a couple boo-boos) I used the tip of the small brush handle to add dots of White Copic ink. The card base was yellow, so to add more purple, I added a small panel of purple which I stenciled the Floral Background with Versamark ink and embossed with Stampendous Sunny Yellow Pastel Embossing Powder. I still felt that the card needed just one more touch of purple, so the gorgeous lilac bow was added. Personally, I am going to be very curious to see what the rest of the team comes up with for this colorway, so just like you, I'm going to have to hop around to the various blogs and check them out (listed at right)...of course, leaving some lovin' along the way! You know you'll want to play with the Colorway, so link your creation to the Mr. Linky on the Dream It Up! blog for the rest of us to see!
LL3001 Thistle
LG631 Floral Background
LL332 Picasso
BHB 1/8" Brush and NHB 1/2" Brush

Plus:
Versamark ink from Tsukineko
Copic White ink
Sunny Yellow Pastel EP from Stampendous
Bazzill Candlelight and Love Potion cardstock
Fabriano Watercolor Paper
ribbon 



Tuesday, June 28, 2011

ARE YOU READY FOR IT?

Remember the fabulous Valentine's Day Blog Hop a few months ago? Well, get your hopping fingers ready 'cuz Taylor Borel Usry and Cyndi Bundy along with a mega team of talented ladies are creating fabulous 4th of July and stupendous summer stunners for your enjoyment. 
The info:
Saturday, July 2nd, 8:00 am EST
leave comments at each stop
for prize opportunities from:
Stampendous
Pixie Dust Studios
Chi Chi Memories
Dreamweaver Stencils
Karber Digital Studios
Skipping Stones Designs
Maria Levine/Ippity

Monday, June 27, 2011

Painting with Powder Nifty Gifty

Here's another Painting with Powder project created using the Blockart Wild Flowers from Stampendous once again. The paper mache box was coated in Versamark ink and embossed with bands of color on the sides and black on the top. The sides were also stamped and embossed in black with the Cling Floral Dream image. The lid was stamped and embossed with the Blockart Wild Flowers, and using a Versamarker to fill in and add color with powder (Painting with Powder), several shades from the Razzleberry Embossing Powder Kit were used. Simple notes were created by stamping and embossing the image on black panels in several colors and cutting each into three tiles to decorate the front of each card. Wonderful Class A Peel Dot Sparklers
were added for bling on the notes as well as the lid. An optional tip...use Sharpie markers to add even more color to the Dot Sparklers, making it possible to have every color of the rainbow. For more great tips and techniques with Stampendous products, please visit the Stampendous web site, Stampendous Impressions blog, the Stampendous FB page, and the blogs of all of our fabulous team members as listed at right.

Stampendous:
V202 Blockart Wild Flowers
CRR113 Cling Floral Dream
EP111 Midnight Black Embossing Powder
EK09 Razzleberry Embossing Powder Kit
EK07 Pastel Party Embossing Powder Kit
AC672HSS Class A' Peel Dot Sparklers
VM001Versamark and VP001 Versamarker

Plus:
paper mache box
Bazzill cardstock
envelope template
Creative Impressions ribbon

Friday, June 24, 2011

It's My Party and I'll Cry If I Want To!


 Today is my birthday. Woo. Hoo. Should be a day to celebrate. I will to a certain extent, but first I need to get some sad news out first. One of my favorite stamp companies, Lizzie Anne Designs, is closing their metaphoric "doors". Sigh. I love this company. I love the two great owners who started this company a few years ago, and have continually produced fun, quirky, elegant, and artsy images and sentiments in wonderful mixes. The images used in this post are part of their last hurrah, "Summertime Celebration", their final mix to be shipped July 1st. Meanwhile, starting today, they'll be selling their inventory at fantastic sale prices, starting at 40% off. This is your fabulous opportunity to grab all the Lizzie Anne goodness you can...speaking of grab, there are even grab bags for $5 each, filled with a mix of old and new stamps! Put on your cyber-sneakers and run over to the Lizzie Anne Designs' website and stock up now. If you need more inspiration for the images you already have, or those you KNOW you are going to want, then check out the Lizzie Anne Designs blog, the Sketchbook on the website, the rest of our fabulous yet teary-eyed design team members' blogs, and the LAD Facebook page. Plus, you will continue to see our fun samples over the next month, and the discounts will continue until the "Fiesta" is over. Sigh. Now I need cake. And ice-cream.

Lizzie Anne Designs "Summertime Celebration"
Stampendouswww.stampendous.com Class A' Peel "Dot Sparklers"
Tuxedo Black Memento ink
Bazzill cardstock
Gibson patterned paper
double-sided foam tape

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Thursday Dream Schemes-Blessings and Birds


 Once again, we have a free week for the Dream Schemers, so come play along with us! My card this week features a few simple techniques...Ink Transfer, Machine Embossing, and Double Glitter:
1) The background was ink transferred by spritzing the Damask stencil thoroughly with Memories Mists Silver and placing some wonderful watercolor paper on top, "transferring" the inked pattern to my paper with a gorgeous shimmer.
2) The sentiment was machine embossed by running the Bless You stencil through the Big Shot with metallic silver cardstock. (Remember to place the stencil face down to be able to read the sentiment afterward.)
3) For the Double Glitter technique, cover a white cardstock panel with Double Sided Mounting Paper. Rub a fat-based soap (Dreamweaver's Coconut Soap) over the back of the Love Birds stencil, and place on top of adhesive. Pour blue ultra fine glitter over image, "rouging" into the surface of the adhesive for best coverage. Carefully brush away excess glitter before removing stencil. Immediately pour silver ultra fine glitter over the remaining adhesive surface, rouging in once again for best coverage.

Once all of these elements come together on the card, you have a beautiful wedding, anniversary, or inspirational card with a definite wow factor.

 Wonder what the rest of the team has been up to this week? Go check out their blogs, the Dream It Up! blog, and play along!

Dreamweaver Stencils:
LL3011 Love Birds
LJ907 Damask
LM264 Bless You
DHHS Hawaiian Coconut Soap
DSP Memories Mists Silver
MPDS Double Sided Mounting Paper
TIPW Three Inch White Decorative Pins

Plus:
GM272U Western Blue Ultra Fine Glitter (Stampendous)
GM254U Silver Ultra Fine Jewel Glitter (Stampendous)
white, navy, and metallic silver cardstock
sheer white ribbon
blue rhinestones (Queen & Co.)
Big Shot

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

More Painting with Powder and Stampendous!

 Quickie post. This card features Stampendous "Block Art Wild Flowers" with the Painting with Powder technique similar to THIS card posted a couple of weeks ago. The result is a cloisonne look. This technique is so much fun with such a great look. Try it!
Stampendous:
Block Art Wild Flower
Razzleberry Embossing Powder Kit

Plus:
Versamark, Onyx Versafine inks
Bazzill Parakeet cardstock
lavender and black cardstock
Corrugator
EK Edger Punch
Creative Impressions brad fasteners
Making Memories brad fasteners

Stampendous Hop WINNERS!

Were you a hop winner from last week's Stampendous Blog Hop #2? Check HERE to find out!

Friday, June 17, 2011

Lizzie Anne Team Challenge-Vacation Porthole


 The Lizzie Anne Designs' Team was challenged this month to create something with a "Vacation" theme to it. Simple...right? Hmmm, not so much. So many vacation ideas. So many fabulously fun images from Lizzie Anne Designs to suit the theme. Since as of now, the hubby and I haven't pinned down a specific idea for a vacation this summer, I chose to create from the memories of my favorite vacation of all time...our 25th anniversary eleven day cruise of the Hawaiian islands almost seven years ago. I soooo want to take that cruise again. I knew I wanted to use the cruise ship image from the brand new Summer 2011 Mix set, but I wanted to do something different with it. Recently I bought these jumbo grommets designed for curtains, so I used them as a "porthole" to frame the ship. The sentiment is perfect for this card as, who doesn't want to keep on cruisin'? I created a "luggage tag" to match so I'm ready to go just in case...hint, hint, honey! ;) The fun addition on the tag, was that I faintly stamped the ship on the address portion of the tag, and stamped the sentiment over the length of the twill ribbon used to tie it on. Now, it's time for you to "cruise" on over to the rest of the team blogs as listed at right, as well as the Lizzie Anne blog for more vacation inspiration.



Lizzie Anne Designs Summer 2011 Mix set
Rich Cocoa Memento ink
Aquamarine ColorBox Chalk ink
Copic Sketch Markers
kraft, white cardstock
American Crafts and Pinecone Press patterned papers
acetate
Maya Road twill ribbon
Wright curtain Grommets
Nestabilities rectangle dies
corner rounder, slot punch

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Dreamweaver Sketch #7-It's a Keeper!

This week the Dream Team is working with Deborah's sketch design as shown above. I wasn't too sure if her intention was to do a gate fold card with the circle panel opening from one side or the other, or a flat front card with a circle panel. So...I went the easier route with the second option. LOL. I chose the Trout and Friends fly-fishing themed stencil as my hubby is an avid fisherman...freshwater, saltwater, and our garage is a testament to this hobby! I paste-embossed on two panels, flipping the stencil to have the design in opposite directions. My paste concoction was a conglomeration of Metallic Gold, Matte Orange, burnt umber acrylic paint, and Cocoa Metallic
F/X. To speed up the process of drying, I placed my pasted pieces in a toaster oven (dedicated to crafting only...non food) on the lowest setting for about 10-15 minutes. You could also set it on the lowest setting in an electric skillet...or if you have more patience, let it air dry for about 30-45 minutes. I love the argyle paper that I chose for the panels, and to keep the masculine feel going, I used a card base of kraft cardstock and a pop of color with the denim blue accent mats. The circle panel features the Fishing Fly stenciled with Splendor "Magic" Ink Pad and a bit of the brown ink was rouged around the edges for a more finished look. The "DAD" was created with the alphabet stencils and the same mix of paste. Obviously, it was necessary to let each letter dry thoroughly before working on the next. This is where being a great multi-tasker comes in handy. While these are drying, I'm working on other parts of the card, writing blogs, washing laundry, vacuuming the house...okay, maybe not ALL of these things, but at least the other card parts! The additional sentiment was a rub-on from a package of fishing rub-ons that I had in my stash and suits my hubby...he IS a keeper! I'm sure my other teammates as well as the Stencil Queen, Lynell, will have fabulous examples of Father's Day cards incorporating the sketch, so check them all out as listed at right. Play along with us and post your versions of Sketch #7 with a link on the Dream It Up! blog.

Dreamweaver Stencils:
LG726 Trout and Friends
LM2003 Fishing Fly
LSA, LSD A and D
DGP Metallic Gold Paste
DMOP Matte Orange Paste
TAP Acrylic Paints
FX18 Cocoa Metallic F/X
KS14 Splendor "Magic" ink pad

Plus:
kraft cardstock
BasicGrey "Marjolaine" paper
DCWV cardstock
Karen Foster "Rub Its"
double-sided foam adhesive

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Watcha lookin' for?

If you are here for the Stampendous blog hop which ends today at midnight, click HERE or scroll (really slowly) through the Lizzie Anne Designs' new release fabulousness until you reach your intended destination. Thank you.

ALOHA! It's Lizzie Anne Designs Summer Mix Preview!

Lizzie Anne Designs have really outdone themselves for the Summer 2011 Mix. All the fabulous images of summer...vacations, cruises, parties, and lazy days at the beach (preferably in Hawaii)...sigh. I fell in love with them all! For my Mix preview card, I wanted to create a beachy/oceany feel. The background was created with various alcohol inks on glossy cardstock. Torn vellum behind torn cork to for the feel of the foam of waves lapping at the shore. The top and bottom are bordered with this great Polynesian iconic image, but the focal point is the super-fun sea turtle! I stamped her in clear ink on the aqua Dotted Swiss cardstock and embossed with crystal embossing powder. I don't know about you, but I can hardly wait to see what the rest of our uber-creative team come up with for this Mix preview. Personally, I foretell many more posts in summer mode! Swim on over to the Lizzie Anne Designs site to pick up your own Mix set...and while you're at it, sign up to receive the quarterly mixes automatically. Such a fantastic deal and something to look forward to four times a year!



Lizzie Anne Designs Summer 2011 Mix
Rich Cocoa Memento ink
Versamark ink
EP050 Stampendous Crystal Embossing Powder
Ranger Alcohol Inks
vellum
cork paper
Bazzill Dotted Swiss
glossy white cardstock
twine, charm
double-sided foam adhesive

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Stampendous Blog Hop #2 Featuring New Releases!

Yippee! It's the second Stampendous Blog Hop! If you have arrived here from the Stampendous Impressions blog, you are following the correct trail of inky crumbs. For this hop, the amazing Stampendous Design Team and Blog Stars #1 group are all featuring THREE brand-new-released Jumbo Cling flower sets...Jumbo Tulip, Jumbo Dogwood, and the gorgeous Jumbo Tiger Lily. You can have the opportunity to win one of these amazing sets along with the acrylic handle by leaving comments at each stop along the way between Saturday, June 11th through Wednesday, June 15th. The winners will be announced on the Stampendous Impressions blog on Friday, June 17th. Now, for the sharing portion of this post...
I have a sentimental reason for choosing the Jumbo Tiger Lily set for my gift set. My MIL who we lost in January to cancer, had a special bond with my older son that involved a Tiger Lily that they both planted together in her garden and enjoyed each year when it would bloom once again. I created this garden sign by giving this wood plaque a coat of acrylic paint, adhering a torn panel of this great handmade paper from Canvas Corp., and painting the Tiger Lily. I accomplished this by stamping the image on the plaque with Versamark to leave just enough to see where to paint. Then I stamped and embossed over the top using the yummy Bark Embossing Powder. I used the Retro Alphabet set to create the expression on the sign. Using any one of the Stampendous Perfectly Clear alphabets is a perfect
way to personalize your own sign.


 The card with this set was created with most of the same items from the sign so that it all coordinates. The Jumbo Tiger Lily was stamped and embossed on the kraft card. Another panel of the handmade paper was added with the flourishes from the set in Tangelo ink. A panel of matboard was covered with Peel n Stick adhesive and a thick coating of Citrus Orange Fun Flock before stamping a "spotlight" portion of the image. A kraft tag was inserted under the flocked panel with a great sentiment from the Perfectly Clear Friendship Assortment. Class A' Peel Dot Sparklers were added to highlight the stamens of the flower. Yes, these Jumbo images are, well, JUMBO...but don't let that scare you off. They are great for home decor and wearables, but just using a portion of the image, or highlighting a portion of the image is extremely effective all on its own.

By now, you probably get the idea of how to create the bag to match. Even the tissue was stamped to coordinate! The tag was partially covered with flock once again, with the blingy Dot Sparklers of course. Kraft bags are soooooo cheap to buy, and sooooo fun to decorate!

Now is your opportunity to hop on to the fabulous Rachel at The Gingerbread Gallery to check out what she's created with these Jumbos. Just taking a guess, but I bet she has something super cute in happy colors to share with you. Don't forget to leave me some love first!
Stampendous:
CRS5010 Jumbo Tiger Lily Set
SSC1116 Perfectly Clear Friendship Set
SSC055 Perfectly Clear Retro Alphabet
AC672HSO Class A' Peel Dot Sparklers
EP505 Bark Embossing Powder
FL815 Orange Flock
FX70 Peel n Stick
VM010 Versamark ink

Plus:
Rich Cocoa and Tangelo Memento ink from Tsukineko
Canvas Corp. Handmade Paper
Maya Road ribbon
kraft cardstock, tag, and bag
ivory and orange tissue paper
jute twine
wood hanging plaque

Thursday, June 9, 2011

I'm a SUCKER for SEERSUCKER!


Another fun free theme this week for Dreamweaver Dream Schemes Thursday! This week I'm featuring my fave Father's Day card created with the new Tie stencil and the Stripes/Plaid stencil. I used another variation of the Ink Transfer Technique to create this "seersucker" look. For the background and the panel that the tie was cut from, here are the steps:

1. Place your platform for your Big Shot (or other machine) as suggested for embossing dies.
2. Ink stencil with Pastel Lime ink and place face up on platform with stripes vertical with machine.
3. Place cardstock panel face down on inked stencil.
4. Place piece of scrap paper over panel to protect rubber mat.
5. Yep. Rubber embossing mat goes down next.
6. Place TWO clear plattens on top. This will protect your stencil from warping and bending.
7. Run through machine.
8. Clean stencil.
9. Repeat process inking with Prussian Blue ink. Place cardstock panel opposite 90 degrees on stencil. Keep stencil vertical with machine as before.
11. Run through once again. Ta dah. You now have plaid seersucker. How cool is that?

The green panel was run through the machine with the tie stencil to emboss the pattern. Trace and cut out the tie components from your seersucker panels at a diagonal. I added these fun "button" brads for the collar buttons and a glitter brad for the "tie tac". The same inks were used to stencil the sentiment from the Birthday Words stencil. Simple enough to create one for hubby, one for dad, and one for grandpa...or even as a birthday card for one of the above. Play along with us this week. Visit the rest of the Dream Team as well as the Dream It Up! blog. If you have any questions for any of us or think we are fabulous, leave us a message. We will be happy to reply.

Dreamweaver Stencils:
LG735 Tie
LX7002 Stripes/Plaid
LG704 Birthday Words

Plus:
Pastel Lime and Prussian Blue ColorBox Chalk ink from Clearsnap
Bazzill cardstock
white cardstock
glitter brad, button brads
double-sided foam adhesive
Big Shot

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Stampendous Hop Alert!

Attention all crazed hoppers! Mark your calendar for this Saturday, June 11th, beginning at 8 am PST for another fabulous, insane, Stampendous HOP! Our incredible Design Team plus our Blog Stars will be introducing you to three NEW stamp sets. Hop along and you will have the opportunity to win one of these for your own creative self. Trust me...you will want these! The starting point will be the Stampendous Impressions blog. Don't forget!

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Dreaming in Lavender and Gray



The challenge this week at Dreamweaver Stencils' Dream Schemes Thursday, is a colorway, and happens to be my color choice...lavender and gray. This card is deceptive...it appears to be very elaborate, but in actuality, is very simple and takes very little time to complete. The card base is lavender cardstock with a metallic silver cardstock over the top. A strip of the same metallic silver and a panel of white are run through my Big Shot with the Damask stencil to emboss them, and adhered across the card. Then a lavender panel was run through the Big Shot again with the Damask stencil to emboss it. A ribbon bow is wrapped around the card and a charm with jumpring added. Now comes the Piece de Resistance,  the focal point of this gorgeous card created using the Heart Lock stencil. Actually, this was created sort of accidentally in that I had used this stencil for another project and stenciled with black StazOn ink which left the entire stencil covered in the ink. Just for curiosity's sake, I decided to spritz it with rubbing alcohol and run it through the Big Shot with a white cardstock panel. Because StazOn is a solvent-based ink, the alcohol mixed with it and beaded on the surface in a unique way, and for some reason turned more lavender than black. The end result of the transferred ink with the embossed areas gorgeously highlights this stencil design which is one of my absolute favorites. I added adhesive backed pearls to embellish this beautiful wedding card. The inside has a simple strip of ribbon and the sentiment embossed on the silver cardstock. Now I'm so in love with this card that I don't want to give it away...but I will. We have friends who were married at the beach and are now throwing a reception for friends and family, so this card will go to them. Fortunately, the bride is a papercrafter so I'm sure she will appreciate this unique card.



Dreamweaver Stencils:
LX7001 Large Damask
LG672 Heart Lock
LS90 Celebrate Script

Plus:
Tsukineko Black StazOn ink
Bazzill and Mohawk cardstocks
Recollections Pearls
rubbing alcohol
Big Shot
satin ribbon
love charm and jumpring (Michael's)