shabby chic. . . .

is the current challenge at A Blog Named Hero.

I made a birthday card for my daughter with the Hero Arts hydrangea and it is somewhat shabby chic, so I am entering it in the challenge.

White embossing with lots of distress inks, a paper doily and vintage seam binding for a bow.  I also added some dew drops - remember them??  They are still very pretty and I should use them more often.   

I hope your day is a good one!

more fun. . . .

with my Gelli Arts mono-printing plate.  Some of you said that you have not heard of this before.  It is used more for mixed media projects.  If you search for videos on YouTube there are many that show you how to use it and where to buy one.  There are also several online classes being offered to show you how to use it.  Personally, I am just experimenting on my own.  There's no right or wrong way and it isn't rocket science!

Basically, it is a gelatin plate that you brayer paint(s) over and use various objects to create designs in the paint.  Then you lay paper on the plate, rub the back gently and pull the paper off to reveal your print.  A second sheet of paper will give you a lighter (ghost) print and is, almost always, my favorite of the two.

Here are more papers that I made over the weekend:

And, here is a card and two ATC's that I made using portions of some of the papers:

On the card, I used a Versamark pen to outline portions of the flower created by a stencil and heat embossed it in gold.  I also used a white gel pen to add dots to the petals of the flower.  Hero Arts pearls were added, too.

The ATC's were cut to size and stamped with images using Stazon ink.  I also used a Memory Box bird die on one and some gold Stickles on the other. 

Due to the weather, my friend and I did not get together last week, so we are hoping to do so this Friday.  I will hopefully have more papers to show you then.  (you have probably seen enough already!!)

Thanks for visiting.

warning. . . .

this post is rather lengthy.

Thanks to inspiration from an online friend of many years, Linda Kunsman, I succumbed and purchased a Gelli Arts monoprinting plate and have had some fun playing with it and wanted to share some pics of the papers I made.

First, some turquoise paint:

Next, some magenta:

And then some blueberry:

Some pink:

You can see where some of the paints mingled - which creates some really pretty results.   I used stencils and sequin scrim to make patterns in the paints.  I am going to have a play date with a friend this week and we will be experimenting with a lot of other items to see what happens.   I particularly love the "ghost" prints (second pulls) because they are usually more soft and muted.

Now for a card that I made using a few of the papers I made:

I am entering this one in the Dynamic Duos challenge for turquoise and black.  I do realize that there are hints of other colors here; but it reads turquoise and black to me!

A second card:

Here I've used the pretty butterfly stamp from Hero Arts with a Martha Stewart border punch.

These papers are great for art journal backgrounds, collage, handmade book covers, ATC's - you name it!  My Gelli plate is the 6x6 size, but it also comes in 8x10. 

If you are still here, thanks for visiting!

nine years ago. . . .

in March, my youngest granddaughter, Miya, was born in Parker CO.  I can hardly believe she will be nine!!  Where does the time go?

Here is the card I made to send to her:

Miya has been called "princess" by her daddy and two older brothers since she was born, so I just had to use the princess banner from a My Mind's Eye patterned paper pad.  The rest of the card is pretty much self-explanatory.  I used paper piecing, masking, die-cutting, dry embossing and lots of layering.

Enjoy your day!!

a valentine for . . . .

Karen in Canada for the Valentine card chain challenge organized by Marie for the LOVE! Flickr group:

Lots of Bo Bunny papers from the Love Letters 6 x 6 pad, some die cuts, a doily, some twine and the sentiment is from A Muse. 

This was a fun exchange!  Thanks, Maria!

white on white,. . . .

is not easy to photograph!  Here is my card for the Simon Says Stamp challenge this week:

I love the look of dry embossing on vellum.  This is a new folder I just got but I'm not sure if it is a Cuttlebug one.  I added frosted lace Stickles to the butterfly and flower centers, but it doesn't show very much in this photo. 

Thanks for visiting!

a twinchie. . . .

for the Love is in Air theme at the  Show Us Your Twinchie Challenge Blog.

Janet a.k.a.swanlady21 inspired me to make some of these little gems.  It doesn't take long to make one at all!

Here is another one I made:

The cute little stamp is from Memory Box.  The dots and joy are from Hero Arts.

Happy Valentine's Day!

nancy maxwell james . . . .

is a multi-talented mixed media artist and I absolutely adore her beautiful creations.  For the first 14 days of February she has been sharing some LOVE-ly projects for free on her blog.

Yesterday I spent some time making a few tags inspired by Nancy's work.  Here is one of them:

 

 

 

 

and here is another:

I used old book and music pages, old wallpaper samples, vintage seam bindings (dyed the teal one with distress ink) and various other items.  You would not believe the mess I make when I start pulling out collage sheets, images, ephemera, lace, buttons, etc.!!  But, I must say it is so much fun and I wish I had more time to just play. . .

Hope your day is filled with things that make you happy!

a birthday card. . . .

for someone special:

Basic Gray patterned paper, die cuts. some faux stitching and it's in the mail! 

Thanks for looking!

a love song. . . . .

which was first copyrighted in 1923!!  I was looking through a music book of love songs for some inspiration for a couple of challenges and was surprised by this fact. The copyright was renewed in 1951 and again in 1968.

Love song is the challenge this week at CAS-ual Fridays.  And the one of the challenges at Hero Arts this month is love and lace.

Here is my card:

The leafy vine is one of the prettiest new stamps I've seen this year and I actually have it in the woodblock version.  (Love me some wood!!)  The sentiment is from year round sentiments.  I stamped the vine in picked raspberry distress ink.  I colored white cardstock with the same inkpad and punched out the hearts.  After popping them up randomly on the vines, I covered them in diamond Stickles.  Some HA pink gems were added, too.  The panel was mounted on black and then to Bo Bunny paper.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

one card for. . . .

two challenges: 

A sketch challenge at Try Stampin' on Tuesday and an open challenge at Flutterby Wednesday's.  Here is the sketch:

And, here is my card:

I loved the sketch when I saw it and I wanted to use two butterfly dies from Memory Box - Darla and Vivienne. They look so pretty when combined.  The lattice background stamp from Hero Arts is a gorgeous one, isn't it?  And, I've been seeing lots of polka dots lately - just sayin'!  (Yay!)  The patterned paper is from My Mind's Eye.

Have a wonderful weekend!

have a heart. . . .

is the challenge at Simon Says Stamp this week.  I am also sending this over to the Freshly Made Sketches #72 challenge:

Here is my very literal take on the sketch:

I used the Love Letters Collection from Bo Bunny, a cuttlebug embossing folder and Hero Arts sentiment.  The largest heart was cut from felt.  Trim is from JoAnne's.  And, I (gasp!) actually used scissors to cut the scalloped border.  TeeHee

Have a grand evening!

a lavender valentine. . . .

is what my card for the new Muse challenge blog turned out to be.  Not intentionally - somehow it just happened. 

I knew that I wanted to use the layout of the card  that Laurie Willison provided for our  muse and turn it around to a landscape design.  And, I wanted to use this beautiful Magenta heart, which is one of my oldest stamps.  I adore this wood mounted stamp!  I also used one of my newest stamps - the Hero Arts dots background.  The sentiment is  from Hero Arts, too.  A punched heart, some bling and purple Stickles were added for a bit of sparkle.

Thanks for visiting.

anything goes. . .

is the challenge at Simon Says this week.  I am getting my card done just in the nick of time.

Since I always need thank you cards I used one of my favorite dies for this one.  I also used some patterned papers and Hero Arts stamps.  Does anyone else have that little set of three stamps called Pattern Borders from a few years ago?  I love to use those sometimes to just add a bit of interest.

Have a great day!