Sunday, June 29, 2014

use a recycled item. . . .

is the challenge at Less is More this week.  Here is my card:


I recycled a used teabag for the background of this card.  It was torn into strips and adhered with multi matte medium.  The dies are from Memory Box, the sentiment from Hero Arts.  The branch was sprayed with Ranger's heirloom gold spray mist.  I added some gold stickles and edged the panel with a Pilot gold metallic marker. Unfortunately, the photo does not show the spray mist or the edging very well.  And, this probably isn't as CAS as it should be.  :(  Sometimes I can't stop adding more to a design than necessary for clean and simple.

Also sending this over to Simon Says for their challenge of anything goes.

Have a great day!

Saturday, June 28, 2014

soc week three. . . .

is almost over and I am just now getting my card posted for it.  The colors that Kristin chose for this week are :



Here is my card:




I must admit that I had trouble with this color combo.  I don't have inks that are truly lavender and plum, so my rendition is more lilac and purple.  And, the gray is pretty much the pop of color rather than the plum.  Otherwise, I do like the background I made with flowers from two Hero Arts stamp sets plus the dots from a Simon Says stamp set.  I just acquired a wink of Stella pen and added it to the dots and centers of the flowers.  As you probably know, it is practically impossible to pick up the pretty shimmer on camera.  The white embossed sentiment is from Hero Arts.
Also sending this over to Simon Says Stamp for their anything goes challenge.

Very sunny and hot weather here today.  Just the perfect summer weather.  If anyone has a stop or pause button to slow down the summer season, please share it.  :)  Summers go by way too fast, don't they?


Thursday, June 19, 2014

summer of color week 2. . . .

The colors for this week at SOC are teal and coral with the optional pop of bright white.


Here is the card I made for this week:


Distress inks for the background and a stamp from Hero Arts.  The sentiment was white embossed and is from Wordsworth.  The sequins/stars were given to me by a friend.  Today is a rainy day in Canton, Ohio and in this photo the coral looks more orange-y than it does IRL.  :-(

Also sending this to SSS Monday challenge which is anything goes.

Enjoy your day!

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

an anniversary card. . . .

for a couple who are celebrating theirs next week:





The background for this card was created by inking the card with distress inks first.  Then, I sponged distress ink through the large flourish type design and I used a damp sponge to press water through the dot stencil.  A script stamp was stamped randomly.  Distress inks were applied to the tag before adding the couple (from the Tim Holtz Found Relatives pack). The sentiment words are from the chit chat collection from Tim Holtz also.  I placed the brad in the tag and then popped it up with dimensional tape onto the card base. 

I am sending this over to the Simon Say Stamp Monday challenge where the theme is anything goes.  I had actually made this ahead and was going to enter it in the Wednesday challenge for stencils last week.  However, a friend wanted me to drive with her to North Carolina for a long weekend and I just didn't have time to get this posted before we left last Thursday.

Hoping to get around to visiting your blogs soon!  Things will be busy here for the next week or two.  My grandson is home from the Air Force for now and will be traveling back to Colorado where he has been accepted into the Air Force Academy.  My granddaughter from Los Angeles is here for 10 days, too.  We will be having some family gatherings; so blogging will take a backseat for awhile!

Sorry for the lengthy post;  thanks so much for visiting!

p.s.  Also sending this to The Mixed Media Card challenge.

Monday, June 9, 2014

summer of color week one. . . .

begins today! 



Here are the colors Kristin picked for this week:


We are to use the two main colors (aqua and yellow) with the option of a pop of bright pink.

My card features the colors she chose, but when using spray inks they blend into each other, so there are some secondary colors happening here too.  And, my colors are a bit more muted than the sample ones. I hope that is okay.



I used Dylusions sprays again and transparent embossing paste for the stencil.  The dies are from Memory Box and the stamps are from Catslife Press and Impression Obsession. I added some tiny metallic embellies that were sent to me by a friend.  The edges were distressed with the edge of my scissors and inked with black soot distress ink.  Layered to a black panel and then to the card.

Also sending this to Mixed Media Mojo where the challenge is to use at least two stamps and at least two mediums.  And, to Mixed Media Monthly Challenge where the challenge is to use sprays.

Have a good day!



Thursday, June 5, 2014

mixed media. . . .

is becoming more popular amongst mainstream crafters.  I am drawn to it because there are really no rules and you can play with all of the new products being created for our use.  Art journaling is a bit intimidating for some and not many of us want to do a full scale canvas very often. Cards are the perfect size to experiment!  Here are two new mixed media challenge blogs: 

Mixed Media Monthly Challenge


and:

Mixed Media Mojo




and here is my card for these two challenges:


I recently purchased some new Magenta stamps and love this bird with this sentiment.  I sprayed white cardstock with Dylusions spray inks.  Then I used Liquitex transparent embossing paste through a stencil for the border.  (love the way the colors show through the transparent paste.)  After cutting the panel to size, I stamped the sentiment on the prepared piece.  I also randomly stamped a swirl (Stampington & Co.) with seedless preserves Distress Ink using second generation stamping in some areas. 

The bird was then stamped on another section of sprayed cardstock and cut out.  Ranger's black enamel was used to make the eye a bit more dimensional.  I resisted the strong urge to cover this bird with glitter!!    I placed some gold thread behind the bird and popped it up with foam tape.  Three tiny gold sequins were also added.  The completed panel was distressed around the edges and then adhered to a blue card with foam tape. 

Have a wonderful day!



edit:  entering this in the following challenge also.  Thanks, Cornelia!


Monday, June 2, 2014

a card for Lucille. . . .

for the May card chain challenge hosted by Deborah Nolan:


I used new to me dies from Spellbinders for this card.  The background was created by smooshing distress inks and spritzing with water.  The overlay was gold embossed in a distressed way by not covering it completely with the Versamark pad; thus leaving some areas a bit worn looking.  I combined two corners and a label from another die set to make the section on which I gold embossed the sentiment.  And, finally, I dug out some of those Prima flowers that just keep multiplying in those glass jars.  :-)  I know they are way past being "on trend", but they do match the colors of the background. 

It is a beautiful day in my neighborhood, with maybe some thunderstorms later.  I hope you have a good day, wherever you may be!

Sending this over to SSS for their Wednesday challenge.